All entries by this author

What misogynists call outspoken women

Sep 29th, 2011 4:54 pm | By

It’s about time.

Rebecca has pointed out the activities of her more obsessed and malevolent haters. I’ve been following one particular clump of them, at intervals, all this time – yes they’re still at it. Would you believe it?

I’ve now amassed a following of obsessive creeps who have seemingly devoted their lives to hounding me down and making sure I never dare to speak my bitch mind again. Their tactics? Scientologist-level private investigation to dredge up the deepest, darkest mysteries of my past combined with grade school-level name-calling. It’s impressive, really. Really. Really.

You sure as hell have, I thought as I read that. Boy have you. The ones at Abbie Smith’s blog – that’s the clump … Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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It was torture

Sep 29th, 2011 10:26 am | By

Amnesty International Ireland commissioned a new report on the abuse of children in Irish institutions run by the state and the church, and it was released on Monday. I shall now read that report.

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: “The abuse of tens of thousands of Irish children is perhaps the greatest human rights failure in the history of the state. Much of the abuse described in the Ryan Report meets the legal definition of torture under international human rights law.

“Children were tortured. They were brutalised; beaten, starved and abused. There has been little justice for these victims. Those who failed as guardians, civil servants, clergy, gardaí and members of religious orders have

… Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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Amnesty: children were tortured in Irish institutions *

Sep 29th, 2011 | Filed by

The abuse of thousands of children in State and church run institutions  in Ireland amounted to torture, a scathing report from Amnesty International has found.… Read the rest

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Pakistan: family refuses to “honor kill” raped daughter *

Sep 29th, 2011 | Filed by

She was kidnapped and gang-raped; the tribal elders declared her kari for losing her virginity outside marriage.… Read the rest

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School cancels author’s visit in “blasphemy” row *

Sep 29th, 2011 | Filed by

Monkton head teacher Richard Backhouse said he did not believe the book was “appropriate” for a Christian school.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Increasing religious violence in Indonesia *

Sep 29th, 2011 | Filed by

Indonesia has a history of conflict between its Muslim and Christian populations, with 5,000 killed and 500,000 displaced by such violence between 1992 and 2002.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Zippy neutrinos show how science differs from religion *

Sep 29th, 2011 | Filed by

The issue will not be settled by consulting some supposedly infallible text but rather by close scrutiny of the controversial data and further experimentation if necessary.… Read the rest

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The direction of benefits

Sep 28th, 2011 5:05 pm | By

Chapter 6 of Janet Heimlich’s terrific book Breaking Their Will: shedding light on religious child mistreatment is titled “An Obsession with Child Obedience.” The final paragraph of the chapter says:

While there is nothing wrong with encouraging children to honor their parents, scriptures and religious concepts that promote child obedience offer an unbalanced and unhealthy parent-child relationship model. That is, while theology says plenty about what children must do for parents, it is largely silent on what parents owe children. Expecting children to honor and obey “in all things” promotes the use of corporal punishment, fear, and, sometimes, physical abuse. [pp 97-8]

It’s exactly the same with “God,” you know. Humans are told to obey and worship god, but … Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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The land of the pure

Sep 28th, 2011 4:41 pm | By

That “God” person must be one crazy primate, given the twisted frantic obsessiveness with which its fans fret about Purity in the Female.

Being in a room with a boy who’s not part of your family is considered damaging to the girl’s purity. Purity becomes a minefield and the only way to avoid it is, I’m sad to say this, staying at home. Inside your house. Seriously, don’t even take out the garbage because some boy might say hi and talk to you, and you would be flirting. And anyway, what if somebody saw you? They’d gossip their mouths fuzzy that you’re having a secret boyfriend and once that’s in people’s minds, you’re about as damaged as a vase

… Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the purest of them all? *

Sep 28th, 2011 | Filed by

The horrors of growing up pure.… Read the rest

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Always be careful not to alienate the mainstream

Sep 28th, 2011 11:09 am | By

A great piece by Glen Greenwald on the disdain of Normal “progressives” for the Wall Street protests.

Some of this anti-protest posturing is just the all-too-familiar New-Republic-ish eagerness to prove one’s own Seriousness by castigating anyone to the left of, say, Dianne Feinstein or John Kerry; for such individuals, multi-term, pro-Iraq-War Democratic Senator-plutocrats define the outermost left-wing limit of respectability…

A siginificant aspect of this progressive disdain is grounded in the belief that the only valid form of political activism is support for Democratic Party candidates, and a corresponding desire to undermine anything that distracts from that goal.  Indeed, the loyalists of both parties have an interest in marginalizing anything that might serve as a vehicle for activism

… Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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What’s behind the scorn for the Wall Street protests? *

Sep 28th, 2011 | Filed by

Some of this anti-protest posturing is just the all-too-familiar New-Republic-ish eagerness to prove one’s own Seriousness by castigating anyone to the left of John Kerry.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


A First Amendment showdown on campus *

Sep 28th, 2011 | Filed by

This week, Wisconsin is ground zero in the battle between university bureaucrats and free speech champions.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Atheism has a sexism problem *

Sep 28th, 2011 | Filed by

Women have been activists and leaders in this movement for a long time yet they always get forgotten when it’s time to give credit or build a list of invited speakers for a conference.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


University threatens criminal charges over TV poster *

Sep 27th, 2011 | Filed by

Next up for banning: The Iliad, The Odyssey, Medea, Agamemnon, The Trojan Women, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear…… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Everywhere is porous

Sep 27th, 2011 11:26 am | By

Saudi Arabia is so lovingly protective of women. One might think they are so lovingly protective that it is smothering, but still, it’s a nice gesture.

Isn’t it?

A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 10 lashes for challenging a ban on women driving in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

Ten lashes. That doesn’t seem all that protective, when you think about it. Lashes hurt. Lashes do damage. Lashes aren’t something states should be doing to their citizens (or to visitors, either). If women get whipped by the protective state for driving  a car, what exactly is it they’re being protected from?

Well don’t be silly: from penises, of course. Except the ones on their chauffeurs, those who have them. … Read the rest

(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)

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Martin Robbins on politicalcorrectnessgonemad *

Sep 27th, 2011 | Filed by

It’s not enough that the BBC allows staff to use BC and AD, they must use it, always, or face the wrath of the Daily Mail crusaders.… Read the rest

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Head of Italian Bishops Conference outraged by sex scandals *

Sep 27th, 2011 | Filed by

No not those. Berlusconi’s.… Read the rest

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Jehovah’s Witness magazine calls ex-members crazy *

Sep 27th, 2011 | Filed by

Article says “apostates are ‘mentally diseased’, and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings.” Some “apostates” have complained to police.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News


Saudi woman to be whipped for driving *

Sep 27th, 2011 | Filed by

Whipped. Ten strokes. For driving a car.… Read the rest

Posted in Latest News