Unconditional Talks or Threat of Force?

Cartoons By Michael Ramirez

Filed under: Global Affairs, Global Threats, Iran, Islam, Muslim, Religion

Brigitte Bardot convicted in race case – CNN.com

If this does not bring fear to your heart, then you have no appreciation of the freedoms of speech.

A Paris court on Tuesday convicted Brigitte Bardot of provoking discrimination and racial hatred for writing that Muslims are destroying France.

Europe is falling!  I’m too astounded for words…

Brigitte Bardot convicted in race case – CNN.com

Filed under: Global Threats, Muslim, Politics, Religion

Good for the Soul

Let’s take a moment to re-center ourselves.

Filed under: Religion

Rev. Wright’s Right-Hand Man Inteviewed by Fox.

A friend sent me this link today of the raw footage of Fox New’s “Factor” interviewing Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Cheerleading section.

Father Pfleger responds to questions in this very lengthy, but telling interview with Porter Berry; defending the outspoken and offensive Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

Filed under: Ass Clowns, Politics, Religion

What are we doing?

Filed under: Islam, Muslim, Politics, Religion, Thoughts

Youth for Human Rights International

 

Have you seen this yet?  Today, a PSA came on that absolutely floored me.  After a bit of research, I found the sponsoring organization: Youth for Human Rights International.

These Human Rights are brought to you by none other than the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY International who teamed up with Youth for Human Rights.  Scientology has gotten in some hot water over the years for tax issues and other things.  It’s founder is considered an absolute fraud by many, many folks.  And Germany absolutely hates the organization.

Additionally, ISNA (Islamic Society of North America) is a YHRI collaborator.  ISNA, if you don’t know is one of the un-indicted co-conspirators in the Hamas Fundraising Trial.

But, apparently Scientologists are trying a new approach…  At face value, some of these “rights” seem fine, but looking deeper causes me some concerns.  Specifically, No. 3.  No, I have no problem with that, but Pro-Choice folks might.  There are others, take a look at the full list…

30 Rights, 30 Ads

What are these rights?

#1: We Are All Born Free & Equal

#2: Don’t Discriminate

#3: The Right to Life

#4: No Slavery

#5: No Torture

#6: You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go

#7: We’re All Equal Before the Law

#8: Your Human Rights Are Protected by Law

#9: No Unfair Detainment

#10: The Right to Trial

Filed under: Religion

Saudi Arabia – Really Wife Friendly…

Saudi divorces wife for watching male TV host:

A Saudi man divorced his wife for watching alone a television program presented by a male, an act he deemed immoral, the Al Shams newspaper reported on Saturday.  The man, whom the paper did not identify, ended his marriage on the grounds his wife was effectively alone with an unrelated man, which is forbidden under the strict Islamic law enforced in the ultra-conservative kingdom, the paper said.  Men in Saudi Arabia have the authority to divorce their wives without resort to the courts

Source: Copyright AFP 2007.

Saudi Man Doesn’t Like Soup, Pokes Out Wife’s Eye

A Saudi woman suffered the loss of an eye and burns when her husband stuck his finger in her eye and poured boiling soup on her face because she had not prepared lentil soup for the meal to break the Ramadan fast as he had requested.  The husband acknowledged his actions to police and explained them by saying that he had been extremely irritable because he had not smoked all day. The matter is to be transferred to the court.

Source: Al-Arabiya.net, September 28, 2007

Filed under: Islam, Muslim, Religion

Find Your Candidate for the 2008 Election – VAJoe.com

Not sure who you are going to vote for?  Follow the link below, answer the questions and have someone automatically tell you which candidate matches your choices…  I’d love to know the algorithms behind the scenes.

I don’t know much about Fred yet (only read his web page), but if this survey is accurate, then I may have found my candidate…

Your Top Match

You planned to vote for Undecided. Based on your responses, your top candidate for 2008 is below.

Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R)

85.00% match

Find Your Candidate for the 2008 Election – VAJoe.com – Where the Military Matters Most

Filed under: Religion, Republicans

Islam Good, Christianity Bad…

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.

A Florida hospital chaplain says he was fired from his position for including the word ‘Jesus’ at the end of his prayers, according to report on MyFoxOrlando.com.  Reverend Danny Harvey, who worked for the Leesburg Regional Center for more than seven years, claims to be the victim of religious discrimination after he says the hospital staff forced him to resign from his post.

