51. It can be right to discriminate against the religious

Comment #202379 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Gregg Townsend,





That is discrimination. The appropriate thing to do to appease these people is to change your entire business model and go into debt. This way they won't get their burqas caught in the machinery.

The only job a Muslim woman would be fit for is bee keeper.

52. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202299 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 8:50 am

irate,




:-) or should I say |>:-{o



Quetz,


Like I said, it might have more to do with the fact that the schools are private and free from the monument to bureaucracy that is state education.

Each school that is private only has to worry about its student body, usually less than 1,000 students. However the state system has a hierarchy of bureaucrats who mummify the system with red tape. The public system is responsible for millions. I hope I don't excite the Marxist collectivists who lurk here, but independent actors tend to be more efficient. It has nothing to do with religion.

53. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202293 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 8:35 am

irate,







When he says "faith school" he only means the nice fuzzy ones with good performance. Any instantiation of negativity is, of course, outside the scope of our current discussion. Come on, this isn't your first rodeo.

54. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202290 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 8:32 am

irate,





He means except all of those. Figure it out already.

55. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202271 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 7:20 am

elephant,







My point was the school was great, aside from all the Catholic stuff that made it worse. The point is "private" schools are often better simply because they don't have a massive bureacracy behind them. The faith element may be incidental to performance. And the person who made the school great was fired for "faith" reasons and this destroyed the school.


That was the point.

56. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202266 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 7:10 am

elephant,




I went to a Catholic high school for 2 years because it was strong academically and had a strong soccer team. I had to take an "ethics" class (in which I was a thorn in the teacher's side), but other than that it was pretty straight forward..... oh yeah there was lots of drinking, drug use, and sex as well. The priest who ran the place so well turned out to be gay, the diocese ran him out of the school and the clergy and the school went to shit. So that was my Catholic school eexperience.

57. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #202257 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 6:39 am

fides_et_ratio,







Priests.... butt fucking...... small children.

58. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #202242 by al-rawandi on July 1, 2008 at 5:47 am

Trashcanistan....




Christopher Davis,




I see you have discovered Pashtuns and all their sloth. The fatalism of Islam really helps to enable indolence of the first degree.

The Afghans always brag "our country has never remained occupied, we have expelled all invaders". This is true, largely because the invaders see there isn't one good reason to stick around, so they said "fuck 'em" and left.

59. Evangelical grunts

Comment #202004 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 3:18 pm

mordacious1,

the best shots were southern boys who had less education, but could shoot a squirrel at a hundred yards...

I can give you that at 200 yards, and I am from California... and make that a rabbit.

60. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201996 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 2:52 pm

Fanusi,



I hope the fanatacism can be broken the way Japanese fanatacism was. However I think one would be deluded to think that this would be similar. The Japanese could see their god defeated and surrender. The Muslims attribute victory to god and his favor, and they attribute defeat to god, as punishment for lack of piety... thus redoubling their efforts. So I think, when sloth-like fatalism is involved there is little hope in a "demostrable victory" doing much good, because it won't be perceived as such.

But I think the hope lies more in the slow modernization of certain societies (Lebanon, Tunisia, and hopefully several others). Notice that (as an aside) Tunisia is run by an autocrat who has simply willed his people into the 20th century, and this has been good for them. I hope that these countries become more of a model, but this will take repeated ass kickings of the other states with repeated success of the more secular states.




Auraboy,



Sorry for the detail. The Afghans have a pretty diverse population, and many are royalists among other things and not very fond of the Taliban.

61. Stephen Hawking's explosive new theory

Comment #201955 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 1:16 pm

Fanusi,





Let's talk shariah and hijack the thread....


*ducks*

62. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201951 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Auraboy,





Pakistan itself seeks to keep Afghanistan as a country defined by religion, because if it becomes one defined by ethnicity that will be Pashtun. And Pakistan is terrified that Pashtun nationalism will spread to Pakistan. The Pakistanis are consistently working against the Americans in Afghanistan. They are too scared to fight the radicals in the NWFP and other areas (Swat valley seems to be a hot spot). It also has problems with Baluchistan, so it may not behoove the Pakistanis to take it seriously. That is why the CIA and DoD are preparing action plans for US incursions into Pakistani territory.


