Muslims Prove Point of Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II

I was raised Catholic but left it for non-denominational Christianity in the very early 70's. I say this to let you know I do not consider the Pope the successor of Saint Peter 'heir apparent' in direct line with St. Peter nor do I believe in Papal infallibility.

I will still defend the Pope on his right to quote from the Emperor Manuel Paleologos II or any other emperor or pauper for that matter. He can quote from Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible if he so chooses.

For those who missed it:

The pope quoted from a book recounting a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said.

"He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached,'"

Most news sites I read stopped short of adding the following lines -
- Link Here -
But in reiterating his concerns about a modern world "deaf" to God, he warned that other religious cultures saw the West's exclusion of God "as an attack on their most profound convictions".

"A reason which is deaf to the divine and which relegates religion into the realm of subcultures is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures," he said.

This is what the Pope quoted the emperor as saying, stated himself and the majority of the speech is not being reported. The section on Islam was very short... He did not explicitly agree with nor repudiate the quote.

Benedict said "I quote" twice to stress the words were not his and added that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

~~~~~

Turkey's top Islamic cleric, Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu, asked Benedict on Thursday to apologize about the remarks and unleashed a string of accusations against Christianity, raising tensions before the pontiff's planned visit to Turkey in November on what would be his first papal pilgrimage in a Muslim country.
- News link here -

So Ali Bardakoglu can unleash "a string of accusations against Christianity" but the Pope can't quote from an old book!

~~~~~~

"We do not accept the apology through Vatican channels . . . and ask him to offer a personal apology . . . to Muslims for this false reading (of Islam)," Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told worshippers in his Friday prayers sermon.

Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah shows his devoted followers how to walk in forgiveness...

~~~~~~

"Anyone who describes Islam as a religion as intolerant encourages violence," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.

She should have added, "We won't tolerate being called intolerant!"

~~~~~~

"Muslims have the right to be angry and hurt by these comments from the highest cleric in Christianity," Qaradawi said on Al Jazeera.


Qaradawi shows his ignorance of "OTHER" religions. The pope is the 'highest cleric' in Catholicism. There is no HIGHEST CLERIC in Christianity. - Muslums need to learn how to shake it off and let 'Allah' defend himself. Isn't that what floods, tsunamis and earthquakes are for?

~~~~~

The Pope's comments were a hot topic on a pro-Hamas radio show for children.

"What do you say about the man who said some bad words about Islam and the Prophet Mohammad?" the radio host asked eight-year-old Hanin.

"He is ugly and his words are ugly," she answered.


Don't teach you children to pray for the "salvation" of peoples souls. Don't teach them to pity and feel sorry for those "outside of the faith'. Heaven forbid you should teach your children to get over it. There will be people that disagree with your faith and way of life...


prying1 sez: I Thank God there has been no rioting yet however Friday, a Greek Orthodox church youth center in the Gaza Strip was slightly damaged due to a small explosion which broke doors and shattered glass. The church itself was not damaged and there were no injuries. - It cannot be shown to be a result of the Popes statements.

These statements from Muslum people that should (or perhaps do) know better are more inflamatory than the Pope's speech. Especially when you put the Pope's words back into context.

August of 04 car bomb attacks on five Catholic churches in Iraq brought out Muslim bigwigs to say things like the following:

"We regret that such criminal acts have targeted our Christian brothers and we urge them to display restraint as did before their Muslim brothers, when their mosques and holy places were targeted as well," spokesman Mohammad Bashar Al-Faidi told a press conference in Baghdad.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, the country's most revered Shiite Muslim spiritual leader, also condemned the attacks.

"We denounce and condemn those terrible crimes... We should all, government and people, be working together in order to put an end to the attacks against Iraqis," said a statement from his office in the holy city of Najaf .

Where were the Muslums with signs and denouncing the terrorists then?

Where are they now???

~~~~~

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URB is the Word!

