We'll never know

The most beautiful chart in the world. Humans and science did that, not Gods, in case you were in any doubt. All of the thousands of Gods that our species have invented over the years were silent on the matter; perhaps they were happy with the way it used to be? They're still silent now, so we'll never know..

Friday Smirk..

I've always said that if someone provides sufficient (or any) evidence of a God or Gods then I would seriously and honestly reconsider my Atheism. 

It seems like that day has arrived; here we see some poor Woman in South Africa with one hand shorter than the other being healed by a miracle of God! No question about it, irrefutable proof that hands exist. So, give generously people, This preacher may well be able to make bodily appendages grow in front of our eyes but he still needs cash, apparently God can conjure up whole universes on a whim, but is hopeless with money.

Anti-vax = pro-death?

I see that Robert de Niro is making a right tit (see above) of himself again over vaccinations. In a recent publicity move he has teamed up with well known vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to offer a silly prize of $100,000 dollars to anyone that can "prove" vaccines containing Thiomersal (which was a compound used as a preservative up until 1999 and hasn't been used in almost two decades in children's vaccines) are safe. It's worth noting that there is no scientific evidence that this compound ever caused anything let alone autism. People like de-Niro and Kennedy harp on about Mercury in vaccines being a potential cause of autism, Mercury is one molecule in the compound that is Thiomersal along with Sodium, Carbon, Oxygen, Sulphur and Hydrogen; if I injected pure Sodium into a Human Being (especially a child) they would probably die; but as a compound bound to another deadly chemical Chlorine, in say, common table salt; it's perfectly safe. A point of detail that these faux crusaders seem not to want to grasp.

Even if Thiomersal were still used (and it isn't) each dose of vaccine would deliver roughly 1 micro-gram (1 millionth of a gram) or less of Mercury; this is an amount equivalent to the average amount of Mercury found in a portion of barbecue sauce containing HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and certainly exceeded in most fish species these days. Eating a Swordfish or Tuna steak could easily deliver a dose of pure Mercury (i.e. not bound into any compound) of around 0.5 micro-grams per gram of fish which means a 250 gram steak would contain 14 times as much Mercury as a vaccination.

None of this is even relevant if you simply look at the numbers; 85 percent of children in the world have been immunised against Measles so according to these people most of Humanity is in peril? The only study ever to make a link between vaccination and autism was written by a fraudster and convicted criminal; a corrupt doctor who used fear to extort unnecessary fees from gullible parents. The hypothesis is dead in the water, has been for years.

Talking of death, it could be your own child (like in the case of a young boy in Spain) that dies, it could be your baby cousin who's too young for a vaccine, it could be your Father battling cancer and going through chemotherapy with a suppressed immune system, more likely it will just be strangers. Widespread vaccination generates herd immunity; people who are vaccinated keep the ones who can't safe, between 2000 and 2015 roughly 20 million children were saved by the Measles vaccine alone. It's a simple equation, if we don't vaccinate kids, people are going to die, choosing not to vaccinate is choosing death.

Global warming?

Here's some interesting research, it's from the Pew Center and attempts to document the changing attitudes among Americans of differing political leanings, ages and personal circumstances towards different religious groups or none. The good news is that Americans generally are at last realising that the childish view that Atheists are demons in disguise is in fact, childish, and in most cases have "warmed" toward none-believers over the last 3 years. What is most promising is that among young people this warming effect is the most dramatic; having gone from second lowest as a respected group (only slightly above rapists) Atheists are now higher than Mormons, Evangelicals and Muslims, no longer in the relegation zone! Of course among older bigots people Atheists are still thought of as pond scum, battling it out (in their minds) with Islamic terrorists for the chance to corrupt the youth and destroy the American dream; although from here in Europe it looks like Americans these days seem to be perfectly able and willing to do that for themselves, particularly the older ones.

Freedom of religion

Latest J&M cartoon; to re-purpose an old saying, we're all equally free, it's just that some are more equal than others.

A couple of old balls

Happy 453rd birthday Galileo Galilei! 

