… how would we tell? (From the film The Dictator.)
Jun 18 2013
Doubts increase over sarin claims
I said that I would wait for evidence before believing the Obama administration’s claims last week that the Syrian government had used sarin. Given the US government’s past history of blatantly lying in order to win public support for its warlike intentions, that seems to be the obviously prudent thing to do. And sure enough, Matthew Schofield of the McClatchy news service writes that chemical weapons experts are casting doubts on US claims.
Jun 18 2013
The compatibilism puzzle
I am a hardline materialist. I think the material world is all that there is and I have no reason to believe in the existence ofany nonmaterial entities. I did not start out with this view as an a priori philosophical premise. Rather I have arrived at it over time as the only way that I can make sense of the world as I see experience it.
Jun 18 2013
Implications of the Iran election
The recent election of Hassan Rouhani as the new president of Iran is an interesting development. The fact that he is a cleric is undoubtedly a cause for worry since that means that he is unlikely to push for liberalization of some of the government’s policies, especially towards women and the LGBT community.
Jun 18 2013
Why do they do this?
I totally agree with P. Z. Myers, that this business of making fun of the answers given by women who take part in beauty pageants has to stop. I had do so myself before I realized how unfair it is. The latest victim of this is Marissa Powell, the Miss Utah contestant for Miss USA.
Jun 18 2013
Film review: The Loving Story (2011)
I wrote sometime ago about the pending release on DVD of the HBO documentary The Loving Story (2011), about Mildred and Richard Loving, the couple whose case led to the throwing out as unconstitutional all state laws banning inter-racial marriage. I just saw the documentary and I can strongly recommend it as a heartwarming story of overcoming racial prejudice.
Jun 17 2013
Covering all the bases
Tom Tomorrow has a new cartoon that looks at how the reactions of those opposed to Snowden’s leaks are all over the map.
Jun 17 2013
Snowden the agnostic?
The microscopic examination of Edward Snowden the person continues with the Washington Post having a long piece tracing his life story from elementary school onwards. The one tidbit that caught my eye was this:
Jun 17 2013
Why men are the target of humorists
Yesterday was father’s day, one of those bogus celebrations that are meant to pressure people to buy useless stuff by implying that they do not appreciate their fathers if they do not. It is also an occasion to pontificate on the nature of fatherhood. David Mitchell takes aim at those who criticize humor writers for their depiction of characters such as Homer Simpson and say that people like him are poor role models of fathers. In the process, Mitchdell makes an important larger point.
Jun 17 2013
The degeneration of the US judicial system
The Q&A with Edward Snowden has ended. While journalists all over the world were dying to directly interview him for an exclusive scoop, he chose instead to answer questions from ordinary people. And the questions and answers were very interesting. In response to one question about why he chose to make his revelations from Hong Kong, he replied that he felt that he could not get a fair trial in the US.
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