tales of an ordinary girl

Astronomy
Earthrise



Atheism
The Free Will Argument
But this is a gross mischaracterization. Modern law has at least some basis in the “law of the jungle,” which, aside from rewarding the powerful, also ties cooperation to fairness and reciprocation. Recent studies on both chimpanzees and dogs have shown that they have a strong moral sense. They respond negatively to perceived unfairness as all intelligent life forms do–by refusing to cooperate. Packs, prides, and tribes are all bound together by this same tension between cooperation and competition. Cheaters and free-riders are punished and cooperators rewarded. Behavior, like other traits, has an evolutionary component, and humans only have self-reflection to separate us from animals. For both, it’s a constant tension between short and long-term self-interest, between the good of the one and the good of the many. Any part of this equation that’s not innate is learned socially. Social animals and humans have always been forced by circumstances to learn to work together and reciprocate. Morality is the inevitable outcome of the interplay between individuals and the groups to which they belong.

Civil Rights
Prop 8 proponents seek to nullify same-sex marriages
Sponsors of the California ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage are seeking to nullify thousands of marriages between gay and lesbian couples performed after the state Supreme Court ruled them constitutional.

The sponsors Friday filed responses to three anti-Proposition 8 lawsuits with the state Supreme Court. The briefs also defend Proposition 8 against opponents' legal challenges, including an argument that the amendment needed a constitutional convention to be added to the state's constitution.

International
US balks at backing condemnation of anti-homosexuality laws
"It's disappointing," said Rama Yade, France's human rights minister, of the U.S. position _ which she described as in contradiction with America's long tradition as a defender of human rights.

According to some of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

UN adopts anti-defamation resolution, draws critics’ ire
Washington, 21 December (IranVNC)—The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a non-binding resolution against the defamation of religion, ignoring critics who say that it threatens the right to free expression and can be used to silence religious minorities and dissenters.

National
Let's talk about clean coal
When power plants burn coal to produce energy, the coal doesn't just vanish into the atmosphere to cause global warming. No, there's a substantial amount of left-over sludge called coal ash, a nasty mess that is enriched for toxic heavy metals. It is seriously nasty stuff. This glop has to be stored, somewhere, usually piled up and walled-off, because it's not healthy for anything.

Behold what happens when the containment walls fail.

Politics
Timothy Shriver Says Yes on the Warren Choice
We are created by a compassionate God who “fashioned us with care and love in the palm of divine light” - yet has consigned the majority of the world’s inhabitants - those who, for mysterious reasons known only to the deity in question, have not been fortunate enough to be among the Chosen - to eternal condemnation. I continue to be astounded that any religious believer can hold this pair of beliefs in the same mind at the same time. Then again, what do I know? I’m still trying to figure out what the “palm of divine light” is (to be honest, it just sounds like more rhetorical flourishing to me).

Religion
Too Little, Too Late?
It took the church about 350 years to finally own up to its stupidity, and now it wants to play nice with Galileo’s memory, by sucking up to science, despite the fact that religion is still the greatest enemy of reason that exists on this Earth. (You know. The one that revolves around the sun? Yeah, that one.) Are we to fall for this? This is the same church, led by the same pope that says, today, that homosexuality is as much of a threat to the survival of the human race as climate change. Are we supposed to trust his analysis?

Science
Who Goes There?
And recently the research team of Michael Persinger had the fortune of capturing a sensed presence event on EEG (which measures the electrical activity of the brain).

The subject is a woman who has had numerous episodes of sensed presence after a head injury. Persinger now presents a case report of her EEG, recorded while she experienced the sense of a man in the room with her when none was present. For some reason as yet unknown, 90% of time a sensed presence is of a member of the opposite sex. The EEG shows a burst of electrical activity in her left temporal lobe during the event, and of note she perceived the presence to be on her right side. (Brain activity corresponds to the contralateral or opposite side of the world.)

Hysteria in Four Acts
Despite many efforts to account for hysterical behavior by tying it to some specific underlying brain disorder, none has succeeded. For this reason, the psychiatrist Thomas Szasz famously claimed in The Myth of Mental Illness (1961) that hysteria was not a “legitimate disease.” But most psychiatrists who accept the reality of hysteria do not regard it as a disease. They see it, rather, as a behavioral disorder. It derives not from an identifiable change within a cell or neural pathway, as in the case of disease, but from provocative events within the uniquely human world of self-consciousness—the world in which one is aware of one’s own individuality and in which one’s perceptions of reality can be powerfully shaped by social structures, language, symbols, and the ideas and assumptions held by people of influence.

Connecticut gets it right.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Ben Franklin

Books
Book Review: 50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God by Guy P. Harrison
Perhaps like many of you, when I first became an atheist, I had to think about every reason for believing in God that I had previously held. If I didn’t have a strong response to each of them, my case for atheism would be weakened. Some of those reasons were easy to knock away. It’s relatively easy to learn about evolution and why there’s no need for an Intelligent Designer. It’s easy to understand why we don’t need a God to be moral.

But it was much more difficult to convince myself that my prayers were in fact not being heard by anyone when I was so sure they were being answered. Or that so much of the deep history of my faith was really a history of perpetuating a series of myths. Or that all those intelligent people I had met, who were also religious, were just plain wrong when it came to the God question.

Games
Clueless video game bill nears passage in New York
Here's were things get a little silly: the bill also says that there will be a group created to make recommendations about game ratings and the effects that games have on youth violence. The group will have 16 members, appointed by the governor, who will each serve for three years. While there is no schedule for how often this group shall meet, the bill is strict: it has to be at least twice a year. The bill uses a lot of legalese to say the group will meet and try to stop youth violence, including racial and gender-motivated violence, and violence against law enforcement. They will do this by talking about video games, at least twice a year. With no pay.

Government
Socialism & The Right to Life
Socialism is not a bad thing. Socialism helps a great amount of people, and thanks to socialism, we don't have sky-high death rates and illiteracy rates. Thanks to socialism, we have reached closer to equality than we had before.

Yet, conservatives continue to demonize socialism as an evil attempting to take over and wrest the hard-earned paychecks of the average American away to pay for some deadbeat's problems.

