I thought this issue was fairly well-known and accepted by now, but apparently I was wrong. It has come to my attention that quite a few people still don't accept global warming as a real threat. The only reasoning behind this is their hatred towards Al Gore and dangerous infatuation with the Fox News Network. This is absurd...why would you not accept the facts because one well-known guy that you don't like is talking about it. This is a sign of major closed-mindedness. For those of you that don't really understand what global warming is or how it happens, here's a short clip from National Geographic explaining the issue.
I know many people would also argue that global warming isn't caused by humans because we wouldn't make a big enough effect, but it is proven that CO2 levels are WAYY higher than they have ever been in the history of the Earth. And doesn't it seem kind of suspicious that the levels of CO2 would magically rise dramatically at the beginning of the industrial revolution? Nothing in nature happens magically with no cause and the people that dispute the issue and say "humans didn't do it" have no other explanation for this dramatic rise in CO2.
I say, forget about the politics and who's saying what. Look at the facts for YOURSELF and come to your own conclusion. Stop letting other people think for you. Think for your non-existant-god damned selves.
Most people that know me know about my views on religion. I am an atheist, which means I do not believe in a god, afterlife, or anything that has no evidence of it's existance. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't believe in anything at all. I do believe in rational thought, doing to others as you would have them do unto you, and always acting to benefit our species.
There are a million different aspects about the religious debate, so I'll just go over a couple things. First of all, the burden of proof relies on the person with the religious belief. As an atheist, it is pretty much impossible for me to prove god's nonexistance or anything's nonexistance for that matter. You can't prove something's nonexistance if there is nothing in existance to prove it. In other words, it is impossible to disprove.
"If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is an intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age or of the Inquisitor in an earlier time." This analogy is known as Russell's Teapot.
In other words, it means that if there is an assertion with no evidence but also no way to disprove it, and a society is grown up to accept the assertion with absolute certainty and taught it every Sunday since birth, then it becomes an imagined "truth" among the people. However, people like me are created when we start thinking about it and realize there is such a thing as atheism. There's a few other arguments in atheism related to this as well: Pink Unicorn, Flying Spaghetti Monster
And that's why I call myself the "SKEPTIC" Samurai. That's all I have to say about religion for today, but I'm sure I will post further arguments into the subject later. So with that, may god not bless you.
In my last post, I mentioned a little bit about how the media works. Well today I feel like finishing my statement. First off, watch this video briefly explaining the issue:
If you couldn't figure it out by watching the video, I'll explain it a little better. The media: the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely. The media is a way that large corporations get their message out to millions of people, mostly through advertising. The issue that arises is "are these messages always good"? Television, the king of the media world, is the most effective way of communicating a message.
When watching TV, you are focused almost in a hypnotized state of being so that you are able to take in as much info from the TV as you can. Corporations use this capability to unconsciously control your mind and take your money and basically your lives. Not only can products be sold through advertising but ideas and opinions are sold (sometimes through news networks as well *cough* FOX *cough*).
Take, for example, a McDonald's commercial...the psychological tricks that are included in Mickie D commercials are overwhelming. The use of the color red (the most appealing color to the eye) is used constantly. Close-up shots of delicious looking burgers and other food is used to entice your taste buds. And Ronald McDonald himself...before McDonald's who would ever associate burgers with clowns? The use of a clown as their mascot is to create a feeling of "joy" and "happiness" to further entice future customers.
However, in reality, the burgers and food at McDonald's are nothing what they appear to be on the commercials and are not a whole lot different than Burger King or Jack N' The Box. But it wouldn't matter much what the actual food was like because if you can trick someone into wanting whatever crap you have to sell, then people will buy it.
The same thing is used with Fox News. Flashy animations and controversial title screens provoke your senses and entice you to buy their ideas and beliefs. It doesn't really matter what they say...it's how they say it. The following documentary explains the tricks that Fox uses:
My point to this whole post is to just make everyone aware of the issue and be on the lookout the next time you watch Tv or read a magazine because most likely you'll be able to find some kind of trick used to grab your attention and take over your mind. So, look out and Peace out.
Hello fellow Earthlings... I have not actually made a successful blog before, so this may be interesting. I suppose I should start by introducing myself. The name is Matthew, aka The Skeptic Samurai. I am known mostly for my interest in death metal music, geekdom, and atheism.
I have very strong opinions on music. If you truly want to enjoy music, then you must go out and find a particular kind of music that you alone enjoy. I have a deep hatred towards radio stations and the music they choose to play.
The music industry seems very unfair to the art of music. Only the select few bands that are chosen by recording industries may create albums recorded in a professional studio and go on tours. So, therefore the only bands you ever actually hear about are the ones chosen by the recording companies.
If you respect the art of music then you will not restrict yourself to the select few bands of the recording industry. Everyone should look into bands in your local community and local bands from all over the world. There are millions of bands created all over the world and many of them never get the chance to sell albums and go on tour all over the world. Although, in this new age we have the power to do so with the Interwebz! That is how I find most of my music, over the internet. I've discovered many bands from all over the world that I never knew existed until I took a real interest in music.
There are millions of bands in the world and there is no reason why you should listen to all the same music that the radio stations play over and over and over and over and over again. I've noticed something strange since I've stopped listening to the radio...I still manage to recognize all the most popular songs. I hear them on Tv, in movies, and when I'm with friends all the time. And even though I hate this music, somehow I'm still stuck listening to it constantly. Which brings me to another point...how the media works. But I'll get to that another day. Anywho, that's my two cents on the music industry and a little bit on the media. Hopefully you learned something, so Peace out.
