What should a scientist expect from an idea? That it be a reasonable advance in knowledge.… Read the rest
MySpace Don’t Allow No Atheists 
Jan 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Rupert Murdoch’s MySpace deleted 35,000 member atheist-agnostic group.… Read the rest
Malalai Joya on Afghanistan and Women’s Rights
Jan 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The government is trying to use the country’s Islamic law as a tool with which to limit women’s rights. … Read the rest
Sign the Indy’s Petition
Jan 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Urge the UK Foreign Office to pressure the Afghan government to prevent the execution of Kambaksh. … Read the rest
Death for ‘Disrespecting the Holy Koran’
Jan 31st, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By downloading a report saying claims that the Koran justifies oppression of women are misinterpretations.… Read the rest
Campaign to Free Student Activists in Iran
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq sponsors the petition.… Read the rest
The Archbishop’s Complete Speech
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s about power, he explains. Any port in a storm.… Read the rest
Targeted for Marrying a Kikuyu
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why, why, why? Why did they say they were doing this? … Read the rest
Kenya’s Poor Are at Each Other’s Throats
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Kibera those who have nothing are looting those who have a little bit more. … Read the rest
Afghan Senate Backs Death for Blasphemy
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Also criticised foreign sources which tried to pressure the judiciary as it pursued blasphemers.… Read the rest
Archbish Calls for Law to Punish ‘Cruel Words’
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wants new laws to protect religious sensibilities by punishing ‘thoughtless and cruel’ styles of speaking. … Read the rest
The Dangers of Speaking Out in Syria
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The 45-year-old state of emergency gives the security police wide powers of arrest and detention. … Read the rest
Human Rights Defenders Get Death Threats
Jan 30th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
AI calls for protection for activists threatened for being ‘traitors to their ethnicity.’… Read the rest
Two Forms of the Straw Man Argument [pdf]
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The straw man works if the audience is inattentive.… Read the rest
How Not to Get Duped
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Two general types of fallacies that are generally ubiquitous in political debates and other discourse.… Read the rest
Michael Walzer Sees it Differently
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
These oppositions don’t come close to an accurate description of the arguments that are actually going on today.… Read the rest
Competing Views of Multiculturalism on the Left
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
One sees Islam as monolithic, the other doesn’t. One is Cold Warish, the other isn’t.… Read the rest
Christine Stansell on Katha Pollitt
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What interests her is the play of illusion, self-delusion, and observational power as they shape our knowledge.… Read the rest
Robert Irwin on Muzaffar Iqbal on Islamic Science
Jan 29th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The book is a polemical essay, rather than a history, and welcome as such.’… Read the rest
Relegated to the floor
Jan 28th, 2008 12:01 pm | By Ophelia BensonWomen in Santa Maria Quiegolani, Oaxaca, Mexico are not allowed to vote in local elections because the men say they don’t do enough work.
It was here, in a village that has struggled for centuries to preserve its Zapotec traditions, that Eufrosina Cruz, 27, decided to become the first woman to run for mayor – despite the fact that women aren’t allowed to attend town assemblies, much less run for office. The all-male town board tore up ballots cast in her favor in the Nov. 4 election, arguing that as a woman, she wasn’t a “citizen” of the town. “That is the custom here, that only the citizens vote, not the women,” said Valeriano Lopez, the town’s deputy mayor.
Yes, … Read the rest
