Bleeding from the Bunghole

[free thoughtpolice]

Take this you testosterone poisoned rape happy war loving misogynists! Crip Dyke didn't have the spoons to post this gem on PZ's Veterans Day post so she left it on Thunderdome:

Y’all may not hear anything particularly heterosexist or trans* oppressive. Maybe you think that whatever racism or ableism is in those statements is incidental to their nationalism and jingoism. Maybe you think that the sexism is “merely” a cult of masculinity whose chivalry code ameliorates some of the anti-woman content.

I’m not saying you do believe one or all of these things. I’m just saying that statistically, you might.

But when others say war is necessary to defend our values, our freedom, our way of life, I hear, “Bash the fags,” “Kill the kike,” “She was asking for it.” I hear that when someone wants “value” one thing over another, that such valuing can be done through the barrel of a gun, at the point of a knife. There is no bright line between Nagasaki, Tokyo, Dresden, the Blitz, Somne, Antietam, Thermopylae, Iwo Jima, Tripoli, Wounded Knee, Pamunkey, Cottonwood, or the Whitman Massacre and 14 people following me home en masse, surrounding, choking me, harassing me. There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme. There’s no bright line between those and the Stabbing of Joanna McNamara or the murder of Gwen Arujo. There’s no bright line walling off the rape of uncountable black women or the machete killing of hundreds of thousands and the beating of women who came to my shelter.

[Tony Parsehole]

http://weknowmemes.com/generator/upload ... 540212.jpg

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Trigger Warning: Channeling Wonderist

It's simplistic for Peezus to say WWII was an "inevitable" consequence of the harshness of the Versailles treaty. Yes, it was exceedingly harsh and unfair, especially considering the armistice had been extended under the pretext of Wilson's reconciliatory Fourteen Points. France's insistence on timely payments of the excessive reparations, especially in 1923 when a recession swept Europe, led directly to the insane inflation of Weimar Germany. But Rathenau's brilliant policies had largely stabilized that, until the '29 stock market crash (not France or Britain's fault) tipped over the cart again.

Were France and Britain 'stupid' for pursuing this punic peace? France's policy for centuries had been to keep Germany weak, to lend itself a free hand for its aggression and dominance of Europe. Britain, traditionally friendly with the North German states, was acting against its own interests, especially after Germany's tiny colonial empire had been divvied up.

Keeping a major power like Germany a prostrated pariah was simply neither practical, nor conducive to good international relations, and sentiment steadily grew against the Versailles treaty. The concessions belatedly made at Munich in 1938 were appropriate, but unfortunately given to the wrong man. The "Lesson of Munich" should not be: 'never appease'; rather: 'there's no appeasing some people.'

In the late 20's and early 30's, the German general staff did lay out plans for a limited war to begin c. 1942 to regain ceded territory and restore strategic balance. But had the issue of the German population stuck in Poland been addressed diplomatically, war could have been easily avoided.

As to the proximate cause of WWII: Poland was mistreating German ethnics, and refused to even consider a diplomatic solution. (Following WWI, Poland had been bloated by annexations of non-Polish peoples in all four compass directions, so they considered any discussions of restoration a slippery slope.)

France and Britain had guaranteed the integrity of Poland's borders with a defensive military treaty. Perhaps one could deem it 'smart' to curb one expansionist dictatorship (Nazi Germany) by propping up another (Poland.) But it was surely stupid to make such a commitment if they were not prepared, either politically or militarily, to follow through. (Remember that Britain and France had just failed completely to make good on their promised support for the democratically elected government in Spain.) Also, given that Britain and France did not declare war on the USSR for its invasion of Poland 15 days later, one has to question both the soundness, and the real motivation, behind their declaration of war on Germany.

A few final (aspie) notes: France declared war on Germany (albeit in response to Germany's unprovoked attack on Poland.) France invaded German territory first (albeit a feeble probe of a few km) In 1940, the legitimate government of France signed a peace treaty to end the war it started. 'La Resistance' was thus a violation of the Geneva Convention, its members unlawful combatants (aka, terrorists.)

[Angry_Drunk]

Take this you testosterone poisoned rape happy war loving misogynists! Crip Dyke didn't have the spoons to post this gem on PZ's Veterans Day post so she left it on Thunderdome:

Y’all may not hear anything particularly heterosexist or trans* oppressive. Maybe you think that whatever racism or ableism is in those statements is incidental to their nationalism and jingoism. Maybe you think that the sexism is “merely” a cult of masculinity whose chivalry code ameliorates some of the anti-woman content.

I’m not saying you do believe one or all of these things. I’m just saying that statistically, you might.

But when others say war is necessary to defend our values, our freedom, our way of life, I hear, “Bash the fags,” “Kill the kike,” “She was asking for it.” I hear that when someone wants “value” one thing over another, that such valuing can be done through the barrel of a gun, at the point of a knife. There is no bright line between Nagasaki, Tokyo, Dresden, the Blitz, Somne, Antietam, Thermopylae, Iwo Jima, Tripoli, Wounded Knee, Pamunkey, Cottonwood, or the Whitman Massacre and 14 people following me home en masse, surrounding, choking me, harassing me. There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme. There’s no bright line between those and the Stabbing of Joanna McNamara or the murder of Gwen Arujo. There’s no bright line walling off the rape of uncountable black women or the machete killing of hundreds of thousands and the beating of women who came to my shelter.

Takes a lot of balls to make the sum total of human conflict bout your own sorry ass.

[Tony Parsehole]

Take this you testosterone poisoned rape happy war loving misogynists! Crip Dyke didn't have the spoons to post this gem on PZ's Veterans Day post so she left it on Thunderdome:

Y’all may not hear anything particularly heterosexist or trans* oppressive. Maybe you think that whatever racism or ableism is in those statements is incidental to their nationalism and jingoism. Maybe you think that the sexism is “merely” a cult of masculinity whose chivalry code ameliorates some of the anti-woman content.

