951
ukantic
Talk Reason update
02/06/2006 10:59:00
If You Seal It Off, They Will Evolve
By Steve Reuland
Here's a pretty cool example of how isolated environments lead to the
evolution of new species. The more isolated, the more unique:
http://www.talkreason.org/articles/Israel.cfm
952
Marc Draco
Creationist lies... again. (Scientific American)
02/06/2006 11:44:00
http://tinyurl.com/rbeh9
953
Mikey Brass
Re: Creationist lies... again. (Scientific American)
02/06/2006 11:52:00
I dismay at the level to which Scientific American has sunk since
Shermer took over.
I distinctly remember a first year archaeology assignment (1996) where
we had to choose an article from Scientific American and proceed from
there. Back then, SA was still highly rated but quickly began going
downhill and has lost all respect amongst archaeologists. It is nothing
more than a glorified mouthpiece now and it is a shame to see.
954
ukantic
God’s Next Army
03/06/2006 15:20:00
From the NSS Newsline
God's Next Army (Channel 4, Monday 5 June, 8pm).
A frightening documentary looking at the fanatical new breed of
Christians coming up into American politics. Patrick Henry College
is only five years old; its 300 students are smart, focused and well-
connected and, despite its size, it has provided the current White
House administration with more interns than any other college in the
USA. But Patick Henry is very different all of its courses, from
biology to political science, are taught from a `biblical
perspective'. The students combine breathtaking naivety with a
ruthless single-mindedness. Even ordinary Christians find them
stormtrooper-like as they pound the corridors of the Capitol,
lobbying to abolish estate taxes because they are unbiblical on the
grounds that "The Earth is the Lord's". But they're well-organised,
well-connected and in the ascendant. They are all thorough-going
creationists, and quite soon they will run America. Be afraid, be
very afraid.
955
Roger Stanyard
The War on Children''s Minds
03/06/2006 16:58:00
FYI (I think this is squarely on topic).
A relatively newly published book, the War for Children's Minds by
Stephen Law raises a lot of issues surrounding the teaching of
creationism in schools. It's got very good reviews but right wingers
and neocons no doubt hate it with poisin.
It basically agrues the case fo a liberal upbringing of children
against authoritarians who want to use religion to control them.
His case looks to be compelling although I haven't read the book. Its
due to be published in the USA at the end of this month/early next
month but has had some coverage in the media there already.
Law is unusual in that he teaches at a Jesuit theological/philosophy
college (Heythrop College, part of the University of London). He
isn't a Jesuit though.
Part of the book appears to be polemic against the Blair government's
keeness towards faith-based schools but seems also to address the
issues of attempts to get religion into US state schools.
It's been discussed on a US radio show and you can access the
programme at http://www.worldtalkradio.com/archive.asp?aid=6734. Law
isn't interviewed until the seond or throd part of the pgramme which
is split into three sections for downloading.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Roger Stanyard
956
Roger Stanyard
Re: God’s Next Army
03/06/2006 17:22:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "ukantic" <ukantic@...> wrote:
>
> From the NSS Newsline
>
> God's Next Army (Channel 4, Monday 5 June, 8pm).
>
> A frightening documentary looking at the fanatical new breed of
> Christians coming up into American politics. Patrick Henry College
> is only five years old; its 300 students are smart, focused and
well-
> connected and, despite its size, it has provided the current White
> House administration with more interns than any other college in
the
> USA.
Yep, very, very frightening. However, the basic condition of entry
into Patrick Henry College is that you have to have been home-
schooled. That, in a sense, makes it highly selective towards the
less well-educated. One wonders how much of the education there is
remedial.
Most US parents are scientifically illiterate and standards of maths
are even lower in the USA than the UK. How on earth are they going to
teach their 17 or 18 year olds?
One wonders how the half-educated idiots out of PHC are going to fair
in the real, salaried, competitive world.
My understanding is that PHC's standards are so poor it isn't even
accredited although it's aiming to be accredited.
One wonders whether such a deeply authoritarian institution based on
crass ignorance could ever become a university as such. It's a
bigot's paradise stuck in the 17th Century and has no way forward.
Still, nothing surprises me when it comes to fundies and I still fear
it. Sooner or later the nutters are going to try the same game in the
UK. They are already deep into home education (see Randall Hardy, for
example, John Mackay's side-kick up in Ashton under Lyne. The fundies
already have a home education organisation based in Swindon). We also
have about 20-30 fundie academics kicking around the place and well
organised, btw. Tie them to Vardy and his pals and such a project
might just see the light of day.
Roger Stanyard
BTW, I just thought of a money making scam. Let's start selling
toilet paper to Patrick Henry College. They'll need it to print their
degree certificates on.
Better still, sell it to the students to present as their PhD
thesises.
957
Roger Stanyard
Re: God’s Next Army
03/06/2006 19:01:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "ukantic" <ukantic@...> wrote:
>
> From the NSS Newsline
>
> God's Next Army (Channel 4, Monday 5 June, 8pm).
>
I should have spotted it a mile off but didn't; the real game that
Patrick Henry College is playing is to turn out snake-oil salesmen
(and women) to promote the fundie cause. That's why its academic
status is zero but it invests massively (and successfully) in
training its jerks to debate.
That's exactly what the Bob Jones University does. Crap academic
standards but top of the league in debating.
Style over substance. The tools needed lie, deceive and misrepresent
systematically, repeatedly and of necessity.
They know that this is the only method that they can "win" their
arguments against the mainstream. It's what the JWs have been doing
for years.
Roger Stanyard
PS: De facto PHC is racist (as you would expect from fundies). There
are no black Americans enrolled there. Does that surprise anyone
given that the Bob Jones University is regarded as a sink of racism
and ignorance? Scratch the average US fundie and you will find a
racist.
958
Timothy Chase
Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 03:10:00
On 03/06/06, ukantic <ukantic@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
> From the NSS Newsline
>
> God's Next Army (Channel 4, Monday 5 June, 8pm).
>
> A frightening documentary looking at the fanatical new breed of
> Christians coming up into American politics. Patrick Henry College
> is only five years old...
Being here in the US (Seattle area), I am not able to see the program,
but I have found some material on the web. Frankly, this stuff is so
Twilight Zone it is difficult for me to wrap my mind around it...
