I’m happy for every person in this photo. And here’s why: New York City on Wednesday moved a step closer to ban smoking in parks, beaches and other outdoor public spaces, amid grumbling that the city government may have gone too far in its war on salt, fat and smoke. The city council voted 36 [...]

From For the Sake of Science
http://forthesakeofscience.wordpress.com/2011/02/02/new-york-city-to-become-healthier/
2/3/2011 10:35:39 AM

Remember how I told you that Eric Hovind was giving away free DVDs for Valentine's Day? And you all rushed over to place your order, and you got the sad notification?

We're sorry, the Valentine's DVD is now out of stock. Thanks to supporters like you, over 2,000 people will get to hear the gospel message!

We pray that the Holy Spirit will use these DVDs to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Awww, out of stock. Oh, well, that's fair enough, you thought, and you turned away to go back to the kitchen and turn the roast-baby-on-a-spit some more. But wait! There's something mysterious going on here!

Try this. Click on this link

From Pharyngula
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/3woUIVSVnFY/eric_hovind_just_cant_help_lyi.php
2/3/2011 10:12:11 AM

Hello, Southern Illinois University Carbondale! I'll be heading south next week for SIU's annual Darwin Day lecture.

Thursday, February 10: A public lecture entitled "The Evolution of Cooperation" will be presented by Dr. Paul (PZ) Myers, associate professor of biology at the University of Minnesota, Morris. Dr. Myers is the author of Pharyngula, one of the most widely read science blogs. The lecture will take place at 7 pm in Ballroom B in the SIUC Student Center; refreshments will be provided after the lecture.

It's free, too…I am so cheap. Show up and I'll talk science at you for an hour.

From Pharyngula
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/Cmo2gs2CnLk/oh_yeah_im_doing_darwin_day_to.php
2/3/2011 10:07:51 AM

Wow the Placebo Band has really helped The Amazing Randi And Brian Dunning is the cheapest shill we could find! p.s. we will get those Placebo Bans we promised to you soon Brian…

From skepticbros.com
http://skepticbros.com/2011/02/02/the-amazing-randi-and-brian-dunning-on-the-placebo-band/
2/3/2011 10:05:36 AM

It's next week, you know. 12 February. All the cool kids will be talking science. That's what they'll be doing at KU on 8 February.

From Pharyngula
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/dwK9ZDu0Pxk/are_you_prepared_for_darwin_da.php
2/3/2011 10:02:00 AM

A recent study in the journal Animal Cognition involving drug and explosive detection dogs has been widely reported in the online media (e.g. Medical News Daily, Sacramento Today, etc). The study, conducted at the University of California at Davis, was … Continue reading →

From The SkeptVet Blog
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2011/02/handlers-can-unintentionally-influence-detection-dog-performance/
2/3/2011 9:55:24 AM

I had no idea that ions combined to produce fungi and bacteria in water — I guess spontaneous generation isn't dead after all. That's one of the claims of a con artist named Peter Goodgold who sells magic water ionizers that cure all illnesses…because, as he says, there is actually only one disease, acidosis. It's complete nonsense as the video below explains.

His gadget can't work, and has to be doing a lot of things to the water that he isn't telling anyone about. How does he respond to the demonstration of his incompetence and dishonesty? Why, he threatens to sue and files complaints to get any rebuttal videos taken down. The creator of the expose explain his situation here:

From Pharyngula
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/zBZOdLnzCUQ/peter_goodgold_is_a_scam_artis.php
2/3/2011 9:53:27 AM

original link

From RichardDawkins.net - All Aggregated News Content
http://richarddawkins.net/articles/587149-why-atheists-laugh-at-religion
2/3/2011 9:50:52 AM

I'm elevating (and reworking a little) some of the content of my own comment on the other thread, since I think this is an important thing to try to get clear. The point is that neither the "New Atheism" nor an anti-accommodationist approach to the relationship between religion and science entails being gnasty.

The point of the "new Atheism" was never to act in a way that is in-your-face, nasty, uncivil, etc., such as "Tom Johnson" notoriously described in one of the recent internet debates. Likewise, the anti-accommodationist position was never that we should go around acting like that. By acting in a civil way towards religious people, at least when those people are themselves civil, Jerry is in no way abandoning his support for the work of, say, Richard Dawkins. Nor is he becoming an accommodationist.

To the extent that there is something worth calling the New [...]

