Butterflies and Wheels update
Ophelia Benson
New in "Latest News"
Slate: Rebecca Watson on speaking out and rape threats
"It wasn’t until I started talking about feminism to skeptics that I realized I didn’t have a safe space."
Filed: October 24, 2012
LSE student atheist society and ex-Muslims
People of a Muslim background face unique difficulties in abandoning their religion, both in predominantly Muslim countries and in Europe.
Filed: October 24, 2012
Nick Cohen reads Joseph Anton
The honourable left-wing response was then and is now to fight back and support Muslims and ex-Muslims around the world who want to resist theocratic politics.
Filed: October 24, 2012
Two “honor” killings in Pakistan
In one, a brother killed his sister; in the other, an uncle killed his niece. Both were said to have been in an "objectionable situation."
Filed: October 24, 2012
Popehat won’t be taking Mo the Rutabaga to the UK
Don't let your home become a place where the petty and the wicked use "blasphemy" and "offense" as an excuse to silence dissent. Fight back.
Filed: October 24, 2012
Shehrbano Taseer on Malala Yousafzai
A repressive mindset has been allowed to flourish in Pakistan because of the madrassa system set up by power-hungry clerics.
Filed: October 25, 2012
Mass. Supreme Court will hear “under God” pledge case
The plaintiffs claim daily classroom affirmation that the nation is “under God” violates state constitutional prohibitions against religious discrimination.
Filed: October 26, 2012
Malala is speaking; no signs of brain damage
Her parents are now in Birmingham to be with her.
Filed: October 26, 2012
Malala is making great progress
Dr Dave Rosser gives a press conference, and so does her father Ziauddin Yousufzai. "Can she sit her exams?" "Yes, probably."
Filed: October 26, 2012
Malala’s father is optimistic about her future
Doctors at Queen Elizabeth hospital said she was still weak but stood every chance of making a good recovery.
Filed: October 27, 2012
Pessimism on Greece and Golden Dawn
What has depressed much of Greek society - from the liberal centre right to the liberal left - is the rapid rise of Golden Dawn.
Filed: October 27, 2012
The Savile investigation expands
Gary Glitter has been arrested on suspicion of sex offences by police investigating Jimmy Savile abuse claims.
Filed: October 28, 2012
Church bombed in Kaduna, Nigeria
At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in the suicide bombing in northern Nigeria.
Filed: October 28, 2012
A fragmented approach to eliminating violence against women
As politicians squabble about sexism in modern Australia, action on violence against women must be more visible and better-coordinated.
Filed: October 28, 2012
India: a rape, Dalits, silence, intimidation
Higher-caste men gang-raped a Dalit girl, took pictures and passed them around. Her father saw them and killed himself.
Filed: October 28, 2012
Carl Zimmer in praise of the big old mess of science
When you find yourself captivated by someone talking to you about science in a way that makes you feel everything’s wonderfully simple, go look for the big old mess.
Filed: October 29, 2012
Here comes the hurricane theodicy
Israel. Teh gaze. Abortion. Hard Left Fascism. Teh gaze. Don't forget teh gaze.
Filed: October 30, 2012
Turkish police fire tear gas at secularist march
Thousands of secularists protested at a banned rally in Ankara against what they see as an increasingly authoritarian and Islamist government.
Filed: October 30, 2012
Kunwar Khuldune Shahid on blaming the ideology, part 2
Women were ordered to be killed for conspiring against the religion by their ideological predecessors, so is it entirely the Taliban’s fault for following precedent?
Filed: October 30, 2012
Broadcast journalist’s open letter to Dear Mr Misogynist
''There's a reason why you don't hear women on commercial talkback radio,'' he said. ''No one wants to hear the whiny sound of a female voice. Us blokes get enough nagging at home!''
Filed: October 30, 2012
Poland: bible-tearer may have acquittal overturned
Tearing up a bible at a rock concert is "the crime of offending religious sensibilities."
