Council of Europe states must 'firmly oppose' the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline, say parliamentarians

Parliamentarians from the 47-nation Council of Europe have urged its member governments to “firmly oppose” the teaching of creationism – which denies the evolution of species through natural selection – as a scientific discipline on an equal footing with the theory of evolution.
In a resolution passed by 48 votes to 25 during its plenary session in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) declared: “If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights.”
Presenting the report, Anne Brasseur (Luxembourg, ALDE), a former Education Minister, said: “It is not a matter of opposing belief and science, but it is necessary to prevent belief from opposing science.”
“The prime target of present-day creationists, most of whom are Christian or Muslim, is education,” the parliamentarians said in the resolution. “Creationists are bent on ensuring that their ideas are included in the school science syllabus. Creationism cannot, however, lay claim to being a scientific discipline.”
The parliamentarians said there was “a real risk of a serious confusion” being introduced into children’s minds between conviction or belief and science. “The theory of evolution has nothing to do with divine revelation but is built on facts.”
“Intelligent design, presented in a more subtle way, seeks to portray its approach as scientific, and therein lies the danger,” they added.
“Creationism ... was for a long time an almost exclusively American phenomenon,” the parliamentarians pointed out. “Today creationist ideas are tending to find their way into Europe and their spread is affecting quite a few Council of Europe member states.”
The report cites examples from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Council of Europe, Press Release - 656(2007), 04 October 2007
Deutsche Fassung

I'm glad to be a citizen of the European Union.

God Said

Nearly everyone I know claims to have heard your voice
And every time they do, I know I should rejoice
Because one day I'm sure you’ll break your silence
And speak just to me
But I feel like time's running out
And my heart, my heart is filling with doubt

And god said
I don't dwell upon you, I dwell on something else
And I am not really here so get over your self

I've tried to follow every rule they said you handed down
And spread the sacred testimony all around
And still the others seem to have your ear but never will I
Have I displeased you somehow?
I can't, I can't help feeling left out

And god said
There's no anger in me, you must mean someone else
Cause it's not me that you see, you're looking at yourself
And I won't give you a prize instead of someone else
Cause I don't play favorites, so get over yourself

Is it my fear, is it my pride, is it my vanity?
Should your name just be denied to save my sanity?
What is the price I need to pay to have
What others seem to grasp so easily?
Pity your servant your slave
Who'll kiss, kiss your feet to be saved
Save me, save me...

And god said
You are not serving me, you're serving something else
Cause I don't need to be pleased, just get over yourself
You can't suck up to me, I know you all too well
But I don't dwell upon you, so get over yourself
Cause you're not praying to me, you're praying to yourself
And you're not worshipping me you're worshipping yourself
And you will kill in my name and heaven knows what else
When you can't prove I exist so get over yourself

- Todd Rundgren

House of Horrors

GoVeg.com
Butterball's House of Horrors
A PETA Undercover Investigation

"Butterball turkeys are killed using a process that involves hanging live birds by their legs, shocking them in an electrified bath of water so that they become paralyzed (though they still feel pain), slitting their throats, and then running them through a tank of scalding-hot water for defeathering.

Because Butterball's current slaughter method gives workers access to live birds, the animals often suffer when workers become frustrated or bored and desensitized, as was the case at this Butterball plant and the other poultry plants that PETA has investigated.

Even though they constitute more than 98 percent of the land animals eaten in the United States, birds are excluded from coverage under the only federal law designed to protect animals during slaughter, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA)."

GoVeg.com

Kurt Marti: Wenn die Bücher aufgetan werden

Wenn die Bücher aufgetan werden, wenn sich herausstellen würde, dass sie niemals geführt worden sind: weder Gedankenprotokolle noch Sündenregister, weder Mikrofilme noch Computerkarteien. Wenn die Bücher aufgetan werden, und siehe, auf Seite eins: "Habt ihr mich für einen Eckenspäher und Schnüffler gehalten?" Und siehe, auf Seite zwei: "Der große Aufpasser oder Unbruder: eure Erfindung!" Und siehe, auf Seite drei: "Nicht eure Sünden waren zu groß - eure Lebendigkeit war zu klein!" Wenn die Bücher aufgetan werden.

In this poem God is believed as the friend of his, not as their intimidating warden.
The confident faith expressed here is diametrically opposed to the fear-stricken belief expressed by the medieval Latin hymn Dies irae (Day of wrath):

Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando iudex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!
[...]
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus iudicetur.
[...]

