Sunday, October 03, 2010
The conversation goes on, and God Boy has the floor. To my horror he says what may be the only true part of his monologue...he's apparently a "teacher". That I can believe. It doesn't take much smarts to bullshit in front of a bunch of kids at the 'Holy TV Hour Bible School' in Constipation, Alberta. Then we're off into the ozone again about the dastardly Islamic plot concerning the naming of the 'Cordoba House' in New York.
A little aside and a small history lesson here. The Moors invaded Spain in 711 AD, overthrowing the ruling Visigoth kingdom who were not a great source of fun for the average downtrodden peasant. The new rulers were a slight improvement over the Visigoths, particularly the Emirate of Cordoba who set some sort of standard for the day of enlightened rule and tolerance to other religions (Christian and Jewish). The Emirate, however, ceased to be in 1031.Muslim rulers who followed this emirate were at least half as nasty as the Christians. I have a sneaking suspicion that the example of this emirate was high in the minds of those who decided to set up the centre in NYC, in more than childish ignorance of what country they lived in and the equally childish innocence of their belief that Americans would "get the message" of tolerance and living peaceably together. This in a country in which the majority of its citizens can't identify their own states, let alone tell that 'Bahrain" is not a weather condition.
But back to God Boy. He's on a roll. What according to him is the "reason" for naming the centre (mosque-sic) after Cordoba. Well, it's because "in the Second Crusade the Moslems took Cordoba". The Second Crusade (another boring history lesson) by the way was from 1145 to 1149, and its object was the recovery of Edessa which had been recaptured subsequent to its capture in the First Crusade. Let Molly remind you that the Emirate of Cordoba was overthrown by another Muslim power in 1031. Lest you think that God Boy simply is not only about 3,000 kilometers and 100 years out to lunch (or is it 400 years out to lunch) consider the following.
I've already spoken about the naivete of the Muslims who set in motion the idea of the Cordoba Centre. Their ignorance might be compared to that of say a Canadian immigrant to Greece or Turkey ignorant of history who was to praise the wrong country in public company. One could adduce other examples as well. There is what may be described as "honest ignorance", but then there is something that might best be described as "deliberate ignorance with malevolent intent". In such cases one believes a rather treacherous "authority" because the statements of said authority accord with what one wants to believe. If the reader has some slight knowledge of either medicine or anthropology he or she can find great and grievous examples of such malevolent evil and deliberate ignorance amongst the American perversion of anarchism called "primitivism", and their bizarre idea that their fantasy of "traditional healing" can more than replace modern medicine (a great evil in their pretty well religious point of view). But that is certainly another subject.
Where the Holy Rollers of Alberta get their perversion of history is from a peripheral event in the Second Crusade. The crusaders had already acquired a well deserved reputation for treachery, brutality and thievery in the First Crusade. The main efforts of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel during the Second Crusade were to get the armies through Byzantine territory with the minimum of pillage on other Christians. The greatest effort of "fighting for God" of the crusaders, of course, occurred in the Fourth Crusade when the armies of God sacked Constantinople. But during the Second Crusade a number of those bound for the so-called 'Holy Land' saw an opportunity for profit in hiring themselves out to the King of Portugal in his campaign to conquer what is now Lisbon. They were, of course, promised the opportunity of looting. They succeeded, and the inevitable happened.
Sometime, somehow some ill intentioned "authority" amongst the Evangelists got hold of this peripheral factoid, and through great distortion, both deliberate and inadvertent it got worked up into the nonsense that God Boy believes. Somehow Cordoba got thrown into the mix, particularly as it was ideologically useful in present day America. God Boy is, of course, just as unlikely to check his facts as a true believer in the great wisdom of so-called "primitive" people is.
Well let's just say that I was "hot to trot" to get at this guy. The wife told me that I had "the look" on my face that signals that I am about to attack either verbally or physically. It's the same look that I use to deal with street demons in Winnipeg. God knows that I hate to leave gross bullshit uncorrected. On the other hand the self preservation instinct was operating as well. It actually DID go through my mind to call out to security when the argument got too heated and they gathered around that I suspected God Boy of being some sort of "fundamentalist terrorist" who planned to blow the plane up. All that would have accomplished, however, would be for BOTH of us to be in the back rooms. So I shut my face.
Hooray for self control because I would have missed the best part. God Boy was doing his best to be impressive to God Girl, all the way from his "secret agent man" pose to his "intellectual" lectures. God Girl, however, was not to be outdone, and she pulled one of what I assume is a great trump card in such circles...healing. While she was down in Ontario she went traipsing down to a revival meeting at about the same time the rest of us would be heading to the bar. Her problem according to her own view of her condition was that she had had years of "bleeding in the knee" whatever that means. YET...when she prayed and went before "Brother X" (I forget the name) she was "healed". Better than that EVERYBODY, her doctors, her relatives, her friends, strangers, EVERYBODY had always told her that it was her right leg that was the problem. Brother X, however, "discovered" that it was her LEFT leg that was lame. He prayed for its healing, and YES it was healed. Praise God !
