Keep the Arms Industry Away From District 9 via The Nexus of Assholery
Warning: the following post contains significant spoilers about the movie District 9. Those still interested in seeing this film should consider themselves forewarned.Sci-fi film presents terrifying view of Arms IndustryFilms as deep and uniquely thoughtful as District 9 come along very rarely.District 9 is such a deep film that it's difficult to decide where, precisely, to begin with it. The film, essentially a Harry Turtledove-esque alternate history of South African Apartheid in which an alien spacecraft appeared in the sky over Johannesburg in approximately 1981 -- at the height of the international controversy over Apartheid.The aliens, referred to by the derogatory epithet "prawns", were eventually segregated into a slum outside of the city. The government is now planning to...
The Science of a Religion via The Nexus of Assholery
Some portray Buddhism less as a religion and more like a science -- namely, modern psychology and, in particular, psychotherapy.Yet there is no question that Buddhism has come to command the devotion, imagination, and faith of its observants as any other mainstream religion.Interestingly, Buddhism has reemerged since the British colonization of India. Prior to the British arrival in India Buddhism had been wiped out by Hindus and Muslims. British anthropologists discovered and recovered evidence that solidly roots Guatama Buddha in historical fact.Throughout history, the general trend has been for external invaders to destroy indigenous religions, not help resurrect them.The Life of Buddha is as much a movie about archaeology's ability to help restore lost religions as it is a movie...
Continuing the Assault on the Enemies of Reason via The Nexus of Assholery
In part one of Richard Dawkins' documentary mini-series Enemies of Reason, Dawkins uses things such as astrology and water dousing to show how such superstitions lead people into irrational beliefs -- something that he seems to hope will cast a shadow over theistic religion.In part two, Dawkins takes aim at alternative medicine and attempts to demonstrate that the medical field has become a "battleground between reason and superstition".Dawkins notes that up to one third of British citizens subscribe to some sort of alternative medicine -- ranging from faith healers to homeopathic medicines. Apparently, the threat to reason posed by its enemies are very grave, indeed.Dawkins equates rising rates of people using alternative medicine as a challenge to scientific medicine.In some cases,...
Paul Zachary Myers: Cultural Warrior via The Nexus of Assholery
PZ Myers decries "anti-science, anti-intellectual" cultureSpeaking regarding a reported shortage of American post-graduate science students, University of Minnesota biologist accuses a rather vague culprit for the problem."The problem is we have a strong sub-cultural thread that is simply anti-intellectual, anti-science," says Myers."...In Germany, that kind of debate is considered trivial," Myers compared. "In the U.S., anti-intellectualism is not a trivial problem. We have a culture war that isn't happening in Europe."Of course, it's extremely convenient for PZ Myers to note the existence of an alleged culture war. He, after all, is a dedicated cultural warrior.Myers, as anyone knows, is a fierce advocate of atheism, and is among an extreme cabal of fundamentalist atheists who often...
The Missing Link of Canadian Research & Development via The Nexus of Assholery
Private sector oddly missing from Canadian R&DWriting in an op/ed column in the Globe and Mail, Preston Manning makes some very interesting points about research and development funding in Canada.Manning wisely portrays the decision over how the federal government's $13 billion will be distributed as a fusion of science and economic policy, and equally-wisely notes that how the government spends this money will have important impacts on the health, economic prospects, and life quality of Canadians.Interestingly enough, Canada's total expenditure on research and development is dwarfed by the total expenditure of other OECD countries. Yet Canada's public research and development sector -- taking place in universities and hospitals -- is among the best financed in the world.Instead, the...
The Folly of the “Anti-Science Agenda” via The Nexus of Assholery
PZ Myers' claims of a Republican "science agenda" wilt under scrutinyWriting on his blog, Pharyngula, biologist PZ Myers seems to think a recent Hardball segment has provided him with a smoking gun by which he can prove the Republican party has an anti-science agenda.In the segment Chris Matthews -- only one among MSNBC's increasingly-louder and FOX-esque stable of demagogues -- asks Republican Mike Pence whether or not he believes in evolution. Pence answers by explaining that he believes in a creator, but will not speculate on whatever method that creator may have used to create "the heavens and the Earth".Pence goes on to speak about the growing scientific skepticism regarding issues like global warming -- or climate change, as alarmists call it everytime someone reminds them about the...
New invention may help Alberta’s oil sands via Werner Patels - A Dose of Common Sense
Warning: Witchhunt in Progress via The Nexus of Assholery
Evolutionary theory being bastardized in the name of manufactured scandalA controversy was recently sparked when federal Science Minister of State Gary Goodyear recently refused to answer a question about whether or not he believed in evolution."I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate," Goodyear explained."I do believe that just because you can't see it under a microscope doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It could mean we don't have a powerful enough microscope yet. So I'm not fussy on this business that we already know everything. I think we need to recognize that we don't know," Goodyear later added -- a comment that some individuals have jumped upon as apparent proof that Goodyear believes in... Death By Technology? via The Nexus of Assholery
Patlabor reflects potential benefit, perils of technologySometimes the predictions about the future featured in TV and movies can be comically inaccurate.But even when inaccurate, they sometimes contain traces of prophetic warning.Patlabor is the tale of the chaos wrought by a monomaniacal computer programmer with a God complex. Disgusted with the hubris of the Babel project -- a large-scale land reclaimation project in 1999 Tokyo -- master programmer Eeichi Hoba programs an inentional flaw into an operating system for labors, futuristic mecha used for defence and industry in a fictional late 90s Japan.When wind blowing against buildings produces the proper sound frequency, labors equipped with the faulty Hyper Operating Systems go berserk, unstoppably destroying everything in their...