As for the Muslims in Xianjiang, China is concerned with the influx of Uzbek radicals from the IMU, a notably salafist organization. The Chinese have increased trade with Uzbekistan and the main road which runs through Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) and Tashkent, is also a means to traffic ideologies and people. The Hui Muslims have remained relatively passive in China, but China has no delusions that this will remain the same for the future.


As for tribal leaders in Afghanistan, people like Isma'il Khan in Herat, are simply business people, first and foremost. That get money from taxing trade, and trafficking in everything from cars to drugs. Religious fanatacism is bad for business, and this is why Khan had built a large private fighting force loyal to himself.


All of this discord, no wonder some called the whole lot of these countries "trashcanistan".

63. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201947 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Fanusi,





I don't disagree with any of that. But the problem is you are left with little choice other than mass genocide, and I don't use that term with any negative connotation, but be aware that is what you are advocating. I also won't say you don't have a case, you do. The question is, can liberal and humanist ideals ever penetrate Muslim societies. In the past this has happened on a limited scale, but these people are quickly rooted out by Muslims and killed or sent packing. Simply look at Salman Rushdie for evidence of an early attempt at this.


Another Chomsky apologist has surfaced on the "Anti-Evolution Film" thread. Yikes.

64. Anti-Evolution Film Misappropriates the Holocaust

Comment #201941 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 12:58 pm

Shigawire,



We have already wasted enough time on this thread. The last guy to try what you tried simply deleted all of his posts and ran off.


Read the 200 lies of Noam Chomsky. Nuff' said.

http://www.paulbogdanor.com/chomskyhoax.html


I will make some short comments on your post, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you haven't read through the whole thread or noticed the numerous missing posts I was responding to.

Oh great. "Potential denial"? Care to be a little more vague? This is an old little tidbit of propaganda. Chomsky does not try to belittle Pol Pot's actions, what he does is put them in context with the genocidal (secret) U.S. bombing of Cambodia - a bombing campaign which propelled the Khmer Rouge into power due to the horrible conditions on the ground. Further, he compounds Khmer Rouge atrocities together with the foreseeable consequences of the U.S. bombings

Wrong. Chomsky said that the Khmer Rouge genocide was comprable to East Timor. Less than 100,000 people were killed in East Timor, an action merely not stopped (not instigated per se) by the US. While the Khmer Rouge killed over 1 million people. You would have to be mentally retarded to make that comparison in "scale" (I quote because chomsky said they WERE comparable in scale).

And where did the US act in a just fashion, well you yourself pointed out WWII and your hero's approval of the war.

Admitted strong Communist leanings as a young man? Source? And, what kind of Socialism?

His involvement in the Kibbutzim is strong evidence of his Communist leanings. You can, of course, read his biography where these things are detailed. And to the latter portion, some kind of anarcho-socialism, however ill-defined. But you should read up on Kibbutzim, before you venture off into these kind of vituperations, because I get sick of explaining "kibbutzim" to people.

The alterior motive, and problem, was Milosevic's inability to accept certain "free market" capitalist reforms. Milosevic refused to be a part of the economic framework of neo-liberalism. When such things happen, "credibility" is on the line.
Indeed Milosevic was no angel, but the Serb atrocities were not the real motive. They were incidental and helpful for propaganda purposes.

Come the fuck on buddy.


Nothing is simple in these issues, which liberals constantly point out, yet it is these same liberals (*cough*you*cough*) who seek to boil it down to some cause like "free market" capitalism.

So your contention would be that the US NEVER intervenes for humanitarian purposes?


As I said enough time was wasted here pointing out the obvious, namel that Chomsky distorts history and defends malignant cancers like Faurisson. The jury is alread in on this case, and your particular apologetics are not new, the other ones were deleted in shame.

Also you can quote sections of other people's posts by checking the posting guidelines, it will make it easier to read.

65. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201922 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Styrer,

Cowardly cunts

Charles Doughty wrote in his Travels in Arabia Deserta that the Arabs were a "pusillanimous" bunch.... that applies to the Afghans as well, apparently.

66. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201920 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 12:14 pm

Fanusi,






As Robbin Williams said: "Bomb them back the stone age and they just say 'oooh upgrade!'"


I don't know if that fixes the problem really. China and Pakistan have strong interests there as Afghanistan actually connects to China via the Wakkan Corridor (Vakhan). So total destuction of the society will only destroy society, not ideology, it will only reinforce what the Islamists are saying about the United States, a brutal empire seeking to maim Muslims societies.

67. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201911 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 11:59 am

info-dump,






As a point of fact, there are "justices" on the Afghan supreme court who are moderates, and it looks as if this is a etched in stone law and they are implementing it. Doesn't make it less disgusting but that may well be the issue at the supreme court level.

68. CFI-UN Hamid Karzai Letter

Comment #201905 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 11:57 am

I spoke with a friend who works in the Afghan government (as both his parents did prior to the Taliban). He is a royalist and very moderate religiously (to the point of it being what seems to be highly watered down monotheism).


I asked him what he thought about such a disgusting occurence, and he told me that this was tough cookies for the guy. He claimed that he was distributing the literature around and that the Afghans had decided what the law of the land should be and this was it. He said "this is democracy, and this is what you Americans claimed you wanted to give us."


I was completely shocked as this is someone who has argued against the implementation of shariah law on numerous occasions. Again very shocking and disturbing.

69. Mormons urged to back ban on same-sex marriage

Comment #201898 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 11:50 am

qomak,





I agree. There is no reason to ban someone, save for basically vandalising the site or spamming. Ignore or ridicule everything else that is obnoxious and wrong.

The last thing anyone should do is censor someone's opinions, even when it is a total fuck nut like wooter/clearmind/assface or whatever he calls himself nowadays.

70. Faith schools undermined by 'Government witch hunt'

Comment #201742 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 7:55 am

elephant,







They must mean the founding fathers. But in all honesty they generally just make shit up. Logically, if you are defending a lie, what is a few more lies?

71. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #201713 by al-rawandi on June 30, 2008 at 6:22 am

qomak,






First of all, Holocaust denial has the following attendant consequences:


1) There is a world wide conspiracy.
2) This conspiracy is run by Jews.
3) It involves all Jews.
4) Jews have exploited this for money
5) They exert control over gentile governments to maintain this fraud.


These are unavoidable consequences. These are also the foundational elements of anti-semitic lies such as the blood libel and the Protocols.


What Chomsky did that was revolting was he said Faurisson himself was not an anti-semite and merely a "liberal intellectual". This is ridiculous because Faurisson is for all intents and purposes a neo-Nazi. He counts notable anti-semite Ernst Zundel as a friend and has contributed to IHR publications, another anti-semitic holocaust denying group.

Chomsky once again, tried to pass off a lie as truth. He never does this outright, he always gives himself plausable deniability, but he has gone too far several times, and this is one such time.

So Holocaust denial in a vacuum is one thing, holocaust denial in light of overwhelming evidence, in a country (France) that has numerous survivors and is situated only a few hundred miles from numerous concentration camps is anti-semitism. Faurisson did not operate in a vacuum, he operated with full access to all evidence and chose to behave like an Irving, Rami, or Zundel, rather than a Hillberg.

Chomsky was wrong, as is his habit.

72. Saving Us from Darwin

Comment #200383 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 12:50 pm

Clearmind,

birth-eat-poop-die

Are you sure this isn't your life cycle?


Allow me to rearrange that as an instruction:

"eat, poop, die"


In that order.

73. Non-voters: It's all in God's hands

Comment #200380 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Tera Bat,

I really hope the Muslims believe they don't need to vote.

Me too.

74. I believe that there is no God.

Comment #200378 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 12:29 pm

Steve,

Imagine a forum here is like a large group of (mainly) friends in a bar. Just think of the reaction if someone no-one runs into the bar, and starts cursing at the top of their voice

Those people make my weekend. It's therapy to "deal" with them.


But the anoymous persona on the internet would generally not behave as such in person.

75. I believe that there is no God.

Comment #200341 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 10:40 am

Prove to me the earth is flat.

Prove to me that the moon landing was a conspiracy.

Prove to me that Martha Steward is a space alien.

The earth is flat, science hasn't proved it is round, and people who say it is round are just dogmatists.

The moon landing was a conspiracy by atheists. How do explain the flag moving in the picture, it was shot in a movie studio.

Marther Steward (sic) (try Stewart) is a space alien. How do I know, I feel it. Not only is she a space alien, she created all life on earth long ago and has returned to look over us and make cooking shows. She appears like she is a regular human being, but she simply has everyone fooled.

I feel it ok, I feel it. It just makes rational sense that the earth was created by a rational being, and Martha Stewart is that being.

76. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200330 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 10:25 am

Comment #200301 by advocatus_diaboli on June 27, 2008 at 9:25 am





Your link is ridiculous. Once again, it is in no way comparable. These officers were scared and heard gunfire and did something stupid.

And what happened? They were investigated, charged, tried and imprisoned. That is what happens here, when the police do something wrong, the people wronged have recourse. In Iraq the police simply allowed this to happen to this poor girl, and nothing was done to the police... no charges, no fines, no suspension.


Thanks for making my point for me. Our civilization IS exponentially better. Bad cops get sent to jail.

77. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200323 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 10:06 am

Vecingtorix,






I always found Chomsky useful. But I finally gave up on him once I discovered he lied about the Pol Pot massacres. And even more so once he said Holocaust denial is not anti-semitis, and then went one further and defended the Neo-Nazi Faurrison against charges of anti-semitism. (Faurrison counts Ernst Zundel as a friend).


Anyhow, enough of that.

78. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200316 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 9:49 am

Vecingtorix,






Some people just desparately want to hate and blame the United States. The indoctrination you mention in elementary schools is nothing compared to the indoctrination they receive from the likes of Chomsky. So-called "anarchist socialists", they attach fancy ideological positions after their name and on their media C.V., these shiny objects attract the wannabe intellectuals who think that if they mention the fact that the CIA hired Klaus Barbie and Reinhard Gehlen enough times that people will give up on a reasoned world view and join their brand of self flagellation.

It is so patently obvious that the two civilizations are incomparably different, that people like the advocatus here must lose themselves in minutia... "such and such police department had officers that did such and such." Of course never mentioning that these officers were investigated, fired, and prosecuted.

There is no comparison a sane man can make, so I assume these people are in fact insane.

79. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200305 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 9:29 am

In December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, reportedly sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law, which was apparently being considered by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, in September 2003, a law concerning the implementation of certain kinds of penalties, including stoning, was passed, which appeared to undermine this moratorium. Also despite the moratorium, Amnesty International continued to record sentences of stoning being passed, though none of these were known to have been implemented until May 2006, when a woman and a man were reportedly stoned to death. The two victims - Abbas (m) and Mahboubeh (f) - were reportedly stoned to death in a cemetery in Mashhad, after being convicted of murdering Mahboubeh's husband, and of adultery - a charge which carries the penalty of stoning. Part of the cemetery was cordoned off from the public, and more than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guard, and Bassij Forces, who had been invited to attend, reportedly participated in stoning the couple to death.

Amnesty International, a favorite of anti-Zionists, had this to say about Iranian security forces PARTICIPATING in the stoning of two people.

80. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200304 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 9:26 am

Nice link that doesn't work.

81. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200299 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 9:23 am

advocatus,

What a government, they actually manage to get everyone to agree?

By "full" I mean a majority. For instance, in Iran, laws criminalizing apostasy are before the majlis, and other laws have been enacted (by elected representatives) that are repellent to the civilized mind. And the people of the regions that carry out these acts are often in support of things like gang rape.


