Godlessness is Good
I am an atheist. I do no claim to have answers and, conversely, I do not believe that anyone else does either. And, if there truly IS a god, I am thoroughly off the hook for not believing in it/him/her--the only god that I would ever believe in would be a kind and loving and understanding god, and that god would really like the fact that I question such god's existence. I believe that actions are everything in life. We all control each and every moment that we live, totally and completely vis-a-vis our own actions, inactions, words, thought, etc. I do not put the onus on some other thing out there; I take full responsibility for everything that involves my own self. Furthermore I do not believe in repentance for sins or forgiveness for repeating mistakes. Instead, I choose knowingly and intentionally to always do the right thing with respect to living my life. I always do my very best each and every moment of each and every day. I have no hang ups; I am free. Free, that is, from the many and varying twisted and pathological idees fixe that almost every religion seems to impose on it's followers. I always do the right thing, having complete control of myself. I don't make mistakes, except maybe in math. I like to rant, I like to rave, I like to tell people what to do, but I really don't care if they listen...I AM the Jehovah of my own universe. I don't need to wear hair shirts to repent and I don't need to confess to anyone for sins because I don't "sin" in the first place. I am kind, loving, generous, understanding and intelligent. There is nothing in this world that I need or want for myself. I am perfect, PERFECT FLAWS AND ALL.
The question of just which of the many religion has it "right" and has the answers is asinine and useless. My contention is that I and I alone have it all right...get my point? I kind of like the simplicity of what the 14th Dalai Lama has said. He said: "My religion is simple. My religion is kindness." End of story.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2009
Instead...
Instead of basic human kindness, the world is filled with unspeakable atrocities, mind boggling hypocrisy and countless criminal injustices. Many of these wretched and abhorrent behaviors are personified in organized religions and in the name of "god." So-called Christians are among the worst of offenders. I am a lifelong agnostic, bordering on atheist and, by my witnessing the absolutely reprehensible behavior and deranged beliefs by and of the most dogmatic right-wing fundamentalist religious types, I come to believe more than ever that religion is the root of all evil. I sincerely believe that religion, particularly the various and horrible forms of Christianity, is far more damaging than helpful. I do not believe that one can do one horrible deed after another and then simply repent and ask forgiveness; rather, you, um, to quote the bible "reap what you sow." In Buddhism it's called "Karma." And I am certain that every religion and belief system around the world has a word or phrase for it. What ever it is that you give out, you shall get it all back in spades; I don't believe in repentance or forgiveness; live your life with the best of intentions ALWAYS, and always do your best. That's really all there is to it. Be kind, generous and open-handed. Do not bean asshole or greedy, stingy tight-fisted and judgmental. It's all so very simple, why do so many religious people get it all so, well, so wrong?!?! If more so-called "good Christians" would actually follow the words and teachings of their hero Jesus Christ ( a great prophet, in my estimation) then they wouldn't be the hypocritical, right-wing, bigoted, judgmental cretins that so many of them are in reality. There is absolutely no excuse for such behavior from anyone in this world of ours. Look at yourselves, as you ruin the world!!!! And in the name of god, to boot!!!!! The current rise of Christian crusades, preaching creationism and strict fundamentalism, are more than just ignorant, stupid and vile; they are dangerous. These incomprehensible busybodies want the rest of the world to see things just as they do. Why can't these people just keep their mouths shut and be content in their own lives without trying to force their asinine and evil notions on others?
CHRIST(INA) MARLOWE
It is my contention that each religion has a basic and good foundation, and each has a measure of good words and good teachings. That being said, I think that once human beings, particularly those who don't practice looking closely at themselves and their own behaviors, that instead latch onto a certain book and then these people go on to ruin their own lives in such puzzling and crazy ways. Particularly if you're saddled with the belief that the almighty god is a jealous, nasty, ill-tempered and hateful god, um, that that bastard in the Old Testament. And if you spend your time believing in that, you're, well, you're just fucked.
Cheers,
Christ Marlowe
The blasphemy of Politics in Religion--
(Don't these morons know that the Constitution is purposely an utterly GODLESS document??)