It may be slightly fanciful to believe that the man actually dropped a couple of different sized cannonballs from the leaning tower of Pisa but he certainly worked out that acceleration due to gravity does not depend on the mass of the object. 

I remember visiting Pisa many years ago, before the tower was closed to visitors, and the weird feeling of climbing a spiral staircase that's tilted was an intriguing distraction from the oppressive Summer heat. The view from the top was wonderful and the thrill to think that the genius that was Galileo may have once stood at the exact same spot was well worth the sweat of the ascent. Much later Newton added some flesh to the bones of Galileo's ideas and then in more recent times Einstein polished them even further. In these days of the LHC we've been fortunate to witness even further refinements but lest we forget that the whole edifice of explanation rests on the shoulders of many giants, not least of whom was this persecuted (but brilliant) Pisan.

Origins of atheism

Viral business model

Happy Valentines day! If truth be told I'm not really convinced about this particular annual ritual. It seems to me that if you have to wait a whole year to give or receive love and affection from your partner then you're doing it wrong. Still, I suppose it makes some kind of focal point for important relationships (or not!) and there are strong evolutionary underpinnings to displays of affection; it's generally good for gene transport down the generations!

These days most people don't realise that the origin of this particular feast day is much darker and sillier than red roses and chocolates. It stems from that eternal religious obsession with martyrdom and death by some form of execution (the bloodier the better) Apparently back in Roman times some geezer called "Valentine" was imprisoned for practising Christianity and later executed, however whilst banged up he supposedly healed the daughter of his jailer (oh really) and wrote her a letter signed "your valentine" (not entirely unreasonable for someone actually called "Valentine").

Of course saintly origins are by definition mythical, they have to involve some kind of suspension of the natural order otherwise no one would take any notice. From Mother Theresa to Valentine of Rome the pattern is a familiar one, take some poor sucker who had a hard life or did something exceptional, add a layer of supernatural (unfalsifiable) hocus-pocus and bingo you've got an excuse for a piss-up and a reason for followers to donate cash to your particular cult. Simple really; one of the first truly viral business models.

Caption time..

- Trudeau thinks, no way am I touching that, I know where it's been..

or..

- Trump says, look Justin, fishy fingers..

Henley trainers

Spotted in Henley-on-Thames (near where I live); ha, ha.... pompous gits.

Happy Darwin day

Charles Robert Darwin was born on this day in 1809... to celebrate I had a little lie in (nice) Then I cut and paste my favourite little quote from his best work below, grandeur indeed..

“Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”

Friday smirk

A couple of one-liners that I heard this week... (all very politically incorrect of course)

- Did you hear about the dyslexic prostitute? she got a job in the warehouse..

- I had to dump my cross-eyed girlfriend, she was seeing someone else..

- My bed got stolen, I can't rest until I find it!

- A lorry load of Oxo cubes got stolen on the M4, no CCTV but police have some stock photo's

TGIF!

In for a penny...

Here's an interesting chart. It represents the break-down of discretionary spending for the US Government in 2015. As you can see, if Americans are wondering where their tax dollars go it's mostly on the Military. 

By way of comparison the UK military budget in 2016 was $42 Billion, which is less than a 10th as much for a population that's 20% as big. Talk about Military-Industrial complex! This isn't the only thing that American tax dollars are spent on. This chart shows only the discretionary spend (i.e. the debatable chunk), the compulsory spend is twice as big. I can't help thinking that a few more dollars spent in the yellow, dark green and dark purple segments might render the dark blue segment slightly less necessary?

Going to 11

I really associate with this little cartoon; most of my life has been spent on the left-hand side of the dial (safe) but as I've grown older and accumulated responsibilities for things like children, customers and companies I have found myself drifting to the right-hand side, it's a scary place if you're not used to it. But, I've learned over the years that spending some time there (even if only hypothetically) can be as rewarding as it's possible to be for evolved apes living on a little rock spinning through the void.

Educationally devoid?

