«On a parlé de guerre chirurgicale, et il est vrai qu'il y a quelque chose de commun entre cette destruction in vitro et la fécondation in vitro celle-ci aussi produit un être vivant, mais elle ne suffit pas à faire un enfant. Un enfant, sauf dans le Nouvel Ordre génétique, est issu d'une copulation sexuée. La guerre, sauf justement dans le Nouvel Ordre mondial, naît d'un rapport antagonique, destructeur, mais duel, entre deux adversaires. Cette guerre-ci est une guerre asexuée, chirurgicale, war processing, dont l'ennemi ne figure que comme cible sur un ordinateur, tout comme le partenaire sexuel ne figure que comme un nom de code sur l'écran du Minitel rose. Si on peut parler de sexe dans ce cas-là, alors la guerre du Golfe, elle aussi, peut passer pour une guerre. [...] Si nous n'avons pas l'intelligence pratique de cette guerre nul ne peut l'avoir ayons en du moins l'intelligence sceptique, celle de résister à la probabilité de quelque information, de quelque image que ce soit. Etre plus virtuels que les événements eux-mêmes, non pas rétablir la vérité, nous n'en avons pas les moyens, mais ne pas être dupes, et, pour cela, replonger toute l'information et la guerre dans la virtualité dont elles procèdent. Retourner la dissuasion contre elle-même. Etre météorologiquement sensible à la bêtise.»
29 mars 1991
L'origine de Bert
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Links - 6th April 2011
"I was coming home from kindergarten--well they told me it was kindergarten. I found out later I had been working in a factory for ten years. It's good for a kid to know how to make gloves." - Ellen DeGeneres
***
EAT DA POO POO - Uganda's homophobia - "The other person is poo-pooing... Tell me, when you have a law against homosexuality, do you say 'except eating poo poo'?"
Are Singaporean men too shy? - "SINGAPOREAN men are too shy and do not dare make the first move, especially when it comes to dating. That's the main gripe of female foreign professionals who have been working in Singapore. Many observed that Singaporean men need to polish their skills when it comes to asking a girl out for a date"
This is quite a cock conclusion from the video, Part 2 of which does expand on the issue. However the topic is only properly dealt with in:
Swinging singles in Singapore, not - "As she and the four other expatriate bachelorettes LifeStyle spoke to attest, single women like them get a rotten deal in love just for being the driven achievers they are... She's not attracted to local bachelors - 'it's a physique thing', as she puts it... An Australian expatriate bachelorette, who asks not to be named, notes: 'It can be quite funny sometimes when you're in a pub with a group of single expat women. 'If a guy so much as glances their way, they grab my hand and go, 'That guy wants to know me, let's get his namecard now''... most [expat men] are here on contracts for a couple of years, and feel they might as well try something different and enjoy themselves while they can... That 'new start' often means no-obligation flings with Sarong Party Girls - lithe, limber, long-haired lasses who prowl for expat squeezes"
Spanish stereotypes: siesta-taking knock-off-early types? - "Spaniards keep their nose to the grindstone every day far longer than, say, the Dutch or Germans... Office culture keeps many chained to their desk because it is frowned upon to leave before the boss. Productivity is poor, with 41% missing their daily objectives, but improves when companies relax old-fashioned, rigid, working hours"
delanceyplace.com 3/30/11 - getting the gist of it - "'Total number of each animal that Moses took on the ark with him during the great flood.' Jennings lost the buzz to Matt Kleinmaier, a medical student from Chicago, who answered, 'What is two?' It was wrong. Jennings, aware that it was supposed to be tricky, noticed that it asked for 'each animal' instead of 'each species.' He buzzed for a second chance at the clue and answered, 'What is one?' That was wrong, too. The correct answer, which no one came up with, was 'What is zero?' Jennings and Kleinmaier had fallen for a trick. Each had focused on the gist of the clue - the number of animals boarding the biblical ark - while ignoring one detail: The ark builder was Noah, not Moses. This clue actually came from a decades-old psychological experiment, one that has given a name - the Moses Illusion - to the careless thinking that most humans employ... A question about Ezekiel herding animals into the ark might not pass so smoothly... when researchers substituted a former U.S. president for Moses, people noticed right away. Nixon had nothing to do with the ark, they said"
Engineering vs. Liberal Arts: Who’s Right—Bill or Steve? - "'Gaining a degree made a big difference in the sales and employment of the company that a founder started. But the field that the degree was in and the school that it was obtained from were not a significant factor'... But I need to acknowledge the difficult reality: that employment prospects are dim for liberal-arts majors. Graduates from top engineering schools such as Duke are always in high demand. But PhDs in English from even the most prestigious universities, such as UC-Berkeley, can’t get jobs. The data I presented above were on the background of tech-company founders—those who made the transition into entrepreneurship. Most don’t. And, as you can note from Bill Gates’ speech, there is a bias against liberal arts and humanities"
In aftermath of bombing, interfaith dialogue is suspended in Israel - "Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Mezger called on the Muslim religious leadership to condemn the attack and the rocket attacks on Gaza from southern Israel... “So long as the inciting religious leaders won’t condemn the terrorists, the Chief Rabbinate will suspend its interfaith dialogue with them”... Metzger has condemned attacks committed by Jews against Palestinian targets, and has visited the sites where some of those attacks took place"
World map of The Penis Size Worldwide (country) by Country - TargetMap
Someone sent me this very problematic link. With respect to one dataset, I don't have the linguistic skills or journal access to check out the references, but the chart is lying. You will find, just to take one example, that Japan has been misrepresented (according to the data, men in Japan are supposed to be bigger than US men). Meanwhile the other dataset says that "This website provide statistical information offered by trusted research centers and reports worldwide". This is not reassuring in the least.
The tactic of assassinating terrorist group leaders - "Depending on the size of the terrorist group, killing the leader may not end their activities and can even make them more radical and violent. Many of the drone strikes that have caused such anger in Pakistan and Afghanistan and other places are deployed based on the decapitation approach to counterterrorism"
Jack Churchill - Wikipedia - "Churchill gave the signal to attack by cutting down the enemy Feldwebel (sergeant) with his barbed arrows, becoming the only known British soldier to have felled an enemy with a longbow in the course of the war... In July 1943, as commanding officer, he led 2 Commando from their landing site at Catania in Sicily with his trademark claymore slung around his waist and a longbow and arrows around his neck and his bagpipes under his arm"
Is any roast chicken worth £32? JOHN TORODE puts the new superbird (and its rivals) to the test - "5. HALAL CHICKEN, LIDL
John: Oh dear. This poor bird is all skin and bone with not enough meat. It has a stale taste, like a muddy pond. 0/5
Anne: Eugh, this is not at all pleasant. It tastes of dirty dishwater. Pretty repulsive. 0/5
6. KOSHER CHICKEN
John: This has thin skin and hard meat on the legs, which I don’t like at all. It doesn’t seem to have been a very happy chicken — the legs are broken. It is also too fatty. The breast is tasty, though. 1/5
Anne: This doesn’t look remotely appealing, but it actually has a good flavour. I am not sure about the texture, though. The dark meat feels wibbly in my mouth. 2/5"
Henri the black Labrador from France ignores English orders
YouTube - Banned Life Insurance Commercial
Neuville-en-Ferrain replaces patriotic female statue - because subject's breasts are too BIG - "The artist who made the rejected bust, Catherine Lamacque, said she gave it outsized breasts deliberately, 'to symbolise the generosity of the Republic'"
The caption is wrong, as a French version makes clear
The Longevity Project: Decades of Data Reveal Paths to Long Life - "Many adages promising long life—get married, exercise regularly, think happy thoughts, don't work so hard—are not shortcuts to immortality, and for certain groups of people, they can actually have the opposite effect. For instance, optimistic people have a tendency to ignore details, meaning they don't follow doctor's orders correctly or lead themselves into unhealthy situations or addictions. It was the conscientious people—careful, sometimes even neurotic, but not catastrophizing—who lived longer... some of what we think will benefit our children may actually rob them of years later in life. In the Terman study, precocious, active children who were sent to school a year early, as Philip was, tended to have emotional problems that led to unhealthy behaviors and shortened life span... "Take it easy; don't work so hard, and you will stay healthier." This is rotten advice—the stress that comes from an ambitious career can be beneficial to health. "Worrying is very bad for your health." This is not all true. We found lots of instances where worrying was healthy, especially for men... a traumatic event such as parental divorce could actually contribute to a longer life, if the child learned to be resilient"
The hard truth: People in Asia dislike sex - "Our region always comes last in the Durex global survey of sexual well-being. Last month, the Mainichi Daily News reported that more than a third of Japanese boys aged 16 to 19 and 59 percent of girls of the same age were “indifferent or averse” to having sex, according to a survey. David McNeill, a journalist working in Japan, was amazed, responding: “Where I grew up in Ireland, teenagers thought about little else.”"