As I cringe again and again at the fact that every single politician, Democrat and Republican alike, tries to pander to the organized religious institutions in our country, I become more resentful that religion of any kind should be an issue at all in the political arena. The presidential contenders in both parties are playing a game of one-upmanship as to whom has more faith in god whilst the word "god" should never, ever, enter the political arena at all. The most omnipresent danger in politics is religion--and time after time, particularly with the fanatical right-wing conservatives, it, religion, seems to be at the forefront; and this is indeed dangerous.
The so-called and much-more-often-than-not-so-good 'Christian' soldiers have been, still are and will continue to be devils incarnate: President Bush, Dick Cheney, Condaleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, Carl Rove ( just to name a few ) have participated in the most impeachable offenses from the very beginning of their dictatorship; in fact, they are war criminals and repeatedly override the Constitution--there are no checks and balances left and they are ruling the world into irreparable oblivion and a quagmire so deep and dense that it's utterly mind boggling. Yet it's fascinating to watch, you must admit.
This is where I will be organizing my ideas. One idea regarding science/technology versus religion:
Religion is not "in" science. The former is a beautiful feeling of faith and trust. The latter is a beautiful feeling of predicatable outcomes and peer-reviewed logic. Faith and logic are not the same thing, nor should they be. Each has a purpose.
Considering a fact's importance implies judgement. And you cannot judge a fact if you are 100% ignorant of the outcome that judgement produces. It comes down to inductive versus deductive logic. Because religion is a means and not an outcome, facts cannot be judged when applied to it. It all becomes opinion and faith.
In the end, Faith is inductive (what happens after we die?). Science, in it's truest form, is inductive as well.
Oscar Mathews
9 Aug 2009
When I toured Europe, some years back, I was kind of surprised by the size of the old churches, relative to the size of everything of age which surrounded them. I went inside many. Huge resounding open areas are common to all of them. And every one of them has, as an integrated part of its construct, a great high and elaborate podium. I realized something. For a long time there was only the spoken word for the passing of information. There was writing, but Guttenberg took some time to really get print off the ground. And people had to learn to read. So, where did people go to get the news of the day? Or of the week? To the church, where they sat or stood down below an 'announcer,' or News Anchor...although he was officially titled a minister or a priest. No wonder the power of religion is so strong, even extending to and through this very time. The 'anchor' of those times could reach hundreds of people, potentially thousands, at one setting. Nobody else could come close to that.
Here we are today. We have the same problems with reaching the people, although everything has dramatically changed in scale. Who has that podium, microphone, or television transmitter controls what is transmitted as the news. And messages beyond the news? Those are delivered in papers, books, the television and the internet, although they cross all over one another in content and kind of delivery.
So how do you get a message out to 'the people' if you do not already have possession of one of those 'podiums?' You beg. You cajole. You appeal. You attempt to cast yourself as an interesting enough voice to be of value to whoever and whatever it is that controls ascension to the podium. And it is unbelievably hard to do any of that. The myth is that only the best work gets to the top. The truth is that only those who have some sort of access, or can angle some sort of access, get their message heard at all. In fact, it is so very very hard that only a very tiny percentage of people ever get 'read' at all. To be 'read' is to be considered for publication or airing, not to be given the podium.
The internet is marginally changing things. You can get read by writing blogs. You can Twitter. You can comment on Facebook. You can get viewed by making a video for Youtube. Those things are advances which are new and most unusual. But those advances do not get you in front of 'the people.' You might get twenty or thirty 'hits' a day on your blog if you develop a following. You might get a few hundred views of your Youtube video. To really reach any of the public at all, you have to be 'touched by God.' I once talked to Jacqueline Mitchard, just after she had written Deep End of the Ocean. I told her that I believed that her book would become a bestseller. She responded with something completely prophetic: "...from your mouth to God's ears..." God touched her through Oprah. Oprah picked her novel to be her first book club selection. And that was it. Mitchard is the top speaker at the Hawaii conference I will be speaking at in September (I am a lowly entity compared to her, although I really like her so I don't mind). Somehow, I do not think Jackie is going to recognize or remember that guy who stopped to comment so long ago at Barnes and Noble in Madison. Fame is not especially complimentary to long term memory.