At this point the line started to move. God Girl moved forward with the rest of us limping severely ON THE RIGHT LEG. We boarded the plane. God Girl sat forward from us. As we tried to get past God Boy was saying his goodbyes to God Girl. I couldn't escape the impression that I had witnessed some sort of primitive and crude sexual display behavior gone seriously wrong.
Labels: free speech, free trade deal, Molly's trip, personal, religion
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Labels: cartoons, humour, jokes, religion, science
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Labels: cartoons, creationism, evolution., humour, jokes, religion
Labels: American politics, cartoons, humour, jokes, religion
Friday, September 03, 2010
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
According to a reference on the Wikipedia site on the Indian Residential Schools it was noted as early as 1909 that the death rate in these schools varied from 35% to 60%. As time went on this rate declined, but it was still horrendous in the 20th century until the schools were finally closed. A lot of this was because the conditions in the schools were very much optimum for the transmission of infectious disease. Group housing in dormitories where the space between beds was two feet for instance. In his 1909 report and in his subsequent book Dr. Peter Bryce claimed that such a situation was actually deliberate. Personally I doubt this given my knowledge of the Roman Catholic Church where brutality is an accepted method but extermination is to be avoided. One dead child equals one less proselytizer in the future. Ignorance and sadism (things that I noted were almost universal amongst Catholic clerics that I had the misfortune of coming in contact with in my childhood ) are totally adequate explanations, and 'conspiracy' does not have to be invoked.
So how to view the present hearings. There are some such as Kevin D. Arnett whose writings are reproduced at the Porkupine Blog who view these hearings entirely negatively. What Kevin sees in these hearings is an "opportunity" to absolve the guilty, and what he says has a certain validity. YES, one of the purposes of such hearings is definitely to "put the issue to rest". On the other hand the hearings will give victims the only opportunity that they will ever have to present what actually happened to the general Canadian public. All that I can say here is that the actual guilty individual parties are mostly dead by now, and that the presentation is much more important than a futile attempt to bring the guilty to justice. YES, this includes the guilty Church organizations. Their liability has been pretty much settled by now.
What I consider important in these hearings is that the full evil of what was done to native children be thoroughly exposed to the general public, and I think that these hearings are a good forum to do that. This exposure can have great positive benefits in the long term as Canada tries to come to terms with its native peoples, and it can promote proper public understanding of the best ways to deal with this legacy. YES, nothing will immediately result from the hearings, but they present an opportunity to change views that will have long term consequences.
1)Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada http://www.trc.ca/ The official site centred here in Winnipeg.
Labels: aboriginal, Canada, Canadian politics, local events, native issues, religion, Residential schools, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Winnipeg
The following from the Care2 site is way off the beaten path. I mean it, way off the beaten path. I present it here as a cautionary example of why clerics of all persuasions should never be allowed even the slightest tiny morsel of political power. There are those amongst the religious right in North America who harbour schemes that are just as strange when viewed from the outside. Anyways, for all you connoisseurs of human irrationality here's the article.
Saudi Clerics Advocate Breastfeeding Adult Men
posted by: Robin Marty 1 day ago
I haven't pulled any punches in the past discussing how bothered I am by the laws against women in Saudi Arabia. From ridiculous "guardianship" laws to burdensome rules on being in public with men, to arresting women who even have too much of a tan, it's no wonder the public is beginning to physically fight against the authority in the land.
Obviously, the religious authority knows it has a problem that must be dealt with. But is this really the answer?
Women in Saudi Arabia should give their breast milk to male colleagues and acquaintances in order to avoid breaking strict Islamic law forbidding mixing between the sexes, two powerful Saudi clerics have said. They are at odds, however, over precisely how the milk should be conveyed.
A fatwa issued recently about adult breast-feeding to establish "maternal relations" and preclude the possibility of sexual contact has resulted in a week's worth of newspaper headlines in Saudi Arabia. Some have found the debate so bizarre that they're calling for stricter regulations about how and when fatwas should be issued.
Sheikh Al Obeikan, an adviser to the royal court and consultant to the Ministry of Justice, set off a firestorm of controversy recently when he said on TV that women who come into regular contact with men who aren't related to them ought to give them their breast milk so they will be considered relatives.
One cleric claims simply pumping and having the men drink the milk is enough to create this familial bond. Another, however, does say that "men should suckle the breast milk directly from a woman's breast."
The logic behind the edict is an apparently common practice known as "breast milk siblings" where according to the article, if you provide 5 "fulfilling" breastmilk meals to a male child before the age of two, you and your female family members will not have to cover your faces in front of him later in life, something that is apparently common among nieces and nephews.
