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Dispatches From The Couch: Flashin’ Faux Pas
2008-10-02 22:27:00 By: Couch Tater Okay, folks, it’s officially time to grow up. For those who haven’t heard, the Parents Television Council is up in arms following an accidental flash of penis revealed on the September 25 episode of SURVIVOR: GABON. (Go ahead do a quick Google image search. I’ll wait.) I’m willing to bet that 95 percent of you would never have seen contestant Marcus Lehman’s no-longer private parts were it not for the fact that the PTC turned this flash-in-the-pan(ts) moment into a major scandal by filing an indecency complaint against CBS with the Federal Communications Commission and, in turn, making his the most seen crotch since Britney stepped out of a limo sans panties. Seriously? (more…)
By: the TV addict
Dispatches from Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs
2008-07-11 21:13:00 Now this is worth cracking a beer for! /BlairDispatch from Vienna, Day Three: A Global Consensus for Drug Policy Reform The first-ever meeting of ordinary people, representing the entire globe and discussing the state of the world's drug policy, concluded today in Vienna with a unanimous, united call for a new approach to drug control policy. Here are the highlights of our resolution:We recognized "the human rights abuses against people who use drugs" We called for "evidence-based" drug policy focused on "mitigation of short-term and long-term harms" and "full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms"We called on the U.N. to report on the collateral consequences of the current criminal justice-based approach to drugs and to provide an "analysis of the unintended consequences of the drug control system" We called for comprehensive "reviews of the application of criminal sanctions as a drug control measure"We recognized harm reduction as a necessary and worthwhile response t...
Dispatches From The Couch: Hangerless Cliff Ahead!
2008-05-30 14:45:00 Thank you, LOST, for showing every other show on television how to do a cliffhanger. Because frankly, until last night, I was worried that America would have nothing to talk about all summer. Heaven knows pretty much every other show I watch had less-than-buzzworthy endings. Am I really supposed to get excited about the fact that five years down the road, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES’ Susan is making out with the guy from QUEER AS FOLK? (Way to waste a gimmick that was already done better by LOST.) Or that GOSSIP GIRL’s Chuck went back to his wicked ways after having spent about four minutes devoted to Blair? And don’t get me started on the non-cliffhanger that was Meredith and Derek’s reunion on GREY’S ANATOMY. Even SUPERNATURAL – aka the show y’all changed my mind about – didn’t have the kick-ass finale I was hoping for. Yes, it was good, but… well, it ain’t like we don’t know that Sam is gonna rescue Dean from hell! And one of the only other cliffhangers worth tal...
By: the TV addict
Dispatches 'In God's Name' - Liberal intolerance and poor Journalism.
2008-05-22 17:48:00 Channel 4 in the UK showed a program last night called 'In God's Name' and was placed in their Dispatches series of programs. Click HERE for a very good article and analysis of the program. Also views on the Embryology Bill.
[Scary] VOIP company receives 911 call from family in Calgary, dispatches a
2008-05-02 04:37:00
Everest 2008: We Knew it Would Happen?Alan Arnette Notes Dispatches will R
2008-04-15 08:34:00 I have just been updated through Alan Arnette’s email dispatches that his dispatches will resume sometime in mid-may. Wish I had more for you, but oddly enough, at this point, his post is titled “Dispatches to Resume in Mid-May” with nothing else as far as a post– What is known: If you have ...
By: The Adventurist
Underground marketer dispatches 8 ClickBank-crushing blueprints.
2008-04-10 09:28:00 If you’ve ever wanted to unleash the full power of all the time you’ve invested in trying to make money online, then this is the most important message you will get in a long time. You see, over the weekend, a series of videos went live, revealing money pumping tactics so good and so fresh and ...
