One can always find someone to give the ‘opposite’ view, however ill-founded.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Death Penalty Confirmed for Leyla Mafi
Dec 24th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIranian judicial officials deny that Mafi has mental age of 8.… Read the rest
Stoning of Hajieh Esmailvand Put on Hold
Dec 24th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIranian authorities have temporarily stayed stoning while case is studied by judiciary pardons commission.… Read the rest
A Little Book of Bollocks
Dec 24th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTessa Jowell compiles a list of jargony governmentese.… Read the rest
The Intersection of Science and Popular Culture
Dec 24th, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA DNA float wins a prize at Rio’s Carnaval.… Read the rest
We Must not Tolerate Censorship
Dec 23rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWhy didn’t play’s producers and police tell ‘community leaders’ to get lost? What’s to negotiate? … Read the rest
Many Names Sign Letter Supporting Playwright
Dec 23rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLetter warns that everyone has lost out due to cancellation of play. … Read the rest
Letter Deplores Closing of ‘Behzti’
Dec 23rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonB&W signed too.… Read the rest
Surprise: Men Prefer Subordinate Women
Dec 23rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnd women don’t prefer subordinate men for high-investment activities.… Read the rest
Guilty Overcompensation for Past Museum Sins
Dec 23rd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonScholars’ assessments are ignored in favor of self-promotional platitudes. … Read the rest
Self-ref
Dec 22nd, 2004 8:25 pm | By Ophelia BensonA self-referential moment. Beg pardon. But there’s some amusement value in it (well I think so at least). Plus of course there’s the flogging aspect, and after all, the less the book sells, the sooner I will have to go out and pluck chickens for a living, after which I will be far too tired and chickeny to mess around with B&W.
So there are some reviews. There’s this one at Mugged by Reality – which is quite funny because he quotes the outraged review at Amazon and then says this:
… Read the restI actually came across the book by accident. I was perusing Harry’s Place and inadvertently clicked on the Amazon link in his sidebar.
‘Hmmm’, I thought as I scanned
Whither Clarity
Dec 22nd, 2004 7:23 pm | By Ophelia BensonWell here’s an oddity (the air is thick with oddities these days) – someone arguing for more clarity, an end to muddling through, an awareness of tensions and conflicts and the need for hard choices – and doing it by means of surprisingly muddled mushy unclear woolly language. That seems like a peculiar way to argue for clear thinking.
… Read the restThe conflict played out in Birmingham, and elsewhere every day, is between two values – one that liberals have cherished for centuries and another acquired much more recently. The ancient, almost defining liberal ideal is freedom: of expression, of movement, of protest. The newer value is an approach to society’s minorities that aims to go beyond mere tolerance, and reaches for
Death Threats Succeed in Silencing Playwright
Dec 22nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGurpreet Kaur Bhatti has asked theatre not to stage her play because threats against her have increased.… Read the rest
Never Mind the Truth, Just Win the Argument
Dec 22nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSchopenhauer’s sardonic book gives 38 argument-winning rhetorical tricks.… Read the rest
ACSH Replies to CSPI
Dec 22nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA history of going where the science takes them, even when that science is counter to interest of funders.… Read the rest
Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti in Hiding After Murder Threats
Dec 22nd, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCouncillor calls mob’s success at censorship a victory for common sense.… Read the rest
Solstice
Dec 21st, 2004 11:42 pm | By Ophelia BensonJust two or three more brief quotations from Wicca. My little solstice present for you.
To discourage a poltergeist from remaining in the house put up a list of chores and tell it that if it is to remain in the house it must earn its keep. If it does not, then you will bring in an exorcist.
Errm – okay. But – um – how do I tell it? Write it at the top of the list of chores? But how do I know if the poltergeist has seen the list of chores? Or that it can read? Should I tell it personally, by announcing it aloud? But how do I know where polty is, or if it’s … Read the rest
Paul Edwards 1923-2004
Dec 21st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAtheist philosopher lived 81 years, did not convert to theism.… Read the rest
The Self-Esteem Myth
Dec 21st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonJust for a start, separate correlation from causation.… Read the rest
Sharia in Canada a Thoroughly Bad Idea
Dec 21st, 2004 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShould be rejected along with any other impulse to tailor Canada’s justice system to individual cultures.… Read the rest