All entries by this author

Clerics Ban Women Dancers From Festival *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

Organisers of the festival in Sindh have had to cut the 10-day festival to 3 days because of the threats. … Read the rest



Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

The Vermont Legislature overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry… Read the rest



Caspar Melville Replies to Madeleine Bunting *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

What does she add in her latest strike against the godless heathens? Not much.… Read the rest



Say No to State Religion in Pakistan *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

Support the campaign to say no to state religion in Pakistan; sign the statement and wish them luck.… Read the rest



If only

Apr 6th, 2009 6:00 pm | By

If only this were true.

“In a dramatic development in Islamabad Pakistan, a little girl who was slapped by a Mullah Abu Jahil on the street ran into her school crying only to run out again with some forty girls between the ages of 6 and 10. The girls captured the Mullah and dragged him to the Square area outside the Faisal Masjid, where the Mullah was whipped. Unable to bear this public humiliation, this Mullah has asked for asylum from the British High Commission.

However, the leader of the Mullahs R Us support group for Mullahs – Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman has denied this report. He has suggested that some foreign element is behind this to malign them … Read the rest



They should have the right to live as human beings

Apr 6th, 2009 5:58 pm | By

Pervez Kambaksh is hanging on to his hopes.

“I want an Afghanistan where the mothers of this country and the daughters of this country have the same rights that you and I have as men,” he said in an interview inside the Walayat prison where he has languished since June. “They should have the right to education. They should have the right to work in any organisation they want, and they should have the right to live as human beings in this society.”

They should have the right to live as human beings. Yes they should.

Back atcha, Pervez (if I may – I think of you as a friend). We want an Afghanistan where you have the right … Read the rest



Bryan Appleyard Reviews Kenan Malik *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Splitting the world into ‘communities’, celebrating difference at all costs, is a counterEnlightenment strategy. … Read the rest



Bunting Pitches Fit About ‘New’ Atheism *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

‘The New Atheist debate has drowned out any other kind of conversation about religion.’ Really?… Read the rest



Kambaksh Hopes While Karzai Flails *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Kambaksh wants an Afghanistan where women have the right to live as human beings.… Read the rest



Spain, Universal Jurisdiction, War Crimes *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

A federal court in Miami recently convicted Chuckie Taylor of torture that occurred in Liberia. … Read the rest



Texas Freedom Network Looks Ahead *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Creationists will use the flawed standards to force publishers into dumbing down instruction on evolution.… Read the rest



The epithet question

Apr 6th, 2009 11:26 am | By

I’m curious about something. To the best of my knowledge, a sexist epithet is a sexist epithet. There’s not generally a lot of ambiguity about it, although there’s always room for ironic uses in private conversation and so on. In public discourse, a sexist epithet is what it is. Yet – I keep encountering people who dispute that, in places where I wouldn’t expect to, such as comments on Jesus and Mo. So I’m curious about what other people think.

A commenter said ‘the god of Islam is such a pussy. He is unable to do a thing to protect himself or his reputation and must rely on his minions to do his dirty work.’ I took exception, and … Read the rest



‘New’ atheism chapter 27,439

Apr 6th, 2009 11:05 am | By

Madeleine Bunting takes a minute to remind us how stunningly predictable, how jaw-droppingly selective, how risibly but irritatingly woolly she can be and pretty much always is.

Increasingly, one hears a distaste for the polemics of the New Atheist debate and its foghorn volume, and how it has drowned out any other kind of conversation about religion.

Does one? Does one not rather rush about attempting to create such a distaste one’s very own self? Much of this putative distaste comes from Bunting herself, so it’s a little sick-making to see her pretending to be too modest to mention her own energetic campaign. And then of course the drowning out is completely ridiculous – witness Bunting herself, and all the … Read the rest



Swedish Parliament Votes to Allow Gay Marriage *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

The fifth European country to do so, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Norway.… Read the rest



Kurt Westergaard ‘Still’ Not Apologetic *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

‘I think we are in a period in which this democratic value is under pressure, so it has to be defended.’… Read the rest



Antarctic Ice Bridge Breaks *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

‘A strong indication that the warming on the Antarctic is having an effect on yet another ice shelf.’… Read the rest



The Joy of Scanning the Scientific Literature *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

A barrage of studies that challenge your preconceptions, demonstrating the weakness of intuition.… Read the rest



Media Ignore UN Anti-blasphemy Resolutions *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

Surely this is a story worth covering.… Read the rest



Arab Liberals Denounce Islamist Al-Nafisi *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

Islamist membership leads to deepening of the abyss of hatred for others – even if this member holds 50 doctorates.… Read the rest



Karzai Says He Will Review Family Law *

Apr 5th, 2009 | Filed by

If there is anything in contradiction with Shariah, he will take action in close consultation with clerics.… Read the rest