Comments by Goldy

451. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226037 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 4:23 pm

TWP
I shall try other herbs from the garden in the future. Lavender beer sounds good to me....

Apathy, I have a feeling I am wasting this Friday :-)

452. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226026 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 4:01 pm

I don't and according to the Teratornis Dictionary I'm a drunk.

According to my wife, so am I. As we are now mortgage payers, i have to brew my own. Gives me a chance to experiment. Honey wheat beer and chilli chocolate dark beers maturing. Hope they taste OK - might have brewed a shitty batch of beers!

453. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226022 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:47 pm

Goldy,
Party at yours then!

Sur thing - bring a plate. I'll fire up the bbq...

454. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226018 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:38 pm

TWP

You have beer in that fridge?

One doesn't get a larger than aesthetically pleasing midriff if there wasn't, would one? Also a bunch of homebrews in the garage and some home made liquers in the shed out back...

455. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226014 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:36 pm

Bonzai, that was Fanusi's quote. Edit - I see you edited it already :-)
I think the MCB isn't trusted even by Muslims. Certainly the ones I spoke to in Bradford were rather dismissive of the MCB...
As for Islam being unreformed, it is! Just, ahem, the wrong way!
I think the governments putting all this trust in self appointed pricks is a case of just not knowing who they are dealing with and not listening to the people who count. Only thing is, the pricks have some agenda they wish to implement and so force themselves, uninvited, into the the party, as it were while those that are the real moderates are probably like you and me and keep out of this political scene. Luckily we have a media that picks up on any small detail that may ruin a reputation... :-)

Edit

I agree, misogyny is a central feature of mainstream Islam.

Was it not also a central theme in Chinese culture?

456. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226006 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:22 pm

Comment #226002 by Bonzai
The point I am trying to make is that in the adopted home, the Islam they are following is not their culture, but some import or version that is alien and extreme. It would be as if a European living in Africa adopts some American fundamentalist Christianity as an affirmation of his or her culture, a culture that is very alien in the homeland.
Wahabi Islam is not the real thing - it is just a version. If they wish to follow Islam because "it is their culture" then they might as well find out what Islam their culture follows.

I think these people are pathetic, really.

Well, yes, but more ignorant than pathetic. Obviously they want to maintain the thing that makes them, well, them. Culturally. But in their ignorance, they are being deluded and misinformed of who or what they really are. I blame the parents.

457. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #226004 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:19 pm

Fanusi, I fear the Kosovan and Albanian situation might be either exagerated or as a result, a backlash if you will, of Serbian aggression and western European inaction. It was not always thus
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/world/europe/25virgins.html
And the Islam they had there is, or was, rather relaxed (as it was in Bosnia). I'll try and find something on the sufis there - was quite interesting. Mentioned how they don't need to grow beards, unlike the men in Bosnia, which I found a touch eye-opening.

458. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225998 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:10 pm

Edit: Goldy, if i happen to be in the neighbourhood when you are away, can i take your Alfa for a spin?

Hopefully it'll not be too dismantled and under construction, so yes :-) If not, there will be a Citroen Light 15 keeping it company... That one works.

459. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225997 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:08 pm

It isn't just the Jihadis who hate women or believe them inferior. One of the high-up ministers in the relatively non-insane state of Kuwait responded to a question abotu emancipating women with a breezy "the Qur'an says men are superior to women. Why can't we just leave it at that?"

I grant you that in Islamic countries, women's voting and other rights are curtailed, but Europe is only recently allowed women voting rights.

Unrestricted women's suffrage in terms of voting rights (women were not initially permitted to stand for election) in a self-governing colony was granted in New Zealand in the early 1890s. Following a movement led by Kate Sheppard, the women's suffrage bill was adopted mere weeks before the general election of 1893. The self-governing colony of South Australia granted both universal suffrage and allowed women to stand for the colonial parliament in 1895.[7] The Commonwealth of Australia provided this for women in Federal elections from 1902 (except Aboriginal women). The first major European country to introduce women's suffrage was Russia, whose grand duchy of Finland granted women the right both to vote (universal and equal suffrage) and to stand for election in 1906. The world's first female members of parliament were also in Finland, when on 1907, 19 women took up their places in the Parliament of Finland as a result of the 1907 parliamentary elections.

