“It was both very funny and also chilling, showing that, in fact, the class system was very active.”… Read the rest
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Another bishop heard from
Feb 6th, 2013 11:30 am | By Ophelia BensonA Catholic bishop says Obama is a negation of Lincoln because Lincoln was all “freedom” and Obama hates freedom.
He has chosen to use the bully pulpit not to call upon us all to be nobler and to embrace each child, regardless of origins and circumstances; rather, he has been a proponent of an expediency that is shameful and criminal in the eyes of Almighty God.
The bishop knows that about the eyes of almighty god how? No how. He doesn’t. He just says he does. He may think he does, or he may pretend he does, but either way, he’s wrong.
… Read the restIn my view, those who voted for President Obama bear the responsibility for a step deeper in the
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
A good one-liner
Feb 6th, 2013 11:18 am | By Ophelia BensonBoy Scouts say they need more time to reconsider ban on gay scouts. Wait, isn’t their motto “be prepared”? http://bit.ly/WubiMp… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Good luck in Somalia
Feb 5th, 2013 2:55 pm | By Ophelia BensonA woman in Somalia said she was raped by some security forces, so she has been given a year in jail “for making a false accusation and insulting a government body.”
Judge Ahmed Aden Farah said the woman would not go to jail immediately as she is caring for a young child.
How very generous.
The woman had reported the alleged rape at a police station in Hodan, a district in Mogadishu where many displaced people live.
“We sentence her for offending state institutions by claiming she was raped,” the AFP news agency quotes the judge as saying.
“She will spend one year in prison after finishing the breastfeeding of her baby.”
State institutions in Somalia sure are easily offended, … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Repairs under way
Feb 5th, 2013 12:11 pm | By Ophelia BensonAs you may have seen via this comment on A fabulous Manly Meal, Harriet Hall has a long post on Gender Differences and Why They Don’t Matter So Much. The key point is -
Average Differences Don’t Tell Us Anything About Individuals
The point that often gets overlooked in these discussions is that gender differences are averages for the group. They are irrelevant to a discussion of what jobs any individual woman is qualified for or interested in. And it doesn’t mean we can predict what proportion of men or women will gravitate to any given area of human endeavor.
Precisely. I keep saying exactly that.
But even more interesting than the post, perhaps, is a comment by David … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The Magdalene laundries
Feb 5th, 2013 10:56 am | By Ophelia BensonThe report on the Magdalene laundries in Ireland is out.
… Read the restBetween 1922 and 1996 around 10,000 women are known to have entered Magdalen laundries, working for no pay in what were lonely and frightening places.
Senator McAleese and his committee were asked to outline the extent of state involvement and knowledge of the women in these laundries.
In each of the five categories it examined, it found evidence of state involvement. Most notably, 26% of the women who entered the laundries were referred there by the state.
The authorities also inspected the laundries, funded them, and registered the departures and deaths of the women there.
But it found that there was a legal basis for the state’s involvement as
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
A fabulous “Manly Meal”
Feb 4th, 2013 5:18 pm | By Ophelia BensonA Catholic men’s organization invited Dan Barker to debate a Catholic theologian on the topic “Do The Gospels Give Us The Real Jesus?” and he was publicizing it along with them. But then he spotted something he hadn’t noticed before.
… Read the restOn January 29, as I was updating FFRF’s Events page, I went to the AOTM website for details. (http://www.aotmclub.com) I spotted this note at the bottom of the page announcing my event:
“$12 at the door (The total cost for the night) You will get great appetizers and beverages, hear one of the best inspirational stories you have ever heard about manhood and faith. Do all this while you listen and enjoy a fabulous “Manly Meal”. Men
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
What they don’t get
Feb 4th, 2013 1:15 pm | By Ophelia BensonShe got a message this morning with a link.
… Read the restThe link was to a pornographic MS Paint drawing someone made of me and posted to a Rule 34 porn site under the username “rand0mathe1st.” The image depicts me bound and gagged, covered in semen, with a dildo up my ass. It reads, “Rebecca Watson is an object.” Here’s a link to a censored but still NSFW version that may be disturbing to you if you don’t get this shit sent to you all the time. It’s interesting to think of how much time and energy that person must spend thinking about me, fantasizing about sex with me, and wondering how much one should
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The timing of everything was carefully executed
Feb 4th, 2013 12:48 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhat it’s like to be a woman in The Industry. What industry? It almost doesn’t matter, does it. This one is the tech industry.
… Read the restThis week – someone decided to upload fake porn pictures of me to the internet – when I say fake I don’t mean my head stuck on someone’s body, but lookalikes or in some cases, just blonde girls with blue eyes and terrible taste in underwear. I digress. This is someone with far too much time on their hands and someone with a definite grudge. I’ve taught myself over the years to take the rough with the smooth and develop a thick skin, I’ve been free of online trouble for a while and rightly or
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Guest post by Susan on genre and stereotypes
Feb 4th, 2013 11:52 am | By Ophelia BensonSusan wrote this as a comment on The romance novelist and the guy with a truck from last month.
This post is especially relevant to me. I am a feminist, and here is the great irony in my own life … I have been writing romance novels for 20 years. And I have resisted the stereotypes almost every step of the way. When I began, when “strong” female characters were becoming as common as “damsel” characters, I began with women who dressed in jeans and boots and such. I think I must have had “heroines” who wore skirts and heels, but of course I was basically writing some avatar of myself in both male and female characters, and I stopped … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Like many others
Feb 3rd, 2013 4:11 pm | By Ophelia BensonJanet Heimlich casts a cold eye on a bishop’s “apology.”
You know what’s coming. We could all write the “apology” in our sleep.
“I wish to acknowledge and apologize for those instances when I made decisions regarding the treatment and disposition of clergy accused of sexual abuse that in retrospect appear inadequate or mistaken.” Curry added, “Like many others, I have come to a clearer understanding over the years of the causes and treatment of sexual abuse, and I have fully implemented in my pastoral region the archdiocese’s policies and procedures for reporting abuse, screening those who supervise children and abuse prevention training for adults and children.”
Uh huh. In retrospect. In retrospect they appear inadequate or mistaken. As … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Cultural crap
Feb 3rd, 2013 1:58 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhat is “radical feminism”? I see peculiar definitions here and there – or not so much definitions, as ad hoc explanations apparently pulled out of people’s…imaginary reference materials. The definitions or ad hoc explanations are crafted in such a way that they appear to fit feminists the crafters dislike, unless you actually know anything about the feminists in question.
There’s Vacula’s definition for example.
… Read the restSecular Woman is an organization, launched in June of 2012, which aims to “amplify the voice, presence, and influence of non-religious woman.” I was initially supportive of the organization and helped promote it because I had hoped that this organization would provide a fresh breath of air to the discussion about women’s issues – something much
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Why, I know you
Feb 3rd, 2013 9:45 am | By Ophelia BensonSo there’s this blob on a wall where some water damage happened, and damned if that blob isn’t the spitting image of The Virgin Mary™ – or rather of the outline of one of those creepy statuette things that are supposed to represent The Virgin Mary™.
It’s cool, too, because on the wall to her right hangs her son on his execution-by-torture device. Idn that pretty? They’re together again, or at least little statue-type deals that are supposed to represent them are together.
(Have you ever noticed that it’s oddly hard not to see dolls and stuffed animals and the like as just a little bit sentient? Because I have. I guess that’s just because the recognition of what is … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Child Witch Hunting and Our Justice System
Feb 3rd, 2013 | By Leo Igwe
The belief that evil magic and witchcraft can possess infants is largely behind the wave of exorcism-related abuse of children ravaging many parts of Nigeria and Africa.
Many families and communities make scapegoats of their kids.
They blame and hold them responsible for the ills they suffer. Children who are believed to be possessed by the demon of witchcraft are then subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment by pastors, prophets or any other self-styled man or woman of god.
Many of these children suffer severe health damage in the process of exorcism. Some actually die as a result of the torture and abuse inflicted on them by the exorcisers. In August, a 5 year old girl named Goodness Offiong reportedly … Read the rest
A New Wave of Reason in Africa
Feb 3rd, 2013 | By Leo Igwe
At least 55 persons attended the international freethought conference recently held in November in Accra. This meeting hosted by the newly formed local humanist group was the first of its kind in the history of Ghana – a country recently polled to be the world’s most religious nation. The conference generated both local and international media attention, with reports carried by Reuters and the BBC. Humanist and skeptical activists from other west African countries – including Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone – attended the program. Many foreigners living in Ghana were also at the event. To many local participants, the event was a great opportunity to meet physically with people of like mind. It was a great boost to the … Read the rest
In a defeat for misogyny and ignorance
Feb 2nd, 2013 4:57 pm | By Ophelia BensonYo! Breaking news – Malala has indeed been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
Yessssssss.… Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Another way of saying shut up
Feb 2nd, 2013 4:07 pm | By Ophelia BensonMichael Nugent points out a classic example of the special rules by which what would be an utterly normal tone of voice and wording and manner in a man get called “shrill” when it’s a woman speaking. The woman is Senator Ivana Bacik, asking questions at the parliamentary hearings on abortion law. She speaks firmly, and with an edge, but not the least bit “shrilly.” But hey, she’s a woman, and she’s talking firmly and with an edge to men. Must be shrill. Stands to reason.
… Read the restIn an opinion piece titled ‘We can’t be cowed by shrill voices’, editor Michael Kelly wrote:
“Ms Bacik clearly disagrees with the Catholic view that all human life is sacred and
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
The X case itself has crossed that line
Feb 2nd, 2013 3:40 pm | By Ophelia BensonHere are Michael Nugent and Ivana Bacik responding to abortion law questions at an Irish parliamentary hearing.
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Mary-flavored potato chips
Feb 2nd, 2013 12:33 pm | By Ophelia BensonAw, another innocent marketing decision goes awry.
Sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger has withdrawn a new “Virgin Mary” brand of crisps following religious complaints.
The firm, with about 350 shops in the UK, launched the spicy tomato crisps – based on the non-alcoholic version of a Bloody Mary cocktail – last week.
This prompted complaints, including from Catholic groups, that it was an offensive reference to Jesus’s mother.
A company spokesman said it had noted complainants’ “strength of feeling” and withdrawn the product to avoid offence.
Now look here, Jesus’s mother isn’t the only virgin Mary in the world. How do the complainers know that Pret A Manger didn’t mean their cousin Mary age six? How do they … Read the rest
(This is a syndicated post. Read the original at FreeThoughtBlogs.)
Sandwich chain withdraws ‘Virgin Mary’ crisps 
Feb 2nd, 2013 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger has withdrawn a new “Virgin Mary” brand of crisps following religious complaints.… Read the rest
