Wonder if we'll ever see him on a US coin or bill?
January 8, 2011
January 7, 2011
Ivory Coast Crisis of Power - Why It Matters For The Rest Of The Continent
Africa's Hour?
Freelance journalist James Traub, though not having written much on Africa in the past, provides a very good summary of the crisis in Ivory Coast and why it matters for West Africa and the continent as a whole. How African regional bodies such as ECOWAS and the African Union, international bodies such as the UN, and world powers - China, Russia, Britain, France, and the US - react could signal a new era in political crisis response and the quest for sustainable democracy in Africa.
To act against Gbagbo would be a shot across the bow of Mugabe, Bongo, Museveni, Kibaki, and others in Africa who cloak themselves in democracy then behave undemocratically. Regrettably, I doubt that there will be an intervention in Cote d'Ivoire given the history of such adventures in Africa, Liberia notwithstanding. But I do hope an ECOWAS intervention supported by the AU and the UN will occur and thereby provide a "shot heard 'round Africa" - No more sheep-clad kabuki democracy hiding autocratic wolves!
Freelance journalist James Traub, though not having written much on Africa in the past, provides a very good summary of the crisis in Ivory Coast and why it matters for West Africa and the continent as a whole. How African regional bodies such as ECOWAS and the African Union, international bodies such as the UN, and world powers - China, Russia, Britain, France, and the US - react could signal a new era in political crisis response and the quest for sustainable democracy in Africa.
To act against Gbagbo would be a shot across the bow of Mugabe, Bongo, Museveni, Kibaki, and others in Africa who cloak themselves in democracy then behave undemocratically. Regrettably, I doubt that there will be an intervention in Cote d'Ivoire given the history of such adventures in Africa, Liberia notwithstanding. But I do hope an ECOWAS intervention supported by the AU and the UN will occur and thereby provide a "shot heard 'round Africa" - No more sheep-clad kabuki democracy hiding autocratic wolves!
January 3, 2011
Top 10 Myths About Evolution - And A Comment On US Science Education
UPDATE 4:
Understanding Evolution: 17 Misconceptions and Their Responses, Science-Based Life, September 4, 2011
Understanding Evolution: 17 Misconceptions and Their Responses, Science-Based Life, September 4, 2011
- “Evolution is a theory about the origin of life.”
- “Evolution is like a climb up a ladder of progress; organisms are always getting better.”
- “Evolution means that life changed ‘by chance.’”
- “Natural selection involves organisms ‘trying’ to adapt.”
- “Natural selection gives organisms what they ‘need.’”
- “Evolution is ‘just’ a theory.”
- “Evolution is a theory in crisis and is collapsing as scientists lose confidence in it.”
- “Gaps in the fossil record disprove evolution.”
- “Evolutionary theory is incomplete and is currently unable to give a total explanation of life.”
- “The theory of evolution is flawed, but scientists won’t admit it.”
- “Evolution is not science because it is not observable or testable.”
- “Most biologists have rejected ‘Darwinism’ (i.e., no longer really agree with the ideas put forth by Darwin and Wallace).”
- “Evolution leads to immoral behavior. If children are taught that they are animals, they will behave like animals.”
- “Evolution supports the idea that ‘might makes right’ and rationalizes the oppression of some people by others.”
- “Evolution and religion are incompatible.”
- “Teachers should teach ‘both sides’ and let students decide for themselves.”
- “Evolution is itself ‘religious,’ so requiring teachers to teach evolution violates the First Amendment.”
See also:
Misconceptions About Evolution, UC Berkeley
The Top 10 Intelligent Designs (Or Creation Myths), Live Science
Severing the Link Between Darwin and Nazism by Faye Flam, Philly.com, October 24, 2011
UPDATE 3: New Approach Proposed for Science Curriculums, The New York Times, Science, July 19, 2011 . "Now that the council (the National Research Council, the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering) has finished a (new science education) framework, a nonprofit education group, Achieve Inc., will expand it into a set of standards. Similar efforts produced standards for math and language arts that have been adopted by 44 states. ... While Achieve is working with states to come up with standards, the core science — including evolution — is not up for debate. 'What we’re not going to do is compromise the science just to get states comfortable,' said Michael Cohen, the president of Achieve. States will have the final say on whether to adopt the new approach."
UPDATE 2: March 25, 2011 A Voice For Evolution From Indiana
UPDATE 1: January 4, 2011 Florida Citizens for Science Co-Founder Jonathan Smith Discusses Evolution Debate, Florida State Science Education Standards
Here's some good news. The state of Florida
"Everyone from pastors to politicians argued against the new standards, which replaced a 12-year-old curriculum ranked last in the United States United States
A major reason there is so much ignorance in America
Another important reason is that too often, when high school science teachers cover the topic of evolution and place humans in the context of the natural sciences with all other animals, they and their school boards are often pummeled by indignant, outraged creationists. These defenders of faith-based truth seek the banning of such lessons and demand equal time for their understanding of science, presently in the form of "intelligent design." That is, if an "understanding of science" is really what their all-knowing and final notions about the Universe, Life, Earth and Humankind can really be called.
These two reasons are why our children lag behind those in Asia , Europe and elsewhere in the world in math and science. In America
Outside the US Asia , for example, are not railing about what is being taught in their nations' science classes. They are not badgering school administrators to have their religious understandings taught as science. Asian and European children from secondary school onward are taught to highly value science and to see human beings as arising from and therefore part of Nature, not divinely created latecomers who are separate from and above all else on Earth. Only among the Abrahamic religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - is there a God, and his word as found in religious texts, that must be defended as the sole source of truth about the Universe, Earth, Life and Humankind.
What can you do? Get more information, encourage your children and all others to study and read scientific publications. Here's a good starting point I have developed: The Case for Evolution - A Reading List. You can also provide support to the National Center for Science Education, an organization that defends and promotes the teaching of evolution in schools.
Here are the Top 10 Myths. The above link by the Skeptics Society addresses and debunks them all:
1. If Humans Came From Apes, Why Aren't Apes Evolving Into Humans?
2. There Are Too Many Gaps in the Fossil Record for Evolution to Be True
3. If Evolution Happened Gradually Over Millions of Years Why Doesn' the Fossil Record Show Gradual Change?
4. No One Has ever Seen Evolution Happen
5. Science Claims That Evolution Happens by Random Chance
6. Only an Intelligent Designer Could Have Made Something as Complex as an Eye
7. Evolution is Only A Theory
8. Evidence for Human Evolution Has Turned Out to Be Fake, Frauds, or Fanciful
9. The Second Law of Thermodynamics Proves That Evolution is Impossible
10. Evolution Can't Account for Morality
January 2, 2011
Experts Say Sudan Vote Will Be Peaceful....
Africa: Experts Say Sudan Vote Will Be Peaceful - I Say Intervene If Bashir And The "Unknown Unknowns" Prove Them Wrong
Until the January 9 referendum on southern secession and its aftermath prove peaceful and lasting, I shall remain among the "hand-wringers," as the following excerpt calls those of us who do not trust the Khartoum government and, more specifically, its president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
Bashir, who has been indicted on charges of genocide in Darfur, is a murderous dictator with no credibility. Since taking power in 1989 he has allowed his government forces and local militias to kill thousands of local defenders and innocent civilians in Darfur in western Sudan. He has done this for political and economic gain, and territorial control. Over a million southern Sudanese have also died as a direct result of his policies and practices since taking power.
