4 Ṭeveth 5769: Gregorian New Year’s Eve/Kwanzaa

Greetings.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “Pious Frauds”: Media Backspin correctly notes Muslims trying to hold Israel to an unrealistic, allegedly higher moral standard than Ḥamas in the Arab-Israeli War.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Double Standard”
  
• “Some Moderate Proposals”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is “The Legend of Master Legend”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

3 Ṭeveth 5769: Global Family Day/Oh My! Day/Kwanzaa

Greetings.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Making money at any price”:  If you can read this, thank a teacher.  As Rav Boteach correctly points out, Jewish educators are frequently undervalued, and I am certain this is correct for educators in general.
   
2. “Virginity Pledge Doesn’t Stop Teen Sex”:  I am all for people remaining celibate until marriage, but at least some ways of trying to prevent premarital sex do not work. Apparently a pledge is among these, and the consequences can be dangerous.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “The Savoy Hotel (1975)”
  
• “Israel at War: A Primer”
  
• “Diluting homeopathy”
  
• “Leap second: More time added to 2008”
  
• “Bad recycling: Pay stub used as bank robbery note”
  
• “Man carrying over $70 chooses jail over $1.57 soda”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is “Nuking the Fridge: The Most Ridiculous Movie Moments of 2008”. This made me feel glad that the only movie I saw in a theater in the past year was The Dark Knight. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

2 Ṭeveth 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 8/Tick Tock Day/Islamic New Year/Kwanzaa

Greetings.

Sorry about that mysterious, incomplete post some of you got in the mail. My computer did something stupid.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Israel Hits Back” and “Thoughts On Israel's Air Strikes”: Barry asked for something on the current Israel-Ḥamas battle in Gaza. Considering that Ḥamas has launched thousands of rockets at Israel after Israel pulled out of Gaza, the only surprising thing is that it took this long for ’Olmerṭ do anything.
  
• “Gaza War Diary II - Who speaks for the Gazans?”: Claiming to support someone is something distinct from actually supporting him/her.
  
• “Child maid trafficking spreads from Africa to US”: Submitted by Barry. This is shocking.
  
• “Had a bad year? '08 memories get shredded in NYC”
  

Today’s weird thing is the weird sentence “That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is”, which I am sure one person will complain about. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Ḥanukkah.

Aaron

1 Ṭeveth 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 7/Kwanzaa/Pledge of Allegiance Day/Card Playing Day

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “Tell Congress: HUNGER HURTS Hard-Working Families!”

Today’s news and commentary:

• “The robbery & murder behind the story of Hanukka”
  
• “The 'realist' fantasy”: Interesting political perspective.
  
• “Gaza War: 4 Media Myths to Be Wary Of”
  
• “MP3 player guides rescuers to lost tourists”: No, I am not making this up.
  
• “7 (Stupid) People Who Sued the Scientific Method”
  
• “NYC man sells bubbly calendars for popping fans”
  

Today’s weird thing is Servo Squirter, a computer-controlled do-it-yourself project which should be useful if your computer is ever attacked by the Wicked Witch of the West. Enjoy, share the weirdness, happy new month, and happy Ḥanukkah.

Aaron

Special weird update!

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day (while I am at it): “Ask Obama to Support the World's Poorest People”.

Late breaking news relevant to Divine Misconceptions which I feel compelled to share: “Ahmadinejad says Jesus would be on his side”: For once Mahmoud Ahmadinejad tells the truth, though it is most certainly not what the title of the article is. As it is written:

"If Christ were on Earth today, undoubtedly he would stand with the people in opposition to bullying, ill-tempered and expansionist powers," said Ahmadinejad in the message, according to Agence France Presse. "If Christ were on Earth today, undoubtedly he would hoist the banner of justice and love for humanity to oppose warmongers, occupiers, terrorists and bullies the world over."

