The Hazards of Belief

Shrap

Brian Shanahan wrote: »

I reckon RTÉ are lying through their arses about the "most people want the angelus kept"

I reckon not enough folk who dislike the angelus intensely completed the survey in this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=94989871&postcount=1

We may only have ourselves to blame. I hold up my own hand here, as when I discovered it was going to take a whole lot longer than 5 mins to complete, I left it half done, and closed the tab later without thinking. Never went back to do it again

BlaasForRafa

Absolam wrote: »

What reason do you think they have for lying? I imagine falsifying their own audience research would take some degree of conspiracy, never mind the straw polls of other media, so it must be a doozy.

I reckon they know that the biggest audience for the 6-o'clock news are coffin-dodgers and that coincidentally that's the most religious section of the audience too.

obplayer

Shrap wrote: »

I reckon not enough folk who dislike the angelus intensely completed the survey in this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=94989871&postcount=1

We may only have ourselves to blame. I hold up my own hand here, as when I discovered it was going to take a whole lot longer than 5 mins to complete, I left it half done, and closed the tab later without thinking. Never went back to do it again

One minute a day is hardly worth arguing over. RTE are supposed to cater for all of Ireland so I guess that includes the religious. They're steadily losing evey other battle, leave them some consolation prizes.

Shrap

obplayer wrote: »

One minute a day is hardly worth arguing over. RTE are supposed to cater for all of Ireland so I guess that includes the religious. They're steadily losing evey other battle, leave them some consolation prizes.

Nuh uh. Leaving them nothing. Not while I do be paying my licence fee, unless the RCC concede a % of the "reflection" time directly proportionate to whatever % of the country are other religions or none, and have either different bongs, no bongs, a Adhan, a Barechu, etc. Cos "balance" is what RTE does best, right? :pac:




*may or may not be generally this petty; it is a full moon*

Absolam

BlaasForRafa wrote: »

I reckon they know that the biggest audience for the 6-o'clock news are coffin-dodgers and that coincidentally that's the most religious section of the audience too.

Sounds like their audience research needs no falsification at all so

Nodin

Shrap wrote: »

Nuh uh. Leaving them nothing. Not while I do be paying my licence fee, unless the RCC concede a % of the "reflection" time directly proportionate to whatever % of the country are other religions or none, and have either different bongs, no bongs, a Adhan, a Barechu, etc. Cos "balance" is what RTE does best, right? :pac:




*may or may not be generally this petty; it is a full moon*

The country might be improved by a daily six o clock hit from the bong.

Vivisectus

I think that for the sake of balance, every time the Angelus sounds we should have some time for a brief update from Satan. All we need to do is pick some representatives, just like we have picked some for the other side. Perhaps AIB could send someone.

joseph brand

Being in the KKK has its hazards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g_z5Fw8WPI

robindch

joseph brand wrote: »

Being in the KKK has its hazards.

Remind me again - what color is white bread, toasted?

robindch

Australian doctors told not to prescribe homeopathic items as 'they do nothing'

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/03/australian-doctors-told-not-to-prescribe-homeopathic-items-as-they-do-nothing

The Guardian wrote:

The official body for Australian GPs has asked pharmacists to strip their shelves of homeopathic products and warned doctors not to prescribe them because they do nothing. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has formally recommended GPs stop prescribing homeopathic remedies and says pharmacists must also stop stocking such products because there is no evidence they are effective in any way. The RACGP’s position statement on homeopathy, released on Wednesday, follows recent findings by the National Health and Medical Research Council that homeopathy produces no health benefits over and above a placebo.

The RACGP president, Dr Frank Jones, warned people who turned to homeopathic products to address health issues could be putting themselves at risk. Such unproven products might cause them to delay seeking out proper medical care, or lead them to reject conventional medical approaches entirely, he said. He expressed particular concerns about so-called homeopathic vaccines. “These alternatives do not prevent diseases or increase protective antibodies and there is no plausible biological mechanism by which these alternatives could prevent infection,” he said. “Individuals and the community are exposed to preventable diseases when homeopathic vaccines are used as an alternative to conventional immunisation.”

