There is a problem in the current science climate which seems to reward original and exciting new research more and seems to value whether the results are true less. I have written before about the problem of journals publishing papers where the results don’t hold up under subsequent examination and how difficult it is to get them to publish articles that contradict earlier ones. [Read more…]
It appears that Ecuador has granted political asylum to Julian Assange. The British government will likely try and keep him holed up in the embassy and prevent him from going to the airport and leaving the country. [Read more…]
I finally got around to seeing the three episodes in the second season of the highly acclaimed series of the famous detective and his Boswell. I wrote about the three episodes of the first season earlier (here and here). The series is based loosely on the Conan Doyle stories, and the word ‘loosely’ is used advisedly since events are placed in contemporary London and contain only the basic plot elements of the original stories on which they are based. [Read more…]
DeWitt R. Thomas objected to a black bagger in a grocery store in the town of Big Sandy, Texas touching his groceries because it was “against his creed” for a “negroidal” person to touch his food. [Read more…]
I think that this logo suggested by the Democratic Underground captures the economic and political philosophy of the Republican ticket perfectly. [Read more…]
Scientology has again got what it hates, negative publicity about its abusive practices. The Village Voice has published a two-part series (part 1 and part 2) largely based on information provided by John Brousseau, a a member of the cult since 1977 until he left in 2010, and at one time brother-in-law of its current leader David Miscavige, the two of them having married two sisters. [Read more…]
For those who are suffering from Olympics withdrawal, Jason Jones anchors another games right here in the USA in the town of Hebron, Maine that is as diverse and exciting. They supposedly even have my favorite event, dressage, though Jones did not show it. [Read more…]
Recently, I have been struck by something, and that is the number of people in the news who casually let it be known that they are not religious. This is even true of entertainers who typically avoid saying anything controversial for fear of offending the fans upon whom they depend. [Read more…]
In discussing politics, I try not to pay too much attention to trivialities such as how candidates look, speak, what they wear, whether they are the kind of people I would ‘enjoy having a beer with’, etc. These are the kind of things that can fill up space and airtime on a slow news day, not requiring any research or other kinds of journalistic effort, but which do not really add to our understanding of what people stand for. But there is something peculiar about the Romney/Ryan ticket that I must get off my chest at least once. [Read more…]