Showing posts with label Oxford University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oxford University. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
William Hague Elected New Chancellor of Oxford University
Tuesday, July 04, 2023
Stormy Daniels Questioned by Oxford University Students
WARNING: This video is ABSOLUTELY NOT suitable for children, both because of the topics discussed and often the STRONG LANGUAGE used. I am leaving the video up because it shows us all how unsuitable for high office Donald Trump is. – Mark
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Tuesday, November 07, 2017
Tariq Ramadan Takes Leave from Oxford after Rape Allegations
Friday, February 06, 2015
French Far-right Leader Marine Le Pen Mobbed by Oxford Union Protesters
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| Leader of the French party National Front (FN) Marine Le Pen (C) arrives to give a speech at the Oxford Union's prestigious debating society in Oxford |
French far-right political leader Marine Le Pen has received a hostile reception at the Oxford Union where she was was [sic] invited to discuss western values.
Crowds of protesters gathered outside the building to denounce the controversial leader of France's far-right Front National.
Her speech to gathered union members was delayed by over one hour as the angry crowd attempted to block entrances.
Union officials have faced criticism for inviting Ms Le Pen to speak uninterrupted for five minutes, rather than insisting on a more traditional debate format where an opponent would have also been heard.
The disruption meant that many of those with tickets for her speech were unable to attend. Similarly the scrum outside the union meant that reporters were unable to get inside.
She is believed to have used her speech to blame Islamic ideology for the issues facing western society. » | Gregory Walton | Thursday, February 05, 2015
Thursday, February 05, 2015
GB: manif anti-Marine Le Pen à Oxford
Thursday, February 21, 2013
DAILY EXPRESS: GEORGE Galloway has been accused of "pure racism" after storming out of a debate at Oxford Union shouting "I don't debate with Israelis".
The Respect MP – who is a vocal critic of Israel and its treatment of Palestinian people – had been taking part in the debate at Christ Church college.
Golloway is now facing accusations of racism after his outburst last night.
The MP for Bradford West had been speaking for the motion that "Israel should withdraw immediately from the West Bank", when he learned that Eylon Aslan-Levy, a student opposing it, was Israeli.
Galloway interrupted the student after he used the word "we" in reference to Israel.
"You said 'we'," said Galloway. "Are you an Israeli?"
"I am, yes," Aslan-Levy replied.
"I don't debate with Israelis. I have been misled, sorry," Galloway said, standing and putting on his coat, then reiterating as he walked out: "I don't recognise Israel and I don't debate with Israelis." » | Charlotte Meredith | Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thursday, June 21, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: Burmese opposition leader returns to the city where she raised a family to receive honorary doctorate from her alma materOxford embraced a daughter whose silence had "sounded louder than the jabber of politics and clang of military power" as Aung San Suu Kyi received an honorary degree at the university on Wednesday.
Twenty-four years after leaving its spires and bridges for isolation in Rangoon, the Burmese pro-democracy leader returned the city that was, for almost as many years, her home.
Her homecoming, she told academics, dignitaries and students in the city's Sheldonian Theatre, brought "many strands" of her life together – "the years I spent as a student at St Hugh's, the years spent at Park Town as wife and mother, and the years spent under house arrest when the University of Oxford stood up and spoke up for me."
She said: "During the most difficult years, I was upheld by memories of Oxford: those were among the most important inner resources that helped me to cope with the all the challenges I had to face."
Her speech, at the end of a two-hour-long ceremony, rich in pomp, to receive the honorary doctorate in civil law awarded while she was detained in 1993, brought the audience to its feet to deliver a two-minute standing ovation. » | Caroline Davies | Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
The donation was made by Mica Ertegun, the widow of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, and will be used to set up humanities scholarships for graduate students.
The Mica and Ahmet Ertegun Graduate Scholarship Programme in the Humanities will see students worldwide compete for an award to study subjects including literature, history, music, art history, Asian studies, Middle Eastern studies and archaeology.
There will be 15 scholarships to start with, and eventually at least 35 will be awarded each year.
Mrs Ertegun said: "For Ahmet and for me, one of the great joys of life has been the study of history, music, languages, literature, art and archaeology. Read on and comment » | Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Related »
My comment:
A theist believes God exists; an atheist believes He doesn't exist. Neither has proof; they are merely belief systems. So why should it surprise anyone when Richard Dawkins says he can't be sure God doesn't exist? Nobody, however erudite or clever can be sure about God's existence or non-existence. And I believe it is true to say that Richard Dawkins has consistently stated so in his talks and writings. – © Mark
This comment also appears here
Thursday, December 01, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The Blair government tried to secure a place at Oxford University for Saif al-Islam, the son of Muammar Gaddafi.
