Most such killings happen in ‘conservative Muslim communities’ but it’s custom not religion, BBC insists.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on Building Bridges to Anti-vaxxers
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCan there be a compromise between science and ignorance?… Read the rest
How to Convince ‘Vaccine Skeptics’
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThey will never heed evidence, so ‘we need to encourage moderation,’ says Chris Mooney.… Read the rest
Hugo Rifkind Slept Through Philosophy Class
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHis philosophy degree taught him in week one: ‘If God isn’t the ultimate answer, what is?’… Read the rest
But Of Course Religious People Are Better
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNot superior; just better. Any fule kno that!… Read the rest
NSS Files Complaint Against Cherie Booth
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNSS complained to the Office for Judicial Complaints, suggesting Booth acted in a discriminatory way.… Read the rest
Wole Soyinka is Not Impressed by Islamism
Feb 5th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘We should assemble all those who are pure and cannot abide other faiths, put them all in rockets, and fire them into space.’… Read the rest
Anthony Gottlieb on Gods and Gardens
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIf the divine gardener is invisible, how do we know the divine gardener is tending the garden?… Read the rest
Iran Will Execute 9 More Dissidents
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA senior member of Iran’s judiciary said nine government critics would be hanged soon.… Read the rest
Obama Attends Creepy ‘Prayer Breakfast’
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSponsored by ultra-creepy evangelical network called The Fellowship aka ‘The Family.’… Read the rest
Susan Jacoby on ‘Nasty v Nice’ Atheists
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThis dichotomy is wholly an invention of believers who think atheism is a religion in need of a schism. … Read the rest
P Charles Pitches a Fit at the Enlightenment
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘We cannot go on like this, just imagining that the principles of the Enlightenment still apply now.’ … Read the rest
Andrew Brown on Religious v Secular Jurisprudence
Feb 4th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonOr on his idea of it, anyway.… Read the rest
To the manner born
Feb 4th, 2010 11:32 am | By Ophelia BensonGood old Charles, always stirring the pot, and doing it in such a grand aristocratic irresponsible way.
“I was accused once of being the enemy of the Enlightenment,” he told a conference at St James’s Palace. “I felt proud of that.”
Ah did you, you darling wee man. Well it’s easy for you, isn’t it, because if all the lights go out you can just get a lot of servants to hold the candles for you.
The Prince, who was talking at the annual conference of The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment , went on: “I thought, ‘Hang on a moment’. The Enlightenment started over 200 years ago.”
He’s been studying Madeleine Bunting!
… Read the restIt might be time
Talk to Yggdrasil
Feb 3rd, 2010 12:36 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Lancet has retracted Andrew Wakefield’s article that suggested that vaccines could cause autism. Therefore…
Jim Moody, a director of SafeMinds, a parents’ group that advances the notion the vaccines cause autism, said the retraction would strengthen Dr. Wakefield’s credibility with many parents.
I see. Years of investigation that turned up conflicts of interest and ‘the overwhelming body of research by the world’s leading scientists that concludes there is no link between M.M.R. vaccine and autism’ will strengthen Wakefield’s credibility with many parents. What kind of thing would weaken it then?
… Read the rest…an investigation by a British journalist found financial and scientific conflicts that Dr. Wakefield did not reveal in his paper. For instance, part of the costs of Dr. Wakefield’s
Lisa Bauer’s ‘Subjection and Escape’ Parts 1-3
Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAll in one place.… Read the rest
NY Times on Lancet Retraction
Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnti-vaccine guy said the retraction would strengthen Dr. Wakefield’s credibility with many parents.… Read the rest
Science-Based Medicine on Faith Healing
Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHarriet Hall on the many problems with claims of ‘faith healing.’… Read the rest
General Medical Council to Andrew Wakefield
Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘The panel is satisfied that your conduct was irresponsible and dishonest.’ David Gorski reports.… Read the rest
Full Text of Lancet Retraction [pdf]
Feb 3rd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Following the judgment of the UK General Medical Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel on Jan 28, 2010…’… Read the rest