It was the first Manowar record I ever bought: Into Glory Ride. It began with the sounds of a couple entwined in sexual copulation only to be discovered by the sixteen year old girl’s none-too-happy parents. The boy tapping into the forbidden fruit gave the long established yet uncomfortable excuse that, unfortunately for many parents, happens to be true…she wanted it. Alas, this same excuse, though useless when dealing with an aggrieved father and his 12 gauge shotgun, works wonders as a defense in rape prosecutions throughout that part of the world that operates under Muslim law. In fact, once it is ascertained that the victim of a rape “consented” to the sexual act she can then be prosecuted herself, for that too is against sharia law. If you are a male unable to restrain your sexual appetite, then perhaps you should consider making Islam your religion of choice.
THE POLITICS OF SCIENCE
Scientists, not unlike journalists, are arrogant people. No, its not because they are, as some would have you believe, smarter than the rest of us. It really has more to do with their perceptions of their reputations. Science, we are repeatedly told, is concerned with facts and data and therefore it is supposedly immune to the sort of criticism leveled at the likes of politicians and clergymen. Unfortunately, scientists are, in fact, human and therefore susceptible to the same biases and temptations that befall the rest of us. Is it then shocking to find out that scientists would cast their “precious” reputations before swine and bias their research in favor of a particularly desired outcome, especially if by doing so they would gain both fame and the financing needed to continue their pursuits? Of course not.
