Saturday 23, April, 2011

Here are some scenes from the walk/bicycle path between High Street Road and near the bridge over the Eastlink Toll Road. Evidence of a still active Dairy Farm. You drive up Carthies Lane, turn left into Pumps Road, then park the car. Walk up the walk/bicycle path and follow it over the Eastlink six lane motorway. Turn right and walk up to the piece of art shown below.














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Location:Cathies Ln,Wantirna South,Australia

Doctor Tiller, Whichita and Tax Refusers

After Listening to Rachel Maddow today, at least an earlier episode Monday 11/04/2011 (wich is all confusing sometimes as I live in Australia and our timezone (GMT -11) is always ahead of the US and MSNBC release their episodes some hours after the Monday Night so it is Wednesday or Thursday before I see ot here anything fron iTunes on my iPhone) she interviewed Stephen Singular about his new book about the assassination of Dr. George Tiller inside a Church in Wichita Kansas. The Wichita Divide, is his latest book.

I also recommend the special Rachel Maddow ran on her show (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39826191/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/)
The links with the various anti-abortion groups are so pervassive the FBI is now conducting a full on enquiry as they attended the Criminal trial of Scott Roeder, where they made notes on who was attending in support of Roeder.

This indicates a problem with nomenclature in the USA, where it is plain to all who observe from outside that this is a case of Domestic Terrorism, by Christian Fundamentalist who are on the far Right of this group. The link with the Tax Refusers of the Mid-West which is interesting, because a number of other Terrorist and Abortion Clinic Bombers are in that group.  So the FBI has its work cut out for it.  Good police work always triumphs and the Conservatives need to understand that it applies to all forms of Terrorism.  Making assertions about such things as Weapons of Mass destruction against the evidence and other such claims has done nothing to stop terrorism, it seems to have provided publicity to recruit more people to the cause that results in these Terror Attacks.  Why is Osama bin Laden still a threat after so many lives lost and treasure spent?

Books: Reading List 1

Reading List

Annotations: Reading List: 

 1. Why Orwell Matters, Christopher Hitchens, Chapter 1, Orwell and Empire, p 15 

 2. Hitch-22 A Memoir, Christopher Hitchens, Chapter 9, Martin, p 154 

 3. Signature in the Cell, DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design, Stephen C Meyer, Chapter 4, Signature in the Cell p 85 

 4. Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Survive, Jared Diamond, Chapter 1, Under the Big Montana Sky, Attitudes to Regulation, p 63 

 5. Scepticism, and the Possibility of Knowledge, A C Grayling, Chapter 1, Berkeley's Argument for Immaterialism, p 25 

 6. Mismatch, Why Our World No Longer Fits Our Bodies, Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson, Chapter 4, Things Are Not What they Used to be, p 110 

 7. Relics of Eden, The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA, Daniel J Fairbanks. Chapter 9, When Faith and Reason Clash, p 133 

 8. The Family, Power, Politics and Fundamentalism's Shadow Elite, Jeff Sharlet, Chapter 4 Unit Number One, p87

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Clifford M Dubery 

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The Young Atheists in Melbourne

Actually in Grey St. at the Unitarian Church, East Melbourne. Jason Ball gave us a talk covering his experience as a student with Atheism, Skepticism etc . Covering the establishment of the Secular Society at Melbourne University The Young Australian Skeptics. Jason and I are friends on Facebook and he and I are expecting the CFI to set up here in Melbourne Australia. This would assist us contradicting the woo here in Australia. My friend Debbie Goddard on Facebook referred it to the person at CFI who will do that. Also, I listen to a weekly podcast from that same organization called Point of Enquiry which I download from iTunes. This one has another friend Chris Mooney who interviews another friend Carl Zimmer discussing his new book Brain Cuttings an eBook only, a brave response from Carl. Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Wellington Parade,,Australia

Dr. George Tiller Investigation Expanded

Rachel Maddow on Monday Night US Eastern Time told us that the Justice Department has empaneled a Grand Jury in Wichita Kansas to investigate whether the murderer of Tiller, Scott Roeder, worked alone. Was there a conspiracy to murder Tiller in Kansas, egged on by Fox TV and the likes of Rush Limbaugh on his radio show. The FBI, was an observer of the trial of Roader and must have become interested in the people who attended in the gallery. Supporters of Roeder, consisting of previously convicted bombers and failed assassins along with friends and family. The FBI agents must have observed enough from that crowd to open a Federal Enquiry. The Homeland Security and other agencies were called in to enhance this investigation. Perhaps we will find out more of this un Christian group that proclaims murder is OK and hate is good. Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Rosslyn St,West Melbourne,Australia

News Dissector

I have just listened to Danny Schecter's podcast and radio show called The News Dissector. I am impressed that he was able to have a whole range of international journalists in the studio with him. Discussing anti-militarism and the Empire behavior of the US today and in the past. I recommend this podcast via iTunes for all progressives and those who have doubts about the current unsatisfactory media nonsense from the usual suspects. Did you hear that Rupert Murdoch? Clifford Dubery- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Station St,Malvern,Australia

FFRF and Freedom of Religion

I am pleased to here Dan Barker of the Freedom From Religion Foundation Foundation reiterate a policy that gets lost in the rhetoric sometimes. That is they support freedom of religion as well. The religiously inclined in the US that comment about the activities of the FFRF need to understand that they are defending their rights to associate and speak and the First Amendment that separates Church and State, something the Founding Fathers were wise to include.