When Animals Attack - Cow Survival Guide - "While the world worries about being eaten alive by sharks, statistics show that far more Americans are killed each year by a more menacing animal: the cow. Don't let yourself become a statistic: We talk to experts on livestock and farm-related fatalities, who explain what to do to avoid the unpleasant company of a grumpy mooing beast... If you have a cow or bull that you know to be prone to violent outbursts, Sanderson says, get rid of it. Have a nice steak dinner. Invite your friends"
Muslim Brotherhood advocates Egyptian modesty police - "On the street level, at least 20 attacks were perpetrated against the tombs of Muslim mystics (suffis), who are the subject of popular veneration but disparaged by Islamic fundamentalists, or salafis... "This is incredibly worrying to many Egyptians," Maye Kassem, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo (AUC), told The Media Line. "The salafis were always undercover in Egypt and now they are emerging as a political force. They are getting too vocal"... "There are areas in Egypt where Christian girls can't walk outside after eight o'clock in the evening for fear of being kidnapped""
The Matchmaker - "Economists have to make themselves useful by fixing broken systems in which people aren’t getting what they want. “We’re starting to know enough about how some of these things work,” Roth said, “that in some cases, when you’ve got a market in trouble, and you think, ‘Who’re you gonna call?’ you could call an economist”... Roth met two people at the University of Illinois who had a profound influence on his work. Both of them were psychologists; one he wrote lots of papers with early in his career, and the other he married... “The theorist just wouldn’t believe it,” Cooper said. “Al had this attitude that if the theory and the real world were in conflict, that meant there was a problem with the theory, not with the real world”... People tend to be a little territorial about their problems, Roth said, and they don’t always understand why someone who works at a business school is sticking his nose in"
Youths' intention to emigrate 'not linked to threat from foreign talent' - "Just over half, or 53.2 per cent, of the youths interviewed had a low intention to emigrate... About 43.3 per cent strongly agree or agree that increase in emigration is inevitable as the environment in Singapore becomes more competitive and stressful. Noting that 26.4 per cent of respondents expressed a desire to emigrate within the next five years, Dr Lim felt youths' current decision to stay - despite the foreign talent threat - could be "a pragmatic decision of enduring short-term pain for future gain""
Unsurprisingly, women want to stay and men want to leave. A look at the study is also instructive: 26.4% will actively examine the possibility of emigrating, 29.5% know many who want to do so and only 57.2% would rather be Singaporean than anything else
***
EAT DA POO POO - Uganda's homophobia - "The other person is poo-pooing... Tell me, when you have a law against homosexuality, do you say 'except eating poo poo'?"
Are Singaporean men too shy? - "SINGAPOREAN men are too shy and do not dare make the first move, especially when it comes to dating. That's the main gripe of female foreign professionals who have been working in Singapore. Many observed that Singaporean men need to polish their skills when it comes to asking a girl out for a date"
This is quite a cock conclusion from the video, Part 2 of which does expand on the issue. However the topic is only properly dealt with in:
Swinging singles in Singapore, not - "As she and the four other expatriate bachelorettes LifeStyle spoke to attest, single women like them get a rotten deal in love just for being the driven achievers they are... She's not attracted to local bachelors - 'it's a physique thing', as she puts it... An Australian expatriate bachelorette, who asks not to be named, notes: 'It can be quite funny sometimes when you're in a pub with a group of single expat women. 'If a guy so much as glances their way, they grab my hand and go, 'That guy wants to know me, let's get his namecard now''... most [expat men] are here on contracts for a couple of years, and feel they might as well try something different and enjoy themselves while they can... That 'new start' often means no-obligation flings with Sarong Party Girls - lithe, limber, long-haired lasses who prowl for expat squeezes"
Spanish stereotypes: siesta-taking knock-off-early types? - "Spaniards keep their nose to the grindstone every day far longer than, say, the Dutch or Germans... Office culture keeps many chained to their desk because it is frowned upon to leave before the boss. Productivity is poor, with 41% missing their daily objectives, but improves when companies relax old-fashioned, rigid, working hours"
delanceyplace.com 3/30/11 - getting the gist of it - "'Total number of each animal that Moses took on the ark with him during the great flood.' Jennings lost the buzz to Matt Kleinmaier, a medical student from Chicago, who answered, 'What is two?' It was wrong. Jennings, aware that it was supposed to be tricky, noticed that it asked for 'each animal' instead of 'each species.' He buzzed for a second chance at the clue and answered, 'What is one?' That was wrong, too. The correct answer, which no one came up with, was 'What is zero?' Jennings and Kleinmaier had fallen for a trick. Each had focused on the gist of the clue - the number of animals boarding the biblical ark - while ignoring one detail: The ark builder was Noah, not Moses. This clue actually came from a decades-old psychological experiment, one that has given a name - the Moses Illusion - to the careless thinking that most humans employ... A question about Ezekiel herding animals into the ark might not pass so smoothly... when researchers substituted a former U.S. president for Moses, people noticed right away. Nixon had nothing to do with the ark, they said"
Engineering vs. Liberal Arts: Who’s Right—Bill or Steve? - "'Gaining a degree made a big difference in the sales and employment of the company that a founder started. But the field that the degree was in and the school that it was obtained from were not a significant factor'... But I need to acknowledge the difficult reality: that employment prospects are dim for liberal-arts majors. Graduates from top engineering schools such as Duke are always in high demand. But PhDs in English from even the most prestigious universities, such as UC-Berkeley, can’t get jobs. The data I presented above were on the background of tech-company founders—those who made the transition into entrepreneurship. Most don’t. And, as you can note from Bill Gates’ speech, there is a bias against liberal arts and humanities"
In aftermath of bombing, interfaith dialogue is suspended in Israel - "Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Mezger called on the Muslim religious leadership to condemn the attack and the rocket attacks on Gaza from southern Israel... “So long as the inciting religious leaders won’t condemn the terrorists, the Chief Rabbinate will suspend its interfaith dialogue with them”... Metzger has condemned attacks committed by Jews against Palestinian targets, and has visited the sites where some of those attacks took place"
World map of The Penis Size Worldwide (country) by Country - TargetMap
Someone sent me this very problematic link. With respect to one dataset, I don't have the linguistic skills or journal access to check out the references, but the chart is lying. You will find, just to take one example, that Japan has been misrepresented (according to the data, men in Japan are supposed to be bigger than US men). Meanwhile the other dataset says that "This website provide statistical information offered by trusted research centers and reports worldwide". This is not reassuring in the least.
The tactic of assassinating terrorist group leaders - "Depending on the size of the terrorist group, killing the leader may not end their activities and can even make them more radical and violent. Many of the drone strikes that have caused such anger in Pakistan and Afghanistan and other places are deployed based on the decapitation approach to counterterrorism"
Jack Churchill - Wikipedia - "Churchill gave the signal to attack by cutting down the enemy Feldwebel (sergeant) with his barbed arrows, becoming the only known British soldier to have felled an enemy with a longbow in the course of the war... In July 1943, as commanding officer, he led 2 Commando from their landing site at Catania in Sicily with his trademark claymore slung around his waist and a longbow and arrows around his neck and his bagpipes under his arm"
Is any roast chicken worth £32? JOHN TORODE puts the new superbird (and its rivals) to the test - "5. HALAL CHICKEN, LIDL
John: Oh dear. This poor bird is all skin and bone with not enough meat. It has a stale taste, like a muddy pond. 0/5
Anne: Eugh, this is not at all pleasant. It tastes of dirty dishwater. Pretty repulsive. 0/5
6. KOSHER CHICKEN
John: This has thin skin and hard meat on the legs, which I don’t like at all. It doesn’t seem to have been a very happy chicken — the legs are broken. It is also too fatty. The breast is tasty, though. 1/5
Anne: This doesn’t look remotely appealing, but it actually has a good flavour. I am not sure about the texture, though. The dark meat feels wibbly in my mouth. 2/5"
Henri the black Labrador from France ignores English orders
YouTube - Banned Life Insurance Commercial
Neuville-en-Ferrain replaces patriotic female statue - because subject's breasts are too BIG - "The artist who made the rejected bust, Catherine Lamacque, said she gave it outsized breasts deliberately, 'to symbolise the generosity of the Republic'"
The caption is wrong, as a French version makes clear
The Longevity Project: Decades of Data Reveal Paths to Long Life - "Many adages promising long life—get married, exercise regularly, think happy thoughts, don't work so hard—are not shortcuts to immortality, and for certain groups of people, they can actually have the opposite effect. For instance, optimistic people have a tendency to ignore details, meaning they don't follow doctor's orders correctly or lead themselves into unhealthy situations or addictions. It was the conscientious people—careful, sometimes even neurotic, but not catastrophizing—who lived longer... some of what we think will benefit our children may actually rob them of years later in life. In the Terman study, precocious, active children who were sent to school a year early, as Philip was, tended to have emotional problems that led to unhealthy behaviors and shortened life span... "Take it easy; don't work so hard, and you will stay healthier." This is rotten advice—the stress that comes from an ambitious career can be beneficial to health. "Worrying is very bad for your health." This is not all true. We found lots of instances where worrying was healthy, especially for men... a traumatic event such as parental divorce could actually contribute to a longer life, if the child learned to be resilient"
The hard truth: People in Asia dislike sex - "Our region always comes last in the Durex global survey of sexual well-being. Last month, the Mainichi Daily News reported that more than a third of Japanese boys aged 16 to 19 and 59 percent of girls of the same age were “indifferent or averse” to having sex, according to a survey. David McNeill, a journalist working in Japan, was amazed, responding: “Where I grew up in Ireland, teenagers thought about little else.”"
