ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 111

A Moon Landing In 2024? NASA Says It’ll Happen, Others Say: No Way

By Nell Greenfieldboyce NASA is at a critical juncture in its push to get people back to the moon by 2024, with key decisions expected within weeks. This effort to meet an ambitious deadline set by the Trump administration last year faces widespread skepticism in the aerospace community, even as the new head of human spaceflight at …

Evangelical pundit says Pete Buttigieg is a bad role model because of his “sexual conduct”

By Alex Bollinger A prominent Christian conservative has said that South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg would make a bad role model for children because he’s gay, and therefore people should vote against him. Bryan Fischer is the Director of Issues Analysis for the SPLC designated anti-LGBTQ hate group American Family Association. On his radio show, …

Anti-LGBTQ Lawmaker from S. Dakota Proposes Bills That Will Hurt Everybody

By Val Wilde It’s bad enough that South Dakota faces the possibility of sweepingly anti-LGBTQ legislation becoming law. But Republican State Rep. Tony Randolph (below) isn’t finished imposing his religious beliefs about sexual sin onto everyone around him… and this time, his legislation stands to harm everybody, gay and straight alike. Last week Randolph introduced HB 1158, a bill that — …

On Facebook, anti-vaxxers urged a mom not to give her son Tamiflu. He later died.

By Brandy Zadrozny Facebook groups that routinely traffic in anti-vaccination propaganda have become a resource for people seeking out a wide variety of medical information — including about the ongoing flu season. Facebook hosts a vast network of groups that trade in false health information. On “Stop Mandatory Vaccination,” one of the largest known health misinformation …

NASA astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after record-setting stay in space

By Darrell Etherington Astronaut Christina Koch made the return trip from the International Space Station (ISS) early on Thursday, along with ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov. The three boarded a Soyuz capsule docked at the ISS at around 12:50 AM EST, and had a safe landing as planned at around 4:12 AM …

‘Dishonest and corrupt’: Trump unloads at National Prayer Breakfast after acquittal

By Allan Smith President Donald Trump blasted “dishonest and corrupt” people Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast, bashing his impeachment before the nonpartisan event with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just steps away. “As everybody knows, my family, our great country, and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt …

Evangelist preacher Franklin Graham planned a seven-city UK tour. All seven venues have dropped him

By Rob Picheta A planned UK tour by US evangelist Franklin Graham is in question after every venue booked by the preacher canceled planned appearances, following an outcry over his homophobic and Islamophobic comments. Graham — the son of preacher Billy Graham — has called Islam “evil,” attacked laws increasing rights for transgender people, and told his …

Former Inner West Reverend Charged with Child Sex Offences

By Lucy Cormack A former Uniting Church minister who also ran one of the country’s most prominent gay conversion therapy programs has been charged with committing historical child sexual offences more than 30 years ago. Former Reverend Ron Charles Brookman, 70, faced a Sydney court on Tuesday over allegations he indecently assaulted a 13-year-old who …

Christian Activist Admits Conservatives Would Vote for Donald Trump Over Jesus

By Hemant Mehta A lot of liberals talk about Donald Trump as if he’s the leader of a cult, and I think there’s a lot of merit to that. But you would think conservative Christians would at least spin their fawning support of him as a necessary evil to promote whatever they claim Jesus wanted. Nope. They …

The Broken Promise of Gwyneth Paltrow’s “The Goop Lab”

By Daniel Albert Joslyn It is perhaps unsurprisingly rare for anyone to talk about Goop, New Agers, and the world of wellness as offering trenchant critiques of neoliberal capitalism. But let’s try. Netflix’s The Goop Lab (TGL), for the uninitiated (or those deaf to the waterfall of controversy surrounding it), is a series that features employees of actress-turned-New-Age-entrepreneur Gwenyth …