Quote of the day

"Does Viagra facilitate desire (the view of Pfizer’s scientists), or create it? What is 'natural' in sexual life? If, before the discovery of Viagra, it was 'nature’s course to diminish sexual power in men once their peak reproductive fitness had passed'—as  Sylvanus Stall wrote in a 1901 book—is it 'unnatural' to change that aspect of senior-citizen life through drugs? 

Or is drug-assisted virility simply better living through chemistry—like raising life expectancies from 45 to 75? Is the appropriate meaning of 'natural' not what existed in the past, but anything that can be achieved through physical means at any time? How does one integrate the complaints of older women, documented by studies, about the frequency of desire in Viagra-fueled mates, and the lengthened duration of lovemaking itself?" -- Carlin Romano

Grief bacon

Kummerspeck (German): literally, grief bacon; excess weight gained from emotional overeating.

See 14 others here.

Stephen Colbert on the "Muslim" attack in Norway

Hate group is "alarmed"

Parents’ Voice member Homara Ahmad is "alarmed," according to the hate group's latest press release.  The group was created to oppose the Burnaby School Board's anti-homophobia policy.

According to the release, Parents' Voice members decided to file a freedom of information (FOI) request after reading a story in The Province about a student being bullied because he was skinny:

"Parents’ Voice members wanted to know the extent of the 'bullying' problem: who the perpetrators are--staff or students--and their targets."

It is unclear why Parents' Voice twice decided to use scare quotes around the word "bullying."

Allegedly, group member and spokesperson (they all seem to be spokespeople) Homara Ahmad made an FOI request for "copies of all reports, incidents recorded, and/or complaints made involving students, staff or any other person related to the operation of the Burnaby School District, that has been party to any form of bullying, assault, harassment, verbal abuse or any form of mean-spirited conduct, that has occurred on or near any property owned, managed or operated by School District 41," and demanded an exemption from fees, which was refused, leading the group to lose its collective mind.

Gordon World, another "spokesman," said:

"it seems highly unlikely that the incidents of reported bullying will justify the special attention directed to the political agenda of the sex activists involved in creating Policy 5.45. I believe this last point is the real issue. If the claims of sex activists were true, and a disproportionate number of children were being attacked based on sexual orientation, wouldn't the Burnaby School Board be more than willing to release this information to back up their claim?"

World is known for his outrageous homophobic lies, such as claiming that the murder of Aaron Webster was not an anti-gay hate crime and that gay men are responsible for most HIV infections and have a significantly shorter lifespan.

In another staggering display of homophobia, the press release goes on to add:

"Burnaby trustees, and others in positions of trust, should know better by now than to rely upon data and research generated by homosexual and other sex activists. Our children deserve better than to have policies developed by hyperbolic-spin propaganda, masquerading as research, generated by sex activists who want to promulgate their version of diversity politics and practices among our children, via the public education system. Parents’ Voice is against all forms of child abuse, including bullying, the political sexualization of children and the intellectual abuse of children by indoctrinating them with propaganda that falsely portrays sexual and emotional practices that can and do result in provable harm, as being 'acceptable.'"

Not coincidentally, this hate-filled press release coincides with the Outgames and Vancouver Pride.

Singapore: The Caning Country

Beating with a 1.2-metre, 1.27cm thick rattan cane soaked in water to maximize its weight and make it more flexible. This  punishment is mandated not only by the Singaporean military and court system, but in secondary schools across the nation-state.


Caning is a legal punishment for all males under the age of 50, with a maximum of 24 strokes.  In 2007, 6,404 offenders were sentenced to caning.  Caning is performed on male members of the Singapore Armed Forces, again to a maximum of 24 strokes.   Caning is also used to punish boys in Singaporean schools. In May of 2004, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Acting Minister for Education, encouraged schools to

“punish boys by caning for such offences as fighting, smoking, cheating, gangsterism, disrespect or vandalism.”

Students can receive up to 6 strokes.  According to a survey by The Straits Times, 20 per cent of parents in Singapore use caning for punishment.

Read the whole thing here, and watch the disturbing video below.

X-Ray Specs

Rana el Kaliouby and Rosalind Picard have created special glasses that help the wearer interpret emotional cues.  The glasses use a tiny camera and software that analyses facial expressions.  El Kaliouby began to develop the glasses as an aid for autistic people, who often find it hard to pick up on other people's emotions.  She and fellow Cambridge student Simon Baron-Cohen hired actors to mime expressions, and volunteers to describe their meaning, using the most popular responses.

