Chill out man. I think it's cool that Slashdot is warming up to conservation, even if this incident is not a result of global warming. And yes, it is common knowledge that icebergs are cool.
Anyway, don't put these stories on ice, Slashdot. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg.
What I would love to see for Firefox (and Thunderbird) on Mac OS X is integration with Apple Keychain. (I would also love to see Apple Address Book integration with Thunderbird, but that's somewhat off-topic.)
Is there any chance of this happening in the near future, or will we have to rely on third party hacks?
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/6/2001) - American Muslim leaders today said a raid Wednesday on a Texas internet business was part of an "anti-Muslim witch hunt" promoted by the pro-Israel lobby in America. Early yesterday morning, more than 80 agents from the FBI, INS, Customs Service, and other federal agencies raided the offices of Infocom Corporation in Richardson, Texas.
In a statement released at a news conference outside Infocom's headquarters, the Muslim groups said:
"American Muslims view yesterday's action as just one of a long list of attempts by the pro-Israel lobby to intimidate and silence all those who wish to see Palestinian Muslims and Christians free themselves of a brutal Apartheid-like occupation. We believe the genesis of this raid lies not in Washington, but in Tel Aviv.
"Hundreds of innocent American businesses and citizens are being harmed by the government's actions. This incident can only serve to marginalize millions of American Muslims who are committed to the betterment of our diverse society.
"While Muslims understand the FBI's mission to protect American citizens, we are concerned that the civil liberties of Infocom's owners and their many important clients were violated by this unexpected raid. Such an assault leaves the Muslim community and the public at large with many unanswered questions and a lingering sense of violation. We expect the FBI to provide a prompt and full disclosure of the circumstances that led to this raid, the basis of their suspicions and the evidence for which they were searching.
"It is disturbing that American law enforcement agencies are now perceived by American Muslims and Arab-Americans as being tools in the hands of a foreign government. Our elected officials must not allow Israel to import its unjust and discriminatory policies to this country or to mislabel peaceful challenges to those policies as 'support for terrorism.'"
Groups represented at the news conference included American Muslim Council, American Muslims for Jerusalem, American Muslim Alliance, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Circle of North America, Islamic Association for Palestine, Muslim Alliance in North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Muslim Student Association of US and Canada.
Infocom hosts web sites for some 500 companies worldwide. For several years, Infocom and other Muslim entities in Texas have been the focus of pressure from pro-Israel groups who object to American Muslim support for Palestinian human and political rights. Authorities did not reveal the motive for the raid except to say it was part of an "ongoing investigation."
One of Infocom's clients whose web site was shut down by the raid is Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network. Al-Jazeera, a popular and respected Arabic news outlet, has frequently been criticized by Israel for its reporting on that state's brutal policies in the Occupied Territories.
The raid came just weeks after a Wall Street Journal column by Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes that called for just such an action by the government. They wrote: "...the federal authorities should use the tools it already has for closing down these Web sites and organizations."
Muslims say Emerson and Pipes are infamous pro-Israel "muslim-bashers" who have a long history of defaming their community.
SEE: "Steven Emerson's Crusade," http://www.fair.org/extra/9901/emerson.html and "Who is Daniel Pipes?," http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.h tml
This is not like Iraq, where the economy had developed to the point where critical efficiencies came from imports and exports.
And the US/UN will ensure that they will never reach this stage while they are under Taliban rule, either.
Wa ana kabir rajul, tathkur; fathalika afham 'alam al bilaadi fi asia janub wal sharq il awsat.
haatha la ya'ni shay'an, layssa muhimman 'umruk.
Says who? You insult Muslims everywhere with your intimation that they are so weak-willed that just seeing something contrary to their beliefs will cause their faith to falter.
I don't know how you came to the conclusion, but I did not intimate that in any way. Yes, there is a danger of Muslims having doubts or their faith faltering upon encountering criticisms of Islam (or are you intimating that Muslims *everywhere* are firm in their belief??), but the best way to counter those criticisms is by informing people of the truth, not total censorship.
That said, I'm not sure if silencing the critics was a reason behind the ban. However, blocking obscenities and profanities was, and in that I support their decision.
You have got to be kidding me. The "laws that rule their state" are (A) destroying their state, and (B) the laughingstock of the world, including the Islamic world.
Destroying their state? Give me a break! The Taliban are the ones who brought some order back into Afghanistan after all the chaos and warring that followed the victory over Russia. It is only because they now refuse to bow down to the US's every demand that this kind of propaganda exists.
Furthermore, they have the mandate of the vast majority of their people, so what they do in their own country is their own business and no one else's.
I'm not saying that the Taliban have not done anything wrong, but at least I don't leap to criticize them every single time I hear a report about them in Western media without even confirming it or understanding their point of view.
Nah, that's the job of the United States/Nations, with the crippling sanctions they are imposing.
2. Smashing a few more statues.
I might concede with you on that one, there are more pressing issues that require their attention.
3. Playing host to more terrorist organisations.
Harbouring terrorists is nothing more than an accusation that has not been proven as of yet. The Taliban have repeatedly stated that they are willing to hand over any alleged terrorists if conclusive proof is provided.
4. Finding imaginative ways of abusing women.
etc.
Are you done, troll?
Now about banning the Internet, the article states:
There are not many computers and most of areas do not have electricity.
Doesn't sound like such a difficult, resource-consuming task, does it?