His expressions of support for the will of the southern Sudanese in their pursuit of political self-determination and religious freedom are diametrically opposed to his Islamic political worldview. This is evidenced by his promise of a more pervasive implementation of sharia in the north if the south secedes. Why should he wish the southerners well in their pursuit of democracy and religious choice when he will not allow the same for his own people? It is not something he wishes for his northern Sudanese compatriots.
I hope the professors in Khartoum and experts elsewhere are correct in their predictions the vote will be peaceful. Bashir's allowing the referendum and secession to occur and succeed will be an admission that his sixteen-year war efforts to deny southern political autonomy and religious freedom have failed. It appears his defeat by the SPLM/SPLA and fear of Western intervention have forced him to allow the vote and secession to happen. His well-wishing is no virtue for a forced hand is not a virtuous act. I wish Mr. Bashir full justice before the International Criminal Court for the crimes against humanity he has commited.
Excerpts from link:
"The stakes are so high that neither side, the Islamist northern Sudanese government or the former rebels who lead southern Sudan, seems to want to be sucked into a war again, or at least to start one. Over the past year, there has been such a steady drumbeat of Armageddon predictions and hand-wringing over the referendum that a broad array of potential problems have been prepared for and contingency plans discussed. The stage is now set for the vote to be historic and highly emotional, but not a catastrophe."
---
"Though the north will clearly lose out if the south breaks off, northern leaders seem to have accepted that there is little they can do about it. According to Mohammed Hamad, a political science professor in Khartoum, Mr. Bashir will be reluctant to go to war because 'others will use it as an excuse, and Israel and the U.S. will try to dispose the regime.'"
---
"The biggest risk, then, that a war will break out seems to lie in the uncontrolled elements, the “unknown unknowns,” as former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld famously said.
"For example, in Abyei, one disputed area along the yet-to-be-demarcated north-south border, there are militias aligned to the north and to the south, but they are not necessarily controlled by either. According to several analysts, these militias could fire the first shots, possibly provoked by a land dispute. Then the northern and southern armies, both of which have been buying enormous quantities of weapons in recent years, could pile in.
"Beyond that, there are rebels in Darfur in the west, rebels in the east, rebels in the Nuba Mountains and along the Nile River, raising fears that if war erupted, it could spread rapidly."
December 30, 2010
How Much Economic Inequality Can the American People Endure?
A New Year's Resolution for the Rich by Sam Harris
This article reminds me of when the US economy almost collapsed in 2009. Many conservatives said: "Let it collapse, no bailouts. It will only make the US stronger." I can only conclude they were either ignorant of or could care less about the social consequences the ensuing 30% or higher unemployment rate would have had.
Had we let it collapse, robbery, mugging, burglary and other crimes commited by the those who would have been most severely affected would have increased proportionate to increased unemployment. Wealthy conservatives, turning to their most favored responses to such social upheavals, would have called for more police, harsher laws, longer jail sentences, more prisons, more prayer, more secure gated communities, more residential security systems, more personal handguns. These responses would not have been sufficient for a national catastrophe of this magnitude. Had the economy collapsed and these measures been implemented, "freedom" would have disappeared from the land of the free and the home of the brave. A police state of marshall law would have become the American norm, at least until law and order were restored and the economy recovered, if it ever did. One can easily imagine under such circumstances our new reassuring national slogan becoming: In God, Money and Force We Trust. Not exactly the American dream or dream of America most of us have in mind....
More troubling is the fact that the societal impact of skyrocketing crime following such an economic collapse does not take into account the short and long-term economic and psychological damage that would have been done to millions of families and children; and the further hardening of the "political ideology and culture wars" that have already frayed and degraded the fabric of American society.
We might be able to dig ourselves out from the national debt caused by the bailouts and other government spending on the economy but I have my doubts our society and culture would ever recover or become as great as before had the government done nothing. "Just how much inequality can free people endure?," Harris asks. I am grateful the Obama administration acted to avert such a national crisis and chose not to find out the answer to this question. Here are some excerpts from Harris' article on what more can be done to address economic inequality in America:
"We now live in a country in which the bottom 40 percent (120 million people) owns just 0.3 percent of the wealth. Data of this kind make one feel that one is participating in a vast psychological experiment: Just how much inequality can free people endure?"
---
"There is not a person on earth who chose his genome, or the country of his birth, or the political and economic conditions that prevailed at moments crucial to his progress. ... And yet devotees of self-reliance rail against those who would receive entitlements of various sorts - health care, education, etc. - while feeling unselfconsciously entitled to their relative good fortune. Yes, we must encourage people to work to the best of their abilities and discourage free riders wherever we can--but it seems only decent at this moment to admit how much luck is required to succeed at anything in this life. Those who have been especially lucky--the smart, well-connected, and rich--should count their blessings, and then share some of these blessings with the rest of society."
This article reminds me of when the US economy almost collapsed in 2009. Many conservatives said: "Let it collapse, no bailouts. It will only make the US stronger." I can only conclude they were either ignorant of or could care less about the social consequences the ensuing 30% or higher unemployment rate would have had.
Had we let it collapse, robbery, mugging, burglary and other crimes commited by the those who would have been most severely affected would have increased proportionate to increased unemployment. Wealthy conservatives, turning to their most favored responses to such social upheavals, would have called for more police, harsher laws, longer jail sentences, more prisons, more prayer, more secure gated communities, more residential security systems, more personal handguns. These responses would not have been sufficient for a national catastrophe of this magnitude. Had the economy collapsed and these measures been implemented, "freedom" would have disappeared from the land of the free and the home of the brave. A police state of marshall law would have become the American norm, at least until law and order were restored and the economy recovered, if it ever did. One can easily imagine under such circumstances our new reassuring national slogan becoming: In God, Money and Force We Trust. Not exactly the American dream or dream of America most of us have in mind....
More troubling is the fact that the societal impact of skyrocketing crime following such an economic collapse does not take into account the short and long-term economic and psychological damage that would have been done to millions of families and children; and the further hardening of the "political ideology and culture wars" that have already frayed and degraded the fabric of American society.
We might be able to dig ourselves out from the national debt caused by the bailouts and other government spending on the economy but I have my doubts our society and culture would ever recover or become as great as before had the government done nothing. "Just how much inequality can free people endure?," Harris asks. I am grateful the Obama administration acted to avert such a national crisis and chose not to find out the answer to this question. Here are some excerpts from Harris' article on what more can be done to address economic inequality in America:
"We now live in a country in which the bottom 40 percent (120 million people) owns just 0.3 percent of the wealth. Data of this kind make one feel that one is participating in a vast psychological experiment: Just how much inequality can free people endure?"
---
"There is not a person on earth who chose his genome, or the country of his birth, or the political and economic conditions that prevailed at moments crucial to his progress. ... And yet devotees of self-reliance rail against those who would receive entitlements of various sorts - health care, education, etc. - while feeling unselfconsciously entitled to their relative good fortune. Yes, we must encourage people to work to the best of their abilities and discourage free riders wherever we can--but it seems only decent at this moment to admit how much luck is required to succeed at anything in this life. Those who have been especially lucky--the smart, well-connected, and rich--should count their blessings, and then share some of these blessings with the rest of society."
