A letter sent by the Italian arm of multinational company Boiron threatens to sue a blogger over remarks he made about homoeopathy.… Read the rest
On Midnight’s Children and “one of each” reading 
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A novel is not an unreliable reference book. … Read the rest
The Nuanced Discussion
Aug 16th, 2011 | By James Sweet, Corwin Sullivan and Ophelia BensonHere is the promised dialogue. The subject is sexist epithets: how bad are they, are some worse than others, if they are bad then in what way are they bad, does it really matter, is it reasonable to think they are a bad thing, if so why?
James Sweet
I have accepted Ophelia’s challenge. Am I qualified? I am a male, and this is my real name. I do fancy myself a liberal, and would like to think of myself as a feminist, to the extent that men can be. So: how do I feel about sexist epithets?
Well, they’re bad. Usually. But like so many words, the degree to which that applies varies depending on context and … Read the rest
What Bachmann’s submission theology really means
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s common for Christian politicians questioned about their adherence to submission theology to dodge a scriptural explanation.… Read the rest
Christian candidate’s guide to infidels
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academics who study the evangelical movement note that atheism and secular culture seem to be a particular bugaboo.… Read the rest
Free Inquiry Announces Two New Columnists
Aug 15th, 2011 5:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonA tweet from Melody Hensley this afternoon:
Free Inquiry Announces Two New Columnists: @pzmyers and @OpheliaBenson
It’s true. See for yourself. There I am right on the front page, along with Christopher Hitchens and Wendy Kaminer. (What? Yes really. Two of your top faves? Yes really. Hitchens and Kaminer? I know.) There I am under OP-EDS.
End of smirk.… Read the rest
Bishop says suicide inquiry won’t shed light
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Police believe at least 26 victims of sexual abuse at schools in which one convicted priest taught have committed suicide. Bishop shrugs.… Read the rest
The full HRW report on Somalia
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
This report documents numerous abuses during renewed fighting in the past year by parties to the 20-year-long conflict in Somalia.… Read the rest
HRW on war crimes in Somalia
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
All sides should immediately end abuses against civilians and ensure access to aid and free movement of people fleeing conflict and drought.… Read the rest
NSS conference on secularism
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Conway Hall, London, 10 September. Mary Warnock, Jonathan Miller, Nick Cohen, Anne Marie Waters (One Law for All), Diana Nammi (IKWRO).… Read the rest
Madrileños up in arms at cost of pope’s visit
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Many are angry at the use of public funding and tax breaks to help finance a religious celebration during an economic crisis.… Read the rest
Oh, The Humanities! How the Liberal Arts Can Save Themselves
Aug 14th, 2011 | By Joshua F. LeachIs it possible to imagine a society without the humanities? Such a society has probably never existed in all of human history. There is little doubt that the human animal is obsessed by its own past, by the meaning of its existence, by narratives and theories which help it make sense of experience. Whatever science and technology help us to achieve, they remain useful tools which offer little insight into the core of our emotional lives and the bulk of what motivates us on a day-to-day basis. They can answer the question of “how” but have little to say as to “why.”
As has been pointed out before, the scientific method has proven itself successful by limiting the questions it … Read the rest
Malise Ruthven on the new European far-right
Aug 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
There is a fresh urgency to the question of whether highly charged political rhetoric can play a part in motivating extreme forms of violence.… Read the rest
Wendy Kaminer on “the slut walk”
Aug 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
As a practical matter, we can control the way we present ourselves but not the ways in which we are perceived.… Read the rest
Spain: toilet paper in Vatican colors for sale
Aug 14th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Each pack contains two perfumed rolls of toilet paper, one yellow and the other white, which can be used as giant streamers to welcome the pope.… Read the rest
Invitation to a dialogue
Aug 14th, 2011 11:35 am | By Ophelia BensonYes, an invitation. Get your party clothes ready, because here it is.
I’m inviting some lucky guy to do a dialogue with me, which I will publish as an article here at B&W in the articles section. The dialogue will be on sexist epithets. Are they a bad thing, or are they a good thing? How bad are they, are some worse than others, if they are bad then in what way are they bad, does it really matter, is it reasonable to think they are a bad thing, if so why?
We’ve been told lately that “we’ve been getting totally unnuanced discussions of insults like ‘twat'” and that “not everything is the same, and it’s possible to tease … Read the rest
Innnnnnnnternational humanist
Aug 13th, 2011 5:13 pm | By Ophelia BensonPZ is in Oslo for a Humanist thingy. (Do you know, the Norwegian Humanists get state money. For reals. The churches get it and so they get it too. The Swedish humanists told me this when I was in Stockholm a year ago. The Swedish Humanists do not get state money. They are envious of their Norwegian colleagues.) He has won an international humanist award.
Ya! You go PZ.
PZ is one of the non-sexist male atheists. Such people are not the overwhelming majority I had thought.… Read the rest
This has always been our battles
Aug 13th, 2011 10:07 am | By Ophelia BensonPhil Molé did a Facebook note about this video clip in which Tim Gunn complains about the clothes Hillary Clinton wears and says she’s “confused about her gender.” The clip is a stupid annoying piece of sexist crap.
A woman commented on Phil’s note (Phil’s FB notes are actually articles; I’ve published some of them here; people tell him he should collect them in a book, and they’re right) and said “It has nothing to do with her being a woman.” Seriously. HC is confused about her gender, but it has nothing to do with her being a woman.
She also said “Sheesh. Pick your battles or you’ll be pissed at the whole world. This is an absolutely pathetic reach … Read the rest
Is it ok to ask Bachmann about her religious beliefs?
Aug 13th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hell yes. Bachmann has publicly said that “the Lord says: Be submissive, wives. You are to be submissive to your husbands.”… Read the rest
Catholic nurses win “right” not to do their jobs
Aug 13th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lawyer from Thomas More Legal Centre claimed their belief in “the sanctity of life” from conception onwards was a philosophical belief protected under the Equality Act.… Read the rest
