May 2012
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The Politics of Faith and American Exceptionalism
‘Two major objects of attention during this election season reflect a key dimension of American exceptionalism: religion.’ Read more- The Politics of Faith and American Exceptionalism
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Religion & Brain: Belief Decreases With Analytical...
‘Researchers say the findings have potentially significant implications for understanding the cognitive underpinnings of religion.’ Read more- Religion & Brain: Belief Decreases With Analytical Thinking
April 2012
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As House Passes CISPA, The Fight Is Just Beginning
‘Despite growing resistance to the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, CISPA has cleared its first legislative hurdle. But the battle over the widely-criticized information-sharing bill is just heating up.’ Read more- As House Passes CISPA, The Fight Is Just Beginning
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Anti-Zionism, Post-Zionism, Liberal Zionism- Whats...
‘Like the term liberal, which has become so pejorative that any “progressive” would not be caught with such an identification, leftists are no longer Zionists. Like hipsters are no longer hipsters.’ Read more: Anti-Zionism, Post-Zionism, Liberal Zionism- Whats the difference?
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The persistence of superstition in an irreligious...
‘The decline in religious belief in the UK is matched by increasing faith in life after death – something incompatible with materialism’ Read more: The persistence of superstition in an irreligious Britain
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China Flaunts Faux Panchen Lama at Hong Kong...
‘A Tibetan youth named by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama but reviled by many Tibetans as a fake made his first trip outside mainland China on Thursday as he is groomed to become the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama dies.’ Read more: China Flaunts Faux Panchen Lama at Hong Kong Buddhist Forum
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Apocalypse Soon: Why Are Christians So Obsessed...
‘How can Americans make major life decisions on the basis of faith that the world will end in the very near future?’
Read more- Apocalypse Soon: Why Are Christians So Obsessed With the End Times?
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Apocalypse Soon: Why Are Christians So Obsessed...
‘How can Americans make major life decisions on the basis of faith that the world will end in the very near future?’
Read more- Apocalypse Soon: Why Are Christians So Obsessed With the End Times?
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Jews Favor Muslims, Mormons Over 'Christian Right'
‘Jewish Americans hold more favorable views of Mormons and Muslims than those belonging to the “Christian Right,” according to a recently published survey on Jewish values.’ Read more: Jews Favor Muslims, Mormons Over ‘Christian Right’
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Behind the Right's Phony War on the Nonexistent...
‘One of the most robust and effective conspiracy theories on the right, the notion that “secularism” – or, just as often, “Secular Humanism” – is a religion is meant to be taken entirely literally: right wingers genuinely believe it refers to an actually existing religious practice.’ Read more: Behind the Right’s Phony War on the Nonexistent Religion of...
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Reading (and Misreading) Anonymous
‘Over the past year, the U.S. government has begun to think of Anonymous, the online network phenomenon, as a threat to national security.’
Read more: Reading (and Misreading) Anonymous
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Obama on his anti-marijuana campaign: ‘I can’t...
‘In a recent Rolling Stone interview with Jann Wenner, President Barack Obama finally went on the record about his position on medical marijuana and legalization.’ Read more: Obama on his anti-marijuana campaign: ‘I can’t nullify congressional law’
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Get Radical - And Maybe Be A Better Scientist
‘If someone on the right wants to debunk biology, for example, and is denied here, they will complain Big Science (that would be us) is part of some vast, left-wing conspiracy to block out opposing views and protect academic funding. It just isn’t possible, scientists are too darn difficult to play along with any organized agenda.’ Read more: Get Radical - And Maybe Be A Better...
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Sex and the Vatican City- The War on Women:...
‘How far are the Catholic bishops willing to go with their crackdown on reproductive health? Just ask a teenage girl forced into prostitution.’ Read more: Sex and the Vatican City- The War on Women: Sex-Trafficking Edition
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UGNazi Hacktivists claim credit for hacking CIA...
‘The website for America’s Central Intelligence Agency was offline for several hours today, with hackers claiming credit for the attack.’ Read more- UGNazi Hacktivists claim credit for hacking CIA website
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Heaven On Earth: A Non-Hysterical History of...
