Top of the posts: Creationism, Madonna and one big Olympic tax break for sponsors

This week two hotel workers, Sandip Moonea and Avinash Treebhoowoon, were acquitted of the murder of Irish honeymooner Michaela McAreavey in Mauritius. The Mauritian Sunday Times printed various images including one of the corpse, which Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said could not be justified. Dr Sean Carey describes how there is a long-standing tradition of “publishing gore in Mauritius by ‘la presse sensationnelle’ — think of turbo-charged News of the Worlds”.

Madonna’s pricey Hyde Park gig was criticised by some feeling that the singer should “put it away”. Charlie Alderwick showed that it wasn’t a representative feeling of all, writing that her age is immaterial in her job, and the constant comparisons to Lady Gaga are a sad commonplace for female singers.

Despite the Laugh Factory’s assertions that Daniel Tosh’s rape joke was greeted with laughter, many complaints have been vocalised. Louise McCudden holds that comedians shouldn’t expect “zero backlash when they make lazy jokes with a regressive premise”.

The number of disabled hate crimes reported to the police is up by 14 per cent since 2010, but cumulative effects of the Government’s cuts seem to be falling disproportionately on disabled people. As Worcestershire county council announced its proposal to shut away disabled people in care homes for the rest of their lives, Sharon Brennan comments on the “greed of chasing money at any cost” means that the most vulnerable people are being targeted and neglected.

Many of us will remember being told the story of how God created the world in just seven days, but is it right to teach children creationism? Susan Elkin argues that although The Bible has many merits, pushing a religious view on young children disregards the scientific fact of evolution.

Elsewhere Simon Birch discusses the tax rules meaning that ‘partner organisations’ such as Coca Cola and Visa could make a tax-free fortune at the Games, Guadalupe Marengo enlightens many on the reality of human rights in Ecuador, Caroline Mortimer offers the thoughts of many under 25s, Will Brooker looks at the changing faces of Batman, and Janey Godley’s live tweeting of a public argument between a couple proved extremely popular.

These are the most read blogs from the past week, as determined by stats:

1. Publication of Michaela McAreavey crime scene pictures presents a significant problem for Mauritius By Dr Sean Carey

2. Live-tweeting a very public break-up By Janey Godley

3. Smug criticisms of Madonna and endless Gaga comparisons are a victory for ageism and misogyny By Charlie Alderwick

4. When it comes to rape jokes, ‘free speech’ is a lazy defence By Louise McCudden

5. A few things you should know about Ecuador, beyond Assange By Guadalupe Marengo

6. Britain is losing its sense of decency when it comes to the disabled By Sharon Brennan

7. Teaching creationism: Indoctrination is a form of child abuse By Susan Elkin

8. Generation Y are suffering from the recession – don’t tell us we’re not By Caroline Mortimer

9. The great Olympic tax swindle By Simon Birch

10. The Dark Knight Rises: Batman’s secret is adapting through the ages By Will Brooker

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• Darren Anderson

  nope, I don’t, because this is unintelligible bunkum.

• http://www.facebook.com/margaretannehill Margaret Piper

  Your courage speaking out here, is commendable! I, too, am degreed, have written a college-level textbook, focusing one chapter on the science controversy. I believe in free speech, so I accept Susan Elkin’s bigoted comments — which, by the way, are totally opinonated — but I do resent that so many folks believe her. I just wish each hearer would think analytically about both sides of any issue, before being snarky about whom is dumb.

• http://www.facebook.com/margaretannehill Margaret Piper

  The Encyclopedia Briticanica defines phylogeny as the history of evolution in which judgments are based “upon indirect evidence and careful speculation.” I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to stand at court under those parameters. In fact, it is scarey to think people believe this is OK! Furthermore, you say “though no scentist would look upon Darwin’s theories as the final word on the matter, the consensus in the scientific community is that Darwin was fundamentally correct.” An old saying goes, “Fifty million Frenchmen cannot be wrong.” Is that your excuse, too? Consensus for science? Could it be that the “comfort blanket,” in this case, is denying God (of the Bible) in order to not have to face one’s sin? Furthermore, you err in saying “basic facts about geology and astronomy also totally contradicts the Bible.” I’ll give one example. The evolutionary model says life arose from lower to higher, small to large, simple to complex, and worse to better. However of all the geological samples taken around the world, this UNIFORMITY DOES NOT EXIST. Do they admit this? No. Do they discard the falsified theory? No. They just make up impressive vocabulary to justify the exception. On the Creation side, this would conform to the hydraulic mixing and depositing of life forms that a flood would cause. The evidence of this on a world wide scale, matches the world wide deluge of Noah’s day.
  We do have a journal about Creation, by the Creator, that should be entered as evidence like any other scientist would submit and be accepted. But, this is a prejudiced, bigoted generation.
  Lastly, using your old Corsa as analogous to this discussion, would you agree that it would be built faster as more and more Vauxhall workers are given the production? In other words, increase the ability, and it shortens the time. Furthermore, would you agree that if they had diagrams and manuals from which to work, it would shorten the time further. In other words, inceasing the intelligence shortens the time, too. Thus, a God with infinite intelligence and infinite ability could create by fiat in an instant, couldn’t He?
  Conversely, suppose the Vauxhall workers slip away, leaving the pile of materials standing, would the Corsa build itself? No. When no intelligence and no ability are applied to a project, it never happens.
  This sums up the hurtle of evolution hopeful believers. Life and Matter cannot design itself into existence. You may as well crawl back to God with your proverbial prehensile tail between your legs.

• http://www.facebook.com/margaretannehill Margaret Piper

  Alexis de Toqueville says what you allege is the greatness of America. We are great, because we are good. When we cease being good, we shall cease being great. Our goodness was founded upon our belief in the Bible. From “Studies in Comparative Religion: Winter 1970″ is written: “One reason education undoes belief is its teaching of evolution; Darqin’s own drift from orthodoxy to agnosticism was symptomatic. Martin Linge is probably right in saying that ‘more cases of loss of religious faith are to be traced to the theory of evolution…than to anything else.’”
  Indeed, with the advent of evolution, came suicide, racism, nazism, socialism, communism, immorality, lack of dignity and respect for each other, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and sexuality transmitted diseases.
  We never were a backward country, but we are getting there. I suppose you approve.

• Braziliano

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  Barren Anderson, it does not surprise me, now go back to kindegarden..

• Braziliano

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  Great!
  .
  Another one with a sense of what “common sense ” is all about.
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  I like this line : ” …realizing missing links are still missing, and all we have are photo-shopped pictures and great swelling terms for what does not exist,.. ” and they will be in the “missing” dark room of their imagination, never to be found, because they do not exist.
  .
  Then again, brain size is no longer an issue, but they still using it in their ‘moving’ cartoons as ” undeniable proof” of their fictional theory of evolution.
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  Ridiculous!
  .

• http://www.facebook.com/marianne.ibbotson Marianne Ibbotson

  Yes, unfortunately this crap exists. As a disabled woman I’ve experienced discrimination and hate myself, from people who perceive me as being “lazy” rather than disabled and a “scrounger” of benefits (when in reality, I hate being on benefits, would much rather support myself financially except that I’m too ill to do so, which I’m working very hard on changing). People’s bigotries really can be ridiculous.