And joins Nick Matzke in trying to explain it to creationists on Facebook.… Read the rest
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Pass it on, on, on
Jul 20th, 2012 9:37 am | By Ophelia BensonA reminder – if you haven’t already, please sign the petition asking the Obama admin to call on Indonesia to free Alexander Aan. And above all please pass it on – via Twitter, Facebook, reddit, all those other thingies that I don’t even know the names of which (ok I know the name of tumblr), blogs, friends, networks, everything. It has to get 25,000 signatures by August 16th, so spreading the word is urgent.
Most people have no trouble signing but a few do. I did, I got a silly message saying there had been too many attempts to sign in from my IP address, which made no sense, since there hadn’t been any. But they sent me a new … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
A new friend
Jul 19th, 2012 5:21 pm | By Ophelia BensonOn a more cheerful note – following a pingback here yesterday led me to one venomous anti-me post which included a link to another venomous anti-me post which included a link to a post by someone with a different take. I will share some of it with you because it is pleasant and it is nice to have pleasant things in among all the venom. Also the author said it’s a message to some people and she wants to get it out there, so I’m helping her get it out there.
… Read the restSomewhere along the line I found links to some blog posts about the Women in Secularism conference and reading them was just so inspiring. Since I realised/accepted/announced to
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Lady Catherine
Jul 19th, 2012 4:47 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhen the ladies returned to the drawing room, there was little to be done but to hear Lady Catherine talk, which she did without any intermission till coffee came in, delivering her opinion on every subject in so decisive a manner as proved that she was not used to have her judgment controverted. She enquired into Charlotte’s domestic concerns familiarly and minutely, and gave her a great deal of advice as to the management of them all; told her how every thing ought to be regulated in so small a family as her’s, and instructed her as to the care of her cows and her poultry. Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great lady’s attention, which could furnish her … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Monitoring what she is saying
Jul 19th, 2012 3:09 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere was a good piece on NPR last week about stereotype threat, by Shankar Vedantam.
It starts with the STEM problem: fewer women in science, engineering, technology and mathematics. It’s a bad thing. It matters.
It isn’t just that fewer women choose to go into these fields. Even when they go into these fields and are successful, women are more likely than men to quit.
And that isn’t because they get bored and decide to spend all their time thinking about shoes instead.
Audio sampling reveals that something else is going on.
… Read the restWhen female scientists talked to other female scientists, they sounded perfectly competent. But when they talked to male colleagues, Mehl and Schmader found that they sounded less
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Your Hit Parade
Jul 19th, 2012 2:37 pm | By Ophelia BensonI thought that was the last of it, but there’s this adorable song that was performed at TAM.
Dedicated to James Randi, JREF, and all clear-thinking individuals who are fond of dirty words.… Read the restlyrics
He said “Come up for coffee” Before she reached her floor Now, some folks who have vaginas don’t show up here anymore Well, perhaps that guy was wrong But can’t we all just get along?Now, Professor Richard Dawkins Said, “Really, what’s the harm? He never put his cock in or even touched your arm.” Well, even smart guys get stuff wrong Can’t we all just get along?
Soon the blogosphere went ape-shit And that ape-shit hit the fan Some cried, “Hey gals, just chill out,”
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Value for money
Jul 19th, 2012 9:23 am | By Ophelia BensonPrepare to be astonished.
Consumers could be wasting their money on sports drinks, protein shakes and high-end trainers, according to a new joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the British Medical Journal.
The investigation into the performance-enhancing claims of some popular sports products found “a striking lack of evidence” to back them up.
Surely not! Surely the more expensive a shoe is, the faster you can run when you wear it. You would think so, but the BBC says alas, we have been deceived.
A team at Oxford University examined 431 claims in 104 sport product adverts and found a “worrying” lack of high-quality research, calling for better studies to help inform consumers.
But not Lucozade, I’m sure. Of … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Lack of evidence that popular sports products work 
Jul 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A team at Oxford examined 431 claims in 104 sport product adverts and found a “worrying” lack of high-quality research, calling for better studies to help inform consumers.… Read the rest
The sacred and the profane
Jul 19th, 2012 8:52 am | By Ophelia BensonThe Catholic church in the UK is finding itself having to answer to the law. What an indignity! What presumption! Mere secular humans with secular training in secular law daring to meddle with sanctified Standers-in For Jesus. The church is god’s telephone line! Don’t these presumptuous mundane unholy law-botherers realize that? How dare they haul a bunch of priests to court?
… Read the restA landmark hearing at the Supreme Court in London on Monday will consider who is responsible for compensating victims of child abuse by Catholic priests.
