Jihad Watch Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald discusses the "image problem" for Islam posed by the ongoing cartoon rage:
The global cartoon rage, which continues to increase its death count every day -- a priest in Turkey, an Indian sailor in the U.A.E., a Danish lawyer in Moscow, plus protestors in Afghanistan and elsewhere -- points out a key problem for the world's Muslims. For them, Muhammad is even more important than Allah. Cartoon rage demonstrates that definitively. Muhammad is the center of the religion. His sayings, his acts, his silences, his everything, are essential to fleshing out the 80% of the Qur'an that is comprehensible. (The remaining 20% is susceptible of being understood, it seems, if one follows the advice of Christoph Luxenberg and reads parts of it as remnants of the Ur-Qur'an, a text in Aramaic, or Syro-Aramaic, or Syriac, the Aramaic of Edessa, which must have been the language employed for the first versions of the Qur'an since at that point Arabic was not yet a written language.)And here he is, Muhammad, the model for all time, for all mankind. Uswa hasana, al-insan al-kamil -- as far as Muslims are concerned. It is for his “honor” that Muslims are ransacking KFC’s and setting Ronald McDonald afire.
But Muhammad is not the model for all mankind as far as Infidels are concerned. Those not completely brainwashed by the cult of personality par excellence that Muslims have built around Muhammad will make up their own minds about him, based on their own readings of the Hadith and Sira.
And there is no mistaking what Muhammad was really like, or at least how he is portrayed in the earliest Muslim sources. The Hadith and the various biographies of Muhammad simply do not differ in the essential details of his life. They do not differ over either his acts or his reported sayings. There are only differences in the judgments upon Muhammad made by Muslims and by non-Muslim scholars such as Sir William Muir, Arthur Jeffery, Tor Andrae, and Maxime Rodinson.Muslims are in a quandary. The Qur'an, the Hadith, the Sira are now a click away. Any inquiring Infidel can read them, or read as much of them as he can possibly endure. Any Infidel can go to the Muslim websites, of the ask-imam.org variety, and see what kinds of questions Muslims ask and what answers are given. And the more Infidels do this, and the greater the number of such Muslim sites appear in Western languages for possible converts, and also for Muslims now living in the West, the greater access to such material there will be also for the Infidels.
This knowledge can't be prevented from being spread. And American Infidels will be watching keenly to see how Muslims behave in Western Europe. We will be watching to see what damage they inflict there on Infidel laws, customs, manners, and what greater degrees of unpleasantness and tension they introduce in daily life, what greater expenses will be required for monitoring and other security measures, and what greater sense of physical danger is felt by those Infidels in Europe. In other words, we -- in the United States and Canada -- will be able to draw certain conclusions. In this respect we will be aided by reports from Europeans as to how Muslims accommodate themselves, or refuse to accommodate themselves, to Infidel laws and ways. We will see to what extent they express heartfelt, not feigned, and permanent, not temporary, loyalty to the Infidel nation-states in which they have been permitted to settle with such casual negligence.
Infidels are now alert, and more are becoming more wary every day. Not thanks to any government. Not thanks to journalists on television and radio or in most newspapers. Thanks, in the main, to Muslims themselves: to their displays of violence, hysteria, and hate, as in the demonstrations and attacks worldwide that have been prompted by, or have taken as their excuse in some cases, those utterly anodyne cartoons.
It's an impossible situation for the world's Muslims. Infidels, in every land, have started paying close attention to what is happening to Infidels in other places, at the hands of Muslims within their own countries or even within Muslim lands. What happens to the Copts, the Maronites, the Assyrians, the Hindus in Bangladesh, the Christians in the Moluccas, the Buddhists in southern Thailand, is now being reported on, and watched, everywhere in the Infidel world.
This is the first time in history that Muslims have had the opportunity to settle behind enemy lines. But it is also the first time in history that those Infidels, in all conventional military respects far more powerful and likely to remain so, have had the ability to monitor Muslim behavior everywhere, and to make judgments based on that behavior.
"Image problem" doesn't begin to cover it.
The veil has been removed.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH - USE IT OR LOSE IT
Excellent description of the problem.
Hugh:
Stalwart and insightful as ever.
C'est pour rire - the public relations offensive in Canada by muslim CAIR type spokespeople to "reach out" to "open their mosques" to the media and the general public - and its effect.
