HONORS FOR PAUL KURTZ AND SARASWATHI GORA Paul Kurtz, Honorary Associate of Rationalist International and recipient of the International Rationalist Award 2000, has been honored with the Chancellor Charles Norton medal - the highest award of the State University of New York at Buffalo. From the Citation: "Paul Kurtz, Professor Emeritus in University of New York at Buffalo's Department of Philosophy and founder and chairman of the Center for Inquiry, is one of the world's leading intellects in the field of secular humanism and rational inquiry. He has authored or edited more than 30 books, 60 book chapters and 650 articles or reviews. His 1986 book, The Transcendental Temptation, is a seminal work in secular humanism, and has been translated into many languages. He has engaged spirited attention through his observations on the paranormal, and in 1969 he founded Prometheus Books, considered by many to be the world's foremost publisher in the areas of philosophy, science and critical thinking..." Saraswathi Gora, wife and colleague of Andhra Pradesh's famous social reformer, atheist and rationalist Goparaju Ramachandra Rao (GORA), has been honored with the prestigious G. D. Birla International Award for Humanism, 2000. The octogenarian receives the award as recognition for her life long struggle for atheism and social change. Gora and Saraswathy founded the Atheist Center in Vijayawada in 1940 and initiated various social change programs, striving for the eradication of untouchability, caste-system and gender bias.
BANGLADESH: TASLIMA NASREEN CONVICTED IN ABSENTIA Taslima Nasreen, Honorary Associate of Rationalist International, has been convicted in absentia by a court in Bangladesh on charges of blasphemy. The verdict ends a criminal case, filed by an Islamic cleric against the author for "hurting the religious sentiments of Muslims" with her novel "Shame" and her criticism of the Quran. Taslima had to leave her country in 1994 because Islamic fundamentalists threatened her life. In September 1998 she returned to see her dying mother, but had to flee once again from the wrath of the fanatics.
USA: A MODERN VERSION OF NOAH'S ARK Scientists at Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History are creating something like a modern version of mythological Noah's Ark. In a special 2000 square-foot laboratory in the basement of the museum, out of view for the visitors, lies a treasure trove of information on the evolution of life on earth. In nine huge vats made of stainless steel, hundreds of thousands of frozen little tissue samples are being collected, which will outlast time in liquid nitrogen and may allow future scientists to recreate extinct species by cloning. This collection is meant to become a central repository of non-human comparative genomics. NASA supports the one-million-Dollar project financially, because it is a potential source of information about the development of life on earth if encountered one day by extraterrestrial intelligence or later generations. While traditional collections in natural history museums use to consist of skinned and stuffed animals, this completely new kind of collection of frozen tissue samples marks a significant shift in modern biology from describing physical appearances to deciphering the genetic codes behind them.
INDIA: GOOD MARKS FOR RATIONALISTS The rationalists' explanation of the monkey-man mania, which haunted India's capital during May 2001, standing as a lighthouse in an ocean of confusion, has finally become the official view. Experts, police and media agree that there has never been a monkey-man and that it was a product of pure imagination, which caused panic and mass hysteria and spooked even the police in releasing wanted-pictures and offering an award for the phantom's arrest (see first hand report in Bulletin # 71). According to a recent opinion poll, 69 per cent of the population in and around Delhi are meantime convinced that the monkey-man was only a fantasy, while 20 per cent still think he exists. 92 per cent feel that there was a lot of panic and hysteria among the public. The police, who have obviously improved their rating with the last phase of the operation, achieved 62 per cent approval for the handling of the crisis. Following criticism by the rationalists and a section of the media for their gullible approach and unprofessional procedure, they employed an expert committee including psychologists and forensic specialists to verify witness claims and monkey-man scratches. The role of the rationalists during the crisis was approved by 95 per cent, who feel it had calming and reassuring effect on the population.
Creative Rationalism THIRD INTERNATIONAL RATIONALIST CONFERENCE New Delhi, India: 8-12, February 2002 Rationalist International invites you for an extra-ordinary event: The Third International Rationalist Conference. Join Rationalists -- Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists, Secular Humanists and Skeptics -- from around the world. Meet rationalist thinkers and fighters who influence social change. Exchange ideas, views, experiences and visions. Identify the creative dimension of Rationalism. Discuss the potential of transforming societies. Set the course for the future of enlightenment and humanism. Witness history. Creative Rationalism THIRD INTERNATIONAL RATIONALIST CONFERENCE At New Delhi from 8 to 12 February 2002 We need to keep setting high goals and achieving them. An interesting, thought-provoking conference. More details about the International Rationalist Conference, tentative schedule of events, flight information and all you want to know about the conference are available at our web site www.rationalistinternational.net. A downloadable registration form is also available at the web site.
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