Apr. 3rd, 2007

monk222: (Noir Detective)

Yet it is ironic and discouraging that many non-Muslim, Western intellectuals--who unceasingly claim to support human rights--have become obstacles to reforming Islam. Political correctness among Westerners obstructs unambiguous criticism of Shariah's inhumanity. They find socioeconomic or political excuses for Islamist terrorism such as poverty, colonialism, discrimination or the existence of Israel. What incentive is there for Muslims to demand reform when Western "progressives" pave the way for Islamist barbarity?

-- Tawfik Hamid for The Wall Street Journal

Here is another strong indictment of the way too many liberals/progressives allow their arguably well-intentions notions of tolerance and post-modern cultural relativism to obscure and complicate matters when it comes to our conflict with radical Islam.

column )

-- Dr. Hamid, a onetime member of Jemaah Islamiya, an Islamist terrorist group, is a medical doctor and Muslim reformer living in the West.

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monk222: (Noir Detective)

Yet it is ironic and discouraging that many non-Muslim, Western intellectuals--who unceasingly claim to support human rights--have become obstacles to reforming Islam. Political correctness among Westerners obstructs unambiguous criticism of Shariah's inhumanity. They find socioeconomic or political excuses for Islamist terrorism such as poverty, colonialism, discrimination or the existence of Israel. What incentive is there for Muslims to demand reform when Western "progressives" pave the way for Islamist barbarity?

-- Tawfik Hamid for The Wall Street Journal

Here is another strong indictment of the way too many liberals/progressives allow their arguably well-intentions notions of tolerance and post-modern cultural relativism to obscure and complicate matters when it comes to our conflict with radical Islam.

column )

-- Dr. Hamid, a onetime member of Jemaah Islamiya, an Islamist terrorist group, is a medical doctor and Muslim reformer living in the West.

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monk222: (Rainy: by snorkle_c)

Sometimes I just think that we are fucked. I posted earlier today about how our progressives/liberals are given to accepting Islamist values. Now, here is a post by Andrew Sullivan that shows how conservatives/Christians are sympathetic to Islamism. Sullivan quotes an evangelical who has lived in Pakistan for a year:

First, the vast majority of people I met were gracious to a fault, hospitable, and quick to condemn violence in the name of religion. They were, at the same time, largely uninterested in trying to delineate the boundaries of religion in public life. "Islam," I was often told, "is about all of life." Coming from an American culture in which religion is often considered unwelcome in the public square, this was a real change. For better and for worse, religion in Pakistan is more than the language of private devotion; it is still the most potent language of public life as well.

Second, in spite of feeling far from home, time and time again I found that I felt surprisingly comfortable in Pakistan, precisely because it was a deeply religious society. Despite the points of shared history and shared values, at the end of the day, I believe something quite different than the Muslims I met and lived with and prayed among. But I still came away admiring their devotion and appreciating a society in which religious conversation and values are honored.
Maybe people are not meant to live lives based on reason and freedom.


(Sources: Andrew Sullivan)

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monk222: (Rainy: by snorkle_c)

Sometimes I just think that we are fucked. I posted earlier today about how our progressives/liberals are given to accepting Islamist values. Now, here is a post by Andrew Sullivan that shows how conservatives/Christians are sympathetic to Islamism. Sullivan quotes an evangelical who has lived in Pakistan for a year:

First, the vast majority of people I met were gracious to a fault, hospitable, and quick to condemn violence in the name of religion. They were, at the same time, largely uninterested in trying to delineate the boundaries of religion in public life. "Islam," I was often told, "is about all of life." Coming from an American culture in which religion is often considered unwelcome in the public square, this was a real change. For better and for worse, religion in Pakistan is more than the language of private devotion; it is still the most potent language of public life as well.

Second, in spite of feeling far from home, time and time again I found that I felt surprisingly comfortable in Pakistan, precisely because it was a deeply religious society. Despite the points of shared history and shared values, at the end of the day, I believe something quite different than the Muslims I met and lived with and prayed among. But I still came away admiring their devotion and appreciating a society in which religious conversation and values are honored.
Maybe people are not meant to live lives based on reason and freedom.


(Sources: Andrew Sullivan)

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monk222: (Monkey Dreams)

Now there is some question about whether the wheat gluten that has contaminated pet food has also made its way into human food. The FDA says there is no reason to believe that it has, but at least one blogger has his doubts:

Riiight. This is the Bush FDA, remember, whose competence is analogous to Bush’s war-planners and whose regulatory good faith is analogous to his Interior Department’s. In other words, these creeps are fuck-ups, and corrupt ones to boot. Stupid and evil — which might be the perfect catchphrase for our epoch. The structures of neoliberalism are awful enough as it is; such structures under Republican stewardship are that much worse. Poison begets poison, from economic theories to your dinner table, from the Diebold machine to you dog’s food bowl.

... Our rulers, reactionary and neoliberal, presume the following heirarchies: Cheap > healthy; free trade > heavy (safe, conscientious, fair) regulation.

It’s economics, stupid. Now eat up.
Well, it's not like you can live forever.


(Source: Sadly No)

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monk222: (Monkey Dreams)

Now there is some question about whether the wheat gluten that has contaminated pet food has also made its way into human food. The FDA says there is no reason to believe that it has, but at least one blogger has his doubts:

Riiight. This is the Bush FDA, remember, whose competence is analogous to Bush’s war-planners and whose regulatory good faith is analogous to his Interior Department’s. In other words, these creeps are fuck-ups, and corrupt ones to boot. Stupid and evil — which might be the perfect catchphrase for our epoch. The structures of neoliberalism are awful enough as it is; such structures under Republican stewardship are that much worse. Poison begets poison, from economic theories to your dinner table, from the Diebold machine to you dog’s food bowl.

... Our rulers, reactionary and neoliberal, presume the following heirarchies: Cheap > healthy; free trade > heavy (safe, conscientious, fair) regulation.

It’s economics, stupid. Now eat up.
Well, it's not like you can live forever.


(Source: Sadly No)

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