dannym3141:

Claiming that people should stop burning fossil fuels would HEAVILY dent the income of just about every country because of how much tax they can charge from it. Britain's economy is almost based on fossil fuel tax. How can you possibly argue that they are a politically influenced source over fossil fuel use when they criticise such a money earner?

Politics aside, fossil fuels remain the cheapest, most abundant source of energy, and new supplies of it are being discovered all the time. I never said people should stop burning them.

I hesitate to even mention that "science" as a global community is above reproach in ways that hardly anything else can be due to the method of a scientist. If you are not performing science for truth and discovery, you are not a scientist, so you're not part of the community anymore. That's why it's above reproach. I'm sure you'll argue with me about that, but i know that you'd argue about the time of day if you were proven to be wrong.

I'm not arguing, but I am astonished you would believe scientists are above politics (and reproach), not because the scientific method is flawed, but because scientists are fallible humans with their own beliefs and interests. As W. Pennypacker said in so many words, governments reward scientists which confirm a pre-determined outcome (like secondhand smoke killing 100 billion people a year). Junk science is real; it may not be everywhere, but it's out there. And not just "the oil companies" which have "scientitians" in their corner.

Another thing, gang. Over the last few years, global warming hysteria has been relentless. It's the alarmists who declared, "The debate is over." There was even one smug a-hole who compared "climate deniers" to Holocaust deniers. Classy! There was the faked data scandal. These are not the actions of scientists confident in their conclusions. Yet the lazy media continues to back the alarmists without question.

100 storylines blaming climate change as the problem:

1. The deaths of Aspen trees in the West
2. Incredible shrinking sheep
3. Caribbean coral deaths
4. Eskimos forced to leave their village
5. Disappearing lake in Chile
6. Early heat wave in Vietnam
7. Malaria and water-borne diseases in Africa
8. Invasion of jellyfish in the Mediterranean
9. Break in the Arctic Ice Shelf
10. Monsoons in India
11. Birds laying their eggs early
12. 160,000 deaths a year
13. 315,000 deaths a year
14. 300,000 deaths a year
15. Decline in snowpack in the West
16. Deaths of walruses in Alaska
17. Hunger in Nepal
18. The appearance of oxygen-starved dead zones in the oceans
19. Surge in fatal shark attacks
20. Increasing number of typhoid cases in the Philippines
21. Boy Scout tornado deaths
22. Rise in asthma and hayfever
23. Duller fall foliage in 2007
24. Floods in Jakarta
25. Radical ecological shift in the North Sea
26. Snowfall in Baghdad
27. Western tree deaths
28. Diminishing desert resources
29. Pine beetles
30. Swedish beetles
31. Severe acne
32. Global conflict
33. Crash of Air France 447
34. Black Hawk Down incident
35. Amphibians breeding earlier
36. Flesh-eating disease
37. Global cooling
38. Bird strikes on US Airways 1549
39. Beer tastes different
40. Cougar attacks in Alberta
41. Suicide of farmers in Australia
42. Squirrels reproduce earlier
43. Monkeys moving to Great Rift Valley in Kenya
44. Confusion of migrating birds
45. Bigger tuna fish
46. Water shortages in Las Vegas
47. Worldwide hunger
48. Longer days
49. Earth spinning faster
50. Gender balance of crocodiles
51. Skin cancer deaths in UK
52. Increase in kidney stones in India
53. Penguin chicks frozen by global warming
54. Deaths of Minnesota moose
55. Increased threat of HIV/AIDS in developing countries
56. Increase of wasps in Alaska
57. Killer stingrays off British coasts
58. All societal collapses since the beginning of time
59. Bigger spiders
60. Increase in size of giant squid
61. Increase of orchids in UK
62. Collapse of gingerbread houses in Sweden
63. Cow infertility
64. Conflict in Darfur
65. Bluetongue outbreak in UK cows
66. Worldwide wars
67. Insomnia of children worried about global warming
68. Anxiety problems for people worried about climate change
69. Migration of cockroaches
70. Taller mountains due to melting glaciers
71. Drowning of four polar bears
72. UFO sightings in the UK
73. Hurricane Katrina
74. Greener mountains in Sweden
75. Decreased maple in maple trees
76. Cold wave in India
77. Worse traffic in LA because immigrants moving north
78. Increase in heart attacks and strokes
79. Rise in insurance premiums
80. Invasion of European species of earthworm in UK
81. Cold spells in Australia
82. Increase in crime
83. Boiling oceans
84. Grizzly deaths
85. Dengue fever
86. Lack of monsoons
87. Caterpillars devouring 45 towns in Liberia
88. Acid rain recovery
89. Global wheat shortage; food price hikes
90. Extinction of 13 species in Bangladesh
91. Changes in swan migration patterns in Siberia
92. The early arrival of Turkey’s endangered caretta carettas
93. Radical North Sea shift
94. Heroin addiction
95. Plant species climbing up mountains
96. Deadly fires in Australia
97. Droughts in Australia
98. The demise of California’s agriculture by the end of the century
99. Tsunami in South East Asia
100. Fashion victim: the death of the winter wardrobe