Now, which states are the ones actually fulfilling his conditions?  Which states bully everyone else on the planet?  Which states are ill-tempered?  Which states are trying to expand its influence beyond its own borders and expand their own borders?  Which states act as warmongers, inciting people to commit genocide?  Which states occupy territory promised to another people?  Which states are responsible for a huge fraction of terrorism on this planet?  Thank you, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for admitting that most of the Islamic states, including your own, would be opposed by Jesus of Nazareth.  You probably did not intend to say this, but you put your foot in your mouth, as you have done many times before, and you have no one to blame but yourself if people laugh at you for condemning yourself.

Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

29 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 5/Boxing Day/Kwanzaa/St. Stephen’s Day

Greetings.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Goodbye 2008”
  
• “Blind man "sees," cruising through obstacle course without a hitch”
  
• “Story In Tears”
  
• “Amateurs are trying genetic engineering at home”: I cannot make something like this up. It was inevitable, though.
  

Today’s weird thing is “Princess Bride Lightsaber Battle”:

And for those for whom this is not their cup of tea, I present two LOLcat pictures sent to me by Emily:


Enjoy, share the weirdness, happy Ḥanukkah, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

28 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 4/Christmas/National Pumpkin Pie Day

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day:

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Report details abuse of Christians”: Still Christians in Iraq are being treated horribly by their Muslim countrymen. Exactly why are we helping prop up a government which is not stopping this?
   
2. About 3 years ago, I published on this blog a review by Barry of the movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This movie was broadcast on television last night, and I watched it. And so having now seen it myself, I would like to make some additional comments on it:
   1. Professor Digory Kirke’s epistemology for why Lucy should be believed about there being Narnia on the other side of the wardrobe is faulty. That Lucy is the sister of the other Pevensie children, she is not lying, and she is not mad is insufficient reason. The possibility that she is mistaken is not suggested. E.g., she could be mistaking a dream for reality or have hallucinated Narnia in the wardrobe. The obvious empirical test of going in the closet far enough and checking, even just to humor Lucy, is also not suggested.
      
   2. The producers screwed up on depicting Narnia as being freezing under the reign of the Jadis the White Witch. The Pevensie children walk around with their coats open, their ears and noses do not turn pink, and their exposed hands do not get numb or frostbitten. We do not see fog condensing out of anyone’s breath. (Now I feel an urge to watch The Empire Strikes Back to see if they did a better job depicting cold on the frozen planet of Hoth. Wait a minute... I think they filmed part of that portion of the movie in actual cold and snow.) Add to this that much of the computer-generated imagery looks fake.
      
   3. The White Witch’s outfits are not only padded to hide her figure, but they look even stranger than the impression Barry gave. Her hairdos are also hideous. So much for the cliché that villains have great fashion sense.
      
   4. Come to think of it, how is a near-Terran ecosystem supposed to survive 100 years of continuous winter?  Terran life is geared for an annual cycle of seasons.  While it is probable that some life would survive, one would expect many creatures to go extinct.  Beings adapted for life in permanently cold temperatures, such as polar bears and reindeer, might do OK, assuming an adequate food supply.  Temperate beings might have a harder time.  Beings with life cycles linked too closely to the seasons, such as non-polar bears, would probably go extinct quickly.  Plant survival could be a serious problem, though maybe evergreen trees might make it.  Plant reproduction, on the other hand, would be out of the question; I am not aware of any plant which flowers in the snow.
      
   5. Aslan claims that “deep magic” defines right and wrong. This would be the most creative way of defining morality of which I have ever heard.
      
   6. When Peter slays the wolf Maugrim, how come there is no blood?
      
   7. In defense of Edmund, he appears to be terrified and acting stupidly because of it. This may not be deep or noble, but it is human. At least he does repent his stupidity.
      
