Monday, December 9, 2013

FAR EAST TOPS O.E.C.D. EDUCATION RANKINGS

United States Ranks 26th In Math Out Of 34 Nations

~ Far East students dominate. There's a wide gender gap in math.

On December 3rd, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (O.E.C.D.) produced its triennial education report thorugh its Programme for International Student Assessment (P.I.S.A.). The O.E.C.D. is made up of 34 member-nations. But for this P.I.S.A. study, 65 economies/countries participated in the research. Over 510,000 students (15 years of age) from around the world took part in this 2012 study.

~ Top 25 performers out of 65 participating economies/countries.

In mathematics, American 15-year-old students rank 36th in the world – below Russia and the Slovak Republic; and they rank 26th among the O.E.C.D. countries – that's in the bottom quarter of the list! Oddly, America on average spends more money on each student than most countries, ranking 5th in the world.

So, what's going on? One theory is that while a small number of American kids are getting very, very expensive schooling, the vast majority are getting a very poor education. This means that the United States will be less and less able to compete in an ever-increasing science & math oriented world; at the same time, the wealth disparity between the rich and the poor will likely continue to widen to unprecedented levels within the U.S.

[Updated Insert - January 30, 2014: School District Seizes Lunches From 40 Elementary Students in Debt, click here.]

~ Does the U.S. have a "feel good" education system?

But what's more troubling is the politicalization of education in the U.S. Creationists and Climate-Change deniers – often well funded by special interest groups and corporations – have made progress in undermining the teaching of Evolution and Global Warming in the classroom. Both "theories" are beyond reproach in science and are really not theories; but obfuscating and nonsensical controversies have been conjured up around them so as to damage their credibility. Sadly, when one part of science is undermined, other parts of science – if not all of science – also lose credibility. And as we said in our earlier article, "The 2nd 'Scopes Monkey Trial' Is Coming!" the United States is losing ground to countries like China because American politicians allow children to be the ideological battlefield for political purposes.

[Updated Insert - January 26, 2014: Map Of Publicly-Funded Schools That Are Allowed To Teach Creationism, click here.]

~ Creationists in Texas may influence textbooks all over the U.S.

Also, read our earlier article on how Creationists have infiltrated the education system of the United States: "Teaching Creationism Is Child Abuse." To put it bluntly, the reason why American students are falling behind is because some of their textbooks are filled with rubbish.

~ U.S. colleges struggle to keep up with new technical skills.

UPDATE: Unvaccinated Kids Banned In NYC Schools

(July 7, 2014) Read our recent article on the "vaccine truthers," click here.


* * *

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Anti-Vaxxers And Homeopaths Are Idiots! Click here.
- Unvaccinated Kids Banned In NYC Schools Click here.
- Teaching Creationism Is Child Abuse Click here.
- The 2nd "Scopes Monkey Trial" Is Coming! Click here.
- Tax-Break For Kentucky Creationist Park Click here.
- Bachmann Wants Creationism In Schools Click here.

Monday, November 4, 2013

"LET THE PANDA DIE OUT": WILDLIFE EXPERT

America's First Surviving Twin Baby Pandas Get Names

On October 23, 2013, America's first and only surviving baby-panda twins reached 100 days old at Zoo Atlanta. And according to Chinese tradition, that's the only time you assign a name to a baby (for both humans and pandas). Since October 9th, Americans have been voting online to decide on what to call these adorable male cubs. From five sets of suggested names, the people have finally chosen Mei Lun and Mei Huan, meaning "something indescribably beautiful and magnificent."

~ Pandamonium erupts as America votes on baby-panda names.

Conservationists believe captive breeding through artifcal insemination is vital in keeping this endangered species from going extinct. There are only about 1,600 pandas left in the wild; and their natural habitat is continuing to fragment and shrink due to human encroachment caused by China's strong economic and industrial growth. But some scientists are beginning to wonder if there is any point in breeding pandas whose innate survival instincts are so weak that they may not survive if they were returned to the wild – and that's assuming there will be a natural habitat for them to return to in the future, click here.

~ Are resources better spent on other endangered species?

In a debate on October 14th at the Royal Society (London), Chris Packham, the host of the BBC nature show Springwatch, argued against saving the embattled panda; he wanted to use the resources to save other more promising species instead, click here. Mr. Packham is not a scientist but is the president of the Hawk Conservancy Trust and the Bat Conservation Trust; he is also a patron of numerous conservancy organizations, including the World Land Trust and Population Matters. Needless to say, the general population adamantly disagrees with Mr. Packham and he has received a lot of hate mail!

~ Is the panda's cuteness overshadowing other species in need?

Is The Panda An Evolutionary Basket Case?

On the surface, Mr. Packham might have a point. Not a long-lived animal (life expectancy at around 15 to 20 years in the wild), the panda isn't exactly the most prolific and robust of species in the rugged struggle for survival. Pandas are solitary animals that are notoriously prudish, with a relatively low fertility rate compared to other mammals. Mating season for the panda is very short, between March and May; and during this period, the mating occurs in just two to four days! Female pandas only give birth to one baby or a pair of twins each season; for the twins, one baby is always abandoned in favor of the stronger cub. The panda newborn is tiny and fragile (about 3 1/2 ounces or 100 grams) and the mother sometimes doesn't seem to know what to do with it. Technically, pandas are omnivores (at least their ancestors were), but modern pandas are really picky eaters that consume a 99% vegetarian diet, almost exclusively made up of alpine bamboo (which limits the panda's habitat range). And finally, the panda doesn't seem to be particularly smart compared to its bear cousins (including the brown bear and Asian black bear). And inbreeding in the wild is a major problem for the panda's survival as a species.

