The war? Poverty? Schools, roads, hospitals? Ravening Islamists? Corruption? Incompetence? Of course not. It’s naked female heads.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Documentation in McGuire case 
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The more the Jesuits learned about McGuire’s problems, the harder they worked to cover them up.”… Read the rest
Suit says Jesuits ignored warnings about priest
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Lots of warnings, over a period of four decades.… Read the rest
It’s not just “neocons” who criticize arrests at Oda TV
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The police raid of the news website, a fierce critic of the ruling Justice and Development Party further fueled debate on freedom of the press in Turkey.… Read the rest
Turkish journalist defends Turkish press freedom
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Last year, the same journalist faced jail for criticising the courts.… Read the rest
Why should new atheists engage in interfaith service?
Mar 30th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Why indeed.… Read the rest
Do women hate god?
Mar 29th, 2011 4:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonKristin Aune brings the good news. She and a colleague surveyed “nearly 1,300 British feminists” and guess what?
The results show that, when compared with the general female population, feminists are much less likely to be religious, but a little more likely to be interested in alternative or non-institutional kinds of spirituality.
That’s a relief, isn’t it? Much less likely to be religious but oh whew, a little more likely to be “spiritual.” At least they’re not all hopelessly atheistic and bad.
… Read the rest[Pat] Robertson was worried that feminism was challenging traditional Christian values – at least, values he considered Christian. Many liberals and feminists, concerned about the rise of fundamentalism and its erosion of women’s rights, conclude similarly that
“Why feminists are less religious”
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Don’t worry; they’re more spiritual, so it’s ok.… Read the rest
On reading with a modicum of scepticism
Mar 29th, 2011 | By Allen EstersonThat recycled accounts of events or reports frequently contain inaccuracies going beyond anything in the original is a phenomenon well documented in the psychological literature.[1] I recently happened upon an extreme example of this, made more notable by the fact it occurs in an issue of the highly respected magazine, National Geographic – though not, I hasten to add, the familiar English-language publication. The article in question was published in the Hungarian National Geographic in 2005, the “Einstein Year” centenary of the publication of Einstein’s celebrated 1905 articles in Annalen der Physik. It pays tribute to several individuals whom it describes as “forgotten Hungarian collaborators” with Einstein, albeit that in the next paragraph it is acknowledged that for the … Read the rest
Thai women resort to home abortions
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A Thai government crackdown on illegal abortion clinics has seen women turn to drugs bought over the internet.… Read the rest
An interlude
Mar 29th, 2011 11:42 am | By Ophelia BensonOh my – this is funny – tragic but funny. Aspiring author self-destructs in public. Is urged to stop self-destructing. Continues self-destruction process. Tragic…I can’t wait to read the rest.… Read the rest
Libyan woman who claimed rape is being sued
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The boys she accused are bringing a case against her because it’s a very grave offense to accuse someone of a sexual crime,” said a government spokesman.… Read the rest
Muslim Brotherhood has a great new idea
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Women-only buses. Brilliant!… Read the rest
Roberto De Mattei responds to his critics
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“The attacks on me are a typical example of the relativistic dictatorship denounced by Benedict XVI.” Srsly.… Read the rest
Bruce Everett on masculine self-pity in cartoonists
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
You’ll know nanotechnology has matured as a field when it finally creates the violin small enough to play an appropriate lament.… Read the rest
Demo against Europe’s last dictator
Mar 29th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Index on Censorship organized the march against Lukashenko and for freedom of expression in Belarus.… Read the rest
Hitchens files again
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It is morally unthinkable that Qaddafi should emerge from this episode with even a rag of authority to call his own, and it is morally feeble not to say so out loud.… Read the rest
Who are the Libyan rebels?
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“We want democracy, good schools, a free media, an end to corruption, a private sector, and a parliament to get rid of whoever, whenever, we want.”… Read the rest
What Egypt can learn from Palestine
Mar 28th, 2011 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Democracy properly understood means constitutional guarantees that are not easily nullified by a ruling party and safeguards on the rights of minorities and women.… Read the rest
Experience required
Mar 28th, 2011 10:04 am | By Ophelia BensonNir Rosen was hired by the London School of Economics. Rosen is “the free-lance journalist who gained infamy and lost an NYU fellowship after celebrating via Twitter the sexual assault on Lara Logan and wishing the same on Anderson Cooper.”
… Read the restMr Rosen was forced to resign in disgrace from New York University last month after making fun of CBS correspondent Lara Logan, who was stripped, beaten up and molested by a baying mob while covering the Egyptian revolution. He admitted his career was ruined after writing a series of comments on Twitter about Ms Logan, saying she was “probably just groped like thousands of other women”.
But this weekend he announced he will start work
