French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages have been rescued by government troops. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
What the Games Reveal and Conceal About China 
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
China’s propagandists have studied the theories of ‘manufacturing consent’ by Lippmann and Bernays.… Read the rest
The Permanent Anti-feminist Backlash
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Arguments we thought were long-won have been re-opened, rights we thought were settled are under threat. … Read the rest
Offensive Puppy Postcard Claim Dismissed
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mahmud Sarwar, trustee of Scottish Islamic and Cultural Centre, said chill, postcard is fine.… Read the rest
Tayside Police Apologize for Puppy on Postcard
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We did not seek advice from the diversity adviser. That was an oversight. We apologise for any offence.’… Read the rest
AU Disappointed With Obama Plan
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rather than try to fix Bush ‘faith-based’ initiative, Obama would do better to shut it down.… Read the rest
Mugabe Aide Tells Critics to ‘Go Hang’
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
MDC said Friday’s one-man election had killed off any prospect of a negotiated settlement. … Read the rest
Canadian HRC Dismisses Maclean’s Complaint
Jul 2nd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Not of an extreme nature.’ BC Human Rights Commission has not yet ruled.… Read the rest
Honour crimes or terrorism against women
Jul 2nd, 2008 | By Azar MajediToday all speakers talked about honour crimes as a widespread form of violence against women. What bewilders me is the name given to this horrendous crime: honour. Honour has a very positive connotation. Regardless of one’s world outlook and beliefs, the word honour has a good ring to one’s ear. When you hear this word, you fill up with positive and good feelings. The combination of these two completely opposite concepts to describe one phenomenon brings a lot of contradictions and confusion: “honour crimes!”
I have given this phenomenon a great deal of thought. I posed this question: Why is this brutal act being described so positively? After reflecting on this issue for some time, I came to see a … Read the rest
Obama to Expand ‘Faith-Based’ Program
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Acknowledges those who like to separate religion and state, then carries on regardless.… Read the rest
Anti-semitic Hate Speech in Germany
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Schoolchildren berate their teachers, calling them Jew dogs, for not offering Sharia-compatible instruction.’… Read the rest
Administration Officials Deny Ops Inside Iran
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Spokesmen for the intelligence committees declined to comment, as did the CIA.… Read the rest
Seymour Hersh on Bush’s Covert Ops in Iran
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The scale and scope of operations in Iran have been significantly expanded, according to officials.… Read the rest
Stephen Law on the Odone Report
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Over the past decade or so there has been a shift towards more extreme religious views being expressed by pupils. … Read the rest
Pascal Bruckner on the UN and Human Rights
Jul 1st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
At the 2001 UN Conference against Racism in Durban, anti-colonialism bared its anti-Semitic face.… Read the rest
Pew Study Finds One in Five Atheists Believe in God
Jul 1st, 2008 | By Anne SingerWashington, DC – The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a second report from its U.S. Religious Landscape Survey on Monday concluding that Americans are highly religious and tolerant of other religions and that religion is politically relevant. While none of this is news, the study’s findings about nonreligious Americans are.
Pew reported that 21 percent of atheists in their survey said they believed in God or a universal spirit, that six percent of them considered it a personal god, and that 40 percent of agnostics feel certain that God exists. Conversely, among respondents who say they are affiliated with a religious tradition (Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, etc.), a surprising number said they actually do not believe in … Read the rest
A rift
Jul 1st, 2008 11:25 am | By Ophelia BensonJust in case there was any doubt, Obama assures us that religion is indeed mandatory in the US. Just in case we had any hope that the relentless ‘faith’-mongering would go away when Bush went away, Obama tells us it won’t. Just in case people who don’t consider ‘faith’ a cognitive virtue were feeling at all optimistic, Obama goes after the godbothering vote in a hail of ‘faith’ language.
“Now, I know there are some who bristle at the notion that faith has a place in the public square,” Mr. Obama intends to say. “But the fact is, leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups.”
Thanks; that’s a … Read the rest
Whose inquisition?
Jun 30th, 2008 12:31 pm | By Ophelia BensonI took a dislike to Cristina Odone years ago, some time when B&W was very young. She hadn’t commissioned a hatchet profile on me as she did to Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, she’d merely said something narrow-mindedly faithy, perhaps even overtly Catholic, which got up my nose. (Why ‘even’? Because she doesn’t always admit [to put it mildly] that that’s where her narrow-minded views are coming from, and I suspect that she prefers to leave that out of the picture when she can get away with it.) I can’t remember what it was, or when, but no matter, her unpleasantness now gives us more than enough to scowl over.
… Read the restEd Balls began his witch-hunt against faith schools last spring, unleashing informants
What ‘Strident Secularism’?
Jun 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Since 1997 more new state-funded faith schools have opened than under any other government.’… Read the rest
BHA Calls Odone Report Totally Wrong
Jun 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Report ignores evidence and studies, simply repeats old exploded claims.… Read the rest
