The Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women urges Indian women to defy the bullies.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Statesman Editor, Publisher Arrested
Feb 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
On the charge of ‘insulting the religious belief of a community’ following street protests.… Read the rest
Calcutta: Two Arrested for ‘Offending Islam’
Feb 11th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Charged with ‘hurting the religious feelings’ of Muslims by publishing Johann Hari article on religion.… Read the rest
Safe
Feb 11th, 2009 11:35 am | By Ophelia BensonGood news, which so far I can’t find anywhere online apart from Facebook, so I can’t link to it in News, so for now I’ll just say it here. Pegah Emambakhsh has been granted refugee status in the UK.
Hurrah!… Read the rest
Nightwaves
Feb 10th, 2009 4:43 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve transcribed a few bits of the Satanic Verses Nightwaves.
Kenan Malik talked about how different things were twenty years ago, and about the myth that all Muslims were offended by The Satanic Verses. Twenty years ago radicals didn’t identify themselves as Muslim or even Asian, they were black, and that was a political term. But that was then.
When people talk about ‘radical’ in the Islamic context now, what they mean is usually somebody who is religiously fundamentalist; twenty years ago, it meant the very opposite, somebody who was militantly secular, somebody like me; so that whole thing has shifted completely now in the past 20 years.
Jo Glanville of Index on Censorship talked about The Jewel … Read the rest
Iran: Journalists Sentenced to Prison, Floggings
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Despite the head of the judiciary’s admission that they had been tortured into confessing.… Read the rest
Abortion Caused Australian Bushfires
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pentecostal pastor says he must tell people the truth, not what they want to hear.… Read the rest
NPR on Human Rights in Iran
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
NPR talks to Hadi Ghaemi and Roya Boroumand.… Read the rest
Thought for the Day for Everyone
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Unbelievers have something to contribute to commentary on ethics, morality and the good life.… Read the rest
‘Start the Week’ on the Fatwa and Free Speech
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Kenan Malik talks about liberal self-censorship, Tariq Madood talks about ‘hurt.’… Read the rest
Theocrats Push Parental Rights Amendment
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Including the right to deny medical treatment, force marriage, keep out of school?… Read the rest
First Tell a Racist ‘Joke’ Then Unapologize
Feb 10th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I have been asked to send this apology for my earlier e-mail. I am sorry that it was received in a negative manner.’… Read the rest
Keeping our sense of humour
Feb 10th, 2009 11:55 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Republican mind is a surprising thing at times. Sarah Palin’s sneer at community organizing, Sarah Palin’s sneer at fruit-fly research…and then their jokes.
‘A member of the Florida state Republican committee sent out an email to 8 people that said this:’
From: Carol Carter Friday, January 30, 9:30 AM Subject: FW: Amazing!
I’m confused.
How can 2,000,000 blacks get into Washington, DC in 1 day in sub zero temps when 200,000 couldn’t get out of New Orleans in 85 degree temps with four days notice?
Carol Carter
Jeezis.
Somebody was unamused (so it’s not all Republicans, so I shouldn’t say ‘the Republican mind’ – except that’s obviously not a left-wing ‘joke’) and Carter was told to apologize.
… Read the restFrom:
Comments
Feb 10th, 2009 10:52 am | By Ophelia BensonAs you may have noticed, comments are disabled. I think I know why. They were being bombarded by spammers for a few days, which I didn’t realize until yesterday, at which point I had to waste a vast amount of time deleting all the spam. I told Jeremy about the problem, which is to say I whined about it, without actually asking him to fix it in case it’s not convenient at the moment. I think he may have disabled them pending a less drastic fix (or perhaps, more depressingly, in the absence of a less drastic fix). I hope they’ll be restored eventually; meanwhile you can send comments to me if you like, and I will post them, though … Read the rest
Solipsism
Feb 9th, 2009 12:33 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Atlantic’s rather boring Wunderkind Ross Douthat tells Jerry Coyne what’s what. He breathes heavily for some time in order to come up with the obvious point that many disciplines make various kinds of claims that are not scientific claims and that that’s all right.
One can reason productively about questions that cannot be resolved through falsification tests. If this weren’t the case, philosophy departments, historians, polemicists, and many social “scientists” would be out of business in a hurry.
Yes indeed; very true; well spotted. But…is it relevant?
… Read the restNow of course religion is not a thing like political philosophy. But there are similarities between the way that belief operates in both religion and in politics. In making their case,
Theos Report Doesn’t ‘Reclaim’ Darwin
Feb 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Instead it talks the usual nonsense about selfishness. Ho hum.… Read the rest
Steiner Waldorf Schools and ‘Anthroposophy’
Feb 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The pseudo religion/science at the heart of Steiner education is a ‘spiritual’ form of racism.… Read the rest
Times: Andrew Wakefied Fixed Data on Autism
Feb 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Medical documents and interviews have established that AW manipulated patients’ data.… Read the rest
Florida Legislator to Introduce Flat Earth Bill
Feb 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No, a bill to require teaching of evolution to be balanced with discussion of ID. … Read the rest
Bad Ideas Dept: Homeopaths without Borders
Feb 9th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Their goal is to transfer homeopathy to countries where public health care is sub-standard.… Read the rest