Remember the TV footage of the all powerful Saddam with the Western mother and father and their child, and he puts his hand on a frozen appearing boy's head as if to pet him, to show for the cameras that Saddam is a good guy.
One could see that the family were very far from being at ease, that it was a charade.
No one was fooled.
Deception.
If 60% of Canada's muslims live in the Toronto Montreal area, and these areas voted Liberal in the recent election, one can surmise how this population tended to vote - the cynical among us would say - to seek cover among the appeasers and multiculti.
No cover.
Hugh: "Infidels are now alert, and more are becoming more wary every day. Not thanks to any government. Not thanks to journalists on television and radio or in most newspapers. ..."
And a really huge not thanks to western academia, who, rather than being the guardians of civilization, are complicit in its inchmeal destruction.
Bravo. Hugh this is one of the best and most succinct outlines of the problem I have read yet. Excellent does not do it justice.
I will see to it that as many of my coworkers as I can read it.
Thanks again for the great work, it is an aid for us lesser Infidels who understand but don't have such a high level of self expression.
Mr. Fitz-There are no borders with the communication revolution, and that is a problem for what Orwell called "The Thought Police."
There are two (still ongoing) revolutions that have impacteded the world in the past 225 years, that have profoundly affected all humankind. The first is the Industrial Revolution (probably the only true revolution in all of history), which was really a revolution of transport, of ships, planes, autos, etc. that shrank the distance between cultures.
The second (which dovetails the Industrial Revolution) is the revolution in communication (radio, TV, the Internet, etc.) in the past 80 years. Cartoon rage is (in part) a very frightened attack against these revolutions. The Cartoon Rage people remind me of the Luddites.
As usual, Mr. Fitzgerald hits the nail on the head. I've been trying to enlighten my fellow infidels on the true nature of Islam for a while, and now I'm starting to see people show a lot more interest in what I have to say than before. Thanks to the cartoon rage, infidels are displaying the kind of curiosity about Islam that is long overdue.
I've been telling people to avoid the Islamic apologists and directing them to this website. I feel Mr. Spencer and Mr. Fitzgerald can explain things much better than I can, plus the great links that JihadWatch has provide further information that complements their excellent articles.
Keep up the good work, gentlemen, it's starting to pay off.
If you think the cartoons caused an uproar, wait until the Muslims get a load of this:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117938165?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562
Sandi Dubowski, who won the Teddy gay and lesbian award in 2001 for his controversial doc "Trembling Before G-d," may cause an even bigger stir with "In the Name of Allah," which explores the struggles of homosexual Muslims.
Gay Indian Muslim helmer Parvez Sharma is directing the pic, which looks at gay, lesbian, and transgender Muslims across the Muslim and Western worlds.
"The world right now needs to understand Islam, and these are the most unlikely storytellers of Islam," Dubowski said, who is producing 'Allah.'
Doc will undoubtedly prove an even thornier film to export than "Trembling."
Sharma and Dubowski plan to submit the pic to all major festivals in the Muslim world as well as in the West, but if it's rejected, Dubowski said, "We'll find ways of screening it in every Muslim nation, even if it's underground."
Read the whole article. The Muslim reaction to this is going to be interesting to say the least.
Hugh: "And American Infidels will be watching keenly to see how Muslims behave in Western Europe. We will be watching to see what damage they inflict there on Infidel laws, customs, manners, and what greater degrees of unpleasantness and tension they introduce in daily life, what greater expenses will be required for monitoring and other security measures, and what greater sense of physical danger is felt by those Infidels in Europe"
Speaking of which, Lawrence Auster posted an S.O.S. from a Frenchwoman at his blog today - 'A cry of desperation from beseiged and betrayed France':
http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/005078.html
To Hugh the Wise...
Good post...except for one detail.
We in the West ARE NOT INFIDELS. Your post would have been excellent if everytime the word 'infidel' was used, it should have been in quotes, i.e 'infidel'. When used without quotes, we are using the Muslim definition. When used within quotes, we are rejecting the Muslim definition of infidel. We deny them the ability to attach any authority to their voice.
This contest is all about who has authority over others.
I hope to enter a piece here as a posting styled "The Regulation of Worship". That is also what this madness is all about. Have to get on the road now, so that will have to wait.
A good day to all and be safe!