Do you really expect free people to surrender to THIS?

I, for one, welcome our new, fence climbing, amphibian overlords!

I read Jerry Coynes refutation so you don't have to..

"The movie repeatedly hammers home the message that the sudden appearance of all “animal forms” at the Cambrian boundary contradicts evolution’s central tenet that things evolve gradually from ancestors who were different. No matter that trace fossils and some remains of animals appear before the Burgess Shale fauna, so that that fauna didn’t represent the first animal life on Earth, and no matter that the “Cambrian explosion” was not instantaneous, but lasted between 5 and 20 million years. No, the film states that the animals arose instantaneously and implies (but does not state) that this reflects God’s creation.

One, that's an outright lie. The film clearly states that best estimations are at least 5 millions years. It also states it could have happened much quicker, but it never asserts it happened instantaneously.

That there might be trace fossils and some remains of animals completely misses the point. According to darwins theory, the pre cambian should be loaded with these transitional forms leading up to the cambrian explosion. None have been found.

The movie not only claims that there were no transitional forms representing the ancestors of the Cambrian fauna, but implies that there are no transitional forms in general. That is, of course, a lie. We have transitional forms between fish and amphibians, amphibians and reptiles, reptiles and mammals, dinosaurs and birds, land mammals to whales and seals, and so on. If sudden appearance reflects the actions of a Designer, then how do IDers explain these transitional forms? Did they — God help us — evolve?

Here is a list of the best transitional forms science has to offer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils

Here is the disclaimer:

Ideally, this list would only recursively include 'true' transitionals, fossils representing ancestral specie from which later groups evolved, but most, if not all, of the fossils shown here represent extinct side branches, more or less closely related to the true ancestor

IE, no true transitionals have been found. IE, nothing that shows one kind of thing changing into another kind.

The "refutation" also rants about various people the author doesn't like, and speculates on their motivations. The film stands on its own as honest criticism on darwins theory. It's amusing a hardcore antitheist immediately leaps in to try to prevent people from even watching it..however, I'll give people more credit than that and say it's an interesting view no matter what side of the issue you fall on. The cambrian explosion is a mystery and cannot be explained away by darwinian theory no matter how loudly people shout and stomp their feet.

Fossils aren't rare, there are billions of them. According to darwins theory, there should be an overwhelming number of transitional fossils, but there aren't any. There is absolutely no evidence showing one kind of animal changing into another kind, period. Which is what the entire theory is based on.

"Given enough time we'll probably find one" Yeah, that's what the theory is hinged on..the faith that they exist. It's been 120 years but don't give up..we've uncovered billions of fossils but i bet thyere in there somewhere! It's a metaphysical belief and you have way more faith than I do.

>> ^MaxWilder:
>> ^shinyblurry:
Actually, you can find all the best ones here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils
Brace yourself for the disclaimer:
"Ideally, this list would only recursively include 'true' transitionals, fossils representing ancestral specie from which later groups evolved, but most, if not all, of the fossils shown here represent extinct side branches, more or less closely related to the true ancestor" ie, no real transitions have ever been discovered..meaning evolution is a fraud
You accuse me of being blind to evidence..I just provided a mountain of evidence showing evolution to be a total fabrication..you do one google search and determine you're right..lol..pretty sad maxyboy. Shows the supreme level of ignorance im dealing with here.
>> ^MaxWilder:
I guess when you Google "transitional fossils" and see all those pages with huge lists of transitional fossils, they are all liars. But the religious people, they know science better than the scientists.
Duh, winning.


