All entries by this author

Livingstone Under Investigation over al-Qaradawi *

Nov 12th, 2004 | Filed by

Invitation to al-Qaradawi not popular with women, gays, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, some Muslims, non-bombers – most people.… Read the rest



Michael Fitzpatrick Reviews Richard Horton *

Nov 11th, 2004 | Filed by

Lancet editor’s new book on MMR panic doesn’t explain why he published Wakefield’s flawed research.… Read the rest



Trip Nostalgia

Nov 10th, 2004 11:33 pm | By

It’s beautiful here today, in an odd, subdued sort of way. I went for a walk and gazed out over the Sound an hour or so ago. Everything is grey – the sky, the water – but it’s a bright, translucent grey in places. The clouds are shapey and various as opposed to being a single pewter-coloured blanket, and there are places where the sun almost shines through them, so in the distance the water is quite silvery. I’ve been back for a week (plus a bit). Things have shaken down as they do after a trip (that’s one of the fun things about trips: the sense of strangeness when you get back), and I’ve had time to think it … Read the rest



Oxford Wins Extension to Animal Rights Injunction *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Order grants ‘no harassment’ zone around all its buildings in the city. … Read the rest



‘Slaughterhouses’ Found in Fallujah *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Iraqi troops have found houses where hostages were held and killed by the ‘resistance’.… Read the rest



Arundhati Roy Speaks to Australia *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

‘Why should people allow a novelist to influence their political views?’… Read the rest



Arundhati Roy Defends Views on Iraqi ‘Resistance’ *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

‘Several critics said Roy’s views on Iraq should have disqualified her.’… Read the rest



Kristallnacht March in Oslo Forbids ‘Jewish Symbols’ *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Commemoration ended without a single representative from Norway’s Jews.… Read the rest



Calls For End to Violence at van Gogh Funeral *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Anger, hatred, sorrow, fear, remorse, all mix it up in aftermath of murder.… Read the rest



Court Rules Vlaams Blok Party is Racist *

Nov 10th, 2004 | Filed by

Belgium’s highest court has ruled Flemish far-right Vlaams Blok is racist. … Read the rest



A Word from George Eliot

Nov 9th, 2004 9:34 pm | By

A bit of old business I’ve been meaning to get to for several days. This question of religion and the focus of its public rhetoric and exhortation on a narrow view of sexual morality with a comparable neglect of social justice – of, if you prefer, poverty, oppression, exploitation, bad working conditions, injustice, and the like. One of our readers took issue with that view of the matter, and I thought I would offer one or two more places where I’d seen the idea discussed.

One is this piece by Ishtiaq Ahmed in the ‘Daily Times’ of Pakistan.

The Islamic position on life on earth was that Muslims should enjoy the good things of life within limits prescribed by Sharia…What

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Does Affirmative Action Hurt Black Law Students? *

Nov 9th, 2004 | Filed by

Study suggests some counter-productive effects; critics respond.… Read the rest



Elaine Showalter on Tom Wolfe’s New Novel *

Nov 9th, 2004 | Filed by

Not a satiric view of the university but a leering exposé of undergraduate sexual behaviour.… Read the rest



Index on What?

Nov 9th, 2004 2:21 am | By

The comments by Juan Golblado on the ‘Paying Too Much Attention’ Comment have prompted me to hurry up and do what I’ve been meaning to do, which is to say a word or two about this bizarre article at Index on Censorship. It is, as Mr Golblado says, a striking case of the fox being invited into the henhouse. Unless of course the Index on Censorship is supposed to be an organization that sings the virtues of censorship, but I kind of thought it wasn’t supposed to be that kind of organization.

Van Gogh’s juvenile shock-horror art finally led him to build an exploitative working relationship with Somalia-born Dutch MP Ayann Hirsi Ali, whose terrible personal experience of abuse

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Panda’s Thumb on Georgia Case *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Debate over Cobb school district decision taken to courtroom.… Read the rest



Here We Go Again – Scopes Trial #7293 *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Biology textbooks, Georgia, evolution, petition, only a theory, ID, law suit.… Read the rest



Why Is the EU Not Talking About van Gogh? *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Anything for a quiet life?… Read the rest



Dutch Muslim School Damaged in Explosion *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

Latest attack against Muslim institutions since murder of Theo van Gogh.… Read the rest



The Nation Reviews Books on Islam *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

And has reservations about atheism.… Read the rest



Access Without Quotas for Universities *

Nov 8th, 2004 | Filed by

The goal is equality of opportunity.… Read the rest