Dispatches from the Sickbed
2008-04-09 19:00:00 My whole entire body has been invaded by evil germs that look exactly like Brion James and Paul L. Smith, so I haven't really had time, what with all the coughing and the suffering and the mucus management, to prepare a proper review for anything. Here, however, are some 'capsule' (i.e. 'half-assed') reviews of a few dimly-remembered films I've watched in the past week or so.POM POM AND HOT HOTWicked, wicked action and frequently quite funny comedy abound in this guns n' chuckles cop actioner. Jacky Cheung and Stephen Tung play a couple of cheeky young coppers who have to, you know, shoot criminals. Lam Ching Ying plays an initially unprepossing and disappointingly chummy superior officer, but comes swinging in on the second VCD to steal the show right from under everyone's arse. Great stuff, and almost as much fun as saying the title aloud.BEST BIT: Shoot bang pow!WORST BIT: Obligatory mahjonng scene.FRONT PAGEThe Hui brothers star as tabloid hacks desperate to save their a...
By: Eye Candy
The Blog of War: Front-Line Dispatches from Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanista
2008-03-21 07:23:00 Matthew Currier Burden founded www.blackfive.net (http://www.blackfive.net/), one of the most popular military blogs on the Internet. His blog began as an homage to a friend killed on duty in Iraq and quickly became a source of information about what was really happening in Afghanistan and Iraq.
By: Asiaing.com
The Good Samaritan: Dispatches from Gaza
2008-03-14 05:47:00 by Gary Corseri What is it like to approach the front lines of a battle? What if you are with a medical corps — a volunteer group of surgeons from another country, inserting yourself, your beloved wife of 48 years (“Sarah”) and your colleagues into a volatile situation fraught with dangers for yourself and those you care about — because you’ve taken a vow to heal, to minister aid and comfort to the hurt and wounded? In recent months I’ve had the privilege of exchanging e-mails with a vibrant U.K. “senior citizen” whose older brother is just such a dedicated and courageous surgeon. Some of the e-mais he wrote to his sister and friends read like war dispatches — and, indeed, they are. Here, then, are some dispatches from an eye-witness (“Daniel”) to the recent incursions into Gaza that left more than 120 dead and hundreds more wounded — mostly civilians, many women and children — during another sad week in March. In these exchanges between Daniel and his friends and family, w...
Dispatches from the housing meltdown
2008-03-12 15:00:00 It's even worse than I thought. Not only are people borrowing from their 401(k) plans to hang onto their homes, USA Today reports some of them are actually taking "hardship withdrawals." Now don't let that terminology fool you. It's not some sort of special program under which you can avoid the taxes and ...
Denim Dispatches
2008-03-07 22:38:00 Someone's fetching Cheap Monday'sThese are good days for denim. High-street giant H&M has just bought out Fabric Scandinavien which owns Cheap Monday - the much-adored casual label - and plans to expand the brand and generally, broaden its horizons. Sounds sincere but considering the crux of business is profit, I'm not so sure. Still, more Cheap Monday can only be good. Note that the big-time retailer will not alter Cheap Monday's designs and doesn't plan to sell the wares in H&M stores.Acne Gentleman's Jeans Additionally, one of my favourite magazine editors has just tried his hand at denim design. Yes, the delightfully direct, butt-loving Gert Jonkers of Fantastic Man and BUTT was consulted for the production of Acne's latest line - Gentleman's Jeans. Fantastic Man's art director, Jop van Bennekom, also chipped in and the results, I can say, at least look great, I'm ignorant regarding the fit unfortunately. Try the creased jeans for yourself at Colette and Acne....
By: Male-Mode
Dispatches: Free and Fair Elections
2008-03-06 18:20:00 Back sooner than expected, our roving reporter, Steve Finch, has another story to be filed under “that’s something that would really benefit humanity.” openDemocracy (ASA) SANTA MONICA, CA — The YZ Prize Foundation has announced a second interesting initiative to help the world to move toward stability. Unlike the YZ Prize for Peace, this one strikes straight at their vision ...
