tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:45:28 +0000religion, politics, ethics and science ... for liberal minds onlyhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/paswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)Blogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-790315705485072265Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:23:00 +00002009-07-13T11:29:22.864+01:00islamjudaismrights/ethicsphilosophyreligionchristianityscienceI was happily resting from blogging when Karen Armstrong’s confused article on faith and belief managed to wake me up. I fear Karen Armstrong has made quite a ‘metaphysical mistake’ in her article on belief and reason (‘Metaphysical mistake’).Armstrong states that in Greek thought there were two ways to the ‘truth’: one through mythos (myth) and one through logos (reason). The former was a more http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/07/faith-and-reason-metaphysical-mistake.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1811380927859422914Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:27:00 +00002009-04-04T15:30:28.714+01:00otherHere are my answers on the blog Mars Hill.http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/04/twenty-questions.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7946592876467887349Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:52:00 +00002009-04-02T18:07:59.307+01:00terrorismbollocksliberalismrights/ethicsmediafilm/TVpoliticsI watched Britz, the two-part drama of a Muslim family where the brother starts working for MI5 and the sister becomes a terrorist. You can tell from this outline where the problem lies: it’s barmy! The first episode, the one about the brother, is quite good; the second one is ridiculous. All the suspense is gone because it’s all in the first one, which is enough to send you to sleep. However, http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/04/britz-misunderstanding-terrorism.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1521182943893802297Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:42:00 +00002009-02-26T10:49:04.113Zrights/ethicshealthmediaotherI have no knowledge whatsoever of this matter, of course. I only glimpse at the headlines on other people’s Metro while cycling at the gym. Cancer is a voracious beast that does not lose its grip of you. It generally kills you slowly, mostly due to medical progress. It all becomes a long fight against time. I recently lost someone to whom I was really close, so I really cannot preach austerity inhttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/02/jane-goody-is-right.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1941882747669363803Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:41:00 +00002009-02-09T16:41:06.566Zliberalismrights/ethicsreligionchristianitypoliticsdemocracyOver 17 years ago, a friend of Eluana Englaro died in an awful accident and was left in a vegetative state for a period of time. Then, his organs failed and he dies completely. We learn from Eluana's father that she was horrified and told family and friends that she wouldn’t have wanted to be kept ‘going’, had something like this happened to her. It happened. She’s been in a permanent coma for 17http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/02/right-to-die-eluana-englaro.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-7380824447540987272Sun, 08 Feb 2009 11:00:00 +00002009-02-08T11:02:32.569Zliberalismrights/ethicsreligionchristianitypoliticsJust before Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Benedict XVI has re-admitted to Catholicism the Lefebvrists, the followers of Marcel Lefebvre. The movement had been excommunicated because they wouldn’t accept the reforms of Second Vatican Council of 1965. It turns out that two of the four clerics have ‘doubts’ over the Holocaust. British bishop Richard Williamson denied the existence of the gas http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/02/george-bush-of-vatican.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-435473388275733497Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:57:00 +00002009-02-08T17:43:30.855Zbollocksrights/ethicsmediafilm/TVPoor BBC! It seems that they simply can’t get it right. After the Jonathan Ross affair and the Gaza appeal debacle, now it’s the time of Christian Bale. The BBC aired the actor’s abuse of a member of the crew before the watershed. They apologised. Why? I agree they needed to apologise for Jonathan Ross. I agree they should have broadcast the Gaza appeal, but it strikes me as ridiculous and http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/02/apologies.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-1109113278539768553Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:40:00 +00002009-02-06T14:59:22.752Zjudaismrights/ethicslovepoliticsmiddle eastOnce a upon a time, when I was just a little more than a child, I found the book The strength to love by Martin Luther King Jr. among my grandmother’s books. I wonder whether she’s ever read it. I did and found it wonderful. He called for something very simple, something many people (the ‘realist’ sort of people) would call banal and idealistic. He called for love. "Nonviolence is the answer to http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/01/of-cowards-and-heroes.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-5776444796002991869Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:59:00 +00002009-01-27T00:11:00.900Zterrorismrights/ethicsmediapoliticsmiddle eastdemocracyI really don't see the fuss. The Appeal (available at the Guardian website) is totally impartial. It doesn't mention that Israel has flattened Gaza, nor does it mention that Hamas has used chilren as human shields. I would have. I would have denouced both sides for being disrespectful of life, for pretending to be fighting for a higher cause, for claiming to represent their people. Such acts makehttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/01/gaza-appeal.