‘It needs to stop requiring adult women to seek permission from men, not just pretend to stop it.’… Read the rest
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown on Wearing the Burqa
Jul 14th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Neo-conservative Islamic codes spread like swine flu, an infection few seem able to resist.’… Read the rest
Libel Laws Threaten to Stifle Scientific Debate
Jul 14th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBMJ: ‘Weak science sheltered from criticism by officious laws means bad medicine.’… Read the rest
Knowledge of the Bible in Decline in UK
Jul 13th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThat’s too bad, people are missing some good poetry and stories and rants.… Read the rest
Cats Manipulate Humans by Purring
Jul 13th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCats use a special ‘soliciting purr’ to annoy their humans into granting their every wish.… Read the rest
Sudan: Women Whipped for Wearing Trousers
Jul 13th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSeveral Sudanese women have been flogged for dressing “indecently”, says a local journalist among them.… Read the rest
Karen Armstrong Explains What Religion Is
Jul 13th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Religious doctrines make no sense unless accompanied by such spiritual exercises as yoga and a consistently compassionate lifestyle.’… Read the rest
Questions still outstanding
Jul 13th, 2009 11:43 am | By Ophelia BensonI’ve made a list of questions for Chris Mooney (largely for him, since he’s done nearly all the posting on the subject and the questions arise from his posts as well as his book with Sheril Kirshenbaum). He’s ignored or evaded many questions over the last few weeks, and I thought it would be useful to have a list of the most pressing ones. Feel free to suggest additions.
1) What do you want? What do you mean? You say religion is private so we have no business prying into what people believe, but Kenneth Miller and Karl Giberson wrote books, Francis Collins wrote a book and has a website. The National Center for Science Education has … Read the rest
Big stupid honking mistake!
Jul 12th, 2009 12:21 pm | By Ophelia BensonCristina Odone occupies the first three paragraphs of her review of Does God Hate Women? pointing out a factual mistake – the name of one Afghan woman murdered for acting like a human being with a mind exchanged for the name of a different Afghan woman murdered for acting like a human being with a mind.
It’s a fair cop. The mistake is real. It’s mine. I have no idea how I managed it, but I did.
I didn’t realize I’d done it until the literary editor of The Observer asked our publisher (who asked us) about it, and I looked it up. That was Thursday I think. Jeremy and I had a set-to this morning about whether or not … Read the rest
Ireland: Catholic Clergy Brace for Next Report
Jul 12th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonReport will scrutinise how some of the country’s most senior prelates handled child abuse allegations.… Read the rest
Jimmy Carter on Religion and Misogyny
Jul 12th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThis view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief.… Read the rest
Cristina Odone on Does God Hate Women?
Jul 12th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWoman in short skirt is not at fault, therefore God is not at fault. Eh?… Read the rest
Be careful what you wish for
Jul 11th, 2009 5:00 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’m deeply irritated. I’ll tell you why. If Chris Mooney can, I can. If Chris Mooney can single out PZ Myers for a damn good scolding not once but twice in his (and Kirshenbaum’s, but he’s the one with the PZ-vendetta) short book, then I can single out Chris Mooney for another in the privacy of this little place.
I know it’s futile. G ignores him, Josh says he should be ignored, and I’ve been ignoring him ever since he went all Matthew Nisbet on everyone’s ass. No bad things resulted from my ignoring him all this time, as far as I know, and I could have just continued to ignore him. But then he started up with the … Read the rest
PZ Myers on Francis Collins
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHead of NIH is a political position; the appointment of a loudly evangelical Christian sends a political message. … Read the rest
Steven Pinker on Francis Collins
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt is not a matter of private belief, but public advocacy. The director of NIH is a public face of science… Read the rest
Pope Tells Obama What to Do
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWhy not after all? Obama is an elected head of state, and the pope is…a catholic.… Read the rest
Oh, Moses – I Thought You Were So Original!
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYou can’t believe he’s going to say it – but he does.… Read the rest
The Tyranny of Sharia in the Netherlands
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Everything in sharia law is discriminatory against women.’… Read the rest
7 Somalis Beheaded for Abandoning Islam
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe mass beheadings follow many individual executions, amputations and stonings.… Read the rest
Brother Murders Two Sisters for ‘Mingling’
Jul 11th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe brother shot them in front of their father, who quickly forgave the son for defending the family’s honour.… Read the rest