1. Workers' Religious Freedom vs. Patients' Rights

Comment #222951 by Xavier on August 1, 2008 at 6:42 am

As a jew working in a hospital biochemistry laboratory, I know that the blood of heretics frequently comes to me for testing. I know that it is not my place to judge these christians and that to harm them would be wrong.
However, if god is punishing them for their heretical ways, who am I to interfere. I run the required tests on all blood samples and if the results are normal or as expected, I report them normally. But, occasionally I see an unusual result indicating an unexpected, acute and life threatening condition. I put it aside so I don't thwart the god in his vengeance - I can't be sure that the life-threatening condition is god's work but why should I take the risk?

Not a true story...yet

2. U.S. Congress Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith

Comment #99017 by Xavier on December 15, 2007 at 8:15 am

The brilliance of this resolution is that, even if a politician dared to vote for the separation of church and state, they'd still not dare to be seen to vote against christmas!

The Point of the resolution is to get a foot in the door - it'll be that much easier to slip in a tiny wording change. Furthermore, it could be used to block other 'secularist' legislation, support things like religious iconography in public buildings and harassing public officials who refuse to bend the knee.

3. Fruit fly parasite's gene invasion raises questions over evolution

Comment #69214 by Xavier on September 10, 2007 at 2:56 am

Here is a link to University of Rochesters press release.
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2963

It says the same as the Physorg link above. However, linked to it is another article which is even more relevant to evolution.
Title:Parasite's Sperm-Encryption Scheme Keeps Species Apart
http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=174

The article describes the way in which the wolbachia bacteria directly affects the passing of its hosts genes into the next generation by stopping the development of an embryo created with an uninfected partner. This promotes speciation by a mechanism other than evolution (though evolution remains a vital part of the system - otherwise the raw fact of speciation would have no consequences in the long term)

Even more interesting is the definition of a species; if the whole wolbachia genome is being reproduced both on its own and within and by the hosts owns reproductive system, the parasite genes must have evolved some synergistic phenotype. Thus the parasite genome is evolving in the direction of the fitness of the host. Does that mean the parasite and host are in some sense the same 'replication vehicle', part of the same individual?

Perhaps the synergistic effect of the integrated genome is precisely that it blocks other wolbachia strains from infecting the host. The link between the integrated genome and the external, free-living one is immediately broken when their evolutionary imperatives become different. The host, with its new-look genome and predilection for others of its own kind becomes an instant new species.

4. Atheists come in last

Comment #22829 by Xavier on February 23, 2007 at 1:34 pm

A possible interpretation of this poll is that atheists, being open-minded and inclusive, would not consider religion a disqualifying attribute whereas the closed-minded religionists are more concerned that their fiefdom retains its social and political dominance than they are about selecting the more appropriateperson or policies for their leader. If this is the case it suggests that almost half of those polled are atheist.

Far more concerning is that more that a tenth would not support a candidate only because she is female!