Welch ein Graus wird sein und Zagen,
Wenn der Richter kommt, mit Fragen
Streng zu prüfen alle Klagen!
[...]
Und ein Buch wird aufgeschlagen,
Treu darin ist eingetragen
Jede Schuld aus Erdentagen.
[...]

Oh what fear man's bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.
[...]
Lo! the book, exactly worded,
wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.

Global warming

Chelsea tractor by psheil (Peter Sheil)

Got a car, big and safe, four-by-four;
Drive your kids to their school, door-to-door.
Global warming's no factor
For your Chelsea tractor—
You take and consume, more and more.

The term Chelsea tractor is used, often disapprovingly, to describe large, four-by-four cars with off-road capabilities being used in an urban environment for such "adventurous" activities as taking the children to school and visiting the local supermarket. The cars are named after the affluent district of London where a large number of such vehicles may be observed.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

atmosphere by Robert Holland (Robert Holland)

"Global warming, what's that? Just say no!
It is something I don't need to know."
Bushies say, "Have no fear,
A cure will appear.
Let the atmosphere go with the flow."

"Mounting scientific evidence that human activity is causing global temperatures to rise coupled with a growing public alarm — fueled by former Vice President Gore's climate change documentary, 'Inconvenient Truth,' this summer — has forced lawmakers to take up the issue." ("Global warming fear lights fire under Congress", San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 2006.) "Even on Capitol Hill, we have reached the tipping point," said Philip Clap, the president of the National Environmental Trust. "George Bush's 'just say no' policy on global warming is political history."

See bailout and Bush

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

cataclysmically by Chris Doyle (Chris Doyle)

Global warming may lower the boom,
Leaving humans enshrouded in gloom.
Will our hubris and sin
Send the earth in a spin—
Cataclysmically plunging toward doom?

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

bail out, bail by Robert Holland (Robert Holland)

Global warming is coming, no doubt.
But fixes are wasteful. Why pout?
The oceans may rise,
But in time, I surmise,
A savior will bail us all out.

In June 2006, Germany's Chancellor presided over the opening of "the world's first carbon-free [power] plant fueled by coal", but it's only a demonstration model. "In the United States, you defer all investments, because in the future maybe you have the perfect solution," said a government official under the previous German Chancellor. "I would prefer a solution that improves the situation now." ("Europe's Green Image Clashes With Reliance on Coal", New York Times, June 20, 2006.)

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

antediluvian by Roger Dunn (Roger Dunn)

I have antediluvian dreams
Where a hull built with gopherwood beams
Is laid down for a flood:
Global warming? I should
Buy a ticket from Noah, it seems.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

break up by Mad Kane (Madeleine Begun Kane)

An ice shelf breaks up in the ocean.
Global warming's far more than a notion
Dreamed up by Al Gore,
Though some wish to ignore
All the changes that greed's set in motion.

According to polar researchers, ice shelves get weaker as the temperature rises. This accounts for the recent collapse (reported in late 2006) of a Canadian ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

Big Oil by Robert Holland (Robert Holland)

To Barton, it's just a green trick:
Global warming, the "Truth" in Gore's flick.
Big Oil gets a laugh
Watching Gore climb a graph,
Now famous as Al's hockey stick.

A cover story in Business Week magazine, ("Why You Should Worry About Big Oil?", May 15, 2006) says "Big Oil, that clutch of oil and gas giants in the U.S. and Europe, has big problems ... These companies, moreover, enjoy huge political clout in their home countries, have spotty environmental records, and staunchly defend outrageous prices at the gasoline pump. Why worry about them?" Why worry about them, indeed.

An independent review of the startling graph shown in Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" has validated the science behind the graph. Texas Republican Joe Barton, at that time the chair of the House Energy Committee, ignited a firestorm amongst scientists in June 2005 when he asked the creators of the graph (part of a 1998 global warming study) "for a detailed accounting of their government and private funding, data, and methods" spanning their entire careers. A Democrat member of Mr. Barton's Committee asked Mr. Barton to withdraw his requests, saying "Some might interpret them as an attempt to bully and harass climate experts who have reached conclusions with which you disagree", the BBC reported on July 18, 2005. An independent review of the study was ordered.

Barton's tactics were also condemned in an editorial in the Washington Post ("Hunting Witches", July 23, 2005), which concluded: "The only conceivable purpose of these letters is harassment. This bizarre episode deserves much wider condemnation from congressional leaders."

The now famous graph is known as "the global temperature hockey stick" because its tail end, showing temperature increases over the past 100 years, rises sharply like the blade of a hockey stick. ("National panel supports '98 global warming evidence", Boston Globe, June 23, 2006) "The hockey stick is alive and well," said Raymond Bradley, one of the original study authors.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

carbonaceous by speedysnail (Rory Ewins)

Global warming, you say? Goodness gracious!
That really is rather vexatious.
From smoke when we burn
Off the trees? Live and learn...
Who knew forests were so carbonaceous?

