Megachurch leader perjures himself over sexual coercion

Megachurch leader perjures himself over sexual coercion.

Georgia sex scandal:

An 80-year-old leader of a suburban megachurch who is at the center of a sex scandal has been charged with lying under oath for saying he had sex outside marriage with only one other woman, court documents show.....

Former church employee Mona Brewer is suing Paulk, his brother and the church on allegations that Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer.

But the results of a court-ordered paternity test revealed in October that Paulk is the biological father of his brother's son, D.E. Paulk, who is now head pastor at the church. As part of Brewer's lawsuit, eight women have given sworn depositions that they were coerced into sexual relationships with Earl Paulk.

A glimpse into bisexuality

PZ Myers at Pharyngula has a long, detailed description of new research into the sexual behavior of fruit flies. It seems that a certain mutation called genderblind, related to the biochemistry of the nervous system, causes male fruit flies to pay equal attention to unresponsive males and females. It's possible that the mutation makes the nerves more sensitive to stimulation.


The diagram above shows the results of the mutation. A male fly (at the top) is given a choice between a male or female fly. The male is on your left, the female on your right.

• If the decider is an ordinary fly or wild type ("WT"), he chooses the female. His choices are shown as the black bar at the bottom.
• In the middle are the choices by a genderblind ("gb") fly. You can see that more than half the time he chooses the male fly.

For a glimpse into just what's going on here, follow the link.

What computers can swirl, computers can unswirl

Pictures on the Internet led to the arrest of a Canadian gay pedophile in Thailand. He or someone else posted pictures of him raping young boys, with his head digitally "swirled" so that the face was unrecognizable. Germany's federal crimes office reversed the process (they won't say exactly how) and Interpol released a picture of the culprit. He was recognized and a recent picture was added to the clues. Now, he has been arrested and it's time to face the music. No more posting poems about how lonely street kids admire the reassuring "prowess" of the foreign visitor.

The suspect had been a seminary student. He was a teacher of English as a second language in Korea when the warrant was issued.

Men who are attracted to children of either sex tend to go where there are children. They might be youth group leaders, teachers, ministers. Men who are conflicted about their sexuality might turn to religion in their efforts to deal with the problem. They might become priests, especially the non-marrying kind. Please warn your children. If someone touches you, move away instantly. Say "No!" loudly. Say loud and clear that this is wrong and you'll tell their boss and your family. Keep backing off. Leave. Do not be intimidated by authority. They'll pick on someone else.

Washroom cartoon

Another gay sex scandal for Republicans: perhaps they need separate washrooms?

Rate your blog

Mingle² - New York Singles

Mine is PG for "Parental Guidance" [is] suggested, because I said "ass" and "limbs"--in these comments on a book review:

"He does not have a hypothesis. He has a Wild-assed Guess."

and

"... in the case of morphogenesis, we already know that limbs do not form by pinching off from a torus - they bud from the embryonic body. We also know quite a lot about how Hox genes help to guide formation of limbs by providing chemical gradients that informs cells of where they are in the body."

Oddly enough, the rating mechanism ignored "The dog sired puppies on a single-nosed bitch."

STDs travel in packs

Research by Dr. Peter Bearman maps the sexual liaisons of teenagers in one secondary school for eighteen months. Many of them are at risk for STDs but probably don't know it.

The blue lines indicate possible infection or re-infection. The grey arrows indicate one-way transmission.

Unusual conference location

In my search for a polyamory logo to illustrate an article about denunciations of same-sex marriage, I came across a nice expanding heart. It illustrated a polyamory conference that is going on right now.... in French Lick, Indiana. It's tempting to think that the organizers were attracted by the name of the town.

Absurd argument for bigotry

A news article states that European conservatives, encouraged by American visitors, is using the tired old "slippery slope" argument. It goes something like this: "If you let your kids eat peas, before you know it they'll be out grazing on the lawn." Here's the link:

According to leaders of a recent conference dominated by "pro-family" Europeans and Americans, Europe's increasing acceptance of same-sex unions is the top of a slippery slope that will ultimately leave the institution of marriage meaningless.

"Once same-sex marriage is institutionalized, other forms of marriage will quickly be affirmed as well, such as polygamy, polyamory, endogamy and child marriage," Bull said. He added: "Make no mistake. Marriage as we know it will be destroyed if we make all relationships legal."

So if you let same-sex couples who love each other make a legal, public commitment, then polyamorous people who believe in sex for fun without monogamy will bother to get married to do their orgies? It's not my cup of tea, but I don't think I would bother.

Living the Scientific Life: Gay flamingoes raise born-again chick

Grrlscientist has a fascinating article about a mated pair of male flamingoes that desperately wanted to be parents. (Birds often pair up by performing an elaborate greeting ceremony together; physical mating is relatively unemotional for them.) These males were known to chase other flamingoes from their nests and steal eggs.

