Being Lazy

Being lazy, I'm going to reproduce a comment I made on another website. You can read the full context here. I have a problem with Geert Wilder's new film 'Fitna' condemning Islam. Everytime I find a new link to the film, it gets cut off, so I can't offer you a link. But it's probably the most offensive thing I've ever seen. Islam most surely has it's problems and I should do a post about that, but taking random quotes out of context from the Quran and claiming that it means that all Muslims are evil is inflammatory at best. Nevertheless, I support Mr. Wilder's right to have his say. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees. But I do get to have my say, but I'll warn people that I condemn violence regardless of who it's committed by. And no religion gets a pass, not even my own. Although Judaism only gets condemned by inference. So anyone who wants to accuse me of anti-semitism, understand that they got treated better than everyone else (and on purpose). But it's not the Likud line, so I guess I'm evil. As for it being anti-Christian, well, I think the actions of Christians in the past are not consistent with the message of Jesus. But they are consistent with the message of the Book of Revelations (and Joshua). Christians should decide which side they're on. I'm with Jesus, but I'm not a Christian, so it doesn't matter. I'll add that I don't believe that any religion needs to tear out pages of their respective texts (unlike Wilder, who is adamant about HIS right to free speech, but not anyone else's) . Here it is (with some spelling corrections):

If you think that’s violent, read the Book of Joshua. A clearer endorsement of genocide cannot be found. And when we look at history, it’s clear that the Christians took the message of genocide to heart. Here in America, the Christian colonists not only acted out the message, but upscaled it Cecil B. DeMille style.

Before Mr. Wilders asks Muslims to tear out the offending passages of the Quran, he should tear the Book of Joshua out of his Bible. And he shouldn’t stop there. The Book of Revelations is even worse (and considered to be a war plan by many Christians, most notably John Hagee). And there are passages in Exodus (also repeated in the Quran) that really should go too, like the actions of the Sons of Levi, which are an obvious endorsement of genocide against Hindus.

Look, if the Muslims had any real power, I might be worried, but they don’t. The Christians have long been the dominant military force on the planet. Just look at a map of the world in 1916. The Christians controlled the entire world except for Japan, Thailand, Iran, and Turkey (Ottoman Empire, sort of). Their domination was very nearly complete. And these people want to recreate the story of the Book of Revelations.

I’m neither a Christian (who’d have guessed?) or a Muslim. And the Muslims have always treated my religion far worse than they ever treated the Christians (unless you consider higher taxes to be a fate worse than death, which those of my religion received). So I have every reason to be concerned about Islam. But the Book of Revelations promises me an equally horrible fate, and those who believe it are far more powerful and dangerous than the Muslims will ever be.

This is why McCain’s desire to have John Hagee’s endorsement bothers me so much. He could be given the military might to carry out the Book of Revelations and seems to agree with Hagee that it should be carried out.

A few months ago, I saw the most powerful speech of my life. It was the Dalai Lama’s warm-up act for the dedication of the new Drepung Loseling monastery in Mundgod, India. And it was given by the Hindu guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The speech was about the need to confront religious extremism and ‘communalism’ everywhere it exists and regardless of which religion it comes from. It was made all the more powerful by the Dalai Lama’s presence behind him. The religions of the world can come together. But it won’t happen until we confront the extremists within our own ranks. Surely Islam needs to do this, but Christianity needs to do it as well. Even my religion, Buddhism, needs to do it, as evidenced by the appalling behavior of some of the rioters in Lhasa. To his credit, the Dalai Lama did condemn the violence, just as Sri Sri Ravi Shankar condemns the violence committed against Muslims by his fellow Hindus. Unfortunately, the Abrahamic religions seem caught up in Old Testament hatred, which blinds them to their misdeeds.

More Random Thoughts

I'm still working too much. But I'll post anyway. But it will be mostly links.

First, here's a good rundown on the Shia factions in Iraq. One can only hope that McCain will read it and learn something. There's a real danger he may be president, so it would be nice if he became informed on Iraq. I haven't seen a similar rundown for the Sunni and Kurdish factions. But I don't really think anyone has a good handle on the Sunnis. Most especially our government.

Speaking of Iraq, this and this are some pretty good explanations of what's going on in Basra. You'll note that they aren't really in agreement, but that's because it's not really clear what's going on. I doubt the actual participants even know. But I think everyone would agree that it's not good. Except for the Bush administration, of course. They think that more violence is a positive development. Really.

And then there is this. If there's a worse example of the incompetence of this administration, I don't even want to hear about it. They actually gave a 22 year old kid $300 million in defense contracts, which he promptly screwed up. No doubt he'll receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his efforts. That seems to be the standard punishment for incompetence.

Oh, and McCain says he hates war. The media, of course, will ignore the fact that he's never opposed a war in his life and has consistently criticized our wars for being insufficiently violent. And they will take him at his word. He's a mavericky Straight Talker, after all. Apparently throughout history, we have all been using the wrong definition for "hate." It really means "strongly support." Good thing St. John is around to set us straight.

And it seems that I actually have more than two readers. I guess I'll have to step it up.

Update: A rice shortage in Thailand? Probably not. Thailand, despite chronic political instability, is a fairly well managed country. As the article suggests, Thailand will likely avert a crisis. But the worldwide rice shortage is for real. On a positive note, rice farmers should make some pretty good money this year. Maybe the rice farmers of Laos will be able to afford schooling for their children. And maybe we can stop subsidizing the rice farmers in our country. Oh, silly me, those farmers are Republicans who 'deserve' a socialist safety net just like Wall Street, unlike their counterparts in communist Laos who operate under capitalism. Go figure.

Schadenfreude Update: Slate brings us the Hillary Deathwatch. Synopsis: She doesn't know how dead she is.

Building Stonehenge By Yourself?

I'm not quite sure how to embed a YouTube. But Here's a link:

Moving Big Stones

I've always been fascinated by ancient technology. In my travels, I've seen stunning structures that were built without cranes, pulleys, or engines. I've always noticed how engineers of those days found creative solutions in construction technology. But this guy really takes the cake. He raises a very large slab of concrete by himself with very minimal effort. His secret: gravity. I think the coolest part is how he raised the slab to it's horizontal position. Brilliant and simple.