In five weeks he went through over 330 Twitter accounts. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Montreal police arrest “David Mabus” 
Aug 18th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Montreal police would not reveal the identity of the suspect, saying only that he would undergo a psychiatric evaluation shortly.… Read the rest
Abuse in Christian reform schools
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“We have laws to protect people from illegal incarceration,” says one alum. “But apparently not if you’re a teenage girl.”… Read the rest
£205k to NHS for “spiritual healing therapies”
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The “therapy” involves the running of hands over the patient’s body (without touching) to radiate “healing energy.”… Read the rest
Dublin’s Catholic archdiocese close to financial ruin
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
People aren’t going to mass any more so they aren’t giving the church money any more.… Read the rest
Spain ‘foils gas attack on anti-Pope protesters’
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The suspect planned to attack a march with “asphyxiating gases and other chemical substances”, police said.… Read the rest
The magic vibrations of the original substance
Aug 17th, 2011 3:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonCorporate behemoth tries to put the frighteners on one powerless blogger because he said things about one of its risible products. (Yes risible. Go ahead, sue me.)
… Read the rest…the international homeopathy producer, Boiron, is threatening a lone Italian blogger because he dared to criticize their product, Oscillococcinum. The blogger, Samuele Riva, wrote two articles on his blog, blogzero.it, criticizing what our own Mark Crislip has called “oh-so-silly-coccinum.”
…
Boiron is the largest manufacturer of homeopathic products in the world and the second largest manufacturer of over-the-counter products in France.What they are doing to this small blogger, in my opinion, is nothing less than corporate thuggery. They are using their resources and their corporate lawyers to try to silence completely legitimate
The London riots and folk psychology run amok
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
None of the researchers interviewed are working on crowd psychology, yet all are quoted as using discredited psychological theories.… Read the rest
Blogzero on Boiron and the Streisand effect
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Boiron is getting lots and lots of publicity, all of it bad.… Read the rest
Steven Novella on homeopathic thuggery
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They are using their resources and their corporate lawyers to try to silence completely legitimate criticism of their pseudoscientific products.… Read the rest
Homeopathy multinational threatens to sue blogger
Aug 17th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A letter sent by the Italian arm of multinational company Boiron threatens to sue a blogger over remarks he made about homoeopathy.… Read the rest
On Midnight’s Children and “one of each” reading
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A novel is not an unreliable reference book. … Read the rest
The Nuanced Discussion
Aug 16th, 2011 | By James Sweet, Corwin Sullivan and Ophelia BensonHere is the promised dialogue. The subject is sexist epithets: how bad are they, are some worse than others, if they are bad then in what way are they bad, does it really matter, is it reasonable to think they are a bad thing, if so why?
James Sweet
I have accepted Ophelia’s challenge. Am I qualified? I am a male, and this is my real name. I do fancy myself a liberal, and would like to think of myself as a feminist, to the extent that men can be. So: how do I feel about sexist epithets?
Well, they’re bad. Usually. But like so many words, the degree to which that applies varies depending on context and … Read the rest
What Bachmann’s submission theology really means
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s common for Christian politicians questioned about their adherence to submission theology to dodge a scriptural explanation.… Read the rest
Christian candidate’s guide to infidels
Aug 16th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Academics who study the evangelical movement note that atheism and secular culture seem to be a particular bugaboo.… Read the rest
Free Inquiry Announces Two New Columnists
Aug 15th, 2011 5:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonA tweet from Melody Hensley this afternoon:
Free Inquiry Announces Two New Columnists: @pzmyers and @OpheliaBenson
It’s true. See for yourself. There I am right on the front page, along with Christopher Hitchens and Wendy Kaminer. (What? Yes really. Two of your top faves? Yes really. Hitchens and Kaminer? I know.) There I am under OP-EDS.
End of smirk.… Read the rest
Bishop says suicide inquiry won’t shed light
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Police believe at least 26 victims of sexual abuse at schools in which one convicted priest taught have committed suicide. Bishop shrugs.… Read the rest
The full HRW report on Somalia
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
This report documents numerous abuses during renewed fighting in the past year by parties to the 20-year-long conflict in Somalia.… Read the rest
HRW on war crimes in Somalia
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
All sides should immediately end abuses against civilians and ensure access to aid and free movement of people fleeing conflict and drought.… Read the rest
NSS conference on secularism
Aug 15th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Conway Hall, London, 10 September. Mary Warnock, Jonathan Miller, Nick Cohen, Anne Marie Waters (One Law for All), Diana Nammi (IKWRO).… Read the rest
