All entries by this author

A Horrible Day in Haryana *

May 17th, 2008 | Filed by

The bodies of Sunita Devi, 21, and Jasbir Singh, 22, lie on the ground after they were killed by villagers … Read the rest



Couple Murdered as Village Applauds *

May 17th, 2008 | Filed by

Going against the wishes of the community and the family will not be tolerated.… Read the rest



John Wood Dismantles Some David Brooks *

May 17th, 2008 | Filed by

Brooks has no idea what he’s talking about yet he flaunts his ignorance in a respected newspaper.… Read the rest



Cowboys and Palestindians: what the Kaiser thought about Israel

May 17th, 2008 | By 'Benedict Gardiner'

The first time I went to Israel, in 1983, when everyone could still drive freely around the West Bank, I got into an argument with a distant cousin, a social worker. Like many Israelis (and many social workers) she is Leftish and secular and regrets that proportional representation gives such disproportionate influence to Israel’s religious and expansionist parties. She and her husband are peaceniks, demonstrated against Israel’s 1982 involvement in Lebanon, and want the settlers out of the West Bank.

Like many Israelis, she also lost family members to the Nazis and came as a teenager to Mandate Palestine. She isn’t the sort who won’t listen to Wagner or Richard Strauss, though she still doesn’t like visiting Germany. We were … Read the rest



Community, inclusive, commitment, all who

May 16th, 2008 4:50 pm | By

I suppose university administrators are simply legally barred from talking sense? I suppose they’re contractually bound to talk formulaic soothing dribbling beside-the-point feel-good bullshit? They can do no other?

I suppose when they take the job they are issued with a box full of the correct words, and when they have to write a statement about something, they are strictly forbidden to do it without relying on the box for at least 60% of the content? The rest being taken up with neutral and necessary words like ‘is’ and ‘you’?

What’s in the box? Oh come on, you know.

…fully support the rights of our students and others within this community to express their concerns on this issue…many in

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Chancellor Defends Schlafly Honorary Degree *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

Community. Anguish. Diversity. Inclusiveness. All corners. Dialogue. Committed. Damaged. Open. Community.… Read the rest



Foreign Policy’s List of Top 100 Intellectuals *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

The pope? Qaradawi? Intellectuals?… Read the rest



Freethinker Interviews OB *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

Deep theological questions are raised, then callously brushed aside.… Read the rest



Saudi Arabia: Stop Trials for ‘Insulting’ Islam *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

HRW says courts in Jeddah should dismiss cases against a Saudi web critic and a Turkish barber.… Read the rest



Canon Says Sharia Will Influence UK Law *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

‘I don’t feel threatened by this, but the worry comes when the aims of faith are compromised by the law of the land.’… Read the rest



Pakistan: Doctor Charged with ‘Blasphemy’ *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

Dr Robin Sarder is currently in jail.… Read the rest



Science Provides a Creation Myth *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

Let a hundred flowers bloom, tralalala.… Read the rest



Meanwhile, in Zimbabwe *

May 16th, 2008 | Filed by

Warning: this is hard to read without falling apart.… Read the rest



Channel 4 Wins ‘Undercover Mosque’ Case *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

West Midlands Police and Crown Prosecution Service apologize and pay £50,000 damages.… Read the rest



Stop Honoricide Campaign *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

In memory of every mother, daughter, sister murdered to protect family honor.… Read the rest



Think-tank Launched in Pakistan *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

An independent think-tank to address issues faced by the people between the Oxus and Indus Rivers.… Read the rest



Zanu PF is Burning Maize as Zimbabwe Starves *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Food was used as a tool for retribution and punishment by Zanu PF after the 2005 elections.… Read the rest



Very Deep Stuff *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Links are a paradox uniting the full and empty space between nodes in the network.… Read the rest



Deep Stuff *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

Subjectivity is the lens and connector through which the spatio-temporal dislocation gets focused and bridged. … Read the rest



Nesrine Malik on Islam’s Refusenik Women *

May 15th, 2008 | Filed by

They have ‘unsavoury views about Islam,’ they ‘nail their colours to the west’s mast of values.’… Read the rest