Florida officials would not comment on a potential link between American Family
Planning and Brigham. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Link between Maryland abortion case and Florida clinic 
Jan 4th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Decades of violence at burned abortion clinic
Jan 4th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Authorities said the fire was suspicious and they are investigating whether it was intentionally set.… Read the rest
Frank Cioffi 1928-2012
Jan 4th, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Much of his academic career, he presented and wrote about Freud, Freud’s evasiveness, his distortions, and his surprising influence.… Read the rest
Who made that rule?
Jan 4th, 2012 11:30 am | By Ophelia BensonFresh Air yesterday did an interview with science writer Kitty Ferguson, who has written a biography of Stephen Hawking. There was one bit where Ferguson was summarizing Hawking on how it all began (to put it as crudely as possible) and mentioned his saying that ‘god’ wasn’t necessary for it to begin. Terri Gross paused to discuss this idea, and Ferguson rebuked Hawking for mentioning it.
He was out of his depth, she said. It’s not his subject. He’s not “an expert.”
What?
Who is “an expert” on this subject? What makes anyone an expert on this subject? What is the expertise involved?
I really don’t know. I don’t know what she thought she meant. Do people think there’s … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
That beacon of human rights, Iran
Jan 4th, 2012 10:14 am | By Ophelia BensonCheck out the list of OIC countries in order of population. Ask yourself if you want to take advice on human rights from those countries.
Pakistan?
Bangladesh?
Iran?
Algeria?
Sudan?
Uzbekistan?
Afghanistan?
Saudi Arabia?
Yemen?
Syria?
Some are better than that, certainly, but many of them are also dubious as “Islamic states” even if you accept (as I don’t) the idea that a majority Muslim state is an “Islamic state.” Nigeria, Uganda, Mozambique? And anyway “better than Syria” isn’t much to boast of.… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Recognizing the valuable contribution
Jan 4th, 2012 9:27 am | By Ophelia BensonEric provides the text of Resolution 16/18. I don’t find it all that reassuring.
Recognizing the valuable contribution of people of all religions or beliefs to humanity and the contribution that dialogue among religious groups can make towards an improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humankind,
The valuable contribution of people of all beliefs? That’s just gibberish. The contribution of people of some beliefs – and not rare ones – is the opposite of valuable. Lots of people have beliefs that women are both inferior and evil-rebellious, and thus have to be ferociously controlled and even more ferociously punished if they ever evade that control. That’s not valuable.
Ok it’s just a bit of … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Orthodoxy v freedom
Jan 3rd, 2012 3:44 pm | By Ophelia BensonJonathan Turley was on the case in the Los Angeles Times in December.
… Read the restThis week in Washington, the United States is hosting an international conference obliquely titled “Expert Meeting on Implementing the U.N. Human Rights Resolution 16/18.” The impenetrable title conceals the disturbing agenda: to establish international standards for, among other things, criminalizing “intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of … religion and belief.” The unstated enemy of religion in this conference is free speech, and the Obama administration is facilitating efforts by Muslim countries to “deter” some speech in the name of human rights.
Although the resolution also speaks to combating incitement to violence, the core purpose behind this and previous measures has been to justify the prosecution of
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Wtf
Jan 3rd, 2012 12:04 pm | By Ophelia BensonI don’t normally like to agree with Republican Representatives, but I’m afraid this one time I’m going to have to. Actually I think I’ll see his bet and raise it.
A US lawmaker has urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to push back against the “criminalization of speech deemed critical of Islam” at a meeting next week of the world’s largest Muslim body.
In a December 8 letter, Republican Representative Ted Poe pressed Clinton to use a December 12-14 meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Washington to address the issue.
What.the.fuck.
What the fuck is Clinton doing having a meeting of the fucking OIC in Washington?!
When’s the last time Clinton held a meeting of the Organization … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Sahar Gul, 15, was tortured by her in-laws
Jan 3rd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
She refused to be a prostitute, so they tortured her and locked her in a bathroom for 6 months. Her brother sold her to her “husband.”… Read the rest
Who will decide how women will live – the church or the state?
Jan 2nd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What Naama’s story reveals is the unavoidable clash between the sexist edicts of religious extremists and the state’s guarantee of full human rights to all its female citizens.… Read the rest
Bishop Oyedepo: A Slap in the Name of Jesus
Jan 2nd, 2012 | By Leo IgweA video clip of Bishop Oyedepo where this charlatan slapped a young lady during a deliverance session was being circulated on the internet but has now been taken down.