   8. In defense of Aslan and the White Witch, the ways of deities and angels are mysterious and may well be beyond human understanding. However, the ways of C. S. Lewis are entirely within the realm of human comprehension, and as the creator of Aslan and all Narnia, he could have done a better job of setting up his world so that the rules make more sense. At least some of the oddness of the plot reflects the fact that this is Christian fiction. Given that Aslan reflects Jesus and Jadis Satan, the absence of Aslan from Narnia for 100 years reflects that Jesus did not come into the world until well after creation, and the Sacrifice of Aslan comes off as an extremely dualistic variant on the Crucifixion. That Aslan willingly allowed himself to be sacrificed is only natural; Jesus allowed himself to be captured and crucified by Pontius Pilate, even though he knew in advance he was a wanted man and had the opportunity to flee. That such behavior is suicidal is of no consequence; people who behaved in such a way in real life have been made saints by the Church.
      
   9. I was under the impression that not all animals in Narnia were intelligent and able to speak. Perhaps it is the stupid, dumb animals which are eaten by the carnivores.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Hanukka (1978)”
  
• “Outrage: Ahmadinejad's Channel 4 Christmas Message”: No, I am not making this up.
  
• “World War I Christmas Truce”: This was a moment when people let their religion make them better people.
  
• “Giant snowman rises again in Alaska — mysteriously”
  
• “Magpies Recognize Their Faces in the Mirror”
  
• “Toxic Ash Pond Collapses in Tennessee” and “Coal war: Can the fossil fuel be cleaned up?”: All a very shameful business.
  

Today’s weird thing is Science Cartoons Plus Christmas cartoons. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and have a happy Ḥanukkah or whatever holiday you are observing today.

Aaron

Some job application forms are badly designed

Greetings.

This is just a bit of complaining about the job application form I just filled in. Whoever put it together did a sloppy, poorly thought out job.  

1. When the applicant must give only one of two possible choices, it should not be possible to select both choices.  The easiest way to do this is to use radio buttons, which are a standard part of modern graphical user interfaces.  This would have saved the Web programmer the trouble of adding extra code to complain about an illogical selection.
2. If a piece of information is required, it should be marked as such.  It is hypocritical to give the impression that a field is optional and then complain when it is not filled in.
3. Applicants put together CVs and résumés so that all the information potential employers want is in one convenient place.  Asking applicants to fill in all that information through tedious forms and fields gives the message “We care more about making things convenient for our data bases than for human beings.”

I think that is enough for now.

Aaron

27 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 3/National Eggnog Day/Christmas Eve

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: Free Pollard Now (a truly pro-Israel president would pardon Jonathan Pollard).

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Police probe assault on 50 "witches"”: Major rule: First, collect evidence. If there is evidence, then hold a fair trial. Only if the verdict is guilty does punishment make sense. Anything else in a situation which is not an emergency (e.g., a psychopathic killer chasing someone down the street with a sharp knife) is stands a good chance of hurting someone innocent.
   
2. “US Postal Service won't send "any matter containing religious materials contrary to Islamic faith" to overseas military post offices”: Trust the Bush administration to have a regulation in violation of freedom of religion.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Distorted Body Images: A Quick and Easy Way to Reduce Pain”
  
• “One World, Many Minds: Intelligence in the Animal Kingdom”
  
• “Indoctrinating Palestinian Children to Genocidal Hate
  
• “Incest may not be best, but marriage bans should be rolled back, scientists say
  
• “BBC's Christmas Odyssey”
  
• “Nothing Personal, You're Just Not My Type”
  
• “Six Legged Cinema”

These days, around this time of year some people panic at the multiplicity of holidays, fearing that Christmas will be toned down or lost in the shuffle. (Which is pretty strange, considering that at any time of year there are bound to be multiple holidays, both religious and what pass for “secular holidays”, yet there is much less multiple holiday panic. I would also like to note that “holiday” in any compound, such as “holiday season” or “holiday tree” comes off as a way of referring to Christmas without actually saying “Christmas”, and judging from the paucity of non-Christmas holiday specials on TV compared to the abundance of Christmas specials, I doubt anyone has any rational reason to fear about Christmas being lost in the shuffle.) Today’s weird thing is a classic parody roaming the Internet of the consequences of trying to treat this time of year as a “holiday season”, “Holiday Party”. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Ḥanukkah or whatever other holiday you celebrate around this time of year.