Now what did you say that was false?

Replacing it with Islam would only make it worse by a few degrees.

You are telling me that Shariah law would only make America a "few degrees" worse? That is nonsense, as an atheist you would be dead, is that only a "few degrees worse". Complete freedom of speech versus death? Come the fuck on man.

I've seen them happen right here at home, boyo. Poverty, child rape, slavery, lack of freedom of speach, women subjugated, violence, etc. And until the States bring themselves a bit more in average with the rest of the developed world then it is indeed only better by degrees. The U.S. has no place telling other people how to fix problems they cannot themselves fix.

What did you say you saw happen right here in the US "boyo"? This:

Have you not being paying any attention to reality? Haven't you noticed the rampant child-rape in Islamic societies? Or the practice of slavery? Or the total lack of freedom of speech and conscience? Or the total subjugation of women? Or the endemic violence? Or the fearful sloth and inshallah apathy that brings utter stagnation and poverty?

Where is the rampant child rape? Like here

Show me cops that systematically rape children here in the US, on a weekly basis.

Where in the US is slavery practiced in this fashion

Where is freedom of speech "totally" lacking in the US, like it is here


Where does the "total" subjugation of women taking place, like it is here




As I said, your comparisons are vacuous and not even on the same planet as the real world.

82. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200291 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 9:05 am

Advocatus,




http://youtube.com/watch?v=y_BGYKqnAKY




Du'a Khalil Aswad, stoned to death in Iraq for having a Yazidi boyfriend. Muslim women MAY NOT marry non Muslim men, and certainly may not date them.

If you watch the video of the stoning, you can see police officers standing by and watching a 17 year old girl being pummeled by the crowd. They used stones and their feet to blugeon a teenage girl to death. The police did nothing. The police in any US citiy, ANY CITY, would have intervened to stop this, even if it risked their personal safety.


Your comparisons are not only dishonest, they are revolting.

83. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200286 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 8:55 am

advocatus_diaboli,




So as long as there are murders in the US, we cannot ask that murders not take place elsewhere? That is not very good logic.


The difference is that we have things like that happen in the US, yet we prosecute them. If someone stones their sister to death, they will be put in prison. In Iran, or Pakistan, they will walk away with the respect of the community. People here are only put to death for violent crimes. In Iran people are put to death for changing religions, being gay, and adultery. There is absolutely ZERO basis for comparison, and making such a comparison is simply fabricating evidence to fit your pre-conceived notions.

As I said, if we cannot fix trouble at home we have no place to be trying to fix trouble abroad.

So once our society is perfect then we can discuss others? Wrong. No one will be perfect, but people can look at grostesque evil and call it just that.

No, I merely stated that the U.S. has these same acts of inhumanism going on here at home,

Uhhh this isn't what I asked. I asked you to name even one instance of:

Where are women subjugated here, like they are in Iran or Saudi Arabia? Where are thieves subject to amputation here, as they are in the Middle East? Where is institutionalized gang rape for tribal "offenses" happening here, like it does in the Middle East and South Asia? Where in the US are people put to death for changing religions, like they are in the Middle East? Where in the US is the Protocols of the Elders of Zion a bestseller like it is in the Mid East? Where in the US are people proclaiming that Jews spread AIDS, like they do in the Middle East?

So to show these are happening here you must show me the last time the US government executed people for changing religions or adultery. When did a thief last have his hand amputated? When was the last gang rape simply left uninvestigated and unpunished?

Some unsavory things happen in the US, but people are generally outraged and the government attempts to put an end to it, and punish those involved. In the Middle East it IS the government carrying out these evil acts, with full support from the populace. If you cannot see the difference you are well beyond hope.

84. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200259 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 7:40 am

advocatus,

Poverty, child rape, slavery, lack of freedom of speach, women subjugated, violence, etc. And until the States bring themselves a bit more in average with the rest of the developed world then it is indeed only better by degrees. The U.S. has no place telling other people how to fix problems they cannot themselves fix.

Ok I must say this is an instance of gratuitous self flagellation.

