There’s just no way around it. Kent Hovind, of Creation Science Evangelism (one wonders how it can be science when it’s evangelism), is evil. If the fact that he pretends to have a doctorate degree that he didn’t earn isn’t enough, and if the fact that he’s currently spending ten years in Federal prison on multiple charges isn’t enough, this certainly should be:
He’s silencing his critics by having their YouTube videos critical of him taken down. He’s also had entire accounts pulled, including that of the Rational Response Squad. How has he done this? He’s claiming copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. This, after years of saying his videos aren’t copyrighted. See for yourself:
Why is Kent Hovind now claiming copyright infringement? For no other reason to silence his critics. That, and he’s a liar.
Don’t blame YouTube for this. Once the complaint is made, they by law have to take down the videos until the controversy is solved (can anyone say, “guilty until proven innocent?”). The blame rests squarely on Hovind and the people running CSE. They’re a bunch of liars. I would say they’re a bunch of creationist liars, but that would appear to be redundant–I’ve never met a creationist yet who wasn’t a liar. Really, it’s the only way they can pretend their insane ideas have any legitimacy.
And while you’re at it, you might also blame the politicians who passed the disgusting piece of corporate protectionist trash known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. I and many others said at the time that the DMCA would be used for exactly this purpose–to abuse the law and virtually eliminate Fair Use.
See, the thing is, even if Hovind’s videos were copyrighted, what these users have done would still be legal as Fair Use under Title 17 Section 107 of the United States Code. The DMCA gives corporations, not to mention liars like Hovind and the rest of the CSE, a legal battleaxe to wield against the legitimate rights of others.
Fight evil Hovind, fight the evil CSE, fight the evil creationists (at the very least, send them a copy of the Ninth Commandment; it’s obviously missing from their Bible), and fight the evil DMCA.
And to everyone at the Rational Response Squad, as well as RabidApe and the other users who have had videos removed or accounts suspended, stay strong. You are in the right.
And, of course, fight the evil politicians passing such trash as the DMCA; the people who interfere with technology and the internet often understand it the least. Seems a lot of laws are passed that way, though, eh?
The DMCA, unfortunately, isn’t going away any time soon. The politicians don’t care and the only place it makes news is online websites and not the mainstream. I’m afraid that internet freedoms (the internet, possibly the freest “place” in the world) are only going to be eroded more and more as time goes on. I wouldn’t be surprised if taxing internet purchases is on the horizon. Or a silly net neutrality bill that is so poorly worded that it requires carriers to forward even blatant DDoS attacks and makes blocking phishing sites illegal… have you written about net neutrality yet?
Re: You c decay video.
I am NOT a six day creationist, but I know some people who are – and who have training in physics.
They pointed out that if the speed of light was 784c (28)²c, then over time as c slowed down we would see the events in slow motion.
A sort of video doppler effect.
Therefore what we see now as eight months between the dimming of the core and ring was probably initially only a day or less time to travel at a higher c.
As c slowed down the signals of movement slowed down and it appears as months to us. We see the cycle in slow motion.
Therefore, by their explanation, if you assume an initial c of 784c then you have to assume the time necessary to span the distance was 1/784th the time.
You cannot assume a higher c without allowing for an initially shorter time.
As the ages past, c slowed down and it appears now as an eight month cycle.
But the eight month cycle is only valid at a present c. At a higher C, they assert the cycle would have been much shorter …. and the effect cancels out.
I am not saying I agree with them. I am not a six day creationist, but they did spot a flaw in your logic.
I await your response.
Thanks!
Except that this doesn’t work. The supernova and the edge of the rings are the same distance from us. As such, they happened eight months ago both there and here.
Think of this kind of Doppler effect: Two musicians are on the flatbed of a truck speeding away. They’re playing in key with each other. Since they’re the same distance away going at the same speed, the Doppler shift is the same, so even though their pitches are lowered by the Doppler effect they’re still in tune with each other.
Get it? If they’re the same distance away, as the rings are from the supernova, the Doppler shift is the same and it all cancels out. The rings are about eight light-months away, regardless of whether or not c is decaying. The only difference is that the distance of the light-month is different, which, again, makes the rings LARGER and the universe OLDER.