The Looney Left went crazy a few months ago when the Globe and Mail replaced Rick Salutin's column with one from Irshad Manji.
"A blow to "progressive" (read: regressive) voices in the media" was the gist of their shrill cries. As of last Friday, Salutin has been writing for The Toronto Star. His first column for the Liberal-leaning paper was ostensibly a review of a TV series called NCIS, but Salutin being Salutin, it was filled with undertones about the evils of the United States.
One would think all those people who decried Salutin's firing from the Globe would be cheering his return with great fanfare.
But such was not the case. In the 3 days since his article was published online, it managed to draw only 3 user comments and virtually no attention.
Maybe it's because in the Globe, his column stood out. Whereas in the Star, among raving fanatics like Linda McQuaig, Haroon Siddiqui, Antonia Zerbisias, and James Travers, Salutin gets lost in the crowd. In fact, he seems relatively sane compared to his new colleagues, particularly when considering that Heather Mallick is one of them.
EYE ON A CRAZY PLANET
Monday, February 14, 2011
University of Toronto Student Political Action committee condemns use of student fees to promote “radical politics” on campus
Radical socialists Angela Davis and Ward Churchill were the paid guests of the University of Toronto's socialist-dominated Student Union, which extracts $2 Million dollars annually from a student body who overwhelmingly have no interest in their fanatical agenda.
See the report in The Varsity.
See the report in The Varsity.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
North America's Scottish Colony
From The Literary Review of Canada's review of Ken McGoogan’s How the Scots Invented Canada:
More here
The title is deliberately provocative, to the point of being preposterous, in the same vein as its inspiration—Arthur Herman’s How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It. It sounds as if it were conceived after one too many Lagavulins by someone who has just given the puff-chested toast of drunk Scotsmen everywhere: “Here’s tae us. Wha’s like us? Damn few an’ they’re a’ deid.”
This habit of self-congratulation has long annoyed those unfortunate enough not to have any Scots blood coursing through their veins. The backlash was perhaps best put by T.W.H. Crosland at the turn of the 20th century in his book The Unspeakable Scot: The Scotsman “is the one species of human animal that is taken by all the world to be fifty per cent cleverer and pluckier and honester than the facts warrant.”
Except, in this case, the facts support McGoogan’s contention. Of our 22 prime ministers, 13 can claim Scottish heritage; over half the 36 Fathers of Confederation were Scottish Canadians; Scots explorers such as Alexander Mackenzie and Simon Fraser crossed the continent and established settlements in the West; their countrymen such as George Simpson and Donald Smith ran the biggest companies and banks; Scots immigrants such as Sir John A. Macdonald, Tommy Douglas, George Brown and James McGill made their mark in politics, journalism and education, while others such as Alexander Graham Bell and Sandford Fleming were at the forefront of innovation and invention.
More here
From Egypt's Al-Ahram Weekly: "Egypt is not Iran"
Far from bringing comfort to the Iranian leadership, Egypt's revolution is inspiring Iran's democratic opposition, writes Rasha Saad
Popular and political forces in Egypt vehemently criticised statements made by Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei last week that described the Egyptian uprising as "Islamic" and linked it to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
During his Friday prayer sermon, Khamenei was quoted as saying that "the riots in Tunisia and Egypt are a sign of the Islamic awakening in the world following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran."
"After years of struggle, the Iranian people see that their voice is heard with strength in other regions in the Islamic world," Khamenei added.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit said Khamenei should be attentive to calls for freedom in Iran rather than "distracting the Iranian people's attention by hiding behind what is happening in Egypt."
The Egyptian foreign minister said that "Iran's critical moment has not yet come, but we will for watch that moment with great anticipation and interest."
Khamenei's statements caused uproar from Egyptian demonstrators in Tahrir Square, who protested against what they saw as Iranian interference in Egyptian affairs.
"Egypt will never be another Iran. We will never be ruled by a theological dictatorship as is the case in Iran," one of the protesters told a cheering crowd.More from Al-Ahram
"Saying a keynote is equivalent to a hand job or that the speaker is ugly is not positive criticism.”
News flash: Journalism students lack sense of humor.
Or at least some. On the other hand...no, not that kind of other hand.. some seem to be having fun.
The University of Toronto student paper The Varsity reports:
Not to spoil things for you, but the Varsity report doesn't say whether the speech had a happy ending.
Full story at The Varsity.
Or at least some. On the other hand...no, not that kind of other hand.. some seem to be having fun.
The University of Toronto student paper The Varsity reports:
Josée Boileau did not expect to receive abusive tweets during her keynote at the Canadian University Press’ January national conference. As the editor-in-chief of Le Devoir was presenting on the paper’s history and adjustment to new media, a Twitter account named @le_devoir appeared, which featured a background picture of Boileau.
The account, which also referenced her long speech and deemed her remarks arrogant, sparked comments from other delegates. One attendee tweeted that Boileau was “not just tooting the Le Devoir horn [but] leaning on it with all her weight,” while another lamented “sitting through an hour-long Le Devoir hand job.”
CUP is a non-profit media co-operative, with membership from campus papers at most Canadian universities. CUP President Erin Cauchi said she heard of the tweets shortly after the speech.
“They were in poor taste and they were rude and I was horrified. I saw some people laughing about it, but I thought it was horrible.”
Cauchi said the “totally inexcusable” remarks prompted a phone call from Boileau and a response from conference heads.
“We made it clear very quickly that we do not condone that behavior as an organization.”
Cauchi admitted that Boileau spoke for twice her allocated time. “She went for a long time. […] Print journalists aren’t as used to performing.”
Amid responses that the comments were only said in jest, Mai Anh Tran-Ho, editor-in-chief of Le Délit, the francophone paper at McGill University, shot back that “saying a keynote is equivalent to a hand job or that the speaker is ugly is not positive criticism.”With her talent for stating the obvious, Ms Tran-Ho will have a superb future as a journalist in Quebec.
Not to spoil things for you, but the Varsity report doesn't say whether the speech had a happy ending.
Full story at The Varsity.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Marxist, activist radio back on air
Judge gives CKLN stay of execution -
CKLN, the problem-besieged Ryerson University "student" radio station that was taken over by Trotskyist activists to the dismay of many of Ryerson's student body, recently had its license revoked by the Canadian Radio Television Commission.
According to Ryerson's student newspaper, The Eyeopener:
CKLN, the problem-besieged Ryerson University "student" radio station that was taken over by Trotskyist activists to the dismay of many of Ryerson's student body, recently had its license revoked by the Canadian Radio Television Commission.
According to Ryerson's student newspaper, The Eyeopener:
CKLN 88.1FM will continue broadcasting after a judge ruled they could continue operations until a federal court will decide if the station can go forward with their appeal against the CRTC.
On Jan. 28, the Canadian Radio-Televison and Communications Commission (CRTC) announced the decision to revoke the station’s licence after several instances of non-compliance with the commission’s standards for broadcasting, including failing to fill necessary paperwork and a lack of balanced representation on the station’s board of governors.
The court is not expected to rule until April at the earliest. Until then, the station will remain on the air.
"Pigs are class enemies!" OCAP attack on City Hall videos
Here's how it started:
OCAP uses homophobic slurs! In the first video at the 2:23 point, you can hear an OCAP thug say to Etobicoke Councillor Doug Ford: "F*cking scumbag, ya' faggot, eat sh!t and die!" This is the person to whom Ford allegedly replied "Get a job" although if he did, it is not audible in the video.
For more idiotic Stalinist tripe, you can hear chants, shouts and profanity from Ontario Coalition Against Povery (OCAP) thugs who invaded City Hall in an attempt to subvert democracy in this video:
OCAP uses homophobic slurs! In the first video at the 2:23 point, you can hear an OCAP thug say to Etobicoke Councillor Doug Ford: "F*cking scumbag, ya' faggot, eat sh!t and die!" This is the person to whom Ford allegedly replied "Get a job" although if he did, it is not audible in the video.
For more idiotic Stalinist tripe, you can hear chants, shouts and profanity from Ontario Coalition Against Povery (OCAP) thugs who invaded City Hall in an attempt to subvert democracy in this video:
Friday, February 11, 2011
The Bunny Boiler reads tarot
Funny stuff!
Bunny Boiler - Tarot card reader
Uploaded by bigend. - Sitcom, sketch, and standup comedy videos.