December 24, 2010
Let There Be Light - Cheaply, in Every African House
African Huts Far From the Grid Glow With Renewable Power - "Small" Men and Women in Africa are Bucking Government, Costly Power Grids and International "Developers" to Meet their Green Energy Needs
"The United Nations estimates that 1.5 billion people across the globe still live without electricity, including 85 percent of Kenyans, and that three billion still cook and heat with primitive fuels like wood or charcoal."
---
"Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.
"As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.
"Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums."
---
"What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.
"The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging."
"Thanks to this $80 solar panel made in China, Sara Ruto in rural Kenya no longer takes a three-hour taxi ride to a town with electricity to recharge her cellphone." Photo: Ed Ou/The New York Times
"The United Nations estimates that 1.5 billion people across the globe still live without electricity, including 85 percent of Kenyans, and that three billion still cook and heat with primitive fuels like wood or charcoal."
---
"Even United Nations programs and United States government funds that promote climate-friendly energy in developing countries hew to large projects like giant wind farms or industrial-scale solar plants that feed into the grid. A $300 million solar project is much easier to finance and monitor than 10 million home-scale solar systems in mud huts spread across a continent.
"As a result, money does not flow to the poorest areas. Of the $162 billion invested in renewable energy last year, according to the United Nations, experts estimate that $44 billion was spent in China, India and Brazil collectively, and $7.5 billion in the many poorer countries.
"Only 6 to 7 percent of solar panels are manufactured to produce electricity that does not feed into the grid; that includes systems like Ms. Ruto’s and solar panels that light American parking lots and football stadiums."
---
"What has most surprised some experts in the field is the recent emergence of a true market in Africa for home-scale renewable energy and for appliances that consume less energy. As the cost of reliable equipment decreases, families have proved ever more willing to buy it by selling a goat or borrowing money from a relative overseas, for example.
"The explosion of cellphone use in rural Africa has been an enormous motivating factor. Because rural regions of many African countries lack banks, the cellphone has been embraced as a tool for commercial transactions as well as personal communications, adding an incentive to electrify for the sake of recharging."
December 23, 2010
Is 'Intelligent Design' a Credible Scientific Theory?
UPDATE: Origin of the Specious by A. C. Grayling, New Humanist, September/October 2008.
ORIGINAL POST
The court's answer: Trial of the (New) Century: Kitzmiller v. Dover (5 years later) by Andrew Zak Williams, Skeptic, December 22, 2010.
ORIGINAL POST
The court's answer: Trial of the (New) Century: Kitzmiller v. Dover (5 years later) by Andrew Zak Williams, Skeptic, December 22, 2010.
December 21, 2010
Important Building Blocks for Life Present on Earth 2.8 Billion Years Ago
One-Fourth of DNA Born by 2.8 Billion Years Ago
"About 27 percent of all gene families that exist today were born between 3.3 billion and 2.8 billion years ago, two researchers from MIT reported online Dec. 19 in Nature. The surge of gene births — which the scientists have dubbed the Archean expansion — predate some important changes in Earth’s early chemistry, including the appearance of large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere....
"Genes for shuttling electrons burst onto the scene about 3.3 billion years ago, the researchers calculate. Those genes, known as electron-transport genes, are important for such processes as photosynthesis and respiration. By increasing the energy efficiency of some early life forms, these genes may have enabled populations to thrive.
"Genes for using oxygen appeared at the tail of the genetic expansion around 2.8 billion years ago, long before oxygen began accumulating in the atmosphere around 2.5 billion years ago. The team also found evidence for the birth of genes for processing nitrogen and for using iron, molybdenum, copper and other elements."
Origin of Life Chicken-and-Egg Problem Solved
A Theory of Evolution for Evolution
The Complexity of Evolution
Newly discovered gene shed light on the evolution of life on Earth
"About 27 percent of all gene families that exist today were born between 3.3 billion and 2.8 billion years ago, two researchers from MIT reported online Dec. 19 in Nature. The surge of gene births — which the scientists have dubbed the Archean expansion — predate some important changes in Earth’s early chemistry, including the appearance of large amounts of oxygen in the atmosphere....
"Genes for shuttling electrons burst onto the scene about 3.3 billion years ago, the researchers calculate. Those genes, known as electron-transport genes, are important for such processes as photosynthesis and respiration. By increasing the energy efficiency of some early life forms, these genes may have enabled populations to thrive.
"Genes for using oxygen appeared at the tail of the genetic expansion around 2.8 billion years ago, long before oxygen began accumulating in the atmosphere around 2.5 billion years ago. The team also found evidence for the birth of genes for processing nitrogen and for using iron, molybdenum, copper and other elements."
Origin of Life Chicken-and-Egg Problem Solved
A Theory of Evolution for Evolution
The Complexity of Evolution
Newly discovered gene shed light on the evolution of life on Earth
December 20, 2010
Recent Govt. of Sudan Comments Encouraging for the South, Not for the North
Islamic Sudan Envisioned if South Secedes
“If South Sudan secedes, we will change the Constitution, and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity (in the North). ... Shariah and Islam will be the main source for the Constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language.”
- Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of Sudan
NCP official admits likelihood of South Sudan’s secession, downplays its economic impact
"Meanwhile, President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has said that the north would only recognize the referendum outcome if it genuinely reflected the will of southern Sudanese.
"Al-Bashir made these remarks during a meeting held on Thursday in Khartoum with a delegation of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC).
"According to the state minister for foreign affairs, Kamal Hassan Ali, President Al-Bashir assured the AUPSC delegation that the government in the north would cooperate with southern officials to sustain stability and shore up social and economic ties if the south decided to secede."
Other good signs for the South...
Sudan parties, civil society groups discuss referendum code of conduct
South Sudan welcomes Obama push for conduct of referendum
Mubarak, Qaddafi to visit Sudan for talks with Al-Bashir after Obama letters
Biden reminds Sudan U.S. sees on-time vote as vital December 24, 2010
“If South Sudan secedes, we will change the Constitution, and at that time there will be no time to speak of diversity of culture and ethnicity (in the North). ... Shariah and Islam will be the main source for the Constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language.”
- Omar Hassan al-Bashir, President of Sudan
NCP official admits likelihood of South Sudan’s secession, downplays its economic impact
"Meanwhile, President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has said that the north would only recognize the referendum outcome if it genuinely reflected the will of southern Sudanese.
"Al-Bashir made these remarks during a meeting held on Thursday in Khartoum with a delegation of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC).
"According to the state minister for foreign affairs, Kamal Hassan Ali, President Al-Bashir assured the AUPSC delegation that the government in the north would cooperate with southern officials to sustain stability and shore up social and economic ties if the south decided to secede."
Other good signs for the South...
