Archives for September, 2010
Carne Ross: An independent diplomat
Posted by Greg Laden on September 21, 2010 After 15 years in the British diplomatic corps, Carne Ross became a “freelance diplomat,” running a bold nonprofit that gives small, developing and yet-unrecognized nations a voice in international relations. At the BIF-5 conference, he calls for a new kind of diplomacy that gives voice to small countries, that works with changing boundaries and that…
Scientific Research Gone Bad
Posted by Greg Laden on September 21, 2010 Skeptically Speaking with Desiree Schell. The podcast for last week’s show is available here. David Dobbs talks about Marc Hauser, which is rather interesting. Then, Barbara Drescher talks about common mistakes made by scientists (sort of an extension of the theme). The Podcast is here. The show also seems to have a new theme song!
Igor and Lisa
Posted by Greg Laden on September 21, 2010 Igor is on the cusp of being a hurricane and not being a hurricane. The storm has hurricane force winds but its energy is being rapidly redistributed from a cyclonic pattern (a hurricane is a cyclone) to a frontal pattern (a hurricane is not a front). Either way, somebody’s gonna lose themselves’ a trailer. In…
Teachers Under Fire!!!
Posted by Greg Laden on September 21, 2010 It is very common, across the U.S., for science teachers to dread the “evolution” unit that they teach during life science class. As they approach the day, and start to prepare the students for what is coming, they begin to hear the sarcastic remarks from the creationist students. When the day to engage the evolution…
The latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 The latest issue of Evolution: Education and Outreach — the new journal aspiring to promote accurate understanding and comprehensive teaching of evolutionary theory for a wide audience — is now published. Devoted to human evolution and edited by William E. H. Harcourt Smith, the issue (volume 3, number 3) features Tom Gundling on “Human Origins…
C. O’Donnell on Hitler, God, Jews & Lies
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 The Vigil After Dover: Part 2
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 Happy Birthday AAAS and NRC
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 The National Research Council first met on this day in 1916, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, or “Triple-A S”) first met on this day in 1848.
Stick Sci Cartoon Winners Announced
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 The winners of the Stick Science cartoon contest, sponsored by Florida Citizens for Science, were announced on September 19, 2010. “The basic concept here,” as FCFS’s Brandon Haught explained in announcing the contest, “is to draw a cartoon that educates the public about misconceptions the average person has about science.” And lack of artistic ability…
Today’s Hurricane Observations; Is the season half over?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 There is a reasonably high probability that tropical storm force winds from what is now Hurricane Igor will affect the Maritime provinces in Canada. Look for that to start happening Tuesday and later. Igor could actually be weaker than a hurricane is supposed to be (or close to it) over the next few hours, technically,…
Black Bodies and Quantum Cats
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 Black Bodies and Quantum Cats: Tales from the Annals of Physics, by Jennifer Ouellette, is an exploration of popular culture, including literature, movies, TV shows, and so on. Ouellette demonstrates a well studied knowledge of these areas of human endeavor, and she is an excellent writer. This means that when you have explored these aspects…
Selection of a DNA aptamer for homocysteine using systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 There is an old joke motif the origin of which is obscure (to me, perhaps you can inform us): A highly technical, or perhaps mundanely boring, or perhaps very formal or conventional thing … a police report, the new HR guidebook for a large company, the manual for your new programmable graphing calculator … is…
Drs Myers and Decker: Advice on Teaching Evolution
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 Continuing with our discussion of the Evolution 2008 conference … many things have been going on and I have more to report than time to report it. But I will get to all of it, I assure you. Tonight, I just want to cover part of today’s Education Symposium (moderated by your’s truly) … not…
Who’s running against Michele Bachmann?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 20, 2010 Tarryl Clark. This is her latest ad:
An organic workout, a strange encounter, and a movie
Posted by Greg Laden on September 19, 2010 Replacing floors is a total exercise routine. Moving furniture out of the way, ripping up whatever is there, measuring and cutting new sub flooring, carting around heavy sheets of plywood, tacking and nailing, and so on and so forth works every single muscle in one’s body. That’s what we did last weekend. Also, I was…
How to jump from one building to another like in the movies
Posted by Greg Laden on September 19, 2010 Does God Like You, In Particular?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 19, 2010 And tells everyone else to kiss off? Now, go here and vote up this video. Bonus Rant:
Unlocking the Power of Women
Posted by Greg Laden on September 18, 2010 An Internet meteor shower
Posted by Greg Laden on September 18, 2010 A collection of meteor videos for your amusement and amazement:
Texas Creationists Pwned By Genie Scott
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 This is why we love Genie Scott: The NCSE now has a channel on You Tube, and at this time you can see most, probably all, of Genie’s testimony in Texas. It is very instructive. GENIE SCOTT IS A MACHINE!!!
The Pope was a Nazi UPDATED
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 This might be a little unusual for me, being an American of my age and all, but over the course of my life I’ve had a small number of close friends who were Hitler Youth in Germany during World War II. I don’t hold that specific fact against anyone. But, just in case you wanted…
“warmest congratulations to the Fuhrer in the name of the bishops and the dioceses in Germany”
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 Hitler wth Archbishop Cesare Orsenigo, the papal nuncio in Berlin, 1935 On April 20, 1939, Archbishop Orsenigo celebrated Hitler’s birthday. The celebrations, initiated by Pacelli (Pope Pius XII) became a tradition. Each April 20, Cardinal Bertram of Berlin was to send “warmest congratulations to the Fuhrer in the name of the bishops and the dioceses…
The Wrong Way to Approach the Evolution-Creationism Debate
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 Amy Binder and John H. Evans, associate professors of Sociology at the University of California at San Diego, have written a piece on efforts to force religion in the guise of Intelligent Design and Creationism down the throats of children in Texas.
Hitler’s (Christian) Pope
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 Summary of Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII from Library Journal: Relying on exclusive access to Vatican and Jesuit archives, an award-winning Roman Catholic journalist argues that through a 1933 Concordat with Hitler, Pope Pius XII facilitated the dictator’s riseAand, ultimately, the Holocaust.
Hitler’s Willing (Christian) Executioners
Posted by Greg Laden on September 17, 2010 Hitler’s Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust is a book well worth reading. I’ve read it and I think highly of the book. I don’ t have time to write a review right now, but here’s the PW writeup:
The German Nazis were Christian and the German Christians were Nazis
Posted by Greg Laden on September 16, 2010 Germany was a Christian nation long before the Nazi’s came along in the 1920s. When the Nazi’s took power in Germany, they were widely and generally supported. Even after the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, a majority of the German People (in a survey conducted by the US military) remained sympathetic to the…
A genetic cause of rapid degeneration in some Alzheimer’s patients
Posted by Greg Laden on September 16, 2010 A new study identifies a likely cause of rapid degeneration in some Alzheimer’s patients. The results of this study may lead to improved treatment. But first, let’s look at the method used in this study, because that may be almost as important as a development. And for this, we will use a sports analogy.
Has a Google engineer been reading your teenager’s email?
Posted by Greg Laden on September 16, 2010 I would hope not, but in fact there seems to be no effective mechanism in place to keep in check a not insignificant number of Google engineers who have full access to everyone’s gMail contents and other private information. And, there is always David Barksdale.
How To Get Away With Teaching The Controversy
Posted by Greg Laden on September 16, 2010 The following is an abstract from an article by Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education called ?WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE “TEACH THE CONTROVERSY” SLOGAN?? available here.
, which is now available for the 
