3/03/2011
2/18/2011
Love is obscene?
Islamic scholar rules that engaged couples may talk on phone before marriage, but not about love
I know that this is no laughing matter, but I keep being reminded of the song “Love Stinks” by the J. Geils Band:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0LAs7X5ybE
2/07/2011
Kinetic Necktie-Tying Sculpture
Why Knot? - A kinetic sculpture by Seth Goldstein
The YouTube description calls it "A kinetic sculpture that continually ties and unties a necktie."
I am not sure whether this fits best into the category of "art", "satire", or "technology". It is not a modern takeoff on Rube Goldberg, but rather, an experiment in robotics and perhaps topology.
Enough with the unicorns!
These guys are a LOT more fun!
Narwhals cartoon video by Weebl's Stuff.
Read about actual narwhals on Wikipedia.
Pointed Gestures
You're disgusted with Obama's nonsensical televised blatherings, you're too frugal to hurl a well-deserved shoe through the screen, but you still need to express yourself?
Me too.
I will refrain from causing more annoyance by discussing Obozo's latest helping of hogwash. Instead, I offer this:
Pleated Jeans: The Angry Traveler's Guide to Obscene Gestures
Click to see the full-size illustration, plus the comments.
The same gesture means different things in different places!
Videos:
How To Swear In American Sign Language
Taboo Words in American Sign Language v2.0
Note: I cannot personally vouch for the accuracy (or otherwise) of the signs shown above.
Also see:
- Foreign Fingers offers another illustrated take on rude gestures in foreign countries.
- Wikipedia's list of gestures, while by no means exhaustive, covers benign as well as insulting gestures.
- Body Language gives an exhaustive, and very useful, treatment of body language, including hand gestures.
Funky Manqués
YouTube: Alimentando macacos
Are these macaques manqué or is this normal monkey business?
YouTube: Funny monkeys
1/29/2011
1/22/2011
Elisabeth’s Voice, Phase Two
Originally posted on Gates of Vienna.
Reprinted with permission.
On Tuesday, January 18th, 2011, Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff faced the court in Vienna for a second time. Rather than the hoped-for verdict, the trial was adjourned until February 15th.
What happened?
On the first day of the trial last November, Elisabeth’s lawyer, Dr. Rami, had insisted on playing the incriminating tapes that had been recorded without permission during her seminar. However, due to technical reasons the court was unable to play the tapes, and the task was postponed until the most recent court session this past Tuesday.
Instead of playing the entire four hours of tape, Dr. Rami decided after the first 45 minutes that the court had heard enough to prove that there was no incitement to hatred or anything else. Rather, it was very clear that the tone and setting of the seminar was one of sober respect.
It was thus a complete surprise when the judge — not the prosecutor! — proceeded to inform Elisabeth and her lawyer that the charge of “denigrating religious symbols of a recognized religious group” were being added to the existing charges. Her lawyer immediately demanded a postponement so that the defense could prepare a new strategy.
Although the charge of “incitement to hatred” carries a higher sentence, it is more difficult to prove. The added charge, however, has now made a conviction — and thus the need for an appeal — more likely. While we know that Elisabeth will fight the charges with all possible means, we do have to consider the possibility that she may be convicted, and must prepare accordingly. This necessitates a second appeal for funds.
We are asking our readers for help. Not just financial help — many of our people may be tapped out by now — but also help in spreading the word. Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, like Geert Wilders, Lars Hedegaard, and all the other members of the Roster of the Silenced, are canaries in the Western coalmine. Where they walk today, hundreds and thousands of the rest of us must follow tomorrow.
Unless enough people can be awakened to what is happening in Europe, an iron curtain of silence will inevitably descend on the entire Western world.
Elisabeth needs your help to fight these charges and to make sure that the truth remains the truth. With that in mind, we are re-activating the Elisabeth’s Voice campaign. All of your donations will once again go to a special fund set up specifically for her defense, and will only be disbursed for legal fees, translations, and relevant books and other documentation needed to prepare the defense. Visit the Save Free Speech website to donate via PayPal, or see the bottom of this post for information about bank transfers.
Please give generously. The outcome of this trial will affect us, our children, and our grandchildren. We must speak up now for the values we believe in. There will be no second chance.
A new wrinkle in Elisabeth’s case appeared on Tuesday evening, when the Austrian newspapers reported that she could be heard on the seminar tape saying that “Euro-Islam is s***”. This was a blatant falsehood — the tape clearly indicates that she said no such thing.
The story is that APA (Austria Press Agency) sent a young man to follow the proceedings, and he “misheard” Elisabeth say “Euro-Islam is s**”, when in fact she said “Euro-Islam is wishful thinking”. The phrases in German are Euro-Islam ist Scheiße versus Euro-Islam ist Wunschdenken, so there is obviously no possibility that the reporter confused two similar-sounding words — this was a malicious misquote.
Elisabeth’s counsel has initiated a libel suit against all newspapers that printed the falsehood. This also adds to her legal costs, but when she wins the suit, she will recoup them in the damage award.
Below is a letter to Die Presse from Dr. Maria Stückler about the newspapers’ libel against Elisabeth. Many thanks to JLH for the translation:
The Trial concerning the Islam Seminar: “The Muslim lies”
I was at the trial of Mrs. Sabaditsch-Wolff, but did not hear the statement : “Euro-Islam is s***.” Rather, I remember [the statement] “Euro-Islam is wishful thinking”. And the statement, “Islam is crap” only served to demonstrate how poor the situation for freedom of expression already is in Austria (as in all of Europe).
I also did not hear “the Muslim lies,” but I did hear “we are being lied to 24 hours a day,” and indeed with reference to and explanation of the principle of taqiyya, that is, legitimized lying to infidels. Countless statements attest that the representatives of Islam practice this principle: [saying] for instance, that the Koran forbids the beating of women, but in truth it commands men to do it — even on mere suspicion. Or that stoning has nothing to do with sharia, but everything to do with patriarchy, but Mohammed himself practiced it and Iran, for instance, still uses this punishment today. Or that Islam guarantees religious freedom, while in reality it provides the death penalty for apostasy. Or that Islam is peace and tolerance, but sharia declares the perpetual duty of holy war and massively discriminates against subjugated non-Muslims. Prof. Bassam Tibi (himself a Muslim) on the Christian-Islamic dialogue: “Blessed are the Deceived.”
It is not Mrs. Sabaditsch-Wolff who alleges Mohammed’s pedophilia, but the basic Islamic texts themselves: At the age of over 50, he married a nine year-old girl. And the Koran, too, in its regulations governing divorce, assumes as fact the marriage of pre-pubescent girls. Up to now, Islamic legal scholars from Morocco to Indonesia (including the NU as the largest Muslim organization in the country) have justified child marriages by reference to the example of Mohammed and to the Koran. In numerous Islamic countries, the law does not even recognize a minimum age. So if this statement represents a “derogation of religious teachings,” then one can only say: “It is Islam and its Prophet themselves that are derogating Islam and its Prophet.” Nothing demonstrates more clearly than this the relationship of Islam and common sense.
When the media spread untrue claims about critics of Islam, that then apparently falls under the category of freedom of the press. If someone states uncomfortable truths about Islam, however, it can happen that that person is accused by the media of hateful incitement.
The media should not forget that freedom of expression is the basis of freedom of the press, so much more so, as — according to “EU Framework Decision against Racism and Xenophobia” — truth is not a mitigating factor.
And the human rights organizations should not forget that without freedom of expression, all other human rights are obsolete. It is high time for them to begin fighting against the hate-speech laws, which have entered the EU by the back door.
And the politicians should be reminded that human rights are not a political instrument which they can manipulate at will. Rather, they should respect them, and not criminalize them.