You can have a voice out here, true, but it is more like being a town crier on a soap box, compared to having the podium. People stop briefly, look at you funny, and then pass on by. Your only message, probably, is that you are a weird person standing atop a box as people pass you by. You have a message, and it might be the single most important message anyone could have, but it matters not at all if nobody hears or sees it.
Competition is extremely stiff. Everyone is shouting into that darkness. And you will note that the greatest stuff is not like the cream rising to the top. Note that every word that Sarah Palin says is duly reported, over and over again. It does not matter what she says. The same is true for Joe the Plumber. No matter how stupid, vapid or idiotic their strung together words are, they have the podium. How do you persevere through all this? How do you get a shot at the podium? I am not sure. I am still down here with you, the few, thinking about it and wondering myself. I reach many more than most who try, but my numbers are really small too. The message on House is influenced by a large writing staff and a bevy of producers, not to mention the director. It is not really mine, even if some people think it is. And I am constantly asking myself another valid question: "why is that I think my message is important enough to be considered by 'the people' anyway?" That is, indeed, a good and valid question of merit. I ponder that, day after day. I believe I do have a message. A message of compassion, concern, intellect, tribalism, work, thought, relationship, love, honor, integrity, and losing causes. I have traveled far. God did touch me with His finger when it came to that. But is it enough to get atop that podium and tell it all to you? As i said, I sit here, with my coffee and my laptop, and I ponder.
http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com
http://www.themastodons.com
http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
"In religiously conservative countries, the situation of women is really bad. In fact, most of the women are in similar conditions and suffer from the torturing life style that the men enforce in their countries. It is really sad to see how the men-created regimes based on religion affect the lives of women, children and youth... Why do women as the creatures of a secondary gender (!) need rights and equality that men have? There are millions of dangerously narrow minded men and ignorantly victimized women who still ask this question and cannot understand the concept of 'female' who has mutual rights of co-existing genders that were divinely created. What a double standard of an egoist mentality!!! The problems of women in the conservatively governed and male-centered countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey (partially), and more ---no matter what religion their demagogy, narrow mindedness and poor judgment is serving ... The suffer of women and children all around the world is still the bleeding wound of mankind in the 21st century..."
Alp Icoz, M.A.
Violence Is A Dead End
Very many listened from many countries too
I watched as again he sculpted history in his Cairo debut
Obama is never surprising but my admiration grows
Learning each time the wisdom of what he knows
Experience is a great teacher but faith is best
No doctrine has every superseded its test
Countries in their pursuit of freedom and rights
Exterminate other countries in brutal fights
Islam and Christianity have similar belief
So why do these religions sustain so much grief
As a young boy in Indonesia where people were predominately Muslim
Didn’t prohibit the Christian few from their worship, didn’t stop him
Even though he was but a boy he fully understood
A people shouldn’t be stopped when their values are good
Do on to others as you would have that they do onto you
Explains the paths of these religions and there are others too
No future lies ahead when religions are identified by cruel trend
Defined by bloodshed, not when Violence Is A Dead End!
The Issues we have with the Arab-Muslim world - What Pres. Obama should mention
- Teaching that non-Muslims are non humans, such as Christians are "pigs" and Jews are "apes".
- Sharia law (implementation) horrors, including oppression of women.
- Honor killings epidemic.
- Playing "victim" while being the aggressor, such as the Arab "Palestinians", Taliban, etc.
- The Genocide campaign by radical Islam (Hezbollah, Hamas, Ahmadinejad, etc.) on Israel / Jews.
- Bigoted Islamism: Persecution, oppression of and apartheid against all non Muslims in the Islamic world (including in S. Arabia, Palestinian Hamas, etc.).
- Racist Arabism: Persecution, oppression of and apartheid against all non-Arabs in the Arab world, especially of native Egyptians (Nubians), Kurds, Copts, Assyrians, Berbers (native N. Africans), Jews (not just inside Israel), Africans (Africans living in Arab countries and the racist slavery in Sudan, Mauritania... genocide in Darfur). The wide justification of Islamic violence all over the world.