When Animals Attack - Cow Survival Guide - "While the world worries about being eaten alive by sharks, statistics show that far more Americans are killed each year by a more menacing animal: the cow. Don't let yourself become a statistic: We talk to experts on livestock and farm-related fatalities, who explain what to do to avoid the unpleasant company of a grumpy mooing beast... If you have a cow or bull that you know to be prone to violent outbursts, Sanderson says, get rid of it. Have a nice steak dinner. Invite your friends"
Muslim Brotherhood advocates Egyptian modesty police - "On the street level, at least 20 attacks were perpetrated against the tombs of Muslim mystics (suffis), who are the subject of popular veneration but disparaged by Islamic fundamentalists, or salafis... "This is incredibly worrying to many Egyptians," Maye Kassem, a political scientist at the American University in Cairo (AUC), told The Media Line. "The salafis were always undercover in Egypt and now they are emerging as a political force. They are getting too vocal"... "There are areas in Egypt where Christian girls can't walk outside after eight o'clock in the evening for fear of being kidnapped""
The Matchmaker - "Economists have to make themselves useful by fixing broken systems in which people aren’t getting what they want. “We’re starting to know enough about how some of these things work,” Roth said, “that in some cases, when you’ve got a market in trouble, and you think, ‘Who’re you gonna call?’ you could call an economist”... Roth met two people at the University of Illinois who had a profound influence on his work. Both of them were psychologists; one he wrote lots of papers with early in his career, and the other he married... “The theorist just wouldn’t believe it,” Cooper said. “Al had this attitude that if the theory and the real world were in conflict, that meant there was a problem with the theory, not with the real world”... People tend to be a little territorial about their problems, Roth said, and they don’t always understand why someone who works at a business school is sticking his nose in"
Youths' intention to emigrate 'not linked to threat from foreign talent' - "Just over half, or 53.2 per cent, of the youths interviewed had a low intention to emigrate... About 43.3 per cent strongly agree or agree that increase in emigration is inevitable as the environment in Singapore becomes more competitive and stressful. Noting that 26.4 per cent of respondents expressed a desire to emigrate within the next five years, Dr Lim felt youths' current decision to stay - despite the foreign talent threat - could be "a pragmatic decision of enduring short-term pain for future gain""
Unsurprisingly, women want to stay and men want to leave. A look at the study is also instructive: 26.4% will actively examine the possibility of emigrating, 29.5% know many who want to do so and only 57.2% would rather be Singaporean than anything else
Post ID: 1735562577568656663
My brother-in-law's introductory political video
"Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly." - Voltaire
***
This is better than those of all the new PAP candidates.
***
This is better than those of all the new PAP candidates.
Post ID: 4004324981890238168
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Show the world your Scientific Genius (if you're still a Teen) (Sponsored Post)
"Too much of a good thing is wonderful." - Mae West
***
One of the things you get from [American] pop culture is the idea of the Science Fair where you get to muck around and set up all sorts of funky experiments - all in the name of doing your schoolwork.
I got to do a version of this in USP in NUS, making my own carbon arc lamp from a chopping board, 2 rubbers, nails, 2 disposable chopsticks, crocodile clips, batteries and mechanical pencil lead:
This produced one of the most brilliant lights ever (sunglasses were needed to avoid eye damage)
For students aged 13-18 who didn't take Innovations in Technology / Modes of Invention (the GEM equivalent), they can take part in Google's Online Science Fair (at least if they're not from "Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country").
It's online so you don't have to worry about people walking around and poking at your exhibit.
Campaign video:
with a science-inspired Rube Goldberg machine
The submission deadline is in under 12 hours (signup has been open since 11th January but maybe you have something cool lying around - and you can reuse a submission to a recent science fair).
The finals are around 11th July at Mountain View, California and 15 finalists will be flown there! And the grand prize is a US$50,000 Scholarship from Google, a "once in a lifetime experience" from CERN, Google, LEGO or Scientific American and a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions.
More details: Google Global Science Fair 2011
(This is a sponsored post)
***
One of the things you get from [American] pop culture is the idea of the Science Fair where you get to muck around and set up all sorts of funky experiments - all in the name of doing your schoolwork.
I got to do a version of this in USP in NUS, making my own carbon arc lamp from a chopping board, 2 rubbers, nails, 2 disposable chopsticks, crocodile clips, batteries and mechanical pencil lead:
This produced one of the most brilliant lights ever (sunglasses were needed to avoid eye damage)
For students aged 13-18 who didn't take Innovations in Technology / Modes of Invention (the GEM equivalent), they can take part in Google's Online Science Fair (at least if they're not from "Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Myanmar/Burma, Syria, Zimbabwe and any other U.S. sanctioned country").
It's online so you don't have to worry about people walking around and poking at your exhibit.
Campaign video:
with a science-inspired Rube Goldberg machine
The submission deadline is in under 12 hours (signup has been open since 11th January but maybe you have something cool lying around - and you can reuse a submission to a recent science fair).
The finals are around 11th July at Mountain View, California and 15 finalists will be flown there! And the grand prize is a US$50,000 Scholarship from Google, a "once in a lifetime experience" from CERN, Google, LEGO or Scientific American and a trip to the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions.
More details: Google Global Science Fair 2011
(This is a sponsored post)
Post ID: 1968394257326007123
France 2010 - Day 11, Part 2 - Brittany: Vannes
"Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined." - Samuel Goldwyn
***
France 2010
Day 11 - 12th October - Brittany: Vannes (Part 2)
The next stop was Vannes, for lunch.
Town Hall with happy students
Statue of Arthur de Richemont, Duke of Britanny at Town Hall
A lot of places offered free parking from 12-2 (i.e. lunchtime) so we profited from that.
Rue Emile Burgault
Church barred to public
Rue Emile Burgault again
Menu of the place (Restaurant de Roscanvec - this was beyond Routard and in the Michelin Guide):
There was a "musée d'histoire et d'archéologie" which was supposed to house one of the world's finest collections of prehistoric artefacts. It was open by appointment, but for groups only, and my calling them didn't help, unfortunately.
We decided to trust the chef and go with the menu dégustation, at 60€.
The waitress asked us what we didn't eat. I wonder what they'd have done if we'd said we were vegetarian - or worse, vegan!
Breton apéritif and accompaniment. This was a half sized apéritif as we were cheap.
The accompaniment is oyster leaf (tasting of oysters) and olive paste.
Crème de champignon (Cream of Mushrooms). The top was tepid and the bottom chilled. It was rich, creamy and delectable.
The waitress saw me writing and asked if I wanted the menu at the end. However, this liquid was not on the menu!
Beurre Cru à la Baratte Bois Moulé à la Main ("Vintage Butter churned by hand in a wooden churn")
Even their butter is atas
Foie Gras de Canard. En bavarois, fraîcheur du melon, réduction d'un vin rouge
("Foie Gras of Duck. Bavarian style, with melon layer and reduction of red wine")
The foie gras was very subtle and almost in a moose. Usually I don't like it, but this was nice.
Bœuf et anchois. Taillés au couteau, sorbet curry thaï, quelques feuilles insolites.
("Beef and anchovies. Knife-cut, with Thai curry sorbet and exotic leaves")
This was essentially beef tartare, with fish and lemongrass. The flavours exploded in the mouth.
After each course we were asked 'Est-ce qu'il vous a plu ?' ("Did it please you?") and with each course we were wished 'Bonne continuation' ("Carry on"). They did this at the previous place too.
At this point I realised I had to pay for parking, so I left the restaurant. I was told the chef was very pissed off (there was a window through which he could look at the diners) so I asked the waitress to apologise on my behalf.
Alley
One chef was on the phone while cooking but I was too slow to take a picture.
Turbot. En croûte de pain d'épices, bouillon mousseux infusé au Sakura
("Turbot. With a crust of spiced breadcrumbs, frothy broth infused with Sakura")
There were also very finely shaved mushrooms. It was a very large portion for dégustation, so the price wasn't high considering that!
Pintade fermière. Cuite à basse température, premiers cèpes & jus d'une rôtie
("Guinea Hen. Cooked at a low temperature, the first boletus [mushrooms] and bread sauce")
Bleu d'Auvergne. En milkshake, granité sangria
("Bleu d'Auvergne cheese, in the form of a milkshake, topped with sangria granita")
This was a bit salty, but then it was a cheese course and not a dessert
Dessert 1
The menu says the last item is "Chocolat noir & pralin, Biscuit imbibé au ron Havana, milkshake coco" but neither this nor the next item looks like that. Perhaps they'd ran out, and compensated with 2 desserts (at the time my thought was that when you had a more elaborate menu you had both a pre-dessert and a dessert, and that I preferred the pre-dessert)
Dessert 2
While the desserts weren't bad, they'd been better at the previous place (Croid d'Or in Avranches, Normandy - which the Rough Guide had indicated as one of the highlights of that half of Normandy). The dishes here were better though. So for the second time this trip I gave my "c'était le meilleur repas que j'ai eu" line ("It was the best meal I've had").
The menu
Restaurant de Roscanvec; visit this place if you're ever in Vannes:
View Larger Map
We then visited the Cathedral of Vannes.
Portal
Portal detail
Nave
Tomb
The finger of Pierre Rouge was supposed to be here but I couldn't see the reliquary
Breizh Cola. Au cœur des jeux (At the heart of the games)
Cute dogs
There was a "Eau de Vie" ("Water of Life"). This was a very strong alcohol.
***
France 2010
Day 11 - 12th October - Brittany: Vannes (Part 2)
The next stop was Vannes, for lunch.
Town Hall with happy students
Statue of Arthur de Richemont, Duke of Britanny at Town Hall
A lot of places offered free parking from 12-2 (i.e. lunchtime) so we profited from that.
Rue Emile Burgault
Church barred to public
Rue Emile Burgault again
Menu of the place (Restaurant de Roscanvec - this was beyond Routard and in the Michelin Guide):
There was a "musée d'histoire et d'archéologie" which was supposed to house one of the world's finest collections of prehistoric artefacts. It was open by appointment, but for groups only, and my calling them didn't help, unfortunately.
We decided to trust the chef and go with the menu dégustation, at 60€.
The waitress asked us what we didn't eat. I wonder what they'd have done if we'd said we were vegetarian - or worse, vegan!
Breton apéritif and accompaniment. This was a half sized apéritif as we were cheap.
The accompaniment is oyster leaf (tasting of oysters) and olive paste.
