While Christians have been persecuted since the beginning some 2000 years ago, we managed some safety in the last few hundred years. We have continued minor moralistic skirmishes in the face of 21st Century morality, but still have not faced such a direct threat as we are starting to face today. Here’s two recent examples.
But, let me ask this question, had these two individual’s used the name “Allah”, would the reaction be the same? There seems to be a double standard at work here based on some recent news articles. Remember these: Muslim Taxi Drivers are outraged to have to transport dogs and alcohol, Target Stores cashiers refuse to ring up pork products, University of Michigan installs foot baths for Muslim students.
Odd isn’t it that the ACLU, whose history is distinctly anti-religious (meaning religion is okay as long as it’s practiced out of sight) actually backs the Muslim University students. Yet, on their web site today, the ACLU posts this…
Dare I ask how this lawsuit would have gone had the class been about “The Koran in History and Literature”? Most likely, the parents would have been accused of Islamophobia.
Why, oh why does this have to happen? Seems the Army was mortified that it had given out soccer balls that offended some local Afghanis. What the Army failed to recognize was that the Saudi flag with references to Allah were printed on them, which in turn upset the locals. Seems they weren’t too keen on kicking Allah around.
But, the real kicker in the article was that while the balls were manufactured in China, they were already being offered for sale in Kabul. Okay, stop the presses. If they were already at a market in Kabul, why would there now be a problem?
Anyone sense something wrong with this? Why did not a riot break out against the Kabul supplier? But, the American’s try to do good and the locals get upset? Something doesn’t make sense?
More…
Villagers were “upset and angry” when they saw the ball, said Khost governor Arsalah Jamal.
“They wanted to demonstrate, but we explained to them it was a mistake,” he said Monday.
Was that it? The Governor explains it to them and that’s that? All done. Was there actually no story here, but the AP tries to stir up muck against the Army? Last question, why did Fox pick this up? Perpetuating a non-issue?
Is there anyone out there who feels like I do; that all this undue attention to these WTC (9/11) conspiracy theorists is just making matters worse? Really, blogs like PM, Captain’s Quarters and LGF and others seem to giggle and laugh at the absurdity of it all, calling the 9/11 ”truthers” silly little names (troofers). But, it just seems to make matters worse.
Maybe I’m wrong, but in this instance, wouldn’t it be better just to watch them make fools of themselves and not goad them on? Sure, I agree that they offer some pretty silly “grassy knoll” ideas and continue to analyze the whole tragedy based on sound bites, grainy photos and spurious arguments, but let’s let them make fools of themselves without antagonizing them.
The unscientific approach is fairly obvious to the average viewer/listener anyway. I doubt anyone with any common sense would believe them. After all, the conspiracy theorists provide plenty of opinion, but no technically researched, scientifically based answers to their accusations.
I watched the show on History Channel last night and had the whole topic not been so utterly tragic, I would have laughed at the ideas these theorists propose…
A cruise missile launched from a C-130 hit the Pentagon
The WTC was rigged with demolitions prior to the planes hitting
It’s been “Defense Lite” on the blog for the last few weeks here as I dodge the land mines and alligators at work. Some critical changes coming down the road that have taken my attention away for this little hobby.
I’ve got some breathing room now and had a chance to review most of my email sitting in my personal email inbox at home. Up to bat first, is an update from the World Security Institute which publishes a weekly newsletter. Below are some links on upcoming publications from WSI worthy of review.
Center for Defense Information’s Military Almanac 2007 Prepared by CDI’s Straus Military Reform Project, the Military Almanac 2007 is an up-to-date, fact-filled, comprehensive guide to U.S. military, defense and policy issues.
World Security Institute’s 2006 Annual Report The World Security Institute’s 2006 annual report is now available online. The report includes information and a yearly review on all WSI divisions, including Center for Defense Information, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Azimuth Media, International Programs, and the International Media Division.
Arab Insight, Vol. 1 No. 1, Spring 2007 Islam, Political Islam and America. The World Security Institute is proud to announce that the first issue of Arab Insight, a quarterly journal dedicated to bringing Middle East perspectives to Washington, is now available.
Been a hectic week a work and in the world, so I’ve not so much time to post. Between miners being trapped in Utah, to the latest proclamation of Iran’s world domination plan for Islam, the world has also been running at a hectic pace.
So, to start this week, I’m posting something a little light-hearted. I’ve been noticing this commercial lately at my local sport’s bar. Thought it was worth sharing as part of my continuing beer classes…
Being a closet techno-geek, I love stories like this. Seems scientists have taken an initial step towards proving that Einstein may have been wrong…
A pair of German physicists claim to have broken the speed of light – an achievement that would undermine our entire understanding of space and time.
According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, it would require an infinite amount of energy to propel an object at more than 186,000 miles per second. However, Dr Gunter Nimtz and Dr Alfons Stahlhofen, of the University of Koblenz, say they may have breached a key tenet of that theory.
