The great recession of 2008 is transforming politics in Britain, squeezing the middle ground on which the Liberals stand.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
No “mixed-sex” handshakes for Somalia
Jan 13th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe BBC’s Mohamed Moalimuu in Mogadishu says the penalty would probably be a public flogging.… Read the rest
Constitutional “originalism” isn’t
Jan 13th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSome scholars have concluded that originalism is more of a rhetorical argument than a consistent, principled approach to constitutional interpretation.… Read the rest
Leo Igwe arrested again – and released
Jan 13th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGary Foxcroft of the charity Stepping Stones Nigeria writes, “I have just spoken with Leo. He has been released without charge. He got a bit of a beating in custody but is in good spirits.”… Read the rest
Surly, slapdash and dreadful, and that’s on a good day
Jan 12th, 2011 5:18 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’m relieved to see that somebody in the UK is aware of the…….erm……..the lack of warmth in the ahem service professionals there. I wondered if it was just me.
No I didn’t really; instead I wondered if everybody there is crazy.
Surly, slapdash and dreadful. That’s how chef Michel Roux Jr sums up customer service in the UK.
“It’s not just in restaurants, you get bad service anywhere,” he says. “Even buying a newspaper you can find that you’re not even acknowledged. There’s no eye contact, no greeting or anything. Bad service is unforgivable and it’s everywhere in the UK.”
It’s true you know. It’s the surliness I can’t stand. Dignity would be all right; a polite reserve would be … Read the rest
Resources
Jan 12th, 2011 4:55 pm | By Ophelia BensonTwo of the ACLU attorneys who signed the letter to the feds did a blog post on it. The ACLU website has a whole section on Reproductive Freedom. Useful stuff.… Read the rest
To uphold the dignity of human life
Jan 12th, 2011 1:16 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’ve been reading the bishop of Phoenix again. (I have my reasons. I’m doing a talk at CFI Vancouver in a couple of weeks, and I intend to draw on the bish.) I’ve been doing a close reading, as one might with a poem or a PR release. I noticed some things. Here’s one of them.
The decisions regarding life and death, morality and immorality as they relate to medical ethics are at the forefront of the Church’s mission today. As a result, the Church and her bishops have a heightened moral responsibility to remain actively engaged in these discussions and debates.
Look at what he’s saying there. He’s saying that decisions regarding life and death are at the forefront … Read the rest
Shock-horror over sex education in Pakistan
Jan 12th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDr Mobin Akhtar wants to clear up distressing misconceptions about sex via education. He gets threats.… Read the rest
Coyne on Pigliucci on atheism and anger
Jan 12th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMost of us, even including those who used to be religious, have legitimate reasons—beyond religious indoctrination—to be angry.… Read the rest
Sarah Palin was puzzled, then concerned, now sad
Jan 12th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAbout “the irresponsible statements” of other people. She has never said an irresponsible word in her life.… Read the rest
Sarah Palin protests “irresponsible statements”
Jan 12th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAlso raves about a “blood libel,” clearly having no idea what that means.… Read the rest
Welcome to Sunnybrook Funny Farm
Jan 11th, 2011 6:22 pm | By Ophelia BensonEww!
I was browsing Churchandstate.org, via a post on Eric’s blog, and what did I find but a fetid little abomination called “the stay-at-home-daughters movement.” As in “stay at home because you are inferior and subordinate and your Duty in life is to be a conduit for child production and a domestic servant.”
… Read the restThe stay-at-home-daughters movement, which is promoted by Vision Forum, encourages young girls and single women to forgo college and outside employment in favor of training as “keepers at home” until they marry. Young women pursuing their own ambitions and goals are viewed as selfish and antifamily; marriage is not a choice or one piece of a larger life plan, but the ultimate goal. Stay-at-home daughters
Meet the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Jan 11th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYoung women pursuing their own ambitions and goals are viewed as selfish and antifamily.… Read the rest
No such bill of grievances
Jan 11th, 2011 11:56 am | By Ophelia BensonHitchens notes a difference between Mumtaz Qadri, and Paul Foot and Nelson Mandela.
A decision to resort to violence was not something to be undertaken without great care—and stated in terms that were addressed to reasonable people. From his prison cell, Nelson Mandela had joined the great tradition of the French philosophes, of Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine, of Marx and Engels in 1848, and of Jawaharlal Nehru in the 1930s—of men and women who felt the historic obligation to make a stand and to define it.
In other words, to give reasons.
… Read the restNow look at the grinning face of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who last week destroyed a great human being. He did not explain. He boasted.
Hitchens on Salman Taseer
Jan 11th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Jihadists” don’t even bother to make a case that violence is needed.… Read the rest
The context of Loughner’s adventure
Jan 11th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe context was the anti-government, pro-gun, xenophobic populism that flourishes in the dry and angry climate of Arizona.… Read the rest
Buffalo, NY: wife-beheader says she abused him
Jan 11th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Domestic violence is not about gender, it’s about control,” Muzzammil Hassan wrote. “Who is the master, who is the slave?”… Read the rest
Jesus and Mo do a new song
Jan 11th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTonight we are going to insist that our religious beliefs be treated with the unquestioning respect we imagine they deserve.… Read the rest
Lars Hedegaard on free speech
Jan 10th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe mighty do not fear free speech as an abstract idea but as the beginning of the end of their privileges.… Read the rest
Freedom of speech in Denmark
Jan 10th, 2011 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLars Hedegaard, President of The International Free Press Society, is about to go on trial for discussing family rapes in areas dominated by Muslim culture.… Read the rest