Crème de champignon (Cream of Mushrooms). The top was tepid and the bottom chilled. It was rich, creamy and delectable.
The waitress saw me writing and asked if I wanted the menu at the end. However, this liquid was not on the menu!
Beurre Cru à la Baratte Bois Moulé à la Main ("Vintage Butter churned by hand in a wooden churn")
Even their butter is atas
Foie Gras de Canard. En bavarois, fraîcheur du melon, réduction d'un vin rouge
("Foie Gras of Duck. Bavarian style, with melon layer and reduction of red wine")
The foie gras was very subtle and almost in a moose. Usually I don't like it, but this was nice.
Bœuf et anchois. Taillés au couteau, sorbet curry thaï, quelques feuilles insolites.
("Beef and anchovies. Knife-cut, with Thai curry sorbet and exotic leaves")
This was essentially beef tartare, with fish and lemongrass. The flavours exploded in the mouth.
After each course we were asked 'Est-ce qu'il vous a plu ?' ("Did it please you?") and with each course we were wished 'Bonne continuation' ("Carry on"). They did this at the previous place too.
At this point I realised I had to pay for parking, so I left the restaurant. I was told the chef was very pissed off (there was a window through which he could look at the diners) so I asked the waitress to apologise on my behalf.
Alley
One chef was on the phone while cooking but I was too slow to take a picture.
Turbot. En croûte de pain d'épices, bouillon mousseux infusé au Sakura
("Turbot. With a crust of spiced breadcrumbs, frothy broth infused with Sakura")
There were also very finely shaved mushrooms. It was a very large portion for dégustation, so the price wasn't high considering that!
Pintade fermière. Cuite à basse température, premiers cèpes & jus d'une rôtie
("Guinea Hen. Cooked at a low temperature, the first boletus [mushrooms] and bread sauce")
Bleu d'Auvergne. En milkshake, granité sangria
("Bleu d'Auvergne cheese, in the form of a milkshake, topped with sangria granita")
This was a bit salty, but then it was a cheese course and not a dessert
Dessert 1
The menu says the last item is "Chocolat noir & pralin, Biscuit imbibé au ron Havana, milkshake coco" but neither this nor the next item looks like that. Perhaps they'd ran out, and compensated with 2 desserts (at the time my thought was that when you had a more elaborate menu you had both a pre-dessert and a dessert, and that I preferred the pre-dessert)
Dessert 2
While the desserts weren't bad, they'd been better at the previous place (Croid d'Or in Avranches, Normandy - which the Rough Guide had indicated as one of the highlights of that half of Normandy). The dishes here were better though. So for the second time this trip I gave my "c'était le meilleur repas que j'ai eu" line ("It was the best meal I've had").
The menu
Restaurant de Roscanvec; visit this place if you're ever in Vannes:
View Larger Map
We then visited the Cathedral of Vannes.
Portal
Portal detail
Nave
Tomb
The finger of Pierre Rouge was supposed to be here but I couldn't see the reliquary
Breizh Cola. Au cœur des jeux (At the heart of the games)
Cute dogs
There was a "Eau de Vie" ("Water of Life"). This was a very strong alcohol.
Post ID: 2867616356353479457
Monday, April 04, 2011
Nouvelle pub Grimbergen (New Grimbergen Ad) (Sponsored Video)
"No one goes there nowadays, it's too crowded." - Yogi Berra
***
This video is quite cool:
This is an ad for Grimbergen beer, a Belgian beer first brewed in 1128.
Translation:
"The phoenix has marked civilizations across the ages.
The Persians disputed its legendary longevity. The Greeks worshipped its mythical regeneration. The Romans *something* its infinite power. The [some group] saw in it the promise of a new life.
Founded in 1128, the abbey of Grimbergen was ravaged by a terrible fire in 1142. Destroyed in 1566, during the Wars of Religion... After each destruction, it was rebuilt.
The phoenix became our emblem, and our inspiration... Burnt, but not consumed.
A beer with a unique character was born in our country and started a legendary saga."
***
This video is quite cool:
This is an ad for Grimbergen beer, a Belgian beer first brewed in 1128.
Translation:
"The phoenix has marked civilizations across the ages.
The Persians disputed its legendary longevity. The Greeks worshipped its mythical regeneration. The Romans *something* its infinite power. The [some group] saw in it the promise of a new life.
Founded in 1128, the abbey of Grimbergen was ravaged by a terrible fire in 1142. Destroyed in 1566, during the Wars of Religion... After each destruction, it was rebuilt.
The phoenix became our emblem, and our inspiration... Burnt, but not consumed.
A beer with a unique character was born in our country and started a legendary saga."
Post ID: 5732701975230903638
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Best car crash ever
"I hate life, I hate death and everything in between just doesn't interest me." - Chris Rapier
***
A: life is sacred is a religious heuristic....this cannot be derived rationally
And humans have lived and prospered using religious dogma for almost the entire time they've existed on this planet.
Late 19th and early 20th century are the products of rationalism. Communism in particular. Plus human life has degraded in the modern age.
B: A I hope you are kidding with the above statement - because only a delusional person would make such a statement and actually believe in it!
Please explain all these things to me:
a) The Inquisition/The Witchhunts/Wars of Religion Between the Catholic & Protestants in 16th and 17th century Europe - millions were killed with Christian religious heuristics
b) The Crusades - millions were killed when the religious heuristics of Christianity and Islam clashed.
c) The Islamic Conquest of Arabia and Northern Africa, Islam's domination of India - millions have been killed in the name of Islamic heuristics.
Look forward to a sane response.
A: What you wrote were minor conflicts compared to modern conflicts.
World War 1/2, Communism, Nazism etc are way greater. The classical medieval era was a time of peace compared to the modern age.
25,000-100,000 people were estimated to have been killed in the crusades. (can't find an authentic source)
And this war lasted 3 centuries!
A mere drop in the ocean. Nothing compared to the modern age, and the crusades were supposed to be the greatest conflict in human history.
Just compare that figure to the combined death toll of world war1 and 2 lasting only a few years.....it's simply laughable
world war II - 60 million killed (lowest estimate available) world war I - 30 million (rough estimate)
I haven't even included deaths from the horrors inflicted by Stalin and Mao in their respective countries.
97 million people killed by communist states...which were run by dialectical materialists (something similar to the rational method)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Book_of_Communism
And you people still think that religion is the root of conflict....
B: A,
Your numbers are laughable. Please cite your references.
I will provide you with my references this evening when I get back from work.
And why do you include the deaths of world war II and world war I? Japan was a Buddhist nation, Germany was a Christian nation. Hitler never disavowed his belief in Catholicism. On what basis do you claim these deaths to be "caused" by atheism?
We are finally "drilling down" on your claims!
Looks like you did not even bother to read the whole article in Wikipedia - which contains criticism of the estimate.
Me: The medieval era was a time of great peace? Funniest thing I've read all day. Granted I just woke up...
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
C: Are we seeing cognitive bias in action?why only casualties from the crusade? What about the Inquisition, the pogroms against the Jews for many centuries, the India-Pakistan separation, Northern Ireland etc? A drop in the ocean indeed.
Haven't included deaths where religion caused a part indirectly, e.g. slavery in the US, frudalism durjng the dark ages in Europe, lack of education/sanitation in areas where religious conflicts are/ were rife.
B: A,
Since you are found of taking the upper end of estimates, here are mine (with sources cited). The examples (especially for Islam) are very laconic with a lot of the deaths due to the various wars of conquest not estimated. The total deaths due to just Christianity and Islam is 125,000,000 +.
Before you see the references below: I would like to remind you of what you have written:
" And humans have lived and prospered using religious dogma for almost the entire time they've existed on this planet."
" What you wrote were minor conflicts compared to modern conflicts."
So pray tell, is 125 million deaths (a conservative estimate in my opinion) "minor" to you??
Here are the references:
ESTIMATES OF THOSE MURDERED BY RELIGION/RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION/ RELIGIOUS WARS
CHRISTIANITY
11th - 13th centuries CE
The Crusades: 9,000,000 died
Source:Robertson, J.M., A Short History of Christianity, Watts & Co., London 1931: p153
12th-13th centuries CE
The "Crusade" Against the Albigensian Heresy in Southern France: 1,000,000 Albigensians murdered by the Roman Catholic Church
Source: Robertson, J.M., A Short History of Christianity, Watts & Co., London 1931: p153
15th - 18th centuries CE
The Witchhunts - estimated of people murdered ranged from 100,000 to 2,000,000
Sources:
Graham, Phyllis, The Jesus Hoax, Leslie Frewin, London 1974: p112
Harris, Marvin, Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches, Random House, New York 1974: p178
Haught, James, Holy Horrors: An Illustrated History of Religious Murder and Madness, Prometheus, Buffalo 1990: p73
15th century CE
The Spanish Inquisition - 31,000 murdered (at the stakes), 150,000 Jews driven to sea where many died.