The case is being brought by 170 men who allege that they were sexually and physically abused at a Roman Catholic children’s home.
The High Court at Leeds and the Court of Appeal
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Will the Catholic church be forced to take responsibility?
Jul 19th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A landmark hearing at the Supreme Court in London will consider who is responsible for compensating victims of child abuse by Catholic priests.… Read the rest
Simply strange ones
Jul 18th, 2012 4:42 pm | By Ophelia BensonBut Giles Fraser looks quite thoughtful compared to Ed West in the Telegraph.
… Read the rest…people are not naturally moral relativists, and female circumcision cannot be viewed in any way as an acceptable cultural practice, violating all Western ethical principles, scarring women for life out of sheer spiteful misogyny.
But it’s inevitable that any movement that has been proved right and principled will then push its ideology too far until it too becomes intolerant and ludicrous, and the campaign against male circumcision is just one example. In theory removing a foreskin could be seen as a violation of a child’s rights, but that’s to take a theoretical liberal argument to an absurd and illiberal position. It equates genuinely horrific and immoral
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Giles Fraser versus the liberal mindset
Jul 18th, 2012 4:20 pm | By Ophelia BensonGiles Fraser is angry about the German court decision that religious circumcision of infants is a violation of their right to bodily integrity (although he doesn’t say that, but substitutes “against the best interests of the child”). He’s outraged that Merkel had to say ”I do not want Germany to be the only country in the world in which Jews cannot practise their rites.”
… Read the restYet the circumcision of babies cuts against one of the basic assumptions of the liberal mindset. Informed consent lies at the heart of choice and choice lies at the heart of the liberal society. Without informed consent, circumcision is regarded as a form of violence and a violation of the fundamental rights of the child. Which
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Giles Fraser stands up for coercion
Jul 18th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Liberals think informed choice is a basic right, therefore Fraser regards “the liberal mindset as a diminished form of the moral imagination.”… Read the rest
German pharmaceuticals pay journo to smear Ernst
Jul 18th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A newspaper accuses the companies of funding the journalist to denigrate critics of homeopathy, especially Edzard Ernst.… Read the rest
Liberating and life-enhancing
Jul 18th, 2012 10:52 am | By Ophelia BensonGhaffar Hussain talks to Alom Shaha in The Commentator. Alom’s book The Young Atheist’s Handbook launches tomorrow, or launched yesterday, or last week (launches get confusing – they migrate).
Alom points out that he’s had different experiences from the horsemen, and he wants to show that atheism isn’t just for horsemen. Why promote atheism?
… Read the restI believe that lots of people only follow a religion because of parental and cultural pressure and that they would be happier if they could be true to themselves and lead godless lives. Belief in god is not something that comes naturally to all of us; many of us find it impossible to believe in god and it can be liberating and life-enhancing to fully embrace
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Ghaffar Hussain talks to Alom Shaha
Jul 18th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many of us find it impossible to believe in god and it can be liberating and life-enhancing to fully embrace this lack of belief and live our lives without religion.… Read the rest
54% of Americans would vote for an atheist as president
Jul 18th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Which is an improvement, but atheists still win the “would not vote for” poll at 43%, edging out Muslims at 40%.… Read the rest
Another woman in the crowd
Jul 17th, 2012 4:53 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere’s a very informative comment on Pamela Gay’s talk, by “Stella Luna.”
… Read the restI was unable to attend TAM this year due to my work schedule, but I very much wanted to go because I enjoy it so much – and also to be another woman in the crowd. While I personally have not experienced a grab or offensive comment at TAM, I will absolutely make it clear that as a very experienced mid-level manager at the Fortune 500 company I work for, I am the target of off-color remarks, double entendres, “praise” for my skills that might add praise for my wearing a skirt that day, or even unwelcome hugs in lieue of handshakes from the program director. (I’ve yet
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The ministry of truth
Jul 17th, 2012 4:15 pm | By Ophelia BensonKausik Datta has an incisive post on Ayesha Nusrat’s op-ed in the New York Times about how liberating it is to submit to a religious obligation to wrap your head and neck in a large bandage.
Clearly, to Ms. Nusrat, the hijab is merely a few yards of cloth. For far too many women in far too many countries (for instance, the Middle East, North Africa, Far East and the Southeast of Asia, not to mention, Europe), the hijab is an obligatory article of indenturement that permits no choice, but is to be worn on pain of punishment and/or death; to them, it is a symbol of systematic oppression.
A symbol and the reality, which is why it’s so infuriating … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The hijab is not a symbol of freedom
Jul 17th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
For far too many women the hijab is an obligatory article of indenturement that permits no choice; to them, it is a symbol of systematic oppression.… Read the rest