But, when translated into somehow trying to provide this connection to an adult, and use it as a loophole in order to allow women to be in the presence of men who are not blood relations, a lot of obvious problems jump to mind. The first, of course, is the assumption that every woman is lactating, when in fact the only candidates for this process would be married mothers with children under the age of two, the traditional cutoff point for breastfeeding in that country. Women aren't just wandering around with milk in their breasts all of the time, married or not, mothers or not. This would provide no outlet for any unmarried woman, who tend to suffer the most under these strict guardianship laws, nor for widows or the elderly.
The second problem is what is meant by "fulfilling" meals. A grown adult obviously would take much more to be "fulfilled" than an infant, or even a toddler, whose stomachs are smaller than an apple.
Third, even with this loophole available, clerics have decreed that it cannot be used with a driver. As women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to have driver's licenses, no woman would be able to go anywhere outside walking distance without having a man drive her. If this breastfeeding loophole can't be used with someone who can drive them from place to place, they are still essentially trapped without a family member to accompany them, regardless.
Breastfeeding adult males in order to be allowed to be with someone of the opposite sex who is not a family member is no real solution to the issues of Sharia law. In fact, it actually exacerbates them, as it simply reinforces the idea that a woman sole purpose in existence is to extend and tend to the family unit. Women in the country deserve real freedom, not that which is only granted to them if they act as the "sustenance" of the family.
Labels: feminism, Islamism, religion, religious right, Saudi Arabia, weird stuff, women
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Labels: cartoons, humour, Pope, religion, sex scandals
Monday, June 07, 2010
Justice For Magdalene Survivors
posted by: Megan Susoeff 3 days ago
For decades, women and children endured abuse and poor labor conditions in Ireland's Magdalene Laundries. The laundries were originally institutions for "fallen women," but they soon grew to include developmentally challenged women and abused girls.
Although there is nothing we can do to take back what happened, survivors and their loved ones are pushing for Irish government officials to formally apologize and recognize survivors of the Magdalene Laundries. This Care2 petition asks that people worldwide add their signature, demanding justice for survivors.
Member of Justice for Magdalenes (JFM), Mari Steed, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us:
What is the main goal of Justice for Magdalenes?
Justice for Magdalenes primary goals are (i) to bring about an official apology from the Irish State and the Catholic Church and (ii) the establishment of a distinct redress scheme for survivors of Ireland's infamous Magdalene Laundries.
How long have you been fighting for this cause?
Justice for Magdalenes sprang from a group founded in 1993 (Madalen Memorial Committee) after the discovery of 155 buried bodies at High Park Convent, Dublin. We actively formed around 2000, with individuals from the Irish adoption community, taking over the reins from the original MMC founders, Patricia McDonald, Bláthnaid Ní Chinnéide and Margo Kelly. In one shape or another, our core committee has been working on this issue in an advocacy capacity for some 12 years.
Does it affect you or anyone you know personally?
Yes, several of us on the committee have mothers who spent time in the Laundries. My mother worked for 10 years doing intricate sewing (embroidery, etc.-- the hand-smocked dresses, tablecloths sold for commanding prices in Dublin and even at places like Harrod's in London, and to the American tourism market) at the Waterford laundry, St. Dominick's.
Our mothers also experienced the mother-baby homes of Ireland, which although not as bad as the Laundries and at least regulated by the State, were no walk in the park.
What are your hopes for this petition?
We hope to bring a loud global voice and pressure to bear on Prime Minister Cowen (and members of his government) to stop waffling and provide clear leadership on this issue. We want him to legislate/pass our draft redress proposal and provide justice for these women, as the government did for survivors of residential institution abuse under the terms of the 2002 Redress Act.
Although JFM has had very successful and productive meetings with the departments of Education, Justice and Health, along with the formation of an ad hoc committee, we still continue to hear back-sliding from these departments who were complicit in remanding girls and women to Laundries.
Is there anything else you want readers to know about this cause?
This is very much an international human rights issue. The Irish diaspora is, as we know, quite large. And there is every likelihood that somewhere in the world there is a first- or second-generation Irish citizen whose mother, granny, auntie, sister or other female relations may have spent time in the Laundries (including members of the Irish government!)
There is also a common misconception that the Laundries are a relic of the distant past. Not so -- the last laundry closed its doors in 1996 and there are many living Magdalene survivors, a good number of whom are now in elder care, still with the nuns for whom they worked.
Those not still in the care of the nuns tried to make their own way in the world. But they still bear the scars of their incarceration: failed relationships (as they are unable to trust or build bonds with others), lack of education (they were performing slave labour when they should've been getting an education), lack of financial support (most have no family to turn to or were spurned by their families) and a general institutional scarring that's left many unable to cope in 'outside' society. And of course, in many cases, there was physical, sexual and mental abuse which has never been properly dealt with or healed.