Whilst on the subject of Trumps lame cabinet picks, Betsy DeVos is another totally unqualified flake that scares the bejebus out of Democrats in the USA. As previously mentioned DeVos is a billionaire (on a mission from God) who seems to have made a career out of donating millions (of her husband's money) to the Republican party and trying to interfere in the education system, much to the annoyance of many experienced educators. DeVos has never held office nor has she any educational leadership qualification or experience, it seems to be just a "hobby" for her. She was confirmed by just one vote, and that had to be cast by the Vice President himself, the first time ever that a "VP" has had to intercede in this way. The closeness of the vote says it all really and also says to me that the Republican senators are a bunch of "pussies", I'm sure the Trump will be glad to have such a target rich environment.

Reality distortion field

Trump is putting together a truly terrifying (as opposed to terrific) "team". Jeff Sessions is his pick for Attorney General recently revealed why so many secular people in the USA (and around the world) are terrified of what happens next. During his confirmation hearing the following exchange took place between Sessions and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island..

Whitehouse wondered whether Sessions would have a problem with career lawyers “with secular beliefs,” having in the past criticised department attorneys for being secular. Sessions replied that he has used that language about secular attorneys to differentiate between people who recognise objective “truth” and those who take positions “in which truth is not sufficiently respected.”

Whitehouse replied, with a leading, and perhaps slightly conclusory question: “And a secular person has just as good a claim to understanding the truth as a person who is religious, correct?” At which point Sessions responded, “Well, I’m not sure.” For a few seconds the Senate chamber seemed to go completely silent.

Just parse that for a second, what Sessions is essentially saying is that he puts "faith" above "reason" when it comes to determining objective truth; a move that any legal system worth it's salt should be running a mile from. Don't forget, all the word "secular" means is equality for all religions and none when it comes to Government and Law, i.e. one of the basic pillars of the US constitution enshrined in the 1st Amendment (see below),

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

I can't see this ending well.

Legless

The latest J&M cartoon is up today; as usual it's "on-point" when it comes to the miraculous (aka. silly) things people have to convince themselves of in order to square the circle of the ghosts, ghouls, angels and gods.

United States of Hypocrisy

There's lots of protests going on at the moment regarding Trump wishing to disallow people from several Islamic countries to enter the USA for a period of time. I find it ironic that a major youth institution inside the US religiously discriminates against at least 25% of their OWN population and no one there really seems to care a jot. It's 2017 and you still can't join the boy scouts in the USA if you aren't religious, they insist that members swear an oath to at least one of the standard portfolio of (currently worshiped) imaginary beings and refuse to allow people to swear a secular oath (as done in court rooms)... 

Imagine what would happen if boy scout leaders decided that you couldn't join if you were a Muslim...

Tip of the iceberg?

Apparent climate problems in Spain have causes a shortage of certain vegetables this Winter; things like courgettes, lettuce and other vegetables grown above ground are having to be rationed in supermarkets around the UK. Many are commenting on the fact that these days consumers expect everything to be available 52 weeks a year, i.e. even items not in season. I fear we may need to retreat slightly in our expectations as climate change (hot and cold) impinges on traditional growing seasons in Northern Europe and elsewhere. Personally I wouldn't mind too much, I never eat much salad in the Winter months, I feel the need for more substantial fare when it's freezing outside. 

I suspect with all of the problems these days around obesity and the UK population being (on average) overweight it's not surprising that January and February spike in salad/veg consumption. Typically our household only finally gets rid of the last of the Christmas holiday food by the end of January after which we start to get back to a normal rhythm. This week I decided that I needed to lose a few pounds; normally my weight fluctuates between minimum and maximum according to (roughly) a five year cycle. To reverse the upward trend I usually crank the calorie intake down to around 1200-1400 calories per day and the exercise output up for 6 months or so in order to get back to my median range BMI score (around 80-85 kg), I reckon I should be there by July/Aug (Broccoli rationing permitting!)

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up calories..

Republicans

Explains American Republicanism perfectly...

Stupid is as stupid does

I think this simple quote/joke posted on an office door sums up 2016 perfectly for me..

