“And then BANG! “In humans, darker skin also correlates with lower IQ (Rushton & Jensen, 2005)”, yes for no reason whatsoever, some direct racism with a quote from one of his own papers. I think if you’re going to make such a claim, especially in the introduction”

isn’t well-founded – the gap between white and black populations on tests of IQ is one that is widely supported in the research literature. The problem with this is, the facts don’t speak for themselves – some researchers, such as Jensen, use this observable fact as evidence of genetic differences between racial groups accounting for these differences. I think it’s important to understand that it is this sort of misuse and misrepresentation of what the data can tell us, that is the cornerstone that Rushton’s racist agenda relies upon.

Apart from that, I’m glad you took the time to pick apart this paper and the rather ridiculous conclusions it draws from very weak data.

n.b. I don’t know if it’s of interest, but this latest ‘summary’ article by some of the most eminent intelligence researchers gives a good overview of what Psychology believes are the ‘knowns’ of intelligence – http://scottbarrykaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Nisbett-et-al.-2012.pdf

The US have almost absolute separation of church and state. State schools can not even display prayers on their walls without being called on it.

Australia on the other hand is perhaps somewhere in the middle. We have have a “state religion” like malaysia or other countries, but we have evangelical christians allowed in to our state schools to preach about the bible.

I did this out of frustration and disillusionment at the treatment of mental illness in the public health system where I work.

The story you relate could be any one of my patients on any given day. Being a non-psychiatric clinician “treating” patients with acute psychosocial distress that leads to overdose or other self-harm means being a frustrated onlooker to the spectacle of an under-resourced, over-strained, poorly-conceived and poorly-organised mishmash of inpatient and community mental health services that seems to harm more than it helps – at least, that’s what I see.

Maybe it works for some people, but I don’t see them. I don’t see how.

To me personal identity is what you say you are. I can be in relationships with 15 women and 1 man, and still call myself bisexual (all at once, or consecutively). If a woman who sometimes finds themselves in relationships with men, but is mostly in relationships with women, calls themselves a lesbian, that’s ok.

For me, the hardest thing to not do is assume sexuality based on current partner. It’s a hard one to wrench out. I don’t even know what to identify as myself, based on this ingrained assumption/habit/prejudice.

But probably the forced-birthers wouldn’t accept that as most of them still cling to the idea that abstinence is 1) possible and 2)desirable for all unmarried young people.