A senior Foreign Office official contacted the university in 2002 as part of efforts to establish better relations with the Libyan regime, according to a report.
“It was made clear that the FCO would appreciate help in this case since Libya was opened up to the West again,” Professor Valpy FitzGerald said in the report. The request came two years before Mr Blair’s deal in the desert, which formally reopened diplomatic links.
The approach was disclosed by an inquiry, carried out by Lord Woolf, the former Lord Chief Justice, into the “disastrous” relationship that subsequently developed between Gaddafi’s Libya and the London School of Economics. Continue reading and comment » | Graeme Paton, Education Editor | Wednesday, November 30. 2011
Related »
Saturday, November 05, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: With two prime ministers and 13 cabinet ministers among its alumni, the Oxford University Conservative Association has become a conveyor belt for future leaders since it was founded in 1924.
But the student body, whose patron is Baroness Thatcher, is facing potentially the biggest crisis in its history after its own officers accused members of anti-Semitism, debauchery and snobbery at its alcohol-fuelled meetings.
Four of the Association’s most senior members have announced they will be resigning after members allegedly sang a Nazi-themed song, while others complained that members from working-class backgrounds were ridiculed by a clique of former public schoolboys.
Students are now facing possible disciplinary action by both the University and the Conservative Party, both of which have launched investigations.
OUCA, whose honorary president is William Hague, uses its website to promote a public image of studious debate, with recent guest speakers including Sir John Major and Iain Duncan Smith.
At its weekly “port and policy” meetings, however, drunkenness and discrimination have been the main items on the agenda, according to some disillusioned members.
One officer claimed that members regularly sang a song which includes the words: “Dashing through the Reich…killing lots of kike (Jews).” » | Gordon Rayner, and Richard Alleyne | Friday, November 04, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: David Cameron branded Oxford University "disgraceful" after claiming that the institution admitted only one black student in the last academic year.On a visit to the north of England, the Prime Minister singled out Oxford for criticism when he accused elite institutions of having a "terrible record" of enrolling teenagers from state schools.
Senior officials at the university described the figure as "highly misleading" as it related only to British students who described themselves as black Caribbean. They said Oxford admitted another 27 students who described themselves as black African and another 14 who were mixed race.
The university also said that only 452 black students across the country had even achieved the A-level results demanded by Oxford to meet its minimum entry requirements for the 2009-10 academic year.
Leading academics and MPs said Mr Cameron risked undermining the ancient institution with his "ignorant", "absurd" and "mind boggling" comments. It followed controversy last week over Mr Cameron's claim that Britain was responsible for many of the world's historic problems, including the conflict in Kashmir between India and Pakistan.
The latest fallout will add to growing controversy that the Coalition is attempting to "socially engineer" university admissions by asking top institutions to set targets for recruiting students from state schools, poor backgrounds and ethnic minorities. » | Andrew Porter, Graeme Paton and James Kirkup | Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, July 29, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: A lecturer at Oxford University’s centre for Jewish studies claims colleagues discriminated against her after she converted to Christianity.
Dr Tali Argov says she was overlooked for promotion, stripped of her privileges and cold-shouldered at social gatherings.
She says staff wanted to vet her lectures to make sure that, as a Christian, she would not criticise Israel.
Eventually she claims she was made redundant from her post at the prestigious Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies, despite offering to take on new roles.
“It is my belief that, following firstly the conversion of my husband and then the conversion of myself, the treatment which I received as an employee of the Respondents was very different and a number of incidents occurred which led me to believe that I was being discriminated against,” Dr Argov told Reading Employment Tribunal hearing this week.
Dr Argov told the hearing, where she is claiming unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, that she and her husband, Eran, were raised in the Jewish faith and lived in Israel until he was offered a place at Brasenose College, Oxford, to write a doctoral thesis.
They moved to England in 1996 and in 2000 Dr Argov, then studying for a PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was offered the full-time post of Lector of Modern Hebrew at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew & Jewish Studies. The centre is independent but its students are part of the traditional Oxford college system.
Dr Argov said she was welcomed and appreciated but the “honeymoon” ended after her husband was baptised into the Church of England in 2005, after which time “all those kind, heart-warming gestures disappeared overnight” and she was “considered guilty by association”.
