File Under: Words To Live By

Fuck Minnieapolis, did you learn NOTHING from George Floyd?

The Minneapolis police are back to publicly being terrorists now that George Floyd’s death is out of the media cycle.

Directly from the article:

Bayle Adod Gelle was deep in sleep late Wednesday night at his home in Eden Prairie when he heard loud banging on the door.

The intensity of the sound at 2:15 a.m. left Bayle confused. He trudged down the stairs from his second-floor bedroom. As soon as he reached the living room, he found his wife there—surrounded by more than a dozen officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. The officers allegedly pointed their guns at him and his wife, Bayle said, and then tied their hands tightly with a cord.

Awakened by the bangs and commotion, three children—ages 4, 7, and 9— joined their parents in the living room. Officers allegedly pointed guns at them, too, Bayle said.

“I felt very scared,” Bayle said in an interview with Sahan Journal at his home Thursday evening, some 14 hours after the police raid. “I thought they were going to kill us.”

The police search felt like it took forever—maybe two hours, he said. Bayle kept asking the officers who they were and why they’d come to his house. (In the end, the police appear to have found nothing, and took no evidence with them, Bayle said.)

They told him “shut up,” he recalled.

Bayle said the officers ransacked the house and never showed him a search warrant— until the end. That’s when they told him his son had been killed.

Bayle said that until that moment, he had no idea that nearly 8 hours earlier Minneapolis Police officers had fatally shot his 23-year-old son, Dolal Bayle Idd, in an altercation at a Holiday gas station in south Minneapolis. It was the first police killing in Minneapolis since Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd about a dozen blocks away.

Here’s the full article

they had to move out of their house on new year’s eve to a nearby mosque.

please share, I haven’t seen anyone talking about this

:(

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(Source)

22 Messages From Creationists To People Who Believe In Evolution

I asked 22 self-identifying creationists at the Bill Nye/Ken Ham debate to write a message/question/note to the other side. Here's what they wrote.

I saw this article and I must admit, there was a lot of facepalm. After my initial facepalm session, I decided to redirect my despair and actually provide some answers.

Caveat: I make no claims of being any kind of expert, I just wanted to form my own ideas gleaned from a lot of miscellaneous reading into some kind of an answer that wasn't an incoherent stream of rage.

1.       “Bill Nye, Are you influencing the minds of children in a positive way?”

I would argue yes, Bill Nye espouses an evidence based, critical thinking centric way of looking at the world, is this a good thing? I’d argue yes, teaching children to look at things critically rather than just believing the first thing they’re told sounds fantastic to me – okay you might not want your children to ask awkward questions, but man the fuck up, that’s what children are for.

 2.       “Are you scared of a divine creator?”

Being scared of something is an acknowledgement and admission of its existence, so I doubt it very much. Besides, have you actually read the bible lately? The God of the Old Testament isn’t exactly warm and fuzzy. The question I ask in return is this: are you more afraid that ‘he’ does exist, or that he doesn’t?

 3.       “Is it completely illogical that the earth was created mature? (I.e. trees created with rings, Adam created as an adult”

In a word: yes. In more words: that makes absolutely zero fucking sense and presents a serious cosmic mindfuck.

 4.       “Does not the second law of thermodynamics disprove Evolution?”

Citation: “The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems spontaneously evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium”

Short answer: not really, no. more here: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/thermo/probability.html

 5.       “How do you explain sunset if there is no God?”

Well, the Earth revolves around that giant gaseous ball in the sky called the Sun, this is handy for us to see things by because the Sun produces light (as a by-product of a process of nuclear fusion and fission using hydrogen)

Due to certain other factors, the Earth also spins around a central axis (whilst revolving around the Sun too) meaning that only half of its surface points towards the big shiny thing in the sky at any given moment. This means that on the side that’s pointing away from the Sun it’s dark. On the edges between these zones you have either a sunrise (where that point of the earth is coming towards the Sun) or a sunset (where it’s moving away).

