Unorthodox
Creationist vs. Scientist…
I ran into a very interesting post about Billy Grahams stance on creationism and science. I won’t repeat the entire text because the salient parts are included the the blog at the link below, but I found it interesting that we both have a similar tack on creation, science and man. I am, as I have professed on a couple of occaisions, a theistic scientist. I don’t believe that science and faith must be mutually exclusive. I find that there are often interesting parallels between the two.
And while one has a supposedly more “methodical” approach, I still see a lot of what looks a whole lot like “faith” involved in the scientific process, and a lot of practical “science” in faith. So they may not be as anathema to each other as many people think. I’ll grant that I may not share Billy Grahams views and beliefs on everything, or even practice my “faith” like everyone else, but I thought it interesting that it was still possible to come to similar conclusions even from a purely religious standpoint…
Billy Graham on Young-Earth/Old-Earth – [Careful Thought]
Indian Judges Get Schooled
Here’s yet another great article on dysfunctional legal systems , this time from India:
In an order issued late Friday, Judge R. K. Tiwari was told to return for a three-month refresher course after issuing an arrest warrant in defiance of a previous High Court ruling.
Yes, in India, the lower courts can over rule the higher courts… NOT!!
Tiwari had ordered police to detain a landlord in a case where his tenant had failed to pay the power company, despite a previous High Court ruling that the landlord could not be held responsible. Tiwari could not immediately be reached for comment. – [Yahoo/AP]
And I thought it was bad here in the US!! How did this guy make it into office? But (at the risk of sounding like a broken record) one thing I will say is that the whole retraining idea is a good one. All judges and lawyers should be required to take periodic refresher courses in ethics and the law. As should police officers. And soldiers. and High-ranking military. And government officials. And… Well you get the idea.
OK… Back to my cave I go …
Indian judge ordered back to law school – [Yahoo/AP]
Litigating the Almighty…
I ran into an interesting article today, about a rather unusual case. It appears that no target is to great for the odd frivolous lawsuit. Or so this Nebraska lawmaker claims:
State lawmaker Ernie Chambers filed a lawsuit Friday against the Almighty — acknowledging he/she goes by numerous aliases — for causing “fearsome floods, egregious earthquakes, horrendous hurricanes, terrifying tornadoes, pestilential plagues” and other alliterative catastrophes.
The suit, Chambers vs God, asks the court for a “permanent injunction ordering defendant (God) to cease certain harmful activities and the making of terrorist threats” which affect innumerable persons, including Chambers’s constituents.
Chambers told local media he filed the suit to make a point about frivolous lawsuits frequently seen in US courts, citing a recent one against a judge. – [Yahoo/AFP]
OK, bud, we get the point. Notwithstanding the fact that it is common knowledge that there are a vast number of frivolous lawsuits brought to court in any given week, I fail to see how this particular stunt proves anything.
Any judge in their right mind would throw this out. And that will be that. And he wont have proven anything we don’t already know. Like the fact that he has too much time on his hands…
God sued over pestilence and terror – [Yahoo/AFP]
The “Hello Kitty” police!!
Unruly members of the Bangkok Thailand, police force are soon to become a part of an unusual brigade:
Thai police officers who break rules will be forced to wear hot pink armbands featuring “Hello Kitty,” the Japanese icon of cute, as a mark of shame, a senior officer said Monday.
Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late — among other misdemeanors — will be forced to stay in the division office and wear the armband all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan. The officers won’t wear the armband in public.
The striking armband features Hello Kitty sitting atop two hearts.
“Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offense, no matter how minor,” said Pongpat, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok. -[USA Today]
HA! I’d like you all to give a warm round of applause for the “Hello Kitty” Brigade!! I am totally enthused by the number of creative disciplinary measures that I have been seeing lately. And this one is a doozy.
I mean what better deterrent is there than for a tough, macho Thai police officer to have to parade around in public with a hot pink “Hello Kitty” arm band on their arm, with hearts and everything!! I’m sure their adoring public with absolutely love it!
I love it…!
Bad Thai cops to endure Kitty shame – [USA Today]
The Fermi Paradox rears it’s ugly head…
The Fermi Paradox refers to the apparent lack of evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life, when all other probabilistic scientific determinations would indicate that the alternative should be true, and there should be intelligent life out there.
In other words, if we assume that the way life developed on earth is stereotypical of the development of life in general, and that given the same conditions, life should developed again in the same way, then given the high probability of similar conditions existing on other planets in the universe, having existed far longer than the earth has, why have we not seen any evidence this extraterrestrial life?
At first people thought that we simply lacked the technology to detect the signs of this life, but recent scientific advancements have suggested that this may not be the case. It is an interesting dilemma. What I find equally interesting is that in spite of this paradox, the possibility that we were created, as opposed to simply springing out of some prehistoric primordial soup does not seem to have been honestly considered.
I’ve always thought this argument an interesting one, and being that I consider myself both a theist (of sorts) as well as a firm believer in science, I would offer this thought. Maybe we are still not advanced enough to detect extra terrestrial life. Or maybe theists are right, and we were all created. The absence of evidence can never be the evidence of absence, so as a scientist, in my own humble opinion, all I can honestly say is that we simply do not have enough data to rule anything out. Nor should we assume that the two are mutually exclusive…
Just a thought…
The Fermi Paradox is Back – [Slashdot]
The Fermi Paradox: Back with a vengeance – [Sentient Developments]
Creative sentencing at it’s best…
It seems like the law is such a grey, mundane, unrelentingly incarcerant and financially motivated institution nowadays. I suppose criminals are no less forgiving so it is warranted. Nonetheless I always find it refreshing to see justice meted that isn’t simply about jail time and cash:
PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti agreed to suspend a 30-day jail sentence if they wear the costume between 4 and 7 p.m. Friday outside the court while carrying a sign that reads “No Chicken Ranch in Painesville.”
The sign and costume refer to the “World Famous Chicken Ranch,” a prostitution house in Nevada where sex-for-money is legal. …
… Cicconetti has used barnyard animals to dispense justice in the past.
He ordered a man who called a policeman a pig to stand next to a live pig in a pen and hold a sign that read “This Is Not a Police Officer.” A couple who stole a baby Jesus statue from a manger were sentenced to dress as Mary and Joseph and walk with a donkey. – [Yahoo/AP]
I honestly don’t know if this is a result of some subconcious rebellious streak in my nature, or my love for creative solutions to problems, but I like this the way this judge rolls…
Soliciting sex draws fowl sentence for 3 - [Yahoo/AP]
Log In
My Thoughts…
Blogroll
General Info
Phyreblades Blogs
Famous Last Words
The Time Machine
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Feb | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | |||
Issues
Pick your Poison:
Easy Eavesdropping.
- Phyreblade on Objective vs Subjective Reporting
- dreadrocksean on Objective vs Subjective Reporting
- phyreblade on Giving relevance to the irrelevant…
- phyreblade on Giving relevance to the irrelevant…
- shamelesslyatheist on Giving relevance to the irrelevant…