Year: 2010

  • Reporter has opinions, resigns

    Is it possible to report accurately despite opinions?

  • Bangladesh: girl given 101 lashes for being raped

    The village elders pardoned the rapist.

  • Ratzinger v Belgium

    The pope is pissed off because Belgian police are investigating Belgian citizens over allegations of crimes against other Belgian citizens (who were underage at the time) along with concealment and perpetuation of those crimes. What business, exactly, does the pope have being pissed off about this? He is the head of the organization the suspects work for, but so what?

    The Vatican has expressed shock at raids, including the “violation” of a cathedral crypt, by Belgian police investigating alleged child sex abuse.

    Well that’s typical, isn’t it – they’re “shocked” about the “violation” of a crypt – an inanimate object – when they were never all that shocked about the repeated violation of living breathing feeling human beings at their hands. They have a sick, disgusting sense of priorities, and they can’t seem to unlearn it, even with the help of relentless public scrutiny and opprobrium. They seem to be unteachable.

    The Vatican has summoned the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See to voice anger over Thursday’s raids.

    Summoned? Summoned? Who does he think he is? Okay he’s the notional head of the notional state to which the Belgian ambassador is the notional ambassador. But all the same – who does he think he is? What right does he think he has to “voice anger” over police investigation of crimes committed and concealed by his loathsome festering rot-riddled gang of theocrats?

    The answer is probably sealed up in some crypt or other.

  • Helping

    Hey – want to do something? Want to make a difference? Want to make all the horrid oil in the gulf turn into nice healthy salt water and plankton and plastic water bottles? You can do all that. Deepak Chopra and Jean Houston and all those people will show you the way.

    First step is tomorrow, 10 a.m. where I am, whatever time it is where you are. That’s Setting Our Sacred Intention time.

    We begin by setting our collective intention. Join Deepak Chopra to set our powerful vision and participate in a worldwide Intention Experiment with renowned author and journalist Lynne McTaggart. Explore how our collective intention, our voice and our commitment can impact the cleanup of the oil spill. And then we will be graced by Jean Houston who will share with us why this time matters and why we matter.

    Next step is July 6, 5:30 p.m. where I am, you figure it out where you are. This is The Power of Sacred Prayer. (Not to be confused with The Power of Mundane Prayer.)

    Our collective prayers and thoughts have the power to cause a profound shift on the planet. Pray with some of the most powerful spiritual thought leaders – Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith, Joan Borysenko, James O’Dea and more. Together we discover that we have the power to change the world.

    So at about 6:30 p.m. my time on Tuesday July 6th (frankly I don’t care what time it is where you are) all the oil in and around the Gulf will suddenly crinkle up like tissue paper and then kind of dry out like an old orange peel and then it will just evaporate, in a non-toxic way, and that will be the end of that. All everybody has to do is re-stock the fish and other fauna, and everything is made whole. Just by all praying together at the same time. Way easier than trying to engineer a way to seal off the oil, and trying to mop up millions of barrels of the fucking stuff. Also prettier, nicer, more spirichal, and with fluffier hair.

    See you tomorrow at 10 a.m. my time! Bring pastries.

  • Join The Gulf Call to Sacred Action

    Our collective prayers and thoughts have the power to cause a profound shift on the planet. Srsly.

  • Frontline on vaccine alarmism

    Bad thinking, pseudoscience, batshit craziness.

  • That Rolling Stone article

    General seems unaware that the US has civilian government.

  • Supreme Court versus anti-corruption law

    Ruled that the concept of committing fraud through depriving an employer of “honest services” was not adequately defined in the law.

  • Mayor of Leicester stands by prayer decision

    “Saying prayers for a particular religion before council meetings was not inclusive.”

  • Ratzinger “indignant” about Belgian law enforcement

    “The Vatican has summoned the Belgian ambassador to the Holy See to voice anger over Thursday’s raids.”

  • Saudis sentenced to lashes, prison for “mingling”

    4 women, 11 men got lashes and one to two years in prison for attending a party.

  • Put your hands out where I can see them

    Belgian authorities heightened pressure on the Roman Catholic Church in a sex-abuse scandal on Thursday, raiding the Belgian church headquarters, the home of a former archbishop and the offices of a commission established by the church to handle abuse complaints.

    Police arrived at the church headquarters, the palace of the archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, on Thursday morning while the monthly bishops meeting was in progress, a church spokesman said, questioning all of those present, from bishops down to staff members such as cooks and drivers.

