Freedom of The Blog

Some time in the future, historians may write that the World Wide Web was the greatest communication invention since the printing press. Perhaps they will one day label it as equal to the printing press in its impact (hopefully overall positive) on humanity. In the Free World, we insist upon maintaining freedom of the press and freedom of speech not only because these help us protect our own basic rights and interests, but also because these freedoms of communication enable us to address the evils endured by others. In fact, where freedom of speech is constricted, it is often in an effort to hide atrocities. Let us hyperlink to another one of those close allies in the Global War on Terror, Egypt (we need to change that GWOT title - more on that in another post).

Fox News reports that an Egyptian blogger (Wael Abbas) has been banned by both YouTube and Yahoo! YouTube is concerned that the videos may be taken out of context. Hmm. Does that mean it is acceptable to torture a woman to obtain a confession if in fact she confesses during the torture?

Other Egyptian bloggers have been jailed for their words on the web. At least he didn’t name a toy stuffed bear by the most common given male name among Muslim societies.

Blogger Abbas may be pretty bold in making some of these public statements:

There are people being killed in police stations everyday; elections continue to be rigged…

So these videos are necessary to keep the world informed of what kind of ‘democracy’ that we have in Egypt and what kind of charade that we have here.

Indeed. This type of charade only provides fuel for the Jihadi recruiters and fund raisers.

Southern Fronts

It is somewhat ironic. Some of the most vocal complainers about American uniqueness are American college students, who in many cases are on a four-year holiday between high school and the rest of their lives. While on the other hand, college students in Venezuela are going in harm’s way to illuminate the danger of El Presidente’s (Chavez) attempts at codifying unending dictatorial powers for himself. We should wish the protesters “God Speed.” Read more about it HERE.

On the other side of the world, Thailand continues to be a Jihad hot spot with continued reports of gruesome violence carried out by Islamic Purists (perhaps that should be the new descriptor). Here in America, we rarely hear about the Jihadi violence occurring regularly in southern Thailand - in fact there is a lot we don’t hear about from many parts of the world. Perhaps news from Thailand is suppressed because the Muslim insurgency there is in the neighborhood of Malaysia, the southeast Asian, Muslim country that has been named by the U.S. government as one of the successful, modern, democratic and moderate Muslim nations existing today - with some thoughtful study of Malaysian policy, words, and actions, most reasonable thinkers would cringe a bit at the “moderate” label. At least Malaysia is not as problematic as, say, Pakistan.

Arrogant Barbarians in a Shrinking World

Communication, transportation, and economic globalization are causing a rapid shrinking of the world. Events and situations that used to seem very far away are becoming seemingly closer to us. Here is one:

Sudanese authorities on Tuesday questioned Gibbons who could face charges of insulting religion — a crime punishable by up to 40 lashes, six months in prison or a fine. (Fox News)

Her specific offense? As initially reported, she applied the name “Mohammad” to a stuffed (teddy) bear. As is now being widely reported in the mainstream media, it was a Muslim pupil of Gibbons (a Brit who teaches at a private school in Sudan) who came up with the idea. Even after clarification that the pupil, another Mohammad, presented the idea AND has indicated that the naming was not in relation to Islam’s prophet, Gibbons remains jailed and the investigation continues.

I first saw this reported on Gates of Vienna with a link to the Daily Mail as the source. HERE is a more recent article at Reuters.

Yes, this is the news of the day from our planet. One might think this could not be happening here, and in this age - but one would be mistaken. This is merely one of the everyday examples of what some are calling “Islamic Extremism.” Again, I contend that it is merely one example of the resurgence of classical Islam. Despite the modifications of history by those interested in defaming other faiths, Ms. Gibbons’ predicament is reminiscent of iron fist methods of Muslims as they ruled portions of Europe for several centuries.

We must keep in mind that through phenomena noted above, we are all becoming closer to these kinds of events. Perhaps this should add some urgency to efforts of recognition of the root cause of this situation - but instead Western ‘leaders’ continue to assure us simple folk that Islam is a “Religion of Peace.”

Read the articles entirely.

Civilizational Suicide - We Should Be Saddened

A Daily Mail article profiles two women who have taken measures to eliminate the carbon footprint of their would-be children. Why? To ensure a rosy future for the planet, of course. The story is summarized at Fox News.

Here are some lowlights, interspersed with my editorial comments:

“Having children is selfish. It’s all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet,” Vernelli told the Daily Mail, adding she believes bringing new life into the world only adds to the problem.

And what is stopping her from purposely stepping in front of a bus of walking off a cliff to decrease the impact of here own selfish carbon signature (a.k.a. life)? Would it be that pesky, selfish self-preservation instinct? Perhaps it is because she perceives that living is somehow better than dieing. Further, are all species being “selfish” by participating in activities that maintain their genetic line?

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Adventure and Excitement!

I want to say it is a mystery to us why humans need to go looking for a thrill - and sometimes not completely understanding what they are signing up for. However, it seems to be part of an adventuresome human nature. Undoubtedly, some individuals may end up as their own victims to their adventuring. Fortunately, all passengers and crew of the MS Explorer survived their Antarctic vacation.

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Feasting

There are the beginnings of the feast. A fine meal!

Thanking

The turkey is in the oven, the last leaves are falling, we are at this most American of holidays, sharing a warm cyber-embrace, praying for our best brothers, sisters, sons and daughters that have stepped forward to mix it up with barbarians — one might comment that these are interesting times, but in fact, all time has been interesting, we are just living the version of this current era, at least those who see through clear eyes.

We should be thankful for many things, some tangible and many of them intangible, but to whom do we owe those thanks? “Thanks” is a message that is designed to be transmitted to someone.

I thank God for these these things, tangible, intangible and things in between. Thank you for my wife, our two children that you have entrusted to us, the roof over our heads, and the bounty on our table; for these simple things are beyond what we could make of our own accord.

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Important Data

At Gates of Vienna, Dymphna has posted an important article and her associated comments. Through a new viewpoint, the GoV post gives us an important datapoint regarding the potential for ugliness on the part of the West.

Those of us engaged in responding to the pressures of Islam must do a better job of avoiding playing the role of the Ugly American.

10,000 …and counting

Some time in the past few days, the ROP counter exceeded 10,000. For those unfamiliar with this count, it represents the number of violent attacks, since September 11, 2001, carried out in the name of Islam. The proprietor at TheReligionofPeace.com provides the detail to back up this grim statistic.

For some time I have been working on another blog addressing the single topic of the global jihad. I have moved to this blog project in order to provide a broader forum but still much of my blog energy will be aimed at this topic, and this is why:

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Colors and Textures of Change

One fun thing in Northern Virginia compared to places I have lived out west is the abundance of native deciduous woods and forest. I enjoy the splash of color just before we enter winter.