ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 70

Colliding black holes may have created a surprising flare of light

By Emily Conover In spite of their dark reputations, two black holes may have set off a cosmic light show. Subtle gravitational rumbles from a collision of two black holes may have been accompanied by a flare of light about a month later, physicists report June 25 in Physical Review Letters. It’s a surprising conclusion given …

The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists

By Jacob Poushter and Nicholas Kent Despite major changes in laws and norms surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage and the rights of LGBT people around the world, public opinion on the acceptance of homosexuality in society remains sharply divided by country, region and economic development. As it was in 2013, when the question was last asked, attitudes on …

New Report Features First-Hand Accounts of “Humanists At Risk” Around the World

By Hemant Mehta Last year, when Humanists International released its annual “Freedom of Thought Report” describing serious cases of discrimination and persecution against atheists around the world, the bottom line was that 69 countries still believed blasphemy was a crime. The death penalty applied in six of them. 18 countries punished apostasy (leaving religion), and 12 of …

Palm Beach County residents express outrage over mask requirement: ‘Devil’s laws’

By Zack Budryk A Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners public comment session went viral Wednesday after residents denounced mandatory masking laws as “devil’s laws” that would “throw God’s wonderful breathing system out the door.” One attendee, Sylvia Ball, said she was “very sad to see the authorities stomping on our constitutional rights,” adding, …

Ex-Muslim Author of “The Curse of God” Is Told Killers Are After Him and His Dog

By Terry Firma Let’s say you really like the taste of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream — so much so that you seek the company of other Chunky Monkey fans to compare notes, and to celebrate the brand and the flavor. All is well for a while, until one day a friend offers you a …

Surveys suggest protests, not pandemic, have lost Trump white evangelical support

By Ryan Burge The last few months have not been good for President Donald Trump. His administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic has been criticized for being too slow to meet the rising number of cases. Then, in just the last few weeks, the killings of a number of Black Americans by police and white vigilantes have …

Christian pundits say homosexuality is a bigger sin than slavery, so Black people should get over it

By Alex Bollinger Two white conservative Christians came to the conclusion that Black people should stop “sitting in a chair and crying” over slavery because homosexuality is a “worse” sin. Anti-LGBTQ activist Scott Lively discussed racism on his Breaking News Bible Study show with Knoxville, Tennessee pastor Richard May. During the show, May downplayed the horror of …

Summer Solstice 2020 and the Search for Life in the Galaxy

By Shannon Hall This article, originally published in 2018, has been updated to reflect 2020’s solstice date. On the summer solstice this Saturday, the Northern Hemisphere will dip toward the sun and bathe in direct sunlight for longer than any other day of the year. That will cause the sun to rise early, climb high …

The First Gene on Earth May Have Been a Hybrid

By Andy Extance DNA and RNA, the two major modern forms of genetic code underpinning all of earthly biology, could have coexisted in strict pairings on our planet before life arose here, scientists in England, Scotland and Poland say. Using a hydrogen cyanide–based chemical system intended to mimic conditions in Earth’s early history, the researchers …

The Supreme Court closed the door on LGBTQ employment discrimination. But it opened a window.

By Amanda Hollis-Brusky On Monday, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling for LGBTQ rights. The majority opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in employment “because of … sex,” can be read to extend protections to LGBTQ individuals. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision was written …