I'm glad to see that you accept that general transitional fossils exist. That is, we have many examples of fossils which demonstrated the transition from fish to amphibian, for example.
But you, like all creationists, demand more specificity. You need to see a single branch go from species A to B to C.
Here's the thing you don't seem to get, shiny. Fossils are rare. And during the process of evolution, extinct side branches are common. Well, "common" isn't exactly the right word. The branch that survives basically has to win the evolutionary lotto. So if an animal gets fossilized, it is by far more likely to come from an extinct side branch. It's simply statistics. So species A evolves into a zillion different species B, most of which are evolutionary dead ends. So to find fossil records of the exact variant of species B that fell directly between Species A (which we had a fossil) and Species C (which we had a fossil that wasn't close enough to species A to be sure about)... that's kinda like winning the lotto ten times in a row. We have plenty of them that are close. But the exact ones? You don't understand what you are asking for.
Given enough time, we'll probably find some. But they won't be proving evolution true. The Theory of Evolution is just the best explanation for the evidence we have. You can't really prove it true. The theory as it stands has made a ton of predictions that have been shown to be accurate, but none of those are "enough" for skeptics. Perhaps there is a piece of evidence which would be so bizarre that it could prove it false, but it doesn't really work the other way around. Only mathematical theorems can be "proven" true.
No, if we ever find a "true" transitional fossil as you have defined it, it will simply prove creationism false. But then again, you've never let logic or evidence dissuade you from your beliefs, so it probably wouldn't change anything.

>> ^shinyblurry:

Actually, you can find all the best ones here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils
Brace yourself for the disclaimer:
"Ideally, this list would only recursively include 'true' transitionals, fossils representing ancestral specie from which later groups evolved, but most, if not all, of the fossils shown here represent extinct side branches, more or less closely related to the true ancestor" ie, no real transitions have ever been discovered..meaning evolution is a fraud
You accuse me of being blind to evidence..I just provided a mountain of evidence showing evolution to be a total fabrication..you do one google search and determine you're right..lol..pretty sad maxyboy. Shows the supreme level of ignorance im dealing with here.
>> ^MaxWilder:
I guess when you Google "transitional fossils" and see all those pages with huge lists of transitional fossils, they are all liars. But the religious people, they know science better than the scientists.
Duh, winning.



I'm glad to see that you accept that general transitional fossils exist. That is, we have many examples of fossils which demonstrated the transition from fish to amphibian, for example.

But you, like all creationists, demand more specificity. You need to see a single branch go from species A to B to C.

Here's the thing you don't seem to get, shiny. Fossils are rare. And during the process of evolution, extinct side branches are common. Well, "common" isn't exactly the right word. The branch that survives basically has to win the evolutionary lotto. So if an animal gets fossilized, it is by far more likely to come from an extinct side branch. It's simply statistics. So species A evolves into a zillion different species B, most of which are evolutionary dead ends. So to find fossil records of the exact variant of species B that fell directly between Species A (which we had a fossil) and Species C (which we had a fossil that wasn't close enough to species A to be sure about)... that's kinda like winning the lotto ten times in a row. We have plenty of them that are close. But the exact ones? You don't understand what you are asking for.

Given enough time, we'll probably find some. But they won't be proving evolution true. The Theory of Evolution is just the best explanation for the evidence we have. You can't really prove it true. The theory as it stands has made a ton of predictions that have been shown to be accurate, but none of those are "enough" for skeptics. Perhaps there is a piece of evidence which would be so bizarre that it could prove it false, but it doesn't really work the other way around. Only mathematical theorems can be "proven" true.

No, if we ever find a "true" transitional fossil as you have defined it, it will simply prove creationism false. But then again, you've never let logic or evidence dissuade you from your beliefs, so it probably wouldn't change anything.

Hey....that frogs' not fucking!!??

Now I gotta go find some amphibianism....