These conservatives 'forget' to mention that they want huge corporations to wrest their hard-earned paychecks away to pay for some fat cat's third yacht. They also fail to mention that paying the taxes for these benefits would cost a huge amount less than having to pay for insurance (and the medical or other costs when your insurance doesn't pay). They also fail to mention the fact that many of the poor who would benefit from these socialist programs would die without them and are in this position through no fault of their own. Why does being born into a poor family mean a death sentence in this country?

DC v. Heller
How will this shake out in terms of gun violence in a general sense? I have no idea, although if I had to guess I would suspect it won’t make a bit of difference one way or another, since the sort of person most likely to put a bullet in someone else isn’t the sort of person who would be concerned whether or not his firearm was banned. I’ve believed for a long time as a practical matter that handgun bans are useless; there are already millions of them and they will never disappear from the American landscape even if there were a Constitutional amendment banning them (which I don’t recommend). You will never not be able to find a handgun if you really want one.

National News
First female four-star U.S. Army general nominated
The Army Materiel Command handles all material readiness for the Army. During her career, Dunwoody has been assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and the Defense Logistics Agency. She served with the 82nd Airborne in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

She has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, Master Parachutist Badge and the Army Staff Identification Badge.

Religion
The tokens of virginity: Muslims, honor killings, and the book of Deuteronomy
So the groom was just obeying God. Well, almost anyway. According to the Bible, he shouldn't have just had the wedding annulled; he and the men of the city should have stoned his bride to death at the door of her father's house because she had disgraced him, her family and her community. It's a matter of honor -- an honor killing required by the Bible.

Cats


Games
Microsoft deems "gayer" gamertag to be unacceptable
According to a letter Grant sent to The Consumerist: "...when i tried to sign into my xbox live account 'thegayergamer' I was told that it had to be changed. I figured that it was just from people reporting it as an offensive name being that the greater Xbox live community isn't exactly welcome to gay people, i spend a lot of time muting people on Halo3. I assumed that once i called Microsoft they would straighten things out. I talked to a supervisor there, Roxy, who told me that she didn't personally find the fact that my gamer tag had gay in the name offensive, but that the greater Xbox community did, so I would have to change it."

Gamers are different: a look at how gaming makes the mind
Koroush Dini, a child, adolescent,and adult psychiatrist, has written an amazing book called Video Game Play and Addiction. It's a much more even-handed look at the subject of children and games than we normally get, and it has been a fascinating read. One section that jumped out at me, and one that Dini has graciously allowed us to excerpt, is how gamers are different in terms of problem solving and how they approach problems and even social situations. "Gamers train for hours each day. They gradually incorporate certain mentalities through diligent practice. As a result, they do begin to adopt different views of the world," he wrote in the book. Here are some of his other findings..

Pyro achievements may come with the next TF2 update
A snooper over at the Control Point forums has found that the latest update to the game features a potential hint of things to coming. Tearing through the GCF content package for the game, the snooper found a section documenting the included achievements in the game which featured a new entry: "Achievement_Group_1600: Pyro Pack (%s1 of %s2)."

Previous updates were discovered by this very method, so a new set of upcoming Pyro achievements seems likely. I suppose that's one flame war that Valve will avoid. The company has not yet announced anything, of course, but we know that it has stated time and time again that it's going to continue to improve the game over time.

Why Wii Fit is Better than the Gym
8. It’s more fun than the gym can hope to be. Firstly, the range of activities are more diverse, from yoga to hula-hooping, and secondly, there are activities that aren’t actually possible in the real world. For example, when you were a kid, did you have one of those plastic games that had ballbearings in? You had to tilt the game to get the balls into the little holes. Imagine that, human-sized. You stand on the Wii board, and your every tiny shift of weight moves the TV version to roll the virtual balls into the hole. Or straight off the edge if you’re crap. Also, at no point in real gym life do you get to dress as a penguin, or float a giant bubble down a river. Take that, reality! You can’t compete with this rainbow universe.

International News
Teenager faces prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'
Writing on an anti-Scientology website, the teenager facing court said: "I brought a sign to the May 10th protest that said: 'Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.'

"'Within five minutes of arriving I was told by a member of the police that I was not allowed to use that word, and that the final decision would be made by the inspector."

A policewoman later read him section five of the Public Order Act and "strongly advised" him to remove the sign. The section prohibits signs which have representations or words which are threatening, abusive or insulting.

The teenager refused to back down, quoting a 1984 high court ruling from Mr Justice Latey, in which he described the Church of Scientology as a "cult" which was "corrupt, sinister and dangerous".

After the exchange, a policewoman handed him a court summons and removed his sign.

Schoolboy avoids prosecution for branding Scientology a 'cult'
A CPS spokesman said: "In consultation with the City of London police, we were asked whether the sign, which read 'Scientology is not a religion it is a dangerous cult', was abusive or insulting.

"Our advice is that it is not abusive or insulting and there is no offensiveness, as opposed to criticism, neither in the idea expressed nor in the mode of expression. No action will be taken against the individual."

National News
Oil prices
As gratifying as it is to point fingers elsewhere, the mirror is the main place to look for the reasons that oil prices are hovering around $125 a barrel. The nation decided to let the laws of supply and demand work. It was rewarded with two decades of low prices that led to larger cars, bigger homes and longer commutes. Meanwhile, with the Cold War's end, Third World countries suddenly saw the benefits of capitalism, fueling robust growth in places such as China and India. As in the West, oil fuels that growth, first for industry, then for consumers who, naturally enough, use rising incomes to buy cars. That trend more than anything else is behind rising prices. And it has just begun.

A keep-energy-cheap approach would have worked if supplies were unlimited and prices didn't tend to lurch forward, as in the 1970s and now, rather than to rise gradually.

An alternative would have been energy policies that discouraged consumption with gas taxes and subsidized alternative sources. But doing this would have required voters to be willing to accept short-term pain for long-term gain. It would have required leadership, vision and political courage — the very same qualities needed now to stave off menacing crises in health care and Social Security.