    Now that’s more like it. That sounds as if someone actually realizes that raping children is a crime, and not a little foible that can be gently discouraged by one’s colleagues without anyone’s hair having to get mussed.

    The authorities’ decision to search church property, question bishops and seize documents and other potential evidence represented a major departure in such investigations and a sign that in criminal matters the church will not be afforded special treatment here. This sort of activity “Is extremely rare, very rare, especially in the house of a cardinal,” said Andrea Tornielli, a Vatican expert at the Italian daily Il Giornale. “It’s enormous.”

    …Barbara Dorris, outreach director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, said in a statement that the raid was “precisely what’s needed, not just in Belgium but in other church offices across the globe.”

    “Law enforcement officials must stop giving the Catholic hierarchy a ‘free pass’ when it comes to clergy sex crimes and cover-ups,” Ms. Dorris said. “Police and prosecutors need to step up, and promptly and thoroughly investigate allegations against predator priests and corrupt bishops, and use their full powers to gain access to and control over church records that likely document the crimes and cover-ups.”

    No more special treatment. That’s all. Not an unreasonable expectation.

  • More on Belgian police raid on bishops

    Cops arrived at headquarters during the monthly bishops’ meeting and started questioning everyone. Everyone.

  • Secular Coalition for America Opposes Kagan for Supreme Court

    Justice John Paul Stevens has been a historic champion of our constitutional separation of church and state. He has consistently sought to strike down special privileges for religion and its impositions on the rights of others. President Obama’s choice to replace him, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, does not appear to embrace the fundamental American principle of church-state separation with the vigor and force of Justice John Paul Stevens. This conclusion is based on the evidence that has come to light since her nomination to the United States Supreme Court.

    Indeed, in at least one instance, Ms. Kagan appears to directly rebuff the church-state jurisprudence of Justice Stevens.

    Thus, Secular Coalition for America opposes Ms. Kagan’s nomination until she makes her support for church-state separation much more clear and emphatic. Five instances raise grave concern that Ms. Kagan does not share the judicial philosophy of Justice Stevens:

    1) As an attorney for the Clinton White House in 1996, Ms. Kagan advocated that the administration intervene in a case in which the California Supreme Court ruled that a landlord could not discriminate against prospective tenants-an unmarried couple-because her religion condemned sex out of wedlock. The California court ruled that it is not a “substantial burden” for those who choose to enter the marketplace to treat customers equally. Ms. Kagan argued that the court’s ruling was “quite outrageous.” Kagan’s exact same reasoning would apply against gay couples who sleep together-and potentially to people of particular races (as many religions have historically condemned as inferior those of differing races or ethnicities).

    Is Elena Kagan prejudiced? Of course not. But Ms. Kagan’s legal reasoning opens the door to dressing up prejudice against any number of groups as a “burden” on those who would impose their prejudice on others. The California Supreme Court ruled correctly that someone who elects to enter into the business market place is not “burdened” by a requirement of equal treatment.

    2) In 1999, Congress attempted to pass the Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA). Had this law passed, applicants for employment or housing might have had no legal protection from being forced to answer religiously motivated questions concerning their marital status, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or whether they are pregnant or HIV-positive. Ms. Kagan, disappointingly, described herself as “the biggest fan” in the Clinton White House of RLPA, and, though one would hope to find proof to the contrary, there is no evidence that Kagan expressed outrage at the thought of undermining the enforcement of state and local civil rights laws on the basis of religious bias.

    3) During her Senate confirmation hearings for the office of Solicitor General, Ms. Kagan commented on a memo she authored while a clerk for Justice Thurgood Marshall pertaining to Bowen v. Kendrick which asserted that religious groups should not be able to receive public funding even for secular activities, as those funds would inevitably find their way to serving explicitly sectarian purposes. But Ms. Kagan told the Senate her reasoning in this memo had been “deeply mistaken” and “utterly wrong,” calling it, “the dumbest thing [she] had ever read.” Yet Kagan’s reasoning in the memo was entirely consistent with the reasoning in the Bowen dissent, supported by both Justice Marshall-and Justice John Paul Stevens.

    4) When charitable choice provisions were initially inserted into Welfare Reform legislation in 1996, the Clinton Justice Department advocated that “charitable choice” organizations should not be pervasively religious, as would be required by sound constitutional principles. Ms. Kagan, while employed as White House Counsel, seems to have de-emphasized the Justice Department’s concern and may indeed have not supported the Department position. Regardless, this was another instance in which Ms. Kagan was not a strong, vocal and forceful advocate for separation of church and state in the spirit of Justice John Paul Stevens.

