We tend to think of blasphemy laws and punishments for violations as currently existing only in backward religion-dominated societies, usually in the Islamic world. But it was not that long ago that such laws were almost universal and many of them are still on the books in modern societies though not enforced. So it is always a surprise when some people now try and invoke these relics of medieval times. [Read more…]
My post yesterday on the rise of the ideological think tanks and their pernicious influence on high levels of government policy produced some interesting discussion in the comments, with some wondering if I was implying that academics were somehow smarter, wiser, more experienced, even nobler than the people in think tanks, and that discussion prompted this follow-up post. [Read more…]
Prosecutors in Belgian have apparently enough evidence to charge the Church of Scientology and its leaders as “a criminal organization on charges of extortion, fraud, privacy breaches, and the illegal practice of medicine.” [Read more…]
Back in 2008 I wrote a 12-part series titled The Propaganda Machine in which I traced the rise of the right-wing echo chamber that we now see in full fruition, with its combination of newspapers and radio and TV painting a steady picture of an alternate reality that has persuaded a significant number of people that things which are factually false are really true. [Read more…]
You may have heard of the recent trend of what might be called ‘intellectual cruises’ which are pretty much your standard cruises for those who like that sort of thing and can afford it except that instead of (or in addition to) the usual entertainments provided, one gets to hobnob with writers and political operatives, by having a different one at your table at mealtimes or attending seminars and panel discussions or just mingling with them at social events. [Read more…]
I haven’t been able to digest all the features of the fiscal cliff deal as yet. The White House has put out a fact sheet on what the deal contains. My initial reaction is disappointment that does not seem to go nearly as far in taxing the rich as I would have liked but also relief it did not hammer the poor and the safety net as much as I had feared. [Read more…]
(Via gocomics.)
What was your reaction to the shootings last week at the elementary school? If you were like me, you probably felt a combination of shock, sadness, and anger. Shock at the scale of the carnage and the age of most of the victims, sadness at the thought of the terrible grief that the loved ones of the victims must be feeling, and anger at the person who did such an awful thing. [Read more…]
The US has once again shown itself to be the enabler of Israel’s expansionist policies that have all but doomed the possibility of a two-state solution. As the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported, the threat of a veto by the US scuttled a resolution in the UN Security Council to oppose the recent decision by the Netanyahu government to expand its settlement program around Jerusalem. Even the UK abandoned its ally on this one. [Read more…]
There is grim news from Pakistan that five women volunteers in the rural areas who were administering the polio vaccine were shot dead, with the killers suspected of being Taliban, who claim that the vaccination campaign is part of a nefarious plot by the west. As a result, the UN and the Pakistani government have been forced to suspend the program in that region. [Read more…]