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.
Could Dan Barker, Annie Laurie Gaylor, or one of their heathen minions have defaced this bill, taken from an ATM in Madison, Wisconsin, which just happens to be the home of the Freedom from Religion Foundation? After all, every year the FFRF raffles off “clean” money—bills produced before “In God We Trust” was added to U.S. currency in 1957.
Just when you thought that Western self-censorship exercised to avoid Muslim wrath couldn’t get any dumber, it has. The International Business Times reports that the prestigious and powerful Oxford University Press (“OUP,” publisher of the UK edition of WEIT!), has put out a notice to its employees and authors that OUP books considered “educational materials” will henceforth not mention pigs or pork. The reason, of course, is clear. As far as I can gather, the ban applies to materials aimed at young people. From the IBT report:
One of the biggest education publishers in the world has warned its authors not to mention pigs or sausages in their books to avoid causing offence.
Oxford University Press (OUP) said all books must take into consideration other cultures if they hope to sell copies in countries across the world.
As a result, the academic publisher has issued guidance advising writers to avoid mentioning pigs or “anything else which could be perceived as pork” so as not to offend Muslim or Jewish people.
The move was revealed during a discussion on free speech during BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in the wake of the attack on French satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo and its decision to use an image of the Prophet Mohammed on the cover of its latest issue.
Presenter Jim Naughtie said: “I’ve got a letter here that was sent out by OUP to an author doing something for young people.
“Among the things prohibited in the text that was commissioned by OUP was the following: Pigs plus sausages, or anything else which could be perceived as pork.
Here’s OUP’s pathetic justification:
An OUP spokesperson said: “Our materials are sold in nearly 200 countries, and as such, and without compromising our commitment in any way, we encourage some authors of educational materials respectfully to consider cultural differences and sensitivities.
“Guidelines for our educational materials differ between geographies and do not cover our academic publishing.”
Yeah, right. This is, of course, just a big fat euphemism for this: “We don’t want to piss off the Muslims lest they attack the Press.”
What makes it even more embarrassing for OUP is that some Muslim and Jewish leaders have pronounced the ban ridiculous. Here’s a dryly sarcastic response from a Jewish organization:
A spokesperson for the Jewish Leadership Council added: “Jewish law prohibits eating pork, not the mention of the word, or the animal from which it derives.”
And the Torygraph reports a similar reaction from a Muslim, reacting to BBC presenter Naughtie’s characterization of the ban as a “joke”:
Muslim Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said: “I absolutely agree. That’s absolute utter nonsense. And when people go too far, that brings the whole discussion into disrepute.”
Indeed. This is just as bad as HarperCollins’s and The Economist‘s decision to publish maps of the Middle East leaving out Israel. Worse even, for an academic publisher should be committed, as far as possible, to free expression. It’s sobering and sad to contemplate that OUP’s new regulations would prohibit it from publishing Orwell’s book Animal Farm because it included the pigsSquealer and Napoleon, or the children’s classic Charlotte’s Web that featured the porcine Wilbur.
It seems to me, and I may be wrong, that most of the cowardice about publishing the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, or anything that might inflame Muslims, comes from the UK. Want more evidence? Here’s Sky news presenter Dharshini David cutting off an eloquent and distressed Caroline Fourest, a contributor to Charlie Hebo, when Fourest tried to show the latest cover of the magazine on television. David then apologizes to any viewers offended by the image!
What craven cowardice! It’s time for Brits to call out their media for this kind of nonsense.
UPDATE: Reader Florian also noted that, in its report on sales of the New Charlie Hebdo, the American outlet NBC news also wouldn’t show the cover. Florian wrote me this along with sending the video link above:
I wonder if you noticed that NBC in reporting on the new Charlie Hebdo edition would not show the cover in last night’s newscast? The reporter holds a folded copy only showing the magazine name and they show a bundle of magazines but with a label covering the image. I emailed both my local NBC affiliate and the corporate contact address (contact.nbcnews@nbcuni.com) and called them cowards.
I listen to the NBC news and would have noticed this, but last night I was out to dinner.
So you thought that Pope Francis was a “modern” pope, resolved to drag the Vatican, kicking and screaming, into modernity? Well read this bulletin from CNN that just landed in my inbox:
Freedom of expression is a right, but there are limits when it comes to insulting faiths, Pope Francis told reporters today, referring to events surrounding the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris.
