Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
Matthew Cobb has just informed me of an Event:
At 13:00 uk time (so in 30 mins) you can hear Diane Morgan playing records for three hours. You can listen here.
The Australian Governments “Australian Antarctic Division: has produced a wonderful 8½-minute film of video taken by a submersible camera under the sea ice of East Antarctica. It’s full of colorful life down there, and I bet a lot of these species haven’t yet been described and named. The action ends at 4:58 and then there’s explanation.
How many groups can you identify? Did you see any fish?
As usual, stories of misbehavior by the Illiberal Left on college campuses come from right-wing sites, and this one comes from CampusReform. It describes a list of 64 demands that different student groups at the University of Maryland (where I held my first job), working together under the rubric of “ProtectUMD” have made of the administration. These demands can be verified by going to the Diamondback (the student newspaper) website. I’ve put the list of “demands” below, but here’s what CampusReform says about them:
The Pro-Palestine demands are incompatible with the beliefs of the Jewish student organizations on campus, leading the student groups Terps for Israel, the Jewish Student Union, and J Street U to abstain from the project.
Students for Justice in Palestine declined to answer questions from Campus Reform, as did every other organization that was contacted.
“I think [these demands] are ridiculously easy [to accomplish],” said Muslim Student Association member Khaled Nurhssien told The Diamondback.
“We commend the students for their passionate advocacy and for coming together in solidarity on these issues,” a university spokesperson told Campus Reform. “President Loh has convened a group of his staff to thoroughly review the list of demands and make recommendations accordingly. That process is well underway.”
The UMD spokesperson declined to answer further questions.
When I first read this list of demands, I wanted to go through them and put in bold all the ones I considered unreasonable. But then I realized that the majority of these demands would be in bold, so the emphasis would be diluted. Instead, I’ll just bold a very few that I consider either very unreasonable or dangerous to freedom of speech.
FOR ALL MARGINALIZED STUDENT COMMUNITIES Required diversity training for SGA recognized and Greek organizations. The University employ more professors of color in all university departments Increased mental health support and resources for students of color. University scholarships for students of marginalized communities. A statement from President Loh reassuring marginalized UMD students that the University is committed to making UMD a safe space for all marginalized groups in response to the election and urging these students to speak out when they feel that the university is not meeting this goal. Accountability for hate speech or action:
Immediate response to hate speech or actions from the University including a consequence (e.g. mark on transcript, potential suspension); Immediate turnaround for the removal of hate speech printed or written on campus property, sidewalks and boards; A task force separate from UMPD officers to look into investigations. Revamping of the Diversity and Cultural Competency General Education requirement. Students that meet this requirement should take a class that allows them not only to understand other cultures, but also by the end of the course have an understanding of privilege, oppression, and marginalized groups. Representation of students of color on UMD Student Judiciary and Senate. Study into the punishment statistics by race/gender/etc. of students at some point in the coming year – the legal system is rife with discrimination against minorities, especially those in poverty. It is crucial that our student judiciary is more equitable and gives all students a fair judgement. Establishing a voluntary accreditation for activist groups. Administration should support and defend activist groups by nullifying slander and smear campaign from bigger group. Example: Many members of SJP were slandered as anti-Semitic for being pro-Palestine; Make free legal advice available for students participating in activism who face slander or other dishonest claims while exercising their rights to protest and free speech; Provide protection during campus events that might make students feel unsafe because of their political implications [ie Israel Fest for Muslim and Arab students, Columbus day and Independence Day for American Indian students etc.]. The University of Maryland match the campus minimum wage to Prince George’s minimum wage. An established safe, secure and permanent location for the Office of Civil Rights & Sexual Misconduct at The University of Maryland. The creation and implementation of Dean of Students with supporting staff.
