We all grow up in a world where there are bullies. Most of us, if we are lucky, reach adulthood without too many scars. As a mom, I can now see that the physical scars aren’t really what caused the most damage. The real long-term harm came from the mean things people said and did along the way. Those mean words that planted themselves into our self-image. They play, like broken records, in our minds. The words that we adopt as our own, until we bully ourselves into submission.

My son has been bullied since he was in 2nd grade. The term bully congers up images of a big kid, with big-bad words, and even bigger fists.  My son’s bully doesn’t really fit that description. For him, it’s a group of sweet little boys and girls who somehow, at the age of 7, decided that they would use their big…

The two court rulings this week relating to the whelming social issue of gay rights provoke fiery passions and deep conflicts. I wish it were not so, but it is, and I think I understand it. But I believe it’s best for everyone to take a few steps back and try to view the larger frame. Regardless the technical strengths and weaknesses of constitutional jurisprudence, and there are both, in the arguments made before the court as well as in the decisions and dissents of the justices, the core issue grinding these judicial proceedings is simply one of human decency and social equity.
 
My citizenship credentials are conservative; philosophically, politically, economically and ethically. I am Roman Catholic by birth and by informed adult choice. So I understand much of what motivates protest against gay rights. But the good Lord blessed me with a free will and a soul I…

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has praised the “legendary heroism” of police forces in quelling anti-government protests that have rocked the country for more than three weeks.

Speaking at the Police Academy in the capital, Ankara, on Monday, Erdogan thanked the country’s security forces for their “patience” and “discipline” during the demonstrations.

“Our police successfully passed a very important, very challenging democracy test,” Erdogan noted, adding, “Our police have responded to attacks, provocations without violating the law … and have written a saga of heroism.”

Erdogan’s remarks came as his government has been widely criticized by human rights groups and its Western allies for using excessive force against protesters.

The unrest in Turkey began on May 31 after police broke up a sit-in at Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest against a proposal to demolish Gezi Park.

The protesters said Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies…

A few weeks ago, great news! The European Union banned three ‘bee killers’ – neonicotinoid pesticides. Three neonics with the, er, catchy names clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. The ban will come into force on 1st December this year, and it will last only for two years, so let’s not get complacent.

The bee-killing story doesn’t end with neonics. It’s also about another insecticide called fipronil. This one isn’t a neonic, it’s a phenylpyrazole.

Like the neonics, fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide. That means it kills all kinds of insects – ‘good bugs’ as well as ‘bad bugs’. It’s a neurotoxin, attacking the insects’ nervous systems. In fact it can attack other organisms too. Here’s some science from a decade ago, telling us how fipronil can be bad news.

This week the European Food Safety Authority said that scientists there are concerned about fipronil. They’re concerned about ‘dust…