All entries by this author

Tony Blair Should Shut Up About the Church *

Apr 10th, 2009 | Filed by

Given his commitment to female equality, what does he really think of a church that bans women priests?… Read the rest



Ben Goldacre’s Missing Chapter on Matthias Rath *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

How Rath and Mbeki combined to block treatment by anti-retroviral drugs in South Africa.… Read the rest



Taj Hargey Takes on the ‘Muslim McCarthyists’ *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

‘Progressives like me are described as heretics in order to ruin our credibility.’… Read the rest



Telling the Truth About the Armenian Genocide *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

‘Not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence.’… Read the rest



Reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali in Birmingham *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

“Imams and Mullahs ignore our plight, and the community labels women ‘mad’ or ‘heretic’ or ‘loose’ when they stand up for their rights.”… Read the rest



Rasmussen Apologizes – Not *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

This is one time when ‘I’m sorry you were upset’ is the right response.… Read the rest



Normblog on Moral Judgment as Intuition *

Apr 9th, 2009 | Filed by

At the level of intuition and emotion people often have competing impulses.… Read the rest



HRW: Rescind ‘Provider Conscience’ Rule *

Apr 8th, 2009 | Filed by

Freedom of conscience should not be used to trample on others’ rights to life and health.… Read the rest



Yeshiva Student Strips in Store to Protest…Uh… *

Apr 8th, 2009 | Filed by

Guy gets naked to protest sale of foods Jewish law prohibits on Passover. It doesn’t work.… Read the rest



Blair Tuts at Vatican Policy on Gays *

Apr 8th, 2009 | Filed by

So why did he convert?… Read the rest



The Right to ‘Defame’ Religions *

Apr 8th, 2009 | Filed by

An insidious blurring of categories compared to the more rigorous language of the UDHR.… Read the rest



Bush’s Lawless Interior Department *

Apr 8th, 2009 | Filed by

Of all the corruption of the Bush years, none is more shocking than the scandals and cronyism at Interior.… Read the rest



Knowing what words mean

Apr 7th, 2009 4:00 pm | By

David Thompson did a post telling me off for saying ‘pussy’ is a sexist epithet. He also, very oddly, emailed me to tell me about the post, as if I would be pleased and interested. This is odd because as far as I’m concerned we’ve been on non-speakers since another post he did last July, a rather unfunny one about jokes about women. I was alienated because (having been as it were invited) I commented on that post, somewhat acidly, and was rewarded with three pages worth of sexist garbage. Want a sample? (Relevant, your honour; goes to the question of sexism.)

“Obviously Ophelia is on her period. Now have a seat and let a big, strong man … Read the rest



Clerics Ban Women Dancers From Festival *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

Organisers of the festival in Sindh have had to cut the 10-day festival to 3 days because of the threats. … Read the rest



Vermont Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

The Vermont Legislature overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of a bill allowing gay couples to marry… Read the rest



Caspar Melville Replies to Madeleine Bunting *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

What does she add in her latest strike against the godless heathens? Not much.… Read the rest



Say No to State Religion in Pakistan *

Apr 7th, 2009 | Filed by

Support the campaign to say no to state religion in Pakistan; sign the statement and wish them luck.… Read the rest



If only

Apr 6th, 2009 6:00 pm | By

If only this were true.

“In a dramatic development in Islamabad Pakistan, a little girl who was slapped by a Mullah Abu Jahil on the street ran into her school crying only to run out again with some forty girls between the ages of 6 and 10. The girls captured the Mullah and dragged him to the Square area outside the Faisal Masjid, where the Mullah was whipped. Unable to bear this public humiliation, this Mullah has asked for asylum from the British High Commission.

However, the leader of the Mullahs R Us support group for Mullahs – Maulana Fazal Ur Rehman has denied this report. He has suggested that some foreign element is behind this to malign them … Read the rest



They should have the right to live as human beings

Apr 6th, 2009 5:58 pm | By

Pervez Kambaksh is hanging on to his hopes.

“I want an Afghanistan where the mothers of this country and the daughters of this country have the same rights that you and I have as men,” he said in an interview inside the Walayat prison where he has languished since June. “They should have the right to education. They should have the right to work in any organisation they want, and they should have the right to live as human beings in this society.”

They should have the right to live as human beings. Yes they should.

Back atcha, Pervez (if I may – I think of you as a friend). We want an Afghanistan where you have the right … Read the rest



Bryan Appleyard Reviews Kenan Malik *

Apr 6th, 2009 | Filed by

Splitting the world into ‘communities’, celebrating difference at all costs, is a counterEnlightenment strategy. … Read the rest