http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=evolution Fri, 24 May 2013 22:45:42 -0400 Liveleak http://edge.liveleak.com/80281E/u/u/ll2/logo.gif http://www.liveleak.com/browse?q=evolution Fri, 24 May 2013 14:02:44 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e68_1369418415 omniradar Human Wrongs Watch By Bill Van Auken, WSWS* , 23 May 2013 - While ostensibly touring the Middle East to discuss a joint US-Russian proposal for peace talks between the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad and Western-backed "rebels," Secretary of State John Kerry met with US allies to prepare for region-wide war. Stopping first in Oman, Kerry held talks with the ruling Sultan, one of the string of monarchical dictators that constitute, together with Israel, the foundation of US influence in the Middle East. The secretary of state's visit coincided with the signing of a $2.1 billion deal between the absolute monarchy and Raytheon Corp. for the sale of advanced weapons systems, including Avenger fire units, Stinger missiles, and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles, part of a ring of steel that Washington has sought to erect around Iran. The So-called "Friends of Syria" From there, he flew to Amman, Jordan for a meeting Wednesday of the "Friends of Syria," a US-led "coalition of the willing" that is fomenting the war for regime change in Syria. It consists of Washington, its European NATO allies, led by Britain, Turkey, Egypt and the various sheikhdoms and sultanates of the Persian Gulf, including the major arms suppliers to the anti-Assad militias: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. As the conference was convening Wednesday, Syria's ambassador to Jordan held a press conference to denounce it as "a meeting of Syria's enemies" "Those who want to end the tragedy in Syria need to stop arming and training terrorist gangs in Syria. The war on Syria is unprecedented," said the ambassador, Bahjat Suleiman. Representatives of the Syrian National Coalition, the anti-Assad front cobbled together by the US State Department, were invited to the meeting only at the last minute. It appears there was some doubt if an agreement could be reached on whom the "rebels" would accept as their representative. US Candidate The US has promoted Ghassan Hitto, a Texas-based businessman linked to the Muslim Brotherhood who has lived in the US for over 30 years, as the "premier" of a transitional government. There have been increasing reports, however, that his role is strongly opposed by the Sunni sectarian militias that are fighting in Syria. It was reported that the coalition's "acting chief," George Sabra, a former member of the Stalinist Syrian Communist Party, would stand in for the "rebels." While the State Department claims that Kerry's role in this gathering is to prepare for Syrian peace talks-dubbed Geneva 2-which Washington and Moscow have publicly agreed to support, it is evident that the real agenda occupying the US and its allies is how to salvage the war for regime change, under conditions in which the Syrian government is inflicting strategic reverses on the Western-backed forces. This has emerged most clearly in the Syrian army's overrunning of the city of Qusayr in western Syria, just eight miles from the Lebanese border. The town, which had fallen under control of the Western-backed militias, has served as a key pipeline for arms and foreign fighters crossing the Lebanese border. "Rebel" control of the surrounding region also threatened to separate the Syrian capital of Damascus from the city of Aleppo as well as the Syrian coast. Growing Support for the Opposition? Speaking at a news conference in Amman at the opening of the "Friends of Syria" meeting, Kerry warned that if the Assad regime failed to negotiate a political solution, Washington would consider "growing support for the opposition in order to continue to fight for the freedom of their country." With US officials demanding Assad's ouster as a condition for any settlement, it appears that the proposed talks will be turned into a pretext for escalating the US intervention. Kerry's remark came just one day after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved by a 15-to-3 vote a proposal for Washington to directly arm the opposition militias. The CIA is already coordinating the arms flows from the Gulf states and has reportedly organized large shipments from Eastern Europe through third parties. Kerry blamed the reversals suffered by Washington's proxy forces in the battle for Qusayr on the role played by fighters of Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based party and militia that is aligned with the Assad government, as well as on alleged Iranian backing for the regime. "Just last week, obviously, Hezbollah intervened very, very significantly," said Kerry. "There are several thousands of Hezbollah militia forces on the ground in Syria who are contributing to this violence and we condemn that." Growing Risk a Full-scale Regional War Hezbollah has acknowledged that its fighters are in Syria, but has denied reports that they are playing any decisive role in the fighting, insisting