Bunny Boiler - Tarot card reader
Uploaded by bigend. - Sitcom, sketch, and standup comedy videos.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
US Drug Enforcement Administration accuses Lebanese Canadian Bank of Laundering Hezbollah Drug Money
The Lebanese Canadian Bank SAL facilitated money laundering by an international drug- trafficking network and has ties to the terrorist organization Hezbollah, according to the U.S.
The Beirut, Lebanon-based bank, through management complicity and failure of its internal controls, has been used “extensively” by people associated with the network to move as much as $200 million a month in proceeds from illicit drug deals, according to a Treasury Department statement today. The department filed a notice proposing banning U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining certain accounts for the closely held bank, known as LCB.
The U.S. today designated the bank as being of “primary money laundering concern,” bringing its conduct to the attention of the financial community and limiting its ability to be used for criminal purposes, according to the Treasury Department.
The U.S. is seeking “to protect the U.S. financial system from the illicit proceeds flowing through LCB and to deprive this international narcotics trafficking and money laundering network of its preferred access point into the formal financial system,” said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, at a news conference in Washington.
More from Bloomberg News
The Beirut, Lebanon-based bank, through management complicity and failure of its internal controls, has been used “extensively” by people associated with the network to move as much as $200 million a month in proceeds from illicit drug deals, according to a Treasury Department statement today. The department filed a notice proposing banning U.S. financial institutions from opening or maintaining certain accounts for the closely held bank, known as LCB.
The U.S. today designated the bank as being of “primary money laundering concern,” bringing its conduct to the attention of the financial community and limiting its ability to be used for criminal purposes, according to the Treasury Department.
The U.S. is seeking “to protect the U.S. financial system from the illicit proceeds flowing through LCB and to deprive this international narcotics trafficking and money laundering network of its preferred access point into the formal financial system,” said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, at a news conference in Washington.
More from Bloomberg News
OCAP thugs attack municipal democracy in Toronto
John Clarke's violent activist group, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) doesn't think they should have to be limited by normal democratic institutions. A group of them invaded Toronto's City Hall during the final stages of budget deliberations and assaulted police and attempted to assault City Councillors. As OCAP's Liisa Schofield expressed “If you want to tell us to stand in a queue and wait and speak politely, that’s bogus. We have the right to come in here. ... We’re going to refuse to allow these cuts to happen in the city.”
Like Clarke, OCAP spokesperson Schofield has a history of violent protest and is also notable as the same-sex partner of Jenny "Hate Thesis" Peto.
The Globe and Mail describes the action and the arrests in this report.
UPDATE: See the hysteria and profanity of OCAP's attack on democracy in these videos.
Like Clarke, OCAP spokesperson Schofield has a history of violent protest and is also notable as the same-sex partner of Jenny "Hate Thesis" Peto.
The Globe and Mail describes the action and the arrests in this report.
UPDATE: See the hysteria and profanity of OCAP's attack on democracy in these videos.
Iran responds to Egypt protests by increasing number of domestic executions
According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, in January alone 83 people were executed in Iran. A total of 179 executions were reported in all of 2010.
Zohreh Eftekhari hopes her husband, prisoner Saeed Malekpour, will not become yet another victim of what has been described by human rights activists as "Iran's execution binge."
Malekpour, a 35-year-old dual Iranian-Canadian citizen, was arrested in 2008 after returning to Iran to visit his ailing father. He was sentenced to death in December 2010.
Malekpour is a web developer who has been accused on a number of charges, including "designing and moderating adult-content websites," "agitation against the regime," and "insulting the sanctities."More from Radio Free Europe
Iranian leadership says Canada pursues policy of "Iranophobia"
The new documentary Iranium is bothering the leadership of Iran. The film, which details Iran's post-revolutionary history of terrorism and their attempt to acquire nuclear weapons, has led to threats from Iran and their proxies. Canada has responded to Iranian threats intended to supress the documentary with clear statements affirming Canadian freedom of speech. Iran's leadership, which recognizes no such right for its own citizens, has become frustrated with its failure and has resorted to an old tactic; playing the victim.
According to Iran's state-controlled media outlet Press TV:
"Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmnaparast says the screening of an anti-Iran documentary in Canada is a clear example of an Iranophobia policy pursued by Ottawa"
You can still see the movie the Iranian government wants censored for free online here.
Egypt Update: Mubarak out/ Omar Suleiman in
NBC news reports that Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak will resign tonight and will be succeeded by his newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman.
USA Today has reported that at 10:50 a.m. ET: Gen. Hassan al-Roueini, military commander for the Cairo area, tells thousands of protesters in central Tahrir Square: "All your demands will be met today."
Suleiman was the former head of Egypt's Intelligence Services and his succession would fall into a scenario described in a newly released wiki-leak of a US report about a meeting between an Israeli delegation and Egyptian leaders in 2008:
USA Today has reported that at 10:50 a.m. ET: Gen. Hassan al-Roueini, military commander for the Cairo area, tells thousands of protesters in central Tahrir Square: "All your demands will be met today."
Suleiman was the former head of Egypt's Intelligence Services and his succession would fall into a scenario described in a newly released wiki-leak of a US report about a meeting between an Israeli delegation and Egyptian leaders in 2008:
(S) In terms of atmospherics, Hacham said the Israeli delegation was "shocked" by Mubarak's aged appearance and slurred speech. Hacham was full of praise for Soliman, however, and noted that a "hot line" set up between the MOD and Egyptian General Intelligence Service is now in daily use. Hacham said he sometimes speaks to Soliman's deputy Mohammed Ibrahim several times a day. Hacham noted that the Israelis believe Soliman is likely to serve as at least an interim President if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated. (Note: We defer to Embassy Cairo for analysis of Egyptian succession scenarios, but there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of Omar Soliman.)
The York Regional Police's rabbi and the homophobia controversy
I didn't even know the York Regional Police had a rabbi before this!
According to the Gay community newspaper Xtra:
The Xtra article includes an interesting email exchange between Kaplan and the Canadian Jewish Congress' Bernie Farber.
The Jewish Tribune also did a report on this which can be seen here.
According to the Gay community newspaper Xtra:
York Regional Police (YRP) inspectors have wrapped up an internal investigation of their in-house rabbi, launched in response to a complaint about a "very homophobic"sermon.
The "letter of concern" was filed by Kulanu Toronto, an advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Jews, against Rabbi Mendel Kaplan, the Jewish chaplain for YRP. In his sermon, given just before Toronto Pride 2010, Kaplan instructed his followers to not support Kulanu or the Pride parade, referring to gays as "an abomination," says Justine Apple, executive director of Kulanu...
Ricky Veerappan, an inspector in the diversity and cultural research bureau of YRP, says police could not substantiate the allegations of hate rhetoric.
“We looked at it from a purely religious perspective,” he says. “Experts agreed that the content was technically correct. I’m in no position to judge if that’s hateful.”
...Kaplan gave his sermon after Kulanu published a full-page advertisement in the Toronto Star just before the 2010 Pride parade. “The rabbi got a hold of the ad and presented it to his synagogue members while he spoke.
“The ad was a call-out to people to come and march with us because of the whole QuAIA [Queers Against Israeli Apartheid] controversy, so we wanted community support,” she says. But Kaplan used that advertisement to blast the gay community.
Kaplan tells Xtra he stands by his comments. “I took exception to [homosexuality] and I continue to take exception to it.”
The Xtra article includes an interesting email exchange between Kaplan and the Canadian Jewish Congress' Bernie Farber.
Like Apple, Farber questions whether Kaplan is the most appropriate choice to represent YRP. "That's what has to be answered."
"It's not enough to say, 'It's in the Bible and that makes it OK,' even if that may be true," Farber says. "Does it make it right to take it one step further and take that position as a public official? That's a serious question that deserves a thoughtful answer, and we have not heard that yet."
Veerappan says the police investigation concluded in January with the decision that Kaplan would remain a police chaplain.
The Jewish Tribune also did a report on this which can be seen here.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Hamas rejects call for Palestinian elections
Bernier's courageous stand on language is of immense value
MONTREAL - Maxime Bernier said what many Quebecers who speak French or English know to be right. Everyone in Quebec should learn to speak French and be able to use it in everyday life. But the world is too small for ambitious Quebecers to be able to live their lives entirely in French, and it impoverishes Quebec to deprive them of the chance to learn English.
