CPS revealed changes after justice system was criticised for doing too little to protect women. … Read the rest
All entries by this author
Iran Pissed Off About Rushdie’s K
Jun 17th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIslamophobic British officials heap honours on horrid apostate, ‘offending’ Muslims all over again.… Read the rest
How to be a successful atheist priest
Jun 17th, 2007 | By Colin BrewerDespite the fact that Voltaire thought him ‘the most singular [of] the meteors fatal to the Christian religion’, Jean Meslier has been almost completely forgotten for most of the last two hundred years, even in France where he was born in 1664. Yet his name should be familiar to anyone who is interested in the history of religion and of European atheism, especially if they have a sense of humour. Meslier’s achievement, unique for its period, was to put his name to a long, lacerating, well-referenced and unambiguously atheist document at a time when to do so was to invite almost certain and messy execution. He may not have known that even in our own comparatively tolerant islands, we were … Read the rest
Straw phrase? Broken-backed emollient?
Jun 17th, 2007 9:33 am | By Ophelia BensonYou know those phrases that are notoriously unconvincing and self-serving – so much so that they form a category, which people recognize? Phrases that are meant to reassure but don’t because they are so transparent? You know the ones I mean. The one I’ve been pondering is ‘It’s not personal’ – used about an obvious, blatant insult or rejection or exclusion or other bit of invidious treatment. The others I’ve been able to think of are ‘The check is in the mail.’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ll pull out in time.’ ‘It’s okay, I’ve had a vasectomy.’ ‘The donation in no way influences my vote.’ ‘It’s not you, it’s me.’
Does that genre have a name? And what are some others? There … Read the rest
Who offended whom?
Jun 17th, 2007 9:12 am | By Ophelia BensonThe BBC keeps doing things like this.
Iran has criticised the British government for its decision to give a knighthood to author Salman Rushdie. His book The Satanic Verses offended Muslims worldwide and led to Iran issuing a fatwa in 1989, ordering Sir Salman’s execution.
It’s terribly misleading to say that Rushdie’s novel ‘offended Muslims worldwide’ without qualification. There’s an enormous amount wrong with that offhand statement. One, many and probably most people who were ‘offended’ by Rushdie’s novel never read it, so the simple and active phrasing there – his book offended Muslims – is just inaccurate. An accurate version would be something more like ‘some Muslims were offended by what they heard or were told about Rushdie’s … Read the rest
Save poor Denmark
Jun 16th, 2007 1:25 pm | By Ophelia BensonSo missionaries from the Third World are coming to Europe to convert the heathen to Christianity. Very droll.
Denmark is a wealthy nation of 5.5 million people that always scores near the top of surveys of the world’s happiest nations. To Johansen, the problem is clear: “We’re just too well-off in Europe.”…Johansen’s work takes him all over the world, he said, and he has noticed much stronger religious faith in poorer societies…”We’re basically rich and spoiled.”
So…religious ‘faith’ correlates with poverty and the absence of it correlates with prosperity and happiness – and that’s a problem for the people who are prosperous and happy? I wonder if it occurs to Johansen that one could interpret the correlation in another way … Read the rest
Sue Blackmore Wishes Dawkins Luck
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonIt’s amazing how unpopular you become by trying to tell the truth, and how little effect evidence has on the New Age world.… Read the rest
Missionaries Converting Europe to Christianity
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonEuropean prosperity is bad because it promotes secularism; better to be poor and religious.… Read the rest
HRW: Education in Thailand Engulfed in Fear
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTwo gunmen walked into the library and shot two female teachers in the head, abdomen and legs. … Read the rest
Creationist Challenge
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCan you replicate the feat? Go on, give it a shot.… Read the rest
Islamists Shut Down Schools in South Thailand
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonNarathiwat province closed more than 300 government schools after insurgents killed three teachers.… Read the rest
Gaza Gets Islamism Along With its Poverty
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonA gunman attacked a UN primary school because it allowed young boys and girls to mix in the playground.… Read the rest
Tariq Ramadan Trots Out the Grievances
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘It is common knowledge that the authors of the terrorist acts were thoroughly integrated.’… Read the rest
David Goodhart: Open Letter to Tariq Ramadan
Jun 16th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonShouldn’t you be using your influence to combat this anti-western, victim mentality among your fellow Muslims?… Read the rest
Thailand: Education in the South Engulfed in Fear
Jun 16th, 2007 | By Human Rights Watch(New York, June 14, 2007) – A new surge of violent attacks on teachers and schools by separatist militants has seriously disrupted education in Thailand’s southern border provinces, Human Rights Watch said today.
Officials in Narathiwat province have been forced to close more than 300 government schools in all 13 districts this week after insurgents killed three teachers on June 11. Two gunmen walked into the library of Ban Sakoh school in Si Sakhon district around noon and shot two female teachers, Thippaporn Thassanopas, 42, and Yupha Sengwas, 26, in the head, abdomen and legs. They died instantly in front of some 100 children, who were playing in front of the library after lunch. Both teachers received warnings before they … Read the rest
Johann Hari on God is not Great
Jun 15th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia Benson‘Every child stuck in every “faith school” should be bought a copy.’… Read the rest
Do me a favour
Jun 14th, 2007 2:23 pm | By Ophelia BensonGood old Vatican. Not that there’s anything surprising about it, but good old Vatican all the same. Grown women, who cares; pre-conscious insentient fetuses, all-important. So the woman was raped, so what; she has to have that baby!
A thought experiment. Not the kidney one, a different (though similar) one. A woman is newly pregnant against her will; she doesn’t approve of abortion and isn’t going to have one. She discovers the fetus has a very rare disease which is quickly fatal unless the fetus can be removed and implanted in a compatible host; such hosts are very rare but can be found via a computer search of a medical database. A compatible host is found. Is it murder … Read the rest
John Holbo on Rorty’s Anticipatory Retrospective
Jun 14th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLenin didn’t write an essay: ‘What is to have been done?’… Read the rest
Damon Linker on Rorty
Jun 14th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe end of philosophy culminates in the universal affirmation of pragmatic American liberalism. … Read the rest
Thinking About Happiness
Jun 14th, 2007 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWhen we ask how we are to live, we want to know what kind of a world we live in, and what’s really right.… Read the rest