Read first:

Pope praises Galileo's astronomy
Pope Benedict XVI has paid tribute to 17th-Century astronomer Galileo Galilei, whose scientific theories once drew the wrath of the Catholic Church.

The Pope was speaking at events marking the 400th anniversary of Galileo's earliest observations with a telescope.

He said an understanding of the laws of nature could stimulate appreciation of God's work.

In 1992, Pope John Paul said the church's denunciation of Galileo's work had been a tragic error.

Galileo used his scientific methods to demonstrate that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not the other way around.

His view directly challenged the church's view at the time - that the Earth was static and at the centre of the universe.

Galileo was accused of heresy in 1633 and forced to publically recant his theories.

He lived the rest of his life under house arrest at his villa in the hills outside Florence.

Pope Benedict had been criticised in the past for appearing to condone the heresy verdict against Galileo.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7794668.stm

Published: 2008/12/21 17:25:19 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

So let's see if I have this. Nearly 400 years after the fact, the current Pope thinks that it's relevant to endorse Galileo's findings, most significantly that the Earth goes around the Sun.

Let us know what else we are "allowed" to believe, oh wise one.

"In 1992, Pope John Paul said the church's denunciation of Galileo's work had been a tragic error."

Exactly. Just the sort of thing that happens when an institution, or an individual, is utterly convinced that it cannot be wrong.

I bet if you try you can think of some more recent examples.

I've been wondering lately, now especially, why we have "invocations" at various events. You know what an invocation is, right?

We appoint a leader (they never consult me) and he formally summons "the Lord" to be with us.

Why?

Does it work?

What if we didn't do it?

I was raised catholic (I'm better now) and they told me that God is always "everywhere". So it would be quite unnecessary to invoke his presence.

I suppose, though, that he could be everywhere but not be paying attention everywhere. Is that why we do it?

"Hey God, check this out!"

OK. Again, why?

We're really proud of what we're doing here? Something like that? I guess that's reasonable, especially some things. Wanna make God "proud" of us. Though I wonder, then, why we invoked Him at the Badger football awards banquet last Friday night. So there must be more.

Do we invoke him because we believe that by doing so we can claim that he's "here" and "paying attention" and then, when we do what we do and he doesn't "stop" us (with lightning bolts or something) then we have his sanction? I think that's pretty much the nuts of it. It's "God approved".

Which is why, I guess, that there's now a "flap" about Obama's selection of Rick Warren to (give? do? invoke?) the invocation at his inauguration.

Not all God-believers want to be associated with Rick Warren, right?

Which might lead us to reconsider the idea of an invocation at an inauguration of the new head of a secular government in the first place.

I, of course, think the whole thing is something of a farce as I don't believe there is a deity to invoke.

But then of course, if there isn't one then it matters not, right? It costs us about a minute; we've got lots of those. Though it still says something about "us", doesn't it? But what?

"After all, one thing seems certain: Washington may continue in some fashion to garrison an economically desperate world, but it will never again have the money to occupy a country in the style of Iraq -- largely because the Bush administration managed to squander the American imperial legacy in eight short years."

Maybe. I hope we don't try to continue to garrison the world or try to occupy another country in the style of Iraq but we probably will. But as to the economic side of it all, believe it or not I think we have an excellent opportunity to resume (maintain? to late?) world leadership.

What we need first is to recreate the middle class that we once had, make it bigger than ever even. An economy works when it works for the most people. Judging economic success by counting the new millionaires and billionaires is only good for ...milionaires and billionaires.

How do we do this? I'm a little weak here. Government action. The government working on behalf of us, for a "change". Incentivizing the private sector to provide good jobs for U.S. Americans. Bring back manufacturing. Bring back customer service centers, please! Let's make it here and take care of it, here.

Also, service jobs need to pay a decent wage. People need to be able to live on what they make from one job, 40ish hours a week. Then they can participate in the economy like a normal person, raise their kids, have lives. I've heard the excuses about how minimum wage laws only make it worse for the people that they're suppoosed to help and I say...NO! Those people are not to be listened to anymore! Death to Friedmanism!

The "stock market" needs total reform. From the ground up. Wild fluctuations benefit some few people, fortunes get made that way, but the net effect is negative. Stability is desirable, overall.

What we need to do is let the gamblers have a market, they need to capitalize it themselves, of course, and let them "compete" against each other for their "paper" gains, played with real money, who cares? It's theirs, let them gamble.

The real market, the one that sells shares in various industrial and transportation and utilty companies will have some rules. Some restrictions. Written by somebody other than me.

So many things we can do if we just TAKE OUR DAMN COUNTRY BACK! Set a real example for the rest of the world!

Who's with me?

The difference between this and our "Wall Street" is... two of these guys got caught?

Colombians riot over pyramid scam


Thousands of Colombians have taken part in violent protests to demand the return of money invested in disreputable financial schemes.

Police used batons and tear gas to control angry investors in some of the nine cities where disorder erupted.

In the province of Cauca, in south-west Colombia, 2,000 depositors stormed an investment firm's offices.

But the owners had disappeared, leaving a note stuck to the doors taunting the investors for having been duped.

It said: "Now for being stupid and believing in witchcraft you will have to work much harder to recoup the money you gave us."

The office of another pyramid scheme had a greetings card stuck on the door which read: "We wish you a sad Christmas and a shameful New Year."

Suitcases

Angry investors ransacked many of the offices where they had previously delivered their savings and clashed with police sent to restore order.

Police caught two workers from one of the pyramid schemes hurrying out the back door of their office with four suitcases full of cash.

They offered one of the cases to the police to let them go.

The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Medellin says they are now in custody and that is the safest place for them as conned investors have threatened to lynch them.

Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos warned citizens to avoid pyramid schemes.

"When someone promises to double your money in six months they are trying to trick you," he said. "Nothing is free in this world and that is not going to change."

A number of bogus companies have vanished in recent months after promising depositors interest rates as high as 150%.

Our correspondent says some of the schemes have actually paid out money to investors to launder drug profits.

Pyramid investment schemes are said to be often more popular than regular savings accounts in Colombian banks, which charge high fees.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7726069.stm

Published: 2008/11/13 02:41:30 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Soon to come, an actual post (very busy right now).

...Fucking Banner Ads? Fuck!! Get over it Republilosers, you lost! Center right country.