Via Rich Juzwiak, I came across a video (click on the link to see the video) of people talking about their creationist beliefs. It provides an interesting case study of how, if you create a closed conceptual system, you can convince yourself that it is all consistent and hence true. [Read more…]
People in other countries applying for US visas are well aware that the consular officer who happens to be the one who is assigned your file has great authority over you. Get an easy-going one and you are in luck. But more likely you will get a tough nut since that is the type that the US government seems to want, even if they give a bad impression of the US as being populated by rude, surly types. Or it may be that it is easier to turn people down if you have an unfriendly demeanor and so the consular officials adopt that pose. [Read more…]
I did not watch the debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham. I have been reading the various reviews and most of them seem to think that Nye had the better of it. It is of course hard to conceive of anyone losing an argument to someone who believes that the Bible is literally true and that the Earth is 6,000 years old but, as I said earlier, in these kinds of debates who emerges as victor or vanquished has little to do with whether they are right or not but more on the quality of the rhetorical tricks employed. [Read more…]
Nobody’s perfect. The fact that actors and writers and other artists may be personally flawed does not usually cause a problem with appreciating their work because we have learned to (mostly) separate the work of the artist from the person of the artist, so that praise for the artistic work does not mean we like or approve of the artist or the lives they lead. [Read more…]
When I said that I had no interest in watching any of the Olympic events, I was wrong. There is one event that intrigues me and that is curling. That fascinates me. It looks like a sport of great skill and precision and teamwork. [Read more…]
I am not a huge fan of the Olympics. It seems to me to be an over-hyped extravaganza in which the emphasis has shifted from a focus on pure athleticism to anything that gets good ratings and brings in money to the IOC. It also results in governments spending huge amounts of money to construct buildings and facilities that often turn into white elephants later. [Read more…]
As promised last week, the first magazine of the new Omidyar-Greenwald-Poitras-Scahill First Look Media venture is out today. It is called The Intercept and has an article The NSA’s Secret Role in the U.S. Assassination Program by Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill on how the drones target cell phones not people. [Read more…]
Two cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders football team, identified as just Lacy T. and Sarah G. have initiated a class-action lawsuit against the team alleging ‘wage theft’, denying them compensation that they feel they are entitled to. They are not paid for practices or overtime or for other appearances like at charity events, which results in them getting paid at roughly $5 per hour, which is below the California minimum wage. Plus they only get paid at the end of the season so they have to pay their own expenses up front. As Lacy T. says, she was surprised by this since football teams make so much money. [Read more…]