Aaron

26 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 2/Festivus

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “Send a message to the people of Zimbabwe”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “Madoff and Rubashkin: A contrast in two scandals”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Happy Hanukka (1988)”
  
• A cartoon someone named “Gene” sent me a link to
  
• “Reproduction of 2,100-year-old calculator deepens mystery”
  
• “More? What the Dickens are you talking about?”
  
• “Put your fears in perspective”
  

Today’s weird thing is an item which anyone should be able to recognize as being an attempt at combining two incompatible holidays, the Santa Dreidel. Enjoy (or be scared or something), share the weirdness, and happy Ḥanukkah.

Aaron

25 Kislew 5769: Ḥanukkah, day 1

Greetings.

It is the first day of Ḥanukkah, and as usual, for the sake of publicizing the miracle, I lit my windproof menorah outside last night. (This is a good way to confuse one’s non-Jewish neighbors. For those who feel self-conscious about “extreme menorah-lighting”, keep in mind that Christians tend to put up lights for the holiday they happen to have around the same time of year, too.) For a change I did not use those sealed glass oil bulbs, but instead used olive oil poured (or rather squirted with a medicine dropper) directly into the menorah. At first I used a wax wick held up with a little cork circle, but that went out too early, so I replaced it with a more old-school cotton(?) wick, which lasted much longer.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Gift Giving”: Note: There is no authentic tradition of giving presents on Ḥanukkah or of a Ḥanukkah fairy.
  
• Rhymes with Orange 2008-12-22
  
• “Octopuses give eight thumbs up for high-def TV”
  
• “Milan's homeless get caviar for Christmas”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Heinlein's Fan Mail Solution”, which offers a peak into the mind of one of the people who is going to get clobbered by my Divine Misconceptions project. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and happy Ḥanukkah.

Aaron

23 Kislew 5769: ‘Erev Ḥanukkah/Humbug Day/4th Advent

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Cure Childhood Cancer - Raise Awareness and Funding, “Ban Toxic Phthalates in Toys!”, and “Demand justice in post-Katrina shootings”.

Note:  Tonight is the first night of Ḥanukkah!

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “Breast cancer gene-free baby due”: The baby in question is being grown from an embryo created through in vitro fertilization and specifically chosen not to carry a gene which carries an increased risk of breast cancer. The point of this is to deliberately not pass on a defective gene so this baby and his/her descendants will not suffer from its effects. I find it rather odd that anyone is worried about this sort of thing. As it is written:

Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics said: "The most important thing is that people realise this is not a cure for breast cancer.

"In addition, we must not forget the embryos which were discarded because they did carry the gene.

"Moving to screening embryos for susceptibility genes, rather than inherited conditions, has broken through a barrier.

"What next? It is going further along the line which ultimately ends in designer babies."

Note that last line.  First of all, it is judging something based on its real or alleged consequences at least decades down the line.  This is not legitimate, as someone sufficiently creative might invent a line of causation between any two actions that far apart in time, thus allowing one to prejudge anything negatively.  Secondly, what, pray tell, would be so wrong with designer babies?  Parents for the most part seem to want the best for their children.  This is why parents go out of the way to do things to make it more likely their children will have good lives, such as invest a lot of time, money, and effort in educating them.  That parents would want their parents to have better genes, too, is not only unsurprising, but it is something someone has probably has already done something about using our traditional method of reproduction.  It is difficult to imagine that no one, in choosing a mate, would not have any thoughts about what sort of children would be the result of the union.  There is even a famous story to this effect:

A strange lady giving an address in Zurich wrote him [Shaw] a proposal, thus: `You have the greatest brain in the world, and I have the most beautiful body; so we ought to produce the most perfect child.' Shaw asked: `What if the child inherits my body and your brains?'