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-4416916476100130585Wed, 21 Jan 2009 12:51:00 +00002009-01-21T12:55:56.944Zliberalismrights/ethicsmediapoliticsdemocracyamericaI’m highly suspicious of this Obama-frenzy. From the start, I’ve disliked this pseudo-celebrity cult. Alas, Obama's campaign, the media and Hollywood stars, have turned him into a celebrity. They are expecting too much and too soon. The guy is just a guy and needs good advisers and votes in Congress. I hope he succeeds, he needs to succeed. Millions of Americans are in poverty, thousands of http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/01/american-president.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-3086781999013942399Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:43:00 +00002009-01-15T22:54:45.364Zterrorismrights/ethicsmediapoliticsmiddle eastWar and destruction are easy to sensationalise and to be made into powerful rhetoric. For some, Israel is under attack, the Palestinians have rejected the agreement that would have guaranteed to them a homeland and peace, and they want to see the end of the state of Israel. For others, the Jews have colonised Palestine, driven Palestinians away from their homes and subjected them to humiliation http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2009/01/solution-for-middle-east.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-9144664439030546939Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:26:00 +00002008-12-26T13:52:40.262Zsexrights/ethicsreligionlovefilm/TVfeminismAs I mentioned in my latest post on Apparitions, the alleged homophobia is more sexo-phobia. So, what’s wrong with sex?Sexuality is something that has always troubled human beings. It is where life, mortal life, originates. The moment we are born is the moment we are destined to die, and we just can’t stand it! Women are the body of the world, they symbolise mortality. Their bodies, being the ‘http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/bbc-apparitions-sexo-phobic-part-3.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-959115505506284821Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:19:00 +00002008-12-25T12:48:27.556Zsexrights/ethicsreligionlovefilm/TVfeminismIn one episode a candidate for the priesthood is rejected because he’s gay, he then goes to a gay ‘spa’ and gets skinned alive in the steam room by one of the possessed. Some might feel that this is homophobic, that the priest is being punished because of his sinful ‘thoughts’. I don’t think so. It’s just that a heck of a lot of people die because it’s a horror series. Nevertheless, the series http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/bbc-apparitions-homophobic-part-2.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-5407513677446304574Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:18:00 +00002008-12-24T11:35:31.509Zsexbollocksliberalismrights/ethicsphilosophyreligionlovepoliticsfeminismLucky escape for women! You might think I’m being facetious, but it’s actually a serious legal point. It is sloppy to say ‘ecology of man’ when implying women. It’s bad grammar and has legal repercussions. In this case, the Pope's dismissal of women demonstrates that their sexuality is functional to that of men. This has always been the case in the past. After all, being in the control of their http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/pope-and-ecology-of-man.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-819011434641916204Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:10:00 +00002008-12-22T12:09:10.402Zjudaismrights/ethicsreligionmediachristianityfilm/TVI like horror so I really enjoyed the recent BBC series Apparitions. It’s about an exorcist battling with demonic possessions. In an interesting, but theologically incongruous, twist, demons complain about being in hell. Obviously, if they are possessing people they cannot be in hell, but why spoil it with logic? As we ‘know’ from Old Harry’s Game, hell is overcrowded, working conditions for http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/bbc-apparitions-anti-semitic-part-1.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-6035954195781189802Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:29:00 +00002009-04-12T10:58:09.359+01:00sexlaweuropeliberalismrights/ethicsphilosophyreligiondemocracyamericaThis is simply a reflection and not a thorough analysis of privacy in law or philosophy of law. In the US, privacy has come to encompass positive freedom (freedom to do something within the private sphere), rather than simply be confined to negative freedom (freedom from state intervention) as in most of Europe.This ‘wider’ interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Bill of Rights made http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/privacy-personal-autonomy-and-human.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-371084507218462613Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:12:00 +00002008-12-18T17:26:17.480Ztechnologymediafilm/TVotherfeminismThis is a very quick reflection rather than a review. I've watched Alien vs. Predator recently, which is in no way a ‘good’ film, but at least it’s unpretentious. It’s honest action rather than a series of explosions interspersed with pretentious waffling (The Dark Knight). It was also quite entertaining to see ‘postmodern’ influences, such as the rejection of ethnocentrism. The woman becoming a http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/alien-vs-predator.