Montag, 18. April 2011

Islam in the West?

The French ban on niqab/burqa has triggered a number of posts here and there.
Then it turned into a personal feud of opinions here and there, too.
Of course, the latter is unproductive.

Here is my condensed view on this matter.

The West strove to emancipate the woman. Its history for that is actually relatively recent. Even prior to WW-II, women in the West was a second class citizen.  Nevertheless, because the human civilization is growing at an exponential rate, changes happen at stunning rates, too.

That so-called exponential rate, however, is restricted by the CURRENT state of the society. An advanced society has a faster rate and a retarded society has a retarded rate... Consequently, the GAP between the retarded and advanced societies is steadily getting WIDER.

There is also a REACTION component to that. As retarded societies fall behind, instead of striving for modern values, they have a tendency for retreating in to the dark eras of the past, because it is a "power period extender" for the rulers who have FAILED to to keep up with the Contemporary values of advanced Civilization.

Allow me to be more concrete.

I am talking here about the current state of the "Western" civilization as an aggregate of the European culture's "intellectual values" in contrast to the "Cleric's values" of the Muslim world.

I hardly care about the "Christian Cleric's values of the Western World", because it is historically in process of being defeated already. Please note my qualifier about the "Clerics' values" in contrast to lay people's.

Currently, the "Middle East", not as a geographical entity, but rather as a cultural entity, reaching from Morocco all the way to Pakistan as "Islam", is in a political struggle as an antithesis of the West

Note that, many other "Muslim" countries are NOT included in that description, such as Indonesia.

In that scope, there is one country with a DUBIOUS identity: Turkey.

I am an ex-patriot of Turkey. Hence, I have a great incentive to worry about the well being of my relatives and acquaintances there, because I can EVALUATE the situation there more reliably.

Lately, the country is going through (1) an unprecedented economic expansion, and (2) unprecedented Islamization.

The USA is intimately close to the government(s) there. As a matter of fact, without US endorsement, the current government would have ZERO chance to remain in power.

What is the problem then?

Well, the current government is using "Islamism" to justify its "electoral" existence.  I have said "electoral", rather than "democratic", because there is a GREAT difference. One emphasizes that the voters are informed, the other does not.

The CURRENT government n Turkey is PROMOTING Islamism and along with that the oppression of woman's emancipation under a DISGUISE of free choice.

Free Choice is one only if you are well informed and are free of threats and extortion.

However, that hardly applies to the poor and the ignorant women in Turkey.

The "government" is pushing hard to allow "head scarves" in government offices. It is only a prelude to total segregation of man and women. It is only an appeasement of the "left behind" archaic population of Turkey, to sponsore votes.

In the process, we are watching a country to potentially succumb BACK into the dark ages of the Middle East, AFTER 70 decades of top down Westernization.

I, as an expat with insight and friends and relatives, cannot endorse.

I accuse those, who PROMOTE these BACKWARDS steps in that ONLY "western-style Muslim democracy" as representing the "free spirit of the west" as LIARS and DISINGENUOUS people.

I invite them to present their true faces and their true philosophy.

Hoping that it may help. I have a short collection of YouTube videos which demonstrate what a the Republic of Turkey has become under that Islamist government.

Supporters of that should be ashamed of themselves.


Şeriatçı Yobazlar!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9eM1TyG15I&feature=related

YOBAZLAR Vatan Gazetesi ekibine saldırıyorlar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cANfRoZsOsQ&feature=related

tessetür allahın emri hz fatıma annemizin sünnetidir

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKoV_dJFHJY&feature=related

başörtüsü & karaböcükler...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z--Mht1gusk&feature=related

Dienstag, 12. April 2011

Atomic Deserts: A Survey of the World's Radioactive No-Go Zones - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369,00.html
Everyone knows about Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and, now, Fukushima. But what about Semipalatinsk, Palomares and Kyshtym? The world is full of nuclear disaster zones -- showing just how dangerous the technology really is.

Part 1: A Survey of the World's Radioactive No-Go Zones
Part 2: A New Age Dawns
Part 3: 'Now I Am Become Death'
Part 4: Uninhabitable to This Day
Part 5: The Radioactive Dilemma
Part 6: Unrelenting Bombardment
Part 7: A Deadly Legacy
Part 8: A Nuclear No Man's Land
Part 9: Unfathomable Destruction
Part 10: Long-Term Effects
Part 11: The Irradiated Buddha
Part 12: Underground Time Bomb
Part 13: The First Big Accident
Part 14: The Desert Rats
Part 15: An Ill-Advised Test
Part 16: Mushroom Clouds in the South Pacific
Part 17: Dangerous Negligence
Part 18: Hydrogen Drama in Spain
Part 19: Harrisburg Horror
Part 20: The Unknown Catastrophe

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-2,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-3,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-4,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-5,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-6,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-7,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-8,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-9,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-10,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-11,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-12,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-13,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-14,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-15,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-16,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-17,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-18,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-19,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,756369-20,00.html

Sonntag, 10. April 2011

The social politics of nipples

Back in the day, you either thought about your nipples or you didn't. And if you did, you either did something about them or you didn't.

To be specific, back in the day, if you were female, it either crossed your mind to make sure that no one could ever, under any circumstances, see your nipples through your clothes, or it didn't. If it did, you either laid in a supply a spot Band-Aids or surgical adhesive tape or you didn't.