~ The panda's only habitat is small, fractured, and shrinking.

But even with all of the panda's shortcomings, we at the Frog Blog think Chris Packham is probably wrong. He is only looking at the financial resources for wildlife preservation that are after the fact. He has overlooked the amount of ticket receipts, free publicity, donations, and merchandising revenue that pandas bring in as the "poster bear" for zoos and wildlife organizations all over the world – one being the very successful World Wildlife Fund (which uses the image of the panda for its logo). If the panda were to go extinct, we think total revenue generated to save ALL wildlife would drop precipitously, thus endangering the survival of many other species.

~ World Wildlife Fund's fundraising campaign using the panda.

The panda is the "anchor" in the conservation world – like that Sears or Walmart store in your local mall. Such stores usually get preferential treatment from the landlord, but that's because they are actually the ones that draw the customers into the mall in the first place. Without them as anchors, all the other smaller shops in the mall would not have any customers and the entire mall would go out of business.

In fact, the panda is likely the main reason, if not the ONLY reason, why people pay good money to visit zoos. But whether captive pandas can return to the wild and flourish there one day is another matter. Regardless, any attempt to save them now is a no-lose situation for everybody.


* * *

UPDATE: Corey Knowlton Pays $$$ To Kill Black Rhino

(January 17, 2014) Read our latest update on rhino hunting, click here.

UPDATE: Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate!

(March 14, 2014) Has the Asian carp broken into the Great Lakes? Read our latest article on this environmental disaster, click here.

UPDATE: Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China

(September 11, 2014) Read our article about the plight of sharks and the shark fin trade, click here.

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China Click here.
- Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate! Click here.
- Escaped Python Kills Two Boys Click here.
- Film: Blackfish Exposes SeaWorld Cruelty Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For $1.7 Million! Click here.
- Justin Bieber Attacked Over His Monkey Click here.
- Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla Click here.
- Prince William Attacks Rhino Poachers Click here.
- Exotic Animals To Return To Zanesville! Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For A Record $736,000 Click here.
- 50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio Click here.

Sunday, October 6, 2013

U.N. CLIMATE REPORT SPELLS DISASTER

Global Warming Is Now Likely Irreversible, click here

On September 27th, the United Nations's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) came out with its latest report; it took six years to compile by more than 800 top scientists who cited over 9,000 scientific studies from all over the world. And their findings are ominous and incontrovertible. Even Climate-Change deniers did not run amuck with this report as we at the Frog Blog had expected. This is because the anticipated revisions of the I.P.C.C. calculations were actually worse in some cases for our planet, not better, as some Climate-Change skeptics had been expecting based on a leak of the report in September. Read the article about the leak in the right-wing UK tabloid, the Daily Mail, click here.

~ A rise of 4.8 degrees Celsius is possible this century, click here.

The United Nations panel now confirms with 95% certainty that humans are the cause of Global Warming. See our earlier article on how scientists came to that conclusion, click here. And global sea levels are expected to rise this century by 26 to 82 centimeters (10.4 to 32.8 inches); coastal cities around the world are likely to be dangerously affected. And the Arctic is expected to be ice-free in the summer time by 2050, spelling disaster for numerous species. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are now at unprecedented concentrations in our atmosphere not seen for more than 800,000 years.

(Click on image to enlarge.)
~ Atmospheric CO2 concentration from 400,000 years ago to now.

In addition, it is expected that the temperature on our planet will rise anywhere from 0.3 to 4.8 degrees Celsius (0.5 to 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100. This is a total catastrophe as this upper limit is more than twice the temperature-increase target of 2 degrees Celsius (above pre-industrial levels) set by all countries at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

~ Is the I.P.C.C. actually overly conservative with its estimates?

But some climate scientists, like NASA's James Hansen, think even the 2-degree target is too high, click here. In fact, some scientists have charged that the I.P.C.C. – contrary to the claims of exaggeration by the Climate-Change skeptics – has been unduly overcautious with its predictions. Dr. Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, thinks the expected increase in global sea levels may be as high as 2 meters or 6 feet by 2100, more than double the forecast made by the I.P.C.C.

~ Climate-Change skeptics focus on the "Global Warming pause."

Due to the past complacency of governments, it is likely that Global Warming is now irreversible and all mankind can do at this stage is to mitigate the damage, click here. The I.P.C.C. strongly urges decisive action on the part of policy-makers around the world, such as further reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases. And as a part of their mitigation strategy, nations must now seriously consider upgrading building codes and start building surge barriers, levees, tide gates, and other structures to protect their low-lying coastal cities.

~ Rush Limbaugh says Climate Change is a conspiracy. Moron.

However, Climate-Change deniers are determined to make matters worse for our planet. But since this latest I.P.C.C. report does not offer them much fodder, they now rely on an old fallacy called the Global Warming "pause." It is an ignorant and idiotic notion. Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), says Climate-Change deniers have a "primitive understanding" of climate science, click here.

~ From 1880 to present. Source: NASA.

In our last article, "Arctic Ice Grew By 30% – Global Cooling?" it has been brought up that the long-term downtrend of the Arctic ice doesn't move in a straight line, it moves in oscillating waves due to the fluctuations in the natural climate and weather patterns. The same applies to the surface temperature of the Earth. Climate-Change deniers are claiming that the surface temperature has not risen in fifteen years. They say this phenomenon is proof that Global Warming is a hoax. But as one can see in the chart above, the temperature of the Earth oscillates in the short-term, with the long-term uptrend still intact. In fact, the temperature of the Earth actually has gone up in the last fifteen years, but at a decreasing rate and at below expectations.

