Okay, what’s the deal here? I thought Ana Marie Cox was supposed to be so clever, or witty or interesting or something – ? Isn’t she? I thought she was. I’ve never read or even glanced at Wonkette, because life is short and time is scarce and blogs are many and the subject matter – beltway gossip? Urrgghh – is so very unappealing; but I’ve gathered (how? I don’t know – as one does) that she’s good in some way. But clearly there has been some mistake. That “book review” is a piece of crap; it’s stupid and smug and truly staggeringly predictable. So if that’s Wonkette, I’m glad I’ve never wasted so much as a nanosecond on it.… Read the rest
Nussbaum Reads MacKinnon
Jul 16th, 2006 2:15 am | By Ophelia BensonMartha Nussbaum’s review of Catherine MacKinnon’s Are Women Human? ties in well with Danny Postel’s interview of Fred Halliday. Both put rights at the center – and in fact, as I noted in ‘Fred Halliday Rocks,’ Halliday cites Nussbaum (and Sen) on the subject. I would so much rather read Sen or Nussbaum or Appiah than Andrew Murray or Faisal Bodi or Inayat Bunglawala.
… Read the restInequality on the basis of sex is a pervasive reality of women’s lives all over the world. So is sex-related violence…Despite the prevalence of these crimes, they have not been well addressed under international human rights law…Until recently, abuses like rape and sexual torture lacked good human rights standards because human rights norms were typically
Fred Halliday Rocks
Jul 15th, 2006 9:16 pm | By Ophelia Benson… Read the restFred Halliday: My view is that the kind of position which the New Left Review and Tariq have adopted in terms of the conflict in the Middle East is an extremely reactionary, right-wing one. It starts with Afghanistan. To my mind, Afghanistan is central to the history of the Left, and to the history of the world, since the 1980s. It is to the early 21st century, to the years we’re now living through, what the Spanish Civil War was to Europe in the mid and late 20th century…The issue of rights is absolutely central. We have to hold the line at the defense, however one conceptualizes things, however de-hegemonized, of universal principles of
The Religious Right and the HPV
Jul 15th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBeing pro-cancer is a little tricky for people who claim to be ‘pro-life.’… Read the rest
Stupid Cliché-ridden Review
Jul 15th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonStarts off with ‘strident feminism’ then cites bra-burners. Oy.… Read the rest
Katha Pollitt on the Joy of a Bad Review
Jul 15th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonApparently there is such a thing as bad publicity: bad publicity that people don’t know about.… Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum on Catherine MacKinnon
Jul 15th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonUntil recently, human rights norms were typically devised by men thinking about men’s lives.… Read the rest
The Issue of Rights is Absolutely Central
Jul 15th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWe have to hold the line at the defense, however de-hegemonized, of universal principles of rights.… Read the rest
Smile When You Call Me That
Jul 14th, 2006 5:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonHey I feel marginalized and neglected and I yearn – I yearn, I tell you, I yearn and burn and pine – to be understood as a community. Won’t someone please understand me as a community? It would make me so happy. Just once in awhile? On weekends maybe? Or during the World Cup?
Hindus…feel neglected and marginalised and yearn to be understood as a community…[They] do not want to be described as “Asian”, according to a big study of the community…The report, Connecting British Hindus, to be published in the Commons today, was funded by the Government and carried out by the Runnymede Trust and the Hindu Forum.
Connecting British Hindus. Connecting them to the community. The … Read the rest
Back Page
Jul 14th, 2006 5:20 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Front Page ‘discussion’ with Norm and Nick is hilarious in a sad sort of way – sad if only because of the waste of time and effort and attention. Norm and Nick might as well have conversed with two nice four-foot lengths of solid brick wall, for all the good it did them.
Here’s FP’s Jamie Glazov starting things off, for instance:
… Read the restThe Left has a long, depressing, ugly and blood-stained record of worshipping the most vile and barbaric tyrannies of the 20th century, including Stalin’s Soviet Union, Mao’s China, Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnam and Castro’s Cuba…But if you are on the Left, are you not part of an ideology that holds that human redemption, accompanied by human equality
Secular Religion
Jul 14th, 2006 2:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonI was discussing religion and related subjects with an acquaintance yesterday, and he said I have a lot of secular religious or quasi-religious beliefs. I was skeptical of this claim, and we wrangled a bit, but didn’t have time to wrangle thoroughly. So I’ll talk to myself on the subject here, and you can listen in.
The argument was that I (and most people – it’s a general point) hold certain beliefs in a quasi-religious way: moral beliefs for instance. I think murder is wrong, and I believe it’s true that murder is wrong, and that is a commitment without reasons, hence religious. But I dispute all of that. All of it. For one thing, I don’t really think it … Read the rest
MCB Accuses Martin Bright of ‘Islamophobic’ Views
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonUnpleasant stuff.… Read the rest
Martin Bright Disavows ‘Islamophobe’ Label
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHis argument is with government ministers who have failed to seek out other voices among Muslims.… Read the rest
Two Sentenced for ‘Honour’ Killing
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSamaira Nazir was stabbed to death by her brother and cousin.… Read the rest
Review of Why Truth Matters
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonReference made to authors’ immense talents. Well exactly.… Read the rest
AI Renews Calls for Release of Prisoners
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAmnesty International calls for release of Ossanlu, Jahanbegloo, Mousavi-Kho’ini.… Read the rest
Free Political Prisoners in Iran
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA co-ordinated global hunger strike from July 14 through July 16, 2006.… Read the rest
Students in Iran Call for Hunger Strike
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCall in particular for the release of Ramin Jahanbegloo, Mansour Ossanloo, Ali Akbar Moussavi Khoeni.… Read the rest
Sean Wilentz on Hofstadter Biography
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHofstadter’s sharpness about the darker follies of American democracy seems more urgently needed than ever. … Read the rest
Martha Nussbaum on a Book About Harvard
Jul 14th, 2006 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHarry Lewis fails to realize that character-building is cognitive.… Read the rest