Indeed, this is something women seeking to get pregnant via donated sperm have to consider.  Will anyone dare complain about anyone who uses the traditional method of reproduction to try to produce a superior child?  And considering that it is possible to load the die (so to speak) anyway, why would taking a shortcut using genetic engineering be any more objectionable?  Yes, we might complain about parents who asked a genetic engineer to give their future child a trait which really does not matter, e.g., a specific eye color—and future genetic engineers may well try to persuade such parents not to bother with such a genetic alteration or refuse to perform it.  But what is so wrong about making children healthier, smarter, or more creative?  Why should we not try to give future generations advantages we do not currently have?

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Auditor: IRS doesn't check cyberaudit logs”
  
• “Don't be fooled: six holiday health myths verified or debunked”
  
• “eBay and the Brain: What Psychology Teaches Us about the Economic Downturn”
  
• “Fat fingers no problem with 'see-through' touchscreen”
  
• “Influenza Deaths”
  
• “Dinosaurs Were Dutiful Dads”
  
• “Wildlife experts ponder gender of Santa's reindeer”: Yes, people actually wonder about this.
  
• “Scientists to EPA: Risks of Chemicals That Alter Male Hormones Should Be Analyzed Together”
  
• “Michigan city bans being annoying in public”: Someone somewhere had to try making such a law. Though somehow I thought it was almost a right in the United States to be annoying.
  
• “Technical Mumbo Jumbo May Scare Patients”
  

Today’s weird thing is The Great Fruitcake Recycling Project. Enjoy and share the weirdness and perhaps a recycled fruitcake.

Aaron

22 Kislew 5769: “Is That Ocarina Music Coming from Your iPhone?”

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “Tell President Bush: Don't stiff autoworkers.”

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Bernie Madoff's Ponzi”
  
• “In the U.S., fewer die of heart disease, but it's still the top killer”
  
• “Baby's hot wheels: An incubator made of car parts”
  
• “Antivaxxers are doing real damage to society”
  
• “The Mr. Moms of the Fish World
  
• “Diversity Revealed: From Atoms to Traits”
  
• “Moving? Be sure to pick up a map of natural hazards in your new 'hood”
  
• Ecofont, which tries to save printer ink by putting holes in characters
  
• “Drillers break into magma chamber”
  
• “Iowa town's roads well seasoned
  

Today’s weird thing is “Is That Ocarina Music Coming from Your iPhone?”. Enjoy, share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron

The Divine Misconceptions bounty list

I, Aaron Solomon Adelman, in the search for better information, hereby declare the following bounties.  The first person to provide any of the requested data to my satisfaction will receive one (1) book from my PaperBackSwap bookshelf or the equivalent monetary value thereof ($3.95).  (I do not currently have huge resources.  The prize is about honor, not money.)

1. Any solid evidence for the Documentary Hypothesis.  I am not looking for literary criticism, but rather positive evidence that separate J, E, P, or D ever existed.  If the Documentary Hypothesis is true, there should have been groups which did not accept the redacted Torah but clung to J, E, P, or D, as almost inevitably there would be some who did not accept the innovation.   Is there any record of any such group ever existing?  Has anyone ever heard of a group which held by a longer Torah or a shorter Torah?
2. Empirical testing of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.  The claimant must perform a clinical trial of the methodology in The Secret according to the standards necessary for publication in a respectable, peer-reviewed scientific journal.  This includes defining outcomes in advance, a comparable control group, randomization, and a sufficient sample size.
3. Any solid evidence of the existence of demons.  An actual demon, dead or alive, or some portion thereof, of a quality sufficient to describe in a respected, peer-reviewed scientific journal, must be provided.  This bounty carries the additional prize that the qualifying claimant also gets naming rights.  Also note that demons or other sentient nonhumans may be and are encouraged to be claimants.
   