Location:Mansion House Ln,West Melbourne,Australia

Update on Cliff

I have just begun a new job and today is the first day of training. Wish me well on this change in my life? :)

Location:Rosslyn St,West Melbourne,Australia

Russel Blackford interview A.C.Grayling

Date: 11 March 2010 10:14:39

Today I attended this interview at the Nova Cinemas in Lygon Street, Carlton at 6:30 tonight. It went for an hour and consisted of each writer giving their testimonies about why they became athiests.

Each had come to it from reason where the beliefs of Christianity were based on Ancient Greek Myths of one kind or the other. Usually from Secondary School to undergraduate studies at Univercity.

Not all of us can claim such priveleges, and some of us concluded to stay in their particular traditions. Grayling explained that the recent stridentism of the New Atheists began as a reaction to 911, that horrible attack on the Twin Towers in New York City in 2001. This was caused by religiously inspired Radical Fundamentalist Muslims.

The response by the US and UK seemed to have been inspired by Fundamentalist Christians seeking a way forward to Armageddon. So irrationalist thinking on both sides moved this New Atheist movement forward with the assistance of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet, Sam Harris and Chriistopher Hitchins.

All six people mentioned are worth reading on the subject and I will list the books as an addendum to this post.

Graylings explanation as to why Atheist is a better descriptive than Agnostisms was interesting as a reply to a question. Agnostisism posits we don't know whether their is a god and Atheism states that the probabilty is so low of the existence of a deity that it is reasonable and logical that there is no god and therefore Atheism is a better descriptor.

In my opinion, I agree with Grayling, then it is up to the believer to bring forward the extraordinary evidence required to establish the extraordinary proof required when all scientific endeavors have contradicted all the thrusts believe.

Clifford M Dubery

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Fwd: Friday Night at the Global Atheist Convention

>

> Today is Friday after the evening opening session of the Global
> Atheist Convention. The speakers were, David Nichols, Stuart Beckman
> and Kylie Sturgess who were the opening and introduction. David
> Nicholls, President, Atheist Foundation of Australia spoke of the
> successful set up and preparation for the Convention and the failed
> attempt to garner State Government assistance unlike The World
> Congress of Churches which recieved 5 million AUD from the State
> Government. I understand the application for the Atheists is still
> circulating in Spring Street!
>
> Stuart Bechman, President, Atheist Alliance International didn't say
> much except for a few jokes.
>
> Kylie Sturgess from Skepticzone podcast and her own podcast which
> escapes my memory now, riding this train home.
>
> more later
>
> Clifford
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Back Pain and WorkCover Insurance

My son James is struggling with a shoulder injury and chronic backpain caused by the work he does for Safeway here in Australia. It seems to me the workers in our modern world are back at the stone age of the early 20th century. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Foot St,Frankston South,Australia

Philosophy and Evolution

I have been reading various authors over the years from Stephen Jay Gould to Richard Dawkins and many others. This is the first serious philosophy book on the subject I have tried. "Be prepared" is what I recommend, philosophy has never been my strong suite so this has been a learning process for this little black duck. Dennet has been at this game for a long time and taken this field with a level of intelligence that makes you think when he criticizes your favorite author (Steven Jay Gould) and clears up a question of difference when no difference exists ( Scientists tend to argue their own hypothesis against their most prominent opponent, also a scientist), thus allowing the Philosopher to sought out the debate, maybe. Of course, Gould is not the only specialist in Evolution to be taken to task, so I still need to add some books to my Library, like E.O. Wilson's Sociobiology

Epigenetics and Evolution

Epigenetics is proving interesting in its pull on the evolutionary tangent of new species by the way it impacts via the environment on local species as their environment changes. Along with mutation in the DNA itself, but such mutation (creationists insist on calling it random mutation) is not the only source for the variations required by Natural Selection.

Thinking about Surprise

Duane Boyce has written an essay of interest of those of us who follow Science and Religion and it is worth reading even if you do not read the book he is writing about. Surprise is what we should expect in this day and age where our understanding of science and history is greater by the work of the many historians and scientist over the past 200 years or so. All this work should not be ignored simply because it does not fit our world view. Indeed we should be expecting changes occurring to our world view just like science has to deal with every time a new discovery occurs. The movement of the continents recently, within my life changed how we all see this world and it to Geologists a certain amount of time to accept it. Now it is common knowledge and no ones challenges it seriously. Yet that was a Surprise for us at the time and took a while to adjust our world view to accept it. Thus our Creationist brethren need to value Surprise when it happens, and not fight a boundary war with science which they can only loose.