Source: Knight, Margaret, Honest to Man: Christian Ethics Re-examined, Pemberton, London 1974: p86-89
16th -17th centuries CE
The Wars of Religion in Europe (Between catholic and Protestants):
1. The Benelux Countries (1576-1579): at least 16,000 murdered (Antwerp, 8,000; Maastricht, no less than 8,000)
Source: Bailey, Brian, Massacres: An Account of Crimes Against Humanity, Orion, London 1994: p.33-35
2: France (including the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, 1562-1593): 70,000 to 100,000 slain
Source: Bailey, ibid: p31
3, Germany, France , Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark (30 Years War:1618-1648): estimates of those who died in this war in Germany alone between the Catholics and Protestants vary from a "conservative" 6,000,000 to 14,000,000 (Germany's population was estimated at only 18 million at the beginning of the war - this means that between 1/3 to 2/3 of the population of Germany was extirpated during this war - proportionately more than what was lost during the two world wars in the 20th century)
Source:s
Knight, ibid: p.89
Haught: p106-107
4. Ireland: Cromwell and his men killed murdered 8,000 soldiers and civilians in Drogeda and Wexford in 1649
Sources:
Bailey, Massacres: p48-49
Haught, Holy Horrors: p121
Magnusson, Magnus, Landlord or Tenant: A View of Irish History, Bodley Head, London 1978: p35-36
5. Christian pogroms against Jews (throughout history of Christendom): Jews were killed for the flimsiest of reasons. Jews were blamed for the Black Death for instance. The historian Philip Ziegler estimated that there were three hundred and fifty separate massacres of Jews by Christians during the three years of the Black Death. At least 20,000 Jews were murdered.
Sources:
Haught, Holy Horrors: p69-71
Knight, Honest to Man: p98
6. Christian Missionary Work is something that has also caused many native deaths:
Tahiti (19th century): 14,000 dead (due to execution for witchcraft, refusal
to convert etc)
Source:
Lewis, Normam, The Missionaries: God against the Indians, Arena, London 1989: p9-15
There are thousands more deaths (I count around 40,000) caused in part by Christian missionaries in South America. (read Lewis' book!)
7. Black Slavery (by Christians)
The historian Basil Davidson, estimates for deaths due to the slave trade (something sanction by the Bible) from 1650-1850 to around 9,000,000
(Around 2,000,000 African slaves died in the journey to the new world, while
another 7,000,000 died "before embarkation").
Source:
Davidson, Basil, Black Mother: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade, Penguin 1980: p.271
Estimates of murders and deaths due to Christianity: 30,000,000+
ISLAM
1. Muslim Conquest Outside Arabia
History shows many records of Muslim murdering conquered peoples:
7th Century CE: Wars of conquest and massacres of local populations reported in Syria (thousands), Mesopotamia, Egypt (towns of Behnesa, Fayum, Nikiu, Abiot murdered), Armenia (entire population of Euchaita wiped out), Cyprus ('great massacre' of population), Carthage (mosy inhabitants killed).
Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roma Empire" estimated 50,000 romans were killed in the battle of Syria,
Source:
Serge Trifkovic, "The Sword of the Prophet: Islam, History, Theology, Impact on the World", Regina Orthodox Press, Boston 2002: p.90-96
2. Islam's Conquest of India
The actual number of Hindus who died due to the muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent may never be known - but the numbers are almost unbelievable large. When the Muslim conquered what is today known as Afghanistan they annihilated the entire Hindu population. Indeed the place is called Hindu Kush (i.e. "Hindu Slaughter") to this day. Prof K. Elst, a specialist of central Asia cited estimates that as many as 80,000,000 (yes, 80 million!) Hindus may have been died due to the muslim conquest between 1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate). The estimate is certainly high, but it is certain that the numbers of Hindus and Buddhists killed by Muslims exceed the numbers killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
Sources:
Koenraad Elst, "Negationism in India: Concealing the Record of Islam", Voice of India, Delhi 2002 p:34
Serge Trifkovic, "The Sword of the Prophet: Islam, History, Theology, Impact on the World", Regina Orthodox Press, Boston 2002: p.109-113
3. Fall of Constantinople (1453): Estimated deaths between 4,000 to 30,000
Source: Gibbons, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol VI: Chapter 68
4. Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) - the Muslim Turks slaughtered Christian Armenians - estimated Armenians murdered 1,500,000
Source:
Robert Spencer, Onward Muslim Soldiers, Regnery 2003: p.182
5. Slavery (by Islam)
Abdi (Black slaves): The Islamic world from its beginning to the 20th (!) century as estimated to have traded around 14,000,000 black slaves. For each slave traded, the number "lost" is variously estimated to around 1:1 to 1:200. We can safely estimate, at its most conservative, that 14,000,000 African died due to the muslim slave trade.
Source: Segal, Ronald, Islam's Black Slaves, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York 2001: p57 (etc)
Mamluk (white slaves): It was estimated that around 1,000,000 white Americans and Europeans were captured by muslims into slavery. Since many of these were known to have died from mistreatment, malnutrition, diseases etc, and based on the conservative "loss" ratio of 1:1, we can estimated at around half of these (500,000) would have died before being sold as slaves.
Source:
Milton, Giles , White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and Islam's One Million White Slaves , Picador, New York 2004: p.271, (on deaths e.g. p89 & p101)
Total (very laconic) estimates of deaths due to Islam: 95,000,000 +
Look forward to what you have to say.
A: I didn't deny religion was responsible for the deaths of so many (most of the figures are unsubstantiated by the way)
But religious deaths are a very minor fraction.
Just look at the last 100 years. The death figures are mind bogglingly large. Only Communism using state terrorism is responsible for more deaths than almost the entire massacres of the last 2000 years.
And I bring in Communism because it epitomizes the rational method. Dialectical Materialism is as rational as rationalism gets.
And religion is a vast field. My problem is with bigotry in general. Rational bigotry is far worse because there are no apriori truths and it could be rationalized that life is not sacred, as was the case with Nazis (using eugenics) or Communism (using dialectical materialism).
For example, one of the ten commandments states that "You shall not Kill", So were the christians/muslim conflict really substantiated by religion or was it religious bigotry. Man in his very nature likes war and we are all just a few missed meals away from committing murder.
Some of the examples that you quotes, for example the India-Pak conflict, was it really due to religion? The modern Nation State is a modern rational concept which originated in the 16th century. Through out the history of india, muslims and hindus lived in relative harmony and since most of you are not aware of the history of mughals and muslim rule, then let me remind you that religion had no role at state level. You can read on Akber's deen e elahi if you want to know what role was played by religion in India. Can't really remember any religious conflicts in India, the mughal's weren't really spreading islam when they conquered India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_anthropogenic_disasters...
this link probably gives a better example. If you seriously still believe that religion has produced more conflict than rational concepts (nation state/ communism/ nazism) then you are honestly deluded and what you practice is just pure bigotry. No one's here denying that religion hasn't got its problems, but the problem with human thinking are far worse and there simply isn't a comparison between the figures that are staring right at you.
@B
I seriously doubt the figures that you are throwing around. Didn't know that most atheists are just as apologetic and throw around propaganda as any religious extremist would.
B: A,
You have just made another unsubstantiated claim.
How is 120,000,000+ deaths due to religion a "minor fraction" - pray tell how do you define minor.
Look forward to some specific statements rather than "hit and run" claims you never substantiate.
"Can't really remember any religious conflicts in India, the mughal's weren't really spreading islam when they conquered India."
You should read Sita Ram Goel's "Islamic Imperialism in India"
http://voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/
and Konrad Elst's "Negationism in India"
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/negaind/index.htm
I would like to hear your SPECIFIC critiques of their claims - not vague ones like "Oh, these guys are radicals" etc. The sort of tiresome thing you have been doing all these weeks.
...
A: The rational method, dialectics etc is fine...but meaningless without apriori truths.
Where is the criterion coming from? The absolute apriori criterion which suggests that this is right or this is wrong.
You say that you are rational and I suspect that you all agree with the fact that "life is sacred" Once the criterion is established then it's easy to distinguish but the criterion is coming from ancient heuristics (christian heuristics).
Communism did away with this criterion and the result was simply mass death. Mao/Stalin/Lenin/Hitler did not consider life sacred and most of their populations agreed with them (they were popular leaders in their time). Rationalism could go one way or the other if the absolute apriori truths and criterions are not established.
Here's the solution.
Extract as many ancient heuristics and once a criterion is formulated then live your life rationally based on those criterion.
Here's one --> all ancient heuristics treat "debt" as bad and bankers are evil.
Modern economist think that debt is good. Economist encourage countries to take on debt, and encourage people to use debt for consumption. Wealth distribution has never been this skewed. The effects are clearly becoming visible slowly.
Follow and learn from ancient heuristics and never indulge in epistemic arrogance.
B: A,
I am still waiting for your response on "minor" versus "major" conflicts.
I think it's time you knuckle down and provide concrete answers, don't you?
Or is your religious heuristics best enjoyed in "soft focus"?
A: I can't see you major vs minor post?
Hey....start emailing me personally....I can't read so much stuff in 5 minutes and reply too, the replies get all jumbled up and I loose track of what's going on.
You can later post the replies here but try emailing me personally so that there is no clutter and we can focus on what's going on
B: No, I'd like other to see our discussion. Anyway I am told you get rather rude in personal e-mails, so I try to avoid this. I like to keep things civil.
A: grow up, It's just an email.....it can't get any worse than throwing rude words around, plus you don't even know me and we probably would never meet.....so who gives a shit. The internet is for watching porn and bullshitting with people, the rest is just noise.
i'll allow you to reciprocate, the classical man never hid his true feelings, unlike modern man (where you hate your boss but still are nice to him). Being civil is just another form of slavery which is acceptable if one is doing it for money. Have you read about Procrustes (greek myth)?, that's how modern man is, so i'll allow you to escape the procrustean bed. Hobbes said that if every man was given complete freedom, than they would kill each other, Hobbes would be happy in cyber space though.
The problem with an email is that 90% of our communication is body language (eye contact, posture, hormones etc). So if you remove that 90%, then an email is simply people bull shitting in cyber space with no real consequence. Don't take it seriously unless there's something wrong with you and you take electronic insults very seriously.
