Feminist author who wrote a book based on a simple historical misunderstanding realizes her error live on air
It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. You spend countless hours researching, writing and promoting your latest book—claiming to have discovered something all of the professional scholars have strangely missed—when it’s revealed that your interpretation is clearly flawed. But that’s precisely what has happened to Naomi Wolf, and it’s not the first time it’s happened either. Back in 1992 Wolf published the feminist classic, The Beauty Myth, (New York: Doubleday) in which she argued that 150,000 women die of anorexia in America every year. What’s more, Wolf compared this to the Holocaust stating: When confronted with a vast number of emaciated bodies…
Rugby Australia says the Bible itself is a problem
When Israel Folau is asked to swear on the Bible before he gives evidence in the High Court, will someone from the legal team of Rugby Australia object that it is an example of ‘hate speech’? That’s a serious question now because as Miranda Devine reported in The Sunday Telegraph, even if Folau had simply “photocopied the passages that referred to in the posts… that would have caused a problem.” What follows is a copy—supplied by Devine—of the transcript from Folau’s code of conduct meeting in May: Q. What about when the Bible requires him to tell the good and…
The Folau and Felix cases show, when marriage is redefined freedoms are taken away
Like Australia’s Israel Folau, Felix Ngole from the UK, is a litmus test regarding freedom of religion, as well as freedom of speech, in the Western World. And for all those concerned about the future of freedom of speech in this country, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. As John Steenhof, the managing director of Human Rights Law Alliance Limited, wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald: Britain’s second-highest court handed down a decision on religious freedom yesterday that will send chills down the collective spine of Rugby Australia. In contrast, Israel Folau and his team will be…
Human Rights Commission guidelines introduce transgender quotas in sports
The Australian Human Rights Commission has just released its Guidelines for the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse people in sport dated June 2019. According to the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins: The federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (the Act) prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex and gender identity in certain areas of public life. The Act has recognised the non-binary nature of gender identity since 2013. The Guildlines provide information on the operation of the Act, and practical guidance on how sporting organisations, their staff and volunteers can promote the inclusion of transgender and gender diverse…
We’re All Homophobes Now!
If you were one of the 20,000 people “who donated to Israel Folau’s bogus fundraising campaign” then you are a hard-core homophobe. At least, that’s what Claire Harvey, the deputy editor of the Sunday Telegraph thinks! According to Harvey, she is the only true believer whereas everyone else is just religious pretenders. As Harvey writes: Here’s the truth: I’m more of a Christian than Israel Folau is. I’m more of a Christian than anyone at the Australian Christian Lobby — and I don’t even go to church. I say you professional Christians are all fakes and phonies, and you’re riding…
Ten People Bullying Israel Folau
Since the re-definition of marriage, no one is denying the validity of the “slippery slope” argument anymore. Instead, they’re simply shaking their heads and wondering, “Has the world gone mad?!” It seems as though the world is hurtling down the slope faster than the Gadarene swine. According to The Australian, even Gillian Triggs, the former head of the Human Rights Commission, has accused the corporate sponsors of Maria Folau’s netball team of “bullying”. Media pundits, business leaders, as well as current—and former—sporting heroes all seem to be in front of the pack but, as Andrew Bolt rightly points out, one…
Ten Reasons Men Should have a Say on Abortion
In a recent interview with Andrew Denton, Madonna has said that she wants to challenge the Pope regarding the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion. Not only that, but she double-down and said that Jesus would support a woman’s right to choose. Is it just me, or is Madonna looking and sounding like the product of a computer-generated deep fake? But there’s a fundamental problem with her approach here, and it’s that it betrays the underlying feminist rhetoric of #NoUterusNoOpinion. Because both the Pope and Jesus are men. So, doesn’t that mean that their opinions should be automatically excluded? For example,…
Ten Things HBO gets wrong in ‘Chernobyl’
HBO’s “Chernobyl” is, according to IMDB, the highest-ranking show of all time with a 9.7-star rating (out of 10). According to Interesting Engineering: That puts it ahead of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” (9.5), BBC’s “Planet Earth II” (9.5), HBO’s “Band of Brothers” (9.5), the original “Planet Earth” (9.4), HBO’s “Game of Thrones” (9.3) and HBO’s “The Wire” (9.3). But while it might make for great entertainment, is it accurate? This is an important question—especially regarding the subject of nuclear power—because it has the power the influence so many people’s perceptions and opinions on the subject. Significantly, the central character in the…
Dastardly Dastyari
When Herschelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh in the 1999 Cricket World Cup one of the most misquoted quotes was born. It’s commonly understood that Waugh said, ‘How does it feel to have just dropped the World Cup?’ But, according to the man himself, the truth is it was more like, ‘That’s going to cost your team today, Hersch’. Regardless of what particular version you go with, surely, this time, Dasher has done his dash – at least with the Australian voting public. As David Flint has recently argued in his excellent article, “He would be disqualified under section 44 of…