Ask a four year old’s question, get a four year old’s answer.

6.       “If the Big Bang theory is true and taught as science along with evolution, why do the laws of Thermodynamics debunk said theories”

See 4. Additional childish answer: “Because you touch yourself at night.”

7.       “What about Noetics?”

What the actual fuck do they have to do with anything?

8.       “Where do you derive objective meaning in life?”

From its brevity. You get one chance. There is no ‘round 2’ there’s no take-backsies, you live for an amount of time and then you’re not there anymore, to me the only real meaning we can derive is to make the best of it, to try and leave this tiny lump of rock better for our fleeting presence.

9.       “If God did not create everything, how did the first single-celled organism originate? By chance?”

There are thousands of possible hypotheses that can be (and are being) made on this subject, we may never actually know for sure – that’s one of the redeeming features of science, it doesn’t claim certainty until all the results are in (and often not even then.) What I’m driving at however, is that just because we don’t presently know for certain how the first cellular life arose, does not automatically default to “God did it!”

10.   “I believe in the Big Bang Theory… God said it and BANG it happened”

While this is an admirable attempt at marrying up Evolution and creation, it is an entirely unscientific one, I reiterate from above, just because we don’t know exactly how or why something happened doesn’t automatically mean “God did it!”

11.   “Why do Evolutionists/Secularists/non-God believing people reject the idea of there being a creator God but embrace the concept of intelligent design from aliens or other extra-terrestrial sources?”

Holy straw-man Batman! How about you ask these people this question? Perhaps you’ve just invented them for the purpose of this question or perhaps they believe in another religion (yes, those exist!)

12.   “There is no inbetween… the only one found has been Lucy and there are only a few pieces of the hundreds necessary for an ‘official proof’”

Wow… just wow, there are thousands of transitional fossils, just literally thousands – go and ask any university biology department, they have drawers full of the fuckers. But I know that creationists love transitional fossils, as soon as you’ve found one; now you have two gaps to be smug about.

13.   “Does metamorphosis help support Evolution?”

I don’t see why not, it’s an example of how animals change over time, how their forms are not fixed and how two animals of the same species will not necessarily develop the same way – sounds pretty good to me.

14.   “If evolution is a theory (like creationism, or the bible) Why then is evolution taught as a fact?”

Because creationism is at best a hypothesis, in basic terms it’s what you have before you get any supporting evidence. Evolution is a theory, one step below absolute fact – it’s taught as such because until evidence that discredits it is brought forward, it is considered as such. Remember please that gravity is referred to as a theory, did you leave your house this morning from the ground level or the top floor?

Additionally: the bible is what we call ‘a book’, not a theory.

15.   “Because science by definition is a “theory” – not testable, observable, nor repeatable. Why do you object to creationism or intelligent design being taught in school?”

What the actual fuck? ‘testable, observable and repeatable’ are exactly what science is. You throw a ball upwards, does it A) continue rising indefinitely? B) hover, ominously? or C) fall back to the ground, hopefully hitting you in the face? Congratulations, through a very basic bit of scientific reasoning you’ve just proved gravity and hopefully been hit in the face (saving me effort)

Why do people like myself object to creationism and ID being taught in schools? Because they are exactly opposite, they make zero scientifically provable claims, present zero evidence and are a waste of tax payers money.

16.   “What mechanism has science discovered that evidences an increase of genetic information seen in any genetic mutation or evolutionary process?”

The answer was in your own question: ‘mutation’. See: http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CB/CB102.html

17.   “What purpose do you think you are here for if you don’t believe in salvation?”

I wouldn’t say we have a purpose; we’re here to be here, what we make of it from that is up to us.

18.   “Why have we only found 1 “Lucy” when we have found more than 1 of everything else?”

Because we haven’t? Multiple fossils of Lucy (Australopithecus) were found in the 70’s – Lucy is just the most famous of her kind.

19.   “Can you believe in ‘the Big Bang’ without faith?”