~ Global Warming is real.

Also, since global temperature records were first kept in 1850, it was observed that sunspot activity tended to correlate with the Earth's temperature; but since the 1980's, solar activity has dropped while the Earth's temperature has continued to rise. This coincides with the stark rise of CO2 in the atmosphere. Therefore, one could argue that if not for Global Warming, surface temperatures would not only have flattened in the last fifteen years but instead would have fallen for three straight decades since the early 1980's. So, if sunspot activity picks up in the future, surface temperatures may spike. ~ The relationship between sunspots and temperature diverges.

Finally, scientists claim that the heat and energy on the surface of the Earth are likely being absorbed by the ocean, slowing the rise of surface temperatures. But the rising temperature of the ocean will still have adverse effects on our planet, such as in the acceleration of the melting of sea ice as well as in the global increase of violent precipitation patterns. Some experts believe Global Warming is likely the cause of the dramatic decline of the Alaskan crab fishery, click here. In fact, the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has recently declared that because of Climate Change, the warming waters, ocean acidification (highest rate in 300 million years), and decreasing oxygen are all bringing about the mass extinction of species in the oceans, click here.

~ Weather patterns go haywire.

[Updated Insert – November 6, 2013: The United Nations' World Meteorological Organization announced today that the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has reached a record high in 2012, click here.]


* * *

UPDATE: U.N.'s Health Arm Links Pollution To Cancer

(October 18, 2013) Yesterday, the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations, declared that air pollution causes cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer said that air pollution is as bad as tobacco, asbestos, and ultraviolet radiation.

~ World Health Organization links air pollution to cancer.

We hear all the time that clean energy is more expensive than fossil fuels. That is a fallacy. Fossil fuels do not factor in externalities into their pricing; an externalty is a harm (or benefit) that affects unrelated parties such as public health, wildlife, the environment, global climate, and others.

UPDATE: Obama Likely To Approve Keystone XL

(April 14, 2014) Did you know America is poised to be the world's biggest carbon-based fuel producer by 2015? Read our latest article on the Keystone XL pipeline and the Canadian tar sands, click here.

UPDATE: Gov't Report: Climate Change Has Arrived

(May 6, 2014) Here is a quote from today's National Climate Assessment update: "Climate change, once considered an issue for a distant future, has moved firmly into the present..." It also states that evidence of man-made Climate Change "continues to strengthen," and "Americans are noticing changes all around them." For more information on this White House report, click here.

~ We must all learn to live with Climate Change.

This is no big surprise to FrogBook.com and it should not be to most informed and reasonable people. The issue here is not whether Climate Change (or Global Warming) is here. It has been here for years, if not decades. The main issue is whether Climate Change is reversible. And as we've reported earlier, it is likely IRREVERSIBLE. Unusually more frequent and severe incidences of tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, mudslides, and floods are here to stay. All we can do now is to mitigate the problem by being prepared.

UPDATE: Antarctic Glaciers Irreversibly Melting Away

(May 13, 2014) Read our latest update on how the melting of Antarctica may raise sea levels by 13 feet! Click here.

UPDATE: U.S. To Cut CO2 Emissions By 1/3 In 15 Yrs.

(June 4, 2014) Read our latest article on how the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) will crack down on coal in the U.S. Also, learn about what the People's Republic of China is doing to the world’s environment! Click here.

UPDATE: Oil Crash Could End Fracking & Oil Sands

(December 19, 2014) Read our article on how the drop in oil prices can destroy shale and tar sands oil, click here.

UPDATE: Mini Ice Age Coming In 2030: Scientists

(July 19, 2015) Read our article on how solar activity changes the Earth's climate, click here.

UPDATE: Nuclear Power Is Best For Climate Change

(August 20, 2015) Read our article on why nuclear power is the only realistic way to cut out all carbon, click here.

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Nuclear Power Is Best For Climate Change Click here.
- Oil Crash Could End Fracking & Oil Sands Click here.
- U.S. To Cut CO2 Emissions By 1/3 In 15 Yrs. Click here.
- Obama Likely To Approve Keystone XL Click here.
- Arctic Ice Grew By 30% – Global Cooling? Click here.
- Keystone Pipeline Would Be A Disaster Click here.
- Arctic Ice Melts To Lowest Level Ever Click here.
- Rick Perry Calls Global Warming A Hoax Click here.
- Climate-Change Deniers Gain In Congress Click here.
- Palin Blames "Greenies" For BP Oil Spill Click here.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

ARCTIC ICE GREW BY 30% – GLOBAL COOLING?

U.N.'s Report On Climate Change To Come Out Soon

~ Arctic ice this summer is 30% greater than last summer.

In September, the National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that the average amount of Arctic sea ice for the month of August was about 6.09 million square kilometers or 2.35 million square miles. That's up from the August 2012 average of 4.71 million square kilometers or 1.82 million square miles (the all-time low was made on September 16, 2012 when the sea ice dropped to 3.42 million square kilometers or 1.32 million square miles; read our August 27, 2012 article and its updates: "Arctic Ice Melts To Lowest Level Ever"). And it didn't take long for certain right-wing media outlets such as the Daily Mail tabloid (UK) and Fox News to go on their usual insane rants about Global Warming being a hoax.

~ Lou Dobbs says there is significant Global Cooling...Really?