Birds of prayer?

Spotted this photo the other day; I guess if you're a Saudi Prince, need to transport 80 falcons in a hurry and money is no object then this is the obvious solution. (Not sure I'd like to share a cabin with 80 falcons, imagine if there was turbulence or someone made a meowing noise and there was a panic!)

Of course the birds could take just one dead vole with them as Emirates only allow a single piece of carrion...

Elitist?

Got to get me one of these...

Friday smirk

The excellent J&M on the subject of "fake news". 

I always cringe when the (more fundamentalist leaning) Christians in our group of friends bang on about how their "faith" teaches them to be "good"; Whenever the dinner conversation takes this kind of a turn, I get those "evil eyes" from my wife across the table encouraging me to restrain myself (which of course I always do) 

In my mind, perpetuating an untruth, or passing off an ancient myth as "fact", is no different from telling an outright lie. Instructing your children that you know things to be "true" that, as an evolved primate, you cannot possibly know (like the wishes of the creator of the universe) is easily on a par with "fake news". Unfortunately these observations are lost on most religious people, it seems that blind faith and indoctrination inoculates them from seeing self deception; the most simple of "truths".

Anti-education task force..

As previously covered, Trump seems to be making some kind of unholy alliance with scary religious groups at the moment. The latest "WTF" moment for me was caused by the information that Jerry Falwell Jr. will be leading Trump’s higher education task force. For those that don't know the name, Jerry Falwell (senior) was an evangelical preacher who made a small fortune from preaching his religion to the credulous, so much so that he built himself a University (Liberty University). Now, Falwell famously blamed the 9/11 terrorist attacks on gay people so obviously wasn't the sharpest knife in the box; the only use I can imagine that he'd have for an institution of higher education would be to brainwash a new generation for his descendants (like Falwell Jr) to fleece?

Interestingly someone who attended this establishment posted some of the "science" material taught there in 2007, predictably, it's laughable and you can see a photo of it above. If you want to see a classic "Hitch-slap" for Jerry Falwell take a look at this short video..

Burn baby, burn

I came across this little exchange on Twitter the other day, all very informative until someone called "North Stand Stevie" learns the hard way that sometimes it's best to say nothing and listen for a while; 3rd degree burns, hilarious!

Scottish poem wins NZ poetry prize..

America, aw whit ye dain?!

How could ye choose a clueless wain

Ti lead yir country? Who wid trust

A man sae vile?!

A racist, sexist eedjit

Wi a shite hairstyle?

Yet lo, ye votit (michty me!)

Ti hawn’ this walloper the key

Ti pow’r supreme, ti stert his hateful,

Cruel regime.

A cling ti hope that this is aw

Jist wan bad dream.

But naw, the nightmare has come true,

A curse upon rid, white an’ blue,

An’ those who cast oot Bernie

Must feel sitch regret

Fur thinkin’ Mrs. Clinton

Was a safer bet.

So noo we wait ti see unfold

Division an’ intolerance, cold;

A pois’nous bigotry untold

Since Hitler’s rule

As the free world’s hopes an’ dreams

Lie with this fool.

Alas, complainin’ wullnae change

The fact this diddy has free range

Ti ride roughshod ow’r human beings

That fall outside

The cretinous ideals borne of

His ugly pride.

Awch USA, we feel yir woes

An’ pour oor wee herts oot ti those

Who ken this oarange gabshite isnae

Who they chose,

But jist sit tight;

Trump’s cluelessness

Will time expose.

Fur sittin’ there beside Obama

Efter the election drama,

Trump looked like reality

Had finally hit:

Aboot the role of president

He knew Jack shit.

Poutin’, glaikit through this farce,

His mooth wis pursed up like an arse,

His Tangoed coupon glowin’ like

A skelped backside.

Despite all his bravado

Trump looked keen ti hide.

Let’s therefur no despair an’ greet,

Or see this outcome as defeat.

Let’s wait an’ watch this bampot

Flap his hawns an’ squirm

When presidential pressures

Crush him like a worm.