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

carbon dioxide by Dottie (Anne Clements)

We know carbon dioxide's produced
When the power of oil is unloosed.
Now it's time we must learn
That for each ton we burn,
Global warming is given a boost.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

calve by Chris Doyle (Chris Doyle)

When an iceberg is calved, it breaks free
From a glacier and falls in the sea.
Global warming is here,
And with each passing year,
Polar ice caps produce more debris.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

Alaska by Meg Beagle

It's not cold in Alaska, not storming.
It's to world climate patterns conforming.
The permafrost's melting,
And temps are sunbelting,
As we all watch our doom—global warming.

Well, a lot of us watch it. Some of us don't.

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

arctically by Ulfras (Ulfras)

Global warming could generate heat
That would cause polar ice to retreat.
If the permafrost goes,
Words like icebergs and floes
Would, like arctically, be obsolete.

(AR-tik-lee)

☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉ ☉

autotrophy by Chris Doyle (Chris Doyle)

With autotrophy, everything's cool.
All that carbon dioxide is fuel!
As your Prez, I must say
Global warming's okay,
And that Democrat Kyoto's a fool.

(aw-TAH-truh-fee)

Also sprach Zarathustra - Vom Freunde (The Friend)

Friedrich Nietzsche
Thus Spake Zarathustra. A Book for All and None.
Also sprach Zarathustra. Ein Buch für alle und keinen.
XIV. THE FRIEND.
VOM FREUNDE

