Kimmo

not exactly news, sunshine are you flirting with me?

an amiable chap, from all accounts, perfectly suited to host a dinner party.

and once it had divorced itself from the most basic of the buddha's teachings, it became oxymoronic to call it "buddhism". Buddhism at its core is about non-violence: in speech, in action, in thought, etc. (unless i missed something!)

The "egyptians" will do fine? you're (for fw) generalization might be construed as patronizing.

btw, i did ask you why the "muslims" in the US are seemingly (pew poll) "peaceful" and critical of violence in general. also, i asked you what your pew poll link was meant to indicate, but didn't get a response....

because a "liberal democratic republic" assures a more just war than what the "terrorists" presently execute?

well, i do think the discussion encompasses a little more than what people "claim" to be their religion. jayb's point is that islam specifically teaches people to be suicide bombers, without any context to their situation. You may find this reading of islam to be somewhat retarded, but buddhism specifically teaches people to be non-violent. i think hinduism might also, but i step outside of any actual studies.

i whole-heartedly, unequivocally and completely disagree with the above assertion regarding kamikaze being buddhist. their actions (and probably lives) had nothing NOTHING to do with buddhism. i'd also wager that most "christians" have very little in common with the teachings of jesus. and a guess: islam doesn't teach peeps to blow up civilians and their structures.

actually i know nothing about pc's or apples except that i've had pc's exclusively and haven't had any problems with the things i use them for. apples might be great, i have no idea. all my friends have them, but they just seem like computers to me.

no you did not. sheesh. you saw a ferrari with miata stickers.

did you read the Harper's article? i am curious, in the interest of furthering this discussion, if you did read it. i don't think the article asserts (nor does off white) that a "majority" of the military is composed of christian evangelicals, but that an increasing number are in positions of power. would you not agree that having evangelical christians creating military protocol based on their religious beliefs might be an undesirable event? and i honestly don't know what you are referring to with the "liberal self-hate moral relativism" charge. maybe you could explain that.

get used pc for 1/4 the price, and paint apple pic on it to be hip.

"If any of the violence is instigated by the government, it should stop immediately," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. such a terrible temper Gibbs has. as the 3.5 billion in aid continues to pour in. and demonstrators lose their lives to government cronies. I am saddened.

who is this "we" you are talking about? weird assumption.

You're wrong Rudy, this is about the only forum where you're SUPPOSED to be able to do that. This isn't your wrestling team, its more like your 4 year old daughter's tutu wearing soccer club. blame his Finnish background. pikku sotilas.

God told Bush to attack Iraq. Really. It was The Christian God of Mercy. Only problem is, when you are the Christian prez of the US, your militant missions take out a few more innocents than any "suicide" bomber could ever manage to (twin towers included). Religion of Violence indeed.

what are you pointing to with this pew survey?

i'm curious how this "violent" religion you speak of becomes so non-violent here in the US. could it be because it isn't simply about the religion? Non-violent compared to what? Quakerism? Seventh Day Adventism? Deism? Are you using a US population weighted index of terror plot participation? Are we comparing vs Arab-American christians, Jews, secularists, etc here? http://pewglobal.org/files/pdf/248.pdf non-violent compared to suicide bombers (you know, the definition of Islam, per you) and those who support them, silly! now answer the question.

maybe they are not really muslim. only those who blow themselves up are truly muslim.

what gets me is how many of the Saud family have blown themselves up, being Muslim and all.

POTD hey, i'm not always a big fan of the ACLU's International Director of Operations, but if the shoe fits.... I'd further posit that we ALL have cultural blinders on.

i'm curious how this "violent" religion you speak of becomes so non-violent here in the US. could it be because it isn't simply about the religion?

Hmmmm, the first thing I found was an extensive pew poll about how content Muslims are in America: happy koran-reading muslims. mebbe it was a different poll you are talking about?

you mean like christianity promoting expansionist resource grabbing capitalism and smart bombs? btw, still waiting for the pew poll link so often cited by you and harris.

there's a long tradition of the valiant martyr in almost every culture, from the civil war hero riding to his sure death, to japanese pilots offing themselves, to christian martyrs to native americans "it's a good day to die", to the countless senselessly rushing forth in the trenches of WWI (well, maybe not valiant). i don't really see "suicide bombings" as the axis of this whole "muslim vs. reformed west" argument, and to attempt to reduce it to such overlooks that thorny context issue (not to mention how the "civilized" west has killed magnitudes more innocent civilians with its "civilized" smart bombs etc etc).