- Squeezing the world economy by power of oil prices (OPEC).
- From the 22 Arab countries so far, they all range from totalitarianism to corruption, not even one has managed to be real free, equal and democratic.
- The global Islamic radical campaign to dominate the world - untamed by "moderate" Muslims.
BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREEA Simple Question: Would God Condone Torture?
Maybe I'm missing something but I find it uniquely ironic that some the same people who clamor for prayer in school, claim that same-sex marriage is an abomination under God,who insist that America is a Christian nation, and fight for the Biblical version of creationism over science, are also the very same people who demand the right to be armed to the teeth with some of the most destructive private weapons on Earth, the right to slaughter and bring the most excruciating kinds of death upon God's other creatures for nothing more than their own entertainment, and now, condone the torture of other human beings as a legitimate tool of government. Is it just me, or does anyone else see this as the very height of hypocrisy?
Adolf Hitler / Nazis hated Arabs as an inferior “race”, yet praised Islam in its ‘war like’ TOTALITARIAN ideology He saw them as a great disposable tool to be used against the Jews, the mufti fell for it.
SPLCenter.org: The Swastika and the Crescent, Although he loathed Arabs (he once described them as “lacquered half-apes who ought to be whipped“), Hitler understood that he and the Mufti shared the same rivals, British and the Jews… http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=242
ESSAY - May 2002 By Martin A. Lee …Ahmed Huber: Neo-Nazi, Islamic convert… The roots of the Muslim Brotherhood and, in many ways, the Nazi-Muslim axis go back to the organisation’s formation in Egypt in 1928. Marking the start of modern political “Islamic fundamentalism,” the Brotherhood from the outset envisioned a time when an Islamic state would prevail in Egypt and other Arab countries.
The growth of the Muslim Brotherhood coincided with the rise of fascist movements in Europe - a parallel noted by Muhammad Sa’id al-’Ashmawy, former chief justice of Egypt’s High Criminal Court, who decried “the perversion of Islam” and “the fascistic ideology” that infuses the world view of the Brothers. Youssef Nada, current board chairman of Al Taqwa, had joined the armed branch of the Muslim Brotherhood as a young man in Egypt during World War II. Nada and several of his cohorts in the Sunni Muslim fraternity were recruited by German military intelligence. Hassan al-Banna, the Egyptian schoolteacher who founded the Muslim Brotherhood, also collaborated with spies of the Third Reich. Advocating a pan-Islamic insurgency in British-controlled Palestine, the Brotherhood proclaimed their support for the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin Al-Husseini, in the late 1930s.
The Grand Mufti, the preeminent religious figure among Palestinian Muslims, was the most notable Arab leader to seek an alliance with Nazi Germany. Although he loathed Arabs (he once described them as “lacquered half-apes who ought to be whipped”), Hitler understood that he and the Mufti shared the same rivals - the British, the Jews and the Communists. They met in Berlin, where the Mufti lived in exile during the war. The Mufti agreed to help organise a special Muslim division of the Waffen SS. Powerful radio transmitters were put at the Mufti’s disposal so that his pro-Axis propaganda could be heard throughout the Arab world. http://www.aijac.org.au/review/2002/275/essay275.html
War aims in the second world war: the war aims of the major belligerents … - by Victor Rothwell - History - 2005 - 244 pages (Page 41) However, the Nazis were clear in their minds that the Arabs were racially inferior, and there would, therefore, be no pleasure to be had from helping them in anything except for the extermination of Jews in their region. http://books.google.com/books?id=XfgLbSc94MEC&pg=PA41
Islam, Nazism, and Totalitarianism
During an interview conducted in the late 1930s (published in 1939), Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychiatry, was asked “…had he any views on what was likely to be the next step in religious development?” Jung replied, in reference to the Nazi fervor that had gripped Germany We do not know whether Hitler is going to found a new Islam. He is already on the way; he is like Muhammad. The emotion in Germany is Islamic; warlike and Islamic. They are all drunk with wild god. That can be the historic future. Albert Speer, who was Hitler’s Minister of Armaments and War Production, wrote a contrite memoir of his World War II experiences while serving a 20-year prison sentence imposed by the Nuremberg tribunal.
