Atheism at last!

I like this little music video about religion (in French with English subtitles, though the latter are rather hard to read in places). Fans of the Pope, and of appeasing Islamic imperialism, probably won't much care for it. It's gentle in tone but very true.

Oh, and watch this too.

O'Reilly rocks!

OK, this is all over the 'tubes, but deservedly so.

First watch Bill O'Reilly's original meltdown, a glimpse behind the polished façade of TV (note: foul language).

Then watch the dance remix version, an immortal work of computer art.

It's actually better than most real rap music.

Pop goes the world

A few of my favorite pop-music videos from other lands. For any-one who doesn't know this yet, you can get a full-screen version of any YouTube video by clicking on the icon at the lower right that looks like a rectangle with a smaller rectangle in its upper left.

Shvaine (Pigs) by Glukoza -- sung in Russian.

Yulya (Julia) by XS -- sung in Ukrainian.

Dragostea din Tei (Through the Linden Trees) by O-Zone -- sung in Romanian.

Neobyknovennaya (Uncommon) by Panayotov, Chumakov, & Alekhno -- sung in Russian.

Oi Zahrai My Muzychenku by Ruslana Lyzychko -- sung in Ukrainian.

Tubthumping by Chumbawamba -- sung in English.

Scatterlings of Africa by Juluka -- sung in English and Zulu.

Danzing by Verka Serduchka -- sung in English, German, Russian, and the Devil knows what else.

Moskva (Moscow) by Glukoza -- sung in Russian.

La Danse des Mots (The Dance of Words) by Jean-Baptiste Mondino -- sung in French.

Sucariya (Candy) by Roni Duani -- sung in Hebrew.

Crackerbox Palace by George Harrison -- sung in English.

Takogo kak Putin (Someone like Putin) by "The Putin Girls" -- sung in Russian.

Unbeschreiblich Weiblich (Indescribably Feminine) by Nina Hagen -- sung in German (a song in praise of abortion!).

Zhenikha Khotela (She Wanted a Husband) by Verka Serduchka & Glukoza -- sung in Russian.

The D'Ampton Worm Song by Machado & Powys -- sung in English (strictly speaking this isn't a music video but a clip from the great film Lair of the White Worm).

Update section

Kak Ya Lyublyu (As I Love) by Larisa Chernikova -- sung in Russian.

Melancholie by Mylene Farmer -- sung in French.

Video break

Because we can all use a laugh.....

Handmaiden presents the perfect sequel to the creationist/ID propaganda movie Expelled.

Vamp's World has an alert about another pedophile cult leader, a chat with Richard Dawkins, and some preachers making more sensible noises than usual.

Link roundup for 14 February 2008

Tengrain presents.....Rapture-Ready Republicans!

Will Jesus return? (Link sent by Mendip.)

Move over, Obama Girl.....Here's Huckabee Girl!

Iowahawk imagines how Chaucer might have portrayed Archbishop Williams. Here's a more serious view, and a look at actual practice in Malaysia.

The Danish media stand up for free expression again.

Sleestak has a curious posting about digital censorship.

John Evo looks at fundamentalists' un-American attitudes.

US drug laws are stupid. Dubai's are worse.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is heading for France.

Darwin, whose 199th birthday was this week, is commemorated by Skepchick, Blurber, and John Evo.

The practice of having sex face-to-face was once thought to be unique to humans, but was later found to be common among orangutans and bonobos -- and has now been observed among gorillas as well. So it is now known to occur among four of the five great-ape species (chimpanzees being the sole abstainers).

Glenn Reynolds looks at anti-aging research. Meanwhile, even now it's easier to live to be 100 than you might think.

Conservative pundit Victor Davis Hanson argues that Clinton would be a tougher opponent for McCain than Obama would be. Jay Cost and Tom Bevan debunk the spin that Obama has the race sewn up. Here's an assessment of the Florida-Michigan problem.

Meanwhile, the Republicans are still plagued by divisions of their own. And conservative essayist George Will takes a gloomy look at Republican corruption.

The Arizona employer-sanctions law has survived another legal challenge.

