18 Sep 2006
Al Qaeda group warns pope, West, 'doomed'

Ya know, I pretty much raked the Pope over hot coals for hypocrisy when he made these remarks: Christians had done the same thing he was citing Muslims for doing. But I never questioned if he was being accurate in his assessment and excoriation of Islam. He was: conversion by the sword is de rigueur:

The group said Muslims would be victorious and addressed the pope as "the worshipper of the cross" saying "you and the West are doomed as you can see from the defeat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and elsewhere. ... We will break up the cross, spill the liquor and impose head tax, then the only thing acceptable is a conversion (to Islam) or (killed by) the sword."

So, to "protest" the papal remarks, these folks are issuing statements proving that what he was saying was absolutely right! They don't want an apology, and it really doesn't matter what he said.

"Religion of Peace" my ass...

And we heathens - where do we fit in the grand scheme of this? Nowhere. Both sides in this latest dustup have spent the last couple of millennia doing their level best to kill us off or convert us. Which is, I suppose, a logical thing to do when you and you alone possess the One True Way to paradise, eh?

A pox on both their houses - there are many roads to paradise, and indeed, many paradises. And unless the "One Real God" crowd learns this, and pretty quick, then we're all doomed. At least in this world ...

An al Qaeda-linked extremist group warned Pope Benedict XVI on Monday that he and the West were "doomed," as protesters raged across the Muslim world to demand more of an apology from the pontiff for his remarks about Islam and violence.

(link) [CNN.com]

17:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link

Woman Bites Dog

This is the very definition of news ... well, OK, wrong gender on the human, but it still should count for something!

With a Rottweiler's jaws firmly clamped down her arm, Danielle J. Nelson took a drastic step to break free: She bit back.

(link) [Tampa Bay Online]

16:26 /Humor | 0 comments | permanent link

Hotel Minibar Key Opens Diebold Voting Machines

Morons.

As if Diebold doesn't have enough to worry about! On the Freedom To Tinker blog, Ed Felten, one of the co-authors of the recent report 'Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine', reveals an even more bizarre finding related to the initial report. It turns out that you can gain access to an AccuVote-TS machine using a hotel minibar key. In fact, the key in question is a utilitarian type used to open office furniture, electronic equipment, jukeboxes, and the like. They might as well hand them out like candy.

(link) [Slashdot]

15:13 /Technology | 0 comments | permanent link

More Mom

Well, Kris spent the night last night with my Mom in her apartment. She called about 9:30pm and said she'd had another "thingy", only this time she didn't want to call 911 and go to the emergency room and "get all wired up and poked and prodded and woke up at 3 for a blood pressure check".

She'll be 83 this coming Friday. And I'm starting to seriously question if she'll see 84.

Not that I blame her, really. Hel, I completely understand her motivations intellectually. But this isn't an intellectual exercise anymore, and to be real honest about it, I'm not sure how I'd act if I thought my Mom was dying and I could make a phone call to save her. Even if I knew she wanted me to shut up: I ignored her commands to shut up many times in my youth, why should I be any different in my (and her) dotage? Hence it was my darling wife who stood the watch last night.

Mom's much better today - but I've no doubt that this will not be the last episode in the series. There's at least one more on the way, guaranteed.

She's also started talking seriously about trying to find a nursing home - and knowing my Mom, that'll be a grade A nightmare.

But, of course, the whole situation is becoming a Grade A nightmare, anyway. So I suppose it's mostly irrelevant. Come to think of it, when facing Death head on, a lot of things are irrelevant.

13:35 /Home | 2 comments | permanent link

Conservatives Hoping for a Democratic Win

Fascinating - and spot on. Be sure to read Joseph Scarborough's piece. Even Richard Viguerie gets into the act - nothing short of amazing.

Seven prominent conservatives dare to speak the unspeakable: They hope the Republicans lose in 2006. Well, let’s be diplomatic and say they’d prefer divided government—soon. (Perhaps that formulation will fool Dennis Hastert.) Of course, all of them wish for the long-term health of conservatism, and most are loyal to the GOP. What they also believe, however, is that even if a Speaker Pelosi looms in the wings, sometimes the best remedy for a party gone astray is to give it a session in the time-out chair.

(link) [Washington Monthly]

via Dispatches from the Culture Wars

12:54 /Politics | 1 comment | permanent link

Lessons of Suez

Our current leadership would do well to read this and ponder ... amazing how much Ike the Yankee in 1956 sounded like Jacques the Frog in 2003, eh?

Fifty years ago, two western powers conspired to invade an Arab country--in defiance of international law and world opinion. Guess which side the United States was on.

(link) [Boston Globe]

via MyAppleMenu:Reader

12:50 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link