If I told you that one state had recommended that a Bible group that goes by the name Institute for Creation be allowed to offer an online Master’s degree in Science Education, what state would you guess it was?(I enjoyed the movie bumper the user placed after the tourism bit.) But yes, a higher education panel in Texas has recommended that the Institute for Creation be allowed to offer such a degree:

Henry Morris III, the chief executive of the Institute for Creation Research, said Tuesday that the proposed curriculum, taught in California, used faculty and textbooks “from all the top schools” along with, he said, the “value added” of challenges to standard teachings of evolution.”Where the difference is, we provide both sides of the story,” Mr. Morris said. On its Web site, the institute declares, “All things in the universe were created and made by God in the six literal days of the creation week” and says it “equips believers with evidences of the Bible’s accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework.” It also says “the harmful consequences of evolutionary thinking on families and society (abortion, promiscuity, drug abuse, homosexuality and many others) are evident all around us.” [The New York Times]

I don’t know about you, but learning about Darwin and that we evolved from monkeys definitely encouraged me to smoke crack, have lots of crazy sex, get an abortion and then become a lesbian. If only someone had told me it wasn’t so!But speaking of Darwin and a more general sense of ideas concerning evolution, everyone should check out my favorite documentary of last year, Darwin’s Nightmare. Directed by Hupert Sauper, the movie focuses on the perch industry in Tanzania:

In the 1950s or 1960s, the Nile perch was released into the Lake Victoria. In just a few decades, the large, voracious predator has all but eliminated the other species of fish, turning the lake into an ecological wasteland. “But economically, it’s good” — and indeed, perch fillet is Tanzania’s best selling export to Europe. Fishermen, factory workers, civil servants, pilots of cargo aircrafts, delegates of the European Commission, communities living around Lake Victoria: plenty of people are involved in some way in this new industry. But if Africa exports hundreds of tons of premium-priced fish each day, what exactly do Africans get in return? [IMDB]

The movie shows you that what they get is not very much… Watch the trailer and a select scene below: