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Attorney Guy Ophir filed a $7.5 million libel suit in New York on Tuesday against Aftonbladet, the Swedish tabloid that published the report Aug. 17. Ophir said the article's allegations were anti-Semitic and amounted to a "racist blood libel" against Jews.The article as well as Aftonbladet's journalistic methods have been heavily criticized in Sweden, but the right to publish the article has been unanimously defended.
"Aftonbladet was within its rights to publish the article, and neither the Chancellor of Justice, nor the Israeli government, nor the Swedish ambassador has the right to interfere with that decision," wrote the editor-in-chief of [Expressen's, Aftonbladet's major tabloid rival] culture section, Björn Wiman.
Among the 1101 current signatories to Project Steve are 100% of eligible Nobel laureates (Steven Weinberg and Steven Chu), 100% of eligible members of President Obama's Cabinet (Steven Chu, the Secretary of Energy), at least ten members of the National Academy of Sciences, the authors of widely used textbooks such as Molecular Biology of the Gene, Psychology: An Evolutionary Approach, and Introduction to Organic Geochemistry, and the authors of popular science books such as A Brief History of Time, Why We Age, and Darwin's Ghost. When last surveyed in February 2006, 54% of the signatories work in the biological sciences proper; 61% work in related fields in the life sciences.I just might change my name to Steffen so I can sign it too.
Depression seems to pose an evolutionary paradox. Research in the US and other countries estimates that between 30 to 50 percent of people have met current psychiatric diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder sometime in their lives. But the brain plays crucial roles in promoting survival and reproduction, so the pressures of evolution should have left our brains resistant to such high rates of malfunction.Perhaps I think the current psychiatric criteria for major depressive disorders are rather liberal, but that's a different story. I'll accept that many people experience being really, really sad at some point in their lives.
One reason to suspect that depression is an adaptation, not a malfunction, comes from research into a molecule in the brain known as the 5HT1A receptor. The 5HT1A receptor binds to serotonin, another brain molecule that is highly implicated in depression and is the target of most current antidepressant medications. Rodents lacking this receptor show fewer depressive symptoms in response to stress, which suggests that it is somehow involved in promoting depression. When scientists have compared the composition of the functional part rat 5HT1A receptor to that of humans, it is 99 percent similar, which suggests that it is so important that natural selection has preserved it. The ability to “turn on” depression would seem to be important, then, not an accident.Okay, so 5HT1A promotes depression by binding to serotonin, but it also helps fueling neurons so we can think well. They therefore argue that depression is good for you, because you think better when you are depressed.
(...)
Studies of depression in rats show that the 5HT1A receptor is involved in supplying neurons with the fuel they need to fire, as well as preventing them from breaking down. These important processes allow depressive rumination to continue uninterrupted with minimal neuronal damage, which may explain why the 5HT1A receptor is so evolutionarily important.
Many other symptoms of depression make sense in light of the idea that analysis must be uninterrupted. The desire for social isolation, for instance, helps the depressed person avoid situations that would require thinking about other things. Similarly, the inability to derive pleasure from sex or other activities prevents the depressed person from engaging in activities that could distract him or her from the problem. Even the loss of appetite often seen in depression could be viewed as promoting analysis because chewing and other oral activity interferes with the brain’s ability to process information.Except that the two very things that usually make traits adaptive are precisely what are offered as damaging to thinking: sex and food. We are meant to believe that thinking about one's problems is so much more important than having sex and eating that having a depression is adaptive. That is one hell of a big mouthful that requires a few exclamation points.
Laboratory experiments indicate that depressed people are better at solving social dilemmas by better analysis of the costs and benefits of the different options that they might take.In the meantime the rest of us will be over here having dinner and sex.
Scientia Pro Publica is up on Grrlscientist's blog, Living the Scientific Life.
"Ever since Darwin"™ [1] it has been thought that the human vermiform appendix doesn't serve a function any more, but that the function was lost, and the remnant lingers on - something that is easily explained by evolution, but not so easily explained by creationism.the human appendix is well suited as a “safe house” for commensal bacteria, providing support for bacterial growth and potentially facilitating re-inoculation of the colon in the event that the contents of the intestinal tract are purged following exposure to a pathogen.
Although the appendix has apparently been lost by numerous species, it has also been maintained for more than 80 million years in at least one clade, supporting the idea that the structure has a vital biological function.
Now, some of those same researchers are back, reporting on the first-ever study of the appendix through the ages. Writing in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Duke scientists and collaborators from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University conclude that Charles Darwin was wrong: The appendix is a whole lot more than an evolutionary remnant. Not only does it appear in nature much more frequently than previously acknowledged, but it has been around much longer than anyone had suspected.Parker then said
"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks," says William Parker, Ph.D., assistant professor of surgical sciences at Duke and the senior author of the study. "Many biology texts today still refer to the appendix as a 'vestigial organ.'"
[Emphases added.]
Darwin simply didn't have access to the information we have. If Darwin had been aware of the species that have an appendix attached to a large cecum, and if he had known about the widespread nature of the appendix, he probably would not have thought of the appendix as a vestige of evolution.Here is, then, the relevant passage from Darwin [1]:
He also was not aware that appendicitis, or inflammation of the appendix, is not due to a faulty appendix, but rather due to cultural changes associated with industrialized society and improved sanitation. Those changes left our immune systems with too little work and too much time their hands – a recipe for trouble.
That notion wasn't proposed until the early 1900's, and we didn't really have a good understanding of that principle until the mid 1980's. Even more importantly, Darwin had no way of knowing that the function of the appendix could be rendered obsolete by cultural changes that included widespread use of sewer systems and clean drinking water.
Not only is [the vermiform appendage of the caecum] useless, but it is sometimes the cause of deathHe doesn't use the term vestigial, but instead is very careful (I gather) to say that it no longer has any use (in fact, it isn't even just neutral, per Darwin's observation, but detrimental).
[Emphasis added.]
It's rather unseemly to collect a lot of data that Darwin did not have, run it through PAUP 4.0 on a fast computer, map the data onto a molecular consensus phylogeny, and cackle gleefully over discovering something Darwin did not know. Really, it doesn't make you a better scientist than Darwin."Cackle gleefully" ? Who, Parker? "Make you a better scientist" ? Where does this come from? Parker isn't implying any such thing.
To make it even worse, people who do this can't even make the corpse-fight a fair fight — they have to stuff the pathetic dead body with straw. In this case, they're padding Darwin's investment in the appendix a fair amount. They cite one work by Darwin, The Descent of Man, which mentions this issue. He wrote one whole paragraph on the topic, and here it is, in its entirety;Go to PZ's post to see the quote, which includes the sentence I quote from Darwin above, where he labels the appendix as 'useless.' People criticize the work of dead scientists on scientific grounds as a matter of routine. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. Indeed, this is the way things must be, in order for science to progress. PZ would agree, I know, and I am puzzled why he would scold Parker in this manner.
Note why Darwin classed this appendage as vestigial: because it is greatly reduced compared to the homologous organs in non-human relatives, and because it currently exhibits a great range of variation, which is apparently non-functional. These are criteria which the paper in question does not refute at all. Darwin does say that the appendix is "useless", and the paper will show some evidence that that is wrong. It's also irrelevant.It is not relevant that the appendix is useless? The hell?! PZ harps about the semantics - vestigial vs. useless - but then ignores the meaning behind Parkers's words. Parker clearly means 'useless' when he says 'vestige'. Of that there can be no doubt. How can it be irrelevant whether the appendix has a use, when that is what both papers are all about? (It can't, and it isn't.)
The reason why it is irrelevant is that the presence of some function is not part of the definition of a vestigial or rudimentary organ
If a portion of the gut, a digestive organ, is diminished in size such that it no longer contributes to the primary function of the organ, but does retain a secondary function, such as assisting in immunity, or as the authors of the recent paper will argue, in acting as a reservoir of bacteria for recolonizing the gut, then it is still a vestigial organ. It has lost much of its ancestral function.PZ is using one definition of the word, and not the other (see semantics above).
I mentioned that I'd point out errors in Darwin's understanding. They're there, but note that seeing them now 150 years after he wrote his big book does not make me smarter than Darwin, nor does it invalidate the overall picture of his theory.And Parker neither said nor implied anything to that effect. In fact, he goes to great length to emphasize that "Darwin simply didn't have access to the information we have," and "If Darwin had been aware of the species that have an appendix attached to a large cecum, and if he had known about the widespread nature of the appendix, he probably would not have thought of the appendix as a vestige of evolution." That, and the rest of the Parker's words above from the ScienceDaily article.
Most of my complaints here are with the abysmal presentation of the ideas in it by the popular press, aided and abetted by the scientists themselves. Just keep in mind that whenever these press releases that declare "Darwin was wrong" appear, it's usually an example of grandstanding and the regrettable tendency of competitive scientists to think the way to impress people with the importance of their work is to get into a penis-measuring contest with poor dead Chuck.I was very careful to put "Darwin was wrong" in the title of this post. This is the "abysmal presentation" that PZ is referring to. PZ co-authored a letter to the New Scientist, when they printed those exact words in big letters on the cover of the January 2009 issue. (That cover story was about the uprooting the tree of life, and how parts of it isn't at all like a tree, but a network. I agree it was foolish to choose that headline for the cover, but, luckily, as things have turned out, it didn't really have much of an effect as far as I have seen.) I also think it is impressive when scientists can finally prove Darwin wrong on something. If no one else have been able to do it for almost 150 years, then let us indeed celebrate it with much fanfare whenever someone can. Darwin would have been proud.
"It's a shame that after the Swedish ambassador to Israel did the right thing and condemned the report, clarifying that this newspaper does not represent Sweden in any way or form, the Swedish Foreign Ministry chose to dismiss her statement instead of supporting it," Lieberman said.The free press in Scandinavia is really free. Without fear of government intervention of any kind, they really can write whatever they want. Private parties can sue them for libel, but the government is never involved. I find it ironic that Lieberman here thinks he is in any position to tell the Swedes what it means to have a free press. As for his insinuation that the article is not the truth, it is baffling that he suggests that the Swedish government should believe his word on the matter, without any prior assessment of the facts.
"The meaning of freedom of press is the freedom to publish the truth, not the freedom to lie and slander. A country which really wants to defend democratic values must strongly condemn false reports that reek of anti-Semitism like the one published this week by the Aftonbladet newspaper."
"I have an e-mail here ... saying, 'The Nazis should die and you will be next. We will meet you outside, you will be the next news very soon. Meet you outside,' " Bostrom said.Just to be fair and balanced I am now looking for death threats made by Danish and Swedish citizens against other nationals writing articles criticizing anything Danish or Swedish, or drawing indecent cartoons of Jesus or our royalty (actually, Danish people take pride in doing just that themselves - see below).
Here's a story reminiscent of the ruckus caused by (the reaction to the) Danish cartoons of Muhammad back in 2005.The artist added that the threats began when Sanatan Sanstha, a hard-line group which presents Hinduism as a form of science, told Hindus to call him and “express their anguish” at the images.As a form a science. Right. If you're that far out it's no wonder a depiction of your beloved god will make you threaten someone on their life. (No, I am not saying I would ever threaten anyone because they dissed Issac or Charles.)
One, the extremist organisation Hindu Janagruti Samiti (HJS), called for demonstrations at the exhibition venue.Oh, and we were so worried, but this of course makes it completely safe! No instigation of religious mobs with hurt feelings going nuts can be imagined now.
“We intend to have peaceful protests, but we are not responsible for any law and order problem if it arises,” said Jayesg Thali, an HJS convener.
Ignoring American demands that Mr. Megrahi not be celebrated as a hero returning to his homeland, hundreds of young Libyans were bused to the military airport in Tripoli to welcome him home, cheering and waving Libyan and Scottish flags as he sped off in a convoy of white vehicles.Pissed me off, it did.
On Tuesday, November 13, 2007, Sonny Perdue, the Governor of Georgia, led a group of approximately 250 persons, including many state officials, in a prayer for rain on the steps of the state capitol in Atlanta.1 Georgia had been suffering an extreme drought, and the level of Lake Lanier, an important water reservoir near Atlanta, had been decreasing dramatically over several months. Governor Perdue believed that a divine intervention was necessary and so he boldly asked God to bring rain.It rained. The author, Gary J. Whittenberger, compares the amount of rain before and after the prayer with rainfall in the previous ten years to show that it wasn't an unusual increase in rainfall, especially considering that the prayer was done during a time of drought. As Allan Donald comments, regression to the mean explains the increase in rain all by itself.
Many Georgians considered Perdue a hero and thought that his prayer had influenced God to increase rainfall to the drought stricken vicinity of Atlanta.And therefore I think this article is not such a bad idea after all. Let the Georgians read it, and perhaps some of them will realize that the increase in rainfall coinciding with the prayer does not need to be an act of God.
Homo floresiensis (nicknamed "the hobbit") is the name given to a hominin species whose remains were discovered in 2004 on the island of Flores, Indonesia. But do the bones represent a new species at all, or were they, mundanely, anatomically modern humans with some pathological disorder that caused them to have smaller brains (~400 cc) and be shorter (106 cm) than humans (~1130 cc and 147 cm, average for women and Indonesian women, respectively)?
Alternative interpretations include the possibility that the Liang Bua fossils represent a new hominin species, H. floresiensis (...), and that the holotype specimen, LB1, was a modern human, possibly afflicted with a pathological condition (...). These conflicting hypotheses are based on comparative analyses of the morphology of the bones with both archaic and modern Homo, typically using statistical methods to compare the Liang Bua bones with those of other hominins.Again, I do not see how using cladistic analysis can be used to resolve this question of whether H. floresiensis was a human with a pathological condition or a separate species. In fact, the same issue exists between H. georgicus (Dmanisi) and H. erectus. H. georgicus is now thought to represent an early stage before H. erectus, rather than being a separate species. Yet, here they are assumed to be different species.
The morphological and morphometric analyses have contributed much to the debate about H. floresiensis, but have not conclusively resolved the controversy about the position of the species in human evolution. We, therefore, use a different tool, cladistic analysis, which has not yet been applied to resolving this problem.
Based on rigorous cladistic analyses, we propose that H. floresiensis evolved in the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene. The first of our two equally parsimonious trees suggests that H. floresiensis branched after H. rudolfensis (represented by KNM-ER 1470) but prior to the divergence of H. habilis (represented by KNM-ER 1813 and OH 24). Alternatively, our results are equally supportive of H. floresiensis branching after the emergence of H. habilis.Agreed. I too believe H. floresiensis to be a new species, and given that, I can accept the cladistic analysis (again, ignoring my issues with parsimony in cladistics).
Our results sustain H. floresiensis as a new species (Brown et al., 2004; Morwood et al., 2005) and favor the hypothesis that H. floresiensis descended from an early species of Homo (Falk et al., 2005; Argue et al., 2006; Larson et al., 2007; Tocheri et al., 2007).In their earlier paper (Argue et al., 2006) the morphological data were used to support this conclusion, but, again, the results in the present paper does not "sustain H. floresiensis as a new species (...) and favor the hypothesis that H. floresiensis descended from an early species of Homo," when it is assumed that they are separate species.
Alan Turing was the greatest computer scientist ever born in Britain. He laid the foundations of computing, helped break the Nazi Enigma code and told us how to tell whether a machine could think.Via Pharyngula.
