(Side question: Does it ever occur to these nerd-dancing, awful-singing, hand-waving, gibberish-babbling lunatics that any god capable of creating wonders like Yellowstone, the aurora borealis and cute little panda bears, might consider prayer meetings like the one featured in that video just a tad beneath His/Her standards? Just wondering. Also, taking one look at that crowd, does anyone want to bet against the proposition that if someone got on the PA during that shindig and announced a "Blue Light Special" on aisle 5, the place wouldn't clear out in five minutes? There, see what I mean about going insane with this kind of crap. Seven years of trying to "understand" and display "tolerance" towards such obvious nonsense has clearly damaged my inner frigging child.)
Story #4
Sudan Convicts Brit Over "Muhammad" Bear British teacher Gillian Gibbons has been convicted of inciting religious hatred for letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammad and sentenced to 15 days in prison and deportation from Sudan, one of her defense lawyers said Thursday. "The judge found Gillian Gibbons guilty and sentenced her to 15 days jail and deportation," said Ali Mohammed Hajab, a member of her defense team. Gibbons, 54, was arrested Sunday after complaints to the Education Ministry that she had insulted Prophet Muhammad, the most revered figure in Islam, by applying his name to a toy animal. (Full Story)
Islam may or may not be a peaceful religion, but it is most certainly a nutty one. Cartoons of Mohammed damn near started a war between Muslim nations and those rowdy Dutch cartoonists. And now this, a teacher getting threatened with 50 lashes and sentenced to jail for naming a Teddy bear Mohammed.
I'm sorry but that's just pathologically fruitcake. You can make all the arguments you want about "cultural differences," or "religious sensitivities" but come on... let's cut the crap and bottom line this kind of stuff: IT'S CRAZY -- and anyone who tries to defend such nonsense are crazy-enablers. (And my wife's Teddy bears, Jesus, Buddha, Ghandi and Allah-Bear agree.)
Story #5
Arab cash rides to Citibank's rescue Capital-starved Citigroup, the world's largest bank, has gone cap in hand to the Abu Dhabi's government investment arm, which has snapped up five percent of the bank for five billion euros. Above and beyond a price that values the banking giant at only 100 billion, the amount its market value has lost this year, Citigroup is paying a premium for its shot in the arm, as it is selling mandatory convertible securities to Abu Dhabi, with a fixed coupon of 11 percent, well above the average US junk bond yield of nine point four percent. Abu Dhabi becomes Citigroup's biggest shareholder, and the purchase is just the latest international asset snapped up by an oil-rich Arab state, where cash is currently sloshing around looking for a home with the near-record oil price. (Full Story)
Where do I begin? Let's start with that interest rate... the 11% CitiBank has to pay the Arabs. How'd you like to get a rate like that on your CD's! It's a measure of just how risky the investment is. You could say that by getting itself dunked in the subprime loan cesspool CitiBank turned itself into a subprime borrower. You could say that, and if you did you'd be 100% right.
(I do have to pause to observe that it's only further proof that karma does exist -- CitiBank, which stuck poor borrowers with high-interest home loans, is now on the receiving end of the same kind of screwing. Sweet.)
But it says more than just that. The very fact that the government of Abu Dhabi -- awash in petrodollars -- felt it had to do something to save CitiBank is a measure of just how tenuous things have become with our often touted "globalized economy."
It was supposed to be a super-liner, steaming endlessly around the globe, embarking and disembarking goods, services and capital worldwide. Instead it's become an over-crowded, tippy canoe, where half the passengers are worried that the other half are about to lurch and send them all into the drink together. Abu Dubia's investment in CitiBank was hardly a show of confidence, but a bid to keep CitiBank's troubles from rocking the boat.