Speer’s narrative includes this discussion, which captures Hitler’s racist views of Arabs on the one hand, and his effusive praise for Islam on the other:
Hitler had been much impressed by a scrap of history he had learned from a delegation of distinguished Arabs. When the Mohammedans attempted to penetrate beyond France into Central Europe during the eighth century, his visitors had told him, they had been driven back at the Battle of Tours. Had the Arabs won this battle, the world would be Mohammedan today. For theirs was a religion that believed in spreading the faith by the sword and subjugating all nations to that faith. Such a creed was perfectly suited to the Germanic temperament. Hitler said that the conquering Arabs, because of their racial inferiority, would in the long run have been unable to contend with the harsher climate and conditions of the country. They could not have kept down the more vigorous natives, so that ultimately not Arabs but Islamized Germans could have stood at the head of this Mohammedan Empire. Hitler usually concluded this historical speculation by remarking, “You see, it’s been our misfortune to have the wrong religion. Why didn’t we have the religion of the Japanese, who regard sacrifice for the Fatherland as the highest good? The Mohammedan religion too would have been much more compatible to us than Christianity. Why did it have to be Christianity with its meekness and flabbiness?” http://www.andrewbostom.org/content/view/61/55/
The roots of Arab Anti-Semitism - By David Greenberg - Slate Magazine Oct 31, 2001 … As he notes, anti-Semitism in Arab countries (and non-Arab Islamic states such as Iran) …. East—they were eager to make common cause with Hitler, despite Nazi belief that they, like the Jews, were inferior to Aryans. … http://www.slate.com/id/2057949/
The third Reich & the Palestine question - Francis R. Nicosia - 2000 - History - 319 pages (Page 85) Most Arabs never realized that the Nazis would consider them racially inferior as well and that Germany had no intention of undermining British authority in … http://books.google.com/books?id=xh4m-OMrhJUC&pg=PA85
The Nazi Connection to Islamic Terrorism: Adolf Hitler and Haj … Chuck Morse - 2003 - History - 188 pages (page 53) … as Hitler was known to have described the Arabs as “lacquered half-apes who ought to be whipped,” to a lower race … http://books.google.com/books?id=HGkthBwbNg8C&pg=PA53
Despite Hitler’s personal antipathy towards Arabs, who he once described as lacquered half apes who ought to be whipped, he nevertheless was prepared to … http://www.thecst.org.uk/docs/An%20unholy%20alliance%201801%20original.doc
The Beast Reawakens: Fascism’s Resurgence from Hitler’s Spymasters …Martin A. Lee - 1999 - Political Science - 560 pages (page 122) Even though he loathed Arabs (he once described them as “lacquered half-apes who ought to be whipped”), Hitler was nonetheless the idol of the paramilitary … http://books.google.com/books?id=SX4B7pNG3W8C&pg=PA122
In General, Christians, Baha’i, Kurds, Jews, Azeris, Baluchis, Ahwazi Arabs
The 2500 year old Jewish community, which numbered over 80,000 thirty years ago at the time of the Khoemeni Revolution which overthrew the Shah, has dwindled to about 20,000. Those remaining Jews live restricted personal and religious lives, always under suspicion of being traitors for pro “Zionist” activities.Despite the official distinction between “Jews,” “Zionists,” and “Israel,” the most common accusation the Jews encounter is that of maintaining contacts with Zionists. The Jewish community does enjoy a measure of religious freedom but is faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with “imperialistic America” — both such activities are punishable by death. Jews who apply for a passport to travel abroad must do so in a special bureau and are immediately put under surveillance. The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the Jews live under the status of dhimmi, with the restrictions im posed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community.
