Wait just one second.  Something may be happening.

DPWatchDog.com went live on February 27, 2009.  However, out of a sense of fairness, the main contents of the site were sent to Becky O’Malley several weeks earlier so that she might have an opportunity to inform us if we had made any misstatements of facts.  She responded curtly that we were “screwy,” and she has said worse since.

However, the contents of the Berkeley Daily Planet suddenly shows some consideration for our point of view.

In the February 26, 2009 issue, in the Arts and Entertainment section on page 19, buried far away from the News and Opinion section, was an article entitled, “Contemporary Women and Islam.”  The article took the form of a thumbnail sketch of recent films and books by and about Islamic women, most of which are highly critical of Islam’s treatment of women.  The article even touched on the sensitive issue of female genital mutilation (FGM).   The article was reasoned, researched, and not at all inflammatory.  We commend the Berkeley Daily Planet for publishing it.  We have never seen anything like it before in the pages of the Berkeley Daily Planet.

Could O’Malley be listening?  Is reform on the way?  It is too early to tell.