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Danish, Western Websites Under Attack
caese writes "The BBC is reporting that almost 900 Danish websites have been defaced by crackers angry about the recent controversy over cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad. From the article: 'What is extraordinary for this Danish case is the speed in which the community united'. Another 1600 or so Western websites have been defaced by the same group. The defacements have ranged from condemnation of the cartoons to outright calls for violence."
When you can't tell the difference between extremists and true followers of a religion.
I knew this argument would come up eventually. Please cite for me a few examples of "extremist" Christians, Buddhists, Taoists, Jews, or whatever other religion you want, "acting out" so violently, in such large numbers, over such a trivial issue?
While you're correct that every relgion has its extremists, why is it that Islam seems to have so many more "extremists," proportionally, than any other religion? And why do they seem to get so much more incredibly violently riled up over issues than other religions would?
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Can you imagine the uproar if the roles were reversed and it was a caricature of Christ depicted in the newspapers?
This kind of thing happens once in awhile. Leaving aside the notorious Piss Christ, there are usually cartoons about Jesus every Christmas and Easter. Just go check out The Onion's archive for "Easter fun for kids". But while people might protest it as tasteless, no one's tried to blow up the offices of that fine publication.
Face it, the Middle East is full of savages who do not operate as civilized people in the West or East do. The more they protest and kill, the more scared of them I am. And the more scared of them I get, the more I support killing every single one of them, just to make my family and me stay safe. What I hope and pray those people realize is that I'm not the only American/Westerner who feels this way and that we have the ability to make that happen, they do not! So the sooner they start acting like civilized people (note: not Christian, just civilized), the better their chances of continuing as a culture and people.
I'm not in favor of genocide just for the sake of it, but if their culture teaches it's ok to kill people who disagree with you, that makes their culture too dangerous to keep around. If it comes down to us or them, I'll vote for "us", thank you for very much.
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
Yeah, but there just seems to be a lot more "bad people" is Islam than in other religions. Seriously, are there such things as "moderate muslims"? If a Christian restricted his diet because of what the Bible says and if he prayed five times a day, he would be labeled as a fundie by others. Yet those same things seem to be the norm in Islam. It seems to me that Islam simply does not have that much room for mere "believers" like Christianity does.
Seriously, it seems to me that Muslims take their religion way too seriously. Instead of religion serving their life, their lives serve the religion. And the funniest part? I have heard many muslims say that this is a case of "west trying to spread their ideologies on us!". Excuse me? Danish newspaper publishes some cartoons in Denmark, and Muslims in mid-east get their panties in a bunch and they then want to ban such pictures because it goes against THEIR religious rules. Who exactly is pushing their ideology on others here?
I simply do not see Christians (with all their faults) burning down embassies and sending death-threats if someone publishes cartoon they disagree with. But heaven forbid if someone does the same with Muslims! And I have talked with Muslims about this crisis, and one recurring comment seems to be "We don't want to limit free speech, we just want to make sure that these kinds of pictures are not published in the future". In other words: "You are free to say anything you wish. Unless it's something we find offensive".
I for one am getting sick and tired of having to come up with excuses when it comes to muslims. Yes yes, "it's only a minority that causes problems!". Maybe, maybe not, but in Islam that "minority" might actually be the majority, and they seem to be causing problems ALL THE FUCKING TIME. If you want more insight on this matter, go talk to Salman Rushdie or Theo van Gogh. Altough in the case of the latter person, it might be a bit difficult.
Fuck Allah, and fuck Mohammad (although I heard he's more in to 8-year old girls). I wonder will I be receiving any Fatwas soon? Mod me down if you wish, I don't fucking care.
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
If all the headlines are "Muslims have taken hostages in..." or "A radical Islamic group exploded...", then people become conditioned to believe that Muslims and Islam are violent when they really aren't.
When's the last time a large, organized group of Christian "extremists" hijacked 4 planes and smashed them into Islamic icons? Kidnapped innocent people and videotaped their beheadings? Raped young girls as punishment for their brother's adultery? Murdered Muslim athletes during the Olympics? Mailed Anthrax to anyone? Smashed bombs into Iranian military ships? Blew up embassies belonging to Middle Eastern nations? etc. etc. etc....?