Sudan parties, civil society groups discuss referendum code of conduct
South Sudan welcomes Obama push for conduct of referendum
Mubarak, Qaddafi to visit Sudan for talks with Al-Bashir after Obama letters
Biden reminds Sudan U.S. sees on-time vote as vital December 24, 2010
Islam, Christianity and Politics in Nigeria
Clashes Pit Muslims Against Christians - Underlying Issues are Political and Economic BBC 12/28/2010
Religious Clashes Flare in Central Nigeria NY Times 12/26/2010
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict International Crisis Group (ICG) 12/20/2010
Based in Brussels, the ICG is an independent, non-profit, international non-governmental organization "committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict." Its reports are objective, thorough and useful for understanding the full range of issues behind potential and actual conflict. See the above link for the full report. From the email notification of this new report:
“While some in the West panic at what they see as growing Islamic radicalism in the region, the roots of the problem are more complex and lie in Nigeria’s history and contemporary politics”, says Titi Ajayi, Crisis Group’s West Africa Fellow.
Many common factors fuel conflicts across Nigeria: in particular, the political manipulation of religion and ethnicity and disputes between supposed local groups and “settlers” over distribution of public resources. The failure of the state to assure public order, contribute to dispute settlement and implement post-conflict peace building measures also plays a role, as does economic decline and unemployment. As elsewhere in the country, the far north – the twelve states that apply Sharia (Islamic law) – suffers from a potent mix of economic malaise and contentious, community-based distribution of public resources.
But there is also a specifically northern element. A thread of rejectionist thinking runs through northern Nigerian history, according to which collaboration with secular authorities is illegitimate. While calls for an “Islamic state” in Nigeria should not be taken too seriously, despite media hyperbole, they do demonstrate that many in the far north express political and social dissatisfaction through greater adherence to Islam and increasingly look to the religious canon for solutions to multiple problems in their lives.
On the positive side, much local conflict prevention and resolution does occur, and the region has historically shown much capacity for peaceful co-existence between its ethnic and religious communities. Generally speaking, for a vast region beset with social and economic problems, the absence of widespread conflict is as notable as the pockets of violence.
The starting point for addressing the conflicts must be a better understanding of the historical, cultural and other contexts in which they take place. The region has experienced recurrent violence, particularly since the early 1980s. These are the product of several complex and inter-locking factors, including a volatile mix of historical grievances, political manipulation and ethnic and religious rivalries.
“Northern Nigeria is little understood by those in the south, still less by the international community, where too often, it is viewed as part of bigger rivalries in a putative West-Islam divide”, says EJ Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s Acting Africa Program Director. “Still, the overall situation needs to be taken seriously. If it were to deteriorate significantly, especially along Christian-Muslim lines, it could have grave repercussions for national cohesion in the build-up to national elections in 2011”.
Religious Clashes Flare in Central Nigeria NY Times 12/26/2010
Northern Nigeria: Background to Conflict International Crisis Group (ICG) 12/20/2010
Based in Brussels, the ICG is an independent, non-profit, international non-governmental organization "committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict." Its reports are objective, thorough and useful for understanding the full range of issues behind potential and actual conflict. See the above link for the full report. From the email notification of this new report:
“While some in the West panic at what they see as growing Islamic radicalism in the region, the roots of the problem are more complex and lie in Nigeria’s history and contemporary politics”, says Titi Ajayi, Crisis Group’s West Africa Fellow.
Many common factors fuel conflicts across Nigeria: in particular, the political manipulation of religion and ethnicity and disputes between supposed local groups and “settlers” over distribution of public resources. The failure of the state to assure public order, contribute to dispute settlement and implement post-conflict peace building measures also plays a role, as does economic decline and unemployment. As elsewhere in the country, the far north – the twelve states that apply Sharia (Islamic law) – suffers from a potent mix of economic malaise and contentious, community-based distribution of public resources.
But there is also a specifically northern element. A thread of rejectionist thinking runs through northern Nigerian history, according to which collaboration with secular authorities is illegitimate. While calls for an “Islamic state” in Nigeria should not be taken too seriously, despite media hyperbole, they do demonstrate that many in the far north express political and social dissatisfaction through greater adherence to Islam and increasingly look to the religious canon for solutions to multiple problems in their lives.
On the positive side, much local conflict prevention and resolution does occur, and the region has historically shown much capacity for peaceful co-existence between its ethnic and religious communities. Generally speaking, for a vast region beset with social and economic problems, the absence of widespread conflict is as notable as the pockets of violence.
The starting point for addressing the conflicts must be a better understanding of the historical, cultural and other contexts in which they take place. The region has experienced recurrent violence, particularly since the early 1980s. These are the product of several complex and inter-locking factors, including a volatile mix of historical grievances, political manipulation and ethnic and religious rivalries.
“Northern Nigeria is little understood by those in the south, still less by the international community, where too often, it is viewed as part of bigger rivalries in a putative West-Islam divide”, says EJ Hogendoorn, Crisis Group’s Acting Africa Program Director. “Still, the overall situation needs to be taken seriously. If it were to deteriorate significantly, especially along Christian-Muslim lines, it could have grave repercussions for national cohesion in the build-up to national elections in 2011”.
December 18, 2010
Development in Africa and Global Climate Change
Africa Needs Aid, Not Flawed Theories - Bill Gates vs. Matt Ridley and William Easterly
"Development in Africa is difficult to achieve, but I am optimistic that it will accelerate. Science will come up with vaccines for AIDS and malaria, and the "top-down" approach to aid criticized by Mr. Ridley (and by the economist William Easterly) will fund the delivery of these life-saving drugs." - B. Gates
"Development in Africa is difficult to achieve, but I am optimistic that it will accelerate. Science will come up with vaccines for AIDS and malaria, and the "top-down" approach to aid criticized by Mr. Ridley (and by the economist William Easterly) will fund the delivery of these life-saving drugs." - B. Gates
December 17, 2010
"Those crafty creationists just won't give up." - National Center for Science Education
UPDATE:
Antievolution Scorecard
Why Dawkins Disappoints
ORIGINAL POST
Top Ten Evolution Stories of 2010
No Dinosaurs in Heaven by Kimberly Winston, a documentary about the debate over evolution, National Center for Science Education, October 11, 2011
Seven Science-Education Battlegrounds of 2011 Wired ScienceAntievolution Scorecard
Why Dawkins Disappoints
ORIGINAL POST
Top Ten Evolution Stories of 2010
No Dinosaurs in Heaven by Kimberly Winston, a documentary about the debate over evolution, National Center for Science Education, October 11, 2011
December 13, 2010
Africa & US Policy: Sudan Govt. Assures US It Will Protect Southerners - What Will We Do If It Doesn't?
Recent State Department Visit to Sudan
Scott Gration , US Special Envoy to Sudan, says the US will keep a "strong eye" on the Sudan government's reaction to the January referendum. On his recent trip to Sudan Gration received "assurances" from the GOS that they are "working very hard to ensure the people will be protected, especially Southerners...."
I hope GOS means it, but you never really know. Too often, regrettably, the US takes other governments at their word in such matters. Many governments know we will go away and not bother them if they tell us they will not harm their people or sign documents to that effect. Many citizens of these countries have told me privately they can't believe how gullible the US government is - "Well, they said they wouldn't attack, that they would protect their people! They signed a treaty, an accord, a convention!" The reality is, the GOS could give any number of reasons for a preemptive strike in the run-up to the voting, during the balloting or afterwards primarily on the pretext that the voting had been tampered with internally or by outsiders and therefore was not valid.