The word "Infidels" is deliberately used for a number of reasons. It introduces, and reminds the reader constantly, of how that reader is regarded by Muslims. It introduces the note of unity -- we, all the non-Muslims of the world, are in this boat together, and may it turn out not to be, as here and there it shows signs of being, a stultifera navis. The word "non-Muslim" does not do the trick. You think the word "Infidel" as used here is demeaning. I think the reverse: it is being used proudly, throwing the word back at Muslims. Yes, by your lights we are, all of us, "Infidels."
My use insists that in speaking, writing, thinking about things we constantly keep in mind how we are regarded by Muslims, as indifferentiated "Infidels." We should use the word for our own rhetorical advantage. From their point of view, we are Infidels. Calling ourselves, rather weakly, as "non-Muslims" in my view concedes too much. I want to take the word, the Muslim idea behind the word (after all, who today, uses the word "Infidel" as it was once used in Western Christendom? Nobody -- so clearly it is a Muslim term, and expresses the Muslim idea of a division of the world between Muslim and non-Muslim, Believer and Infidel).
I would not use terms casually, terms that I did not think worked well. This word works for us -- the Infidels.
'Infidels' or infidels...an excellent article...another one...
The irony is that the picture of Mohammed is prohibited because Islam is against any form of idolatry, yet Muslims holds this prohibition as a sacred cow.
Absolutely true-- I'm proud to call myself a blatantly unashamed Infidel.
And it's a fact that needs to be pointed out as often as possible: Allah is the "third wheel" in all of this; that's not surprising since Mohammed created "Allah" in his own image, appropriating a pagan god and trying to graft it onto the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Nothing about Allah disagrees with Mohammed. Why? Every time Mohammed hit a bump in the road, a new "revelation" worked things out in his favor. Thus, "Allah" is an excuse for Mohammed to get his way, and ride the coattails of a cobbled-together "deity" to fame and fortune.
In the web of transitive equivalencies (a -> b, b->c, thus a -> c) and circular reasoning in the Allah-Mohammed-Quran amalgamation, it's not too far-fetched to accuse these McDonald-burning nutjobs themselves of polytheism-- of worshipping their own sort of "trinity"-- unless they somehow reform their interpretations to de-emphasize the cult of Mohammed.
Unlikely.
Yup, Allah was Mohammad's sock puppet. And this
is why, despite the tedium, I prefer to call them
Mohammadans and not Muslims, because they worship
Mohammad.
Hmm. Two clarifications to my previous post, as the coffee reaches the brain:
- I'm not referring to all Muslims, per se, as "McDonald-burning nutjobs." Just the McDonald-burning nutjobs themselves, and their ilk... who, of course, happen to be a very sizeable subset of Muslims.
- I'm not equating the concept of a trinity in general with polytheism (a plane full of ruler-wielding nuns just turned back in midair...). Absolutely not. Just turning their own trinity/polytheism arguments against them.
Hugh-
I prefer Infidel Dog, myself.
So do my dogs.
RE: The plea from the french Woman:
In typical fashion a french citizen writes to the people of the US to save them... again.
Excuse me but I am moved NOT. The French have thumbed their noses at the World for decades. Their self righteous arrogance has isloated their society from those that saved their asses from the Nazis when they chose appeasement then surrender rather than self-sacrafice and courage to save themselves.
Perhaps she should beg those brave frenchies that defaced the graves a few years ago of the British soldiers that died in 1944 liberating france to come to the nation's aid. I mean afterall if the world once again comes and saves france from evil they will not say thank you and undoubtedly will revert back to their arrogance towards everything not french.
If the france cannot save their soceity, then it is not worth saving. Let the muslims build a mosque where the eifel tower stands, I will remain indifferent.
Phuch france!
Up the infidels. Infidelity for ever.
I prefer to call them Mohammadans and not Muslims, because they worship Mohammad.
It annoys the hell out of them too.
we are regarded by Muslims, as indifferentiated "Infidels."
Is "indifferentiated" the same as "undifferentiated"? Perhaps we're unfidels.
Excellent as usual, Hugh, you speak for those of us who are not as educated or articulate as yourself. I was born with a defficiency called "writers block" and have been plagued by it all my life so I admire you greatly.
Long live DAR AL INFIDEL!
http://michellemalkin.com/
Check out Michelle's site for her piece on the islamist' cartoon intifada against the internet.
habnab,
I sympathize with your antipathy towards France
and things French, but I don't share it. Also,
it's difficult for me to be unmoved by the
suffering of my fellow Infidels.
While I'm annoyed by the behavior of some large
section of the French populace, there are lots of
aspects of French culture I value and admire.
