pharyngula

Stories like this one about private insurers operations are one good reason. Reuters reported on Thursday that WellPoint, the largest U.S. health insurer by enrollment, was using a computer algorithm that automatically targeted patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer, among other conditions…

The stories just get worse and worse. The Catholic priesthood hasn't just been abusing children in various places, but also has a history of abuse of women, especially in Africa and India. The crisis of religious abuse in Africa and India was brought to Rome's attention in 1998 when a four-page…

The long-awaited review of Fodor and Piattelli-Palmarini's anti-evolution book by Jerry Coyne is now online in The Nation. It's a double-review of both the bad philosophy book and the good science book by Dawkins. Settle in for a nice read.

I swear, half the photos I have of cuttlefish are of two or three or four animals getting it on. Sepia pharaonis Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.

It's weird what can suddenly go viral on the web. Jen is riding the tiger right now with her light-hearted 'boobquake' idea…and it's getting picked up all over the place. CNN has a decent article on it, good because they let her explain what it's about. "It's not supposed to be serious activism…

The bishop of Bruges,Roger Vangheluwe, has suddenly resigned over sexual abuse — he has confessed to abusing and harming a young man years ago. I'd be more impressed with his contrition if it hadn't arisen after the media started making a lot of noise about the issue. It seems there is a small wave…

Fortunately, in my teaching career, I have been spared confrontations with comic book nerds. (Click for larger image) I recognize that as the Green Lantern creation myth. I guess if we're going to have to teach the controversy, I'll have to address that in intro biology next year…

I'll be going to the Atheist Alliance International 2010 Copenhagen Convention to listen to a fine group of godless speakers, but there's one who won't be there — there was going to be a surprise speaker, not mentioned for security reasons, and now he has decided it would be too dangerous. The…

It's a trivial little contest from JetBlue — it does require that you give them your contact information, which may be more than you want to surrender…but you can win fabulous prizes! Look at what you can get: A vacation in the Dominican Republic! A vacation in Costa Rica! A vacation in the…

All is revealed: trustworthiness is in the beard. Rate yourself on the scale: I'm all the way to the left, under "Very Trustworthy", and just ahead of Dan Dennett. Ladies, I'm sorry you're left out. This is also an illustration of why you are so mysterious to the clueless male — you aren't on the…

We haven't fired up the framing wars in a while, fortunately, but I just have to point you to this interview with Frank Luntz, the Republican Party's favorite spin doctor. "Communications Specialist" apparently means simply being able to lie persuasively to the public — it's the antithesis of what…

Tycho and Gabe seem a tad peevish that Roger Ebert has dissed video games as art — he says video games can never be art, which may be a bit excessive. Still, I read Ebert's explanation, Penny Arcade's cranky dismissal, and a serious advocates counter-argument, and you know, I tend to think Ebert is…

I like this. Larry Moran has the summary of a talk by Francis Collins, who asserts that science and religion are entirely compatible. Here are Collins' last few slides: [First Slide] Almighty God, who is not limited in space and time, created a universe 13.7 billion years ago with its parameters…

Are you ready for civilization to end? I guess the television show South Park is going to show a cartoon rendition of Mohammed tonight. I think the show has been steadily declining in quality, but I'll tune it in one more time just to support the public desecration of the sacred. Have they ever…

They're considering a new law to keep women ignorant and ashamed. The governor of Oklahoma is considering tough new abortion bills that would allow doctors to withhold test results showing foetal defects and require women to answer intrusive questions. The results of the questionnaires would be…

Below is a short video from AndromedasWake refuting some specific claims by a couple of creationists from the UK, Andrew Inns and Malcolm Bowden. It's nicely done, a good explanation of some basic physics, but what caught my eye is the beginning, when the creationists start explaining that they are…

The latest instantiation of the endless thread seems to be all about histories of use of interesting substances. Me, I like to get high on Christopher Walken. Continue as you were. Flying is optional. (Current total: 10,058 entries with 969,742 comments.)

It would be only fair, after all. They frustrate me with their ridiculous beliefs all the time, and with their bigoted intrusions into national politics. A few Mormons are planning a youtube challenge, coordinated on FaceBook: on 3 May, they intend to all visit one particular pro-Mormon video,…

I learned something odd this morning. Three US states have laws on the books, created by Republican legislators, making it illegal to insert microchips into people. Virginia has even declared them to be the mark of the beast from Revelation. And now Georgia is hoping to join the ranks of the crazy…

Years ago, when my kids were little and easily impressed, we had a tradition of making pancakes on Sunday morning (better than church!). I'd sometimes go wild and make a mickey mouse pancake, or sometimes we'd have chocolate chip pancakes, but I never played around quite as much as Jim, who makes…

Clitoria

Somebody was a little peevish that I slammed a woo-wooish poll. It's not much of a note, but for some reason Mr Spagnuolo's complete obliviousness tickled me. I read your article about the lost girl and the man that gave credit to God for helping him to find her. You Sir, are a dick. Your arrogance…

Apparently, German Catholics are a bit irate over the cover to a satirical magazine. I don't understand why. This one just shows a reverent priest, titled "The church today". And this one actually offers a practical use for Christian icons ("Does Jesus play a role?"). This cover is a little more…

CFI sponsored one of those awful debates between a Christian and a rationalist in Vancouver, BC. It followed the typical sequence: the specific topic was "What's right and what's wrong with Christianity," which the creationist essentially ignored and the philosophy student tried to address, which…

Post-docs are the weird, easily forgotten positions in academia, neither fish nor fowl. They're something more than a student — they've got Ph.D.s! — but definitely far less than faculty. On the plus side, it's often the one position where you get to do nothing but research, research, research…but…

Wouldn't you know it: when advanced theo-scientists in Iran discover a dangerous principle, some godless American turns it into a Doomsday Weapon. The first test-firing is to occur on the 26th of April. I plan to be cowering in my bed, afraid to step out. I recommend everyone stock up on vital…

Adam Savage gave a talk at Harvard where he beautifully laid out the logic of a godless universe. Here's a short sample, but really, it's worth reading the whole thing: The idea of an ordered and elegant universe is a lovely one. One worth clinging to. But you don't need religion to appreciate the…

You've got to read this interview with Nawal El Saadawi. I like everything about her. She still refuses to tone down her work. "I am very critical of all religions," she says. "We, as women, are oppressed by all these religions." It is religious extremism, she believes, that is the biggest threat…

You all recall Ardipithecus ramidus, the very cool 4.4 million year old fossil that showed that bipedalism was very old. It's a great fossil, a revealing story, and worth the attention it was given. Amazingly, someone has now had an actual conversation with Ardipithecus. You may be wondering how;…

Nadia Bloom is a young girl who was lost in Florida, and was found by a fervent Christian who went off into the swamps babbling in tongues and praying to God to lead him to her. As you might guess, all the other rescue workers and volunteers are now forgotten, the prolonged search is unimportant,…