Peace summit or the height of folly? Can an activists’ peace summit at the top of Mont Blanc help bridge the abyss of Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Khaled Diab guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 2010 14.00 BST Article history Peace activists from Israel’s University of Haifa on the summit of Mont Blanc. Photograph: AP With Israel-Palestine diplomacy leading nowhere and the situation steadily worsening in recent years, even the most optimistic doves have had their wings clipped by the hawks who prey on every fledgling initiative, often before it has had a chance to hatch. Against the backdrop of this political vacuum, a … Continue reading A Jew and Arab go to Mont Blanc…

It’s failing to make a case for its survival as university cuts bite. But theology’s value as an academic discipline is incalculable Sophia Deboick guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 2010 14.34 BST Article history Bangor University has announced that its school of theology and religious studies will close in 2013, merging with the theology department at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in a cost-cutting exercise. With university budget cuts of £200m planned, the loss of the department is unlikely to be an isolated case. At the University of Birmingham’s school of philosophy, theology and religion, one of the largest … Continue reading Theology is a crucial academic subject

An easy way to win an online argument It seems most people will happily go along with majority opinion. Knowing this gives online debaters a useful weapon Darragh McManus guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 2010 15.23 BST Article history Wasn’t it Churchill who said there was no lower form of opinion than public opinion? Loth as I am to agree with old boggly-eyes, on this he was right. Or to put it another way, most people are morons and easily swayed by the majority, as explained in this comment by AllyF, which drew on an academic study about opinion-making, to be … Continue reading Win an online argument

Increasingly targeted by the Taliban, the under-protected Afghan civilians are paying an unacceptable price for Nato’s occupation Erica Gaston guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 August 2010 21.30 BST Article history An Afghan policeman stands in front of a Kabul shopping mall attacked by Taliban gunmen. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/ReutersThe UN reported on Monday that in the first six months of 2010, the number of civilian deaths and injuries rose 31%, with the majority (76%) caused by insurgents. Suicide attacks and IEDs against the military killed most of these civilians, who were innocent bystanders. Insurgents are also increasingly turning to assassinations and intentionally targeting … Continue reading The vicious calculus of insurgency

King Abdullah bids to organize religious edicts Saudi king limits clerics allowed to issue fatwas King Abdullah will appoint the clerics who will issue the fatwas Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Thursday ordered that public religious edicts, or public fatwas, be issued only by clerics he appoints, in the boldest measure the monarch has taken to organize the religious field. Timid efforts by the absolute monarchy to modernize the deeply conservative country have led to profusion in fatwas from scholars and mosque imams in the country, who use the Internet to publicize them as they fight what they … Continue reading Saudi Arabia to crack down on wild mullahs

Is Robert Spencer a Scholar? On Spencer’s Credentials and Methodology loonwatch.com Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) ranked Robert Spencer as the second leading Islamophobe in the country, losing out the number one position to his boss and financier David Horowitz.  Former Nixon advisor Robert Crane calls out Spencer as “the principal leader…in the new academic field of Islam-bashing.”  Even though Horowitz can be credited with funding the modern day online Crusade against Islam, it is Robert Spencer who fights on the online battlefield, attacking his Muslim foes and their liberal dhimmi allies.  In order to bolster his credibility, Spencer … Continue reading Islamophobia-Batty Man!