Atheist knowledge

[facthunter]

Allah doesn't deal with infidels. They work with the great Satan, and are ALL going to hell. Gees I can hardly write this stuff. It's so FKN not BLVBL. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

No wonder the extremists call western education Haram (Boko Haram). Their hold over the believer is threatened by the little rays of daylight brought by knowledge of the real world. It is a brave Moslem who questions the nonsense peddled by ignorant clerics. Leaving the faith can be a death sentence. A near-perfect pyramid scheme.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Overnight another leading doctor in the Polio program was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike in Pakistan.

 

 

[bexrbetter]

Good to see solid "religion of peace" upbringings ...

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exzTgVWi6oM

 

 

[M61A1]

Good to see solid "religion of peace" upbringings ...

 

How tempting that would be, just to pull a little further right and accelerate.....

 

 

[bexrbetter]

How tempting that would be, just to pull a little further right and accelerate.....

Sure it's been done and not reported.

 

Biggest problem is where do you go after that, no left or right turns and just down the road you're likely to be baulked by another rig upon which 100 Mulsims set upon you and tear you apart.

 

Razor wire on the rear, which I'm surprised they don't have, and a mace solution, in large quantities, probably about the best you can do. Mace can be as simple as heavily salted water with lemon and chiles.

 

 

[eightyknots]

We eradicated killer diseases like smallpox from our planet and came very near to getting rid of perhaps the cruellest of all: polio...and religious nutters stopped it!

 

That'd be the Taliban.

There's also a bunch of nutters known as "anti-vaxxers", but their religious status probably varies wildly.

I have known anti-vaxxers who voted Green Party and were avowed atheists. Not sure about the religion claim.

 

The background to vaccination is that Edward Jenner observed that milkmaids who had developed cowpox rarely contracted smallpox. From this idea vaccination was born. Edward Jenner was a son of a minister and was a Christian. Yet, through the introduction of vaccination. A BBC documentary about eight years ago made the claim that Edward Jenner saved more lives than the work of any other human. Quite a claim for a Christian.

 

 

[Marty_d]

I have known anti-vaxxers who voted Green Party and were avowed atheists. Not sure about the religion claim.

Hence the "but their religious status probably varies wildly" statement. And yes there are lunatics on the fringes of the Greens, just as there are on the other political parties.

 

A BBC documentary about eight years ago made the claim that Edward Jenner saved more lives than the work of any other human. Quite a claim for a Christian.

Another great discoverer who lived in the 18th century, when 99.9% of Europe were christian and the 0.1% were very quiet. 80kts, I fail to see why you keep conflating the great discoveries of 18th century scientists, who to a man were probably christian (the Western ones, anyway) with their religion?

 

Darwin was a christian, that had nothing to do with his observations which resulted in the Theory of Evolution, which most fundamentalist christians stridently oppose.

 

 

[Bruce]

Bex, I'm a do it yourself guy and I've wondered about blending chillies and filtering the juice and putting it in a sprayer or water pistol... I never thought of salt or lemons though... was that a tried recipe?

 

Not that I have any use for mace, nothing happens around here. But I like recipes and know-how.

 

If they start molesting us 70 year-olds then I will know how to arm myself.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I have known anti-vaxxers who voted Green Party and were avowed atheists. Not sure about the religion claim.

The background to vaccination is that Edward Jenner observed that milkmaids who had developed cowpox rarely contracted smallpox. From this idea vaccination was born. Edward Jenner was a son of a minister and was a Christian. Yet, through the introduction of vaccination. A BBC documentary about eight years ago made the claim that Edward Jenner saved more lives than the work of any other human. Quite a claim for a Christian.

I wasn't having a go at Christians, 80kt. In fact I have found Christian charity to be a big motivator behind much good work. Unfortunately, Moslem charity (which is also widespread) in this case is being overridden by ignorant, backward fear of progress -or just hatred of anything from the West.

 

 

[dutchroll]

I have known anti-vaxxers who voted Green Party and were avowed atheists. Not sure about the religion claim.

I've had quite a bit to do with "anti anti-vaxer" lobbying in the past.

 

One of the things which is intriguing is that they come with no predominant political or religious persuasion. Left wing, right wing, atheistic, religious, liberal voters, labour voters, green voters.

 

The things they have in common are:

 

1) a deep distrust or fear of anyone who has "expertise" in any area (so basically anyone who is well educated) and a tendency to gravitate towards conspiracy theories.

 

2) a total inability to see information in a contextual way. In other words, if polio vaccinations saved 10 million children from dying or being crippled but three children had severe anaphylactic reactions and died or became injured, they would see polio vaccinations as extremely risky.

 

3) the display of some quite extreme forms of the psychological trait which has become known as "Dunning-Kruger syndrome", a cognitive bias where they lack the capability to reasonably assess their own competency in a subject.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

..."Dunning-Kruger syndrome", a cognitive bias where they lack the capability to reasonably assess their own competency in a subject.

Dutch that might be the most widespread malady!

 

 

[hihosland]

One aspect of the anti vaxxers is that they rely on the herd immunity to protect their children a level of immunity in the population at large that has been created by those parents who accepted the risk/benefit equation and had their children fully vaccinated.

 

A rather selfish and unfair stance to adopt.

