From a French band called Dionysos is this great song Tais Toi Mon Coeur along with a wonderful Tim Burton-esque video. Big hat tip to Steampunk blog Brass Goggles.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Attack of the Killer Trees
Oh brother, this is beyond ridiculous!
For 150 years, it has stood in splendid serenity on the village green, harming no one and pleasing many.
Over the decades, the monkey puzzle tree at West Cross, near Swansea, became a much-loved local landmark.
But now it is facing the chop … because, in modern Britain, the needle-like points of its leaves are deemed a danger to health and safety.
How many deaths has it been responsible for in that time? None, but still....
One expert likened the effect of the needles to being pricked by a hypodermic syringe.‘Every effort is made in this day and age to prevent children playing with discarded syringe needles,’ a report stated.
‘Every effort must be made to prevent children coming into contact with these potentially, equally sharp needles.’
An expert in what, one wonders? Over-reacting to non-existent threats perhaps.
It's Alive!
I finally broke and replaced my Vista-incompatible wireless router with a new Belkin model. A bit of muttering and swearing at the blasted thing when it refused to connect to the internet revealed that I'd typed in my username wrong and after that it was all plain sailing. My old XP box also hooked up to the new router problem free.
Surprisingly the new connectivity hasn't had too much impact on my writing routine- I guess that period of enforced no-internet-access has given me some good habits. Hopefully the new home network will allow me to get back to doing the occasional blog post.
Surprisingly the new connectivity hasn't had too much impact on my writing routine- I guess that period of enforced no-internet-access has given me some good habits. Hopefully the new home network will allow me to get back to doing the occasional blog post.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Blame The Weather
Good grief- this feels like the longest break I've ever had from blogging. It all began with some mind-melting pain and then spiraled off into a school break for my girls, followed by a period of some very unfamiliar hot, sunny weather. Tapping away at the laptop has thus been confined to evenings when I've been doing a bit of research and writing a few different stories, trying to find one to run with.
All winter I've been blaming my increased back pain on the wet, cold weather- I guess that needs re-evaluating to some extend now; even with the unseasonably pleasant sunshine I've still been waking up feeling like an elephant trod on me. Having said that, when I take my usual meds and have a restful morning by the time lunch time rolls around I'm generally feeling human enough to move around the way regular people do. In fact, for a few hours each day as the temperatures top out I've been feeling pretty darn mobile. So much so that I've even taken up the kettlebell again.
The past winter my exercise has been confined to making the "bridge" (think an upright press-up position) for a minute at a time, some actual press ups and a few dips. Pretty pathetic really but it's kept me ticking over. Anyway, I grabbed my 16kg kettlebell and did a couple of days of swings- sets of 10 for each arm, walking around the house in between and mixing it up with a few dips and some very awful pull-ups. The swing is the number one exercise for beginners- builds you up all over and is fairly gentle.
So far, so easy. This past week I stepped it up a bit- a 100 swings per arm, sets of 10 each side and a shorter walk around in between. The next day I switched over to the snatch- first time out I did a few sets of swings and then about 50 snatches each arm, sets of 10 again. Day after that I was feeling a little tender (not sore exactly but I could tell I'd been working) in my front delts and lats so I concentrated on swings. Low and behold I was able to do 40 at a time, switching hands at the top of each set of 10 throws without pause. I did about four sets of forty before my back began to complain so I finished up with grinding out some military presses.
I've always sworn by the tremendous benefit of the swing but if you're feeling up to it, it looks like the snatch delivers much faster results. The day after the swings I went back to the snatch and did a hundred for each arm, sets of ten, a few seconds walk in between.
A week of not too tough training and I've noticed my waist getting narrower and muscle development all over my upper body and my thighs. And all without the awful aching I-can-barely-move soreness of weight lifting. Another weird thing is a kind of looseness in my lower back- after a KB session there's a definite tendency to walk with your belly forward as if your pelvis is freer. I seem to recall reading something about that in Pavel's excellent Enter The Kettlebell.
