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What Life Will Be Like for Women Under Sharia Law
May 22, 2012 — xanthippaOK – somewhat simplified, but not to the point of error:
And, that is the real problem: not Islam, but Sharia.
Sharia is the ‘Islamic jurisprudence’ as divined by a bunch of religious nuts in the 4-6 centuries following when Muhammad is supposed to have lived. It is based not just on the Koran, but also on the cultural precepts of Arabs, particularly Bedouins, of this time period and their centuries-old, handed down traditions about what Muhammad’s life and world-view were like.
Yeah.
Centuries removed from the source.
Until Sharia was codified, Islam enjoyed what is popularly touted as its greatest period of culture and thought – you know, the bits where they brought the Indian numerals to European mathematics and preserved ancient knowledge from the roaming religious fanatics of both the Christian and Islamic kind….
Once Sharia became codified – the flowering of Islam was over.
Until Sharia is rejected as the un-Islamic construct of manipulation centuries out of touch with anything Koranic, Islam will remain as oppressive and totalitarian in practice as it is today.
Let’s hope Sharia will be (universally) rejected soon so that Islam can, once again, be practiced without fear.
H/T: BlazingCatFur
Nothing justifies torture!
May 22, 2012 — xanthippaI may disagree to the core of my being with that this Marxist believes and says, but, nothing justifies his torture – ever!!!
Remember, the end does not justify the means: the means define the end!
‘”It was hell on earth,” Kaileh told The Associated Press on Sunday, nearly a week after Syrian forces released him and deported him to Jordan. Speaking at his friend’s home in an Amman suburb, Kaileh had bluish-red bruises on his legs, which he said were the result of beatings with wooden batons that were studded with pins and nails.
“I felt I was going to die under the brutal, savage and continuous beating of the interrogators, who tied me to ropes hung from the ceiling,” said Kaileh, a soft-spoken man with a shock of white hair who appeared frail, barely able to stand on his feet.’
Which is why freedom of speech must be one of the ‘absolutes’ we fight for – and why ‘anonymous speech’ is the most sacred form of free speech!!!
Daniel Hannan: When does tax ever get harmonized down?
May 22, 2012 — xanthippa
Of course, some of us believe that a coercive tax system is fundamentally in breech of the principle of self ownership and, as such, an unreasonable breech of our civil liberties. Having individual control over taxation is the only way to keep governments responsive to the wishes of its citizenry.
Recording and photographing on-duty cops is a Constitutional right in the US
May 19, 2012 — xanthippaYes!!!
“Because recording police officers in the public discharge of their duties is protected by the First Amendment, policies should prohibit interference with recording of police activities except in narrowly circumscribed situations,” reads the DoJ’s letter (pdf). “More particularly, policies should instruct officers that, except under limited circumstances, officers must not search or seize a camera or recording device without a warrant. In addition, policies should prohibit more subtle actions that may nonetheless infringe upon individuals’ First Amendment rights. Officers should be advised not to threaten, intimidate, or otherwise discourage an individual from recording police officer enforcement activities or intentionally block or obstruct cameras or recording devices.”
Oh, and citizen journalists – regular people – have as much of a right to record the police as official members of the press!!!
This is good news indeed!
A tiny step in the right direction for Columbia
May 10, 2012 — xanthippaPerhaps it is not a giant leap, but a tiny – yet important – step for Columbia:
‘The Colombian House of Representatives Wednesday passed the first draft of a bill that seeks to legalize illicit crops.’
…
‘Representative Hugo Velasquez Jaramillo, who proposed the bill, explained that although the cultivation of plants would be legal under the new legislation, the processing and trafficking of drugs would remain subject to criminal sentencing.’
It would be unreasonable to expect Columbia to go further than this – for now. The fear of US reaction to even this must be felt…
But, letting the highly destructive US-led prohibitionism dictate the drug policy of many countries has only had disastrous consequences.
Not only is prohibitionism anti-freedom (in a very real sense, it claims greater property right over the citizen’s own body for The State than the citizen’s own claim to self-ownership), it enriches and strengthens organized crime. In some countries, this undermines governance to such a degree that civil liberties cannot be exercised at all!
Obviously, it is in no-one’s interest (except, of course, the organized crime groups and the ever-more-militarized police forces which grow to combat them) to continue with drug prohibition: the evidence is there for all to see. Still, I doubt that most people are willing to look…
But, let’s not spoil the moment: Columbia has taken a step in the right direction. Let’s hope more countries follow – and that this is just a small step in a long march towards eventually abolishing all drug laws!
A Climte Change Conference with an actual debate of the science
May 9, 2012 — xanthippa‘The Heartland Institute’s Seventh International Conference on Climate Change (ICCC-7) will take place in Chicago, Illinois from Monday, May 21 to Wednesday, May 23, 2012 at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, 720 South Michigan Avenue. The event will follow the NATO Summit taking place in Chicago on May 19–21.’
This is one Climate Conference which promises to actually address the science and not just the politically correct rhetoric. It is also likely to address the issues arising from faulty or downright fraudulent science on the topic of Anthropogenic Climate Change:
‘On November 22, 2011, a second batch of emails among scientists working at the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit was released by an unknown whistle-blower. “Climategate II” revealed prominent scientists concealing data, discussing global warming as a political cause rather than a balanced scientific inquiry, and admitting to scientific uncertainties that they denied in their public statements. ‘
Did I mention that Vaclav Klaus, the Czech President, will deliver the first dinner speech, on Monday, May 21st?
Of course, not everyone is planning to be there. Donna Laframboise of NoFrakkingConsensus, for one, has distanced herself from this event over concerns about Heartland’s ethics.
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 