TAKE ACTION
Very few survivors have computer skills or access to the Internet, but you can sign this Care2 petition to honor those who cannot add a signature themselves.
RRRRRRRRRRRR
Leadership needed on Magdalene Laundries
Dear Taoiseach,
We, the undersigned, as concerned global and Irish citizens, write to you to appeal for justice and to add our voices to the call for Irish State acknowledgment of its complicity in remanding women and children to Magdalene Laundries. We urge you to (i) offer an official apology to and (ii) establish a distinct redress scheme for victims and survivors of these abusive institutions.
Your recent assertion that there is a distinction between "children in the residential institutions" and "women in [Magdalene] laundries" is appalling in the extreme. Justice for Magdalenes has proven beyond doubt that there were children in the Magdalene laundries. The Department of Education acknowledged its awareness of this fact when Justice for Magdalenes met with senior officials on 2 February 2010. Your response signals the State's primary concern is to limit liability with respect to anticipated claims for compensation. You and your government should be focused on providing justice for women and children denied their constitutional rights. Do you believe that the State, and in particular the Department of Education, did not have a moral and Constitutional obligation to protect every child from the exploitative work conditions in the laundry institutions?
We urge you to pursue the cause for justice for these women and children, to cease trying to pass the burden solely on the religious orders that ran these institutions, and to exert the utmost pressure on those same orders to also find, as Cardinal Sean Brady himself promised, a 'just solution' for these citizens, whose rights were so grievously violated.
To do less brings shame on yourself, Ireland's government and the nation as a whole.
Labels: Ireland, Justice for Magdalenes, Magdalene Laundries, protests, religion, Residential schools, slavery
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Labels: cartoons, fools, Haiti, humour, jokes, Pat Robertson, religion, talk radio
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
RELIGION:
RICHARD DAWKINS WANTS TO ARREST THE POPE:
The famous atheist and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins has launched a rather absurdist "public conspiracy" to arrest the Pope during his upcoming visit to Britain. Dawkins believes ( or maybe not) that the Pope can be charged under the same sort of international law that led to the arrest of ex-dictator of Chile Augusto Pinochet when he visited Britain. Personally I think this is a publicity grab. Not that I don't think that Pope Rottweiler is guilty, guilty, guilty,guilty beyond measure. It would strain credibility to imagine that in all his years as head of the Holy Inquisition where all such charges end up that he was not involved in dozens and dozens of cover-ups. Still, from a purely legalistic point of view, the sort of crimes that Ratzinger is guilty of have never figured in any international court proceeding before. Thus I have my doubts. Still this is one more drop of vinegar in Ratzinger's upcoming visit. Here's the story from the Times of London.
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Richard Dawkins:
I will arrest Pope Benedict
RICHARD DAWKINS, the atheist campaigner, is planning a legal ambush to have the Pope arrested during his state visit to Britain “for crimes against humanity”.
Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, the atheist author, have asked human rights lawyers to produce a case for charging Pope Benedict XVI over his alleged cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.
The pair believe they can exploit the same legal principle used to arrest Augusto Pinochet, the late Chilean dictator, when he visited Britain in 1998.
The Pope was embroiled in new controversy this weekend over a letter he signed arguing that the “good of the universal church” should be considered against the defrocking of an American priest who committed sex offences against two boys. It was dated 1985, when he was in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases.
Dawkins and Hitchens believe the Pope would be unable to claim diplomatic immunity from arrest because, although his tour is categorised as a state visit, he is not the head of a state recognised by the United Nations.
They have commissioned the barrister Geoffrey Robertson and Mark Stephens, a solicitor, to present a justification for legal action.
The lawyers believe they can ask the Crown Prosecution Service to initiate criminal proceedings against the Pope, launch their own civil action against him or refer his case to the International Criminal Court.
Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said: “This is a man whose first instinct when his priests are caught with their pants down is to cover up the scandal and damn the young victims to silence.”
Hitchens, author of God Is Not Great, said: “This man is not above or outside the law. The institutionalised concealment of child rape is a crime under any law and demands not private ceremonies of repentance or church-funded payoffs, but justice and punishment."
Last year pro-Palestinian activists persuaded a British judge to issue an arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, the Israeli politician, for offences allegedly committed during the 2008-09 conflict in Gaza. The warrant was withdrawn after Livni cancelled her planned trip to the UK.
“There is every possibility of legal action against the Pope occurring,” said Stephens. “Geoffrey and I have both come to the view that the Vatican is not actually a state in international law. It is not recognised by the UN, it does not have borders that are policed and its relations are not of a full diplomatic nature.”
Labels: Britain, catholic Church, clerical sex abuse, current events, laws, Pope, religion, Richard Dawkins
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Labels: Catholicism, children's rights, clerical sex abuse, current events, personal, Pope, religion, violence