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Priest floats off under party balloons

news.com.au — A CATHOLIC priest who floated away under hundreds of helium balloons in a bid to raise money for his parish is missing off Brazil. Only pieces of the party balloons have been found by searchers looking for Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli off the coast of Santa Catarina state, the Associated Press reported.

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  • joshuagor44, on 04/22/2008, -7/+171He's with God now.
    • DCJoeDogaswell, on 04/22/2008, -8/+6God called him back home. Where have I heard that before?
    • rholland356, on 04/22/2008, -5/+4Sounds like he's with Luca Brasi, more like it!
    • NickMilne, on 04/23/2008, -6/+3He was assumed into Heaven. There are precedents.
    • Filipp0, on 04/23/2008, -3/+21He went into the skies to search for God.

      Now, he's looking for Nemo.
      • Swellin, on 04/23/2008, -1/+8I shouldn't have laughed, because seriously sharks probably ate him, but it was funny.
        • Lyk4n, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Friends don't touch you in the no no place..
    • rentmitchum, on 04/23/2008, -4/+14Generic joke about him being a priest.
    • faithfreedom, on 04/23/2008, -9/+3At 10,000 feet, he met God. And God summoned him to Heaven.
    • MasterGrief, on 04/23/2008, -1/+7And the flying nun!
    • edilclyde, on 04/23/2008, -10/+2Where's your God now?
    • stuffradio, on 04/23/2008, -4/+1Lucy in da skies with diamonds
    • kocurejd, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1He probably just floated into an all boys' school and decided never to leave.
    • fatjoe, on 04/24/2008, -0/+1soared to 6000m.... That seems awfully high if that's 6000 above sea level... Wouldn't you need oxygen?
  • poidh, on 04/22/2008, -13/+134Darwin Award?
    • tipexy, on 04/22/2008, -8/+82chance are as a catholic priest he had already removed himself from the gene pool
      • poidh, on 04/22/2008, -18/+33That's right, because anal sex with altar boys doesn't produce offspring.

        / Boom Boom
        • Alix7, on 04/22/2008, -10/+6Only AIDS.
        • Myonosken, on 04/23/2008, -7/+3I really doubt having sex with 10 year olds is going to suddenly cause AIDs. The virus needs to get in from elsewhere and 10 year olds are generally virgins.
        • haikuFU, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Not if they were at another church previously.
    • aechase, on 04/22/2008, -1/+10MythBusters Revisited?
      • Spuy767, on 04/23/2008, -1/+2Did they do this? Cause I was just about to say that I didn't think that a single balloon could lift more than an ounce or two.
        • Gir53457, on 04/23/2008, -0/+3They did, but they needed a lot of really big balloons.
        • amigiac, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Read the story, there's a video
          • Spuy767, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Ahhh, I was at work yesterday and our proxy blocks flash video. The title is misleading as those are not party balloons.
    • lukas88, on 04/22/2008, -4/+9Although the method was somewhat indirect, species that sacrifice their wellbeing for the good of the group are generally seen as more evolved.
      • Harabeck, on 04/22/2008, -0/+3Maybe in a certain social sense. But in general that's rubish. Ant > Cheetah?
        • lukas88, on 04/23/2008, -1/+1Sorry I didn't make it very clear. I mean more evolved than they would be without that social survival instinct, not more evolved than all other species without it.
        • NickMilne, on 04/23/2008, -1/+5Yes, ants are totally cooler than cheetahs. Cheetahs are yellow cats who can move marginally faster than other cats who are yellow; ants are nature's communists.
        • SpyDerMann, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Marabunta FTW!
      • evodude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+3It is not possible for something to be more evolved than something else. More evolved implies that there is some sort of goal that evolution is striving for. There isn't.
        • desqjockey, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2Sure there is. Its me! The rest of you are just a means.
        • dmightx, on 09/21/2008, -1/+2Survival is not a goal of evolution?
          • evodude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1You know what I mean. Evolution doesn't have a specific product in mind. And besides, even if survival is the goal and it's no more complicated than that, it's still impossible for something to be more evolved than something else. What's fittest is not some static thing. It's constantly changing.
          • lukas88, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1I agree with your statement but complexity in behavior can be seen as preferable because it enhances fitness and is not likely to be selected against so that the trend is a general increase as evolution progresses (i.e. as new species appear).