I’m not saying you do believe one or all of these things. I’m just saying that statistically, you might.

But when others say war is necessary to defend our values, our freedom, our way of life, I hear, “Bash the fags,” “Kill the kike,” “She was asking for it.” I hear that when someone wants “value” one thing over another, that such valuing can be done through the barrel of a gun, at the point of a knife. There is no bright line between Nagasaki, Tokyo, Dresden, the Blitz, Somne, Antietam, Thermopylae, Iwo Jima, Tripoli, Wounded Knee, Pamunkey, Cottonwood, or the Whitman Massacre and 14 people following me home en masse, surrounding, choking me, harassing me. There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme. There’s no bright line between those and the Stabbing of Joanna McNamara or the murder of Gwen Arujo. There’s no bright line walling off the rape of uncountable black women or the machete killing of hundreds of thousands and the beating of women who came to my shelter.

Takes a lot of balls to make the sum total of human conflict bout your own sorry ass.

Takes a lot of balls to call yourself Crip Dyke then accuse others of being fag-bashing apologists.

[Barael]

Take this you testosterone poisoned rape happy war loving misogynists! Crip Dyke didn't have the spoons to post this gem on PZ's Veterans Day post so she left it on Thunderdome:

Y’all may not hear anything particularly heterosexist or trans* oppressive. Maybe you think that whatever racism or ableism is in those statements is incidental to their nationalism and jingoism. Maybe you think that the sexism is “merely” a cult of masculinity whose chivalry code ameliorates some of the anti-woman content.

I’m not saying you do believe one or all of these things. I’m just saying that statistically, you might.

But when others say war is necessary to defend our values, our freedom, our way of life, I hear, “Bash the fags,” “Kill the kike,” “She was asking for it.” I hear that when someone wants “value” one thing over another, that such valuing can be done through the barrel of a gun, at the point of a knife. There is no bright line between Nagasaki, Tokyo, Dresden, the Blitz, Somne, Antietam, Thermopylae, Iwo Jima, Tripoli, Wounded Knee, Pamunkey, Cottonwood, or the Whitman Massacre and 14 people following me home en masse, surrounding, choking me, harassing me. There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme. There’s no bright line between those and the Stabbing of Joanna McNamara or the murder of Gwen Arujo. There’s no bright line walling off the rape of uncountable black women or the machete killing of hundreds of thousands and the beating of women who came to my shelter.

Takes a lot of balls to make the sum total of human conflict bout your own sorry ass.

http://memedepot.com/uploads/1000/1148_ ... 725640.jpg

[Sulman]

Take this you testosterone poisoned rape happy war loving misogynists! Crip Dyke didn't have the spoons to post this gem on PZ's Veterans Day post so she left it on Thunderdome:

Y’all may not hear anything particularly heterosexist or trans* oppressive. Maybe you think that whatever racism or ableism is in those statements is incidental to their nationalism and jingoism. Maybe you think that the sexism is “merely” a cult of masculinity whose chivalry code ameliorates some of the anti-woman content.

I’m not saying you do believe one or all of these things. I’m just saying that statistically, you might.

But when others say war is necessary to defend our values, our freedom, our way of life, I hear, “Bash the fags,” “Kill the kike,” “She was asking for it.” I hear that when someone wants “value” one thing over another, that such valuing can be done through the barrel of a gun, at the point of a knife. There is no bright line between Nagasaki, Tokyo, Dresden, the Blitz, Somne, Antietam, Thermopylae, Iwo Jima, Tripoli, Wounded Knee, Pamunkey, Cottonwood, or the Whitman Massacre and 14 people following me home en masse, surrounding, choking me, harassing me. There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme. There’s no bright line between those and the Stabbing of Joanna McNamara or the murder of Gwen Arujo. There’s no bright line walling off the rape of uncountable black women or the machete killing of hundreds of thousands and the beating of women who came to my shelter.

Takes a lot of balls to make the sum total of human conflict bout your own sorry ass.

Gendering oppressor!

[feralandproud]

Takes a lot of balls to make the sum total of human conflict bout your own sorry ass.

Takes a lot of balls to call yourself Crip Dyke then accuse others of being fag-bashing apologists.

No, see, she's takin' it back! Obviously this is either a handicapable lesbian or an inner-city blue clad gangbanger lesbian. Either way, you're forgetting what seems to be the golden rule: IT'S OK WHEN THEY DO IT!

[CB_CB]

Whew, Pitters are prolific. I've tried my hardest to keep up with the reading, but it's proving impossible.

Anyway, I hope it isn't too late for this comment, but I hadn't known before I read it here (pages and pages ago) that Ophelia was the inspiration for the Barmaid in the "Jesus and Mo" comic, and that she's pretty proud of it.

But then I got a little confused. Is she still considered the inspiration for the Barmaid, because it seems more like she's on Team Moses in this one:

http://www.jesusandmo.net/2011/07/27/girls/

I don't know, maybe I'm reading the comic wrong.

[free thoughtpolice]

Whew, Pitters are prolific. I've tried my hardest to keep up with the reading, but it's proving impossible.

Anyway, I hope it isn't too late for this comment, but I hadn't known before I read it here (pages and pages ago) that Ophelia was the inspiration for the Barmaid in the "Jesus and Mo" comic, and that she's pretty proud of it.

But then I got a little confused. Is she still considered the inspiration for the Barmaid, because it seems more like she's on Team Moses in this one:

http://www.jesusandmo.net/2011/07/27/girls/

I don't know, maybe I'm reading the comic wrong.

