Author Archives: Andrew Stuttaford

Free Speech is not a ‘European Value’

The Local (Spain): [Three Spanish feminists] are facing charges for crimes against religion for mimicking Spain’s Easter processions – replacing the Virgin Mary with a giant plastic vagina. Three women who carried a giant plastic vagina during a march to … Continue reading

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Multiculturalism, Free Speech: Choose One?

National Secular Society: Labour MP Keith Vaz has expressed his support for the reintroduction of UK blasphemy laws – provided they “apply equally to everybody.” His comments were reportedly made at an event organised by the Muslim Council of Britain … Continue reading

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Jerry Brown Gets It Right

Credit where’s credit is due: I am not exactly a member of the Jerry Brown fan club, but the California Governor’s decision to sign his state’s cautiously drafted assisted suicide law (perhaps too cautiously: to take one example, those with … Continue reading

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On ISIS, Enchantment and Authoritarians against Totalitarians

Over on his blog, Sam Harris interviews Mark Riebling, the author of Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler. The historical ground covered is interesting—how could it not be?—but these passages, in particular, caught my attention: Conservative, even … Continue reading

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The Political Religion of Jorge Mario Bergoglio

This intriguing piece by Claudio Ivan Remeseira is a (very) long read, but (very) well worth it. It underlines yet again how much Pope Francis remains shaped by the intellectual and religious traditions of his homeland. That might be disappointing … Continue reading

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Will the Pope Make Time for Cuba’s Dissidents?

Cross-posted on the Corner Washington Post: HAVANA — Pope Francis plans to meet with Cuba’s president and its priests, its young and its sick, its churchgoers and its seminarians as he travels around the island starting Saturday. But not with … Continue reading

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Towards a more Balkanized America: Kim Davis & The Flight Attendant

While there is something more than a little unattractive about the relish with which the jailing of Kim Davis, the errant county clerk (a Democrat, as it happens) unwilling to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, has been celebrated … Continue reading

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The Cult of Suffering

In the course of commenting over on the Corner to a list of the ‘ten best revolutionaries’ (yes, the list was as dumb as you can expect), I included an extract from Paul Berman’s excellent Slate response to The Motorcycle … Continue reading

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Bangladesh: Darkness Falls

When a sub-headline begins like this…: Niloy Chakrabarti was only the latest atheist blogger to be hacked to death in the country this year. That refers to the murder of Chakrabarti, slaughtered by a group of attackers in his appartment … Continue reading

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Is A Papal Lecture on US Immigration on the Way?

Cross-posted on the Corner: Will Pope Francis use the privileged platform—an address to Congress—that he has been given (why?) by Speaker Boehner next month to say something about immigration? Roll Call: Many advocates for revamping immigration laws have tried to … Continue reading

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