            Dolphins are seen as "more advanced" because of their complexity in behavior, as are humans when compared to other primates.
          • evodude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Lukas, you don't seem to be looking at this from the right framework. Complexity in behavior _may_ increase fitness, but it also may have no effect or even decrease it. Fitness is not a set thing. It is a constantly changing variable. A trait may increase fitness and be selected for this week, but it also may decrease it and be selected against next week. It is not static. It seems like more complex behavior increase fitness, and without question it usually does, but that doesn't mean that it will _always_ increase fitness.

            It's critical to step outside of the human perspective when examining evolution. For instance, think of the tube worms that live near the Mid-Atlantic ridge. These things are, by our standards, simple. They metabolize some simple compounds to obtain their energy. They don't have eyes to see predators. They don't have feet to move around. But they've adapted to life in an extreme (again, by our standards) area. They deal with massive pressure and massive heat, and they thrive. They are far better able to handle the environment than we are. Does that make the tube worms more evolved than us? No, because nothing can be more evolved than something else. It can only be adapted in a different way for the same environment, or adapted to a different environment.

            We excel at our own little niche, but not at the niche of the tube worm, or the niche of a lichen on a rock face, or the niche of a hummingbird in a rain forest. The only way you could consider something to be more "evolved" is to compare two species that occupy the exact same niche (virtually impossible), in which case the two will compete. Even if one out-competes the other to the point of extinction, that species is still not more evolved, it is simply better adapted to the selective pressures that it experiences in that niche. Saying that something is more evolved is like saying that a spoon is better than a fork. It's not a fair comparison, each are suited to different tasks. It's a subtle distinction, but it's a very important one. I hope that makes what I'm saying a little easier to understand.
          • lukas88, on 04/23/2008, -1/+1I think the problem arises because you are looking at particular species and saying they can't be compared, and I am looking at general trends in evolution.

