Earlier this year I stumbled across the Intelligent Design debate, courtesy of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. More American madness, I thought to myself. My astrophysicist husband and I enjoyed a good hour of lively discussion on the subject, in complete agreement, and we left it at that.
So you can imagine our horror when, only a matter of weeks later, we started to see references to Intelligent Design in the Australian media. Unfortunately, the debate is well and truly alive here, largely due to the efforts of the Sydney branch of the Campus Crusade for Christ, who are sending over 3,000 free copies of their DVD, Unlocking the Mystery of Life: Intelligent Design, which should cover every high school in Australia.
Representatives of the Campus Crusade for Christ also met with the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training, Dr Brendan Nelson, who is a medical doctor and a Christian. He watched the DVD. On 10 August this year he gave an address at the National Press Club in Canberra, and was questioned on his views by David Wroe from The Age newspaper. Dr Nelson said that he didn’t believe ID should replace teaching the origins of mankind “in a scientific sense”, however, he did go on to say :
“Do I think the parents in schools should have the opportunity, if they wish to, for students also to be exposed to [intelligent design] and to be taught about it? Yes, I think that's fine. I mean as far as I'm concerned students can be taught and should be taught the basic science in terms of the evolution of man, but if schools also want to present students with intelligent design, I don't have any difficulty with that.”
In September, the Democrat Senator Andrew Bartlett said of Dr Nelson :
“He is an education and science minister who says it is okay to teach intelligent design, creation science, in science classes. I know Mr Nelson is a reasonably intelligent man, but that actually makes it worse, because clearly he is just dog whistling to fundamentalist Christians by saying it is okay to teach creation science in a science class.”
To date, state governments are saying that Intelligent Design would only be allowed in Australian schools, as part of optional religious or philosophy classes, and not included in science lessons. It is being treated as a religious faith, not science. However, as Senator Bartlett says “… it is a matter of great shame that one of those government officials—the Minister for Education and Science, no less—is willing to give any sort of credence to this sort of irrational nonsense.” - Creation & Intelligent Design Watch -------- Shouldn't the people Down Under be more worried about falling off Earth, or about the possibility of their country floating too close to the South Pole? ************************************************************ 11-13-06, 10:29 AM newnickname An Australian antidote - No Answers In Genesis . ************************************************************ 11-13-06, 03:45 PM juanruiz
quote: Shouldn't the people Down Under be more worried about falling off Earth, or about the possibility of their country floating too close to the South Pole?
Or learning how to speak English? ************************************************************ 11-13-06, 05:01 PM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by juanruiz:
Or learning how to speak English?
What can you mean? Everything is apples down there, bonzer and , well, fair dinkum, mate.There's nothing more English than Strine. Smile ************************************************************ 11-13-06, 06:07 PM juanruiz
quote: There's nothing more English than Strine.
Is that tucker? ************************************************************ 11-14-06, 05:55 AM Adi
quote: Shouldn't the people Down Under be more worried about falling off Earth, or about the possibility of their country floating too close to the South Pole?
No. Crazy ideas emanating from the US have a way of disturbing global harmony like no other. The rest of the world is watching you... closely. ************************************************************ 11-14-06, 01:02 PM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by juanruiz:
quote: There's nothing more English than Strine.
Is that tucker?
No. Strine is the word for Australian English: it's what the word 'Australian' sounds like when pronounced with a heavy Australian accent.Try it :"I'm strine,mate!". It is not the word for Australians themselves or an adjective for Australian , nor is it food Big Grin . (Ask Adi Wink) ************************************************************ 11-17-06, 10:00 PM newnickname So what's with all the dinosaurs? ************************************************************ 11-23-06, 08:56 AM methos Pseudoscientific creationism is unfortunately nothing new in Australia. "No Answers in Genesis," to which newnickname linked to above, gets it's name from "Answers in Genesis," a creation science site started by an Australian. ************************************************************ 11-23-06, 09:58 AM Adi
quote: Originally posted by methos: Pseudoscientific creationism is unfortunately nothing new in Australia. "No Answers in Genesis," to which newnickname linked to above, gets it's name from "Answers in Genesis," a creation science site started by an Australian.
"What's your name, Sheila?" "What's your favourite clour, Blue?" "What's your favourite pastime, Sport?" "Who's your friend, Mate?"
'course they are standing on their heads. ************************************************************ 11-24-06, 09:13 AM juanruiz Tangential to that, according to Robert MacNeil et al in The History of the English Language, Australia gave birth to up-talk, i.e., making declarative statements using the intonation of an interrogative: I went to the store? I bought some cereal? etc. ************************************************************ 12-28-06, 04:03 AM FredPuli
quote: Originally posted by juanruiz: Tangential to that, according to Robert MacNeil et al in The History of the English Language, Australia gave birth to up-talk, i.e., making declarative statements using the intonation of an interrogative: I went to the store? I bought some cereal? etc.
Hmm.This up-talk is a feature of some East Anglian dialects e.g Norfolk. Can only think that this region provided a lot of convicts Big Grin ************************************************************ 12-29-06, 02:17 AM dance girl
quote: Originally posted by FredPuli: Hmm.This up-talk is a feature of some East Anglian dialects e.g Norfolk. Can only think that this region provided a lot of convicts Big Grin
Ah, but the Canadians are the unknowing masters of up-talk. Every statement sounds like a question here. When they don't imply an interrogative, then of course they follow these statements with an ""eh?" So maybe those that weren't transported from the east of England, emmigrated...to Canada, eh? Big Grin ************************************************************ 12-29-06, 09:35 AM newnickname Oh, Canada, eh?
I've lost the reference, but a Canadian writer has told of how he stopped snickering at Australia as a land of convicts when he came across an old reference to an English family of "idiot" boys, being sent to Canada - ideally suited for the simple but physically demanding task of raising wheat on the prairies, apparently. ************************************************************ 12-29-06, 01:21 PM dance girl yes nnn..when we were preparing to leave England to move to Canada our elderly neighbor warned us that he had come to the Prairies here, in the 1920s and worked for a year on a farm. They kept promising to pay him and never did.
Eventually he returned to England penniless!
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