The parts of Bill 101 that regulate the display of commercial messages in English and that regulate the use of languages on commercial Internet sites are small-minded, vindictive and foolish.
Read the entire column in The Montreal Gazette
Social Scientist identifies liberal bias among social scientists!
Scientist discovers conservatives are an oppressed minority - at least in the Social Science field
SAN ANTONIO — Some of the world’s pre-eminent experts on bias discovered an unexpected form of it at their annual meeting.
Discrimination is always high on the agenda at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s conference, where psychologists discuss their research on racial prejudice, homophobia, sexism, stereotype threat and unconscious bias against minorities. But the most talked-about speech at this year’s meeting, which ended Jan. 30, involved a new “outgroup.”
It was identified by Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at the University of Virginia who studies the intuitive foundations of morality and ideology. He polled his audience at the San Antonio Convention Center, starting by asking how many considered themselves politically liberal. A sea of hands appeared, and Dr. Haidt estimated that liberals made up 80 percent of the 1,000 psychologists in the ballroom. When he asked for centrists and libertarians, he spotted fewer than three dozen hands. And then, when he asked for conservatives, he counted a grand total of three.
“This is a statistically impossible lack of diversity,” Dr. Haidt concluded, noting polls showing that 40 percent of Americans are conservative and 20 percent are liberal. In his speech and in an interview, Dr. Haidt argued that social psychologists are a “tribal-moral community” united by “sacred values” that hinder research and damage their credibility — and blind them to the hostile climate they’ve created for non-liberals.
“Anywhere in the world that social psychologists see women or minorities underrepresented by a factor of two or three, our minds jump to discrimination as the explanation,” said Dr. Haidt, who called himself a longtime liberal turned centrist. “But when we find out that conservatives are underrepresented among us by a factor of more than 100, suddenly everyone finds it quite easy to generate alternate explanations.”
The entire article is at The New York Times
SAN ANTONIO — Some of the world’s pre-eminent experts on bias discovered an unexpected form of it at their annual meeting.
Discrimination is always high on the agenda at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s conference, where psychologists discuss their research on racial prejudice, homophobia, sexism, stereotype threat and unconscious bias against minorities. But the most talked-about speech at this year’s meeting, which ended Jan. 30, involved a new “outgroup.”
It was identified by Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at the University of Virginia who studies the intuitive foundations of morality and ideology. He polled his audience at the San Antonio Convention Center, starting by asking how many considered themselves politically liberal. A sea of hands appeared, and Dr. Haidt estimated that liberals made up 80 percent of the 1,000 psychologists in the ballroom. When he asked for centrists and libertarians, he spotted fewer than three dozen hands. And then, when he asked for conservatives, he counted a grand total of three.
“This is a statistically impossible lack of diversity,” Dr. Haidt concluded, noting polls showing that 40 percent of Americans are conservative and 20 percent are liberal. In his speech and in an interview, Dr. Haidt argued that social psychologists are a “tribal-moral community” united by “sacred values” that hinder research and damage their credibility — and blind them to the hostile climate they’ve created for non-liberals.
“Anywhere in the world that social psychologists see women or minorities underrepresented by a factor of two or three, our minds jump to discrimination as the explanation,” said Dr. Haidt, who called himself a longtime liberal turned centrist. “But when we find out that conservatives are underrepresented among us by a factor of more than 100, suddenly everyone finds it quite easy to generate alternate explanations.”
The entire article is at The New York Times
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Toronto's United Church of Hate to hold Sea Hitler fundraiser
This Saturday at 7 pm, Bloor Street United Church will be holding a fundraiser for the Sea Hitler, the boat a group of Canadian Islamists and pro-Marxist groups want to sent to support Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Bloor Street United Church at 300 Bloor Street West in Toronto has faced allegations of being a home for anti-Semitism masked as "social justice" in the past.
It is only a couple of blocks away from the St. Paul Trinity Centre which houses groups like James Clark's anti-Israel Canadian Peace Alliance and the International Socialists and recently played host to the shill for Iran's dictatorship, George Galloway. Their two steeples along a close stretch of Toronto's Annex district are like anti-Israel versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's twin towers of Mordor and Isengard.
In 2008, Bloor Street United hosted an event promoted by the discredited Canadian Arab Federation that according to The Jewish Tribune, displayed "viciously antisemitic reading material."
Now they are hosting another fanatical anti-Israel event to raise funds to help destroy Israel's ability to prevent Iranian arms smuggling to Hamas, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the government of Canada.
This event is sponsored by the anti-Semitic Canadian Arab Federation along with Bloor Street United's "Social Justice" Committee. A quick perusal of this committee's information suggests a concept of social justice that lines up better with the followers of Karl Marx than those of Jesus Christ.
The Bloor Street United Church at 300 Bloor Street West in Toronto has faced allegations of being a home for anti-Semitism masked as "social justice" in the past.
In 2008, Bloor Street United hosted an event promoted by the discredited Canadian Arab Federation that according to The Jewish Tribune, displayed "viciously antisemitic reading material."
This event is sponsored by the anti-Semitic Canadian Arab Federation along with Bloor Street United's "Social Justice" Committee. A quick perusal of this committee's information suggests a concept of social justice that lines up better with the followers of Karl Marx than those of Jesus Christ.
Is Religion a Tool of the Devil?
Religion has been giving God a bad name for all of recorded history, and probably before that too.
Abram, who later became Abraham and fathered what would become Judaism, Christianity and Islam, left his home because he was fed up with the local religion. So he took off and started a new one. And it has continued in much the same way since then.
The fact is that there are some astoundingly good people who are religious. The three Abrahamic religions are based on noble principles of justice and charity. Most people who devote their lives to their religion practice those principles to a greater degree that the average person. Critics of religion who point to all the evil done in the name of God by religion naturally provoke the sincere souls who practice the humanitarian aspects of their faith and participate in a community of others who do the same.
That religion has corrupt, evil practitioners no more makes it an inherently malignant institution than Tammany Hall made American democracy inherently malevolent. It is, however, undeniable that lots of very, very bad people do very bad things in the name of their religion, while claiming they are doing the work of God or Allah.
But in the increasingly heated debate between atheists and defenders of traditional religious practice, there is yet another approach.
.....................
From the outlook of a believer, any obstacle between a person and God is an evil impediment.
Religion abhors atheism, but does God? If God lives, He is not an imaginary friend who ceases to exist if you don’t believe in Him. God can employ atheists to His purpose just as He does believers. In fact, atheists are frequently more moral, better people than many who profess religious beliefs.
God does not require worship and he does not require one insignificant being in His incomprehensibly large universe to defend his reputation from another.
The biblical story of Babel in the Book of Genesis describes God’s confounding the language of the peoples of the earth, ”that they may not understand one another's speech.” But people have the capacity to learn other languages. What they can learn but not accept is another’s creed.
What if the story of Babel is not about God separating and setting the peoples of the earth against each other with language, but with religion? And what if that was not the work of God, but of the devil?
The founders of the first monotheistic religion understood how codification of religious practice countered God’s design that our relationship with Him should be evolutionary. Judaism separated the Written Law, consisting of the Five Books of Moses, the books of the Prophets, and Psalms, from the Oral Law. Jewish tradition teaches that the penalty for writing the Oral Law was death. The motive being that old beliefs and traditions were supposed to die out as our progressive comprehension made them irrelevant.
The Babylonian Talmud was recorded in violation of the law to preserve knowledge that Diaspora Jews feared would be lost. By doing so, they created a template changing Judaism from an evolving body of understanding into a time capsule of antiquated rituals. And all major religions operate from similar templates.
If we are God’s children, then evolution can be seen as the maturation and education of mankind. Religion is the invention of answers of which the inventors have no way of knowing. As a caveman would not be able to comprehend the principles of advanced physics, we are far from the ability to comprehend neither the nature nor the will of God as it applies to the universe. Yet the arrogant presumption of that capacity is the embodiment of what religion represents.
To criticise religion is not a denigration of religious people. But just as Marxism has individual adherents who are good people, in practice, that system always leads to totalitarianism. So is religion a poison tree that sometimes produces beautiful fruit.
This is not an argument to discard faith. It is an argument to have faith in God and His ability to guide you personally and directly without an intermediary.
Every soul is its own cathedral, each mind its own bible. As God’s creations, we have the individual capacity to be a prophet and messiah to ourselves, if only we learn to listen and to use the gifts He gave to all of us.
Abram, who later became Abraham and fathered what would become Judaism, Christianity and Islam, left his home because he was fed up with the local religion. So he took off and started a new one. And it has continued in much the same way since then.
The fact is that there are some astoundingly good people who are religious. The three Abrahamic religions are based on noble principles of justice and charity. Most people who devote their lives to their religion practice those principles to a greater degree that the average person. Critics of religion who point to all the evil done in the name of God by religion naturally provoke the sincere souls who practice the humanitarian aspects of their faith and participate in a community of others who do the same.
That religion has corrupt, evil practitioners no more makes it an inherently malignant institution than Tammany Hall made American democracy inherently malevolent. It is, however, undeniable that lots of very, very bad people do very bad things in the name of their religion, while claiming they are doing the work of God or Allah.
But in the increasingly heated debate between atheists and defenders of traditional religious practice, there is yet another approach.
From the outlook of a believer, any obstacle between a person and God is an evil impediment. Is organized religion something that fosters closeness to God, or is it a deceptive obstruction that encourages sublimation of our relationship with the Almighty in favour of a tellurian authority, making it a metaphorical tool of the devil?
To examine that question, let us begin with another: What is the most precious gift that God bestowed on Mankind?
Other animals have great strength, remarkable speed or the ability of flight, any of which in a human would be considered superpowers. It is man’s ability to reason, to learn, and to build upon this body of knowledge that distinguishes our species and has given us the ability to dominate and shape our world.
Yet organized religion frequently requires us to discard this gift that God gave us in favour of faith. But not a faith in God or our individual ability to be guided by Him. Religion often demands we stifle reason in favour of catechism. In effect, telling us to affirm obedience, not to God, but to humans claiming to know His will. Many of whom, throughout history, have had rapacious motives. What could be more an instrument of the devil?
Religion abhors atheism, but does God? If God lives, He is not an imaginary friend who ceases to exist if you don’t believe in Him. God can employ atheists to His purpose just as He does believers. In fact, atheists are frequently more moral, better people than many who profess religious beliefs.
God does not require worship and he does not require one insignificant being in His incomprehensibly large universe to defend his reputation from another.
The biblical story of Babel in the Book of Genesis describes God’s confounding the language of the peoples of the earth, ”that they may not understand one another's speech.” But people have the capacity to learn other languages. What they can learn but not accept is another’s creed.
What if the story of Babel is not about God separating and setting the peoples of the earth against each other with language, but with religion? And what if that was not the work of God, but of the devil?
 |
| Tower of Babel MC Escher |
The idea that religion can stand in the way between us and our relationship with God is not a new one.
Religions frequently become institutions concerned more with their temporal authority than being a conduit for the divine spirit. The Reformation and Luther’s 95 Theses were a reaction to corruption within a Medieval and early Renaissance Catholic Church which sold, for money, not only ecclesiastic authority but tickets to Heaven. Indeed Christianity emerged as a reaction to the stagnation and rigidity of Judaism.
The Babylonian Talmud was recorded in violation of the law to preserve knowledge that Diaspora Jews feared would be lost. By doing so, they created a template changing Judaism from an evolving body of understanding into a time capsule of antiquated rituals. And all major religions operate from similar templates.
If we are God’s children, then evolution can be seen as the maturation and education of mankind. Religion is the invention of answers of which the inventors have no way of knowing. As a caveman would not be able to comprehend the principles of advanced physics, we are far from the ability to comprehend neither the nature nor the will of God as it applies to the universe. Yet the arrogant presumption of that capacity is the embodiment of what religion represents.
To criticise religion is not a denigration of religious people. But just as Marxism has individual adherents who are good people, in practice, that system always leads to totalitarianism. So is religion a poison tree that sometimes produces beautiful fruit.
This is not an argument to discard faith. It is an argument to have faith in God and His ability to guide you personally and directly without an intermediary.
Every soul is its own cathedral, each mind its own bible. As God’s creations, we have the individual capacity to be a prophet and messiah to ourselves, if only we learn to listen and to use the gifts He gave to all of us.
200 Men Arrested For Being Gay In Bahrain
Perez Hilton reports:
No doubt things'll get better once they have their revolution and The Muslim Brotherhood takes over.
As many as 200 gay men may have been arrested in the poorly decorated small middle-eastern island country of Bahrain for attending a GAY WEDDING!!!!
WFT????????
The men, mostly from Bahrain and Gulf countries, were arrested Thursday on the charge of “conduct against public morals.”
“According to police sources some of the men were allegedly drunk, and others were described as wearing women’s clothing and make up. The police are now said to be checking if any have a history of ‘debauchery or sodomy."
No doubt things'll get better once they have their revolution and The Muslim Brotherhood takes over.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Test your morality
This test, created by social psychologists shows you how you compare to conservatives and liberals and where you fit in.
You might surprise yourself.
You might surprise yourself.
Watch Iranium for free now!
UPDATE: The free online viewing period has been extended, so go ahead and click the play button below, enter your email and enjoy a free viewing of the film.
Iranium, the movie whose screening at the National Archives in Ottawa was cancelled due to what are believed to be threats from Iranian embassy staff is available to be seen online today (February 7) and tomorrow only.
There are screenings of this film for $18 or more coming up, so this is your chance to learn about Iran's nuclear threat and save a few bucks!
Just click the play button in the widget below, enter your email address and you can start viewing.
This is an informative, important and scary movie that may affect your entire outlook on the dangers the free world faces from Iran.
There are screenings of this film for $18 or more coming up, so this is your chance to learn about Iran's nuclear threat and save a few bucks!
Just click the play button in the widget below, enter your email address and you can start viewing.
This is an informative, important and scary movie that may affect your entire outlook on the dangers the free world faces from Iran.
Toronto Mayor Ford delivers on another promise
The National Post reports that The City of Toronto "intends to recommend seeking competitive bids for curb-side pick up west of Yonge Street, to the Etobicoke border, plus privatize more of the litter vacuum operations and litter and recycling pick up in parks. The written notice meets the city’s obligations, under the collective agreement, to provide three month notice of its intention to put the recommendation before City Council for consideration."
During last fall's campaign, Ford promised to examine the privatization of garbage collection, which will result in savings plus ensure reliability of service. Etobicoke, the western borough of Toronto, which contracts out garbage pick-up, was the only area not affected by the last municipal garbage strike.
Many people speculate that the next great social justice battle in Canada will be against the corrupt civic unions. Employees who want civil service jobs are compelled to join unions which then turn around and use union dues to support terror sympathizers and foreign communist regimes.
While theoretically democratic, civic unions are not infrequently headed by people who make Hosni Mubarak look like Thomas Jefferson.
Most civil servants want to serve the public and get paid for an honest days work while not breaking the backs of the citizenry of which they are a part. But the people who campaign for and devote excessive amount of time to union activities are often interested in the type of power they are not able to attain through career advancement.
Whether civic unions are serving the interests of the nation or even their own membership are questions that will be looked at as the backlash against them appears to be growing.
During last fall's campaign, Ford promised to examine the privatization of garbage collection, which will result in savings plus ensure reliability of service. Etobicoke, the western borough of Toronto, which contracts out garbage pick-up, was the only area not affected by the last municipal garbage strike.
Many people speculate that the next great social justice battle in Canada will be against the corrupt civic unions. Employees who want civil service jobs are compelled to join unions which then turn around and use union dues to support terror sympathizers and foreign communist regimes.
While theoretically democratic, civic unions are not infrequently headed by people who make Hosni Mubarak look like Thomas Jefferson.
Most civil servants want to serve the public and get paid for an honest days work while not breaking the backs of the citizenry of which they are a part. But the people who campaign for and devote excessive amount of time to union activities are often interested in the type of power they are not able to attain through career advancement.
Whether civic unions are serving the interests of the nation or even their own membership are questions that will be looked at as the backlash against them appears to be growing.
Quebec MP Maxime Bernier on Bill 101
"..people know who they are and that it’s not the government’s role to create and protect a national identity. I used Quebec as an example and said that we don’t need Bill 101 to protect the French language.
I did not expect to create such a storm by expressing my belief that we should let people act like free and responsible individuals, including when it comes to protecting their language, instead of relying on government coercion to do it for them.