Science has come to their rescue. An orphaned chick was placed in an empty egg shell, whence it could "peep" and greet its prospective parents. The loaded shell was placed in the males' nest. They bonded with the chick in the egg and when it broke loose, they adopted it. Now everyone's happy.

Follow the link to read the fascinating details.

A billion dollars wasted for abstinence-only sex education

President Bush could have looked to Canada for a bad example. The only province to have abstinence-only sex education was Saskatchewan, which also had the highest rate of teenage pregnancy. He could have asked me. I would have reminded him that we can't even stop people from littering, so how are we going to stop them from having sex?

Now a big study in the U.S. finds that pushing abstinence doesn't work. It found that there was no difference in number of sexual partners, age of first having sex, or use of contraception between students who get standard sex education, which includes birth control and condom use, and abstinence-only sex education, which does not cover contraception. I guess the little dears learn through other channels. I conclude that Canadian students listen to their teachers better, since standard sex education seems to result in fewer babies.

Oh, yes: other studies have shown that there's no difference in sexually transmitted diseases between the two groups, either. About the only way that abstinence students are ahead is that they're more likely to have anal sex on the grounds that it doesn't count. Now there's a target worth spending your education dollars on!

Harper government appoints conservatives to Reproductive Health board

From Saturday's Globe and Mail
Critics troubled by new fertility panel
Carolyn Abraham writes:

The federal government announced on the eve of the holiday weekend it has appointed a new body that could have a major impact on the way babies are made in fertility clinics and the future of stem-cell research in Canada.

The 10-member board will oversee Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, a federal agency with the power to influence both Parliament and medical practices in the most promising and controversial areas of health care and science — fertility treatments and research on human embryonic stem cells.

Both areas have traditionally divided liberals from social conservatives, and as word of the new board appointees spread among doctors and researchers yesterday, so did a chill of concern.

The board is to be headed by former Tory premier and family doctor John Hamm, with Dr. Elinor Wilson, a former CEO of the Canadian Public Health Association, as president. The board's eight members include those who have in the past spoken out against abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and the way in which stem-cell scientists operate.

The board does not, however, appear to include any stem-cell scientists or fertility experts.

Readers' comments here.

By contrast, the Stem Cell Oversight Committee has guidelines that specify its composition:

The Committee will consist of 12 members as follows:

* Stem cell biology & therapeutics, developmental biology, or embryology (2);
* Health care (in vitro fertilization specialist - e.g. physician, nurse, social worker) (1);
* Ethics (2) (it is preferred that one of these be an academic with training in theology or religious studies);
* Law (1);
* Social science (1);
* Member of a health charitable organization (1);
* An international member with expertise in stem cell research policy (1)
* In vitro fertilization patient (1); and
* Members of the public who are not advocates for any specific interest group and have an interest in health research (2).

In addition, for the first year of operation of the Committee, there will be 2 ex-officio non-voting members from the ad hoc working group on stem cell research. These members could be either scientific or ethics experts and will ensure continuity and understanding of the Guidelines.

Virgin birth among Komodo dragons

Recently, two different female Komodo dragons, which had never been kept with males, laid viable eggs with all their genetic material deriving from the female.

Komodo dragons are the world's largest species of monitor lizard.

Cephalopodmas argument?

It looks as though these two nautiloids are fighting over a FSM tree ornament; but, in fact, they're mating.

Picture from Tentacles by James Martin.

Life without birth control in Romania

It's the Law of Unintended Consequences all over again:

...shocking images of abandoned children in Romania - tied to walls, rocking from side to side, malnourished, and left to live like animals..... thousands of children living in appalling conditions in Romania's institutions.... children who are sold because their mothers can't afford to keep them. Because the trade is illegal, anyone, including paedophiles can buy them.

God hates South Dakota

South Dakota is suffering from a record-breaking drought. In July, the governor, "Coathanger Mike." declared a week of prayer for rain. It's been dry ever since. If "somebody" is being punished by the On High, maybe it's the state that is determined to make incest victims bear their own siblings.

Hat tip to World Went Down.

Gender differences

Today, I discovered a potpourri of differences between men and women:

Women underestimate their expertise in using the World-Wide Web:

Women tend to rate themselves significantly less competent at navigating the Internet compared to how men rate themselves. But in reality, both sexes are equally skilled given similar experience and education levels, a new study finds.... The findings are similar to other ways in which women rate themselves low in science and math abilities.... "If, as we found, the women in our study view themselves as less skilled than do men despite essentially equivalent skills, then women may be less likely to take advantage of the kinds of online content that could enrich or broaden their lives, whether it's enrolling in an online class or finding up-to-date consumer information," said Eszter Hargittai, a sociologist at Northwestern University.

The results, announced today [02 July 2006], are published in the latest issue of the journal Social Science Quarterly.