Where are women subjugated here, like they are in Iran or Saudi Arabia? Where are thieves subject to amputation here, as they are in the Middle East? Where is institutionalized gang rape for tribal "offenses" happening here, like it does in the Middle East and South Asia? Where in the US are people put to death for changing religions, like they are in the Middle East? Where in the US is the Protocols of the Elders of Zion a bestseller like it is in the Mid East? Where in the US are people proclaiming that Jews spread AIDS, like they do in the Middle East?


Your comparison is so completely ridiculous, it is making it hard to take you seriously. You should abandon the Chomskian habit of everytime you hear of some awful thing, immediately mentioning some wrong in the US and saying they are precisely the same. This is disengenuous.

I agree the US has been imperfect, but it is a matter of making some choices. And right now I choose Western culture, with all its flaws over Islamism. I choose Zionism, with its problems over Islamism. When Islamism is destroyed, I will dedicated myself to rectifying the Zionist problem. But until then, I will take the worst of all evils and focus on this.

85. 'I despise Islamism': Ian McEwan faces backlash over press interview

Comment #200245 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 6:47 am

Replacing it with Islam would only make it worse by a few degrees.

It would be more than a few degrees. Way more.

86. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #200229 by al-rawandi on June 27, 2008 at 5:55 am

secularist,




Let me just demonstrate quickly how you are a liar. I never said Wahhabis were not anti-semitic... what I said was that Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab did not dedicate much time to Jews and Christians. Considering I have read all of his work, and translated Kashf al-Shubuhat , Al-Usul al-Thalatha, and Kitab al-Tawhid, I would say I have some expertise on the matter.

I also said Wahhabis WERE anti-semitic, but this is because most Muslims are anti semitic. So now to further shame you in front of all can you show me were I said "Wahhabis were not anti-semitic".


You can either:


a) Post the statement I made saying that Wahhabis are not anti-semites.
b) Post a retraction where you apologize for lying.


I look forward to your apology.

87. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #199975 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 3:08 pm

qomak,






Take a look through some of secularists old comments and tell me what you think.

Israel is NOR racist but it has been built as shelter for Jews.
I don't see any problem with it.

There is free speech in Israel that why people can even lie.

I leave you with this gem. Of course a state which discriminates on the basis of race (Jews get automatic citizenship, others cannot) and Israel has no constitution and no guaranteed rights therein.


This guy is not big on facts, or grammar.

88. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199967 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 2:56 pm

Also, I don't recall saying it was genetic. I said smart people end up with smart kids, because of environment or whatever, but in general they are smarter.

89. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #199966 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 2:54 pm

secularist,






Telling people I haven't heard of such a practice is hardly apologetics. Especially when it was in response to A RUMOR.

And relating a story of a man who visited Saudi Arabia where they sent him a child bride (which is an indictment of Saudi Practice) is not apologetics.


Are you retarded? I mean, really.... wooter.


Like I said, you are going to have to post EVIDENCE. Fucktard.

90. John McCain: America a Christian nation, needs Christian president

Comment #199963 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 2:47 pm

Nova,





Replace "Founding Fathers" in general with "Jefferson, Paine, Washington, Allen". There solved, and yes it seems to me that in terms of relative intelligence they are/were way ahead of modern politicians.

If you think I have some "irrational" patriotism, you are either:

a) illiterate
b) have never read any of my posts.

Blind devotion to nationalism is not something I engage in. But, obviously, jumping to wild conclusions is something you do. For instance your entire psycho-analysis of me from all of one sentence. So I guess I can put all my long, anti-imperialist criticisms of America into the trash can, as you have hand waved them. I will note this.


As for measure of intelligence, compared to peers and contemporaries. If this is the measure of intelligence, (a bad term, I admit I should have been much more specific) then the American adventure was pretty impressive. Today, there is nothing impressive about American politics, save its inefficiency and lack of insight.