I'm hoping for the best but am very worried that violence will ensue during or after the voting, instigated by the GOS. There is just too much at stake, especially vast oil reserves in the South, for the GOS to stand by and let the South secede. Tension and conflict between the GOS and the southern Sudanese have been going on since the 1600s. More recently, civil war has ravaged the country for all but ten of the fifty years between 1955-2005 at the cost of 2 million southern Sudanese deaths and 4 million internally displaced persons in the South.
Scott Gration , US Special Envoy to Sudan, says the US will keep a "strong eye" on the Sudan government's reaction to the January referendum. On his recent trip to Sudan Gration received "assurances" from the GOS that they are "working very hard to ensure the people will be protected, especially Southerners...."
I hope GOS means it, but you never really know. Too often, regrettably, the US takes other governments at their word in such matters. Many governments know we will go away and not bother them if they tell us they will not harm their people or sign documents to that effect. Many citizens of these countries have told me privately they can't believe how gullible the US government is - "Well, they said they wouldn't attack, that they would protect their people! They signed a treaty, an accord, a convention!" The reality is, the GOS could give any number of reasons for a preemptive strike in the run-up to the voting, during the balloting or afterwards primarily on the pretext that the voting had been tampered with internally or by outsiders and therefore was not valid.
I'm hoping for the best but am very worried that violence will ensue during or after the voting, instigated by the GOS. There is just too much at stake, especially vast oil reserves in the South, for the GOS to stand by and let the South secede. Tension and conflict between the GOS and the southern Sudanese have been going on since the 1600s. More recently, civil war has ravaged the country for all but ten of the fifty years between 1955-2005 at the cost of 2 million southern Sudanese deaths and 4 million internally displaced persons in the South.
December 7, 2010
Reducing Rural Poverty Among the Poorest of the Poor
UPDATE: Global poverty rate falling, says UN, The Guardian, July 7, 2011
ORIGINAL POST
Rural Poverty Report 2011 - From the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development
ORIGINAL POST
Rural Poverty Report 2011 - From the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development
From the Introduction....
Between 2006 and 2008, international food prices doubled. The effects of the price surge reverberated globally, though the worst hit were low-income, food-deficit countries with meagre stocks. In total, about 100 million poor rural and urban people were pushed into the ranks of the world’s hungry. While international food prices have declined since mid-2008, they are still substantially higher than prior to the price surge, and they are likely to remain at 2010 levels or higher for the next decade. To date, much of the production response to higher prices has come from rich countries. Looking to the future, however, it is calculated that feeding a global population of just over 9 billion in 2050 will require a 70 per cent increase in global food production, while ensuring food security for all will demand that issues of access and affordability are also addressed. This will require that agriculture – particularly smallholder agriculture – play a much more effective role in these countries, and that greater and more effective efforts are made to address the concerns of poor rural people as food buyers.
…
The population of the developing world is still more rural than urban: some 3.1 billion people, or 55 per cent of the total population, live in rural areas. However between 2020 and 2025, the total rural population will peak and then start to decline, and the developing world’s urban population will overtake its rural population. In Latin America and the Caribbean , and in East and South East Asia , the number of rural people is already in decline. Elsewhere, the growth of rural populations is slowing. Numbers will start to decline around 2025 in the Middle East and North Africa and in South and Central Asia , and around 2045 in sub-Saharan Africa .
Despite massive progress in reducing poverty in some parts of the world over the past couple of decades – notably in East Asia – there are still about 1.4 billion people living on less than US$1.25 a day, and close to 1 billion people suffering from hunger. At least 70 per cent of the world’s very poor people are rural, and a large proportion of the poor and hungry are children and young people. Neither of these facts is likely to change in the immediate future, despite widespread urbanization and demographic changes in all regions. South Asia , with the greatest number of poor rural people, and sub-Saharan Africa , with the highest incidence of rural poverty, are the regions worst affected by poverty and hunger. Levels of poverty vary considerably however, not just across regions and countries, but also within countries.
…
In order to broaden the opportunities for rural poverty reduction and economic growth, there is need for a broad approach to rural growth and emphasis on the larger rural non-farm economy. A focus on these two areas – smallholder agriculture and the rural non-farm economy – requires particular attention to, and increasing investment in, four issues:
Africa & US Policy: Is the US Ready if the Government of Sudan Attacks the South?
The real questions are: Is the Government of Sudan ready? Will it accept a southern Sudanese vote for secession? GOS is already marshaling troops and military hardware along what will be the border between the two new countries if the vote succeeds.
There is a lot of oil in the south. How badly does the GOS want it? Badly enough to declare the voting fraudulent and "interfered with by 'outsiders'" thereby justifying a military push into the south and a backing out of its commitment? I think so but hope not.
If the GOS acts aggressively against the south will the US, the African Union or the broader international community intervene? Probably, through the UN. China is Sudan's largest "trading" partner (oil for money and consumer goods) but would not likely involve itself if the international community acted against GOS aggression. There would likely be cries of anti-Islamism if the GOS was confronted on its "soverign" territory, especially if the US took the lead in the counter-offensive.
I've interviewed hundreds of southern Sudanese refugee resettlement applicants in neighboring countries in the Greater Horn. The killing, torture, terror, displacement and destruction of their families, communities and ways of life by GOS soldiers has been horrifying, and more so when told in the first person by those who have experienced it.
There is a lot of oil in the south. How badly does the GOS want it? Badly enough to declare the voting fraudulent and "interfered with by 'outsiders'" thereby justifying a military push into the south and a backing out of its commitment? I think so but hope not.
If the GOS acts aggressively against the south will the US, the African Union or the broader international community intervene? Probably, through the UN. China is Sudan's largest "trading" partner (oil for money and consumer goods) but would not likely involve itself if the international community acted against GOS aggression. There would likely be cries of anti-Islamism if the GOS was confronted on its "soverign" territory, especially if the US took the lead in the counter-offensive.
I've interviewed hundreds of southern Sudanese refugee resettlement applicants in neighboring countries in the Greater Horn. The killing, torture, terror, displacement and destruction of their families, communities and ways of life by GOS soldiers has been horrifying, and more so when told in the first person by those who have experienced it.
December 5, 2010
The New Ten Commandments - A Humble Secular Suggestion
An Examination of the Original Ten Commandments
The New Ten Commandments
Plus four more suggested by Richard Dawkins (2006:298-300)*:
(11) Enjoy your own sex life (so long as it damages nobody else) and leave others to enjoy theirs in private whatever their inclinations, which are none of your business.
(12) Do not discriminate or oppress on the basis of sex, race or (as far as possible) species.
(13) Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.
(14) Value the future on a timescale longer than your own.
* - The God Delusion (2006) by Richard Dawkins
The New Ten Commandments
Plus four more suggested by Richard Dawkins (2006:298-300)*:
(11) Enjoy your own sex life (so long as it damages nobody else) and leave others to enjoy theirs in private whatever their inclinations, which are none of your business.
(12) Do not discriminate or oppress on the basis of sex, race or (as far as possible) species.
(13) Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.
