Joint statement from LSE and LSE SU (it says, although at the bottom it’s signed only by the SU General Secretary).

At the LSE Students’ Union Fresher’s Fair on Thursday 3 October two students from the LSE SU Atheist Secularist and Humanist Society (ASH) wore t-shirts that were clearly designed to depict Mohammed and Jesus in a provocative manner.

The Students’ Union, which runs the event, received a number of complaints from other students.

The SU asked the students to cover the t-shirts in the interests of good campus relations. The society remained free to share their literature and views.

One member of the society declined to do this. The student was attended by a cameraman and it was feared … Read the rest

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Chris Moos and Abhishek Phadnis report:

The following is an account of the events at the LSESU Freshers’ Fair on October 3rd

On Thursday 3rd of October, we (Abishek Phadnis and Chris Moos) were at the LSESU Freshers’ Fair, manning the stall of the LSESU Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society to meet other non-believing students. At around noon, we were approached by LSESU Community and Welfare Officer Anneessa Mahmood, Anti-Racism Officer Rayhan Uddin, and Deputy Chief Executive Jarlath O’Hara and several others who identified as LSESU staff.

Without explanation, Anneessa Mahmood started removing material from the stall. When challenged, she claimed that it was “offensive”. In addition, the LSESU staff members demanded that we remove our t-shirts. We were told … Read the rest

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I don’t think I knew that Christopher Hitchens was a defender of David Irving, even after Irving failed in his attempt to censor the historian Deborah Lipstadt by suing her for libel. That’s all the more revolting since the reason Irving failed is because the historian Richard Evans demonstrated that Irving had systematically falsified evidence in his books. Irving wrote “history” that was a tissue of lies. No responsible intellectual should defend that.

An “antifascist, otherwise known as Soupy” I encountered on Twitter, @InTheSoupAgain, alerted me to this, and since I don’t think I knew it and I think it matters, I feel obliged to point it out.

Hitchens wrote a piece on the subject for the Wall Street … Read the rest

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At the fair. Chris Moos, Abhishek Phadnis and a guy I won’t name. Chris and Abhishek you already know.

… Read the rest

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To the London School of Economics Student Union’s bullying of the LSE student Atheism Secularism and Humanism group at LSE’s freshers’ fair yesterday.

Take it away, Jesus and Mo.

 … Read the rest

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When in doubt, kill the woman. Brace yourself: Emma Batha’s special report in the Independent begins with a horror.

Two months ago, a young mother of two was stoned to death by her relatives on the order of a tribal court in Pakistan. Her crime: possession of a mobile phone.

Arifa Bibi’s uncle, cousins and others hurled stones and bricks at her until she died, according to media reports. She was buried in a desert far from her village. It’s unlikely anyone was arrested.  Her case is not unique. Stoning is legal or practised in at least 15 countries or regions. And campaigners fear this barbaric form of execution may be on the rise, particularly in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Here we go AGAIN – London School of Economics student Atheist Secularist and Humanist society members Chris Moos and Abhishek Phadnis are being threatened with expulsion from LSE’s freshers’ fayre for…wearing a Jesus and Mo T shirt.

I saw it first via a tweet by the NSS (the National Secular Society):

Secularism UK @NatSecSoc

Not again! LSE Student Union @lsesu are throwing @ahsstudents group out of freshers’ fayre for wearing @JandMo Tshirts #Freedomofexpression

And a follow-up tweet:

Secularism UK @NatSecSoc

@bma@ahsstudents We’ve heard it from the LSE Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society President. They’re being told to leave right now.

Maryam has a post.

Listen up LSE: I am coming to your university

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“WaddleDee” finally produced an explanation of sorts.

Ophelia Benson @OpheliaBenson

@chsvns But my question is WHY is it fun.

WaddleDee @chsvns

@OpheliaBenson Because it is a deviant act that I can get away with.

Ok let’s think about that. A deviant act – how is it a deviant act, and why?

Telling people they’re ugly (fat, old, disgusting, etc) is reprobated because it’s seen as cruel. It’s rightly seen as cruel. Isn’t it? Is that at all controversial? If it’s not controversial, should it be controversial? Is it the kind of callous, brutal, indifferent “seen as” that other brands of conventional wisdom have been shown to be? Should we question that view just as we question racism or homophobia or … Read the rest

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Mike Booth: @somegreybloke I’ve been informed that wasps sting while flies do not. If you need advice on animals or rape, @Thunderf00t should be your go-to-guy.

PZ Myers: @pzmyers I’m quite enjoying watching @somegreybloke school @Thunderf00t

Ophelia Benson: @OpheliaBenson @pzmyers @somegreybloke @Thunderf00t QUITE enjoying? It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in awhile

thunderf00t: @thunderf00t @OpheliaBenson OPHIE! There’s gotta be a joke in there somewhere about u not looking in the mirror often.

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Now to excerpt a little.

In any case, the part where he kind of agrees with anti-rapist educators is over (we’re about 30 seconds in) – next up, the “HOWEVER…”

However, there is part of this video – which is a very widely seen message online – which from my seat is just so bloody stupid. And this is the sentiment that just because something is against the law, that you should under no circumstances take steps to reduce your risks in such an environment.

Got that? The first argument that Thunderf00t is going to tackle is the one that states “that you should under no circumstances take steps to reduce your risks in such an environment.”

“Under no

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I’ve no time to excerpt or annotate now because I have to read and read and read and read, but in the meantime – you should know about Mike Booth’s NINE PART demolition of Phil Mason aka Thunderfoot’s rape-apology video. It starts here and goes on for EIGHT MORE which is dedication beyond the whatsit.

(Mike Booth, in case you’ve forgotten, is Some Grey Bloke and Dan Cardamon – not the actor in Dan Cardamon but the author of him.)

One favorite, from part 9:

The inflection Thunderf00t is using at this point is known in acting circles as “Can you dial the condescension back a bit because nobody talks like that?”

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Rory Fenton has a very apropos article at the Rationalist Association calling for non-religious students to resist the tide of religious privilege at universities.

What happens when you go to university? New stuff! New ideas, new people, new categories of ideas, new all sorts.

In the midst of this, many find themselves doubting or losing their religious beliefs. For them and for those who have never been religious, non-religious societies on campus, whether called “atheist”, “humanist”, “secular”, “freethinking”, “rationalist” or “ex-Muslim” (and non-religious groups can rival the gay rights movement for the sheer number of inclusive terms they use), can be a second home. At their best they are oases of free debate and discussion, challenging their members as well

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Remember Reading University Student Union and its affiliated group Reading University Atheist, Humanist, and Secularist Society? The group that had a pineapple named Mohammed on its table at last year’s Freshers’ Fayre and got kicked out of the fayre by the Student Union as a result? I wrote about it almost exactly a year ago, quoting their statement via the NSS:

Among the material displayed on our stall was a pineapple. We labelled this pineapple “Mohammed”, to encourage discussion about blasphemy, religion, and liberty, as well as to celebrate the fact that we live in a country in which free speech is protected, and where it is lawful to call a pineapple by whatever name one chooses.

Towards the

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This joke comes from 25 Jokes Only Book Nerds Will Understand, which headlines this week’s THE LIST LIST, our weekly round-up of the best bookish lists on the internet. Check out the rest here: http://wp.me/p1TMUr-eJB

… Read the rest

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