Filed: October 30, 2012
Samira Shackle talks to Mukhtar Mai
"As long as I live, I will keep fighting for the rights of women. Rape and cruelty happens everywhere, but here there is no justice for women when they fight."
Filed: October 31, 2012
Honda releases a car “for women only”
It's pink.
Filed: October 31, 2012
Egypt: oh noes, a blasphemous film
There's this scene with a belly dancer, see, and the music is a song that mentions Fatima. Blasphemy!
Filed: November 1, 2012
Kashmir: parents kill daughter by dousing her with acid
She was 15. They saw her talking to a boy. The father beat her up, and both parents poured acid over her.
Filed: November 1, 2012
Launch of the Council of Muslims Facing Tomorrow
Journalist and activist Raheel Raza founded MFT to amplify the liberal Muslim voice.
Filed: November 2, 2012
Egypt: Salafi thugs assault people for “insulting Islam”
By which they mean anything they dislike.
Filed: November 2, 2012
Neighbors quarrel, girl is decapitated
3 boys went next door and cut the head off Farkhana, age 17.
Filed: November 3, 2012
Violence against women in Pakistan
As many as 2,713 cases of violence against women have been reported in southern Punjab since January 2012, a research by the Awaz Foundation Centre for Development states.
Filed: November 3, 2012
Girl child marriage in Pakistan
A blood feud between two tribes was settled by a Jirga that decided to hand over as many as 13 young girls to settle the dispute.
Filed: November 7, 2012
Parents say death by acid was their daughter’s destiny
"There was a boy who came by on a motorcycle. She turned to look at him twice." So they killed her.
Filed: November 7, 2012
Girl, 16, raped? Lower the age of consent!
“In the past,
especially in Mughal era, people used to marry their daughters early
to save them from such atrocities."
Filed: November 7, 2012
Malala is grateful for the well-wishers
She has drawn a line with her blood between barbarism and civilization, her father says.
Filed: November 9, 2012
Gillard announces royal commission on child sex abuse
The inquiry will not be confined to the Catholic Church, but extend to all religious organisations and to children in state care, and to other institutions including schools.
Filed: November 12, 2012
ABC on the investigation of institutional child sex abuse
Gillard had been under pressure to act following explosive allegations by DCI Peter Cox that the Catholic Church covered up evidence involving paedophile priests.
Filed: November 12, 2012
Vatican rushes to emphasize its hatred of marriage equality
An article in the Vatican newspaper declared that support for same-sex marriage is "an ideology founded on political correctness which is invading every culture of the world."
Filed: November 12, 2012
Cairo: 2 burqa-wearing women assault Christian woman
They called her an "infidel," forcibly cut off her hair, and pushed her off the train, breaking her arm.
Filed: November 12, 2012
Uganda will pass anti-gay bill this year
Some Christian clerics at a meeting of anti-gay activists asked the speaker of parliament to pass the law as "a Christmas gift."
Filed: November 13, 2012
Shannon Rupp has a modest proposal
The Chilliwack school board should not say no to bible giveaways, they should say yes and charge a fee.
Filed: November 13, 2012
Jessica Ahlquist as an atheist hero at Skepticon
It's tough being an atheist in school. It helps to know there are others.
Filed: November 13, 2012
Ireland: woman denied an abortion dies in hospital
Savita Halappanavar was denied a termination despite asking for one several times following her miscarriage diagnosis because the fetus still had a heartbeat.
Filed: November 14, 2012
Time to put pressure on Irish politicians
Successive governments have steadfastly refused to introduce legislation that would allow women access to life-saving medical abortion.
Filed: November 14, 2012
Sarah Ditum on Ireland’s way with abortion
The Irish government has defied public opinion and enforced an ultra-conservative constitution that places the foetus’ life on an equal footing with the woman’s.
Filed: November 14, 2012
Katha Pollitt on “when pro-life kills”
If you think it couldn’t happen in the United States, you haven’t been paying attention.
Filed: November 15, 2012
Rita Banerji on Diwali as a celebration of misogyny
Sita’s years in exile are paradoxically reflective of the lives of thousands of women in India’s slums and villages today.