In the comments she says, among other things:

Ophelia Benson says:
July 27, 2011 at 6:26 pm

There’s a rumor that I’m the barmaid, but it must be false, because I wouldn’t say what she said; not after the past couple of weeks. Some of the males in the “atheist community” have in fact revealed a depth of contempt for women that causes me to go cold with despair, and some others have given tacit support to that contempt by saying nothing about it while heaping odium on the “side” that resists it.

In particular, after a week of seeing women called twats and cunts and fucking bitches by one sector of the “atheist community,” I couldn’t possibly say “not particularly, no.”

http://scienceblogs.com/erv/2011/07/daw ... _vegas.php

[CB_CB]

Ah, so not only did I misunderstand what I read about it here in the Pit, I missed the comments below the comic. Double fail. Sorry. Carry on.

[JAB]

Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... /#comments


His displeasure with the press release seems to be based in the idea that it might provide unwittingly giving succour to creationists.

Nobody has been a bigger gift to creationists in the last couple years than PZ and his war on fellow atheists.

[Phil_Giordana_FCD]

Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... /#comments


His displeasure with the press release seems to be based in the idea that it might provide unwittingly giving succour to creationists.

Nobody has been a bigger gift to creationists in the last couple years than PZ and his war on fellow atheists.

My thoughts, exactly.

[free thoughtpolice]

Ah, so not only did I misunderstand what I read about it here in the Pit, I missed the comments below the comic. Double fail. Sorry. Carry on.

She did maintain proudly at one time that she was shudder the inspiration for the bartender.
Although she and The Author are AFAIK still on friendly terms, I don't know that she has mentioned that she was the barmaid since that post.

[Badger3k]

https://twitter.com/The_Block_Bot/statu ... 4972610560

I notice that the blockbot is proving once again that we were wrong to think it couldn't get any sillier.

They have just added Lady Gaga to level 2 - the same level that membership of the slymepit gets you.

Apparently, however, Lady Gaga is not a pitter. The real reason is mindbogglingly inane (I'd add a trigger warning for mind bogglingly inane behavior - but I've already mentioned the blockbot so you've been prewarned.)

Apparently she's been added due to her pro-gay song, "Born this way".
Even though it sends out a positive and empowering message about non discrimination of gay people because their sexuality is something they are born with, it also seems to annoy certain trans people (who see gender and sexuality as a choice.)
So onto the blockbot list she goes.
Bad Lady Gaga!

:doh:

I thought that, if Lady Gaga would offend the SJW crowd, it would be for ther video of "Alejandro" (which shows, among other things, a bunch of gay soldiers in Moe Howard bowlcuts gang-raping Lady Gaga herself). It was her biggest hit ever, did people forget about that already?

Yes

[bhoytony]

There’s no bright line between those and being “rouged up” in a men’s shower room for being too femme.

I suppose that could make you look a bit femme.

[Badger3k]

SMFH, for the second time in less than a week Avi's whole post is built around a 'pit post. How can they hate this place so much when it's the only thing keeping them even slightly relevant?

The posts are about comments on different topics written by two different pitters.
Are we supposed to think that they, or someone else who reads this site, sends them off verbatim to Avicenna, as their own thoughts?
In both cases he says he learned about them as emails sent to him, but didn't imply that it was someone reporting stuff from the pit (there's nothing particularly controversial in either comment - just questions raised that might suit a blog post.)

OR, do we go with the assumption that Avicenna, like the rest of the drama addicts on FTB, regularly trawl the pit for things to be outraged by. :think:

Well he is (or maybe was) into self-abuse, so I'd say yes.

[Badger3k]

I see skepticon6 is doing it's best to maintain its reputation for really high quality talks.

10:00 am • How to Swear Secularly with Monette Richards Room B

Monette Richards from Secular Women?
I presume then, we'll hear a nice talk on how one should always avoid gendered insults.
Gendered insults are bad and have no place in civilized discussions!

It's an important lesson, and one that I'm sure the organizers of Skepticon6 really take to heart.

By the way, what's the next talk, at 11.00?

11:00 am • How to Tell Your Friends Jesus was a Dick with Ben Schuldt Room A

:doh:

Dude, you missed some real prizes:

Secular Save Zone Ally Training with Andy Cheadle-Ford
How to Manage Grief with Rebecca Hensler
Handling Public Criticism - Stephanie Zvan
What is your SocioSexual Orientation (SSO) with Darrel Ray
How to Talk/Write about Skepticism for a non-Skeptical Audience with Amanda Marcotte
How to Read Music Critically (Plus Ukelele) with Ashley F. Miller
Getting it On at the Con: How to Get Lucky Consensually with Miri Mogilevsky. (what, right there in the session?)

Godless Perverts hosted by Greta Christina
Rebecca Watson (that's it. no session title, nothing. Just becky.)

Bar Night. (yes, because that's what we need more of - SANCTIONED BOOZING)

Richard Carrier: Is Philosophy Stupid?

Greta Christina: Activist Burnout -- prevention and treatment (wait, one of them did something?)

Bar Night on the Town in Springfield (WHAT A GREAT IDEA)

Rebecca Hensler: Creating and Defending Secular Space
John Corvino: Gay Sex in a Disenchanted Universe
JT Eberhard (Like Becky, JT needs no description. Just being in the room with him is enough.)

Okay so really? Multiple sanction boozefests, a session on how to get laid at a con, one centering on perverts, one on gay sex...

These people haven't jumped the shark, they're face-fucking the poor thing.

Marcotte writing about Skepticism? WTF? When has she ever done anything related to Skepticism? Until she started partying with the rad-fems of FTB, she was (as far as I can tell) completely unrelated to any skeptic or atheist groups or functions. She's a perfect example that on the conference circuit, it does seem to be Who You Know rather than What You Know.