5 Professors Quit Religious School
Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution
By Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 19, 2006; B05
"They claim that Patrick Henry College, established in 2000 to attract
academically gifted home-schoolers with the hope of send them on to
work on Capitol Hill or at the White House, does not value equally
both parts of its mission: to offer students a strong biblical
perspective while educating them according to a classical liberal arts
curriculum. In one case, the professors said, faculty members were
reprimanded for writing that the Bible 'is not the only source of
truth.'"
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051801995_\
pf.html
*
Bush Administration mining fundamentalist recruits
The former Dean of Academic Affairs at the fundamentalist Christian
Patrick Henry College is appointed to oversee USAID's democracy and
governance programs
Bill Berkowitz
December 19, 2005
http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=99
*
Cut, Thrust and Christ
Why evangelicals are mastering the art of college debate.
By Susannah Meadows
Newsweek, Feb. 6, 2006
"When you believe the end of the world is coming, you learn to talk
fast. On a Friday afternoon the debate team from Liberty University,
Jerry Falwell's fundamentalist Baptist college, is madly rehearsing
for the tournament about to begin."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11078887/site/newsweek/
*
Patrick Henry College Statement of Faith
http://www.phc.edu/about/faith.asp
959
Roger Stanyard
Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 13:01:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Timothy Chase"
<timothychase@...> wrote:
>
>> 5 Professors Quit Religious School
> Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution
> By Michael Alison Chandler
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Friday, May 19, 2006; B05
>
> "They claim that Patrick Henry College, established in 2000 to
attract
> academically gifted home-schoolers with the hope of send them on to
> work on Capitol Hill or at the White House, does not value equally
> both parts of its mission: to offer students a strong biblical
> perspective while educating them according to a classical liberal
arts
> curriculum. In one case, the professors said, faculty members were
> reprimanded for writing that the Bible 'is not the only source of
> truth.'"
>
The Washington Post article seems to point to the Patrick Henry
College failing; I wouldn't bet on it, though. There are enough
fundie idiots in the USA to fill these sinks of single minded
bigotory - see, for example, the Liberty and Regent universities, the
Bob Jones University, et al.
It does take even the slightest bit of common sense to realise that a
fundie university is a contradiction in terms. Seems to me that by
definition a university is a liberal institution.
Let's hope the PHC collapses.
Roger Stanyard
960
Roger Stanyard
Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 13:20:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Timothy Chase"
<timothychase@...> wrote:
>
> 5 Professors Quit Religious School
> Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution
> By Michael Alison Chandler
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Friday, May 19, 2006; B05
>
> "They claim that Patrick Henry College, established in 2000 to
attract
> academically gifted home-schoolers with the hope of send them on to
> work on Capitol Hill or at the White House, does not value equally
> both parts of its mission: to offer students a strong biblical
> perspective while educating them according to a classical liberal
arts
> curriculum. In one case, the professors said, faculty members were
> reprimanded for writing that the Bible 'is not the only source of
> truth.'"
>
The irony is that whilst Patrick Henry College puts so much emphasis
on debating, the findies running it can't agree between themselves
about what they are talking about and how to run the place (I'm
pleased to hear).
One wonders just what the substance is of internal debate there.
Roger Stanyard
961
Timothy Chase
Re: Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 18:14:00
On 04/06/06, Roger Stanyard <roger@dttconsulting.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> The Washington Post article seems to point to the Patrick Henry
> College failing; I wouldn't bet on it, though. There are enough
> fundie idiots in the USA to fill these sinks of single minded
> bigotory - see, for example, the Liberty and Regent universities, the
> Bob Jones University, et al.
... the fundies have gotten organized, and just as they have taken
over local school boards in the past, they are now having some success
taking over the central government, or at least insinuating themselves
in it. No doubt we will get rid of many of them when the current
administration leaves office, but a great many others will be in there
for quite some time to come. Moreover, when one "school" fails, not
only are there others, but there will be others being built.
Previously, the fundies have been mostly a nuisance. For quite some
time to come, I believe they are going to be a threat which will have
some measure of success in eroding the Separation of State and Church
in this country, the elimination of which is an integral step in the
establishment of a theocracy. Assuming they do not ultimately
succeed, they will nevertheless be a continuing, corrupting influence
within the US government. In the long-run, the struggle has gotten
much harder.
> It does take even the slightest bit of common sense to realise that a
> fundie university is a contradiction in terms. Seems to me that by
> definition a university is a liberal institution.
Genuine universities and colleges are devoted to the encouraging
independent thought, objectivity, the ability of students to examine
their own beliefs and the beliefs of others critically, the ability to
recognize the insights of others even when they would otherwise see
only irreconcilable differences, and at their best, encouraging the
view that no value or allegiance should ever be permitted to stand in
the way of the individual mind and reality.
Fundie colleges are the very opposite of this, furthering the
indoctrination rather than the education their "students." I view
them as being more akin a paramilitary organization, differing only in
that their objective is not to overthrow the government by means of a
frontal assault but from within. They aim to erode our government of
laws by means of a gradual and largely invisible process, preserving a
sense of normalcy, with no clear line to mark the transition from a
genuine republic to a theocracy. They seek to give the republic a
death of a thousand cuts while the majority of Americans sleepwalk
into the future.
> Let's hope the PHC collapses.
That would be one those rare moments which of late have been genuinely
worth celebrating.
962
Joe Cooper
Re: Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 18:12:00
Roger Stanyard wrote:
> --- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Timothy Chase"
> <timothychase@...> wrote:
> >
> > 5 Professors Quit Religious School
> > Some Complain of Academic Constraints at Loudoun Institution
> > By Michael Alison Chandler
> > Washington Post Staff Writer
> > Friday, May 19, 2006; B05
> >
> > "They claim that Patrick Henry College, established in 2000 to
> attract
> > academically gifted home-schoolers with the hope of send them on to
> > work on Capitol Hill or at the White House, does not value equally
> > both parts of its mission: to offer students a strong biblical
> > perspective while educating them according to a classical liberal
> arts
> > curriculum. In one case, the professors said, faculty members were
> > reprimanded for writing that the Bible 'is not the only source of
> > truth.'"
> >
> The irony is that whilst Patrick Henry College puts so much emphasis
> on debating, the findies running it can't agree between themselves
> about what they are talking about and how to run the place (I'm
> pleased to hear).
>
> One wonders just what the substance is of internal debate there.
>
> Roger Stanyard
>
>
>
Repeating what the owner says
Joe Cooper
963
Timothy Chase
Re: Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 18:24:00
On 04/06/06, Roger Stanyard <roger@dttconsulting.fsnet.co.uk> wrote:
> The irony is that whilst Patrick Henry College puts so much emphasis
> on debating, the findies running it can't agree between themselves
> about what they are talking about and how to run the place (I'm
> pleased to hear).
>
> One wonders just what the substance is of internal debate there.
Undoubtedly points which are settled by the number of biblical
passages one has at one's immediate command and the rate at which one
is able to rattle them off.
964
Roger Stanyard
Re: God’s Next Army
04/06/2006 18:46:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Timothy Chase"
<timothychase@...> wrote:
>
> Fundie colleges are the very opposite of this, furthering the
> indoctrination rather than the education their "students." I view
> them as being more akin a paramilitary organization, differing only
in
> that their objective is not to overthrow the government by means of
a
> frontal assault but from within. They aim to erode our government of
> laws by means of a gradual and largely invisible process,
preserving a
> sense of normalcy, with no clear line to mark the transition from a
> genuine republic to a theocracy. They seek to give the republic a
> death of a thousand cuts while the majority of Americans sleepwalk
> into the future.
>
Tim,
I think one of the refernces you gave earlier today likens Patrick
Henry College to a new, private, CIA. I guess this is pretty close to
what you are saying.
Roger Stanyard
965
Joe Cooper
bird blu evolution
04/06/2006 21:15:00
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2005/04/avian_flu_histo.html
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/editorial/14739033.htm
Closer look at bird flu trigger
WHY DREADED DISEASE IS UNPREDICTABLE THREAT
By Wendy Orent
There's a lot of bird flu virus out there. Despite encouraging news from
Vietnam and Thailand, neither of which has reported any bird or human
cases of the lethal H5N1 strain this year, the situation in Indonesia
continues to worsen. Eight members of a family contracted the disease,
and seven of them died this month.
The timing suggests person-to-person transmission. Although not the
first instance of such transmission, it's the single largest cluster
that has been seen, according to virologist Earl Brown of the University
of Ottawa. Indonesia appears to lack the resources to combat the disease.
The virus is also active in Egypt and has spread to Israel, Jordan and
the territories where Palestinians live. Africa has a wide belt of
infection. With the disease spread over so much of the world, more
people in contact with sick birds means more opportunities for humans to
catch the virus. This appears to be how human influenza pandemics have
begun -- through human contact with sick birds.
But the factors that set off a pandemic remain unknown. No one has ever
tracked the evolution of a new pandemic. All we have seen -- in 1918,
1957 and 1968 -- is the aftermath of that evolution. Still, we are told
that all it would take for H5N1 to become a pandemic would be for the
virus to mutate so it could spread in a sustained way from person to
person. This is known as ``mutation to transmissibility.
This phrase has appeared countless times in news reports. It's a
warning. It's also boilerplate. What does it really mean?
Part of the problem is that ``mutate to transmissibility means
different things to different people. To Peter Palese, chair of the
department of microbiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, who has
studied influenza viruses for 35 years, the phrase makes sense. ``These
mutations [to make the disease transmissible from human to human] could
happen in a chicken. It's not likely, but it cannot be excluded.
Palese recognizes that many mutations would be necessary for a virus to
switch from a chicken virus to a human one.
The H5N1 virus faces several barriers in jumping to and transmitting
among humans. The most important is its ability to replicate in and
adapt to human tissues, specifically the upper respiratory tract (not in
deep lung tissue, where it now seems to grow). In the windpipe, the
virus would be more likely to spread in a cough or sneeze, infecting
other humans.
Palese thinks bird flu mutations are sitting in the evolutionary
driver's seat -- that a combination of the right host switches in this
most mutable of viruses could set things off. Still, that's a long way
from a single mutational switch -- say, from chicken to human --
triggering a pandemic. But things may be more complicated.
To Brown, H5N1 mutations are not enough. They have to occur in the right
context. ``It's hard to get infected with this virus, he said. ``You
need a large dose of it to ensure the presence of some mutant strains
suitable for growing in mammals.'' According to Brown, several different
mutations on different genes seem to be involved in a virus moving from
one host to another. Bird flu strains he's passed through laboratory
mice have changed in ways similar to what has been seen in certain cases
of the human H5N1 virus, suggesting that the changes may be significant
for the strain's adaptation to mammals.
Some mutant strains have appeared repeatedly and independently in
different humans infected with the bird flu virus. In one patient in
Turkey, about half the H5N1 strains detected appeared to be viruses that
had adapted to humans. But, as Brown points out, the changes were a dead
end -- the victim died without passing on the disease.
Brown recognizes what seems to elude most people who worry about
pandemic outbreaks: What's necessary to produce a human-adapted virus is
humans -- a series of person-to-person infections. Without that chain of
transmission, any human adaptation of H5N1 is difficult to imagine.
Here is where communication between those who fear an overnight pandemic
and those who believe the process will be longer, slower and more
controllable breaks down. If we think H5N1 mutations alone drive
escalation to a human-adapted virus, all that's necessary for a pandemic
is for the right combination of genes to line up in a sort of viral slot
machine.
In a casino, the house usually wins, but occasionally someone hits the
jackpot. It's the law of large numbers -- given enough time and enough
opportunity, viral mutation will toss up a deadly combination. No one
wants to win the bird flu slot-machine game. If the genes happen to line
up and a vulnerable human happens to be the host in the right place, the
disease takes off and a pandemic explodes. Given how mutable the H5N1
virus is, the thinking goes, at some point this is inevitable.
But as Brown knows, evolution doesn't work this way. Gene mutation isn't
in the driver's seat. Rather, it's Darwin's charioteer -- natural
selection -- that drives evolution. Mutations are the raw material of
evolutionary change. They don't determine which direction the chariot
will go.
Any successful H5N1 mutation must interact with other viral genes in a
human host to improve its ability to infect the host. This is an
adaptive process -- and it is true whether the new virus arises directly
through mutation or even through recombination with a common flu strain.
H5N1 is beautifully, tragically adapted to chickens and has proved a
monstrous predator. It evolved this way by preying on chickens packed
into huge commercial chicken farms in Asia.
