Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Speaks at Columbia University

 
Tomorrow President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran will speak at Columbia University. There are some who argue that universities should not invite controversial speakers. There are some who argue that Iran is the "enemy"—a member of the axis of evil—and once an enemy has been identified, and vilified, you must never allow them to speak in their own defense. It's especially horrible, according to these people, to allow a publicly-funded university to sponsor such a person.

Those people are dead wrong. Fortunately, the President of Columbia University has the gumption to stand up to those who would destroy the universities and free society [President Bollinger's Statement About President Ahmadinejad's Scheduled Appearance].

I would like to add a few comments on the principles that underlie this event. Columbia, as a community dedicated to learning and scholarship, is committed to confronting ideas—to understand the world as it is and as it might be. To fulfill this mission we must respect and defend the rights of our schools, our deans and our faculty to create programming for academic purposes. Necessarily, on occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most or even all of us will find offensive and even odious. We trust our community, including our students, to be fully capable of dealing with these occasions, through the powers of dialogue and reason.

I would also like to invoke a major theme in the development of freedom of speech as a central value in our society. It should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible.

That such a forum could not take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here. To commit oneself to a life—and a civil society—prepared to examine critically all ideas arises from a deep faith in the myriad benefits of a long-term process of meeting bad beliefs with better beliefs and hateful words with wiser words. That faith in freedom has always been and remains today our nation’s most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is America at its best.

If you don't understand this then you don't understand anything about the purpose of a university and the importance of listening to the other side.

What Happens When Alternative Medicine Doesn't Work?

 
Skeptico reports that Merck has just pulled a new AIDs drig because tests were showing that it didn't work [When will CAM do this?]. That's the way the system is supposed to work.

The sound, effective kind of medicine is based on science and evidence. Medicine that is not evidence-based is called "alternative." "complementary" or "traditional" medicine. Don't be fooled by these terms. They all mean the same thing; namely, that the medicine doesn't pass the test of evidence-based.

Skepico asks when was the last time that an alternative treatment was canceled because it wasn't working? There are lots of examples in the posting.

Homeopaths pulling (say) Belladonna for the treatment of urinary tract infections, because they determined it doesn’t work for that.

Astronomy Picture of the Day: Sept. 22, 2007

 
Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day is a bit unusual. It shows a time in the distant future when I'll be able to drive from Toronto to Cape Town in just a few days. Unfortunately, Cape Town will no longer be on the cape.

Jena, Louisiana

 
Jena is a small town in Louisiana. It was named for Jena in Germany, the site of a famous victory by Napoleon in 1806. I'm a (very amateur) student of military history so I'm familiar with this battle [Battle of Jena-Auerstedt].

The American town is in the news because of allegations of racism at the local high school. The local prosecutor seems to have been motivated by less than honorable motives in charging six young black men with attempted murder in a schoolyard fight.

While watching coverage on television, I was struck by the modern name of the town. It's pronounced "Geena" in Louisiana. There's nothing wrong with this. They can call pronounce the name of the town however they want. But just for the record, the name of the German city, and the battle, is pronounced "yaene." You can hear it here: Jena.

The Dangers of Creationism in Education

 
The Committee on Culture, Science and Education of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe has issued a report on The dangers of creationism in education. One of the most interesting parts of this report is that the committee does not back away from labeling Intelligent Design as a form of creationism. For example, in the opening paragraphs the report says,

Creationism in any of its forms, such as “intelligent design”, is not based on facts, does not use any scientific reasoning and its contents are definitely inappropriate for science classes.

However, some people call for creationist theories to be taught in European schools alongside or even in place of the theory of evolution. From a scientific view point, there is absolutely no doubt that evolution is a central theory for our understanding of life on Earth.

The Assembly calls on education authorities in member states to promote scientific knowledge and the teaching of evolution and to oppose firmly any attempts at teaching creationism as a scientific discipline.

Later on they define creationism using a great deal of common sense.

Creationists question the scientific character of certain items of knowledge and argue that the theory of evolution is only one interpretation among others. They accuse scientists of not providing enough evidence to establish the theory of evolution as scientifically valid. On the contrary, they defend their own statements as scientific. None of this stands up to objective analysis. ...

Creationism has many contradictory aspects. The “intelligent design” idea, which is the latest, more refined version of creationism, does not deny a certain degree of evolution but claims that this is the work of a superior intelligence. Though more subtle in its presentation, the doctrine of intelligent design is no less dangerous.

I will continue to refer to Intelligent Design Creationism as an accurate representation of the views of people like Dembski, Behe, Phillips etc. Their allies, like Denyse O'Leary, are also creationists by my definition. They aren't Young Earth Creationists, they are Intelligent Design Creationists.

