Skepticism

Global Quickies: Writer Killed for Offensive Cartoon, A Racist Roast, and Cancelled Pride

JORDAN
“A gunman has shot dead prominent Jordanian writer Nahed Hattar outside a court where he was facing charges for sharing a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam.”

HAITI
“Organisers have called off a festival celebrating Haiti’s Afro-Caribbean lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community because of threats of violence and government opposition.”

RUSSIA
“Russia is moving towards banning “baby boxes” – the hatches introduced in many countries where desperate mothers can safely abandon an unwanted infant. […]The row about baby boxes coincides with a campaign to restrict abortion rights in Russia. An anti-abortion petition signed by the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, calls for abortions to be removed from the national health insurance system.”

PERU
“A woman accused of being a witch was burned alive on a bonfire in an indigenous community in a remote part of the country’s Amazon rainforest, according to authorities in Peru.”

AMERICAS
“From Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the Americas is now the world’s first region to be declared free of measles. The announcement was made on Tuesday by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and comes after a 22-year vaccination drive that was delayed by conflict and anti-vaccination campaigners in some countries.”

INDIA
The Indian actor Tannishtha Chatterjee agreed to attend a comedy roast to promote her latest film, but the only thing the host could roast was her dark skin. Her Facebook response has sparked the dabate about prejudice.

KENYA / US
Google has invited a Kenyan government official and anti-gay activist to its Web Rangers conference in Mountain View, California, even sponsoring his visa.”

SOUTH AFRICA
“A 16-year-old South African schoolgirl has won the grand prize at Google’s science fair for using orange peel to develop a cheap super-absorbent material to help soil retain water.”

UGANDA
“Ugandan police have blocked gay pride celebrations from happening in two resorts outside the capital, Kampala.”

 

Featured Image: yarnbombing for lgbt* rights, from distelfliege

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

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2 Comments

  1. I don’t think the word ‘offensive’ should be used without quotation marks.

    ‘Martin Luther King killed for “offensive” speeches and marches’ should be a good mnemonic.

    A member of a minority Muslim group was assassinated for sharing a cartoon that mocked ISIS. A few other Sunnis might have felt a prick of ‘offense.’

  2. On one level I’m surprised by Google, but on another I’m not. In general people are surprised to learn that the tech industry is prone to the same prejudices as anyone else, but there you go.

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