Human thinking and language is merely for flaunting and has no real practical use, It's a very late development (some animals are actually more advanced in language). I just use it to impress chics and get laid or to annoy people who take themselves really seriously, you might like to read up on Amotz Zahavi and what constitutes a human mating signal. Now somebody is going to accuse me of name dropping, seriously, I am very very well read. I read the complete works of Stuart Mill, Hobbes, Hume and Kant when I was 14 yrs old (by luck apparently). I can write and speak in 7 different languages (coincidently) and I have read stuff that you don't even have access to (language barrier). And I only do it to get laid, unlike people on this forum who actually think that their way of thinking is superior to some other way of thinking and take that very seriously. Epistemic Arrogance is just bigotry if you don't even know the problems with Episteme (not techne).
My only purpose is to figure out how truly religious an atheist really is and is he aware of his own level of ignorance, with communism and dialectical materialism (rationalism at its best) you can figure it out, I need to learn about the modern atheist, is it simply another one of those small cults popping up now and again. And sadly, not a single person on this forum has actually even figured out what's going on. You could've at least discussed Kant but I don't think that people here know too much about him.
And the news is that Japan is apparently draining radioactive particles into the sea, and some people are actually justifying that the radiation is simply very low. They can't figure out the difference between radiation and to actually have a plutonium particle embedded inside of you. The miracles of science just keep coming. So now a piece of the planet is off limits for human beings for approximately 4 billion years (i guess that's the half life). The church should've jailed all of Galileo's friends. The church should've been awarded a noble peace prize because they knew 100s of years ago that these nut jobs are going to destroy the planet, the climate change guys should thank the church as well for at least trying to save the climate.
B: What are the seven languages you know?
You claim you have read Mill, Hobbes, Hume & Kant, it does not look like you have read with understanding. The only way you can PROVE you have read them and that they are still in your memory is for you to meet at the next DS meeting where you do not have any reference book handy. (especially since you say 90% of communication is body language.)
Really I am tired of all this boasting when all I have seen of your claimed wide knowledge is the ability to make wild unsubstantiated claims.
D: You can write read and write in 7 different languages?
Well, Mr. A, apparently, one of them isn't English. Your command of the English language is at the approximate level of a ten-year-old.
You can't spell, have no understanding of the basic foundations of grammar and employ limited vocabulary. You don't even know that words starting a sentence should be capitalized. You may think you've got skills, but what I think after this sustained period of interaction of you is that you are simply a degenerate bibliophile with too great a confidence in your own abilities. You are obnoxious, egoistic and you think that you can disparage everyone else simply based on the alleged fact that you have read many books.
Firstly, I find it highly doubtful that you read the "complete works of Stuart Mill, Hobbes, Hume and Kant" when you were fourteen. Secondly, just because you read them does not mean that you understood them. Thirdly, reading books does not make you great. Books contain other people's knowledge, ideas and theories. You have purportedly read them and know about these ideas. Doesn't matter. Just goes to show that you appear to have a lot of time. Anyone can read books, but only the truly skilled can come up with better ideas. You don't have any. You are but a robot spewing out factoids and irrelevancy.
You seem to have the impression that your world view is automatically the best, most accurate, the greatest, etc. There is a word for that in the English language. Due to your pathetic command of English, you might not know it. It's known as megalomania. Most dictators have it.
The false impression of knowledge and being intelligent you project disgusts me. You disgust me. I abhor obnoxious, arrogant bastards who masquerade under a facade of intelligence and you are precisely that kind of person.
You have no humility. You have nothing except the false reassurances of your own ego.
I am really tired of you, A. Grow up. I'm probably younger than you in age, but I'm definitely more mature than you.
***
A: life is sacred is a religious heuristic....this cannot be derived rationally
And humans have lived and prospered using religious dogma for almost the entire time they've existed on this planet.
Late 19th and early 20th century are the products of rationalism. Communism in particular. Plus human life has degraded in the modern age.
B: A I hope you are kidding with the above statement - because only a delusional person would make such a statement and actually believe in it!
Please explain all these things to me:
a) The Inquisition/The Witchhunts/Wars of Religion Between the Catholic & Protestants in 16th and 17th century Europe - millions were killed with Christian religious heuristics
b) The Crusades - millions were killed when the religious heuristics of Christianity and Islam clashed.
c) The Islamic Conquest of Arabia and Northern Africa, Islam's domination of India - millions have been killed in the name of Islamic heuristics.
Look forward to a sane response.
A: What you wrote were minor conflicts compared to modern conflicts.
World War 1/2, Communism, Nazism etc are way greater. The classical medieval era was a time of peace compared to the modern age.
25,000-100,000 people were estimated to have been killed in the crusades. (can't find an authentic source)
And this war lasted 3 centuries!
A mere drop in the ocean. Nothing compared to the modern age, and the crusades were supposed to be the greatest conflict in human history.
Just compare that figure to the combined death toll of world war1 and 2 lasting only a few years.....it's simply laughable
world war II - 60 million killed (lowest estimate available) world war I - 30 million (rough estimate)
I haven't even included deaths from the horrors inflicted by Stalin and Mao in their respective countries.
97 million people killed by communist states...which were run by dialectical materialists (something similar to the rational method)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Book_of_Communism
And you people still think that religion is the root of conflict....
B: A,
Your numbers are laughable. Please cite your references.
I will provide you with my references this evening when I get back from work.
And why do you include the deaths of world war II and world war I? Japan was a Buddhist nation, Germany was a Christian nation. Hitler never disavowed his belief in Catholicism. On what basis do you claim these deaths to be "caused" by atheism?
We are finally "drilling down" on your claims!
Looks like you did not even bother to read the whole article in Wikipedia - which contains criticism of the estimate.
Me: The medieval era was a time of great peace? Funniest thing I've read all day. Granted I just woke up...
http://www.ted.com/talks/steven_pinker_on_the_myth_of_violence.html
C: Are we seeing cognitive bias in action?why only casualties from the crusade? What about the Inquisition, the pogroms against the Jews for many centuries, the India-Pakistan separation, Northern Ireland etc? A drop in the ocean indeed.
Haven't included deaths where religion caused a part indirectly, e.g. slavery in the US, frudalism durjng the dark ages in Europe, lack of education/sanitation in areas where religious conflicts are/ were rife.
B: A,
Since you are found of taking the upper end of estimates, here are mine (with sources cited). The examples (especially for Islam) are very laconic with a lot of the deaths due to the various wars of conquest not estimated. The total deaths due to just Christianity and Islam is 125,000,000 +.
Before you see the references below: I would like to remind you of what you have written:
" And humans have lived and prospered using religious dogma for almost the entire time they've existed on this planet."
" What you wrote were minor conflicts compared to modern conflicts."
So pray tell, is 125 million deaths (a conservative estimate in my opinion) "minor" to you??
Here are the references:
ESTIMATES OF THOSE MURDERED BY RELIGION/RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION/ RELIGIOUS WARS
CHRISTIANITY
11th - 13th centuries CE
The Crusades: 9,000,000 died
Source:Robertson, J.M., A Short History of Christianity, Watts & Co., London 1931: p153
12th-13th centuries CE
The "Crusade" Against the Albigensian Heresy in Southern France: 1,000,000 Albigensians murdered by the Roman Catholic Church
Source: Robertson, J.M., A Short History of Christianity, Watts & Co., London 1931: p153
15th - 18th centuries CE
The Witchhunts - estimated of people murdered ranged from 100,000 to 2,000,000
Sources:
Graham, Phyllis, The Jesus Hoax, Leslie Frewin, London 1974: p112
Harris, Marvin, Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches, Random House, New York 1974: p178
Haught, James, Holy Horrors: An Illustrated History of Religious Murder and Madness, Prometheus, Buffalo 1990: p73
15th century CE
The Spanish Inquisition - 31,000 murdered (at the stakes), 150,000 Jews driven to sea where many died.
Source: Knight, Margaret, Honest to Man: Christian Ethics Re-examined, Pemberton, London 1974: p86-89
16th -17th centuries CE
The Wars of Religion in Europe (Between catholic and Protestants):
1. The Benelux Countries (1576-1579): at least 16,000 murdered (Antwerp, 8,000; Maastricht, no less than 8,000)
Source: Bailey, Brian, Massacres: An Account of Crimes Against Humanity, Orion, London 1994: p.33-35
2: France (including the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, 1562-1593): 70,000 to 100,000 slain
Source: Bailey, ibid: p31
3, Germany, France , Italy, Spain, Sweden, Denmark (30 Years War:1618-1648): estimates of those who died in this war in Germany alone between the Catholics and Protestants vary from a "conservative" 6,000,000 to 14,000,000 (Germany's population was estimated at only 18 million at the beginning of the war - this means that between 1/3 to 2/3 of the population of Germany was extirpated during this war - proportionately more than what was lost during the two world wars in the 20th century)
Source:s
Knight, ibid: p.89
Haught: p106-107
4. Ireland: Cromwell and his men killed murdered 8,000 soldiers and civilians in Drogeda and Wexford in 1649
Sources:
Bailey, Massacres: p48-49
Haught, Holy Horrors: p121
Magnusson, Magnus, Landlord or Tenant: A View of Irish History, Bodley Head, London 1978: p35-36
5. Christian pogroms against Jews (throughout history of Christendom): Jews were killed for the flimsiest of reasons. Jews were blamed for the Black Death for instance. The historian Philip Ziegler estimated that there were three hundred and fifty separate massacres of Jews by Christians during the three years of the Black Death. At least 20,000 Jews were murdered.