How often do you get to watch as a brand new word is sprung upon an unsuspecting world? Even less often do you get to see a whole new language emerge. Of course along with this is a completely new line of products to spruce up your wardrobe and wonderfully enhanced coffee mugs to give a new uplift to your caffeine consumption.

It is all happening at David W. Boles' Urban Semiotic - Your one
stop blogging center for fun, insight and intelligence. (Disclaimer: If
at any point you find you cease to have fun, disagree with David's
insight and question his intelligence take it up with him. I refuse to
enter into familial arguments.)

Here is what happened.

Yesterday David wrote an article on the word Sha!

Goffman-esque Response Cries: Is Sha! the New Duh?

David says, "Sha! - is not a word, I only learned how to spell it by watching it appear on blogs - and it appears to be an emotional utterance, or more formally: "A Response Cry"

and

Here's what I've discovered about Sha!'s common utterances when I hear it used on the street:

"Are you dating my Boo?"

"Uh, Sha!"

The "Sha!-er's" head is usually cocked to one side when uttering the cry.

I've also heard it used this way, too:

"I never liked you!"

"Sha! huh!"

On blogs - usually written by pre-teens and older people who know better - "Sha!" loses some of its urgent street creed when it becomes an internal thought outwardly expressed...

In the posting he questioned what new word would come along to replace "Sha!" which is replacing "Duh!".

Then the comments started.

It was suggested that the...

Well, here is the comment as originally posted by yours truly, prying1:
~~~~~
Perhaps the next bit of slang will be, "Urb".

Short for 'urbansemiotic.com' and meaning, "A really great blog with highly intelligent posts."
~~~~~

This bit of sucking up was taken by the bloghost and turned into a movement. David has refined the definition to be: "URB indicates insight and intelligence found on the Urban Semiotic blog!"

For more information I suggest you visit David Boles' Urban Semiotics -
URB is the Word!

At this point URB on Google Search has 11,100,000 hits - Most are repetition links to some jerks that mis-used the word URB
but have not taken it to it's full potential... How soon before David's
blog hits #1 on the
Google hit list???

~~~~~~~~~~~

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I'm So Confused!

I recieved two emails today. Follows quotes from each:

Valarie_Stover wrote: (at 5:36 pm on the 14th)

I have got awesome news. Although it has taken sometime, our agents
have found 4 companies that are able to refinance.

Please note that this is time sensitive, take a minute to
review the following website and we will be in touch as soon as possible.

www.www<.surroundingwoolen]insteadchoreographk.hehehthatscool.com


Best Regards,
Lou Woods

~~~~~

And Wilmer-Samuels wrote: (at 6:56 PM on the 13th)

I have got very good news.Our brokers have over
17 companys that are able to refinance. Review the
website below and we will be in touch very shortly.

www.ww
Best Wishes,
Natalie Oneillj

So now I'm left wondering who I should refinance with? Do I go with Valarie_Stover/Lou Woods or Wilmer-Samuels/Natalie Oneillj -

I'm So Confused!

~~~~~~

Prying1 sez: Does anyone really fall for this crappola? Why do spammers even bother sending this garbage to email boxes worldwide? Are there idiots that dense in this world? Why don't the originating ISP's stop these people by cancelling their accounts toot sweet???

~~~~~~

Update: For some reason Gmail sent this one to my spam email box???

Courtney_Correa to michela79 - - - 3:06 pm on the 15th
We have outstanding news. Our brokers found 3 companies that are able to
refinance you.Take a minute to review the following
website and we will be in touch very quickly.

