Archive for April, 2007
The Humanist Symposium

The Humanist Symposium

April 30th, 2007 / Admin / No comments

Apologies for the announcement being a bit late: The inaugural edition of The Humanist Symposium is up at Daylight Atheism. This new blog carnival ...

Arctic Ice Retreating More Quickly Than Computer Models Project

April 30th, 2007 / Energy Transition, Science, Newswire / No comments

BOULDER—Arctic sea ice is melting at a significantly faster rate than projected by even the most advanced computer models, a new study concludes. The research, by scientists at the National ...

Mouse brain simulated on computer

April 30th, 2007 / Science, Newswire / No comments

US researchers have simulated half a virtual mouse brain on a supercomputer. The scientists ran a "cortical simulator" that was as big and as complex as half ...

A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith

April 30th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Religion, Newswire / No comments

CHICAGO — Members of Trinity United Church of Christ squeezed into a downtown hotel ballroom in early March to celebrate the long service of their pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. ...

Demos must accept religion’s role in U.S.

April 28th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Religion, Newswire / No comments

"I think my party has to demonstrate that it's not afraid to deal with the faith issue and has a candidate whom the public thinks knows there's something bigger than ...

Bad public behavior gives atheists a bad name

April 27th, 2007 / Newswire, Society / No comments

Everyone in line was looking at each other and becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The agent finally told him that the fog was “an act of God.” He then turned to all ...

Atheist congressman first to introduce House carbon tax bill

April 27th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Newswire / 3 comments

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Representative Pete Stark (D-CA), a senior member of the Committee on Ways and Means with jurisdiction over U.S. tax policy, today introduced the Save Our Climate ...
Psychic: “What we do is entertainment.”

Psychic: “What we do is entertainment.”

April 27th, 2007 / Religion / 18 comments

Philly is closing down its psychic shops. Which has led to some interesting confessions from the psychics themselves: Fortune-telling for profit is a third-degree misdemeanor. The ...

Poll Finds Majority See Threat in Global Warming

April 26th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Newswire / No comments

Americans in large bipartisan numbers say the heating of the earth’s atmosphere is having serious effects on the environment now or will soon and think that it is necessary to ...

Ray Comfort claims he will ‘prove’ God’s existence

April 26th, 2007 / Religion, Newswire / No comments

I am amazed at how many people think that God's existence is a matter of faith. It's not, and I will prove it at the debate - once and for ...

Sportswriter Mike Penner comes out as transsexual

April 26th, 2007 / Psychology, Newswire, Society / No comments

During my 23 years with The Times' sports department, I have held a wide variety of roles and titles. Tennis writer. Angels beat reporter. Olympics writer. Essayist. Sports media critic. ...

Scientists to build robot society

April 26th, 2007 / Psychology, Science, Newswire / No comments

Scientists in Dundee have announced plans to create a "robot village" in an effort to learn how different cultures emerge in society. The University of Abertay's four-year ...

India court orders Gere’s arrest for "obscene" kiss

April 26th, 2007 / Religion, Newswire, Society / No comments

JAIPUR, India (Reuters) - An Indian court ordered the arrest of Hollywood star Richard Gere on Thursday for kissing Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty at an AIDS campaign event this month ...

Film on Global Warming Is Challenged

April 25th, 2007 / Energy Transition, Science, Newswire / No comments

"The Great Global Warming Swindle" aired on British television in March and is coming out soon on DVD. It argues that man-made emissions have a marginal impact on the world's ...
Twisted: Mark Warren on Hitchens

Twisted: Mark Warren on Hitchens

April 25th, 2007 / Books, Religion / 13 comments

Esquire executive editor Mark Warren's commentary about Christopher Hitchens is all over the map. A masterpiece of post-modernist gobbledygook. A paragon of doublespeak. Warren writes in praise of Christopher Hitchens' ...

Italian government adopts draft law to punish environmental crimes

April 24th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Newswire / No comments

The Italian government on Tuesday adopted a draft bill under which the perpetrators of "environmental catastrophes" would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison. The ...

Mexico City Lawmakers Pass Abortion Bill

April 24th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Religion, Newswire / No comments

MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico City lawmakers voted to legalize abortion Tuesday, a decision likely to influence policies and health practices across Mexico and other parts of heavily Roman Catholic ...

Judge says post offices can’t promote religion

April 24th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Religion, Newswire / No comments

HARTFORD, Conn. --A federal judge has ruled that post offices nationwide run by churches and other contractors cannot promote religion through pamphlets, displays or any other materials.

Prisoners riot to protest move away from families

April 24th, 2007 / Newswire, Society / No comments

Inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility took over part of the prison this afternoon, injuring two employees and setting fire to mattresses before order was restored within about two ...

FOXNews.com - Study: Religion Is Good for Kids

April 24th, 2007 / Religion, Psychology, Newswire / No comments

“getting their kids into heaven is more important than getting their kids into Harvard,”

Quantum physics says goodbye to reality

April 24th, 2007 / Science, Newswire / No comments

Some physicists are uncomfortable with the idea that all individual quantum events are innately random. This is why many have proposed more complete theories, which suggest that events are at ...

Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican

April 24th, 2007 / Religion, Newswire, Society / No comments

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of "terrorism with a human ...

Supernaturalism Is an Admission of Defeat

April 24th, 2007 / Religion, Psychology, Science, Newswire / No comments

Science has been accused of being biased towards naturalism. That’s a fair accusation. The question one should ask, however, is not whether science has a naturalistic bias, but rather whether ...

Sorting out the truth on global warming

April 24th, 2007 / Current Affairs, Energy Transition, Newswire / No comments

WASHINGTON - A major international study recently concluded there was overwhelming evidence that humans were causing global warming. But that didn't quiet the skeptics. They continue to raise doubts, suggesting ...
Book Review: The God Part of the Brain

Book Review: The God Part of the Brain

April 22nd, 2007 / Books, Psychology / 19 comments

Summary: Matthew Alper is a lot smarter than he initially lets on. He begins his narrative in The God Part of the Brain softly and carefully as ...