The Malala site is still down, I'll let you know when it's back up.
The invitation sounds great - I love trying different foods, and having lived six years in Mexico, I've come to love spicy food.
My greatest concern is that I'd be arrested by the Morality Police for whistling at girls - there's just something about a woman in a drab, formless burqah that really turns me on - I'm an eye man!
@Monica - isn't religion great? Don't you think we need lots more of it?
That little boy is gone, and that poor woman will have to spend the rest of her life, living with what she's done, but mark my words, she will never once blame her religion!
Actually, Mohammed, I don't believe he's quite as useless as you might believe - he hasn't been able to get Republicans to work with him, has been part of the problem, but now that he doesn't have to concern himself about being re-elected, he can afford to twist arms for the next four years and hopefully get a lot more done.
I guess the next serious issue, is short of complete world capitulation, what would be required to turn angry, Islamic jihadists into peaceful Islamic neighbors?
@archaropterx i think turning angry jihadists into peaceful neighbors is a very very optimistic opinion. He might do something useful this time though as you say for the American people.
Oh I think he's already done a lot of useful things for the American people - you have to understand that the American people are still recovering from 8 horrible years of "W," who, along with some bad business practices by some of W's corrupt cronies on Wall Street and in the petroleum industry, nearly bankrupt this nation. And Obama also had to struggle with a Republican-dominated House of Representatives, who was determined to create such a gridlock that Obama wouldn't be able to accomplish anything over his 4-year Presidency, and thus make it easy for him to be defeated in 2012.
Obviously that didn't happen, and now Obama has nothing to lose and the Republicans nothing to gain, so they should be able to work more closely together during the next 4 years. The US will recover nicely, IMO.
It's the International scene - the conflicts between Islamic theocracies and democracy, the conflicts between Israel and most Arab nations, and the Persian Problem, that I would like to see him take the lead on.
Good to know - there are so many cool ex-Muslims out there. If there were only some way to neutralize that Islamic death threat for apostasy, I'm guessing there would be droves of bail-outs.
The Secular Coalition of America is an atheist organization that tries to work with members of State and Federal government to increase freedoms for the non-religious. Sometimes they approach appropriate parties in the UN to attempt to acheive the same goal world wide. I received this today:
UN: On Oct. 26, two representatives from the secular community -- Matt Cherry of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and myself -- had the chance to meet privately with the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt. For those unaware, Bielefeldt is essentially the UN's watchdog on abuses of the rights to freedom of religion and belief. Matt and I shared with him a report including information on global laws that restrict the rights to freedom of belief and expression, and the many cases of secular people being punished for de-converting or criticizing religion. Bielefeldt was grateful, remarking that he had never before received such a report from secular representatives at the UN, and that he would like to foster a relationship with us in order to become more informed regarding our issues. This is especially fantastic news because Bielefeldt's annual reports are largely based on information passed to him by NGOs, and he has ability to bring attention to cases and issues we are concerned about. We will let you know when our report is ready for release and keep you updated as things move forward. Anyone who would like to suggest questions or remarks for these meetings can email mdedora@centerforinquiry.net. More information on the Committee and all its events can be found athttp://unforb.wordpress.com/ (Thank you to Michael DeDora for this update, mdedora@centerforinquiry.net, 646.706.6080)
@archaeopteryx well dont worry me and a couple of guys were there with them walking and hearing their stupid chants while drinking beer.. The truth is eventually those islamists are gonna start fighting one another over whose version of sharia is correct and i hope when this happens it will be our time to shine :)
Is it safe to organize and demonstrate openly for a more secular government? It seems to me that loss of tourism dollars would be a good selling point. Pakistan, for example, is not exactly the tourism capital of the world!
If anyone runs across someone who's riding the fence, who hasn't really decided which way to go, offer them this, and ask them to just think about it --
actually there is no chat room for the group, however u can help yourself with the wall and say whatever u want ..or u can add a topic for all of us to discuss.
You can also chat privately with an individual, off of the public chat room, though I'm not entirely sure how to do it. I just know that others have opened chat windows to me that way.
kOrsan would be a good one to ask, or I'm sure it can be figured out, with enough effort. Possibly, by checking several boxes in your "Friends List," you can initiate chats with multiple friend, but I'd suggest emailing the site administrators for instructions.
