451. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189533 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 12:34 pm

whitepearl,






What is your theory?

452. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189503 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 11:22 am

Hizb ul-Tahrir is a common name of pretty nasty Islamic movements around the world.


You can probably do a wiki search on them and get a little more information. I am super busy today and can't take time to think through whatever the hell their deal is.

Wiki wiki wiki wikiwiwkiwkwiwkwiwki

453. Male circumcision is a weapon in the sperm wars

Comment #189502 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 11:20 am

One tribe in Australia takes a sharpened needle like stick and shoves through the base of the penis making a hole through all the important stuff.


That way semen comes out of the hole, and he will only impregnate a woman when he covers the holes with a finger during sex.


I mean, can someone send them some condoms?

454. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189470 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 10:20 am

epeeist,







What a sniveling weasel that writer is. Michael Nazir-Ali was born in Pakistan and knows Islam well, no doubt watching these people in Pakistan and England and their hostitlity to his views. He was right on in his interpretation of Islamic virtues, although he (obviously) is overly congratulatory of so-called Christian values.

Inayat is a little turd, neither helping to rid England of extremists nor helping Muslims intergrate. His sole function seems to be to perpetuate a problem by telling everyone it isn't a problem.

455. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189463 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 10:13 am

Tez,







No on your suggestion. A traitor is anyone (citizen) who attempts to overthrow the government. In a democracy this is a bad thing, in a fascist government then it is a good thing. But treason is the betrayal of the state by a citizen.

Some traitors are heroes, others are scoundrels. The Muslims advocating Shariah are scoundrels, not heroes. No hero would advocate the brutal subjegation of women.

456. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189447 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 9:43 am

epeeist,





Two things.


1) Can you post the link to the Bunglawala article if you could.

2) Dependence on oil is a huge curse.

457. Lying for Jesus?

Comment #189424 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 8:50 am

Tez,






DON'T GO TO ROTTEN.COM unless you want to see tons of dead bodies and sick perverts doing ridiculous stuff.

Rotten contains a lot of morgue photos, and police photos. The popular photos are gun shot wounds to the head and people hit by trains.

458. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #189410 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 8:11 am

epeeist,





I just want to add my congratulations on your Dungeons and Dragons comment.


I laughed pretty hard.

459. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189396 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 7:27 am

Quetz,






People who are traitors:

1) Those who operate for a foreign government.
2) Those who actively attempt to overthrow a system of government and a way of life.



Guilty suspect:

1) Israel Lobby, they are foreign agents and traitors.
2) People who actively support and work to implement shariah.


The punishment for treason is death, although I would settle for imprisonment and then deportation.

460. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189394 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 7:16 am

epeeist,






So no deportation of terror and shariah supporters? That is what Fanusi suggests. Plus a ban on immigration of Muslims for several years.

461. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189391 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 7:11 am

Fanusi,





Wow, that is a good question. So in mid 2007 I started realizing that liberals (in the US at least) were wusses, and weren't the principled people I thought they were. So I was disenchanted with that.

I would hang out with my more liberal friends in mid to late 2007, and when I criticized US foreign policy (as I had some expertise in the matter) they treated me like a genius, and when I supported some aspect of this policy or criticized one of their beloved "victims" they treated me with scorn.


By early November/December of 2007 I realized one couldn't both be intellectually honest and a "liberal". I found that liberal, for me, had to do with liberty and social change, not dogmatic ranting. So in some sense I still am a liberal (for gay marriage, for advancement of minorities) but I wouldn't even think of associating myself with a sissy whiners club.

But I get a little less liberal everyday.

462. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189387 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 6:55 am

Fanusi,






Well done. With those citations. Thankfully, the numbers aren't quite as ominous here in the US.

The UK is a special place, it allows these parasites (radical types) to suck off the welfare tit before they crash an SUV full of explosives into an airport or something. The UK is in fact funding terrorism.


epeeist,



So can we get back to the facts now. The facts are that the UK has a very serious problem with Muslim radicals, and this problem is growing and not shrinking. I have indentified in previous posts exactly what groups these are, and which groups should be monitored by intelligence agencies.

My question is, being a liberal guy, what is your solution for dealing with people that find your lifestyle, your country, your 'beliefs', your wife, your daughters, as worthy of the nastiest contempt. How do you fix this problem? And let's add in that some are willing to carry out violent attacks (despite sucking off the welfare state) against you and your fellow citizens, and many wouldn't even tell the authorities in advance if their neighbor was planning such an attack.


This is where my mind got stuck in the liberal days of my life (not so long ago in fact).

463. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189369 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 6:22 am

irate,






Oh come on we all know Keira Knightley has an eating disorder.


Anyhow, these were all independent claims made by DM, it seems Fanusi's citation is supported by plenty of other sources as well, not just DM. Perhaps it is a case of the Daily Mail getting it right by mistake.

464. Mark Steyn vs. the 'Sock Puppets'

Comment #189366 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 6:16 am

sjk,






Here is the problem with these international contracts, treaties, and other agreements... these things are diplomatic in nature. Negotiated agreements, they were negotiated on the basis of a strong assumption, that the countries involved shared similar values.

Diplomacy, when used between states that can respect the process and share common values is a great tool. If used with those who do not value what we value (individual liberty, human life, women's rights, the preference of peace to violence) it is a weakness.


Fanusi brings up Darfur, this is a perfect example of the UN's impotency. It is a body with no ability to enforce any of its high minded resolutions. If one wants to use diplomacy with thuggish nations, assuming you are foolish enough to do so, it must be backed up by a sizeable degree of force. There is no use in treating al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, or any other nasty, hateful ideology with respect or dignity. They don't return the favor and certainly do not share common values with the countries that opppose them.

Diplomacy won't work with our current enemies. The UN is impotent to enforce any resolution that matters. It falls to powerful and civilized nations to enforce at least a modicum of decency within the world. All the mental masturbation in the world over at UN HQ will do nothing to save a single life.

465. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189357 by al-rawandi on June 6, 2008 at 5:51 am

Fanusi,





I have come to regard "Islamophobia" as so much useless liberal sloganeering. Imagine this term:


Naziphobia


Just like Islamophobia it makes no distinction on the basis of race, it makes a distinction based on a chosen ideology. Islamophobia applies to white converts as well as brown Muslims. It is the same as fearing someone for being a fascist, a homophobe, or a racist. These ideologies bother me the way Islam does.



epeeist,




Can you provide some instance of DM lying or distorting. Simply printing true reports about a despised minority does not make you a racist, it makes you an honest journalist.

So forgive me, as I usually trust your opinion, but here I cannot take your feelings on the matter as evidence.

466. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #189155 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 2:51 pm

Pathfinder,





First, I meant that people in Albania, or the Albanian Kosovars would be likely less religious and virginity might not be such an important point. In fact I get that impression having seen some Albanian women.... The clothing is not exactly Shariah compliant.

My name username is the name of a famous Muslim apostate:

Abu al-Husayn Ahmad bin Yahya bin Ishaq al-Rawandi, born in Northwest Afghanistan in 9th Century. He wrote a book called Kitab al-Zumurrud ("The Book of the Emerald"). In it he finally renounced Islamic doctrine and declared that he accepted the primacy of the human intellect, meaning that humans are given capacity to reason by god, in which case revelation must mesh with rational thought or else it isn't divine, and if it meshes with rational thought, then it is superfluous.

He also stated that miracles are simply legends and nothing more. He called a number of the prophet (ed. profit) Muhammad's miracles "fraudulent tricks".

For a Muslim in the 9th Century that thought was equivalent to discovering relativity, Uranium, and founding Playboy Industries, in one day.


I figure I will burn for a number of reasons if I strike out on this atheism thing. But so far I am ahead in the count.

467. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #189136 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 2:08 pm

Pathfinder,







Bosnia or Albania perhaps. Albania more so, Bosnia remains somewhat conservative after the conflict and the increase in religious identity.

468. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #189130 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 2:01 pm

Diacanu,







That was even a little gross for me.


I don't know if it is gay, but it is pretty gross. If a male friend did that I would stop hanging out with him because he is a whacked sicko, not because he is "gay".

469. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189107 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 1:18 pm

Let's be honest, fighting the wars is a job for poor people.



It used to be that the wealthy, in America, would go to war. Roosevelt's kid did it, he led a special forces team in the South Pacific. JFK did it. But now I think, it is largely the under class that fights, because wars are less clear cut in terms of who we are fighting, and there are other economic opportunities. This doesn't make the war against radical Islam wrong, it just makes its dynamic a little different.

470. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189098 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 12:48 pm

Fanusi,





In the American Interest this month, there is an interesting article, entitled "The Diplomacy Fallacy".

One of the things this guy says before he talks about diplomacy is that it is only really effective between countries that share common values. For instance diplomacy with a group like al-Qaeda is useless because there isn't a compromise to be made, there are no common values, the only option is violence.

I had that feeling when I read Robespierre and his commentary on Virtue and Terror, one without the other is often either evil or useless. The Diplomacy Fallacy also makes it clear that potential use of force is often the most coercive tool in getting people to agree to diplomacy.

Also one must distinguish between diplomacy as a process and diplomacy as an end.


*EDIT* 90% of statistics are wrong 50% of the time :-)

471. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #189069 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 10:54 am

elephant,







Wooter doesn't talk when Appleby is drinking water. Check that shit out!

472. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189067 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 10:48 am

Fanusi,




The Young Turks, headed by Mustafa Kemal called their reform the Tanzimat. It is a Turkicization of the Arabic term meaning literally "reorganization" or more accurately "cleaning up".


Tanzimat round 2, Europe!

473. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189066 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 10:39 am

Allan,





In between meetings and conference calls. Just dropped in to see.

You linked to the "Sufi Council". Sufis seem to have this image of being the antinomian wayfarer, smiling at all who pass. This simply isn't the case....

Hamas was based on the movement of 'Izz al-Din al-Qassam, himself a Sufi of the Qadari order and influencial in Sufi circles in Haifa. In fact the Qadari order of Sufis is widely identified with resistance movements all over the Muslim world. They are also some of the most fatalistic Muslims you will find.

Sayyid Ahmad Barelwi who led a long and violent campaign against the British in the Northwest Frontier Province was an initiate of the Chigishtiyya and Muhammadiyya orders (along with several others).

Ahmad Tijan, eponym of the widel popular Tijaniyya order, was described as a Wahhabi doctrinally.

Shah Waliullah Dihlavi, student of shaykh Daghestani and Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi (both teachers of Bin Abd al-Wahhab himself) in Mecca, returned to create a Sufi order much like those above. In fact the Taliban itself was the political expression of the Deobandi Sufi movement, developed in the Subcontinent.


I wouldn't trust Sufis just because you saw the whirling dervishes in Istanbul. Sufis are often the most strident in their desires for implementation of Shariah.



epeeist,



Your criticism of the Daily Mail is that irate_atheist does not like it? Shouldn't you show fanusi some place where they actually lied or distorted.

474. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #189031 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 8:37 am

Allan,




They only need to get enough of a bloc to get the larger parties to concede some points in order to maintain a coalition.


France is the country in biggest trouble. The natives don't breed much (stagnant) and the Muslim population is exploding.

475. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #188996 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 7:01 am

Quetz,





That is only until, after 20-40 years of out breeding, they have enough votes to make it happen.

476. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #188994 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 6:54 am

CommonToad,






Look Here

Why aren't these people being expelled? They are threatening murder.

477. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #188985 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 6:24 am

Skeptic Jim,






Perhaps. Or perhaps they were sick of the way Muslims behave in their country. For instance the grand mufti of Australia saying that women are to blame for rape. Or this Islamic council saying apostasy should be punished by death.


I wouldn't want such a Muslim school in my neighborhood either.

478. Town moves against Islamic school

Comment #188982 by al-rawandi on June 5, 2008 at 5:57 am

Fanusi,




You said:

What you are leaving out is the hideous conditions of those that did not convert

However it is fair to say that the economic and social apartheid implemented by Islamic rulers made conversion the only option to most minorities. Otherwise the system was too oppressive.

479. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188770 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 2:02 pm

Podaar,




It is no coincidence that after I was born, in quick succession came "Kill 'em All" and "Ride the Lightning". It has become the anthem of my life.

When I played baseball, whenever I came in to pitch at the end of the game, the PA guy would cue a Metallica song of my choosing.



Frankus,


There is no need to plug your ears. The problem with these liberal herbivores is that they don't seem to understand (or care to understand) that humans are a part of the food chain, and a very important one at that.

Humans eat animals, the evolution of life on earth was intricately linked to our role in the food chain, I see no convincing evidence why we should remove ourselves. The "cuddly animal" argument underlies all this veggie-whining. There is a cloak used, called pseudo-rationalism, to disguise this. It isn't genuince compassion, because they are happy to allow animals to starve to death, rather than have them hunted, much like pro-lifers are often the biggest pro-war activists.

I eat meat because I am evolved to do so, and well equipped to procure this meat.

I don't apologize.

480. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188755 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 1:43 pm

mordacious1,





I prefer dogs to toads.

481. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188749 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 1:31 pm

Samir,

I would say any species would hold other animals of the same species with a higher regard because of the same reasons a brother should hold a higher regard for his sibling than say a 2nd cousin, genetic relatedness.

482. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188743 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 1:15 pm

Podaar,






You misunderstand how he debates. He takes something he doesn't like, that you said. He then distorts it beyond all recognition to construct an appropriately vulnerable straw man. He then flails away mercilessly at the strawman. Then he asks stupid (obviously so) questions of you, when you posit the obvious answer he then claims victory saying you "didn't answer".

It is the constant use of fabrications that is most annoying. I am not convinced he is wrong on every count, I am open to the possibility he is right, I am also not convinced that he knows what "truth" means.


It is one fabrication after another.

483. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188741 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 1:11 pm

Mitchell,

His retort was his disbelief of my comparison, and how "animals were lower" when I challenged this it went ignored. So I took it as silent concession.

484. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188728 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:28 pm

Mitchell,

(*sigh*) I'm not interested in arguing this with you.

485. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188725 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:25 pm

Mithcell,






To be honest, you make things up. Simple fabrications, I showed what those were, several times. You have had this habit for a while and it has happened on other threads.

Where you not saying to kill the deer to prevent accidents?

Non-human animals not having a personality is factually mistaken according to the evidence, and would be a statement of faith even if that weren't true.

486. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188720 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:17 pm

Mitchell,

It isn't up to us to regulate nature.

487. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188714 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:08 pm

Elli,




I suspect he spends his downtime gratifying himself to the women's underwear section of the Sear's catalogue. I was going to say as much, but I didn't know if everyone else had guessed he was a dorky college freshman.

488. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188710 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:06 pm

epeeist,

I also find the practice of shoots in this country where several hundred birds will be shot by a small number of "hunters" to be distasteful.

489. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188704 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 12:01 pm

Mitchell,

Would it be ok to regulate human populations like that? Where is the consistency there?

So kill all the deer to avoid the possibility of car accidents? Isn't that like pulling all your teeth to avoid cavities?

I don't support inhumane methods of culling meat. In fact hunting, which the flagrant hypocrites here so foolishy decry, is actually a way of population control. Most of these animals don't have predators (humans ARE their natural predator) in sufficient number to check the growth of population. Deer hunting, for instance prevents deer from starving to death, as they tax their natural food sources. You forgot to include humans in the food chain, which evolution did.

And perhaps you would care to look at how many people are killed every year as a result of cars colliding with deer. It is not insignificant. So not only is hunting acceptable, it provides benefit for both the animal population and people.

So kill all the deer to avoid the possibility of car accidents?

Since I have an affinity for logic

490. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188676 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 11:26 am

Appleby,

I'm not afraid of homosexuals. I kind of like them, actually.

491. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188673 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 11:20 am

mordacious1,





Exactly. So once the proletariat revolt and outlaw meat, your son can be a sacrifice for the greater good.

Or in a world of liberty, people are free to make their own moral choices. And the ones that have choices limited can continue to live their lives, eating all the fish and chicken they could want!

