Pope Benedict states the obvious

Mankind is first and foremost a spiritual being, which finds satisfaction in spiritual happiness. Politics and society, concerned with the material world, cannot bring about spiritual happiness.

Can life get weirder?

The one thing necessary for the survival of the human race encourages religious belief!

Uncanny coincidence? Malicious plot of Fate? You decide.

"Having large families should be frowned upon...

...as an environmental misdemeanour in the same way as frequent long-haul flights, driving a big car and failing to reuse plastic bags, says a report to be published today by a green think tank."

Notice the mention of cars.

I have noticed that in comic strips, Web surveys, and other such outlets, environmental "misdemeanors" are standard examples of vice. This bothers me, not for scientific reasons.

Namely, it's the tendency to make unimportant choices equal to important choices. Driving a large car may bring the earth to destruction. Evil. Abandoning your wife and children so you can drive a small car - ah, not too bad, most folks do it, it's understandable, yadayadayada...

Personally, I view environmentalists of this streak as global nativists. In other words, they percieve increased population primarily as a threat to their pampered way of life (and if American/European life isn't pampered, you may refer to me as Molly henceforth). Therefore, they try and stop population growth in order to keep a status quo, environmentally and otherwise.

The problem is, population growth is objectively good. Let nobody tell you different. It is only a problem when population grows faster than food/work supply. And in that case, the problem is not with the population but with the lack of provenance for them.

And one quote, with my rebuttal:

"The greatest thing anyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet
would be to have one less child."

I reply: Curse the planet, spare the child.

Art and Religion

Christopher Hitchens recently ran an article called "Why Religion Poisions Everything." I didn't bother to read it - the title alone is enough.

I don't know about anything else, but a cursory glance demonstrates how thoroughly religion poisons paintings. Like this one, by a practicing Catholic no less:

Whoops, I meant this one - deadly as all get-out!

Um, sorry, I keep posting the wrong picture...ah! Here we are! Smell the religious poison, folks!

First two courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art, the Deer Antler Madonna is courtesy of Cathy of Alex.

As brutally graphic as the last one was, I felt I needed to make the point.

Women shouldn't be in combat

Or so she says. But what would she know?