Readers might recall that I have been accused of inventing a new definition of "creationism" [Creationism Continuum]. Some people, even evolutionists, think that the only creationists are those who believe in the literal truth of Genesis. They maintain that it is wrong to refer to intelligent design proponents as creationists. Obviously, I disagree and I'm not alone. In fact, I'd go one step farther than the Committee on Culture, Science and Education, I'd say that Theistic Evolutionists are also creationists because they believe in a creator.

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[Hat Tip: Panda's Thumb]

MMP: The Belgium Connection

 
I've encountered many critics of the Mixed Member Proportional system who are uttering the same mantra. It includes the phrase "Belgium has 33 parties." I think this is meant to be a criticism of the MMP system. Those who mention the mantra often associate it with the fact that Belgian politicans have had trouble forming an effective government since the June 10, 2007 election.

I suspect there's a common source for this Belgian story. Does anyone know where it comes from?

Here are the facts as I know them. True, there were 33 parties contesting the last election in Belgium. But only 11 of them won seats in parliament (see below). In Canada there were 5 parties with seats in parliament for most of the 1990's and that was with a First-Past-the-Post system. In the last federal election in Canada there were 21 parties seeking election [Canadian Political Parties]. This includes my favorite, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. The Green Party didn't win a single seat in spite of the fact that it got 4.5% of the vote. The Bloc got 51 seats with 10.5% of the vote. We have a minority government in Ottawa.

Belgium has a full Proportional Representation system. In Ontario we're being asked to consider a Mixed Member Proportional system. They aren't the same thing. The Belgian example doesn't seem to be particularly relevant to the Ontario debate.

Life in Modern Iraq.

 
Maclean's magazine has the story by Patrick Graham [How George Bush became the new Saddam].

It was embarrassing putting my flak jacket on backwards and sideways, but in the darkness of the Baghdad airport car park I couldn’t see anything. “Peterik, put the flak jacket on,” the South African security contractor was saying politely, impatiently. “You know the procedure if we are attacked.”

I didn’t. He explained. One of the chase vehicles would pull up beside us and someone would drag me out of the armoured car, away from the firing. If both drivers were unconscious—nice euphemism—he said I should try to run to the nearest army checkpoint. If the checkpoint was American, things might work out if they didn’t shoot first. If it was Iraqi . . . he didn’t elaborate.

Arriving in Baghdad has always been a little weird. Under Saddam Hussein it was like going into an orderly morgue; when he ran off after the U.S.-led invasion of March 2003 put an end to his Baathist party regime, the city became a chaotic mess. I lived in Iraq for almost two years, but after three years away I wasn’t quite ready for just how deserted and worn down the place seemed in the early evening. It was as if some kind of mildew was slowly rotting away at the edges of things, breaking down the city into urban compost.

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[Hat Tip: Jennifer smith Best Cover. Ever]

Street Art

 

BigHeathenMike says this is the coolest street art he's ever seen[Wow]. Who could argue with that? Go to Mike's Weekly Skeptic Rant to find out where this drawing came from.

Avery, MacLeod and McCarty (1944)

 

This weeks classic on John Dennehy's blog is the famous Avery, MacLeod and McCarty (1944) paper [This Week's Citation Classic]. If you already know about this paper then wander on over to The Evolutionary Biologist whenever you get a chance and refresh your memory. If you don't know what the heck we're talking about then get your butt over there immediately and correct this major deficiency in your education!

Not only was Oswald Avery one of the greatest scientists of the modern era, he was also a Canadian!

What's She Holding in her Hand?

 
Check out Eva's blog easternblot for a cartoon she just posted [Scientist Illustration]. What is the scientist holding in her hand? Try and figure it out for yourself before reading Eva's answer.

Vote for MMP

 


I'm voting for the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system on October 10th [Vote for MMP] [Mixed Member Proportional Electoral System].

See Bloggers for MMP for a complete list.

Canadian Dollar = American Dollar

 
Today, for the first time in 30 years the value of the Canadian dollar (loonie) reached parity with the American dollar. It's big news in Canada. Most people think it's a good thing but it's not necessarily a good thing at all. A falling (collapsing?) US currency may be good for America and bad for Canada. [Click on the chart to enlarge.]

If you want to see one reason why this isn't good for Canadians see Jennifer Smith's posting The Parity Blues.

New Panda's Thumb

 
Check it out at Panda's Thumb.

A lot of people put a great deal of work into the upgrade but the person who deserves the most praise is Reed Cartwright of De Rurum Natura (and Panda's Thumb). You can thank him by going to Upgrade Starts Today.

In case you didn't know. The unofficial mascot at the Panda's Thumb is Prof. Steve Steve. Isn't he a handsome fellow? I think he's a biochemist—or possibly a paleontologist. I always get them mixed up.