Boy I love George Washington... One of the cornerstones of this address was the illusion of "common interest". And another a warning that passion should not be a substitute for reason in foreign relations. So I don't think your emphasis on "predicaments of chance" is even remotely the issue. It was the illusion of common sentiments that was the problem, and this being a product of a passionate rather than rational approach. It was a prescient speech, and I feel you have mischaracterized it.



Here is an piece from the address:

So likewise, a passionate attachment of one Nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite Nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest, in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite Nation of privileges denied to others, which is apt doubly to injure the Nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained; and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens, (who devote themselves to the favorite nation,) facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

As I said, prescient.

91. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199945 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 2:22 pm

Spinoza,






Any studies to suggest this?

Are your parents intelligent?

In my experience smarter people have intelligent children, more so than people at the lower end of IQ.

92. PZ Myers - Science and Atheism in the Blogosphere

Comment #199881 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 1:02 pm

Shmeezers,



I am willing to discuss this rationally with you, with full openness with regards to the potential of a rational mind.

But I have just one question:

We start by positing a rational mind, as many other scientists have done. This does not broach the question of purpose, meaning, or whether we should worship this mind. My point is that atheists are just so closed-minded that they cannot even admit this obvious fact.

Do you hold Jesus to be your personal lord and savior? Do you believe in a worldwide flood? Do you believe Adam and Eve is a true and factual story?


I ask this because you are positing a weak deism here, and I am curious if you do this out of conviction or out of knowledge that your real beliefs would be mercilessly attacked by the "atheists"? I can accept the remote possibility of this "rational mind" for the sake of discussion, but we need to be clear if this is the extent of your belief?


I can assume that you think, based on rational inquiry, that there is no validity to the claims of Jesus' divinity. And further that you disregard the flood story do to the fact that it has been disproved.


Thanks.

93. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199841 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 12:10 pm

Barbara,





That is how these threads work.

94. PZ Myers - Science and Atheism in the Blogosphere

Comment #199826 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 11:47 am

Steve,

Incidentally, could you please explain how your amazing ability to detect what is supernatural works?

Have you ever recieved an answer from someone who serruptitiosly states they have some "sense"?

95. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199814 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 11:34 am

Barbara,

That's true. But why wait for that to happen? Let's just stop having so many babies, dammit. ;) Most folks can't afford them anyway.

I am an only child, my parents did their part. The only problem is my parents both have PhD's and all of their PhD holding friends had only one child, while all the idiots we know have lots of kids. It may be beyond hope, we are filling the gene pool with morons (alt. spelling: mormons).

96. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199801 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 11:18 am

Barbara,







Nature can always straighten us out with a deadly strain of flu virus, to the tune of 50% of world population.

97. Spanish parliament to extend rights to apes

Comment #199786 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 11:02 am

elephant,

Seriously, don't they have anything better to do in the Spanish Parliament?

You mean like actually dealing with the evolved threat of the nizam la tanzim Jihadism which is CENTERED in Spain?


Were you thinking something like that?



Barbara,



Hey I am all for reducing human populations. We need a couple more wars and a plan to euthanize stupid people, and I think we are on the right track.

98. A War On Science

Comment #199753 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 10:22 am

Cartomancer,




I knew the Arabic name as he is mentioned as a recipient of influence of both Ibn Rush and al-Ghazali. I also knew the name as "Moshe Ben..." But I am cautious because in the Arab world names tend to overlap... Muhammad is an awful popular name.


And as a side note, as Aquinas mentions "nature" he had some interesting things to say about animals and the natural world.

99. A War On Science

Comment #199734 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 9:05 am

Cartomancer,






Do you mean Maimonedes? (or is it Maimonides?). And you think a variant of the razor is to be found in Aquinas? If so which work?




epeeist,




Wait a second, are you saying that MPhil would consider the razor an example of post hoc ergo propter hoc, or are we thinking of different definitions of abductive?

100. Saudi Marriage Officiant : 'It Is Allowed To Marry A Girl At The Age Of One'.

Comment #199687 by al-rawandi on June 26, 2008 at 7:34 am

Ste5e,





That's what the ladies keep telling me.