Politics
Hagee and Hitler and dangerous biblical scripture
And what if Hagee got the rest of his prophecy the way he wants it? What do his precious Jewish people gain from his Armageddon? Well, it’s not very pretty. You see, unless they happen to be Jews for Jesus, they and their children and grandchildren are all going to die in that much anticipated apocalypse. Aren’t they lucky to have a good American friend like Pastor John Hagee? And isn’t John McCain lucky to have his endorsement? He must think he is. On several occasions he has said that he is proud to have it. And wouldn’t it be great to have a President handling our Middle East policies who gets regular input from John Hagee, on what our next move should be? Want to know what his advice would be? He believes that a war with Iran is a necessary precondition for the kick-off of Armageddon – which is “imminent”.

Religion
Barefootin'
I went into detail about the contents of the envelope. She chuckled a few times.

“Doesn’t that sound like a con to you?” I asked.

She laughed again. “I can’t really say,” she replied. “Lots of people have faith in different things. I go to church every Sunday and tithe, so I can understand when someone sends money to a church. But let me look this one up for you to see if there are any other complaints.”

I didn’t know where she was searching, but my astute Sherlock Holmes mind interpreted the tapping and I assumed it was somewhere on the Internet. I waited patiently for a few seconds. “Well,” she said, “you’re not the first person to make a charge against them.”

Then I heard the tapping again. She said, “I went to their Web site. It looks like they actually do have a church building. So it’s not just a post office box.”

“But, tell the truth. It looks kind of fishy, doesn’t it?”

She repeated: “Lots of people have faith in different things. I’ve heard of churches that sell water that’s supposed to be from the Sea of Galilee.”

“Yeah, other crooks. I mean, have you ever heard of a Christian prayer rug? Does that sound kosher to you?”

She tittered ever so slightly. “Well, I can’t say. But you might want to report this to the IRS and have them look into it.”

Science
The Orgasmic Mind: The Neurological Roots of Sexual Pleasure
Achieving orgasm, brain-imaging studies show, involves more than heightened arousal. It requires a release of inhibitions and control in which the brain’s center of vigilance shuts down in males; in females, various areas of the brain involved in controlling thoughts and emotions become silent. The brain’s pleasure centers tend to light up brightly in the brain scans of both sexes, especially in those of males. The reward system creates an incentive to seek more sexual encounters, with clear benefits for the survival of the species. When the drive for sex dissipates, as it did with Marianne, people can reignite the spark with tactics that target the mind.

Skepticism

Cats


Black cats unlucky at shelters
A 2002 study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science that examined adoption rates over nine months in a California pound found that black cats were about half as likely to be adopted as tabby cats and two-thirds less likely than white cats. But for cats in general, the odds are not good: of the approximately 3,000 cats of all colors offered for adoption during that time, only around 600, or 20 percent, found homes. Those remaining were euthanized.

Games
Activision/Blizzard leaves, still hopes to profit from ESA
Activision has been feeling the weight of its upcoming merger with Vivendi, not only by dropping out of the ESA, but also firing shots at its largest competitor, EA. Despite the company's power, however, there are certain things it can't do on its own, and leaving the ESA seems almost selfish. Activision Blizzard won't take part in E3, but it will take advantage of the show's existence. It will no longer be a part of the ESA, but it will benefit from the ESA's lobbying efforts. In some ways the plus-sized company is asking for a free ride, and other smaller publishers may be watching to see if Activision Blizzard can get away with it.

Blizzard attempt to kill WoW bot bad news for copyright law
Public Knowledge doesn't seem to want to side with either party in these suits. "This is a case pitting distasteful gaming behavior against an unsavory over-assertion of copyrights," Sherwin Siy, Public Knowledge staff attorney stated. Blizzard is trying to stop a company from profiting from cheaters, but in doing so it may alter EULAs and TOS agreements, to the detriment of users.

"Under Blizzard's theory, a copyright owner could not only contractually impose the most onerous restrictions on its customers—restrictions that undermine rights guaranteed by copyright and First Amendment law—but could also enforce those conditions with the threat of copyright law's high statutory damages," argues Public Knowledge in its brief. "Blizzard's attempt to use contract to alter and displace those aspects of copyright law it does not like, while using copyright penalties to construe and enforce the terms of that alteration, is untenable, and the Court should not endorse it."

History
In Love With the History Our Teachers Never Told Us
He added: “In our version of America, we don’t go back nearly far enough. It’s the winners who make history, and that’s why we start with the Pilgrims: with the Anglo-American and New England version of the story. Culturally, we need to expand the story to include the Spanish in particular, but also the French and the Portuguese. Not only are we not an Anglo nation now, but we never really were. Early America, if you think about it, was a lot like America today — very diverse — and even the parts of the story we think we know, we don’t know at all.”

International
Suspended lashing for Iranian feminist
ran has handed a feminist a suspended sentence of 10 lashes and six months in prison, the Kargozaran newspaper reported yesterday, in the fourth such punishment for a women's rights activist in Iran within weeks.

The sentence for Rezvan Moghadam imposed by Tehran's revolutionary tribunal is suspended for three years, meaning it will be implemented if she repeats the stated offence within that time.

Law
Maryland Court Rejects Muslim Divorce
Maryland's highest court has rejected a talaq divorce performed by a Muslim man in order to prevent his wife from getting anything in their divorce under state law (see full ruling here). Under Islamic law, a man can divorce his wife merely by saying "I divorce you" three times. In this case, the man, Irfan Aleem, a World Bank economist, went to the Pakistani embassy and signed a piece of paper saying that so they would immediately grant him an official divorce and he would not have to split up his $2 million estate with his wife. The Maryland court said no, they will not recognize that divorce and he still has to go through the laws of the state in order to get one, saying, "the enforceability of a foreign talaq divorce provision, such as that presented here, in the courts of Maryland, where only the male, i.e., husband, has an independent right to utilize talaq and the wife may utilize it only with the husband's permission, is contrary to Maryland's constitutional provisions."

National News
They got horse racing in Heaven
Me? I'm truly baffled. Not by Eight Belles' injury and death. By the notion that God has a stable of race horses. (Yes, I expect it's a figure of speech, but listen to a lot of people talk and Heaven will be just like Earth.) Are there races there? Parimutuel betting? Who'd run against God's horse? Does he have favorites? Do they all win - is it heaven if they lose? Or do they just stand around all day - that wouldn't be heaven for the horses...