(14) Value the future on a timescale longer than your own.
* - The God Delusion (2006) by Richard Dawkins
November 29, 2010
Africa & US Policy - Ethiopia on the Frontline of a "Clash of Civilizations"?
UPDATE - ETHIOPIA: Government arrests hundreds of opposition supporters March 20, 2011
Here is what the US State Department says about the current government of Ethiopia treatment of political opponents:
"In June 2008, former CUD vice-chairman Birtukan Mideksa was elected the party chairman of the new Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party at its inaugural session in Addis Ababa. In October 2008 the Ethiopian Government arrested over 100 Oromo leaders, accusing some of being members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). At the end of December 2008, after detaining Birtukan several times briefly during the month, the government re-arrested her, saying that she had violated the conditions of her pardon (she was one of the prominent opposition leaders pardoned by the government in the summer of 2007). Her original sentence of life imprisonment was reinstated and she remained in prison until she was pardoned and released on October 6, 2010.
"In April 2009 the Ethiopian Government arrested 40 individuals, mostly Amhara military or ex-military members allegedly affiliated with Ginbot 7, an external opposition party, for their suspected involvement in a terrorist assassination plot of government leaders. This party was founded in May 2008 in the United States by Berhanu Nega, one of the opposition leaders in the 2005 elections, and advocates for change in the government "by any means." In August 2009, the Federal High Court found 13 of the defendants guilty in absentia and one not guilty in absentia. In November 2009, the court found another 27 guilty.
"In simultaneous national and regional parliamentary elections in May 2010, the ruling EPRDF received approximately 70 percent of total votes cast but won more than 99 percent of all legislative seats in the country. Election Day was peaceful as 93 percent of registered voters cast ballots, but independent observation of the vote was severely limited. Only European Union and African Union observers were permitted, and they were restricted to the capital and barred from proximity to polling places. Although those few independent observers allowed access to the process did not question the EPRDF victory, there was ample evidence that unsavory government tactics -- including intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters -- influenced the extent of the victory.
"Overall, the 2010 elections were not up to international standards because the environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place. The EPRDF used the advantages of incumbency to restrict political space for opposition candidates and activists. At the local level, thousands of opposition activists complained of EPRDF sponsored mistreatment ranging from harassment in submitting candidacy forms to beatings by local militia members – and complained further that there was no non-EPRDF dominated forum to which to present those complaints."
Yet here is State's description of the US relationship with Ethiopia:
"Total U.S. Government assistance, including food aid, between 1999 and 2009 was $4.7 billion. The U.S. Government provided $862 million in assistance in FY 2009, $345 million of it for combating HIV/AIDS. In addition, the U.S. Government donated more than $374 million in food assistance in 2009 to help the government cope with a severe drought.
"Today, Ethiopia is an important regional security partner of the United States. U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia is focused on reducing famine vulnerability, hunger, and poverty and emphasizes economic, governance, and social sector policy reforms. Some military training funds, including training in such issues as the laws of war and observance of human rights, also are provided but are explicitly limited to non-lethal assistance and training."
Not a single mention of any concerns about the heavy hand of the Government of Ethiopia in keeping political opposition in jail and quiet....
Original Post: Why Are We (the US) Supporting Repression in Ethiopia? by William Easterly and Laura Freschi
Short answer: US efforts to support and maintain political stability and maximize the US's influence in the Great Horn sub-region trump the Ethiopian government's persecution of its own people when distributing or withholding the aid the US and international donors provide. The US gives the Ethiopians aid to keep the government strong and the populace from revolting, and to keep Ethiopia relatively stable in an otherwise unstable sub-region. At the same time, the US chastises the government of Ethiopia for its treatment of its political opposition. The Ethiopian government accepts being chastised without too much protestation, keeps getting aid and the US has absolved itself of supporting a corrupt and repressive regime. The US sees itself as working for the long-term greater good of the sub-region at the expense of the short-term good of the Ethiopian people.
Here is what the US State Department says about the current government of Ethiopia treatment of political opponents:
"In June 2008, former CUD vice-chairman Birtukan Mideksa was elected the party chairman of the new Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party at its inaugural session in Addis Ababa. In October 2008 the Ethiopian Government arrested over 100 Oromo leaders, accusing some of being members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). At the end of December 2008, after detaining Birtukan several times briefly during the month, the government re-arrested her, saying that she had violated the conditions of her pardon (she was one of the prominent opposition leaders pardoned by the government in the summer of 2007). Her original sentence of life imprisonment was reinstated and she remained in prison until she was pardoned and released on October 6, 2010.
"In April 2009 the Ethiopian Government arrested 40 individuals, mostly Amhara military or ex-military members allegedly affiliated with Ginbot 7, an external opposition party, for their suspected involvement in a terrorist assassination plot of government leaders. This party was founded in May 2008 in the United States by Berhanu Nega, one of the opposition leaders in the 2005 elections, and advocates for change in the government "by any means." In August 2009, the Federal High Court found 13 of the defendants guilty in absentia and one not guilty in absentia. In November 2009, the court found another 27 guilty.
"In simultaneous national and regional parliamentary elections in May 2010, the ruling EPRDF received approximately 70 percent of total votes cast but won more than 99 percent of all legislative seats in the country. Election Day was peaceful as 93 percent of registered voters cast ballots, but independent observation of the vote was severely limited. Only European Union and African Union observers were permitted, and they were restricted to the capital and barred from proximity to polling places. Although those few independent observers allowed access to the process did not question the EPRDF victory, there was ample evidence that unsavory government tactics -- including intimidation of opposition candidates and supporters -- influenced the extent of the victory.
"Overall, the 2010 elections were not up to international standards because the environment conducive to free and fair elections was not in place. The EPRDF used the advantages of incumbency to restrict political space for opposition candidates and activists. At the local level, thousands of opposition activists complained of EPRDF sponsored mistreatment ranging from harassment in submitting candidacy forms to beatings by local militia members – and complained further that there was no non-EPRDF dominated forum to which to present those complaints."
Yet here is State's description of the US relationship with Ethiopia:
"Total U.S. Government assistance, including food aid, between 1999 and 2009 was $4.7 billion. The U.S. Government provided $862 million in assistance in FY 2009, $345 million of it for combating HIV/AIDS. In addition, the U.S. Government donated more than $374 million in food assistance in 2009 to help the government cope with a severe drought.
"Today, Ethiopia is an important regional security partner of the United States. U.S. development assistance to Ethiopia is focused on reducing famine vulnerability, hunger, and poverty and emphasizes economic, governance, and social sector policy reforms. Some military training funds, including training in such issues as the laws of war and observance of human rights, also are provided but are explicitly limited to non-lethal assistance and training."
Not a single mention of any concerns about the heavy hand of the Government of Ethiopia in keeping political opposition in jail and quiet....
Original Post: Why Are We (the US) Supporting Repression in Ethiopia? by William Easterly and Laura Freschi
Short answer: US efforts to support and maintain political stability and maximize the US's influence in the Great Horn sub-region trump the Ethiopian government's persecution of its own people when distributing or withholding the aid the US and international donors provide. The US gives the Ethiopians aid to keep the government strong and the populace from revolting, and to keep Ethiopia relatively stable in an otherwise unstable sub-region. At the same time, the US chastises the government of Ethiopia for its treatment of its political opposition. The Ethiopian government accepts being chastised without too much protestation, keeps getting aid and the US has absolved itself of supporting a corrupt and repressive regime. The US sees itself as working for the long-term greater good of the sub-region at the expense of the short-term good of the Ethiopian people.