Dr Jones said the lack of evidence about any benefits from homeopathy must prompt doctors and pharmacists to turn their backs on it. “Given this lack of evidence, it does not make sense for homeopathy products to be prescribed by GPs or sold, recommended or supported by pharmacists,” he said.

RACGP noted all taxpayers were funding homeopathy through the federal government’s private health insurance rebate. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia says it’s up to individual pharmacists to decide if they’ll stop selling homeopathic remedies branded useless by doctors. The pharmacy guild says it is not a regulatory authority, and as such there will be no recommendation backing RACGP’s call for homeopathic products to be taken off the market.

But it says its advice to pharmacists is to ensure customers have access to objective, informed advice about complementary medicines. “Pharmacists, as health professionals, have a duty of care to be aware of available clinical evidence that supports the therapeutic and marketing claims made about all products sold in their pharmacies,” the guild said in a statement.

The press release is here and the position statement is here.

robindch

recedite wrote: »

Surprised Kirk was too busy to attend Spock's funeral.

Nichelle Nichols, aka Uhura, is in hospital with a suspected stroke:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/05/nichelle_nicols_uhura_stroke/

Brian Shanahan

robindch wrote: »

Nichelle Nichols, aka Uhura, is in hospital with a suspected stroke:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/06/05/nichelle_nicols_uhura_stroke/

Oh, dear. Hope she pulls through ok. She's a classy actress.

recedite

Lt. Uhura in that mini-skirt.

silverharp

as there isnt a Hazards of disbelief thread.... apparently Atheists die first in disasters according to CNN

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CvQzkFsu7I

robindch

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act was launched earlier this year to suppress LGBT rights. It's now backfired and Indiana is home to the First Church of Cannabis:

http://www.unilad.co.uk/articles/indianas-religious-freedom-law-backfires-first-church-of-cannabis-set-up/

Unilad wrote:

Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act was launched earlier this year and most saw it as a pretty blatant way to suppress LGBT rights. However, the controversial law has now backfired quite spectacularly and helped to advance another alternative lifestyle in the U.S state.

On Tuesday, Indiana legally recognized the First Church of Cannabis, a group claiming to be devoted to harmony, kindness and the green stuff. The new church will hold its first services on July 1, the day the religious-freedom law goes into effect, and apparently church members will even be allowed to light up and smoke during their church services, despite the fact that marijuana is still illegal in the state.

The new RFRA law, you see, reinforces religious freedoms. So, although it means greater protection to private businesses that choose to discriminate against homosexuals due to their religious beliefs, it also protects new satirical religious movements like the First Church of Cannabis. It should be noted that the new church will not be allowed to buy or sell marijuana, but its leader, the self-described Minister of Love and Grand Pooba Bill Levin, says members will be allowed to partake in marijuana use as part of their religious practices.

Speaking to Death and Taxes, Levin said: "If someone is smoking in our church, God bless them. This is a church to show a proper way of life, a loving way to live life. We are called ‘cannataerians.’"

Under the new law, the church has even been granted tax-exempt status by the IRS. So, if you fancy setting up a wacky new religion, Indiana is clearly the place to be. You can even help out the new church on its GoFundMe page, where the minimum donation is $4.20. Obviously.

Thargor

I love those kinds of stories but that one is particularly sweet. Make them give the stamp of approval to satanic worship now aswell.

Turtwig

silverharp wrote: »

apparently Atheists die first in disasters according to CNN

This is a pet peeve of mine. CNN didn't express that opinion any more than boards expressed creationist opinions or RTE expressed Iona's opinion while interviewing them. It's common on social media to see people blaming news channels for expressing opinions that were expressed by their guests. It's so unbelievably disingenuous and annoying.

Hotblack Desiato

silverharp wrote: »

as there isnt a Hazards of disbelief thread.... apparently Atheists die first in disasters according to CNN

Well of course this opinion expressed by a guest on CNN is ballox

I have one live to live. If it's in peril, I'm going to fight that with every fibre of my being and every resource my intellect can bring to bear.