 

 

[facthunter]

Hating the West is a diversion to distract people from noticing how bad things are going locally. The West's not perfect but just how many Moslem countries (Theocratic Dictatorships) are nice places to live in, or even allow free expression Music Films etc. Any other brand of theocracy or totalitarianism wouldn't be any good either. Freedom is seen as a problem in these places. Too hard to control freedom (which by definition, you can't because then it's not freedom.. Nev

 

 

[dutchroll]

Hating the West is a diversion to distract people from noticing how bad things are going locally. The West's not perfect but just how many Moslem countries (Theocratic Dictatorships) are nice places to live in, or even allow free expression Music Films etc. Any other brand of theocracy or totalitarianism wouldn't be any good either. Freedom is seen as a problem in these places. Too hard to control freedom (which by definition, you can't because then it's not freedom.. Nev

I think that varies quite a bit depending on the region.

 

By individual country, Indonesia has the largest proportion of the world's Muslim population and although they have some extremist elements intent on causing trouble, my experience there is that they largely couldn't care less who you are and just want to be left alone to get on with daily life. I know a number of people who have lived there.

 

It's funny how people get different perceptions. When talking about walking down the road to the shopping centre or a restaurant in Jakarta, I've had people say "Walk down the road in Indonesia with all those muslims around? Are you crazy? What about your personal safety?" I've replied "I'm walking down the road to find a 7-eleven mate, I'm not roaming the city waving an "Australia First" banner trying to find a street protest to get involved in." They've invariably either never been there themselves, or if they have, remained holed up in the hotel the entire time.

 

Strangely, no Indonesians have yet tried to cut my head off while I'm buying a coke and packet of pringles. It's almost like they're too busy trying to etch out a living to really care who I am or where I come from - who'd have thought? I've had much the same experience in eastern Malaysia. However in northern Africa or Afghanistan I think things would be a little more precarious.

 

 

[Litespeed]

Anyone notice that one of the biggest neighbors in Asia is vastly catholic and are currently running state sanctioned death squads to purge the country of "drug dealers and users". Thousands are been murdered and no proof is necessary just a rumour will do. Or someone disliked for any reason.

 

The Philipines is hurtling down a very deadly path.

 

 

[facthunter]

Indonesia is not a dictatorship but is a muslim country. Some would say Australia is a Christian democracy wheras I would like to call it a secular state. Nev

 

 

[Litespeed]

Given that the Christian lobby are to get the lions share of 7.5 million to fight against the same sex marriage plebisite, it would appear we are definitely a Christian semi democracy

 

 

[dutchroll]

Given that the Christian lobby are to get the lions share of 7.5 million to fight against the same sex marriage plebisite, it would appear we are definitely a Christian semi democracy

Yeah it's funny what they'll fight tooth and nail against, given their chequered past and less-than-stellar performance when it comes to sexual misconduct and "family values" in general.

 

 

[onetrack]

The world needs a lot less people in it. Homo Sapiens are the rabbits of the world - wasting precious resources at a staggering rate, over-running everything, destroying everything, polluting everything - and the very largest % of them don't give a rats rectum about any of it - as long as they can produce multiples of useless offspring, just as rabbits do.

 

The amount of pollution in our largest oceans is just horrifying, and no-one cares about it - yet the oceans are the lifeblood of the Earth.

 

I've seen discussions of what constitutes a suitable and sustainable level of world population and the consensus is, a satisfactory, sustainable maximum is 4 billion. But the world population reached 7B in 2011 and is projected to be 7.38B by 2020.

 

We need lots more wars, and more death squads, to eliminate the bottom-feeders, so we can get back to the sustainable level.

 

Fortunately, with the likes of the crazies with access to nukes, diseases and desertification in Africa, dictators who continue to eliminate their countrymen wholesale, Islamic terrorists, and sundry other murderous bastards - they all might have a general effect on checking the massive and devastating increase in the global population. Probably needs a good dose of some worldwide strain of human calicivirus, to bring things under control.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

I am especially proud of one aspect of Australia's involvement in Afghanistan: even if the despicable Taliban overrun Uruzgan Province again, the long suffering people there will long remember confidant, educated Australian women service personnel in positions of authority, working with and being respected by Australian men.

 

The ignorant, backward Taliban will find a hard time erasing the memory of those vital role models for local young people facing a world of constant change.

 

 

[Marty_d]

Strangely enough, no one who argues for severe limiting to over-population ever volunteers to go first...

 

 

[facthunter]

One track,I agree with most of that. When the population doubles in ones lifetime you have what I would call a plague. The more ignorant, the more kids. About time to call a spade a spade, eh! Nev

 

 

[facthunter]

We are all going Marty, it's just that people are having too many kids they can't feed, educate, house because it's a sign of manhood, prestige, wealth or "something". Perhaps they don't know what causes it? Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

The world needs a lot less people in it. Homo Sapiens are the rabbits of the world - ...We need lots more wars, and more death squads, to eliminate the bottom-feeders, so we can get back to the sustainable level...

I share your concerns for the planet, Onetrack. Our species has developed enough technology to (temporarily) escape the normal population controls of nature. As a result we have spread like a plague over most of the planet, destroying ecosystems and exterminating other species at an accelerating rate.

 

Most of our kind now live in cities, with a total dependence on industrialised farming, forestry and mining, which is sweeping aside the last few indigenous peoples: the only ones with a close bond with the natural systems we all depend upon.

 

Unfortunately, your solutions to human overpopulation are not just messy; they're totally inefficient. Lots of regimes have culled human populations, but with only short-term effects. History has shown that death squads have been quite successful- but only at eliminating any opposition to brutal and greedy despots.

 

Singapore's Lee Kwan Yu long ago observed that the most productive and successful people breed the fewest kids, if at all, while the poor have lots of them. That seems to be common thruout the western world. The implications for society are dire.

 

I favour people having to obtain a license to have kids: by proving that they have not only the genetic viability, but also the physical and intellectual capacity to do so.

 

Sadly, I doubt that policy will be implemented anytime soon.