islam,, a danger or not

[daratheresa]

Dara, I'm still waiting for an apology.

patience is a virtue.

i spend a lot of times waiting for things. it's part of life. like right now, i'm waiting for a year for my husband to come home. all this waiting, it's a great time for introspection and deep thinking. wait a while. gain some insight. then i'll apologize. hugs and shit.

[neon tetra]

I think you will be waiting a long time.

I have till next year.

[The CO]

Then what happens?

[neon tetra]

Then what happens?

I guess I'll forget about it. In 11 hours, I'll be enjoying the music of one of my favorite bands & won't really be thinking about eplaya.

[The CO]

<Sets the way-forward machine in hopes of getting nt to the concert>

[JStep]

For Yg:

[can't sit still]

jstep, THAT is priceless.

[ygmir]

For Yg:

+10 and a big smooch............

[Elderberry]

Here's something...

http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelto ... 2011-01-04

JK

[daratheresa]

Here's something...

http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelto ... 2011-01-04

JK

i second this...

[Eric]

Here's something...

http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelto ... 2011-01-04

JK

i second this...

I third it. I only wish it was longer- she's a great speaker & does it with grace and humor.

Brilliant speech. If she ever comes to the Bay Area and does a seminar on this I'm attending.

edit: I liked it so much I've just ordered her book on the Sunni-Shia split: "After the Prophet"

[Elderberry]

Here's something...

http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelto ... 2011-01-04

JK

i second this...

I third it. I only wish it was longer- she's a great speaker & does it with grace and humor.

Brilliant speech. If she ever comes to the Bay Area and does a seminar on this I'm attending.

edit: I liked it so much I've just ordered her book on the Sunni-Shia split: "After the Prophet"

Let me know what you think of the book.

TED only gives them 15 minutes...she only used 9.

JK

[can't sit still]

I've been going on and on about lack of jobs. Here are some numbers from Saudi Arabia.
"The unemployment rate for Saudis between the ages of 20 and 24 is 43%. And 40% of the entire population is under 15 years old." Yemen is similar and Pakistan is worse,, supposedly.
Saudi is a bit different because they look-down on work. They bring in tons of foreign workers. Just imagine 40 % under 15. What possible future do they have.

[Elderberry]

I've been going on and on about lack of jobs. Here are some numbers from Saudi Arabia.
"The unemployment rate for Saudis between the ages of 20 and 24 is 43%. And 40% of the entire population is under 15 years old." Yemen is similar and Pakistan is worse,, supposedly.
Saudi is a bit different because they look-down on work. They bring in tons of foreign workers. Just imagine 40 % under 15. What possible future do they have.

The figures for some of those countries can be deceiving, as some of the oil rich kings give a stipend to their citizens. So, even though they might not be employed, they aren't starving and living in abject poverty. Nor in many cases are they even looking to work.

But I understand your point.

JK

[Simon of the Playa]

[youtube][/youtube]

[can't sit still]

jk, i don't know if you've ever been to the ghetto,,, the Indian reservations,,, the North slope of Alaska. I've been to all of them. Living on a stipend rots the brain for a lot of men. Alcoholism is common.
In Alaska, they have the Native Lands Settlement Act. LOTSA money. In Barrow, AK, the elders voted the town "dry". There was no shortage of money so the drunks just called the liquor store in Fairbanks and had their brew flown in. The town was very dangerous last time that I was there. It would seem that an escape from hand-to-mouth living would be a good thing. It appears that it removes the whole "center" from a man's life.
I saw the same with the aborigines in OZ. They were OK as long as they remained in their tribal surroundings. If they ventured into the Western world, they usually had problems with alcohol.
In a hunter-gatherer society, it becomes immediately obvious if the population "over runs" the food supply. In today's world, that's not true. Many countries are WAY beyond their domestic food production. By this summer [northern latitude], the increasing weather problems are going to create huge strains on the food supply. The desert countries will not be able to cope. A stipend is better than starvation but, it isn't going to make everybody happy.

[Elderberry]

jk, i don't know if you've ever been to the ghetto,,, the Indian reservations,,, the North slope of Alaska. I've been to all of them. Living on a stipend rots the brain for a lot of men. Alcoholism is common.
In Alaska, they have the Native Lands Settlement Act. LOTSA money. In Barrow, AK, the elders voted the town "dry". There was no shortage of money so the drunks just called the liquor store in Fairbanks and had their brew flown in. The town was very dangerous last time that I was there. It would seem that an escape from hand-to-mouth living would be a good thing. It appears that it removes the whole "center" from a man's life.
I saw the same with the aborigines in OZ. They were OK as long as they remained in their tribal surroundings. If they ventured into the Western world, they usually had problems with alcohol.
In a hunter-gatherer society, it becomes immediately obvious if the population "over runs" the food supply. In today's world, that's not true. Many countries are WAY beyond their domestic food production. By this summer [northern latitude], the increasing weather problems are going to create huge strains on the food supply. The desert countries will not be able to cope. A stipend is better than starvation but, it isn't going to make everybody happy.