Finally, France has nukes. M.A.D. is meaningless
when some whackjob thinks he's the twelfth imam
and needs to ignite chaos on earth. When they
foam at the mouth, as mohammadans do, they need
a killin', with nukes, it will be awful for us
too.
Mr. Fitzgerald, Thank you.
Your article reflects what I've been feeling about Muslim and the issue of Islam. And the stamp of approval is sealed!
Now I know how El Rushbo feels when his insight is justifies and qualfied by others.
Ironic, isn't it, that a proscription supposedly designed to guard against "idolatry" turns out to cause the very thing it was supposed to prevent?
A littl truth for the image of Islam.
http://seconddraft.org/streaming/pallywood.wmv
I agree with American. While I can clearly see the disdain for things French,
I do have sympathy for the millions of those who do not agree with the govt in power.
There is a lot worth saving there, and spite should only go so far. After all
the Statue of Liberty was a gift from them and we do have a long common history
of respecting liberty and freedom. They represent, to me, the path we in the U.S.
are on, only further along by miles. In the end we have much more in common
with the French than we do with their "replacements".
dms
I wholeheartedly endorse your complimentary remarks about Mr Fitzgerald.
I sympathise with you for your being born with "writers block".
I myself was born with a condition called "being unable to write at all well".
I still suffer from it today.
I'll add to my post above by saying that I believe it is incumbent upon the
French to at least start the fight for themselves. You can't save someone
that doesn't want to be saved.
off topic
Not sure if this particular image has been seen by most.
another blasphemous image of mo from a muslim book:
http://imgdb.arts.ubc.ca/
use search term: "mirajnama"
The ferret image archive at UBC shows a page from the Mirajnama, produced in Herat (now Afghanistan, 1436), "The Zaggum Tree in Hell". That is mo, on the right, in full face, riding his human-faced steed al-buraq, with a certain angel-with-wings by his side. Some other pages from this text are included in the zombietime image archive.
I notice the fixation with beheadings, seemingly so typical in islam, again, in this image. That is my image of islam: The "religion" of beheadings.
I second Nomo -and their ancenstors did turn the tide for us at Yorktown...
"French woman’s plea to America"
Does anyone believe that having fought two wars in the last 100 years over there America is now going to allow France to be overrun? The French have annoyed me to no end lately but we have many Americans still buried there and we are not about to abandon them! Even if the French male seems not worth saving I submit that the French women are all well worth saving.
Nomo,
Of course, you are right, it is important for
them to fight first too. I'm sure there are some
there who would (police, soldiers?) but nothing
is worse for a policeman or soldier to have no
support from their commanders at the top. The
first thing is for a French government more like
the Danish one to get elected.
But if they decide to push back, and it appears that they are unable to win, we should
help!
Besides, nothing would annoy those who in
France who hate America more than being helped.
Those who don't hate America probably wouldn't
be annoyed.
Here! Here! "Give me Bikini's or give me Death"
American:
I don't hate ALL things french, I like fries afterall. Seriously though, the french did assist the American's with our revolution over 200 years ago and have contributated greatly to science, medicine, art and many other fields. However, insomuch as a french lady writing an open letter to the American people for them to come and save them to me is laughable. They should look back to their own history and remember Napoleon and grow some stones and take charge of the situation.
If the wild wild west rides in and saves the situation it would only be propagated as American arrogance... again. Save yourself france (this includes MY relatives living in and around paris, my grandmother was born 8 miles outside paris) you'll only hate and reject those that do it for you as in the past.
NoMo:
We, as a free people, have nil as far as I can see with their (the french) replacements. Again however, the french will only turn on their liberators after danger is past and soon forgotten by the liberated. [See History]
How are we supposed to help them anyway? Our yelling across the Atlantic "Hey, we're with you" support at vanquishing the islamic hoard? They have it. I just want to see france stand up for itself so that I can enjoy some of their wonderful wines and cheeses again because if they do not I'm afraid I'm stuck with Reiseling. The Gremans got rid of Gerhard, now it is france's turn with jaques. I'll wait and see.
A German, french, Dutch, Scottish, Cherokee 100% American pig-eating beer drinkin' Infidel
Re: French Woman's plea to America
My question is why aren't the French taking back the streets themselves?If things are so bad isn't it time for another French revolution? Experience shows Muslims will run when confronted.So why don't the French confront them in the streets?I don't think it's up to America to save the French from themselves....again.Before asking Americans to step in I want to see action from French citizens first.Muslims aren't rioting in the streets of America because their numbers are small and the consequences for them would be severe.