I don't mean to make fun, but... doesn't it sound like a bad movie? It's just ... baffling.

Nonbelieving Literati
Something or other
But not long after the third part (or, excuse me, chapter) I had to put in a bookmark and set the story down. My thoughts were flying left and right as I examined the injustices of sexism now - especially in media advertising, which has always been a sore spot. Who do you expect to see in a laundry detergent commercial? Who knows that Jif is the superior peanut butter brand? Where are the fathers like mine that grumble over a dirty house and always having to wash the dishes and enjoy, more often than not, to cook and go grocery shopping? For the injustices of sexism one way also mark poorly the other: if a woman's place is in the kitchen, then that is not the man's place. And this hardly allows people to grow to be whomever they can.

Photography
An Antarctic Total Solar Eclipse



The Gegenschein Over Chile



Politics
Wright v. Robertson



Religion
The Christ-Centered Marriage
The thing is, Jesus never actually participated in our marriage. Oh, sure, we prayed before making major decisions and we prayed for fellow believers who were experiencing difficult circumstances; we prayed before meals and in church; but we certainly didn’t pray before doing the routine things that married couples do every day: buying groceries, getting the car fixed, making love...

Sermonette #5: Breaking Out is Hard to Do
Accordingly, transitions in thought and lifestyle are neither smooth nor easy. Even when one has rejected the teachings of one’s parents and friends with regard to religion, sometimes one is still torn between what we want and believe versus what we have been taught is “right.” The baggage we have inherited from parents, friends and our worship communities has shaped our values. The baggage can still be upon our shoulders months or even years after rejecting the fundamental assumptions upon which the baggage is based. Even when one has critically dissected the issues and intellectually rejected the doctrines, we can still live, out of sheer habit, in accordance with what was rejected, and thereby create a discrepancy between what we hold in theory as true and what we live in practice.

X-mercy Story - Melody's story Part 1.
When I got to Mercy Ministries I had the Resident's Handbook thrust into my hands. I remember reading it and wondering why they were suddenly taking away any independence and self management I had. It is true that I went into the program seeking treatment for my illness, which I was coping with- but at the same time I knew it was holding me back. I had been responsible for seeking support from professionals in the past, I was studying at University, and yet it seemed like Mercy Ministries were trying to revert me into being totally dependent, totally controlled, and a child who was not trusted to make her own responsible decisions.

X-Mercy Melody's Story part 2
Two staff members, one of them being my Mercy Ministries counsellor had me in a room with them. They shut the door and pulled the curtains so that nobody could see in, then had me stand in the middle of the room while they laid hands on me, and cast the demons out of me one by one, calling them by name. They spoke loudly, then quietly, then loudly again, alternating between speaking in tongues and speaking in English. I wanted to cry. I didn't understand why they were yelling. I was so frightened. At one point, one of the staff members tried to reassure me "Don't worry," she said. "I am angry at Satan, not at you."

After the exorcism, I was told that I shouldn't have any more symptoms because the demons that were causing them had been cast out. Although I am embarrassed to admit it, I held on to what they had said. I wanted to believe them. That I had been healed, that I wouldn't have any more symptoms, that they had "fixed" me. And I was okay, for about two days.

When the next panic attack hit, being unable to manage it the way I had been taught by my doctors, I went to staff to ask for help. I was having a lot of problems with my breathing. They took me to their office, closed the door, and proceeded to tell me about how disappointed they are in me. I was told that they had already cast the demons out of me, therefore if I was having any symptoms now, it was for one of two reasons. 1) I was acting for attention, or 2) I had knowingly and willingly invited the demons back into me.

I was devastated. I couldn't work out what I had done wrong. Maybe I wasn't a good enough Christian? Maybe God didn't want to heal me? Maybe I really did have demons inside of me???

Sociology
Is Religious Faith Irrational?
And none of these beliefs make us fundamentally irrational people. It is entirely possible to have certain irrational beliefs -- even significant beliefs, even stubbornly held ones -- and still be a basically rational person in most other areas of our lives. It's not just possible. It's universal. We all do it. In fact, hanging on to mistaken ideas once we've committed to them seems to be a basic part of how our minds work. And despite that, we're still generally rational people, able to process information and analyze it effectively and make appropriate decisions about how to act on it... most of the time.

An Atheist Goes to a Wedding
So here’s what the preliminaries of the wedding made me think of. In all the crazy motion of life, a wedding is an attempt to fix a certain moment in time: If only for a few minutes, let us stop moving; give us a break. We humans, for whatever evolutionary reason, require our ritual occasions to put us back in touch with the rest of our species, both living and dead. Some of us may even choose to reflect for a short time, to revel briefly in our commonality. Let differences be forgotten for this instant; give our reciprocated animosities a break.

Atheism
MySpace: No place for Atheists?
Early this month, MySpace again deleted the Atheist and Agnostic Group (35,000 members). This deletion, due largely to complaints from people who find atheism offensive, marks the second time MySpace has cancelled the group since November 2007.

What’s unique in this case is that the Atheist and Agnostic Group was the largest collection of organized atheists in the world. The group had its own Wikipedia entry, and in April won the Excellence in Humanist Communication Award (2007) from the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University and the Secular Student Alliance.

The Middle Ground
Atheists don’t argue from the assumption that god does not exist, which you would expect if we were on opposing sides, where the common perception places us. The only assumption an atheist makes is that the evidence, if properly pursued, will lead to the right conclusion. From that assumption we look at the evidence, both pro and con, and accept or reject it, as appropriate until a conclusion can be reached. So in a theist/atheist debate, the atheist is the only one with no ax to grind. The atheist is the only one who is arguing from a neutral position. The atheist is the only one taking the middle ground.

My Conflict Over Religious Bigotry, Part 1
My feelings about bigotry are far more conflicted. If a Christian hates someone he or she has never met, dismissing them as immoral, destined for hell, unworthy of citizenship, and the like, simply because the person is labeled an atheist, this is anti-atheist bigotry. But it also happens to be a part of the Christian religion insofar as the Christian in question intends to follow his or her bible. Does this change things, and if so, how?