- Help implement policy change on behalf of student concerns
- Requirements:
- Master’s or Doctoral degree in Education Administration
- Experience in diversity and inclusion on institutional level
- Preferably a representative from a vulnerable group
- Approach:
- Students serve on Dean of Students search committee along with other staff, professors and administrators
Role
- Serve as liaison for student needs and concerns on behalf of administration
- Get to know student groups on campus and is actively available for students; makes efforts to attend student engagements
- Serve as an ally to marginalized students
FOR THE AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENT COMMUNITY The University officially remove the Christopher Columbus Day holiday from all university materials and mediums. Replace it with Indigenous Peoples’ Day to take away the stain of colonialism from our University. Acknowledge during every event, that “this is indigenous land.” Make efforts to officially recognize the tribe or nation whose land upon which the University of Maryland is built. Establish an Indigenous Studies minor. Funding for AISU and departments such as Multicultural Involvement and Community Advocacy office, who supports indigenous students and their efforts. The official recognition of the Sarah Winnemucca award in the University awards. An indigenous scholarship for college students as well as high school students. An indigenous cultural center where students can explore their indigenous identity and others. FOR THE BLACK STUDENT COMMUNITY University System of Maryland divestment from Maryland Correctional Enterprises. UMD student divestment from businesses and companies invested in MCE and the prison industrial complex. Tenure for African American professors. [JAC: If this means all must get tenure, it’s unfair.] Increased funding for the Nyumburu Cultural Center and making the Nyumburu Cultural Center a stop during UMD campus tours. FOR THE LATINX STUDENT COMMUNITY A claim to physical space on campus. A school that prides itself on diversity has failed to give students of color adequate, quality space such as a Latinx Cultural Center. University recruitment practices involving students of color that making them and their friends feel welcome and included on campus. A faculty body that is more diverse and representative of branches of academia that deal with the history and discourse of minority populations and integrating this into majors such as a USLT major and a road for tenure for the professors who teach in these departments. More funding allocated for multicultural student organizations in order to execute educational and cultural programming to help bridge the diversity divide on campus. FOR THE LGBTQIA+ STUDENT COMMUNITY Mandated faculty training in the fundamentals of campus inclusion of queer folks. Students be allowed the choice of different gender roommates in the residence halls through random matching. Multi-stall gender-inclusive bathrooms in every building with multi-stall bathrooms. Converting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Studies program into a department in order to provide curricular autonomy. Including pronouns in addition to names on student rosters seen by faculty and advisors. Implementing a campus wide policy to replace male-female checkboxes with write-in boxes on all forms, surveys, and applications. Gender neutral bathrooms in all buildings on campus. Faculty (especially those working in the health center and counseling center), students, and college park police take part in queer diversity training, such as the Rainbow Terrapin Network. The administration advocate for and defend the Arts and Humanities, as they are one of the departments most sensitive to LGBTQ issues and also one of the most at risk under new new state and federal leadership. FOR THE MUSLIM STUDENT COMMUNITY Protect the names and religious/ethnic affiliations of students should they be demanded from the government for harmful use. An increase in the number of safe, designated prayer areas on campus. One room in each major building (e.g. SPH, Chemistry, McKeldin etc.) designated for prayer. [JAC: This is a state school and that would violate the Constitution.] Shuttle services to the Diyanet Center of America for Muslim students to have access to a place of worship and participate in the many activities that the center hosts. Increased discussions about the diversity of the Muslim community on campus and worldwide. More classes offered pertaining to Islam and the Muslim world taught by Muslim professors, who will counteract the negativity surrounding the name of Islam that is perpetuated by our culture and media. Measures to prevent situations similar to the “American Sniper” situation from happening again.
