“To organise a televised ‘confession’ midway through a judicial review of a serious case makes a mockery of Iran’s legal system.”
Author: Ophelia Benson
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Vatican was “offended” by Irish requests for info
Vatican dug in its heels, then had the gall to claim it “shared the outrage.”
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Roy Sablosky on the myth of Christian charity
The statistical studies that supposedly demonstrate that religion has a positive influence in charitable giving do not hold up when examined carefully.
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American Anthropological Association: no science for us
The AAA decided at its recent annual meeting to strip the word “science” from a statement of its long-range plan.
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Local customs
I’m reading Charles Freeman’s AD 381.
This sounded familiar already; it’s only page 2.
Theodosius was not himself a fanatical Christian, and despite the harshness of the language in which his decrees were expressed, he showed some restraint and flexibility in the way he applied them. In a vast and administratively unwieldy empire, any law lost its impact as it filtered down into the provinces, and some may never have been systematically enforced. However, this worked both ways – a law might be ignored, or it might be imposed with brutality by a local enthusiast.
Ahhh yes – that does sound familiar. It sounds exactly like Pakistan. It sounds exactly like a lot of places. There is never any shortage of local enthusiasts.
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Discussing science and morality
Simon Blackburn, Sam Harris, Steven Pinker, Patricia Churchland, Peter Singer, Laurence Krauss.
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Lehrer on Lehrer on the decline effect
In poll after poll, Americans have dismissed two of the most robust theories of modern science: evolution by natural selection and climate change.
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Coyne on Lehrer on the “decline effect”
It’s a mistake to imply that all scientific truth is simply a choice among explanations that aren’t very well supported.
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BBC on Ashtiani “confession”
And the difficulty of getting at the truth about what is happening to her and her son and her lawyer.
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Reality tv in Iran
So those bastards in Iran were having a little joke. Ashtiani isn’t free at all.
Contrary to a vast publicity campaign by Western media that confessed murderer Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has been released, a team of broadcast production team with the Iran-based Press TV has arranged with Iran’s judicial authorities to follow Ashtiani to her house to produce a visual recount of the crime at the murder scene.
Well that’s the right way to determine guilt: take a tv crew to someone’s house and force her to agree with you that she’s guilty guilty guilty.
Bastards bastards bastards.
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Double-plus ungood
In much less good news, our friend and fellow-troublemaker Josh Slocum had a very serious heart attack a couple of days ago. He’s fine now, he assures us, but it was Bad and Scary and Horrible, and he’s only a youngster. So send him your affection and raillery and friendly insults and other helpful things.
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Good news for a change
Sakineh Ashtiani is free.
Her release is a triumph for an intensive international campaign launched by her son Sajad Ghaderzadeh…Ecstatic campaigners hailed the news. “This is the happiest day in my life,” said Mina Ahadi of the International Committee against Stoning (Icas).
So maybe international pressure does work.
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Guardian reports Ashtiani is free
Ecstatic campaigners hailed the news. “This is the happiest day in my life,” said Mina Ahadi of the International Committee against Stoning.
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Ashtiani and her lawyer are free
We have got news from Iran that they are free,” Mina Ahadi, spokeswoman for the Anti-Stoning Committee, told AFP.
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Martin Robbins on NASA’s arsenic debacle
It’s a story of everything that’s wrong about the relationship between science, peer review, publishing, and the media.
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Aasia Bibi’s family is on the run
Murderous thugs are panting to kill her and her husband and 5 children.