BBC blames Westergaard.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Nick Cohen on UK Libel Law [link fixed]
Jan 2nd, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe libel laws force us to bite our tongues and avoid essential arguments.… Read the rest
Offensive cartoonist provokes nice guy into attacking him
Jan 2nd, 2010 6:38 am | By Ophelia BensonThe BBC is disgusting at times. It had to report on this al-Shabab guy trying to kill Kurt Westergaard so therefore it had to make sure you didn’t get the wrong idea and think it, the BBC, didn’t think Kurt Westergaard deserved it, at least a little bit. That would never do. So it includes a sidebar of ‘analysis’ which ends with this even-handed bit of slime:
… Read the restModerate Muslims in Denmark have condemned the attack on Kurt Westergaard, but they still believe his drawing was sacrilegious.
Muslim nations are attempting to outlaw what they call the defamation of their religion.
Mr Westergaard came out of hiding last Spring, saying he wanted to defend freedom of expression.
Some independent religious scholars
Well women are so tiny we just can’t see them
Jan 1st, 2010 3:56 pm | By Ophelia BensonOooh look, I get to be on a list. Usually when there’s a list, I don’t get to be on it, which is probably perfectly sensible because there are better people to be on it, except when one looks closely at the list one notices that everyone on it is of just one gender, and it happens to be not the one that I am of which, and at that point one begins to wonder, is there a secret invisible subliminal hidden sub rosa unconscious criterion for being on the list that the maker of the list would probably not admit to but that nevertheless somehow just made it be that only people of one gender were good … Read the rest
Say anything
Jan 1st, 2010 1:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonMark Vernon is playing the same old hurdy-gurdy.
The Oxford church historian tells of a ‘wise old Dominican friar’ who informed him that God is not the answer. Rather, God is the question…First you’ve got to ask what you mean by the word ‘God’. And there is a quick answer: we don’t know what we mean by the word ‘God’. God is a mystery. ‘The word “God” is a label for something we do not know’…
A mystery is different from a problem; a problem can be solved, science does that, science does it well, but a mystery is different. And God is one of those. Aquinas said God can’t even be said to exist. Talk about mysterious!
… Read the restThat’s
A Contest! Most Influential Female Atheist 2009
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWe get left off all the other dang lists.… Read the rest
The Blasphemous 25
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonMark Twain, Tom Lehrer, Monty Python, Salman Rushdie, George Carlin, Christopher Hitchens, et al.… Read the rest
Most Important Religion Story of 2009?
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonPaula Kirby: the Ryan and Murphy reports, which spilled the beans about the Catholic church in Ireland.… Read the rest
Article Suggests Polygamy for Both or Neither
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEgyptian MP files suit, clerics say it’s ‘inflammatory and anti-Islamic.’… Read the rest
Internet Imams Recruit for al Qaeda
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBecause they’re so cool and heroic, and Abdulmutallab is cool and heroic now too.… Read the rest
Atheist Ireland Publishes 25 Blasphemous Quotes
Jan 1st, 2010 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational today, so it’s time to kick it in the slats.… Read the rest
Phil Plait on Mumps Outbreak in Brooklyn
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Religious beliefs’ strike again.… Read the rest
Iran: a Crowd Disarms the Police
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe protesters are losing their fear of the repressive forces, and are no longer easily intimidated by them. … Read the rest
Being a Woman
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShe works in the market while he plays cards, but in exchange, she has to wait on him. That’s fair!… Read the rest
Make UN More Effective for Women’s Rights
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe UN agencies exclusively dedicated to women’s issues lack the necessary status and funding.… Read the rest
Caspar Melville Changed His Mind on Religion
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt’s not a harmless anachronism.… Read the rest
Nepal: Dalits, Minorities Tagged as ‘Witches’
Dec 31st, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘An educated woman from higher-income family and higher caste never gets accused of practicing witchcraft.’… Read the rest
Well whaddya know
Dec 31st, 2009 11:50 am | By Ophelia BensonOh look, I’m back. That is to say, the database is fixed, thanks to its owner, who fixed it, but prefers to remain anonymous, which makes thanking rather abstract, but you get the idea.
Apologies for the dry spell. Never mind. What with folding up the turkey to re-use next year and making wrapping paper hash, you’ve been too busy to read B&W anyway.
But those days are over – it’s shoulders to the wheel now, and no slacking. New Year’s Eve nothing – that kind of thing is for shallow worldly frivolous flower-sniffers, and I don’t hold with it. I expect a ten-page report on my desk by the end of the day.… Read the rest
Leo Igwe on Fundamentalism in Nigeria
Dec 25th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonChristian and Islamic fanatics show total disregard for human rights and basic freedoms.… Read the rest
Roy Brown on the OIC as the New Caliphate
Dec 25th, 2009 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIf threats to the universality of human rights cannot be addressed at the UN HRC, where can they be discussed?… Read the rest