rather that they are training Lebanese in Syrian border towns to defend themselves. The Western media has also focused on Hezbollah's role, while ignoring the fact that large numbers of Sunni Islamist fighters have also come across the Lebanese border to fight against the Assad regime. The threat that this conflict will spill over the region's borders into a full-scale regional war grows daily. In the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, at least 11 people have died, including at least two Lebanese army soldiers, in clashes between Sunni militias and Lebanese Alawite supporters of Assad. The clashes have seen exchanges of mortar fire and rocket-propelled grenades, bringing schools, businesses and other activities to a standstill. Denouncing Hezbollah's Role The State Department issued a statement denouncing Hezbollah's role in Syria, charging that it serves to "exacerbate and inflame regional sectarian tensions." No such denunciations were forthcoming when the Islamist forces overran Qusayr, decapitating and shooting members of the substantial Alawite and Christian minority populations in the area and forcing thousands to flee their homes. In one measure of the opposition's desperation, acting National Coalition chief Sabra issued a statement on the eve of the Amman conference calling for the US and its allies to "open a humanitarian corridor" to Qusayr-in other words, to launch a direct Western military intervention on Syrian soil. In a conference call on Tuesday, a senior State Department official acknowledged, "One of the things we'll be talking about here in Amman tomorrow is what else needs to be done with respect to the military balance on the ground." US Proxy War with Iran In advancing its militarist agenda, Washington has stepped up a propaganda campaign charging that Iran is likewise responsible for the reverses suffered by the anti-Assad forces in Syria. A senior State Department official told the Washington Post that Iranian forces are fighting in Syria, repeating totally unsubstantiated allegations by the "rebels" as fact. As the Post pointed out, "The US official's allegation was a tacit acknowledgment that the two-year Syrian conflict has become a regional war and a de facto US proxy fight with Iran." The Post 's columnist David Ignatius noted that while there is public talk of a peace conference in Geneva by next month, "the battling on the ground is so intense, and the demand for additional weapons so vocal, that a skeptical person should ask whether the Geneva talks will take place at all." The American Militarism Washington's ostensible agreement with Moscow on peace talks is merely another tactic to advance its strategic aims in the region, which have been prosecuted through the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and now Syria. Behind the crocodile tears about Syrian civilian casualties, its objective remains the same as that which underlay the eruption of American militarism 12 years ago: the assertion by military means of hegemonic control over strategic energy reserves coveted by its rivals, particularly in China and Russia. As the evolution of the proxy war in Syria demonstrates, this predatory US intervention points directly toward a far wider and catastrophic conflagration that threatens not only war against Iran, but confrontation with Russia and China as well. *This article was published by World Socialist Web Site (WSWS). Go to Original. T he views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Human Wrongs Watch http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e68_1369418415 omniradar USA preparing for FSA failure ???? USA v SYRIA Mon, 20 May 2013 13:07:45 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=806_1369068594 Crooked-Thinking Darwinism or Evolution is nothing new, it has a long history way before Charles Darwin. Harun Yahya traces Evolution to ancient Mesopotamia. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=806_1369068594 Crooked-Thinking The Disasters Darwinism brought to Humanity darwinism, charles darwin, evolution, creationism, intelligent design, god, history, Mesopotamia, ancient, pagan, humanity, disasters, Mon, 20 May 2013 13:42:57 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e3c_1369071350 Crooked-Thinking Nebraska Man was a name applied to Hesperopithecus haroldcookii, a putative species of ape. Hesperopithecus meant "ape of the western world," and it was heralded as the first higher primate of North America . Haroldcookii was given as the species name in reference to the original discoverer of the tooth, Harold Cook. It was originally described by Henry Fairfield Osborn in 1922, on the basis of a tooth that rancher and geologist Harold Cook found in Nebraska in 1917. The discovery was made around ten years after the finding of Piltdown Man , another possible human ancestor that turned out to be a hoax. Although Nebraska man was not a deliberate hoax, the original classification proved to be a mistake . http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e3c_1369071350 Crooked-Thinking Scientific Fraud - Nebraska Man Nebraska man, Scientific fraud, hoax, North America, Charles Darwin, evolution, henry fairfield osborn Mon, 20 May 2013 13:26:10 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ea2_1369070584 euronymus Something on Harun Yahya. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ea2_1369070584 euronymus RE:A Scientific Blow To Darwinism - Irreducible Complexity Creationism, evolution, darwinism, intelligent, design, gibberish Mon, 20 May 2013 12:10:50 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=70b_1369065717 Crooked-Thinking Great Piece of work by Harun Yahya. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=70b_1369065717 Crooked-Thinking A Scientific Blow To Darwinism - Irreducible Complexity Evolution, Darwinism, Charles Darwin, Creation, Intelligent Design, Science, Scientific, Harun Yahya Sun, 19 May 2013 00:02:39 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=767_1368935602 Crooked-Thinking Richard Dawkins, who is well known Militant Atheist Darwinian gets exposed for what he is. A hypocrite militant with nasty temper. He is full of contradictions and makes false accusation against Science in order to disprove Intelligent Designer (God). He seems to believe Science supports him, even though Science is against his Monkey business. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=767_1368935602 Crooked-Thinking <span class="highlight">Evolution</span>ist Richard Dawkins Put His Foot In His Mouth : Believing Without Evidence Evolution, atheism, eugenics, Darwinism, debate, dialogue, Dawkins, exposed, hypocrisy, militant, Wed, 22 May 2013 18:29:20 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=86f_1369261447 USMC_SRT Blue chemical lights illuminated the Pacific under a early morning sky as 41 dark figures approached the black waters off San Onofre beach at 4 a.m. and patiently waited in the brisk air for the countdown to honor their fallen comrades to begin May 17. The announcer counted "3... 2... 1!" The Marines plunged into the frigid ocean and stroked their way through a 2,000 meter swim, which was the first evolution of the 5th Annual Recon Challenge here. Twenty two-man teams and Sgt. Maj. Blake Smith ran the event alone. The event consisted of swimming, climbing, and navigating obstacle courses. "You have to factor in the rocks, waves and your buddy's abilities," said Staff Sgt. Mark Rawson, a recon team leader with 1st Force Reconnaissance Company here. "You also have to keep account of all of your gear." Each competitor carried a ruck sack weighing no less than 50 pounds when filled with the supplies necessary to complete the race. "It was designed to simulate a full mission profile," said Master Sgt. Mariota Pa'u Jr., the operations chief and challenge staff noncommissioned officer in charge. "These guys aren't here to compete for a trophy or a Super Bowl ring," said Pa'u. "They're here to compete because they are representing the recon Marines that have been killed overseas." According to Pa'u, like every other recon challenge, this year's was dedicated to the families of fallen reconnaissance Marines and many aspects of the challenges symbolize that. "You start with the Marine's dog tags and name stenciled on your ruck-sack," said Pa'u. "You start with them, you finish with them." Competitors performed a callisthenic test, climbed a 35 ft. tower and did a 25 meter swim without breaching the surface. "Every few miles we had to stop and take our pack off and that affected a lot of people," said Gunnery Sgt. Collin Barry, course chief for Basic Reconnaissance Course with Reconnaissance Training Company, Advance Infantry Training Battalion, School of Infantry-West. Barry said that the challenge was different this year from previous years because the exercise stations were added to the courses trails. "Whether it's 20 miles or 30 miles you can get in the right mind set, but not this year," said Barry. "Every two to three miles you're taking your ruck-sack off to do some type of event that smokes you." Although safety is paramount, injuries do occur. Event staff was sure to accommodate those who were impacted negatively during the trial. "My partner dislocated both of his shoulders yesterday," said Sgt. Maj. Blake Smith, director of the Staff Non-Commissioned Officer Academy here. "I was linked with a team in the beggining and told I could run on my own if I wanted to. That way I didn't affect any other team's performance." Although Smith's partner was unable to finish the race, he said he had to continue any way he could because the race was about those he'd lost long ago. "He was a good friend of mine from a long time ago," said Smith. "It was pretty emotional." Smith, coincidentally, had the honor of bearing the name of someone he knew this year. "(This event) is near and dear to a lot of our hearts because we go out and race with the names of our fallen brothers," said Smith, 43, the oldest participant this year. Smith's partner wasn't the only one to suffer minor injury. "I got a cramp on one of the obstacles and fell," said Cpl. Joshua Rios, reconnaissance Marine with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in Okinawa, Japan. "The corpsman wrapped my knee up and recommended I