This has since generated several denunciations from public figures in Quebec and a wave of angry comments on the Internet.
Some people say I am not a “real Quebecer” and are accusing me of “attacking Quebec” simply because I want to be more popular in the rest of Canada. They seem unable to conceive that it’s possible to have a different position than theirs on the basis of fundamental principles.
My position is this: Yes, it’s important that Quebec remain a predominantly French-language society. And ideally, everyone in Quebec should be able to speak French. But we should not try to reach this goal by restricting people’s rights and freedom of choice."
Read the whole thing at The National Post
Obama makes Chris Matthews ashamed as an American?! Chris Matthews??!!
About Obama: "There is a transactional quality to the guy that is chilling."
About Egypt: "We don't have any Plan B! Where is our plan?"
Actually Chris, it sounds like Obama did have a Plan B. It involves the Muslim Brotherhood.
About Egypt: "We don't have any Plan B! Where is our plan?"
Actually Chris, it sounds like Obama did have a Plan B. It involves the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sammy Davis Jr. singing the Hawaii 5-0 theme!?!
Yup! It's called You Can Count on Me:
And just so your mind doesn't get too warped, here's The Ventures doing the original instrumental version:
And just so your mind doesn't get too warped, here's The Ventures doing the original instrumental version:
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Time for our government to start an open dialogue about Multiculturalism
First Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and now Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has spoken out against the failure of multiculturalism as a state policy.
As the fractious nature of groups which resist integration into the mainstream has shown, state-sponsored multiculturalism has been a divisive force rather than strengthening for those societies which employ it.
America's Melting Pot does not seek to rub out immigrants' ethnic and cultural identities. As the world's top destination for immigrants, The Unites States has vibrant communities reflecting cultures from all over the world. The difference is that they come to America to be Americans, rather than immigrants who come to Canada to be, for example, Venezuelans in Canada.
Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau made Canada the first country to adopt multiculturalism as official policy. As Liberal member of federal parliament John McKay observed:
Many Canadians now agree that what began as a strategy to diminish separatism has backfired. The Quebec separatist movement is still strong. In some measure, it remains so as a backlash against the idea of Quebecois culture being further diluted by multiculturalism.
For English Canada, what was intended to be a policy to promote inclusiveness has deteriorated into a tyranny imposing minority values on the majority.
Within schools, where history is now a subject barely addressed, multiculturalism is taught as an enshrined characteristic of Canadian identity. In a nation that defines itself by the ways in which "it is not American", multiculturalism, by virtue of not being the American Melting Pot, has become a religion whose dogma cannot be questioned.
But the apparent failings of multiculturalism have raised questions that cannot be avoided.
It's the responsibility of the government to have an open discussion about policies that affect everyone in this country. If we are on the wrong course, it is our duty to correct it, not continue simply because it's the way things have been done for the last two generations. If, as a nation, we can't adapt to contemporary realities, we will be destined to get swept away by them.
Canadians who want to see our government seriously examine whether we should enact changes to official multiculturalism should let Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca) and Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism (kennej@parl.gc.ca) know how they feel.
As the fractious nature of groups which resist integration into the mainstream has shown, state-sponsored multiculturalism has been a divisive force rather than strengthening for those societies which employ it.
America's Melting Pot does not seek to rub out immigrants' ethnic and cultural identities. As the world's top destination for immigrants, The Unites States has vibrant communities reflecting cultures from all over the world. The difference is that they come to America to be Americans, rather than immigrants who come to Canada to be, for example, Venezuelans in Canada.
Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau made Canada the first country to adopt multiculturalism as official policy. As Liberal member of federal parliament John McKay observed:
"Mr. Trudeau’s vision of official multiculturalism was largely a bi-product of his constant struggle against Quebec separatism...Trudeau .. saw official multiculturalism as a useful tool in his ongoing battle to diminish the threat of Quebec separatism, because in disentangling culture from language, he hoped there would be less emphasis on the notion of Canada being composed of ‘two nations/deux nations’, and more focus on Canadians as individuals whose first languages may be English and French, but had various different ethnic origins. In effect, he used immigration and multiculturalism to further his own political agenda for the country."
Many Canadians now agree that what began as a strategy to diminish separatism has backfired. The Quebec separatist movement is still strong. In some measure, it remains so as a backlash against the idea of Quebecois culture being further diluted by multiculturalism.
For English Canada, what was intended to be a policy to promote inclusiveness has deteriorated into a tyranny imposing minority values on the majority.
Within schools, where history is now a subject barely addressed, multiculturalism is taught as an enshrined characteristic of Canadian identity. In a nation that defines itself by the ways in which "it is not American", multiculturalism, by virtue of not being the American Melting Pot, has become a religion whose dogma cannot be questioned.
But the apparent failings of multiculturalism have raised questions that cannot be avoided.
It's the responsibility of the government to have an open discussion about policies that affect everyone in this country. If we are on the wrong course, it is our duty to correct it, not continue simply because it's the way things have been done for the last two generations. If, as a nation, we can't adapt to contemporary realities, we will be destined to get swept away by them.
Canadians who want to see our government seriously examine whether we should enact changes to official multiculturalism should let Prime Minister Stephen Harper (pm@pm.gc.ca) and Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism (kennej@parl.gc.ca) know how they feel.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Some cute Super Bowl ads
This could be Roseanne Barr's best screen performance ever:
WTF?!? Groupon presents exploitative capitalism at its worst..I mean best..well, either way, it's pretty funny:
Communism: The Board Game
WARSAW, Poland – You won't get to build hotels or collect rent in a new Polish board game reminiscent of Monopoly. In fact, you may be lucky even to get a pair of shoes.
Poland's state-run National Remembrance Institute has created the new game — called "Kolejka," which means queue or line — to help young Poles understand the hardships of life under communism.
In the game, players are tasked with buying a number of goods, but a lack of deliveries, shortages and the connections competitors have to communist authorities turn the task into a string of frustrations.
"We want to show young people and remind the older ones what hard times these were and what mechanisms were at play," said Karol Madaj, the game's creator.
Players try to buy basic goods but food supplies run out before they reach the counter. If a bed is needed, they may be offered stools instead. Players needing the shop's last pair of shoes can get edged out by someone holding a "mother with small child" or "friend in government" card.
"We want to show how it was when you lost your chance because someone with high connections jumped the line," said Madaj, a 30-year-old who still remembers spending long hours with his mother in lines.
"We may laugh at it today, but it was not funny for them, when they were wasting their lives in lines."
Read the rest at Yahoo! News
Fanaticism and radicals - LIve from Montreal
You can watch the People's Commission Network conference through live video streaming by clicking the play button below:
UPDATE: the live coverage is over and they're broatcasting something about agriculture and food
UPDATE: the live coverage is over and they're broatcasting something about agriculture and food
Multiculturalism has failed in Britain, PM Cameron says
Will Canada's officialdom wake up to the failure of multiculturalism before it turns into a mirror of the European catastrophe?
From the Globe and Mail:
From the Globe and Mail:
State multiculturalism has failed and left young Muslims vulnerable to radicalization, British Prime Minister David Cameron will say on Saturday, arguing for a more active policy to heal divisions and promote Western values.
Mr. Cameron, in a speech to a security conference in Munich, will argue that Britain and other European nations need to “wake up to what is happening in our countries” as well as tackling terrorism through military operations overseas.
“It is time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past,” he will say, according to extracts from his speech released by his office.
“So first, instead of ignoring this extremist ideology, we – as governments and societies – have got to confront it, in all its forms.”
His comments echo those made by German leader Angela Merkel last year and reflect a push by European governments to better integrate immigrants, given persistent domestic tensions between different cultures.
Friday, February 4, 2011
A worried Gaddafi bans soccer matches to head off protests
With popular uprisings against autocrats spreading across the Arab world, unpopular Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi has extended a ban of public demonstrations to include a ban on soccer matches.Libya's crazed leader, who named one of his sons Hannibal, lives a lifestyle that exceeds that of the potentates of ancient Carthage on whose ruins his country sits.
Gaddafi has imprisoned journalists and political opponents and has ordered the assassination of ex-patriots who have spoken out against his regime. His repression of all dissent has made him and his family extremely unpopular among the Libyan masses.
His fear of meeting a fate worse than the deposed leader of Tunisia has led him to ban any opportunity for his people to assemble in large groups, even in non-political venues. He seems to appreciate that the opportunity to denounce the Beast of Tripoli may prove irresistible whenever it presents itself for his people.
