Friday 30 November 2007

some perspective as to how big the universe is.... (astronomy, religiorant)





This should give some perspective about the hugeness of the universe and it should give you some idea about how big some stars can get. The sun is barely a pin prick of light compared to the largest stars...

So given the hugeness of the size of the universe - is it not arrogant to assume the universe was created *just* for us? did god wake up one morning and make a great big bubble 78billion light years across 6000 to 10000 years ago and make one planet alone out of potentially trillions *just* for us to live on?

This video demonstrates just how big the universe is and just how small our little bit of it is.

We live on a small planet - around a star that is a dwarf - yep, at 1.4million kms in diameter, our sun it's a dwarf, and in our solar system, the sun makes up 99% of the mass of our Solar System! We live in a very sparsely populated section of the Orion arm (named as such after the famous constellation) of the milky way galaxy, amongst a half a billion other stars, in a small local group of a few dozen galaxies, most of which are tiny dwarf galaxies with only two other galaxies similar in size to the Milky Way, the Andromeda galaxy M31 and the Triangulum galaxy M33. This local group is part of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, which is part of a super cluster of galaxies, which is just one sizable chunk of the universe... and that is *just* the local area of our universe, say within a range of a billion light years.

So who is the more arrogant, the atheist who simply believes that the universe just "is"? or is it somebody claiming that some magical figure blinked a bubble 78 billion light years across into existence one morning? why? because he was bored? it sounds like a lot of trouble to go to just for us, and if god was all powerful - as is claimed - he could see the future and how it would all turn out - so what was the point, what was the challenge, why did god make such a huge universe?

I'm seriously - if god only made this planet for us to live on - why did he bother making the rest of the universe?? - we aren't leaving this planet any time soon - let alone the galaxy! so why go to all that effort, is god a show off? did he just do too much too soon and now everyone expects him to continue his miracles?

no i don't think so ... a person thought up god because he couldn't explain why the sun rose everyday - instead of making observations and collecting empirical data - that person just dreamt up some mythical creature in the sky that made everything fall into place in just the right way.

According to the catholic church the earth only started to revolving around the sun a few hundred years ago, previous to that the sun revolved around the earth .. thanks for being such a pain in the arse Galileo.. oh and some of us weren't even sure that the world was round or flat until a few hundred years ago as well... thanks for screwing that up too Ferdinand Magellan, because i really wanted to see those dragons.. you know.. "beyond this place there be dragons..." ??

mostly written 30/11/07, mostly ....

Friday 23 November 2007

even if god *actually* exists....



even if god *actually* exists.... wouldn't we be doing the old guy a huge favour if we stopped believing in him?? woudln't the big guy be up there going "pheww!! another atheist!! that's 5,026,320,360 left to go before i can retire!!... oh.. did i say that out loud? not a word, Gabriel!"


if i was god - i'd be embarrassed at my policy of non-intervention - i mean if i was god i'd be tempted to bless the Ghandis and the Galileos with extraordinarily long life to allow their minds to evolve endlessly.. or i'd give them the choice .. "you know guys, when you've had enough - i can just vaporise you .. you wouldn't feel a thing .. but i want you guys to keep on teaching these dumbasses for as long as possible.. !!"


Saturday 17 November 2007

Saudi court ups punishment for gang-rape victim (religiorant)



mostly written 17/11/07, mostly ....

this is the code of "ethics" that muslims want to install all over the world.. thank you for losing at the Battle of Tours, thank you for losing the first World War, thank you Spanish and other inquisitions, without these crappy christian events, it is very likely that islame's "morals" would be even more widespread... i mean, i hated christianity for spreading itself into the cultures where it wasn't wanted, all over the world (North and South America, Africa, Australia), but essentially christians have a tolerant modus operandi - but if islam had been spread so fervently i think the world would be a lot less fun to live in ..... a lot less... imagine if australia was predominantly muslim? what fun would *that* be?