Women feel more rushed than men:

When men have free time, they feel less rushed than when their schedules are packed. Women relieved of work do not feel less rushed, however. The results suggest that mothers in particular feel the pressures of children and housework even when they have time to kick back, said Liana Sayer, co-author of the study and assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University.

"The meaning of free time for men's and women's lives are quite different," Sayer said. "Especially for wives and mothers, it appears free time is still combined with other activities or responsibilities." The study, released today, was based on two national surveys, one in the mid-1970s involving 708 people and another in the late 1990s with 1,151 participants....

Workload increased for women between 1975 and 1998, especially in comparison to men, the comparison showed. In 1975, women and men had similar amounts of free time, but by 1998 a 30-minute per day gender gap had opened, with women having less leisure time than men....

The odds of feeling sometimes or always rushed were more than twice as high for married women with children than it was for single, childless women. But men who were married and had children didn't feel more rushed than single, childless men.

The results will be detailed in the February [2006] issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.

Women suffer pain more than men:

New research has found that women report more pain throughout their lifetime. Compared to men, women feel pain in more areas of their body and for longer durations.

"The bottom line seems to be that women are suffering more than men," said Ed Keogh, a psychologist from the Pain Management Unit at the University of Bath. In one study, Keogh and his collaborators interviewed patients in a pain management program.

Although the program reduced chronic pain for all the subjects, in follow up exams the women in the group reported pain levels as high as before the treatment -- whereas the improvements in the male group were longer lasting. In another set of experiments, volunteers were asked to put their arms in an ice water bath.

Men were found to have higher pain thresholds (the point where they began to feel pain), as well as higher pain tolerances (the point where the pain became too much).

(06 July 2005)

I'd like to see such a study controlled for the mass and surface area of the arm being immersed: it's possible that women, with smaller, more slender arms, are simply losing heat more quickly.

Why women feel more pain:

Women have more nerve receptors, which causes them to feel pain more intensely than men, according to a report in the October [2005] issue of the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

"This study has serious implications about how we treat women after surgery as well as women who experience chronic pain," said Bradon Wilhelmi, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and author of the study.

"Because women have more nerve receptors, they may experience pain more powerfully than men, requiring different surgical techniques, treatments or medicine dosages to help manage their pain and make them feel comfortable." Earlier this year, separate research found that women report more pain throughout their lifetimes, in more areas of their bodies and for longer durations.

(24 October 2005)

Men and women think differently:

The brain is made primarily of two different types of tissue, called gray matter and white matter. This new research reveals that men think more with their gray matter, and women think more with white. Researchers stressed that just because the two sexes think differently, this does not affect intellectual performance.

Psychology professor Richard Haier of the University of California, Irvine led the research along with colleagues from the University of New Mexico.

Their findings show that in general, men have nearly 6.5 times the amount of gray matter related to general intelligence compared with women, whereas women have nearly 10 times the amount of white matter related to intelligence compared to men.

The results are detailed in the online version of the journal NeuroImage (20 January 2005).

Men and women view Web Sites differently:

But British researchers suggest it's not just a Web site's subject or function that determines whether it will draw more men or women. The appearance of the site also might play a subtle role. In a recent study at Glamorgan University Business School in Wales, test subjects rated the personal Web pages of 60 people for usability and aesthetics....

Male subjects tended to assign higher ratings to pages designed by men, and females preferred sites made by women. But the researchers said they gleaned important tidbits by looking more closely at the ratings.

Women seemed to like pages with more color in the background and typeface. Women also favored informal rather than posed pictures.

Men responded better to dark colors and straight, horizontal lines across a page. They also were more pleased by a three-dimensional look and images of "self-propelling" rather than stationary objects.

With those standards in mind, the researchers checked out the Web sites for 32 British universities and determined that 94 percent had a "masculine orientation." Two percent showed a female-favored arrangement.

Gloria Moss, a Glamorgan research fellow, said the project should be instructive for organizations that aim for wide audiences. The research — which was repeated in France and Poland to rule out British cultural bias — is being published in European journals on consumer behavior and marketing.

(11 August 2005)

Muslim male gays look for female ones to marry

Shades of 1940s England!

Homosexual behaviour among animals

SEED Magazine has an online article about Joan Roughgarden, a professor of biology at Stanford University, who points out that homosexual behaviour is so common that it must confer some advantages: social bonding, defusing of tension, and the like.

"Rhythm Method" may kill more embryos

Science blog reports that the rhythm method of birth control depends partly on the fact that embryos conceived on the fringes of the fertile period are more likely to die. The British Medical Journal reports on an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics. They quote Professor Bowens, who calculates that for each pregnancy under the rhythm method, two or three embryos have been conceived and died. More effective methods, such as barriers and spermicides, do not allow conception in the first place.

Relative risks

I've been saying this for twenty years. Women get in a panic about the risk of stroke or some other rare complication caused by contraception and stop using their contraception—thus exposing themselves to far higher risks from pregnancy and childbirth.

The Well-timed Period puts it all into perspective.