Turkish Girl Buried Alive and Probably Awake *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

Most such killings happen in ‘conservative Muslim communities’ but it’s custom not religion, BBC insists.… Read the rest



Jerry Coyne on Building Bridges to Anti-vaxxers *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

Can there be a compromise between science and ignorance?… Read the rest



How to Convince ‘Vaccine Skeptics’ *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

They will never heed evidence, so ‘we need to encourage moderation,’ says Chris Mooney.… Read the rest



Hugo Rifkind Slept Through Philosophy Class *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

His philosophy degree taught him in week one: ‘If God isn’t the ultimate answer, what is?’… Read the rest



But Of Course Religious People Are Better *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

Not superior; just better. Any fule kno that!… Read the rest



NSS Files Complaint Against Cherie Booth *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

NSS complained to the Office for Judicial Complaints, suggesting Booth acted in a discriminatory way.… Read the rest



Wole Soyinka is Not Impressed by Islamism *

Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by

‘We should assemble all those who are pure and cannot abide other faiths, put them all in rockets, and fire them into space.’… Read the rest



Anthony Gottlieb on Gods and Gardens *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

If the divine gardener is invisible, how do we know the divine gardener is tending the garden?… Read the rest



Iran Will Execute 9 More Dissidents *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

A senior member of Iran’s judiciary said nine government critics would be hanged soon.… Read the rest



Obama Attends Creepy ‘Prayer Breakfast’ *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

Sponsored by ultra-creepy evangelical network called The Fellowship aka ‘The Family.’… Read the rest



Susan Jacoby on ‘Nasty v Nice’ Atheists *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

This dichotomy is wholly an invention of believers who think atheism is a religion in need of a schism. … Read the rest



P Charles Pitches a Fit at the Enlightenment *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

‘We cannot go on like this, just imagining that the principles of the Enlightenment still apply now.’ … Read the rest



Andrew Brown on Religious v Secular Jurisprudence *

Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by

Or on his idea of it, anyway.… Read the rest



To the manner born

Feb 4th, 2010 11:32 am | By

Good old Charles, always stirring the pot, and doing it in such a grand aristocratic irresponsible way.

“I was accused once of being the enemy of the Enlightenment,” he told a conference at St James’s Palace. “I felt proud of that.”

Ah did you, you darling wee man. Well it’s easy for you, isn’t it, because if all the lights go out you can just get a lot of servants to hold the candles for you.

The Prince, who was talking at the annual conference of The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment , went on: “I thought, ‘Hang on a moment’. The Enlightenment started over 200 years ago.”

He’s been studying Madeleine Bunting!

It might be time

Read the rest


Talk to Yggdrasil

Feb 3rd, 2010 12:36 pm | By

The Lancet has retracted Andrew Wakefield’s article that suggested that vaccines could cause autism. Therefore…

Jim Moody, a director of SafeMinds, a parents’ group that advances the notion the vaccines cause autism, said the retraction would strengthen Dr. Wakefield’s credibility with many parents.

I see. Years of investigation that turned up conflicts of interest and ‘the overwhelming body of research by the world’s leading scientists that concludes there is no link between M.M.R. vaccine and autism’ will strengthen Wakefield’s credibility with many parents. What kind of thing would weaken it then?

…an investigation by a British journalist found financial and scientific conflicts that Dr. Wakefield did not reveal in his paper. For instance, part of the costs of Dr. Wakefield’s

Read the rest


Lisa Bauer’s ‘Subjection and Escape’ Parts 1-3 *

Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by

All in one place.… Read the rest



NY Times on Lancet Retraction *

Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by

Anti-vaccine guy said the retraction would strengthen Dr. Wakefield’s credibility with many parents.… Read the rest



Science-Based Medicine on Faith Healing *

Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by

Harriet Hall on the many problems with claims of ‘faith healing.’… Read the rest



General Medical Council to Andrew Wakefield *

Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by

‘The panel is satisfied that your conduct was irresponsible and dishonest.’ David Gorski reports.… Read the rest



Full Text of Lancet Retraction [pdf] *

Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by

‘Following the judgment of the UK General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel on Jan 28, 2010…’… Read the rest