www.ww

Thank you,
Son Schmitzf

Sigh!!!

~~~~~~~~

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Is Political Correctness Dying At Last?

Newsflash: Governor Schwarzenegger (R-CA) says a Latina
lawmaker has a "hot" mix of black and Latino blood.

It was suggested from the context that Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia was being described in this,

"sexual"
target="_blank">(Dolores Huerta)

"racist" and "disgusting"
(target="_blank">Rep. D-Oakland -
target="_blank">Barbara Lee) statement.

Art
Torres said he was "offended and disturbed" by the comments.

Assemblywoman
Bonnie Garcia (R-Cathedral City), the same woman the California
governor's comment was about, undercut the noise when she lauded
Schwarzenegger.

"I love the governor because he is a straight
talker just like I am," Garcia said to the Times. "Very often I tell
him, 'Look, I am a hot-blooded Latina.' I label myself a hot-blooded
Latina that is very passionate about the issues, and this is kind of an
inside joke that I have with the governor."

Long story short it was some Democratic opposition wannabe guvner Phil Angelides
target="_blank">'campaign staffers' that found and
downloaded four hours of audio files from the ca.gov computer. The
governors office said they got past passwords and therefore hacked the
"unauthorized" information.Angelides camp says it was available for the world to find. No hacking was done.

Time will tell on that point. The CA Highway Patrol are on it...

What I would like to point out is that the Poolitically Correct Crud, ooops, I mean Crowd, lost out big on this one. Even before the possible hacking by the Angelides camp hit the news this was a dead story.

As Daniel Weintraub says in his opinion article, "On the surface at least, the reaction last week to the revelation of some intemperate private remarks by Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger might have looked like a classic case of partisan politics gone wild. The real story, though, was not how harshly some Democrats responded to Schwarzenegger's comments, but how many prominent Democrats instead leaped to the Republican governor's defense.

Weintraub goes on to say, "Schwarzenegger is a people person who spends time tending to personal connections -- in part because he enjoys doing so, but also because he knows his fellow politicians are grateful when he poses for photos with their families or places a call to one of their friends at a crucial moment. Those private moments allow lawmakers to know him as a person, not just as a governor who vetoes their bills more often than they might like."

This may very well be true but I'd like to add that people are tired of the Poolitically Correct Anti-Freedom of Speech Nazis telling them they cannot enjoy the
differences of people through stereotyping. Making fun of people does not hurt anyones feelings in 93.28% of the occurrences.

Which reminds me that 86% of all statistics are made up on the spur of the moment. I think it was 86%. Migh have been 93.28%. I get those numbers mixed up sometimes...

~~~~~~~

This is to let the world know that I for one will keep making fun of the Scots,


Which reminds me. Did you hear of the Scotsman who lost 'alf a creeewn down a sewer?



It took him a week to wash up...

and the French,

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting
without your accordion."

— Norman Schwartzkopf -


and the English and Scootish again,

A Scotsman, an Englishman and Claudia Schiffer were
sitting together in a carriage in a train going through Wales. Suddenly
the train went through a tunnel and it went completely dark. A soggy
kissing noise and the sound of a really loud slap. When the train came
out of the tunnel, Claudia Schiffer and the Scotsman were sitting as if nothing had happened and the Englishman had his hand against his face as he had been slapped.

The Englishman was thinking: 'The Scottish fella must have kissed Claudia Schiffer and she missed him and slapped me instead.'

Claudia Schiffer was thinking: 'The English fella must have tried to kiss me and actually kissed the Scotsman and got slapped for it.'

And
the Scotsman was thinking: 'This is great. The next time the train goes
through a tunnel I'll make that soggy kissing noise and slap that
English b**tard again.

And even the Polish.

Did you hear about the Polock who thought asphalt was a rectal problem?

And did you know there is no ice in Poland?

They lost the recipe...

~~~~~

prying1 sez: Find a politico correcto commizar and tell 'em a joke. If they don't laugh then check their pulse...

If they do laugh then it should be funny enough to post it on your blog!


