All entries by this author

Jerusalem Holds Gay Pride Rally *

Nov 10th, 2006 | Filed by

Despite interfaith hostility from all three monotheisms.… Read the rest



Harassment Laws Weak, Activists Say *

Nov 10th, 2006 | Filed by

A mob of men openly molested women in Cairo and were not stopped or arrested.… Read the rest



Egyptian Women Protest Mass Harassment *

Nov 10th, 2006 | Filed by

Egyptian Centre for the Rights of Women said it received many complaints of harassment.… Read the rest



Gangs of Men Attack Women in Cairo Streets *

Nov 10th, 2006 | Filed by

Bloggers reported large number of men harassing women and ripping off their clothes. … Read the rest



Bolton Likely to Get the Hook *

Nov 10th, 2006 | Filed by

Notoriously undiplomatic unconfirmed unpopular UN ambassador seems doomed.… Read the rest



Corruption

Nov 9th, 2006 8:06 pm | By

One comment I heard more than once in election analysis yesterday was that corruption was a big factor, and that what are (somewhat sickeningly) called ‘values voters’ here had somewhat shifted their concerns from abortion and gay marriage to corruption. Thank you Jack Abramoff. Well about damn well time, is what I thought. That’s been bugging me for years – why are people who consider themselves concerned about ‘values’ so worked up about such comparatively trivial matters (even if you accept their attributions of wickedness) and unconcerned about, you know, massive bribery? Why is gay marriage such a big whopping deal while retail government is just fine? That’s what I was always asking. So I was very pleased … Read the rest



Dennett’s Breaking the Spell Reviewed *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

Stangroom regrets non-appearance of lightning bolts.… Read the rest



Stephen Law on the War for Children’s Minds *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

Open debate at TPM: send a comment.… Read the rest



Philosophers Disagree *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

The New York Times hosts the party.… Read the rest



Scott McLemee on Revolutionary Franklin *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

A streak of philosophical radicalism is evident in his earliest writings.… Read the rest



Killing People is Obviously Terrific Fun *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

You’re always onto a winner if you can persuade people they can be righteous and violent at the same time.… Read the rest



LSE in Academic Freedom Fuss *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist, is accused of reviving the politics of eugenics.… Read the rest



Supreme Court Hears Late-term Abortion Case *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

At times the proceedings seemed more like a medical school seminar than an appellate argument.… Read the rest



NHS Doctor Told Patient She Needed Exorcism *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

Said she had ‘something sinister’ moving in her stomach and was ‘possessed by evil.’… Read the rest



Bunting Surprised to Find Religion is Religious *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

She picked up a nasty undertone of Christian triumphalism. Well imagine that.… Read the rest



Fred Phelps Has a Daughter *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

Who sings at military funerals: ‘First to fight/For the fags/Now they’re coming home in bags.’… Read the rest



Media Declare Virginia Senate Race for Dems *

Nov 9th, 2006 | Filed by

If confirmed, the win means Democrats hold both houses of Congress.… Read the rest



Goldenbridge

Nov 8th, 2006 10:04 pm | By

Yikes again. No wonder those comments are not light reading. I Googled Marie-Therese O’Loughlin – with results.

Look.

At some point during her second year in the Regina Coeli hostel, her mother was admitted to hospital with TB…When Marie Therese’s mother was ill in hospital, Marie Therese’s high chair fell into an “open blazing fire”. She sustained injuries that have left her with scars on her face, hand and leg…Marie Therese went to Goldenbridge, a childcare home, when she was five years old. “There was a lot of name-calling (one of the names they called her was “scarface”), children were frightened of me, and deformity was used against me.” During her time in Goldenbridge, Marie Therese made rosary beads:

Read the rest


Ireland’s Past Revisited

Nov 8th, 2006 8:09 pm | By

Yikes. I’ve just accidentally found a couple of comments on a post from August 2005 – one comment last June, the other yesterday. The post was about the tragic mess of what happened to children of single mothers in Ireland; the comments are from one of those children. Because the post is so old, they’ll naturally go unread; so you should have a look. They’re not light reading.… Read the rest



Twelve long years later…

Nov 8th, 2006 7:35 pm | By

Well…that’s better. That was a good one. It’s been a long, long time since I listened to election returns with any pleasure. I’d forgotten what it even feels like.

Nothing like 1992, of course. That was one amazing evening. I was even surprised at how elated and hopeful I felt, and how unfamiliar that feeling was. (I was much less surprised at the disappointment later on.) This wasn’t like that, but it wasn’t bad. Pennsylvania! Go, Santorum! Ohio! Indiana. And so on. I wish Lieberman had lost. And, of course, I wish Webb had a bigger lead in Virginia. Looking down the road, I wish the Dems had much, much better candidates for president. But all the same, that was … Read the rest