Books
Defensiveness, Rationalization, Mulishness... What Does That Have To Do With Religion? Mistakes Were Made, Part 2
And of particular relevance, I think, is one of the book's main themes: the human tendency to reject any and all ideas coming from people we disagree with. The more entrenched we get in a belief, the more unwilling we are to acknowledge that our opponents have any useful ideas whatsoever, or any valid points to make.

Entertainment
From the Sublime to the Absurd
Do we mourn something different when someone dies young? Largely, I think we mourn the promise lost. But somewhere and very oddly, I think, we savour, perhaps even envy them in their death the fact that they will be remembered in eternally youthful images of varied hues of machismo, vulnerability, desirability and passion. We, on the other hand, if at all remembered, will be all wrinkled and frail.

Games
EA responds to FOX Mass Effect fiasco
The resulting coverage was insulting to the men and women who spent years creating a game which is acclaimed by critics for its high creative standards. As video games continue to take audiences away from television, we expect to see more TV news stories warning parents about the corrupting influence of interactive entertainment. But this represents a new level of recklessness.

Unreal licensees subpoenaed in Silicon Knights versus Epic case
The problem with this unveiling of licensing contracts, in the eyes of Epic and the various contract holders, is that the crucial information on intimate fee negotiations and other "trade secrets" would be exposed, which would pose a serious problem for Epic when it comes to selling to future licensees.

PTC throws down gauntlet, argues for video game legislation
It was time to ask the obvious question: why focus on games? The FTC has found that children are for more likely to be able to buy R-rated movies than M-rated games, so why fight so hard for legislation on the smaller issue? "We frequently hear from our members and parents that keeping violent video games out of their children's hands is a top priority," McKiernan replied. "And the evidence is conclusive: countless independent studies confirm that repeated exposure to graphic sexual, violent and profanity-laced video games has a harmful and long term effect on children."

Cooper Lawrence apologizes for Mass Effect attack
Let us focus on the fact that FOX viewers aren't likely reading the Times, meaning this is a nice case of having your cake and eating it too. Let us also discount the likelihood that she apologized only because her book was getting pounded by negative reviews on Amazon.com. Going by her words, she showed up to talk about games, was told what to think, and then aggressively argued about a game she knew nothing about. The fact that she was comfortable taking that a demeaning tone on the topic and then admitting that she had no clue what she was talking about when called on it makes her look worse; her argument seems to be this isn't her fault, since she can't be expected to actually learn about what she's attacking.

Government
Declarations of War
For the separation of powers system to work properly, each branch is supposed to be jealous of the few powers it’s granted — unwilling to allow the other branches to usurp their powers.

When the Congress, which has the authority to declare war, turns their power over to the President, to use at his discretion, they are engaged in “delegation.” Delegation is un-Constitutional. It breaks the separation of powers.

Movies
Untraceable
The problem with Untraceable is that it tries to cater to two audiences: those who like Hostel or Saw, and those who enjoy Diane Lane movies and “adult thrillers” (read: movies in which putting a child in momentary danger is considered “edgy”). And it ends up satisfying neither.

Cloverfield
Like I said though, the film could be a bit shorter, because they sort of go overboard with how much these average looking hipsters can survive in a short time. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let’s just say that there are two points before the ending where the movie could have conceivably ended, and with each “addition” you are required to put a little too much of your disbelief on hold. Considering that the whole film hinges on the “reality” presentation of this event, it’s a little strange that they expect you to believe regular people can survive 2.5 incredibly violent acts (sorry for slight spoiler, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to word it for like 10 min without spoiling anything and gave up).

Nonbelieving Literati
NL: The Plague by Albert Camus
It is Tarrou's philosophy, to some extent, but mostly Rieux's, that Camus approves of. Man finds meaning only inside himself; no meaning exists elsewhere. Not in the universe—that notion is absurd. In fact, the Absurd in Camus's philosophy is precisely this realization, that there is no meaning in the universe, that life is defined by death and is fleeting, and that the meaning of life is what we bring to it: a fight for happiness in the face of death. Tarrou acknowledges the Absurd, but fights it only when he must; Rieux, on the other hand, battles the Absurd on a daily basis and refuses to yield, though his "victories will never be lasting".

I’ve heard there aren’t any atheists in a Plague
This is not to say that Camus suggested that many people in the town were not religious and did not pray about their situation. Naturally, in any such situation, god will insert himself (in a calamity which, presumably, he could have prevented in the first place). But Camus populated his story with people faced by an unreasonable, uncaring death – people that I as an atheist could fully understand and sympathize with. Fortunately, Camus gave us insights into how humans handle such tragedy sans god. There were no victories in The Plague. The plague won and then disappeared. But each man and woman carried on in their own very human ways, prostrating themselves before the powers of nature, but not before the supernatural.

Nonbelieving Literarti: The Plague
I felt like I was missing something. When I read that it was likely a metaphor for the resistance to the Nazi occupation of France, more of the story clicked into place. A human, mortal enemy seemed to fit better than nature itself, though in that enemy some of the impact in the implied theme that there is no control over one's life is lost.

Humans vs. Death: La Peste (The Plague) by Camus
I think The Plague succeeds at delivering its message: We're all in this together. In the struggle against death, death always wins in the end. But we can't (and shouldn't) give up the struggle. Because we're human.

Choosing Between a "But" and an "And"
Ah, the writer: ever the optimist. Whether it’s Albert Camus, or those of us ranting and raving in the Atheosphere, or the clerk who secretly scribbles his novel night after night after night, we must tell ourselves — delude ourselves maybe — that we can take a bunch of words, throw them onto a piece of paper or a screen, and have other people understand what we’re trying to say. Writing is unlike other learned skills that get easier with practice. The more you do it, the better you get at it, the harder writing becomes. That perfect sentence never wants to happen.

no excuses: thoughts on camus' the plague
You either remain caught up in your own reasons, living like your everyday habits and worries actually mean something, or admit to yourself that you have no reasons. If you do that and choose to go on living, then you accept the consequences. You have no excuses for yourself, but you are free. Everything is permitted, and you bear the burden of your own decisions without anything or anyone to hide behind. In many ways this is a very bleak and lonely way to look at the world. Part of me shrinks away from it, but part of me knows that my reaction to it doesn’t make it any less true. Whether we choose to face it or not, it’s there.

