HRW had as its original mission to pry open closed societies, advocate basic freedoms and support dissenters.… Read the rest
No Irony Meters in Pakistan, the Vatican 
Oct 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They’re haram, and they do too much damage when they explode.… Read the rest
PZ Studies Karen Armstrong
Oct 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Yes we all look for meaning; no we don’t all find it in religion.… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo Study Karen Armstrong
Oct 23rd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The barmaid doesn’t get the lesson.… Read the rest
The Truth About Ida
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
New evidence indicates that Darwinius masillae is not a transitional form in human evolution.… Read the rest
Arseny Roginsky on Romanticizing Stalinism
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘There is a vast amount of pro-Stalinist literature on the bookstalls: fiction, journalism and pseudo-history.’… Read the rest
Malaysia: MP Urges Govt to Impose Sharia
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The Islamic syariah law has become void because Article 4 places the country’s law above other laws.’… Read the rest
‘It Was Mehmet Who Disappeared Tulay’
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hanim Goren shouted at her husband across the courtroom: ‘Look at my face. What did you do to Tulay?’… Read the rest
Anglican Converts May Find Catholicism Tough
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They escape the horror of women priests but the Vatican is a strict boss.… Read the rest
Pre-emptive Censorship in Advance of Outrage
Oct 22nd, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It hasn’t offended anyone yet, but it might, so let’s not publish it after all.… Read the rest
NZ: Sex Abuse Among Exclusive Brethren
Oct 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Exclusive Brethren Church is accused of hiding a ‘plague’ of sexual abuse.… Read the rest
Cyber Attacks Smite Atheist Websites
Oct 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Atheist Foundation of Australia and the Global Atheist Convention were knocked offline.… Read the rest
Cat Registered as Hypnotherapist
Oct 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Industry bodies don’t seem to do much of a job checking credentials. … Read the rest
Life With the ‘Sisters of Mercy’
Oct 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The unforgivable part is that they told me and my sisters that my mother had given us up, that she didn’t want us.’… Read the rest
Karen Armstrong Tells Us All About God, Again
Oct 21st, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The quest for meaning continues. So God isn’t going anywhere.’ There’s logic for you!… Read the rest
Five Scheduled Executions in Iran
Oct 21st, 2009 | By Jahanshah RashidianAppeal to U.N. for Stopping Execution of Political Prisoners in Iran
To Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the General Secretary of the United Nations
(Also to all freedom-loving people and all governments of the Free World)
Five prisoners are scheduled to be executed in Iran on charges of taking part in protests following the fraudulent presidential election in June. All freedom-loving people, free-world governments, and particularly the U.N. must intervene in this gross violation of human rights by the Iranian Islamic regime.
Following the fraudulent presidential election in Iranian, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court has recently sentenced five political activists to death, and their execution has been scheduled. With all due respect, we all freedom-loving Iranians expect you, the people and authorities of the … Read the rest
The Sisters of Cruelty
Oct 21st, 2009 10:24 am | By Ophelia BensonAnother pretty story from Ireland.
… Read the restKathleen, with her her sisters, Sarah Louise and Lydia, were taken from their mother in a dawn raid on their Dublin tenement home and found guilty in the children’s court of being “destitute” and “having a parent who does not exercise proper guardianship”…“The people who took us from Mummy were paid a bounty by the religious orders because the nuns in turn received half a man’s wage per week for every child they took. It was a business. They called us destitute and uncared for, but that’s what they condemned us to — we were loved and cared for, but they took us away”…The regime at Moate was unremittingly grim. “I learnt to be
Background on NPR’s Goddy Reporter
Oct 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Received a Templeton fellowship. Reported sympathetically on Creation Museum, Dominonist film festival.… Read the rest
D J Grothe on NPR ‘Bitter Rift’ Story
Oct 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There was near unanimity at CFI in support of Blasphemy Day. Paul Kurtz and a few others dissented.… Read the rest
Catholic Church Operates in Northern Ireland Too
Oct 20th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The issue of child abuse cannot be ignored or left simply to individuals taking action through the courts.… Read the rest