The good weather hasn't stopped my usual early evening appointment with excruciating pain but at least I'm getting a bit of relief from the usual all-day-long affair of the winter. If you're interested in the number one exercise tool in the known universe, pop on over to Pavel's page for more details. Fast results, improved cardio fitness, build muscle and real strength all in one compact package; what's not to like?
All winter I've been blaming my increased back pain on the wet, cold weather- I guess that needs re-evaluating to some extend now; even with the unseasonably pleasant sunshine I've still been waking up feeling like an elephant trod on me. Having said that, when I take my usual meds and have a restful morning by the time lunch time rolls around I'm generally feeling human enough to move around the way regular people do. In fact, for a few hours each day as the temperatures top out I've been feeling pretty darn mobile. So much so that I've even taken up the kettlebell again.
The past winter my exercise has been confined to making the "bridge" (think an upright press-up position) for a minute at a time, some actual press ups and a few dips. Pretty pathetic really but it's kept me ticking over. Anyway, I grabbed my 16kg kettlebell and did a couple of days of swings- sets of 10 for each arm, walking around the house in between and mixing it up with a few dips and some very awful pull-ups. The swing is the number one exercise for beginners- builds you up all over and is fairly gentle.
So far, so easy. This past week I stepped it up a bit- a 100 swings per arm, sets of 10 each side and a shorter walk around in between. The next day I switched over to the snatch- first time out I did a few sets of swings and then about 50 snatches each arm, sets of 10 again. Day after that I was feeling a little tender (not sore exactly but I could tell I'd been working) in my front delts and lats so I concentrated on swings. Low and behold I was able to do 40 at a time, switching hands at the top of each set of 10 throws without pause. I did about four sets of forty before my back began to complain so I finished up with grinding out some military presses.
I've always sworn by the tremendous benefit of the swing but if you're feeling up to it, it looks like the snatch delivers much faster results. The day after the swings I went back to the snatch and did a hundred for each arm, sets of ten, a few seconds walk in between.
A week of not too tough training and I've noticed my waist getting narrower and muscle development all over my upper body and my thighs. And all without the awful aching I-can-barely-move soreness of weight lifting. Another weird thing is a kind of looseness in my lower back- after a KB session there's a definite tendency to walk with your belly forward as if your pelvis is freer. I seem to recall reading something about that in Pavel's excellent Enter The Kettlebell.
The good weather hasn't stopped my usual early evening appointment with excruciating pain but at least I'm getting a bit of relief from the usual all-day-long affair of the winter. If you're interested in the number one exercise tool in the known universe, pop on over to Pavel's page for more details. Fast results, improved cardio fitness, build muscle and real strength all in one compact package; what's not to like?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Close Call
The CIA have said that Syria was close to producing the fuel for two nuclear bombs within about a year.
And they were taking what action, exactly?
Thank heavens for Israel.
And they were taking what action, exactly?
Thank heavens for Israel.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Flight of Fantasy
Yep, I'm still here. Just trying to avoid the endless Obama stories. Just imagine if the media had done their job and vetted this joker a year ago- before so many had invested so much in him... Anyway, here's Frank Cho's Shanna the She-Devil. Have a nice weekend!
Sunday, April 06, 2008
RIP Charlton Heston
The Omega Man has passed away. He was 84 years old.
One thing which has quite annoyed me about the British media's coverage of his death is the "far right" spin they put on his political activism because of his leadership of the NRA. One BBC commenter called the "cold dead hands" speech the "NRA's chilling motto".
This BBC article does mention his support for the civil rights movement back in the '60s but they then make the mistake of saying that he was then "later linked with traditionally conservative causes". Showing their complete lack of recent history, the BBC repeats the lie (again) that conservatives and Republicans are somehow anti-civil rights, when the truth is exactly the opposite.
Three years after Brown, President Eisenhower won passage of his landmark Civil Rights Act of 1957. Republican Senator Everett Dirksen authored and introduced the 1960 Civil Rights Act, and saw it through to passage. Republicans supported the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act overwhelmingly, and by much higher percentages in both House and Senate than the Democrats. Indeed, the 1964 Civil Rights Act became law only after overcoming a Democrat filibuster.
We could certainly do with more actors like Charlton Heston in Hollywood today- not only because of his talent, screen-presence but for his unfailing support of individual rights.
Friday, April 04, 2008
You're Doing It Wrong
The US military machine in Iraq seems have seriously misunderstood the whole "blood for oil" thing.
Think you're being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves.
The U.S. military, through its Defense Energy Support Center, buys fuel on the open market, paying from $1.99 a gallon to as much as $5.30 a gallon under contracts with private and government-owned oil companies. The center then sets a fixed rate for troops, currently $3.51 a gallon for diesel, $3.15 for gasoline, $3.04 for jet fuel and $13.61 for avgas, a high-octane fuel used mostly in unmanned aerial vehicles.
So, you mean, the US isn't actually in Iraq to steal its oil? Shocking.
Think you're being gouged by Big Oil? U.S. troops in Iraq are paying almost as much as Americans back home, despite burning fuel at staggering rates in a war to stabilize a country known for its oil reserves.
Military units pay an average of $3.23 a gallon for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, some $88 a day per service member in Iraq, according to an Associated Press review and interviews with defense officials. A penny or two increase in the price of fuel can add millions of dollars to U.S. costs.
Care to explain the convoluted Rovian wickedness behind this tactic, moonbats?The U.S. military, through its Defense Energy Support Center, buys fuel on the open market, paying from $1.99 a gallon to as much as $5.30 a gallon under contracts with private and government-owned oil companies. The center then sets a fixed rate for troops, currently $3.51 a gallon for diesel, $3.15 for gasoline, $3.04 for jet fuel and $13.61 for avgas, a high-octane fuel used mostly in unmanned aerial vehicles.
So, you mean, the US isn't actually in Iraq to steal its oil? Shocking.
Internet -Free Time
Tam mentions the joys of writing on a PC without the temptation of internet access. It's something I've been luxuriating in for the past few months. I blogged before about my Vista laptop not communicating with my XP-friendly wireless router- and one of the reasons I haven't gone out and replaced it so far is because I have been working each night for a few hours on the no-internet-laptop in the blissful quiet of a house with sleeping wife and children.
I'm a slow writer and I find it incredibly difficult to stay focused on it when there are distractions around me so sitting in bed, laptop on knee, headphones on is the perfect way to work. The only problem I've found so far is a tendency to keep going until about 3 a.m. or later.
I've probably written more in the past couple of months working like this than I have in the past year or so. As much as I love the internet and being able to have access to pretty much all the information you could want, it really is an incredible distraction. If I need to do research now, I do it during the day and not during writing time.
I'm a slow writer and I find it incredibly difficult to stay focused on it when there are distractions around me so sitting in bed, laptop on knee, headphones on is the perfect way to work. The only problem I've found so far is a tendency to keep going until about 3 a.m. or later.
I've probably written more in the past couple of months working like this than I have in the past year or so. As much as I love the internet and being able to have access to pretty much all the information you could want, it really is an incredible distraction. If I need to do research now, I do it during the day and not during writing time.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Irony Free Zone
Can they hear the words coming out of their mouths?
About 50 members of a hardline Indonesian Muslim group held a rowdy protest outside the Dutch embassy on Monday, calling for the death of a Dutch lawmaker behind a film accusing the Koran of inciting violence.
You're accusing us of being violent so we're going to be violent!
About 50 members of a hardline Indonesian Muslim group held a rowdy protest outside the Dutch embassy on Monday, calling for the death of a Dutch lawmaker behind a film accusing the Koran of inciting violence.
You're accusing us of being violent so we're going to be violent!
"I call on Muslims around the world, if you run into the maker of the film, kill him," said one of the speakers at the rally, Awit Mashuri.
"Geert Wilders is a Christian terrorist," declared a placard held up by a protester. "Kill Geert Wilders," read another....
Sorry, tell me again what they were complaining about?
Fitna Again
Over all the shameful- fearful- condemnations of Fitna, by Ban Ki-Moon, the governments of Holland, Russia, Australia, and so forth, it has become apparent that we cannot expect to have any rational, public debate about the valid points that Wilders raises- namely that Islamic terrorists and regimes use the Koran to justify their actions. It would be laughable if it weren't so serious but one can just look at the statements of terrorists and Islamic nations about the source of their barbaric actions or their repressive laws and they will quite freely admit that it is the Koran.