And from FoxNews this…

DENVER —  A student who said she was told she wouldn’t get her diploma unless she apologized for a commencement speech in which she mentioned Jesus has filed a lawsuit alleging her free speech rights were violated.

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…

In December 2005, the Ector County School Board in Texas voted to adopt a Bible course “The Bible in History and Literature,” which is now taught in two high schools in Odessa, Texas. But rather than teaching about the Bible objectively in a historical or literary context, the course promotes religion. On May 16, 2007, the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of eight parents in Odessa, Texas, against the Ector County school board. The parents say the course violates their religious liberty by promoting particular religious beliefs to children in their community.

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.

Filed under: History, Islam, Politics, Religion

Failed States… Your Primer for Understanding Foreign Policy

No one is immune from global politics, every citizen is affected by what happens in another part of the globe.  Face it now and get smart…  Here’s an excellent place to start.

The Failed States Index 2007
By The Fund for Peace and FOREIGN POLICY magazine

It is an accepted axiom of the modern age that distance no longer matters. Sectarian carnage can sway stock markets on the other side of the planet. Anarchic cities that host open-air arms bazaars imperil the security of the world’s superpower. A hermit leader’s erratic behavior not only makes life miserable for the impoverished millions he rules but also upends the world’s nuclear nonproliferation regime. The threats of weak states, in other words, ripple far beyond their borders and endanger the development and security of nations that are their political and economic opposites.

Filed under: Education, Foreign Policy, GWOT, Global Threats, Military, Politics, Religion

Women Under Islam. A. Morgan

I found this article linked from Pajamas Media to Family Security Matters.  Adrian Morgan has written the first of four parts on Women Under Islam.  This initial article addresses the hijab and it seems to be a well written with plenty of links to the sources it cites.

Positing the question, is wearing the hijab a political or religious statement, Adrian explores the recent developments in the U.K. and some European history for explanation. 

According to Islam-Watch.org, “Adrian Morgan is a British based writer and artist who has written for Western Resistance since its inception. He also writes for Spero News, Family Security Matters and Faithfreedom.org. He has previously contributed to various publications, including the Guardian and New Scientist and is a former Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Society.”

Here’s some highlights.

Back in the 1980s, few young Western Muslim women wore the Muslim head scarf, or hijab. In fact it was banned in some Muslim countries for teachers and those employed by the state.

The wearing of hijabs and their subsequent bans in schools, followed by legal appeals, have changed the political landscape of the West almost as much as terrorism.

Within all this controversy, the involvement of political factions in encouraging Muslim women to wear the hijab, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Tablighi Jamaat and Hizb ut-Tahrir, has been forgotten. Muslim women are portrayed in the media as wearing the veil through their own volition, ignoring the pervasive effects of peer pressure.

You may want to spend some time surfing through the FSM web site. My worries were that it would be an emotion filled, irrational right wing mouth piece for some opinionated snob proved invalid. Not only is the site professionally done, many of its contributors are qualified and educated men and women of solid repute.

Filed under: Islam, Muslim, Religion

Islamic Persecution of Christians

The catch phrase of the day is the religious intolerance of Muslims in the United States and Europe. CAIR and other groups are clamoring over racial profiling at airports, telling us we fail to understand Muslim taxi drivers who refuse fairs because the passengers have alcohol or dogs or cashiers who refuse to ring up pork products at Target stores.

But, let me show you their intolerance through this one instance posted at PrisonerAlert.com.

Prisoner Profile

PRISONER NAME Issa Motamedi Mojdehi
LOCATIONI ran (Islamic Republic of)
ARRESTED July 2006
REVISED June 27, 2007

No personal or prison address is available for Issa Motamedi Mojdehi. Please be an advocate on his behalf and contact government officials.

Issa and his wife, Parvah, attempted to register the birth of their son, Micah, who was born in January, with the civil population bureau. Selecting such a Biblical name may have caused the authorities to begin investigating this Christian family. Issa was arrested July 24th on false charges of drug trafficking.

At the time of his July 24th arrest the convert was told he must renounce Christianity or face years in jail and possible execution for his apostasy. Under Iran’s judicial system based on Islamic law, anyone who leaves Islam for another religion has committed a capital offense. Lakan Prison officials reportedly tried for days to force him to confess to being involved in illegal drug trafficking.

Using strong psychological pressures, including threats to kill his family and other Christian believers, Issa was interrogated by secret service agents and a professor of Islamic theology, who urged him to recant his Christian faith and return to Islam. Issa refused to do so.

