All entries by this author

Nick Cohen on British Juries and Rape Cases *

Dec 23rd, 2009 | Filed by

Juries want to blame the victim.… Read the rest



Oral Roberts Preyed on Vulnerable People *

Dec 23rd, 2009 | Filed by

Roberts was instrumental in the founding of the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship.… Read the rest



Francine Prose on Religion and Misogyny *

Dec 23rd, 2009 | Filed by

Daily, all over the world, there are mutilations and murders and beatings, all in the name of God. … Read the rest



Checking in

Dec 22nd, 2009 7:03 pm | By

Hello. I haven’t disappeared – I spent most of today traveling and then a big chunk of it walking along a bit of the California coast in a strong wind and then another big chunk of it writing a piece for Comment is Free. Normal broadcasting will resume shortly.… Read the rest



The Vatican is Hallucinating *

Dec 22nd, 2009 | Filed by

‘Recent years have witnessed a great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father.’… Read the rest



Archbishop to Bishops: Quit or Be Removed *

Dec 21st, 2009 | Filed by

We did nothing wrong, say the four Irish bishops.… Read the rest



Religious Belief Depends on Inequality *

Dec 21st, 2009 | Filed by

Funny that believers want to admit that.… Read the rest



A System That Tiptoes Around Cultural Sensitivity *

Dec 21st, 2009 | Filed by

The lives of women and girls should be worth more than what ‘the community’ thinks.… Read the rest



Female Genital Mutilation for Christmas *

Dec 21st, 2009 | Filed by

‘Cutters’ are being flown to the UK to carry out FGM at ‘parties’ involving up to 20 girls to save money. … Read the rest



Jasvinder Sanghera: Abuse is not Culture *

Dec 21st, 2009 | Filed by

Serious crimes are being treated as a matter for diversity officers rather than for police and courts.… Read the rest



When in doubt, don’t publish

Dec 20th, 2009 1:24 pm | By

Sad sad sad. Sunny at Liberal Conspiracy – see comment 12:

I buy Jonathan Dimbleby’s arguments:

First, even the editor agreed that printing the images were not central to the story anyway since the Yale Press was central to the story. So it’s not censorship. Printing them would be gratuitous.

Really. The images were not ‘central’ to the story because Yale Press was central to the story. Well what about Yale Press was central to the story? Its pretty blue eyes? Its taste in music? No; its withdrawal of illustrations from a book about a controversy about those illustrations. So in what sense were the illustrations not central to the story? Who decides what’s central? Since when is reporting supposed … Read the rest



Martin Ssempa Responds to Rick Warren *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

You see, Rick, it’s Africa101: Homosexuality is illegal, unnatural, ungodly and un-African.… Read the rest



Rick Warren and Uganda’s ‘Kill the Gays’ Bill *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

Warren has backed virulently anti-gay religious leaders in Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria.… Read the rest



UN Denounces Sexual Orientation Rights Abuses *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

Meeting discussed draconian ‘anti-homosexuality legislation’ before the Ugandan parliament.… Read the rest



HRW Report on Massacre and Rapes in Guinea *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

Killings and sexual assaults at an opposition rally in Conakry, largely by the Presidential Guard.… Read the rest



Clive Davis Has Doubts About Motives *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

Therefore censorship is the right decision.… Read the rest



Tasneem Khalil on the Censorship Fatwa *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

AI endorses torture; Sarah Palin goes green; Index on Censorship self-censors. Spot the real one.… Read the rest



Amnesty International on Victims of Trafigura *

Dec 20th, 2009 | Filed by

In August 2006, toxic waste was brought to Abidjan on a ship chartered by Trafigura. … Read the rest



The self-fulfilling prophecy strikes again

Dec 19th, 2009 12:46 pm | By

Jonathan Dimbleby said one particularly odd thing in his explanation of Index’s decision.

When John Kampfner alerted me to the prospective publication of an interview with Jytte Klausen and to our editor’s wish to illustrate it with the “offending” cartoons, it was plainly a matter for the board to determine. Any other course would have been irresponsible…A year earlier, in September 2008, four men had been arrested for allegedly fire-bombing the North London home of the publisher of Gibson Books who had proposed publishing The Jewel of Medina. Only the most cavalier attitude towards the safety and security of those directly and indirectly involved in the publication of the Index interview would have failed to note that outrage.

Wait…what? … Read the rest



New Humanist on Censorship Row at Index *

Dec 19th, 2009 | Filed by

If Index won’t take a stand against implied threats for perfectly legitimate acts, who will?… Read the rest