The problem here is not that the point is somehow shocking or controversial but that Wilders is an infidel pointing these things out. Otherwise, where were the worldwide condemnations of Osama Bin Laden when he used the Koran to justify his actions? When Bin Laden quotes the Koran - "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah"- there is silence from the world at large and the Islamic world over his use of the Koran. When Wilders merely reports that terrorists use Koranic verse in just this way he is roundly denounced by the world's leaders.
Why?
Could it have anything to do with the fact that Wilders is being denounced for inciting violence? What goes unspoken of course is the very obvious fact that all of these people mean that Geert Wilders might incite Muslims to violence rather than incite violence against them.
If Fitna proves nothing else it is that Western notions of freedom of speech are being held hostage by the threat of unbridled violence. So much so that we cannot even have a reasoned and public debate about a 15 minute film which merely reports that which terrorists and theocracies themselves freely and publicly admit.
One last thing- Fitna contains no exhortations to violence against Muslims and yet all over the world politicians and the media are slamming it in no uncertain terms. Where, then, is their outrage over this?
"Child Stabs President Bush to Death and Turns the White House into a Mosque in a Hamas TV Puppet Show."
The problem here is not that the point is somehow shocking or controversial but that Wilders is an infidel pointing these things out. Otherwise, where were the worldwide condemnations of Osama Bin Laden when he used the Koran to justify his actions? When Bin Laden quotes the Koran - "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah"- there is silence from the world at large and the Islamic world over his use of the Koran. When Wilders merely reports that terrorists use Koranic verse in just this way he is roundly denounced by the world's leaders.
Why?
Could it have anything to do with the fact that Wilders is being denounced for inciting violence? What goes unspoken of course is the very obvious fact that all of these people mean that Geert Wilders might incite Muslims to violence rather than incite violence against them.
If Fitna proves nothing else it is that Western notions of freedom of speech are being held hostage by the threat of unbridled violence. So much so that we cannot even have a reasoned and public debate about a 15 minute film which merely reports that which terrorists and theocracies themselves freely and publicly admit.
One last thing- Fitna contains no exhortations to violence against Muslims and yet all over the world politicians and the media are slamming it in no uncertain terms. Where, then, is their outrage over this?
"Child Stabs President Bush to Death and Turns the White House into a Mosque in a Hamas TV Puppet Show."
Gazans For Obama
Wow. Arabs in Gaza actually campaigning for Obama to win the Democratic nomination, complete with "change" mantra! Original story at Weasel Zippers.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Fitna
You can go and watch Geert Wilder's Fitna here. I've just seen it.
As is to be expected, the rage in the Muslim world over this short film has nothing to do with any insults to their religion that Wilders has set out in the film- instead he merely reports what the Koran actually says and intercuts that with violence committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. Some of it is very graphic indeed.
If they were being honest or rational, the people protesting Fitna would also be protesting against every newspaper article or TV news broadcast which reports on Islamic terrorism- because that's really all Fitna does. But of course there's no rationality, logic or even a sense of proportion in their response to the film.
"This film is a direct attempt to incite violence from Muslims and help fan the flames of Islamophobia," Arsalan Iftikhar, a contributor to Washington-based Islamica Magazine, told CNN on Thursday. "Any reasonable person can see this is meant to spit in the face of Muslims and insult our religion."
So, let me get this straight- Muslims commit horrendous acts of violence in the name of their religion, Dutch politician reports on these self-same acts and the result is that he is inciting Muslims to commit more violence? What? I really don't know which is more troubling- the predictable response to Fitna or the fact that no one in the media is asking these deeply offended people exactly how reporting Islamic violence is an insult to Islam- but they are not offended by the Islamic terrorists committing these acts.
The only offensive thing about Fitna is the shocking, gruesome and barbaric violence committed in the name of Islam that it shows.
As is to be expected, the rage in the Muslim world over this short film has nothing to do with any insults to their religion that Wilders has set out in the film- instead he merely reports what the Koran actually says and intercuts that with violence committed by Muslims in the name of Islam. Some of it is very graphic indeed.