[Badger3k]

http://i.imgur.com/DZgbqxr.png

Actually, not. There are very few like that. Most just want to do their job, make their money, and not get killed in a pointless, avoidable mistake while being lead by idiots or politicians.

it's more the "fans" of vets that get pissed off. I mean, some vets are arrogant, insecure assholes. In that respect, they're just like PZ.

But speaking for myself, I don't need 2345345234 people telling me thank you 3 times a year. Fuck, it's not like I ever left the country or went near combat. I mean, I LIKE the idea of at least one day a year where people who weren't in stop and think of vets, regardless of causus belli, or feelings about war and combat. If you want to bitch about that, go yell at your elected officials. Politicians start wars, Politicians end wars. Vets just fight in them.


But you really want to thank a vet? Make future vets unnecessary, and take better care of the current ones.

Well put, and worth repeating.

[windy]

As to the proximate cause of WWII: Poland was mistreating German ethnics, and refused to even consider a diplomatic solution. (Following WWI, Poland had been bloated by annexations of non-Polish peoples in all four compass directions, so they considered any discussions of restoration a slippery slope.)

Wasn't that mistreatment somewhat exaggerated, though? And "diplomatic solution" code for "the territorial concessions we want"? Germany's then-buddies to the east were fond of this trick, as well.

[free thoughtpolice]

Pretty much all of Eurasia is responsible for driving the tolerant, peaceful Genghis Khan into mass murder, raping, and pillaging by cruelly ignoring him.
FTB might want to rethink their refusal to acknowledge the cool videos that whatshisname has been making about them. You never know what it might make him do. :drool:

[Sulman]

As to the proximate cause of WWII: Poland was mistreating German ethnics, and refused to even consider a diplomatic solution. (Following WWI, Poland had been bloated by annexations of non-Polish peoples in all four compass directions, so they considered any discussions of restoration a slippery slope.)

Wasn't that mistreatment somewhat exaggerated, though? And "diplomatic solution" code for "the territorial concessions we want"? Germany's then-buddies to the east were fond of this trick, as well.

Quite, and as any Pole will tell your their history has been entirely about being in the wrong place.

[AndrewV69]

Takes a lot of balls to call yourself Crip Dyke then accuse others of being fag-bashing apologists.

Crip Dyke sounds like a victim, not like Snoop who was my fave black lesbian enforcer muscle killer from The Wire and who I suspect would not think much of someone calling themselves "Crip Dyke".

I really liked that girl for how she did her job. No fuss. No drama.
[youtube]n4BRpbN5oKE[/youtube]


This was one chill girl right down to the end:

Snoop: "How my hair look, Mike?"
Michael: "You look good, girl"

[youtube]sHT-VOLVFzQ[/youtube]

BTW: In Real life Snoop is Felicia Pearson.

She is best known for playing a character of the same name, Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, on The Wire. She wrote a memoir titled Grace After Midnight detailing her troubled childhood and time spent in prison for second-degree murder.
...
Pearson was born to two incarcerated drug addicts and raised in an East Baltimore foster home. Born a premature crack baby and weighing only three pounds, she was not expected to live.[1] She was so small she was fed with an eyedropper until she could be fed normally.[1] According to her memoir, Grace After Midnight, she met her biological parents very few times; her mother was a crack addict and her father a stick-up man. She thus decided to go by her foster family's surname.

[DeepInsideYourMind]

[quote="AndrewV69"]
BTW: In Real life Snoop is Felicia Pearson.
[quote]

I watched The Wire twice through (all five seasons), until just nearing the end of season 4 the second time I realised she was a girl and not a teenage boy ... sometimes I crack me up!

Fantastic series though

[Sulman]

BTW: In Real life Snoop is Felicia Pearson.

I watched The Wire twice through (all five seasons), until just nearing the end of season 4 the second time I realised she was a girl and not a teenage boy ... sometimes I crack me up!

Fantastic series though

I think that was very much her thing. I don't think anyone was that sure in the beginning.

[gargamel]

Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... /#comments

It's in connection with a nice piece of research by a set of research groups working in collaboration on a specific question regarding the development of the pancreas. They were looking into a condition called 'pancreatic agenesis' - essentially failure of the pancreas to develop in babies. Rather than a single gene being responsible, what they discovered was that alterations in a regulatory segment of DNA was important - and this segment of DNA was located far from any coding genes.

I actually know one of the scientists mentioned in the article linked from Pharyngula - I worked with him in Oxford in the early 90s (he was the other researcher who was threatened with violence - and presumably the end his career, by the same group leader who threatened the same thing to me.) So I'm glad for him to have this success, he certainly deserves it. It is not easy to succeed in such a competitive field but this guy has gone on to do some great independent research.
Myers, on the other hand, dropped research at the very first opportunity.
He feels confident, however, to take pot-shots at real scientists who do real work.
And why?
Because he feels that the press release that publicizes this story isn't specific enough about the definition of 'junk DNA' and therefore this might provide ammunition to creationists who have taken to making stupid claims about 'junk DNA'.
Speaking as someone who has worked in the field of non-coding DNA for almost two decades, I can tell you for certain that PZ Myers is regarded with as much respect and authority in that field of research as Justin Vacula. In other words he is a complete unknown.
He hasn't published a single paper on the topic. He rarely writes about it - and when he does it is sub-wikipedia standard waffle.
Myers might be good at his own narrow field of expertise (developmental biology) but the more I see him stray outside that into things I know about he just demonstrates his own ignorance.
Who the hell does he think he is, lecturing experts in the field that they need to read the textbooks he recommends!
What an arrogant fuckwit.

His displeasure with the press release seems to be based in the idea that it might provide unwittingly giving succour to creationists.