in this story from Saudi Arabia we see how the victims of crimes are punished in one of the strictest islamic states - essentially Saudi Arabia holds to a strict form of islame called "Wahhabism" .. look it up, Al-Qaeda base their values on this SAME strict adherence to islame... why is that? Bin Laden is a family name in Saudi Arabia, not that it really matters, but could that be why?

hmm... and we're allies with the Saudi's??

ahemmm ... why ?? ... oh that's right ... OIL!

again i don't understand why we associate so closely with cultures that have values and attitudes that we have extreme problems with *regardless* of what resources they have to offer... i would love to be alive in 200 years time when the oil is gone... death and disease and war will overcome those countries as the oil runs out... so, yeah, a more extreme version of what is happening now is in store for the middle east eventually, I've no doubt that they will *beg* the "West" to bail them out ...

and they will get what they deserve if they continue with this attitude of theirs:

a woman was raped by a gang of seven men.. yet when her lawyer appealed the lenient sentence the rapists had been given - the rapists had their sentences increased but the woman also had **her** sentence doubled for speaking to the media ... excuse me? that is a suppression of basic human rights - religion of peace and understanding my arse...

Saudi court ups punishment for gang-rape victim

November 17, 2007 -- Updated 1619 GMT (0019 HKT)

* Story Highlights
* Woman, 19, gets six months prison, 200 lashes for meeting with unrelated man
* Group of seven raped her and the man, from whom she was retrieving photos
* After lawyer protests light sentences, rapists' sentences increased
* Victim's punishment doubled for talking to the media


(CNN) -- A court in Saudi Arabia increased the punishment for a gang-rape victim after her lawyer won an appeal of the sentence for the rapists, the lawyer told CNN.

The 19-year-old victim was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated male, a former friend from whom she was retrieving photographs. The seven rapists, who abducted the pair and raped both, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.

The victim's attorney, Abdulrahman al-Lahim, contested the rapists' sentence, contending there is a fatwa, or edict under Islamic law, that considers such crimes Hiraba (sinful violent crime) and the punishment should be death.

"After a year, the preliminary court changed the punishment and made it two to nine years for the defendants," al-Lahim said of the new decision handed down Wednesday. "However, we were shocked that they also changed the victim's sentence to be six months in prison and 200 lashes."

The judges more than doubled the punishment for the victim because of "her attempt to aggravate and influence the judiciary through the media," according to a source quoted by Arab News, an English-language Middle Eastern daily newspaper.

Judge Saad al-Muhanna from the Qatif General Court also barred al-Lahim from defending his client and revoked his law license, al-Lahim said. The attorney has been ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Justice next month.

Al-Lahim said he is appealing the decision to bar him from representing the victim and has a meeting with Justice Minister Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh on Monday.

"Currently she doesn't have a lawyer, and I feel they're doing this to isolate her and deprive her from her basic rights," al-Lahim said. "We will not accept this judgment and I'll do my best to continue representing her because justice needs to take place."

Al-Lahim said he wanted the Justice Ministry to take "a very clear standing" on the case, saying the decision is "judicial mutiny against reform that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz started and against Saudi women who are being victimized because of such decisions."

Women are subject to numerous restrictions in Saudi Arabia, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and the need for a man's permission to travel or have surgery. Women are also not allowed to testify in court unless it is about a private matter that was not observed by a man, and they are not allowed to vote.

The Saudi government recently has taken some steps toward bettering the situation of women in the kingdom, including the establishment earlier this year of special courts to handle domestic abuse cases, adoption of a new labor law that addresses working women's rights, and creation of a human rights commission.

CNN was unable to reach government officials for comment.

CNN's Saad Abedine and Mohammed Jamjoom contributed to this report.

the religious should not read these blogs, they *will* be offended

these are my rantings about religion - i speak fluent sarcasm - know this when you are reading and it will save you some heartache.