Recently, I finished reading Lawrence Wright’s new book, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollwood, & the Prison of Belief, about Scientology. It’s a lucid history and examination of the movement. [More . . . ]
Excellent illustrated comparison of the concerns of Aldous Huxley and George Orwell.
Amazing story of a well-preserved 500 year old Inca girl who was sacrificed 500 years ago. Sad story too.
Judging from the condition of the body, it is believed that she was drugged and left to die in the mountains. It would not have taken much time for her to die due to the high exposure. The Incan high priests took their victims to high mountaintops for sacrifice. As the journey was extremely long and arduous, especially so for the younger victims, coca leaves were fed to them to aid them in their breathing so as to allow them to reach the burial site alive. Upon reaching the burial site, the children were given an intoxicating drink to minimize pain, fear, and resistance, then killed them either by strangulation, a blow to their head or by leaving them to lose consciousness in the extreme cold and die of exposure.
I've written about homeopathy before (and see James Randi overdosing on homeopathic medicine). In this short video, Richard Dawkins illustrates the meaning of a popular homeopathic dilution rate of 30C.
This impressive speech suggests that the United States is not the "greatest country in the world." But what would Jeff Daniels know? He's only relying on facts.