The Longest Day? Get ready for two suns in the sky
Earth could have two suns when Betelgeuse, the second largest star in the constellation Orion, explodes...
This mind-blowing event could happen as soon as this year when Betelgeuse, one of the brightest stars in the sky, explodes – causing enough brightness to illuminate both day and night.
The only real issue of debate is over when exactly this event will happen. Some scientists say the blast might have already happened and we just haven’t seen the light rays yet.
Brad Carter, senior lecturer of physics at the University of southern Queensland in Australia, told the London Telegraph that the blast could happen in the next few months . . . or any time over the next million years. Talk about an open-ended timeframe.This video isn't exactly about the phenomenon described above, but is interesting and gives an indication of what we may see if the two sun event is visible in our lifetime.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Spy Wars on the Discovery Channel
Michael Ross, author, columnist and former Mossad spy, will appear on Spy Wars on The Discovery Channel.
It's on Thursday at 9 PM Eastern and repeated at 1 AM and 4 PM on Friday.
It's on Thursday at 9 PM Eastern and repeated at 1 AM and 4 PM on Friday.
"Former Israeli and American spies explore the technology and tactics behind one of the greatest murder mysteries: the assassination of Saddam Hussein's top weapons scientist Gerald Bull in March 1990."Michael is an old friend of this blog as well as the author of The Volunteer: A Canadian's Secret Life in the Mossad. His insight promises to make Spy Wars a must see.
America's role in the Egyptian turmoil, the Muslim Brotherhood and George Soros connections
It has been suggested that Mohamed ElBaredei, who has emerged as the de facto leader of the opposition to embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, is the man of certain outside interests.
The International Crisis Group is a foreign affairs think tank partly funded by, and on whose Executive Committee sits billionaire currency speculator George Soros. One of the group's Board members is Mohamed ElBaredei.
ElBaredei himself has been making conciliatory statements about the Muslim Brotherhood since his return to Egypt. This should come as no surprise, since in 2008, the International Crisis Group produced a report proposing the integration of the Brotherhood into Egypt's political framework.
The following year, US President Obama held secret meetings with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which is linked to terrorism throughout the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes the full political rights for women and religious minorities, has been making friends in influential places recently.
But the NDP, Egypt's ruling party, despite the recent demonstrations of opposition to Mubarak, still commands a great deal of support in North Africa's most populous and influential country.
What is seeming increasingly apparent is that the US is trying to play both sides of the fight in Egypt right now. It's a dangerous game in which it could emerge the loser no matter who in Egypt triumphs.
UPDATE: A fascinating first-hand account from an Egyptian blogger:
The International Crisis Group is a foreign affairs think tank partly funded by, and on whose Executive Committee sits billionaire currency speculator George Soros. One of the group's Board members is Mohamed ElBaredei.
ElBaredei himself has been making conciliatory statements about the Muslim Brotherhood since his return to Egypt. This should come as no surprise, since in 2008, the International Crisis Group produced a report proposing the integration of the Brotherhood into Egypt's political framework.
The following year, US President Obama held secret meetings with members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a group which is linked to terrorism throughout the Middle East. The Muslim Brotherhood, which opposes the full political rights for women and religious minorities, has been making friends in influential places recently.
But the NDP, Egypt's ruling party, despite the recent demonstrations of opposition to Mubarak, still commands a great deal of support in North Africa's most populous and influential country.
What is seeming increasingly apparent is that the US is trying to play both sides of the fight in Egypt right now. It's a dangerous game in which it could emerge the loser no matter who in Egypt triumphs.
UPDATE: A fascinating first-hand account from an Egyptian blogger:
Gay, middle-aged York University professor makes creepy video message for Justin Bieber
York University anti-Israel fanatic targets Justin Bieber with tacky video:
York University film instructor, publicly-funded arts grant leech and "Queers Against Israeli Apartheid" fixture John Greyson wants teen idol Justin Bieber to cancel his Israel concert.
Like most people in the world, Bieber probably never has and never will hear of Greyson. But tacky, flamboyant gestures are what being a York U Israel-hater is all about, it seems.
So for a little self-promotion, Greyson's created a pathetic piece of drek which features a pudgy woman who looks vaguely like Jenny Peto as Bieber. But it's probably not the first time Beiber has been the recipient of a strange video message from a Gay, middle-aged man. Imagine if Weird Al Yankovic were a talentless communist, and it'll give you an idea of what Greyson's videos are like. (Actually, that description makes Greyson's work sound a lot more interesting than it is.)
The boycott attempt has been phenomenally unsuccessful and with the recent death of anti-Israel zealot David Noble, even York is one fanatic less.
What's indicative of Greyson's less than spectacular reasoning skills is that his video accuses Zionists of "bullying" the anti-Zionists by attempting to get funds withdrawn from Toronto's Pride if they included the obnoxious "Queers Against Israeli Apartheid."
Because applying political and economic pressure is "bullying"..unless you're an anti-Israel bigot???
York University film instructor, publicly-funded arts grant leech and "Queers Against Israeli Apartheid" fixture John Greyson wants teen idol Justin Bieber to cancel his Israel concert.
Like most people in the world, Bieber probably never has and never will hear of Greyson. But tacky, flamboyant gestures are what being a York U Israel-hater is all about, it seems.
So for a little self-promotion, Greyson's created a pathetic piece of drek which features a pudgy woman who looks vaguely like Jenny Peto as Bieber. But it's probably not the first time Beiber has been the recipient of a strange video message from a Gay, middle-aged man. Imagine if Weird Al Yankovic were a talentless communist, and it'll give you an idea of what Greyson's videos are like. (Actually, that description makes Greyson's work sound a lot more interesting than it is.)
What's indicative of Greyson's less than spectacular reasoning skills is that his video accuses Zionists of "bullying" the anti-Zionists by attempting to get funds withdrawn from Toronto's Pride if they included the obnoxious "Queers Against Israeli Apartheid."
Because applying political and economic pressure is "bullying"..unless you're an anti-Israel bigot???
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
It looks like Mubarak's son Gamal will be trying to succeed his father
According to Egypt's Al-Ahram, a media source sympathetic to the ruling NDP party:
According to leading NDP figures, a politburo meeting of the NDP is planned for today to discuss the overall reaction of the party -- which is chaired by President Hosni Mubarak -- to the demonstrations and the demands for economic and political reforms that were made by protesters.
It is not clear, however, where the meeting will be held. NDP sources suggest it is unlikely to be at the party's headquarters in Abdel-Moneim Riad Square. The headquarters was stoned by demonstrators on Tuesday, and on Wednesday there was a massive security presence around it to prevent further attacks.
What is certain, according to a leading NDP figure, is that Gamal Mubarak, the younger son of the president and the assistant secretary- general of the NDP, will be present.
The meeting could thus squash widespread speculation that Gamal Mubarak left Egypt "hastily" on Tuesday evening to a Western capital.
Better to burn out than to fade a way - New Egyptian trend of suicide by fire
Al-Ahram Weekly, the government-leaning Egyptian news source, is now back up after the Mubarak regime halted his country's internet during this week's protests in Cairo.
One of the stranger reports is of a recent trend by Egyptians to commit suicide by self-immolation. Over 20 Egyptians have killed themselves that way in the last 2 weeks.
One of the stranger reports is of a recent trend by Egyptians to commit suicide by self-immolation. Over 20 Egyptians have killed themselves that way in the last 2 weeks.
The increasing number of Egyptians trying to commit suicide by setting themselves ablaze became a matter of heated discussion in the People's Assembly on Sunday.
Parliamentary speaker Fathi Sorour said he had asked the People Assembly's Religious and Social Affairs Committee to hold a series of hearings to discuss the phenomenon. The request was made after Gamal Asaad Abdel-Malak, an appointed Coptic MP, argued that "Egyptians who had tried to commit suicide by setting themselves ablaze seem to be driven by the same problems and complaints that drove young Tunisians to revolt against their government."
"Tunisians who committed suicide by setting themselves ablaze were motivated by political and social reasons including rejection of the regime, unemployment and high prices," said Abdel-Malak. "In Egypt we were surprised to find that some tried to do the same. The reasons behind this must be investigated so as not to trigger a state of chaos."
