‘Only’ 39 % of Xians believe the bible is the literal word of God; 18 % think it’s a book written by humans.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Johann Hari on Harold Pinter 
Dec 27th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Pinter often fumed about tyranny, but equally fumed about people who resisted it.… Read the rest
Fighting Straw Men: Mary Midgley and Scientific Discourse
Dec 27th, 2008 | By Tauriq MoosaMary Midgley’s publisher Routledge calls her a fighter of “scientific pretension” – but what remains with the reader is her passion for science’s defamation.
Observe two of her statements: “Genes cannot be selfish or unselfish, any more than atoms can be jealous”[1] and “Reason’s just another faith”[2]. In many of her writings, she refers to scientists as “prophets”, science as an inclusive institution, or evolution as religion[3].
Many will know the typical antiscience mantras – cropping up like weeds in what should be a growth of knowledge and not its stifling. Creationists or anti-Darwinists play the victim-card, stating the scientific community ostracizes anyone who “dares” speak out against the “doctrine” of Darwinism. Of course, if they simply went to any … Read the rest
Girls go to school to show the world their heads
Dec 27th, 2008 11:49 am | By Ophelia BensonFrom the risible to the disgusting – Islam Online phones the Taliban in Swat to discuss their policy on ordering girls not to go to school.
Muslim Khan, a former seaman who has spent two years in the United States in late 1990s, contends that girls are bound to get religious education only. “Yes, education is a must for every man and woman (in Islam), but women are bound to acquire religious education only,” he said. “They go to school without observing Pardah (veil), which is against Islamic norms.”
So…education is a must for every man and woman (in Islam) but women are allowed to get only ‘religious’ education which of course is not education at all. Why are women … Read the rest
Come on in, the water’s fine
Dec 27th, 2008 11:24 am | By Ophelia BensonGood ne-ews – any religion, every religion can get you into heaven, and even better than that, the absence of religion can get you there too. Stone the crows! So there are no entry requirements at all! We’re all saved, no matter how spotty or bad-tempered or unfunny.
According to the American public anyway. This isn’t actually a factual discovery, it’s just the outcome of an opinion survey. The news is actually just that ‘Americans think’ you can get into heaven if you’re a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Buddhist, or an atheist, among other possibilities. In other words ‘Americans think’ whatever they feel like thinking. Not really news at all then. Ah well.
That’s not my favourite … Read the rest
Spreading vulgarity in society
Dec 26th, 2008 12:50 pm | By Ophelia BensonThe Taliban in Swat work on building a better world.
… Read the restIn an announcement made in mosques and broadcast on radio, the militant group set a deadline of January 15 for its order to be obeyed or it would blow up school buildings and attack [meaning kill] schoolgirls. It also told women not to set foot outside their homes without being fully covered. “Female education is against Islamic teachings and spreads vulgarity in society,” Shah Dauran, leader of a group that has established control over a large part of Swat district in the North West Frontier Province, declared this week…The militants have also prohibited immunisation for children against polio – claiming that the UN-sponsored vaccination drive is aimed at causing
Taliban Also Forbids Polio Vaccs; Polio on Rise
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Female education is against Islamic teachings and spreads vulgarity in society,’ says Shah Dauran.… Read the rest
Darwin Commemorations Celebrate Free Inquiry
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Darwin’s ideas remain startling in their implications for prescientific modes of thinking.… Read the rest
Ban Will Keep 40,000 Girls from School in Swat
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Taliban have blown up more than 100 girls’ schools in Swat in the past 14 months. … Read the rest
Islam Online on Taliban Ban on Girls in School
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says other Taliban groups reject the ban, believe girls have equal rights to education.… Read the rest
Mukoko Being Held in Notorious Prison
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa says Mukoko is in Chikurubi prison without access to lawyers.… Read the rest
Mugabe Regime is in Contempt of Court
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mugabe’s regime has ‘no intention’ of releasing Mukoko and the other opposition figures.… Read the rest
ZLHR on Abductees in Zimbabwe
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The abductees were removed from the prison to a secret location in a minibus with South African plates.… Read the rest
Ahmadinejad Gives ‘Alternative’ Xmas Message
Dec 26th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Who’s next? Mugabe? Maulana Fazlullah? Laurent Nkunda? Warren Jeffs?… Read the rest
Medical Mistletoe Myths
Dec 26th, 2008 | By Colin BrewerThe season of consumerist indoctrination, dietary excess and Panglossian sentimentality is approaching its peak, so here is a heart-warming little Christmas story. Actually, its roots – literal and metaphorical – go back well before the intrauterine innovations that traditionally attended the conception and birth of Christianity’s founder and it will warm principally and selectively the hearts of cheerful cynics and pessimists like myself (and, I assume, like many readers of B and W) in whom any habits of optimism have long been replaced by a null hypothesis as the default mode. One of the favourite hobbies of People Like Us is saying ‘I told you so’ and we derive additional schadenfreude from noting that even in the current financial crisis, … Read the rest
Taliban ‘Ban’ Female Education in Swat District
Dec 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Teacher says they have also ordered women not to visit markets. They kill anyone who disobeys.… Read the rest
Pakistan: Taliban Promise to Kill Girls in School
Dec 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘You have until January 15 to stop sending your girls to schools. If you do not pay any heed to this warning, we will kill such girls.’… Read the rest
Scruton Speaks Up for Midgley
Dec 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is dismayed that she joined ‘the disastrous attack on hunting with hounds’ though.… Read the rest
Fears for Safety of Zimbabwean Activists
Dec 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Judge ordered Mukoko and her co-accused to be sent to hospital but police ignored the order.… Read the rest
Mukoko and Other Activists Missing Again
Dec 25th, 2008 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The police have refused to comply with the court order that Mukoko be taken to a hospital.… Read the rest
