Earlier on my G+ stream, I commented on the matter of a CMU student who protested the Catholic church's coverup of sexual abuse by dressing as the pope, partly naked. I was disappointed that President Cohon had apologised on behalf of CMU to the local Catholic Bishop and the Catholic League. Now the matter has been resolved; she was charged with ( Read more... )

I've been thinking about an issue that's been raised in the secular community; I'm not sure it's a good issue, nor a bad one. Let me lead up to it by briefly reiterating a position I do hold that supports my ambivilance on this one:

I've come to support the idea of religious chaplains in the US Military. This is because while generally people's ( Read more... )

I recently was pointed at a blog post suggesting people reject the Human Rights Campaign, a large social justice organisation that focuses on gender issues.

I generally respect HRW. The organisation has done a lot for tolerance and legal equality over the years, and has been moderately tightly focused on gender-issues and pragmatic on others.

The ( Read more... )

As you probably know, North Korea recently had a nuclear test, prompting UN sanctions (which South Korea signed on to), which in turn saw North Korea ending its armistice agreements with the South, cutting communications, and issuing threats against its neighbours.

The US has unfortunately been pushing Iran around on nuclear technologies, probably ( Read more... )

The UK is aiming to criminalise forced marriage. I find this a strange problem; on the surface, at least for people with western values like mine, it's a simple one, even as the criminalisation aims to prosecute acts that are done outside the UK, I'm happy to see this. Still, there are 3 complications, two of which are noted in this video:

• Family ( Read more... )

Right now, there are considerable tensions between the US and Russia; I'm not the only person who has seen very alarming signs over the last few years in Russia's political system, and while there recently has been considerable protest there, there is still a paucity of viable alternative political figures to lead Russia to a healthier state. ( Read more... )

In some other nations, there are political positions of trust where when people take them, they traditionally (and depending on the nation, may be legally required to) renounce their party affiliation while in office (and sometimes for the rest of their life). For some of these nations, this is no doubt primarily symbolic. For others, there is ( Read more... )

George Galloway's semi-recent statements on sexual etiquette are a great example of the shape of the line in the sand that I draw on offensive comments. I am anti-political correctness in the sense that I believe that people should not legally or socially be strongly nudged or required to care for the validation or feelings of belongingness of ( Read more... )

With the most recent conflict involving Israel and Gaza, I find my attention unwillingly returning to the area, but find the task of judging particular conflicts harder than it ever was for me before. The context of each side's grievances and responses is enough to make it impossible for me to wholly condemn either side for the events that happen; ( Read more... )

(Was posted on my G+ first)

Professor Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Obama seem to have won this election, and Romney doesn't seem to have a concession speech written.

( Read more... )