Narratives are powerful. They control what we identify as significant data or facts, how we empirically apprehend the data, what interpretations and shades of significance we place upon the evidence, and the conclusions drawn. Absolute objectivity is impossible. Only relative neutrality and disinterestedness are possible. The cut of our jib determines the winds we catch [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Celebrities'
Easy Dupes: Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari “Gay Girl in Damascus”
July 3rd, 2011 7 Comments
Tags: Amina Abdallah Arraf al Omari · Gay Girl in Damascus · Homosexual Conduct · Islam · Israel · Palestine · Paula Brooks · Syria · Tom MacMaster
Oprah Winfrey, Religious Pluralism and Woolly Thinking
December 24th, 2010 19 Comments
I once caught 5 minutes of Oprah discussing religion. She made the comment, in a very sage-sounding tone, that she believed all religions are true. The audience immediately interrupted her with resounding applause; camera shots caught audience members nodding in approval, clearly impressed with the wisdom of the claim just made. This commonly heard platitude [...]
Tags: Bad Reasoning · Oprah Winfrey · Pluralism
Turning the Tables
November 17th, 2010 20 Comments
“The gentleman in the red shirt” shows us a simple lesson in why you should think through what your argument entails before you state it on national television and in front of a live audience. Too often we get tied up in knots trying to answer all the objections hurled at us, especially the specious [...]
Tags: Bad Reasoning · Deepak Chopra
Bread and Circuses: NZ’s Most Trusted People List
July 5th, 2010 6 Comments
Flicking through the New Zealand Herald the other day reminded me of one of my pet peeves, celebrities being touted as authorities. I found the results of the survey about who New Zealanders most trust. The Readers Digest “New Zealand’s Most Trusted People 2010″ were ranked as follows: 1. Corporal Willie Apiata, Victoria Cross recipient 2. [...]
Tags: AJ Hackett · Alison Holst · Colin Meads · David Bain · Fair Go · Irene van Dyk · Joe Karam · John Kirwan · Kevin Milne · Margaret Mahy · Most Trusted People · Peter Jackson · Peter Snell · Readers Digest · Valerie Vili · Willie Apiata
So What if She Wore the Same Jacket Twice?
November 23rd, 2008 6 Comments
When I first read reports on the blogosphere about the NZ Herald commenting on Bronagh Key’s wearing the same jacket twice, I thought that the article everyone was linking to must have been related to John Key’s swearing in, where she wore the offending jacket the second time and the fashion comments had to be [...]
Tags: Bronagh Key · Feminism · John Key · National Party
Rickards, Nicholas and Flaws in the Adversarial System
November 14th, 2008 8 Comments
As someone who intends to share the same career as Clint Rickards I have to say I am uncomfortable hearing that the NZ Law Society has granted Rickards a certificate of character to practice law. I am uncomfortable because the legal system forces us into an absurd position that everyone knows is farcical and yet [...]
Tags: Clint Rickards · Due Process
Electoral Finance Act Threatens Privacy and Family Home
October 7th, 2008 10 Comments
Imagine coming home to this on your lawn: it’s 1000 knives! No this isn’t something from the “only in America” files it is Bob McCoskrie’s front lawn covered in knives, complete with threatening note related to Bob’s political activities! How did they get his address? Compliments of the Electoral Finance Act; law abiding critics of [...]
Tags: Bad Policy · Bob McCoskrie · Elections · Electoral Finance Act · Freedom of Speech · Personal Abuse
Stop Worrying So Much! Some Enviro Myth Busting
July 31st, 2008 1 Comment
I heard Leighton Smith talking about this article on Newstalk ZB this morning so I looked it up and it is worth sharing – especially the top 6! 10 Things to Scratch From Your Worry ListFor most of the year, it is the duty of the press to scour the known universe looking for ways [...]
Tags: Enviro Myths · Leighton Smith
Poisoning peoples minds
July 3rd, 2007 No Comments
I hate the new anti smoking ads. I am not a smoker, I do not advise that anyone smoke nor do I approve of smoking. As I see it we have a duty to respect not only other people but ourselves, as beings made in the image of God. For this reason we should look [...]
Tags: Advertising · Bad Reasoning · Smoking
Contra Mundum: Pacifism and Just Wars
July 5th, 2011 25 Comments
Comedian Bill Maher recently berated Christians for being hypocrites for supporting military action against terrorists in his “New Rules” segment on the U.S. TV show Real Time (transcript here). Jesus, Maher contended, was a pacifist; “Jesus lays on that hippie stuff pretty thick. He has lines like, “do not repay evil with evil,” and “do [...]
Tags: Bill Maher · Contra Mundum · Investigate Magazine · Just War · Pacifism · War Ethics