Quote of the Day

"Well, call me old-fashioned if you will, but I have always taken the view that swastika symbols exist for one purpose only—to be defaced."
--Christopher Hitchens.

Via Sullivan.

Vatican can dish it out, can't take it

Oh, the poor, poor pope. He gets reamed after putting his foot in his mouth over condom use, but we can't make fun of him.

Just to remind everyone:

Speaking to reporters on his way to Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, the Pope said HIV/Aids was "a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem".

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer", the AFP news agency quotes him as saying."

Of course, everyone with a brain in their heads shot him down as being up to and including an evil quack, but the Vatican, typically, is not backing down:

"We will not accept the Pope being made the object of mockery and offense, in the media or elsewhere," said Angelo Bagnasco, the country's top bishop, citing the "controversy about condoms".

"He represents for everyone a moral authority, which this journey has made people appreciate even more," Bagnasco said."

Fuck you very much, you phony bullshit holy man. The pope said something stupid, irresponsible, and demonstrably untrue. And unlike spouting some nonsense about whether or not the communion wafer is really the literal body of Christ, or the Immaculate Conception, this is an issue that can cost real humans their health and their lives. There is zero excuse for saying that condom use leads to HIV infection.

And for those of you who think you can defend the pope, fuck you, too. It's not like he flubbed saying the inconsistent use of condoms leads to HIV infection (which is true). He's saying that spirituality and other bullshit nonsense is preferable to proven scientific means of disease prevention.

For the billion and 20th time, the Vatican and its latest corpse-in-waiting are trying to say that all we have to do to prevent sexually transmitted disease is to avoid sex. Period. In other words, just suppress 400 million years of vertebral evolution, our basic primate nature, and the natural and healthy outlet of what can be a beautiful and intimate expression of affection and love, and it'll work just like all the other times in the past.

Sure, no problems there. Just look at your own priesthood. Or for that matter, call up a study on teenage pregnancy rates or teenage STD infection rates. I'm sure that the Catholics are at a big, fat zero for all of recorded history.

Or better yet, don't. Just retract your statement, say you're sorry, and then SHUT UP.

Forever.

Moral authority, my ass.

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Via Skepchick.

Brilliant satire on homeopathy

From the Daily Mash, which is apparently Britain's answer to the Onion:

"An NHS hospital which used untrained receptionists to treat patients still performed better than homeopathy, research shows."

If you wanna know what homeopathy is, go here.

Via Skepchick.

Quote of the Day

"Never get in a scientific debate with a cute, sweet chick with 'SCIENCE!' plastered across her boobs."
--Abbie Smith, ERV.

(especially when that cute sweet chick REALLY knows her stuff.)

Shawn Johnson stalker arrested

This is just sad...

"Court records show a...(restraining) order was issued against Robert O'Ryan, who was arrested by Los Angeles police on Tuesday.

According to documents that accompanied the restraining order application, O'Ryan was stopped by security at CBS Studios, where "Dancing With the Stars" is produced, after he jumped on a fence on Monday afternoon.

Police later searched his car and found two guns and duct tape, according to the documents.

A police spokeswoman said she did not have any more details about the arrest."

You know, I don't believe in corporeal punishment, but I sure understand it. Now you've got a 17-year old who is, in her own words, in fear of her life. Nice going, jackass.

Via Des Moines Register.

An ass-chewing with style

Nobody does it better than the British:



Via Sullivan, who said, "(This is w)hat some Republican should have said to George W. Bush at some point..."

Spring in Iowa

Not really Iowa, but it could easily apply:

The pen is mightier than the sword, Your "Holiness..."

Or in this case, the artist's pencil. I'm cadging these from Hemant Mehta, the Friendly Atheist. Go here for the context. Enjoy...

From Chan Lowe:

From Mike Luckovich:

From Tony Auth:

(via Slate)

Gay rights: Do it for the children!