The Welch Club ups the ante in Lebanon - Bush dispatches a flotilla to the
2008-03-01 17:09:00 by Franklin Lamb Ein el Helwe Palestinian Refugee Camp - Sidon, Lebanon: By this observers count there are no fewer than 8, and perhaps half again that number, of al-Qaeda inspired Salafist orientated groups now organizing and operating in Lebanon. Most are represented in one form or another in Ein el Helwe, the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian Refugee Camps. Teenagers appear to be among their most ardent supporters. These Islamist groups secretly organize and operate in this and other camps, for the same reason Bill Clinton messed with Ms. Monica Lewinsky, "Because I could" as Bill finally owned up, when his denials fueled comedy on late night TV. So it is with Al Qaeda in Lebanon. The Palestinian leadership strongly opposes Islamist groups, but, like Lebanon's 'government' it is powerless to prevent them from inhabiting their relatively safe havens. Over the past few days these groups have become activated by the deployment of the guided missile...
What is Dispatches?
2008-02-28 19:05:00 This is one of those things I’ve thought I probably should write for a long time but never got to actually doing. Until now. Dispatches, for those who don’t know, is a semi-regular feature on this site. It consists, essentially, of a few sentences that laments that our (fictional) reporter hasn’t been in touch in a while ...
Dispatches From the Couch: Smart People, Dumb Choices
2008-02-25 17:17:00 Last week, Jim Werdell, the chairman of MENSA — you know, those people who are smarter than not only a fifth grader, but you and me, too — released a list of the 10 brainiest shows on the aptly named boob tube. And for many critics, his list might just as well be titled “Fighting Words.” The show which seems to be creating the biggest outcry is the inclusion of the classic NBC sitcom MAD ABOUT YOU. Apparently, that witty, winning look at the joys and trials of marriage is not considered by many to be “worthy” of the list. Did I mention that the list includes CSI? (more…)
By: the TV addict
Dispatches From the Couch: The Long, Slow Death Of A Franchise
2008-02-21 14:59:00 Let’s face facts: The last time THE APPRENTICE actually captured our attention was when NBC canceled the show in 2007 and Donald Trump basically responded with, “You can’t fire me! I quit!” That was probably the smartest thing the walking combover had done since hiring reality-star-in-the-making Omarosa several seasons earlier. But the moment NBC came back to Trump and asked that he return to the boardroom, Trump folded like a cheap suit. In a desperate attempt to revive the failing franchise, it was announced that the new edition would feature the Trumpmeister firing celebs. And that’s when things went tragically awry. Already, the series had been showing a serious lack of creativity during the previous season, in which it was decided that the show could “re-invent” itself by relocating from New York City to Southern California. The only other major twist involved having each week’s losing team sleep in tents outside the mansion in wh...
By: the TV addict
Dispatches From the Couch: MODEL Strikes Its 10th Pose
2008-02-20 15:11:00 If there are oddly-named girls screaming, gay men strutting, sob stories being shared and booties shaking, it must mean another cycle of AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL – the 10th, if anyone is counting — is beginning. Tonight, we meet nearly three dozen girls and, by the end of the hour, narrow the field to those who will join Ms. Tyra and company as the show returns to the town in which it all started back in 2003, New York City. As always, the girls are… um, let’s go with “interesting.” My personal early fav is Lauren, who love zombie movies, is a self-professed weirdo and, when asked to show the panel a strong pose, turns her back to them. And if you aren’t laughing by the time one of the would-be models gives a lap dance while warbling an off-key tune, there’s something wrong with you. Oh, don’t get me wrong. You won’t be laughing with these girls. You’ll be laughing at them. And how can you not, when one proclai...
By: the TV addict
Dispatches From the Couch: Gone, But (Hopefully) Not Forgotten
2008-02-12 17:20:00 At least a few execs over at ABC are probably hoping that once they finally are able to get shows back into production, audiences will be watching — and not asking — SAMANTHA WHO? What if fans who had just begun to fall for the romantic comedy have, like the lead character, developed a case of amnesia, forgetting over the past few months that it even exists? What if DIRTY SEXY MONEY’s prolonged absence sent those who’d begun to get into the primetime soap’s groove feeling shopping elsewhere for entertainment? It’s long been said that the daytime soaps — which have been in a downward spiral for years — lost their momentum after being bumped for endless weeks by coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial. Eventually, viewers who’d spent years making daily visits to places like Pine Valley and Genoa City found other ways in which to spend their time. That’s exactly the situation currently facing execs as the writers strike finally see...