            I never said humans have greater fitness than tube worms, our environments are very different and different traits will be selected for. There are general trends across species, such as complexity of behavior, that are generally (generally is the key word) selected for. That much is true.
          • cheezintern, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Survival is a result of evolution (a.k.a. Being more suited to pass along genes than others), not a goal.
          • evodude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1I disagree. Life is far too diverse to even draw general trends the way that you are thinking. Sure, complexity of behavior may be a trend of mammals, but what percentage of all life (and evolutionary processes as a result) do mammals constitute? It isn't very high. Simply looking at kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata contains about 60,000 species. This is where most of your complexity of behavior is truly concentrated. Compare that with phylum Arthropoda, which contains over 1,000,000 species. Complexity of behavior is one hell of a difficult definition to pin down. What's complex? I'd call sexual reproduction in general complex, but that's something that is come to most organisms. I'd call asexual reproduction complex, too, but most people wouldn't. My point here is that the term complex is a misnomer, and saying that there is a general trend towards complexity is a difficult thing to back up unless you define complexity. I'm assuming here that you're talking about what most people think of as complex (mammals, basically), but if you look at life, all life, not just a class or a phylum or even a kingdom, complexity in the traditional sense isn't all that favored. Hell, just look at bacteria. Or viruses. It's hypothesized that there's about one virus for every species on earth, and there are millions of species, most of which haven't even been classified. Obviously viruses have done well from an evolutionary perspective, and they're about as far away from complex as it gets. My point is this: evolution is complicated. What seems obvious may not actually be so. Looking at it objectively, complexity doesn't really seem to be the trend. As cheezintern says, survival is really the only result of evolution. It has no goals, no objectives. And it can't even make up it's mind on what's most fit. Nature's finicky like that.
    • ZeroIce, on 04/23/2008, -4/+14The priest gave his life trying to raise money for a rest stop for truck drivers. I think he deserves our respect.
      • pyro789x, on 04/23/2008, -0/+6I don't think it should be considered "giving" your life for a cause that you did not intend to die for. He just happened to drift off to sea while he was trying a publicity stunt.
      • rhabd0mancer, on 04/23/2008, -1/+1Truck drivers are the grease that keeps our economic engine running.
    • jmoonb, on 04/23/2008, -0/+10'Mr de Carli had a GPS device, a satellite phone, a buoyant chair and was an experienced skydiver, she said.'
      Sounds more like a charitable thrill seeker to me.
    • mateusap, on 04/23/2008, -0/+3Seriously, a lot of stupid things happen here in Brazil, but this HAS to been caused by some sort of factor that made a giant group of people to have a collective delirium, I'm serious, they were bat-***** crazy
    • Cyborg326, on 04/23/2008, -4/+3but priests don't believe in evolution
  • talonstriker, on 04/22/2008, -4/+43...
    This reminds of the those guys in india who went blind trying to find virgin mary in the sun.
    Hopefully the money he raised makes a difference in other persons life or he'll just be another Darwin Award candidate
    • haveacigar, on 04/22/2008, -9/+8How? He was fund raising... albeit for a stupid cause
      • Gir53457, on 04/23/2008, -2/+8I wouldn't quite call it a stupid cause because he's doing it for a church, and the article did state he went prepared with a thermal suit and chair with a GPS and satellite phone, he also is an experienced sky diver.
      • talonstriker, on 04/23/2008, -1/+4Do you know how much a "rest-stop" means to a trucker? You must never had your bladder full.
        Besides, most of people in South Am. are pretty religious, that pretty much the only thing keeping some of them in line and not joining a gang. So I can see how a "rest-stop" can be usefull.
  • Astroseksy, on 04/22/2008, -5/+74This story sounds so ridiculous, I had to laugh.
  • ToddSchishler, on 04/22/2008, -9/+27Raising money for a trucker rest-stop? Don't they know what generally goes on at rest sto--- Oh wait.
    • hammerpants, on 04/22/2008, -8/+13Same thing that goes on in the confession booth.
    • mateusap, on 04/23/2008, -2/+1I don't know, but certainly isn't accidents due to sleepyness
  • GoKings, on 04/22/2008, -21/+15Relax guys... This is all just a part of gods plan... /sarcasm
  • zyklon, on 04/22/2008, -3/+27My favourite cartoon moments have been realized.
    • MacSuxWindozSux, on 04/23/2008, -6/+1You are a Canadian. You spell favourite with a u.
  • inspecality, on 04/22/2008, -5/+66"We are absolutely confident he will be found alive and well, floating somewhere in the ocean"

