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Hello,
I am officially closing down "The Thinking Man" blog and moving over to Wordpress, with the new blog "Skepdude" of which I had informed you earlier. Please go to Skepdude to continue reading my entries. Thank you very much.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Please support "The Skeptologists"
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A new skeptical show is in the making. The pilot for "The Skeptologists" is being wrapped up as we speak. The show is the brainchild of Brian Dunning of the "Skeptoid" podcast fame. The cast includes among others, Steven Novella, Michael Shermer, Phil Plait of Bad Astronomer fame etc. With such a cast it has got to be something great.
But, they need our help. Once they wrap up the pilot, they will start pitching it around to TV execs. That's where you and I come in. We can help by sending an e-mail to skeptologists@newrule.com and explain why we would see a skeptical, critical thinking show. For more details please visit The Skeptologists Facebook page.
I already send my e-mail. The main body of my e-mail follows below. Please take a few minutes and do the same.
A new skeptical show is in the making. The pilot for "The Skeptologists" is being wrapped up as we speak. The show is the brainchild of Brian Dunning of the "Skeptoid" podcast fame. The cast includes among others, Steven Novella, Michael Shermer, Phil Plait of Bad Astronomer fame etc. With such a cast it has got to be something great.
But, they need our help. Once they wrap up the pilot, they will start pitching it around to TV execs. That's where you and I come in. We can help by sending an e-mail to skeptologists@newrule.com and explain why we would see a skeptical, critical thinking show. For more details please visit The Skeptologists Facebook page.
I already send my e-mail. The main body of my e-mail follows below. Please take a few minutes and do the same.
I am writing to support the pilot of "The Skeptologist" and the idea of a skeptical show in general.
Personally, I think that a show about skepticism, critical thinking and science is much needed now a day. Only a few days ago we read the news about the little girl who died when her parents refused to take her to the hospital and relied on prayers instead. Currently, horrible details about the Texas cult are coming out, and it's nothing nice to hear. Could the little girl have been saved if her parents had had the chance to see a critical thinking show? Probably not.Her parents were too indoctrinated. They would have simply switched the channel. But, what about the people that are on the fence? What about the ones that can still be saved? That alone is reason enough to pick up the show.
Furthermore, I am tired of seeing shows about a bunch of losers going around abandoned buildings, flicking their flashlights on and off and proclaim they just "proved" the existence of a ghost. I am tired of seeing frauds claim they are contacting dead people on TV. I am tired of seeing shows about mediums helping the police solve cases.TV is a very important medium to disperse information. And now a days, misinformation is attacking us on TV from all sides. With a few exceptions, we are passively allowing this to happen.
Furthermore, there are millions of freethinkers, and critical thinkers in America. The audience for such a show is huge, assuming it is alloted a favorable slot in the weekly programs.
I hope my words are helpful, and I really hope to see "The Skeptologist" on prime-time TV very, very soon.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Discovery Institute Summer Seminars
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The Discovery Institute is organizing "intensive" summer seminars on :"intelligent design, science, and culture from July 11-20, 2008 in Seattle. The first seminar is for students in the natural sciences and philosophy of science; the second seminar is for students in the social sciences and humanities (including politics, law, journalism, and theology). Both seminars are designed for highly-motivated college students who seek a deeper understanding of science and its implications for society".
Wow, a science seminar organized by the DI. That's akin to the bank robbers giving a seminar on bank security, while wearing their ski masks.
I guess they will not be talking about ID the whole 9 days. All you need is 9 seconds to sum up ID. I am too lazy/stupid/indoctrinated to do any real work. Therefore I prescribe everything to an Intelligent Daddy. Puff, done! Now give me equal time in the classroom...it's only fair. I really don't understand why I'm being Expelled.
No Intelligence Allowed huh? No shit!
The Discovery Institute is organizing "intensive" summer seminars on :"intelligent design, science, and culture from July 11-20, 2008 in Seattle. The first seminar is for students in the natural sciences and philosophy of science; the second seminar is for students in the social sciences and humanities (including politics, law, journalism, and theology). Both seminars are designed for highly-motivated college students who seek a deeper understanding of science and its implications for society".
Wow, a science seminar organized by the DI. That's akin to the bank robbers giving a seminar on bank security, while wearing their ski masks.
I guess they will not be talking about ID the whole 9 days. All you need is 9 seconds to sum up ID. I am too lazy/stupid/indoctrinated to do any real work. Therefore I prescribe everything to an Intelligent Daddy. Puff, done! Now give me equal time in the classroom...it's only fair. I really don't understand why I'm being Expelled.
No Intelligence Allowed huh? No shit!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Center for Inquiry Press Release
I apologize for the prolonged inactivity in this blog. It was due to personal and professional issues that took up all of my time. I am still feeling the effects but I am trying hard to get back to some sort of semi-regular schedule.
I recently got an e-mail from the Center for Inquiry. I will reproduce the e-mail in it's entirety since I think it is very important and there is no need for me to comment.
Greetings,
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U.S. Must Embrace Obligations of Global Citizenship and Ratify and Apply International Treaties, Says Leading Humanist Organization
Amherst, New York (March 31, 2008)—The recent United States Supreme Court decision in Medellin v. Texas, allowing the State of Texas to ignore a judgment of the International Court of Justice, highlights the country’s shameful failure to live up to its obligations as a global citizen, according to the Center for Inquiry, a leading humanist organization.