stop, but I kept pushing." According to Rios, the risk was worth the reward. "It's going get tough and it's going to suck," said Rios. "That doesn't matter. You don't give up because it's much more worth it to see it through to the end than it is to quit." Running this event gives these Marines time to catch up with old friends. "It's a great opportunity for us recon Marines to come together, reunite and shake the hands of brothers we haven't seen in a long time," said Master Sgt. David Jarvis, operations chief with 1st Reconnaissance Battalion's Alpha Company. "The most important thing is remembering our fallen brothers." Jarvis came in first place with his teammate Gunnery Sgt. Tyler Fedelchak at 8 hours and 36 minutes. They beat second place finishers by seven minutes. "This really brings a tear to your eye because we care so much about the guys we've lost," said Jarvis, who came in first placefor the second year in a row. "Recon marines were tied to the hip with each other so those guys are literally like family to us." * Sgt. Johnathan Bumpus performs a functions check on an M-240G machinegun that he and his teammate, Sgt. Alexander Hale, assembled under 15-feet of water during the 5th Annual Recon Challenge here May 17. The challenge consisted of a 2,000-meter swim, calisthenics tests and other skill based events. ** Cpl. Benjamin Walker leaped off of the 35-foot tower at the 53-Area pool during the 5th Annual Recon Challenge. *** Sgt. Maj. Blake Smith dives 15-feet to retrieve an M240G machinegun which he assembled at the bottom of the 53-Area pool during the 5th Annual Recon Challenge. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=86f_1369261447 USMC_SRT Marines sacrifice at Recon Challenge for those who gave it all USMC, Marines, Recon, Challenge Fri, 17 May 2013 21:28:46 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=35e_1368839572 Flashovr At first, we painted on cave walls. Why? To share experiences. Stories. Memories. Emotions. Our Lives. The next generation of social media is here. The Evolution of Social Media is LiveLeak. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=35e_1368839572 Flashovr The <span class="highlight">Evolution</span> of Social Media evolution, social, media, live, leak, liveleak, forever, paint, cave, walls, together Sat, 04 May 2013 11:42:09 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=34b_1367681316 adio By David Templeton / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette During an Advanced Placement biology course in Easton Area High School, Jennifer Estevez's teacher sped through the large chapter on evolution, focusing on one formula for the AP exam and the basics: survival of the fittest and natural selection. In those high school years in Northampton County, she also would attend a Baptist leadership retreat where a speaker denounced evolution as false, unproven science. Seemingly unimportant and even discredited, evolution fell off her radar. So the Easton student, who is a Baptist, arrived at Duquesne University last fall considering herself a creationist, a person who generally believes God created the world as described in the Bible. But a college biology course convinced her that evolution was valid science with overwhelming evidence that all living things, including humans, evolved most likely from a common ancestor -- over a period of millions, even billions, of years longer than that described in Genesis. Ending her freshman year, and in pursuit of a career in medicine, Ms. Estevez, 19, said she's "a bit upset" that her high school teacher played down evolution while others trashed the science that serves as the foundation of modern biology, genetics and medicine. "In high school, a lot was not taught correctly, and it didn't prepare me for college," she said. "They should have gone into evolution in detail. The controversy should not be what is taught in school." Her experience represents the ill-kept secret about public school biology classrooms nationwide -- that evolution often isn't taught robustly, if at all. Faith-based belief in creationism and intelligent design continues to be discussed and even openly taught in public school classrooms, despite state curriculum standards. "Sometimes students honestly look me in the eye and ask what do I think? I tell them that I personally hold the Bible as the source of truth," said Joe Sohmer, who teaches chemistry at the Altoona Area High School. The topic arises, he said, when he teaches radiocarbon dating, with that method often concluding archeological finds to be older than 10,000 years, which he says is the Bible-based age of Earth. "I tell them that I don't think is as valid as the textbook says it is, noting other scientific problems with the dating method. "Kids ask all kinds of personal questions and that's one I don't shy away from," he said. "It doesn't in any way disrupt the educational process. I'm entitled to my beliefs as much as the evolutionist is." Mr. Sohmer responded to a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette questionnaire distributed this spring to school teachers statewide, and he agreed to discuss his teaching philosophy. He