By: the TV addict
Dispatches: An X Prize for Peace
2008-02-07 20:25:00 Our roving reporter, Steve Finch, has an interesting story today that he asked us to file under “that’s something that would really benefit humanity.” SANTA MONICA, CA — The X Prize Foundation announced a new reward today which they’ve called simply the Peace X Prize. Like all X Prizes, the foundation is offering substantial financial reward — they-’ve estimated that it ...
Dispatches: A New Way to Fight Recession
2008-01-24 19:05:00 In light of recent financial news, Steve Finch files an interesting report that he asked us to file under, “I wonder if that would work.” Chris Phan (flickr) WASHINGTON — -The Secratery of the Treasury today announced a interesting plan to combat the economic slowdown that has led many to speculate that the country is in the midst of a ...
Dispatches From The Couch: AMERICAN IDOL vs. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE
2008-01-23 13:00:00 By CT There’s a difference between laughing with someone and laughing at them. Sadly, the folks pumping out endless audition episodes of AMERICAN IDOL haven’t a clue how to distinguish between the two. What’s even sadder is that the sorry mess that is the highest rated (although beginning to fade) show currently on the airwaves is brought to us by Nigel Lythgoe, president of 19 Television, which also produces the sublime SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? Worse, Lythgoe serves as a judge on the dancing competition, where he actually offers thoughtful, balanced, constructive critiques as opposed to those offered by one-note Randy, waste-of-space Paula and Simon Cowell, who each and every week declares someones performance to have been the worst he’s ever seen, followed by the word “seriously.” Then again, Lythgoe also knows that DANCE gets a fraction of IDOL’s audience. Hard as it may be to believe, when IDOL launched back in 2002, there was only one ...
By: the TV addict
Turning Defeat Into Victory, Chuck Colson Style [Dispatches from the Cultur
2007-12-07 17:23:00 In the wake of the 8th circuit’s ruling forbidding state funding and special privileges for those who participate in a Christian rehab program in Iowa prisons, there’s a stunningly dishonest PR campaign going on in the religious right press to turn that defeat into a victory. The Worldnutdaily declares: Judges endorse faith-based prison program That’s their emphasis, not mine. Their argument here is that because the appeals court only ruled that the state could not pay for the InnerChange program or give special privileges to those who took part in it, they’re “endorsing” the program by allowing it to continue to exist in the prison but solely at the expense of Prison Fellowship and without any special privileges for participants. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/196-666981/turning_defeat_into_vict-ory_ch.php
More Hysteria over SB 777 [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-12-07 17:16:00 The religious right’s histrionics over SB 777, the new law in California that prohibits discrimination in public schools on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, just keep getting more and more ridiculous. This article at the Worldnutdaily about Christian parents pulling their kids out of public schools so they don’t catch The Gay is a perfect example. Take a look at this spin: Parents in California have started reacting to the state’s newly mandated homosexual indoctrination program by pulling their children out of classes, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell is warning districts they’ll lose money if that happens. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/196-666982/more_hysteria_over_sb_77-7.php
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Ludicrous Cross Case [Dispatches from the Cult
2007-12-07 17:09:00 Remember that ridiculous case where an LA county worker claimed that taking the cross off the county seal was unconstitutional? The Supreme Court just denied cert on that case, to no one’s surprise. The case was dismissed and the dismissal upheld by the lower courts. The ACLU threats on the issue were ridiculous, in my view, but this lawsuit was even more ridiculous. I don’t think there was any constitutional violation for the cross on the county seal to begin with, but there damn sure isn’t any constitutional violation in taking the cross off the seal. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/196-666983/supreme_court_denies_cer-t_in_l.php
Philadelphia Scouts Miss Deadline [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-12-07 17:02:00 In the ongoing saga over the Boy Scouts in Philadelphia, the city had given the Cradle of LIberty Council until Monday to either execute a lease at fair market value on the city building they occupy or agree to vacate the premises by June of 2008. The Scout council failed to give them an answer by Monday, according to the Worldnutdaily: “If I do not receive an executed lease, signed by the Boy Scouts, to remain as tenants paying a fair market rent, we will begin looking for alternative tenants that can take over the property June 1, 2008,” Romulo Diaz, the city solicitor, said earlier. He, according to Philadelphia media reports, is an open homosexual. The Scouts, however, “do not feel obliged to respond to that date,” Jubelirer told the Associated Press. “We didn’t feel it was urgent to respond.” Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedF...