~~~~

Hattip and thanks to:
Fraud Phishing and Financial Misdeeds

Daniel Wientraub of the Sacramento Bee

target="_blank">Frank D. Russo at California Progress
Report

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In Memory of Daniel M. Van Laere

~~~~ A 2996 - 9-11 Tribute ~~~~

RIP

In Memory of Daniel M. Van Laere (46) September 11, 2001

"You're only young once, but you can be immature forever"

One liner Daniel used - remembered by Elizabeth
Collins and her father. - Sept 12, 2002 - ...

Those who never had the opportunity to meet Daniel Van Laere during his sojourn on earth missed out on meeting an instant friend. I feel I have.

Growing up in Glen Rock N.J. He had a neighbor who was on the Glen Rock Volunteer Fire Dept. Daniel's brother, Paul said, "We grew up seeing Bobby Barton running off to fires all the time and I guess it just captured Dan's imagination. He loved the whole aspect of it - the trucks, the equipment, the potential of fighting fires and helping people."

At 18, Daniel Van Laere became a Glen Rock firefighter. Soon he was teaching rescue courses at the Bergen County Fire Academy.

His mother's house has a photo on the wall of a raging fire in a lumber yard. The picture shows Daniel Van Laere in the basket of a 60-foot boom atop a truck, feeding water down onto the flames.

Daniel Van Laere had risked his life for others as a firefighter for the Glen Rock Fire Department. That fateful day Daniel was not working as a fireman but as a risk analyst and underwriter at Aon Insurance. His office was on the 92nd floor of the South World Trade Center Tower The south tower was the second one to be hit. The hijacked airliner hit on the 78th through 84th floors. People working on higher floors than Daniel escaped because they saw people jumping from the north tower and left before the terrorists slammed their plane into the second building... About 1,400 people evacuated the upper floors before the second jet hit. Unfortunatly Daniel was not among them.

- I'm willing to believe that Daniel was helping others when the end came for him. He was that kind of person. -

Follows are some quotes from friends and relatives of Daniel's that can be found on 9-11 remembrance websites.

~~~~~

Dan was a wonderful and unique person. He could see things for what they were, and knew exactly how to take control of a situation without offending others.

He had a fine balance of qualities that were his greatest assets throughout his life. Dan was sincere, honest, kind and compassionate: all traits that drew people to him. He earned trust and loyalty from friends thru the actions he displayed. Dan was always there to lend support to his family, neighbors, business associates and
friends - he always made time to help, contributing his full attention.

Dan had two credos that he repeated often, both delivered with his own brand of humor.

"No good deed goes unpunished." which only goes to prove that he gave of himself to others without expectations.

"Peace at any price." This, Dan actually said, was his Father's line but Dan adopted it. Dan always chose his words and actions carefully because he was very much concerned with the feelings of others.

Dan believed in helping those in need, whether it was a neighbor in need of first aid, a friend in need of comfort, or a lost dog looking for its way home. If the cause was real, then, Dan would give his all to do what was right: he was pure of heart.

Dan left a lasting impression on his business associates as being a fun, compassionate person who added a little life and enjoyment to the office. Dan treated others as they themselves would like to be treated. He believed that with respect and encouragement, everyone could succeed.

From the fiancee of Daniel Van Laere -
Link to Legacy.com -

~~~~~

I have never looked at any of the world trade center sites before. As I read and cry I just wanted to say some things. Dan was and still is my "cool" uncle. I loved his sense of humor and going for trips in his camero (90's). He was laid back and fun to be around. He has two sisters, one brother, five nieces, and two newphews. He will always be in our memories. - Amanda Wiley - 2006-04-28 -
Link to 9-11heroes.us -

~~~~~

I officially met Dan during an interview for RBH insurance co. That was about 10 years ago. I don't know if you could even call that an interview. Dan was soo easy going that he made me feel so calm and even began his joking with me during this interview. That was around 1991. From that moment, Dan and I became fast friends. We spent time in the office talking about friends and family and laughing. Just laughing. Dan always made me laugh. - Mary Anne Fielding -
...More to be found at -
Legacy.com page 3 -

~~~~~

I grew up with Danny. He was one of my brother's best friends. He and I were Groomsmen in my brothers wedding.

Even though I had not seen Danny in a number of years, I have been affected deeply by his passing.

To those who didn't know Danny, there is so much I could tell you, anecdotes, examples of his character, but it still would not truly convey what a special guy he was.

Danny was real. He was honest. He had an incredible sense of humor. He was generous. He helped people without a second's hesitation. I have many memories of him hearing the fire siren, dropping eveything he was doing and driving to the firestation. Not
only did he help people, but he was low key about it. He wasn't doing it for glory, he just did it because it had to be done. He loved his dogs, his boat, and his family. - John Barillo -
...More to be found at -
Legacy.com page 2 -


~~~~~
~~ ~~ ~~ end of quotes ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

From what I've learned of Daniel Van Laere I'm confident he would not want those who know him and love him to grieve long nor hard.