Chances are that, if you did, you weren't so nipple-conscious all the time that you even taped or bandaged your boobs to go swimming.

I can't help noticing that, lately, nipples seem to be on everyone's mind,  especially the minds of people who want to make some nipple-related money. What's more, they seem to be on everyone's mind as a bad thing, the kind of thing most people want to keep hushed up.

Or so I conclude, from the sudden and wide availability of products designed to help women keep their overly assertive nipples in check and out of sight. Go bra shopping, and you'll find a variety of bras with built-in nipple hiders. You can buy disposable or reusable nipple covers and protectors, made from an array of different materials. I saw a bra the other day that advertised its nipple-barring "petals" with the slogan "headlights are for cars." Standing in line to pay for some clothes a couple weeks ago, I noticed that one of the impulse-buy items was a box of reusable silicon nipple covers, complete with suggestion for use with bathing suits.

Is it me, or is there a message at work here, even beyond the message that the corporate world provides us with an ever-new supply of products for ever-more-specific uses, to meet hitherto unknown "needs"? If so, what is that message?

What do you think? Is there one? What is it? Is it pro-feminist, anti-feminist, or neither? Is flattering unflattering toward women? Toward men?

And most of all: Do I need to rush out and buy all new bras and boxes of nipple-effacing disks and flowers in order to gain and keep the respect of my students?

Samstag, 9. April 2011

BBC News - Egypt: Army crackdown in Cairo's Tahrir Square

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13023948
Egypt's army has cracked down on protests in Cairo's symbolic Tahrir Square, leaving at least one person dead and dozens injured.

The violence occurred overnight as the army tried to clear protesters calling for ex-President Hosni Mubarak and his family to be tried for corruption.

The injured suffered gunshot wounds but the army denies using live rounds.

Tahrir Square became the symbolic centre of protests that led to Mr Mubarak stepping down this year.

Egypt's health ministry has so far confirmed that one person died overnight and says 71 people were hurt.

Medical sources told news agencies that at least two people had died.

Protesters have now returned to the square following the army withdrawal and are continuing demonstrations.

In an apparent concession to the protesters the ruling military council announced on Saturday that it would replace a number of provincial governors appointed by Mr Mubarak - another demand of the demonstrators.

However, the army also said it was "ready" to use force to clear the square and allow normal life to resume.

"Tahrir Square will be emptied of protesters with firmness and force to ensure life goes back to normal," Major General Adel Emarah, of the military council, told a news conference.
'Tantawi is Mubarak'

The army had maintained a generally neutral role in the earlier mass demonstrations.

But about 300 troops moved into the square at about 0300 local time (0100 GMT) on Saturday to break up a camp in the centre.

Protesters say they were beaten with clubs and shots were fired.

An army spokesman told Reuters news agency that only blanks were used.

VISIT LINK FOR MORE

Donnerstag, 7. April 2011

Thousands of North African migrants could seek to enter Britain - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/8435480/Thousands-of-North-African-migrants-could-seek-to-enter-Britain.html

Telegraph.co.uk

Thousands of North African migrants could seek to enter Britain

Thousands of North African migrants could seek to enter Britain after Italy announced on Thursday that it would grant travel permits to more than 20,000 Tunisian refugees.

Thousands of North African migrants could seek to enter Britain

Image 1 of 2Tunisian migrants wait to be transfered out of the Italian island of LampedusaPhoto: AFP/GETTY

Thousands of North African migrants could seek to enter Britain

Image 1 of 2Italy's interior minister said that more than 25,000 undocumented migrants have landed in Italy so far this yearPhoto: REUTERS

5:23PM BST 07 Apr 2011

The temporary permits will grant the refugees freedom of movement within the visa-free Schengen area.

Although the Schengen area excludes Britain and Ireland, migrants could attempt to enter the UK illegally from the Continent, as tens of thousands of others have done over the last decade.

The Italian initiative set up a showdown between Rome and Paris, with the French saying they would block the Tunisians, many of whom have converged on the Italian frontier town of Ventimiglia in the hope of crossing the border.


"The prime minister will today sign a decree giving those already in Italy ... a temporary residence permit for humanitarian protection that will allow them to travel around the Schengen zone," Roberto Maroni, Italy's interior minister, told parliament.

Mr Maroni said that more than 25,000 undocumented migrants have landed in Italy so far this year on 390 boats – mainly on the island of Lampedusa, a tiny outcrop that is closer to North African than to mainland Italy. The majority – 21,000 – are from Tunisia.

FULL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/8435480/Thousands-of-North-African-migrants-could-seek-to-enter-Britain.html

Samstag, 2. April 2011

Tax the Super Rich now or face a revolution - Paul B. Farrell - MarketWatch

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/tax-the-super-rich-now-or-face-a-revolution-2011-03-29
Commentary: A ‘Super-Rich Delusion’ is leading us to ruin

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — Yes, tax the Super Rich. Tax them now. Before the other 99% rise up, trigger a new American Revolution, a meltdown and the Great Depression 2.

Freitag, 1. April 2011

Transocean Cites Safety in Bonuses - WSJ.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703806304576236661289767034.html
I only wish this was an April Fools joke!

Welllll.... What's eleven dead and an oil disaster which was the biggest EVER among friends?
These guys have to get their bonuses!