Salman Rushdie said he fit comfortably in the tradition of great essayists going back to the 18th century and his work would undoubtedly endure.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Surly Amy says support women in secularism 
May 1st, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She made limited edition Surly-Ramics necklaces as gifts for people who donate to student scholarships to the Women in Secularism conference.… Read the rest
From minister to atheist: questions haunted her
May 1st, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is Jesus the only way to God? Would a loving God torment people for eternity? Is there any evidence of God at all? And one day, she realized: “I’m an atheist.”… Read the rest
Adele Wilde-Blavatsky responds
May 1st, 2012 5:48 am | By Ophelia BensonI’ve just published Adele Wilde-Blavatsky’s response to The Feminist Wire’s “Collective Response” to her article (also for The Feminist Wire) on the hijab and the hoodie. Don’t miss it. The “Collective Response” and the actions of The Feminist Wire – especially in summarily booting Wilde-Blavatsky from TFW – are a stinking outrage.
The ”Collective Response” said, among other things,
What we do find deeply problematic, however, is the questioning of women’s choice to wear the niqab and the presumption that this decision is rooted in a “false consciousness.”
Wilde-Blavastky replied (but the Feminist Wire booted her out instead of publishing it, so I have the privilege of publishing it instead)
… Read the restThis is not a presumption, there is significant empirical
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The Feminist Wire censorship: An unpublished response
May 1st, 2012 | By Adele Wilde-BlavatskyHere is my unpublished response to a collective response (signed by over 70 feminists) that was published on The Feminist Wire website opposing my article: ‘To be Anti-Racist is to be Feminist: The Hoodie and the Hijab are not Equals’. I sent this response to TFW editorial collective for publication, prior to their removing both my article and their collective response.
Thank you for this collective response to my article. I absolutely accept and welcome the effort by The Feminist Wire Collective to challenge hierarchies of privilege and build solidarity. I have listened to your concerns and taken them to heart as well. We can all learn something from this debate. I also welcome any initiative for an honest … Read the rest
Andrew Copson on state-funded “faith” schools
May 1st, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Catholic church promoted to all pupils in its secondary schools a petition against gay marriage in a way unacceptable for any publicly funded body.… Read the rest
Adele Wilde-Blavatsky: when anti-racism becomes anti-woman
Apr 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The ‘excuse-making of cultural relativism’ and the politically correct face of anti-racism is ugly and dangerous.… Read the rest
Philosophers and physicists duke it out
Apr 30th, 2012 4:00 pm | By Ophelia BensonUpdate: omigod – tricked again. I so nearly missed it…you just can’t ever be careful enough.
I nearly missed it, and didn’t because one of the comments on An Explanation From Nothing? quoted Krauss saying “the nasty review in the Times by the templeton funded philosopher is bringing more people out of the woodwork…”
Oh? thought I, so naturally I googled, and yes David Albert is Templeton funded, and furthermore, the Explanation From Nothing blog is part of the project, so it too is Templeton funded. I had no clue. I thought it was just a blog like any other blog.
I’m not saying the people in the project are corrupted by Templeton, but I do think the Templeton … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Loose morals
Apr 30th, 2012 3:31 pm | By Ophelia BensonUdate: note this is from the Washington Times, a very dubious source.
Good old liberation struggles, like the liberation struggle of Chechnya from the brutal embrace of Russia.
… Read the restChechnya’s government is openly approving of families that kill female relatives who violate their sense of honor, as this Russian republic embraces a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam after decades of religious suppression under Soviet rule.
In the past five years, the bodies of dozens of young Chechen women have been found dumped in woods, abandoned in alleys and left along roads in the capital, Grozny, and neighboring villages.
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov publicly announced that the dead women had “loose morals” and were rightfully shot by male relatives. He went on to
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The pansy ass exodus
Apr 30th, 2012 2:57 pm | By Ophelia BensonWatching the Dan Savage video again.
The first student walks out after Savage says let’s talk about the bible for a second, because people point out “that they can’t help with the anti-gay bullying because it says right there in Leviticus, it says right there in Timothy, it says right there in Romans…that being gay is wrong.” Boom, she’s up.
That’s very quick. That’s very quick.