Sure, "all religions have a few nuts," but why does it seem that Muslim extremists are so drastically more violent than the extremists of other religions? And why does there seem to be so many more of them, proportionally? Is it likely that a vast media conspiracy is suppressing stories about all the violent Christian/Jewish/Buddhist activities throughout the world? And with this vast, Information Superhighway, somehow those stories still aren't making it to us?
Or is it possible that there really are more violent actions carried out in the name of Islam than any other religions? Dare I say, "all other religions combined"?
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Religion is the most useful mechanism for dividing people into groups and using this division for whatever political reasons, for example to justify wars.
My own cartoon depicting Muhammed as an Evil Genie, who came out of the Jag of Ignorance and is lighting up a bomb, that is the entire planet, with a match, that came out of a matchbox with the Iranian flag drawn on it. Sorry for the quality of the drawing, it was done in quite a short period of time with a touchpad.
My own cartoon depicting Auschwitz concentration camp, where my grandfather spent 2 years of his life (and survived,) and a lineup of people to be burnt in the crematorium while still alive, and a Nazi, who stops the next in line (who is supposedely my grandfather) and says: Sorry folks, vee ar klozed for zee day, vee ar aut of zee wooden for burning.
I also have made a couple of drawings on the Muhammed theme, that could be interpreted more insulting, with Muhammed screwing a goat and a goat screwing Muhammed, but I don't think you would be interested.
You can't handle the truth.
And these rioters are just as much rubes as everyone who shouts how Islam is the natural enemy of "western civilization" - whatever that means.
If the whiteys in Europe and US did not hold majority power and privilege, they' dbe burning sh*t down right and left, instead of riding their moral high-horse.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
Well, I completely agree with that! The sooner we can get Pat Robertson under wraps, the better. We've already seen how his wailings tend to brainwash people en masse.
"reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
Dumbass did you read what I said?
"Racist, sacrilegious, cartoons help no one, whether it's intentional desecrations of Islam or anti-Semitic cartoons published in the Arab world BOTH should be morally condemned."
It's precisely this mindless hatred of Muslims that is exemplified by your post has me terrified. And no of course the radical Mullahs who are ALSO taking advantage of the situation aren't helping.
We are seeing a lot of bad players on BOTH sides, I know that's hard to swallow when our elected leader talks like a 3rd grader pretending to be a cowboy about "smokin' out dem bad guys." In the real world unfortunately there is a lot more gray that is missed by BOTH anti semitic racist Mullahs who inflame people to burn down buildings AND racist neo-cons who inflame hatred of all Muslims when 99% are not involved in this controversy at all. Again Qui bono, who gains by inflaming hatred against Muslims in the run up to a war against Iran?
I would note as well that racist cartoons were one of the mechanisms the Nazis used to inflame hatred against the Jews. BOTH the anti-Muslim right and the anti semitic Arabs need to cut it out before we wind up in a pointless war that mainly benefits a rich chosen few. You can bet the owners of the oil companies are laughing with glee at the stupid antics of both sides as they draw up their war plans. We can and must do better. And don't just think this is some sort of left issue of political correctness IMO some of the best critiques of the neo-cons war plans come from Pat Buchanan's American Conservative magazine
http://www.amconmag.com/
And the Libertarian right: http://antiwar.com/
Another hero in our fight for rationality against mindless (unconstitutional) "patriotism" has been Republican Ron Paul, and former deputy treasury secretary under Reagan Paul Craig Roberts who has stretched himself enough to write for the leftist http://counterpunch.org/
We must approach this in a nuanced sophisticated fashion, allowing ourselves to be manipulated by EITHER simple minded mullahs or war mongering neo-cons will only lead to the world wide bloodshed of WWIII.
Tired of all the isms, don't exploit people as an employer, or a government, mmmmK?
The invasions of Spain and the Balkans, which brought -
Street Lighting, Running Water, Public Sanitation, Bathing, Literacy and Libraries, Open Universities, and Rule of Law.
The rest of Europe slept in urine soaked straw, on unheated floors and bowers.
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell