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Category Archives: History

Oh, the squick, it burns…

January 17, 2010 – 1:03 am

I have never seen this film, and I’m not sure I want to see it either, as it seems to consist of humour that makes you excruciatingly uncomfortable at the same time as being funny.
Of course the premise is unbelievable: it is economically impossible for a state with significant chattel slavery ever to develop the [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Australian internet filter, Economics, Human/Civil rights, Popular culture | Comments (4)

You wouldn’t read about it

January 12, 2010 – 5:14 am

A Muslim protester accused of calling soldiers murderers at a parade claims he did not intend to upset anyone. Munim Abdul told Luton magistrates he did not expect to cause offence because his group had spoken “the truth”.
Seven men deny using threatening, abusive or insulting words and behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm and distress. [...]

By DeusExMacintosh | Also posted in England, Fark!, Free Speech, Funnies, Immigration, Law, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (11)

iSay

December 6, 2009 – 2:07 am

Google has added Pompeii to its Street View application, allowing internet users to take a 360-degree virtual tour of the ancient Roman city.
Italy’s culture ministry says it hopes the move will boost tourism to the site, state news agency Ansa reports.
Among the ruins visible on the search engine’s free mapping service are the town’s statues, [...]

By DeusExMacintosh | Also posted in Funnies, Technology | Tagged , , , | Comments (1)

Double Jeopardy

December 1, 2009 – 5:12 am

John Demjanjuk, accused of helping to murder nearly 28,000 Jews at a Nazi death camp, has gone on trial in the German city of Munich.
Mr Demjanjuk, who is 89 and was deported from the US in May, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair. His eyes were closed but he seemed conscious. He denies being a [...]

By DeusExMacintosh | Also posted in Funnies, Law, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (1)

A world without monotheism

November 23, 2009 – 9:52 am

I originally posted this comment to the Richard Dawkins forum (which gets rather bitter and nasty over time). I’m writing a novel based around the issue now, but the question originally came from one of my students.
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This topic came up when I googled the question ‘what would civilisation look like without monotheism?
I realise this is [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics, Law, Religion, anthony daniels | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (22)

The other stolen generation

November 16, 2009 – 6:16 am

Gordon Brown is to apologise for the UK’s role in sending thousands of its children to former colonies in the 20th century, the BBC has learned.
Under the Child Migrants Programme – which ended just 40 years ago – poor children were sent to a “better life” in Australia, Canada and elsewhere. But many were abused [...]

By DeusExMacintosh | Also posted in Funnies, Human/Civil rights, Immigration, Politics, Public Policy | Comments (16)

Queers, Foucault, truth, justice and the law: guest post by Lorenzo

November 11, 2009 – 4:46 am

[Introduction by SL: Lorenzo is a blogger I admire; he writes quite a bit on Queer history, and also very wisely and thoughtfully on the 'method' of history and scholarship. His home blog is here. Now, I'm just a humble linguist and lawyer, but I've long suspected that a lot of historians have been led [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Guest Post, Human/Civil rights, Law, Literature, anthony daniels | Tagged , , , , | Comments (69)

‘Don’t touch that, it’s concentrated evil!’

September 26, 2009 – 1:32 am

There’s a fascinating post (and comments) over at Pavlov’s Cat’s place on the unease she feels at an ‘exhibit’ (it is difficult, as PC acknowledges, to know exactly what to call it) organised by Médecins Sans Frontières. The exhibit (if you want to call it that) involves replicating, with a great deal of attention to [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Economics, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (26)

Calling history, come in history

September 21, 2009 – 1:27 am

Lawyers (and others) with professional expertise in a given field often complain when a film, television program or book makes use of their discipline for purposes of popular entertainment and then gets it wrong.
I’ve lost count of the number of times (as DEM can testify) that I’ve wanted to throw things at the telly during [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Law, Philosophy, Popular culture | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (43)

‘The German Emperor’s lower passage was blocked by the French for years and years’

September 9, 2009 – 11:45 pm

Mocking the stupid is not — generally — considered very nice. It is, however, fun. Via Dave Bath (on Facebook) I have encountered the best example of mocking the stupid I’ve seen in many a long day.
Background: I thought lawyers had it tough when it comes to teaching students and newly minted clerks that just [...]

By skepticlawyer | Also posted in Academia, Fark!, Law | Comments (21)