said school officials are comfortable with his methods. An Indiana County science teacher responded to the questionnaire more adamantly. "Most parents and officials do not want evolution 'crammed' into their children. They have serious philosophical/religious issues with public schools dictating to their students how to interpret the origin of life," stated the teacher, who did not respond to a request for an interview. His questionnaire says he teaches creationism for the equivalent of a class period, with five classes devoted to evolution. "I have been questioned in the past about how I teach evolution principles, and are satisfied with my approach," he said. "My approach is to teach the textbook content of Darwinian evolution but modified to explain that data can be interpreted differently dependent upon one's world view." Yet another teacher accused the Post-Gazette of conducting a witch hunt to identify and punish teachers who believe in creationism. Skirting the law The U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts have ruled time and again that teaching creationism in public schools violates the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, which often is referred to as separation of church and state: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." Those cases include Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District in York County, which involved the district's decision to include intelligent design in the curriculum as an alternative theory to evolution. The 2005 federal court ruling said intelligent design -- the argument that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by an intelligent cause -- and creationism were one and the same religious principle that couldn't be taught in public schools. The school district's legal fees topped $1 million. Regardless of the court decisions, creationism continues to find an audience in public schools, limiting students' education in one of biology's fundamental principles. Michael Berkman, a Penn State University professor of political science and co-author of the book "Evolution, Creationism, and the Battle to Control America's Classrooms," said science teachers' reluctance to teach evolution leaves students with a diluted understanding of "the driving theme of the biology course, beginning to end." "It washes it out so it doesn't have the flavor and excitement of science," he said, noting it results in "dry and uninteresting" science classes. "Some teachers do unbelievable stuff in the classroom but the majority don't." The haphazard method of teaching evolution, undercut by a teacher's skepticism, raises doubts in students' minds about the science, he said. The Post-Gazette questionnaire this spring drew 106 responses from science teachers. It asked them to choose one or more answers to a question of what they believe in: evolution, creationism, intelligent design or not sure/other. Ninety percent chose evolution; 19 percent said they believe in creationism, not defined in the questionnaire; 13 percent said they believe in intelligent design; and another 5 percent answered "not sure/other." Teachers were allowed to list more than one option, so the numbers don't total 100 percent. But the clear conclusion is that while most do, not all science teachers espouse evolution, with a notable minority speaking up in favor of creationism. Many scientists and religious leaders say there's no conflict in people believing in both a scientific and religious explanation of the origins of humans and other species. Fundamentalist Christians who read Genesis as scientific fact typically reject evolutionary theory. Science is firm on its truth. The National Academy of Sciences puts evolution in the category of such scientific facts as the Earth orbiting the sun, living things being made of cells and matter being composed of atoms. "Like these other foundational scientific theories, the theory of evolution is supported by so many observations and confirming experiments that scientists are confident that the basic components of the theory will not be overturned by new evidence," the academy states, noting that the science will continue to be refined. Mr. Berkman and Eric Plutzer, a Penn State professor of political science and sociology, based their book on a national survey of more than 900 science teachers, which found 13 percent advocating that Earth was 10,000 years old or younger, as opposed to Earth's scientifically determined age of 4.54 billion years. "How do you become a science teacher when you are a young-Earth creationist?" Mr. Berkman said. The Penn State survey said the teachers identifying themselves as creationists spend at least an hour of classroom time on creationism in a way suggesting it to be a valid scientific alternative. "Between 17 and 21 percent introduce creationism into the classroom," he said. "Some are young-Earth creationist but not all of them are. Some aren't even creationists." But Mr. Berkman said their most alarming finding was that teachers need not introduce creationism in class to undercut interest and belief in evolution. "You just have to throw doubt and downplay evolution," he