Because last summer was so incredibly bad, a rebound of the Arctic ice's surface area or "extent" this summer should not be surprising; its long-term trend doesn't move in a straight line, it moves in oscillating waves due to the fluctuations in the natural climate and weather patterns. And according to scientists, the situation is still very dire for the Arctic in the long run. As of September 16th of this year, the Arctic ice extent has shrunk to 5.10 million kilometers (2.00 million square miles), click here.

Updated (Sep. 3, 2015): World looks like this if all ice melted.

The Arctic ice this summer is far below average in surface area compared to other years since record keeping began in 1979 and will likely be the sixth-smallest extent on record, click here. But one must also keep in mind the thickness of the Arctic ice, which is also thinning to record levels, click here. Basically, the Arctic has lost approximately 40% of its sea ice since 1980 and for it to reverse its long-term downtrend now, as Mr. Lou Dubbs suggests, would be like the Titanic swerving away from an iceberg in mid-course!

~ NASA tells the truth.

[Study: 97% Agreement On Man-made Global Warming, click here.]

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. saw a conservative niche in the demographics and wanted to exploit it; and we at the Frog Blog get that. But to bend the truth to the extent that Fox News has done in regard to Global Warming is just wrong. Basically, Fox News is saying that the entire mainstream media has a left-wing agenda and climate scientists of the whole world are over exaggerating their findings to bolster government control and to undermine industry. So, Fox News is supposedly the "fair and balanced" news outlet to counterbalance everybody else. Hardly. People who watch Fox News turn out to be the least informed. This isn't fair and balanced, this is right-wing propaganda and nonsense. We at the Frog Blog wonder if Fox News offers any real public benefit at all, click here.

~ Climate of deception: How Fox News distorts the climate debate.

The truth is, main stream journalists and scientists care more about their own careers and reputations than some kind of political agenda. Like in other professions, they want to be at the top of their fields, and that means they must do good, objective, truthful, and rigorous work. And the truth leads virtually all of them to Global Warming. The idea that hundreds of thousands of scientists and journalists from countless nations, in business, academics, governmental and nongovernmental agencies and organizations are ALL colluding in lockstep to deceive the entire human race about Climate Change is both ludicrous and paranoid.

~ It is a scientific certainty that the Arctic ice is melting.

U.N.'s New Climate-Change Report Is Coming

On September 27th, the United Nations's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.) will come out with its latest report; it took six years to compile by more than 800 top scientists who cited over 9,000 scientific studies from all over the world. And leaked documents reveal that scientists have revised their estimates in regard to Global Warming. Have they exaggerated their findings in the past? And will Climate-Change deniers take this opportunity to have a field day, reversing all steps already taken by governments to try to reduce greenhouse gases on our planet? FrogBook.com predicts the I.P.C.C.'s prognosis for our planet will be as dire as ever. Please read our article on the I.P.C.C. report in early October.

~ Limbaugh can't wait to do maximum damage – to our planet.

In the video above, Rush Limbaugh calls Climate Change a fraud, citing the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (N.I.P.C.C.), as opposed to the I.P.C.C. So, what is the N.I.P.C.C.? It is head by a scientist by the name of Fred Singer. In the 1990s, Mr. Singer made it his business to deny the serious dangers of second-hand smoke. The N.I.P.C.C. is funded by the libertarian Heartland Institute, which in turn is funded by various special interest groups and corporations, including ExxonMobil. By coincidence, the Heartland Institute also worked with Phillip Morris in the 1990s to question the cancer risks of second-hand smoke. In our opinion, the N.I.P.C.C. likely practices pseudo-science.

~ Doubt is the tool-of-the-trade of the huckster.


* * *

UPDATE: U.N. Climate Report Spells Disaster

(October 6, 2013) Read our article on the 2013 report from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (I.P.C.C.), click here.

UPDATE: U.N.'s Health Arm Links Pollution To Cancer

(October 18, 2013) Read our latest update about the World Health Organization's new report, click here.

UPDATE: Obama Likely To Approve Keystone XL

(April 14, 2014) Did you know America is poised to be the world's biggest carbon-based fuel producer by 2015? Read our latest article on the Keystone XL pipeline and the Canadian tar sands, click here.

UPDATE: Gov't Report: Climate Change Has Arrived

(May 6, 2014) Read our latest update about the Obama Administration's Third National Climate Assessment. Climate Change is here, click here.

UPDATE: Antarctic Glaciers Irreversibly Melting Away

(May 13, 2014) Two research papers published on May 12th state that because of shifting and strengthening winds. warm water is being pushed under the coastal glaciers in Western Antarctica, melting them. It is believed that this phenomenon is caused by Global Warming and it will only get worse with time. A dramatic rise in sea levels will occur and current estimates must be revised upward. Over hundreds of years, the sea level could rise by as much as 13 feet; and many coastal cities around the world as well as some islands and archipelagos on which entire nations reside might just disappear forever.

~ Sea levels could rise by as much as 13 feet.

UPDATE: U.S. To Cut CO2 Emissions By 1/3 In 15 Yrs.

(June 4, 2014) Read our latest article on how the Environmental Protection Agency (E.P.A.) will crack down on coal in the U.S. Also, learn about what the People's Republic of China is doing to the world’s environment! Click here.

UPDATE: Oil Crash Could End Fracking & Oil Sands

(December 19, 2014) Read our article on how the drop in oil prices can destroy shale and tar sands oil, click here.

UPDATE: Mini Ice Age Coming In 2030: Scientists

(July 19, 2015) Read our article on how solar activity changes the Earth's climate, click here.

UPDATE: Nuclear Power Is Best For Climate Change

(August 20, 2015) Read our article on why nuclear power is the only realistic way to cut out all carbon, click here.

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Nuclear Power Is Best For Climate Change Click here.
- Mini Ice Age Coming In 2030: Scientists Click here.
- Oil Crash Could End Fracking & Oil Sands Click here.
- U.S. To Cut CO2 Emissions By 1/3 In 15 Yrs. Click here.
- Obama Likely To Approve Keystone XL Click here.
- U.N. Climate Report Spells Disaster Click here.
- Keystone Pipeline Would Be A Disaster Click here.
- Arctic Ice Melts To Lowest Level Ever Click here.
- Rick Perry Calls Global Warming A Hoax Click here.
- Climate-Change Deniers Gain In Congress Click here.
- Palin Blames "Greenies" For BP Oil Spill Click here.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

"CYRUS PROSTITUTED HERSELF": CREATIONIST

Is Creationist Ray Comfort An Idiot Or A Liar?

Photo taken by Melissa Rose

At the MTV Video Music Awards last week, Miley Cyrus' dancing shocked millions of people. Her dance routine included something called twerking. It is a sexually suggestive move, with hips thrusting, low squatting, and wobbling and jiggling in an up-and-down motion. She was also wearing skin-tone latex "underwear" that feigned nudity. And we at FrogBook.com say, "So what?" C'mon, the woman is twenty years old. And her demographics (fans) have also grown up with her. Anyway, with the Internet, kids today are quite aware of sexuality whether Miley Cyrus twerks or not. What her critics are basically saying is that she should act like a kid forever. Nonsense.

~ Miley Cyrus' twerking causes controversy.

And now, Creationist and evangelical preacher, Ray Comfort, comes out to basically call Miley Cyrus a prostitute. What an A-hole. Ray Comfort is not new to the Frog Blog. In 2009, we wrote about how he collaborated with actor Kirk Cameron to link Adolf Hitler to Charles Darwin! Read our article, “Creation Vs. Evolution: Darwin Defamed!” This man professes to know better than a lot of fields, including physics and evolutionary biology. But in fact, he only has a high school education and didn't even have any formal training in theology before he began preaching as a minister. The two words that best describe this fool is "ignorance" and "arrogance."

~ Ray Comfort blames everything on Secular Humanism.

Ray Comfort's arguments are really stupid. Once he said that the banana is the atheist’s worst nightmare because only God can design such a perfect fruit. Later, he was told that the hybridized bananas we all know today in the supermarket have been domesticated for 5,000 to 8,000 years. The original bananas from which they came were hardly edible without cooking. He later retracted his banana statement. His general idea against science is a simplistic one: Things are complicated, so God must have created them. This concept brings forth the obfuscating term, "Intelligent Design."

~ Ray Comfort branded as the "Banana Man."

But one can easily show that complicated things, such as a snowflake, can be created by something that is not intelligent or conscious, such as our atmosphere. Based on simple logic alone, without having to delve into biology or physics, one can shoot down Comfort's ludicrous assertions by using a simple mental experiment. Let’s assume that the universe and life forms were indeed created by some form of Intelligent Design; but how do we know that it wasn't Satan who did it all? Our world is full of suffering, evil, and violence. One can argue with the same line of "logic" used by Comfort that it could only be Satan who could have created our world.

~ "Crocoduck" betrays Comfort's and Cameron's utter stupidity.

On a more specific level, Comfort's main point of contention with evolutionary scientists is that there are no fossils of a transitional species such as a "Crocoduck" – a cross between a crocodile and a duck. So, based on this line of thinking, if there are no animals evolving into one another, then only God must have created all the different species. But animals do evolve, just not in such a dramatic way. Over millions of years, they evolve through both the slight variations in their offspring and through the more pronounced genetic mutations in their offspring. And these variations determine which offspring will survive and which will not in a particular environment, allowing the survivors to give birth to the next generation of offspring that may expand further on these unique genetic traits. Through natural selection, animals adapt better and better to their environment through each successive generation. In our article, "New World Record For Smallest Woman," we discuss how the human species is likely the result of a pronounced genetic mutation, click here.

~ This type of image is misunderstood by many people.

We at FrogBook.com believe many long-held misconceptions about Evolution are partly caused by pictures like the one above. "Evolutionary Walk" pictures have been around for over 100 years; and people incorrectly infer from this type of image that one creature "morphs" into another due to Evolution (like in the case of the Crocoduck). No, they ALL have independently evolved from a common ancestor. Humans and chimps have a common ancestor, but we did not evolve from chimpanzees. Our ancestors might very well resembled modern chimpanzees in certain ways – but then again, they might not; evidence is beginning to emerge that shows our earliest ancestor as being not ape-like and was walking upright millions of years ago. Therefore, what Creationists call the Missing Link – a "transitional species" between humans and apes – may not exist at all, click here.

~ Ray Comfort is dishonestly ignorant.

Now, back to Miley Cyrus. Ray Comfort has been presented with such a great preponderance of scientific evidence over so many years that even a moron would get it. Yet, he continues to preach his lies. Perhaps the Banana Man is not as stupid as we think (no one is this dumb). Perhaps HE'S the one who has prostituted himself in his quest to expand his ministry, his book sales, and his DVD sales. In his arrogant and audacious quest, he has committed the cardinal sin of willful ignorance, click here.


* * *

UPDATE: Miley Cyrus Blamed For Twerking Fire

(September 10, 2013) There is a YouTube Video published six days ago titled: "Worst Twerk Fail EVER - Girl Catches Fire!" And it received over 10 million hits. It shows a girl twerking and she ended up catching on fire. And it didn't take long for the media to blame Miley Cyrus, click here. But it was revealed on September 9th that it was all a hoax by Jimmy Kimmel. The original video is 37 seconds long. The entire unedited video is 56 seconds long.