    5) In notes from a speech given at Princeton University in 2003, Ms. Kagan seemed to imply that the courts could cede to Congress the power to have politicians decide how fundamental American rights could be interpreted in some important instances. If this is her opinion, this is an unsettling viewpoint that goes far beyond separation of church and state. But as to church-state issues, it might, in violation of long-standing jurisprudence, allow a political majority to interpret the constitutional rights of a minority. This seems inconsistent with the jurisprudence of Justice Stevens and raises serious questions regarding the liberties of every American, particularly Secular Americans. Perhaps Ms. Kagan can clarify her position, but the indications from her notes are a valid and significant concern.

    It is possible that during her confirmation hearings, Ms. Kagan will expand upon her positions, and emerge a more acceptable nominee. But for now the evidence points in an unfavorable direction. The Secular Coalition for America has composed a series of questions addressed to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that will hopefully clarify where Solicitor General Kagan stands on a series of church-state related issues which we strongly urge the committee to ask. These questions are available at www.secular.org/kaganquestions.

    We urge those Senators to honor the true intent of our nation’s Founders and their belief in church-state separation, and to question Ms. Kagan carefully on these matters. Given what is currently known, the Secular Coalition for America respectfully asks that the Senate reject her nomination and that President Obama choose a nominee who will clearly stand up for church-state separation and against religious discrimination with the boldness and courage worthy of Justice John Paul Stevens.

  • The hermeneutic auction

    First there’s Daniel Harrell’s essay for BioLogos explaining that Adam and Eve were really truly. The introduction (perhaps written by someone else – it’s not clear) says “science does not rule out the possibility of a historical Adam and Eve.” Wull, yes it does. A historical woman and man who were the only humans on the planet and lived about 4 6 thousand years ago? Yes it does. So does history.

    Anyway, Harrell explains that we can decide that Eve and Adam were really truly in a different way from being created all of a sudden by god and then filled up with fake DNA to trick everyone.

    Can we use “formed” and “breathed” to mean created through the long and continuous history of biological evolution (as were the other living creatures in Genesis 1)? If so, then perhaps “the Lord God formed the man” could be read emphasizing the novelty and uniqueness which humans inhabit.

    Yeah, we can; sure. It’s a silly way to say that, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

    But pesky sciency Richard Dawkins and Jerry Coyne and PZ Myers said it’s silly to bother working out a way to say that Adam and Eve are really truly.

    So the president of BioLogos, Darrel Falk, wrote to Dawkins to tell him he’d misunderstood. Dawkins answered to say oh no I didn’t. He didn’t, too. He was saying the second option, partially quoted above, was silly, not that the first one was. Of course the first one is – the first one is just “it was just like it says here on the page.” The point is that the contortionist one is silly too.

    Now Darrel Falk is all weary and washed out, because here he is offering the middle ground and all these people stomp their foot and say No! we don’t want your damn middle ground.

    He wants us to see there is middle ground between saying Adam and Eve were really truly in just the way the bible says, and saying there were no such people as Adam and Eve. He wants to make it a matter of negotiation and adjudication and splitting the difference, rather than a matter of getting it right. What should we do, bargain away a bit at a time? They lived five thousand years ago. Ten thousand. A million. No? Five hundred thousand? Sold! They were part of a group of forty humans. Sixty. A hundred. A hundred thousand. No? Ten thousand? Sold! They had parents and grandparents. They had ancestors going back ten generations. They had ancestors going back a thousand generations. No? Fifty? Sold!

    And then that’s what goes in the textbooks, and that becomes the consensus? Or what? What’s Darrel Falk looking for? What kind of middle ground is he talking about? Epistemic? Political? Both at once?

    It won’t do. Either way it won’t do. Even if it’s just political, it won’t work, because it will be so obvious when all the sciencey types go right on saying humans began to split from other apes some 6 million years ago whenever they’re not doing politics.

    Another cunning plan breaks down.

  • Dawkins and BioLogos’s Darrel Falk

    It’s a misunderstanding. No it isn’t.

  • Stephen Law on playing the mystery card

    “We must acknowledge that science and reason have their limits. It is sheer arrogance to suppose they can explain everything.”

  • Germany: Jewish dance group stoned

    Police said several Muslim immigrant youths were among the attackers; some shouted “Juden Raus.”

  • Cops raid headquarters of Belgian Catholic Church

    The archbishop’s palace has been sealed; a retired archbishop’s computer has been seized.

  • Jerry Coyne on natural selection in humans

    There is evidence – not conclusive, but suggestive – that it happens.