As you may or may not be aware, Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort published an edition of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species with a fifty-page creationist introduction, including such gems as

“Adolf Hitler took Darwin’s evolutionary philosophy to its logical conclusions.”
“…Darwin was a racist.”
“Darwin believed that women were not as competent as men, and less intelligent than men, but they were better than a dog.”
“The legacy of Darwin’s theory can be seen in the rise of eugenics, euthanasia, infanticide, and abortion.”
“DNA… presents a formidable challenge to Darwinian evolution.”

H/T The Don’t Diss Darwin Institute.

As you may or may not be aware, the Gideons International place copies of the Bible or the New Testament in hotel rooms across the world – close on one and one-half billion since their foundation in the early twentieth century. I have to mention, as it’s International Women’s Day, that the Gideons always refer to their members being “businessmen and their wives” or similar.

How about we take a leaf out of Cameron and Comfort’s book (well – not quite; we’d be honest) and come up with a simple, short atheist introduction to the Bible that travelling atheists can print out and put inside any Bibles or other holy texts that they find in their hotel rooms?

Any takers?

xD.

I do not doubt the Armenian Genocide for a moment; however, as I argued a couple of years ago, both it and the Shoah are sui generis; there is nothing to be gained in giving its nomenclature an official imprimatur and much to be lost. Firstly, I think the precedent of governments sanctioning official histories is worrying; secondly, given that the US is a functioning and liberal democracy, it is unlikely to change the nature of the academic debate; thirdly, it stokes tensions between Turkey, Armenia and their diasporas, negatively affecting a strategically sensitive part of the world; fourthly, it worsens relations between Turkey and the US; fifthly, it smacks of special interest lobbying; sixthly, it achieves nothing good.

I can understand why the situation might be different for current or recent atrocities, where the denunciation of a crime as a genocide might spur the action, say, of something like ICT-Y or ICT-R, but I do not see the advantage at all in raking over history. We have quite enough of the nightmarish weight of history fouling the relations between states. If this resolution passes, would it not be logical to expect similar condemnations of the Holodomor, or the killing of Native Americans, or every other entry in the long catalogue of human brutality.

House Resolution 252 (of the 111th Congress) has been passed 23-22 by the Foreign Affairs Committee. Introduced by Rep Schiff, a Democrat from California, its title is “Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution”. It has soured relations between the US and Turkey and has led to the Turkish ambassador to the US being recalled for consultations.

Just over two years ago, I wrote about House Resolution 106 (of the 110th Congress), titled “Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution“.

Similar resolutions were introduced in the 106th and 109th Congresses, both by Rep. George Radanovich, a GOPer from California’s 19th district.

It was introduced by the same Rep. Schiff. The resolution was passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee 27-21 to the House, where no action was taken. It did have some effects, though; as my interlocutor Ewan Watt pointed out, it soured relations between Turkey and the US, leading to the Turkish ambassador to the US being recalled for ‘a week or ten days of consultations’.

I reiterate the points made at the time made by myself and an interlocutor, Ewan Watt, at the time: this resolution is the result of special interest lobbying, damaging to relations between the US and Turkey and, most of all, I do not feel that is the role of the government to be an official arbiter of history.

The texts of the two resolutions are identical. The first resolution was not debated on the floor of the House, as I understand it, because of pressure from George W. Bush. I can only presume that the reintroduction of HR.106 is with the intention of having it debate and passed on the floor of the House. Rep. Schiff believes he has as many as eighty thousand constituents of Armenian descent in his district. Why so many other representatives support the resolution, I don’t know, but I wonder if the primacy in the White House’s mind of the healthcare debate means it will be unwilling to spend political capital on stopping this motion.

I see this resolution as unnecessary and irresponsible; I hope it does not reach the floor of the House.

xD.

Jonathan Ross for a year – £5.6m
Anne Robinson for a year – £3m
Graham Norton for a year – £2.5m
Jeremy Clarkson for a year – £1.8m
BBC’s talent bill for a year – £229m

BBC Asian Network for a year – £12.1m
BBC 6 Music for a year – £9m

Finding new talent, serving non-mainstream interests and closing a gateway into mainstream British culture – priceless.

Some things in life money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Mark Thompson.

Figures taken from a fantastic graphic in today’s Guardian illustrating just how dopey scrapping 6 Music and Asian Network is.

xD.

