The Humanist Symposium

To my regular readers: Not too long ago, I (and thousands of others) stumbled across an article titled Atheists and Anger, an articulate, well-thought-out piece which I highly recommend. It had the welcome side effect of introducing me to the wonderful writing of Greta Christina. (Whose themes range far beyond atheism and are not for… Continue reading The Humanist Symposium

Religious Belief vs. Health Care – Tolerating the Intolerable in Italy

Britain’s Telegraph carries an opinion piece titled If Muslim doctors are intolerant, let them go, according to which a few young Muslim medical trainees have been allowed to refuse to see female bodies or to treat alcohol-related problems, on religious grounds. Sainsbury’s, a UK grocery chain, allows its checkout staff to refuse to scan alcohol… Continue reading Religious Belief vs. Health Care – Tolerating the Intolerable in Italy

Ramadan

Laura, the American who lives in Paraguay, wakes me up to tell me that it’s 4: time to eat. For several weeks she has been going with one Alamdar, a very good photographer, Afghan. Ramadan has recently started and Laura, for solidarity with her new love, has decided to keep him company: "I’m not Muslim,… Continue reading Ramadan

Papa Fan: A Satirist for the Modern Papacy

Thanks to a tip from Ross, I have for some time been following a very funny fotolog by Francesco Rabaglia, aka Papa Fan (papa is Italian for pope, differentiated from papà – dad – by the stress). It’s hard to see the humor unless you understand Italian well: basically the writer is putting funny captions… Continue reading Papa Fan: A Satirist for the Modern Papacy