Iran’s official government-controlled media often issues anti-Semitic propaganda. A prime example is the government’s publishing of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a notorious Czarist forgery, in 1994 and 1999.2 Jews also suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and public accommodations.The Islamization of the country has brought about strict control over Jewish educational institutions. Before the revolution, there were some 20 Jewish schools functioning throughout the country. In recent years, most of these have been closed down. In the remaining schools, Jewish principals have been replaced by Muslims. In Teheran there are still three schools in which Jewish pupils constitute a majority. The curriculum is Islamic, and Persian is forbidden as the language of instruction for Jewish studies. Special Hebrew lessons are conducted on Fridays by the Orthodox Otzar ha-Torah organization, which is responsible for Jewish religious education. Saturday is no longer officially recognized as the Jewish sabbath, and Jewish pupils are compelled to attend school on that day. There are three synagogues in Teheran, but since 1994, there has been no rabbi in Iran, and the bet din does not function.At least 13 Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago, most of them for either religious reasons or their connection to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting Jews to emigrate.Other religious groups are persecuted too. This week Iran admitted that seven Bahai leaders arrested and detained more than eight months ago would be charged with spying for Israel. The Bahai faith, which began in the 19th century in what is now Iran, claims their founder, Baha’a'llah, is the last Moslem prophet, not Mohammed. Bahai’s international headquarters are located in Haifa, Israel where Bahais, along with Moslems and Christians of various backgrounds, plus other religions in addition to Jews can practice freely.This is not true in Iran.Bahais claim 300,000 followers in Iran, but there are no independent statistics on the denomination’s size in the country. The Islamic republic allows Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, who are regarded as members of monotheistic religions, to hold religious gatherings. Bahais are forbidden to hold such meetings, and those who make their faith public are banned from studying at universities serving in the army and working in government offices. The Iranian prosecutors claim“All evidence points to the fact that the Bahai organization is in direct contact with the foreign enemies of Iran,” Dorri-Najafabadi wrote in the letter, (snip) “The ghastly Bahai organization is illegal on all levels, their dependence on Israel has been documented, their antagonism with Islam and the Islamic System is obvious, their danger for national security is proven and any replacement organization must also be dealt with according to the law,”This charge is part of the latest prosecution against Iranian Bahais. The Bahai International Community, which represents members of the faith worldwide, says hundreds of followers have been jailed and some executed in the years since Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution.http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2009/02/again_religious_persecution_in.html
Religious minorities in Iran: Information from Answers.com http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521770734
Iran Minority Newshttp://iranminoritynews.org/
Middle East Minorities Unite! by Joseph … Iran ’s Islamic republic has created serious problems for the large communities of non-Persian minorities, including the Azeri’s and the Baluchis and is … http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=24209
Q&A: Iran’s Waning Human Rights - New York Times, Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which affords legal rights to minorities and minors. Persecution of religious minorities …http://www.nytimes.com/cfr/world/slot1_081006.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Islamists threaten terror attacks in Germany (For betraying 'Granddad Hitler' / Islamo-nazism)adnkronos ^ | 04,22,09
Terrorism: Islamists threaten terror attacks in Germany
Berlin, 22 April (AKI) - The Al-Qaeda linked Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan on Wednesday released a video threatening the "criminal" German government and citizens of the Jewish faith, according to German media.
In the video, the third released this year, shows a man identified as "Commander Mohammad", who criticises the presence of German troops in Afghanistan.
The man accuses "the sons of Germany of being in the service of the Jews" unlike "Granddad Hitler".
Investigators believe the video's release may be linked to a major Islamist terrorism trial which opened on Wednesday at a high-security court in the northwestern German city of Duesseldorf .
In the trial, three Germans and one Turkish national are accused of planning a series of simultaneous bomb attacks against discos and pubs and the United States airbase in Ramstein and against Germany's Federal Prosecutor's Office.
Two of the German suspects are converts to Islam while the third is a German citizen of Turkish descent. They face charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation, plotting murder, and conspiracy to conduct a bomb attack.
The trial is expected to last one to two years. If the defendants are found guilty, they could face prison terms of up to 15 years.