    Alive and well, while floating in the ocean? Makes sense.
    • DubBucket, on 04/22/2008, -1/+15as long as you don't read the "face down" between the lines...
    • drpcken, on 04/23/2008, -1/+4Unless a shark finds him, alive and well first.
    • rhabd0mancer, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4It'd be funny if the priest's name was Bob.
  • Brad12088, on 04/22/2008, -4/+60Sounds like fun..
    Apart from the whole missing and probably dead bit.
  • rkef, on 04/22/2008, -9/+9It's science!
  • DCJoeDogaswell, on 04/22/2008, -21/+14Funniest topic ever, it's ***** that only hundreds made him fly (mythbusters covered this, it took them over 4000-ish for a small girl) but funny none the less
    • imikedaman, on 04/22/2008, -0/+20You know, all you have to do is click the headline to see a video of the priest taking off. The balloons are much larger than the ones Mythbusters used.
    • jtown, on 04/22/2008, -0/+22Are you aware that balloons come in more than one size? Stupid question. Obviously not.
    • radu79, on 04/22/2008, -0/+7From the picture, they look bigger than the ones mythbusters used.
    • dunderballer, on 04/22/2008, -0/+11They looked larger than normal party balloons but whatever they were, they obviously made him fly very far.
    • PoonGnarfler, on 04/23/2008, -6/+3Yeah, a priest missing, probably dead. Hilarious.
  • BigKeg, on 04/22/2008, -3/+4He did it to raise money for a rest stop....?
    • Blacksheep34, on 04/23/2008, -0/+0Only enough to pay a rest-stop boy for his "services"
  • gullydwarf, on 04/22/2008, -6/+27I wouldn't say Darwin award. He seemed semi-prepared, and it was for charity. Maybe he should have done it away from the ocean though.
    • EpicSelekta, on 04/22/2008, -1/+20It's Brazil, man. Either ocean, ghetto, or rainforest. There isn't really much alternative.
    • radu79, on 04/22/2008, -0/+7Semi prepared? He had pretty much anything, parachoute, GPS, global cellphone, termal suit, etc. What more would you take with you? A jet engine?
      • Mothrog, on 04/23/2008, -1/+2The parachute apparently didn't do him much good, or he was a moron. I think I'd bail the moment I saw I was being pushed out to sea.
        • blackinthmiddle, on 04/23/2008, -1/+3Unfortunately by then it's too late. You're still a helpless victim of where the winds want to take you.

          There was a faces of death episode like this. Guy jumps out of a plane and his parachute deploys with no problems. However, winds take him...straight into an alligator pit! How was he supposed to "bail" out of that. He saw it coming but there was nothing he could do.
          • Mothrog, on 04/23/2008, -0/+3The ocean's pretty damn big. I doubt, at 2000+ meters, that he wouldn't have been able to see it coming.
      • Gir53457, on 04/23/2008, -1/+2An anchor.
      • aaaargh, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4On his final call, he said (1) his phone was running out of battery power, (2) he needed to get in touch with his ground crew, (3) in order to learn how to read the latitude and longitude on the GPS so that people could rescue him. If he were prepared, he would (1) have a spare battery, or have tested the phone better, (2) have stored or written down the number of his ground crew (assuming they had a phone), and (3) learned how to use the GPS before he took off. Granted he may have been using a Globalstar phone, and the satellites have been rapidly deteriorating as of late, but this goes to basic equipment preparation - get a decent sat phone.

        What more could he have taken with him? An extra battery, a backup phone (preferably for a different satellite system), a backup gps, a solar recharger, some food, a handheld desalination pump, iodine tablets, a first aid kit, a lighter, some solid fuel, a flaregun, a knife, a handgun, a portable marine emergency transponder, an inflatable raft. Basically 10 to 15 pounds of survival gear he could have stowed in a small backpack, which would have increased his odds of survival substantially if he were able to land in fairly good shape. He probably lacked the funds for this sort of gear, but a person could definitely have more gear than he took.
    • mithrasinvictus, on 04/23/2008, -1/+4Apparently he was prepared for the ocean but did not bring a radio beacon?
      • bitterbug, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2Maybe they thought the sat-phone was good enough to triangulate on. I'd still want an EPRB on me as a backup though. You don't have to shell out the 1200 bucks for one either. Should be able to rent one from an expedition shop somewhere in the area down there.
        • Mothrog, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2How many sat-phones withstand being dunked in the ocean?
          • bitterbug, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4If you're going to be exposed at high altitudes, and are prepared, chances are it's going to be somewhat water resistant. In case you cross thermal layers and get a good soaking. Even a zip-loc plastic bag is better than nothing.
  • ANT1138, on 04/22/2008, -18/+11HAHAHAHAHAHA... /deep breathe... HAHAHAHAH!!111
    • ANT1138, on 04/22/2008, -3/+7If there really is a God, he's ***** hilarious.
    • gkwillie, on 04/23/2008, -1/+3It's interesting you can take so much pleasure from the presumed death of another human being. Priest or not, God or not, that seems pretty douchey of you.
    • ZeroIce, on 04/23/2008, -2/+3Sometimes I wish there was really a hell, so people like you can go there.
    • ANT1138, on 04/23/2008, -0/+3It's sad you can't find the humor in this. I'm not laughing because another human died, I'm laughing at the ridiculous way he went out. He might as well have stuck a hook in his mouth and jumped into the shark tank at sea world.
  • geneticlone, on 04/22/2008, -1/+6Mr de Carli probably made it all the way to heaven by now.
  • twiztidsinz, on 04/22/2008, -8/+2lol,BRs
  • 0crabby0, on 04/22/2008, -3/+4"Mr de Carli, 41, lifted off from the port city of Paranagua yesterday afternoon wearing a helmet, thermal suit and a parachute."

