But science journalists are notorious for oversimplifying the science…… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Scientists Are Cold Reductionist Killjoys
Nov 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘People are attracted to people who are attracted to them.’ Ow, that’s cold.… Read the rest
MCB Head Speaks Up
Nov 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Stoning is a metaphor for disapproval. Who knew?… Read the rest
Danish Satirical Website Upset Catholics
Nov 10th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says John Paul was not faultless.… Read the rest
Interview With Azar Majedi
Nov 10th, 2007 | By Rosa ValentiniWould you say that the British have become aware of the danger of multiculturalists’ policies since the London terrorist attacks?
Azar Majedi: It is difficult to judge the British public opinion, as it is usually the media that makes and shapes the public opinion. As far as the British political arena is concerned, I must say no, it has not changed. The British government continues the policy of appeasement of the so-called “Muslim leaders,” who, to my opinion, are self appointed. Consulting with these religious men, in order to “win the hearts of the Muslim community”, is the British government’s key policy.
Unfortunately, an atmosphere of mistrust has developed between the so-called Muslim community and the general public. The Muslim … Read the rest
Chatting With Bari
Nov 10th, 2007 10:13 am | By Ophelia BensonA self-appointed ‘community spokesman’ does some speaking.
Sir Salman Rushdie should never have been knighted, he says. “He caused a huge amount of distress and discordance with his book, it should have been pulped.”
Ah. So any book that causes ‘a huge amount of distress and discordance’ should be pulped? That might include a lot of books, yeh? Plus Bari isn’t altogether consistent.
According to a recent report by the Policy Exchange think-tank, the bookshop at the east London Mosque, which Dr Bari chairs, stocks extremist literature. “The bookshops are independent businesses,” he says. “We can’t just go in and tell them what to sell…”
Or that their books should be pulped? Hmm?
… Read the restHis passion is to integrate Muslim
Bush Maneuver Packed Civil Rights Panel
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Appointed two Republicans who then registered as Independents.… Read the rest
Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Spanish-speakers with Tourette’s blurt out ‘hostia’ – communion wafer.… Read the rest
Four Charged With ‘Treason’ in Pakistan
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
So it’s ‘treason’ to oppose a military coup. Funny.… Read the rest
Over 700 PP Members Arrested Overnight
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Five people in Karachi charged with sedition for protesting the emergency. … Read the rest
Lancet Study Finds Chiropractice Has no Effect
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Results showed no difference in recovery times and in all cases symptoms lasted for about nine days.… Read the rest
What Happens When Females are Worthless
Nov 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People resort to medical technology to do away with the girl child at the foetal stage. … Read the rest
Gina Khan on Breaking the Silence
Nov 9th, 2007 | By Ophelia BensonLast February an article by Mary Ann Sieghart in the Times (London) introduced us to Gina Khan: ‘a very brave woman. Born in Birmingham 38 years ago to Pakistani parents, she has run away from an arranged marriage, dressed herself in jeans and dared to speak out against the increasing radicalisation of her community.’ Here she tells us more and brings us up to date on her campaign.
What prompted you to start speaking out?
I had been doing my own research for a few years. After all, being a British Asian woman from a Pakistani ethnic background, a Muslim, the atrocities commited in the name of Islam effected me profoundly. Being a Pakistani had its own stigmas – being … Read the rest
HRCP on the Emergency in Pakistan
Nov 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Asma Jahangir and others in Human Rights Commission send messages.… Read the rest
Catholic School Drops Terrence Higgins Trust
Nov 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘London Oratory school will always want to work with organisations whose practices support Christian values.’… Read the rest
Richard Norman on the Complications of Faith
Nov 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A mistaken argument is still an argument, still an appeal to reason and evidence.… Read the rest
Noah Feldman on Cosmopolitanism [pdf]
Nov 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Can we make legal demands on people with whom we are not joined in a political association?… Read the rest
Priests Fret at Lower Alcohol Limit for Drivers
Nov 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s the Mass you see. The wine isn’t wine, it’s blood, but it still makes you drunk.… Read the rest
Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial
Nov 8th, 2007 | By Barbara ForrestNOVA Documentary: “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial”
When: Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Louisiana Public Broadcasting, 7-9 p.m.
WYES, New Orleans, 7:30-9:30 p.m.
View online on Wednesday, November 14, 2007.
The story of the first legal case involving intelligent design creationism, Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District (2005), will be told in a two-hour documentary, “Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial,” that will air on PBS’s NOVA on Tuesday, November 13. Barbara Forrest, Professor of Philosophy in the Dept. of History and Political Science at Southeastern Louisiana University, served as one of the expert witnesses for the plaintiffs and will be featured in the documentary along with other participants in the case.
In December 2004, eleven parents of … Read the rest
Fiction and unreality
Nov 7th, 2007 5:22 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe post on fictional characters has spawned a lot of offspring – Norm’s, George Szirtes’s, Mick Hartley’s, Tom Freeman’s.
The subject is related to one that Jean and I talked about a little today – when you’ve been in the blogosphere, have you been to a real place? When you interact via a blog, is that really interacting? Jean has a related post at Talking Philosophy.
I think Internet interaction is decidedly real interaction, but only for the people for whom it is so; that could be everyone, for all I know, but I don’t think it necessarily is. But I think it is so, at least, for people for whom language, thinking, writing, talking … Read the rest