Believe is the wrong word, science has no use for faith. The scientific method at its very core is based on doubt, it’s based on asking the questions and finding out where they lead, not taking a stab at the answer and having faith that you’ve found the right one.

20.   “How can you look at the world and not believe someone created/thought of it? It’s Amazing!!!”

While I agree, it’s amazing, that doesn’t mean it has to have been intelligently designed/created. The existence a watch is in no way evidence of a watchmaker – upon further examination, you can provide a receipt to prove where the watch came from and then their records will show who made it. Just because that works for a watch doesn’t mean it works for a planet, do you have a receipt?

21.   “Relating to the big bang theory… where did the exploding star come from”

Okay, so the big bang was not caused by an exploding star. We’re talking about all the matter in what is now the universe compressed into a point, things that are compressed get hot and all that energy has to go somewhere.

Where did it come from originally? I don’t know, but again, that doesn’t automatically mean “God did it!”

22.   “If we came from monkeys then why are there still monkeys?”

We came from a common ancestor, that’s like saying “If me and my brother both came from the same parents, why do I still have parents?” the answer: you’re a fucktard.

There’s some common threads I see in the anti-voting posts going around, and I feel like I need to discuss some of them. Let’s start with the biggest one:

Voting to punish evil. I see lots of variations of this. Biden is supporting Israel, therefore we can’t vote for him. Is there any viable candidate who would stop the genocide? I don’t think the anti voting crowd actually cares. They are appealing to moral feelings rather than political strategy, because strategically, you have to realize that voting is not going to change foreign policy, and that change has to be pushed by other means. It’ll probably be something in the long haul.

Democrats should run someone else. First of all, this is a shit strategy. You don’t primary your president in the second term unless your party is falling apart. This may come from people from countries where replacing the head of government is easier, but the POTUS is the de facto party head. Also, going to the lack of thought to the goal — do you know someone willing to primary Biden and able to win who would do the things you want?

Biden hasn’t done anything anyway. This is just a way to bat away pro arguments. There’s plenty of lists of progress on lots of things. Student loans, insulin price caps, regulations, anti-trust.

Putting the entire Palestinian genocide on Biden. I’m not saying there’s not culpability there, but understand that the entire US government is in support of Israel, on both sides. It was a miracle we got a handful of Senators to call for investigations. We should cut off aid, absolutely. Who’s running to do that? And keep in mind that Israel chose to engage. US officials would have liked a more limited response, not out of care for Palestinians, but because they know from experience that it will come back to bite Israel in the form of newly radicalized Hamas recruits.

Liberals just have no hope for change. This is a new one. Just some idea that people are stuck in a rut and that’s the reason the two party system exists. The two party system is a mathematical consequence of the way we vote. There is reason to hope for change. The change, though, whatever means you choose, will take decades. Keep working at it. The hope is not that this election will fundamentally change things. The hope is that many small political actions over the years will push things forward.

Funnily enough, I haven’t seen a whole lot of third party promotion, just lots of this rhetoric aiming to punish. When voting, ask yourself:

Is this problem I have with this candidate something that the other candidate would be better on?

Are there other political actions I can take that will help?

What things can change with a different President or Congress, and what needs to be pursued by other means?

Withholding your vote as a punishment isn’t really going to help. Biden doesn’t know who you are or why you are not voting for him, and there is no one with a chance of winning that will do everything you want. But you have other means. Protest, organize, donate, build up alternatives, advocate for a different system.

Vote to give yourself space and get a little bit. Do other things to keep things moving.

SHARON! SHARON! SHARON! SHARON! I DON'T CARE WHO'S LISTENING, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!

My Neighbours (yelled at about 11pm last night)

We really need to get some better sound-proofing

Nerdy Joke of the Day (NSFW)

Again, courtesy of /tg/, it contains rudeness, so it's snipped to hide the nsfw material

A dropship of veteran Sisters of Battle is shot down, and all aboard die. There is a bright white light, and the Sisters find themselves atop a white marble tower with a small fountain in the middle. Blue sky and white clouds surround the tower, but all immediately recognise the Emperor standing before the fountain, arms open wide.

