He was the first to ask: how were the victims identified, driven together, transported then murdered? … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Roy Hattersley Says Mill is Vieux Chapeau 
Aug 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mill is, like the Liberal Democrats, ‘comfortingly worthy but out-of-date.’… Read the rest
Raul Hilberg 1926-2007
Aug 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Author of the great history ‘The Destruction of the European Jews.’… Read the rest
Eric Alterman on Inequality in the US
Aug 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Only in the US are the rich so powerful that their interests become ‘principles’ in political discourse.… Read the rest
Libel Suits Silence Authors
Aug 9th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Deborah Lipstadt on an appalling extension of UK libel law.… Read the rest
Filthy traitor
Aug 8th, 2007 3:00 pm | By Ophelia BensonNever forget, Islam means ‘peace’ – oh and also ‘there is no compulsion in religion.’ Got that?
… Read the restEhsan Jami, a local council member for the Dutch Labour Party and a former Muslim, has been afforded extra protection since Monday this week…The local politician, who also heads a committee established to fight for the interests of former Muslims, was the target of a violent, physical attack outside a supermarket near his home in Voorburg last Saturday…Jami was knocked to the ground and kicked by a group of three men: two young Moroccans and one Somali. During the incidents, his attackers called him a ‘filthy homo’ and ‘filthy traitor’. Mr Jami’s advisor, Afshin Ellian, later pointed out that it was not the
Dutch Ex-Muslim Beaten Up in Voorburg
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ehsan Jami was assaulted by three men who called him a ‘filthy homo’ and ‘filthy traitor’. … Read the rest
Peace Process Fails to Address Sexual Violence
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
HRW reports women and girls continue to be subjected to acts of sexual violence in Côte d’Ivoire.… Read the rest
Anthony Grayling on Atheism
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Grayling explains why he believes atheism to be a well-grounded and ultimately life-affirming position.… Read the rest
Violence Against Women Increasing in Kurdistan
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Kurdish government has overturned lax Iraqi laws; defendants can be charged with ‘deliberate murder.’… Read the rest
Increased Reporting of ‘Honour’ Crime in R’dam
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Authorities say they have received more than 70 reports since January, compared to 30 for all of 2006.… Read the rest
Threatened Journalist Faces Deportation
Aug 8th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mansoor Hassan wrote an article exposing the ‘honour’ killing of a young woman by her own father.… Read the rest
Another irregular verb
Aug 7th, 2007 2:30 pm | By Ophelia BensonContradict yourself much? Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail –
… Read the restThe big mistake is to see religion and reason as polar opposites. They are not. In fact, reason is intrinsic to the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Bible provides a picture of a rational Creator and an orderly universe – which, accordingly, provided the template for the exercise of reason and the development of science. Dawkins pours particular scorn on the Biblical miracles which don’t correspond to scientific reality. But religious believers have different ways of regarding those events, with many seeing them as either metaphors or as natural occurrences which were invested with a greater significance. The heart of the Judeo-Christian tradition is the belief in the concept of truth,
EU Asks Iran Not to Execute Two Journalists
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
RSF hails EU request to Iran not to execute Kurdish journalists Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolvahed Botimar.… Read the rest
Robert Putnam Finds Diversity Bad For Civic Life
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It can be good for creativity, but it’s bad for social capital.… Read the rest
Steven Shapin on Herbert Spencer
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Spencer was the greatest of philosophical hedgehogs: his popularity stemmed from one big idea.… Read the rest
Michael Ignatieff on the Catstrophe in Iraq
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Politicians live by ideas, but they can’t afford the luxury of entertaining ideas that are merely interesting.… Read the rest
Melanie Phillips: Science is the Enemy of Reason
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The Bible provides a picture of a rational Creator and an orderly universe.’ And?… Read the rest
Not So Fast, Christian Soldiers
Aug 7th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
DOD Inspector General report says generals ‘conferred approval of and support to Christian Embassy.’… Read the rest
New Death Sentence on Journalists in Iran
Aug 7th, 2007 | By Jahanshah RashidianThe Islamic Republic of Iranian’s execution wave has reached the media in Iran. On 16 July 2007, two Kurdish journalists, Mr. Adnan Hassanpour and Mr.Hiva Boutimar were sentenced to death by an Islamic tribunal in Marivan, a Kurdish city in the north-west Iran. They are supposed to be brought to the scaffold in the coming days. Judiciary spokesman, Mr. Ali Reza Jamshidi, confirmed that these two journalists have been sentenced to death, state media reported Tuesday, 31 0f July.
At a trial behind closed doors, the journalists were found guilty of “activities subverting national security, spying, and interviews for foreign news media including Voice of America”. These “accusations” were cited by the prosecution and, amazingly, confirmed by the journalists’ lawyer, … Read the rest