He was also gay. He was prosecuted for being gay, chemically castrated as a 'cure', and took his own life, aged 41.
The British Government should apologize to Alan Turing for his treatment and recognize that his work created much of the world we live in and saved us from Nazi Germany. And an apology would recognize the tragic consequences of prejudice that ended this man's life and career.
There is much reason to be critical of the field of evolutionary psychology, not because it isn't obvious at some level that the human mind is an evolved organ, but rather because much of the research comes down to evolutionary just-so explanations of otherwise interesting studies of human psychology. When, on the other hand, this process is reversed, it does have scientific merit. The right way to do it is to start hypothesizing based on our evolutionary history, and then set forth to do experiments that may reject or validate these hypotheses.We recently completed a study of over 50 mothers recruited through local pediatric offices at 4–6 weeks postpartum [25]. Consistent with previous reports, we found that those who bottle fed their babies scored significantly higher on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale than those engaged in breastfeeding. The increased risk of depression among mothers who relied on bottle feeding held true even after we controlled for such things as age, education, income, and the mother’s relationship with her current partner.The authors don't label their study as evolutionary psychology, but as evolutionary medicine, and I commend the emergence of this new discipline. What can it bring to the table, then? The authors conclude that
Bottle feeding practices and hospital procedures that simulate child loss may increase the risk of postpartum depression and fall within a growing number of medical issues that could benefit from an evolutionary perspective.[The paper is published in a journal owned by Elsevier, and is not free. If you want a copy of the PDF, let me know and I will send you one.]
If you drink bottled water, you've probably drunk Fiji. Or wanted to. Even though it's shipped from the opposite end of the globe, even though it retails for nearly three times as much as your basic supermarket water, Fiji is now America's leading imported water, beating out Evian. It has spent millions pushing not only the seemingly life-changing properties of the product itself, but also the company's green cred and its charity work. Put all that together in an iconic bottle emblazoned with a cheerful hibiscus, and everybody, from the Obamas to Paris and Nicole to Diddy and Kimora, is seen sipping Fiji.All this is from an article, Fiji Water: Spin the Bottle, by Anna Lenzer, who went to Fiji to see the bottling plant by herself.
Nowhere in Fiji Water's glossy marketing materials will you find reference to the typhoid outbreaks that plague Fijians because of the island's faulty water supplies; the corporate entities that Fiji Water has—despite the owners' talk of financial transparency—set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg; or the fact that its signature bottle is made from Chinese plastic in a diesel-fueled plant and hauled thousands of miles to its ecoconscious consumers. And, of course, you won't find mention of the military junta for which Fiji Water is a major source of global recognition and legitimacy. (Gilmour [the company's founder] has described the square bottles as "little ambassadors" for the poverty-stricken nation.)It's not that I have seen Lynda Resnick (current owner of FIJI Water) excoriate Anna Lenzer's claims, but I'll be damned if FIJI Water is willing to admit that they are true. Assuming that someone financially involved in FIJI Water will eventually answer (and by 'answer' I mean 'deny') part of her criticisms, my question is how it is that we'll believe one or the other.
"[people who was in this experiment] were more able to take the perspective of homosexuals, than were the control participants [who attended a lecture on homophobia] , and this in turn was associated with more empathy towards people who are homosexual, a greater tendency to think of homosexuals and heterosexuals as all belonging to the same category (being human) and ultimately to more positive attitudes towards people who are homosexual."
Surely not those who need it most: America's anti-evolutionists. These religious adherents often view science itself as an assault on their faith and doggedly refuse to accept evolution because they fear it so utterly denies God that it will lead them, and their children, straight into a world of moral depravity and meaninglessness. An in-your-face atheist touting evolution, like Dawkins, is probably the last messenger they'll heed.But but but. While I would also guess that those who are firmly set in their religious beliefs and tenaciously anti-science aren't going to touch the book, those aren't the only audience that would benefit from reading it (in the eyes of pro-science folks). The people I hope will read it - as I know some have read The God Delusion - are younger people (teenagers, people in their twenties) who are perhaps fence-sitters, or even already totally pro-science, and these people will talk about it. Most won't know much about evolution at first, but with a book like this they will understand evolution better, be better able to have a conversation on the subject, and will talk about it with their friends, some of whom might be children of those very religious parents who would never read it. Perhaps they will start question the creation myth they hear in church, and stop accepting it on faith, as a result of reading a conflicting account.
