Life is just complex chemicals—nothing more, nothing less. Venter and his team have gone a long way toward showing this.… Read the rest
Mohammed cartoonist regrets any offense caused 
May 21st, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“She has attended a local Muslim group meeting in an effort to learn more.”… Read the rest
EU criticizes Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
May 21st, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Notes the laws are often used to justify censorship, criminalisation, persecution and the murder of members of political, racial and religious minorities.… Read the rest
Rand Paul reverses himself on civil rights law
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It was all a misunderstanding. Or something.… Read the rest
Love is a crime in Malawi
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A 14-year jail sentence, with hard labour, on two gay men for being that.… Read the rest
The creator of the universe is really clever
May 20th, 2010 12:22 pm | By Ophelia BensonKarl Giberson is a honcho at BioLogos. BioLogos is about “Science and Faith in Dialogue,” about Science & the Sacred. Francis Collins is a scientist, Karl Giberson is a scientist. Karl Giberson explains why he has reservations about Intelligent Design.
BioLogos enthusiastically endorses the idea that the universe is intelligently designed and we certainly believe that the creator of the universe is intelligent. We consider the evidence regarding the fine-tuning of the universe to be provocative and compelling. Our reservations about ID certainly do not derive from any rejection of the rationality of the universe.
The rationality of the universe? What’s rational about the universe? It’s too big, for one thing. It’s too cold for another, too … Read the rest
But what are you going to do about it?
May 20th, 2010 11:32 am | By Ophelia BensonRand Paul, Kentucky’s “Tea Party” nominee for the Senate, is opposed to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo says why that’s not just a principled libertarian view:
… Read the restTo a degree the argument Paul is making is something like saying that I don’t like rape or murder, I just don’t believe in a police force to prevent it or a judiciary to punish the offenders. The reason we, albeit imperfectly, have equality before the law and in the society at large (in terms of public accommodations and so forth) on racial grounds in the whole of the United States is because of federal legislation that forced that to be the case. The reason we don’t
Why Rand Paul isn’t “just a libertarian”
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because we live in an actual world where political philosophy can’t be separated from history and experience.… Read the rest
Pakistan: thousands of demonstrators hit the streets
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To protest “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day,” by far the biggest problem facing Pakistan.… Read the rest
Bid the sun stand still
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority directed ISPs to block YouTube after material considered “sacrilegious” was found on it.… Read the rest
Pakistan blocks Facebook, YouTube
May 20th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wikipedia, Google, Bing, Yahoo, the internet, newspapers, radio, schools, conversation…… Read the rest
Johann Hari on Islamists’ victims and hypocrisy
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A gay Iranian film maker and a Pakistani atheist writer are told to be “discreet” and sent back to be killed.… Read the rest
PZ on Giberson on ID and “New” atheists
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
If you think theism is a good thing, then you’re handicapped in challenging “Intelligent Design.”… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on trusting your brain
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why is it always the psychics, homeopaths, and astrologers who take it in the neck when scientists attack irrationality? What about the most widespread form of irrationality?… Read the rest
Why atheism will replace religion
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The reasons that churches lose ground in developed countries can be summarized in market terms.… Read the rest
Academic disciplined over fruit bat paper
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A bad precedent for academic freedom. Pinker, Dennett and more than 2400 others sign petition calling on the university to repeal the sanctions.… Read the rest
Yesterday’s gone
May 19th, 2010 12:18 pm | By Ophelia BensonSean Brady says no no no no no he won’t go. He doesn’t want to. It’s not fair. All the others. He was only. They didn’t use to. Back then it was all. You just don’t. We all thought that.
The cardinal, the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, is under pressure to stand down after it emerged that he took part in a secret canonical tribunal in 1975 at which two minors were made to swear oaths of silence about their allegations against the paedophile priest Father Brendan Smyth.
Smyth went on to rape hundreds more children across Ireland, the UK and the United States before he died in prison in 1997.
Well, yes, but that’s nothing … Read the rest
Victims’ fury as Sean Brady refuses to resign
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Marie Collins notes Brady “was well aware that Brendan Smyth was free to continue abusing and he did nothing about it.”… Read the rest
Must we protect lady scientists?
May 19th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bats are one of the few non-human species to engage in fellatio. That statement is not sexual harassment.… Read the rest
Gita Sahgal on AI and Moazzem Begg
May 18th, 2010 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Begg had become a hero of the Amnesty movement. It was dangerous to challenge his status as a perfect victim. … Read the rest
