All entries by this author

‘This Disease is From God’ *

Jan 22nd, 2008 | Filed by

Men who don’t desert wives who have fistulas are a small minority in Sudan.… Read the rest



UNFPA Tackles Teenage Pregnancy in Ghana *

Jan 22nd, 2008 | Filed by

‘Men go on with their lives without consequences. Men have all the power and don’t ask women what they think or want.’… Read the rest



The Horror of Rome

Jan 22nd, 2008 11:13 am | By

It’s exciting to learn that there is such a thing as the Chief Exorcist of Rome and that he has such stimulating beliefs.

Those modern theologians who identify Satan with the abstract idea of evil are completely mistaken. Theirs is true heresy; that is, it is openly in contrast with the Bible, the Fathers, and the Magisterium of the Church…How can those who deny the existence and the many activities of Satan understand the achievements of Christ? How can they understand the value of the redemptive death of Christ?

Oh right, the Magisterium – that’s that non-overlapping one that Steve Gould told us about. Science has its, and religion has its, and in the latter, Satan is a real fella. … Read the rest



CFI Austin on Science Education in Texas *

Jan 21st, 2008 | Filed by

Science standards are up for review this year; 7 out of 15 Board of Education members are creationists.… Read the rest



PZ Asks: What’s Your School Board Like? *

Jan 21st, 2008 | Filed by

Like the ones in Florida? Texas?… Read the rest



Martin Bright: Ken Livingstone is a Disgrace *

Jan 21st, 2008 | Filed by

Attempts by Mayor’s office to smear a brave anti-racism campaigner are a step too far. … Read the rest



Philosophy Said to Make Religion More Credible *

Jan 21st, 2008 | Filed by

There is a tension between advocating something religion-neutral and a curriculum where one religion is privileged. … Read the rest



Cutting Little Girls in Indonesia *

Jan 21st, 2008 | Filed by

Three benefits: stabilizes her libido, makes her pretty in husband’s eyes, balances her psychology.… Read the rest



Little mundane personal private harmless sharia

Jan 20th, 2008 12:12 pm | By

How’s that again?

Amnah is going through a divorce and is baffled at being told that she must wait for three months to remarry, considering that she hasn’t seen her estranged husband for two years. Dr Hasan with an intense look…[Dr Hasan] meets this with a simple reply: “These rulings are all in the Koran. The rulings are made for all.” Amnah has little choice but to comply: Dr Hasan is a judge, and this is a sharia court – in east London.

She has little choice but to comply? Why? If it’s a sharia court in east London, then she does have other choices, doesn’t she?

It is one of dozens of sharia courts – also known as councils

Read the rest


Secularism Far Worse Than Terrorism *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

Chaplain to the Stock Exchange talks raving nonsense.… Read the rest



Men’s ‘Honour’ and Women’s Sexuality *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

‘When I challenged their double standards they gave cultural and religious reasons to justify their controlling and abusive behaviour.’… Read the rest



‘Honour’ Killing in Dallas? *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

Or just a bad mood?… Read the rest



Dallas Cab Driver Accused of Killing Daughters *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

Yaser Abdel Said is accused of shooting 17-year-old Sarah Yaser Said and 18-year-old Amina Yaser Said.… Read the rest



David Papineau Reads John Searle *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

He remains suspicious of the pretensions of philosophical argument to overturn everyday opinion. … Read the rest



Have Some Nice Sharia Law *

Jan 20th, 2008 | Filed by

‘Once, just only once, if an adulterer is stoned nobody is going to commit this crime at all.’ Yay.… Read the rest



Moving the markers

Jan 19th, 2008 6:18 pm | By

From Catharine MacKinnon’s ‘Turning Rape into Pornography: Postmodern Genocide,’ which is about videotaped rapes as propaganda in Croatia and Bosnia. From Are Women Human? pp 162-3:

Some of the rapes that are made into pornography are clearly intended for mass consumption as war propaganda. One elderly Croation woman who was filmed being raped was also tortured by electric shocks and gang-raped in the Bucje concentration camp by Serbian men dressed in generic camouflage uniforms. She was forced to “confess” on film that Croatians raped her. This disinformation – switching the ethnic labels – is especially easy when there are no racial markers for ethnic distinctions. It is a standard Serbian technique…Serbian propaganda moves cultural markers with postmodern alacrity, making ethnicity

Read the rest


Ian McEwan on Atheism and Other Things *

Jan 19th, 2008 | Filed by

I think it is important that people with no religious beliefs speak up and speak for what they value. … Read the rest



Two Philosophers Feud Over a Book Review *

Jan 19th, 2008 | Filed by

The view from Cornell, The Philosophical Review’s home, is that the fuss is overblown. … Read the rest



Turks Remember Hrant Dink *

Jan 19th, 2008 | Filed by

Thousands of people gathered in Istanbul to commemorate the murder with flowers and candles.… Read the rest



Hani Ramadan Wins Compensation Payment *

Jan 19th, 2008 | Filed by

Geneva teacher, brother of Tariq, was fired for Le Monde opinion piece defending stoning.… Read the rest