Filed: November 15, 2012
Egypt: Islamists want to destroy pyramids and Sphinx
“All Muslims are charged with applying the teachings of Islam to remove such idols, as we did in Afghanistan when we destroyed the Buddha statues,” said a jihadist lunatic.
Filed: November 16, 2012
Rallies in Dublin, Galway in memory of Savita Halappanavar
Well not in memory of - in protest at the circumstances of.
Filed: November 17, 2012
Female genital chopping in Indonesia
Far from scaling down, the problem of FGM in Indonesia has escalated sharply.
Filed: November 18, 2012
Athens: producers of “Corpus Christi” charged with blasphemy
Golden Dawn and the Orthodox church unite to repress all the things.
Filed: November 18, 2012
Republicans still say No to Violence Against Women Act
House GOP leaders aren’t yielding to a bipartisan coalition of Senate leaders demanding they extend the protections of the Violence Against Women Act.
Filed: November 18, 2012
New in "Articles"
Paul Kurtz: A Tribute from Africa
By Leo Igwe
We humanists and skeptics in Africa will miss him a lot. However, we will continue to draw strength and inspiration from Kurtz’s writings and publications, from the institutions he founded, and other legacies he left behind for humanists/skeptics, and for humanity at large.
Filed: November 12, 2012
New in "Notes and Comment Blog"
- A million gods
Filed: October 24, 2012 - Rebecca’s article at Slate
Filed: October 24, 2012 - Heeeeeere’s NSC
Filed: October 24, 2012 - Pusillanimous and unprincipled
Filed: October 24, 2012 - With anger, he killed his sister
Filed: October 24, 2012 - Your Wiki back
Filed: October 25, 2012 - The power of ignorance
Filed: October 25, 2012 - Defining misogyny
Filed: October 25, 2012 - Good news on Malala
Filed: October 26, 2012 - The pledge is in court again
Filed: October 26, 2012 - 50 facts
Filed: October 26, 2012 - A modest proposal
Filed: October 26, 2012 - Misogyny or racism? Such a difficult choice
Filed: October 26, 2012 - The LSE Student Union, again
Filed: October 27, 2012 - No freedom from religion allowed
Filed: October 27, 2012 -
One after the other, the men raped her
Filed: October 28, 2012 - Another one cries out for attention
Filed: October 28, 2012 - The Searchers
Filed: October 28, 2012 - Another demand for attention
Filed: October 28, 2012 - Better than a brontosaurus theory
Filed: October 28, 2012 - Sandy
Filed: October 28, 2012 - LSE and ex-Muslims
Filed: October 29, 2012 - Of course we do!
Filed: October 29, 2012 - Disengage and write about another topic (or stop writing)
Filed: October 29, 2012 - Go look for the big old mess
Filed: October 29, 2012 - A thoughtful, fair, reasoned profile of the worst woman in the universe
Filed: October 29, 2012 - In the Freethinker
Filed: October 29, 2012 - The Holy God of Israel will judge
Filed: October 30, 2012 -
The theodicy of eating one’s children
Filed: October 30, 2012 -
No one wants to hear the whiny sound of a female voice
Filed: October 30, 2012 - Making law retroactively
Filed: October 30, 2012 - Guest post: Why atheists don’t respect faitheists – and you shouldn’t either
Filed: October 30, 2012 - Innovation
Filed: October 31, 2012 - “You’re all a of bunch of feminists!”
Filed: October 31, 2012 - Reap Paden is another Mencken, or even Hitchens
Filed: October 31, 2012 - Just a thought
Filed: October 31, 2012 - A horror in Kashmir
Filed: November 1, 2012 - Is it racism or trying to correct for privilege?
Filed: November 1, 2012 - Blasphemy! Torch the school!