Roxane:
I believe Americans are quietly hoping that the mohammedians in this country do start something. I also believe we wouldn't write letters to other countries with pleas for help.
The situation would be quite different in the US of A than it in eurabia.
the french did assist the American's with our revolution over 200 years ago...
The bastards. Still, forgive and forget.
Habnab.."Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet." --Dave Barry
habnab,
I too would like to see France stand and fight (if that's possible). I'm watching
to see if they will and what it will take. Maybe they've been killed by the
poison of their own making, and one which we are swigging here in large amounts.
Interested:
I guess two hundred years ago the frenchies had some balls. However, they did only show up when victory was nearly assured by the American fighting man.
A person CAN forgive but it is impossible to forget.
NoMo:
"Maybe they've been killed by the
poison of their own making, and one which we are swigging here in large amounts"
You may be on to something here but I am going to hold out in favor of America waking up from its slumber. America's ire is raised slowly but onced it is raised, God help those that awakened the sleeping giant.
Fireangel:
Exactly.
I live in Florida... Can you say "The Stand-Your-Ground law"?
A little note on France:
Actually it was a bit over 200 years ago that they helped us out. Notably, before the French (read: Secular) Revolution.
habnab,
We probably agree a hell of a lot more than we disagree. And you're right, I'm quietly hoping
that they start something, so we can fix the
problem now and not let it fester. And I wouldn't
ask another country for help on that one.
Still, if France goes down, they got nukes.
Most Americans (not me!) are not prepared to go
down that road yet. We are waking up slowly.
If anything, the idea that the Europeans will
wake up should be scarier to the mohammadans.
Americans are friendly and forgiving, but if the
Euros go "old school" then the mobots will be
exterminated.
Interested,
Nice one, but you should stick with lame sex gags!
Just kidding, I still laugh to myself when I
think about Mustafa Shag!
Mobots... chuckle.
Exterminated? You mean like Mushroom Cloud and everything? Where to I buy the DVD?
American:
"Go down that road" Nuclear? It is only a matter of time before the mobots (thanks for the tag) get nukes. Do you think Hitler would have used them? How about Jim Jones? If mo had the 1,400 years ago do you think he would have used them?
I believe so in every case mentioned above.
There is no easy solution to this. However as has been mentioned here many times, when the mobots are confronted they melt away like ice in summer. We can't be messing around with these guys or their benefactors.
I don't want a nuke to go off here in the US or any other nation. However I think that it should be made clear that if one does, the USA is prepared to turn the Middle East into a giant glass parking lot.
habnab, when you think of this.. almost half the US voted for Kerry, who thinks himself French. and like the ones who voted for him, are Dhimmi's at heart.
so just a bit less than half who think like the French. are they worth saving?
DUDES, We need more Frenchies like these two guys. I admit, I dont have as big balls as they do.
CHECK THIS OUT!!
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/islamistes/video/46200
HOLY CRAP!
Lulu:
Saving? I never said that. If they are saved they will have to do it themselves this tim. As I said above... Phuch france!
Lulu,
I think people should be willing to save themselves before asking others to save them. There was no shortage of Europeans who took to the streets to voice their opposition to the Iraq war. I believe there were 1 mil who marched in the UK alone.How about 500,000 or even 50,000 French marching in the streets in support of freedom speech and freedom of expression and against Islamofascism?
Lulu,
Try a little harder at your inferences from one
data point! Do you believe that all of those people who voted for Kerry are exactly like Kerry
in every way? And that all of those people who
voted for Bush, likewise?
I voted for Bush twice, and while I think they're
doing better against the mohammadan threat than
Gore or Kerry would have, the bar is set very low and they're not clearing it by a lot. Iraq is a
tarbaby, at this point it is a sunk cost, but
can't we draw back yet? I think Bush was right
to name certain states "Axis of Evil", and pulverizing each one is fine, but this "you break
it you bought it", nation building BS that came from Colin Powell was insane. The Kurds created
their own country a while ago, let the rest of
the tribes in "Iraq" do the same.
Also, the party which can always goes on a
spending spree. Conservatives aren't supposed to
like that, right?