SEE and other organizations on campus should have better judgement when choosing to show movies that perpetuate false narratives and stereotypes of Muslim and should be held accountable if they do not take this into consideration. More Zabiha options on the campus meal plan to accommodate Muslims who adhere to those rulings. More counselors who are sensitive to the needs of Muslim students. Ensure that the have the training be sensitive to the nuances in the Muslim community and are from the communities we often come from. Additional training or staff is necessary. FOR THE PRO-PALESTINE STUDENT COMMUNITIES The encouragement of equal and positive representation of Pro-Palestinian human rights activists on campus. Specifically, condemning the conflation of Pro-Palestinian activism with racism and Anti-Semitism. Pro-Palestinian activists are people who seek the fair treatment of Palestinians in Palestine and the rest of the world. Pro-Palestinians do not reject the human rights of any group of people, and encourage a fair and just system of governance across the globe. The active encouragement of faculty and students to engage in discourse and learning about the Palestinians’ struggles and the Boycott Divest and Sanction movement without fear of consequences by the university administration. Faculty and students have long been targeted for their political stances and their rights to free speech impeded, especially on this issue. We hope the university administration recognizes their disenfranchised groups and helps develop an environment within which it is safe for them to voice their opinions. FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT COMMUNITY A full-time Undocumented Student Coordinator to advocate for, advise, represent, and protect undocumented and DACAmented students. A declaration of the University of Maryland, College Park as a sanctuary campus for undocumented and DACAmented students and their families. Ensured protection of student information about immigration status from local, state, and government agencies. A system to ensure reaction and protection from the UMD Administration if an undocumented or DACAmented student faces detention or deportation proceedings. A full-time immigration attorney for the Offices of Undergraduate and Graduate Student Legal Aid. An Undocumented Student Resource Office to provide academic counseling, legal support, mental health counseling, and to guide students to university resources. Mandatory training about undocumented students’ unique experiences and needs in academic settings for all university faculty and staff. A significant expansion of mental health services for all students of color, especially undocumented and DACAmented students. A system to ensure that DACAmented students can continue to receive in-state tuition if their DACA status is cancelled. An opening up of merit scholarships and emergency funds to undocumented and DACAmented students. Signed by: African Students Progressive Action Committee, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated Theta Nu Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated Iota Zeta Chapter, The American Indian Student Union, Ashley Vasquez, BSOS UMD Senator, Committee on Committees Undergraduate Rep, Bisexuals at Maryland, The Black Student Union, Chi Chapter of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Incorporada, The Coalition of Latinx Student Organizations, Community Roots, Eta Beta Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc, Ethiopian Eritrean Student Association, Kappa Phi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Katherine Swanson, Student Body President, NAACP, University of Maryland, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. Upsilon Chapter, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. Delta Eta Chapter, The Muslim Student Association, True Colors of Maryland, Political Latinxs United for Movement and Action in Society, Preventing Sexual Assault, The Pride Alliance, Students for Justice in Palestine, Student Labor Action Project, Our Revolution
Notice all the different types of mandatory sensitivity training for faculty, students, and staff. Were that done, there would be no time for other education!
h/t: pyers
Given the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, I would have thought that atheists were protected under U.S. law, at least as far as being able to express their beliefs publicly. Well, they are, but Obama has made the U.S. commitment to international protection of atheists explicit by just now signing H.R. 1150 into law: The Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (see bill here). As PoliticalDig reports,
The Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act is an amendment to the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The amendment’s official stated purpose is:
“To amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to improve the ability of the United States to advance religious freedom globally through enhanced diplomacy, training, counterterrorism, and foreign assistance efforts, and through stronger and more flexible political responses to religious freedom violations and violent extremism worldwide.”
The newly amended law states, “The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.” The law further condemns any “policy or practice of routinely denying applications for visas for religious workers in a country can be indicative of a poor state of religious freedom in that country.” This goes against the belief of President-elect Donald Trump and his plan to persecute people because of their religious beliefs by denying them access to the U.S.
And here’s the operative part of the bill:
In case you can’t read that, it says “the freedom of thought and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs as well as the right not to profess or practice any religion.”
The bill focuses only on atheists living outside of the country. It’s a strengthening of a 1998 religions freedom law, which established the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, dedicated to protecting religious liberty around the world. For 18 years, the office has investigated abuse of Christians, Jews and religious minorities in other countries, but it has never tracked instances of persecution against atheists. Now, the law will also include those who don’t subscribe to a recognized religion. “The freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any religion,” the act now states.
The additions also denounce “the specific targeting of non-theists, humanists, and atheists because of their beliefs” as well as attempts to “forcibly [compel] non-believers or non-theists to recant their beliefs or to convert.” [JAC: I can’t find this language in the bill. Am I missing something?]