“One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith,” Francis said. Likewise, he said, people have religious liberty, but “one can’t kill in the name of God.” He said this after a reporter asked him about religious liberty and freedom of expression.
The pope made the comments on a trip to the Philippines.
“Onc cannot make fun of faith?” What world is he living in? Has Bill Donohue gotten the Pope’s ear? Sorry, Pope, but people have been making fun of faith for a long time, and it’s not going to stop. But Francis could at least reduce the level of derision by curbing the ludicrous tenets and excesses of his faith. How about de-classifying homosexual behavior as a “grave sin”?
If you are one of those who is fascinated by the pronoucements of this Pope, you can see more about his interview at the Catholic website Crux. It adds this about the Francis’s interview:
In particular, the pope said, one shouldn’t abuse freedom of expression to “provoke” or “offend” others deliberately, and also shouldn’t be surprised when they react to such taunts.
Even in the case of a dear friend, Francis said, “If he says a swear word against my mother, he’s going to get a punch in the nose. That’s normal.”
. . . Every religion has its dignity … and I cannot make fun of it,” the pope said. “In freedom of expression there are limits, like in regard to my mom.”
In sum, the pope appeared to be saying that while nothing can justify the kind of violence witnessed in the Paris attacks, that doesn’t mean “everything goes” in terms of how to present religion in public.
Stephen Barnard, endemic to Idaho, is now fishing in New Zealand, and he sent me this photo of a New Zealand brown trout (Salmo trutta) with the caption,
Is this wildlife? Your call.
I deemed it wildlife and asked if he released it or ate it. His response was that he releases every fish he catches. This one’s gorgeous, and lived to fight again:
Reader Dennis Hansen, a biologist who was lucky enough to work on the Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra, sends some photos and information:
I’ve dug into the Aldabra archives and found some more photos for you – see attached: The first two shots are of the (arguably) most beautiful frugivore of the atoll, at least from a colourful-is-best perspective, the Comoro Blue Pigeon, Alectroenassganzini minor. (Nah, what am I really saying is that the most gorgeous frugivore of the atoll is of course the giant tortoise!). The genus used to be more widespread across Western Indian Ocean islands, but went extinct in many cases after human arrival. Despite what looks like a small beak, they can really open wide and swallow quite large fruits whole. Being specialised frugivores, after mastication they regurgitate large seeds and hard bits, rather than wasting weight and time in flying around with all that dead weight in their guts.
Then a few shots of a frigatebird – a juvenile/female great frigatebird (Fregata minor, go figure), I think it’s that species, but am not 100% sure. This one enjoyed an afternoon shower on the island of Malabar, Aldabra. It spent 8-10 mins fluffing and spreading itself as much as possible in the rain, before the sun returned and dried the bird.
Finally, obviously, a shot of an Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea). This one, Toby, is my favourite, as he’s always up for a friendly cuddle—only not when he’s in the mood to headbutt or bite you instead. How do you tell the two apart? You don’t.
Dennis has contributed photos of Indian Ocean wildlife several times before; you can find his posts here.
I’ve put up my two favorite Steely Dan songs before, but I heard favorite on my iPod while walking in to work, and thought I’d share it. Anybody who wants to guess what it means is welcome to comment, for I have no fricking clue what it’s about, though drugs are clearly involved. (Typical of Dan songs!).
Have a listen to the unique rock/jazz fusion of this wonderful group in their rendition of “Dr. Wu” from the 1975 album “Katy Lied“. There are many interpretations, but lead singer Don Fagan has given some clues (see here). And the sax and piano are great.
Oh hell, I’d add another favorite, a song that doesn’t sound like anything in rock/pop: “Dirty Work” from the Dan’s first album, “Can’t Buy a Thrill” (1972). This one, at least, is comprehensible.
The Dan really shone only in the studio; their live performances pretty much sucked. I put up the original recordings because the live videos, with Fagan losing his voice, are not nearly as good.
Okay, reader Florian provided the answer to the spot-the-d*g quiz, along with a photo showing the cryptic Eddie. First the original photo.
Then the solution:
He’s to the right of the pool behind the shrubbery. You can just see his nose and forepaws. It’s warm in the sun there. He probably thinks I can’t see him.
