GOP activist Mike Brown had no significant experience to qualify him for the job. … Read the rest
The New Republic on the ‘Life’s Tough’ View 
Sep 4th, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
True that life is tough, not true that there’s nothing that can be done about disasters.… Read the rest
Barrel-scrapings
Sep 3rd, 2005 9:42 pm | By Ophelia BensonI must say, I’ve been a little surprised at some of the reactions to my (fairly mild, I think) comments on New Orleans.
They reinforce what I said to a different reader last week: that I’m emphatically not a tragic realist, who thinks ‘the strong do what they want and the weak endure what they must.’ No. On the contrary – I think we have to fight and resist, argue and keep on arguing, not give up, not lie down, not surrender, and certainly not shrug and say ‘that’s just how it is’ and go about our selfish business. I’m a little shocked at the amount of ‘that’s just how it is’ I’ve received in the past couple of days, … Read the rest
Godbotherers Form Climate Group
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We have a good biblical mandate to be involved in climate change.’… Read the rest
Red Cross Not Allowed into New Orleans
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The goal is to evacuate unlivable city; relief operations might keep people there.… Read the rest
Pharmacists and ‘Conscience’
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pharmacists claim a right to refuse to fill prescriptions based on their religious beliefs.… Read the rest
Joshua Knobe and Experimental Philosophy
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The field uses the empirical tools of psychology to address philosophical questions.… Read the rest
New Orleans Crisis Shames Americans
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Devastating consequences of Katrina have revealed poverty and neglect.… Read the rest
Jytte Klausen on the Aslam Affair
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Guardian allowed Aslam to espouse a wholesome version of Islamic extremism on its pages.… Read the rest
Katha Pollitt on Theocracy Lite
Sep 3rd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How can women be equal before Islamic law, according to which they are unequal? … Read the rest
Gnashing of Teeth
Sep 2nd, 2005 7:07 pm | By Ophelia BensonI have other stuff I wanted to mutter about, but it’s hard to think about anything else right now.
I watched a lot of cable news last night. Shattering stuff. ‘We need help, sir, we really do.’ ‘Look at these old people over here – look at this little baby.’ People in floods of tears, people mopping each other’s faces, people angry on behalf of those older, younger, weaker, frailer than themselves. People desperately needing water. (We all know what it’s like to be thirsty – imagine being that thirsty for four days! While watching people around you dying of dehydration – knowing if you don’t get water you’ll all die soon.) People who’ve lost everything they had, who … Read the rest
Ziauddin Sardar on Reform in Islam
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why is the change under way Islam’s best kept secret?… Read the rest
Scientific American on Drowning New Orleans
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Article from the archive. … Read the rest
Hurricane Turns Glaring Light on Inequality
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Third World side of the US is suddenly visible.… Read the rest
Hell on Earth
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Dead bodies, human waste, no water, rape, heat, illness, no food, fear, despair. … Read the rest
New Orleans Mayor Issues Desperate SOS
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Thousands of people stranded at convention center with no water or food.… Read the rest
Bush Claims No One Foresaw the Levees Breaking
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But everyone foresaw it, including FEMA.… Read the rest
Bassam Tibi on Jihadism and Islamism
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It is wrong and even deceitful to argue that jihadism has nothing to do with Islam’… Read the rest
London Bomber Leaves Bloodthirsty Video
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
MCB gives opinion; no other group is quoted. … Read the rest
Observer Accused of Islamophobia
Sep 2nd, 2005 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Martin Bright was asked on Muslim cable TV to declare his links to Zionist media lobby.… Read the rest