Story #6
A 'surge' for Afghanistan? The Christian Science Monitor --The top general of the Marine Corps is pushing hard to deploy marines to Afghanistan as he looks to draw down his forces in Iraq, but his proposal, which is under discussion at the Pentagon this week, faces deep resistance from other military leaders...Commandant Gen. James Conway's plan, if approved, would deploy a large contingent of marines to Afghanistan, perhaps as early as next year. The reinforcements would be used to fight the Taliban, which US officials concede is now defending its territory more effectively against allied and Afghan forces. (Full Story)
Another surge? I thought we won the war in Afghanistan. Would George & Co. please explain why we need a surge in Afghanistan too now? I'd love to hear their explanation. Didn't Papa Bush tell sonny to finish one job before he starts another? Guess not. No, President Attention-Deficit lost interest in finishing the job in Afghanistan and now, six years and billions of our dollars later we have to re-win that war.
It's sorta as if Franklin Roosevelt had stepped in a few months after D-Day and moved half our troops to the Pacific just before the Battle of the Bulge.
It all makes one wax nostalgic for the days when such bad leaders not only got booted out of office but strung up as well. I am an opponent of the death penalty, but I do admit, nothing would make me happier than to see the people responsible for the deadly messes in Iraq and Afghanistan doing the macarama at end of a rope.
Stephen Pizzo has been published everywhere from The New York Times to Mother Jones magazine. His book, Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans, was nominated for a Pulitzer.
Firstly Panda can be 6' and 250lb I wouldn't call that small Kaolas now they are under 3' and weigh max 40lb . Ind you if they're pissed off they'll claw you to shreds or if you wake them they'll pee on you. Maybe you should consider a sugar glider they fit in a coffey mug have big eyes furry and cute as all get out. Then again the pee when their startled and suddenly fling leap away..gliding upto 30 meters. Well maybe you should consider a Muhammad bear. Then again.... note the clever way I linked subjects.
I have to take issue with you about your comments about Islam they unwise and inaccurate. What you did was tar all muslims with the bush of a (Political) extremists or missunderstood peasants. You comments were the equivelent of tarring all Chistians with the insanity of Jim Jones or Koresh for Davidian what ever (Waco Texas). Your story didn't mention that the highranking Muslim Iimams in 6 countries denounced the 'issue' as being nonIslamic. Almost to a man they said that this was an internal political powerplay by the Sudanese Clerics that had more to do with their distrust of western governments they suspected the teacher as being part of a CIA plot to insult Allah. Given all the movies that Hollywood have put out on that gendre and that this is the only view of America tmany of the viewers see other than war footage. What would you think?
Steve You must agree some Sthn. Judges have done some outrageous thing in the name of religion.
ISLAM in the minds of a lot of these peasants is more than a religion devoid of the state it is a life philosophy in somle cases it the source of their food and hope. see Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood arguably the source of muslim aggression. Th BM is the source of food distribution and social support because the state has failed them. Consider the angst and fuss over the ten commandments being removed from a court house lobby? Didn't it go to the Supreme court? what a waste of resources! but then again consider the paralell with the muslim cartoon isn't it really two competing fundementalistic Arogances?
by
Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments)
on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 1:15:02 AM
what if Trent Lott were a senior Democrat in the Senate and the Senate was still in the hands of Republicans? Can you imagine the self-righteous chest thumping, moralistic pontification-izing, the holier than thou-ing, the calling for investigating Lott's connections and business deals between him and his tobacco-company, insurance company-suing brother-in-law?
I have heard lots of pontification on this... LOUD chest thumping.. In fact, I don't believe the chest thumping has stopped since the Dems took control of the congress! I have seen investigation after investigation, and EVERY SINGLE DAY we hear about some other dastardly thing the Republicans (mostly bush et al) have done...
However, do you know what else I have seen??? NOTHING! there has been no follow through with anything.. there has been so many calls for investigation that nobody is bothering to pay attention to the calls anymore!
There probably is something untoward happening in this case, but the reality is that NOBODY is going to really care, because they stopped paying attention to the Dems a long time ago... (It is really tough to have people pay attention to your pleas for investigation when your approval rating is in the SINGLE DIGITS... Maybe if they were driving a NASCAR Car they would be paid attention to?? Doubtful....
Ciao, CZ
by
steve scheetz (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 509 comments)
on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 9:10:10 AM
Teddy bear Mohammed. 