Hawd oan ti values you hold dear,

Don’t let this numpty bring yi fear,

His chants of hatred don’t speak fur

The human race.

Love will endure despite this

Oarange-faced disgrace.

So USA, in ma conclusion,

Know we Scots feel your confusion:

We are also chained ti those

Not of oor choosin’ .

Stand firm fur unity will break

Through Trump’s delusion.

Yes, really.

You can see the poem being read in its intended accent by the author Lorna Wallace (any relation to William I wonder?) here.. what can I say? The girl done good!

Alternative Science..

I see that Trump is attempting to muzzle scientists who work for central Government; the word has gone out that they (particularly in the EPA) shouldn't issue press releases, post on blogs or tweet etc. without "screening" by the administration. It's not clear what his motives are yet but it's not easy to think of any that could be positive. Are we about to see scientific papers authored like the one above? Are leading American climate scientists (and others) going to be reduced to sneaking around passing notes via drop-boxes and in folded newspapers, like they used to do in the Soviet Union under Stalin? Science works via cooperation and the sharing of ideas and data, I wouldn't expect a ignoramus like Trump to realise this, but, I would have thought his billionaire cronies understand the value to the economy in having a strong science base underpinning it. Let's face it, the World needs the USA to transition from fossil fuels as fast as possible and consequently needs it to lead the world in replacement technologies. I can't understand why good capitalists can't see the upside in getting 100% behind people like Elon Musk and the like, ultimately if they don't then I'm sure the Chinese or the Europeans will be glad to pick up the slack. Won't it be ironic if when the oil runs out that America has to switch it's total dependency on crude from the Middle East to a dependency on battery or hydrogen technology from China.

Pants on fire..

Here we see the European Parliament on one of the rare occasions Nigel Farage could be bothered to turn up. I suspect the reason he did was to provide a platform upon which he could kiss Donald Trumps arse (notice the nauseating Trump lapel pin) by praising him for his immigration ban. The sensible fellow behind him is the Labour MEP for London, Seb Dance, who was slapped on the wrist by the the powers that be for ridiculing Farage. I'm sure most rational people here in the UK think that he should be given some kind of award, a chocolate biscuit and a pat on the back at least!

Labels

Just leaving this check-list here... if you're wondering it's an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum.

Love thy neighbor?

Lot's of people getting agitated about Trumps latest move to block immigration/travel from certain countries for 90 days; it seems like a fairly pointless move to me but I can't get too upset about it. There are plenty of constraints and hurdles to travel already in the world, particularly if you have an Israeli or particular Arab states stamp in your passport. A precedent doesn't make what he's done right of course but I do feel that people are somewhat missing the point, the problem for me isn't so much that he's blocked entry from certain countries but that they are the WRONG countries! I would respect the decision (it's only 90 days) more if the countries were actually countries that have disproportionately large numbers of Islamists in them, like Saudi-Arabia and Pakistan, but I suspect those countries were deemed too big and too financially important to ban.

Sunday snark..

Tee-he, another "executive order" from the Trump..

Although I must say I was watching some old YouTube videos of General James Mattis (Trumps pick for Defense Secretary) and he comes across as well read, articulate, traveled and a supporter of the enlightenment! Can't possibly have been the President's idea then.

Take a look (below), hopefully this guy has an unreasonable amount of influence, although so far it wouldn't appear that way.

Friday smirk

Happy Friday! here's a little something lifted from the humorous poke online magazine; I don't envy Mrs May today, I suspect her conversation will be stilted in the extreme. Trump will glory in it of course, so no matter what happens I fully expect him to triumphantly announce some kind of wonderful success, as he seems to do with everything.

We're all doooooomed

Here's a bit of cheery news for a Thursday evening (not!), the old Doomsday clock was notched forward to it's second highest ever position, 2.5 minutes to midnight after the "Trump factor" was taken into account. Judging by how the US relationship with Mexico is shaping up, we could see the first ever nuclear war initiated on Twitter pretty soon; that'll be something to tell the grand-kids, oh, hold on..

