The word ‘scientism’ frequently crops up in discussions of atheism and religion. It is often used pejoratively as an epithet against new atheists, to suggest that they are somehow extremists who think that anything that is not science-based is somehow worthless. [Read more…]
Baxter the Wonder Dog is not overly fond of playing fetch. He particularly does not like to play it outdoors. But on occasion indoors he will play for about a dozen throws before he gets fed up and wanders off. But sometimes when he gets excited about something he will fling his fetch toy by himself and then pick it up. [Read more…]
I was reading the Wall Street Journal that the conference hotel provides and came across this article today that suggests that there are splits between the three groups that are providing support to Edward Snowden: Wikileaks, Glenn Greenwald, and Snowden’s father’s husband and wife legal team of Bruce and Mattie Fein. Mattie Fein said that they were concerned that the other two groups were not acting in Snowden’s best interests and were working for their own benefit and even trying to make money off him. [Read more…]
Sports writer Martin Manley committed suicide yesterday on his 60th birthday. Unlike most suicides that leave people wondering fruitlessly what caused it, he decided to create an elaborate website that has a long explanation and is prepaid five years in advance. [Read more…]
There have been a spate of recent cases involving fraud at the major banks and this may give the impression that the government is finally cracking down on them. Matt Taibbi argues that we need to look very carefully at the outcomes of these prosecutions to see if they are really serious. [Read more…]
I don’t drink alcohol. There are several reasons for it. One is that I just never developed the taste for it and find it unpleasant. Another is that Sri Lanka has a real drinking problem with many people drinking far too much too often and I had considerable first-hand awareness of the negative effects on them and their families and careers, which turned me off at an early age. The third is that on the solitary occasion where I had several drinks, I noticed that I was losing control of what I said and did, and it was not a pleasant feeling. As a result, I only drink wine on very rare occasions when offering a toast or something and have a beer once or twice a year at events where there is no alternative. [Read more…]
I think that pope Francis has picked up a few ideas from president Obama. Recall that Obama came into office as the agent of hope and change, who would reverse the course of the Bush administration and bring about transparency and a commitment to end the civil and human rights abuses. Many people who hated what the Bush/Cheney regime had wrought bought into that at least partially and supported him enthusiastically. [Read more…]
The global population exploded during the 20th century, aided in part by better public health that reduced infant mortality and increased life expectancy. It now stands at around 7.1 billion. But how many people have lived during the entire time that homo sapiens have been around? [Read more…]
Although we might have thought that the US Supreme Court had ended the debate over California’s Proposition 8, that was not quite the case. Opponents argued that the US District Court case that overturned the proposition that voided the ban on same-sex marriage only allowed the two couples who brought that suit to get married and did not carry statewide implications. [Read more…]