Dawkins sues Josh Timonen

[charlou]

Dawkins' attack on fantasy and mythology really irritates me – maybe HE can't do good science and appreciate fictional stories, but most of us actually have that ability. Imagination is a wonderful thing, and ironically enough, neither reason nor science could ever happen without it. Most of us can separate the real and imagined; IIRC, schizophrenia is characterised by not being able to do exactly that.

Eg., when you watch a movie, you're well-aware that what's on screen isn't actually "real" in the sense of you being involved with the scene. And yet, you can feel every sensation of fear or joy or lust or rage if the film makers did a good job – you can thank your mirror neurons for that!

Incidentally, mirror neurons are also involved in 'social navigation', if you will. It actually makes sense that Dawkins seems to fail at appreciating stories AND "has the social intelligence of a sponge" (sorry, forgot who said that). I bet he leans heavily to the autism end of the autistic-schizophrenic continuum...

Pretty sure he appreciates Carl Sagan ...

The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most human concerns seem insignificant, even petty. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our place within it, explorations that are exhilarating to consider. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. I believe our future depends on how well we know this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky.

Those explorations required skepticism and imagination both. Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere. Skepticism enables us to distinguish fancy from fact, to test our speculations. The Cosmos is rich beyond measure - in elegant facts, in exquisite interrelationships, in the subtle machinery of awe.

~ Carl Sagan, Cosmos

[charlou]

The age difference has sfa to do with anything. I think she is right to object to the lawyer making an issue of it. Really, WTF?

maybe the suit aims to prove that the guy has no self control or emotional maturity, and is such a danger to society that he should be declared insane and sent to the loony bin?

I think that the claim about age is very deliberate and will probably make up part of the prosecution's case. Especially seeing as thousands of dollars were paid to her relatives. They will probably paint JT as emotionally and professionally out of his depth and work in a Lady MacBeth angle with the older, more experienced woman with a family to look after and expensive wants of her own. Nasty business, but there you go.

He's not a child .. From what I can gather, he's 29 years old. If guilty, I have no sympathy for either of their roles ... HEH ... I wonder if he's above letting her take the fall ... like a fucking 21st century Eve ...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2010 ... imonen.php

[Faithfree]

The age difference has sfa to do with anything. I think she is right to object to the lawyer making an issue of it. Really, WTF?

maybe the suit aims to prove that the guy has no self control or emotional maturity, and is such a danger to society that he should be declared insane and sent to the loony bin?

I think the reference to being significantly older is only used as a lead up to the statement that she has young adult children, who are later named as having been allegedly paid proceeds from the online shop. One son is alleged to have been paid $29,000.

[laklak]

Never underestimate the power of experienced pussy. Make a man do damn near anything.

[Bella Fortuna]

I've not been exploiting my potential!

[klr]

The age difference has sfa to do with anything. I think she is right to object to the lawyer making an issue of it. Really, WTF?

maybe the suit aims to prove that the guy has no self control or emotional maturity, and is such a danger to society that he should be declared insane and sent to the loony bin?

I think the reference to being significantly older is only used as a lead up to the statement that she has young adult children, who are later named as having been allegedly paid proceeds from the online shop. One son is alleged to have been paid $29,000.

Ah. The plot thickens.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Is that figure included in the "take"?

[Bella Fortuna]

And to make it even more surreal, the son's name is Graham Norton....

[Bella Fortuna]

Is that figure included in the "take"?

Yes, along with payments to Norton's niece Brittany and a Michelle Norton, whom I infer from looking around is her sister.

[Ilovelucy]

The age difference has sfa to do with anything. I think she is right to object to the lawyer making an issue of it. Really, WTF?

maybe the suit aims to prove that the guy has no self control or emotional maturity, and is such a danger to society that he should be declared insane and sent to the loony bin?

I think the reference to being significantly older is only used as a lead up to the statement that she has young adult children, who are later named as having been allegedly paid proceeds from the online shop. One son is alleged to have been paid $29,000.

Ah. The plot thickens.

As an Irishman, you might appreciate that bit:

e. Defendants paid an additional $29,045 to Graham Norton (Maureen Norton’s
teenage son), $300 to “Michelle Norton,” $350 to “Brittany Norton,”
$1,102.75 to Ohana Farms (a business Plaintiffs believe to be owned by
Maureen Norton’s parents) and $64.90 to “Pondbiz.”

[Feck]

FROM His blog : "PPS: I should note that RDF have apparently removed my name off of articles that I wrote on RichardDawkins.net. Both ‘Surviving Jesus Camp’ and ‘Expelled Overview’ say they were written by “The Richard Dawkins Foundation” and not me personally. And they’ve also taken the line off of the website which stated “Designed by Josh Timonen”. Lovely."

from the crown fucking prince of delete and destroy (and change the logs for pausible deniability ) it's only a forum ....... AAAAARGH what a fucking hypocrite

[laklak]

I read that as $64.90 to "Pawiz"

[klr]

...
As an Irishman, you might appreciate that bit:

e. Defendants paid an additional $29,045 to Graham Norton (Maureen Norton’s
teenage son), $300 to “Michelle Norton,” $350 to “Brittany Norton,”
$1,102.75 to Ohana Farms (a business Plaintiffs believe to be owned by
Maureen Norton’s parents) and $64.90 to “Pondbiz.”

Maureen? Fine Oirish name.

Wait? ... $64.90 to “Pondbiz.”

$64.90 ... that's grand larceny all right.

[Faithfree]

I read that as $64.90 to "Pawiz"

I was just going to post the same thing.