All entries by this author

Bunglawala Does Better *

Jun 29th, 2007 | Filed by

Well done. Let’s hope it catches on.… Read the rest



Massimo Pigliucci on Disgust *

Jun 29th, 2007 | Filed by

Are liberals morally stunted? Or are conservatives morally bloated.… Read the rest



Isreal Boosts Image via Undressed Female Soldiers *

Jun 29th, 2007 | Filed by

‘Maxim was approached by the Israeli consulate to be a part of reshaping Israel’s public image.’… Read the rest



The Word ‘Rape’ Banned from Rape Trial *

Jun 29th, 2007 | Filed by

It’s prejudicial to call it rape, but then what is it to call it sex?… Read the rest



Liberals Don’t Get the Purity/Sanctity Thing *

Jun 28th, 2007 | Filed by

Liberals are blind to the disgust ‘argument’ against homosexuality, Jonathan Haidt claims.… Read the rest



Falsifying Hitchens *

Jun 28th, 2007 | Filed by

Saying MLK wasn’t a true Christian is a dodge; lose ten points.… Read the rest



Thailand Withdraws ‘Persepolis’ From Film Festival *

Jun 28th, 2007 | Filed by

Iran applied pressure, Thai government caved. Another win for the ‘glorious Islamic Revolution.’… Read the rest



Hitchens Book Flying Off Shelves *

Jun 28th, 2007 | Filed by

‘This is atheism’s moment,’ says publisher.… Read the rest



Grayling on Hitchens on Ungreatness of God *

Jun 28th, 2007 | Filed by

The anti-religion case has never been put so well or so comprehensively as in this razor-sharp book.… Read the rest



No, we’re not jealous

Jun 28th, 2007 10:05 am | By

Not correct.

Having lost their own belief in progress and liberation, secular intellectuals are irked by their encounters with people who, on whatever basis, retain a vision of the good society and a commitment to realising it.

No; that’s wrong; that could hardly be wronger. That neatly gets the matter exactly backwards. It is because I have not lost my belief in (the desirability of) progress and liberation, because in fact that belief has considerably strengthened and sharpened as I’ve learned more about its pervasive enemies, I am, not irked, but repelled and horrified by my encounters with people who retain a vision of the bad society and a commitment to realising it.

They clearly feel rebuked by the

Read the rest


Akbar Ahmed is not Optimistic *

Jun 27th, 2007 | Filed by

Deoband thinking is winning.… Read the rest



Jonathan Edwards Stops Believing in God *

Jun 27th, 2007 | Filed by

‘In some ways I feel more human than I ever have.’… Read the rest



Egypt’s Grand Mufti Says FGM is Forbidden *

Jun 27th, 2007 | Filed by

After an 11-year-old girl died while being chopped at a private medical clinic in southern Egypt.… Read the rest



‘Honour’ Killing in the UK [audio] *

Jun 27th, 2007 | Filed by

‘This is about murder in the name of the father, the son, the blessed male members of the family.’… Read the rest



Ian Buruma Says No Problem *

Jun 27th, 2007 | Filed by

‘The prospect of an Islamised Europe is remote’ – and that’s all that matters?… Read the rest



Politics, People and the Spectacle

Jun 27th, 2007 | By Rajesh Kumar Sharma

Democratic politics is essentially the politics of rational dialogue in which language, thought and persuasion play key roles. At least that is what we have over the decades learnt to believe. But recent electoral battles in India appear to have fundamentally shifted the ground on which our democratic beliefs have stood so far.

It is not being argued here that the theatre of politics has moved unprecedentedly and dangerously away from reason and towards emotion. Emotion has always been an indispensable appendage of democratic politics, whether for good or for bad. What is new is something else. It is the rise to predominance of affect vis-à-vis reason and emotion. This has shifted politics on to an entirely different ground. What … Read the rest



Petition to Congratulate PM for Rushdie’s K *

Jun 26th, 2007 | Filed by

This honour stands as a symbol of our commitment to ignoring Rage Boy.… Read the rest



Paul Davies on the Goldilocks Enigma *

Jun 26th, 2007 | Filed by

We will never explain the world by appealing to something outside it that must be accepted on faith.… Read the rest



Let’s Stop Channeling Rage Boy *

Jun 26th, 2007 | Filed by

We may have to put up with the Rage Boys of the world, but we ought not to do their work for them.… Read the rest



Ten Men Rage at Rushdie *

Jun 26th, 2007 | Filed by

We strongly deplore, say ten bullies.… Read the rest