said. "The idea that teachers are doing a really weak job -- many a really weak job -- of introducing evolution, we think, is because of reactions they get and maybe because of the lack of confidence in what they are teaching. That especially is the case with evolution, where many students have been primed by parents and youth groups to raise difficult and challenging questions." Similar debate is occurring over the Big Bang theory, climate change and other controversial ideas of science. G. Kip Bollinger, a Carlisle resident who retired as scientific education consultant for the state Department of Education in 2004 and now serves as a science coach for the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit, said the evolution controversy affects how it is taught. "Many school districts shy away from the controversy and many teachers don't want to be the center of the controversy," he said. "So it's not surprising that evolution is not given its due as an important theory of science. When I was science adviser I would receive letters written by congregations around the state decrying that evolution was included in the state's science education standards." Duquesne University biology professor David Lampe, who organizes the university's Darwin Day celebration each February, asks freshman biology students to complete an informal questionnaire each year before his class on evolution begins. His results indicate that a quarter to a third of freshmen claim to have had no instruction in evolution, with another third saying that only two class days or fewer were devoted to the topic. Only a third received three days or more of instruction on the topic. "I don't think we'll ever stop people from objecting to the teaching of evolution," Mr. Lampe said. "It is not an issue of interpreting scientific data. No one in science seriously questions whether evolution is real. It is still a theological problem for people." Getting busy, not mad An impassioned speaker, with a knack for blending humor with fire and brimstone, the Rev. Donn S. Chapman held six classes in his "Origins Series" at Cornerstone Ministries in Murrysville on what he says is the truth of creationism and why evolution is suspect science. He said 890 signed up for the class, which was proven when many hundreds filled the church auditorium for the classes, which ended April 10. Featured speakers included intelligent-design scientists who cast doubt in the audience on key principles of evolution. At series' end, Rev. Chapman encouraged the audience to reclaim American culture based on Christian values. "We totally lost our influence in the public schools, which have lost the calling," he said. "I want to take our schools back and build a base of knowledge, because we have a battle ahead. We are not going to get mad. We are going to get busy." The first step, he announced, was passage of an academic freedom bill similar to what Tennessee passed last year and Louisiana passed in 2009. The Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think tank that advocates for intelligent design, is circulating a model bill nationwide with similar bills having been introduced in Arizona, Montana, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma and Colorado. Those bills remain on hold or have died in committee. While the bills forbid the teaching of religious beliefs, they would allow teachers to teach alternative theories of evolution and climate change and other controversial topics, without facing sanctions. Opponents say academic freedom bills represent a back-door effort to insert religion into the classroom. Introducing intelligent-design science as an alternative theory not only would hinder the acceptance of evolution, but clear the way for teachers to discuss creationism in the classroom more openly. State Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, attended the final Origins class to announce his support for such a bill. Afterward, he said legislators are being recruited to sponsor the bill. "All the evidence doesn't get into the textbooks. This is for people to present evidence from all sides of the argument, not just what's limited to one side." Faith and freedom The evolution debate in the United States pits two key adversaries, the Discovery Institute and the National Center for Science Education, an Oakland, Calif., organization that advocates the teaching of evolution and purging public-school classrooms of religion. Josh Rosenau, NCSE programs and policy director, said the battle has been waged for more than 80 years with no sign of it slackening. Academic freedom bills, he said, will encourage teachers to present evidence against evolution, even if they don't view the evidence as arguments for creationism. "Evidence against one is evidence for the other," he said. "Conceivably it could be more of a permission slip for teachers already teaching creationism to say that they are just encouraging critical thinking. It's an argument they have tried to use in the past." Mr. Lampe also objects to the bill. "Academic freedom? I'll tell you what it's not. It's not freedom to say anything you want in the classroom. In the