~ The twerking fire girl is a stunt woman.

UPDATE: Lion/Tiger Hybrid Breaks Guinness Record

(September 18, 2013) Hercules is no "Crocoduck" or some other transitional-species animal, as we mentioned earlier in this article ("'Cyrus Prostituted Herself': Creationist"), but this lion and tiger hybrid made it into the Guinness World Records as the world's biggest feline on September 17th. At 922 pounds and 131 inches long (almost 11 feet), Hercules is about 1.7 to 2.8 times the weight of an average male lion; it is also about 1.3 to 2.0 times the length of an average male lion. Relative to tigers, Hercules is even bigger.

~ Hercules the liger.-----------------------------------Source: Wikipedia.org

For ligers, their fathers are always lions and their mothers are always tigresses. And according to scientists, the reason why ligers sometimes can be so much bigger than their parents is because of the different breeding strategies of lions and tigers. A lioness will mate with multiple partners and the males all try to pass on offspring that can outgrow their competitors in the womb. The lioness compensates for this by passing on a growth-inhibiting gene to her offspring as well. But a tigress will only mate with one male tiger and due to the lack of competition in the womb, the growth-inhibiting as well as growth-promoting genes do not exist.

~ And we ain't ligering...

In a liger, the growth-promoting genes may be present (from dad) while the growth-inhibiting genes are absent. So it follows that a tigon, an offspring of a tiger father and a lioness mother, may be smaller than its parents due to the possible presence of growth-inhibiting genes (from mom) and an absence of growth-promoting genes, click here.

UPDATE: Bigfoot Caught On Tape; DNA Collected

(October 3, 2013) Read our latest update on Bigfoot. Some "experts" claim it is some kind of human hybrid, click here.

UPDATE: There Is No Gay Gene!

(January 4, 2014) Read our latest article on the science of homosexuality, click here.

UPDATE: Bill Nye Debates Creationist Ken Ham

(February 10, 2014) Read our latest article on how Creationists push their political agenda, click here.

UPDATE: Is Atheist Bill Maher A Bigot?

(January 20, 2015) Read our article on atheist and comedian Bill Maher's controversial comments about Muslims, click here.

UPDATE: Dr. Oz Is Unrepentant For Being A Quack!

(May 21, 2015) Are TV doctors doing more harm than good, click here?

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Donald Trump Says Vaccines Cause Autism Click here.
- Dr. Oz Is Unrepentant For Being A Quack! Click here.
- Is Atheist Bill Maher A Bigot? Click here.
- World's 1st Atheist TV Channel Launches Click here.
- Unvaccinated Kids Banned In NYC Schools Click here.
- Bill Nye Debates Creationist Ken Ham Click here.
- There Is No Gay Gene! Click here.
- Film: The Unbelievers Attacks Religion! Click here.
- Justin Bieber Attacked Over His Monkey Click here.
- Teaching Creationism Is Child Abuse Click here.
- GOP Rep. Calls Evolution & Big Bang Lies Click here.
- The 2nd "Scopes Monkey Trial" Is Coming! Click here.
- Tax-Break For Kentucky Creationist Park Click here.
- Bachmann Wants Creationism In Schools Click here.
- Doomsday Prophets Are Idiots! Click here.
- "Evolution A Myth": Christine O’Donnell Click here.
- Creation Vs. Evolution: Darwin Defamed! Click here.

Monday, August 12, 2013

ESCAPED PYTHON KILLS TWO BOYS

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Must Ban Giant Snakes


Unlike with wild mammals such as bears and cougars, there really is no misconception out in the public that reptiles such as pythons and alligators can be tamed or are safe. However, some ignorant people think that wild animals can be handled and kept with a half-ass attitude as long as they are being fed, that includes both wild mammals and reptiles. But in fact, such animals must always be handled with extreme caution and they really should be banned in areas in which many people reside. According to the Humane Society of the United States, the importation and inter-state transport of large constrictor snakes should be banned by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, click here.

Read our earlier articles on exotic pets: “50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio” and “Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla.”


~ What happens when careless idiots manage wild animals.

On August 5th, in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada, two boys aged four and six were asphyxiated and killed by a 100-pound African rock python. It had escaped from a pet shop beneath the unit in which the two boys were sleeping. The pet shop is called Reptile Ocean, and its owner is Jean-Claude Savoie. Savoie has received complaints before about his negligence in regard to Reptile Ocean. It appears that he might have done a lousy job of feeding and caring for the python and other animals as well as in keeping them secure. Experts have theorized that the boys were likely playing with animals in the store earlier in the day and the scent on the boys attracted the python during the night.

At any rate, it is illegal to own such an animal in the Province of New Brunswick. However, there are special permits for accredited zoos to keep prohibited exotic animals; Jean-Claude Savoie did not have a permit for this python, which was eventually destroyed as authorities needed to do tests in their investigation. In all, 27 animals that were illegally owned were removed from Reptile Ocean on August 9th. Four American alligators (one was pregnant) and four large snakes (not including the one that killed the boys) were destroyed as no accredited zoos were willing to take them. This shows that not only are humans at risk, but so are the innocent animals when people foolishly keep wild pets.


~ Criminal investigation begins.