The bird flu virus is still at the starting gate when it comes to
humans. But should any strain of H5N1 manage to survive many sequential
transmissions, Darwin's charioteer may drive off. The best transmitters
will be favored by selection, as evolutionary biologist Paul W. Ewald of
the University of Louisville contends. The process will continue, human
by human, until a fully human-adapted, explosive strain emerges.
This process of adaptation is probably how pandemics begin. The World
Health Organization recently proposed a plan to move experts and
resources to any area afflicted with clusters of viral infection; a plan
that, given this evolutionary logic, makes eminent sense. At the
beginning, viral adaptation to a host is slow. A disease just beginning
to transmit is controllable. Surveillance, flexibility, willingness to
impose or undergo quarantines, along with international cooperation,
will be necessary to stop pandemic flu -- or any other disease moving
from animals to humans -- before Darwin's driver gets ahead of us and
nothing can be done.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
966
Joe Cooper
Luskin''s Latest Redefinition
04/06/2006 21:28:00
http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2006/06/luskins_latest_redefinition.php
Luskin's Latest Redefinition
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2006/06/luskins_latest_redefinition.php>
Category: Intelligent Design
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/intelligent_design/>
Posted on: June 3, 2006 1:25 PM, by Ed Brayton
<http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/>
Casey Luskin is back with a brand new dance
<http://www.evolutionnews.org/2006/06/science_editorializes_over_dis_1.html>,
a tap dance around all those pesky little previous statements by ID
advocates that come back to haunt them every time they try and claim
that the "intelligent designer" doesn't have to be supernatural. He's
complaining that a news article referred to the Discovery Institute as
"creationism's main think tank". Proof of media bias, he says:
967
Joe Cooper
contribute to the encyclopedia of the Earth
04/06/2006 21:34:00
Contribute to the encyclopedia of the Earth
http://www.earthportal.net/about/steward/
We invite you to apply to become a contributor to the Encyclopedia of
Earth. We seek qualified <../eoe/eoefaqs#1> individuals to act as
Authors <../p/Author_Terms.pdf> and Topic Editors <../p/TE_Terms.pdf>
for the Encyclopedia.
Authors contribute content by contributing articles and/or expanding
existing articles in their areas of expertise. Topic Editors are
individuals with significant, relevant expertise who oversee, often
along with one or more other Editors, specific topics in the
Encyclopedia of Earth. They approve, recommend for revision, or decline
articles for publication in the Encyclopedia, and help set overall
content and governance policies. Topic Editors are also encouraged to
contribute articles in their areas of expertise. Workloads are
commensurate with an individuals time constraints. All contributors
participate in a dynamic,
968
Joe Cooper
Secret Service agents showed up at the office of Great News Networ
04/06/2006 21:38:00
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ScienceblogsCombinedFeed?m=3039
I'm sure most of my readers remember Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron's
evangelistic partner in crime. He's the guy who claims that the fact
that a banana fits perfectly in the hand of a monkey is proof of
intelligent design (and unlike Paul Nelson, I'm not making that up).
Well it turns out that he's in a bit of trouble
<http://www.worldviewweekend.com/secure/cwnetwork/article.php?&ArticleID=770>
with the Secret Service:
On June 1st, 2006, Secret Service agents showed up at the office of
Great News Network in Dallas, Texas and demanded their entire stock
of $1 million dollar gospel tracts that are produced by Ray
Comfort's ministry, Living Waters. The tracts are used by Ray
Comfort and his co-host Kirk Cameron and have been promoted on their
national television program.
Reports were that the Secret Service was going to pay a visit to
Comfort's national offices in Bellflower, California and confiscate
their entire stock. Apparently someone in North Carolina took one of
the $1 million dollar tract to a bank and tried to deposit it into
their account.
That will have me laughing all day.
969
Joe Cooper
Thank you Canada
04/06/2006 21:42:00
Thank you Canada
Joe Cooper
Radar Satellite maps land sinking at New Orleans
A new perspective
For this reason, Amelung and colleagues decided to use 33 snapshots
obtained by the Canadian RADARSAT satellite from 2002 to 2005 to assess
land subsidence in New Orleans. Amelung explains they had to rely on
Canada’s technology because the US lacks a radar satellite for the
purposes of collecting data for the scientific community.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9249-radar-satellite-maps-the-sinking-of-n\
ew-orleans.html
970
Roger Stanyard
Fundies Threaten to Kill Dover Judge
06/06/2006 09:08:00
It's worth taking a look at Judge John Jones' latest speech in which he
comments a lot on the Dover trial.
The alarming thing is that he is clearly showing that the fundies are
looking to kill him over his decision.
http://www.adl.org/Civil_Rights/speech_judge_jones.asp
Jones mentioned months ago that he had been under armed guard following
the trial.
Me thinks, sooner or later the fundies are going to start killing
people who stand in their way.
Roger Stanyard
971
Lenny Flank
hey Nick, where are you?
10/06/2006 02:02:00
I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
of our questions . . . ?
(snicker) (giggle)
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
972
Andrew
Re: hey Nick, where are you?
10/06/2006 02:31:00
----- Original Message -----
From: Lenny Flank
> I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
> of our questions . . . ?
Pretty pathetic, really. Maybe he thinks his failure to justify himself
will be forgotten by next term and he'll again be given free rein to unleash
his dubious ideas on the young people entrusted to him?
973
Roger Stanyard
Re: hey Nick, where are you?
10/06/2006 10:09:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Lenny Flank" <lflank@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
> of our questions . . . ?
>
>
> (snicker) (giggle)
>
Or preach (sigh).
Roger Stanyard
974
oeditor
Re: hey Nick, where are you?
10/06/2006 10:58:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Andrew" <taoist.hermit1@...> wrote:
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lenny Flank
>
> > I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
> > of our questions . . . ?
>
> Pretty pathetic, really. Maybe he thinks his failure to justify
himself > will be forgotten by next term and he'll again be given free
rein to unleash > his dubious ideas on the young people entrusted to him?
>
No. The Secret Masters Of Fundamentalism have tolk him to keep his
trap shut. They want to beaver away undermining our schools unobserved.
Brian
975
Mikey Brass
Re: hey Nick, where are you?
10/06/2006 11:06:00
Lenny Flank wrote:
>
> I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
> of our questions . . . ?
