Roxana Saberi Goes on Trial in Iran *

Apr 14th, 2009 | Filed by

She was charged with buying alcohol, then lacking a press card; now she’s charged with espionage.… Read the rest



Nightmare in Afghanistan *

Apr 14th, 2009 | Filed by

Three Taleban mullahs brought them to the local mosque and passed a fatwa that they must be killed.… Read the rest



Taliban Murders a Couple for Trying to Marry *

Apr 14th, 2009 | Filed by

Two adults attempted to marry; the Taliban kidnapped them and shot them in front of a mosque. … Read the rest



The International Conference on Secularism

Apr 14th, 2009 | By Azar Majedi

On 7th March 2009 an international conference organised by Organisation for Women’s Liberation (OWL) was held successfully in Gothenburg, Sweden. The conference heard speeches from many invited speakers and ended with the showing of the film “Maria’s Grotto” about honour killings in Palestine. Many organisations supported and sponsored the event, including: European Feminist Initiative, Network against Honour Crimes, Women for Peace in Sweden, Centre for Research which is a secular and academic institution.

More than 20 speakers were invited to the conference. Many activists from Ghana, Uganda, Pakistan and Bangladesh had shown interest to attend the conference but could not get entry visa. Also 3 of the speakers from Iraq, Jordan and Syria could not come due to visa difficulties.… Read the rest



Empty signs

Apr 13th, 2009 12:22 pm | By

I wrote to the women’s studies list yesterday to ask for thoughts on sexist epithets, especially pussy and cunt. Here is a sampling from replies.

“Recently, I was standing at the bus stop with a young man who was singing along to rap music. Suddenly, he yelled “Bitch!” and I almost ran for cover. But he was just singing along to the music. Can anyone wonder why young women are treated so badly when the music kids listen to describes them as bitches, evil, and mean?”

“I’m not sure who your informants are but I can absolutely disabuse you of their misinformation. “Cunt” is seen as one of the worst possible expletives that can be used. “Twat” is aged and … Read the rest



Farhat Taj: Life in Swat After the Peace Deal *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

The Taliban have made the 1.7 million people of Swat hostage, and the people continue to suffer.… Read the rest



UNAMA Sickened by Murder of Achikzai *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

Sitara Achikzai was serving her people with dedication in Kandahar. … Read the rest



The Murder of Sitara Achikzai *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

The Taliban says it will pay 200,000 Pakistani rupees to anyone who kills a member of the council. … Read the rest



A Historian Disputes Bishop Mixa *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

Many saw no contradiction between their belief in a Christian God and their support for the Nazi regime.… Read the rest



Simon Blackburn on Hume and Sceptical Irony *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

Hume is much too subtle to describe himself as an atheist.… Read the rest



Taliban Gun Down Women’s Rights Activist *

Apr 13th, 2009 | Filed by

Sitara Achikzai had returned from Germany to work in Kandahar as a teacher and provincial legislator.… Read the rest



Samina Yasmeen on the Taliban in Pakistan *

Apr 12th, 2009 | Filed by

Women’s rights are violated frequently and often without much notice from the public. … Read the rest



Joshua Cohen and Thomas Nagel on Rawls *

Apr 12th, 2009 | Filed by

How Rawls’s political philosophy was influenced by his religion.… Read the rest



André Glucksmann on Postmodern Capitalism *

Apr 12th, 2009 | Filed by

Our age is the first to proclaim the power to reduce risk to zero simply by spreading it around. … Read the rest



John Hope Franklin’s Moral and Intellectual Poise *

Apr 12th, 2009 | Filed by

Franklin, a model to generations of scholars, students, and activists, had few peers. … Read the rest



Strunk and White Are a Terrible Influence *

Apr 12th, 2009 | Filed by

The grammatical advice is so inaccurate that counterexamples often show up on the very same page.… Read the rest



Here kitty kitty kitty kitty

Apr 11th, 2009 6:14 pm | By

Out of curiosity, since Jean told us Jon Stewart did a segment playing off the word ‘pussy,’ I googled his name and ‘pussy’ – and got a lot of hits, most of them not about that segment. They don’t support the ‘pussy just means kittycat’ view.

For instance:

You already know my feelings on Stewart, particularly after that notorious appearance on Crossfire – but you’re being much to kind to call him a wimp, I’ve always felt that he’s a big pussy, period.

Wimp is too nice, you see; Stewart is worse than that; he’s a big pussy.

For another example:

Thank you to the team at Josh Marshall’s liberal TPM blog for putting together this lovely clip

Read the rest


Trickery at sea

Apr 11th, 2009 5:43 pm | By

An interesting bit of moral idiocy:

[T]he Somali pirate commander warned against any forcible intervention. “I’m afraid this matter is likely to create disaster because it is taking too long and we are getting information that the Americans are planning rescue tricks like the French commandos did,” Abdi Garad said.

Tricks. That’s good, isn’t it? People attempting to rescue a guy being forcibly held by heavily armed thieves are accused by the thieves of planning ‘tricks.’ The pirates inform all parties a week in advance that they will be seizing their ships and threatening their lives, do they? All open and aboveboard? All strictly according to Hoyle?

Right.… Read the rest



How do you know?

Apr 11th, 2009 5:35 pm | By

Russell Blackford makes an important point:

[I]t’s become increasingly apparent to me, partly from the Voices of Disbelief exercise, that many people in the bioethics community are fed up with the never-ending resistance from religionists to rational bioethics. Some of them are asking what credentials religion has anyway. Religious leaders are, of course, able to put their arguments in public, like anyone else. But they cannot expect anyone to defer to them if they rely on controversial religious claims…I suggest that religious leaders should be free to put their arguments, but if the arguments depend on doctrines such as ensoulment, the views of God, the sanctity of the natural order, and so on, these popes and priests should not

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A N Wilson and Jesus thrash the evil secularists

Apr 11th, 2009 1:16 pm | By

I don’t read the Daily Mail; I know its reputation, so I avoid even sampling it, because I get enough aggressive stupidity right here at home; but I made an exception for A N Wilson on evil secularism, and I’m quite startled by its frank vulgarity. He’s not a moron, Wilson, at least I thought he wasn’t, but this stuff…

This playground attitude accounts for much of the attitude towards Christianity that you pick up, say, from the alternative comedians, and the casual light blasphemy of jokes on TV or radio. It also lends weight to the fervour of the anti-God fanatics, such as the writer Christopher Hitchens and the geneticist Richard Dawkins, who think all the evil in

Read the rest