851,383 - the Malala petition is up and running once again, but we were at 835,000 before Hurricane Sandy, when the website was knocked offline, and we're only a bit above that now, as you can see. We still need nearly 150,000 signers, so if you know anyone who hasn't signed but might like to, please ask them to do so at http://www.avaaz.org/en/malalahopenew/?slideshow
Egyptian female activists have warned of a disturbing trend in violence against women after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gunned down for spitting in the face of a man who tried to grope her.
@archaeoteryx In Pakistan you have liberal areas like Islamabad and Lahore (that actually has a red area - called Hira Mandy which translates to Diamond Market) and really screwed up places that implement sharia like N.W.F.P, i am hearing though that its becoming extremely conservative, we are doing what we can here though - lets see if you can jump over the apparent inevitable dark ages
@archaeopteryx the only way might be to do what India did, make closest communities for the smart and let them develop for the rest. Still that will be impossible as the current system (the whole system) is great for islamists.
@David N forgot to tell you something dude, its not the nuts that are the problem as you can avoid them, the real problem are the schizophrenic ones who sit and drink then say "Oh may allah help me stop this sin" - retards to say the least
It just HAS to be SO frustrating Mohamed, living in an environment where zealots can cut your throat, not minding if they are killed or imprisoned in the process, because they believe a supernatural entity will take care of them in the afterlife. And even worse, that one can't even go to the authorities, who hold the same belief systems, put forth 1400 years ago by an illiterate epileptic and accepted as truth.
I wish I could offer you viable advice, but the truth is, that if I were there, I probably wouldn't live a week!
It sounds like an almost closed, self-sustaining system, which is difficult to destroy, as a perfect, closed, self-sustaining system permits no outside input.
The Achilles heel lies with those Islamists sufficiently affluent as to be able to send their children to Universities outside their respective countries, who come back with a more secular outlook, and who, by their relative affluence and superior education, may be in a better position to lead their countries out of the Islamic Dark Age. But that's a long, evolving process.
My granddaughter spent her fourth grade year in elementary school, sitting at an adjoining desk with a young Islamic boy, and was hurt when his father sent him back to Pakistan to live with relatives, because he was becoming too "American." That's sad.
TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Islamist-led government will not allow puritanical Salafis to enforce their vision on a country grappling with the role of Islam in a once rigidly secular society, the prime minister said on Tuesday.
"Militants who have used violence are few, but they can not impose their vision on our country and our people. We will not allow them ... Tunisia will remain moderate," Hamadi Jebali, who belongs to the Islamist Ennahda party, said in an interview.
"We will face religious fanaticism through law and be strict with all violators without exception, but we will address the root cultural and social causes by combating poverty and creating jobs," Jebali said.
I found this in an article regarding the current protest in Egypt, and liked it:
If the Brotherhood's slogan is 'Islam is the solution' ours is 'submission is not the solution'," said Khalili, a mass communications professor at the American University in Cairo. "God does not call for submission to another man's will."
For all people willing to stand and make a point that freedom in all its forms has those who are willing to defend it and will be in tahrir tomorrow give me a call if you wish 01097206706, Its not certain that it will work but at least so that none will regret not standing at a time when they should have.. if you think its meaningless though then i do respect your opinion and respectfully disagree..
archaeopteryx
The Malala site is still down, I'll let you know when it's back up.
The invitation sounds great - I love trying different foods, and having lived six years in Mexico, I've come to love spicy food.
My greatest concern is that I'd be arrested by the Morality Police for whistling at girls - there's just something about a woman in a drab, formless burqah that really turns me on - I'm an eye man!
Oct 30, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Ken Well its time you come then, try and catch up before they ban alc. Egypt is really cool for a visit actually
Oct 31, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx hahah eye man, soon they will even cover that, we still dont have Morality Police here "Coming soon" though :)
Oct 31, 2012
archaeopteryx
@Monica - isn't religion great? Don't you think we need lots more of it?
That little boy is gone, and that poor woman will have to spend the rest of her life, living with what she's done, but mark my words, she will never once blame her religion!
Nov 4, 2012
Marvel
She also hit him with a hammer, a rolling pin and a slipper.
and of course you can blame Satan for all this madness ... typical
Nov 4, 2012
archaeopteryx
Children are not for hitting.
Nov 4, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
www.thinkatheist.com/group/athiest-stoners
This is a very important group the name says it all.. its by our very own Ziad and Mohamed
Nov 6, 2012
archaeopteryx
OBAMA WON!!!!!