"My faithful servants, you have served me well in countless battles. However, I cannot yet grant you peace, as I sense the taint of men on more than one of you."

The Sisters murmur and look around their number in shock, before the Emperor raises his golden gauntlet and gestures to a young sister, the unit's medicae Sister Velum. 

"You. Have you had any congress with a man?" he asks, voice commanding yet gentle. She nods, ashamed. 

"Yes. I was treating a wounded Guardsman and... well, I pleasured him with my hand."

The other Sisters are outraged. The accused tries to defend herself, telling of the extra penance she forced upon herself and the countless hours she prayed for forgiveness, but eventually she stops talking, expecting the Emperor's divine wrath. But the Emperor merely gestures to the fountain. 

"Fear not, my servant. Your service in life was far greater than your transgression. If you wash your hands in my fountain, your soul will become purified."

The medicae meekly walks to the fountain, all eyes upon her, and washes her hands in the cool water. As she does, white light bathes her and before she can turn to bid farewell to her friends Sister Velum disappears to her reward.

The Emperor looks around the remaining Sisters. "I still sense the taint of men upon this unit." Again, he raises his great golden gauntlet and singles out a Sister, this time the Heavy Flamer wielder Sister Areale. 

"And you? Have you had any congress with a man?" the Emperor asks, eyes looking into hers. As before, the sister nods. 

"Y-yes, o Divine Emperor... I... I once pleasured a member of your Inquisition... with my breasts..."

The unit once again erupts at this, although not as loud as it had the last time. Sister Areale averts her gaze to the white marble floor before she weeps in shame. 

"I... I did not perform as much penance as Sister Velum, a-and my transgression is greater... I am not worthy to stand by your side...” she sobs before awaiting judgement. But once more, the Emperor merely smiles and gestures her forth to the fountain. 

“Fear not, child. I know what happened, and the sin is his, not yours. Please stay your tears, for I will not damn you. You have earned my reward. Please, bathe in my fountain and I will give you your reward.”

Sister Areale is humbled by the Emperor’s compassion. Just as meekly as Sister Velum before her, she steps forward and strips of her armour and robes to stand naked before the small fountain. She starts to wash her breasts with the water silently when a commotion breaks out at the back of the unit. All eyes turn to Sister Daphene who is pushing her way through the ranks to stand at the front. The Emperor looks to her with a puzzled expression. 

“What is the meaning of this?” he asks her gently. The sister replies huffily. 

“If I have to gargle this water, I would rather do it before Sister Lavisa has to wash her arse with it!”

  Nik.

Nik's Birthday Wishlist (12 Days to go! ^^)

As requested by many many people, I am now making a birthday list... 

PC Games:

Portal 2

Dwarfs!? (Steam)

Magicka (Steam)

Dawn of War II - Retribution

WoW 60 day game time card

XBAWKS 360:

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Dynasty Warriors 7

Burnout Paradise (my copy is borked :( )

Books: (hardback please!)

The Rincewind Trilogy: A Discworld Omnibus: Sourcery, Eric, Interesting Times

The Death Trilogy: Mort, Reaper Man, Soul Music

The Gods Trilogy: A Discworld Omnibus: Pyramids, Small Gods, Hogfather

Any other Discworld books that I haven't already got :P

Roleplaying Stuffs:

d10's, lots of d10's!

Dark Heresy - Radical's Handbook

Dark Heresy - Blood of Martyrs

Death Watch - Rites of Battle

Warhammer Stuffs:

Grey Knights Dread-Knight - must be Orkified.

Ork Battleforce / Boyz Squads - let the green tide commence!

Huge things that I probably won't get but it's worth hoping for anyway

Novatech N-Tablet (With Win7 home premium)

King Solomon’s Mines are not are not diamond mines as commonly believed, but a series of land annexations that King Solomon made by pointing around and declaring, “mine.”