It is a week since Nick said he would be back to post.
976
Roger Stanyard
Banana Benders Kiss and Makeup
10/06/2006 14:48:00
Here is some info I got by private email from Australia re John
Mackay and AiG:
After about a quarter century of estrangement, Ken Ham and John
Mackay are once again on speaking terms. The latest issue of
Mackay's 'Creation News' Vol.20 No.2, 2006 (just received) has a
photo of them together on the front page. Ham was giving Mackay a
guided tour of the new AiG Creation Museum in Kentucky(?). Mackay
praised the museum, which he had previously criticised very strongly,
and asked his readers to 'pray much for the creation ministry of Ken
and John as the Lord blesses it as a global outreach that God in his
wisdom brought out of Australia ...' Mackay is now selling AiG books
again including one by Ham himself.
This seems to be part of a grand realignment following the AiG/CMI
split, with Mackay giving Ham a direct link into Australia once again.
At the same time, Carl Wieland's CIM claims to have reached the
halfway mark in its c.$1m. building appeal. It surprises me that
they have raised so much money with (presumably) reduced support from
America. They really are a very wealthy group by Australian
Religious Right standards.
977
Lenny Flank
Re: Banana Benders Kiss and Makeup
11/06/2006 02:18:00
>
They really are a very wealthy group by Australian Religious
> Right standards.
>
One thing the fundies are VERY good at is raising money.
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
978
Roger Stanyard
Re: Banana Benders Kiss and Makeup
11/06/2006 11:24:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Lenny Flank" <lflank@...> wrote:
>
> >
> They really are a very wealthy group by Australian Religious
> > Right standards.
> >
>
>
> One thing the fundies are VERY good at is raising money.
>
Yep, and many of their practices are deeply disturbing. I've come
across one case where one of them offered to raise £10m from "co-
religionists" for a UK religious channel with a commission of 50% -
i.e. he got £5m of the £10m.
Presumbly the suckers he got the money from were not to be told.
Greed, and fraud, are rampant in parts of the movement.
Roger Stanyard
>
> ===================================
> Lenny Flank
> "There are no loose threads in the web of life"
>
> Creation "Science" Debunked
> http://www.geocities.com/lflank
>
> My Reptile Page
> http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
>
979
Marc Draco
Re: hey Nick, where are you?
11/06/2006 18:19:00
bgcolor="#ffffff"
That's not a good thing really. Since at the present time he's still
therefore free to preach his bile to untrained ears. That's the danger.
Lenny Flank wrote:
->
I guess we can safely assume that Nick isn't going to, uh, answer any
of our questions . . . ?
(snicker) (giggle)
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
980
Mikey Brass
Hide and seek
18/06/2006 14:54:00
Nick, oh Nnniiiccckkkkkkyyyyyyyyyyy. Where out thou Nicky....?
981
Lenny Flank
Re: Hide and seek
18/06/2006 15:30:00
> Nick, oh Nnniiiccckkkkkkyyyyyyyyyyy. Where out thou Nicky....?
>
Cat seems to have gotten his tongue, huh.
I guess now we know how he handles questions from his students . . .
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
982
Mikey Brass
Re: Hide and seek
18/06/2006 16:11:00
Lenny Flank wrote:
>> Nick, oh Nnniiiccckkkkkkyyyyyyyyyyy. Where out thou Nicky....?
>>
>
>
> Cat seems to have gotten his tongue, huh.
...and we didn't even get to hear the "you are all atheists and I hate
you" phase.
983
Roger Stanyard
Re: Hide and seek
18/06/2006 17:42:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Mikey Brass" <michael.brass@...>
wrote:
>
Now, now, boys, you shouldn't make fun of fundies.
Nick, oh Nnniiiccckkkkkkyyyyyyyyyyy. Where out thou Nicky....?
>
984
Mikey Brass
Re: Re: Hide and seek
18/06/2006 20:36:00
Roger Stanyard wrote:
> --- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Mikey Brass" <michael.brass@...>
> wrote:
>
> Now, now, boys, you shouldn't make fun of fundies.
It was fun. Bad spelling and all...
*pokes under first this rock and then that* Nope, nowhere to be seen !
985
oeditor
Re: Hide and seek
20/06/2006 01:34:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Roger Stanyard" <roger@...> wrote:
>
> --- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Mikey Brass" <michael.brass@>
> wrote:
> >
>
> Now, now, boys, you shouldn't make fun of fundies.
>
We're not. Just wanting Nick to answer a few simple questions. Like:
how come his i/n/t/e/l/l/i/g/e/n/t/ holy designer made human females
prone to urinary infections? Surely he/she/it could have come up with
some alternative to a penis to keep their bladders a bit further from
the outside world? Not chemistry, admittedly, but a good christian
biology colleague will have briefed him on this? No? Really? I don't
believe it ;-)
Brian
986
Roger Stanyard
Creationism and Bristol University
23/06/2006 08:09:00
I've posted a long essay to my blog on one of the most "prominent"
creationist in the UK, a professor at Bristol University. His name is
Stuart Burgess and he is a mechnical engineer that believes that he
has proved that Einstein's Theory of relativity as well as the Theory
of Evolution to be wrong.
In neither case has he had any papers published on these subjects in
mainstream journals and on evolution he has had 2 published by Answers
in Genesis.
Bristol University lists his academic papers but fails to list the AiG
papers (surprise, surprise).
Burgess has been active in going around state schools telling children
that what they are learning in science is completely wrong but he is
involved in selecting sudents from the same schools into the
University.
There's a severe conflict of interest between the two.
Moreover, Burgess is claiming that much, it not all, of the
University is in league with the devil.
You can see my essay, which is basically a hard hitting first draft at
http://360.yahoo.com/stanyardroger
I'm systematically doing papers like this on all the AiG wackos in the
UK.
Methinks that the evidence I put together forms the basis of some
very serious letters to heads of departments at the University.
Roger Stanyard
987
Roger Stanyard
Re: Creationism and Bristol University
23/06/2006 08:32:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Roger Stanyard" <roger@...> wrote:
>
> I've posted a long essay to my blog on one of the most "prominent"
> creationist in the UK, a professor at Bristol University. His name is
> Stuart Burgess and he is a mechnical engineer that believes that he
> has proved that Einstein's Theory of relativity as well as the Theory
> of Evolution to be wrong.