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-156191701899511128Sat, 13 Dec 2008 20:55:00 +00002008-12-13T21:11:36.397Zbollocksliterature/comicsliberalismwalesrights/ethicsreligionchristianityfilm/TVpoliticsdemocracyLast month, a whole controversy erupted over the cancellation of a poetry reading at Waterstone’s, in Cardiff. It was, at first, alleged that the cancellation was following a campaign from a Christian group. I chose not to comment at that time for the following reasons: 1. It has nothing to do with freedom of speech. The book is available to buy at Waterstone’s; 2. Protest is publicity. Protest http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/poet-protest-and-freedom-of-speech.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-4568063821764095302Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:09:00 +00002008-12-01T18:46:23.520Zbollocksmediafilm/TVI take films very seriously, much more than politics, on which, I believe, you can often find agreement (I mean democratic, non-violent, non-sectarian politics). With films you cannot. There’s art and there’s trash, that’s all!Recently, I’ve heard a couple of guys talking enthusiastically about American Psycho, a most unmemorable film. Fight Club was somehow similar and in no way http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/12/art-trash.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-4220679510615354920Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:07:00 +00002008-11-26T15:07:09.118Zartukliterature/comicsmediaitalyfrancefilm/TVamericaI’m not sure what got me into this unending torpor but perhaps something mundane might manage to shrug it off. So here it is: a reflection on some of the best graphic novels ever written (and drawn!).I discovered (or re-discovered) graphic novels relatively recently. I used to read comics when I was very young but ditched them for theatre and later for novels. I never thought of going back to http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/11/best-graphic-novelscomics-ever.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-812036111579038600Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:57:00 +00002008-08-28T13:08:06.767+01:00laweuropeliberalismrights/ethicshealthmediafilm/TVfoodfeminismWe are fat, it’s official. Today’s government report on the areas most affected gives us a map of obesity rates compiled from GP records.Five places in Wales feature in the top six worst areas, whilst Shetland tops the list. Obesity is also spreading. It appears to be increasing in Cornwall, Devon, Kent, East Sussex, London and the Isle of Wight. In the meantime, the South of the world is http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/08/weight-issues-of-free-choice.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-8894946417684886067Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:52:00 +00002008-08-13T10:02:02.273+01:00sporthealthotherI have a week trial at a gym, so I there I went yesterday, ready to exercise and feel healthy. I took a quick look at it, while waiting for the guy who would show me the machines, and was overtaken by a strong desire to run … run away from the place that is!At first, it looked intimidating, populated by people who are clearly quite into their bodies and muscles (although I noticed more sensible http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/08/fish-out-of-water-visit-to-gym.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-4859339267202574041Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:13:00 +00002008-08-11T22:15:27.452+01:00walesotherCan blogging hand support to Wales’ fragile civil society?To do so blogs ought to inform, challenge and help shape opinions. They need to highlight what they think it’s important and what they deem right or wrong. There’s certainly information out there and there’s also plenty of comment, which is not commentary. Perhaps blogs are a thing of the past and need to ‘grow up’ into specialist analysishttp://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/08/blogging-for-wales.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-6617230796783397691Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:53:00 +00002008-07-31T10:45:14.802+01:00sextechnologyrights/ethicsphilosophyscienceI was going to write about incest after this article, then decided not to due to lack of what I would consider good information on the internet, then I thought: 'sod it!'. The woman of the article on the Times justifies her sexual relationship with her brother on the basis of consent. I have not come across any psychological studies on ‘consensual incest’, where there is no force or abuse. This http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/07/consensual-incest-lost-taboo-internet.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6059328.post-2289118942651123874Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:32:00 +00002008-07-30T09:40:29.613+01:00technologyrights/ethicsmediasciencepoliticsdemocracyfeminismAtlantic Monthly reflects on how the internet is changing our brains. We seem to be lacking the necessary concentration to read a book or even a lengthy article. We seem to be drawn to quick answers rather than depths.The article reports that in a recent research study at UCL “scholars examined computer logs documenting the behavior of visitors to two popular research sites, one operated by the http://paswonky.blogspot.com/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid.htmlpaswonky@gmail.com (Francesca)5