Religion has actually convinced people
that there’s an invisible man.
Living in the sky.
Who watches
everything you do
every minute
of every day
of your life.

And he has a list of ten things
he does not want you
to do.
And if you do any,
any, of these ten things,
he has a special place
full of fire and smoke and ash and torture
where he will send you
to suffer and burn
and scream and cry
forever and ever
until the end of time. …

But he loves you.

George Carlin ( 1937-2008 ) “There Is No God”, You Are All Diseased (1999)

Of course if you want to slander America, you can look at it one way.

But you go down –
what you need to do –
I think I suggested you do this at a press conference –
if you go down to Guantanamo and take a look at how these prisoners are treated –
and they’re working it through our court systems.

We are a land of law.

— George W Bush, interview with Adam Boulton, Sky News

A Yes or No verdict in Thursday’s Lisbon Treaty referendum
will have far-reaching implications for Ireland
and its European Union neighbours.

If voters accept the amendment to the Irish constitution
then the charter will usher in a new era
of streamlined decision-making for the 27 member states.
Rejection at the polls will influence
the ratification processes of other countries
and effectively kill the Treaty
dead.

— Press Association: Far-reaching impact of referendum, 12 June 2008

The fact
that threats
of damnation,
torture and
other extreme
punishment are
used routinely is
clear evidence that
existing laws are
insufficient.

We call on the Prime
Minister to clarify the
existing harassment laws by
adding clauses outlawing any
form of threat, supernatural or
otherwise, aimed at
children; and to provide
guidance to the
police and other
authorities on the
enforcement of
these
laws.

– Petition to prohibit religious bullying aimed at children; website of No. 10 Downing Street

even 3D cybersex,
a significantly sized can
in its own right,
is often based on
someone else’s
intellectually protected
content

user-generated strap-ons
successfully monetized
through
permissions-based
virtual world
filesharing.

– C Sven Johnson, Future Imperfect, quoted at Futurismic

new myth to bust

nalgene
catsup
thermite
ethanol
caffeine
hampsters
guns

pekingese dog sleds
exploding toasters
cow tipping
free energy levitation made at home
exploding pinto’s
stop, drop and roll

bloody marry
bloody marry
bloody marry

gasoline melting structural steel
deadly chicken bacteria
6 crackers in 1 minute
exploding tomato paste
soda that stains teeth and faeces
dog’s mouth cleaner
tennis ball or cellphone unlocking car
pressurised human exploding

traffic signals
free energy
fainting goats
over unity
floating beer
perpetual motion
bra burning

bologna on a car hood
reflection from the eye
man on the moon
penny from the empire state
finger in the barrel
grape in a microwave
shot in a crucifix
voices of dead on tape
soap in the sheets
cellphone on a plane on a treadmill

did this get done yet?

– a selection of questions from the MythBusters Fan Forum, where fans can post suggestions for future shows.

The earth we inhabit
is not a permanent planet.
It is, frankly, a disposable planet —
it is going to have a very short life.
It’s been around six thousand years
or so — that’s all —
and it may last
a few thousand more.
And then the Lord
is going to destroy it.

I’ve told environmentalists that if
they think humanity
is wrecking the planet,
wait until they see
what Jesus does to it.

This earth was never
ever intended to be
a permanent planet —
it is not eternal.
We do not have to
worry about it being around
tens of thousands, or
millions, of years from now
because God is going to create
a new heaven and a new earth.

– John McArthur: Evangelicalism and the Environmental Movement

conflicts of interest aborted initiatives for the deployment of american democracy

thank you for the victors!

what happened in qana a crime against humanity

israel takes innocent lost comet

the implants do not derive only wind storm

allow re-deployment and use of any article on the site, provided the source is appropriate

— from today’s front page at aafaq.org. Translated from Arabic by Google Translate (beta)

So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds,
but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it.

Lord, let your laughter ring forth.
Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats,
rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.

And when you get through kickin’ ass
and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight,
be sure to tell those who come after
how much fun it was.

– Molly Ivins (1944-2007), Texan political commentator and author.

Dear Mark,

That is a big “if”.
Economists frequently explain
eccentric behaviour with
a model of two
rational agents
in one body,
battling to
outwit each other.

To summarise:
you have a split personality,
a warped view of time and
are too lazy to do
simple sums.

Now put down this magazine:
I suspect you are
running late for
something.

— Tim Harford, Five Minutes Fast (excerpt), Dear Economist column, Financial Times Magazine, 20 Jan 2007. Response to a question about setting one’s watch five minutes fast.