The Plague, aka, Insipid Women
Bind me, gag me and whip me! Please! Do something to put me out of my misery! Is this not one of the most pathetically bland female characters ever to populate a novel? Rieux’s wife is even blander, a literary accomplishment that I would have presumed impossible had I not read it myself.

Politics
The Politics of Science
With all the problems this country is facing, the presidential candidates are heavily focused on issues of change, the economy, and the war in Iraq. It is difficult to discern their positions on many issues that are important to the scientific community. Even if the other issues are more important, some small part of my vote is still going to be based on a candidate's support for the sciences, and I would like to know where they stand.

Democrats, Horse Races, and John Edwards
And the fact that people don't vote for the person they most want to win is, I think, one of the main reasons the Democrats have traditionally coughed up such a pathetic succession of hairballs. I think the horserace mentality, the "Is he/she electable?" mentality, is what keeps the attention focused on such a narrow field... and what keeps attention off of anyone outside that field.

Stir the Pot or Drown at the Bottom
We have been watching this mindless charade being played out in Congress since the decisive 2006 elections. Then, as well as now, the majority of Americans expressed their displeasure, frustration, and downright vitriolic anger at the insanity that had become the Iraq War, economic lunacy, ridiculous tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans, and a scandalous “me and mine,” “good ol’ boy” administration. We wanted to transform the mutilated anatomy that was America in order to reflect its true constitutional, democratic form once more. We had demanded a new direction, an end to the bullshit, and a cease and desist on all attempts to negate our Constitution for the instant gratification of the powerful few.

Religion
Christian Culture
Many Christians do not hate atheists; they simply forget that we are there and don't understand why we aren't more willing to indulge them. They see us as complaining about an endless parade of trivial issues (e.g., god in the pledge of allegiance or on money, Christmas displays at city hall, etc.). These issues do not bother them because their religion is the one being promoted. While it would bother them if it was Islam being promoted instead of Christianity, this is not the case, and so they do not have to confront it.

God will pay your medical bills IF…
I also don’t have time to be nice, so excuse me in advance. Apparently there some idiot Christians in Denver who think we don’t need health insurance because some unregulated Christian group takes their money and helps pay their medical bills — a sort of catastrophic insurance policy — but get this: ONLY if you’re a Christian. (The baby Jesus must be crying. Shouldn’t Chrstians help others?) What a crock of shit. I can’t even get my bile down enough to write about this coherently.

Empathy For Christians
When I attempt to relate to Christians in an empathic manner, I can begin to understand why atheists are so threatening. Most (if not all) Christians experience periods of doubt. Their faith conflicts with reality, and they are not immune to perceiving the conflict. I imagine that some of these times are scary. After all, many Christians will tell you that their faith is an important part of their identity. Questioning one's identity or encountering threats to how one has defined oneself provoke the sort of existential anxiety with which we can all relate.

On the Character of Jesus
Unless one is a moral relativist, a label most Christians would fiercely deny, the moral conclusion must be that if slavery was ever wrong, it was always wrong. That being the case, we would expect a divine being not bound by the culture and prejudices of the time of his incarnation to have condemned it unequivocally. Instead, he speaks of it and works it into his teachings as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Light Bulb Time
Look at the big one. Immortality. Religion says that when we die, we really don’t, we just go somewhere else; to a better place where all of the people we loved in this life will join us, and we them, in the next. And we’ll all congregate with god, for eternity, in an place of immense joy and bliss. It sounds so wonderful, but in reality what religion is promising is the negation of a natural phenomenon - death. Death, we know, is a reality. The promise of immortality, so far, is nothing but words.

Science
Scientists discover way to reverse loss of memory
The accidental breakthrough came during an experiment originally intended to suppress the obese man's appetite, using the increasingly successful technique of deep-brain stimulation. Electrodes were pushed into the man's brain and stimulated with an electric current. Instead of losing appetite, the patient instead had an intense experience of déjà vu. He recalled, in intricate detail, a scene from 30 years earlier. More tests showed his ability to learn was dramatically improved when the current was switched on and his brain stimulated.

Artificial Life? Old News
So, ultimately, putting together a synthetic organism would simply confirm what scientists have known for a long time. The challenge to the project is not conceptual, but technical. And if you actually read the paper in which Venter’s team report the latest step in their project, it is supremely, fiendishly technical. They have a lot more tedium to survive before they create new life. And once they figure out how to build a viable genome and get it safely into a host cell, and if the two can cooperate nicely, what else would you expect but for life to emerge?

Asteroid 2007 TU24 Passes the Earth
Asteroid 2007 TU24 passed by the Earth yesterday, posing no danger. The space rock, estimated to be about 250 meters across, coasted by just outside the orbit of Earth's Moon. The passing was not very unusual -- small rocks strike Earth daily, and in 2003 a rock the size of a bus passed inside the orbit of the Moon, being detected only after passing. TU24 was notable partly because it was so large. Were TU24 to have struck land, it might have caused a magnitude seven earthquake and left a city-sized crater. A perhaps larger danger would have occurred were TU24 to have struck the ocean and raised a large tsunami. This radar image was taken two days ago. The Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico broadcast radar that was reflected by the asteroid and then recorded by the Byrd Radio Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia. The resulting image shows TU24 to have an oblong and irregular shape. TU24 was discovered only three months ago, indicating that other potentially hazardous asteroids might lurk in our Solar System currently undetected. Objects like TU24 are hard to detect because they are so faint and move so fast. Humanity's ability to scan the sky to detect, catalog, and analyze such objects has increased notably in recent years.

Self-Help


Skeptics
Uri Geller’s Confession and Human Fallibility
In an interview with me (not yet published) and in his online newsletter, Swift, Randi reported that recently, in an interview with German magazine Magische Welt (Magic World), Geller is quoted as saying:

I’ll no longer say that I have supernatural powers. I am an entertainer. I want to do a good show. My entire character has changed.

