She was 12, taken out of school; she dislikes her husband, his first wife; her life is trashed.… Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on New Age, MMR and ‘Healers’ 
May 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
We got our advice on complex immunological and epidemiological issues from lifestyle columnists. … Read the rest
Ben Goldacre on the QLink
May 20th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A very sciencey looking pendant with electronicky looking stuff that connects to nothing.… Read the rest
Atheists Versus Theists
May 20th, 2007 | By D. R. KhashabaThe ongoing debate between atheists and theists has become ludicrous, banal, and unprofitable. I have long thought that the more vociferous atheists were following a wrong strategy and wrong tactics, leaving the religionists free to pose as unrivalled defenders of moral values and the realities of the life of the spirit (the expression ‘spiritual life’ has become suspect among rationalists and been ceded to religion, which is a pity). The propagandist and frenzied approach of the fashionable atheists is reducing us to the sorry choice between dogmatic religion and stark materialism. So it was a pleasure to come across a sane and balanced review article by Anthony Gottlieb.
Gottlieb reminds us that in the second century of the Christian … Read the rest
Counting beliefs
May 19th, 2007 4:08 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve been thinking of objections to this – to the reply to the reply to the claim that belief in God is no more a “faith position” than is empirical science because our belief that our senses are a reliable guide to reality cannot be justified. One reply to that is we all assume our senses are a reliable guide to reality, while belief in God is an extra; reply to that reply is
… Read the restif we accept (ii) [there is a God], then (i) [our senses are a reliable guide to reality] is no longer an assumption. We can justify it by appealing to (ii) (in the style of Descartes – a good God would not allow us systematically to
Choman Hardi on the Devices of Patriarchy
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Practices like forced marriage benefit men and treat women as a commodity. … Read the rest
More Repressive, More Violent, More Lawless
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The status of women was never high under Saddam, but Iraq today is even worse for women.… Read the rest
‘Honour’ Crimes on the Increase in London
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Honour crimes are corrosive and the victim deserves protection,’ Crown Prosecutor tells CPS conference.… Read the rest
Hatian Radio Journalist Murdered in Gonaïves
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alix Joseph, a high school philosophy teacher, hosted a program of news about cultural activities.… Read the rest
Sarkozy Willing to Change 1905 Law
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Suggested in 2004 book that the section of the law that forbids state subsidy of religion should be changed. … Read the rest
Giles Harvey on Hitchens on God
May 19th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The book adds little to the case against God. This is the undoing of recent atheistic tracts.… Read the rest
The whore of Babylon on a bike
May 18th, 2007 4:56 pm | By Ophelia BensonI like it when people fix little problems that most of us don’t even notice.
Iran plans to make special bicycles designed for women that will be compatible with Islamic regulations and not expose their body movements while riding, the newspaper Iran reported. The new bicycle would have a cabin to cover half of a rider’s body…Women in Iran are obliged to wear scarves and long gowns to hide their hair and body contours. Female athletes must also follow this rule and participate in sports wearing scarves and gowns. The clergy considers women’s body movements made while riding a bicycle to be provoking to men and not compatible with social rules.
I know what they mean, don’t you? Women’s … Read the rest
Mo Notices That Islam is Hard Work
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
All that praying, and so much cool stuff is haram.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Discuss Evolution
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wing wong wang. Ha ha ha!… Read the rest
Julian Baggini on the Elvis of Philosophy
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When he does hit the nail on the head, he does it so clearly and unexpectedly, you have to take notice.… Read the rest
Why Islamic Bikes
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because women move while biking, thus arousing men; this must not be. Women must be immobile.… Read the rest
Iran to Manufacture Islamic Bicycles for Women
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Fitted with little houses that conceal the woman’s scary Body and make riding very difficult.… Read the rest
Iran Says: Let’s Segregate Internet Cafés
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
So all this copulating in internet cafés will cease, and a new day will dawn.… Read the rest
Chinese Writing May Date Back 8000 Years
May 18th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ancient rock carvings bear a strong resemblance to later forms of Chinese characters. … Read the rest
Hitchens Says So Long to Falwell
May 17th, 2007 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Extraordinary that not even such a scandalous career is enough to shake our dumb addiction to the “faith-based.”… Read the rest