If they were being honest or rational, the people protesting Fitna would also be protesting against every newspaper article or TV news broadcast which reports on Islamic terrorism- because that's really all Fitna does. But of course there's no rationality, logic or even a sense of proportion in their response to the film.
"This film is a direct attempt to incite violence from Muslims and help fan the flames of Islamophobia," Arsalan Iftikhar, a contributor to Washington-based Islamica Magazine, told CNN on Thursday. "Any reasonable person can see this is meant to spit in the face of Muslims and insult our religion."
So, let me get this straight- Muslims commit horrendous acts of violence in the name of their religion, Dutch politician reports on these self-same acts and the result is that he is inciting Muslims to commit more violence? What? I really don't know which is more troubling- the predictable response to Fitna or the fact that no one in the media is asking these deeply offended people exactly how reporting Islamic violence is an insult to Islam- but they are not offended by the Islamic terrorists committing these acts.
The only offensive thing about Fitna is the shocking, gruesome and barbaric violence committed in the name of Islam that it shows.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wright's Legacy
I guess this is what happens when you listen to Wright's sermons for 20 years.
We don’t like being pushed outside of our comfort zones. You know it right here on this campus. You know people sitting at different tables- you all living in different dorms. I was there. You’re not talking to each other, taking advantage that you’re in this diverse community. Because sometimes it’s easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your own ignorance. That’s America. So the challenge for us is are we ready for change?
Makes you wonder what kind of opinion of America her kids have, doesn't it?
Another point - Michelle Obama is demanding that people move out of their comfort zone to meet a more diverse community, while she attends a racist, hate-filled church. Kind of like how she grows rich off the benefits of capitalism while demanding that others eschew financial rewards for careers in the "helping industry".
One rule for me and another for thee, is evidently a motto she takes quite seriously.
We don’t like being pushed outside of our comfort zones. You know it right here on this campus. You know people sitting at different tables- you all living in different dorms. I was there. You’re not talking to each other, taking advantage that you’re in this diverse community. Because sometimes it’s easier to hold on to your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your own ignorance. That’s America. So the challenge for us is are we ready for change?
Makes you wonder what kind of opinion of America her kids have, doesn't it?
Another point - Michelle Obama is demanding that people move out of their comfort zone to meet a more diverse community, while she attends a racist, hate-filled church. Kind of like how she grows rich off the benefits of capitalism while demanding that others eschew financial rewards for careers in the "helping industry".
One rule for me and another for thee, is evidently a motto she takes quite seriously.
Charitable Depp
Time for a little more celebrity blogging (this time without gratuitous Angelina Jolie pictures). Some time ago Johnny Depp donated £1 million to a children's hospital in the UK after they saved his daughter's life. That's not all-
And unknown to the public, Depp spent four hours at the hospital telling bedtime stories to patients dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates Of The Caribbean.
I seem to recall hearing that he had the costume flown over from the States especially for the event and that he forced the multi-million dollar film he was making at the time shut down when he refused to leave his daughter's side Well, here's some more news that I wanted to mention-
Five months ago, 17 year old Sophie Wilkinson fell into a coma after being seriously injured in a car accident. Desperate for a miracle, Sophie’s father Andrew contacted Depp seeking help. He told the actor, “We are looking for the key to wake her up”, so he wrote to Depp requesting some kind of help from the actor. Depp is Sophie’s favorite actor and he agreed to do a recording in the voice of Jack Sparrow from the Disney film, “The Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Good for him for taking the time to help a fan.
And unknown to the public, Depp spent four hours at the hospital telling bedtime stories to patients dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates Of The Caribbean.
I seem to recall hearing that he had the costume flown over from the States especially for the event and that he forced the multi-million dollar film he was making at the time shut down when he refused to leave his daughter's side Well, here's some more news that I wanted to mention-
Five months ago, 17 year old Sophie Wilkinson fell into a coma after being seriously injured in a car accident. Desperate for a miracle, Sophie’s father Andrew contacted Depp seeking help. He told the actor, “We are looking for the key to wake her up”, so he wrote to Depp requesting some kind of help from the actor. Depp is Sophie’s favorite actor and he agreed to do a recording in the voice of Jack Sparrow from the Disney film, “The Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Good for him for taking the time to help a fan.