‘Islamophobic discourse rarely changes in any meaningful way; indeed, it remains quite similar to the anti-Semitism it disingenuously claims to have foresworn. But superficially, Islamophobia rapidly mutates, sniffing out whatever Arabic words its untalented bigots can find—throwing them against the wall, and seeing which most creeps out the mainstream. “Hijab.” “Minaret.” “Taqiyya.”’...
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Has Physics Made Philosophy and Religion Obsolete?
‘From Aristotle’s prime mover to the Catholic Church’s first cause, we’re always driven to the idea of something eternal. I think Steven Weinberg said it best when he said that science doesn’t make it impossible to believe in God, it just makes it possible to not believe in God.’
Read more- Has Physics Made Philosophy and Religion Obsolete?
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Sharia Spring: Religion-based parties banned under...
‘Libyan authorities on Tuesday passed legislation governing the formation of political organisations which rules out religious, regional and tribal platforms and bans foreign funding.’ Read more- Sharia Spring: Religion-based parties banned under new Libya law
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5 Supreme Court Decisions Pandering to...
‘Despite what many Americans believe, the majority does not rule when it comes to religion. Core freedoms depend on no vote.’ Read more- 5 Supreme Court Decisions Pandering to Christianity
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Correction: Climate Change Is a Fact
‘If I could start a movement of a STOP SOPA nature, it would be to get every newspaper in the world to lead their publications on the same day with the same banner headline: CLIMATE CHANGE IS A FACT.’
Read more- Correction: Climate Change Is a Fact
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The Homosexual Messiah: Was Jesus Gay? Probably
‘The idea that he had a romantic relationship with Mary Magdalene is the stuff of fiction, based on no biblical evidence. The evidence, on the other hand, that he may have been what we today call gay is very strong.’ Read more- The Homosexual Messiah: Was Jesus Gay? Probably
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Jesus vs Ayn Rand: Paul Ryan’s Religion of...
‘Paul Ryan strayed from the current Republican mantra when he said he “respectfully disagrees” with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that it’s not very Jesus-like to let poor people starve.’ Read more- Jesus vs Ayn Rand: Paul Ryan’s Religion of Convenience
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Swedish Stonehenge? Ancient Stone Structure Spurs...
‘A team of researchers now argues it’s really 2,500 years old, dating from the Scandinavian Bronze Age, and was built as an astronomical calendar with the same underlying geometry as England’s Stonehenge’ Read more-
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Without Knowing: Is Buddhism Agnostic?
‘Buddhism does not have a formal doctrine about the afterlife, or about karma. And there is no single consensus about whether the Buddha was a divine figure or just a really smart guy.’ Read more- Without Knowing: Is Buddhism Agnostic?
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No 'God Spot' In Brain, Spirituality Linked To...
“We have found a neuropsychological basis for spirituality, but it’s not isolated to one specific area of the brain. Spirituality is a much more dynamic concept that uses many parts of the brain. Certain parts of the brain play more predominant roles, but they all work together to facilitate individuals’ spiritual experiences.” Read more- No ‘God Spot’ In Brain, Spirituality Linked To...
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The Wild Hypocrisy of America's Conservative...
‘In Britain, the devout tend to be economic progressives. Why have American Christians embraced social Darwinism?’ Read more- The Wild Hypocrisy of America’s Conservative Christians
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CISPA: 6 Things You Need to Know About the...
‘Congress is seriously considering a bill called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). Intended to allow information-sharing both between corporations and between corporations and the government, it presents serious dangers to individual privacy.’ Read more- CISPA: 6 Things You Need to Know About the Government’s New Spy Law
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Conservative Science: Diagnosing the Republican...
‘We all know that many American conservatives have issues with Charles Darwin, and the theory of evolution. But Albert Einstein, and the theory of relativity?’ Read more- Conservative Science: Diagnosing the Republican Brain
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They Can’t Stop Building Walls: Israel’s Mental...
