Here is the list of our 20 most viewed blogs for November, 2006
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In the rugged Tsodilo Hills region of the Kalahari Desert in northwestern Botswana, the San people [a.k.a. "Bushmen"] claim a python god first created humanity.

Today it was reported that a rock carving of a python's head and neck as tall as a man and 20 feet long was discovered inside the Rhino Cave along with artifacts at least 70,000 years old.

"You could see the mouth and eyes of the snake. It looked like a real python," said Sheila Coulson of the University of Oslo. "The play of sunlight over the indentations gave them the appearance of snake skin. At night, the firelight gave one the feeling that the snake was actually moving."

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Wikipedia is a popular source of information, with articles written by voluntary authors all over the world, motivated only by their desire to share their knowledge with the rest of us. That's the ideal, at least. But as DaveScot shows in his post, "Wikipedia Hatchet Jobs on ID Leaders", a small group of intellectual thugs are vandalizing Wikipedia, squashing any attempt to correct articles with an anti-ID bias. For example, the article on Francis Beckwith (who has argued for the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design) contains false claims about his views, implying that he's lying about them. Any attempts to correct it, even from Beckwith himself, have been deleted.

PETA is an organization fighting for "total animal liberation", equating the keeping of pets with slavery. Isn't it then ironic that PETA run animal shelters, trying to find homes for homeless cats and dogs? Not really, since PETA employees kill more animals than they save condemn to servitude. In fact, non-PETA run shelters in the same area have a higher success rate in finding homes to their animals.

This is just one of the many revealing facts from the Penn & Teller show on PETA. There's quite a bit of swearing, and especially Penn gets very vocal with righteous indignation. So by all means, sit down and watch it:

The White House science adviser, John Marburger, recently spoke on a number of science related issues, including ID. From here:

Many scientists and science organizations have objected to what they perceive to be support within the Administration for "teaching the controversy" between evolution and intelligent design or creationism, noting that there is no scientific controversy because evolution is backed by extensive evidence and research. Marburger stressed that the debate has not affected his office.

"No one is putting pressure on me or suggesting that creationism should be a part of science education - that's ridiculous," he said. "I've never heard this discussed in any - in any - of the meetings or forums or private discussions…that I've ever had with anybody in the White House [or federal agencies]."

And we can dance!

[Big HT: Farshad]

Mike reported last week about the discovery of some dramatic variation in the genomes of humans - at least 10% of genes vary in number of copies. The 11-24 press release from Howard Hughes Medical Institute entitled Genetic Variation: We're More Different Than We Thought says these findings are expected to change the way researchers think about genetic diseases and human evolution.

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Okay, I haven't seen Krauze for some time and I'm getting worried. Last time I heard from him, he was obsessed with chasing this rabbit all over campus. I told him to leave it alone. But he just wouldn't listen to me. Well, he called me last night. "Mike," he says, "I'm following the rabbit right now…he's behind Baker Hall." So I say, "Don't touch him! I'll be right there." When I got there, Krauze was gone. And I found his videocam on the ground……

Educational policy discourse supports the idea that increases in science and mathematics achievement correlate to nation-wide economic gains. However, a thought-provoking new study from the American Journal of Education challenges the perceived causal links between educational achievement and economic growth. Francisco O. Ramirez (Stanford University) and his co-authors find that without the so-called "Asian Tigers," the correlation diminishes and all but disappears.

-Here

Back on April 16, 2004, I wrote:

The TEs might want to consider that if the ID Movement evaporates, they're next in line for wearing the “creationist” label.

Back on August 13, 2005, I wrote:

Collins and Miller accept evolution in its mainstream formulations, are supposedly only “nominally religious” , yet they are GUILTY of doing “lasting harm.” It turns out they are part of the problem. It may be obvious to some of us that Sam Harris is a true Fundamentalist with a secular creed (a mirror-image of the people who frighten him), but that gets us nowhere as it's okay to be a the right type of fundamentalist in certain circles. Just keep your eye on the ball. In his mind, and the mind of many of his colleagues, there is no room for religious faith. The faith of someone like Ken Miller does “lasting harm” as it looks to “accommodate” the “religious irrationality.”

And you thought it was about evolution and science.