Obama's Entourage
How many times does it have to happen for people to start asking if those Obama associates with, and hires, actually do represent his true beliefs?
First there was Samantha Power, then Rev. Wright and now it's his chief military advisor, Tony McPeak.
First there was Samantha Power, then Rev. Wright and now it's his chief military advisor, Tony McPeak.
McPeak’s formulation uses a little more subtlety than most of the Jewish-cabal conspiracy theorists, but the thrust is the same. Jews and “Christian Zionists” operate from a concern for the interests of Israel over America. It’s not that protecting the region’s only democracy and our strongest ally somehow doesn’t fall within our own interests, but that this group of Americans act against our national interests to manipulate American policy at the expense of our country.
Basically, Jews and Christian Zionists are traitors, according to McPeak.
Coincidental that these are the kinds of people Obama surrounds himself with?Monday, March 24, 2008
Obama's Speech
I'm sick to death of hearing about Obama's weasel-worded speech, and the unbelievable degree of leniency even some commentators on the Right are giving this man. How many times have you heard people say that Obama couldn't possibly believe any of the hatred that Wright was spewing? No, he couldn't believe it and it's just pure coincidence that Wright not only was the catalyst for his faith but his mentor for 20 years! And Barack definitely doesn't buy into any of the anti-American conspiracy or the pro-Palestinian propaganda (to name but one example) despite the fact that he thought this was an appropriate place to bring his children every week.
Sure.
Anyway, here's what I hope will be my last mention of his lame attempt to save his own hide.
To fully appreciate the venality of Obama's treatment of his grandmother, one needs to read the other stories he tells about her.
I'm glad that his equating the woman who essentially raised him with the man who dominated his adult years, Wright, has become such a prominent point of the commentary of the speech.
Does he have any reason to believe she was a "typical" prejudiced "white person?" No. The opposite is true. Unlike Barack himself, his grandparents were active anti-racist. So much so, that they had difficulty fitting into Texas' racist society of the early 1960s.
Using Obama's own recollection of his grandmother it seems that she's anything but racist in any way, shape or form. And for him to believe that she's some sort of sacrificial lamb he can use to excuse his own behaviour and associations is despicable. Why would anyone vote for a man who sees his elderly grandmother as nothing more than a political tool to further his own career- no matter how much it defames her character?
He's certainly not worthy to lead the United States of America.
Sure.
Anyway, here's what I hope will be my last mention of his lame attempt to save his own hide.
To fully appreciate the venality of Obama's treatment of his grandmother, one needs to read the other stories he tells about her.
I'm glad that his equating the woman who essentially raised him with the man who dominated his adult years, Wright, has become such a prominent point of the commentary of the speech.
Does he have any reason to believe she was a "typical" prejudiced "white person?" No. The opposite is true. Unlike Barack himself, his grandparents were active anti-racist. So much so, that they had difficulty fitting into Texas' racist society of the early 1960s.
Using Obama's own recollection of his grandmother it seems that she's anything but racist in any way, shape or form. And for him to believe that she's some sort of sacrificial lamb he can use to excuse his own behaviour and associations is despicable. Why would anyone vote for a man who sees his elderly grandmother as nothing more than a political tool to further his own career- no matter how much it defames her character?
He's certainly not worthy to lead the United States of America.
Bashir's Sermon
It would appear that Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is another in a long line of misunderstanders of the true nature of the Religion of Peace.
ISLAMIC cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has returned to his hardline rhetoric with a call for followers to beat up Western tourists and for young Muslims to die as martyrs.
Where do these people get these crazy notions that fighting and dying is linked in some way to Islam? Nothing to do with this surely?
"The youth movement here must aspire to a martyrdom death," said the cleric, who was convicted of conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but was later cleared and released from prison.
"The young must be first at the front line - don't hide at the back. You must be at the front, die as martyrs and all your sins will be forgiven. This is how to achieve forgiveness."