>
Alan,
If you want to post the essay to you web site, feel free.
Roger Stanyard
988
Roger Stanyard
Creationism and Leeds University
23/06/2006 19:05:00
This is from today's Times HES. It's astonishing.
Creationism will be 'compulsory', report Jessica Shepherd and Steve
Farrar
Creationism - the belief that the biblical story of creation is
scientific fact - is beginning to make inroads into the science
curricula of UK universities, The Times Higher can reveal.
Leeds University plans to incorporate one or two compulsory lectures
on creationism and intelligent design into its second-year course for
zoology and genetics undergraduates next Christmas.
At Leicester University, academics already devote part of a lecture
for third-year genetics undergraduates to creationism and intelligent
design.
In both cases, lecturers intend to present the controversial theories
as fallacies irreconcilable with scientific evidence. But that these
alternatives to evolution have been proposed for formal discussion
has sparked concern among the UK science community.
David Read, vice-president of the Royal Society, said: "It would be
undesirable for universities to have to spend a lot of precious
resources teaching students that creationism and intelligent design
are not based on scientific evidence. It is pretty basic stuff."
A Times Higher investigation has also discovered there are at least
14 academics in science departments who consider themselves
creationists. They argue the world is thousands not billions of years
old and believe Noah's flood explains fossil remains. Several others
are proponents of intelligent design, which rejects evolution as a
discredited theory.
Some are heads of departments, seven lecture in the life sciences and
seven are professors. They work in universities such as Bristol,
Leeds, Manchester Metropolitan and Southampton.
They include Jonathan Swingler, head of Southampton University's
School of Engineering Sciences, who believes dinosaurs co-existed
with humans; and George Marshall, lecturer in neurobiomedicine at
Glasgow University, who claims the complexity of the eye makes
him "balk at evolutionary theory".
There was concern from some of Britain's top scientists at the
findings of The Times Higher's investigation.
John Armour, professor of human genetics at Nottingham University,
said he thought giving two lectures on alternatives to evolution
was "like geologists spending time discussing the Earth being flat".
Paul Nurse, Nobel laureate, insisted that creationism should not be
discussed as science. "But this issue should be discussed in
universities as it would help clarify what is and what is not
science," he said.
The Leeds plan to include lectures on alternatives to evolution is
the result of student feedback. Michael McPherson, director of the
Undergraduate School in Biological Sciences, said: "Our students are
likely to be exposed to proponents of creationism and intelligent
design. It is essential they understand the historical context and
the flaws in the arguments these groups put forward."
Randall Hardy of the Creation Research organisation in the UK said
the heyday of Darwinism had probably passed. "What is almost
certainly happening is that the secular atheists, who have hijacked
science for their own ends, are being found out.
Roger Stanyard
Dunno about you guys and girls but the comment from Hardy is about as
loony as they get.
Hardy is an electrician, not the sort of person whose opinion on
higher education matters a damn fuck. He's a nasty lying toad as you
can see from the above column and also from his press releases about
the Mackay tour.
989
Lenny Flank
Re: Creationism and Leeds University
23/06/2006 23:32:00
>
> Randall Hardy of the Creation Research organisation in the UK said the
> heyday of Darwinism had probably passed. "What is almost certainly
> happening is that the secular atheists, who have hijacked science for
> their own ends, are being found out.
>
But ID/creationism isn't about religion. No sirree Bob. it's just
them lying atheist darwinists who say it is.
(snicker) (giggle)
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
990
John Germain
RE: Creationism and Leeds University
23/06/2006 23:43:00
Lenny, do not mock, O ye of little faith...
Now science has been un-jacked, science will be freed to show the TRUTH
(bwahaahhaaa)(oops).
What's the betting that the next thing that will come up is "Science won't
co-operate.
Those evil evolutionists raped it and now it's in love with them..." Stockholm
Syndrome?
John Germain
Jersey
British Channel Islands
-----Original Message-----
From: BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com [BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Lenny
Flank
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 11:32 PM
To: BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [BlackShadow] Creationism and Leeds University
>
> Randall Hardy of the Creation Research organisation in the UK said the
> heyday of Darwinism had probably passed. "What is almost certainly
> happening is that the secular atheists, who have hijacked science for
> their own ends, are being found out.
>
But ID/creationism isn't about religion. No sirree Bob. it's just
them lying atheist darwinists who say it is.
(snicker) (giggle)
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
Yahoo! Groups Links
991
ukantic
Re: Creationism and Bristol University
24/06/2006 11:10:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Roger Stanyard" <roger@...> wrote:
>
> --- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Roger Stanyard" <roger@> wrote:
> >
> > I've posted a long essay to my blog on one of the most "prominent"
> > creationist in the UK, a professor at Bristol University. His name is
> > Stuart Burgess and he is a mechnical engineer that believes that he
> > has proved that Einstein's Theory of relativity as well as the Theory
> > of Evolution to be wrong.
> >
> Alan,
>
> If you want to post the essay to you web site, feel free.
>
> Roger Stanyard
>
Thanks Roger, I have put a copy of it on the creationism site & linked
to it from a page about Stuart Burgess at:
http://www.creationism.co.uk/index.php/Main/StuartBurgess
If you develop the, "tin pot universities" theme further, I will also
link to it through a page of the same name.
992
ukantic
Coulter mangles Dover case
24/06/2006 12:00:00
Coulter mangles Dover case
By Mike Argento
http://www.talkreason.org/articles/coulter.cfm
Mike Argento, whose witty essays related to the Dover trial are well
known (several of them were reproduced on Talk Reason - see the Index
of Authors and click on "Argento, Mike") pounces, in this article,
upon the best-selling drivel of an ignorant and dishonest anti-
evolution and extreme right-wing fanatic.
published: Jun 23, 2006
993
ukantic
Scientific world unites over origins of life
24/06/2006 12:15:00
Scientific world unites over origins of life
EBEN HARRELL - 22June 06
THE world's leading scientists have issued a damning statement against
the teaching of creationism in schools, arguing that denying the facts
of evolution damages the development of children.
The national science academies of 67 countries, including the Royal
Society, issued a joint statement warning that scientific evidence
about the origins of life was being "concealed, denied, or confused"
in many schools.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=911332006
Scroll down to the comments section - I see Timothy seems to have got
there first!
