Taking Human Rights Watch to task

There are many good human rights organizations that are based in the US that look out for the interests of the powerless around the globe. But I have noticed that even though they do on occasion criticize actions by the US government and its client states, sometimes strongly so, they are sensitive to charges that they are being ‘anti-American’, a commonly used rhetorical weapon to stifle criticism. Hence they are more comfortable criticizing the actions of countries that are not US allies. I have noticed that whenever they get a chance to be on the side of the US government, they seize it, perhaps to brush up their establishment credentials and to improve their chances of getting money from their primarily American donor base. [Read more…]

Wine tasting

I am definitely not a gourmet when it comes to food and drink. My senses of taste and smell are not highly developed and I do not frequent fancy restaurants. My idea of a good eating experience is to order familiar take out dishes from local Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Mexican restaurants. My reaction to food consists of just three categories: good, okay, or bad. [Read more…]

Why young people become atheists

Larry Alex Taunton (a Christian) has an interesting article in The Atlantic magazine where he undertook a project to interview young people who had become atheists. It was not meant to be a scientific survey but more a collection of individual stories, which can often provide richer insights than dry statistics. While Taunton’s goal was to find ways to create a more appealing form of Christianity, the themes that emerged from his conversations as to why young people stopped believing are interesting on their own. [Read more…]

The Snowden wild goose chase

We are watching in real time a chess game between Snowden and his supporters and the US government that is bordering on the absurd. The latest is the news that the 12-hour Aeroflot flight from Moscow to Havana that Snowden was supposed to be on left without him but with a large number of journalists who had hoped to travel with him, as the Guardian‘s live blogging reports. [Read more…]