The Two Stooges

Nov 17th, 2006 7:33 pm | By

That pope – he’s always walking into these things. He’s like one of those physical comedy types whose schtick is all tripping over the furniture and sitting on the cat.

Apparently there was this fuss in Italy the other day ‘when the daily newspaper of the Italian Roman Catholic church criticised a string of recent satirical acts’ about this same pope. The pope’s private secretary explained to a journalist what the papal crowd was thinking.

“I am aware of the controversy and I hope that broadcasts of this kind stop,” Father Genswein said. “Satire is fine. But these things do not have any intellectual quality and offend men of the church. They are not acceptable.”

That’s fun, isn’t it? … Read the rest



Jesus and Mo Talk About Atheists *

Nov 17th, 2006 | Filed by

Jesus is reading Dawkins’s book, Mo is reading Dennett’s. They feel cross.… Read the rest



Chapter of Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves *

Nov 17th, 2006 | Filed by

‘This book’s title is intended to be provocative, not sociologically precise.’… Read the rest



Kicking the Headscarf Habit *

Nov 17th, 2006 | Filed by

Why is it religious to put on a headscarf but never to take one off?… Read the rest



Jürgen Habermas on Opening Fortress Europe *

Nov 17th, 2006 | Filed by

The liberal state demands that all religious communities recognise universal principles of modern law. … Read the rest



Nick Cohen Talks to Ted Honderich *

Nov 17th, 2006 | Filed by

He is not entirely won over.… Read the rest



New Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.

Nov 17th, 2006 | By Center for Inquiry

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Nathan Bupp
Phone: (716) 636-4869 x 218
E-mail: nbupp@centerforinquiry.net

Washington, D.C. (November 14, 2006)—The Center for Inquiry/Transnational, a think tank devoted to promoting reason and science in all areas of human interest, announced today that it is opening a new Office of Public Policy in Washington, D.C. This initiative will mark an unprecedented drive to bring a rigorous defense of science and secular values to policy makers located at the focal point of America’s political and cultural battleground.

Paul Kurtz, chairman and founder of the Center for Inquiry/Transnational and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, says that the foundations of our democratic society are now under attack. “The social … Read the rest



Not so fast

Nov 17th, 2006 12:27 am | By

Something from an essay by Richard Rorty – ‘Globalization, the Politics of Identity and Social Hope,’ in Philosophy and Social Hope (1996). See what you think.

As I see it, the emergence of feminism, gay liberation, various sorts of ethnic separatism, aboriginal rights, and the like, simply add further concreteness to sketches of the good old egalitarian utopia…In that society, people who wanted to think of themselves as Basque first, or black first, or women first, and citizens of their countries or a global cooperative commonwealth second, would have little trouble doing so. For the institutions of that commonwealth would be regulated by John Stuart Mill’s dictum that everybody gets to do what they like as long as it doesn’t

Read the rest


Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

Cultivation of critical thinking essential not only for science but also for an educated citizenry.… Read the rest



New Think Tank to Promote Thinking *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

Brainchild of Paul Kurtz will lobby for science-based decision making and against religion in government.… Read the rest



Pope’s Secretary Declares Pope-jokes Not OK *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

‘Satire is fine. But these things do not have any intellectual quality and offend men of the church. They are not acceptable.’… Read the rest



Scott McLemee Reviews New Thomas Pynchon *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

To discuss the book adequately would demand a seminar lasting four months.… Read the rest



The Phenomenology of Smell *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

Visual clues are more reliable than olfactory ones for a two-legged fallen human. … Read the rest



Hitchens Reviews Clive James *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

London would have been far less amusing without Clive James’s willingness to take chances.… Read the rest



Two Historians Win Prize for Study of Humanity *

Nov 16th, 2006 | Filed by

John Hope Franklin and Yu Ying-shih share the Kluge prize.… Read the rest



Revisiting the question of the veil

Nov 16th, 2006 | By Azar Majedi

The question of the veil has become a heated debate in the British media. In this debate some fundamental principles seem to be at stake: individual freedom to practice one’s religion, freedom of choice, freedom of clothing and discrimination against a particular community, that is, the so-called Muslim community. Islamists and some human rights activists maintain that the so-called Muslim community is being stigmatized and has been under racist attack since September 11th. They argue that the latest attempts to ban the burqa or the niqab are a violation of individual freedom and another racist attack on Muslims. Let’s examine these issues more closely.

Two events following one another brought up the question of the Islamic veil in the British … Read the rest



Another untrue Scot

Nov 15th, 2006 8:34 pm | By

And more again.

Consider the typical skirmish between secular and religious protagonists (AC Grayling provides a good case in point with his blog). They lead, at best, up a cul-de-sac because their arguments only go round and round in circles. They are, at worst, dangerous because in forcing people to take sides, they nurture extremes – whether religious or secular. This rides roughshod over the ground that is genuinely fascinating, humanly enriching, and socially essential: the places where science and religion reach the respective limits of their understanding and meet. The militant atheist and the fundamentalist believer alike try to rubbish such engagement because it offends their faith that science or religion can and should say it all.

One, … Read the rest



Mutual Contempt is a Sacred Liberty *

Nov 15th, 2006 | Filed by

Brown should not be seen to promote, by force of law, some dubious concept of a ‘mainstream.’… Read the rest



Press Releases from HRC of Pakistan *

Nov 15th, 2006 | Filed by

Lots of news there.… Read the rest



Africans React to Gay Marriage Bill *

Nov 15th, 2006 | Filed by

In Uganda, Faridah Kenyini said South Africa had set a good example for rest of continent.… Read the rest