Woman claims ownership of Sun

A Spanish woman has claimed ownership of the sun.
SMH article
The woman from the region of Galicia has registered her ownership with a local 'notary public".
She claims that there is an international agreement that a country cannot lay claim to any celestial body, but no agreement about an individual claiming ownership.
She wants to put a fee on everyone that uses the Sun.
I wonder if everyone that has got a melanoma from the Sun can sue her for damages that her property has caused.

Arguments that creationists should not use

       This article is on the Creation Ministries International (CMI) website.
The article lists the bad arguments that Creationists should not use to bash Evolution over the head with.
Obviously these arguments are old and tired arguments that Creationists once used, and have been successfully countered by good rational argument.
Here is the URL for the "Bad Arguments" article.
       This is what the Creationists have to say. "The primary authority for Creation Ministries International is the infallible Word of God, the Bible. All theories of science are fallible, and new data often overturn previously held theories. Evolutionists continually revise their theories because of new data, so it should not be surprising or distressing that some creationist scientific theories need to be revised too".
Are their Creationist scientific theories?
How many Creation Science papers are published in reputable scientific journals?

I will list the bad arguments below.
Arguments that Creationists should not use

• Darwin recanted on his deathbed
• Moon-Dust thickness proves a young moon
• Long day  NASA computers, in calculating the positions of planets, found a missing day and 40 minutes, proving Joshua’s long day and Hezekiah’s sundial movement of Joshua 10 and 2 Kings 20.
• Woolly mammoths were snap frozen during the Flood catastrophe
• NASA faked the moon landings
• The Castenedolo and Calaveras human remains in “old” strata invalidate the geologic column
• Dubois renounced Java man as a “missing link” and claimed it was just a giant gibbon
• The Japanese trawler Zuiyo Maru caught a dead plesiosaur near New Zealand
• The 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics began at the Fall
• If we evolved from apes, why are there still apes today?
• Women have one more rib than men
• Archaeopteryx is a fraud
• There are no beneficial mutations
• No new species have been produced
• Earth’s axis was vertical before the Flood
•  Paluxy tracks prove that humans and dinosaurs co-existed
• Darwin’s quote about the absurdity of eye evolution from Origin of Species
• Earth’s division in the days of Peleg (Gen. 10:25) refers to catastrophic splitting of the continents
• The Septuagint records the correct Genesis chronology
• There are gaps in the genealogies of Genesis 5 and 11 so the Earth may be 10,000 years old or even more
• Jesus cannot have inherited genetic material from Mary, otherwise He would have inherited original sin
• Light was created in transit
• The phrase “science falsely so called” in 1 Timothy 6:20 (KJV) refers to evolution
• Geocentrism (in the classical sense of taking the Earth as an absolute reference frame) is taught by Scripture and Heliocentrism is anti-Scriptural
• Ron Wyatt has found Noah’s Ark
• Ron Wyatt has found much archaeological proof of the Bible
• Many of Carl Baugh’s creation ‘evidences’
• Missing solar neutrinos prove that the sun shines by gravitational collapse, and is proof of a young sun
• Einstein held unswervingly, against enormous peer pressure, to belief in a Creator

The following are arguments that Creationists feel are doubtful and advise against using.

• Canopy theory
• There was no rain before the Flood
• Natural selection as tautology
• Evolution is just a theory
• There is amazing modern scientific insight in the Bible
• Laminin: an amazing look at how Jesus is holding each of us together
• The speed of light has decreased over time
• There are no transitional forms
• Gold chains have been found in coal
• Plate tectonics is fallacious
• Creationists believe in microevolution but not macroevolution
• The Gospel is in the stars

Well there it is. I am not a scientist, so erudite scientific argument from me will not happen. 
 It is an interesting article for all people that are interested in the Creation V Evolution argument.           
                   

School Ethics Classes

I see that the current Labor State Parliament are bringing in Ethics classes next year.

The classes are for children that don't attend scripture classes.

I think this is a good idea.

The classes are not competing with scripture, but something constructive that the children that don't go to scripture classes can do.

I also see that the Liberal State opposition, if they attain government in March 2011, are going to cancel the Ethics classes.

The opposition education spokesman, Adrian Piccoli is reported to have said in the Sydney Morning Herald.
''While the NSW Liberals and Nationals understand the importance of ethics we do not believe it should be positioned as an alternative to special religious education. We don't think that students should have to choose between special religious education … and ethics classes.'' SMH Article
Well, really, I don't agree. The students or their parents are not choosing between scripture and ethics classes. The ethics classes are for the children that don't go to scripture classes, pretty simple I would think.

Ethicist and political commentator as well as NSW Council of Churches representative Rev Rod Benson has this to say.  

"For more than a century, a small minority in our community has clamoured for the suppression of religious voices and the privileging of secular humanism in our schools, universities and media. The trial ethics curriculum is merely the latest tool to achieve that goal."  

Rev. Rod Benson's views

I would also disagree with this. Sure there are some that want religion banned from secular education. I feel the same way except if religion was taught as a comparative study of all religions. This is a poor argument against ethics classes in NSW state schools for children that don't attend scripture classes.

Archbishop Peter Jensen had this to say.

"A bad decision, made under political pressure, which will impoverish the education of many NSW public schoolchildren. Philosophical ethics is not a real alternative to the study of religion and it is unfair to confront parents with the dilemma of having them both taught at the same time."

Sydney Anglicans
I disagree again. What will and is impoverishing school children is the wasted time for the children that are not attending scripture, with nothing constructive to do.
It seems to me the religious organisations are feeling threatened by these ethics classes. They should not, surely any god fearing parents would send their children to scripture and not secular ethics classes. 