Dr. Maria Stückler
Here is the webpage for donations to Elisabeth’s Voice.
For international payments:
Raiffeisen Zentralbank Österreich
IBAN: AT513150042908021602
BIC: RZBAATWW
Made out to: Public Notary Mag. Martin Scheichenbauer, Hemmaweg 5, A-9342 Gurk
Previous posts about the hate speech case against Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff:
The Evil Goals of Hamas (Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine)
orangecrush of Blogmocracy says:
My job for Feb. is to place these two paragraphs in a different online forum every day.I think that orangecrush probably meant January, but no matter. The goal is a worthy one, so I'm happy to oblige.
The Hamas Charter (or Covenant), issued in 1988, outlines the organization’s position on many issues, and identifies Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and declares its members to be Muslims who “fear God and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors.” The charter states “our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious” and calls for the eventual creation of an Islamic state in Palestine, in place of Israel and the Palestinian Territories,[27] and the obliteration or dissolution of Israel.[64][65] The charter also states that Hamas is humanistic, and tolerant of other religions as long as they do not block Hamas’s efforts.[66]
The Charter also asserts that through shrewd manipulation of imperial countries and secret societies, Zionists were behind a wide range of events and disasters going as far back in history as the French Revolution. Among the charter’s controversial statements is the following: “The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews [and kill them]; until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: Oh Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!”[37] The document also quotes Islamic religious texts to provide justification for fighting against and killing the Jews of Israel.[67] presenting the Arab-Israeli conflict as an inherently irreconcilable struggle between Jews and Muslims, and Judaism and Islam,[37] adding that the only way to engage in this struggle between “truth and falsehood” is through Islam and by means of jihad, until victory or martyrdom.[37] The Charter adds that “renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion” of Islam.[68]
Feb. 21st. accomplished.
Kudos to orangecrush for pointing out the true nature of our enemies!
1/11/2011
No laws restricting alcohol are needed!
Jeffrey A. Tucker: Repeal the Drinking Age
All this neo-puritanism is based on bad statistics, and the entire charade does no good.
Down With 'Sustainability'!
The Decivilizing Effects of Government
Jeffrey A. Tucker explains why, among other things, the plague of bedbugs has returned.
Read the entire article. Then do everything you can as a citizen to rein in the federal government monster.
"Learn to Link...or Die"
By Jeffrey A. Tucker
I've held my peace for as long as I can, but there will be no more silence on this critical issue of the day. Here is the bottom line: you need to learn to make a link or you should fall into the grave early.
There is no getting by in life without this skill. It is a bloody outrage that people continue not to know how to do this. And yet it happens all the time. Very intelligent people who are not actually in fact dead get on blogs and forums and paste URLs hoping that they will send people to a particular website but they don't know how to make it active so that someone else can actually click it and go to that website.
Then the administrator of the forum or blog has to go in and fix it, wasting his time. You have tried to help but in fact you are only leaving a path of annoyance everywhere you go.
It's nothing short of incredible if you think about it. In 1995, you can sort of understand the ignorance.
"Why should I learn to make a link. I'll leave that to the 'webmaster'. I'm a ________ (fill in the blank) not an internet geek. It's not my job."
It's been 13 years — nearly a decade and a half — since linking has been part of the functioning of the world and part of daily life generally. There are no excuses left.
Every person who lives and breathes and has use of his or her mental facilities should know how to create a web link. This is increasingly the bare minimum requirement of nearly every desk job on the planet...
Read these simple instructions and learn that skill once and for all!
Might as well find out...
Do People Secretly Think You Are a Pig?
You don't want to read this article. But you should and must. It contains some dreadful truths that are universal but no one will is willing to talk about them because the subject is so uncomfortable.Read the rest!
I would like to reveal a universal prejudice — it is a cruel and judgmental attitude that is written on the hearts of people in all times and all place — that might very well wreck your life, but which you can deal with rather easily...