994
ukantic
New Campaign
24/06/2006 12:19:00
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED AGAINST ACADEMY SCHOOLS
- LIES
- UNFIT SPONSORS
- NO CONSULTATION
Meeting - 6.30 pm, Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth
Northumberland Council's plans for Academy schools in Blyth and
Ashington are under fire as a campaign is launched to stop them
going ahead.
Campaigners accuse the Council of failing to consult parents and
unions - misrepresenting the degree of support - for handing over
schools to sponsors (the Duke of Northumberland, and the Emmanuel
Foundation) who are not fit or acceptable to run them - and putting
the long term future of neighbouring schools at risk.
The Government directly pays the building and running costs of
Academies – the building costs are £25 million plus and the sponsor
is expected to contribute £2 million. Northumberland Council claims
it has not got the money to build new schools and Academies are the
only way this can be achieved.
Vin Wynne, of the National Union of Teachers, accuses the Government
of blackmailing authorities "New Labour is obsessed with Academies
and to make sure it reaches its target of 200 Councils can't access
investment unless they agree to adopt them – it is pure blackmail."
The Council and Emmanuel Foundation are accused of misrepresenting
the degree of support for the Blyth Academy.
The governing body at Blyth Community College says "The Council and
Emmanuel Foundation claim the governors and Head of Blyth Community
College support the proposed Academy. This is a lie – we do not
support it, have not been properly consulted and believe it will
damage the College in the longer term." Campaigners say the support
was cited in a report to the Government seeking approval for the
Academy to go ahead.
Sponsors have control over Academies as they appoint the governing
body, employ staff and determine the ethos of the school. Those
opposing the proposals claim the sponsors for the Northumberland
Academies are not fit to run schools.
"What does the Duke of Northumberland know about education in
Ashington or the needs of young people in the town?" asked Vin Wynne.
Controversy surrounds the sponsor of the proposed Blyth Academy –
the Emmanuel Foundation headed by evangelical Christian Sir Peter
Vardy. The Foundation is accused of pushing an aggressive religious
agenda in its schools and imposing a strict regime.
Parents of children at an Emmanuel Foundation Academy school in
Doncaster are campaigning against Dickensian style discipline. 148
children have been excluded in the first 6 months. Parents claim
the school is operating a system of covert selection to get rid of
difficult to teach children.
Geoff Holmes, of the teachers union NASUWT, said "The Emmanuel
Foundation has a notorious reputation for pushing religion and the
particular views of its leader, Peter Vardy, we really do not want
the children of Blyth subject to such an approach to education."
Campaigners have organised a public meeting to be held at 6.30 pm,
Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth, and claim this will be
the launch of a campaign to keep the Emmanuel Foundation out of
Northumberland schools and to stop the imposition of an Academy in
Blyth.
995
Peter Hearty
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 12:27:00
Do you have a link for this? I'd like to get in contact with these people
and offer them webspace and access to the notoacademies.org.uk bulletin
board.
Pete
----- Original Message -----
From: "ukantic" <ukantic@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2006 12:19 PM
Subject: [BlackShadow] New Campaign
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED AGAINST ACADEMY SCHOOLS
- LIES
- UNFIT SPONSORS
- NO CONSULTATION
Meeting - 6.30 pm, Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth
Northumberland Council's plans for Academy schools in Blyth and
Ashington are under fire as a campaign is launched to stop them
going ahead.
Campaigners accuse the Council of failing to consult parents and
unions - misrepresenting the degree of support - for handing over
schools to sponsors (the Duke of Northumberland, and the Emmanuel
Foundation) who are not fit or acceptable to run them - and putting
the long term future of neighbouring schools at risk.
The Government directly pays the building and running costs of
Academies - the building costs are £25 million plus and the sponsor
is expected to contribute £2 million. Northumberland Council claims
it has not got the money to build new schools and Academies are the
only way this can be achieved.
Vin Wynne, of the National Union of Teachers, accuses the Government
of blackmailing authorities "New Labour is obsessed with Academies
and to make sure it reaches its target of 200 Councils can't access
investment unless they agree to adopt them - it is pure blackmail."
The Council and Emmanuel Foundation are accused of misrepresenting
the degree of support for the Blyth Academy.
The governing body at Blyth Community College says "The Council and
Emmanuel Foundation claim the governors and Head of Blyth Community
College support the proposed Academy. This is a lie - we do not
support it, have not been properly consulted and believe it will
damage the College in the longer term." Campaigners say the support
was cited in a report to the Government seeking approval for the
Academy to go ahead.
Sponsors have control over Academies as they appoint the governing
body, employ staff and determine the ethos of the school. Those
opposing the proposals claim the sponsors for the Northumberland
Academies are not fit to run schools.
"What does the Duke of Northumberland know about education in
Ashington or the needs of young people in the town?" asked Vin Wynne.
Controversy surrounds the sponsor of the proposed Blyth Academy -
the Emmanuel Foundation headed by evangelical Christian Sir Peter
Vardy. The Foundation is accused of pushing an aggressive religious
agenda in its schools and imposing a strict regime.
Parents of children at an Emmanuel Foundation Academy school in
Doncaster are campaigning against Dickensian style discipline. 148
children have been excluded in the first 6 months. Parents claim
the school is operating a system of covert selection to get rid of
difficult to teach children.
Geoff Holmes, of the teachers union NASUWT, said "The Emmanuel
Foundation has a notorious reputation for pushing religion and the
particular views of its leader, Peter Vardy, we really do not want
the children of Blyth subject to such an approach to education."
Campaigners have organised a public meeting to be held at 6.30 pm,
Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth, and claim this will be
the launch of a campaign to keep the Emmanuel Foundation out of
Northumberland schools and to stop the imposition of an Academy in
Blyth.
996
Marc Draco
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 12:51:00
bgcolor="#ffffff"
Peter Hearty wrote:
->
Do you have a link for this? I'd like to get in contact with these
people
and offer them webspace and access to the notoacademies.org.uk
bulletin
board.
Pete
->
Sounds like the tide is FINALLY turning! We need to all get together -
and they need to join with us. It needs an established umbrella to keep
it all moving - like the BHA or the NSS though.