As with any technical innovation, this is just a baby step. But, advancement has to start somewhere.
The pair say they have conducted an experiment in which microwave photons – energetic packets of light – traveled “instantaneously” between a pair of prisms that had been moved up to 3ft apart.
Being able to travel faster than the speed of light would lead to a wide variety of bizarre consequences. For instance, an astronaut moving faster than it would theoretically arrive at a destination before leaving.
The scientists were investigating a phenomenon called quantum tunneling, which allows sub-atomic particles to break apparently unbreakable laws. Dr Nimtz told New Scientist magazine: “For the time being, this is the only violation of special relativity that I know of.”
I can’t wait to see where they are 5, 10 or 15 years from now. Book me on that first interstellar flight outahere. There are new worlds to explore and I’d love to get out there and find them…
Have you read this article published by the NYT about how working women seem to be complaining more and more about needing “wives”? I might rankle some feathers here, but read this and let me ask some questions.
Okay, here are my questions. What does this say about the importance of having a spouse who manages the household? A research scientist who seems to say that having someone stay at home to manage all those critical domestic issues is valuable asset. Doesn’t that type of attitude fly in the face of women’s equality “proclaimers” who felt that women were considered second class citizens by being housewives?
What do women expect? You wanted equality, you got it. You wanted to vote, you got it. You wanted to compete with men in the corporate world, you got it. Now you start complaining about needing wives? Did you actually just want to switch places with us? You go to work, while we take care of the household? If that’s what you wanted, you could have at least been honest with us in the first place. Anyway, I’ll never quite understand women.
Don’t have to work today cuz of a training holiday, so I’m just drinking some coffee and watching Turner Movie Classics. I’m loving it; I’m watching perhaps the finest Vincent Price movie of all time, “The Tingler”.
Okay, maybe I’m stating this tongue in cheek, but I’ve heard so much about this film, but never actually watched it. What cheezy camp, but lot’s of fun. Here’s what IMDB says:
From what I remember from my film school days was the marketing ploy used when this movie came out. The theater had rigged some of the seats with wires and surplus WWII Army aircraft wing de-icers. The de-icers vibrated when activated. The story goes that William Castle, the director, was know for his gimmicks. He introduces the film, saying…
“I am William Castle, director of the motion picture you are about to see. I feel obligated to warn you that some of the sensations–some of the physical reactions which the actors on the screen will feel will also be experienced, for the first time in motion picture history, by certain members of this audience. I say certain members because some people are more sensitive to these mysterious electronic impulses than others. These unfortunate, sensitive people will at times feel a strange, tingling sensation; other people will feel it less strongly. But don’t be alarmed–you can protect yourself. At any time you are conscious of a tingling sensation, you may obtain immediate relief by screaming. Don’t be embarrassed about opening your mouth and letting rip with all you’ve got, because the person right next to you will probably be screaming too. And remember, a scream at the right time may save your life.”
For the Tingler, during the climax of the movie in the theater scene…
I’ve posted in the past, but not recently, some counter arguments floating around out there against the theory of man-made global warming. I’m going to follow this one to see if anything really pans out.
Having done some work in the past on Y2K issues on bio-medical equipment, I do know that the situation is plausible. We never had any catastrophic device failures, but did experience minor, but fixable glitches because of the Y2k bug.
You can see my previous postings here (Great Global Warming Swindle), here (GW Will Help Us All) and here (St. Gore).
Bottom line, the story doesn’t discredit the theory of warming, but calls into question the estimations of when it started, which then questions what are theorized as the leading causes.
As Hot Air says, expect some real push back from the Enviro-Hawks. That is, if the story gets any real media coverage. One question though, why is NASA revising the temperatures, not NOAA?
Found this article absolutely hilarious. Runner’s had to do 100 meters in heals no less than 3 and half inches. Find the story here at Russian News and Information Agency. Not only did they have to worry about shoes slipping off, it was raining and they had to run on a cobblestone street. Grand prize? About $4,000.
This article should be caught up by the mainstream media, but it won’t. The byline is from an NCO with the Public Affairs Division for the Army. By that virtue, most everyone will just brush it off as propaganda. But, this article probably has more truth to it than some of the other stories making the rounds from AP or Reuters.
Sheikh Thayer Ghadban Ibrahim Al-Karkhi, the paramount sheik for the Karkhi tribe, addresses concerns about tribal conflicts and the importance of tribal reconciliation during a meeting at the Baqubah Government Center, Aug. 2. Fourteen key tribal leaders swore on the Koran and signed a reconciliation treaty to unite against terrorism in Diyala province, Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Serena Hayden
TIKRIT, Iraq (American Forces Press Service, Aug. 7, 2007) – Tribal leaders in Diyala province, Iraq, have joined forces and are working together to fight terrorists in their homeland.
Eighteen paramount tribal leaders representing 14 major tribes in the province swore on the Koran and signed a peace agreement last week that unifies the tribes in the battle against terrorism.