Coercion

The fabulous J&M clarifies things for those confused liberals who think that when you are coerced into wearing a "uniform" (sack) by an unreasonable authority (e.g. politicised Islam) via the business end of a rock, fist, boot or club that somehow this has something to do with "freedom of choice"...

Fraudulent fraud?

I'm not sure who's the bigger fraud, Trump for pretending to be a Christian or all the right-wing Christians who "say" they wouldn't vote for anything else when he so obviously isn't?

Still, I see that he's set about dismantling environmental legislation in favour of creating profits for massive oil, gas and auto corporations (and Trump owns shares in the company building a disputed pipeline he authorised) To me, if unchecked, this seems akin to burning your house down so that you don't have to re-decorate and then getting your (poor) neighbours to pay to re-build it.

In true doublespeak style, Trump both claimed to support environmental controls and at the same time said he would grant big business permits to do whatever they want. It seems increasingly like we're witnessing an Orwell novel being acted out in front of our eyes. Unfortunately the ignorant masses who voted for him probably haven't read any of Orwell's novels, and the cynical hucksters riding on his coat-tails have almost certainly been using 1984 as an instruction manuals all along!

Don't forget, war is peace, freedom is slavery and Trump is presidential.

Trump and religion

Oh crap, Trump said he's an atheist (who'd a guessed?). Now, when it all goes pear-shaped (as it inevitably will) every religious apologist and her uncle will be saying "see, that's what happens when you put an atheist in charge, Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler bla bla". I can just see it now, they'll be insufferable!

Truth be told I reckon there have been at least a few presidents with atheistic/deistic tendencies, they just couldn't admit it in public. Jefferson was not Christian and Lincoln probably not, people like Washington, Madison, Monroe, Kennedy, Clinton and Obama were at most only notionally religious according to many close to them. In the case of Trump you can't believe a single thing he says, that's the position we should probably go with, unfortunately it's a lose - lose for all of us..

Speeding to Brexit

So, looks like the Supreme Court has ruled that Parliament needs to vote on the triggering of Article-50, an example of free and independent law making that ironically we supposedly don't have (according to Brexiters). No doubt this decision will precipitate a wave of whining by the pro-crowd that we should move on and shut-up, unfortunately they'll just have to suck it up, that's what democracy means, i.e. a plurality of views. In any case this seems to me to be mostly about procedure rather than a policy, meaning that a bunch of people for whom no one has voted, in the shape of the current rag-tag Cabinet, cannot simply implement their own parochial (and unclear) plans without first gaining authority from the sovereign body that is Parliament, sounds right and proper to me.

I do worry that this already divisive issue will in the months to come even further divide the people in this country. We haven't experienced any pain from this decision yet, and our economics seem to be inside a little "bubble" because of the devaluation of Sterling (record high FTSE etc.). However when the dust has cleared and people start losing their jobs from companies that fold or move due to inevitable European trade being lost, I fear a bitter and painful backlash will emerge that could take many years to dissipate. Fortunately my company doesn't do any serious European trade however, after years of hard-slog, if I lost my business due to this stupid decision I would feel very bitter indeed.

Star stuff

Here's a view of the periodic table of elements but colour coded for where the elements actually come from. Interestingly all the elements that are essential to most complex life (i.e. Homo-sapiens!), like Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen etc. come from stars essentially dying, typically by exploding! So, forget Jesus, reality is that stars died so you could be here.

Evidence

Watching various Trump related miscellany over the weekend, happened to catch some Trump spokesperson arguing with a TV reporter about the crowd size at his inauguration, the reporter said, "but the facts are plain to see in the TV images, the crowd was much smaller" to which the apologist said "but we disagree and have presented alternative facts". This could be a line straight out of an Orwell novel, chilling.

We were then treated to a boring, monotone lecture by the new Trump spin-doctor Sean Spicer who is clearly very skilled at saying stuff without saying anything at all. The whole briefing was one long rant with some veiled threats to the press-corps on the side. Over the course of the session it became clear that the communication strategy of this administration will consist mainly of lies, projection, petulance and a lot of shouting; much like the campaign was. I do hope the US press is up to the job they're going to have to do over the next 4 years, my sense is that the gauntlet has been thrown.

