Quickies

Global Quickies: UK Science After Brexit, Rise in Abortions Due to Zika, and Letter Bomb to GMO Scientist in Italy

UK
The Brexit decision could have serious consequences for European and British scientists working in the UK and on the continent, including a drain of talent from the UK itself, according to researchers and organizations watching this decision.”

KUWAIT
Twitter trolls are reporting pro-LGBT Muslim women to their governments, where punishment can mean death”

SOUTH AMERICA
“South American countries affected by the Zika virus are experiencing an unprecedented rise in requests for abortions, a study published on Wednesday revealed.”

AUSTRALIA (From Robert)
“Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has weighed into the debate over same-sex marriage, saying advocates for traditional marriage have also endured hatred and bigotry.”

FRANCE
“A woman who claimed that witchcraft caused her to leave her baby to drown on a beach in northern France has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.”

AUSTRALIA (From Jack99)
“A Sydney man has pleaded guilty to making sexual threats on social media, in what is being seen as a cyber-bullying test case.”

UN
“Today [June 22nd] at the United Nations, the International Humanist and Ethical Union’s (IHEU) director of advocacy, Elizabeth O’Casey, read out a poem that is banned in Saudi Arabia on the grounds of ‘apostasy.’ The poem was delivered in front of the delegation from Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Human Rights Council.”

ITALY
“Italian police are trying to figure out who sent a letter containing an explosive powder to Europe’s food safety agency. A bomb squad earlier this week blew up the letter, which was addressed to a scientist who works on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The incident comes amid an ongoing and acrimonious debate over European regulation of GM crops and foods.”

AUSTRALIA
“A school program for gifted students is offering vaccination exemption forms and urging students to avoid Wi-Fi in schools, claiming that gifted kids have “extra neurological connections” which make them more susceptible to allergic reactions.”

INDIA
“Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has caused a public uproar by telling reporters that shooting his upcoming movie was so grueling that he felt like a raped woman.”

CAMEROON
Men who commit adultery could be sent to jail under a new law being debated by parliament in Cameroon. The law has the backing of President’s Paul Biya’s party and so might be approved. Women already face being jailed for between two to six months for having sexual relations outside marriage and men would face the same punishment.”

THE VATICAN
“The latest installment in the long history of religious myopia has Father Gabriele Amorth proclaiming, “Practicing yoga brings evil.” The Vatican’s former chief exorcist believes that yoga is the Devil’s work because “you think you are doing it for stretching your mind and body, but it leads to Hinduism.”.”

BELGIUM
“A gay Belgian man who claims his sexuality has led to “permanent suffering,” has asked for the right to die in the country where euthanasia has been legal since 2002.”

 

Featured image: Scientists for EU logo.

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

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One Comment

  1. In re: Australia.
    Holy shit! This tinfoil-hat crackpot has her ‘program’ in 30 schools, and has been peddling who know what lunacy for a couple of decades without being noticed.

    ‘Ms Slattery claims she is still alive because she moved into a caravan with no power and takes anti-radiation herbs.’

    ‘Principals have adopted the one-hour weekly sessions – which cost parents about a couple of hundred dollars per term – without being shown the course content. Fairfax Media has been told Ms Slattery refuses to show the principals the content, claiming this would breach her intellectual property.

    ‘Ms Slattery, who sent her statement to Fairfax Media via text because she deemed a phone conversation longer than six minutes unsafe,…’

    ‘Ms Slattery also links leukemia and brain tumours to radiation from Wi-Fi and microwaves and has written to Education Minister James Merlino about the need to remove microwave radiation from schools.

    ‘”If you have a very clever child beware-thinner skulls and more moisture for the microwaving,” she said on her website. ‘

    Thinner skulls and more moisture. Some phrenology too?

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