January 14, 2015

"Add faithophobia to my crimes: I have no respect for religions that have little respect for me"

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/14/charlie-hebdo-add-faithophobia-to-my-crimes

Voltaire is being quoted everywhere at the moment, although some say his words were different to what we are being told. He actually wrote in a letter in 1770 to Abbot le Riche: “I detest what you write but I would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to write.” And of course lives have been taken rather than given for writing what many detest.

The arguments go back and forth between those who think Charlie Hebdo should not have published its latest cover image of Muhammad and those – and I am one – who think that they are publishing anything at all is amazing and heartening. The image of a crying man does not offend me. I am not a Muslim but I see that the cover has been read as yet more provocation, even an undoing of the unity of the marches in Paris and other cities. To certain scumbag preachers it is “an act of war”.

Equally disturbing is this talk of blasphemy. Jesus H Christ, remind me what year this is. At one end of the spectrum we have talk of blasphemy, then at the other a kind of liberal anxiety about bad manners – as if showing images was akin to bringing the wrong wine to a dinner party. To all of this, I must say I am pretty gobsmacked. There is a kind of faux respect floating around that I do not trust at all. For it is fearful.

December 12, 2014

So... good cops covering for bad cops is bad... but Obama covering for Bush...

is good?

December 5, 2014

The rape of men: the darkest secret of war

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/17/the-rape-of-men#start-of-comments

"In Africa no man is allowed to be vulnerable," says RLP's gender officer Salome Atim. "You have to be masculine, strong. You should never break down or cry. A man must be a leader and provide for the whole family. When he fails to reach that set standard, society perceives that there is something wrong."

Often, she says, wives who discover their husbands have been raped decide to leave them. "They ask me: 'So now how am I going to live with him? As what? Is this still a husband? Is it a wife?' They ask, 'If he can be raped, who is protecting me?' There's one family I have been working closely with in which the husband has been raped twice. When his wife discovered this, she went home, packed her belongings, picked up their child and left. Of course that brought down this man's heart.

Back at RLP I'm told about the other ways in which their clients have been made to suffer. Men aren't simply raped, they are forced to penetrate holes in banana trees that run with acidic sap, to sit with their genitals over a fire, to drag rocks tied to their penis, to give oral sex to queues of soldiers, to be penetrated with screwdrivers and sticks. Atim has now seen so many male survivors that, frequently, she can spot them the moment they sit down. "They tend to lean forward and will often sit on one buttock," she tells me. "When they cough, they grab their lower regions. At times, they will stand up and there's blood on the chair. And they often have some kind of smell.""

November 30, 2014

"A letter to … the girl who accused me of rape when I was 15"

It was entirely mute apart from the simple, but essential, “Do you want to … ?” and “Yes.”

We parted with closed-mouth kisses and I returned to my mattress to sleep.

I woke up being shaken by my friend’s father and two policemen. They were telling me to get dressed and come with them. I didn’t have a clue what was going on.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/nov/29/letter-to-girl-accused-me-of-rape?CMP=fb_gu

November 16, 2014

Has Hilary made any recent noises regarding the War on Terror?

Come to that, I haven't heard a great deal from any of them on that subject recently, but maybe I'm not paying close enough attention...

November 16, 2014

Is Hilary Clinton likely to improve race relations in America?

Honest question, I do not know her history on this issue.

November 16, 2014

Do you think Hilary Clinton is likely to spend any attention on Wall Street

and its excessive influence on policy?

Or is America actually far too dependent on Wall Street for her to be able to do so realistically?

November 16, 2014

Do you think Hilary Clinton is going to encourage investment in alternatives to fossil fuels?

Or is she more closely aligned with the large financial structures surrounding America's traditional energy delivery systems?

November 16, 2014

Do you think Hilary Clinton is likely to deal with excessive corporate lobbying?

Or is she too dependent on campaign contributions to prevent their influence on policy?

November 16, 2014

Do you believe Hilary Clinton is likely to scale back the military industrial complex?

Or is she more likely to maintain or even expand it?