The One in Nine Campaign is “an unapologetically feminist collective of organisations and individuals” whose website perpetuates an analytical and statistical lie regarding rape in South Africa.
Author: Jacques Rousseau
A response to Mngxitama
Gareth Cliff is perhaps smug, and he might even be a racist. But no evidence that I am aware of shows this to be the case. By contrast, we do now have clear evidence of the racist views held by Andile Mngxitama.
South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms
The South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms should be of concern to all who are committed to South Africa’s Constitutional values, particularly those endorsing and defending freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech and burning holy books
What is missing in the protests against Terry Jones’s plans to burn a Quran, as well as Mohammed Vawda’s plan to burn a Bible, is why anyone else should care about your beliefs, or desist from offending those beliefs. We can agree that doing so is rude, offensive, insensitive and all the rest, but these… Continue reading Freedom of speech and burning holy books
Threats to a free media
Free speech is not the only value that democratic societies subscribe to. Nor does, or should, our commitment to free speech always have to trump competing values such as national security or personal dignity. But the principle of free speech nevertheless stands in need of exceptional, and exceptionally strong, counterarguments in cases where we are… Continue reading Threats to a free media
FSI Conference 2010: Programme
The 2nd annual conference and AGM of the Free Society Institute Co-hosted by the International Humanist and Ethical Union. Registrations are unfortunately closed at this time. Date: September 11th, 2010, 09h30 to 17h00 Venue: The Cape Milner Hotel, 2 Milner Road, Tamboerskloof (click “continue reading” for directions) Cost: R0 Good without god: is a secular viewpoint our… Continue reading FSI Conference 2010: Programme
Respecting people versus respecting beliefs
There is no contradiction between saying that someone has a misguided, uninformed or laughable point of view, and at the same time recognising that person’s worth or dignity in general.
The defense of reason
Amongst the things we probably know is that (to quote Hitchens again) “the defense of science and reason is the great imperative of our time”. And the enemies of science and reason are not always somewhere else – they are sometimes next door to you, or even sharing your bed.
Thought police impede liberty
Difficult choices and their consequences are what we learn from, and removing choices can make children more difficult to protect – simply because part of what you are doing by limiting choice is turning adults into children, and thereby making your problem larger.
Newsnight interview
Interview regarding Jacob Zuma’s call for a conversation regarding SA’s moral code. ETV newsnight, 26 March 2010.