It turns out that late in life, when an atheist author asked permission to dedicate a book to Darwin, the great scientist wrote back his apologies and declined. For as Darwin put it, "Though I am a strong advocate for free thought on all subjects, yet it appears to me (whether rightly or wrongly) that direct arguments against Christianity & theism produce hardly any effect on the public; & freedom of thought is best promoted by the gradual illumination of men's minds, which follows from the advance of science."Except that Darwin lived in a different time, where it might have been true that "direct arguments" had next to no effect (I am not sure of that either - just because Darwin said it doesn't make it so), but this is a different era, with mass communication and massive communication: while TV and radio aren't the media seething most with this controversy, the internet is constantly buzzing with it, and it is easy for anyone with internet access to find. Perhaps Darwin would have changed his statement had he known?
Finally, a request. If you support science and reason, if you appreciate all that technology and secular society have done to relieve suffering, promote freedom, and bring opportunity to many, then please stick with your rationality even when it takes you to uncomfortable places. Don’t allow fear to overcome logic. Accept the facts and the truth even if they require you to change your opinions. In the long run, both you and the world we live in will be much better for it.Live long and prosper!
First, they ignored us... then, they ridiculed us... now, they're fighting us.Actually, we're still at the ridicule stage.
Soon, we will win. But we need YOUR help to get over that finish line!
WHAT is Barack Obama trying to hide? WHAT is he afraid of? WHY doesn't he just release these documents to prove that he is a natural-born citizen and, therefore, qualified to serve as President -- especially his actual birth certificate?It's a common tactic also of creationists to ask what their opponents are afraid of. "Why don't you show us the evidence that we evolved from monkeys? What are you afraid of?"
Frankly, the evidence that Barack Hussein Obama was born in Africa -- not Hawaii as he claims -- and, therefore, cannot serve as the President of the United States, is compelling.Really? Let's see what this "compelling" evidence is (with my comments in red):
* First, Mr. Obama's refusal to release his birth certificate. If he has nothing to hide, what does he gain by refusing to allow the press to see the birth certificate? [The press has seen it.]So, reader, how "compelling" do you find this evidence? On a scale from -3 to 11, I'd say it's an imaginary number, like -666i.
* Second, the contention by Barack Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, that Mr. Obama was born in a particular Hawaiian hospital, only to claim that it was in a different hospital several years later. Plus, there is the recent letter that Mr. Obama wrote, contradicting his previous statements as to which hospital that he claims to have been born in, in Hawaii. [So his sister can't remember an event she wasn't present at (she was born in 1970).]
* Third, the erecting of a wall around Barack Obama's grandmother, the late Madelyn Dunham, by Mr. Obama, thus cutting off access to the one person then alive who would have been present if he was actually born in Hawaii. [Perhaps there was another reason to protect her against hordes of crazy conservative fundies late in her life? Either way, do you think there's a chance she would do anything but confirm that Obama was born in Hawaii?]
* Fourth, the posting of law enforcement personnel at the two hospitals in Honolulu mentioned by Ms. Soetoro-Ng in an effort to block the press from discovering the truth about the birth certificate. [Or to control hordes of crazy conservative fundies, maybe?]
* Fifth, a taped phone conversation with Mr. Obama's step-grandmother, who claims that she was present at his birth... in what is now called Kenya! [That would indeed be an interesting recording to listen to. I honestly never heard about it before. Let's hear it. Then weigh that evidence against all the people who testify that he was born in Hawaii. But, throwing the crazy conservative fundies a bone, do go searching for this taped phone conversation. Do spend all your time following this lead, please.]