WeAreTheAnswer.org Dispatches New ?The Dark Knight? Message
2007-12-05 00:32:00 At 4:42 p.m. on Tuesday, I received a new e-mail from WeAreTheAnswer.org for ?The Dark Knight? viral marketing.Dear citizen,Today is a momentous day for Gotham and for all of us who have participated in We Are The Answer.Tips from concerned citizens like you are helping to bring corrupt officers to justice. You can be proud that you have aided your fellow citizens in taking the first step toward a safer city. Due to the overwhelming citizen response, we at We Are The Answer are pouring through an avalanche of police corruption tips.We should be through with the current backlog of tips by the very beginning of the New Year. Thank you again. The good citizens of Gotham have to stick together to fight crime and corruption. All of us have a brighter future to look forward to.
Karl Rove LIes Through His Teeth [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-12-04 17:09:00 Rove may be out of the White House, but he’s still lying for Jesus Bush. Check out this post with a transcript from the Charlie Rose show where Rove tries to claim that it was Congress who rushed through the resolution authorizing the Iraq war in the fall of 2002, that the administration didn’t think it was appropriate to do so during the midterm election. Rove says: Because, we didn’t think it belonged within the confines of the election. There was an election coming up in a matter of weeks. We thought it made it too political. We wanted it outside the confines of it. It seemed to make things move too fast. There were things that needed to be done to bring along allies and potential allies abroad. Yeah. That would be a lot more credible if the White House website didn’t include press releases that declared President Urges Congress to Pass Iraq Resolution Quickly dated September 24, 2002. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.f...
Journalistic Objectivity [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-12-04 17:02:00 My new gig with the Center for Independent Media has been quite interesting, if for no other reason than to stimulate my thinking about the differences between blogging and journalism and how to find a balance between them that maintains integrity. Notice that I say integrity, not objectivity; the concept of objectivity has become so attenuated that it is no longer useful at all in such discussions. Sometimes that balance can be difficult to strike, but here’s one thing I am absolutely certain of: the mere repetition of “both sides” in a dispute is not “objectivity”, nor does it have any integrity. Glenn Greenwald hits the nail on the head in this essay about the Washington Post passing on blatant lies about Barack Obama in one of those ridiculous forwarded emails you’ve probably gotten declaring that Obama is secretly a Muslim. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.co...
Dispatches: Lying Well
2007-11-29 21:29:00 Steve Finch has finally gotten around to filing another report. He asked that this one be filed under: “Is every lie a deception?” HOLLYWOOD — In a town made famous for the lies it tells to both itself and the world, this reporter found something quite expected: a class about lying well. The surprise wasn’t finding ...
Dispatches from the hood
2007-11-19 01:21:00 Other than crazy naked Ronnie, I haven't had any problems since returning to the Waycross ghetto. This is most probably because the people next door (the drug dealing lesbian prostitutes who stole my electricity and my copper pipes, cut a hole in the wall of my house with a butcher knife and took a baseball bat to my mailbox) were evicted while I was in Korea. The people who live in that house now are a grandmother, a mother and her three kids. One kid is a baby, but the other two are probably around 6 and 8 and are really cute and like to talk to me about my cats. I actually hung out with them for about an hour yesterday. Sadly, it is really hard for me to understand them. They probably think I'm nuts because I keep asking them to repeat themselves. The people in the house behind me moved in while I was in Korea. There is (or perhaps I should say was...) a man, woman and three kids there. There was also - at least while the weather was warm - a large group of somewhat "gangsta" l...
