‘Everyone claims to be one. Like in the 90s, everyone was a Buddhist, then doing Kabbalah.’… Read the rest
‘Fundamentalist Atheist’ Trope Must Go 
Jul 25th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There is a difference – call it a fundamental one – between being certain and wrong and being certain and right. … Read the rest
Support Offered for Rejected Child
Jul 25th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Her father said he no longer wanted her in the home because she brought shame to the family.… Read the rest
Child Raped, Then Rejected by Her Family
Jul 25th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Allegedly raped by four boys, an 8-year-old Liberian girl is now in foster care after being shunned by her family.… Read the rest
A Discussion of the Ethics of Book Reviewing
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alain de Botton makes an energetic contribution.… Read the rest
Possible ‘Honour’ Killings of Four Women
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Montreal couple and son suspected of killing three daughters and husband’s first wife.… Read the rest
Possible ‘Honour’ Acid Attack in Leytonstone
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Victim reportedly suspected of having an affair with a married Muslim woman; she has been told her life is in danger.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Toast Ireland’s Blasphemy Law
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The more seriously we take our beliefs, the bigger fools we feel we are being called.… Read the rest
To Serve God and Wal-Mart
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
New book chronicles Wal-Mart’s role in mainstreaming evangelical and free market values.… Read the rest
Obama is a Furriner! From Hawaii!
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Everbody kno this and it is being cuvvered up by the libruls. It is a skandle!… Read the rest
Alabama Freethought Association Meets
Jul 24th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
AFA attracts people from communities where strong religious norms treat atheism as unthinkable and despicable.… Read the rest
Those god-damn atheists are at the door again, with their pamphlets
Jul 23rd, 2009 5:34 pm | By Ophelia BensonAbout this meta-discussion. H E Baber sees things differently.
But then there’s the meta-disussion–when self-appointed referees (particularly when they’re also players) complain that all that bashing is too, too nasty or that this rough play is hurtful to “despised minorities.” Of course I think it’s perfectly ok for atheists to proselytize, irritating as it is, just as I think it’s perfectly ok for Mormans to come knocking on my door, which I find equally irritating.
I don’t normally say things like “all that bashing is too, too nasty” or “this rough play is hurtful to ‘despised minorities’.” I didn’t say it this time, either. I said something a little different. I agreed with Russell Blackford that Dennett and Dawkins … Read the rest
Amnesty International Accuses Saudis of Torture
Jul 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
AI said said torture methods include ‘severe beatings with sticks, punching, suspension from the ceiling,’… Read the rest
150 Women to be Flogged for Having Sex
Jul 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The men are acquitted, because they say they didn’t do it.… Read the rest
The Six Lives of Malalai Joya
Jul 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘is the responsibility of our own people to fight for their rights, to achieve values like democracy and women’s rights.’… Read the rest
Islam, Women, Double Standards, the West
Jul 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The argument about chastity in Christianity and Islam is undermined by the difference in outcomes for women.… Read the rest
Malaysian Court Sentences Woman to Whipping
Jul 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She drank beer in a nightclub. Six strokes of the cane and a $1400 fine.… Read the rest
Mirror mirror on the wall
Jul 22nd, 2009 12:03 pm | By Ophelia BensonRussell Blackford said in More on H.E. Baber’s piece in The Guardian that yes there are such people as knee-jerk atheists, who are far less nuanced and thoughtful than Dennett and Dawkins and so on, but –
… Read the restBut that is inevitable. What movement doesn’t attract a lot of people who adopt a relatively crude version of its ideas? It’s very unfair to write in a way that perpetuates the myth that Dennett, Dawkins, etc., themselves are unnuanced and dogmatic. Any fair reading of their work shows the opposite. If anything, there is now some urgency in dispelling that myth, which is not only unfair but also making it more difficult for the individuals concerned to get a decent hearing, i.e.
Historians Misrepresented by Creationists
Jul 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Phil Bell, CEO of Creationist Ministries UK, acknowledged that Fathom Media was established as a front company.… Read the rest
Creationist Film Company Tricks 3 Historians
Jul 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fathom Media was revealed to be a subsidiary of Creation Ministries International.… Read the rest