997
Peter Hearty
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 13:12:00
>
> Sounds like the tide is FINALLY turning! We need to all get together -
> and they need to join with us. It needs an established umbrella to keep
> it all moving - like the BHA or the NSS though.
>
I don't agree with the last bit Marc. NSS involvement would probably put a
lot of people off. I've just sent an email to Vin Wyne, the NUT North-East
coordinator offering him the use of the bulletin board on the new website.
Hopefully, if we can get all these disparate campaigns working together we
can build a powerful national voice against academies. Best to make this a
coalition of teaching unions, community groups and media opposition - a
"ground-up" movement, rather than an established campaigning organisation.
Pete
998
ukantic
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 14:17:00
--- In BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com, "Peter Hearty" <psh@...> wrote:
>
> Do you have a link for this? I'd like to get in contact with these
people
> and offer them webspace and access to the notoacademies.org.uk
bulletin
> board.
>
> Pete
Hi Pete,
I'm sending you some details (via your Yahoo e-mail address) & 4
telephone numbers.
Alan.
999
Lenny Flank
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 15:09:00
> >
> > Sounds like the tide is FINALLY turning! We need to all get together
> > - and they need to join with us. It needs an established umbrella to
> > keep it all moving - like the BHA or the NSS though.
> >
>
> I don't agree with the last bit Marc. NSS involvement would probably
> put a lot of people off. I've just sent an email to Vin Wyne, the NUT
> North-East coordinator offering him the use of the bulletin board on
> the new website. Hopefully, if we can get all these disparate
> campaigns working together we can build a powerful national voice
> against academies. Best to make this a coalition of teaching unions,
> community groups and media opposition - a "ground-up" movement, rather
> than an established campaigning organisation.
I agree. Letting the BHA or NSS run the show would just turn this
into an anti-religion campaign, and turning this into an anti-
religion campaign won't help, particularly since this fight simply
isn't about science or religion -- it's about politics. What you
need is a broad-based movement made up of many different but
overlapping parts, everyone from teacher unions to parental groups to
anti-fundie churches to local business leaders. Anyone who opposes
the fundies and their goals should be able to find a place at the
table.
I'm glad to see that there seems to be a lot of local anti-
creationist organizing going on in the UK. What is needed now is a
central clearinghouse to coordinate all these local efforts and allow
them to support and reinforce each other and work together.
Something like the National Center for Science Education organization
that we have here in the US. The fundies have a national
organization and a united set of goals and strategy. The anti-
creationists need to have this, too.
A good way to get that going would be to invite a representative from
each of the local organizations to meet together and set up a mutual
forum where everyone can share information, tactics, and actions.
Everyone in each area can then be kept informed about what is
happening elsewhere, including things that the media either isn't
covering or shouldn't be told about.
===================================
Lenny Flank
"There are no loose threads in the web of life"
Creation "Science" Debunked
http://www.geocities.com/lflank
My Reptile Page
http://www.geocities.com/lflank/herp.html
1000
Peter Hearty
Re: New Campaign
24/06/2006 16:48:00
Folks, could I be really cheeky and ask an enormous favour of you all. Would
you be willing to transfer this discussion to the
http://www.notoacademies.org.uk/forum/
bulletin board?
I know this is a bit of a liberty, but I'm going to ask secular_newsline to
do the same.
The reason is that I want to try and get parents and pupils in the areas
affected to come and join us over there. Before I do that though, I'd like
to get at least a few topics underway so that they have something to see and
join in with.
I'll understand if you don't want to though.
Pete
----- Original Message -----
From: "ukantic" <ukantic@yahoo.co.uk>
To: <BlackShadow@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2006 12:19 PM
Subject: [BlackShadow] New Campaign
CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED AGAINST ACADEMY SCHOOLS
- LIES
- UNFIT SPONSORS
- NO CONSULTATION
Meeting - 6.30 pm, Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth
Northumberland Council's plans for Academy schools in Blyth and
Ashington are under fire as a campaign is launched to stop them
going ahead.
Campaigners accuse the Council of failing to consult parents and
unions - misrepresenting the degree of support - for handing over
schools to sponsors (the Duke of Northumberland, and the Emmanuel
Foundation) who are not fit or acceptable to run them - and putting
the long term future of neighbouring schools at risk.
The Government directly pays the building and running costs of
Academies - the building costs are £25 million plus and the sponsor
is expected to contribute £2 million. Northumberland Council claims
it has not got the money to build new schools and Academies are the
only way this can be achieved.
Vin Wynne, of the National Union of Teachers, accuses the Government
of blackmailing authorities "New Labour is obsessed with Academies
and to make sure it reaches its target of 200 Councils can't access
investment unless they agree to adopt them - it is pure blackmail."
The Council and Emmanuel Foundation are accused of misrepresenting
the degree of support for the Blyth Academy.
The governing body at Blyth Community College says "The Council and
Emmanuel Foundation claim the governors and Head of Blyth Community
College support the proposed Academy. This is a lie - we do not
support it, have not been properly consulted and believe it will
damage the College in the longer term." Campaigners say the support
was cited in a report to the Government seeking approval for the
Academy to go ahead.
Sponsors have control over Academies as they appoint the governing
body, employ staff and determine the ethos of the school. Those
opposing the proposals claim the sponsors for the Northumberland
Academies are not fit to run schools.
"What does the Duke of Northumberland know about education in
Ashington or the needs of young people in the town?" asked Vin Wynne.
Controversy surrounds the sponsor of the proposed Blyth Academy -
the Emmanuel Foundation headed by evangelical Christian Sir Peter
Vardy. The Foundation is accused of pushing an aggressive religious
agenda in its schools and imposing a strict regime.
Parents of children at an Emmanuel Foundation Academy school in
Doncaster are campaigning against Dickensian style discipline. 148
children have been excluded in the first 6 months. Parents claim
the school is operating a system of covert selection to get rid of
difficult to teach children.
Geoff Holmes, of the teachers union NASUWT, said "The Emmanuel
Foundation has a notorious reputation for pushing religion and the
particular views of its leader, Peter Vardy, we really do not want
the children of Blyth subject to such an approach to education."
Campaigners have organised a public meeting to be held at 6.30 pm,
Thursday 29th June, Phoenix Theatre, Blyth, and claim this will be
the launch of a campaign to keep the Emmanuel Foundation out of
Northumberland schools and to stop the imposition of an Academy in
Blyth.