The only thing that makes the Republicans attractive to me is that the Democrats seem
to have gone collectively insane. Gore in Arabia
talking about the horrible conditions of Arabs
detained after 9/11 (gee, I wonder why?) in
that Mecca of human rights and tolerance. Clinton
comparing motoons to Nazi antisemitism. Nuts!
Habnab,
My point is that the French have a nuclear arsenal, including SLBMs. If France were to
be in the process of falling to an Islamic
takeover, we'd have to act. It would be better
not to let it get that far.
Sometimes I am made to feel de trop at my own thread.
DUDES, We need more Frenchies like these two guys. I admit, I dont have as big balls as they do.
CHECK THIS OUT!!
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/islamistes/video/46200
HOLY CRAP!
Posted by: Tushar Saxe
Tushar, I do not have balls at all and therefore am even more impressed than yourself!
Where are the warriors (those two are definitely from the extinct species) of yesteryer????
Nostalgie....
As for the other side I suggest introducing another synonim for utter idiocy - muslim.
Hugh: "Sometimes I am made to feel de trop at my own thread."
Kind of sums up how I felt when my parents sent me to my room at my own 8th birthday party. The guests partied on. Sigh...:-)
I certainly hope the Auster link didn't derail the thread. There's no doubt that Muslims are idolaters extraordinare? or is it idolaters par excellence? (better brush up on my French). But the link is certainly appropos to the section of your post which references the fact that Americans will be paying close attention to what happens to their fellow infidels in Europe facing the impact of so many Muslims in their midst.
Regarding the French and the conflicting feelings of screw them vs save them indicated in the posts above, my thoughts are that if there were any justice in the world, the liberal French elites who have encouraged this mess would be forced to live in the French neighborhoods that have actualized their multicultural dreams. But unfortunately, that's not what happens. What happens is that those are the very people who have the resources to flee the consequences of their own policies (isn't that always how it happens?) while regular working and lower class French people, who are probably much more conservative to begin with - cannot afford to flee. It is their daughters who are getting raped and their local small business owners (like the butcher described) who are left to reap the consequences of what their elites have sown. For them there is no escape. From what I've read, that appears to be what is happening in Britain as well. Anyone who read the accounts of the "Muslim boys" (posted here at JW) and how they regularly terrorize the locals, including merdering a black kid for refusing to convert to Islam - will readily appreciate that it is the working and lower class infidels in Europe, who are paying the price here and will increasingly do so, even as the elites flee for Australia and Canada and NZ and the U.S. We should keep that in mind when we feel tempted to write off what is happening in Europe and feel that that the Europeans should be left to stew in their own juices.
Now if there were a way to force the liberal elites, who have brought all this upon their less economically fortunate citizens, to actually pay the price for what they've done and to reap what they've sown, then for sure, I'd be all for it. But life isn't fair. It just doesn't work like that.
Sometimes I am made to feel de trop at my own thread. - posted by Hugh
"Not only will I show relevance, I will show how the facts relate to the case." - The Kentucky Fried Movie
"Image problem" is a great euphemism of modern times. It reminds me of an old Bloom County cartoon, where Opus, approaching middle age and noticing how compliments change as one ages, notes something to the effect of, "There's 'old,' 'older,' and 'You're looking wonderful!."
Similarly, with respect to conduct, a mistake in the public arena and its comparative and superlative forms are: "faux pas," "snafu," and at the most extreme end of the spectrum, "image problem."
That's when one has screwed up in epic proportions. Michael Jackson has an "image problem," as do North Korea, Big Oil, FEMA, and Islam, to name a few.
Society cooks up euphemisms to make itself feel better (George Carlin in particular has commented extensively on this), hoping only a vast minority are able to read between the lines and realize what a mess lies behind the rhetorical sugar-coating.
Personally, I am inclined to think that Cheney shooting Whittington qualifies as a "faux pas" (I would also be open to "snafu"). However, I reckon if Whittington dies, Cheney could have a bona fide "image problem" on his hands.
However, I reckon if Whittington dies, Cheney could have a bona fide "image problem" on his hands.
Posted by: Caroline at February 15, 2006 09:26 PM
The Cheney hunting accident is a bizarre incident that makes little sense to me. I can't figure out why Cheney was aiming his gun in any direction other than up, since that's where birds fly. Hunters never shoot at the occasional low-flying strays near the hunting party. He was either aiming at a bird that took flight from a spot on the ground very close to him, which is simply not done, or he discharged his gun accidently.