This was a European research collaboration and the press release was for UK based news media.
We don't do creationism here - at least not in a significant way.
I have never heard a single scientist working in genomic research talking about creationism.
Frankly almost no scientist in Europe gives a flying fuck about the US creationism problem. Sort it out yourselves.
So what if US creationists misinterpret a small press release from the UK.
If that press release generates additional publicity and more grants for the UK team then it has succeeded in the only job it was meant to do.

PS, Peezus, go fuck yourself.

Didn't he post only a few days ago about how he was going to take a break for awhile?

[ROBOKiTTY]

Didn't he post only a few days ago about how he was going to take a break for awhile?

He flounced from his flouncing.

[Gumby]

Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... /#comments

It's in connection with a nice piece of research by a set of research groups working in collaboration on a specific question regarding the development of the pancreas. They were looking into a condition called 'pancreatic agenesis' - essentially failure of the pancreas to develop in babies. Rather than a single gene being responsible, what they discovered was that alterations in a regulatory segment of DNA was important - and this segment of DNA was located far from any coding genes.

I actually know one of the scientists mentioned in the article linked from Pharyngula - I worked with him in Oxford in the early 90s (he was the other researcher who was threatened with violence - and presumably the end his career, by the same group leader who threatened the same thing to me.) So I'm glad for him to have this success, he certainly deserves it. It is not easy to succeed in such a competitive field but this guy has gone on to do some great independent research.
Myers, on the other hand, dropped research at the very first opportunity.
He feels confident, however, to take pot-shots at real scientists who do real work.
And why?
Because he feels that the press release that publicizes this story isn't specific enough about the definition of 'junk DNA' and therefore this might provide ammunition to creationists who have taken to making stupid claims about 'junk DNA'.
Speaking as someone who has worked in the field of non-coding DNA for almost two decades, I can tell you for certain that PZ Myers is regarded with as much respect and authority in that field of research as Justin Vacula. In other words he is a complete unknown.
He hasn't published a single paper on the topic. He rarely writes about it - and when he does it is sub-wikipedia standard waffle.
Myers might be good at his own narrow field of expertise (developmental biology) but the more I see him stray outside that into things I know about he just demonstrates his own ignorance.
Who the hell does he think he is, lecturing experts in the field that they need to read the textbooks he recommends!
What an arrogant fuckwit.

His displeasure with the press release seems to be based in the idea that it might provide unwittingly giving succour to creationists.

This was a European research collaboration and the press release was for UK based news media.
We don't do creationism here - at least not in a significant way.
I have never heard a single scientist working in genomic research talking about creationism.
Frankly almost no scientist in Europe gives a flying fuck about the US creationism problem. Sort it out yourselves.
So what if US creationists misinterpret a small press release from the UK.
If that press release generates additional publicity and more grants for the UK team then it has succeeded in the only job it was meant to do.

PS, Peezus, go fuck yourself.

Repeating this post just because it's awesome.

[gargamel]

Didn't he post only a few days ago about how he was going to take a break for awhile?

He flounced from his flouncing.

Yeah I just went and looked (hooray ad-block!). His only post on 11/8 was about how he was taking a "brief" break. Brief must mean less than 24 hours, because he made four posts the next day, three the day after that, four yesterday, and five already today. He is like the annoying person who writes "I AM DELETING MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT BECAUSE I AM TIRED OF TEH DRAMAS!" and then is back to posting the very next day. Pathetic.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

As to the proximate cause of WWII: Poland was mistreating German ethnics, and refused to even consider a diplomatic solution. (Following WWI, Poland had been bloated by annexations of non-Polish peoples in all four compass directions, so they considered any discussions of restoration a slippery slope.)

Wasn't that mistreatment somewhat exaggerated, though? And "diplomatic solution" code for "the territorial concessions we want"? Germany's then-buddies to the east were fond of this trick, as well.

Yes, the nazis exaggerated them. But from what my father-in-law and grandmother-in-law, who lived in West Posen at the time, said, they were real enough -- essentially forced cultural and language assimilation, plus a forfeiture of land & property for anyone who tried to emigrate. (The supposed massacre of Germans in Thorn at the start of the war was actually a terrible mistake blown out of proportion for propaganda purposes.) The immediate causus belli was a raid that killed some German border troops. That was staged by German commandoes in Polish uniforms. (They didn't have yellowcake uranium back then.)


The territorial concessions in question would have been the return of Danzig and Westpreussen, both overwhelmingly German, with perhaps some adjustments back & forth in Posen and Upper Silesia, where the ethnic boundaries were more muddled. The first two should never have been transferred to Poland at Versailles. Posen had a Polish majority with considerable pockets of Germans. Upper Silesia had a slight Polish majority, but had voted to stay with Germany in one of the few plebiscites the Entente allowed. But if the Poles had agreed to a settlement with the Germans along ethnic lines, the Lithuanians, White Russians, Ukrainians, and Slovaks would have come knocking at the door, too.

Note also that during 1919-21, Poland waged an expansionist war to the East. Had her armies not been beaten back during the last campaign, Poland would have gladly annexed even larger swathes of Lithuania, White Russia, and the Ukraine.


Cobbling together nations out of incompatible ethnic groups almost always leads to trouble, and the Greater Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czecho-Slovakia created after WWI were no exception. Also cf. the civil wars in post-colonial Africa, where the colonial powers had intentionally drawn borders that ran counter to existing tribal and cultural boundaries.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Peezus has another post today pontificating away on how scientists are doing research all wrong.
Not like him, of course.

Didn't he post only a few days ago about how he was going to take a break for awhile?

Funny -- it's usually women who exhibit rapid-cycling, mixed state.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Has anyone else noticed that Skepticon's mascot has really big eyes and a rack like a moose's?

skeptisaur.png

(55.22 KiB) Downloaded 213 times

Bet it's a female, too. (Anyone know how to sex a cartoon dinosaur?)