“Let’s build this tent and live under it like one family – all the tribes and all the people of Diyala. You have to be one family,” Ra’ad Hameed Al-Mula Jowad Al-Tamimi, governor of Diyala, told the tribal leaders during an Aug. 2 meeting at the Baqubah Government Center.
Sheikhs representing three Shia tribes, 11 Sunni tribes and 60 of Diyala’s 100 sub-tribes attended the meeting, which was led by Gov. Ra’ad, Staff Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem, commander of Iraqi security forces in Diyala province, and U.S. Army Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of coalition forces in Diyala.
After discussing tribal differences and why it is important to unite, the sheikhs signed a reconciliation agreement and swore on the Koran as a promise to uphold the agreement.
Conditions of the peace treaty include ending tribal conflicts and attacks; cooperating with the ISF; fighting al-Qaida, militia groups and other terrorist organizations; working with the security forces to eradicate corrupt members; returning displaced families to their homes; reporting and removing improvised explosive devices; and respecting all sects, religions and women’s rights.
Gov. Ra’ad stressed the importance of the sheikhs in the country’s efforts towards stability and security. “Problems can be solved by the sheikhs because they have great influence on their tribes,” Gov. Ra’ad said, adding that the tribes are the key to success in Diyala. Read the rest of this entry »
Breaking records out here in North Carolina. It hit 102 up by Raleigh and with the humidity, it’s become almost unbearable. The only reason I’m not absolutely despondent, is that I can remember temperatures in Baghdad hitting 130 degrees. I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I say that I think it even hit 140 at one point.
Thank God we have air conditioners. My translator in Iraq told me how when was young, they used palm fronds and water in a make-shift evaporative cooler. I’m sure that only made minimal difference.
It is not often a blog post gets my blood boiling, but MM posted this tonight and just about did the trick. It churns my stomach just to read the crap coming out of A. Whitney Brown’s pie-hole. Has this man no sense of history? Does he not understand how this country would not be here today except for the brave men who picked up muskets, formed militias and stood up to the strongest military in the world in our colonial days?
Brown says that an Army is an indictment of our inability to negotiate and persuade. Okay, guess we should have persuaded Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito?
The final insult? We’re retarded! Guess he doesn’t know that every officer is required to have a Bachelor’s Degree, many have Master’s (including me). Additionally, the current enlisted and NCO ranks have the highest educational levels ever, many of them have advanced degrees above a high school education. Boy, this guy chaps my butt! But, not just retarded, morally retarded! After 18 years, I’ve seen the most moral, ethical and professional people here than in any of my civilian jobs. We take our responsibilities and obligations very seriously; our morals are sound!
We understand the nature of the beast; our place on a pedestal, knowing that the world watches our every move. We cannot afford to be immoral and unethical. We, as a whole, have perhaps more responsibility to our fellow humans than any other organization in this Nation.
Well, the YearlyKos convention is over, but the nutroots are still marching on. A few weeks ago, Kos himself assailed “nasty rhetoric” that was “rampant in the primary war diaries” of the Daily Kos website. Yet, the site went ahead and featured a troop-bashing rant by Saturday Night Live has-been A. Whitney Brown, who wrote:
“Do I still support the individual men and women who have given so much to serve their country? No. I think they’re a bunch of idiots. I also think they’re morally retarded.”
The guy is itching for more attention. I know I’m violating the no-troll-feeding rule here, but the post sheds needed light on the same anti-military animus that led to the squelching of Sergeant David D. Aguina at the YKos convention last week (see Rick Moran’s interview).
Brown has posted another diatribe at Kos repeating his smear on our men and women in uniform as “morally retarded.” A snippet:
As the Iranian regime starts to lose control, the obvious step for them is to clamp down. Hence, increased public executions to demonstrate their absolute authority. This thing can go two ways, utter repression of the populace through media blackouts, mass arrests and increased executions or student revolt and riots.
In the past eight months, there have been 148 executions by public hanging in Iran. Eight of them have been carried out in Mashhad in the past 10 days, for delinquency. Preparations for the execution next month of 15 prisoners from Evin prison have been completed, and there are also additional prisoners who are waiting for their sentence to be carried out.
Update 6:08 PM: Let’s not forget this little piece published August 4th over at Reuters…
TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iranian police detained more than 200 people and seized alcohol and drugs in a raid on a “satanic” underground rock concert, media in the conservative Islamic state reported on Saturday.
Iran, which has launched an annual summer crackdown on “immoral behavior”, bans alcohol, narcotics and parties with unrelated men and women dancing, drinking and mixing. Western popular music is frowned upon.
The police operation took place on Wednesday night in the town of Karaj near the capital Tehran, at an event with local disc jockeys, rock and rap groups performing, the media said.
“Most of those arrested are wealthy young people … who came to this party with the goal of attending a provocative, satanic concert,” daily Tehran-e Emrouz quoted a senior police official, Reza Zarei, as saying.
Ham
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