Soviet poster celebrates women's right to vote and to be elected.In the years before the First World War, Norway (1913) and Denmark also gave women the vote, and it was extended throughout the remaining Australian states. Canada granted the right in 1918 (except in Quebec, where it was postponed until 1940), as did Soviet Russia. British women over 30 and all German and Polish women had the vote in 1918, Dutch women in 1919, and American women in states that had previously denied them suffrage were allowed the vote in 1920. Women in Turkey were granted voting rights in 1926. In 1928, suffrage was extended to all British women on the same terms as men i.e. over 21. One of the last jurisdictions to grant women equal voting rights was Liechtenstein in 1984. Since then only a handful of countries have not extended the franchise to women, usually on the basis of certain religious interpretations.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage

460. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225993 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:02 pm

Goldy, Al, Ap,

I would rather be in NZ with the winter and rain then dealing with 106 degrees of dallas humidity.

I believe that's why beer and a coolbox was invented... :-)
OK, I'm on my way over. Tired of cold fingers and constant flu, of pissing rain and damp car interiors, of we shoes and trouser bottoms, of office smelling like wet dogs and of loading wet shopping into a wet car while getting wet...
TWP, I'll leave my house key inder the mat. Help yourself to whatever is in the fridge.

461. How Our Culture Keeps Students Out of Science

Comment #225989 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 3:00 pm

It's spreading, this culture of stupid...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10525829

462. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225985 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Twp - take ours! It's almost Biblical (wish txtpiper would post here so he can explain why over a month of rain has not produced a world wide flood...)
Had to look up women in Islam, found this
http://www.themodernreligion.com/w_main.htm which gave me this http://www.themodernreligion.com/women/women_why_converting.htm
I was under the impression that in the house the woman ruled. Of course, this depends on the husband etc and I know girls have no say in matters. Mind you, neither do boys at times...
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=112494&d=7&m=8&y=2008&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=Kingdom
Though I have lived in Syria, Abu Dhabi and Bradford, I really can't say what empowerment women can have and if they would reform Islam in the western way or if they would act as guardians of Islam as we know it (I don't really understand women, full stop ;-)). I know there are many women that do fight for their rights as Muslims as a lot of Islam we read about is actually tribalism and probably pre-Islamic or some introduced stuff. But again, what I read is spun to put a good face on aspects of Islam...so I don't even know how true that stuff is.

463. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225976 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:46 pm

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/10/index.cfm?c_id=10

464. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225975 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:45 pm

It is, Al. Absolute pisser. Been raining for over 40 days and nights. And the colds and flus going around have been rather virulent.
Still, not that dark going home anymore :-) That means summer is a-coming and I shall be able to try out the new pool :-)

465. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #225973 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:43 pm

Comment #225962 by canatheist

it is NOT the god depicted in the Bible!

Depends if you take the Bible literally (in which case sanity is questionable) or allegorically (in which case one can make any shit up and it's about time one stopped believing in fairy tales).

Edit - this comment is here because I thought the other one got lost in the ether. Disregard this one! :-)

466. Richard Dawkins, the naive professor

Comment #225969 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Comment #225962 by canatheist
They have an answer for that. It isn't literal, it's allegorical. Except for the literal parts, of course. Now how one differentiates between the two confuses me as apparently no gnosis is needed, just common sense.....!

467. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225966 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:38 pm

Evening Apathy! Showers, mainly. Drive in was quite sunny. Seeing Auckland as one drives towards Harbour Bridge is quite nice when the sky is blue.
More showers are forecast, as well as cold temperatures...but luckily no storms :-) Hate storms, make my pool pretty much overflow!

468. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225963 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:36 pm

Nite Lev.
Another way to get these western Muslims to toe the line and appreciate Islam is to send them home as kids. Let them find out what their culture is really like back home (best do it quick before the western supported Wahabis stop by with their petro-money....)
http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/summer/sum.oldcount.asp

469. The best way to undermine the jihadists is to trigger a rebellion of Muslim women - and establish energy independence

Comment #225954 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 2:27 pm

Morning all. Morning TWP - see you're back to wacking. Sorry if it's all old news - time difference, you know. I'm in your future...be prepared for rain :-)
Wonder if this link is pertinent here?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7546322.stm

470. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225546 by Goldy on August 7, 2008 at 1:35 am

Global jihad and spreading Islam
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7546322.stm

He replied that while some 'veteran' jihadists were coming back from theatres of conflict like Afghanistan and Chechnya bitter and disillusioned, the number of people queuing up for violent jihad was growing.

Often these recruits have only a shallow knowledge of Islam, and they are far less impressed by theological debate than they are by more day-to-day, down-to-earth factors like TV reports of western airstrikes on civilians in Afghanistan or the presence of US and British troops in Iraq.

The ignorant go in, the disillusioned come out. Yep, Islam is making great inroads :-)

471. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225522 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 5:32 pm

TWP
Not in the Abrahmic religions no - but he has god-like powers. And the story sounds so Olympian to me :-) I did have a dim recollection of this story - asked you in case you had another version :-)
God made men and women on the 6th day - Adam was made after day 7. I believe he was made to til the soil, need to recheck Genesis. Eve was made way after the first week. And there is a cryptic line where God is worried that man would become "one of us" when Adam and Eve ate the fruit - more shades of polytheism there. Then there is the "sons of gods marrying daughters of men" which has been fudged so much but never monotheistically explained for me :-)
I love religion - they squirm and change their stories so much and yet people believe it implicitly.

472. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225518 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Had to look old Luc up, didn't I :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer

Brian, you think God is a bastard? Read this

Joseph Campbell (1972: p.148-149) illustrates an unorthodox Islamic reading of Lucifer's fall from Heaven which champions Lucifer's eclipsing love for God:

"One of the most amazing images of love that I know is Persian ?quot; a mystical Persian representation as Satan as the most loyal lover of God. You will have heard the old legend of how, when God created the angels, he commanded them to pay worship to no one but himself; but then, creating man, he commanded them to bow in reverence to this most noble of his works, and Lucifer refused ?quot; because, we are told, of his pride. However, according to this Muslim reading of his case, it was rather because he loved and adored God so deeply and intensely that he could not bring himself to bow before anything else, and because he refused to bow down to something that was of less superiority than him. (Since he was made of fire, and man from clay.) And it was for that that he was flung into Hell, condemned to exist there forever, apart from his love."

Satan so loves God that he is banished!

473. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225517 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 5:15 pm

TWP, so, a pantheon then? God is not the only god anymore?

474. Praying for health

Comment #225507 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:39 pm

How far back does one go for the tribalism aspect? As the story below appears to indicate, travelling is not new...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2746505.stm
Suggests to me, along with megaliths all over northern Europe, that religion was something that bound disparate tribes and people...

475. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225503 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:34 pm

I love how I made you feel compelled to explain that you've never blown a 15 year old. My work here is done.

:-D Generally I get told off for drinking too much gin! A breath of fresh air, your post ;-)

476. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225499 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:29 pm

kkelly, having never tried, I cannot recommend it. Gin, on the other hand, has a long history with me :-) Grapefruit juice is the non-alcoholic suggestion I always get.

477. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225497 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:26 pm

Sorry Carto ;-)
Brian, I tells ya, them moobs are on the decline. Sort of. Did some sit ups the other day...exercise regime is slowly starting!

478. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225496 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:24 pm

totally unrelated, what's the best way to get the taste of puke out of one's mouth?

Gin. Or grapefruit juice.

479. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225491 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:19 pm

Brian, it's the Englishman in me :-) Be talking about toilets next...right after the weather.

480. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225490 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:18 pm

I meant fundie bigots, not nubile, sexy teenagers you sicko.

Most terribly sorry - your reputation coloured my reply!
OK, so a bunch of 15-16 year old fundies lining up...

481. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225487 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:13 pm

Wouldn't it be fun if we could just sexually assault them in the 3rd or 4th degree for shits and giggles, without fear of prosecution?

Could make it a rite of passage. Bunch of 15-16 year olds lining up outside the shagging room to decide what orientation they should go for sexually... Week 1 would be hetero sex, week 2 homo sex.

482. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225482 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 4:00 pm

You can take some comfort that on the rare occasion that we get in to a spot of bother on the field my wife (South African) can be heard sniggering gleefully to herself.

You should try being an ex-Pom in NZ when England come to play rugby here....

483. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225479 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 3:59 pm

TWP - no, I really would like to know. Devils and daemons don't just appear out of thin air...

kkelly

Next time somebody tells you that gayness is a choice, tell them they just revealed their latent bisexual orientation to you.

I ask them when they made their choice. Generally ask if it was at 18 or something and if there was a questionnaire...

484. Praying for health

Comment #225450 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 3:26 pm

There are so many other reasons to shun the other tribe in the resource scarce environment of the hunter gatherer.

I belive the places of highest language densities are those of highest fertility, like PNG or equatorial Africa...
I can't comment on religions, but the other article on this topic did also suggest they also had the largest number of religions...

485. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225446 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 3:20 pm

Australia...to be more precise, Tasmania.

*Slaps forehead* But of course! And this links back to Comment #225430 :-D

486. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225441 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 3:15 pm

TWP - did anyone explain where these devils came from?

487. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225434 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 3:07 pm

TWP
Having come in late, I thought the towel reference was due to you swapping your baseball/cricket bat for a wet rolled up towel.

Aaaah, memories...

488. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225428 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:58 pm

Turn northwards to the largest country in the world, Russia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/europe/24church.html

Edit - and there was this in a sidebar which made me smile...

Was Jesus a Lunatic?
Scholars examine the facts about Jesus' claims to be God
www.Y-Jesus.com/God

489. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225422 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:50 pm

This is also interesting
http://www.usip.org/pubs/usipeace_briefings/2007/0821_muslim_youth.html
This struck me

Accurate figures are difficult to obtain due to lack of data based on religion; in France, for example, it is official policy not to collect such data.

Along with finding out that 40% of UK Muslims want sharia comes from about 200 respondents, I wonder how accurate our statistics are?

490. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225419 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:45 pm

http://www.soundvision.com/Info/misc/summer/sum.oldcount.asp

This is amusing too. Remember, this is about those Islamic countries that threaten our western way of life...

491. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225413 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:36 pm

What is the religious stance on Bisexuality??

I think the catholic church is all for it - when you flip and altar boy over, he looks just like a little girl...

Get's coat, exits left..

492. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225411 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:35 pm

Then I discovered a blog post of his in which he described atheists (and particularly scientists, who supported reason) as deluded fools, ignorant of true knowledge.

Which is why I say let them teach.
A man can stay silent and be thought a fool or he can speak and prove it. Or words to that effect...

493. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225405 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:30 pm

Peak Oil is a myth

Telling me! I looked up every oil company I could and not one of them was called Peak Oil...
:-D
Edit - Evening Apathy!

494. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225404 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:29 pm

Aren't most Baluchis Pakistanis anyhow?

Yes, but Pakistan is like Afghanistan and other -stans where the people identify with their ethnic group, as I recall (edit - why I put "other" before Pakistanis...can't recall the other ethnic groups apart from Pashtun). Check out the Iranian blog where he breaks down Iranians into their groups. Ahmedinejad changed his name to hide his ethnicity - he had a Jewish or Armenian name (as I recall - was in Wikipedia)
Driving in Syria was an experience. Mind you, they are gentlemen of the roads compared to mainland Chinese. They appear to think a car is a larger bicycle...