Prosecutors claimed the men were planning to use about 10 times as much explosives as were used in the deadly July 2005 attacks on London transport that killed 56 people and injured thousands.
The plot was at an advanced stage and the attacks could have killed over 50 people, according to police.
Around 300 German federal agents were involved in monitoring the cell for several months, before police swooped in on the group in what was one of Germany's biggest anti-terror operations to date.
Three of the defendants were arrested in the Germany's western Sauerland region and the fourth was arrested in Turkey and extradited to Germany in November last year.
Prosecutors say the four men belong to a little-known group called the Islamic Jihad Union with roots in Uzbekistan and ties to Al-Qaeda.
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3239023359
you are coming of age my little girl born to occupy a place in this worlda boom of youth in world populationwhile who seeks control sees exploitationin the realms of life that deal with powerthose who steer the platform and the altardo know within you lies passionate drivewith desires to be seen and heard, aliveoften twisting your fate with rebellionof these youths, you are one in a billionthat swiftly lash out at Authorityhaving not yet reached full maturityas it is, don't be found pawns in their gameconquer impulse if your world you'd reclaimfrom who would distort their word to defeatif you but see that life lies at your feet with reason listen to words and cautionparents have no gain by your subjectionthat slow burns away flights of love insideunion your spirit seeks while you dividelittle girl, see the world as it changeswith a heart like yours, it ebbs and surgestrying to find its place to a shared peaceit grows in pains and sorrows for releaseit will happen with or without you herewhether open to the truth you hold dearor spent hidden to pursue shallow pridesthe now or better good, its you decidesthough we're cast within a similar framemy time belongs to a past filled wth blameas your own, but still tied to circumstancechoices will give you the dreams you romancebe free to leave go of shame little girlbreak open the shell and shine up your pearlbring others to come alongside to ridegrow powerful spirit and sense of pridea billion, you are one or a portionbe insipred to find your true volitionchoices not made or those made unwiselywill dim your light and darken your journeydeep inside your heart is a love that's purehonest and sure and sweet for its liqueri do mean for you to follow your dreamsa blessed union, peace, the stars and moonbeams
Written 4/16/2009 copyright MEWilson
Even though it’s really Islamism that is the epitome of bigotry and it’s Arabism that Equals Racism against all non-Arabs, including: Kurds, Berbers, Jews (not only inside Israel), Persians, Africans (not only the millions of victims in Sudan), etc. and as an Arab admitted the true Nature of the Twin Fascisms of Islamism and Pan-Arabism’ that dominates the Arab Muslim world , yet the UN, in its Durban proclaiming to be an anti-racism forum, bows to the Arab Muslim lobby control to ignore the above but concentrate rather on anti-Arabism and Islamophobia, both terms which have been used as tools by Islamists to gage any criticism of intolerance in the Arab-Muslim world (and radicals have been politicizing genuine feelings, to call true fear of terror as “racism” ).
______________
Kicking Israel Around [Anne Bayefsky] April 07, 2009 What’s behind all this? The OIC countries are locked in a struggle with EU states over the ability to stifle free speech (such as “defaming” Islam) in the name of protecting religion. The Russian move helps the OIC nations by letting them use the anti-semitism clause as a bargaining chip, to be played in exchange for the EU’s allowing free-speech restrictions. In a related issue, the Danish are unhappy with the mention of something the U.N. invented called “anti-Arabism.” That phrase has been inserted in the paragraph about discrimination in the form of Islamophobia, Christianophobia and anti-semitism. But the rest of the EU has told the Danes to get lost, on the grounds that if the EU proposes deleting anti-Arabism, the OIC will insist on deleting anti-semitism. As EU officials explain to observers, “We want to show restraint.”
