Whither Obamacare? Philae phones home from comet! Approval for female libido drug?

  Whither Obamacare? The fateful US Supreme Court ruling on the legality of many subsidies for Obamacare health insurance premiums (the case known as King v. Burwell) is nearly upon us. Perhaps it will come as soon as Monday (June … Continue reading »

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AAS & ASA Demonstrate How to Make an Institutional Statement on #ShirtStorm

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) agrees that “the shirt” was inappropriate for both the workplace and a global broadcast and that the viscious response to mild criticism has been totally unwarranted:

The past few days have seen extensive international discussion of an incident (known online as #shirtstorm or #shirtgate) in which a participant in a European Space Agency media conference wore a shirt with sexualized images of gun-toting women and made an unfortunate remark comparing the featured spacecraft to a woman. Viewers responded critically to these inappropriate statements, especially jarring in such a highly visible setting (one in which very few women appeared), and the scientist apologized sincerely. But in the meantime, unacceptable abuse has been directed toward the critics, from criticism of “over-active feminism” to personal insults and more dire threats.

We wish to express our support for members of the community who rightly brought this issue to the fore, and we condemn the unreasonable attacks they experienced as a result, which caused deep distress in our community. We do appreciate the scientist’s sincere and unqualified apology.
-American Astronomical Society (19 Nov 2014)

Good on the AAS for publicly standing up for equality, respectful working environments, and basic human dignity. The Astronomical Society of Australia has also made a similar statement, which is also worth quoting:

At a recent European Space Agency media conference, a scientist wore a shirt with sexualised imagery of women, and used an analogy with sexual references. Scientists and science journalists (both women and men) made the fair and reasonable criticism that this was inappropriate for an official media conference and scientific workplace. The relevant scientist has since apologised.

Subsequently, a number of media articles about this incident have been critical of feminism, and the scientists (particularly women) who criticised the sexual imagery and references have been abused through social media. The media criticism is unwarranted and the abuse is reprehensible.
-Astronomical Society of Australia (18 Nov 2014)

We have not, however, had word yet from the European Space Agency on why they allowed a shirt showing sexualized images of women with firearms to appear on the global broadcast of their greatest achievement, whether they are sorry for doing so. Nor have we heard their institutional feelings about the attacks and threats targeting those who spoke up in favor of professional atmospheres in scientific workplaces.

HT: Katie Mack & Mindy Weisberger


Filed under: Follies of the Human Condition, Items of Interest Tagged: #ShirtGate, American Astronomical Society, Astronomical Society of Australia, European Space Agency, Linkonomicon, shirtstorm

No, you can’t wear that to school

UPDATE 14 NOV 2014 11:30AM: Matt Taylor made a sincere (according to trusted reports – I haven’t seen it yet) today.

Short-sleeved button down is unacceptable. The tie clip is unnecessary. What is that mess in your pocket? On the other hand, the four-in-hand knot was absolutely the right choice for your tie. Also, congratulations on landing people on the moon for the first time. That was pretty awesome.

Charles Duke (CAPCOM Apollo 11) making space history in a bad shirt without offending anyone.

I’m the proud parent of two small children. That means we occassionally (ie, every day) have to review the clothes they select and determine if they are appropriate for the day’s events (eg, landing a robot on a comet). Sometimes we have to intervene because they have made poor choices. We apply experience, knowledge of the day’s activities, and awareness of the effect their personal presentation can have on others to identify poor choices. I am the adult. Making sure my kids represent themselves, our family, and our values positively is part of my job.

My kids don’t always like being told that they need to make a change to their attire. That dislike is sometimes expressed in a loud – painfully loud – and vocal manner. They are young. They are inexperienced. They will be making bad decisions with total commitment well into the future. That does not relieve me of my responsibilities to limit the harm done by those bad decisions, because I am the adult. This is my job.