EDM 908

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE REPORT ON HOMEOPATHY

That this House expresses concern at the conclusions of the Science and Technology Committee’s Report, Evidence Check on Homeopathy; notes that the Committee took only oral evidence from a limited number of witnesses, including known critics of homeopathy Tracy Brown, the Managing Director of Sense About Science, and journalist Dr Ben Goldacre, who have no expertise in the subject; believes that evidence should have been heard from primary care trusts that commission homeopathy, doctors who use it in a primary care setting, and other relevant organisations, such as the Society of Homeopaths, to provide balance; observes that the Committee did not consider evidence from abroad from countries such as France and Germany, where provision of homeopathy is far more widespread than in the UK, or from India, where it is part of the health service; regrets that the Committee ignored the 74 randomised controlled trials comparing homeopathy with placebo, of which 63 showed homeopathic treatments were effective, and that the Committee recommends no further research; further notes that 206 hon. Members signed Early Day Motion No. 1240 in support of NHS homeopathic hospitals in Session 2006-07; and calls on the Government to maintain its policy of allowing decision-making on individual clinical interventions, including homeopathy, to remain in the hands of local NHS service providers and practitioners who are best placed to know their community’s needs.

Tredinnick, David
Simpson, Alan
Russell, Bob
Pound, Stephen
Dismore, Andrew
Simpson, David
McDonnell, John
Campbell, Gregory
Cohen, Harry
Corbyn, Jeremy
Drew, David
Gray, James
Hancock, Mike

Or possibly three. Or four. Anyway, some excellent write-ups of the encounter between Simon Singh (huzzah!) and the BCA (boo!) today at the Royal Courts of Justice are available from Jack of Kent, Crispian Jago and Padraig Reidy at Index on Censorship, and I very definitely commend them to the house.

I want to quote something quoted by Jack from Simon’s defence QC:

“Scientific controversies must be settled by the methods of science rather than by the methods of litigation…More papers, more discussion, better data, and more satisfactory models-not larger awards of damages-mark the path toward superior understanding of the world around us.”

Underwager v Salter, 22 F.3d 730

A slightly shorter version is Professor Frizzelle’s Instant Classic:

Let’s hear your evidence not your legal muscle

Quite.

xD.

Quite.

The bat-shit craziness of some people never fails to amuse me. A correspondent has sent me a list of the ten planks of the Communist manifesto, and how they have been implemented in the USA, at libertyzone.com.

They are, with my comments underneath each one:

1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.
Americans do these with actions such as the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (1868), and various zoning, school & property taxes. Also the Bureau of Land Management (Zoning laws are the first step to government property ownership)

This seems to be a failure in the perception of reality. The doctrine of eminent domain does exist in the US, but it is not being used to take control of all the land of the US in the hands of the government. Nor has private property been abolished – tax is not abolition – and while there are land taxes, they are not the same as all rents of land (all the profit it produces, as I understand it) going to the government.

I’m not sure what the Fourteenth Amendment has to do with this, as it deals with electoral apportionment and debts during Reconstruction.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
Americans know this as misapplication of the 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 1913, The Social Security Act of 1936.; Joint House Resolution 192 of 1933; and various State “income” taxes. We call it “paying your fair share”.

There are six brackets for US income tax, so you could describe it as graduated. Given that the highest of these kicks in at US$373,000, it can’t really be called progressive. Given that the highest rate is 35%, it can’t really be called heavy.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
Americans call it Federal & State estate Tax (1916); or reformed Probate Laws, and limited inheritance via arbitrary inheritance tax statutes.

There seems to be an ongoing confusion between the potential for something to happen and something actually happening. As people do actually inherit things in the US at the moment, this falls.

4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
Americans call it government seizures, tax liens, Public “law” 99-570 (1986); Executive order 11490, sections 1205, 2002 which gives private land to the Department of Urban Development; the imprisonment of “terrorists” and those who speak out or write against the “government” (1997 Crime/Terrorist Bill); or the IRS confiscation of property without due process. Asset forfeiture laws are used by DEA, IRS, ATF etc…).

This would have been to stop capital flight, which is not what it is used for today. I am prepared to accept that there are problems in existing legislation, but insisting on paying tax is not the same as confiscation as property, IMHO.

5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
Americans call it the Federal Reserve which is a privately-owned credit/debt system allowed by the Federal Reserve act of 1913. All local banks are members of the Fed system, and are regulated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) another privately-owned corporation. The Federal Reserve Banks issue Fiat Paper Money and practice economically destructive fractional reserve banking.

Given that there is no exclusive monopoly on credit or a national bank or centralised credit, this fails. That doesn’t mean there aren’t problems with the Fed; just that it’s not Narodny Bank.