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Mzk3YjI3NDQxNDMzYzE1ZTQ4NzY4ZjU4Y2VkNTE4ZTI=
Human Rights of Non-believers, Apostates and Free-thinkers “The terms belief and religion are to be broadly construed”. General Comment 22 on Article 18, United Nations Human Rights Committee, 1993. We find paragraph 10 of the draft outcome document to be deeply flawed in that it singles out only Christians, Jews and Muslims as named victims of “phobias”. Furthermore, while the term “Islamophobia”, for example, is undefined, it is used to falsely equate disdain for or opposition to Islam with intolerance of, or violence and hatred towards the believer. Secondly, no mention is made in paragraph 10 of discrimination, intolerance and violence towards non-believers, Polytheists, apostates, and free-thinkers. Yet the human rights of non-believers, free-thinkers and those of other faiths are systematically denied in many parts of the world, and many face discrimination, abuse and even death. We urge delegations to recognise that all are entitled to protection from discrimination, whatever their belief or lack of belief. We therefore respectfully suggest either that the list of specific types of discrimination be deleted from paragraph 10, or the list be expanded to include non-believers, polytheists, apostates and free-thinkers. We are equally concerned that anti-Arabism is included in the list, while no mention is made of the anti-Westernism endemic in many parts of the world. Again, we would respectfully suggest that either the reference to anti-Arabism be deleted or that the list should be extended to include anti-Westernism. Our preferred text, which we respectfully offer to delegations, then becomes: 10. Recognizes with deep concern the negative stereotyping of religions, beliefs and non-beliefs, and the global rise in the number of incidents of racial or religious intolerance and violence. With, as an alternative: 10. Recognizes with deep concern the negative stereotyping of religion, beliefs, and non-beliefs, and the global rise in the number of incidents of racial or religious intolerance and violence, including Judeophobia, Christianophobia, Islamophobia, anti-Arabism, anti-Westernism and intolerance and violence towards non-believers, polytheists, apostates and free-thinkers.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/025617.php
Islamic Agenda: “Defamation of Religion” The Islamic Group (Pakistan) stated, “Defamation is not about freedom of expression, but the abuse of this freedom.” Iran was very active throughout the week, taking the floor more than any other country on this issue. It consistently advocated “elaborating” legislation to fight racism, proposing further, “Model legislation on the necessity of upholding respect for…reputation, public morals as well as incitement to racial and religious hatred [code for defamation].” As the debate on defamation was getting underway, the chair asked two journalists to leave the room, explaining that members of two regional groups had requested that the cameras be removed from the room in that they have had adequate time for filming. The journalists were from the French-German cultural channel ARTE and were making a documentary about the human rights debate at the UN. Pakistan, South Africa, and Egypt expressed their concerns that these journalists would engage in “selective interpretation” of the discussion. Counter-terrorism, Islamophobia Pakistan wanted to include even more language to equate counter-terrorism with racism. Pakistan, Algeria, and Iran also wanted the words, “Islamophobia” and “anti-Arabism” to remain in the document.
Obraj cansja
does fear of flying or death take us thereto know life older than any witnessand now past, may have eyes forseen our dareto greedily seek for our uniquenessonce tearing free from our primitive rootmore fragile than the tree, to think and willcould humanity take us from disputeor will violence feed us our fatal pill?concern not for another's attendancewho keeps to assuage intellectual prideas captains map amoral contrivanceof right, but confess a just course abidethey'll speak with no doubt of true directionwhile more, appeasing perceived mutiniesthan terms imbibed in common religioncould we know truth from man's hypotheses?coroners will define life from its deathand vision life's divination by linelike rings of trees never reveal its breathwill Horus' eye remain bounded in trinefingers and symbols just point back at youlike breath is not caught in your reflection Nihilism, will words always bring you towhy, do we accept nothing over One?
Written 3/17/2009, Copyright ME Wilson
I don't think this site lets me add youtube videos, so here's the link to the video I'm talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIVd7YT0oWA
I'm wondering what other christian bloggers opinions are about Obama's recent comment in Turkey about the USA not being a christian nation? I think he's right in some ways that it's not defined by religion like some countries are, but christianity still permeates(sp?) the country very deeply. It may not officially be anything and that's fine, but it's an interesting idea to bring up. I know of many people who WOULD say the US is a Christian nation. I wrote another blog post about this and Obama's Christian t-shirts on my main website, but I'd like to know here what people's opinions are about this. It's something that' affects us all more than some of us might want to believe.