Syria: Replacing a brutal dictator with brutal religious thugs changes nothing.

We know that the Assad regime in Syria is a brutal dictatorship, one that any decent human being would be delighted to see vanquished. there are no doubts on this issue, human Rights groups, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have detailed how Bashar’s government and secret police routinely tortured, imprisoned, and killed political opponents, and those who … Read more

2013 Nobel Prize – Peace

Now this is where the Nobel’s can take a left-hand turn into the twilight zone of weirdness. While the various Swedish academys and assemblies have made some very good decisions for the scientific and literature awards, it is now over to the Norwegian Nobel Committee today for the “Peace” award, and they, quite frankly, have made some rather … Read more

The Brain Drain in Spain: Open letter to the Spanish prime minister reveals a rather dire climate for researchers

Over at Pharyngula, PZ writes about the brain drain and how bad things are in the US … The brain drain is beginning. Nearly 20% of American scientists would like to get out of this country. New data compiled by a coalition of top scientific and medical research groups show that a large majority of scientists … Read more