I'm not going to start an oul' pray and think that cashing in my chips might not be so bad after all.

silverharp

Turtwig wrote: »

This is a pet peeve of mine. CNN didn't express that opinion any more than boards expressed creationist opinions or RTE expressed Iona's opinion while interviewing them. It's common on social media to see people blaming news channels for expressing opinions that were expressed by their guests. It's so unbelievably disingenuous and annoying.

in fairness it was kind of obvious it was just a turn of phrase, there are more important things to have pet peeves about, but in saying that they are far to deferential to religious opinion. in this case the woman should have been challenged on the point as it was wrong, she was ripped a new one afterwards and had to retract what she said although she did try to muddy the waters

http://thesciencebit.net/2011/04/04/cnn-atheists/

pauldla

Walking fish are atheists who were punished for their blasphemy.

So says Pat Robertson, anyhow. Time to 'fess up, boys and girls, how many of you are fish? Tell the truth now, more lies won't help!

obplayer

pauldla wrote: »

Walking fish are atheists who were punished for their blasphemy.

So says Pat Robertson, anyhow. Time to 'fess up, boys and girls, how many of you are fish? Tell the truth now, more lies won't help!

A fish is an animal that swims in a brook...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=9CDs067081E#t=87

recedite

Pat Robertson was probably making some tongue-in-cheek reference to the Darwin Fish parody symbol.

The fish shown in the article is not actually a climbing perch at all. Climbing perch use their gills to "walk". The fish in the photo is a much more interesting fish which uses its fin-legs to walk, and has a much more newt like appearance than a perch.

Free thinking scientists way back in 19th century were fascinated by it and travelled to Africa to see the newly discovered Polypterus. And died there. Those were the days of Darwin, Stanley and Livingstone.
The fish was designated as a crossopterygian.... cross-dressing amphibian.
Polypterus (Nile Bachir)

Here's an interesting video of a Canadian researcher rearing Bachirs on land (presumably in very humid conditions)

robindch

robindch wrote: »

Nichelle Nichols, aka Uhura, is in hospital with a suspected stroke:

On her facebook page, Nichols says she'll be heading home soon:

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialNichelleNichols/posts/899431486766365

kylith

pauldla wrote: »

Walking fish are atheists who were punished for their blasphemy.

So says Pat Robertson, anyhow. Time to 'fess up, boys and girls, how many of you are fish? Tell the truth now, more lies won't help!

I fail to see how being a walking fish is a punishment. You're 73% cooler than a regular fish plus less likely to die in a drought.

Getting Naked caused an Earthquake...

The indigenous people of Sabah believe the tourists' behavior on May 30, deemed disrespectful of local culture, angered the spirit of the mountain and was the reason for the earthquake, Bernama reported.

A local magistrate's court said they would be held for four days while the "obscene act" that took place the mountain was investigated.

The suspects could face up to three months in jail or a fine if convicted.

pauldla

^^^

Lets get naked and make the earth shake, baby!

Hotblack Desiato

Ghanaian woman says she fears servitude at pagan shrine

A 50-year-old Ghanaian woman who claims she is at at risk at being forced into servitude at a local pagan shrine if sent home is to have her case seeking protection here referred to the EU Court of Justice.

She claims she will be pledged by family members to be a "Trokosis" whereby she goes into indentured service at a shrine to atone for past deeds of the family. This involves having to maintain the shrine where, it is claimed, victims fall prey to sexual predation at the hands of fetish priests and tribal chiefs.

A refugee application tribunal refused her application for refugee status in 2011 on credibility grounds saying she did not match the profile of those subjected to the Trokosi practice – they are usually female teenagers.

joseph brand

Pat Robertson to Grieving Mother: Baby Could Have Grown Up to Be Hitler (or Stalin or a serial killer).

Pat is really pushing the envelope of obnoxious lunacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh8IIOw-YF8

PopePalpatine

I'd hazard a guess that in Robertson's mind that every aborted foetus would have been a great "patriot"/sportsperson/preacher/musician etc. :rolleyes:

silverharp

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Ghanaian woman says she fears servitude at pagan shrine

it will be a hazard alright if they believe her :pac: