Nuclear Beef

Morgan Spurlock Muslim Exploitation Video Beef Today. It's your right as an American to blast Duran Duran and Tom Petty.

Here's a fun little clip from Morgan Spurlock's (Super-size Me) new FX show, 30 Days. I wasn't particularly impressed by Super-size Me, because Spurlock's style is a bit like Michael Moore on a McDonalds crash diet. He clearly thinks he's a lot more well informed than he actually is, so his incompetent agenda-pushing is particularly grating. Plus, as sleepy points out, he's got a pretty annoying voice. Sorta like Michael Moore.

Some of the things he's asking people to do are ethically suspect, like the episode where a man agrees to go on Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone injections to body-build for 30 days. If Spurlock actually cared about anything but self-promotion, I can't imagine how he'd be willing to watch someone risk their sperm count for a reality TV show. It's one thing to conduct experiments with yourself, but 30 Days takes this concept a bit further than, say, the BBC's Faking It.

This clip, for example, is from an episode where Spurlock finds a Christian (the Entertainment Weekly Blurb calls him a "fundamentalist" but he seems pretty low-key to me...) from West Virginia and gets him to agree to live (in Dearborn, Michigan) as a Muslim for 30 days. What's particularly galling about this episode is the lack of education available to this poor guy, who is expected to say prayers that he does not understand. As the Christian faith is quite clear about worshipping false idols, isn't it slightly sadistic to expect this guy to pray to a God he does not worship? Half-way through the episode, he calls Spurlock who gives him a lecture about "The Rules" and tells him to get to praying! I'm not quite sure that Spurlock is sending the message he thinks he is...

MORGAN SPURLOCK : Recently, controversy has swirled over the call to prayer at the Al Islal Mosque in Hamtramck, just down the road from Dearborn. In the Muslim faith, Mosques broadcast the call to prayer five times a day. For Muslims, it's the equivalent to church bells. But in this working class town, people don't see it that way.

WOMAN : Our bells are not putting words in your ears. It's a sound.

MORGAN SPURLOCK : Now what seemed like a case of 'Not In My Back Yard' has become a full-blown civil rights issue, complete with petitions, political recalls and even death threats. That's where Haaris Ahmed, a lawyer for the Council On American-Islamic Relations comes in.

And of course the Muslims here are.. victims! How do we know that they're victims? Because a lawyer from the Council On Islamic-American Relations, a PR group with ties to terrorist groups and numerous critics, says so! He provides his side of the story, and balance is provided by.. the hysterical woman quoted above.. and this guy:

MORGAN SPURLOCK: If there was a building next door to your house that was like, blasting that out of a speaker, what would you think?

PISSED WOMAN: I'd be pissed.

DURAN DURAN GUY: I'd go crank up my stereo with a bunch of Tom Petty or, you know, maybe some Duran Duran... and give them some payback. Because that's my right, as an American!

Damn straight. U-S-A! U-S-A!

(But wait.. isn't Duran Duran from England? Wouldn't it be more patriotic to crank up some Creedence?)

UPDATE: Video link was broken, is fixed now. D'oh. Thx to the tongue for the heads up.

Posted by darwin at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Iranian Dissident Video Beef Today. (NOT MUSIC!) Hashem Aghajari feels that the people of Iran are a good people. Even (especially) the journalists!

'The People of Iran Are a Good People' featuring Hashem Aghajari from PBS's Wide Angle, Episode 'Red Lines and Deadlines'. Aired Sept 23, 2004.

In this clip from the PBS documentary series "Wide Angle," an interviewer asks Iranian dissident Hashem Aghajari how he feels about the support he received from the Iranian press.

INTERVIEWER: How do you feel about all this support? HASHEM AGHAJARI: I feel that the people of Iran are very good people. The young generation and journalists showed, by their actions, that in the battle between truth and lies, they stand on the side of truth.

He was sentenced to death for apostasy in November 2002.

He had enraged conservatives in June that year, when he questioned the rule of clerics and the principle of emulating religious leaders.

He said Muslims should not follow Islamic clerics "like monkeys."

Watch his face, and listen closely to the words he uses. This is clearly a man who understands the importance of saying the 'right' thing. I think he's being very clear when he says the people of Iran are a good people. He's right. They have real journalists, too.

If only they could have a government worthy of them.

Posted by darwin at 12:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Michele over at A Small Victory

I want to make mention of the fact that Nick Berg was a Jew, just like Danny Pearl was a Jew. Which leads me to make the assumption that Berg was handpicked to be slaughtered, just like Danny Pearl. Which means that his beheading -as we all know anyhow - has nothing to do with Abu Ghraib.

I've seen this meme making the rounds, but I'm not sure it's substantiated that Jewishness significantly affects your chances of kidnapped and murdered by these scumbags. Guillermo Sabero was beheaded in symbolic fashion by Abu Sayef in 2001, and I don't believe he was Jewish. Fabrizio Quattrocchi was Italian (afaik, not Jewish) and was kidnapped and executed on camera as well.

It is notable that both Pearl and Berg were Jewish, but apparently being an American (non-Muslim? Western?) is good enough for these animals.

Posted by darwin at 02:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Some angry readers have interpreted the above last statement as an attack against fellow Muslims. That was not what I had intended. I usually do my best to avoid theological debates on Islam for safety considerations but I'll indulge them just this once. My purpose was to point out that Islam indeed excuses such barbaric acts. This is not the same as saying that all Muslims believe in such acts or commit them, moderate Muslims exist, but Islam is not moderate. Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists have not deviated from Islam, in fact all their practices are derived from the Quran and Hadith.

So yes, Islam is the problem here. Poverty, economic conditions, abuse by so called colonialism, and political frustration are not. Similar conditions elsewhere in the world have not prompted non-Muslims to commit suicide bombings or fly planes into towers. Islam, along with favourable cultural, tribal, and social values existing in the Arab world has prompted that drive. Islam and the Quran alone are not the root cause.

The solution is not however to alienate all Muslims, or to expel them, or annihilate them. It is up to 'moderate' Muslims and their clerics to carefully examine their scriptures and to reform, the same way Jews and Christians did. The Quran is a book, and its tenants were appropriate for a certain era in history. Most of it does not apply today, so it is not 'untouchable'.

You either believe in the whole book, together with its violent verses, or you should stop claiming to be a consistent believer. You cannot select verses which appeal to your argument and ignore the rest.

He gives examples from the Koran. His position is alltogether too reasonable. Can't be a real Iraqi, must be a CIA Halliburton COINTELPRO DoD Rumsfeld Ashcroft, Rand Corporation plant.

Seriously though, obviously not all Muslims or Arabs are insane medieval fundamentalist murderers, but some of them are. It's not hateful to point out that aspects of a faith and a culture have bad results. There are downsides to any culture, but Arab Muslims in particular have a cultural AND religious problem in the modern world.

Pretending that it's ok for them to have beliefs which offend our modern sensibilities for good reason is shirking moral responsibility to witness the suffering of others with courage.

Posted by darwin at 01:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Muslims Are The New Negroes

MANAMA, Bahrain (Reuters) - Pop star Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine, in the Gulf to promote understanding between Muslims and his fellow Americans, said Tuesday that Muslims are "the new Negroes in America."

Jermaine, a convert to Islam and dressed in white Arab garb, has been speaking about Islam and U.S. "adventures" in Iraq to enthusiastic audiences at Koranic centers and universities in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain.

"I think Muslims have become the new Negroes in America. They are being mistreated at airports, by the Immigration -- everywhere," he said.
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He disapproved of Muslim extremism, which has been on the rise in the wake of the U.S. occupation of Iraq last year.

"I understand their feelings but do not approve of their methods. Islam is a religion of peace. They are wrong," he said.

I wonder if anyone has pointed out to Jermaine that the Nation of Islam actually has not much to do with the Religion of Islam. I wondered about how Michael got suckered into joining the NOI, but it makes sense now. Jermaine apparently converted in 1989, and the NOI is very effective at exploiting black celebrities in crisis.

I just wish someone would point out to Mikey that the NOI was founded by a pretty kooky dude who claimed race war was imminent.

In the 1930s. Hum.. it's a little late arriving. I bet the other prophecy is credible too.

BABYLON fills herself up with people of that sort. The U.S.A. came into the Western Hemisphere and chasten and all but annihilated the Indians. But, America invited every one of the poor class, who wanted to come from Europe, to make themselves a home here in America, the Indian's country.

ALL of the poor and evil citizens of Europe, America welcomed them. She invited every race of the earth to come and join in with her in a free country where evil and filth are openly practiced without hindrance.

AMERICA has done just this. She has filled up her country with all evil people. America did not allow Islam nor a preacher of Islam, to come into her country, America did not want good religion taught. America made a religion that she could rule and control herself. She made it attractive to the eyes and ears of those who see and hear it, by teaching them basically that there was three Gods instead of teaching them the teachings of Moses and the prophets -- the Teaching of One God.
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ANOTHER prophecy warns us that 'Babylon is falling never to rise again.' In this warning it teaches you that the country and people of Modern Babylon will become like the people and city of Ancient Babylon that was destroyed and has not risen up a people or a city since its destruction.
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AS LONG as you are in the name of the white slave-master you belong to the white slave-master And regardless to what you believe and regardless to how mighty you think that you are, you will not be accepted by the Black People and the God of Our Black People, if you have the name of white people and if you are in the religion of Christianity.

Gosh, Elijah Muhammad sure was batshit crazy! The greatest thing about these nutjobs is that I can call them nutjobs without people considering me Islamophobic... because they're not actually Islamic.

Just in case, in the immortal words of Jermaine Jackson :

Islam is a religion of peace.

Posted by darwin at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Karzai: Women Should Vote as Instructed

KABUL (CP) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered Afghan men a trade today in an attempt to convince them to let their women vote in upcoming elections.

