Dawkins, theology, respectable, sophisticated, subtle, scientistic, genes, machines, longings.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Vatican: Abortion Worse Than Child Torture
May 29th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘What happened in some schools cannot be compared with the millions of lives that have been destroyed by abortion.’… Read the rest
You Have Got to Be Kidding
May 29th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Face of Jesus in lid of Marmite jar. What?! That’s a face?!… Read the rest
Last Rites for the Catholic Church in Ireland
May 29th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Fianna Fáil Government and the religious orders struck a scandalously rotten deal in 2002.… Read the rest
What would Jesus put on toast?
May 29th, 2009 11:21 am | By Ophelia BensonOh come on – get serious.
A family breakfast turned into a religious experience when they spotted what appears to be the face of Jesus in the lid of a Marmite jar.
Look at the damn picture! It looks like what you’d expect on the lid of a jar of brown goo: some brown goo and some jar lid.
Not to mention the fact that nobody has the faintest idea what Jesus looked like anyway. ‘The face of Jesus’ of course just means some sleepy amalgam of various modern images of Jesus which are vaguely derived from earlier images of Jesus which are derived from more of the same which ultimately derived from whatever people thought Jesus ought to … Read the rest
Still here
May 29th, 2009 11:01 am | By Ophelia BensonJeezis, what a morning. I feel almost a kind of nostalgia for the old calm placid normal-pulse days before last Friday. Ever since then things have been frantic and franticker – but yesterday and then this morning they were frantic cubed. But in a good way. You’ll see why, soon. (When I say frantic – all I mean is that I had to write something quite complicated in a very short bit of time, and that there were other items coming in at two-minute intervals, and that the picture kept changing. I don’t mean invasions or sudden bankruptcy or an army of stockholders coming to tear my liver out. Compared to CEOs of car companies my life is placidity itself.)… Read the rest
Total Ban on Abortion Violates Human Rights
May 28th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
UN Committee against Torture calls criminalisation of all abortion in Nicaragua a violation of human rights.… Read the rest
Global Crisis Exacerbating Human Rights Abuses
May 28th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Amnesty International says the downturn has distracted attention from abuses and created new problems. … Read the rest
The Quackometer on Libel Law
May 27th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
English libel law can be easily used to silence criticism.… Read the rest
UK Student Atheist Societies Get Threats
May 27th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Religious groups are increasingly demanding immunity from having their ideas discussed. … Read the rest
Turkish Author Says Novel is not ‘Blasphemous’
May 27th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The author is on trial in Istanbul for ‘inciting religious hatred.’… Read the rest
Taoiseach Calls on Religious Orders to Pay More
May 27th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Ryan commission found much more abuse than was previously known or accepted by the orders.… Read the rest
The Religious Orders in Ireland Love Money
May 27th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
They got large sums from the State for the children in their care, and spent some of it on other things.… Read the rest
Religious Orders Defy Call to Pay More
May 26th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
18 congregations defied calls from Cardinal Brady to be more generous with those who suffered abuse. … Read the rest
Padraig Ready on Free Speech, Libel, Blogging
May 26th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It must be bad for democracy when an MP – or anyone else – cannot speculate on the motives of the rich and powerful.… Read the rest
AC Grayling on Enthusiasm for Science
May 26th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Talks by Martin Rees and Steve Jones at Hay drew huge audiences and intelligent questions.… Read the rest
Row Over Abuse Fund Gets Worse
May 26th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If the thing is much worse than they admitted to at that stage, then they have to look at the consequences.’… Read the rest
Worst Scandal in the History of the Irish Church
May 26th, 2009 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Archbishop Martin says that if necessary the congregations should ‘beggar’ themselves. … Read the rest
Most of the children were heartbroken and terrified
May 26th, 2009 10:34 am | By Ophelia BensonAn excerpt from the Goldenbridge chapter of the Ryan report.
“All of the complainants came to Goldenbridge in harrowing circumstances. Some had lost a parent, and the surviving parent was either not able to cope or was deemed by the State to be unsuitable. Others were abandoned. Some came from desperately poor families, and others were born out of wedlock to mothers who felt that society left them with no option but to place their child in care. Some of those committed were babies; others had spent a substantial part of their childhood with their families. Most of the children were heartbroken and terrified on entering Goldenbridge. They all shared a vulnerability that made them emotionally needy.
Complainants lived in … Read the rest
Pax scriptorum
May 26th, 2009 8:30 am | By Ophelia BensonOkay, never mind, you can stand down now. It’s not quite a matter of ‘Never mind, it was just a case of the fantods, we’ll be going ahead as planned, sorry to trouble you,’ but it’s almost that. Close enough. All may go according to plan after all. Sorry about the interruption.
Actually it was just a ploy to bounce people into ordering advance copies! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Just kidding. Things did look ominous from our angle, and there is still a part of the story that is obscure, or unfinished, or changing as we speak, or something. But it may turn out all right. I’ll let you know.
Addendum. (Look, it’s earlyish in the morning and I’ve been up for hours, … Read the rest