Sorour disagreed with Asaad's assessment but nonetheless ordered an inquiry. "The two citizens who tried to set themselves ablaze in front of the building of the People's Assembly last week were driven by personal reasons," said the speaker. "It is wrong to cite just two examples of self-immolation and say this is a common phenomenon."The entire article is (now) available at al-Ahram
The Zsa Zsa Golden Casket Controversy: The view from the other side
Yesterday I wrote a blog entry questioning the good taste of The Golden Casket, a coffin manufacturer, in promoting their product by giving Zsa Zsa Gabor a $40,000 gold casket while she is ailing.
The Golden Casket folks got wind of this and their publicist sent me an email, which is their side of the story, and you can see it, in its entirety, below.
What I'm getting at is that I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so why wait 'till the last minute, Golden Casket people? If you want to comp me a coffin too, I'm sure I'll make good use of it!
The Golden Casket Company (http://www.thegoldencasket.com) makes luxury hand-crafted caskets using 24 Karat gold. The men behind these works of art are artists and craftsmen by trade. Only a limited number of caskets are made due to the intense labor and skill that is put into each casket.
When the news of Zsa Zsa Gabor’s struggle with health hit the airways, the owners of The Golden Casket were honored to extend the company's kind and heartfelt offer of a pure 24K Golden Casket to Zsa Zsa and the Prince. The Golden Casket Company made the decision after much internal discussion regarding the sensitivity and timing of their offer. The offer was made to Zsa Zsa Gabor’s publicist, John Blanchette, and not to the family directly. Prince Frederic von Anhalt personally expressed serious interest and requested more information from The Golden Casket Company to be sent directly to his attention, nearly two weeks ago.
The original offer sent to the Prince follows below:
January 21st, 2011
His Royal Highness
Prinz Frédéric von Anhalt
1001 Bel Air Road
Los Angeles, CA 90077
Your Royal Highness –
I recently contacted Mr. John Blanchette regarding a beautiful gift for your wife Zsa Zsa, and he requested that I write to you directly.
I am the president and owner of The Golden Casket Company. After reading Zsa Zsa’s recent comments, and following the updates on her health, we thought it would be an appropriate time to contact you and respectfully offer as a gift to Zsa Zsa something for the future that would celebrate her wonderful and colorful life.
We would like to honor Zsa Zsa Gabor by providing an exquisite, handcrafted, pure 24-Karat gold casket – a handmade work of art that will serve as a truly refined and exceptionally beautiful celebration of her life. We feel that a resplendent personality such as Zsa Zsa’s deserves the best and most elegant casket. In addition, we can add one of Zsa Zsa's famous quotes on the interior velvet, as a personal touch.
Our top of the line Monarch 24-Karat Gold Luxury Casket retails for $40,000.00. However, we will donate it at no cost whatsoever to you and Zsa Zsa, provided that discretion is used that this was a gift, and that the casket is the one chosen for the ceremony.
We believe that Zsa Zsa would want to be forever remembered as she has always been in life – beautiful, elegant, uncompromising and completely original. We create the only real pure 24-Karat gold burial casket available in America, and we feel that Zsa Zsa deserves the real thing. Our highly skilled master craftsmen spend more than 200 hours to produce a single casket, and each is a truly unique masterpiece.
Zsa Zsa has of course captivated, inspired and motivated millions of people, including our parents, their parents and us. We would be deeply honored if you and Zsa Zsa would consider accepting this beautiful gift, as we believe it would truly reflect her glamorous and sophisticated era. If you and Zsa Zsa do decide to accept our offer, we will prepare and store the casket, ready for personal delivery to your chosen funeral home.
Enclosed please find our brochure. I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Justin Wessels
President, The Golden Casket Company
Office: (860) 598-4067
Cell: (860) 373-6077
After receiving a voicemail from Gabor’s publicist, John Blanchette, to contact the Prince directly with more information, the founders of The Golden Casket proceeded as requested.
The Golden Casket works primarily with “pre-need” people who order their caskets in advance, sometimes years. The company’s only intent in contacting Gabor’s representative was to make them aware of a new luxury product that would suit a woman of her stature, sophistication, and class. Vice President, Edward Balfour states firmly, “After the negative portrayal on The Golden Casket Company from the article on TMZ.com, we felt it necessary to take further action. We are proud to offer handmade works of art to celebrate the lives of incredible people. I simply do not understand how our company's offer can be taken as anything other than what it is --- a kind and respectful gift. With the couple's financial setbacks, high medical bills, and their estate up for sale, we felt that our gesture was appropriate and with honor. We still feel that way."
The Golden Casket prides itself on offering exquisite products to well known figures and making the world aware of a luxury entity.
 |
| Zsa Zsa |
One thing's for sure; regardless of what you think about their idea of appropriate gifting, these people make a good looking coffin. You can check out their website at this link. If you want to be buried like a Pharaoh, they're the people you need to call.
One of the points of the original post is that people tend to like gifts that they can use when they're, you know.. alive!
 |
| Would have looked better with A Golden Casket |
But after looking at their products, I realized, a person could make some fun use out of them. Put some wheels and motor on one and you'd have the Bentley of coffins..or is that the coffin of Bentleys?
If I were a vampire, a Golden Casket coffin is definitely where I'd want to be having a good day's rest.
 |
| "This wouldn't have happened if my coffin had a lock! If only I'd called The Golden Casket!" |
What I'm getting at is that I'm feeling a little under the weather today, so why wait 'till the last minute, Golden Casket people? If you want to comp me a coffin too, I'm sure I'll make good use of it!
------------------ --------------- ----------------
The Golden Casket Company (http://www.thegoldencasket.com) makes luxury hand-crafted caskets using 24 Karat gold. The men behind these works of art are artists and craftsmen by trade. Only a limited number of caskets are made due to the intense labor and skill that is put into each casket.
When the news of Zsa Zsa Gabor’s struggle with health hit the airways, the owners of The Golden Casket were honored to extend the company's kind and heartfelt offer of a pure 24K Golden Casket to Zsa Zsa and the Prince. The Golden Casket Company made the decision after much internal discussion regarding the sensitivity and timing of their offer. The offer was made to Zsa Zsa Gabor’s publicist, John Blanchette, and not to the family directly. Prince Frederic von Anhalt personally expressed serious interest and requested more information from The Golden Casket Company to be sent directly to his attention, nearly two weeks ago.
The original offer sent to the Prince follows below:
January 21st, 2011
His Royal Highness
Prinz Frédéric von Anhalt
1001 Bel Air Road
Los Angeles, CA 90077
Your Royal Highness –
I recently contacted Mr. John Blanchette regarding a beautiful gift for your wife Zsa Zsa, and he requested that I write to you directly.
I am the president and owner of The Golden Casket Company. After reading Zsa Zsa’s recent comments, and following the updates on her health, we thought it would be an appropriate time to contact you and respectfully offer as a gift to Zsa Zsa something for the future that would celebrate her wonderful and colorful life.
We would like to honor Zsa Zsa Gabor by providing an exquisite, handcrafted, pure 24-Karat gold casket – a handmade work of art that will serve as a truly refined and exceptionally beautiful celebration of her life. We feel that a resplendent personality such as Zsa Zsa’s deserves the best and most elegant casket. In addition, we can add one of Zsa Zsa's famous quotes on the interior velvet, as a personal touch.
Our top of the line Monarch 24-Karat Gold Luxury Casket retails for $40,000.00. However, we will donate it at no cost whatsoever to you and Zsa Zsa, provided that discretion is used that this was a gift, and that the casket is the one chosen for the ceremony.
We believe that Zsa Zsa would want to be forever remembered as she has always been in life – beautiful, elegant, uncompromising and completely original. We create the only real pure 24-Karat gold burial casket available in America, and we feel that Zsa Zsa deserves the real thing. Our highly skilled master craftsmen spend more than 200 hours to produce a single casket, and each is a truly unique masterpiece.
Zsa Zsa has of course captivated, inspired and motivated millions of people, including our parents, their parents and us. We would be deeply honored if you and Zsa Zsa would consider accepting this beautiful gift, as we believe it would truly reflect her glamorous and sophisticated era. If you and Zsa Zsa do decide to accept our offer, we will prepare and store the casket, ready for personal delivery to your chosen funeral home.
Enclosed please find our brochure. I look forward to your reply.