The glasses' camera tracks 24 "feature points" on your conversation partner's face, and software developed by Picard analyses their expressions.

According to Picard, these glasses could become "augmented-reality glasses, which would overlay computer graphics onto the scene in front of the wearer."

Read the whole fascinating article here.

iPhone app helps you predict which seat will become vacant on the train

 A new iPhone app called Densha de Suwaru (sitting down on the train) by Velc helps you make a database of strangers you commute with regularly.  For every passenger you create a list of features, such as which stations they ride between, at what days and times and on which line, along with gender, age, and other identifying details.  The app allows you to make a cartoon-like image of each of your fellow passengers.

The more data you add, the better you will become at predicting which seated passenger will be the next to leave the train.

In Japan, particularly in Tokyo, where it is not uncommon for people to spend 2 hours or more commuting by train every day, finding a seat is an important concern.  In 2005, a book about how to find seats on packed trains became a best-seller book.

The app can be purchased at the iTunes store, but it is unclear whether it is available in languages other than Japanese.

A San Francisco judge has struck an anti-circumcision measure from the city's November ballot.  The measure would have banned non-medical circumcision of male children.  Superior Court judge Loretta Giorgi said the proposed law violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom. San Francisco would have been the first U.S. city to hold a public vote on outlawing the circumcision of minors.

Michael Kinane, an attorney for the proponents, had argued that circumcision is not usually performed for medical reasons, and that the ballot measure included an exception for medical circumcisions.  The measure did not include exemptions for religious rituals.  The ban's sponsor, anti-circumcision activist Lloyd Schofield, said he is considering an appeal.

Religious groups argued that it is up to parents to decide whether or not to circumcise their children.  Many anti-circumcision activists consider male circumcision just as much a form of genital mutilation as female circumcision.  The US government bans female genital cutting for any non-medical reason.

No professional association of physicians currently recommends routine circumcision, and many argue that it adversely affects penile function and sexual pleasure, is extremely painful, and is a violation of human rights.  The British Medical Association stated in 2006 that "it is now widely accepted, including by the BMA, that this surgical procedure has medical and psychological risks."  A 2002 review by Boyle et al. stated that

"the genitally intact male has thousands of fine touch receptors and other highly erogenous nerve endings—many of which are lost to circumcision, with an inevitable reduction in sexual sensation experienced by circumcised males . . . intercourse is less satisfying for both partners when the man is circumcised."

Neo-natal circumcision was introduced as a way to curb masturbation.  Today, globally 30 per cent of males over 15 are circumcised, and 70 per cent of these are Muslim.  Circumcision is not a condition for converting to Islam or for carrying out religious duties.  Muslim circumcisions are performed as early as 7 days after birth or as late as the onset of puberty and are often done in a medical setting.  Among Jews, ritual circumcision is performed on the 8th day after birth by a man or woman called a mohel, using a knife.  Under Jewish law, a mohel must draw blood from the circumcision wound; some use their mouth for this purpose; the practice has resulted in the spreading of herpes to infants, at least one of which suffered brain damage and another died as a result.

Comic books and trading cards featuring evil Jewish characters distributed by the measure's proponents made the measure even more controversial.

Be civil when flying

By Gene Wiengarten.

Australian Jesus cult

A creepy cult is coming to prominence in Australia, led by a man who thinks he's the son of god and woman who thinks she's the reincarnation of Mary Magdalene.

Richard Dawkins to present award to Christopher Hitchens

The Atheist Alliance of America has announced that Christopher Hitchens has been selected to receive the prestigious Richard Dawkins Award in October.  The award will be presented by
Dawkins himself.

The Richard Dawkins Award has been presented annually since 2003 for work on behalf of promoting atheism and freethought around the world.   Nick Lee, President of Atheist Alliance of America said,

“The Atheist Alliance of America is proud to recognize Mr. Hitchens for his prominent role in the public debate over the impact of religion in modern society.”

Hitchens is a prolific writer and leading proponent of atheism.  His books include God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, and The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice.

New Zealand bans Lucifer

New Zealand's Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages has banned the name Lucifer after getting three such requests.  It has banned an additional 101 names in the last 2 years, including Baron, Bishop, Duke, General, Judge, Justice, King, Knight and Mr, which were deemed too similar to titles; Messiah; 89; and C, D, I and T. Additionally, the agency has sensibly refused full stops, asterisks and other punctuation marks in names.

In 2008, a New Zealand court allowed a 9 year-old girl named Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii to legally change her name.