‘But no regime in history has built, in the span of six decades, the number of walls as the paranoid regime in Tel Aviv has erected. And it plans at least five more “anti-terrorist protective walls” including one slated to begin soon along the Lebanese-Palestine border at the Lebanese village of Kfar Kila. And that one may present a problem.’ Read more- They Can’t Stop Building Walls:...
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(VIDEO) Medical Marijuana Facts: Stoned Cold...
‘Happy 420 from Talk Nerdy To Me! Today, I want to take the time to explore some facts and fictions surrounding the use of marijuana as medicine.’ Read more- (VIDEO) Medical Marijuana Facts: Stoned Cold Science For 4/20
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Gary Lachman: Why You Should Know Emanuel...
‘The 18th century Swedish scientist, traveller, statesman, and religious philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg is one of the most fascinating and least understood figures in western history.’ Read more- Gary Lachman: Why You Should Know Emanuel Swedenborg
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Research into brain's 'God spot' reveals areas of...
‘Scientists searching for a ‘God spot’ in the brain have found three areas that control religious belief.’ Read more- Research into brain’s ‘God spot’ reveals areas of brain involved in religious belief
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Religious Belief Declining Very Slowly Around the...
‘For a century or two now, people have been predicting the eventual disappearance of religion. As education spreads and scientific knowledge increases, people were supposed to cast off their old superstitions and come into the light of reason. ‘ Read more- Religious Belief Declining Very Slowly Around the World
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Malicious Security: New hacktivist sect emerges...
‘MalSec has announced its intentions to fight internet censorship, but promises to keep innocent people safe this time’ Read more- Malicious Security: New hacktivist sect emerges from Anonymous
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Spirituality v Science: Is This Your Brain On God?
‘More than half of adult Americans report they have had a spiritual experience that changed their lives. Now, scientists from universities like Harvard, Pennsylvania and Johns Hopkins are using new technologies to analyze the brains of people who claim they have touched the spiritual — from Christians who speak in tongues to Buddhist monks to people who claim to have had near-death...
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Drugwar: The Patriot's Guide to Marijuana...
‘WHEN WE THINK of the drug war, it’s the heavy-duty narcotics like heroin and cocaine that get most of the attention. And why not? That’s where the action is. It’s not marijuana that is sustaining the Taliban in Afghanistan, after all.’ Read more: Drugwar: The Patriot’s Guide to Marijuana Legalization
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Biblical Literalism, Secularism And American...
‘While biblical literalism is integral to evangelical faith, given its belief in the supposed purity of the biblical Word, evangelicals have put an indelible stamp on the choice and direction of countless positions in the Republican primary, from economic policy and taxation to healthcare and even access to birth control.’ Read more: Biblical Literalism, Secularism And American...
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Invisible Children & Kony2012: A Better Story...
‘I want to take a break from the usual does-science-contradict-faith controversies and look at the intersection of faith and science in another way … from the perspective of the Kony 2012 campaign.’ Read more: Invisible Children & Kony2012: A Better Story About Faith and Science
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Anonymous on Time magazine's 100 Most Influential...
‘Hacktivist collective Anonymous has made it onto Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list.’ Read more: Anonymous on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential List
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99Spring vs 99percent: How Occupy Co-Opted...
‘Some Occupy types have criticized the effort as a scheme by Democratic operatives to co-opt their movement. But the reality is probably the opposite: It seems that America’s best-known progressive fundraising organization is now taking its cues from Occupy Wall Street.’ Read more: 99Spring vs 99percent: How Occupy Co-Opted MoveOn.org
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What Counts as Legitimate Scientific Research on...
‘Could a placebo effect be responsible for at least some of the outcomes observed after prayer? Absolutely. But a more interesting question is how far do placebo effects extend, and relatedly, where do prayer effects fall relative to known placebos?’ Read more: What Counts as Legitimate Scientific Research on Prayer?
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What Is the Best Way to Deal With Supernaturalists...
What Is the Best Way to Deal With Supernaturalists in Science and Evolution?
