The death of a blogger raised renewed fears that prisoners are being denied medical treatment.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
I hear their hooves in the distance
Mar 21st, 2009 1:07 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere are a couple of other things that bother me about Julian’s ‘new atheism’ article.
One is that he says his opinions ‘are not so much about these books as the general tone and direction the new atheism they represent has adopted. This is not a function of what exactly these books say, but of how they are perceived, and the kind of comments the four horsemen make in newspaper articles and interviews’ but then he doesn’t provide a very clear account of how the ‘four horsemen’ are perceived and the kind of comments they make. He discusses ‘the new atheism’ without ever really pinning down for the reader what he takes that to be – so we’re left … Read the rest
Pennsylvania Has a Law Against Blasphemy 
Mar 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Such statutes also remain in Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming.… Read the rest
Islamist Governors Tore Apart a School
Mar 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Two governors campaigned to make the school more Islamic, accused the head of ‘Islamophobia.’… Read the rest
The Pope’s Claim is Absurd and Irresponsible
Mar 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Pope’s statement about condoms is a threat to public health.… Read the rest
Army Rabbis Framed Gaza as Religious War
Mar 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rabbis urged troops to reclaim what they said was God-given land and ‘get rid of the gentiles.’… Read the rest
Wassup with ‘the new atheism’?
Mar 20th, 2009 2:22 pm | By Ophelia BensonJulian wrote a piece arguing that the ‘new atheist movement’ is destructive. It got linked at Dawkins’s site where commenters greeted it with intemperate hostility – until Russell Blackford posted a comment informing them that Julian isn’t actually as wicked as all that, which calmed things down a little. Julian later commented too, pointing out with some justice that the intemperate hostility rather bore out his point.
I want to take issue with some things Julian said, however – though I will of course do so in a very reasonable and measured way.
He starts off by saying, with deliberate impudence, that he has an opinion about the four chief Newatheists, despite the fact that he has not read … Read the rest
Andrew Brown on Blair on God
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Blair took holidays with Berlusconi; what does he mean ‘our financial system might be reconnected with some basic values’?… Read the rest
Omid Mir Sayafi Dies in Evin Prison
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The blogger, age 25, was sentenced last month to 30 months in prison for insulting Khamenei.… Read the rest
Vatican Insiders Edge Away From the Pope
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
African priests and bishops accept the need for condoms; the clueless pontiff is on his own.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo on the Pope in Africa
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How to stop Catholicism from spreading?… Read the rest
Baggini Says New Atheism is Counterproductive
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The new atheism gets atheism wrong, gets religion wrong, and is counterproductive.’… Read the rest
Grayling on the Deification of Stupidity
Mar 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
At the UN Council on Human Rights in Geneva, the OIC is trying again to have ‘defamation of religion’ banned.… Read the rest
Hundreds Accused of ‘Witchcraft’ in Gambia
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
AI calls on the Gambian government to put an immediate stop to the witch-hunting campaign.… Read the rest
State-sponsored Witch-hunt in Gambia
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many of those taken from their homes were elderly people held for days in appalling conditions.… Read the rest
Maryam Namazie on Sharia and Women
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
For every stoning, there are thousands of women whose rights are violated as a result of marriage or divorce laws.… Read the rest
Vatican Complains of Focus on Condom Issue
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Pope’s speeches are usually regarded as sacrosanct; no disagreement allowed. Tough.… Read the rest
The Pope Makes People Feel Sick
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Critics say the pope is advocating inhumane policies that will increase suffering.… Read the rest
Wendy Doniger on the Battle Over Hindu History
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Myths that pass for history can be deadly; in India they incite violence against Muslims, women, lower castes.… Read the rest
Impeach the Pope
Mar 19th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Misogyny is a major part of the base on which the church was constructed.… Read the rest
