Crimes committed against women because they are not following religious doctrines are increasing at an alarming rate in Iraq, reports AlterNet: “Violence against women is rampant, rising every day with the power of the militias. Beheadings, rapes, beatings, suicides through self-immolation, genital mutilation, trafficking and child abuse masquerading as marriage of girls as young as nine are all on the increase.” The voices inside Iraq who are speaking out against this violence are themselves threatened with death.
Apr 242008
As I have pointed out before, I have hypothyroidism and am having symptoms that may or may not be related to it. In my quest to be an informed patient, I have been looking for a lot of research. It is rather tedious, especially since I have to get through a lot of misinformation that is on the Internet. Fortunately, I have found a site that looks like it’s done the work for me: MyThyroid.com. It confirms a lot of what I have learned in easy to read summaries of current research with links to the original papers. The FAQs … Continue reading »
Apr 232008
At a U.S. theater near you, a movie is being shown that simply is anti-science propaganda: “Expelled.” With such obvious garbage playing in the United States, it is clear why we’re losing scientific ground to other countries. This is a concern to some CEOs but our politicians don’t seem to mind. The US ranks second lowest in acceptance of evolution. Clearly, movies like Expelled won’t help. (Scientists largely support evolution – not a big surprise there). So, what’s wrong with Expelled? Check out the Scientific American article on it. Or take a look at what the Center for Inquiry has to … Continue reading »
Apr 222008
Although I disagree with Robin Norwood’s diagnosis in Women Who Love Too Much, I think some of the behavioral patterns she is describing are real (even if she made up a lot of those case histories). We need to find a way of explaining the patterns that does not blame the victim but rather empowers them. Re-labeling co-dependency as “internalized oppression” might be counter-productive because it is such a broad idea and it might not be supported by evidence. I would like to propose a new hypothesis: internalized singlism and matrimania. Bella DePaulo points out eloquently in her book Singled … Continue reading »
Apr 182008
I have been fascinated by Ken Miller, the evolutionary biologist who was one of the key witnesses at the Dover trial. Here is this brilliant defender of evolution. And then he’s a Catholic. I just don’t get it! I could maybe understand some New Age mumbo jumbo, but Catholic? Well, the Pew Forum interviewed another great scientist: Francis Collins who is the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. The people who brought use the DNA evidence for evolution. Collins is an evangelical Christian. The interview reflects my suspicion that combining Christian faith with science requires quite some mental … Continue reading »
Apr 172008
I was saddened to see that the Center for Inquiry’s Office of Public Policy is jumping onto the marriage-for-all bandwagon without questioning the institution itself. While they acknowledge that marriage automatically comes with a large set of “legal, social, and economic benefits,” CFI stops short at asking if that is discrimination we want to perpetuate. Bestowing these benefits on people simply because they’ve “tied the knot” – whether as part of a civil union or a marriage – is part of the historical baggage that comes with marriage that might be appropriate to leave behind. There are other relationships, such … Continue reading »
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