    http://tinyurl.com/4uzh8j

    video
  • Insolence, on 04/22/2008, -4/+5Man, he really should have thought of a better idea to raise funds then to send himself off into space with helium balloons!
  • lnappropriate, on 04/22/2008, -28/+2He probably molestered someone anyway
    • Beastmasta, on 04/22/2008, -3/+2Correction:
      I probably molested someone anyway.
    • IllBeBack, on 04/23/2008, -2/+1I molested your Mom last night. She likey likey.
  • incongruity, on 04/22/2008, -1/+37Anyone else get a sick chuckle out of the google ads at the bottom?

    Why, yes, after reading that story, I'd love to order a balloon bouquet -- how about a couple hundred of 'em?
  • jynweythek, on 09/17/2008, -36/+5alright, let's get this over with

    58 diggs and already on the front page!??!11

    In Soviet Russia, balloons carry YOU!

    DUPLICATE STORY!!11

    I, for one, welcome our party balloon overlords.

    Video of the priest being carried away here!!!! http://youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

    paul/obama '08

    ..too much? :|
    • TripcodeMel, on 04/22/2008, -2/+1Just by *this* much.
    • Blacksheep34, on 04/23/2008, -0/+0You need to come up from Moms basement for a little air and alot of get a life....
    • IllBeBack, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2Even though you're in the proverbial hole on the ol' Digg count, I thought it was pretty funny.
    • askegg, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1You forgot "where is your god now?"
  • wefarrell, on 04/22/2008, -2/+11wow! coolest priest ever
  • Thugacation, on 04/22/2008, -1/+6Thank you, your Holiness. Awesome flight!
  • khaavren, on 04/22/2008, -15/+5First they steal schooboy's virginitys, now their balloons?
    • NickMilne, on 04/23/2008, -2/+4This is becoming somewhat overplayed as far as humor is concerned.
  • last12exile, on 04/22/2008, -27/+18*sigh* gotta love it today. Digg users are some of the most asinine atheists I've ever seen. LOL CATHOLIC PREIST I HOPE HE DIED!!!!!!111!!!!. Classy. Its for his parish and parishes do charity work you d-bags. Show some humanity for *gods* sake, science and the worship of science is not a religion or a way to live your life. If you want to have a discussion reply.
    • FiftyPoints, on 04/22/2008, -9/+9Get over yourself.
    • DubBucket, on 04/22/2008, -4/+4Relax. As they said, we're sure he's fine. Otherwise yeah, we're all going to hell... oh wait.
    • anonpost, on 04/23/2008, -5/+5I agree with you 100%, the submitter caps 'Catholic' as if he had it coming to him the whole time by virture of being Catholic, pretty sick if you ask me.

      And of course people don't care that Christains do the majority of the charitable work in the world. Perhaps someday the submitter someday will become homeless and have to humble himself to ask for shelter or food from catholic charities, knights of columbus, or his local homless shelter/dining hall in which many times is funded by Catholic donations.

      I think that's the main difference between the religious and the non-religious. A religious man floats away and non-religious people shout 'he deserved death', A non-religious man floats away and religious people pray to God to have mercy on him and for his safe return.
      • scubaman5000, on 04/23/2008, -1/+4Making broad generalizations is no way to respond to broad generalizations.
        I don't believe in God but I still hope he returns safe.