Dispatches: The Evolution Party
2007-10-25 19:15:00 Our roving correspondent Steve Finch has finally gotten back to us with another story. He asked us to file this under “Wouldn’t it be scary if…” Elkhart, Indiana — The rise of the Evolution Party and it’s unconventional platform has left at least a few unsettled and scratching their heads. The leader of the small political ...
Dispatches
2007-10-12 20:30:00 Building on the success of last Friday’s excellent lecture on financial regulation, a subject that I’m particularly keen to specialize in, today’s lecture was given by a Dispatches reporter. She has been working on a programme dealing with late-term abortions and the procedures undergone during them, which will be broadcast next Wednesday on Channel 4 at 10:40pm. The first person to make a film on Osama Bin Laden, she has also reported on Iraq and cirrhosis of the liver caused by excessive drinking. The latter involved a mobile liver testing station being set up in Manchester, which resulted in over 50% of visitors being diagnosed with liver problems, no doubt saving many lives. We were also privileged to watch extracts from the Dispatches documentaries she has made, working with production companies such as Oxford based Quicksilver Media Limited. These included a report on the brutality used in the American prison system, which seems to have spilled over into America’s...
By: Newsjiffy
Another Conservative Legal Scholar Hammers Bush [Dispatches from the Cultur
2007-09-05 11:23:00 The NY Times has an excellent piece on Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and conservative legal scholar who worked in the DOJ until he could no longer stand the unconstitutional policies the administration was pursuing and tired of fighting the battles against them. The article points out that in some ways, Goldsmith was in line with Bush/Cheney doctrine. For example, he argued vociferously that international human rights standards are not applicable in US courts and that the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction over US leaders or military personnel. That’s why he was named to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the DOJ. But he had strong views against the use of torture and against unconstitutional policies within the US, which is why he only lasted 9 months in that position before resigning. Here’s some background from the article: Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com...-
Little’s Latest [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-05 11:16:00 Michael Little, Stuart Pivar’s attorney, left a comment on a post below that I’m moving up here to answer. He’s been threatening to sue me for repeating some things that Peter Irons passed on to me from a conversation he had on the phone with Little after the complaint against PZ Myers became public. That is an empty threat, of course; one cannot be proved guilty of libel for passing on information that they do not know to be false. Little is disputing Irons’ recollection of their conversation. In the interests of fairness (and having a bit of fun), here’s what Little has to say: I did not make those comments to Mr Irons. What I said to Mr Irons was: ‘that I was initially skeptical as to MY abilities to take on his( Mr Pivar’s) suit and that Mr Pivar was insistent that I had the ABILITIES to evaluate it.’ Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-Science...
Moonie in Congress? [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-05 11:09:00 A Republican State Rep from Arizona, Mark Anderson, is considering a run for Congress against incumbent Democrat Harry Mitchell. This will be worth keeping an eye on. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/152-509328/moonie_in_congress.php
The Redacted Declaration of Independence [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-05 11:02:00 A great post about a student submitting an FOIA request to the White House to receive a copy of the Declaration of Independence. The document was, of course, heavily redacted to take out those parts that might be inconvenient to the Bush administration. The introduction now reads: When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to assume among the powers of the earth, the Laws of God requires that they should Read the whole thing, it’s quite amusing. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/152-498379/the_redacted_declaration-_of_in.php
Police Misconduct and DUIs [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-04 11:23:00 The Seattle paper has an astonishing series about police officers caught driving drunk and getting off light, often times just being let go by their fellow officers. Not astonishing in the sense of surprising, but some of the stories are so incredibly blatant, including cops showing up for work drunk, having driven to the station, and having virtually nothing done to them. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/152-047421/police_misconduct_and_du-is.php