4. Theism is in principle demonstrable, since empirically demonstrable prophecy is conceivable.  However, what can an atheist do to demonstrate that no god exists?   Even if one is convinced based on the structure and workings of the universe that no material deity exists, (so far as we can tell), we are not empowered to observe anything outside our own physically reality.  Therefore, how can one distinguish experimentally or observationally between atheism, deism, covert panenthesim (immanent theism), and covert transcendent theism?
   

To file a claim or ask questions, please write to Aaron.

Note:  Serious claims only, please.  Anyone sending anything that smells of a joke or a hoax risks having his/her claim dissected as part of the Divine Misconceptions series.

21 Kislew 5769: Bake Cookies Day/International Migrants Day

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day: “EPA Must Clean Up Cement Kilns Now!”

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “Why I hate movies about Jews”: This is a very interesting perspective on how Jews are depicted in Hollywood: all to often as victims and rarely if ever as positively viewed victors. Considering that the next Jewish holiday is Ḥanukkah, the historical incident that would make for a good movie with lots of action (including CGI elephants) should be obvious.
   
2. “The Latest Face of Creationism in the Classroom”: Major rule: Do not expect everyone to believe a lie, no matter how often it is said. Claiming that “intelligent design” is science and secular does not make it so, and academic freedom does not mean intellectual anarchy.
   
3. Right after I post today’s installment, I am adding a new feature to the Divine Misconceptions project:  a list of bounties for certain information.  Some problems simply do not have easy or obvious answers, and I am willing to put my money where my mouth is (so to speak) to get answers, should the answers be available at all.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “The Euro (1998)”
  
• “Stevia--A natural, no-cal way to satisfy a sweet tooth. But is it safe?”
  
• “Is Bamboo Flooring Better for the Planet Than Traditional Hardwood?”
  
• “Tumor in Colorado newborn's brain contained foot”: Submitted by Barry.
  
• “The Evolutionary Origins of Hiccups and Hernias”
  
• “Lawyers turn to Facebook to serve legal papers”: This had to happen sooner or later.
  
• “The Human Pedigree: A Timeline of Hominid Evolution”: Very complicated, and that is just in the past few million years.
  
• “Forklift allegedly used to steal ATM in Texas”
  
• “With Olympics over, China re-blocks some Web sites”: Figures.
  
• “Family pushes their dog as next Illinois governor”
  

Today’s weird thing, submitted by Barry, is the remarkable “Hammer and Nail Art”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

20 Kislew 5769: Saturnalia

Greetings.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “KAZAKHSTAN: Secret police raid, film and investigate believers”: Yet another country has trouble with the concept of religious freedom.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Pyramid Building”
  
• “Found: The Dimmest Bulbs in Space”
  
• “Yellow Mo. oleo: I Can't Believe It's Not Legal!”
  
• “Cleaning the Air Helps Cool the Planet”
  
• “What's the difference between cold and flu?”
  
• “Police: Armed burglars demand man's eggbeater”
  
• “Ancient armored amphibian had world's oddest bite”
  

Today’s weird thing is Simple Pop-Ups You Can Make!. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

19 Kislew 5769: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day/Barbie and Barney Backlash Day

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Save the Internet: Take Action!: Put the Public Interest First”, “Short-Sighted Oil and Gas Development Puts Our National Parks at Risk, “Tell President-Elect Obama: End Bush's Global Gag Rule”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “Rancid materialism is corrupting our community”: I doubt I can improve on Rav Boteach’s rebuke against ostentation and decadence. While directed at Jews, non-Jews may well find the message relevant, too.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Golda (1978)”
  
• “Three Simple Tests to Detect a Stroke”: Emily sent me one of the wandering messages this is based on, and while that message contains some correct information, it is also worthwhile to read this commentary on it.
  

Today’s weird thing is Blackle, a customized Google search which aims to save energy. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

18 Kislew 5769: Cat Herders Day/National Lemon Cupcake Day/Esperanto Day

Greetings.