1/10/2011
Doug Bandow on the Kosovo Debacle
Another Great Clinton Foreign Policy Success
It was never easy to understand why the Clinton administration intervened in Kosovo. The U.S. had not made a habit of deciding which European state was obligated to grant independence to which disaffected minority. For instance, Spain told Basques to stuff it without much comment from Washington. And the U.S. never worried about its allies using brutality against guerrillas--the Turkish campaign against the Kurds destroyed thousands of villages and killed tens of thousands of people, while the U.S. provided Ankara with arms.
However, the prospect of getting involved in a conflict with no conceivable relationship to U.S. interests drew the Clinton administration into the Balkans. So Washington joined with a majority of European states in a policy that could be defined as "the Serbs always lose": Everyone got to secede from Yugoslavia/Serbia, but Serbs could never secede from anyone else, whether Bosnia, Croatia, or Kosovo, irrespective of the principle of ethnic self-determination and threat of human rights violations...
Jihad Watch Commenter Rants on Mohammed
"Cartoons, if they target Islam, can be more hazardous to your health than crossing the mighty U.S. government and its allies"
From the article:
Molly Norris should be given full protection by a U.S. Government determined to defend the freedom of speech against violent jihadist intimidation. Instead, we get yet more dhimmitude. "Leaks OK, but don't cross Islam," by Debra J. Saunders, January 5 (thanks to Twostellas)...
Now for the rant:
Peter Jordan | January 7, 2011 3:40 AM
DEATH TO THOSE WHO INSULT MOHAMMED!!!!!!
How exactly does one not insult the highly insultable? How does one exercise the self restraint to not hold up to ridicule the ridiculous?
I call your attention to mohammed (sob), alleged prophet of islam, blasphemer and heretic of Mecca, pirate of the desert and troglodyte. Mohammed ibn Hanzir (with apologies to pigs), bastard scion of Molech and enemy of God and Mankind. Liar, thief and plagiarist of the two great Abrahamic faiths, mohammed the illiterate, apostle of Beelzebub and chief satanist, vomitant of the foolish doctrine quran, a stupid name for a stupid book. Moon worshipper and chief loon, mohammed (may the fleas of a thousand camels infest his scrotum), not fit to herd pigs, or to clean up after dogs, desert whirlwind and unholy pagan, world pest, psychotic misogynist and clitorophobe. Cross-dressing pervert, defender and paragon of paedophilia,zoophilia and coprophilia, savant of all perversions.There is one good thing about mohammed the universal champion of idiots and cretins - he is dead. Dead and now favoured denizen of the inferno, catamite of Satan and keeper of Hell's gates, dispenser of the grapes to torsoless jihadis. And I bet he stank.
Also see this Blogmocracy thread:
Zaporozhian Cossacks Rant on the Ottoman Sultan
(language NSFW)
The scene was portrayed in a famous painting by Ilya Repin: "The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks" (thumbnail and link in the article at the link above).
Madrassa Pops Up on US Marine Base in Hawaii
Right Truth: FUNDING COMES FROM US TAXPAYERS
by Paul L. Williams, Ph.D.
The Gulen Movement has launched an invasion of Hawaii.
Members of the Islamic movement which seeks to establish a universal caliphate have established their newest charter school on a U.S. Marine base in Kailua (Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) Kaneohe Bay).
The school, which will be funded by US taxpayers, is called the Mokapu STEM School.
Like the 140 Gulen schools in mainland America, the Mokapu STEM School will be controlled by a board of Turkish administrators, who will indoctrinate students in Turkish culture, religion, and language so that they may play a future part in the restoration of the Ottoman Empire...
Gates of Vienna: Have a Truthful New Year
Gates of Vienna: Have a Truthful New Year
"Gandalf (The Younger) is the French anti-sharia activist who blogs at Vérité, Valeurs & Démocratie (Truth, Values, & Democracy) and founded..."