Sources:
Haught, Holy Horrors: p69-71
Knight, Honest to Man: p98
6. Christian Missionary Work is something that has also caused many native deaths:
Tahiti (19th century): 14,000 dead (due to execution for witchcraft, refusal
to convert etc)
Source:
Lewis, Normam, The Missionaries: God against the Indians, Arena, London 1989: p9-15
There are thousands more deaths (I count around 40,000) caused in part by Christian missionaries in South America. (read Lewis' book!)
7. Black Slavery (by Christians)
The historian Basil Davidson, estimates for deaths due to the slave trade (something sanction by the Bible) from 1650-1850 to around 9,000,000
(Around 2,000,000 African slaves died in the journey to the new world, while
another 7,000,000 died "before embarkation").
Source:
Davidson, Basil, Black Mother: Africa and the Atlantic Slave Trade, Penguin 1980: p.271
Estimates of murders and deaths due to Christianity: 30,000,000+
ISLAM
1. Muslim Conquest Outside Arabia
History shows many records of Muslim murdering conquered peoples:
7th Century CE: Wars of conquest and massacres of local populations reported in Syria (thousands), Mesopotamia, Egypt (towns of Behnesa, Fayum, Nikiu, Abiot murdered), Armenia (entire population of Euchaita wiped out), Cyprus ('great massacre' of population), Carthage (mosy inhabitants killed).
Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roma Empire" estimated 50,000 romans were killed in the battle of Syria,
Source:
Serge Trifkovic, "The Sword of the Prophet: Islam, History, Theology, Impact on the World", Regina Orthodox Press, Boston 2002: p.90-96
2. Islam's Conquest of India
The actual number of Hindus who died due to the muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent may never be known - but the numbers are almost unbelievable large. When the Muslim conquered what is today known as Afghanistan they annihilated the entire Hindu population. Indeed the place is called Hindu Kush (i.e. "Hindu Slaughter") to this day. Prof K. Elst, a specialist of central Asia cited estimates that as many as 80,000,000 (yes, 80 million!) Hindus may have been died due to the muslim conquest between 1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate). The estimate is certainly high, but it is certain that the numbers of Hindus and Buddhists killed by Muslims exceed the numbers killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
Sources:
Koenraad Elst, "Negationism in India: Concealing the Record of Islam", Voice of India, Delhi 2002 p:34
Serge Trifkovic, "The Sword of the Prophet: Islam, History, Theology, Impact on the World", Regina Orthodox Press, Boston 2002: p.109-113
3. Fall of Constantinople (1453): Estimated deaths between 4,000 to 30,000
Source: Gibbons, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Vol VI: Chapter 68
4. Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) - the Muslim Turks slaughtered Christian Armenians - estimated Armenians murdered 1,500,000
Source:
Robert Spencer, Onward Muslim Soldiers, Regnery 2003: p.182
5. Slavery (by Islam)
Abdi (Black slaves): The Islamic world from its beginning to the 20th (!) century as estimated to have traded around 14,000,000 black slaves. For each slave traded, the number "lost" is variously estimated to around 1:1 to 1:200. We can safely estimate, at its most conservative, that 14,000,000 African died due to the muslim slave trade.
Source: Segal, Ronald, Islam's Black Slaves, Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, New York 2001: p57 (etc)
Mamluk (white slaves): It was estimated that around 1,000,000 white Americans and Europeans were captured by muslims into slavery. Since many of these were known to have died from mistreatment, malnutrition, diseases etc, and based on the conservative "loss" ratio of 1:1, we can estimated at around half of these (500,000) would have died before being sold as slaves.
Source:
Milton, Giles , White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and Islam's One Million White Slaves , Picador, New York 2004: p.271, (on deaths e.g. p89 & p101)
Total (very laconic) estimates of deaths due to Islam: 95,000,000 +
Look forward to what you have to say.
A: I didn't deny religion was responsible for the deaths of so many (most of the figures are unsubstantiated by the way)
But religious deaths are a very minor fraction.
Just look at the last 100 years. The death figures are mind bogglingly large. Only Communism using state terrorism is responsible for more deaths than almost the entire massacres of the last 2000 years.
And I bring in Communism because it epitomizes the rational method. Dialectical Materialism is as rational as rationalism gets.
And religion is a vast field. My problem is with bigotry in general. Rational bigotry is far worse because there are no apriori truths and it could be rationalized that life is not sacred, as was the case with Nazis (using eugenics) or Communism (using dialectical materialism).
For example, one of the ten commandments states that "You shall not Kill", So were the christians/muslim conflict really substantiated by religion or was it religious bigotry. Man in his very nature likes war and we are all just a few missed meals away from committing murder.
Some of the examples that you quotes, for example the India-Pak conflict, was it really due to religion? The modern Nation State is a modern rational concept which originated in the 16th century. Through out the history of india, muslims and hindus lived in relative harmony and since most of you are not aware of the history of mughals and muslim rule, then let me remind you that religion had no role at state level. You can read on Akber's deen e elahi if you want to know what role was played by religion in India. Can't really remember any religious conflicts in India, the mughal's weren't really spreading islam when they conquered India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wars_and_anthropogenic_disasters...
this link probably gives a better example. If you seriously still believe that religion has produced more conflict than rational concepts (nation state/ communism/ nazism) then you are honestly deluded and what you practice is just pure bigotry. No one's here denying that religion hasn't got its problems, but the problem with human thinking are far worse and there simply isn't a comparison between the figures that are staring right at you.
@B
I seriously doubt the figures that you are throwing around. Didn't know that most atheists are just as apologetic and throw around propaganda as any religious extremist would.
B: A,
You have just made another unsubstantiated claim.
How is 120,000,000+ deaths due to religion a "minor fraction" - pray tell how do you define minor.
Look forward to some specific statements rather than "hit and run" claims you never substantiate.
"Can't really remember any religious conflicts in India, the mughal's weren't really spreading islam when they conquered India."
You should read Sita Ram Goel's "Islamic Imperialism in India"
http://voiceofdharma.com/books/siii/
and Konrad Elst's "Negationism in India"
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/negaind/index.htm
I would like to hear your SPECIFIC critiques of their claims - not vague ones like "Oh, these guys are radicals" etc. The sort of tiresome thing you have been doing all these weeks.
...
A: The rational method, dialectics etc is fine...but meaningless without apriori truths.
Where is the criterion coming from? The absolute apriori criterion which suggests that this is right or this is wrong.
You say that you are rational and I suspect that you all agree with the fact that "life is sacred" Once the criterion is established then it's easy to distinguish but the criterion is coming from ancient heuristics (christian heuristics).
Communism did away with this criterion and the result was simply mass death. Mao/Stalin/Lenin/Hitler did not consider life sacred and most of their populations agreed with them (they were popular leaders in their time). Rationalism could go one way or the other if the absolute apriori truths and criterions are not established.
Here's the solution.
Extract as many ancient heuristics and once a criterion is formulated then live your life rationally based on those criterion.
Here's one --> all ancient heuristics treat "debt" as bad and bankers are evil.
Modern economist think that debt is good. Economist encourage countries to take on debt, and encourage people to use debt for consumption. Wealth distribution has never been this skewed. The effects are clearly becoming visible slowly.
Follow and learn from ancient heuristics and never indulge in epistemic arrogance.
B: A,
I am still waiting for your response on "minor" versus "major" conflicts.
I think it's time you knuckle down and provide concrete answers, don't you?
Or is your religious heuristics best enjoyed in "soft focus"?
A: I can't see you major vs minor post?
Hey....start emailing me personally....I can't read so much stuff in 5 minutes and reply too, the replies get all jumbled up and I loose track of what's going on.
You can later post the replies here but try emailing me personally so that there is no clutter and we can focus on what's going on
B: No, I'd like other to see our discussion. Anyway I am told you get rather rude in personal e-mails, so I try to avoid this. I like to keep things civil.
A: grow up, It's just an email.....it can't get any worse than throwing rude words around, plus you don't even know me and we probably would never meet.....so who gives a shit. The internet is for watching porn and bullshitting with people, the rest is just noise.
i'll allow you to reciprocate, the classical man never hid his true feelings, unlike modern man (where you hate your boss but still are nice to him). Being civil is just another form of slavery which is acceptable if one is doing it for money. Have you read about Procrustes (greek myth)?, that's how modern man is, so i'll allow you to escape the procrustean bed. Hobbes said that if every man was given complete freedom, than they would kill each other, Hobbes would be happy in cyber space though.
The problem with an email is that 90% of our communication is body language (eye contact, posture, hormones etc). So if you remove that 90%, then an email is simply people bull shitting in cyber space with no real consequence. Don't take it seriously unless there's something wrong with you and you take electronic insults very seriously.
Human thinking and language is merely for flaunting and has no real practical use, It's a very late development (some animals are actually more advanced in language). I just use it to impress chics and get laid or to annoy people who take themselves really seriously, you might like to read up on Amotz Zahavi and what constitutes a human mating signal. Now somebody is going to accuse me of name dropping, seriously, I am very very well read. I read the complete works of Stuart Mill, Hobbes, Hume and Kant when I was 14 yrs old (by luck apparently). I can write and speak in 7 different languages (coincidently) and I have read stuff that you don't even have access to (language barrier). And I only do it to get laid, unlike people on this forum who actually think that their way of thinking is superior to some other way of thinking and take that very seriously. Epistemic Arrogance is just bigotry if you don't even know the problems with Episteme (not techne).
My only purpose is to figure out how truly religious an atheist really is and is he aware of his own level of ignorance, with communism and dialectical materialism (rationalism at its best) you can figure it out, I need to learn about the modern atheist, is it simply another one of those small cults popping up now and again. And sadly, not a single person on this forum has actually even figured out what's going on. You could've at least discussed Kant but I don't think that people here know too much about him.