        Asshats are asshats regardless of their religion or lack thereof.
        • anonpost, on 04/23/2008, -1/+1You are true in saying this, and I shouldn't have generalized that way. I was just going by my observation in many of the comments of this story and my first observation of the article submission which was corrected for me by another poster due to my ignorance of how stories always capitolize the first few words of stories.

          I have a couple of thoughts though. Who defines what is an asshat? Does man himself dictate what is good and evil and only man himself? If so why does one man's word superscede another man's word on what is evil ,and what is not, without having the picture of God (which is good), and the devil (which is evil). I guess what I am getting at is, are your values (wishing this man a safe return) dictated by words of men because men themself said it was good to wish him a safe return. Or is there somthing inside of you that just tells you that it is the good thing to do? If you wished a him safe return out of the kindness of your heart in my eyes that is God, or the good of the world working inside of you; a conscience. Animals do not make this distinction. You need not reply to this, just some food for thought for you. Peace and goodwill to you.
          • scubaman5000, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2Good and evil do not exist as defined by theists. A supreme being did not dictate to mankind what is right and what is wrong. Conscience is an instinct that has stayed with us as we have evolved over time which has helped us survive. I don't want to make a statement without providing evidence so I'll provide this link due to being short on time (sorry that it's not the most credible source). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism_in_animals it would appear that animals do in fact make that distinction between right and wrong...
            My concern for people in need is not due to God, I suppose it could be argued that it's due to an influence from society...but I'd like to think that I'd feel the same way even if I had been raised in solitude without any external forces on me. There's really no way for human beings to be completely independent in thought, we're a social animal...
            Anyway... what I really wanted to respond to was your question "Does man himself dictate what is good and evil and only man himself? If so why does one man's word superscede another man's word on what is evil ,and what is not..." Yes, man is the only source of what is good and evil as you define it, why? Because God is imaginary and those who invented God (by the way I think God, meaning the idea of a supreme being whether it be Zeus, Alah, Jehovah, Budda, the Christian God, the flying spaghetti monster, etc., was merely a way for ever increasingly intelligent people to explain the world around them and a way to relieve the stress of uncertainty, a survival mechanism). This does not mean that good does not exist. I choose to help others in need because I know what it's like to need help. I choose to give to the poor because I've had times when I had to go hungry. I am concerned for this man's safety because I know what it's like to be in a dangerous situation. I feel compassion because it's instinctual to do so, it was necessary for the survival of my species and species I've evolved from. See the pattern here? That is how you define what is truly good. When you use religion to define what's good people end up with suicide bombers, people protesting funerals of servicemen and people obstructing scientific research due to superstition. True there is a lot of good that comes out of religion, it's not all bad. The same can be said of any religion though or thought process for that matter.
      • BossKey, on 04/23/2008, -2/+5You are wrong and rushing to judgment about the capitalization. The submitter was only quoting the source article, which capitalized Catholic only because it was the second word in the story. I don't know why they do it, but this is pretty common in news stories.

        "A CATHOLIC priest..."
        is not any different than when news organizations write