European Space Agency (ESA) scientist Matt Taylor must not live with responsible parents, because he showed up for work in a shirt covered with pictures of scantily clad women* (violating any HR policy not written by Silvio Berlusconi). He wore that shirt to work on the day that the ESA was landing a robot on a comet – on the day that event was broadcast globally – on the day he was going to appear on that global broadcast. Wearing that shirt was a bad decision.

Screenshot 2014-11-12 23.45.47

Matt Taylor’s individual bad decision turned into a bad decision for the entire ESA. He was allowed to go in front of the camera dressed like that. He was allowed to make robotic space exploratio appear unwelcoming to women. He was allowed to make that portion of the webcast unwatchable in my child’s classroom.

Screenshot 2014-11-12 23.48.59

Were they so unaware that they did not realize his clothing would offend so many? Or, were they aware, but decided the interview was more important than the offense? Either way it speaks to systematic blindness toward the negative and chilling effects of sexism. Cameras turn off.

During the webcast, numerous old, white guys spoke of ambition, collaboration, courage, and hope for the future; but no one had the bravery to stop one man from making a fool of himself, emabarassing their organization in their moment of triumph, and signalling that the field of robotic space exploration is not ready to treat women with respect and dignity.

Those “no ones” at the European Space Agency – those “no ones” who should have been “someone” – are the ones that I want to hear apologize and explain themselves. I have kids. I know the job you were supposed to do. You didn’t do it.

*No, I am not going to post a picture of it. If you want to see it, you can find it.


Filed under: Follies of the Human Condition Tagged: comet, esa, European Space Agency, Feminism, Matt Taylor, Philae, Rosetta, Sexism, shirtstorm

What the Philae are you doing here?

UPDATE 12 NOV 2014 11:10AM (ET): Apollo 11 shit went down today. No matter what else we might be, we are a species that landed a robot on a comet about 500 million kilometers away for the purpose of scientific exploration. Not too shabby.

UPDATE 12 NOV 2014 11:54AM (ET): There is concern that Philae has not anchored to the comet properly. They are working on it.

Look, we appreciate you stopping by; but humanity is trying to land a robot on a comet for the first time ever. There is Apollo 11 level shit going down today. You can watch the ESA’s webcast live with us. The Philae lander is scheduled to touch down at about 11:00 AM (US Eastern).

Over at xkcd, Randall Munroe is doing live updates of the Philae lander’s progress (and its internal monologue).

HT: Emily Lakdawalla (whom you should be reading today)


Filed under: Curiosities of Nature, Items of Interest Tagged: comet, Comet 67P, Emily Lakdawalla, esa, ESA Rosetta, European Space Agency, Philae, randall munroe, Rosetta, Space, xkcd

Philae: The Power of Positive Thinking?

UPDATE 12 NOV 2014 11:12AM (EST): THEY DID IT!

Philae by Stefan Schindler (All Rights Reserved; Used with Permission)

Philae by Stefan Schindler (All Rights Reserved; Used with Permission)

Tomorrow, the Philae lander detaches from the ESA Rosetta spacecraft and attempts to touch down on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko at Site J. A successful landing will be one of the great feats of human scientific exploration.

A webcast of the landing attempt will begin at 2PM (ET) today (ie, now).

Instead of waiting to post pictures, we are going to be optimistic and start with this LEGO build from Stefan Schindler showing the Philae lander resting comfortably on the comet’s surface. More to come…


Filed under: Curiosities of Nature, Follies of the Human Condition Tagged: esa, ESA Rosetta, European Space Agency, Lego, Philae, Rosetta, Stefan Schindler

Jack the Ripper, more poison at NIH, Rosetta & the comet

 

Ripped from the headlines

Scientists have greeted with hoots and catcalls the claim that Jack the Ripper, the near-mythical late-19th Century London serial killer, has been identified from DNA as an immigrant Polish baker named Aaron Kosminski.

The DNA …

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H. floresiensis or H. sapiens with Down syndrome? Plus landing on a comet

Lords of the zings

I don’t know why the new papers about the “hobbit,” the 2003 find of tiny ancient bones from the Indonesian island of Flores, have made such a splash. No, I take that back. I do know. …

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