Eman al-Obeidy was pressured to change her story *

Apr 5th, 2011 | Filed by

She told Anderson Cooper she was placed before state television cameras with several guns pointing at her from just off camera.… Read the rest



Eman al-Obeidi speaks to the media *

Apr 5th, 2011 | Filed by

She said that she was pressured to recant the rape claims on Libyan state television. She refused.… Read the rest



High school atheist club *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

Or to put it another way, as the Times does, “teenagers speak up for lack of faith.”… Read the rest



What is this, High Noon?

Apr 4th, 2011 12:34 pm | By

I was going to ignore it, but no one else is, so I’ll just say…I too dissent. I disagree with most of Bloody Fools.

Especially items like

As to Myers, despite the development of a blasphemy fan club and admiration for the cowardly use of free expression rights in the safe haven of Morris, Minnesota, the only serious “threat” came from Catholic League president Bill Donahue.

The cowardly use of free expression rights? I can’t even begin to make sense of that. I must do the same thing myself every day, nearly every hour. I’m not likely to be murdered for saying what I think here in Seattle, so I’m cowardly for saying it?

No; I don’t understand, and … Read the rest



“Protecting faith and freedom”

Apr 4th, 2011 12:15 pm | By

Oh no you don’t.

I’ve already said I think Rev Jones is a bad man. He’s no ally or comrade of mine. In his world I would be a lifelong domestic servant with no vote no voice no views no rights, so even without his dramatic performances, he would be no comrade of mine.

But that’s my reasoned choice; it’s not the law of the land. “Interfaith Alliance” please note.

Washington, DC – Interfaith alliance President Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy issues the following statement in response to the killings of UN Workers in Afghanistan.

…this violence is a response, unacceptable as it may be, to the burning of a Qur’an in Florida last month by a local pastor. The

Read the rest


Interfaith Alliance declares 1st Amendment null and void *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

“We as a nation must do more to make clear that bigoted rhetoric and action against the Muslim faith will not be tolerated.”… Read the rest



PZ on shades of grey *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

Don’t even try to pull out a scale and toss a copy of the Koran on one side and the life of a single human being on the other.… Read the rest



Assisted suicide for those not terminally ill *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

Nan Maitland was 84 and had agonizing arthritis. Her life consisted of more pain than pleasure, and she was relieved to be able to choose to end it.… Read the rest



BBC wonders what to think about Grayling’s book *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

So it asks Giles Fraser and Mark Vernon.… Read the rest



Decca Aitkenhead talks to Anthony Grayling *

Apr 4th, 2011 | Filed by

“The charges of militancy and fundamentalism of course come from our opponents, the theists. When the boot was on their foot they burned us at the stake.”… Read the rest



Andrew Copson on Shelley and atheist aesthetics *

Apr 3rd, 2011 | Filed by

Atheists today are too often castigated as materialistic calculators whose lack of spirituality sucks their universe empty of all beauty.… Read the rest



Offending culture, religion, traditions=murder

Apr 3rd, 2011 11:47 am | By

Staffan de Mistura is nuts. He’s barking.

…the head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama), Staffan de Mistura, said during a visit to Mazar-e Sharif that the only person who could be blamed for the violence was the American pastor.

“I don’t think we should be blaming any Afghan. We should be blaming the person who produced the news – the one who burned the Koran. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from offending culture, religion, traditions.”

The only person who could be blamed. Not the people who did the actual killing, with guns; only the guy who made a point of pissing them off.

Please.… Read the rest



The Tantamounts

Apr 3rd, 2011 10:24 am | By

Isn’t there a literary character, or family, called Tantamount? Did I imagine that?

I’m thinking it’s from someone like Aldous Huxley or Evelyn Waugh. Anthony Powell? Mervyn Peake?

It started when Paula Kirby said on Facebook yesterday that some BBC presenter had said something was of “tantamount importance.” Groans all around. But then I started getting this itch inside the head…Margot Tantamount? Charles Tantamount? Tantamount Hall?

Google has been no help, so maybe I did imagine it. Anyone?… Read the rest



Does god hate women?

Apr 3rd, 2011 10:18 am | By
Does god hate women?

These guys certainly think so.

A student at an Islamic school in Bangladesh has been shot dead and at least 30 others injured during a demonstration against women’s rights.

The protesters were marching through the south-western town of Jessore against moves by the government to ensure equal property rights for women…

Under Bangladeshi law, a woman normally inherits half as much as her brother.

Because god wants it that way, which we know, because god said so in this book we are holding aloft while screaming in rage.… Read the rest



Bangladesh: demonstration against women’s rights *

Apr 3rd, 2011 | Filed by

The protesters marched against moves by the government to ensure equal property rights for women.… Read the rest



More Koran rage in Afghanistan *

Apr 3rd, 2011 | Filed by

Hundreds of demonstrators marched to protest not the murder of uninvolved UN workers and compatriots but the burning of one copy of a book.… Read the rest



UN official blames Jones, and Jones alone *

Apr 3rd, 2011 | Filed by

“I don’t think we should be blaming any Afghan. We should be blaming the person who produced the news – the one who burned the Koran.”… Read the rest



Koran or Human Life: Which one is more important to Muslims?

Apr 2nd, 2011 | By Leo Igwe

I have been asking myself this question for some time but I have now decided to ask it out loud following the chilling news coming out of Afghanistan. The news is not something new. It has become a recurrent feature in many Islamic countries.

Yes, my question is this – which one is more valuable to our muslim friends – is it the Koran, or human life? Is it Islamic piety or respect for this one life we have? Is it this real temporary life in this world or the imaginary eternal life in the hereafter?

Because it is now confirmed that at least 10 more people have been killed and over 45 injured in Southern Afghanistan during a protest … Read the rest



Salafis’ turn to democracy alarms Egypt *

Apr 2nd, 2011 | Filed by

“If the constitution is a liberal one this will be catastrophic,” said Sheik Abdel Moneim el-Shahat, scoffing at new demands for minority rights.… Read the rest



Karzai announced the Koran burning on Thursday *

Apr 2nd, 2011 | Filed by

“Karzai’s speech itself provoked people to take such actions,” said Qayum Baabak, a political analyst in Mazar-i-Sharif.… Read the rest