Prevention is better than cure

Love this placard from the demonstration in London yesterday against Trump and what he stands for. A totally worthwhile cause, but, my only slight niggle is that more Women (particularly in the USA) weren't more pro-active BEFORE he got elected, perhaps this disaster could have been prevented?

45th time lucky?

The English language can be devilishly illogical at times, for example, when can something be both "thick" and "thin" at the same time? When its the crowd at the inauguration of the 45th president of the USA of course!

Goop guff

Here's a funny story I noticed today.. "Goop", the online health and beauty store owed by actress Gwyneth Paltrow is selling $66 jade "eggs" that, assuming you are female, are to be inserted into your vagina for extended periods (pun?) in order to experience a number of health benefits.

The website claims that if you stick a green rock up your fanny then you will ...

-Increase orgasms (involuntarily?)

-Tighten and tone (what?)

-Prevent uterine prolapse (sounds painful)

-Increase bladder control (always a bonus)

-Clear "chi" pathways (cup of chi anyone?)

-Intensify feminine energy (God help us)

-Create kidney strength (my kidneys smell just fine?)

-Increase sexual potency (oo-er missus)

-Get better skin (fewer zits, bigger twits?)

Not an insignificant set of claims there (and there are more!) I particularly like the linking of bladder control to sexual potency, clearly some kind of deep-seated female anxiety? Is there any actual evidence for these claims, of course not, but I have no doubt that there are plenty of gullible people queuing up to grease a green goolie. So, in summary, only 70 bucks (+post and "packing") and you can look like the woman in the comic book picture above, do people actually fall for this stuff?

I do wonder why these new-age crystal hugging morons seem to have a fascination with "inserting" things into their holes? What with Prince Charles sticking coffee beans up his bum and Gwyneth with her "eggs" do they not worry about rattling like a pocket full of loose change when they run down the stairs? Not to mention what must be the constant anxiety that there may be "fall-out"..

Secular twilight?

As we all know, and history attests, the main purpose of politicised religion is to control people in the here and now (as opposed to in some imaginary after-life). Obviously there's nothing like convincing a mob that the all-powerful creator of the universe is on your side (usually based on nothing more than the fact that you have the fanciest hat in the village) and that trouble-makers better do what you say or else! Most systems are based on the most successful of mythology meme's (unsuccessful ones die out) They are intricately wired into human psychology and honed by hundreds of years of evolutionary selection forces. These meme's are extremely efficient at hooking the gullible, enabling intellectuals to rationalize the irrational and keeping the elites where they belong, i.e. telling you what to think and do at the end of a blade, barrel or ballot box while trousering all the cash. 

Often political religion is grounded in actual religion, however it often seems the case that regimes simply lacking in moral authority turn to religion to prop themselves up. Even in those regimes that were notionally atheistic (like Stalin's communist Russia) we still find all the same meme characteristics that religion thrives on, for example, tribalism, idol worship, mythology and with Lysenko's frost resistant vegetables, dogma that suppresses science. Religion has seldom been a force for good when thrust into the public square, it seems to work much better in the private sphere. if you think about it, it's a trivial matter to name historical theocratic regimes that have caused evil but much harder to pinpoint those that have advanced the causes and well-being of all mankind.

