All entries by this author

Indonesia: court upholds blasphemy law *

Apr 20th, 2010 | Filed by

If Indonesia’s constitutional court had overturned the law, other religions would have been allowed to practice freely.… Read the rest



The religious lobby and women’s rights *

Apr 20th, 2010 | Filed by

Why would a modernising ‘New’ Labour, which claims to uphold the rights of women and minorities, seek to expand the religious sector?… Read the rest



Human rights discourse is the new secular religion *

Apr 20th, 2010 | Filed by

Anthony Julius is seriously confused.… Read the rest



Somalia: no music on the radio for you *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

Islamists told all stations to stop broadcasting music because it’s “unIslamic.” All but two submitted.… Read the rest



The male voice is what expertise comes to sound like

Apr 19th, 2010 3:27 pm | By

NPR’s On the Media did a piece about the disproportionate number of men in the media, including NPR and On the Media. An NYU professor did a blog rant on the subject awhile ago, and On the Media brought him (yes, him, and they did the irony-check) to talk about the issue. He said women aren’t quick enough to say “Me me me me look at me I’m good me me me.”

CLAY SHIRKY: I said it then, I believe it now. I think the concern for how other people think about you is one of the sources of essentially work paralysis among women.
One of the big skills that you need, and my institution does not do a

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Media: where are all the women? *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

When women put themselves out there, the word “shrill” is applied to them. They are not called strong, they are called strident.… Read the rest



No you may not

Apr 19th, 2010 12:29 pm | By

So here it is again – Christian groups getting up in public and demanding the right to treat certain people badly.

In a case that pits nondiscrimination policies against freedom of religion, the Supreme Court is grappling with whether universities and colleges can deny official recognition to Christian student groups that refuse to let non-Christians and gays join…The Christian group said its constitutional freedoms of speech, religion and association were violated when it was denied recognition as a student group by the San Francisco-based school.

The group has made this argument at several universities around the nation with mixed results…

Hastings said it turned the Christian Legal Society down because all recognized campus groups, which are eligible for financing and

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The Nerds Are on the March *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

Far from being depressed, the audience turned into a heaving mass of furious geeks. Be afraid, charlatans.… Read the rest



Christian Group Wants the Right to Exclude Gays *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

Group requires members to sign statement of faith; statement forbids “sexually immoral lifestyle”; gays are immoral. See?… Read the rest



Miami Selectively Censors Bus Ads *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

A ‘submission to God: Islam’ ad is fine; a ‘Refuge from Islam’ ad is taken down.… Read the rest



Iran: Mullah Says Women Cause Earthquakes *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

The slutty bitches make men think about sex, and that causes earthquakes.… Read the rest



Catholic Clerics Continue Blaming Everyone Else *

Apr 19th, 2010 | Filed by

It’s eroticism on TV and internet porn; it’s lecherous 13-year-olds who seduce poor helpless priests.… Read the rest



Keep commenting

Apr 18th, 2010 5:40 pm | By

I think I may have accidentally deleted some authentic comments…accidentally by accident don’t you know. Don’t be discouraged if I dropped anything of yours, don’t go away, comment again. In particular I think there was one with “Indian philosophers” in the email address – which I unchecked so that it wouldn’t be deleted, but it was anyway. I wish it hadn’t been. Anyway, I’ll stop bumbling before too long. Though not today…I’m hungry…… Read the rest



Freedom From Religion Foundation celebrates *

Apr 18th, 2010 | Filed by

All presidents since 1952 have issued proclamations designating the National Day of Prayer each year.… Read the rest



Archbishops and idiocy *

Apr 18th, 2010 | Filed by

“Good terminal care can usually achieve adequate pain control.” That’s nice, but the issue is what to do when it can’t.… Read the rest



Eric MacDonald et al. debate ‘whose death is it?’ *

Apr 18th, 2010 | Filed by

Also Sholom Glouberman, Jose Pereira, and Margaret Somerville.… Read the rest



Scholarly Standards in Feminist Science Studies

Apr 18th, 2010 | By Allen Esterson

In September 2009 I submitted an article to the feminist journal Women’s Studies International Forum, and in February 2010 I was informed that the journal had decided against publication. Nothing unusual in that, of course. No doubt the great majority of articles submitted to journals are rejected, for a multitude of reasons. But when I enquired why no reason had been given, the Editor-in-Chief replied that the paper had not been sent out for review as she did not feel that it had sufficient evidence in terms of references or citations to back up some of the claims that were made.

Now, whatever deficiencies there may have been in the article, insufficient citation was not one of them. In … Read the rest



Hello world

Apr 18th, 2010 9:11 am | By

Okay, so here we are! New and shiny and exciting. Tell Josh what you think.… Read the rest



What the former archbishop really wants *

Apr 18th, 2010 | Filed by

The Christian conscience is so precious, virtuous and superior that it must trump all others.… Read the rest



The right to be a shit is under threat!

Apr 17th, 2010 12:12 pm | By

A ‘relationship counsellor’ was fired after (and for? the Telegraph is cagy) refusing to give sex advice to homosexual couples. Therefore, the former archbish of Canterbury George Carey says, laws banning discrimination have ‘taken precedence over religious freedoms.’ Well, yes, if you like to put it that way. By the same token, if you choose to believe that the bible both mandates and allows slavery, and that that translates to people of your particular race being allowed to enslave people not of your race, and you act, or attempt to act, accordingly, then yes, your ‘religious freedom’ will be curtailed to that extent. Laws against discrimination in the form of enslavement by race or other category do indeed take precedence … Read the rest