The Hall of Fire

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/world/africa/ebola.html Very interesting (and troubling) ethical questions posed by the limited supply of the drug ZMapp - and its administration to stricken Westerners rather than to Africans. In a highly anecdotal sense, the drug has correlated with short-term sur...

PtB's and and Beutlin's points illustrate how different the framing of laws and norms can be, depending on one's perspective. For the idealist who takes the position that there should be no war, and therefore refuses to consider intermediate norms that might mitigate (but not end) the real-time carn...

I wrote: "But I think it is morally offensive to insist that others must take this approach, to accept death rather than defend themselves against deadly threats - which insistence is frankly implicit in the position that all killing is wrong no matter what." And from there, y'all have con...

But no one is insisting on this. No one is prescribing what anyone else should choose. I find this reaction happens often when discussing pacifism. People will respond as if you are telling them what to do. Reponses like "Well, you can't expect ME to..." or "Well, if YOU were in such...

But while I agree with your general point, I don't think that should prevent people from expressing an opinion about the decisions that are made, whether it be to oppose the invasion of Iraq, or the economic blockade of Gaza, or Hamas's mostly ineffectual but still terrifying launching of rockets i...

I was just taken aback by that particular sentence. Of course it's a figure of speech, but a jarring one. It's a jarring one because it is that jarring reality that the non-pacifists are living with, as they act to defend their lives and physical well-being. I understand the general hypothetical in...

And for the moral absolutists in this thread, I would really like to see how many injuries and deaths of loved ones and days living under the threat of personal injury or death it would take before you reconsidered your absolutism. I hope you would not REALLY 'like to see' such a thing, nel. :( Obv...

Well, you know me, I adore abstract moral arguments. Fortunately, I can enjoy them while being perfectly safe from bomb and missiles. That second sentence is really the heart of it. I loathe and oppose all forms of killing and war, they are wrong under all circumstances: the moral purity and indisp...

Me too, Frelga. I didn't see it either, and I think that the insights of those for whom the conflict is three-dimensional and personal are particularly valuable in educating those who may be dealing in the realm of abstract ideas (or ideals).

Often the most difficult things I have to combat are feelings of exclusion (if everyone is going out to eat for lunch) and, honestly, boredom. I had a Baha'i colleague a few years ago. During his annual fast (2.5 weeks), he actually would come with us to work lunches so he would not feel excluded, ...

To the extent that the Supreme Court plans to wait for a circuit split to emerge before granting certiorari, I think it would be more coincidence than anything. There isn't yet a circuit split, and we are only two months away from the start of OT 2014; most of the cert grants for that term have been...

The Fourth Circuit has just upheld a decision of the Eastern District of Virginia holding that Virginia's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. The decision will not take effect until the time to file petitions for rehearing or to request a stay has passed (21 days). http://www.washingtonpost.c...

How in the world did I miss this post? Very wonderful to see you here Swiz. I have on occasion fasted for Yom Kippur although I am not generally observant. I like the idea of atonement and cleansing but I did not find fasting for a full day easy. Well, the full Yom Kippur fast is definitely more di...

So they technically aren't supposed to be doing that . The symbolism is compelling, but I know from our Winter of Love that even with the best intentions, that sort of thing can create confusion and heartache (as couples go from thinking they're married, to realizing they're not, to having to get ma...

Funny you posted this today as just yesterday I was casually googling around to see if I could find much supporting American's strongly held belief that the US is The Best Country in the World. By some measurements (but not by others) we still make the most money per person and of course we have th...

Wisconsin and Tenth Circuit are stayed, and Indiana marriages are currently going forward but are likely to be stayed by a higher court, so I'll leave our count where it is for now. This is definitely an historic day.

(So this started out as a two sentence attempt to speak up for V's perspective and say that I would write more later. And then I ended up writing more, so I'm going ahead and posting it without rereading, at 2 AM. Which I will assuredly regret later. When it comes to messageboard posting, I DEFINITE...

I don't even play video games, but from what I've seen, they are no more a "consumption" activity than running along the roads someone else built. I'm fine with splitting the thread, and I'll do this soon absent any objection. I definitely am not going to agree with any analogy between ga...

(sorry for the below osgiliation) Athletic activity has no intrinsic value either beyond entertainment, teamwork, and camaraderie. Human physiology demands we do it if we want to not die, but that's a bug. Someday with any luck we'll engineer that bug out, and our decedents will pity us for having t...

I disagree with this. I don't think there's any point in trying to convince you otherwise, but I don't want you to take my silence as agreement, so I'm just putting that out there. The assumption that all gaming is "unhealthy behaviour" is repellent to me. I don't believe that, any more t...