"One, is always too many about me"--thinketh the anchorite. "Always once one--that maketh two in the long run!"
``Einer ist immer zu viel um mich'' - also denkt der Einsiedler. ``Immer Einmal Eins - das giebt auf die Dauer Zwei!''
I and me are always too earnestly in conversation: how could it be endured, if there were not a friend?
Ich und Mich sind immer zu eifrig im Gespräche: wie wäre es auszuhalten, wenn es nicht einen Freund gäbe?
The friend of the anchorite is always the third one: the third one is the cork which preventeth the conversation of the two sinking into the depth.
Immer ist für den Einsiedler der Freund der Dritte: der Dritte ist der Kork, der verhindert, dass das Gespräch der Zweie in die Tiefe sinkt.
Ah! there are too many depths for all anchorites.
Therefore, do they long so much for a friend, and for his elevation.
Ach, es giebt zu viele Tiefen für alle Einsiedler.
Darum sehnen sie sich so nach einem Freunde und nach seiner Höhe.
Our faith in others betrayeth wherein we would fain have faith in ourselves. Our longing for a friend is our betrayer.
Unser Glaube an Andre verräth, worin wir gerne an uns selber glauben möchten. Unsre Sehnsucht nach einem Freunde ist unser Verräther.
And often with our love we want merely to overleap envy. And often we attack and make ourselves enemies, to conceal that we are vulnerable.
Und oft will man mit der Liebe nur den Neid überspringen. Und oft greift man an und macht sich einen Feind, um zu verbergen, dass man angreifbar ist.
"Be at least mine enemy!"--thus speaketh the true reverence, which doth not venture to solicit friendship.
``Sei wenigstens mein Feind!'' - so spricht die wahre Ehrfurcht, die nicht um Freundschaft zu bitten wagt.
If one would have a friend, then must one also be willing to wage war for him: and in order to wage war, one must be CAPABLE of being an enemy.
Will man einen Freund haben, so muss man auch für ihn Krieg führen wollen: und um Krieg zu führen, muss man Feind sein können.
One ought still to honour the enemy in one's friend. Canst thou go nigh unto thy friend, and not go over to him?
Man soll in seinem Freunde noch den Feind ehren. Kannst du an deinen Freund dicht herantreten, ohne zu ihm überzutreten?
In one's friend one shall have one's best enemy.
Thou shalt be closest unto him with thy heart when thou withstandest him.
In seinem Freunde soll man seinen besten Feind haben. Du sollst ihm am nächsten mit dem Herzen sein, wenn du ihm widerstrebst.
Thou wouldst wear no raiment before thy friend? It is in honour of thy friend that thou showest thyself to him as thou art? But he wisheth thee to the devil on that account!
Du willst vor deinem Freunde kein Kleid tragen? Es soll deines Freundes Ehre sein, dass du dich ihm giebst, wie du bist? Aber wünscht dich darum zum Teufel!
He who maketh no secret of himself shocketh: so much reason have ye to fear nakedness! Aye, if ye were Gods, ye could then be ashamed of clothing!
Wer aus sich kein Hehl macht, empört: so sehr habt ihr Grund, die Nacktheit zu fürchten! Ja, wenn ihr Götter wäret, da dürftet ihr euch eurer Kleider schämen!
Thou canst not adorn thyself fine enough for thy friend; for thou shalt be unto him an arrow and a longing for the Superman.
Du kannst dich für deinen Freund nicht schön genug putzen: denn du sollst ihm ein Pfeil und eine Sehnsucht nach dem Übermenschen sein.
Sawest thou ever thy friend asleep--to know how he looketh? What is usually the countenance of thy friend? It is thine own countenance, in a coarse and imperfect mirror.
Sahst du deinen Freund schon schlafen, - damit du erfahrest, wie er aussieht? Was ist doch sonst das Gesicht deines Freundes? Es ist dein eignes Gesicht, auf einem rauhen und unvollkommnen Spiegel.
Sawest thou ever thy friend asleep? Wert thou not dismayed at thy friend looking so? O my friend, man is something that hath to be surpassed.
Sahst du deinen Freund schon schlafen?
Erschrakst du nicht, dass dein Freund so aussieht? Oh, mein Freund, der Mensch ist Etwas, das überwunden werden muss.
In divining and keeping silence shall the friend be a master: not everything must thou wish to see. Thy dream shall disclose unto thee what thy friend doeth when awake.
Im Errathen und Stillschweigen soll der Freund Meister sein: nicht Alles musst du sehn wollen.
Dein Traum soll dir verrathen, was dein Freund im Wachen thut.
Let thy pity be a divining: to know first if thy friend wanteth pity. Perhaps he loveth in thee the unmoved eye, and the look of eternity.
Ein Errathen sei dein Mitleiden: dass du erst wissest, ob dein Freund Mitleiden wolle.
Vielleicht liebt er an dir das ungebrochne Auge und den Blick der Ewigkeit.
Let thy pity for thy friend be hid under a hard shell; thou shalt bite out a tooth upon it. Thus will it have delicacy and sweetness.
Das Mitleiden mit dem Freunde berge sich unter einer harten Schale, an ihm sollst du dir einen Zahn ausbeissen. So wird es seine Feinheit und Süße haben.
Art thou pure air and solitude and bread and medicine to thy friend? Many a one cannot loosen his own fetters, but is nevertheless his friend's emancipator.
Bist du reine Luft und Einsamkeit und Brod und Arznei deinem Freunde? Mancher kann seine eignen Ketten nicht lösen und doch ist er dem Freunde ein Erlöser.
Art thou a slave? Then thou canst not be a friend. Art thou a tyrant? Then thou canst not have friends.
Bist du ein Sclave? So kannst du nicht Freund sein. Bist du ein Tyrann? So kannst du nicht Freunde haben.
Far too long hath there been a slave and a tyrant concealed in woman. On that account woman is not yet capable of friendship: she knoweth only love.
Allzulange war im Weibe ein Sclave und ein Tyrann versteckt. Desshalb ist das Weib noch nicht der Freundschaft fähig: es kennt nur die Liebe.
In woman's love there is injustice and blindness to all she doth not love. And even in woman's conscious love, there is still always surprise and lightning and night, along with the light.
In der Liebe des Weibes ist Ungerechtigkeit und Blindheit gegen Alles, was es nicht liebt. Und auch in der wissenden Liebe des Weibes ist immer noch Überfall und Blitz und Nacht neben dem Lichte.
As yet woman is not capable of friendship: women are still cats, and birds. Or at the best, cows.
Noch ist das Weib nicht der Freundschaft fähig: Katzen sind immer noch die Weiber, und Vögel. Oder, besten Falles, Kühe.
As yet woman is not capable of friendship. But tell me, ye men, who of you are capable of friendship?
Noch ist das Weib nicht der Freundschaft fähig.
Aber sagt mir, ihr Männer, wer von euch ist denn fähig der Freundschaft?
Oh! your poverty, ye men, and your sordidness of soul! As much as ye give to your friend, will I give even to my foe, and will not have become poorer thereby.
Oh über eure Armuth, ihr Männer, und euren Geiz der Seele! Wie viel ihr dem Freunde gebt, das will ich noch meinem Feinde geben, und will auch nicht ärmer damit geworden sein.
There is comradeship: may there be friendship!
Es giebt Kameradschaft: möge es Freundschaft geben!
Thus spake Zarathustra.
AIso sprach Zarathustra.