I hope I didn't say anything offensive with regard to your son. I am very glad to hear he is doing well. I cannot imagine a more difficult situation for a parent.

492. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188670 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 11:15 am

Mitchell,





Hypocirsy would mean you hold views that aren't cosistent with one another which is perfectly relevant to your argument. See the other thread on ad hominems.

I eat meat because it is the best form of protein money can buy. Do you think, that if I found a better and healthier source, one that I could consume daily with as high a level of absorbtion, I would continue to use an inferior product?

If you want to tell people to not eat meat because it is "immoral" you are doing several things. You are limiting people's liberty to pursue lifestyles that require them to eat meat. You are creating conflict for someone like Anna, who has little other choice when it comes to protein diet. And you are mandating your arbitrary moral position.

I don't support inhumane methods of culling meat. In fact hunting, which the flagrant hypocrites here so foolishy decry, is actually a way of population control. Most of these animals don't have predators (humans ARE their natural predator) in sufficient number to check the growth of population. Deer hunting, for instance prevents deer from starving to death, as they tax their natural food sources. You forgot to include humans in the food chain, which evolution did.

And perhaps you would care to look at how many people are killed every year as a result of cars colliding with deer. It is not insignificant. So not only is hunting acceptable, it provides benefit for both the animal population and people.

The only thing disgusting about the practice is imprisoning these animals first. But I see no other option as I have never heard of a ferral cow, so their hopes of returning to a wild state are slim.

So that being said, I am about to go enjoy about 30-40 grams of protein, in the form of meat.

493. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188642 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 9:58 am

Mitchell,







You have an overly active imagination. That is undeniable.

But to be more clear, epeeist was responding to my original post on meat eating which referred to amino acid content of meats. So perhaps if you had looked at that post to which he was responding you would have gained further context, which was that I was making a nutritional case for eating meat. So please don't lecture on context if you cannot bestir yourself to discover the original context.

My original comment was #188468, so noted in epeeist's post.

Can I also infer that you consider me an ethical pervert for eating meat? And not only that, for eating it in the quantities I do? If so I would love to go down that road, because for you, lies the trap of hypocrisy.


And finally; don't assume, it makes an ass of u and me.

494. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188635 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 9:39 am

Appleby,

You're gay too, aren't you? I can tell from your picture.

495. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188629 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 9:34 am

Mitchell,


*Sigh* You do have an active imagination, no doubt this is tied to your fascination with anime.

In what sense is saying that you would be better able to build musle if you eat animals an argument for it's ethicality exactly? That is easily an argument for a motivation for why you might want to do it, but are you going to suffer, or be in distress more than the animals that supply that protein if you can lift a few less lbs? In what way is the suffering greater if you can't achieve your dream physique?

496. Richard Dawkins Responds to Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

Comment #188616 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 9:09 am

These are really my favorite.....




Some guy who has just learned what ad hominem means and has read a couple of books, looks around at his slack jawed friends, and thinks he is an intellectual promethian. Then he decides it is time to take theism on the road.

Big fish in the small intellectual pond (more of a puddle maybe) hits the road and comes to RD.net figuring a picayune amount erudition will carry the day. It will be a real awakening being intellectual dismembered by the posters here.

497. Is Science Killing the Soul?

Comment #188604 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 8:45 am

ArtfulDodger,





Answer the questions posed to you. Quetz has linked to them.


Disappearing for a week or two and then coming back and trying to go back to your old tricks won't work.

498. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188602 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 8:43 am

Podaar, Irate,






I know he is just trying to get something to stick to justify his homophobia. I was just getting in a dig.

Anyhow, this particular homophobe is especially irrational and eratic. It must be difficult to pretend to be rational while harboring such irrational beliefs. He just won't answer and direct questions either, it is truly annoying, on par with wooter.

499. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188589 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 8:19 am

Is he making the case for bestiality.



This is getting out of control.

500. Storm erupts over 'virginity' divorce

Comment #188577 by al-rawandi on June 4, 2008 at 8:05 am

irate,






I don't take those things personally, so you don't have to worry about being abrasive with me. I dish it and I can take it.