Nuclear Explosions, 1945-1998

Nuclear explosions 1948 to 1998. An interesting YouTube video.
Nuclear Explosions 1945-1998.

Psychometry

What is Psychometry.
From the Skeptic's Dictionary, It is an alleged psychic power that enables one to divine facts by handling objects.  
From Wikipedia, It is a form of extra sensory perception characterised by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object.
Well, you may ask, why I am bringing this up?
I have just returned from the U.S.A.. Last Saturday night I was in Las Vegas and saw a show in the Planet Hollywood Hotel/Casino. This show was a Mentalist act by a Gerry McCambridge.
The show was very good I enjoyed it immensely. He claimed that he would mess with our minds during the show, which I suppose in a way he did. He did some Mentalist/Magician tricks which were very well carried out, no idea how he did them.
Before the show started we were all handed some paper and pencil and asked to write our full names and some facts concerning ourselves. We then placed them in a box on the stage.
As he was doing his "tricks" he explained how he did them. 
He then got to a part of the show where he did some readings of some of the pieces of paper in the box, also a pea and thimble trick with a difference. He claimed he used psychometry in this part of his act. An alarm immediately went off in my head, my bullshit detector had detected something.
This part of the act he was well and truly blindfolded. He got some pieces of paper from the box and crunched them up then proceeded to call out the initials of the person he was getting vibrations about from the pieces of paper. This person or persons where then instructed to stand up and he then told them their full name plus other information about them that is on the paper.
The pea and thimble trick was a row of I think 6 foam cups, one of them had a large 4 inch nail pointing up into the cup which covered the nail. The Mentalist then eliminated each cup by smashing his palm onto the cups. He claimed he was using psychometry to detect the presence of the nail. He of course smashed all of the cups and the last cup contained the nail.
To me the claim of having the ability to use psychometry put a damper on the otherwise very entertaining, humorous show.
I wonder if he would try for the JREF million dollar challenge. A man of his claimed abilities I am sure would have no problems winning the million dollars, don't you think!

Creation and Evolution Further Update

A further update on the Creation Ministries International (CMI) seminar.
On their website CMI they say that their seminar,  (CREATION AND EVOLUTION, Scientific evidence, myths and challenges), has been moved to the Fraser Coast Baptist Church.
They claim  that a scare campaign by the Griffith University Society of Skeptics and Freethinkers was responsible for the cancelling of the event. They claim that the skeptics and freethinkers group browbeat the university into dropping the seminar.
I quote from their first line of their stop press about the seminar.

The Fraser Coast campus of The University of Southern Queensland (USQ) had asked for this seminar as a community event. When the plans became public ‘all hell broke loose’. A journalism student at Griffith University mounted a scare campaign, which seemed intended to browbeat the university into dropping the seminar.

Wow, this Journalism student must have some power.
They claim from this quote that the University had asked that this seminar come about as a community event.
The University say, quoting from the ABC Southern Queensland website from a audio clip of an interview on that radio station from Dr. Aidan Burke that, The community approached the University to have a forum on that topic.
This is the opposite to what CMI are quoting, so who is telling the truth.
CMI also state that when the plans became public all hell broke loose.   Well I wonder why!!
Why should a University host a religious propaganda seminar claiming that evolution is wrong. 
Evolution, that has mountains and mountains of unbiased scientific evidence backing it up.
Why should a small band of religious fundamentalists push their beliefs from the University in an attempt to show falsely that the University backs these beliefs in some way. Why should they have their beliefs pushed ahead of any other religions creation beliefs, what is so special about their beliefs. Why not the Hindus have a creation seminar, the Australian Aboriginals have a dream time seminar, what makes them so special.
It seems to me that the seminar is now in the right setting, Fraser Coast Baptist Church. 
Maybe a forum or debate by CMI and University Biologists etc. would be a more appropriate forum if it is to be held at the University. Here both sides can air their thoughts.   

Creation and Evolution Update

It seems that the Creation Ministries International Seminar has been removed from the University of Southern Queensland.
It looks like the CMI had some misleading advertising about the support of the University.
Here is the new advertisement from the CMI, New Advertisement.
I have also received a email from the University.
Email below.

Dear Bruce,

        Your enquiry regarding the creationist ministries event scheduled for 13 November at Hervey Bay has passed on to me. As part of the USQ Fraser Coast’s community engagement activities the campus has always been available to provide facilities whereby various community groups and members of the public might meet around various discussion points. 

         In this case however in making our facilities available it may be perceived that USQ is giving tacit approval to the Creative Ministries discussion titled, Creation and Evolution - scientific evidence, myths and challenges. This is not true and the University has moved quickly to withdraw whatever assistance it was giving with room bookings and that the organisers make alternative arrangements through other community groups better represented to promote and support such activities. The Vice Chancellor of USQ Professor Bill Lovegrove has sent an email to all Fraser Coast staff advising of this decision.

         As you can appreciate while the University supports its role as a leader in community debate which will at times confront contentious issues it does so in the belief that any consideration and deliberation of issues are balanced, impartial and unbiased. In its efforts to encourage community engagement USQ will continue to consider requests from all sections of the public to engage in dialogue on issues of mutual interest. In doing so however all requests will be considered on merit and where equitable, balanced and unprejudiced comment can be given.

Sincerely

Dr Aidan J Burke|Director Corporate Communication
University of Southern Queensland|Toowoomba 4350 |AUSTRALIA

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