* Sixth, the "birth certificate" posted on the Obama campaign website and other liberal websites. Since Barack Obama was born in 1961, long before laser printers and office computers, his original birth certificate would be typewritten ... unlike the laser printed "copy" purported to be genuine. [As is very common, the birth certificate we have seen is not an original from 1961. The records of his birth are kept by the State of Hawaii, and they can print new copies on request. If Obama forged this certificate, that would be a felony committed years prior to running for for president (to get his passport, for example).]
Are you willing to see the Constitution shredded by the Left? Will you sit back and do nothing while a foreign-born person may be illegally occupying the White House as President of the United States?I thought they wanted to just see the evidence, but here it looks like they have made up their mind already (but of course, the whole letter a scare-tactic to get fellow crazy conservative fundies to donate to Human Events, so, as with all advertising, anything goes as long as it sells.)
P. S.: This is the biggest political cover-up in American history! It would be so simple to release the documents to PROVE that Barack Obama is a natural-born citizen... IF HE HAD THE DOCUMENTS!Keep up the good work!
America has never before faced such a threat. Everything we hold dear is at risk with Barack Obama sitting as President without him releasing his actual birth certificate and other documents.
Barack Hussein Obama thinks he can get away with DUPING the American people and DESTROYING the U.S. Constitution. DON'T LET HIM DO IT! Please, make your best possible contribution to USJF today:
It was long reported that Einstein gave the Nobel prize money directly to his first wife, Mileva Marić, in compliance with their 1919 divorce settlement. However, personal correspondence made public in 2006[121] shows that he invested much of it in the United States, and saw much of it wiped out in the Great Depression.*Shrug*
Compared to the sun that sits in the sky,Here's an excellent live recording of it from 1970.
compared to the clouds as they roll by,
compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies,
I am an ape man
Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson said the practice of altering pictures can harm young people's health and self-esteem and that “women are pressurised to conform to a narrow image of beauty".Here is an in favor but sorely pessimistic view, saying that such a law will never pass. Nonsense, says I. If warning labels on cigarettes can be done, then why not this? It's not like it's going to hurt any political candidates financially. Or ideologically.
Microevolution is simply the rearranging of genetic information that is already present. A child may be born with blond, brown, red, or black hair. Hair could be curly, straight or a combination of the two. However, hair is still hair and no new information has been added to the genes.This guy seriously does not understand the concept of information. If the parents have black hair and the offspring have red (and this is due to a mutation), then there is new information in the genome, namely to make the hair red. Exceptional asininanity.
Baby Be-Bop the book is, in the words of author Francesca Lia Block, "a very sweet, simple, coming-of-age story about a young man's discovery that he's gay." A copy of it in the local library wouldn't normally obset anyone, except in this case the library is in West Bend, Wisconsin (to the coasters better known as "the middle of nowhere"). Then it's a major problem.But the controversy isn't over. Now an outfit called the Christian Civil Liberties Union has gotten in on the act, suing the library for, according to the West Bend Daily News, "damaging" the "mental and emotional well-being" of several individuals by displaying "Baby Be-Bop" in the library. Since attempts to label the novel as "pornographic" have failed, the (somewhat shadowy) CCLU hopes to brand it as hate speech, in part because it contains the word "nigger." The complainants, described as "elderly" by the newspaper, claim that Block's novel is "explicitly vulgar, racial [sic] and anti-Christian." They want the library's copy not only removed but publicly burned.(More on the claim of the plaintiffs here.)
Dirk [book's main character] is beaten by gay bashers but steadfastly clings to the possibility of finding love.I trust little Baby Be-Bop will prevail in the same manner in Wisconsin. I predict tolerance will defeat homophobia the same way in the end, though in America it looks very much like it means waiting for the conservative, Christian, elderly, zealots to die out.