Nov 6, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
Congrats archaeopteryx, you got no crazy guy in the White House but you still have the kinda useless guy which is better in a way :)
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Actually, Mohammed, I don't believe he's quite as useless as you might believe - he hasn't been able to get Republicans to work with him, has been part of the problem, but now that he doesn't have to concern himself about being re-elected, he can afford to twist arms for the next four years and hopefully get a lot more done.
I guess the next serious issue, is short of complete world capitulation, what would be required to turn angry, Islamic jihadists into peaceful Islamic neighbors?
Nov 7, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaropterx i think turning angry jihadists into peaceful neighbors is a very very optimistic opinion. He might do something useful this time though as you say for the American people.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Oh I think he's already done a lot of useful things for the American people - you have to understand that the American people are still recovering from 8 horrible years of "W," who, along with some bad business practices by some of W's corrupt cronies on Wall Street and in the petroleum industry, nearly bankrupt this nation. And Obama also had to struggle with a Republican-dominated House of Representatives, who was determined to create such a gridlock that Obama wouldn't be able to accomplish anything over his 4-year Presidency, and thus make it easy for him to be defeated in 2012.
Obviously that didn't happen, and now Obama has nothing to lose and the Republicans nothing to gain, so they should be able to work more closely together during the next 4 years. The US will recover nicely, IMO.
It's the International scene - the conflicts between Islamic theocracies and democracy, the conflicts between Israel and most Arab nations, and the Persian Problem, that I would like to see him take the lead on.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Here's a blog some of you might have an interest in:
No fun in heaven
Nov 7, 2012
Marvel
I've been following Taslima Nasreen ever since i read her book Raja.. she's a very interesting person .. i love her
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
Good to know - there are so many cool ex-Muslims out there. If there were only some way to neutralize that Islamic death threat for apostasy, I'm guessing there would be droves of bail-outs.
Nov 7, 2012
archaeopteryx
The Secular Coalition of America is an atheist organization that tries to work with members of State and Federal government to increase freedoms for the non-religious. Sometimes they approach appropriate parties in the UN to attempt to acheive the same goal world wide. I received this today:
Nov 8, 2012
archaeopteryx
Not really great news, Guys --
Egyptian Islamists rally for Shariah law
Nov 9, 2012
Marvel
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
I can't imagine it's spontaneous, I'm guessing planned an organized by Islamists trying to force their beliefs onto the entire country.
Nov 10, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx well dont worry me and a couple of guys were there with them walking and hearing their stupid chants while drinking beer.. The truth is eventually those islamists are gonna start fighting one another over whose version of sharia is correct and i hope when this happens it will be our time to shine :)
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
Is it safe to organize and demonstrate openly for a more secular government? It seems to me that loss of tourism dollars would be a good selling point. Pakistan, for example, is not exactly the tourism capital of the world!
Nov 10, 2012
archaeopteryx
If anyone runs across someone who's riding the fence, who hasn't really decided which way to go, offer them this, and ask them to just think about it --
Nov 10, 2012
Skeptical Wanderer
Hey guys... Is there a chat room for this group ? Please let me know if it does exist..Cheers
Nov 11, 2012
Marvel
actually there is no chat room for the group, however u can help yourself with the wall and say whatever u want ..or u can add a topic for all of us to discuss.
Nov 11, 2012
archaeopteryx
You can also chat privately with an individual, off of the public chat room, though I'm not entirely sure how to do it. I just know that others have opened chat windows to me that way.
kOrsan would be a good one to ask, or I'm sure it can be figured out, with enough effort. Possibly, by checking several boxes in your "Friends List," you can initiate chats with multiple friend, but I'd suggest emailing the site administrators for instructions.
Nov 11, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@Skeptical Wanderer - Nice seeing you here too buddy
Nov 12, 2012
Marvel
Nov 13, 2012
archaeopteryx
De-volution!
Nov 13, 2012
archaeopteryx
851,383 - the Malala petition is up and running once again, but we were at 835,000 before Hurricane Sandy, when the website was knocked offline, and we're only a bit above that now, as you can see. We still need nearly 150,000 signers, so if you know anyone who hasn't signed but might like to, please ask them to do so at http://www.avaaz.org/en/malalahopenew/?slideshow
Nov 13, 2012
archaeopteryx
This is a little old - September - but I thought I'd put it up anyway --
Egyptian Teenager Eman Mostafa Who Was Groped 'Spat In Attacker's Face An...
Egyptian female activists have warned of a disturbing trend in violence against women after a 16-year-old girl was allegedly gunned down for spitting in the face of a man who tried to grope her.
