Actually of course it’s quite funny in a way. I keep laughing about it. I find myself having written a book (a whole book, mind you, not just an article or a wee pamphlet) about why truth matters with someone who isn’t quite sure Afrocentric history shouldn’t be taught in universities. There is something very funny about that, in a banana peel kind of way. Especially since there is a whole thick section of Why Truth Matters that talks about Afrocentric history, in some detail. And it doesn’t talk about it from the point of view that it’s kind of a good thing, or that it has its virtues; rather the contrary. So apparently the whole thing was an elaborate … Read the rest
Egypt to Appeal Court Ruling in Favor of Baha’is
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMP says Baha’is are infidels who should be killed on the grounds that they had changed their religion.… Read the rest
Brixton Jail Toilets Face Away From Mecca
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMeaning crappers turn faces away, or bums away? Tricky stuff, theology.… Read the rest
More From Amartya Sen and Robert Kagan
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonViolence is deliberately cultivated by the instigators of sectarian brutality.… Read the rest
Thomas Nagel on Bernard Williams
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHe brought philosophical reflection to an opulent array of subjects.… Read the rest
BNP Thanks MP for Publicity
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe BNP put forward 13 candidates in Barking and Dagenham, winning 11 seats. … Read the rest
P. Charles Inaugurates Woolly Tent
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWoven from the finest goat hair in Saudi Arabia; represents sacred geometric and astrological symbols.… Read the rest
Culture War in Poland
May 5th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMocking Catholicism right out; saying rude things about Jews, that’s another matter.… Read the rest
Doing My Bit
May 5th, 2006 2:28 am | By Ophelia BensonOh come on, Todd, tell us what you really think.
… Read the restTruly this is a bizarre time for the life of the mind in America. The airwaves and best-seller lists are noisy with anti-intellectual jeers. The ruling party embraces the nostrums of “No Child Left Behind” while tossing the teaching of all subjects besides reading and math to the winds. Many of its leaders declare that the Republic was founded not in the name of enlightenment but as a “Christian nation.” When the topics of evolution, climate change, stem cells, and contraception arise, the president of the United States blithely jettisons scientific judgments. On the evidence of his dialogue with reporters, and his behavior toward underlings…his interest in and capacity
Charlie Brown and Lucy Go Another Round
May 4th, 2006 9:05 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe HERO interview is kind of a risible train wreck. It starts off by referring to ‘The [B&W] site’s editors Ophelia Benson and Jeremy Stangroom’ which of course is nonsense: there’s only one editor, and I’m it. JS has nothing to do with the content. (That’s not HERO’s fault: it no doubt got that from the Why Truth Matters jacket, which calls both of us editors of B&W. I wanted to correct that, but I was overruled.) So it starts off with an inaccuracy, and then proceeds to serve up a series of clashing replies, where I say something and JS says the opposite. (Maybe that’s a good thing – maybe it’s interesting and piquant. Maybe readers will think ‘how … Read the rest
Balkanzation
May 4th, 2006 5:10 pm | By Ophelia BensonMore than one identity again. More than one community again. Things aren’t quite that simple again. Take a closer look again.
But speaking of a “Muslim community” is as misleading in the Balkans as it is in Western Europe…In Albania — declared the world’s first atheist state in 1967 – Islam is the dominant religion, but the majority of the population is secular…Kosovo, apart from the Serb minority and a few pockets of Roman Catholicism, is almost completely Muslim, but pronouncedly secular.
But there are people who would like to change that.
… Read the restWahhabism, a fundamentalist form of Islam prevalent in Saudi Arabia, has been actively promoted within the region’s Islamic communities over the past 15 years, both by (mainly Saudi)
Not so Much Roasted as Fried
May 4th, 2006 4:44 pm | By Ophelia BensonSo Bush wasn’t all that pleased and flattered by the attentions of Stephen Colbert. Huh. I thought he was supposed to have such a great sense of humour – I thought he was supposed to be such a kidder. (He was awfully funny about Tanya Faye Tucker pleading for clemency, and there was that great joke about Trent Lott’s front porch. He’s a funny guy. Gets it from his mother, apparently – those jokes about the good life at the Houston astrodome were real thigh-slappers.) But apparently he looked more as if he had a mouthful of bleach.
… Read the restMr. President and first lady, my name is Stephen Colbert and it’s my privilege tonight to celebrate this president. He’s not
HRW on Jahanbegloo Arrest
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHRW spokesman Hadi Ghaemi said from the detention is a bad sign for academic freedoms in Iran.… Read the rest
Arrest of Iranian Philosopher Jahanbegloo
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHis arrest was lamented at a gathering at the Association of Iranian Journalists on Wednesday.… Read the rest
Radio Open Source on Signing Statements
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLawyers discuss.… Read the rest
Media Ignore Bush Signing Statements Issue
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBecause – it’s not important?… Read the rest
‘Wahhabism’ in the Balkans
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSpeaking of a ‘Muslim community’ is as misleading in the Balkans as it is in Western Europe.… Read the rest
Conspiracy of Cultural Invasion and Dress Code
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Although persons who espouse these views are in the minority, their demands are regularly met.’… Read the rest
More Students Study Philosophy at A-level
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonPhilosophy is growing in popularity when the Government is calling for vocational education.… Read the rest
Train Cars for Women: Protection or Segregation?
May 4th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonRio de Janeiro joins Tokyo and Mexico City
by adding women-only cars to its trains and subways.… Read the rest