If a student says that the Earth is 6000 years old because that’s what the Bible says, they MUST be given the same grade as a student who uses the scientifically accepted 4.54 billion year figure.

So you are telling me that a student can pass a science class based on religious opinions? That sounds like a load of rubbish to me - it is insulting to anyone who has ever worked in/on/with science,  and to those who have rightly learned the scientific viewpoint of the world, and used that to pass the subject named Science. It’s not science if it is suddenly permissible to include religious viewpoint - that should be kept to the subject named Religious Studies.

The bill angers me so much. As someone who is against deistic religion as a whole, and as someone who studies Science, and who plans to continue studying Science onwards for a good number of years yet, it angers me that it is possible that students will gain a pass grade in the subject that I am devoted to by using their religious viewpoint as fact, when what the human race has strived for in the last 3 billion years (admittedly, most advances have happened in the last 10,000 years) is left unacknowledged. Religion and Science should not and cannot cross paths - Religion is a set of arbitrary beliefs. Science is a set of experimentally-supported beliefs. If religious people are unable to set aside their arbitrary beliefs for what has been proven through real-world experiment and hard work of humans, then they should not be anywhere near science. If scientists are unable to accept the fact that some people are unable to set aside their arbitrary beliefs, then they should stay away from Religion.

Thankfully, it’s not law in Oklahoma yet.  But it has already passed through the House of Representatives, and all that is left is passing the state senate. It’s already law in Texas - and it has landed schools and the state in heap of trouble, with lawsuits flying left, right, and centre. All because Politicians are allowed to let their religious viewpoints and bias infiltrate their work, they have played politics with religion, and now it’s affecting science. Are we really going to have a generation of “scientists” who were passed for saying the Earth is 6000 years old? Or that we were created in 7 days? What will happen to Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection? What will happen to all the rational theories about how we came to exist - aside from the Theory of Creation? Will they fade into oblivion, because religion now dictates science? We’re slipping back into the dark ages, and we can’t let the Church (or any other religious group) take control of science again.

• March 15th: Anonymous Protests - Wave 2
• March 15th: Stop The War Protest 
• March 16th: Play.com Live!

Anonymous Protests - “Operation Party Hard / The Ides of March”

So “Anonymous” are out protesting against Scientology again. I orchestrated the Wikinews coverage of the February 10th protests - an occasion that an estimated 9,250 people attended worldwide. Once again I will be in London covering the two protest locations - more information can be found on the LondonLulz Wiki - an Anonymous-run site for organising the protests. One difference on my side this time, though, as I will be wearing my brand new Wikinews hi-vis jacket! So if you see me darting around with a massive Wikinews logo plastered over my back, feel free to speak to me!

The February protests were generally quite fun to cover, and the 300+ photos I took can be found on this pretty Flickr slideshow. People were light-hearted, and even though I’m reporting neutrally, I found myself laughing along with the memes and jokes that were being blared over a megaphone - including my favourite - “Chicken! Cult! Chicken! Cult!”, as the protesters pointed to KFC and the Church respectively. I always report over Twitter for my field events - you can find it right here, and I hope to have a Twitter widget running on this blog ASAP!

Stop the War Protest

I don’t know much about this one, aside from the fact that the photo on the website about the protest scares the hell out of me - I’ll be glad to be wearing my vest. This is my first protest outside of Anonymous that I will be covering - and it comes on a day where I will be covering three protests in one day!

Play.com Live!

This one is probably the one I am most excited about. With it’s awesome lineup of exhibitors, bands, and personalities,  this one sounds like I could easily spend all day there with my issued press pass. Hopefully I’ll be able to nab some good shots of the celebrities - and yes, there are even some interviews in the works. Stay tuned - interviews will be posted here too - they might even be videos!I’l be sure to write back with news on all the latest games, etc etc.

So - a busy weekend for me! Peter will be joining me as my named “Photographic Assistant”, and I will be joined by Adambro on Saturday for the Anonymous protests, but he’s not someone I can dump my bags on!