Bangladesh blogger murders: False information is being planted and circulated

The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IEHU) reports that there has been a deliberate attempt to plant and circulate false information in the media and so rather than pick bits out, I’m reposting the entire article in full below. What appears to be the motivation here is that the criticism directed against the authorities in … Read more

Open Letter to Bristol Palin

Ms Palin has established herself as such a tempting target for ridicule that it is in so many ways quite hard to resist to temptation to deploy smug comments as a response to her latest announcement, and yet I do resist because such rhetoric not only serves no purpose, but would simply antagonise, and so a far … Read more

An attempt by a medical Fraudster to gag a skeptical activist is failing

Both the Skeptics Guide to the Universe podcast, Science-Based Medicine, and many many others, are quite openly critical of the various absurd claims that are promoted by charlatans as supposed miracle cures. One specific example of this is the criticism of the promotion of perispinal etanercept (Enbrel) for a long and apparently growing list of conditions that it … Read more

Raif Badawi update – #FreeRaif

If you have been following the news then you may already be aware, but rather sadly Saudi Arabia has upheld Raif Badawi‘s 10 year sentence and 1,000 lashes for the ‘crime’ of enabling social debate online. The BBC reports … Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment … Read more

Sentenced to 12.5 Years in Prison within Iran for Facebook Posts

Iran Human Rights Org reports that .. A Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced artist and civil rights activist Atena Faraghdani to a total of 12.5 years in prison for drawings and content critical of the government that the young activist posted on her Facebook page. …  the authorities particularly fear social media networks, which … Read more

Is it possible to break away and escape from Quiverfull?

OK, for those that do not know, let’s ask this – “What the heck is Quiverfull?”. Well, basically it is a specific religious fundamentalist belief that women should be churning out as many babies as possible because that is what they believe god wants, so birth control or any kind of family planning is very … Read more