The first time I saw the link, I thought it was a joke; I thought it was something made up by someone who wanted to blackmail Oyedepo, who is the general Overseer of the Living Faith Church (aka Winners Chapel).
But after watching it I had no doubt that it was real. This is not only because of what transpired as recorded in this video clip but also what I know goes on in pentecostal churches and prayers houses across the country – impunity, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment by pastors.… Read the rest
If they get on a haredi bus
Jan 2nd, 2012 4:45 pm | By Ophelia BensonBut, to the surprise of no one, it is possible to find haredi women who think segregated buses are just fine. Well of course it is.
“If they get on a haredi bus, they should get on in the back, they need to respect us. They’re doing it just for the provocation,” said one woman who refused to give her name.
But it’s not a “haredi bus,” it’s a public bus. The word “bus” is short for “omnibus” which means, precisely, “for all.” It’s not a haredi bus so no one is obligated to get on in the back and no one needs to “respect” people who think they get to own particular public bus routes.
… Read the restOthers were less
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
#lessambitiousbooks
Jan 2nd, 2012 4:24 pm | By Ophelia BensonA riotous hashtag at Twitter, instantly addictive. I’ve been snorting with laughter and failing to drag myself away.
A few -
Breezy Hilltops
Harry Potter and the Trip to ASDA – Rhys Morgan.
Afternoon Excursion on the Beagle
Their Eyes Were Watching Netflix – Katha Pollitt.
Nice Place Lost
Squabble and Peace
Crime and a Talking To – lots of people and versions.
Around the Block in 80 Days
Bikespotting – Troels Heeger.
Two Men in a Boat – Greg Laden.
A Streetcar Named 87
Nap of a Salesman
The Glass Farmyard
The Little House in the Suburbs… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Still alive
Jan 2nd, 2012 1:02 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhenever I see Joe Hoffmann’s latest burst of hatred at Da Noo Atheists, I decide to ignore it because he obviously loves the attention. (He’s like Michael Ruse that way. Exactly like Michael Ruse. Ruse writes a stupid generalized sneer about noo atheism, gets flack for the stupidity and generality, writes an aggrieved response to the flack. Repeat. Repeat repeat repeat. This is what Hoffmann has taken to doing.) Then other people don’t ignore it, so once the pleasure of seeing the post ignored is no longer available, I shrug and don’t ignore it too.
So the latest one, the New Year edition, is pathetically titled “Re-Made in America: Remembering the New Atheism (2006-2011).” As if he could make … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Alex Gourevitch on Mark Lilla on Corey Robin
Jan 2nd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A single metaphysical commitment regarding human nature does not take one very far in any political direction, let alone in understanding the ideological universe that one inhabits.… Read the rest
Chiropractic: An Indefensible Profession
Jan 2nd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The chiropractic definition of vertebral subluxation has never been demonstrated. No scientific evidence or imaging technique has ever shown these subluxations to exist.… Read the rest
“If they get on a haredi bus”
Jan 2nd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“…they should get on in the back, they need to respect us,” said a woman on the 56 bus.… Read the rest
Israel: hundreds board segregated buses in protest
Jan 2nd, 2012 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Hundreds of men and women boarded gender-segregated buses in Jerusalem and Ramat Gan on Sunday, in protest of the exclusion of women from the public sphere.… Read the rest
Up the down staircase
Jan 1st, 2012 12:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere’s always another step to go up the staircase of disgust -
The latest step is the Haredi leadership putting yellow stars on children at a protest against “exclusion” (by which is meant, not being permitted to exclude women).
Over a thousand ultra-Orthodox men assembled Saturday night in Jerusalem’s Kikar Hashabbat (Sabbath Square), in protest of what they termed the exclusion of Haredim, a response to the recent outrage over the exclusion of women in Beit Shemesh and elsewhere.
You see what they did there? Men who define inclusion as men’s right to exclude and bully women are protesting their “exclusion” by using Holocaust imagery, as if being genocided were identical to being prevented from excluding and bullying women.
… Read the restSome
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Here’s what you learn
Jan 1st, 2012 11:17 am | By Ophelia BensonFunny how sexism never goes out of style, isn’t it. I used to think it was out of style at least among people who occasionally use their heads for something other than putting food into, but I’ve been disabused of that starry-eyed notion lately. Certainly people who don’t go in for multi-purpose heads seem to think sexism is both funny and truthful. Like the tabloid press in the UK, Laurie Penny says.
… Read the restWe are used to seeing this sort of story about women in the tabloids, the familiar narrative of vapid idealisation, followed by shame and sexual humiliation. What we are not used to is seeing a real woman in a smart suit telling us how these stories affected
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