Shooting Moby Dick in a barrel

This is just too good. Bill Maher and Dan Savage discuss Mike Huckabee.

2007

OK, enough politics for a while. Here's JibJab's look back at 2007.

I'm not going to try to do a summary of the whole year myself. One of the things that does stand out about 2007, though, was how the squeaky-clean plastic curtain of the Republican-fundamentalist Axis of Arrogant Moral Judgmentalism was cast aside to reveal, not a wizard, but something more like Sodom and Gomorrah. It turns out that Mark Foley and Ted Haggard were just a warm-up act. Larry Craig, David Vitter, Gary Aldridge, Bob Allen.....have I missed anyone? The only authority figure who managed to emerge from the closet with his dignity intact was Albus Dumbledore.

Just for clarification, I don't really object to eccentric sexual behavior, so long as it's among consenting adults. What I object to is these people ranting and raving and pushing for laws to limit everyone else's freedom. That's hypocrisy.

The most positive developments of the year? The achievement of two major new breakthroughs in stem-cell technology, and the success of the US change in military tactics in Iraq. We'll probably have to wait until a Democratic President takes office a year from now to see the greatest benefits from these, though.

Link roundup for 1 December 2007

A passel of fundie wackjobs have somehow decided that the I-35 freeway in the central United States is the "highway of holiness" mentioned in the book of Isaiah in the Bible -- and have launched a series of "purity sieges" to harass nearby porn shops, gay bars, and so forth. Found via Andrew Sullivan.

Dennis Hastert -- horror/porn movie prop?

Big Heathen Mike has a wrathful posting about the "Qatif girl" case. Found via Tales of an Ordinary Girl -- her blog and Mike's are both worthwhile sites specializing in Randi-style skeptical thinking.

I hate pranks. This one was worse than most.

Is renting your home a better investment decision than buying?

Ralph Peters explains why the latest round of Arab-Israeli talks won't get anywhere.

The Texas state director of school science curriculum has been forced out after resisting higher officials' efforts to introduce intelligent design (found via Mock Paper Scissors, here). On a lighter note, here's an ID cartoon, and another one which I linked to long ago but is worth revisiting.

The NOVA report on the Dover ID trial, which I discussed here, can now be viewed online here at Ironwolf, who also offers some "nerdcore" videos.

The greatest Muhammad cartoon ever (warning: gruesome) contains more truth about its subject than I could pack into a thousand-word essay. Here's its creator's website.

This posting, and particularly the comments thread, offers some alarming insights into Ron Paul's views on separation of church and state. (My own main Ron Paul posting is here.)

Are the Democrats the natural party for atheists? Note that this posting is written from a testy Republican viewpoint, but to me at least, that just makes it more fun.

Over a century ago, two thinkers reached different conclusions about the theory of evolution from the same facts. One of them grasped that human knowledge on an important point (in this case, the energy source of the Sun) was incomplete at the time, while the other did not. Even today, people often forget that the mere fact that we don't understand something doesn't legitimize a religious "explanation".

American and Japanese researchers report progress toward a treatment for macular degeneration. Note also this linked story about how cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing the disease -- including exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke.

I've already posted here about the huge barrage of "end of the stem-cell wars" ideological flatulence which greeted last month's cell-reprogramming breakthrough. Finally one major media outlet, Time magazine, talks some sense.

Zappa-ing the evangelists

Go and watch this video right this minute. Go!

Bill Maher

Since I don't watch TV, I've been only vaguely aware of Bill Maher, but YouTube has many good clips of his. I've already linked to this interview with Russian Presidential candidate Garry Kasparov and this takedown of the "values voters". Here he is on Mormonism, on feminism, on Jesus Camp, on [c]rap music, on Jerry Falwell and homosexuality, on the (true, and infuriating) source of all those incompetent Bush appointees, and -- the best clip of all -- on the fundamental insanity of religion.

Video break

Here's a music video as topical as it is disturbing: The Hills of Los Angeles Are Burning.

Fascist dictators are hot! Putin of Russia does have his admirers. This lady sings (Ya khochu) Takogo kak Putin -- "(I want) Someone like Putin".