That is quite a revelation. Taken at face value it is a confession that all these years he has been nothing but a garden-variety mentalist and that he lied about having psychic power. I don’t know if this is the last word on the matter from Geller (he may have second thoughts about this reversal) but it confirms what skeptics and magicians have always known - it is not necessary to postulate paranormal powers in order to explain Geller’s feats.

Authority
So how do we resolve this problem? It ain’t easy. We can’t do all the experiments - at some point we have no CHOICE but to rely on authority. But part of the solution is to remember that authorities are themselves frequently wrong, or update their own views. We have to recognize where we are relying on authority, and be extra careful to recognize the weakness inherent in this approach, even though it is absolutely necessary. Finally, we have to try to be aware of our inherent biases, and be extra careful to examine the arguments of the very authorities with whom we most agree. After a while, we develop a sense of what makes sense and what doesn’t, but even that must be constantly checked. There’s a feedback loop in this, of constant checking and revising, but the danger of referring to authority is that it can short-circuit this process. Making sure that doesn’t happen is a lot of work, but hey, that’s why skeptics get the big money.

Sociology
Childish Attachment To Ideas
It seldom matters how intelligent we are. If we are attached to an idea, we will stick with it even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary — irregardless of how smart we are. Brains alone won’t overcome an emotional attachment to an idea: One needs some measure of emotional courage to overcome an emotional attachment.

This season the big news in gaming doesn't seem to be about the record-breaking sales of Halo 3 or even the rash of new video games released in November. It's about the recent firing of game journalist, Jeff Gerstmann.

On November 28, CNet's Gamespot fired Jeff Gerstmann without official comment. Within hours the internet was talking about it and linking his firing with a written and video review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The unfavorable review was released on November 13, during a time when the game publisher of Kane & Lynch, Eidos, was advertising heavily on the Gamespot website. Jeff also bagged the game pretty heavily on the November 13 episode of the Hotspot, a podcast sponsored by Gamespot.

CNet's early silence only fueled the rumors. A few days later they announced that they could not disclose the reasons Gerstmann was fired due to legal reasons, but stated it wasn't due to any pressure from a publisher or advertiser. The crew of the Hotspot reacted on the November 7 episode by stating that although they were angry and missed and supported Jeff, his firing wasn't due to just one review.

The circumstances do seem to indicate that the review influenced management actions at the Gamespot, even if it wasn't the only reason. Personally, I think a divide between the parent company CNet and Gamespot has been revealed by not just the firing, but the reactions of the employees who, I'm sure, want to keep their jobs.

And even if the review had nothing to do with the firing, public opinion has called the integrity of the company into question. What does this mean for Gamespot? If they allow an advertiser to pressure them into re-evaluating reviews, even if the reviews aren't changed it doesn't bode well for them. Reviews are meant to be impartial if they are to be trusted. Their reviews will be scrutinized heavily for some time, but does that guarantee impartiality, as the Hotspot crew points out?

And what of the parent company, CNet, who provides reviews on a much broader range of products, including most electronics. I use them myself when I'm unfamiliar with a technology. Will they be harmed by the scandal or is gaming still too small of a niche market to influence the traffic of people shopping for things as mundane as cameras and mp3 players? And with most of the fingers pointed at them, will they end up taking the blame?

I read many really good blogs during the week, which I link posts to in the reader on my sidebar. But, there are always those excellent posts I feel especially obligated to point out to my readers, whether because they're funny or thought-provoking. Here's my sampling for this week.

Food
Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality shows exactly why I don't eat meat (mostly) at fast food restaurants. I can't bring myself to eat Taco Bell mushy ground beef or McDonald's nasty beef patties anymore.

Government
Mark Hoofnagle discusses the current US government's role in consumer protection at denialism blog.

At A Wide Angle View of India, Nita discusses whether torture is a necessary evil.

Jason Kuznicki at Positive Liberty writes about waterboarding.

Religion
Evanescent explains being Atheist or Anti-Theist and questions belief in the Apocalypse.

Greta Christina ponders consciousness and selfhood at her blog.

At No More Hornets the Exterminator ponders whether souls will need clothes in heaven.

John at Evolving thoughts continues his discussion on explaining religion in Part III: Is Religion Adaptive?

PZ Myers briefly discusses the influence of religion on our civilization at Pharyngula.

At Symbolic Order, Aaron Powell argues that atheism offers freedom from sin but not freedom from morality.

Science
At The Evilutionary Biologist, John Dennehy explains how scientists took apart a Tobacco Mosaic Virus and then put it back together back in his Weekly Citation Classic series.

I recently came across a couple of posts (here* and here) by Jason Kuznicki of Positive Liberty on animal rights as supposed under a Libertarian form of government.

Ask yourself: How would we treat a human male who behaved toward other people in the same way that a tomcat behaves toward rodents — or toward the females of his own species? The tomcat should feel lucky that he is usually only confined and castrated. By the logic of individual rights, we’re doing him a favor. Not that this logic necessarily applies, but this would certainly be the result if it did.

I disagree with his conclusion, but I think he makes some interesting points. Comparing raising animals for food and raising animals for dogfights does make all of us meat eaters seem pretty hypocritical. And maybe we are. But I still think there's a distinction between an activity that is intentionally cruel and sadistic (like dog fighting) and raising animals for food.

Jim Henley of Unqualified Offerings has put together a list of post on animal rights, property rights and animal cruelty from a Libertarian perspective. They're all worthwhile reading, but I think Libertarianism and Animal Cruelty from I Think ^(Link) Therefore I Err is the best (and by that, of course I mean the closest to how I feel about the issue).

Same for animals. Like babies, they don’t know we essentially “own” them. They know who butters their bread and what choices they have within the confines (word corrected) of their “homes”. And they make do. Slaughter isn’t inherently “cruel” and any of Temple Grandin’s books will have you seeing that. (designer of about 1/2 the slaughter houses in the US)

Is there a libertarian argument against animal cruelty? Only if there is one against child cruelty. And I suspect there is.

*And I have to agree, the best title ever.

