All entries by this author

Compassionate Conservatism in Utero *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

JAMA article on fetal pain awareness irritates anti-abortionists.… Read the rest



Academics With Asperger’s *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

When does eccentricity become mental illness?… Read the rest



The Academic Novel and its Addressivity *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

Its wot? English teachers writing about each other, that’s what.… Read the rest



Rushdie: Let the Enlightenment Begin *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

Nine thoughts on reform.… Read the rest



Simon Schama: Bush as Archbishop of Washington *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

Comparisons with 9/11 only reinforce differences between what the two calamities said about America.… Read the rest



Gender Equality, Gay Rights a ‘Charade’ *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

Madeleine Bunting says concern for gay rights and gender equality is ‘moral grandstanding.’… Read the rest



Atwood, Barlow, Callwood Join Protest *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

In open letter the group said protest is about keeping religious matters separate from state.… Read the rest



Newsflash – No Sharia in Ontario! *

Sep 12th, 2005 | Filed by

“There will be no Shariah law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians.” … Read the rest



It’s Over!

Sep 12th, 2005 1:48 am | By

Golly. It’s over. I’m a bit choked. I told you I was looking forward to congratulating Homa – but she got there first. I tell you what, honey, when I clicked onto my email page and saw that subject line in an email from Homa – ‘congratulations to you all for a battle well fought’ – I must have jumped a foot.

I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t be all that elated, it’s just the prevention of something that never should have been suggested in the first place. But I don’t care. It was suggested, and it has been prevented, and that will make a difference, so I am elated.

And so is Homa. It says so right here.… Read the rest



Is the Tide Beginning to Turn?

Sep 11th, 2005 7:33 pm | By

Seyran Ates has very interesting things to say.

Why are a few particularly estimable, highly intelligent women and men in very prominent positions, blind in one eye when it comes to the protection of minorities? Why are they blind in that eye with which they have otherwise promoted equal rights for the sexes, and still do? The so-called minority protection with respect to Islam and religious freedom can only be had at the cost of the equal rights of women, and ultimately only serves to perpetuate and reinforce obsolete, archaic, patriarchal structures. The situation of Muslim girls and women in Germany has been played down to an extreme…I want to know, and many thousands of Muslim girls and women

Read the rest


Nick Cohen on Suckers for Fashionable Nonsense *

Sep 11th, 2005 | Filed by

Homeopathic dowser healers, coffee enemas, feng-shui, expensive water.… Read the rest



Shorter Books *

Sep 11th, 2005 | Filed by

Books too long, too hard; make them shorter, easier. Good plan.… Read the rest



Cornel West: It’s Not Just Katrina, It’s Povertina *

Sep 11th, 2005 | Filed by

Conservative social policy towards the poor: you’re on your own.… Read the rest



Blair Advised to Ditch Holocaust Day *

Sep 11th, 2005 | Filed by

‘Muslims feel hurt and excluded that their lives are not equally valuable’ says Sacranie.… Read the rest



‘Shinaz’ and her Experience With Sharia *

Sep 11th, 2005 | Filed by

Hint: it wasn’t good.… Read the rest



Open Letter: Don’t ghettoize women’s rights

Sep 11th, 2005 | By Margaret Atwood, Maud Barlow et al.

In support of the “No Religious Arbitration Coalition”

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Dear Mr. McGuinty:

An important tenet of Canadian democracy hangs in the balance of your response to the matter of religious arbitration in the province of Ontario. While many Canadians may assume that we are all governed by one system of laws, created by publicly elected officials who are accountable to the electorate, your government is poised to shift the ground under this cornerstone of liberal democracy.

While our public system of law is not always perfect, it is designed to recognize the realities of all citizens and is open to public scrutiny and improvement. Such is not the case with private systems of law, such as religious … Read the rest



Michael Ruse on Religion and Science

Sep 10th, 2005 | By

Michael Ruse has a new book out: The Evolution-Creation Struggle. He has written a number of articles and reviews and given a few interviews on related subjects in the past year or two.

There was for instance this review of Richard Dawkins’ A Devil’s Chaplain in December 2003. In it he took strong issue with Dawkins, despite, as he says, their friendship: ‘Richard Dawkins once called me a “creep.” He did so very publicly but meant no personal offense, and I took none: We were, and still are, friends.’ He disagreed (and disagrees still) with Dawkins’ criticism of religion, which he calls a ‘crusade of nonbelief’. It is his view (at least in some of his recent articles and … Read the rest



Ontario Urged to Spurn Sharia *

Sep 10th, 2005 | Filed by

Toronto protest was one of 12 in cities across Canada and Europe.… Read the rest



Sharia Protests in Düsseldorf, the Hague *

Sep 10th, 2005 | Filed by

Women’s rights are not negotiable, Homa Arjomand said.… Read the rest



Ontario AG’s Statement on Arbitration Act *

Sep 10th, 2005 | Filed by

‘We have heard loud and clear from those who are seeking greater
protections for women.’… Read the rest