Paul is communications director for the Center for Inquiry, as well as an actor and musician. His blog is iMortal, and he tweets as @paulfidalgo, and the blog tweets as @iMortal_blog.
The opinions expressed on this blog are personal to Paul and do not necessarily represent the views of the Center for Inquiry.
Yesterday, in response to the violence and protests around the Muslim world, a coalition of the world’s regional international organizations released a joint statement (PDF) that they called a message of “peace and tolerance.” The statement, released by the European Union, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the African Union expressed “anguish” for Muslims offended by the infamous “Innocence of Muslims” video and unsurprisingly straddled the line between respecting free expression and a wish to curtail some… Read more
Though you won’t see the two major party nominees donning lab coats behind their podiums (podia?) hurling beakers at each other, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney participated in a “debate” on science-related issues. Well, more like their campaigns submitted written responses on science policy questions to the ScienceDebates.org organization, which were recently posted on their website. The good news is that it looks like the campaigns took these questions fairly seriously. In fact, it is Romney’s answers that, on the… Read more
Here’s something you probably didn’t know: The Washington National Cathedral has its own magazine. And here’s something you probably did know: Both of the presidential candidates really, really like faith. Cathedral Age has just published a dual Q&A (PDF) with President Obama and Mitt Romney, asking each the same set of questions about their faith and its role in public policy. Their answers will surely not shock you, but they are illuminating in some ways. For example, the President talks… Read more
The Times of India reports that an 11-year-old girl, Rimsha Masih, has been arrested for blasphemy, for alleged Koran desecration in Pakistan. In case you were one of the last people on Earth who was under the illusion that these blasphemy laws were somehow about protecting religious feelings or preventing religiously inspired violence, this should change your mind pretty quickly. Writes The Times: The girl was arrested on Friday by personnel from a women’s police station after a man named… Read more
This letter will be sent to Alexander Aan via the Atheist Alliance International. Dear Alexander, Since we know you’re at least somewhat aware of some of the efforts being made on your behalf around the world by folks in the secular movement, I think I can safely assume you’ve been informed of the petition my employing organization, the Center for Inquiry, launched at the website of the White House asking the President of the United States (or his administration generally)… Read more