Religimericks

anthropomorphic by Seth Brown

Most religions depict their own god
As one anthropomorphic, not odd.
Fewer people will pray
To a dull shade of gray
Than a being with man's face and bod.

atheize by man from tashkent

I command your beliefs to come out;
Give in to suspicion and doubt!
This religion won't do,
I shall atheize you.
Deny God, or He'll bring on a drought!

barratry by David Vestal

A sinner, a thief, a hard case
By barratry bettered his place.
He paid some religions
(And played them like pigeons).
Now he's Reverend Saint Rabbi, His Grace.

anthropopathy by Chuck Folkers

I'm a man, not some park-dwelling pigeon;
Correspondingly, in my religion
My god's like a man—
He's a Patriots fan!
Anthropopathy? Maybe a smidgen.

(an-thruh-PAH-puh-thee): the attribution of human qualities to the divine

blasphemous by oneslowtyper (John Scunziano)

In this blasphemous world, Left and Right
Twist religion to prove what they cite.
From Vishnu to Jesus,
The gods want to please us,
But not until man sees the light.

(BLAS-fuh-muss) Considered offensive to God or religion.

antireligion by Chris J. Strolin

I'm not antireligion, per se;
I'm just not a "church person," OK?
If that works for you, fine,
But that's your way, not mine.
Let me worship my God my own way.

Buddhist by Chuck Folkers

To the Buddhist, enlightenment's path
Shows a certain immutable math:
Whether eightfold or four,
This religion's got more
Numbered points than the other ones hath.

Adherents of Buddhism might be instructed in the Three Characteristics of Existence, the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Refuges, and many more enumerations that could lend themselves to bullet-point presentation.

catechization by Chris Doyle (Chris Doyle)

By catechization, religion
Is taught, leaving only a smidgen
Of freedom to think
For yourself. They say blink,
And you blink—a Pavlovian pigeon.

Calvinism by Chris Doyle (Chris Doyle)

In Calvinism, God reigns supreme,
And depravity (man's) is extreme.
It's predestined that hell
Is where sinners will dwell.
This religion ain't peaches and cream!

The theological system of Calvin and his followers is marked by a strong emphasis on the sovereignty of God, the depravity of mankind, and the doctrine of predestination.

cafeteria Catholic by Chris J. Strolin

Cafeteria Catholics may say
That premarital sex is OK.
The devout they disdain,
But Church leaders maintain
One's religion is not a buffet.

The term cafeteria Catholic, often used pejoratively, refers to an individual who claims to be Catholic but who will pick and choose which Church teachings he or she will follow. For example, the Catholic Church is officially against gay marriage, the ordination of women as priests, divorce and remarriage, premarital sex, and most methods of birth control, while a cafeteria Catholic may be personally in favor of one or all of these. Many such individuals hope that their views will someday help change those of the Church, something that is not likely to occur in the foreseeable future.

Bible-thumper by Roger Dunn (Roger Dunn)

Bible-thumpers are short in supply.
"Trust the old-time religion!" they cry.
"Renounce sex, lust and sin!"
(But before I begin,
To be fair, I should give them a try!)

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster by psheil (Peter Sheil)

There are some for whom this is a joke,
While some others may splutter and choke.
This monster, spaghetti,
(It flies!) is no yeti —
Is religion all mirrors and smoke?

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was founded in 2005 to protest against the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution. At the time of writing this limerick the church's website may be found at http://www.venganza.org/

Christian religion by bob killian (Bob Killian)

The Christian religion got traction
From Emperor Constantine's action.
His reasons were practical,
Thoroughly tactical.
He made it much more than a faction.

The Emperor Constantine made Christianity an official state religion in the early 4th century, and imposed it on the Empire. Christianity vaulted above many other competing religions and factions from that point forward.

benighted by Seth Brown

"My beliefs do not make you excited,
So it's clear that you must be benighted.
For if we don't agree,
You're less cultured than me."
Thus religion leaves millions slighted.

citied by Celia Warren (Celia Warren)

Any planet that's peopled and citied,
With steeple and dome, must be pitied,
For religion with floors
And windows and doors
Means war's the next thing to be fitted.

cosmolatry, cosmos, Cosmos by SheilaB (Sheila B. Blume)

His religion, he claims, is cosmolatry—
Not a popular faith, rather solitary,
But his neighbors assume
That he worships a bloom
Called the cosmos, and damn his idolatry.

(SOL-uh-tree)

Cosmolatry (koz-MAHL-uh-tree) refers to worship of the universe, not of flowers of the genus Cosmos, found on the popular and colorful fall-blooming cosmos plants.