ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 224

Evangelical group wants gays removed from anti-lynching bill

By Brooke Sopelsa The U.S. Senate last month unanimously passed a bill that would explicitly make lynching a federal crime. Not everyone, however, is pleased with passage of the Justice for Victims of Lynching Act. Liberty Counsel, an evangelical nonprofit that opposes gay rights, and its chairman, Mat Staver, are taking issue with the bill’s inclusion of …

What’s Better Than One Mysterious Cosmic Signal?

By Marina Koren The mysterious signals come from all directions in the sky. No one knows exactly what they are, or what causes them, but astronomers have detected dozens over the past decade. The signals, known as fast radio bursts, originate from deep within the cosmos, well beyond the Milky Way galaxy. The radio waves travel …

Saudi teen may get asylum in Australia after plea goes viral

By Jen Kirby A Saudi teen who made international headlines this week after fleeing to Thailand to seek asylum from her abusive family may now get what she’s desperately been seeking. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has referred Rahaf Mohammed Alqunun’s case to the Australian government. The Australian Department of Home Affairs confirmed …

The Battle for the Meaning of Religious Freedom Day

By Frederick Clarkson There’s an oxymoron embedded in one of the model bills in the Christian right’s state legislative campaign called Project Blitz. Their model resolution for Religious Freedom Day celebrates a day devoted to something they oppose: religious freedom. Yes, the authors mouth many of the right things, including boilerplate platitudes and cherrypicked historical artifacts as recommended by Project …

MI Democratic Gov. Signs Non-Discrimination Directive With No Religious Loophole

By Hemant Mehta While the Republican-run federal government remains a sinking ship, there’s a lot of good news to be found in Democratic-run state governments. In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination among state employees and job applicants. That includes people hired by outside groups working on a state contract. While her GOP …

Trump Weighs in on Humanists’ Cross Case

By Sarah Henry Donald Trump’s administration has repeated a pattern of disregard for true religious liberty in the name of Christian nationalistic religious freedom, carrying out the wishes of the religious right as they endeavor to provide special rights for American Christians. This has proved itself true once again, as the acting solicitor general recently …

North Dakota lawmakers want to require Bible study in public schools

By Zack Ford A group of North Dakota lawmakers — all Republicans — have introduced legislation that would require the state’s public schools to teach a unit on the Bible. The unit could be on the Old Testament, the New Testament, or a mix of the two, and would count toward students’ social studies credit requirements. As …

Artificial intelligence could diagnose rare disorders using just a photo of a face

By Frankie Schembri Rare disorders often show up in someone’s appearance. Individuals with Noonan syndrome—a genetic condition that inhibits the body’s growth and development—can have wide-set eyes, for example, and those with Bain type intellectual disability—caused by a mutated gene on the X chromosome—sport almond-shaped eyes and small chins (see above). Now, researchers have trained …

NASA exoplanet hunter racks up bizarre worlds and exploding stars

By Alexandra Witze Just nine months after its launch, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has found at least eight planets, with more than 300 planetary candidates waiting in the wings. A bizarre planet at least 23 times the mass of Earth, unveiled on 7 January, is among the confirmed planets — some of which have …

After Dutch Pastors Sign Anti-LGBT Document, Atheists Launch Popular Alternative

By Hemant Mehta Just days after 250 Dutch pastors signed a translated version of the anti-LGBTQ “Nashville Statement,” a local Humanist group has earned far more signatures with their version of the document that promotes love instead of faith-based bigotry. The document from Humanistisch Verbond stresses the freedom to love “according to your own wishes.” Here’s a roughly translated version of …