classroom, you are obligated to teach scientific facts and methods. It's not a forum for teachers to go off and talk about whatever they want to. "Those who want to teach creationism or can't teach evolution shouldn't be there. If they want to teach creationism or intelligent design, it's a nice Sunday school topic. There's a forum for that. People who don't believe in evolution should opt out of modern science and resort to rattling chicken bones." At the end of the Origins class, a teacher in the audience submitted a written question asking the Rev. Chapman's panel to comment about how a teacher can introduce creationism into the classroom without facing sanctions. "There is a lot that a teacher can get away with in the classroom if you do it wisely and gently," said Randall L. Wenger, chief counsel for the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which is spearheading the campaign for a Pennsylvania academic freedom bill. "If you do it professionally, they would be hard pressed to take action against you." Polls and standard bearers The state Department of Education sets educational standards requiring evolutionary science to be taught, save for how humans got here. Carolyn Dumaresq, department deputy secretary for elementary and secondary education, said new state law requires students, beginning with the current eighth-grade class, to pass tests in algebra 1, literature and biology before they can graduate. That should help mandate the teaching of evolutionary science in classrooms statewide, she said. School districts are responsible to establish the curriculum and teaching methods to meet the educational standards. Pennsylvania also has an opt-out provision in the law allowing parents to remove their children from any classes in which topics are taught that violate their religious beliefs. One teacher commented in the Post-Gazette survey that a student was sent to the library whenever evolution was taught. "Here's the goal, but how you get there is a local decision," Ms. Dumaresq said. "Hopefully our schools are teaching evolution to the standards and honoring the court decisions including the Dover case." Changing public opinion on this topic isn't easy, In June, Gallup found that 46 percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form within the last 10,000 years, and that view "is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago when Gallup first asked the questions." About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance, while only 15 percent say humans evolved and God had no part in the process, the poll found. "I understand why people are uncomfortable with evolution," Mr. Lampe said. "With evolution, uncomfortable things happen. Evolution slowly picks away at ancient certainties and people wonder where it will stop. But in the end, it requires a great deal of intellectual laziness and religious angst to reject it. I understand the discomfort but I wouldn't want to found a research program on creationism." The continued debate against long-proven scientific principles is a shame, he said, which can do damage to children and their educational prowess. "Everyone is capable of understanding evolution. There is no reason to dilute or confuse it. Evolution is the greatest thing in science." Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/education/is-evolution-missing-link-in-some-pennsylvania-high-schools-685389/#ixzz2SL2QzvsB http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=34b_1367681316 adio Is <span class="highlight">evolution</span> missing link in some Pennsylvania high schools? bible thumpers, evolution, biology, school, de-evolution, creationism, intelligent design, college, science, facts, genesis, faith-based, beliefs, classrooms, Supreme court, constitution, theory, University, principles, fundamentalist, Christians, sociol Wed, 15 May 2013 19:38:26 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3a2_1368660999 Salamander They eye is not an example of an intelligent creator, and one of the most brilliant men alive explains how and why. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3a2_1368660999 Salamander Richard Dawkins demonstrates the <span class="highlight">evolution</span> of the eye eye, evolution, intelligent design Wed, 15 May 2013 11:01:39 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=24d_1368629390 Big_Bang Critical thinking is reflective reasoning about beliefs and actions. It is a way of deciding whether a claim is always true, sometimes true, partly true, or false. It is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. It is a part of formal education and is increasingly significant as students progress through university to graduate education. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=24d_1368629390 Big_Bang <span class="highlight">Evolution</span> Is Only A Theory Evolution, critical thinking, stupid people, Forrest Gump Thu, 02 May 2013 09:36:19 -0400 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b75_1367501636 mr-shaft http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=b75_1367501636 mr-shaft The bible and <span class="highlight">evolution</span> bible, evolution