As was also mentioned, it is not the medium itself which they have a problem with, rather it is the content that is delivered through this medium that can be either permissible or forbidden. In Islam, effort must be made to ensure that people do not have access to the content that is considered forbidden. Since the Taliban are unable to filter this content, they have no other way of doing this other than banning it outright. Besides, not many people will miss it anyway. I commend this move, and hopefully they will soon be able to reintroduce it under the guidelines they perceive as proper and in accordance with the laws that rule their state.
The Bible very clearly lays out what is good and right and moral and what is not. The Torah and the Koran are, at best, incomplete and ridden with contradictions.
The Torah is the Old Testament, which is part of the Bible! So if I were you I wouldn't say it's ridden with contradictions;).
And btw, the Qur'an has absolutely no contradictions or flaws whatsoever, so when you make such a claim be prepared to back it up.
These screenshots have been around for a while now. I think. Can't check because the server's slashdotted. The ones I saw looked pretty nice though. Looking forward to check it out.
Slashdot Mirror
Chill out man. I think it's cool that Slashdot is warming up to conservation, even if this incident is not a result of global warming. And yes, it is common knowledge that icebergs are cool.
Anyway, don't put these stories on ice, Slashdot. I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg.
After all, they were responsible for the death of Leonardo Di Caprio.
What I would love to see for Firefox (and Thunderbird) on Mac OS X is integration with Apple Keychain. (I would also love to see Apple Address Book integration with Thunderbird, but that's somewhat off-topic.) Is there any chance of this happening in the near future, or will we have to rely on third party hacks?
Why do you assume that the perpetrators of this incident are Muslims? There is nothing at this stage to suggest this.
Let's not jump to conclusions. Hopefully, time will reveal their true identity.
S11 (September 11).
Nothing implied, just a thought.
(WASHINGTON, DC - 9/6/2001) - American Muslim leaders today said a raid Wednesday on a Texas internet business was part of an "anti-Muslim witch hunt" promoted by the pro-Israel lobby in America. Early yesterday morning, more than 80 agents from the FBI, INS, Customs Service, and other federal agencies raided the offices of Infocom Corporation in Richardson, Texas.
In a statement released at a news conference outside Infocom's headquarters, the Muslim groups said:
"American Muslims view yesterday's action as just one of a long list of attempts by the pro-Israel lobby to intimidate and silence all those who wish to see Palestinian Muslims and Christians free themselves of a brutal Apartheid-like occupation. We believe the genesis of this raid lies not in Washington, but in Tel Aviv.
"Hundreds of innocent American businesses and citizens are being harmed by the government's actions. This incident can only serve to marginalize millions of American Muslims who are committed to the betterment of our diverse society.
"While Muslims understand the FBI's mission to protect American citizens, we are concerned that the civil liberties of Infocom's owners and their many important clients were violated by this unexpected raid. Such an assault leaves the Muslim community and the public at large with many unanswered questions and a lingering sense of violation. We expect the FBI to provide a prompt and full disclosure of the circumstances that led to this raid, the basis of their suspicions and the evidence for which they were searching.
"It is disturbing that American law enforcement agencies are now perceived by American Muslims and Arab-Americans as being tools in the hands of a foreign government. Our elected officials must not allow Israel to import its unjust and discriminatory policies to this country or to mislabel peaceful challenges to those policies as 'support for terrorism.'"
Groups represented at the news conference included American Muslim Council, American Muslims for Jerusalem, American Muslim Alliance, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Islamic Society of North America, Islamic Circle of North America, Islamic Association for Palestine, Muslim Alliance in North America, Muslim Public Affairs Council, and Muslim Student Association of US and Canada.
Infocom hosts web sites for some 500 companies worldwide. For several years, Infocom and other Muslim entities in Texas have been the focus of pressure from pro-Israel groups who object to American Muslim support for Palestinian human and political rights. Authorities did not reveal the motive for the raid except to say it was part of an "ongoing investigation."
One of Infocom's clients whose web site was shut down by the raid is Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite television network. Al-Jazeera, a popular and respected Arabic news outlet, has frequently been criticized by Israel for its reporting on that state's brutal policies in the Occupied Territories.
The raid came just weeks after a Wall Street Journal column by Steven Emerson and Daniel Pipes that called for just such an action by the government. They wrote: "...the federal authorities should use the tools it already has for closing down these Web sites and organizations."
Muslims say Emerson and Pipes are infamous pro-Israel "muslim-bashers" who have a long history of defaming their community.
SEE: "Steven Emerson's Crusade," http://www.fair.org/extra/9901/emerson.html and "Who is Daniel Pipes?," http://www.cair-net.org/misc/people/daniel_pipes.h tml
That said, I'm not sure if silencing the critics was a reason behind the ban. However, blocking obscenities and profanities was, and in that I support their decision. Destroying their state? Give me a break! The Taliban are the ones who brought some order back into Afghanistan after all the chaos and warring that followed the victory over Russia. It is only because they now refuse to bow down to the US's every demand that this kind of propaganda exists.
Furthermore, they have the mandate of the vast majority of their people, so what they do in their own country is their own business and no one else's.
I'm not saying that the Taliban have not done anything wrong, but at least I don't leap to criticize them every single time I hear a report about them in Western media without even confirming it or understanding their point of view.
Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy. [Qur'an 4:82]
The Bible very clearly lays out what is good and right and moral and what is not. The Torah and the Koran are, at best, incomplete and ridden with contradictions.
The Torah is the Old Testament, which is part of the Bible! So if I were you I wouldn't say it's ridden with contradictions ;).
And btw, the Qur'an has absolutely no contradictions or flaws whatsoever, so when you make such a claim be prepared to back it up.
These screenshots have been around for a while now. I think. Can't check because the server's slashdotted. The ones I saw looked pretty nice though. Looking forward to check it out.