Dear King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz,
Assalamu-alaikum.
I am a 52-year-old Malaysian-born Muslim. I was raised in a harmonious interracial and interfaith society that accepted and respected other religious practices. The existence of different faith groups was viewed simply as different ways of connecting to the same God. Saudi Arabia started exporting its Wahhabi ideology in the 1970s, and it spread around the world, turning existing interpretations of Islam into one that is dogmatic and violent.
The result is a nearly unrecognizable form of Islam. It appears to get worse by the day. Murders, suicide bombings, sectarianism and religious hatemongering have become commonplace. We cannot continue on this path of religious-based mayhem in the name of Islam. The Muslim world needs a...
Education
January 15, 2015
An Open Letter to Presidents and Deans of Theological Schools in the United States,
At its annual meeting at Shaw University Divinity School in Raleigh, NC, African American Presidents and Deans of theological schools in the United States issued a call for action in light of the current state of social justice in the United States of America.
One of our leaders, a founding member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), noted that the socio-economic and political realities that led to the establishment of SNCC at Shaw University 54 years ago are actually eclipsed by the realities of this day. In 1960 there were lynchings and robe-wearing Klansmen. Today lynchings occur, but in different forms. Klansmen today bivouac without robes and hoods....
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Dear William -
Thank you for your email. Let’s look….
What we have
There are numerous publicly funded data research institutions.
“…INSIGHT [DERI, CLARITY, CLIQUE, 4C, TRIL] represent an investment in excess of €150,000,000 over the past 10 years, hosting more than 300 researchers, and collaborating with more than 150 industry partners….””…. to create a healthier, safer, more productive world by empowering a data-driven society to enable better decisions by individuals, communities, business and governments…” (here)
Taking into consideration a generous investment of public and private money into data excellence in Ireland, we should be leading in the open data world, right?
Where we are?
Lets have a quick look where is Ireland positioned in the world of open data...
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W.E.B. DuBois
March 1913
Sir: Your inauguration to the Presidency of the United States is to the colored people, to the white South and to the nation a momentous people, to the white South and to the nation a momentous occasion. For the first time since the emancipation of slaves the government of this nation — the Presidency, the Senate, the House of Representatives — passes on the 4th of March into the hands of the party which a half century ago fought desperately to keep black men as real estate in the eyes of the law.
Your elevation to the chief magistracy of the nation at this time shows not simply a splendid national faith in the perpetuity of free government in this land, but even more, a personal faith in you.
We black men by our votes helped to put you in your high...
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Dear Mom and Dad,
I’ve decided that I want to go to graduate school to get my Ph.D. in the biological sciences. I want to make a real difference in the world by contributing to society’s understanding of the cells that make up our bodies and hopefully make a discovery that helps ease suffering or even saves lives.
While this sounds like a noble endeavor, I’ve heard that it doesn’t come without challenges and consequences.
For example, I’m probably going to be behind on the usual timeline for things like financial independence and starting a family. I’m looking at roughly five more years of school to get the Ph.D. — the amount of time depends on whether my experiments are successful, which is impossible to predict. Nature is a tricky beast, and most of our guesses about how...
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January 2015
To anyone hoping that the year just past would see a return to “normalcy” in the once-secure world of American higher education, 2014 brought no comfort. Each of the difficulties and criticisms that have arisen over the last few years continued and if anything were amplified. Total national enrollments fell by more than a percentage point for the third straight year. Community colleges and proprietary schools were hit the hardest, but no sector was immune. Even Ivy League universities saw drops in applications, with Dartmouth’s down 14%.
"... our university, so far, has stood somewhat apart from these dreary trends, sometimes by virtue of inherent strengths, in some instances because of actions we have all taken together."
A host of schools, public and private,...
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Open Letter To Kansas School Board
I am writing you with much concern after having read of your hearing to decide whether the alternative theory of Intelligent Design should be taught along with the theory of Evolution. I think we can all agree that it is important for students to hear multiple viewpoints so they can choose for themselves the theory that makes the most sense to them. I am concerned, however, that students will only hear one theory of Intelligent Design.
Let us remember that there are multiple theories of Intelligent Design. I and many others around the world are of the strong belief that the universe was created by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. It was He who created all that we see and all that we feel. We feel strongly that the overwhelming scientific evidence...
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Dear open letters,
I wasn't going to write this but, after witnessing the week you've just had, it has become apparent that somebody needs to pull you to one side and give you a stern talking-to. I've decided that this person should be me. I've also decided that this talking-to should come in the form that you're most comfortable with, with all the self-righteousness and pretend intimacy and confused intentions that it entails. So this is what I have to say … and it is said in the spirit of transparently opportunistic bandwagon-jumping.
I am increasingly concerned that those around you have led you to believe that it is in any way "cool" to be used as a legitimate response to all public events. While I am aware that you started with the best intentions in the world – good work on...
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Greetings Ms. Hari,
We are writing to you as a group of students, scientists-in-training if you will. Collectively, we study all different aspects of the science of food: food microbiology, food chemistry, functional foods, food processing and variety of other disciplines that make it possible for people to have safe and healthy food. The contents of this letter outline several of the concerns we have taken with your movement, and in the spirit of intelligent debate, we implore you to read this letter in its entirety. Our passion for the field of food science and the awareness of how food can affect health, among other aspects of human life, are what have motivated us to reach out to you.
Because we believe everyone should be involved in an open discussion on food, we would like...
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