So, he's preaching that fighting for Islam is linked to going to Paradise? What is he, some kind of Islamophobe?
Bashir likened non-Muslims to crawling animals. "Worms, snakes, maggots - those are animals that crawl. Take a look at Bali ... those infidel tourists. They are naked."
He called for signs to be erected across Indonesia warning tourists they were entering a Muslim area, and directing they cover up appropriately. But in east Java, he urged the Islamist youth to "beat up" foreigners.
"God willing, there are none here," Bashir said. "If there were infidels here, just beat them up. Do not tolerate them."
It seems he's missed the memo that Islam teaches tolerance and respect for other beliefs too.
"Don't be scared if you are called a hardliner Muslim," Bashir said. "It must be like that. We can't follow human law that is in conflict with Allah's law."
And there you have it- an explicit statement that his beliefs are in accordance with Islamic law. Who, I wonder, is going to disabuse him of the notion- and exactly what evidence are they going to use to convince him that he is misunderstanding his own faith?
BTW, I wrote about the BBC's rather biased profile of this scumbag here.
ISLAMIC cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has returned to his hardline rhetoric with a call for followers to beat up Western tourists and for young Muslims to die as martyrs.
Where do these people get these crazy notions that fighting and dying is linked in some way to Islam? Nothing to do with this surely?
"The youth movement here must aspire to a martyrdom death," said the cleric, who was convicted of conspiracy over the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, but was later cleared and released from prison.
"The young must be first at the front line - don't hide at the back. You must be at the front, die as martyrs and all your sins will be forgiven. This is how to achieve forgiveness."
So, he's preaching that fighting for Islam is linked to going to Paradise? What is he, some kind of Islamophobe?
Bashir likened non-Muslims to crawling animals. "Worms, snakes, maggots - those are animals that crawl. Take a look at Bali ... those infidel tourists. They are naked."
He called for signs to be erected across Indonesia warning tourists they were entering a Muslim area, and directing they cover up appropriately. But in east Java, he urged the Islamist youth to "beat up" foreigners.
"God willing, there are none here," Bashir said. "If there were infidels here, just beat them up. Do not tolerate them."
It seems he's missed the memo that Islam teaches tolerance and respect for other beliefs too.
"Don't be scared if you are called a hardliner Muslim," Bashir said. "It must be like that. We can't follow human law that is in conflict with Allah's law."
And there you have it- an explicit statement that his beliefs are in accordance with Islamic law. Who, I wonder, is going to disabuse him of the notion- and exactly what evidence are they going to use to convince him that he is misunderstanding his own faith?
BTW, I wrote about the BBC's rather biased profile of this scumbag here.
Drunk and in charge of a badge
Get drunk on the job and get promoted? It could only happen to an "Only One"...
A POLICE officer who admitted to drinking at least 18 beers before going on duty to carry out a breath test has not been disciplined.
Instead, Senior-Constable Adam Reedy has been promoted – despite telling a court last month about a wild night in Cunnamulla that ended with him knocked unconscious after trying to arrest a woman.
So being drunk wasn't enough, he also had to get himself knocked out to snag this promotion.
A POLICE officer who admitted to drinking at least 18 beers before going on duty to carry out a breath test has not been disciplined.
Instead, Senior-Constable Adam Reedy has been promoted – despite telling a court last month about a wild night in Cunnamulla that ended with him knocked unconscious after trying to arrest a woman.
So being drunk wasn't enough, he also had to get himself knocked out to snag this promotion.
Reedy was at the Warrego Hotel about 10pm on May 14, 2005, when asked by colleagues to carry out a breath test.
After the test he drank two rums at the Club Hotel and about 12.45am declared himself on duty to arrest local woman Corrinne Mitchell, who he says spat on him, sparking a fight that ended in Reedy being flown to Toowoomba Hospital for treatment.
Talk about a consummate professional, eh?
In court, Crown witnesses backed the defendants' claim that Reedy had directed racial comments at Aborigines in a bar and then dragged Ms Mitchell by her hair, pulling clumps out.
A drunk and a racist? Certainly sounds like the type on individual deserving of a promotion.
Really, you couldn't make this stuff up.
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