Kimmo

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).

maybe for pope, but not dalai lama (leader of one of those "terrible" religions).

and what percentage of the muslim world lives under autocratic control, propped by western interests, either now or very recent history?

ok, so you are reducing the "barabrism" angle to suicide bombers? nothing else? also, can you please direct me to the pew polls.

let's be a bit more specific. a wide brush-stroke there....

point taken, but what about the polls you speak of? link please.

seems harris's arguments rest entirely too much on a pew poll: if i did find the right poll, i would hardly excoriate an entire people via their religion because of it (which harris seems to do). further, harris tries his damnest to decontextualize "muslim violence", arguing that it's really the religion, not the socio-politico-economic conditions (which is silly at best). let's also note that harris is an ardent out-spoken zionist, entirely supportive of israel's approach to palestine. have you ever heard him condemn a single act of israel's, from refugee camp slaughters, to continued settlement building etc etc? regardless, an interesting vid.

the "plain meaning" of passages in the koran argument is a bit of a canard, since other religions have passages every bit as violent. also, to dismiss the input of a journalist such as hedges is simply willful protectionism of one's viewpoint: he has lived in the area for what, 15 years? can you provide a link to the extensive polling you speak of? i found a pew poll, but it spoke of rather conditional muslim support for violence, usually in the context of US aggression etc. hey, that's a rather low-blow. false modesty is not a virtue if one is the National Director of the ACLU.

two questions: 1. on which would your money be? 2. why were you not equally pessimistic regarding iraq after the US invasion? (if pessimism is what i detect.) it certainly wasn't because one was a dictator and the other wasn't, right?

i would suggest that, with the size of the audience here, you avail yourself of this opportunity to afford change with the perspicuous insights you speak of. i would further suggest that beck speaks of actual considerations discussed in the current administration.

but sometimes, it just doesn't seem like it. if it was the case, a hyperbolic dismissal of views other than your own might not be so prevalent. fascist, almost.

but we know that about fox already. regarding egypt, what's more interesting is how this sentiment is represented within the current administration (along with administrations over the last 30 years). whether one likes it or not, having a fundamentalist islamic regime is of concern to any liberally minded humanoid concerned with things like human rights, just as it is here in the US with the rise of righty religionists.

the policy response has been the above, regardless of who has been in power here, dem or rep. a protracted crack-down, under emergency law, since what, '82?

well that was a wonderful exercise in dissonance, wasn't it?

i would suggest that dichotomy over-simplifies the equation quite a bit.

but they're green homestyle think that matters?

Just call 'em "pink" to end this madness.

where one man finds offense, another finds defense.

and don't even try it without headphones or plug-ins

shredding. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5YEqmIIdj8

wadda ya make of this? racist?