My prayer is that Daniel's family and indeed all the families of those
lost on 9-11 find the peace that surpasses all understanding. May the
Living God guard their hearts and minds from interminable grief that
would try to handicap them through the rest of their journey on this
planet. - May the Lord Jesus bless them with grace and mercy and fill
their hearts with love and laughter. May time lessen the hurt and in
the future may they share with others the comfort they receive.
- In Jesus' name - - - Amen.

~~~~~~
Update - Blogs to visit for more tributes:

Huffington Compost
Blue Star Chronicles
I'm Thinking of the 'O' Word
Okie on the Lam got on board too late to join the 2996 posts but he was worked his typing fingers to the bone to make up for it. He has a lot of links to a lot of tribute posts...
As does AubreyJ
Gawfer

Please check the names and links in the comments. Lots of wonderful people in this world that took some time out to show that it was lives that mattered most in the 9-11 attrocity... - GBYAY - Paul -
~~~~~~~~~~

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Thoughts on the other "2,996" tributes

Jason of 'Shock and Blog' fame has really nailed it. Blog surfing the tributes has been quite a rollercoaster ride. Jason says this about that:

I've been reading some of the other "2,996" tributes - about 2 or 3 dozen so far - and I've come to the following conclusions:

1) 9/11 robbed us of many beautiful people of all walks of life.
2) "2,996" is proving that there are still many beautiful people of all walks of life in this world.
3) Many of those lost have left behind legacies that will continue to touch lives well after all of us who lived through that horrible day are gone.
4) Though terrorists may kill us, they will never win.

(dated 9/10/2006 02:56:00 PM)

Well said Jason!

Please visit Jason's blogsite and leave a comment.


~~~~~~

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You CAN Blogpost For 9-11 Victims!

- This post will remain on top until 9-11 - Please scroll down for more recent articles. -

A good friend, Cary Cartter, has posted about the 2996 project and at first I ignored it.

I don't know anyone who died that day although I do know people that know people that died. How could I post about someone I don't know anything about? I did feel a twinge of guilt over not joining in. After all my friend Cary said I should in his post. Here is someone I trust telling me I should do something that I don't want to do. I hate that.

Well, I finally clicked on the button he provided to see what would be expected of me. Lo and behold it is all set up nice and easy and just waiting for me to put my name in the hopper. Resources are set up so either a name available is chosen or 'quickpicked' (I got the 'quickpick') and from there a Resource Page is presented with the name filled in and ready to click on.

The "I don't know any of these people" excuse was demolished by the organizers of this project.

Now it is up to bloggers worldwide to join in. On Sept 11, 2006 there will be 2996 bloggers posting about a victim of 9-11. Anyone blogsurfing on that day will be reminded that innocents died, heroes died and the guilty died.

Click the button below and join in!

I Remember
Daniel M. Van Laere
World Trade Center

Update - I was sort of rushed this morn when I first posted this and I wanted to add:

There is still a need for people to blog about victims on that day we all remember so well. as of the time of posting this update there are 1376 volunteers who have chosen or recieved a name. Please join it and make this 9-11 remembrance really come home for people. Yourself included.

This is not a political or border issue. Anyone, no matter the politics and from any country, can join in. This is not about the current situations in various countries or how we feel about them. This is not about our persoanl blogs and promoting ourselves. It is about a tribute to those who prematurely went to their graves.

Please give a bit of your time and talent for this project. I'm sold on it and I'm certain you will be too.


~~~~~~~~~~~~

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