Filed: November 1, 2012 - Sunday morning
Filed: November 1, 2012 - Meet Raheel Raza
Filed: November 2, 2012 - Self-knowledge
Filed: November 2, 2012 - God’s creation of marriage
Filed: November 2, 2012 - And then turning north
Filed: November 2, 2012 - Media scrutiny of these schools is feeble
Filed: November 2, 2012 - Just one?
Filed: November 2, 2012 - Food for thought
Filed: November 3, 2012 - We’ve been using man pens all these years! Blegh!
Filed: November 3, 2012 - Greetings
Filed: November 3, 2012 - On the ground again
Filed: November 3, 2012 - Travel report
Filed: November 5, 2012 - Certain people, eh?
Filed: November 5, 2012 - Torch all the schools
Filed: November 6, 2012 - CFI’s Director of Public Policy
Filed: November 6, 2012 - What’s that big blue thing in the sky?
Filed: November 6, 2012 - With a piece of wood
Filed: November 6, 2012 - Watching
Filed: November 6, 2012 - CSICON frolics
Filed: November 7, 2012 - 52 to 48
Filed: November 7, 2012 - Destiny’s child
Filed: November 7, 2012 - Problem-solving
Filed: November 7, 2012 - If he only smiles
Filed: November 8, 2012 - The church covers up
Filed: November 8, 2012 - Whatever objects they could find
Filed: November 8, 2012 - Name that fruit
Filed: November 8, 2012 - Deeyah
Filed: November 9, 2012 - If
Filed: November 9, 2012 - People change their minds
Filed: November 10, 2012 - The extremist mindset
Filed: November 10, 2012 - Leadership roles
Filed: November 10, 2012 - Stories
Filed: November 11, 2012 - Stories and folk psychology
Filed: November 11, 2012 - Post-election discourse
Filed: November 11, 2012 - Inspecting the bridge
Filed: November 11, 2012 - So much power and organisation behind the scenes
Filed: November 11, 2012 - Any one institution
Filed: November 12, 2012 - Expansion
Filed: November 12, 2012 - Same sex marriage will make all children orphans!!
Filed: November 12, 2012 - Compulsory haircuts
Filed: November 12, 2012 - Hundreds of library books tossed into the fire
Filed: November 12, 2012 - The real thing
Filed: November 13, 2012 - The bishops prattle of humility
Filed: November 13, 2012 - Breakfast with Agnes Bojaxhiu
Filed: November 13, 2012 - Dadoo ronronron dadoo ronron
Filed: November 13, 2012 - Turn the other buttock
Filed: November 13, 2012 - Theology killed Savita Halappanavar
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Michael Nugent on the death of Savita Halappanavar
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Ireland speaks up
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Here too
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Some coverage
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Doctors weigh in
Filed: November 14, 2012 - Three doctors
Filed: November 14, 2012 - It’s not just Ireland
Filed: November 15, 2012 - Hospital administrators interfered
Filed: November 15, 2012 - The Secular Medical Forum
Filed: November 15, 2012 - A consortium of Irish doctors
Filed: November 15, 2012 -
Hey you have a one in two chance of surviving the pregnancy
Filed: November 15, 2012 - Destroy all the idols
Filed: November 16, 2012 - Shame
Filed: November 16, 2012 - Fared much better
Filed: November 16, 2012 - Start at the beginning
Filed: November 16, 2012 - The ERD part 2
Filed: November 16, 2012 - Part 3 of the Legion of Death’s “Directives”
Filed: November 16, 2012 - How to tell the diff-er-ence
Filed: November 16, 2012 - That’s a lot of people
Filed: November 17, 2012 - Not just remembering
Filed: November 17, 2012 - See what I did there?
Filed: November 17, 2012 - Whether and under which circumstances
Filed: November 17, 2012 - Bring out the hemlock
Filed: November 18, 2012 - We have always been at war with the insect peoples
Filed: November 18, 2012 - Being Eric Dondero
Filed: November 18, 2012 - Within the Catholic moral tradition
Filed: November 18, 2012 - What?
Filed: November 18, 2012 - Hundreds of girls were cut
Filed: November 18, 2012