Granted, this act does not give additional protection to atheists in America, but non-theistic advocacy groups are hailing the move as a historic step. After all, it’s one of the rare American recognitions that atheists have rights too.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
On May 9, 2014, Wolf introduced the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R. 4653; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to reauthorize the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as an independent federal government advisory body through FY2019.
A devout Christian, Wolf was opposed to abortion and subsidized birth control for federal employees. As congressman, Wolf also voted to deny funding to Planned Parenthood. He also opposed funding for international family planning in developing countries. Wolf also previously asserted that marriage should only be between one man and one woman. As such, he signed a letter supporting the “one man one woman” issue in the Manhattan Declaration. Wolf sponsored the bill that became the District of Columbia Civil Contempt Imprisonment Limitation Act, H.R. 2136, in 1989 and supported the bill that became the Elizabeth Morgan Act in 1996. He was a prominent anti-gay congressman, citing religious scriptures as the basis for his position.
One might have thought that a bill protecting religious minorities would not be named after a guy who tried to enforce Christian morality on the rest of the world. But I’ll take what I can get.
h/t: Richard M.
I continue to get comments and emails from readers defending homeopathy (many come from India), but they all sing the tired old song: “It helped me, so I know it works.” They know little, I guess, about the self-healing of the body or about placebo effects. But I must say I’m surprised at how common faith in homeopathy is. I really should have dealt with it in Faith Versus Fact as a form of faith-based medicine that may be as pervasive as intercessory prayer—and perhaps more harmful. Here are two attempted comments, the first from reader Ramkrishna Mishra (names were given), on my post about CVS defending its sale of homeopathic remedies. These are only about a quarter of what I’ve received by both email and comment in the last day.
U think homoeopathic medicines are ineffective, have you ever taken any homoeopathic treatment for you or your family, I have seen unaccountable results from homoeopathy not only for CVS, but also in diabetes, thyroid disorders which you orthodox consider incurable or only manageable, in fact u can’t even cure a single chronic disease. Who the hell you are to judge the second most effective system of Medicine. More than 65% people who are under treatment of allopathy are shifting to homoeopathy. Actually you are insecure of existence of allopathy. Homoeopathy is the future of Medicine. Stop doing this crap and accept the fact.
And from reader “Dr Rana”, commenting on the same post:
Check the tests of so called scientific medicines.
All have side effects. A declared bad for health effect. To sell these they want to stop alternative medicines that work without side effects.
They test these with methods that do not apply.
Proof is results.
Homeopathic medicines give results and thus work .
But these are garden-variety defenses of woo. What interested me more was an email I got from an unnamed person who read my piece in John Brockman’s annual “Edge Question” volume in 2015. The question was “which idea must die?” and my response was “the idea of free will” (Coyne, J. A. 2015. Free will. Pp. pp. 153-156 in Brockman, J., ed. This Idea Must Die. Harper, New York). In that piece, which I can send to anybody who wants it, I made the usual case for determinism, and the usual arrangements that our justice system should make to accommodate the fact that a criminal could not have “chosen otherwise.”
DEar Sir. I read what you said in “This Idea Must Die.” Why should we be soft on crime? Give me one logical reason. Not an emotional reason. Not a religious reason. A logical reason. We must deter crime, therefore we must have harsh punishments. What about the guy who murdered my friend’s sister? I’d like to shove a butcher knife up his ass. I’d like to hear him screaming while he dies. Because that would be justice, and justice is good. Why can’t you see that? Why do liberals always hate justice?Sincerely, [Name redacted]
Note that I did not say “we should be soft on crime.” I said, as I always do, that punishment needs to be be meted out for three reasons: sequestering dangerous criminals away from society, to rehabilitate malefactors, and to serve as a deterrent for others. Once one has an idea of the degree of punishment necessary to achieve these ends (a hit or miss affair, but one subject to some scientific study), any further punishment is superfluous—and that includes the death penalty. Nothing is to be gained by extra punishment, and what is to lose is human suffering: the suffering of someone punished beyond what is necessary to achieve social ends.
