It can be, and often is, all too coherent.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Passionate Defender Of Imaginary Constitution 
Nov 14th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
His admiration for the vague half-notions he calls the Constitution has only grown over time.… Read the rest
Arkansas Boy Age 10 Takes a Stand on Principle
Nov 14th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He refuses to ‘pledge allegiance’ until there really is liberty and justice for all.… Read the rest
The Holocaust and Common Humanity
Nov 14th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Common humanity impelled Muslims to sacrifice their lives for everyone’s freedom in WW II; Ahmadinejad undermines that.… Read the rest
Water on the Moon
Nov 14th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Here at Goddard the auditorium erupted in cheers.’… Read the rest
Why Prohibition Fails and What We Should Do Instead
Nov 14th, 2009 | By Colin BrewerAfter the sacking of its chairman, Prof David Nutt, it seems likely that many of the remaining members of the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) will resign in sympathy and that nobody of any standing will serve on it unless the government repents. This it is unlikely to do for reasons that, I believe, have more to do with Britain’s relationship with the USA than with more strictly national considerations, never mind pharmacological or scientific ones.
Prof Nutt is one of our most distinguished neuroscientists, and the views for which he was dismissed are founded on good evidence. They are also neither new nor particularly radical and he has been expounding them for several years. I know … Read the rest
Common humanity
Nov 13th, 2009 6:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonA Montreal lawyer, Azim Hussain, is not a fan of Holocaust denial.
… Read the restThe Holocaust denial of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an abuse of the Jewish victims of that genocide, and of the Allied soldiers who sacrificed their lives in order to end the genocide. The Iranian president obviously does not realize that thousands of Muslim Allied soldiers died in World War II. Unbeknownst to many, including many Muslims, soldiers from North Africa to the Indian subcontinent enlisted in huge numbers in the armies of their colonial masters to fight to end the Nazi onslaught. From 15-year-old Indian boy-soldiers fighting in Italy to Noor Inayat Khan, a female spy sent by the British into German-occupied France, Muslims made an
21 November a Day Against Sharia, for Rights
Nov 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One Law for All campaign is organising a rally on Saturday 21 November 2009 in Hyde Park.… Read the rest
Iran: Woman at Risk of Execution by Stoning
Nov 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Starve to death or be stoned to death; it’s your choice.… Read the rest
David Miliband Teams Up With Vatican
Nov 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Published an article in L’Osservatore Romano pledging to work with Vatican on Arms Trade Treaty.… Read the rest
Why the Stupak Amendment is Unconstitutional
Nov 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It violates the Establishment Clause, the Equal Protection Clause, and Substantive Due Process and Privacy Rights.… Read the rest
Some Practices Are Worse Than Others
Nov 13th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Antonia Zerbisias talks to Jeremy Stangroom about God’s hatred of women and universal values.… Read the rest
‘A Road Which Eventually Can Lead Only to Success’
Nov 13th, 2009 | By Colin BrewerFollowing the defenestration of Professor David Nutt, earlier in the month, from the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs for allegedly intruding on politics in making public his views on the relative risks of legal and illegal drugs, I was moved by simple exasperation to write something in response. This is part of what I wrote and tells the little-known and rather bizarre story of how cannabis came to be prohibited. It also discusses the relative toxicity of cannabis and alcohol and describes what I call the Avocado Theory of illicit drug use.
Many people will have heard of (or even seen) the hilariously alarmist 1930s American anti-drug film ‘Reefer Madness’ which implied that cannabis led inexorably to degradation, … Read the rest
Dangerous to Compare People to Vermin or Disease
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The analogy is dangerous because vermin and disease are things we seek to eradicate for our own safety.… Read the rest
Students are Training in ‘EmoTrance’
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Listen, it’s fully recognised and licensed by the Sidereus Foundation – what more do you want?… Read the rest
Does Jesus Save Aliens?
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There are some difficult issues, such as whether Jesus is the one who saves everyone in the Universe.… Read the rest
The Ethics of British Professional Homeopaths
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edzard Ernst compares the SoH Code of Ethics with claims on websites of members…… Read the rest
PEN/Index on Censorship Report on Libel Reform
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The law as it stands is hindering the free exchange of ideas and information. … Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Research and Policy
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Oddly enough, research really is relevant to policy.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on Political Woo
Nov 12th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
An MP dismisses statistics on screening, another embraces ‘the idea of energy transfers.’… Read the rest
