Robinson is patently kind and sincere, but he’s wrong; Hitchens can be rude and combative, but he’s right.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Scientology: Cult or Mirror to all Faiths?
May 26th, 2008 | By Carl AndersWhat is the difference between Jack the Ripper and the Suffolk Strangler? Apart from that we actually know Steve Wright is the latter and he was caught, what separates them?
Jack the Ripper rejoices in a whole tourism and franchise industry centred on him. He has films, television programmes, documentaries, books, cups, ashtrays, t-shirts and tours. How does one serial killer become so profitable? Why are there no Suffolk tours or films starring Johnny Depp?
Of course, timing would seem the obvious answer: with no living immediate relatives of Jack the Ripper; we feel it is safe to exploit his legend. It is just too soon to do the same for Steve Wright.
For Jack the Ripper read “recognised” religion. … Read the rest
Ethically dubious
May 25th, 2008 6:10 pm | By Ophelia BensonI sometimes notice an odd and unpleasant phenomenon: people on blogs and forums and discussion boards and the like will accuse other people of lying, and more than that, when shown to be wrong, will not withdraw the accusation, much less apologize. This is odd because in what is jestingly called real life, at least in my experience, that’s not done lightly. One doesn’t go around accusing people of lying when talking nose to nose; it doesn’t go down well. But when typing words on screen – people just step right up. Then if you tell them they’re mistaken and that they ought not to throw that accusation around so blithely, they simply vanish. Many of them do it anonymously, … Read the rest
A Spot of Freud-worship 
May 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How Freud might help us to think about Nazism. … Read the rest
Michael Shermer on Alan Sokal
May 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Beyond the Hoax” is an essential text for anyone interested in the history and philosophy of science.… Read the rest
Mbeki Says Riots are a Disgrace
May 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Said the attacks were the worst acts of inhumanity South Africa had seen since Apartheid. … Read the rest
Austin Dacey Rejects the Gag Order on Ethics
May 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
By shying away from fundamental moral debate, secular liberalism has abandoned the field to religious voices. … Read the rest
Self-styled Atheist Cheers On Catholic Bishops
May 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘What other religion is taking on the scourge of militant secularism afflicting modern Europe?’… Read the rest
Bill Sneaks Religion Into Science Class
May 24th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Louisiana Senate Bill 733 lets public school teachers use supplementary materials when teaching about evolution. … Read the rest
Please Not the Old ‘Community Leaders’ Drivel
May 24th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Top cop had to ‘build links’ with the ‘diverse’ community he policed; that meant meeting community leaders, e.g. Scientologists.… Read the rest
Prisoner Boasts of Plan to Prison Officer
May 24th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘I am planning to bomb Bluewater shopping centre in Exeter.’ ‘It’s in Kent.’ ‘The plan is not finalised yet.’… Read the rest
Liberty Considering Action Against Police
May 24th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The City of London Police tried to prosecute a protester for calling Scientology a ‘cult.’… Read the rest
The Damage Has Still Been Done
May 24th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Even minor actions by the police can have a chilling effect on the right to protest.… Read the rest
A common objective?
May 24th, 2008 11:05 am | By Ophelia BensonTom Clark argues with the theologian John Haught. He starts out with some common ground – or perhaps not.
As much as their worldviews differ, both naturalists and anti-naturalists share a common objective: getting the nature of reality right according to their best lights.
I don’t really think that’s true – at least not of anti-naturalists of the type discussed in the article. I thought that as soon as I read it, then as I read the rest of the article I found places where Clark makes points that are (at least) in tension with it. It seemed to me as soon as I read it, and then thought about it, that anti-naturalists are motivated in their anti-naturalism by … Read the rest
HRW on Crisis for Gay Rights in Turkey
May 23rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Necessary to defend all people’s basic rights against the dictatorship of custom.… Read the rest
Baggini on Secular and Sacred Values
May 23rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
When it comes to specific matters of morality, the idea that religious convictions need respect, not interrogation and defence, is absurd.… Read the rest
Some New Members of HRC are Rights Abusers
May 23rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Human Rights Council has not found time to inquire into Burma’s unabashed denial of food to its own population.… Read the rest
Nour Miyati Denied Justice for Torture
May 23rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
HRW reports all charges were dropped against Saudi employer who abused Indonesian servant.… Read the rest
Saudi Police Arrest Rights Activist at University
May 23rd, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Matrook al-Faleh arrested after he criticized conditions in a prison where other rights activists are stuck. … Read the rest
The Compleat Sceptic: Of Fathers and Dissident Daughters
May 23rd, 2008 | By R Joseph HoffmannAs mesmerized television viewers know, America is beset with vapid discussions of the faith of their future president masquerading as “compassion forums.” In the April 12 CNN version of what may become a permanent feature of American political showmanship, candidates were challenged to describe whether they have ever felt the Holy Spirit move within them and whether, in their best judgment, God wanted him, or her, to be president.
No, this was not a BBC satire. It is American Realpolitik. The questions were deadly earnest, exceeded in absurdity only by the feigned seriousness with which the combatants stumbled through their rehearsed platitudes. Neither contender was asked the unfashionable empirical question that used to dominate discussion: Would you push a red … Read the rest