I am sorry for the death of this person’s friend, which must have been horrible. But we need to move beyond the concept of vigilante justice, or beyond “an eye for an eye.” We already know that the death penalty is not a deterrent, so the only thing gained by this person’s sticking a knife in the fundament of the criminal is satisfying his base emotion of vengeance. There are better ways to deal with criminals; that’s why we have a justice system (flawed as it is) and don’t allow people to take the law into their own hands. Would this person approve of the Saudi practice of cutting off hands for theft, or of Singapore’s policy of execution for drug smuggling—even marijuana?
A deterministic view of justice doesn’t say we should be “soft on crime”. It says that we should be effective on crime, and that may mean a big reform of the justice system. Throwing criminals in jail with other hardened criminals, making them live under situations that no zoo animal would be expected to tolerate, and making no attempt to reform them—that is the way retributive justice works; but retributive justice is based on the false notion that a criminal had a choice in what he did.
And that is my answer to this gentleman.
We’re continuing on with the African adventures of reader Joe Dickinson, who has some FELID PHOTOS for us. His notes are indented:
Once more out of Africa, here is a feline-centric bonus set.
Remember the Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) profile? Here is an alternative I like almost as well.
Here is the context:
A mighty yawn:
That reminded me of a lioness (Panthera leo) from Zimbabwe, four years ago. The Blurred ear , etc. is thanks to out-of-focus twigs/leaves in the foreground that I could not avoid.
OK, now remember the leopard (Panthera pardus) resting in a tree?
Here is the context. See the tail hanging down from the first limb on the right? That’s how our guides spotted him.
Zoomed in on that:
And (truth in advertising) here is the “Toyota Showroom” that alerted our guides to look for a tail in that tree:
Here is a leopard on the prowl in Botswana four years ago:
And the Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) he was stalking. The guides said predators sometimes use a safari vehicle as a screen. In this case, the Kudu spotted the leopard and was looking straight at him and bellowing. As is typical when a predators knows it has been spotted, the leopard just walked away.
It’s December 22, 2016, with only 3 shopping days left till Christmas and the First Day of Koynezaa. It’s also (oy!) National Date Nut Bread Day. Has any reader had this comestible in the last month? It was a staple of my childhood, but seems to have disappeared. It’s also National Mathematics Day—but only in India.
On this day in 1808, as Wikipedia reports, “Ludwig van Beethoven conduct[ed] and perform[ed] in concert at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, with the premiere of his Fifth Symphony, Sixth Symphony, Fourth Piano Concerto (performed by Beethoven himself) and Choral Fantasy (with Beethoven at the piano).” Wouldn’t you love to have been there? On this day in 1984 (and do you remember this?), Bernard Goetz shot four men on a New York City subway, claiming they were muggers and that he was acting in self defense. He was ultimately convicted of criminal possession of a weapon, served a year in jail, and was ordered to pay a $43 million fine, which of course he couldn’t do. And, in 2001, the “shoe bomber,” Richard Reid, tried to bring down an American Airlines flight by setting off explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines. It didn’t work. Was that really 15 years ago? I grow old. . . I grow old.
Notables born on this day include Giacomo Puccini (1858), Lady Bird Johnson (1912), Diane Sawyer (1945), Maurice and Robin Gibb (1949; almost my age, except they’re both dead), and Ralph Fiennes (1962). Those who died on this day include Nathaniel West (1940), Beatrix Potter (1943; I can’t believe Google didn’t give her a rabbit doodle), Butterfly McQueen (1995), and Joe Cocker (2014). Here in honor of Ms. Potter, is Tom Kitten getting refitted for his clothes, as he’d grown too tubby:
Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili is trying to be profound, and can’t find the Door to Friday:
Hili: We have Thursday.A: Where?Hili: Wherever I look.
Hili: Mamy czwartek.
Ja: Gdzie?
Hili: Gdzie nie spojrzę
