Moore chases after political fashions, jettisoning principle for point-scoring, shock value or laughs.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Natasha Walter on Hirsi Ali and Buruma 
Dec 4th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Female visionaries who break out of traditional societies often set other people’s teeth on edge.… Read the rest
Hitchens Reviews Ann Coulter’s ‘Godless’
Dec 4th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The sheer incoherence that results from a mixture of feigned rage and low sarcasm.… Read the rest
Saying ‘Merry Christmas’ Can be a Weapon
Dec 4th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The war on ‘the war on Christmas’ is no joke.… Read the rest
Bolton Quits
Dec 4th, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Unconfirmed and unconfirmable UN-hating ‘ambassador’ to UN resigns.… Read the rest
The fundamental right to say get outta my store
Dec 3rd, 2006 8:38 pm | By Ophelia BensonConflicting ideas of rights, chapter 792. I have a right to equal treatment. No no, comes the reply, I have a right to treat you unequally, provided I don’t actually assault you or break into your house and eat your lunch.
… Read the restReligious groups are outraged that, from next April, it will be illegal to discriminate against homosexuals or transsexuals when providing goods and services. The clash between religion and secular liberalism is stirring high passions and has even brought threats of civil disobedience…Religious groups have been emboldened by their successes in forcing British Airways to drop its ban on a worker wearing a cross, and in getting the Government to backtrack on its threat to faith schools. Andrea Williams,
Bush Does the Surrealism Thing
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Iraqis are plenty capable of running their own business, and they don’t need foreign interference from neighbours that will be destabilising the country.’… Read the rest
Wearing a Veil to Be More Visible
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Arguments over Muslim women’s clothing have really been thinly disguised political battles.… Read the rest
If 71% are Christian Why Are Pews Empty?
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Because ‘Christian’ may be a code for other things.… Read the rest
Are ‘Minority Courts’ a Problem?
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What is needed is a cool analysis of the effect religious courts might have on the rule of law.… Read the rest
Xians Use Shock Tactics Against Gay Rights
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Faith groups’ want opt-out clause from new laws designed to end discrimination against homosexuals. … Read the rest
Churches Depict Gay Rights as Assault on Charity
Dec 3rd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bishop said church-based charities would close doors if government insisted they let in gay people. … Read the rest
Solidarity forever
Dec 2nd, 2006 7:26 pm | By Ophelia BensonPamela Bone points out that ‘if Islam is to be reformed, and the world consequently made safer and happier for all, it is women who will do it…Western men didn’t see last century’s women’s liberation movement as in [their interest]. It had to be driven by women because the status quo advantaged men.’
The Koran seems fairly clear about women’s subordinate status, but then so is the Christian Bible. If Christian women have been able to argue, more or less successfully, that the misogynistic passages in the Bible are merely a reflection of the era in which they were written and have no relevance to today, there should be no reason Muslim women can’t do the same.
She also quotes … Read the rest
Religious Bullies Emboldened by Successes
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It would seem that the homosexual person’s rights trump the religious person’s rights.’… Read the rest
Historical Research as Precondition of Dialogue
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘We remain hostage to our sense of grievances. Our narratives have become our prison, paralyzing discourse and hindering understanding.’… Read the rest
Pamela Bone: It Is Women Who Will Reform Islam
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Change must come from within, say the good liberals. No one said that about apartheid.’… Read the rest
Peter Singer Says Animal Research has Benefits
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Observers express surprise but Singer has always balanced harms and benefits.… Read the rest
There is no Moral Immunity for Lawyers
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In court, lawyers are allowed to assert anything not positively known to be false, David Luban notes.… Read the rest
Teachers in Despair at Berlin’s Rütli School
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘The mood in the classroom is one of aggression, complete lack of respect and ignorance.’… Read the rest
Interview with Bernard-Henri Lévy
Dec 2nd, 2006 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘There are many in England and France who are ready to go into that wall, in tolerance of terrorism and Islamism.’… Read the rest