I haven't been, and I have no reason to doubt your observations. But your mention of food shortages reminded me of this article I posted on Facebook last week:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... works-to-g

Soon you won't need farmers or land to enjoy a nice juicy steak, they're growing meet in the laboratory now.

JK

[can't sit still]

We often hear the word "Islam" coupled with terrorist or some other negative connection. The Egyptians are trying to dispel the negatives. This is an interesting letter;
http://www.henrymakow.com/egyptians_are ... _hope.html

[can't sit still]

A vid on Islamaphobia; http://www.gilad.co.uk/writings/this-is-genius-1.html

[Sail Man]

jk, i don't know if you've ever been to the ghetto,,, the Indian reservations,,, the North slope of Alaska. I've been to all of them. Living on a stipend rots the brain for a lot of men. Alcoholism is common.
In Alaska, they have the Native Lands Settlement Act. LOTSA money. In Barrow, AK, the elders voted the town "dry". There was no shortage of money so the drunks just called the liquor store in Fairbanks and had their brew flown in. The town was very dangerous last time that I was there. It would seem that an escape from hand-to-mouth living would be a good thing. It appears that it removes the whole "center" from a man's life.
I saw the same with the aborigines in OZ. They were OK as long as they remained in their tribal surroundings. If they ventured into the Western world, they usually had problems with alcohol.
In a hunter-gatherer society, it becomes immediately obvious if the population "over runs" the food supply. In today's world, that's not true. Many countries are WAY beyond their domestic food production. By this summer [northern latitude], the increasing weather problems are going to create huge strains on the food supply. The desert countries will not be able to cope. A stipend is better than starvation but, it isn't going to make everybody happy.

I haven't been, and I have no reason to doubt your observations. But your mention of food shortages reminded me of this article I posted on Facebook last week:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... works-to-g

Soon you won't need farmers or land to enjoy a nice juicy steak, they're growing meet in the laboratory now.

JK

[youtube][/youtube]

[can't sit still]

It seems that Saudi and Iran are in a cold-war that may heat up. This is a very informative article. The problem centers on Shia-Sunni rivalry;
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 83816.html

[can't sit still]

The Sunni-Shia rivalry doesn't seem to be causing enough trouble for Islamists. There is an emerging group that spreading a bad sort of fundamentalism.
"The once quiescent Salafis have become more assertive post-revolution in trying to spread their ultraconservative version of an Islamic way of life. In particular, they have focused their wrath on Egypt's Christians, who make up 10 percent of the country's 80 million people."
"large mob of Muslims toward the St. Menas church. Christians created a human barricade around the church and clashes erupted"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110508/ap_ ... an_clashes
In too many cases, Islam demands tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority.

[Elderberry]

In too many cases, Islam demands tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority.

In too many cases, Islam demands tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority.

In too many cases, Christians demand tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority.

In too many cases, Jews demand tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority.

Such is life. Personally this would be my truth.

In too many cases, Athiests demand tolerance when it's adherents are a minority and then forbids tolerance when it's adherents are a majority, as it should be. Religion, in general, is the root of most things evil in the world today.

[TomServo]

Organized religion is our biggest threat!

[can't sit still]

JK, I won't argue with you or Tom. CURRENTLY, the various followers of J.C. aren't burning down mosques,,, as far as I've read. Judaism and Islam are both cursed with too many rabid fundamentalists. I think that the education level of the various practitioners has a lot to do with the associated violence. The more educated and and informed the populace, the less likely they are to blindly follow dogma.
I asked BB Sue to delete a post of mine because I had mixed culture with religion. Some of the things that we blame on religion should be blamed on culture. My impression of men in Middle-Eastern Arab counties is; the mothers never taught their little boys to respect women.
Honor-killing is about protecting one's OWN honor, not the girl. The veil and the escort is all about protecting the honor of the family. The world is changing and the fundamentalists don't feel at all comfortable with this. Educated women are a threat to machismo.
Jordan is a good example of what a mid-eastern country could be. The culture there "feels" much different.

[Isotopia]

Let the record show that we're in total agreement.

[can't sit still]

It looks like the Sunni-Shia rivalry might heat up. Saudi is arming to the teeth;
http://www.taipanpublishinggroup.com/tp ... 173&r=Milo
They're buying 1,000 tanks, and may be expecting a land war. That would light up oil fields in both countries and make toast out of Kuwait. I vote NO !