[Mykeru]

But I have to say the scene where like a 15' tall ogre is charging snow white's daughter and Snow grabs aggro, and puts an arrow in his eye? Fucking cool. Oh, look, here's a problem and I have to solve it. THWACK. Problem solved. Sans super powers.

Jesus Christ, the Ogre monologuing.

Dear Baddies,

Please resist the urge to growl, snarl, talk up a storm or savor your moment of victory before you're done. Just kill them. Kill them deader than fuck. Then you can express your feelings, have a victory lap, hell, you can even wank over the corpse.

Just kill them first. It'll move the plot along in a way that will kick the average lazy-assed scriptwriter out of the box.

Love,

Everyone annoyed by this shit.

[Bourne Skeptic]

Yep - as Strawkins said, it's the Uncanny Valley effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley

Melody Hensley is the only real life humanoid I've ever seen who presents the same effect.

http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mblij ... o1_500.jpg

http://content.clearchannel.com/cc-comm ... 746865.jpg

Would the real Melody please step forward.

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Has anyone else noticed that Mykeru has really big eyes and a rack?

[Mykeru]

Marcotte writing about Skepticism?

http://radioreader.net/images/until.jpg

Uh huh.

[Mykeru]

Has anyone else noticed that Mykeru has really big eyes and a rack?

Yes, but would you fap to this?

mykerucom_cafepress_logo01.jpg

(54.66 KiB) Downloaded 193 times

[Mykeru]

By the way, I own that book on Kindle. Have to get around to reading it

Marcotte cloud reader until proven innocent Cloud Reader.png

(82.23 KiB) Downloaded 234 times

[Aneris]

Handling Public Criticism - Stephanie Zvan

???

...



...


...



...


eh...


...



:shock:



...


:lol:

[Gumby]

Handling Public Criticism - Stephanie Zvan

???

...



...


...



...


eh...


...



:shock:



...


:lol:

To be fair, the name of the Stephalump's talk isn't "Handling Public Criticism Well".

[BarnOwl]

I watched The Wire twice through (all five seasons), until just nearing the end of season 4 the second time I realised she was a girl and not a teenage boy ... sometimes I crack me up!

Fantastic series though

David Simon was also in part responsible for Homicide: Life on the Street, which is my favorite television series ever. Highly recommended. Watch the Subway episode as an example.

[Really?]

I see skepticon6 is doing it's best to maintain its reputation for really high quality talks.

10:00 am • How to Swear Secularly with Monette Richards Room B

Monette Richards from Secular Women?
I presume then, we'll hear a nice talk on how one should always avoid gendered insults.
Gendered insults are bad and have no place in civilized discussions!

It's an important lesson, and one that I'm sure the organizers of Skepticon6 really take to heart.

By the way, what's the next talk, at 11.00?



:doh:

Dude, you missed some real prizes:

Secular Save Zone Ally Training with Andy Cheadle-Ford
How to Manage Grief with Rebecca Hensler
Handling Public Criticism - Stephanie Zvan
What is your SocioSexual Orientation (SSO) with Darrel Ray
How to Talk/Write about Skepticism for a non-Skeptical Audience with Amanda Marcotte
How to Read Music Critically (Plus Ukelele) with Ashley F. Miller
Getting it On at the Con: How to Get Lucky Consensually with Miri Mogilevsky. (what, right there in the session?)

Godless Perverts hosted by Greta Christina
Rebecca Watson (that's it. no session title, nothing. Just becky.)

Bar Night. (yes, because that's what we need more of - SANCTIONED BOOZING)

Richard Carrier: Is Philosophy Stupid?

Greta Christina: Activist Burnout -- prevention and treatment (wait, one of them did something?)

Bar Night on the Town in Springfield (WHAT A GREAT IDEA)

Rebecca Hensler: Creating and Defending Secular Space
John Corvino: Gay Sex in a Disenchanted Universe
JT Eberhard (Like Becky, JT needs no description. Just being in the room with him is enough.)

Okay so really? Multiple sanction boozefests, a session on how to get laid at a con, one centering on perverts, one on gay sex...

These people haven't jumped the shark, they're face-fucking the poor thing.

I see skepticon6 is doing it's best to maintain its reputation for really high quality talks.

10:00 am • How to Swear Secularly with Monette Richards Room B

Monette Richards from Secular Women?
I presume then, we'll hear a nice talk on how one should always avoid gendered insults.
Gendered insults are bad and have no place in civilized discussions!

It's an important lesson, and one that I'm sure the organizers of Skepticon6 really take to heart.

By the way, what's the next talk, at 11.00?



:doh:

Dude, you missed some real prizes:

Secular Save Zone Ally Training with Andy Cheadle-Ford
How to Manage Grief with Rebecca Hensler
Handling Public Criticism - Stephanie Zvan
What is your SocioSexual Orientation (SSO) with Darrel Ray
How to Talk/Write about Skepticism for a non-Skeptical Audience with Amanda Marcotte
How to Read Music Critically (Plus Ukelele) with Ashley F. Miller
Getting it On at the Con: How to Get Lucky Consensually with Miri Mogilevsky. (what, right there in the session?)

Godless Perverts hosted by Greta Christina
Rebecca Watson (that's it. no session title, nothing. Just becky.)

Bar Night. (yes, because that's what we need more of - SANCTIONED BOOZING)

Richard Carrier: Is Philosophy Stupid?

Greta Christina: Activist Burnout -- prevention and treatment (wait, one of them did something?)

Bar Night on the Town in Springfield (WHAT A GREAT IDEA)

Rebecca Hensler: Creating and Defending Secular Space
John Corvino: Gay Sex in a Disenchanted Universe
JT Eberhard (Like Becky, JT needs no description. Just being in the room with him is enough.)