"Please, my dear brothers, let your wives and sisters go to the voter registration process," Karzai told a gathering to mark International Women's Day. "Later, you can control who she votes for, but please, let her go."

"Now that is a bad idea," said Simi Nakbari, a teacher and mother whose husband reluctantly allowed her to attend the meeting.

"It doesn't seem like a very good interpretation of the rights we are working for. We can select which minister or warlord to vote for as well as anyone."

Democracy in action!

This story is funny, but not ha ha funny. More like oh god funny.

Posted by darwin at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arab Big Brother Suspended

An Arab version of the reality television program Big Brother has been suspended after complaints it violated Islamic traditions.
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Unlike the Western version of the show, the Arab Big Brother featured a prayer room and separate sleeping quarters for men and women.
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But in Bahrain, where the program was being filmed, more than 1,000 people held a public protest against the show, warning that it was a threat to Islam.
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In response, the Arabic satellite TV channel MBC has announced it has suspended Big Brother. In a statement, MBC said it did not want to be accused of harming Arab traditions and values.

I don't know what's sillier, the idea of Arab Big Brother (Talk About Recursive!*) or the fact that there's an Arabic TV Channel called.. MBC. The shows worth protesting.. are on MBC. This fall!

Actually, it seems like the funniest thing in this whole entry is MBC-TV's Website.

• I'm talking about Arab Governments here, which are almost universally authoritarian and paste posters of the leaders all over the place. Kinda like 1984. Don't get offended.)

Thx to phessler on the hookup.

Posted by darwin at 02:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Muslim Suspicion of Polio Vaccine Lingers On

The success of the global effort to eradicate polio may rest on the outcome of a week-long tour of India, South Africa and Indonesia by a Nigerian delegation which has been conducting tests on polio vaccines used for immunisation in Nigeria.
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The federal government is hoping this high-powered delegation will these polio vaccines the all clear. That would help to dispel widespread suspicion in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria that the vaccines contain anti-fertility agents and the virus that causes AIDS.
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The word that polio vaccines were contaminated was first spread by some Islamic preachers. Their claims assumed greater credibility when they were taken up by the self-proclaimed Supreme Council for Shari'ah in Nigeria (SCSN), an organisation led by physician and one-time presidential aspirant Datti Ahmed.
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"I heard about the controversy but my husband agreed that we still give our baby the polio vaccine," Amina Abdulkadir, a 28-year-old mother in Kano city told IRIN. She said that she and her husband had seen the effects of polio on other children and did not want their own to suffer the same fate.

At least there are still a few parents with some sense. This reminds me of the awesome and completely bunk rumour that Autism is caused by vaccines. But hey, if we're going to bring back medieval times, why stop at Polio? Bring back plague!

Posted by darwin at 09:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Link to article not available. Sorry, subscription sets you back $600+.

From the editor of Jane's Intelligence Digest

Iran's parliamentary election crisis is raising hopes among Western intelligence agencies that victory for the conservatives will lead to mounting destabilisation and the eventual ousting of the country's hardline Islamic leadership. The reality is rather different. Rising popular apathy towards the political system and widespread disillusionment with the failure of the reformist administration headed by President Mohammad Khatami will assist the conservatives in their effort to regain control of the legislature. People who won't even vote are unlikely to stage mass uprisings in the streets of Tehran.

This raises an interesting question as to the near term future of US foreign policy in Iran. Attempts to counter moderate voter apathy could run afoul of meddling in the internal affairs of the state, yet allowing the hardliners to regain control of the legislature would only upset any possible rapprochement between the US and the government of Iran.

Posted by at 01:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We Were Asleep

Commissioner John Lehman said he found it inexplicable that inspectors would let a group of Arabs with knives onto the airplanes. "It doesn't pass the common sense test," he said.

Did a member of the 9/11 commission really just say that he found it inexplicable that inspectors would let a group of Arabs with knives onto the airplanes? Someone seems to still be asleep.

I'm generally opposed to "racist" histrionics, but is there a non-racist explanation for Lehman's statement as quoted/paraphrased?

Props to Cyan on the hookup. She will bring the Nuclear Beef shortly.

Posted by darwin at 01:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Stampede Kills 244 at Hajj Pilgrimage

MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- At least 244 people were trampled to death and hundreds more hurt Sunday under the crush of worshippers in one of the deadliest disasters during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The stampede occurred during the stoning of the devil, an emotional and notoriously perilous hajj ritual. Pilgrims frantically throw rocks, shout insults or hurl their shoes at three stone pillars - acts that are supposed to demonstrate their deep disdain for Satan.

Safety measures were in place at the site - one where fatal stampedes have been frequent - but "caution isn't stronger than fate," said Saudi Hajj Minister Iyad Madani. "All precautions were taken to prevent such an incident, but this is God's will."

Surely these pilgrims could find a safer way to Diss Satan, huh? I guess nobody is safe when God's Will is unleashed. He's just mad that the Devil got stoned without him.

UPDATE: The Belmont Club has more thoughts.

Posted by darwin at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)