Naomi Wolf
In the last 48 hours only one thing is definite about the Julian Assange sex assault case – the hyperbole surrounding it has nothing to do with his guilt or innocence.
The question of his culpability has been lost amid the spiralling, competing narratives about sex, the media, Sweden’s hyper-liberal legal system and even the CIA, that are all part of the fight to make sense of this case.
This story isn’t about a sex crime – it’s become about the culture of 24-hour news cycles, war, supposed US imperialism, and the renegade elements of the digiterati who seem willing to wreak havoc in the name of a man they see as a hero.
Continue reading "Assange has prompted a troubling double standard" »
At the risk of sounding like a language Nazi—to use the daft and offensive term which almost should be banned—it’s time for a voluntary worldwide moratorium on using Nazism as an analogy for anything other than Nazism itself.
A couple of bizarre examples follow from the past week. In the Vatican, a senior member of the clergy has tastelessly likened the (valid) scrutiny of the Catholic Church over child sexual abuse to the persecution of the Jews.
Given the vexed history between Judaism and Catholicism - not to mention the totally non-historical nature of the comparison - the Reverend Raniero Cantalamessa should really spend less time nosing through the Bible and more time glancing at the history books.
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bec says:
Stunning. I will have to teach this to my year 8 debating team. This is a sure-fire way to win! Read more »
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DG says:
“You cannot deny that which is not occurring.” To deny something one must assert that it is untrue. It does not matter whether or not the thing is true. A person can deny allegations, such a denial does not mean that the allegations are true. The person is a “denier”… Read more »
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