Bill Maher takes the mickey out of the recent Republican "values voter" summit/inquisition.

This German optometrist ad would be unlikely to air on American TV. Note: Brille nötig? means "Need glasses?"

For an overdose of cute, check out this lost kitten's mini-meows calling mama cat to the rescue.

And I refuse to spoil this one by trying to describe it in advance. Just go, and watch. Now.

Link roundup for 20 October 2007

Jabberwock hilariously dissects an even-stupider-than-usual Chick tract about Halloween.

Tony Blair rocks!

John Derbyshire looks at Chinese demonstration sports for the next Olympics.

The Christian Right now has one more reason to hate the Harry Potter books.

Did you know that the pill is part of the "culture of death"?

Senator David Vitter (R-Diaper) has failed in his latest effort to advance the Christian Right cause.

Daylight Atheism looks at a new breakthrough in quackery.

This is supposed to make people pay attention to speed-limit signs. For some reason I hardly noticed the signs, though.

The Vatican is.....well, it's the Vatican.

Since Congress hasn't gotten around to mandating net neutrality, it seems to me that it's up to the public to punish Comcast for this. Are you one of their customers? Wouldn't you rather have an ISP that doesn't try to decide for you what you should and shouldn't be doing on the internet?

Check out the surrealist art of Jacek Yerka and Stanislav Plutenko.

Taking a stand against proselytizing in public schools sometimes gets results. Unfortunately, the problem is more intractable in the military.

This essay is on-target about the Armenian genocide resolution.

Christopher Hitchens looks at the future of the Anglosphere.

In yet another example of their unusual intelligence, elephants can use subtle cues to distinguish more-dangerous and less-dangerous categories of humans.

Lots of people are linking to this, but it's worth it: Greta Christina on atheist anger.

Few people can claim to understand Islam so well as those who formerly were Muslims. Ayaan Hirsi Ali, probably the world's most courageous atheist, speaks out here.

Music break

Neobyknovennaya (the song title really means "uncommon" or "extraordinary" rather than "unbelievable") is a little slower-paced than most songs I prefer, but I liked it.

And here's some good independent music from Minnesota (free mp3s).

Ukrainian rhapsody

Here's Verka Serduchka's "official" video for his "Dancing Lasha Tumbai" song (the one I originally linked to here). Slightly NSFW.

Pop goes the world

Watching good ol' Verka Serduchka doing his thing in Helsinki reminded me that I've hardly linked to any music here in ages. Here are a few recently-found items:

Yulya by XS (Ukraine)

Lyubov Yad (Love Is Poison) by Irina Bilyk (Ukraine)

Solntse za Goroi (Sun behind Mountain) by Strelki (Russia)

Venturing somewhat further west, Banana Split by Sandra Lou (France) was recently linked by both Mendip and Dr. Zaius -- with endorsements like that, how can you go wrong?

Finally, a few older items that are worth another look:

Oi Zahrai My Muzychenku by Ruslana (Ukraine)

Gorilla by Glukoza (Russia)

Zhenikha Khotela (She Wanted a Husband) by Glukoza and Verka Serduchka

Sukariya by Roni Duani (Israel)

Moskva (Moscow) by Glukoza

Yes, those are mirror balls

Here's that second-place entry from Ukraine's Verka Serduchka at the Eurovision Song Contest, Dancing Lasha Tumbai. The new face of pop culture in the ex-USSR! Not a tractor in sight! Stalin must be rolling over in his grave.

Ding, dong.....

Trust Becca at No Smoking in the Skullcave to come up with a fitting posting in honor of Jerry Falwell.

Update: Sadly No weighs in. And I'm afraid that where this evil, twisted man is concerned, no, I don't have the generosity of Andrew Sullivan.

Update 2 (16 May): Check out Jabberwock's obituary as well. And Seething Mom has a whole roundup of death notices.

Update 3 (17 May): Christopher Hitchens has his say.

Zombie time

Zombie movies have important lessons to teach us.

And don't forget this romantic classic.

Woman of wonder

This is pretty funny, as much for the commentary as for the video itself.

Completely heterosexual

Roy Zimmerman again, lampooning Ted Haggard.