Nov 14, 2012
archaeopteryx
Only guys with your healthy outlooks can prevent Egypt from becoming another Pakistan:
Pakistan court sentences man to death for blasphemy
Nov 15, 2012
archaeopteryx
FYI - Malala's petition is at 875,018 and climbing every second, despite the interruption by Hurricane Sandy!
Nov 15, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeoteryx In Pakistan you have liberal areas like Islamabad and Lahore (that actually has a red area - called Hira Mandy which translates to Diamond Market) and really screwed up places that implement sharia like N.W.F.P, i am hearing though that its becoming extremely conservative, we are doing what we can here though - lets see if you can jump over the apparent inevitable dark ages
Nov 17, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@David N Yeah i know how you feel you found the right place check you inbox
Nov 17, 2012
archaeopteryx
@Mohamed - we're just now finally crawling out of ours, and yours still has quite a ways to go, but the key to both is education.
Nov 17, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@archaeopteryx the only way might be to do what India did, make closest communities for the smart and let them develop for the rest. Still that will be impossible as the current system (the whole system) is great for islamists.
Nov 18, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
@David N forgot to tell you something dude, its not the nuts that are the problem as you can avoid them, the real problem are the schizophrenic ones who sit and drink then say "Oh may allah help me stop this sin" - retards to say the least
Nov 18, 2012
archaeopteryx
It just HAS to be SO frustrating Mohamed, living in an environment where zealots can cut your throat, not minding if they are killed or imprisoned in the process, because they believe a supernatural entity will take care of them in the afterlife. And even worse, that one can't even go to the authorities, who hold the same belief systems, put forth 1400 years ago by an illiterate epileptic and accepted as truth.
I wish I could offer you viable advice, but the truth is, that if I were there, I probably wouldn't live a week!
Nov 18, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
Its frustrating alright but you get used to it and learn to deal - adaptable species we are ;) I am sure it will all end, its just a matter of time
Nov 18, 2012
archaeopteryx
It sounds like an almost closed, self-sustaining system, which is difficult to destroy, as a perfect, closed, self-sustaining system permits no outside input.
The Achilles heel lies with those Islamists sufficiently affluent as to be able to send their children to Universities outside their respective countries, who come back with a more secular outlook, and who, by their relative affluence and superior education, may be in a better position to lead their countries out of the Islamic Dark Age. But that's a long, evolving process.
Nov 18, 2012
archaeopteryx
My granddaughter spent her fourth grade year in elementary school, sitting at an adjoining desk with a young Islamic boy, and was hurt when his father sent him back to Pakistan to live with relatives, because he was becoming too "American." That's sad.
Nov 18, 2012
archaeopteryx
Someone might want to pass this on to Egyptian authorities, they might learn something!
Tunisia will not allow Islamists to impose vision: PM
TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Islamist-led government will not allow puritanical Salafis to enforce their vision on a country grappling with the role of Islam in a once rigidly secular society, the prime minister said on Tuesday.
"Militants who have used violence are few, but they can not impose their vision on our country and our people. We will not allow them ... Tunisia will remain moderate," Hamadi Jebali, who belongs to the Islamist Ennahda party, said in an interview.
"We will face religious fanaticism through law and be strict with all violators without exception, but we will address the root cultural and social causes by combating poverty and creating jobs," Jebali said.
Nov 21, 2012
archaeopteryx
I found this in an article regarding the current protest in Egypt, and liked it:
Nov 23, 2012
Mohamed Zaki
For all people willing to stand and make a point that freedom in all its forms has those who are willing to defend it and will be in tahrir tomorrow give me a call if you wish 01097206706, Its not certain that it will work but at least so that none will regret not standing at a time when they should have.. if you think its meaningless though then i do respect your opinion and respectfully disagree..
Nov 26, 2012
Ali
Dec 19, 2012
Hope
Alia is nude again protesting against sharia law..
Here http://www.thinkatheist.com/group/egyptianatheists/forum/topics/ops...
Dec 21, 2012
archaeopteryx
I thought you guys might enjoy some comedy relief for a change - watch this:
Dec 23, 2012
Hope
@Ach, I love this video :)
Dec 28, 2012
archaeopteryx
Glad you liked it Hope - has anyone heard from the Egyptian guys? With everything going on there, and their absence, I'm starting to worry.
Dec 28, 2012
Marvel
@archaeopteryx .. thx for saking my friend .. i myslef am fine .. just has been busy moving to a new home and a new work place.
things has been crazy here in the middle east lately .. but we r still surviving :))
Dec 29, 2012