But people are already protesting, not over the senseless deaths of the boys, but over the shut-down of Reptile Ocean. This betrays a lack of priority and commonsense that often leads to such a tragedy. The situation is ludicrous, two beautiful boys were killed and some of the protesters claim it was a freak accident and the store should be kept open. Really? Nobody was responsible for securing the python or for making the proper repairs to the store? Let's not forget that it was ILLEGAL for the owner of Reptile Ocean to own this python in the first place. Jean-Claude Savoie may face criminal charges.


~ Idiots protest the closing of Reptile Ocean

If the protesters' own children were killed by the python, would they be as enthusiastic about keeping this store open? These people care more about their own amusement than the danger to the people who live near the store and the wild animals that suffer for being taken out of their natural environment. This reflects the thoughtless and selfish attitude of people who like to own exotic pets. Often, they get a degree of self-esteem for owning such animals when attention is focused on them from their friends and acquaintances. But the animals themselves are mostly locked up in tiny austere cages and tanks throughout their lives, often living all alone with years of improper care.


~ Steve Irwin used his baby as a publicity stunt. Moron.

Steve Irwin the "Crocodile Hunter" made the nonchalant handling of dangerous reptiles famous in 2004 when he fed a crocodile while holding his one-month-old baby. Stupid stunts like this perpetuate the misconception that dangerous reptiles are predictable when they in fact are not. Irwin was rightly criticized for this thoughtless act. He himself was killed just two years later by a stingray while snorkeling at the Batt Reef. It was believed that he might have gotten too close to the stingray and it felt boxed-in and attacked. The video of the incident was destroyed at the request of Steve Irwin's family. He was just 44 years of age.


* * *

UPDATE: Prince William To Head New Wildlife Group

(September 12, 2013) Read the latest update on Prince William, click here.

UPDATE: Owner Loses Custody Of IKEA Monkey

(September 13, 2013) Read our latest update on Darwin the IKEA monkey, click here.

UPDATE: Lion/Tiger Hybrid Breaks Guinness Record

(September 18, 2013) Read our latest update about animals that break world records, click here.

UPDATE: 850 Snakes Found In Home!

(September 21, 2013) Richard Parrinello, a Long Island animal-control officer living in Shirley, New York, had his housed raided yesterday by authorities who discovered 850 snakes in his two garages; they were estimated to be worth about half a million dollars. Two Burmese pythons, which are illegal in New York, were also found.

~ $500,000 worth of snakes found in garages.

Apparently, Mr. Parrinello was operating some sort of mail-order business on the side and was not reporting to work due to a disability claim. He faces charges for owning illegal animals as well as running a business out of his home without a permit. Just think of what could have happened if the 850 snakes had escaped into the neighborhood.

UPDATE: "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert

(November 4, 2013) Read our latest article on endangered species, click here.

UPDATE: Corey Knowlton Pays $$$ To Kill Black Rhino

(January 17, 2014) Read our latest update on rhino hunting, click here.

UPDATE: Snake-handling Pastor Dies From Snake Bite

~ Where was God?

(February 17, 2014) Jamie Coots, a snake-handling preacher in Kentucky, was bitten by a rattlesnake on Saturday and he died. Paramedics actually showed up at the scene, but Coots refused help. One must ask, did this preacher actually enrich the lives of his followers though wisdom or did he just endanger their lives along with his own? Getting people to believe in God through some damned-fool snake charmer's trick was not ethical. The truth should be the only god in our lives, and it came to claim Pastor Coots.

Did Coots misinterpret the scriptures? Click here.

~ Is this religion or delusion?

UPDATE: Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate!

(March 14, 2014) Has the Asian carp broken into the Great Lakes? Read our latest article on this environmental disaster, click here.

UPDATE: Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China

(September 11, 2014) Read our article about the plight of sharks and the shark fin trade, click here.

UPDATE: Feral Cat Colony Found At Disneyland

(November 23, 2014) Learn about feral cats and dogs and how they impact wildlife, click here.

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Feral Cat Colony Found At Disneyland Click here.
- Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China Click here.
- Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate! Click here.
- "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert Click here.
- Film: Blackfish Exposes SeaWorld Cruelty Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For $1.7 Million! Click here.
- Justin Bieber Attacked Over His Monkey Click here.
- Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla Click here.
- Prince William Attacks Rhino Poachers Click here.
- Exotic Animals To Return To Zanesville! Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For A Record $736,000 Click here.
- 50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio Click here.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

FILM: BLACKFISH EXPOSES SEAWORLD CRUELTY

Should Such Callous Theme Parks Be Banned?

The controversial documentary Blackfish premiered in limited release two weeks ago in theaters across the U.S.; and CNN is expected to broadcast the movie on October 24th, 2013. We at the Frog Blog highly recommend this documentary to our readers, not just for its thought-provoking message, but also because it is just a very well-made film. On RottenTomatoes.com, Blackfish has generated a consensus rating of 97% among film critics, click here.

Movie poster.

In the past, FrogBook.com has published a number of articles about the tragedy of animal exploitation and the dangers faced by the handlers of wild animals. Read our past articles: "Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla" and "50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio."

Our position has always been that a "domesticated" or "tame" wild animal is an oxymoron. Wild animals such as killer whales can NEVER "connect" or empathize with humans like dogs can. It is impossible to "tame" a wild/exotic animal because to do so would require countless generations of selective breeding (it is believed that it took thousands of years for the dog to be domesticated, click here). And just because a wild animal is highly intelligent and can learn silly tricks to obtain treats or food, that does not mean it is tame like a domesticated dog is. Because wild animals can never accept a human as one of their own like dogs can, this poses a problem brought up by the film: When trained wild animals are under stress, they may attack and kill people that they have known all their lives.

~ Should killer whales be tourist attractions?