6. Centralization of the means of communications and transportation in the hands of the State.
Americans call it the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Transportation (DOT) mandated through the ICC act of 1887, the Commissions Act of 1934, The Interstate Commerce Commission established in 1938, The Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, and Executive orders 11490, 10999, as well as State mandated driver’s licenses and Department of Transportation regulations.

No, that’s regulation, not the means of communications or transportation. Regulation isn’t the same as ownership.

7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
Americans call it corporate capacity, The Desert Entry Act and The Department of Agriculture… Thus read “controlled or subsidized” rather than “owned”… This is easily seen in these as well as the Department of Commerce and Labor, Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Mines, National Park Service, and the IRS control of business through corporate regulations.

As the original comment says, controlled or subsidised, which are different from ownership; there are not large, state-owned industries in the USA.

8. Equal liability of all to labor. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
Americans call it Minimum Wage and slave labor like dealing with our Most Favored Nation trade partner; i.e. Communist China. We see it in practice via the Social Security Administration and The Department of Labor. The National debt and inflation caused by the communal bank has caused the need for a two “income” family. Woman in the workplace since the 1920’s, the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, assorted Socialist Unions, affirmative action, the Federal Public Works Program and of course Executive order 11000.

Equal liability of labor would be everyone having to work, not everyone who works having certain legal guarantees.

9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries, gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of population over the country.
Americans call it the Planning Reorganization act of 1949 , zoning (Title 17 1910-1990) and Super Corporate Farms, as well as Executive orders 11647, 11731 (ten regions) and Public “law” 89-136. These provide for forced relocations and forced sterilization programs, like in China.

Just doesn’t resemble the USA of today where there is, I’d venture, a major distinction between the great cities and small town America.

10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
Americans are being taxed to support what we call ‘public’ schools, but are actually “government force-tax-funded schools ” Even private schools are government regulated. The purpose is to train the young to work for the communal debt system. We also call it the Department of Education, the NEA and Outcome Based “Education” . These are used so that all children can be indoctrinated and inculcated with the government propaganda, like “majority rules”, and “pay your fair share”. WHERE are the words “fair share” in the Constitution, Bill of Rights or the Internal Revenue Code (Title 26)?? NO WHERE is “fair share” even suggested !! The philosophical concept of “fair share” comes from the Communist maxim, “From each according to their ability, to each according to their need! This concept is pure socialism. … America was made the greatest society by its private initiative WORK ETHIC … Teaching ourselves and others how to “fish” to be self sufficient and produce plenty of EXTRA commodities to if so desired could be shared with others who might be “needy”… Americans have always voluntarily been the MOST generous and charitable society on the planet.

Well if free education and the abolition of child labour is communist, sign me up. The third I would say has happened to some extent with the rise of vocational training, but this doesn’t count as socialistic when the industries remain in private hands.

A lot of this is based on the notion that any taxation is theft; as this seems to be the sine qua non of communism, this would make the vast majority of the world communist. Saudi Arabia, which doesn’t tax its citizens, wouldn’t be. I submit that this viewpoint is of minimal use.

xD.

Including:

London for Secular Europe Protest (1:02) by James O’Malley (ft Peter Tatchell & EHF President David Pollock)
Secularist of the Year (7:25) by Craig Lucas
Camp Quest (16:55) by Crispian Jago
Prince Charles & Royal Privilege (21:48) by Dave Cole
Save The Rhinos for Douglas Adams (27:17) by Jon Treadway

More at the Pod Delusion.

xD.

I am no expert on Niger – far from it – but given that the leader of the coup in this poor, isolated country is nigh-on unknown, I feel justified in making some comment.

The facts, such as are available, are at the BBC News website. The article mentions the extraction of uranium at the Arlit and Akouta mines by Areva and CNPC’s exploration of the Agadem, Tenere and Bilma blocks for oil.

What it doesn’t mention is that China, through SinoU, is also prospecting for uranium in Niger.

As part of the contract for the Agadem Block, CNPC will build a refinery that, fully operational, will have an capacity of twenty thousand barrels per day. The entire consumption of Niger for 2008 was seven thousand barrels per day. Clearly, this is advantageous to an energy-hungry China, but the advantage goes beyond immediate energy concerns. You can call it neo-colonialism or not, but China is playing a good game in building up its position in Africa.

My initial thought was that pressure should be put on Areva to suspend its investment in Niger pending the restoration of democracy; my second thought was that this would allow China to gain resources, both in oil and uranium, and influence. That series of thoughts seems a little cold war-esque.

xD.