Second and Third Thoughts
But in an open society, free expression is more important than any religious dogma. Without free expression, our democracy will not function, as it does not in many Muslim countries. Religion will be permitted to go unexamined, even when it is a threat to life and limb.
via National Secular Society – NSS statement following Charlie Hebdo attack.
Bill Donohue is the Muslim of Catholicism. What I mean by that is that he thrives on offense, and though he doesn’t kill anybody when he’s offended, he’s made a career out of raging at those who insult the Pope, the Church, preachers and nuns, or anything associated with the Vatican Mafia. So far Catholics have been loath to criticize him, but his latest piece at the Catholic League site, “Muslims are right to be angry“, may change that. For in it, Donohue pins a fair amount of blame on the murders on the Charlie Hebo journalist and cartoonists themselves. The only way I can account for this lapse in judgement is from Donohue’s own personal history. For he’s spent so much time defending his own religion against perceived smears that he’s now taken it on himself to defend Islam, too, and so sees the satirical cartoonists as just as offensive…
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During the course of my reading about evolution, I came across the National Geographic Genographic Kit. The kit enables you to take DNA swabs and send them to the Genographic Project for analysis. The blurb says:
By participating, you will:
• Discover the migration paths your ancient ancestors followed hundreds—even thousands—of years ago, with an unprecedented view of your ancestral journey.
• Learn what percentage of your genome is affiliated with specific regions of the world.
• Find out if you have Neanderthal or Denisovan ancestry.
• Have the opportunity to share your story and connect with other Genographic Project participants, helping us fill in the gaps in the human story.
The BBC has been given an exclusive look at a new kind of battery charger that can recharge a modern smartphone in less time than it takes to boil a kettle.
via BBC News – CES 2015: Storedot turbo-boosts battery recharges.
Gosh!
In the end, it is simply extremely unlikely that there is any link between cellphones and brain tumors. We can, perhaps, put this debate to rest and focus on the actual danger of cellphones: using them while driving.
via Cellphones Do Not Give You Brain Cancer | FiveThirtyEight.
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oddrops 