What do people do when confronted with scientific evidence that challenges their pre-existing view? Often, ignore it, intimidate it, buy it off, sue it for libel, or reason it away.… Read the rest
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For the record
Jul 10th, 2010 9:36 am | By Ophelia BensonRight. I do want to talk about other things now, but I’m not going to be quiet while people say untrue things about me on blog posts with closed comments. I wrote a reply to something Jean Kazez said about me in her latest post, and I emailed her requesting that she add it and saying it’s dirty pool to go after people while preventing them from replying. I said that because it’s what I think. I told her I would post it myself if she didn’t, and she has responded not via email but by an update to her post saying “Ophelia’s now complaining that she can’t leave comments. Boo hoo.” No, I’m not “complaining” and I’m not … Read the rest
Limbaugh explains the recession
Jul 9th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonObama created it as payback for racism.… Read the rest
Mano Singham on the origins of religion
Jul 9th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt is not just humans that base their behavior on imputing meaning to meaningless correlations.… Read the rest
Iran does pay attention to global outrage
Jul 9th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt is not entirely proud of stoning.… Read the rest
Survey finds women are unsafe in Delhi
Jul 9th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia Benson“Women in the national capital feel unsafe in many public spaces, and at all times of the day and night.”… Read the rest
Fix the radar
Jul 9th, 2010 10:24 am | By Ophelia BensonSo now we know all about “Tom Johnson,” except that we don’t. We also don’t have a frank account of how it all went so terribly wrong.
It was just a blog post, and I had no reason to think there was anything fishy going on. And I did note that the story was “one individual’s experience and point of view, and nothing more.”
He did though. He did have reason to think there was anything fishy going on. He had – what to call it – he had an ear. He had his skeptical faculty. He had reasonable sensible journalistic caution. He had an acquaintance with human beings and the way they talk and behave. He had any reason … Read the rest
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani will not be stoned
Jul 9th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBut she could still be executed.… Read the rest
Mooney says what he has figured out
Jul 8th, 2010 5:27 pm | By Ophelia BensonHe told us in a comment on the “omigod there are sock puppets here!!” thread yesterday that he had figured out what is going on and would write more soon. He didn’t do it soon, but he did it. He did say more.
He said yesterday “was quite a day.” Yes, it was. What made it quite for him, do you suppose? Was it realizing quite how many people hold him in contempt? Was it seeing all his efforts at concealment and carrying on as if nothing had happened, just turn into more blog fodder and more contempt? Well yes, probably. Other than that, there wasn’t anything particularly quite – unless of course his car broke down, but he … Read the rest
What we know so far
Jul 8th, 2010 12:41 pm | By Ophelia BensonWhat’s it all about? What have Mooney and Kirshenbaum been up to all this time? What are they doing, what is their plan, what do they want? What are they after that is worth all this dishonesty and unethical behavior and blatant concealment and refusal ever to admit getting things wrong and slandering people they dislike while relying on obvious fakes and frauds?
The story – the “frame” – is that they want to persuade atheists to be more aware of “communication,” so that we can all unite to do something about the terrible problems we are facing. The idea behind that – one which they spell out at frequent intervals – is that the people they call “the New … Read the rest
Belgium: police question cardinal for ten hours
Jul 8th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLawyers for the cardinal argue that the raid last month “compromises the inviolability of the Vatican.” The what?… Read the rest
Theocracy is not progressive
Jul 8th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonYet there’s a large part of the Left that fails to understand that.… Read the rest
Oh sharia is not that bad
Jul 8th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonGuy worries that the campaign against sharia could make Muslims feel even more marginalised by mainstream society.… Read the rest
Jerry Coyne on Southern Baptist accommodationism
Jul 8th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt’s worth remembering that many believers and theologians don’t agree that science and religion are compatible.… Read the rest
Chris Mooney apologizes, again
Jul 8th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonJust kidding. Again.… Read the rest
EU urges Iran to halt executions
Jul 7th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonForeign affairs chief Catherine Ashton urged Iran to stop the execution of three people including Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani.… Read the rest
Salil Tripathi on V S Naipaul
Jul 7th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWaiving the rules only for the Lord and Lady from Wiltshire will reinforce the feudal India that Naipaul apparently despises.… Read the rest
Dumbing ourselves down
Jul 7th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCNN said Obama’s speech wasn’t one of his best, because it wasn’t pitched low enough.… Read the rest
PZ on the sock puppet and the other sock puppet
Jul 7th, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnd Chris Mooney, and what he owes a lot of people.… Read the rest