November 28, 2010
The Case For Human Evolution, Science and Reason - A Reading List
Since I began studying physical and cultural anthropology nearly forty years ago, I have been asked the following question many times: Why do you accept evolution as an explanation of Life, and that humans originated and evolved on Earth?
The short answer is the similarities between humans and many other animals in particular, and all other life forms on Earth in general, are obvious. Similarities, broadly speaking, imply similar origins. If plants and animals are of the Earth, and humans have very much in common with these life forms, then humans are of the Earth as well. All Life relies on Earth's food, water and air. All Life grows, reproduces, dies. Life and Earth are inseparable. Humans and other animals are inseparable. Humans are of the Earth.
My earliest inkling that I was very similar to certain other animals occurred in early childhood, especially in Fairbanks, Alaska from 1954-59. Although I had not learned the terms or specifics, I could understand the general concepts. Simply by looking and comparing I saw many physical and behavioral similarities between myself and most of the animals, especially mammals, I encountered: head, body, limb structure; five-digit hands (paws); bilateral symmetry (left and right sides along a center line); male-female differences; the five senses; warm bloodedness; ability to "think"; the experience of pain; dreaming; eating, drinking, sleeping; parenting; play; learning; illness, disease; birth and death. I did not know at the time why such similarities existed but the observable facts compelled me to intuitively feel connected to Earth and its other life forms.
The short answer is the similarities between humans and many other animals in particular, and all other life forms on Earth in general, are obvious. Similarities, broadly speaking, imply similar origins. If plants and animals are of the Earth, and humans have very much in common with these life forms, then humans are of the Earth as well. All Life relies on Earth's food, water and air. All Life grows, reproduces, dies. Life and Earth are inseparable. Humans and other animals are inseparable. Humans are of the Earth.
My earliest inkling that I was very similar to certain other animals occurred in early childhood, especially in Fairbanks, Alaska from 1954-59. Although I had not learned the terms or specifics, I could understand the general concepts. Simply by looking and comparing I saw many physical and behavioral similarities between myself and most of the animals, especially mammals, I encountered: head, body, limb structure; five-digit hands (paws); bilateral symmetry (left and right sides along a center line); male-female differences; the five senses; warm bloodedness; ability to "think"; the experience of pain; dreaming; eating, drinking, sleeping; parenting; play; learning; illness, disease; birth and death. I did not know at the time why such similarities existed but the observable facts compelled me to intuitively feel connected to Earth and its other life forms.
November 22, 2010
November 17, 2010
Bigotry, Beliefs and Values - The Stakes Are High, The Way Forward Difficult
Some have accused me of bigotry following my post of October 29th, Obama Is Intelligent, Well-Educated, Caring - Save Us From Him, Say Republicans and Tea Partiers. In that post I repeatedly pointed out that I was certain that not all persons who consider themselves to be conservative, Republican, white and Christian support all the beliefs and values of these respective groups, all the time. Despite my efforts not to stereotype all members of these groups there were some who read my post and took my comments very personally, and nevertheless believe I think all people in these groups possess all the beliefs and values of these groups.
In my post I took issue with the core values and beliefs of these groups, not those of every individual member, as they are currently expressed politically. Again, I did not say that all conservative, white, Christian, Republicans have the same beliefs and values. However, I remain convinced that there is enough in the core beliefs and values of these groups to make a strong case for viewing their ongoing political efforts as a desire to return America to a previous era when these groups enjoyed relatively uncontested power and near exclusive privileges.
Incidentally, when I asked a friend if he thought I had hit a nerve with some people, he said, "Not at all, Jim. You smashed the s___ out of their nerves with a sledge hammer!" Ouch. I was not attacking persons or their nerves. It was their groups' core values, beliefs and motivations I sought to criticize.
As for the accusation that I am a bigot, it seems to me that may not be correct. Wikipedia, my quick and evermore widely respected source for definitions, says that a bigot is someone who is "obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, irrationality, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs. The predominant usage in modern American English refers to persons hostile to those of differing race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, various mental disorders, or religion."
In my post I took issue with the core values and beliefs of these groups, not those of every individual member, as they are currently expressed politically. Again, I did not say that all conservative, white, Christian, Republicans have the same beliefs and values. However, I remain convinced that there is enough in the core beliefs and values of these groups to make a strong case for viewing their ongoing political efforts as a desire to return America to a previous era when these groups enjoyed relatively uncontested power and near exclusive privileges.
Incidentally, when I asked a friend if he thought I had hit a nerve with some people, he said, "Not at all, Jim. You smashed the s___ out of their nerves with a sledge hammer!" Ouch. I was not attacking persons or their nerves. It was their groups' core values, beliefs and motivations I sought to criticize.
As for the accusation that I am a bigot, it seems to me that may not be correct. Wikipedia, my quick and evermore widely respected source for definitions, says that a bigot is someone who is "obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, irrationality, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs. The predominant usage in modern American English refers to persons hostile to those of differing race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, various mental disorders, or religion."
"What’s So Great About Christianity" by Dinesh D’Souza – A Review
UPDATE
What's So Great About Kant? A Critique of Dinesh D'Souza's Attack on Reason by Michael Dahlen, Skeptic, August 17, 2011
ORIGINAL POST
Everyone has an understanding of what the world is and how it works, and what human beings are and should do in the scheme of things. These understandings vary in content, scope and accuracy. All such understandings should be respected. However, not all understandings, worldviews or points of view are worthy of reverence. All are not truthful or valid for describing the realities of life on Earth or man’s place in the universe. All do not provide good guidance for individual and group behavior. One need not accept all others’ perspectives on life as equally valuable. Some are less truthful, are harmful to individuals and humankind and should be opposed. Such is Dinesh D’Souza’s view of the universe, life, Earth and humankind as presented in his book, What’s So Great About Christianity.
At first glance the book appears to be a treatise in defense of Christianity under attack from atheism, secularism and science. There is more to the book than this. Essentially, D’Souza’s book is about what he believes to be the natural intellectual and moral depravity of the human individual and humankind. He has no respect for or confidence in human empirical investigation, experience and knowledge regarding the most human of matters – human nature and humankind’s place in the biosphere and universe. For him humans are incapable of understanding their nature and natural history. They are insufficiently endowed to develop a moral belief system. They are incapable of guiding and controlling their behavior on Earth or in the universe without supernatural intervention.
What's So Great About Kant? A Critique of Dinesh D'Souza's Attack on Reason by Michael Dahlen, Skeptic, August 17, 2011
ORIGINAL POST
Everyone has an understanding of what the world is and how it works, and what human beings are and should do in the scheme of things. These understandings vary in content, scope and accuracy. All such understandings should be respected. However, not all understandings, worldviews or points of view are worthy of reverence. All are not truthful or valid for describing the realities of life on Earth or man’s place in the universe. All do not provide good guidance for individual and group behavior. One need not accept all others’ perspectives on life as equally valuable. Some are less truthful, are harmful to individuals and humankind and should be opposed. Such is Dinesh D’Souza’s view of the universe, life, Earth and humankind as presented in his book, What’s So Great About Christianity.
