Oops. There’s a thing called the “Global Secular Council.”

First? It’s not so global. They’re nearly all American or Ukanian, and the whole thing is clearly Anglophone.

Last? Its team of experts – 23 of them. Five women. Five.

Look at the glam picture at the top of the front page – what do you see? Four men and three women – not parity, not more women than men, but close to parity. Funny how the conspicuous glam photo on the front page looks as if there are almost as many women as men when in fact, there are not.

That’s not all you see, but I won’t go into that.

… Read the rest

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

The decision is here.

Page 17

The parties to this action certainly do not dispute that the Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees individuals the fundamental right
to marry. They stridently part company, however, over whether the fundamental
right to marry encompasses the right to marry a person of the same sex. Plaintiffs
contend that the fundamental right to marry belongs to the individual and protects
each individual’s choice of whom to marry. In stark contrast, Defendants contend
that, because “[t]he United States Supreme Court has never recognized that the
fundamental right to marry includes the right to marry a person of one’s choice,”
the Marriage Laws do not violate Plaintiffs’ due process rights. (Doc. 117, p. 20)

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

At Songdhammakalyani monastery in Thailand…

The unassuming monastery in Nakhon Pathom, an hour west of Bangkok, is the only temple in Thailand exclusively devoted to female monks, known as Bhikkhunis. In 2003, its abbess, the Venerable Dhammananda became the first Thai woman to ordain as a Bhikkhuni in Theravada Buddhism – defying tradition by travelling to Sri Lanka for the ceremony. Her decision sent shockwaves through the deeply conservative Thai Sangha Council, which explicitly banned the ordination of women in 1928.

But now it’s all ok? No. The Sangha continues to be against it.

According to the abbess, the challenges reflect decades of institutionalised patriarchy, rooted in the belief that being born female is a manifestation of bad karma

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

Jesus and Mo is now on Patreon.

This was my idea. [smug]

So if you want to help Jesus and Mo thrive and prosper, and get a reward, you can do that.

Here is the new Jesus and Mo:

 … Read the rest

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

A federal judge in Pennsylvania today ruled a state ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports:

“By virtue of this ruling, same-sex couples who seek to marry in Pennsylvania may do so, and already married same-sex couples will be recognized as such in the Commonwealth,” wrote U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III.

The ruling comes in a case filed in July by 11 gay couples, two teenage children of one of the pairs and a widow. The couples include Deb and Susan Whitewood of South Fayette, Diana Polson and Dawn Plummer of Point Breeze, and Lynn and Fredia Hurdle, of Crafton Heights.

It overturns, <<unambiguously>> and with rhetorical flourish, the 18-year-old state Defense of Marriage Act.

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

This is what we were laughing about – Soraya had said “I’ll text you” to Taslima and I pointed out that she’d automatically made the flashing thumbs gesture while saying that, so we all laughed and did flashing thumbs and typing gestures.

Brian D Engler… Read the rest

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

One of my favorites of Brian Engler’s many fabulous photos from Women in Secularism, which he kindly permits me to post.

This is a couple of minutes before the panel on multiculturalism started; Taslima and Soraya and me having a laugh.

Brian D Engler… Read the rest

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

Ok be warned: this is shocking and horrible.

The Independent reports on a young woman whose employer poured boiling water on her. I can hardly stand to read any more than that.

A Filipino woman was left with severe burns after her Saudi Arabia employer allegedly poured boiling water on her.

The 23-year-old household service worker, from Pikit, North Cotabato, suffered burns to her back and legs after being doused with the scorching liquid in the incident in Riyadh on 4 May, ABS-CBN News reported.

…

According to ABS-CBN News, the mother of Fatma’s employer became angry after Fatma was slow to bring her coffee and then poured boiling water on her.

SLOW TO BRING HER COFFEE!!

She … Read the rest

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

Originally a comment on Missing parts

There’s a pattern, here–and forgive me if I’m restating what others might find obvious–but the general inappropriateness of citing Mill to justify misogynistic harassment–it fits again so well, I guess I felt noting this again is almost a forced move.

Mill’s essay is largely about the relationship between the state and dissenters, but not quite so exclusively–as it’s also more generally about relationships between majorities and minorities. The conclusion I can summarize quickly–anyone wants to argue otherwise, let me know, but to borrow from Mill himself: ‘… the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection…’

… note … Read the rest

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

Via Gnu Atheism on Facebook

 … Read the rest

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

The new Free Inquiry is out, and my column in it is online.

The takeaway:

The more we buy into the meme that abortion is always a tragic lesser-of-two-evils situation, the more we lose sight of the reality, which is that for a woman or girl who does not want to be pregnant, abortion is a glorious human invention, a life-salvaging bit of technology.

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

Jafafa Hots said:

(keep searching and searching for justifications for continuing to do what you were always doing for totally unrelated reasons once people start demanding you justify your actions… lemme see. Leaving genitals intact destroys the sanctity of traditionally-altered genitals? Have we tried that one yet?)

So good I just wanted to repeat it.

 … Read the rest

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

glosswitch on Snow White vs The Evil Queen: Some thoughts on feminism’s “generation gap”. It starts with a movie, Snow White and the Huntsman.

It’s everything that’s terrible about how mainstream feminism is marketed and it’s a bloody fairy tale. Just what is wrong with the world?

Charleze Theron’s Ravenna, the villain of the piece, is a cross between Tampax Pearl’s Mother Nature and Valerie Solanas. She is pitched against Kristen Stewart’s Snow White, who is young, beautiful and feisty, all set to overthrow a patriarchal regime that demands all women be young, beautiful but not particularly feisty. Snow White rebels by remaining young and beautiful while also having agency™ and being empowered™ – go her! Meanwhile

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

An excellent piece by Massimo Pigliucci saying why Neil deGrasse Tyson is wrong to say philosophy is timewasting bullshit that gets you hit by cars because you’re too busy asking yourself whether cars are real or not.

Neil made his latest disparaging remarks about philosophy as a guest on the Nerdist podcast [4], following a statement by one of the hosts, who said that he majored in philosophy. Neil’s comeback was: “That can really mess you up.” The host then added: “I always felt like maybe there was a little too much question asking in philosophy [of science]?” And here is the rest of the pertinent dialogue:

dGT: I agree.

interviewer: At a certain point it’s just futile.

dGT:

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