Rohan Jayasekera says van Gogh’s work was abuse of his right to free speech.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
British v French Enlightenment
Nov 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
McLemee on Himmelfarb’s ‘sociology of virtue.’… Read the rest
Jonathan Derbyshire Reviews Silly Atheism Book
Nov 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alister McGrath makes his case by mischaracterising atheism.… Read the rest
Being a Woman in Afghanistan
Nov 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It takes some nerve.… Read the rest
A Mistake in Arendt Biography Gets Repeated
Nov 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Edward Said repeated Young-Bruehl’s error in article, later reprinted, despite her correction.… Read the rest
Another Murder Committed by Political Islam
Nov 5th, 2004 | By Azar MajediYesterday Theo van Gogh, a journalist and a filmmaker, was brutally murdered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He was murdered because he cared and dared to expose the inherent misogynism in and the brutal nature of Islam. An act, which sadly, nowadays calls for great courage, due to advancements of political Islam and the rise in religion’s influence in the society. He was murdered by political Islam, a reactionary movement that resorts to intimidation and terror as its main tools for gaining power and achieving its goals. This is not the first crime committed by this movement as a way to silence the critics of Islam and Islamists, and if we do not stand against it, it will not be the last. … Read the rest
Shaming
Nov 5th, 2004 1:06 am | By Ophelia BensonAnd now that we’ve given the charitable reading room to breathe, let’s take it back again. Let’s say the hell with the charitable reading – it can hold its breath. Because the problem with the possible feelings of superiority thing (besides the ones I’ve already mentioned) is that it just isn’t necessarily true, and it’s destructive (and often hostile and unkind) to assume that it is. Sure, it’s always possible that The Subject likes [Shakespeare/Bach/Whatever] for invidious reasons, just as it’s always possible that The Subject does anything for invidious reasons, but that’s not quite good grounds for assuming that she does. What the feelings of superiority explanation overlooks is the possibility that The Subject just really does like [Shakespeare/Bach/Whatever] … Read the rest
Breathing Room
Nov 4th, 2004 4:32 pm | By Ophelia BensonOkay, first, to be fair, let’s try to make a case for anti-‘elitism’. Let’s try to figure out if people who stake out claims to the anti-elitist moral high ground have any good reasons for such claims – let’s try to figure out if there is anything going on here besides one-upsmanship and a paradoxical (not to say ironic) kind of elitism via reverse-elitism. (It is kind of funny from that point of view. It can be seen as nothing but an endless silly regress. ‘You’re an elitist and I’m not, therefore I’m better so I’m in the elite and you’re not…um…wait…’) Let’s try to do the charitable reading thing, just this once.
The moral core of the idea seems … Read the rest
Anti-gay Singer’s Tour Cancelled
Nov 4th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The British tour by Jamaican star Sizzla has been called off after protests that his music would incite attacks on gay men.… Read the rest
Challenging Islam is Risky
Nov 4th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Says Irshad Manji, speaking from experience.… Read the rest
Ozywho?
Nov 3rd, 2004 9:54 pm | By Ophelia BensonI’m just going to ignore it. That’s okay isn’t it? Just pretend it’s not there. Or at least that I don’t particularly have to talk about it. I mean, what is there to say, and everybody else is already saying it anyway. I don’t have to chime in. (It’s not even just the politics. It’s more basic. It’s the thing about minimal competence. It’s like having a choice between a grown-up and a not very bright child to do a difficult job – designing a bridge, doing research into a new killer virus, figuring out how to get cookies right-side-up on a plate, that kind of thing – and choosing the child.) I don’t have to chime in so I’m … Read the rest
The Myth of Infant Determinism
Nov 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The idea that the first three years of our lives make us who we are is scientifically unsound, argues Helene Guldberg.… Read the rest
Ban Homophobic Singer
Nov 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Gay rights campaigners want police to ban a controversial Jamaican reggae artist from appearing in Britain.… Read the rest
Californians Approve Stem Cell Funding
Nov 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Californians pass Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond measure to raise money for stem cell research.… Read the rest
Dutch ‘Anti-Islam’ Film Maker Murdered
Nov 3rd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Theo van Gogh made film that criticised Islam’s treatment of women. … Read the rest
Inhouse
Nov 3rd, 2004 3:43 am | By Ophelia BensonYo, I’m back! Out of the outhouse, into the inhouse, back at the desk, back to work. I’ve left the bright lights and whirling crowds of Bedford Square for the quiet backwater of Seattle. I came in, dropped all my cases and bags and excess sweatshirts in the middle of the living room, grabbed a water bottle, and rushed out to vote. Saw a friend on the way in; did not have to stand in line; saw another friend on the way out. You see what a quiet backwater it is. That wouldn’t happen in Bedford Square.
Ohio. Pennsylvania. Michigan. Florida. Well, we’ll see. I don’t dare let myself think about how I long to be rid of Bush.
More … Read the rest
The Arctic is Melting
Nov 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But no consensus as to appropriate response.… Read the rest
Probe into ‘Murder Music’
Nov 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Police have launched an investigation into anti-gay reggae lyrics after the homophobic killing of a man in London.… Read the rest
Gene Screening Controversy
Nov 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not really a surprise.… Read the rest
Darwin’s Greatest Challenge Tackled
Nov 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Researchers provide concrete evidence about how the human eye evolved.… Read the rest