        "IN CALIFORNIA today, a man..."
        "A JURY IN FLORIDA convicted a..."
        "THE SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY completed another flight..."
        • anonpost, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2upon second gander you are absolutely right and I detract my statements about him. thank you for pointing this out
        • bitterbug, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2It's the lead in. People skip articles, and those they read they don't often finish. So there's a whole formula to writing an article so that you start with something that gets their attention, in this case a catholic priest. Right off the bat they got a huge section of the population that are going to read the story. Then you break the story down into points of information. If you have 12 pieces of info to relate you put them in order of importance. Then write your paragraphs based on the point order.
          Chances are almost nobody will see the last couple of points.
          (Yay for journalism class, and building a writer's self esteem)
      • frooo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4Actually the submitter (me) cut and pasted the first paragraphs of the article because he's lazy.
    • allyant, on 04/23/2008, -1/+2I haven't seen that quote in this page....
    • EpicSelekta, on 04/23/2008, -1/+11Science and worship of science are not a religion, but no one worships science. We do not pray to Charles Darwin. Religion is not an essential part to life. Science, however, is essential, because you exercise it every day. To those who believe in God, science is the blueprint God uses to define how ***** works. To those who don't believe in God, science is the blueprint for how ***** works. Compassion, however, is on of the main characteristics of atheism (and Jesus as well, although Christians are about the last people on the planet to be compassionate), and I agree with you that taking joy in the death of a man doing charity work is rather rude. With your level of compassion for human life, I strongly suggest you become an atheist instead of being part of the group behind the Spanish Inquisition.
      • ctaggart1, on 04/23/2008, -4/+0**EpicSelecta** Spanish Inquisition???? Maybe we could go back a little further dumb ass. Spanish Inquisition????? Anyone who uses Spanish Inquisition as a reference point shouldn't be allowed to post. But those compassionate Atheist like ohhhh hmmm Stalin and other Utopian pioneers now that's some great compassion and a little more current than the friggin Inquisition. Maybe as Compassionate as the Athiest Chinese that are currently suppressing speech in... Oh yeah that's right none of that happens when people don't use an ideology in place of religion its all about the compassion. /sarcasm. Christ have an argument you jack ass. I think the other Athiests here should kick your ass off of Digg.
      • last12exile, on 04/23/2008, -3/+2Compassion is not one of the facets of atheism. And true some Christians(I am not Catholic) have committed some atrocities but atheists have also committed atrocities. Men will always do horrible things for what they are passionate about, Hitler was a passionate anti-Semite and well he kinda followed through on that belief. I don't totally say Science is bull crap but in daily relations with your fellow human beings use something called your conscience or morals. A cold lifeless theory will not truly tell you how to lead your life. Christians are very compassionate, many charity organizations are Christian. I see very few atheist organizations.
      • JimbobtheSalesm, on 04/23/2008, -3/+2Wow. You just stereotyped all Christians into one mold and then blamed them for the Spanish Inquisition. Christians weren't responsible for the Spanish Inquisition and neither was Jesus. Monsters of people were responsible for it...people who wanted power and control and used God to justify their actions. Take a look at the Bible and tell me where Jesus says we should kill and torture people if they don't believe as we do.
        • evodude, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2I'm not about lumping everyone into the same group. Obviously, not all Christians are evil people who want to commit Inquisition-type acts, but you cannot deny that there is support for those acts in the bible. Here's a few of the worst:
          Leviticus 20:9 'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head."
          20:10 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."
          20:13" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
          Deuteronomy 22:20-1 "f, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, 21 she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you."
          Deuteronomy 7:1-2 "When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations . . . then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy." and the last little bit 'o evil:
          Exodus 21:20-21 "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, 21 but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property."

          I understand full well that this is the old testament, but this was the law of the time. And as Jesus said, and in specific reference to the old testament: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."-Matthew 5:17 I'm no longer a Christian, but I'm not resentful towards Christianity. I think it's mostly a force for good in the modern world, but you cannot deny that it has also been a force for evil, and that that evil is supported by the bible. Different people chose to rationalize the above passages in different ways, but the one thing no one can do is deny that they exist.
      • ANT1138, on 04/23/2008, -0/+4The guy was moron. He died like a looney toon.
      • bitterbug, on 04/23/2008, -0/+2I think it's more accurate to say that Science is the study of how and why things work, rather than the blueprint of it. Pure science in itself is methodology rather than doctrine.
    • theatheist, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1get prepared because the elitism is just at the tip of the iceberg.
  • Zlorp, on 04/22/2008, -12/+6haha, that God sure is a ***** aint he?
  • milktea, on 04/22/2008, -4/+8Danny Deckchair for the win.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0337960/
    • Sambora, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Great movie!
    • frooo, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1Thats what I first thought when I read the story - tis why I submitted it :)
  • captric, on 04/22/2008, -13/+7That's OK - all he has to do is pray and we all know that prayer works!
  • wolfofwar, on 04/22/2008, -9/+7Jesus Saves?