Okay so really? Multiple sanction boozefests, a session on how to get laid at a con, one centering on perverts, one on gay sex...

These people haven't jumped the shark, they're face-fucking the poor thing.

Additional Skepticon 6 talks:
Ending Domestic Violence in Interracial Relationships with Orenthal James Simpson
Community Involvement in Preventing Child Sexual Abuse with Joe Paterno
How Rembrandt's Use of Light and Color Shading Influenced the Development of Color Theory with Bjarte
Earning the Blind Trust of Groups Dedicated to Helping Individuals with Mental Illness with That FTB guy who said he molested all those kids and that the voices keep telling him to do it again
Diplomacy Techniques to Effect Change in Patriarchal Middle Eastern Countries with Big Red.

[BarnOwl]

<snip>

Repeating this post just because it's awesome.

Agreed!

And unbelievable arrogance from PZ in that post. He actually doubles down in the comments:

PZ Myers
12 November 2013 at 8:22 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
DO NOT LET THE PIs OFF THE HOOK.

Of course they are responsible for the lousy coverage of their work. If nothing else, they should be complaining, and they should be making a stink about poor science media.

Also, as we’ve discussed here before, often the hype is coming from the PIs themselves, and the media cheerfully gobble it up.

[Pitchguest]

243 Justicar March 26, 2013 at 1:38 am
What did you say to me? what did you call me? Fruit?

THEY CALL ME MR. FRUIT!!!!!!11!!!!!!

Obvious joke is obvious?

No, Justicar is clearly enraged. You can tell because he was too angry to effectively hold down the shift key while typing exclamation points. I have used internet experience to discern this.

Good point, he must have been literally shaking with rage when he wrote that.

My childhood weeps.

[youtube]Jxg0iiRTyrg[/youtube]

[dogen]

http://weknowmemes.com/generator/upload ... 540212.jpg

(Trigger warning: violent infantilism)

Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more.

[windy]

The territorial concessions in question would have been the return of Danzig and Westpreussen, both overwhelmingly German, with perhaps some adjustments back & forth in Posen and Upper Silesia, where the ethnic boundaries were more muddled. The first two should never have been transferred to Poland at Versailles. Posen had a Polish majority with considerable pockets of Germans. Upper Silesia had a slight Polish majority, but had voted to stay with Germany in one of the few plebiscites the Entente allowed. But if the Poles had agreed to a settlement with the Germans along ethnic lines, the Lithuanians, White Russians, Ukrainians, and Slovaks would have come knocking at the door, too.

Note also that during 1919-21, Poland waged an expansionist war to the East. Had her armies not been beaten back during the last campaign, Poland would have gladly annexed even larger swathes of Lithuania, White Russia, and the Ukraine.

True, and I'm not suggesting that Poland was blameless in the situation leading up to WWII. Nevertheless, there are reasons to doubt that the Nazis would have been satisfied (at least, not for long) with simply regaining the ethnic German areas -for example, look at what happened to Czechoslovakia after they ceded Sudetenland, or the future "rearrangements" hinted at in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.

[John Greg]

re. kabuki girl at http://www.slymepit.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 96#p141996

Now, I know I am sort of on record as saying that I don't completely agree with people dissing other people based on their looks, especially in reference to those aspects of appearance over which one has no control, but I gotta say that people like Melody Hensley baffle me; utterly baffle me, because, certainly in her case, she seems to go out of her way to make herself look completely ridiculous: hooker-red bee-stung wax-dummy lips; silly grandma's glasses; very silly leopard-skin pillbox (I know, not really pillbox, more beret) hat, one of the most infantile haircuts that women have adopted over the last few decades, and a just plain goofball expression that sort of seems to say, Have you got any more valiums? my happy pill supply has dribbled down my chin and I can't focus on youre camera anymore.

Just ... just ... goofy, man, goofy.

[AndrewV69]

Cobbling together nations out of incompatible ethnic groups almost always leads to trouble, and the Greater Poland, Yugoslavia, and Czecho-Slovakia created after WWI were no exception. Also cf. the civil wars in post-colonial Africa, where the colonial powers had intentionally drawn borders that ran counter to existing tribal and cultural boundaries.

Tell that to the modern day believers in Multiculturalism.

Pretty much every country that has embraced Multiculturalism in my opinion, is going to have some interesting times ahead of them over the next couple hundred years.

Exactly how interesting? I dunno. Hopefully not like Burma, Yugoslavia, Rawanda, Malaysia etc. etc. etc. But who knows? Seems to me once you have the right numbers you are going to get a situation.

[John Greg]

Andrew said:

Pretty much every country that has embraced Multiculturalism in my opinion, is going to have some interesting times ahead of them over the next couple hundred years.

I tend to agree with you, to some degree. I'm wondering, though, do you think it makes a difference whether the multicultural embrace is a melting pot, or a mosaic?

[DeepInsideYourMind]

Andrew said:

Pretty much every country that has embraced Multiculturalism in my opinion, is going to have some interesting times ahead of them over the next couple hundred years.

I tend to agree with you, to some degree. I'm wondering, though, do you think it makes a difference whether the multicultural embrace is a melting pot, or a mosaic?

Every country has something of multiculturism about it, and every country will eventually become homogenous ... but eventually could be hundreds of years, Britain is a perfect example, where the French, Romans, Saxons, Danes, Normans and a dozen other smaller groups have all invaded at some point in the past - nobody identifies as any of those groups any more ... and even groups like West Indians who first started arriving in the 1950s and 1960s in large numbers are now largely just seen as people like any other ...