From Metamagician and the Hellfire Club
http://metamagician3000.blogspot.com/2011/02/gnus-can-be-nice.html
2/3/2011 9:48:00 AM

submitted by lazerwolf852
[link] [comment]

From Skeptic's Subreddit
http://www.reddit.com/r/skeptic/comments/fe3vr/ufo_in_jerusalem_last_night/
2/3/2011 9:46:56 AM

Serial Killer Apparently Feels Entitled To Coverage
Serial Killer Apparently Feels Entitled To CoverageIn another "In My Sights" segment, Brooke dressed down a serial killer as lazy and unoriginal.

From skeptic cat
http://www.skepticcat.com/2011/02/serial-killer-apparently-feels-entitled.html
2/3/2011 9:40:00 AM

i've been working for the anglo australian observatory out of the sydney offices since november 2010 and today i finally get to drive out to the observatory and meet some new big telescopes! for the next four nights and several more later this month, i will be learning to use the anglo-australian telescope (AAT).

in this photo from 1979 you can see the AAT and star trails around the southern celestial pole. you can also see squiggly lines on the catwalk around the telescope created by the flashlight of an astronomer checking the weather during this long exposure...

From astropixie
http://amandabauer.blogspot.com/2011/02/australian-astronomical-observatory.html
2/3/2011 9:39:00 AM

Dudes-n-Bros Talking PointsThe Dudes-N-Bros Talking Points System is the up to the minute online source for dudes, bros and [...]

From skeptic cat
http://www.skepticcat.com/2011/02/dudes-n-bros-talking-points.html
2/3/2011 9:32:00 AM

Shariah Law (Islam) - Hand cutting

From Religion is Man-Made
http://religionismanmade.blogspot.com/2011/02/shariah-law-islam-hand-cutting.html
2/3/2011 9:23:00 AM

Well Punxsutawney Phil says early spring but the Sunspot Based Farmer's Almanac says six more weeks of winter ... Let's see who's right ... Naw they're both a bunch of woo ...

Obnoxious Groundhog

From skeptic cat
http://www.skepticcat.com/2011/02/obnoxious-groundhog.html
2/3/2011 9:23:00 AM

Keir Liddle explores the psychological principle behind the 'nudge' policy which the coalition has proposed to take heed of, having already been accepted by the Obama administration across the Atlantic, and considers the limits to its application.

From The 21st Floor
http://www.thetwentyfirstfloor.com/?p=1616
2/3/2011 9:10:36 AM

The Center For Inquiry Community of Fort Lauderdale

Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 - USA

Friday, February 4 at 7:00 PM

Attending: 1

Details: http://www.meetup.com/CFIfortlauderdale/events/16417881/

From Skeptics upcoming events
http://www.meetup.com/CFIfortlauderdale/events/16417881/
2/3/2011 9:00:58 AM

I’m going to copy and past text directly from a petition at MoveOn.org. I honestly thought that this was a hoax when a friend told me about it, and having discovered that it’s not… I really wish it was: “A far-reaching anti-choice bill, introduced by Republican Chris Smith and supported by 173 members of the [...]

From Unreasonable Faith
http://unreasonablefaith.com/2011/02/02/redefining-rape/
2/3/2011 8:55:18 AM

Good news! The Secular Student Alliance is now working to promote godless organizations in high schools. They're going to be everywhere! There is resistance, of course, but the law is on our side, and the schools have to allow students to organize for meetings with a secular purpose.

Are you a high school student? Are you interested in gathering your fellow atheists together to promote critical thinking? Then you need to email JT Eberhard right now and ask for his help. He'll get you started, and you, of course, will make him work very hard to earn the massive salary he probably receives in his new job as the Campus Organizer and High School Specialist at SSA. In fact, it's perfectly OK if you try to get in touch with him any hour of the day or night — tell him I said you had permission.

From Pharyngula
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/pharyngula/~3/SnMxUdN-1Ng/the_not-so-evil_atheist_conspi.php
2/3/2011 8:41:59 AM

How many links would a linkbot link if a linkbot could bot links? Dunno, but here are some links. Science:

Development of resistant Staphylococcus aureus over time
One of the first published accounts of sexual selection in koalas: What does it take for koala boys to get lucky?
Do Not Eat the "Paleo" Diet ("In the reality based community, we know that dinosaurs and humans were separated by 60 million years, and we don't adopt people as lifestyle gurus who believe otherwise.")
Nabokov was right - so [...]

From Mike the Mad Biologist
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/scienceblogs/KsPC/~3/kC34-VnSRP0/links_2211.php
2/3/2011 8:40:08 AM