There are plenty of hunting accidents during deer season but it is almost unheard of for bird hunters to shoot each other. I have never heard of such a case, until now. And why was Whittington looking for a bird he had shot? Usually dogs get the birds. That's another reason you don't shoot low-flying birds; you might hit one of the dogs. If these guys didn't have dogs, surely they had attendants to run and fetch for them.
I'm not a hunting expert but I have watched other people do it all my life. Based upon what I have seen hundreds of times, there would have been "flushers" across the field from the shooters to flush out the birds. The hunters shoot, the dogs retrieve. Usually there are handlers for the dogs, but not always. The guns are pointed upward from the shoulder at high-flying birds. It is simply impossible to mistake a person for a bird, unless one is trying to shoot a bird flying five or six feet off the ground! When there are no dogs, the birds are retrieved after the hunt.
I have nothing against Cheney and I believe he is an experienced hunter. His story just doesn't make sense to me.
DUDES, We need more Frenchies like these two guys. I admit, I dont have as big balls as they do.
CHECK THIS OUT!!
http://www.dailymotion.com/search/islamistes/video/46200
HOLY CRAP!
Posted by: Tushar Saxena
Watch this one if you haven't. See the ture Muslim considers to be provocation.
France:
There are a few left in France with the balls and nerve to deal a savage blow to Islam.
The time is coming. One of the Islamic whackos will do it soon and war will be on us.
The Muslims believe that because they are 1.3 to 1.5 billion that they can rule the world. 20 well placed nukes in the Middle East and several million armed citizens across the world will diminish their number and ability to wage war.
The Texican,
Be prepared, be armed, be ready.
Freedom. The only choice at any cost.
Susan~ People have shot themselves climbing over fences. One person got shot by his own dog....
He should have had flushers working for him out there, but that also is his choice, either way.
To say that Islam, in our pathologically obtuse and naive PC culture, has an "image problem" is like saying that the Emperor Who Has No Clothes has a small penis.
The French maybe slightly ahead of us all -
No.1 – many of their colonies were primarily Islamic - so they know more than anyone, the nature of these people.
They don't allow mosques [proper] to be built in France.
You can worship in a building of your choice. But you can no longer teach - kill French citizens - along with the peace message – these places of worship are now better regulated.
No.2 - The French just passed a law - last week which limits immigration to allow in only the people that it needs - they are looking for engineers, nurses, and computer experts. Before this law - a person was able to come to France by way of their family members being citizens. This meant that at lot of unskilled Algerians and Moroccans were coming over in uncontrolled amounts. And generation, after generation - they have proved to be a drain on the country – as they don’t value education – and they continuously marry the uneducated relatives from their old countries. [Most Islamic people will marry a cousin]
No.3 - The French leader recently hinted that they were prepared to use - mini/nucks against any nations which backs a nuclear or a devastating terrorist attack on French soil. If they attack France that nation should expect to be attacked – and I don’t think that the French will accept - the rouge terrorist -line.
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Since 9/11 the Europeans have had the Madrid attacks, the London bombings and several prominent assassinations. Talk about bite the hand that feeds you.
In addition Islamic people have threatened to kill the 'Pope'. Since then Italy has now placed restrictions on the amount of mosques being built there. In some places in Italy they are giving fines to women for wearing the black - up to the eyes - dresses. Some places I believe - in Belgium the dresses have also become unwelcomed.
The problem I believe is not the dress – but that these –peaceful people - are walking around with views which are contrary to the West – then they want to walk and use this attire as - an in your face gesture - to western culture. [If you go to their websites they are encouraging the women to dress like this - to demonstrate their dislike of our culture]
Some places are preventing Islamic teachers from wearing their scarves or the hijab in the classrooms - in some areas of Europe. They believe that is an advertisement for Islam and second – it is believed that it promotes an image of the woman which is contrary to the western view of the emancipated women and which therefore might influence the young girls of the class to think of themselves as otherwise.
Across Europe Muslims are in fact being told no – in all kinds of little ways.
habnab, please reconsider, as much as we dislike what the French have done, we can not and must not let France fall to the Mohammedans for it will make our job that much harder to free and save the West.
We are all "infidels" Now! Frenchmen and Americans and together we must fight this scourge or we will all succumb to a life of Dihimmitude.
I say "viva la France!"
I for one will look at France differently.
If we are all Danes them we are all French, English, Indian and Thai. Wherever Mohammedans attack "infidels" I will join the fight.