    :( aww...
  • Grumps, on 04/22/2008, -6/+6He got to heaven early.
  • stevejobs, on 04/22/2008, -2/+9Now if we could only get Eric the Midget to fly with balloons.
  • YodaJones, on 04/22/2008, -15/+5Have they searched all the little boys in the area?
  • chiefbandit2200, on 04/22/2008, -1/+43I thought this was going to be from the onion when i saw the title
  • Thrilltone, on 04/22/2008, -13/+5He started to go into a dive but couldn't bear to jettison his ballast.
    It was a small boy.
  • Greg2b, on 04/22/2008, -1/+13According to Globo (Brazilian news comapny) he might actually be dead as of now, just saw it on TV about 7 minutes ago.
  • danielatari, on 04/22/2008, -1/+13Coolest priest ever!!
  • Colt4cm, on 04/22/2008, -2/+12god speed
  • dunderballer, on 04/22/2008, -0/+15CNN had a good video of him. It had a short interview with him just before takeoff. It was windy and rainy yet the priest said he wouldn't put off the launch. It would have been a cool idea if they had done it on a clear, calm day; had someone actively tracking the GPS receiver from the ground; made sure he had a mechanism to detach from the balloons to parachute down, and didn't launch beside the freaking ocean.
    • MrESaulved, on 04/23/2008, -1/+7Good advice and include, "don't farking do it you dumbass" and you have covered it all.
  • trizzlelv, on 04/22/2008, -6/+6I think I see Nelson popping out and delivering his trademark, "Ha Ha."
  • Dustin00, on 04/22/2008, -11/+2Thank you, god!
  • computerusr, on 04/22/2008, -8/+2Lulz.
  • chrispeters, on 04/22/2008, -4/+12He had a whole lot of electronic gear, but no emergency locater beacon. That's a pretty huge oversight.
  • Nhmarine, on 04/22/2008, -13/+3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • computerusr, on 04/23/2008, -6/+2Pwned by himself.
  • 55mph, on 04/23/2008, -2/+8the donations should pour in. nice stunt!
  • canha, on 04/23/2008, -9/+3Yeah, that ***** is from my home-town.

    Mind you, the worst part is that he doesn't even know how to use the GPS system and his satellite phone was half-recharged before he took off.


    Dumbass.
    • Swellin, on 04/23/2008, -2/+2Mind explain why this guy is a *****, you must have some personal experience with the lack of respect in your post. He didn't molest you when you were an alter boy did he? I'm gonna assume he didn't so ***** you.
  • ice1000, on 04/23/2008, -7/+9Organized Religion - making people do stupid things since the beginning of time
  • pands, on 04/23/2008, -6/+39Religious bias and comedy aside, this guy was raising money for a truck stop for agriculture workers in Brazil, a selfless act of kindness. And he did it by knowingly risking his life in a chair attached to a bunch of party balloons. God bless his soul.
    • ppvanzella, on 04/23/2008, -6/+3Yeah, but he could AT LEAST have read the fricken GPS manual BEFORE taking off.
    • secrity, on 04/23/2008, -6/+2Good cause, but he WAS an idjit.
  • 3leggedHorse, on 04/23/2008, -6/+9 Balloon FAIL.
    • bevans, on 04/23/2008, -4/+4FAILloon
    • bitterbug, on 04/23/2008, -1/+5Ninety nine red balloons,
      Floating in the summer sky,
      Dangling a catholic priest,
      Ninety nine red balloons go by.
  • TheCommentThief, on 04/23/2008, -0/+1He's with God now.
    • computerusr, on 04/23/2008, -1/+1Bad CommentThief. I am reporting you to the Internetz.
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