>> ^peggedbea:
yes, really.
in high school i interned with a herpetologist in the biology department of a university. so people would find freakish amphibians or reptiles around town and bring them to us. i would have to study them, catalog them and report them. i thought this was incredibly adorable when the 6 legged little nuclear freak show toads would do this. the little kid in my head decided it must be a gift!! and i would grow up to the worlds most amazing herpetologist and live my life on perpetual field expeditions!!..... until the professor came in, saw me petting a toad affectionately and cooing at it, and informed me that i was in fact scaring the shit out of him and he was trying to poison me.
my childlike dreams, CRUSHED!!!
>> ^Matthu:
>> ^robbersdog49:
The toad's main defense is the poison in it's skin on it's back and the top of it's head. It's trying to defend itself by keeping the poisoned areas where the attention is. It's terrified and is acting defensively.

Really?


...isn't a herpetologist what you would call your gynecologist?

yes, really.

in high school i interned with a herpetologist in the biology department of a university. so people would find freakish amphibians or reptiles around town and bring them to us. i would have to study them, catalog them and report them. i thought this was incredibly adorable when the 6 legged little nuclear freak show toads would do this. the little kid in my head decided it must be a gift!! and i would grow up to the worlds most amazing herpetologist and live my life on perpetual field expeditions!!..... until the professor came in, saw me petting a toad affectionately and cooing at it, and informed me that i was in fact scaring the shit out of him and he was trying to poison me.

my childlike dreams, CRUSHED!!!

>> ^Matthu:
>> ^robbersdog49:
The toad's main defense is the poison in it's skin on it's back and the top of it's head. It's trying to defend itself by keeping the poisoned areas where the attention is. It's terrified and is acting defensively.

Really?

I find that large-eyed amphibian to be strangely hypnotic...

Subliminal message: At 3:13 there's an image of fries. Presumably to get you to eat some and accredit your newfound appetite to the HYPNOTOAD.

>> ^Dignant_Pink:
um, sharks are fish, not amphibians. sorry to be that guy, but come on, that one's easy.


Yes, you are correct. Sharks are not amphibious and have never been, but in the make-believe world I created before I wrote that sentence they were quite clearly mastering land and air.

Also to PuffyJacket45 concerning;
"* The shark was swimming directly upward, not toward any surfer. Probably chasing some smaller prey"

It's a Spinner shark
"It is capable of vertical spinning leaps out of the water as a feeding technique in which the shark spins through a school of small fish with an open mouth and then breaks the surface"

um, sharks are fish, not amphibians. sorry to be that guy, but come on, that one's easy.

Looks like they are developing some kind of missile technology down there.

I,for one, welcome our new amphibian overlords.

Take your pick! There's plenty of transitional fossils in the evolution of...

whales...

butterflies (albeit quite recent evolution)...

and, well, how about the transitional forms from amphibians to reptiles, reptiles to mammals, reptiles to birds, and primate evolution... HERE

I mean, these include, but are not limited to:

Thrinaxodon
Proterogyrinus
Limnoscelis
Exaeretodon
Adelobasileus cromptoni
The famous Archeopteryx lithographica
Sinornis santensis
Aegyptopithecus
Australopithecus afarensis

...and I'm tired of pasting links. There's gotta be a catch here somewhere, because as demonstrated here, there are thousands of transitional fossils in the fossil record.

Some folks dig turtles, bees bees th' bomb, heaal'yeah...they buzz, n' chill, make food, have sex, and otherwise, like amphibians and fishes, are the barometer for why we fucked up on planet E thus far in that areeeena.....

Indication to dumbass motherfuckers, that there's more important stuff than mineral water and Dolce and Gabbana night robes, (which touch and feel that shit in comfoortable excess fluids, with pussy all up in yer face, is hard ta' beat)..!, you'd be all pissed the fuck off just as Mr. Bee is.......Room to buzz on the pollen, baby.....

>> ^deathcow:
That's it. I'm filing a lawsuit against Videosift, Dag, Lucky, Frogs, Monkeys, Nomino, any commenters to this article, as well as the anonymous foreign voices heard. Also, calling the local reptile/amphibian house right now.


That would be the *Asian Japanese, I think.