Notice today

This is just to advise my readers I will be blogging tomorrow night, but not tonight, too tired and grumpy. Clifford M Dubery

Giant Snake in the Amazon in our Hot and Humid Past

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/science/earth/05snake.html?ref=science

This is asking questions about the future for our nature with Global Warming.  Maybe they will all adapt to the changes in the environment quite satisfactory as long as Man species Homo Sapien Sapien does not interfere and wipe them out all together. Man's hunting has caused the physical size of phyla 's to trend down at the moment so there maybe two forces actiong on th enevironment concerning size.

I saw this on Times Online and thought you might be interested

For God’s sake, have Charles Darwin’s theories made any difference to our lives?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5488488.ece

What absolute nonsense goes for an article in the Times these days.  Straw dog version of Evolutionary Biology  (Darwinism) is shot down by exaggerated religious concerns and the odd reference to show that it no longer holds its place in science.  Nonsense, absolute rubbish.  Interview some real biologists and stay away from philosophers who haven’t kept up with the literature!!!

Adaptation in Humans

Dmitri Petrov, James Cai, Michael Macpherson, Guy Sella are Stanford Geneticists who have looked in on the adaptationist nature of humans trough the lens of the human genome. The news article at Physorg.com under the heading Stanford researchers show adaptation plays a significant role in human evolution. Here we find that they a have approached this by actually looking for the evidence in the genome itself.  Making a prediction, looking for the evidence, confirming or not, then publishing. What happens next with this I don't know, but we know it doesn't prove Lamarckism because it starts of early explaining that the random mutations are what the adaptations are made from.  The point is more about the preservation of advantageous adaptations and discarding those that are disadvantageous.

Beipaiosaurus was covered in the simplest known feathers

Beipaiosaurus was covered in the simplest known feathers

In Ed Yong’s blog above, these peculiar creatures are explained and further explanations on the origins of Feathers in Birds is covered. It seems that the more we dig, the more Homo Sapien Sapien keeps finding his origins and the origins of all the creatures that exist today, which is becoming more urgent as they too are becoming extinct rapidly.

More links on the feathers and dinosaurs are:

• Evidence that Velociraptor had feathers
• Microraptor - the dinosaur that flew like a biplane
• Argentavis, the largest flying bird, was a master glider

It seems that these variations have been going on for literally Millions of years.

Committee adopts new administrative handbook

It appears the controversy over Louisiana's changes to the Education curriculum has meant nothing to the Science Teachers.  The Discovery institutes bluster and smoke and mirrors has failed.  Maybe they will have to be more explicit in future so our recalcitrant science teachers understand that Evolution is evil and all text books that mention such a thing should be burned!  Burned I say!

 

Clifford M Dubery

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Committee adopts new administrative handbook

 

Posted: Jan 14, 2009 08:44 AM

 

Updated: Jan 14, 2009 09:06 AM

 

By Caroline Moses

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -A state education committee adopted a new administrative handbook Tuesday, as part of the recently passed Louisiana science education act. The handbook does not specifically ban teaching creationism or intelligent design. Supporters say it doesn't need to because teaching religion in public schools is already banned. But that's why opponents say this entire debate is a costly distraction from the real issues facing state public schools.

 

"It's up to BESE to implement this in our policy," said Dale Bayard who is chairman of the state education board.  Senator Ben Nevers of Bogalusa passed a law last session called the "Louisiana science education act." It gives state education committees the authority to decide what can be taught in state schools. But the committee was a little vague about what's allowed. "It's up to us to provide students with every possible element of new discovery and that's the intent of the act," said Bayard.

 

Gene Mills with Louisiana Family Forum asked Senator Nevers to sponsor the original legislation. He says the intent is to promote "critical thinking" in classrooms, especially science classes. "Where teachers can approach students to inquire about controversial science subject matter," said Mills. But Louisiana Federation of Teachers president Steve Monaghan says not a single teacher in his organization has complained about current science materials. "The time spent on this issue may be in total excess of what the problem was because we don't believe there was a problem in the science classroom anyway," said Monaghan.

 

Even the committee chair Dale Bayard who is in favor of the legislation agreed. Lesson plans may not change much. But he says their hours of debate do help further the discussion. "We don't discourage any discussion that's important," said Bayard.  "I believe what this has done is create a stage for what unfortunately seems to be an embedded political movement. We're going to find ourselves getting tied into knots over issues people are invested in by faith, emotion, and miss the big picture," said Monaghan.

 

Monaghan predicts there will likely be future legal battles over the new law and handbook. Bayard says he is not worried about possible litigation. Thursday, BESE will review the committee adoption. State school board and committee member Dale Bayard expects they will ratify the committee's decision. For more information on this discussion.. Go to Caroline's 9News extra on the home page.