Monthly Archives: August 2009

The End of Anonymity

Posted on August 31, 2009 by

I was catching up on Ron Rosenbaum’s recent posts when I came across this article about a super model who took her anonymous internet slanderer to court. She apparently pressed Google for the specifics (and got them), resulting in what they … Continue reading →

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The Obama-as-Hitler Meme and the Conspiratorial Mindset

Posted on August 29, 2009 by

Lexington writes: Belief in conspiracy theories can be comforting. If everything that goes wrong is the fault of a secret cabal, that relieves you of the tedious necessity of trying to understand how a complex world really works. And you … Continue reading →

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The Case Against Creationism

Posted on August 27, 2009 by

Richard Dawkins has a new book out, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution. An excerpt from it graced the Timesonline the other day, and Jonah Lehrer’s enthuisiastic review of it is here. Dawkins writes: Imagine that you are … Continue reading →

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What 2012 Will Look Like in Times Square

Posted on August 26, 2009 by
Posted in America, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

So Cane Me, Already!

Posted on August 24, 2009 by

Everywhere I’ve looked today I’ve come across this story about a Malaysian woman who is getting caned for drinking beer. Oh, temptation! The BBC reports: “Malaysia’s majority Malays are subject to Islamic laws, while the large Chinese and Indian minorities … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Media Watch, Miscellaneous, Religious Hypocrisy, World | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Borderlands of Jewishness

Posted on August 23, 2009 by

A few thoughts from a thoughtful reader (I’ve regularized some of the punctuation and uncapitalized the “A” in Atheist for obvious reasons): Halacha, Jewish religious law, is the only thing that determines Jewish identity. And the issue is very clear … Continue reading →

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The Last American Childhood

Posted on August 19, 2009 by

Children of all ages play together, horse around, eat peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and hate to go to bed on time. Girls watch Hannah Montana on television and aspire to be the next Miley Cyrus, the very face of teenage American wholesomeness. Continue reading →

Posted in America, Identity, Man About Rome | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

One More Atheist in the Blogosphere

Posted on August 12, 2009 by

Marc Alan Di Martino has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. You will soon be able to see the blogroll in my sidebar (as soon as I figure out how to fidget with the widget). The Atheist Blogroll is a … Continue reading →

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Ignorance Is No Longer Bliss

Posted on August 12, 2009 by

Living in Italy, I don’t get the opportunity to watch American television much. I don’t even have Sky, which would enable me to watch hundreds of channels. Until a week or two ago, I lived a quiet life with four–count … Continue reading →

Posted in America, Europe, Human Rights, Italy | Tagged , | 17 Comments

In the Realm of Hades

Posted on August 10, 2009 by

Who Will Write Our History? Emanuel Ringelblum, the Warsaw Ghetto, and the Oyneg Shabes Archive by Samuel D. Kassow This book almost defies description. It is as much a biography of the historian Emanuel Ringelblum as it is a history … Continue reading →

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