And the news is that Japan is apparently draining radioactive particles into the sea, and some people are actually justifying that the radiation is simply very low. They can't figure out the difference between radiation and to actually have a plutonium particle embedded inside of you. The miracles of science just keep coming. So now a piece of the planet is off limits for human beings for approximately 4 billion years (i guess that's the half life). The church should've jailed all of Galileo's friends. The church should've been awarded a noble peace prize because they knew 100s of years ago that these nut jobs are going to destroy the planet, the climate change guys should thank the church as well for at least trying to save the climate.
B: What are the seven languages you know?
You claim you have read Mill, Hobbes, Hume & Kant, it does not look like you have read with understanding. The only way you can PROVE you have read them and that they are still in your memory is for you to meet at the next DS meeting where you do not have any reference book handy. (especially since you say 90% of communication is body language.)
Really I am tired of all this boasting when all I have seen of your claimed wide knowledge is the ability to make wild unsubstantiated claims.
D: You can write read and write in 7 different languages?
Well, Mr. A, apparently, one of them isn't English. Your command of the English language is at the approximate level of a ten-year-old.
You can't spell, have no understanding of the basic foundations of grammar and employ limited vocabulary. You don't even know that words starting a sentence should be capitalized. You may think you've got skills, but what I think after this sustained period of interaction of you is that you are simply a degenerate bibliophile with too great a confidence in your own abilities. You are obnoxious, egoistic and you think that you can disparage everyone else simply based on the alleged fact that you have read many books.
Firstly, I find it highly doubtful that you read the "complete works of Stuart Mill, Hobbes, Hume and Kant" when you were fourteen. Secondly, just because you read them does not mean that you understood them. Thirdly, reading books does not make you great. Books contain other people's knowledge, ideas and theories. You have purportedly read them and know about these ideas. Doesn't matter. Just goes to show that you appear to have a lot of time. Anyone can read books, but only the truly skilled can come up with better ideas. You don't have any. You are but a robot spewing out factoids and irrelevancy.
You seem to have the impression that your world view is automatically the best, most accurate, the greatest, etc. There is a word for that in the English language. Due to your pathetic command of English, you might not know it. It's known as megalomania. Most dictators have it.
The false impression of knowledge and being intelligent you project disgusts me. You disgust me. I abhor obnoxious, arrogant bastards who masquerade under a facade of intelligence and you are precisely that kind of person.
You have no humility. You have nothing except the false reassurances of your own ego.
I am really tired of you, A. Grow up. I'm probably younger than you in age, but I'm definitely more mature than you.
Post ID: 234000125098489658
Saturday, April 02, 2011
France 2010 - Day 11, Part 1 - Brittany: Locmariaquer and Carnac
"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change." - Dan Quayle
***
France 2010
Day 11 - 12th October - Brittany: Locmariaquer and Carnac (Part 1)
At checkout the receptionist asked me: "Vous avez mangé ?" ("Have you eaten?") and I replied "Plus tard" ("Later"). My mistake was interpreting this as "你吃了吗？" ("Have you eaten yet?" - a common Chinese greeting) instead of "Do I need to bill you for breakfast?".
This was the only bilingual bona fide sign we saw (the rest were just place names)
This day was dedicated to prehistoric sights. We would've liked to visit the island of Gavrinis, in the Gulf of Morbihan, but unfortunately the boat didn't go there on wednesdays.
The first site was Locmariaquer.
Map of site: there were 3 stone structures - the broken Great Menhir, the Er Grah tumulus and the Merchant's Table Dolmen (listed here as the Table des Marchand cairn)
Yes, there was Breton, but this was a prehistoric site after all (and thus it was kind of obligatory)
There was a video where an archaeologist talked about the site, and the first thing he said was that it showed social and economic inequalities due to the monopolisation of power by certain people, and we didn't see this in previous eras because of the lack of this factor. Hah.
Megaliths in Europe
The stone monuments at Locmariaquer were not from that area - they had to be transported over land and water. Rollers wouldn't have worked as the stones were more than 100 tonnes, so they used tracks.
Part of site
This big menhir only stood for a few centuries, and had fallen by 4500 BC.
The Table des Marchand cairn, with the broken Great Menhir in the background
The Table des Marchand cairn, with the broken Great Menhir in the background
The Table des Marchand cairn
The Er Grah tumulus. It's longer than a football field. And only looks good from the top (it's too long)
The Table des Marchand cairn
Various shots of the Er Grah tumulus
Locmariaquer Panorama
There was a large group of Spanish tourists waiting around the Merchant's Table, and one even asked me not to go in. Turns out a group of them were inside and were taking turns. I asked if they spoke French or English, and they proudly said Catalan (note: not even Spanish). While waiting for them to clear out we went to the museum.
Information on the Merchant's Table Dolmen. It's been restored, with some degree of speculation.
Information on the Er Grah tumulus.
Information on the Grand Menhir.
The Merchant's Table Dolmen
Entrance to The Merchant's Table Dolmen
Interior of The Merchant's Table Dolmen. There's some carving also, though probably not as nice as that at Gavrinis
Not-very-well-disguised CCTV camera
Carved stone
Roof. I know it looks like it's just moss in these pictures, but I'm quite sure there were faint carvings, or I would not have taken them.
From the museum:
This is what you're supposed to see on the roof
Er Grah tumulus and path
Er Grah tumulus
Symbol on the Broken Great Menhir
Another carving reproduction
My best attempt at a shot of the whole place
The gift shop had a really cool thing:
The history of the World in a chart (the last 5 centuries, anyway)
Interestingly, the Yuan dynasty was considered foreign but the Qing dynasty native
The next stop was Carnac - a collection of rocks strewn over fields.
Carnac
Carnac Panorama
Stones
Shoe advice lost in translation
More stones
And still more stones
"L'Encyclopédie du Merveilleux. Du bestiaire fantastique"
("Encyclopedia of the Wonderful. A fantasy bestiary")
Celtic Tampons. Yes I know that's not what it means but it's still funny.
Pieces of History: Menhir Particles
There was a 4,5€ salle d'exposition (Exhibition Room) which seemed very steep, so I didn't enter it. But actually it wasn't guarded so I could've strolled in.
***
France 2010
Day 11 - 12th October - Brittany: Locmariaquer and Carnac (Part 1)
At checkout the receptionist asked me: "Vous avez mangé ?" ("Have you eaten?") and I replied "Plus tard" ("Later"). My mistake was interpreting this as "你吃了吗？" ("Have you eaten yet?" - a common Chinese greeting) instead of "Do I need to bill you for breakfast?".
This was the only bilingual bona fide sign we saw (the rest were just place names)
This day was dedicated to prehistoric sights. We would've liked to visit the island of Gavrinis, in the Gulf of Morbihan, but unfortunately the boat didn't go there on wednesdays.
The first site was Locmariaquer.
Map of site: there were 3 stone structures - the broken Great Menhir, the Er Grah tumulus and the Merchant's Table Dolmen (listed here as the Table des Marchand cairn)
Yes, there was Breton, but this was a prehistoric site after all (and thus it was kind of obligatory)
There was a video where an archaeologist talked about the site, and the first thing he said was that it showed social and economic inequalities due to the monopolisation of power by certain people, and we didn't see this in previous eras because of the lack of this factor. Hah.
Megaliths in Europe
The stone monuments at Locmariaquer were not from that area - they had to be transported over land and water. Rollers wouldn't have worked as the stones were more than 100 tonnes, so they used tracks.
Part of site
This big menhir only stood for a few centuries, and had fallen by 4500 BC.
The Table des Marchand cairn, with the broken Great Menhir in the background
The Table des Marchand cairn, with the broken Great Menhir in the background
The Table des Marchand cairn
The Er Grah tumulus. It's longer than a football field. And only looks good from the top (it's too long)
The Table des Marchand cairn
Various shots of the Er Grah tumulus
Locmariaquer Panorama
There was a large group of Spanish tourists waiting around the Merchant's Table, and one even asked me not to go in. Turns out a group of them were inside and were taking turns. I asked if they spoke French or English, and they proudly said Catalan (note: not even Spanish). While waiting for them to clear out we went to the museum.
Information on the Merchant's Table Dolmen. It's been restored, with some degree of speculation.
Information on the Er Grah tumulus.
Information on the Grand Menhir.
The Merchant's Table Dolmen
Entrance to The Merchant's Table Dolmen
Interior of The Merchant's Table Dolmen. There's some carving also, though probably not as nice as that at Gavrinis
Not-very-well-disguised CCTV camera
Carved stone
Roof. I know it looks like it's just moss in these pictures, but I'm quite sure there were faint carvings, or I would not have taken them.
From the museum:
This is what you're supposed to see on the roof
Er Grah tumulus and path
Er Grah tumulus
Symbol on the Broken Great Menhir
Another carving reproduction
My best attempt at a shot of the whole place
The gift shop had a really cool thing:
The history of the World in a chart (the last 5 centuries, anyway)
Interestingly, the Yuan dynasty was considered foreign but the Qing dynasty native
The next stop was Carnac - a collection of rocks strewn over fields.
Carnac
Carnac Panorama
Stones
Shoe advice lost in translation
More stones
And still more stones
"L'Encyclopédie du Merveilleux. Du bestiaire fantastique"
("Encyclopedia of the Wonderful. A fantasy bestiary")
Celtic Tampons. Yes I know that's not what it means but it's still funny.
Pieces of History: Menhir Particles
There was a 4,5€ salle d'exposition (Exhibition Room) which seemed very steep, so I didn't enter it. But actually it wasn't guarded so I could've strolled in.
Post ID: 5141293643130725632
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