At first glance the book appears to be a treatise in defense of Christianity under attack from atheism, secularism and science. There is more to the book than this. Essentially, D’Souza’s book is about what he believes to be the natural intellectual and moral depravity of the human individual and humankind. He has no respect for or confidence in human empirical investigation, experience and knowledge regarding the most human of matters – human nature and humankind’s place in the biosphere and universe. For him humans are incapable of understanding their nature and natural history. They are insufficiently endowed to develop a moral belief system. They are incapable of guiding and controlling their behavior on Earth or in the universe without supernatural intervention.
November 15, 2010
"W's" Book, "Decision Points" - A Companion Reader
Republican, Independent or Democrat; Conservative, Moderate or Liberal - Read This Brief Reality Check Regarding Bush's Reflections on His Foreign Policies
George W. Bush's foreign polices really were that bad. Worse still, they will continue for some time to do harm to other nations and the biosphere, and lower America's ability to influence and lead world affairs.
For more free-thinking regarding American foreign policy, see my previous posts:
The Delusions of American Foreign Policy
Re-Writing the "Four Bs" of American Foreign Policy?
The Overseas Plans of Our Diplomats and Soldiers - Transparency in Government
George W. Bush's foreign polices really were that bad. Worse still, they will continue for some time to do harm to other nations and the biosphere, and lower America's ability to influence and lead world affairs.
For more free-thinking regarding American foreign policy, see my previous posts:
The Delusions of American Foreign Policy
Re-Writing the "Four Bs" of American Foreign Policy?
The Overseas Plans of Our Diplomats and Soldiers - Transparency in Government
A New Human Species?
See the Fossil Evidence - Homo floresiensis Picture Gallery
Homo floresiensis
(artist's rendering based on fossil evidence)
Read about the New Human Species- Homo floresiensis
(artist's rendering based on fossil evidence)
Read about the New Human Species- Homo floresiensis
November 4, 2010
First Ugandan Mutwa (formerly Pygmy) Receives Bachelor's Degree
Uganda's First Batwa Pygmy Graduate
In article, UG Forest Guide Kanyabikingi, a Mutwa: "There is no life for us inside or outside the forest. We can neither live in our original habitat nor are we allowed to have our own land."
For those interested here's a great book on the relationship between Bantu-speaking peoples and the Twa-speaking peoples they encountered during the Bantu migration (Diaspora) from West-Central Africa into the Congo rain forest: The Pygmies Were Our Compass: Bantu and Batwa in the History of West Central Africa, Early Times to c. 1900 C.E.
In article, UG Forest Guide Kanyabikingi, a Mutwa: "There is no life for us inside or outside the forest. We can neither live in our original habitat nor are we allowed to have our own land."
For those interested here's a great book on the relationship between Bantu-speaking peoples and the Twa-speaking peoples they encountered during the Bantu migration (Diaspora) from West-Central Africa into the Congo rain forest: The Pygmies Were Our Compass: Bantu and Batwa in the History of West Central Africa, Early Times to c. 1900 C.E.
November 3, 2010
Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue - A Book Review
Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue (2001) by Paul Woodruff, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas.
Here is the crux of the book: Reverence is a virtue characterized by respect for all who are kind and just, including the strong and the weak, the intelligent and the ignorant. It is a feeling of awe toward powers greater than ourselves. It is a capacity for empathy and humility. Reverence can be taught and learned, and strengthened through repeated acts of reverence. It is essential to personal and societal well-being. It need not be, but can be, religious. It should be grown.
Other reviewers have commented that the book could and should have been condensed into article form. I agree. For example, the author repeats his thesis and main points too often and the examples from ancient Greek mythology and Chinese philosophy are tedious. But, the Greek and Chinese examples have value if you are like me, less than well-versed in these areas. Examples from a wider range of cultures and civilizations would have made the reading less tedious and given greater weight to the points the author makes.
This book was recommended to me by an old friend who lives in Oregon. I read it hoping to find answers to the following questions: What exactly is “reverence?” What happened to “reverence” that has left it in need of renewal? Why is it important to renew "reverence?" What will happen if/when we do or do not renew it? How do we renew it? Here are some of the author's answers....
Reverence Defined
Here is the crux of the book: Reverence is a virtue characterized by respect for all who are kind and just, including the strong and the weak, the intelligent and the ignorant. It is a feeling of awe toward powers greater than ourselves. It is a capacity for empathy and humility. Reverence can be taught and learned, and strengthened through repeated acts of reverence. It is essential to personal and societal well-being. It need not be, but can be, religious. It should be grown.
Other reviewers have commented that the book could and should have been condensed into article form. I agree. For example, the author repeats his thesis and main points too often and the examples from ancient Greek mythology and Chinese philosophy are tedious. But, the Greek and Chinese examples have value if you are like me, less than well-versed in these areas. Examples from a wider range of cultures and civilizations would have made the reading less tedious and given greater weight to the points the author makes.
This book was recommended to me by an old friend who lives in Oregon. I read it hoping to find answers to the following questions: What exactly is “reverence?” What happened to “reverence” that has left it in need of renewal? Why is it important to renew "reverence?" What will happen if/when we do or do not renew it? How do we renew it? Here are some of the author's answers....
Reverence Defined
- “Reverence begins in a deep understanding of human limitations; from this grows the capacity to be in awe of whatever we believe lies outside our control – God, truth, justice, nature, even death.” (pg. 3)
Two Physicists Examine the Basis for Belief
UPDATE:
"The Physics of Atheism", A review of Victor Stenger's book The Fallacy of Fine-Tuning: Why the Universe is Not Designed for Us by Andrew Zak Williams, eSkeptic, June 15, 2011
“There is nothing in the realm of human knowledge that requires anything supernatural, anything beyond matter, to describe our observations. I am almost one hundred percent certain that the God of Abraham worshipped by Jews, Christians, and Muslims doesn’t exist. This God supposedly plays such an important role in the universe that there should be evidence that he exists. ... I won’t live to see it but someday religion will disappear from the face of the Earth. It has to. It is too evil and too absurd." - Victor Stenger
ORIGNAL POST:
NOTE: Source of above artwork unknown. Copied from eSkeptic November 3, 2010. Art theme see: The Blind Men And The Elephant, a poem by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887)
"(W)hen events are governed by idealistic (as opposed to realistic) theories, they invariably turn out to be mental constructs involving unreal entities and forces such as psychic energy, spiritual energy, an incorporeal “mind,” “vibrations,” antigravity, the ether, supernatural beings, and the like. Whoever claims the reality of imaginary and nonexistent things is operating in an idealistic framework. His idea or belief takes precedence over the existence (or non-existence) of physical evidence.
"In view of these observations it appears to me that those innately skeptical toward claims of the paranormal operate from a realistic philosophy, while those who tend to believe in the paranormal use a reference frame that is idealistic in nature. This dichotomy generally characterizes the distinction between normal and paranormal, skeptic and believer."
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