Why so quick?
It’s true that people say that. Why is she leaving just because Savage says people say that? Why is she leaving so fast when he hasn’t even said “bullshit” yet?
… Read the restWe can learn to ignore the bullshit about gay people in the bible, the same way we have learned to
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Regina Martínez Pérez
Apr 30th, 2012 2:38 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnother journalist in Mexico murdered apparently for doing her job too well.
… Read the restNew York, April 30, 2012–Authorities must immediately investigate the murder of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez Pérez, determine the motive, and ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
The body of Martínez was found in her home on Saturday evening in Xalapa, the capital of the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, according to news reports. She had been badly beaten around the face and ribs and had been strangled to death, news reports said. The state attorney general, Amadeo Flores Espinoza, said in a news briefing that it appeared her TV, cellphones, and computer had been stolen.
Martínez had worked for
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Nigeria: church attacks kill 19 on Sunday
Apr 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Four killed in Maiduguri, fifteen in Kano. Both attacks bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.… Read the rest
Nigeria: suicide attack in Kano kills 11
Apr 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Boko Haram’s increasingly murderous campaign has killed more than 1,000 people since mid-2009.… Read the rest
When you disagree, be sure to march right out
Apr 30th, 2012 11:47 am | By Ophelia BensonAbout those high school students walking out on Dan Savage when he started talking about anti-gay bullshit in the bible.
They were there for a conference on journalism, a conference for the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association.
Journalists need to be able to listen to things they don’t agree with in order to do their jobs.
That’s one thing. Another thing is that walking out sends a message. What message were these students sending? That harsh criticism of the bible is a bad thing, bad enough to be worth the disruption and message-sending of walking out on a speaker.
But what Savage was saying is true. It is true that the bible accepts slavery as … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Who does Dan Savage think he is?
Apr 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
So what if he’s right that nothing contributes more to the destruction of the lives of gay people than Christians using the Bible as an instrument of brutality?… Read the rest
Pink News on Dan Savage and student walkouts
Apr 30th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Savage was addressing a group of students at the National High School Journalist Conference in Seattle.… Read the rest
The self-righteous exit
Apr 29th, 2012 5:30 pm | By Ophelia BensonAnd I’ve been meaning to post Dan Savage telling high school students how the bible got some things wrong.
We ignore what the bible says about slavery because the bible got slavery wrong.
What’s interesting is that a whole bunch of kids got up and stalked out. What’s your point, kids? That it’s good to persecute gay people because it’s in the bible? Or as Savage said -
It’s funny as someone who is on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the bible how pansy ass some people react when you push back.
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Catholicism v Freedom
Apr 29th, 2012 5:20 pm | By Ophelia BensonEric does a really thorough job on Bill Donohue and the Catholic League.
A sample:
… Read the restThis explains, for instance, the insistence, by Catholic bishops, archbishops and cardinals, that the law of marriage not be changed to accommodate the relationships of homosexual persons. Although according to canon 1059, “the marriage of Catholics is governed not only by divine law but also by canon law, without prejudice to the competence of civil authority concerning the merely civil effects of the same marriage,” (my italics) it is clear that, by insisting that civil authorities cannot unilaterally declare the validity of marriages between homosexuals, Catholic bishops are holding canon law to be, in effect, superior to, and determinative of, what can be licitly
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
CNN on murder of Khalil Dale
Apr 29th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dale, a nurse who was managing a health program for the ICRC, was seized by armed men in the city of Quetta, near the Afghan border, the Red Cross said in January.… Read the rest
A pretty story out of Pakistan
Apr 29th, 2012 4:27 pm | By Ophelia BensonCompassion is at the heart of every great religion. (Karen Armstrong)
That’s good, because if it weren’t, religious zealots might do some really horrible things now and then.
A British aid worker kidnapped in Pakistan in January has been found dead, the Foreign Office has said.
Khalil Dale, 60, who worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was kidnapped in Quetta, south-west Pakistan.
The body of the Muslim convert was found in an orchard in Quetta with a note saying he had been killed by the Taliban, local police said…It is understood the militants holding Mr Dale had asked for a very large ransom which could not be paid.
The BBC doesn’t say so, but other headlines … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