495. Call to teach biblical creation as science

Comment #225400 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:25 pm

I say teach creationism as a science. That'll really expose it for what it really is. Rememering that saying about being careful what one wishes for as it might come true...

496. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225398 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:23 pm

TWP, it's Terat, with a T at the end. So he asked.. :-) Nice fluffy dogs, btw...
An Iranian blog. Was going to link it in before but internet problems and some sit-commery prevented me.
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/mehdi-mazloom/mullahs-iran-are-going-nowhere
This is a theocratic state, remember.
You might also want to have a read through this...
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/world/middleeast/04youth.html?_r=1&scp=62&sq=iraq, cleric&st=cse&oref=slogin

497. Why Islam Is Unfunny for a Cartoonist

Comment #225393 by Goldy on August 6, 2008 at 2:17 pm

Thread got...a bit different by the time I jumped in :-) But going way back when, Vaal asked

You were saying that Dubai is relatively prosperous. Are women allowed to work and drive there?

Dubai is really prosperous unless you're a Balochi or other Pakistani. And my mother was driving in Abu Dhabi in the mid to late 70s. A Honda Civic. Nice car but you could just sit and watch it rust...
Women also drive in Syria - mainly in Damascus, according to me - didn't really see them driving in Deir Ezzor. The young women wore bloody tight clothing in Deir Ezzor, though. Very tight. I must have fallen in love every time I looked out of the window.

498. Evangelically Serious Science

Comment #224840 by Goldy on August 5, 2008 at 6:43 pm

Getting back to Terat's peak oil thingy...
letter in the Arab News

Mobil Corporation has just announced that soaring oil prices have pushed its second-quarter earnings up to the highest-ever profit by a US company: The net income in the quarter rose to $11.68 billion, or $2.22 a share. Similar news is also coming from BP, Total and other oil majors. This shows that the Western economy â€" at least major companies and their shareholders â€" is benefiting from the rise in crude oil prices; not just the OPEC nations.

On the other hand, several leading Western banks have reported a loss of substantial annual income in 2007 and 2008 mainly due to write-offs involving bad loans made to customers lacking credit references. It needs to be stressed that these losses have nothing to do with the rise in oil prices; they are just bad decisions, either due to bad management or lack of alternate banking systems such as Islamic banking instruments, coming home to roost.

These facts must be well-presented and explained to the Western audience. They are discerning readers and can derive their own conclusions from the facts presented. The media of the GCC countries have a big job to do.

P.B.V. Rajan, Riyadh, published 6 August 2008

Petrol prices go up, we're told there's a shortage of oil and price rises are inevitable, yet the companies post record profits...

499. Evangelically Serious Science

Comment #224832 by Goldy on August 5, 2008 at 5:47 pm

Thanks for the offer, Coco - I have 3 generations of women in my family offering words of encouragement (nagging) and a rather cute PhD student doing the same (nagging). There is also a technician (again, rather cute) who is really into sports giving me advice (nagging) and a chiropracter blokey (I know, I know, it's woo-woo...but my back felt heaps better after the first visit!) giving me a list of stretching and, you guessed it, exercise I am strongly encouraged to perform (I did detect a nagging tone in his voice!)
This credit crunch seems to have led to speculation in grain and research into converting the same to bio-fuel has meant my beer and pizza have become more expensive (even the fucking global economy is nagging me!!) so they are reduced items in my diet, as well as pies.
I have no other avenue to go to to escape this encouragement to lose weight!

Edit - as for libido - have one toddler and another on the way. Energy levels just too low to consider even a fondle. Besides, two children is enough. I can either get shares in a rubber product (and I'll be that's gone up in price too!) or get my tubes tied...and, though I am not going to use them as the design intended, I have to pluck up the courage for that.

500. Evangelically Serious Science

Comment #224827 by Goldy on August 5, 2008 at 5:29 pm

Comment #224825 by CocoCantare
Explains your husband's lack of wandering then ;-)
And finally attention is shifted from my moobs!