The need of wild animals to be wild and to roam free over very large distances has been HARDWIRED into their genes for millions of years; this can never be "trained" out of them by humans even if the cruel process spans their entire lifetimes.

And we now know that killer whales have a tight social structure in the wild, and the bond between a mother and her calf is extremely strong; they often live together for life in a group. So, tremendous distress is inflicted on both the mother and the calf whenever they are separated in a siege at sea, where the baby is taken away to a theme park.

~ The cruelty inflected on killers whales.

While many performing killers whales nowadays were born in captivity, many other working whales still are from the wild and were once separated from their mothers at sea. And those calves born in captivity will eventually be separated from their mothers when they reach the age of four, which is also a source of much mental anguish. Such psychologically damaged creatures are then kept in confined spaces throughout their lives, forced to perform monotonous tricks for noisy crowds year in and year out. And later, when they themselves have offspring, further trauma is inflicted on them when they are separated from their own babies, which are sometimes taken to other theme parks.

So it should not be surprising that performing killer whales sometimes kill and maim their trainers out of frustration. SeaWorld's Tilikum was captured from the wild when he was just two years old in 1983, and he later killed three people. But as one of SeaWorld's most popular attractions, Tilikum is still forced to perform to this day.

~ Dolphins identify one another by name.

Killer whales are very smart animals, so their confinement for years and years in austere spaces that are tantamount to bathtubs for humans just compounds their psychological torment. We think this is the reason why killer whales in captivity tend to live shorter lives than those in the wild.

And in a recent report on their cousin, the dolphin, it has been shown that dolphins display great intelligence by assigning names to one another in their family unit in the wild. Similarly, when a pod of killer whales is being pursued by humans for their calves, they would devise ingenious ruses to confuse and divert the pursuers by separating the mothers and babies from the males who are the decoys, showing a sense of self-sacrifice and higher consciousness. So, it is really a shame that such majestic and intelligent creatures are treated in such a horrible way.

~ Blackfish offical trailer.

As responsible people, we should set an example to others and our children by avoiding theme parks that exploit wild animals for profit. Educate others and your children on why you've taken this position. SeaWorld, MarineLand, and others are a throwback to an archaic past, when animals were abused for our amusement in circuses and rodeos. Instead, observe killer whales in their natural environment. Money poured into enterprises such as whale-watching tours and cruises will help protect the killer whale's habitat.

Visit the official movie website: www.BlackfishMovie.com


* * *

UPDATE: Escaped Python Kills Two Boys

(August 12, 2013) Read our latest animal-attack article, click here.

UPDATE: Rhino Poacher Gets 30 Years In Jail

(September 5, 2013) Read our latest update on species going extinct, click here.

UPDATE: Prince William To Head New Wildlife Group

(September 12, 2013) Read the latest update on Prince William, click here.

UPDATE: Owner Loses Custody Of IKEA Monkey

(September 13, 2013) Read our latest update on Darwin the IKEA monkey, click here.

UPDATE: Lion/Tiger Hybrid Breaks Guinness Record

(September 18, 2013) Read our latest update about animals that break world records, click here.

UPDATE: 850 Snakes Found In Home!

(September 21, 2013) Read our latest exotic pets update, click here.

UPDATE: CNN's Crossfire Debates Blackfish

(October 25, 2013) On Thursday, October 24th, just hours before CNN's world television premiere of the acclaimed documentary, Blackfish, Van Jones and Newt Gingrich interviewed Tim Zimmermann on their talk show, Crossfire. Zimmermann is the associate producer of the controversial documentary and he debated Grey Stafford, former animal trainer and Director of Conservation at the Wildlife World Zoo & Aquarium.

~ Film producer Tim Zimmermann debates trainer Grey Stafford.

UPDATE: "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert

(November 4, 2013) Read our latest article on endangered species, click here.

UPDATE: Corey Knowlton Pays $$$ To Kill Black Rhino

(January 17, 2014) Read our latest update on rhino hunting, click here.

UPDATE: Bill Would Ban Whale Shows At SeaWorld

(March 8, 2014) In part due to the film Blackfish, the "Orca Welfare and Safety Act" is to be introduced by State Assemblymember Richard Bloom in the California legislature. This bill would not ban the captivity of killer whales, but would prohibit the use of orcas for entertainment purposes. This is a good beginning, because that would significantly reduce the usefulness of the whales to the theme parks, thereby reducing the number orcas to be kept. However, an outright ban would have been better.

~ A good beginning.

UPDATE: Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate!

(March 14, 2014) Has the Asian carp broken into the Great Lakes? Read our latest article on this environmental disaster, click here.

UPDATE: Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China

(September 11, 2014) Read our article about the plight of sharks and the shark fin trade, click here.

UPDATE: Feral Cat Colony Found At Disneyland

(November 23, 2014) Learn about feral cats and dogs and how they impact wildlife, click here.

For related articles in the Frog Blog:
- Feral Cat Colony Found At Disneyland Click here.
- Shark Fin Sales Drop Up To 70% In China Click here.
- Asian Carps: Barbarians At The Gate! Click here.
- "Let The Panda Die Out": Wildlife Expert Click here.
- Escaped Python Kills Two Boys Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For $1.7 Million! Click here.
- Justin Bieber Attacked Over His Monkey Click here.
- Moron Lets Infant Play With A Gorilla Click here.
- Prince William Attacks Rhino Poachers Click here.
- Exotic Animals To Return To Zanesville! Click here.
- Bluefin Tuna Sold For A Record $736,000 Click here.
- 50 Exotic/Rare Animals Killed In Ohio Click here.