Terry Firma, though born and Journalism-school-educated in Europe, has lived in the U.S. for the past 20-odd years. Stateside, his feature articles have been published in the New York Times, Reason, Rolling Stone, Playboy, and Wired. Terry was the founder and Main Mischief Maker of Moral Compass, a now-dormant site that pokes fun at the delusional claim by people of faith that a belief in God equips them with superior moral standards. He was the Editor-in-Chief of two Manhattan-based magazines until he decided to give up commercial publishing for professional photography... with a lot of blogging on the side. These days, he lives in an old seaside farmhouse in Maine with his wife, three kids, and two big dogs.
News from one of our moderate (some would say progressive) Muslim allies: the Sharia Court of Appeal in Amman, Jordan, found that women who don’t cover up are “sluts” whose fairness and honesty is compromised — and who therefore may be excluded from appearing as witnesses. The court announced late last week that it agreed with one lawyer’s statement — based on a fatwa — that says a woman who does not cover up or wear a hijab is considered a “slut” and shouldn’t be allowed to testify in court. The country’s Women’s Union released a statement … that describes the court’s decision as discrimination against women and a violation of the Jordanian Constitution, which considers all Jordanian men and women as equals. Read more
If you’re in California and you’d like your next governor to be a sex offender and a convicted felon with a history of violence, look no further than Glenn Champ, one of the current crop of six gubernatorial GOP candidates. Glenn Champ, 48, addressed hundreds of GOP delegates and supporters Sunday at the site of the state party’s semi-annual convention. Introduced by party chairman Jim Brulte and allotted 10 minutes, Champ spoke in between the main GOP candidates, former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari and state Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of San Bernardino County. Champ, a little-known political neophyte from the Fresno County community of Tollhouse, did not directly mention his criminal past during his speech but said, “In my life, I’ve been held accountable because of my stupidity. I do not want anyone else to be enslaved because of their lack of knowledge.” There’s a record of Champ’s “stupidity.” It’s called a rap sheet. Read more
When an Orthodox-Jewish marriage ends, under Judaic law, only the husband has the power to pronounce a divorce. That is, he is the one who has to provide his estranged wife with a get, a document that proves that she is newly unattached and allowed to move on with her life. Frequently, if the relationship is toxic enough, the husband flat-out refuses, often out of spite, and/or so that he can use the get as a bargaining chip in disputes over alimony or child custody. It happens often enough that it’s almost unremarkable, but a California man called Israel Meir Kin has just taken this kind of male privilege to new heights. After legally divorcing his wife, Lonna Kin, more than seven years ago, Mr. Kin has not given his wife a get. Read more