Dr Argov also converted from Judaism to Anglicanism in January 2008, having become “actively engaged” with St Mary Magdalene church in the centre of Oxford, but did not dare tell her parents until after the event. >>> Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: Iran’s regime denounced the University of Oxford yesterday because one of its colleges has established a scholarship honouring Neda Soltan, the Iranian student killed during street protests in Tehran over the alleged rigging of the presidential election.
In a letter sent from the Iranian Embassy, the regime claimed that Miss Soltan’s death in June was staged by its enemies. It accused the university of joining a “politically motivated” campaign that would “undermine your scientific credibility” and “make Oxford at odd [sic] with the rest of the world’s academic institutions”.
In response, the university emphasised that the decision to award the scholarship was entirely a matter for the college, Queen’s. Professor Paul Madden, Provost of Queen’s, said that the scholarship would help impoverished Iranians to study at Oxford.
Miss Soltan, a philosophy student, was 26 when she was shot in the chest during a demonstration over President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election that engulfed Tehran on June 20. Video footage of blood pouring from her mouth as she lay dying sped around the world. Miss Soltan became an emblem of the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, and her death a symbol of the regime’s brutality. >>> Martin Fletcher and Greg Hurst | Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Related articles >>>
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
THE TELEGRAPH: America's lack of knowledge on climate change could prevent the world from reaching an agreement to stop catastrophic global warming, scientists said in an attack on the country's environmental policy.
Professor John Schellnhuber, one of the world's leading global warming experts, described the US as "climate illiterate"[.]
He said Americans have a lower understanding of the problems of climate change than people in Brazil or China.
More than 100 scientists are meeting at Oxford University to discuss the dangers of climate change causing droughts, floods and mass extinctions around the world.
The conference is designed to put pressure on world leaders coming together at the end of the year for the "most important meeting in the history of the human species".
The UN Climate Change Conference in December will try to reach an international deal on cutting carbon emissions so global warming stays below an increase of 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.
Prof Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Change, said the chance of getting such a deal was "pie in the sky" because rich countries like America are unwilling to sign up to ambitious enough targets.
"In a sense the US is climate illiterate. If you look at global polls about what the public knows about climate change even in Brazil, China you have more people who know about the problem and think deep cuts in emissions are needed," he said. >>> | Monday, September 28, 2009
TIMES ONLINE: The population explosion in poor countries will contribute little to climate change and is a dangerous distraction from the main problem of over-consumption in rich nations, a study has found.
It challenges claims by leading environmentalists, including Sir David Attenborough and Jonathon Porritt, that strict birth control is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The study concludes that spending billions of pounds of aid on contraception in the developing world will not benefit the climate because poor countries have such low emissions. It says that Britain and other Western countries should instead focus on reducing consumption of goods, services and energy among their own populations. >>> Ben Webster, Environment Editor | Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, October 12, 2008
TIMESONLINE: A woman leading Muslim prayers? Why not, says the head of an education centre in Oxford. Much that is 'forbidden' is not outlawed by the Koran
British Muslim history will be made in an Oxford hall next Friday. For the first time in Britain, a woman Muslim scholar will publicly lead men and women in prayers, and deliver the khutba, or sermon.
Taj Hargey, the chairman of the group sponsoring the event at the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford (Meco), fully expects controversy. “This is going to be a major step forward in women’s rights,” he said in an interview at Wolfson College, Oxford, of which he is a member. “But it will provoke discontent from conservatives — from the Wahhabis and their fellow travellers.
The literalists interpret certain Hadith, sayings of the Prophet, as meaning that women can’t lead a community. But for us, the golden rule of Islam is that whatever is not specifically prohibited is permitted.”
He is right to expect a storm: three years ago, when Amina Wadud, the American Muslim professor due to speak on Friday, led a mixed prayer service in New York, she faced criticism and death threats. Next week, the topic of Wadud’s sermon will be justice, and it is justice that Meco seeks in promoting the event.
“Since the criterion for leading prayers is knowledge of the Koran, there’s no reason \ [sic] Amina Wadud shouldn’t do it,” Hargey said. “Her Koranic knowledge is superior to that of most men.”
From Inayat Bunglawalla, of the Muslim Council of Britain, the response to the forthcoming prayer service is a terse “No comment”. And he questions how representative Hargey is. “We have no dealings with Taj Hargey,” Bunglawalla said. “His organisation has no affiliation with mainstream groups in this country.” Liberal Taj Hargey Dares to Challenge Prohibitionist Islam >>> Carla Power | October 11, 2008
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
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