At Least We’re Not This Bad [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-04 11:16:00 The US has had some major problems with political leaders taking absurd positions clearly contrary to scientific knowledge, but at least we haven’t quite stooped to this level. This is about the South African health minister: At news conferences, she has made plain her mistrust of antiretroviral medicines, repeatedly espousing a diet heavy on garlic, beetroot, lemon and olive oil as more effective in treating HIV/AIDS. The comments have earned her ridicule and the nicknames “Dr. Beetroot” and “Dr. Garlic.” South Africa’s stand at the international AIDS conference in Canada last year included garlic and other foodstuffs, prompting international scientists to write an unprecedented joint letter of protest to President Thabo Mbeki. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/152-047423/at_least_were_not_this_b-ad.php
More Christian Nation Nonsense [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-04 11:09:00 Remember James Goswick, the Christian Nation apologist and David Barton disciple I wrote about a couple weeks ago? Well he’s got a post on his blog objecting to the following statement I made about Jefferson, which can be found in this post: “The Declaration was written by a man who believed in a very different “creator” than Barton. Remember, Jefferson explicitly condemned the Old Testament God as “cruel, capricious, vindictive and unjust” and rejected the notion that Jesus was divine or part of any trinity.” Goswick responds: Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/152-047424/more_christian_nation_no-nsense.php
Greenwald on Craig and Vitter [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-09-04 11:02:00 One of the most obvious things about the various scandals involving politicians favored by the religious right over the last few months is the clearly hypocritical manner with which the family values crowd treats those who cheat on their wives with men and who cheats with other women. The entire religious right is demanding that Larry Craig step down, but few demanded that of David Vitter, who admitted to cheating on his wife with prostitutes. There are two obvious reasons for this. First, because they really do think that being gay is the very definition of horrible, while adultery is seen as a minor sin. So much for “family values.” I dare say that far more families are destroyed by heterosexual adultery. Second, because if Craig resigns his replacement will be chosen by a Republican governor; if Vitter resigns, his replacement will be chosen by a Democratic governor. Glenn Greenwald sums it up nicely: Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this po...
Rodda on Mansfield, Part 3 [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-08-30 11:02:00 Chris Rodda continues to eviscerate any credibility that Stephen Mansfield might have had with the third part of her review. In it, she debunks one of the most infamous of all the Christian Nation myths, the “Jefferson attended church in the Capitol building” story. There are two parts to the story, often conflated in the telling and retelling. The first involves an anecdote from the Rev. Ethan Allen. Here is how James Hutson of the Library of Congress tells the story: Jefferson, according to Allen, was walking to church one Sunday “with his large red Prayer Book under his arm when a friend querying him after their mutual good morning said which way are you walking Mr. Jefferson. To which he replied to Church Sir. You going to church Mr. J. You do not believe a word in it. Sir said Mr. J. No nation has ever yet existed or been governed without religion. Nor can be. The Christian religion is the best religion that has been given to man and I as chief Magistrate of t...
Phase 4 of the Anti-Evolution Movement Begins [Dispatches from the Culture
2007-08-27 11:23:00 The Texas State Board of Education has long been a key battleground in the evolution/creationism controversy and the Discovery Institute and their allies have long advised the board on how to handle the issue. This article in the Houston Chronicle looks like good news on the surface, but it really just shows what the next phrase of the anti-evolution movement is all about it. Here’s the alleged good news: A majority of State Board of Education members said the theory of intelligent design should be left out of the science curriculum for public schools. The board will rewrite the science curriculum next year and some observers expect backers of intelligent design to push for the theory’s inclusion. In interviews with The Dallas Morning News, 10 of the board’s 15 members said they wouldn’t support requiring the teaching of intelligent design. One board member said she was open to the idea. Four board members didn’t respond to the newspaper’s phone c...
