And on the lighter side - Heroes--Zeroes

Fans of Heroes will get a kick out of this.

Evolution V Creationism

Fossil exhibit fuels dispute in Kenya

NAIROBI, Kenya — Deep in the dusty, unlit corridors of the Kenya National Museum, locked away in a plain-looking cabinet, is one of mankind's oldest relics: Turkana Boy, as he is known, the most complete skeleton of a prehistoric human ever found.

But his first public display later this year is at the heart of a growing storm — one pitting scientists against Kenya's powerful and popular evangelical Christian movement. The debate over evolution vs. creationism — once largely confined to the United States — has arrived in a country known as the cradle of mankind.

"I did not evolve from Turkana Boy or anything like it," says Bishop Boniface Adoyo, head of Kenya's 35 evangelical denominations, which he claims have 10 million followers. "These sorts of silly views are killing our faith."

He's calling on his flock to boycott the exhibition and has demanded the museum relegate the fossil collection to a back room — along with some kind of notice saying evolution is not a fact but merely one of a number of theories.

Against him is one of the planet's best-known fossil hunters, Richard Leakey, whose team unearthed the bones at Nariokotome in West Turkana, in the desolate, far northern reaches of Kenya in 1984.

"Whether the bishop likes it or not, Turkana Boy is a distant relation of his," said Leakey, who founded the museum's prehistory department. "The bishop is descended from the apes and these fossils tell how he evolved."

Source: Pioneer Express (Complete Article)

This is something that's bugged me for a while. As I understand it, throughout humankind, faith and religion have been at odds with science.

I'm not here to debate the validity of one over the other. What I have trouble understanding is "why can't we all just get along?" For the most part science had allowed religion to believe whatever it wishes (with the notable exception of Richard Dawkins - A blog entry for another time). But why is religion so threatened by science?

If their faith dictates that their deity is all knowing and all powerful and all that jazz, then shouldn't they just let the pagans believe whatever they wish? Afterall they'll have the last laugh from heaven and while the scientists burn in hell. By stifling science I feel that religion is doing humanity a disservice by quashing the potential sum of human knowledge.

Is Science ever wrong? Frequently. However the nature of science is self correcting.
Is religion ever wrong? Frequently. However the nature of religion is denial.
(Hmm, I thought I said I wasn't here to debate the validity of one of the other? Oh well...)

However, the thing that really gets me, especially in this case, is, in a country where education for the masses is difficult enough to come by as it is, the evengelicals are attempting stem what little public education there is.

Also, I will concede that evolution is merely one of many theories as Bishop Boniface Adoyo contends, if he will do the same for creationism. And no, you can't use the Bible as proof of the Bible.

The best way I know how to say it is - I don't teach in your churches, so don't preach in my museums.

Conan - Meet The Press For Idiots

Heh heh, a good chuckle from Conan

Jesus & Mo - Hijab

If it's a little tough to read, click to make the image bigger

Jesus and Mo is a cartoon I've been frequenting for a while now... humourous and insightful commentary of Christanity and Islam and Judaism when Moses comes for a visit. I've linked to them in my recently added "Links of Interests"

A nickel for your thoughts?

It doesn't make 'cents' to keep the penny: study

A new study says it doesn't make 'cents' to keep the penny.

In fact, only 37 per cent of Canadians still use the coin for purchases, found a survey conducted by Desjardins Group.

According to economists with the group, there are about 20 billion pennies in circulation -- amounting to about 600 per Canadian.

But between 2001 and 2005, the government issued an average of 816,000,000 pennies annually -- indicating that consumers tend to stockpile pennies or simply throw them away.

To keep the pennies in circulation, Canadians are losing about $130 million per year in production, storage, transportation and various costs, say the economists that conducted the research.

They are proposing that Canada withdraw the penny, following in the steps of Australia and New Zealand.

Francois Dupuis, vice-president and chief economist at Desjardins' Economic Studies Department, said he doesn't think removing the penny will increase prices.

Source: CTV (Complete Article)

This has been a long time coming. However, what I am having trouble understanding is why has this taken so long to come to fruition? Most people I know don't use the penny anymore and having a penny tub just isn't worth it anymore. Have you ever tried to taking your pennies to a bank to "cash" them in? The banks take ten percent right off the top, who do they think they are? My publicity agent?

This is the first time I've heard of people licensed to print money and they can somehow still find a way to print it at a loss.

Although, I don't know what this will do to comedian Steven Wright's: "It's a penny for your thoughts, but your put your two cents in... someone's making a penny" bit