Islamist Website Instructs Mujahideen in moby tactics for US web forums
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD150807
In the past few months, Islamists engaged in "media jihad" have increased their efforts to expose as broad a Western audience as possible to their jihad films, which purport to document the growing success of the mujahideen in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of this endeavor, they have posted jihad films on popular free video-sharing websites such as YouTube, LiveLeak, and Google Video, hoping that such films will tip public opinion in the West against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan - thus pressuring Western governments to withdraw their troops from these countries.
As part of the campaign to foster anti-war sentiment among Westerners, and more specifically among Americans, a member of the Al-Mohajroon Islamist website with the username Al-Wathiq Billah instructed mujahideen in how to infiltrate popular American forums and to use them to distribute jihad films and spread disinformation about the war.
The following are excerpts: [1]
"Raiding American Forums is Among the Most Important Means of Obtaining Victory in the Fierce Media War... and of Influencing the Views of the Weak-Minded American"
"There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among the most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war... and of influencing the views of the weak-minded American who pays his taxes so they will go to the infidel American army. This American is an idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is... [It is therefore] mandatory for every electronic mujahid [to engage in this raiding]."
"It is better that you raid non-political forums such as music forums and trivia forums... which American people... favor... Define your target[ed forum]... and get to know it well... Post your contribution and do not get into... futile arguments..."
Indicate You Are an American
"Obviously, you have to register yourself using a purely American name... Choose an icon that indicates that you are an American, and place it next to your nickname [in the forum]."
"In my experience, the areas most visited in American forums... [are titled] 'Random Thoughts' and 'What's going on in your mind?'... [The former] takes priority in the American forums, and is highly popular. You should post your contribution there... This should include films of the mujahideen in Iraq, mujahideen publications in English, and images and films of the Americans' crimes, [such as] killing unarmed civilians in Iraq... etc."
"Invent Stories About American Soldiers You Have [Allegedly] Personally Known"
"Obviously, you should post your contribution... as an American... You should correspond with visitors to this forum, [bringing to their attention] the frustrating situation of their troops in Iraq... You should invent stories about American soldiers you have [allegedly] personally known (as classmates... or members in a club who played baseball and tennis with you) who were drafted to Iraq and then committed suicide while in service by hanging or shooting themselves..."
"Also, write using a sad tone, and tell them that you feel sorry for your [female] neighbor or co-worker who became addicted to alcohol or drugs... because her poor fiance, a former soldier in Iraq, was paralyzed or [because] his legs were amputated... [Use any story] which will break their spirits, oh brave fighter for the sake of God..."
How to Make Americans Feel Frustrated With Their Government
"You should enter into debate or respond only if it is extremely necessary... Your concern should [only] be introducing topics which... will cause [them to feel] frustration and anger towards their government..., which will... render them hostile to Bush... and his Republican Party and make them feel they must vote ton bring the troops back from Iraq as soon as possible."
"Do not... discuss issues pertaining to Arabs or Muslims at all, whether negatively or positively... because this could be a trap for you... In addition, do not ask people to circulate the material [you have posted] in other forums... as these types of requests will expose you..."
Hussedaag
August 14, 2010 by Fr. Andrew
Some years ago a resident of Emmaus said to the writer in her native dialect [Pennsylvania German], “Heit iss der Hussedaag” (Today is Huss Day). I asked her what that meant. She did not know, but said that they always sowed their turnip seed on that day. Thus did the memory of John Huss, the great pre-Reformation reformer, find a place in our local folklore.
—Preston A. Barba, They Came to Emmaus (1959)
Emmaus residents: Make sure you plant your turnips on July 6, the day Jan Hus was both born and burned at the stake (1373 and 1415, respectively). (Wikipedia claims he was born “ca. 1372″ with no actual date listed. I’m not sure of his source, but I like Barba’s claim that July 6 is also Hus’s birthday.)
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