American Whistleblowers Imprisoned in Iraq [Dispatches from the Culture War
2007-08-27 11:16:00 The AP reports: One after another, the men and women who have stepped forward to report corruption in the massive effort to rebuild Iraq have been vilified, fired and demoted. Or worse. For daring to report illegal arms sales, Navy veteran Donald Vance says he was imprisoned by the American military in a security compound outside Baghdad and subjected to harsh interrogation methods. There were times, huddled on the floor in solitary confinement with that head-banging music blaring dawn to dusk and interrogators yelling the same questions over and over, that Vance began to wish he had just kept his mouth shut. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/148-796825/american_whistleblowers_-impris.php
Haggard Needs Money [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-08-27 11:09:00 Ted Haggard is asking his former victims followers to send money to support him and his wife as they pursuit degrees in counseling and psychology. And it looks like he has his next scam in the works: The couple and two of their sons planned to move Oct. 1 to the Phoenix Dream Center, a faith-based halfway house in Phoenix, where Haggard and his wife would provide counseling, the e-mail said. “It looks as though it will take two years for us to have adequate earning power again, so we are looking for people who will help us monthly for two years,” the e-mail said. “During that time we will continue as full-time students, and then, when I graduate, we won’t need outside support any longer.” Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/148-796831/haggard_needs_money_1.ph-p
Great Article About Ellery Schempp [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-08-27 11:02:00 The Associated Press has a terrific article about Ellery Schempp, who 50 years ago as a high school student bravely stood up against mandatory Bible reading in his public school and paved the way for an important court ruling that helped to break the Christian hegemony that so clearly existed at the time (and for which the religious right will never forgive him). Schempp is 67 now and he’s the subject of a new book called Ellery’s Protest by NYU law professor Stephen Solomon. Read the whole article, it’s fascinating. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/148-796833/great_article_about_elle-ry_sch.php
The Magic of White House Wishful Thinking [Dispatches from the Culture Wars
2007-08-23 11:02:00 Once again, the White House attempts to change the rules in midstream. The Bush administration is now arguing that the White House Office of Administration, which provides the administrative services to the White House including IT services, is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. AP reports: Opening a new front in the Bush administration’s battle to keep its records confidential, the Justice Department is contending that the White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. The department’s argument is in response to a lawsuit trying to force the office to reveal what it knows about the disappearance of White House e-mails. Read the rest of this post… | Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/147-311242/the_magic_of_white_house-_wishf.php
RIP Max Roach [Dispatches from the Culture Wars]
2007-08-17 11:23:00 The jazz world lost one of its most legendary masters, drummer Max Roach. If there is a pantheon, a Mt. Rushmore of jazz, Roach is surely in it. He debuted at 16 years old with Duke Ellington’s band; by the age of 18, he was on the way to being the rhythmic force behind every major innovation in jazz for decades to come. In the 40s and early 50s, he powered the be bop movement with his unique polyrhythms and syncopations. In the 50s and 60s, he was the man behind Miles Davis and cool bop. Then it was Clifford Brown and hard bop. After that, it was free jazz. He was the drummer on the legendary Massey Hall performance by The Quintet, made up of Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie (a CD I’m listening to as I write this) - now that’s an all-star lineup. He was also a major civil rights leader, recording We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite on the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Max Roach was a true giant, an irr...
Padilla Guilty; Predictable Rhetoric Ensues [Dispatches from the Culture Wa
2007-08-17 11:16:00 Jose Padilla was found guilty on all charges by a jury. Orin Kerr predicted perfectly what the rhetoric would be regardless of outcome: Script for Supporters of the Bush Administration: If the jury convicts, this proves how strong the government’s case has been all along. If the jury acquits, this proves that you can’t try to bring terrorism cases in a criminal court system. Script for Opponents of the Bush Administration: If the jury convicts, this shows how the criminal justice system can indeed handle terrorism cases. If the jury acquits, this shows just how weak the case against Padilla has been all along. Bingo. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/145-159838/padilla_guilty_predictab-le_rhe.php
Pentagon Stops Distribution of Left Behind Game [Dispatches from the Cultur
2007-08-17 11:09:00 Chalk one up for sanity. ABC News reports that the Pentagon has pulled the plug on the plan by an evangelical group associated with the USO to send copies of the Left Behind video game to troops in Iraq. This is a victory for Mikey Weinstein and the Military Religious Freedom Coalition, which discovered this ridiculous plan, and for those of us who publicized it. That publicity prompted the mainstream media to inquire about it, which is what led the Pentagon to end the program. Congratulations to Mikey, to Chris Rodda and Bruce Wilson, and everyone else involved. Read the comments on this post… Original post by http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/-ScienceblogsCombinedFeed/~3/145-159840/pentagon_stops_distribut-ion_of.php |
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