iFasting, Mouth Timer, Grumbli, Foodless Lite, Pizza Prison, Fork Busters. These are the names of companies which are based on a current craze in Silicon Valley: Fasting. Silicon Valley is filled with young, affluent, pampered, intelligent people who, among other things, are always on the lookout of what could improve their comfort, physical, emotional or intellectual—and for many it also includes what Continue reading “Fasting and Silicon Valley”
Category: Better Relations
On Religious Freedom
A military chaplain, the Rev Ronald Apollo, sued the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to be able to practice his religious beliefs and won. BOP wanted all personnel to carry pepper spray, including chaplains, so that if attacked by an inmate they could protect themselves. Apollo challenged the rule and now prison chaplains will no longer have to carry pepper spray. That to some may be just another example of how the Christian right asserts its values on the society, but it is more than that. First of Continue reading “On Religious Freedom”
School Shootings
When will we love our children more than we love guns? As you’ll probably remember on Tuesday January 23rd 2018, the 11th shooting occurred at a school this year. This time it was in a small town in Kentucky and there were two—probably only two to some. The NYT article describing the incident reminded us of other incidents: “On Monday, a school cafeteria outside Dallas and a charter school parking lot in New Orleans. And before that a school bus in Iowa, a college campus in Southern Continue reading “School Shootings”
Midwives and Racial Implications
People who do not belong to minorities often have difficulties understanding why people of color see discrimination when they see none. Here is an example that I hope can be helpful in bridging that gap. It used to be that midwives in the US delivered all babies. During slavery they were black or Native American women. Around the turn of the 19th century as the medical profession changed with what is Continue reading “Midwives and Racial Implications”