It is summer, the kids are off, and time to write dwindles in the face of sun and golf. Nonsense knows no season, and in my readings this week I came across the phrase “the undeniable power of the placebo.” … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Consumer Reports drops the ball on alternative medicine
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve intermittently read Consumer Reports, relying on it for guidance in all manner of purchase decisions. CR has been known for rigorous testing of all manner of consumer products and the rating of various … Continue reading
Varicella Vaccination Program Success
One of the basic human “needs” is the desire for simplicity. We have limited cognitive resources, and when we feel overwhelmed by complexity one adaptive strategy is to simplify things in our mind. This can be useful as long as … Continue reading
Angell’s Review of Psychiatry
Marcia Angell has written a two-part article for The New York Review of Books: “The Epidemic of Mental Illness: Why?” and “The Illusions of Psychiatry.” It is a favorable review of 3 recent books: The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the … Continue reading
On the Orwellian language and bad science of the anti-vaccine movement: “SmartVax” versus “MaxVax”?
If there’s one thing that’s true of the human race, it’s that when it comes to persuasion language is has power. Words have power. Just ask the advertising industry or politicians, who rely on their skills manipulating language to persuade … Continue reading
Technology Partner Spotlight: ClickTale
Welcome to the next installment in our blog series highlighting the companies in SoftLayer’s new Technology Partners Marketplace. These Partners have built their businesses on the SoftLayer Platform, and we’re excited for them to tell their stories. New Partners will … Continue reading
Globalization and Hosting: The World Wide Web is Flat
Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, on August 3, 1492, with the goal of reaching the East Indies by traveling West. He fortuitously failed by stumbling across the New World and the discovery that the world was round – … Continue reading
Under the Hood of ‘The Cloud’
When we designed the CloudLayer Computing platform, our goal was to create an offering where customers would be able to customize and build cloud computing instances that specifically meet their needs: If you go to our site, you’re even presented … Continue reading
Book Excerpt: Praying for Peace Around the Globe
Prayers for peace for all creation and for a decade of nonviolence.
Feature Film Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love.
A sparkling and well-acted comedy about three generations of characters seeking the holy grail of love and pleasure.
Feature Film Review: Cowboys & Aliens
A rousing action drama that mixes film genres and comes up with a winner propelled by strong performances by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.
Feature Film Review: The Interrupters
A riveting documentary about three committed, sensitive, and compassionate warriors for peace whose heroism has made a difference in the lives of people in inner city Chicago.
Book Excerpt: Dignity for All
Robert Fuller and Pamela Gerloff with principles that will help to end rankism and respect others’ dignity.
Spiritual Literacy Blog: The Turtle
Rick Bass writing on the spiritual practice of reverence after an encounter with a turtle.
DVD Feature Film Review: Heartbeats
A stylized and compelling portrait of the fever of romantic love in all it stages from immediate attraction through the yearning for reciprocation.
San Francisco Circumcision Ban Struck from Ballot – International Business Times
Ha’aretz San Francisco Circumcision Ban Struck from BallotInternational Business TimesA judge blocked a controversial ballot measure on Thursday that would have banned the circumcisions of minors in San Francisco, citing religious freedom and laws regulating medical procedures in deciding it … Continue reading
NGO to organize free medical screening in Hohoe Municipality – Ghana News Agency
NGO to organize free medical screening in Hohoe MunicipalityGhana News AgencyHo, July 29, GNA – Freedom Aid Ghana (FAG), an Accra-based health and education oriented non-governmental organization, is to organize free medical screening for residents of the Ve areas in … Continue reading
Verdict in Indonesia: A Disturbing Blow to Religious Freedom and Pluralism
The disproportionately lenient sentences handed down today by an Indonesian court against twelve people accused of brutally killing three members of the Ahmadiyya community sends a disturbing signal that religious minorities will not be adequately protected in Indonesia, according to … Continue reading
Freedom House Slams Return of Prominent Vietnamese Activist to Prison
Freedom House condemns the Vietnamese government’s decision to return dissident and Catholic priest, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly to prison, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. The July 25 arrest and conviction of Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly … Continue reading
Freedom House Concerned about Implications of Foreign Affairs Legislation
Freedom House is concerned that HR 2583, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act of FY 2012 passed by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday, could have damaging and far-reaching effects on the way U.S. foreign assistance is administered. The legislation … Continue reading