The excerpt below was taken from Trent Stamp's Take, the blog of the President of Charity Navigator. The articles, and especially the indictment, that are linked are graphic and will most likely make you ill as you read them. I'm appalled. I know much worse things happen in the world every day, but to read about it, even in cold, clinical terms, makes it that much more horrific.

NFL quarterback Michael Vick is indicted by federal authorities on charges that he ran an illegal dogfighting ring. The 18-page indictment is gruesome and graphic, and made me sick. In light of the most recent case involving "allegations" of high-profile athletes behaving badly (Duke lacrosse), I hope we can all tread lightly here, but I'm interested to see how the animal rights groups react. I think it's fair to say that dog-fighting is not an issue that has been a high priority for them, whether in terms of policy recommendations or fund-raising endeavors, but I suspect that will change quickly. And while I imagine that the NFL will not suspend Vick until he is convicted (if he is), I will be closely watching to see what kind of pressure the more high-profile groups will bring on the league and its advertisers. Vick, as recently as 6 months ago, was undoubtedly one of the 5 most marketable athletes in the league and is now officially toxic. As we all know in this sector, there are few people more strident and vociferous in their actions[*] than the animal charities and their leadership. Concerning Vick, it has obviously started already.

* I chose not to include the link to PETA from the original quote.

Some people are just way to overprotective.

The Boston-based Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood called on the commission to work with the toy industry and media companies to develop a uniform rating system so toys tied to PG-13 movies would not be marketed to children younger than 13. It also asked the FTC to investigate the marketing of PG-13 movies to children.

Yes, Mr. Potato Head Transformers Optimash Prime is going to warp your child.

Although I do kind of see their point about advertising a PG-13 movie on a kid's television network. However, just because a kid gets a toy doesn't mean they have to go see the movie. The toys were around long before the movie. Get them some of the old cartoons if you have no other choice but cave into your children's wishes.

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive was released on May 9th. I didn't hear about it until today. It's disturbing to me, not just because of the content, but because the press has totally ignored it.

The directive states as its purpose:

This directive establishes a comprehensive national policy on the continuity of Federal Government structures and operations and a single National Continuity Coordinator responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Federal continuity policies. This policy establishes "National Essential Functions," prescribes continuity requirements for all executive departments and agencies, and provides guidance for State, local, territorial, and tribal governments, and private sector organizations in order to ensure a comprehensive and integrated national continuity program that will enhance the credibility of our national security posture and enable a more rapid and effective response to and recovery from a national emergency.

A catastrophic emergency is defined as:

"Catastrophic Emergency" means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions

That definition is so vague, it could be used for many events. Could the war in Iraq be covered if soldiers are considered a "U.S. population"?

I'm not sure what the intent of this new directive is. I know that Bush received a lot of criticism over Katrina, and this may be a response to that criticism. I think this directive is going overboard. The President and appointed cabinet members would be in charge of the country if this ever was enacted without any say from Congress. To me, that seems unconstitutional.

Does it bother anyone else to have the President give himself powers like this?

This directive is to replace the Presidential Decision Directive 67 of October 21, 1998 ("Enduring Constitutional Government and Continuity of Government Operations"), which I've never seen. How much difference is there between the two? I don't know if Directive 67 was ever published publicly.

(HT to venjanz)

Yesterday Jerry Falwell died. I think Timothy Sandefur sums it up best in Jerry Falwell Rest In.. Whatever, Just Rest at Positive Liberty.

A recent article in the Times Online talks about a pill that treats genetic disease. The pill, called PTC124, targets genetic mutations that are caused by a faulty transcription from a normal codon to a stop codon, causing the protein chain to end abnormally.

Orac has a very interesting article up explaining the science behind the discovery in more detail.

Basically, this drug works against what are called nonsense mutations. DNA provides the information necessary to produce proteins. It is made up of individual building blocks called nucleotides, while protein is made up of individual building blocks known as amino acids. The way that the genetic code in DNA is translated into proteins, which form enzymes, structural proteins, and proteins that carry out virtually every function necessary for life, is through large protein complexes called ribosomes. Ribosomes "read" the DNA, whose code is based on three-nucleotide sequences called codons, each of which codes for a different amino acid. Given four nucleotides and triplets, there are 64 possible codon combinations for 20 amino acids, which means that the genetic code is "degenerate"; i.e., most amino acids are coded for by more than one codon. There is a set of three codons, however, that do not code for any amino acid. They are known as stop codons, because when the ribosome encounters them it interprets it as a signal that the protein chain should end. When a mutation causes a codon to change from a normal codon that codes for an amino acid to a stop codon, it is known as a nonsense mutation, and it results in the termination of the protein chain wherever the mutation occurs.

The pill contains a compound that allows the faulty stop codon to be ignored during transcription, reversing the effect. PTC124 is still in clinical trials and set to finish a Phase II study soon. So far the results show minimal side effects and haven't shown that normal stop codons are ignored, only the nonsense mutations. It's still too early to say how safe or effective it will be in practice, but so far it looks promising.

I didn't think in my lifetime I'd see medical advances so promising in treating genetic diseases, and I certainly didn't think it would be a pill. It's exciting to see the results that a better understanding of our world are yielding.

(via Orac)

Cartoon Network scares Bostonians.

I read this article from L's blog earlier today and it was enough to make me feel ill. When I got home Matt told me about this similar news report.

Basically a woman was pulled over by police and arrested for traffic violations and outstanding warrants. She repeatedly told them she was 3 months pregnant and bleeding and they ignored her and threw her into jail. I couldn't find it in an article, but Matt told me that in jail they gave her three changes of pants due to her bleeding but never allowed her medical assistance. She miscarried the baby the next day.

I know it's difficult to be a police officer, but anyone with common sense shouldn't make mistakes like these.

How pissed off would you be if a convicted sex offender registered your email address?

Can you hear my sarcasm? At least someone has noted the layoffs.

I think I mentioned these machines to someone recently, but I can't remember who. I do remember seeing on at the Perimeter Mall in Atlanta when I went for Dragon Con.

Airports seem like a good idea, but I wonder how they're doing well with no music available for download? Perhaps a lot of people carry laptops with music and they're buying an iPod to be less bulky? Perhaps most people don't realize they won't have any music until they've already shelled out the $300?