Iranian court authorities in the Northern city of Rasht have released Issa. He was granted bail August 24th, but the judge introduced new accusations against him at this hearing. According to unnamed “confidential witnesses,” the judge said, the convert’s eight-year-old daughter, Martha, allegedly had been trying to lead other children to the Christian faith.

He was reunited with his wife, Parvah, and his two children following his release. He has moved his family to an undisclosed location, but is subject to be recalled to court. Issa converted to Christianity seven years ago. He asks, “Pray for me, that I would be stronger in my faith.” Issa told other believers that the calmness and protection God gave him during his time in prison were miraculous.

Source: Compass Direct News

Filed under: Iran, Muslim, Religion

Fox Shows "Islam Against Islamists"

I’ve been watching Fox’s presentation of the movie that PBS chose not to air.  According to Gaffney, Burke and Alexiev, the makers of the documentary, PBS found it to be too alarmist in their representation. 

Twenty three minutes into the show, I can almost understand why they might say that.  The first twenty minutes relies heavily on an interview with a confirmed terrorist who has ties to Omar Abdel-Rahman, the Blind Sheik.  No other moderate Muslim leader’s counterpoint is presented.

It is unclear at this point if Fox is presenting the entire film or select scenes.  If the latter is true, then Fox certainly is taking the film slightly out of context.

Where are the interviews with moderate Muslim leaders who are speaking out against such things as Jihadism, honor killings and intimidation of moderate Muslims?  Are we to believe that Frank Gaffney and Alex Alexiev, both of whom are experienced, recognized National Security experts, would purposefully slant the presentation.

Perhaps, but wouldn’t this be obvious and discredit them?  And I certainly don’t want to go down another conspiracy rabbit hole.

Fifty two minutes into the film, they have not yet shown any moderate Muslim leaders.  I may be going against the grain here, but I think I understand why PBS didn’t want to show this.  While the film doesn’t exaggerate the problems with radical Islam, it really doesn’t present any substantial footage of moderates speaking out against radicalism.

PBS probably didn’t want to show a one sided piece, no matter how accurate it was.

I’ll continue on this later…

Filed under: Islam, Movies, Muslim, Politics, Religion, Thoughts

Porky Pig Beware. Porcine Toy Pisses of People of UAE. What a Pity.

Found over at LGF and posted on Gulfnews.com, there seems to be a conspiracy to piss off the folks of the UAE by importing toy pigs.  Looking at the context of the story, there are no names mentioned, the mall isn’t identified, no picture of the offensive toy, no direct quotes from law enforcement personnel.

Either its a crappy piece of journalism or it is the typical propaganda piece aimed against Western Cultures.  I’ve noticed this type of journalism coming from new sources in Mid-Eastern countries.  Emotions run high, but quantifiable, verifiable facts are slim.

From our western ideals, its stupefying that a simple animal can cause such a splash in their religious/social pool.  Why do they teach their children such hate for such a non-threatening being?  What exactly is the threat posed?  And why can’t these folk let go of such ingrained hatred?

In understanding the Systems of System Analysis, we have to first understand the Social System. At the core of any social system and culture lies the accepted beliefs.  Islam core beliefs are never meant to be challenged, to do so is to invite death.

One of those core beliefs are that pigs are filthy low creatures.  Hundreds of years of beliefs have never been allowed to be challenged.  Any rationality of the subject might deduce that pigs are probably no worse than some other animals and in fact, may be far cleaner.  I’d rather have a pig in my house than cockroaches or rats.

So here we are in the 21st Century and it seems that pure superstition dominates this culture.  And I use superstition, because the fear is irrational.  It will only take the loosening of religious intolerance that will allow rationality to replace blind fear.  But, we’re talking some stiff social re-engineering to accomplish that!

Filed under: Islam, Religion, Thoughts

in hostility towards all his brothers…

Let’s get into the ”way-back machine” and visit a portion of a blog I wrote back in March and remember what’s happening in Lebanon, Gaza, Baghdad, Thailand, Somalia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Algeria, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, Indonesia and the Phillipines, all in the name of the religion of “peace”…  All photos are AP or Reuters.  

11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:
       “You are now with child
       and you will have a son.
       You shall name him Ishmael, ^[a]
       for the LORD has heard of your misery.

 

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;
       his hand will be against everyone
       and everyone’s hand against him,
       and he will live in hostility
       toward ^[b] all his brothers.”  Genesis 16 (New International Version)

Filed under: Iraq, Islam, Muslim, Religion