That said, some groups who try to maintain their culture and ways against the "melting pot" create more conflict and disorder. In time they will either be passively or forcibly melted ... or will be ejected or marginalised ...

All in good time ... and a lot of potential suffering along the way

[John Greg]

Great googley moogley!

Stop the presses!!

Toiletbowl has actually posted a post with which I agree!!!

link: http://freethoughtblogs.com/lousycanuck ... ck-in-him/

He says (cut and condensed):

White supremacist and leader of the so-called “Creative Movement”, Craig Cobb .... turns out he’s not so lily-white after all.... appeared on The Trisha Goddard show, a UK daytime talk show, agreeing to take a DNA test to prove his white purity.... You’ve got a little black in you, man. You hate yourself — and every other human being on the planet, ultimately.

Have my brains fallen out?

Has the world stopped turning??

Danged if I know.

[Ape+lust]

Reddit is talking about PZ and Rebecca again :D

http://i.imgur.com/m2WA9MH.png

[James Caruthers]

re. kabuki girl at http://www.slymepit.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 96#p141996

Now, I know I am sort of on record as saying that I don't completely agree with people dissing other people based on their looks, especially in reference to those aspects of appearance over which one has no control, but I gotta say that people like Melody Hensley baffle me; utterly baffle me, because, certainly in her case, she seems to go out of her way to make herself look completely ridiculous: hooker-red bee-stung wax-dummy lips; silly grandma's glasses; very silly leopard-skin pillbox (I know, not really pillbox, more beret) hat, one of the most infantile haircuts that women have adopted over the last few decades, and a just plain goofball expression that sort of seems to say, Have you got any more valiums? my happy pill supply has dribbled down my chin and I can't focus on youre camera anymore.

Just ... just ... goofy, man, goofy.

See also: hipster.

I live in a city full of Melodys. Every damn day I see some dude with hip-hugging skinny jeans, purple socks, a v-neck sweater with no shirt underneath, a neckbeard and wool cap. :lol: These are people who would otherwise be fairly decent-looking or even attractive, but they completely negate all of that with their ridiculous clothes. Greta Christina (although certainly not what I would consider attractive) is the Ur-example of someone ruining their looks with abominable fashion sense.

[youtube]lVmmYMwFj1I[/youtube]

[Mykeru]

re. kabuki girl at http://www.slymepit.com/phpbb/viewtopic ... 96#p141996

Now, I know I am sort of on record as saying that I don't completely agree with people dissing other people based on their looks, especially in reference to those aspects of appearance over which one has no control, but I gotta say that people like Melody Hensley baffle me; utterly baffle me, because, certainly in her case, she seems to go out of her way to make herself look completely ridiculous: hooker-red bee-stung wax-dummy lips; silly grandma's glasses; very silly leopard-skin pillbox (I know, not really pillbox, more beret) hat, one of the most infantile haircuts that women have adopted over the last few decades, and a just plain goofball expression that sort of seems to say, Have you got any more valiums? my happy pill supply has dribbled down my chin and I can't focus on youre camera anymore.

Just ... just ... goofy, man, goofy.

In her defense, all that is supposed to distract you from noticing she's fat.

[ROBOKiTTY]

Tell that to the modern day believers in Multiculturalism.

Pretty much every country that has embraced Multiculturalism in my opinion, is going to have some interesting times ahead of them over the next couple hundred years.

Exactly how interesting? I dunno. Hopefully not like Burma, Yugoslavia, Rawanda, Malaysia etc. etc. etc. But who knows? Seems to me once you have the right numbers you are going to get a situation.

Nationalistic rhetoric aside, every country on earth is pretty much multicultural to some extent. Even with highly monocultural states like Japan and Korea, you still have resentment feeding on regionalism and historical baggage. I don't think multiculturalism is a bad thing. Switzerland has gone on for centuries fine in the middle of three different cultures. China, on the other hand, with its ethnically homogeneous majority Han population, has been boiling with regionalistic resentment for a very long time.

Europe may be slowly headed for future disaster, but I don't see Canada becoming balkanized any time soon.

[Service Dog]

PZ's Veteran's Day post...

Seriously dude. Is that what you think of your own son?

It's clear what PZ Myer's son in the military-- thinks of his father.

[JAB]

Reddit is talking about PZ and Rebecca again :D

http://i.imgur.com/m2WA9MH.png

Laden as Uncle Fester....heeheee.

[Mykeru]

Reddit is talking about PZ and Rebecca again :D

http://i.imgur.com/m2WA9MH.png

Link. You fucker.

[Ape+lust]

Reddit is talking about PZ and Rebecca again :D

http://i.imgur.com/m2WA9MH.png

Link. You fucker.

They're discussing the mystery of Rebecca's "hotness" :lol:

[windy]

Toiletbowl has actually posted a post with which I agree!!!

link: http://freethoughtblogs.com/lousycanuck ... ck-in-him/

He says (cut and condensed):

White supremacist and leader of the so-called “Creative Movement”, Craig Cobb .... turns out he’s not so lily-white after all.... appeared on The Trisha Goddard show, a UK daytime talk show, agreeing to take a DNA test to prove his white purity.... You’ve got a little black in you, man. You hate yourself — and every other human being on the planet, ultimately.

Have my brains fallen out?

Has the world stopped turning??

Danged if I know.

If it helps with the shock, he did manage to slip in some factual errors. First, it's an American, not a UK talk show. This is part of a series called "Race in America".

And this:

I would pay good money for him to send more DNA samples to other companies, blinded wherever possible. It’s extraordinarily likely that he’s going to have “sub-Saharan African” ancestry in every test, given how humanity has generally evolved,...

It has nothing to do with "how humanity has generally evolved". Those tests look for recent ancestry based on reference populations from different parts of the world. Having 14% African ancestry is unusually high for white Americans.