The Center for Inquiry's representative to the United Nations, Dr. Austin Dacey, commented, “If the United States has made a unique contribution to the world, it is the foundational American idea that the power of nation-states is shaped by norms that come before and go beyond the nation-state.”
The International Court of Justice had ruled that the convictions of José Medellin and other Mexican nationals be reviewed because they had been denied their rights under the Vienna Convention—a treaty to which the United States is a party. The Vienna Convention requires foreign consulates to be informed when one of their citizens is arrested.
The Supreme Court’s decision forms part of a disturbing pattern in recent years in which the United States has either repudiated or refused to honor its international commitments and obligations. Since 2000, United Nations members have committed themselves to 929 new treaty actions. In that same period, the United State reversed its support for at least five major treaties, including the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty and the International Criminal Court.
In a recent editorial in Free Inquiry magazine, Center for Inquiry chairman Dr. Paul Kurtz observes that this stance represents a betrayal of America’s commitments. “Following World War II, there was great support in the United States for a new kind of world order based on cooperation among nations,” Kurtz said. “This country was in the vanguard of those proclaiming and defending explicit visions of human rights. By contrast, U.S. foreign policy in recent years has been unilateral and preemptive, costing us friends worldwide.”
Refusal to honor our obligations to the global community squanders this country’s moral capital around the world.
As an expositor of humanist values that transcend boundaries of state, ethnicity, and sect, the Center for Inquiry calls on the United States to honor our international commitments and implement fully the provisions of the Vienna Convention and all other international treaties and covenants to which the United States is a party.
The Center for Inquiry also calls upon Congress and the leadership of both major parties to work to ratify other important treaties that have been accepted by the vast majority of the international community.
The Center for Inquiry/Transnational, a nonprofit, educational, advocacy, and scientific-research think tank based in Amherst, New York, is also home to the Council for Secular Humanism, founded in 1980; the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP), founded in 1976; and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. The Center for Inquiry’s research and educational projects focus on three broad areas: religion, ethics, and society; paranormal and fringe-science claims; and medicine and health. The Center’s Web site is www.centerforinquiry.net .
I recently got an e-mail from the Center for Inquiry. I will reproduce the e-mail in it's entirety since I think it is very important and there is no need for me to comment.
Greetings,
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Austin Dacey
Phone: (212) 504-2945 ext. 3
E-mail: ADacey@centerforinquiry.net
Phone: (212) 504-2945 ext. 3
E-mail: ADacey@centerforinquiry.net
U.S. Must Embrace Obligations of Global Citizenship and Ratify and Apply International Treaties, Says Leading Humanist Organization
Amherst, New York (March 31, 2008)—The recent United States Supreme Court decision in Medellin v. Texas, allowing the State of Texas to ignore a judgment of the International Court of Justice, highlights the country’s shameful failure to live up to its obligations as a global citizen, according to the Center for Inquiry, a leading humanist organization.
The Center for Inquiry's representative to the United Nations, Dr. Austin Dacey, commented, “If the United States has made a unique contribution to the world, it is the foundational American idea that the power of nation-states is shaped by norms that come before and go beyond the nation-state.”
The International Court of Justice had ruled that the convictions of José Medellin and other Mexican nationals be reviewed because they had been denied their rights under the Vienna Convention—a treaty to which the United States is a party. The Vienna Convention requires foreign consulates to be informed when one of their citizens is arrested.
The Supreme Court’s decision forms part of a disturbing pattern in recent years in which the United States has either repudiated or refused to honor its international commitments and obligations. Since 2000, United Nations members have committed themselves to 929 new treaty actions. In that same period, the United State reversed its support for at least five major treaties, including the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty and the International Criminal Court.
In a recent editorial in Free Inquiry magazine, Center for Inquiry chairman Dr. Paul Kurtz observes that this stance represents a betrayal of America’s commitments. “Following World War II, there was great support in the United States for a new kind of world order based on cooperation among nations,” Kurtz said. “This country was in the vanguard of those proclaiming and defending explicit visions of human rights. By contrast, U.S. foreign policy in recent years has been unilateral and preemptive, costing us friends worldwide.”
Refusal to honor our obligations to the global community squanders this country’s moral capital around the world.
As an expositor of humanist values that transcend boundaries of state, ethnicity, and sect, the Center for Inquiry calls on the United States to honor our international commitments and implement fully the provisions of the Vienna Convention and all other international treaties and covenants to which the United States is a party.
The Center for Inquiry also calls upon Congress and the leadership of both major parties to work to ratify other important treaties that have been accepted by the vast majority of the international community.
The Center for Inquiry/Transnational, a nonprofit, educational, advocacy, and scientific-research think tank based in Amherst, New York, is also home to the Council for Secular Humanism, founded in 1980; the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (formerly CSICOP), founded in 1976; and the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. The Center for Inquiry’s research and educational projects focus on three broad areas: religion, ethics, and society; paranormal and fringe-science claims; and medicine and health. The Center’s Web site is www.centerforinquiry.net .
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