Worthy cause of the day:

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions:

1. “'The Day the Earth Stood Still' Remake Goes Green ”: If this review is accurate, then the remake contains some very disturbing moral thinking, as it is written:

   The new version of the film focuses on a more contemporary preoccupation: the threat of climate change and environmental degradation. The new Klaatu, played by Keanu Reeves, couldn't care less if we blew ourselves to bits, but would we mind not taking out the rest of the species on Earth, as well as our rare habitable planet, with us?

   I.e., a distinction is made between humans and the rest of life on Earth, with all Terran life other than humans being considered more valuable and humans being considered worthless. But humans are just as much Terran life as anything else living on the planet. Why should one species be considered any less valuable than any other? So what humans are often environmentally destructive? All sorts of animal species move around and attack other creatures for their own benefit without the least bit of worry that there will be any long-term effect. Indeed, as sentient beings, humans are extremely rare. We are the only species known to have produced civilization on this planet. And why should something so rare be considered any less valuable?
   
2. “ARMENIA: Imprisonment of some 80 conscientious objectors 'not a human rights issue'”: Apparently the Armenian government has yet to figure out that the refusal of Jehovah’s Witnesses to perform military service is not satisfied by slapping a label of “alternative service” on a military program and that it is not the government’s business to dictate to anyone that any program fits their religious requirements. “You believe this” is not a convincing argument.
   
3. “SC ordered to stop making religious license plates”: This was in the news over here recently. What confuses me is why anyone wants a Christian license plate in the first place. The point of a license plate is to identify a vehicle and certify that it is legally authorized to be on the road. Its whole point is to be easy to read and, when not used for identification, to be ignored. Expressing one’s religious beliefs—or putting much in the way of any design—on a license plate gets in the way of legibility and defeats its purpose. The objection that expressing belief on a license plate is a violation of church and state is also valid; it is a government instrument, and it is not the government’s place to be promoting any particular religion. My recommendation for anyone who wants to use their car as a means of religious expression: try bumper stickers or a custom paint job.
   

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Images read from human brain”: I knew this sort of thing was coming sooner or later. Sort of creepy; isn’t it?
  
• “Cholera in Zimbabwe: Old epidemic in modern times”: Shame on the politics driving this!
  
• “Aw, nuts. Why won't my car start?”: No, I am not making this one up.
  
• “When Blindness Is in the Mind, Not the Eyes”
  
• “Iranian Propaganda TV Increases its Reach”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Solar System (with four rotating planets)”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

17 Kislew 5769: 3rd Advent/National Children’s Memorial Day and Worldwide Candle Lighting

Greetings.

NOTE: It is only about a week until Ḥanukkah!

Worthy cause of the day: “Help cure the #1 genetic killer of children under 2”.

Relevant to Divine Misconceptions: “GPS, hidden cameras watching over Baby Jesus”: This is not really about religious fallacies and misconceptions per se, but rather about a pointless stunt some people engage in. I say “pointless” deliberately, as stealing and vandalizing Nativity displays and menoroth does nothing to benefit anyone, unless there is a black market for stolen Baby Jesus models.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Scottish Church Magazine's Anti-Israel Attack”
  
• “Jellyfish gone wild ruin tourist spots, report says”: Submitted by Barry.
  

Today’s weird thing is “Pencil Carving”. Enjoy and share the weirdness.

Aaron

15 Kislew 5769: Poinsettia Day

Greetings.

Worthy causes of the day: “Petition to protect women of the Democratic Republic of Congo” and “Pledge to Pass on a Healthy Body Image”.

Today’s news and commentary:

• “Cranial Computing: Practical Brain-to-Cyber Interfaces Closer to Reality”
  
• “E-prescribing leads to more, cheaper generic Rx fills”
  
• “Cash Rewards Help Dieters”
  
• “Obesity's Tie to Childhood Earaches”
  

Today’s weird thing is “Inventor builds She-3PO robot”. This is not only weird but rather creepy in a bad science-fiction sort of way. Enjoy (or be freaked out), share the weirdness, and Shabbath shalom.

Aaron