Sincerely,
Justin Wessels
President, The Golden Casket Company
Office: (860) 598-4067
Cell: (860) 373-6077
After receiving a voicemail from Gabor’s publicist, John Blanchette, to contact the Prince directly with more information, the founders of The Golden Casket proceeded as requested.
The Golden Casket works primarily with “pre-need” people who order their caskets in advance, sometimes years. The company’s only intent in contacting Gabor’s representative was to make them aware of a new luxury product that would suit a woman of her stature, sophistication, and class. Vice President, Edward Balfour states firmly, “After the negative portrayal on The Golden Casket Company from the article on TMZ.com, we felt it necessary to take further action. We are proud to offer handmade works of art to celebrate the lives of incredible people. I simply do not understand how our company's offer can be taken as anything other than what it is --- a kind and respectful gift. With the couple's financial setbacks, high medical bills, and their estate up for sale, we felt that our gesture was appropriate and with honor. We still feel that way."
The Golden Casket prides itself on offering exquisite products to well known figures and making the world aware of a luxury entity.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Jihad Jane pleads guilty to conspiring to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks
From Associated Press:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A Pennsylvania woman who called herself "Jihad Jane" online pleaded guilty Tuesday to her role in a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who had offended Muslims.
Colleen LaRose, 47, helped foreign terror suspects intent on starting a holy war in Europe and South Asia, prosecutors said.
LaRose, who also was accused of using the online screen name "Fatima LaRose," has been in custody since October 2009 and faces a possible life sentence under the four charges to which she pleaded guilty.
Hosni Mubarak: "I will die on the soil of Egypt"
In the face of massive protests, beleaguered Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has just announced that he will not seek re-election in September elections.
He forcefully stated in a speech in the last hour that he will "die on the soil of Egypt" and will initiate electoral reforms, including fixed presidential terms.
Whether the public accepts his decision to retain power until fall will be determined over the next few days. The crowds listening to his speech on outdoor monitors heckled as he delivered it. There is speculation that if he can, Mubarak will be using the time to ensure that a successor in the NDP, the ruling Egyptian party, can be introduced to the public and make use of the largely-government controlled media to win popular support. Mubarak's son Gamal is usually mentioned in Egypt as being groomed to take over his father's role. Mubarak has another son, Alaa.
One observation the protesters are beginning to realize is that there may be a million people in the streets, but there are 79 million Egyptians who are staying home who don't necessarily share their aspirations.
A question that remains is, if Mubarak were to step down now, who would assume the reins of power?
He forcefully stated in a speech in the last hour that he will "die on the soil of Egypt" and will initiate electoral reforms, including fixed presidential terms.
Whether the public accepts his decision to retain power until fall will be determined over the next few days. The crowds listening to his speech on outdoor monitors heckled as he delivered it. There is speculation that if he can, Mubarak will be using the time to ensure that a successor in the NDP, the ruling Egyptian party, can be introduced to the public and make use of the largely-government controlled media to win popular support. Mubarak's son Gamal is usually mentioned in Egypt as being groomed to take over his father's role. Mubarak has another son, Alaa.
One observation the protesters are beginning to realize is that there may be a million people in the streets, but there are 79 million Egyptians who are staying home who don't necessarily share their aspirations.
A question that remains is, if Mubarak were to step down now, who would assume the reins of power?
How much Jew hate can you fit into a room at one time?
How much Jew hate can you fit into a room at one time?
A group of radicals at Simon Fraser University may provide the answer when Omar "F*ck Canada Day" Chabban and Jenny "Hate Thesis" Peto compete with each other to see who is the biggest Israel hater on February 12.
Along for comic relief will be someone called Brian Campbell of something called "The Seriously Free Speech Committee" who has a big fan over at anti-Semitic blog Northerntruthseeker.
The three will no doubt complain about how they are the victims of "censorship" and "repression" because they are routinely ridiculed.
A group of radicals at Simon Fraser University may provide the answer when Omar "F*ck Canada Day" Chabban and Jenny "Hate Thesis" Peto compete with each other to see who is the biggest Israel hater on February 12.
Along for comic relief will be someone called Brian Campbell of something called "The Seriously Free Speech Committee" who has a big fan over at anti-Semitic blog Northerntruthseeker.
The three will no doubt complain about how they are the victims of "censorship" and "repression" because they are routinely ridiculed.
Iran cracks down as Egypt cracks up
While the world's attention has been riveted by Arab uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt this month, Iran's government has taken the opportunity to execute a record number of prisoners in an apparent bid to head off the return of the dramatic street protests that pushed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government to the brink in June 2009.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have been spinning the turmoil in the Arab world as a victory for Iran and a replay of Iran's 1979 revolution against the U.S.-backed shah. But the mass protests that are ricocheting around the region -- spread in part by Facebook, Twitter, text messaging, and satellite television -- cut more than one way for Tehran. They remind Iranians of their own recent failed attempt to dislodge an increasingly authoritarian government.read the rest at Foreign Policy magazine
The Taliban in Pakistan
With the news that it has increased its nuclear arsenal, Pakistan has the potential to become the world's most dangerous failed state.
PETA's racy 2011 Superbowl ad
I guess the point is, you don't need meat to have fun.
WARNING: The video below may not be appropriate to view in all settings, and features somewhat undressed women playing with vegetables.
h/t The Huffington Post
WARNING: The video below may not be appropriate to view in all settings, and features somewhat undressed women playing with vegetables.
h/t The Huffington Post
81 year old Christopher Plummer blows away critcs in Barrymore
Canada's dean of thespians, Christopher Plummer is wowing theatre critics with his starring role in William Luce's play Barrymore.
Plummer is Canada's greatest actor (unless you count Bill Shatner) and is bringing a thrill to crowds who would normally associate the name Barrymore with Drew and not her grandfather.
While the praise for Plummer in Barrymore is universal, opinion about the play itself is mixed with many critics saying the play more a collection of one-liners than a cohesive narrative.
If you get a chance to see Plummer on stage, take it.
This link will take you to a brief scene from Barrymore, currently playing at The Elgin Theatre in Toronto.
Plummer is Canada's greatest actor (unless you count Bill Shatner) and is bringing a thrill to crowds who would normally associate the name Barrymore with Drew and not her grandfather.
While the praise for Plummer in Barrymore is universal, opinion about the play itself is mixed with many critics saying the play more a collection of one-liners than a cohesive narrative.
If you get a chance to see Plummer on stage, take it.
This link will take you to a brief scene from Barrymore, currently playing at The Elgin Theatre in Toronto.
And the award for bad taste in promotional efforts goes to...
Name brand manufacturers frequently and without solicitation send celebrities free stuff, hoping that if a famous person decides to wear, drive, etc their product, it'll serve as a promotion.
But it seems some people don't know where the boundaries of propriety and good taste end.
In Hollywood, you say!? Who'd have thunk it!?
Celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that a funeral company called The Golden Casket as decided, as a promotion, to send Zsa Zsa Gabor a free gold-plated casket worth $40,000.00
Another rule the Golden Casket people seem to have forgotten is that a gift is generally only appreciated if you can use it when you're alive.
Yipes!
But it seems some people don't know where the boundaries of propriety and good taste end.
In Hollywood, you say!? Who'd have thunk it!?
Celebrity gossip site TMZ reports that a funeral company called The Golden Casket as decided, as a promotion, to send Zsa Zsa Gabor a free gold-plated casket worth $40,000.00
Another rule the Golden Casket people seem to have forgotten is that a gift is generally only appreciated if you can use it when you're alive.
Yipes!
Donald Trump says he'll run for President in 2012 as a Republican
A number of news sources have recently reported that Donald Trump, billionaire real estate developer and reality TV show star, will try to get the Republican nod as candidate in the 2012 presidential contest.
I don't know what to say, other than I hope a strong wind doesn't mess up the world's most famous and awful comb-over during the campaign.
Please Republicans, get your act together and find someone other than clowns like Trump and Palin and stiffs like Mitt Romney to run in '12. The world is a dangerous place and Obama is a good guy, but not up to making the tough decisions needed to lead the free world.
I don't know what to say, other than I hope a strong wind doesn't mess up the world's most famous and awful comb-over during the campaign.
Please Republicans, get your act together and find someone other than clowns like Trump and Palin and stiffs like Mitt Romney to run in '12. The world is a dangerous place and Obama is a good guy, but not up to making the tough decisions needed to lead the free world.
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