In America today we see a resurgence of religion in the public square. It's not a loud or overt campaign, even though it is lead by a loud-mouth Napoleon (on Twitter at least) But it's quiet, covert and (I fear) designed to subvert the protections that the founding fathers of that secular democracy put in place over 240 years ago. In Trump's new Cabinet we have all the ingredients. For example vice-president Mike "Snowball" Pence just biding his time, waiting for the dear leader to slip-up. Then we have our "Squealer 1" in Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and creationist, spreading lies and dogma designed to usurp good science and our "Squealer 2" in Betsy DeVos who says she is committed to "advancing God's kingdom" by putting "God" back into American schools (thereby breaking the First Amendment) No doubt DeVos will be keen to introduce those same lies regarding evolution that Carson regurgitates into the Biology curriculum? We have the "attack-dogs" of "fire-hose" Flynn and NRA supporter Perry; good'ol boys, not too clever but good in a scrap, examples of the wild-west "kick-ass" tradition, shoot first ask questions later. Time will tell whether Pompeo turns out to be the "cat" of the group or Purdue possibly "Boxer". Pruitt and Sessions will jockey to be "Moses" both dabble in dogma over science.

Depressingly these analogies to Animal Farm could go on and on; not that I think Trump is another Stalin-like figure but because, I fear his regime will be more "meme" than reality and that the people he's bringing in have a religious agenda that will dangerously diminish one of the few properly secular systems remaining on our planet. It feels like the world is stuck in reverse, and when you're driving backwards at speed, it's difficult to see what's coming, is that the safety barrier or a ravine?

Friday smirk

For all those Americans who feel like fleeing to the more rationally governed parts of the World today, somewhere that speaks the same language as you, such as the UK then forget it, we're no smarter and apparently hate immigrants even more than you. But seriously, just in case, I thought I would publish a little guide to some frequently used English phrases and the American equivalents,

In the UK we say,

Mum, not Mom

Crisps, not Chips

Chips, not Fries

Football, not Soccer

Rugby, not Football

School, not Firing range...

Kakistocracy

So the loonies officially take over the asylum later today and in my opinion, it's a sad occasion for all reasonable and liberal people the whole world over. I thought it fitting that I learn a new world to usher in this new regime and that word is "Kakistocracy", it's derived from the Greek word "kakistos" meaning "the worst" and hence means "government by the worst and least qualified people". 

Many are trying to put a positive face on things, the eternal optimists among us are saying things like "perhaps it won't be that bad" etc. However, I prefer to go on the evidence and the evidence suggests we're in for an embarrassing and fraught few years from a "pussy grabbing" pillock. Unlike some, I don't hope that Trump succeeds. He's a bully and  I detest him, and hope he crashes and burns, ideally as quickly as possible so that the American people can start to move forward again by electing the kind of leader they deserve, and the world needs.

Prophetic

I hate it when a complete narcissistic moron's plan comes together

Bromance

New J&M up today; sometime you can take a "bromance" too far.. (love the Daily Mail reference)

Wi-Fi chuckle..

Someone had a sense of humour on the train this morning..

Hold on lads..

Just listening to Theresa May's Brexit speech, found a really suitable image to go with it...

Perspective

Wise words from a fallen "Moon walker".

Meltwater

I see that the 2016 data on sea ice is in and guess what... it's the lowest ever recorded. BTW the gold/yellow line isn't the maximum extent, it's just the average over the last few decades. We have to assume that the poorer nations of this world will not be able to afford the defences and mitigation projects that will be necessary to stop people and property slipping into the sea, and unfortunately, people in the first world seem to care more about cats in wheelie bins and who won the latest TV talent contest. Of course we're kidding ourselves if we think we won't be affected, it's not a question of "if" anymore it's "when" and as we've seen from Brexit, many here think that human migration is intolerable already; just wait until the crops in third-world countries start failing on an industrial scale.

Nothing substantive about the science is contested any longer by honest scientists, but shockingly there persists a layer of scum in our society, grubby hands outstretched, that are paid by vested interests and lunatic fringes to spread lies and misinformation around this subject in the hope of muddying the water and maintaining the economic status-quo for as long as possible. How these people sleep at night is a mystery to me, but I'm pretty certain that history will expose them for what they are. I'm talking about people like ex-politicians Nigel Lawson and Christopher Monckton and journalists like James Delingpole and Christopher Booker along with many others from around the world, like James Inhofe in the USA and Ian Plimer in Australia. People with far too much influence and precious little moral or scientific authority, people who are happy to make a short term gain safe and secure in the knowledge that the collective memory is short.