All entries by this author

Army Arrests Journalist Tasneem Khalil *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

“We are extremely concerned about Tasneem Khalil’s safety,” said Brad Adams of HRW.… Read the rest



Moses is so Cool *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

Okay, Jesus, whatever works for you, man.… Read the rest



Moses is sooooo Irritating *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

He is non-judgmental and holier-than-thou at the same time.… Read the rest



Moses Goes Pomo *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

He’s off to continue his quest to destabilise the univocity of meaning. Vroom vroom.… Read the rest



Some Expected the Pope to Be Diplomatic *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

But he thinks ‘an assertion of bedrock Christian values is the only way to stem the tide toward secularism.’… Read the rest



Implications of Irish Abortion Case *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

The ban on abortion reflects the historical influence of the Catholic church.… Read the rest



Pope Tells Brazil What to Do *

May 10th, 2007 | Filed by

Moments after arriving in Sao Paulo, the pope was fuming about abortion.… Read the rest



Bangladesh: Release Tasneem Khalil

May 10th, 2007 | By Human Rights Watch

(London, May 11, 2007) – Bangladesh’s military-backed care-taker government should immediately release Tasneem Khalil, an investigative journalist and part-time Human Rights Watch consultant, who was detained by security forces late last night, Human Rights Watch said today.

Khalil, 26, is a journalist for the Dhaka-based Daily Star newspaper who conducts research for Human Rights Watch. According to his wife, four men in plainclothes who identified themselves as from the “joint task force”came to the door after midnight on May 11 in Dhaka, demanding to take Khalil away. They said they were placing Khalil “under arrest” and taking him to the Sangsad Bhavan army camp, outside the parliament building in Dhaka.

“We are extremely concerned about Tasneem Khalil’s safety,” said Brad … Read the rest



Women Under Theocracy

May 9th, 2007 | By

The lives of most women in the industrialized world have improved enormously over the past hundred years, and especially so, in social, cultural, political, and human rights terms, over the past forty. But in the rest of the world, a great many women lead lives of misery and sometimes of plain horror. They are often considered and treated as the property of men: as children they are seen as burdens, to be married off as soon as possible, and as adults they are sex tools, reproductive machines, and domestic labour. When things go wrong – when sexual rumours are floating around, when the crops fail, when a child falls ill – they are scapegoats to be punished, often ferociously. They … Read the rest



Win a Copy of Stephen Law’s Book *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

Who can find the most irritating, sinister or downright funny use of ‘atheism is a faith position too’?… Read the rest



The Video Makes Woman-murder Okay *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

‘As the cell phone video of Do’a Khalil’s killing spread, the number of honor killings increased.’… Read the rest



More on Vigil for Du’a *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

Women of IKWRO remember Du’a.… Read the rest



IKWRO Seminar in Memory of Du’a Khalil Aswad *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

Discuss plan to pressure Kurdish authorities to protect women from killing and stoning.… Read the rest



Vigil for Du’a Khalil Aswad in Trafalgar Square *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

There will be a public seminar to discuss further action on the 18th May. All are welcome. … Read the rest



Ruling in Irish Abortion Case *

May 9th, 2007 | Filed by

The High Court has ruled that Miss D can travel outside of the country for an abortion.… Read the rest



Misogyny’s last hideout

May 9th, 2007 11:25 am | By

It’s hard not to suspect that the real reason abortion is such a hot issue in some places is that it offers what looks like a respectable or decent pretext or excuse for pushing women around and telling them what to do, when none of the other pretexts for doing that retain a shred of respectability. Abortion is the one ‘reason’ for bossing and controlling and confining women; for, in short, taking away their autonomy. It’s the last resort – it’s what’s left when all the old ‘traditional’ unreasonable ones have been shown up and knocked down and got rid of. When they can’t be defended any more, there is one last way: abortion. Hooray hooray, there is still one … Read the rest



Objection

May 8th, 2007 12:09 pm | By

Update. I tweaked this a little to make it clearer that it was the idea behind the law I was criticising and not the lawyer.

Irrelevant? Really?

The right to life of Miss D’s unborn child continues until it is dead, the High Court heard yesterday. The courts cannot engage in “a measuring exercise” about the capacity of the child prior to birth, a lawyer representing the unborn said. “This is a live foetus, that is the beginning and end of it, and the fact it has no brain and cannot survive after birth is irrelevant,” James Connolly, SC, said.

He’s the lawyer who is arguing for that side, so he has to say something, but the idea behind … Read the rest



Mukhtar Mai Harassed by Feudal Lords *

May 8th, 2007 | Filed by

Pakistani authorities are harassing Mukhtar, trying to break her organisation.… Read the rest



Updates on Irish Abortion Case *

May 8th, 2007 | Filed by

‘This is a live foetus, and the fact it has no brain and cannot survive after birth is irrelevant.’… Read the rest



The Epistemology of the IPCC *

May 8th, 2007 | Filed by

We can only consider arguments we understand, and not many people do understand.… Read the rest