Dan Savage:

"Teen mom Bristol Palin and her fiancé, Levi Johnston, called it quits last week. So we've been cheated out of the Royal Rube Wedding we were promised during last summer's Republican National Convention—and another child will grow up without a father in the home, which is a tragedy for the child, according to America's Talibangelists.

"Or that's what they said when Mary Cheney—remember that dyke?—had a baby with a woman she would marry if she could marry. It's weird that America's Talibangelists aren't making the same point now."

How to ruin someone's spa experience

Although, having wheat grass stuffed up your bum sounds like an experience worth ruining...

"We were in the sauna, and my friend and I were discussing the nutritional value of wheatgrass. We were trying to be quiet, and not disturb the other ladies in the sauna, but I think I hit a nerve with our nearest neighbor when I said that wheatgrass was at best a placebo.

"The woman piped in testily that it was not just a placebo, and that wheat-grass contains valuable chemicals found in no other food. I told her she should just go eat an orange."

Via Skepchick.

Whitest. Dunk. Ever.

Via Sullivan.

Charles Grassley is full of shit

No, I can't be diplomatic. Sullivan:

As Judge Judy signs off on relaxing marijuana laws, one senses a tired desperation from some:

Senator Grassley says the new policy outlined by Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday is counterproductive because marijuana leads to use of harder drugs.

Is that all they've got to justify federal raids where state policy allows for medical pot? We're back to the gateway drug canard?

Remember, this is the same Grassley who spouted off on AIG executives falling on sabres and who also voted in favor of the Military Commissions Act of 2006. If anyone needs to be put to pasture, it's this Iowa farmer. 2010 can't get here fast enough.

Dude, take a hit offa this...

If you ever need a good laugh, go here. Nothing like videos of cats high on catnip for cheap amusement.

PZ Myers: The Pope is an Evil Quack

What he said:

You've all heard the news by now, I'm sure: the pope was traveling to Africa, a continent plagued with widespread sexually transmitted diseases and also, coincidentally, one of the few places where Catholicism is growing, and he dispensed a little medical advice:

Speaking to reporters on his way to Cameroon's capital, Yaounde, the Pope said HIV/Aids was "a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can even increase the problem".

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer", the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

Consistent condom use is associated with a reduction in the incidence of HIV infection of approximately 80%. It does not increase the problem. I know the Catholic church is reliant on the denial of human nature, something demonstrated regularly by the activities of its own priests, but at some point they have to recognize a simple reality: people like to have sex. You aren't going to talk them out of it without warping their psychology in a truly pathological way (again, witness the Catholic priesthood), but you might be able to get them to practice sex in a way that protects their health.

Claiming that condoms increase the problem is disinformation and outright quackery — it's a lie that will kill people. That is what the pope is doing on his little tour, spreading lies, doing harm, and setting back efforts to materially help the afflicted. "Friendship" won't help the children of a woman dying slowly of AIDS, nor will gilt-robed old men whispering about "spirituality" do one scrap of good against a dangerous reality.

Via Pharyngula.

Quote of the Day

"I’m tired of bad news. If I want bad news, I can always open the six months’ of 401(k) statements I have filed under 'Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here.'"

--Christopher Buckley

Steve Levy of ESPN: Best. Blooper. Ever.

This is so old Keith Olbermann was sitting next to him at the time it happened. Lor', but this is hilarious.

PZ pwns a creationist idjit

Happy birthday, PZ Myers! In honor of his birthday, here's his latest thrashing of the perennial dipstick Ray Comfort:

So Ray Comfort is now complaining on the revered pages of the respected publication, World Net Daily about me. The article is full of dishonest misquotes, but let's zip right to Ray's scientific misunderstandings. They are deep and painful.

And it gets better from there. Ray Comfort should volunteer to be the main course on feeding day with PZ's zebrafish.

Soccer show-off

I have no idea if this is real, but I'm inclined to think it is. It is Ronaldinho, after all...


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Update: Upon second thought, it looks like a commercial. Not so real, maybe.

Infrared photography.

This collection will blow your mind...