Critics say textbooks sugarcoat history.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
The Rape of Nanjing
Apr 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonBetween 250 and 300 thousand people killed.… Read the rest
Excerpts from Koizumi’s Address
Apr 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonJapan through colonial rule and aggression harmed many people, especially in Asia.… Read the rest
Japanese PM Reiterates Japan’s Remorse
Apr 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSays Japan caused tremendous suffering and faces these facts of history with humility.… Read the rest
Malaria Not Rolling Back
Apr 22nd, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonLancet reports cases on the rise.… Read the rest
Different Ways Of Thinking And Thinking In Different Ways
Apr 22nd, 2005 | By Paula Bourges-WaldeggWe all have different ways of thinking but do we actually think in different ways? In other words, is cognition universal? The question of what is universal and what culturally specific is a classic issue in the nature vs. nurture debate. Those on the side of nature tend to see everything as universal and those on the side of nurture think that people from different cultures are fundamentally distinct. However, beyond this already tedious and sometimes artificial polarization, the reality is that both nature and nurture have some bearing on most of the things we do and the extent to which a phenomenon is universal or culturally specific can often just depend on how you define it.
When psychologist Richard … Read the rest
Job Description
Apr 21st, 2005 8:20 pm | By Ophelia BensonOh dear oh dear oh dear. Revision is so difficult. I mentioned that the other day, didn’t I. But it is. It’s hard. It’s like…trying to unknit a bit of a sweater and then knit it up again. It’s like trying to pick through a large pot of chili or minestrone, picking out grains of rice of a particular length. It’s like trying to re-weave a broken spider’s web. It’s like trying to take individual crumbs out of a piece of bread without having the piece of bread fall to bits. It’s – it’s – it’s –
Pause for prolonged scream and bout of self-administered hair-pulling.
I’ve been staring at this same paragraph at intervals for an hour or more. … Read the rest
The One Thing Pope Stands for is Hierarchy
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCould be the long withdrawing roar of a sclerotic Kremlin-like empire.… Read the rest
Atheists Should be Pleased About New Pope
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHe’ll do wonders for creeping secularism. Hallelujah.… Read the rest
Panzerkardinal Beats the Odds
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCardinal No born to parents named Joseph and Mary. … Read the rest
Ratzinger Speaks
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHomosexuality: ‘intrinsic moral evil.’… Read the rest
Richard Popkin Obituary
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonHistorian of philosophy and skepticism.… Read the rest
World Newspapers on the New Pope
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonWorld sounds underwhelmed.… Read the rest
Tutu Regrets Pope Unlikely to End Condom Ban
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonCritics say the Catholic church’s stance is costing lives in Africa.… Read the rest
Suspected Islamists Attack Galloway Meeting
Apr 21st, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonDisrespectful treatment of candidate in Bethnal Green.… Read the rest
Strange Alliances
Apr 21st, 2005 3:42 am | By Ophelia BensonHarry’s Place is always very good value, you know. Each item posted is one you want to know more about. This one is certainly interesting.
… Read the restAt last week’s NUS conference, the AWL reports that the SWP joined the islamist Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) – a Muslim Association of Britain front – in a walkout when guest speaker Houzan Mahmoud addressed the Conference.
Why would the SWP join FOSIS in a walkout?…Her key error appears to have been that she is the UK head of the anti-occupation Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq which is a vocal opponent of Islamism. The fact that she has campaigned to bring human rights abuses by US and UK troops to public attention
Black Studies Departments Having Identity Crisis
Apr 20th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonSome worry, others think they were a bogus idea to begin with.… Read the rest
Lost Works of Hesiod, Euripides, Sophocles
Apr 20th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonThe Oxyrhynchus Papyri are being decoded, and treasures being found.… Read the rest
Another Dogmatic Critic of Secularism
Apr 20th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonAnd another conflation of Christianity with morality.… Read the rest
Julian Baggini on the Ratzinger Opportunity
Apr 20th, 2005 | Filed by Ophelia BensonTo confront and slay the myth that without God anything is permitted. … Read the rest