Reed Cartwright is the father of Prof. Steve Steve. He's also the father of Prof. Steve Steve and Prof. Steve Steve. They have left home to gallivant around the world but they can often be found in North Carolina or Oakland CA.

There are quite a few bloggers on Panda's Thumb. I don't have a complete list but they include most of the leading lights in the fight against creationism in the USA. Some of them are adaptationists but don't let that deter you. It's good to hear what the other side has to say from time to time. (The adaptationists usually refer to the blog as Mt. Improbable. The unofficial mascot of the adaptationists is Prof. Dick Dick. )

If you aren't reading Panda's Thumb on a regular basis, now is a good time to start. There should be lots of postings as soon as the site is ready.

Mixed Member Proportional Electoral System

 
The people of Ontario will vote in a referendum on October 10th. The question on the ballot is whether to adopt a new voting mechanism called "Mixed Member Proportional." The new system is described on the government website [Ontario is facing a big decision].

Here's a brief summary of the new system.

If this system is accepted, Ontarians will have two votes in future elections: one for a ‘Local Member’ and one for a political party.

The provincial legislature would have 129 seats: Local Members’ would fill 90 seats while ‘List Members’ would fill 39 seats.

The political party with the largest number of seats in the legislature, including ‘Local Members’ and ‘List Members’, is asked to form a government.

In each electoral district, one vote would be used to elect a 'Local Member' using a First-Past-the-Post system. The candidate with the most votes in an electoral district wins.

The other vote would be for a political party. Votes for parties will be used to determine the number of 'List Members' each party gets. This is the proportional representation part.

If a political party is entitled to more seats than it won locally, 'List Members' are elected to make up the difference. 'List Members' can only be elected from a political party that received more than 3% of these votes.

In the end, a political party's overall share of seats will roughly equal its share of the total votes for parties in the province.

Anyone who meets the rules for eligibility can become a candidate for election as a ‘Local Member’. Some candidates are called “independents” while others represent a political party.

‘List Members’ are candidates from any registered political party. Before an election each political party prepares an ordered list of candidates they would like considered as ‘List Members’.

These lists, and the way they are created, would be made public well in advance of any election in a Mixed Member Proportional system.

I favor the new system because my vote will no longer be wasted if I don't like the candidate who is going to win in my riding. Furthermore, I like the idea that the new system will be more representative of the voters wishes. In many cases this will lead to minority governments and coalitions but that's what we want.

I also like the idea that members can be elected from the lists. While the fear is that this will favor party hacks, the fear is outweighed by the major benefit in my opinion. People who would be excellent additions to the legislature could be elected even if they are not good campaigners. Leaders and cabinet members/critics, if elected from the list, would not have to divide their time between government business and constituency business.

Perhaps some of you who have experienced this system first hand could comment on the benefits and drawbacks? In order to pass the referendum has to be accepted by 60 per cent of all votes cast across Ontario and 50 per cent or more of the ballots cast in at least 64 of 107 ridings. There's a poll running at Mixed Member Proportional. As of today the new system has 60% of the votes.

Calling All Adaptationists (Again)

 
Have I got a treat for you! Before getting to the special excitement, let me congratulate all of you adapationists for your outstanding performance in the last contest [Calling All Adaptationists]. You did a marvelous job of making up stories to explain homosexuality in humans. Rudyard Kipling would have been proud [Just-So Stories].

Your mission for today, should you choose to accept it, is to explain odorous urine (smelly pee).

Here's the data. Some people produce odorous urine when they eat asparagus. They can transform the chemical, asparagusic acid (1,2-dithiolane-4-carboxylic acid), into smelly compounds like methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, bis(methylthio)methane, dimethyl sulfoxide, and dimethyl sulfone (Mitchell, 2001). Other people can eat asparagus 'till the cows come home and their urine remains as pleasantly smelling as usual. The allele for producing the smell is an autosomal dominant trait.

There's an additional complication. Some people can't smell the odorous urine. There's no linkage between excretors and perceivers (able to smell the urine). Some can excrete but not smell and some can excrete and smell. All permutations exist in the population.

This ability to excrete smelly compounds and the ability to smell them are both examples of visible phenotypes. They're not just some neutral variation hiding away in junk DNA. Therefore, many (most?) adaptationists will certainly insist that it has to have an adaptive role in human evolution.

This is untilled soil, as far as I can gather. For some reason the experts haven't published the explanation. At least there's nothing I could find after hunting on the internet. You could become famous if your story makes sense. Let's see what you can come up with. I'll get you started ....

Once upon a time there were naked hunter men running on the savannah while their gatherer wives collected asparagus in the deep water by the sea shore ....

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Mitchell, S.C. (2001)
Food Idiosyncrasies: Beetroot and Asparagus. Drug Metabolism and Disposition 4(2):539-543.