Archive for March, 2008
Questions that Bother Oprah and Today’s New Age Thinkers
I mentioned something about this in an earlier post and I think this is an excellent article on this subject. This new age stuff is also starting to take over in some Christian churches and it concerns me a lot.
Questions that Bother Oprah and Today’s New Age Thinkers
By Frank Pastore
Monday, March 31, 2008
I have a few questions-but they are not about whether Oprah Winfrey, Eckhart Tolle or Marianne Williamson are good, smart and nice people. I’m sure they are. My concern is about the ideas they hold-since good, smart, nice people can hold false beliefs and be wrong about all kinds of things. Sometimes, even the most important things.
I have questions about their worldview.
A worldview is made up of the answers we give to life’s most fundamental and profound questions. It includes the answers we give to questions of philosophy, religion, ethics and theology. And they are questions that have been asked and answered by every culture in world history.
When comparing and contrasting religions, worldview categories are the most basic level of inquiry.
If you know a person’s worldview, you know a whole lot about them. Oftentimes, you even know more about their thinking processes than they do.
Right now, Oprah is co-teaching an online class with author Eckhart Tolle, based upon her current Book of the Month, his “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.” And, Oprah’s promoting a daily radio show on her XM channel featuring Marianne Williamson teaching from “A Course in Miracles.”
Both Tolle and Williamson are New Age thinkers. Oprah says she’s a Christian-arguing that she can reconcile “her” Christianity with what they’re teaching. If she’s a Christian, she’s an ignorant one, because Christianity is incompatible with New Age thought.
Here’s how the two opposing worldviews, Christianity (C), and New Age (NA), answer some of the most basic worldview questions. The New Age answers are ones that would be commonly held, though certainly not universal, as the belief system is loose, eclectic and unique to each individual adherent.
1. Why is there something rather than nothing?
Christianity (C): God created the universe at the moment of the beginning of time, matter and space. Big Bang cosmology and all modern science affirms this.
New Age (NA): The universe is beginning-less, endless, eternal.
2. Does God exist?-and is He personal?
C: Yes, God is personal, and the Bible teaches God is three persons sharing one essence, what Christians refer to as the Trinity. More specifically, God is tri-personal.
NA: Yes and No. Yes, God is an impersonal force that exhaustively fills every atom of the eternal universe: All is God, God is all, God is all of us and God is each of us. No, there is no personal creator called God who is outside of time, matter and space.
3. Who am I?
C: A creation of God.
NA: God.
4. How did I get here?
C: God created man with moral freedom and invited him to join the presence of the Trinity. But man exercised his freedom in rebellion to God, and now only through the work of the incarnate God and second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, can that severed relationship be restored.
NA: Through the infinite process of karma. As God, you are eternal, and have been reincarnating from object to object for trillions of years, and when you ultimately achieve enlightenment, and remember that you are God, you will then lose your individual sense of self and consciousness and become One with the One. (Remember, there is no personal God. God is a force. You must return to being a force.)
5. Why am I here?
C: The Westminster Catechism answers this question beautifully: The chief end of man is “to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” I am called to make a decision with eternal consequences: either accept or reject God’s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ. I am also called to help others make a correct choice; to advance the true, the good, and the beautiful; to fight evil and injustice; to work with God at reconciling the world to Himself.
NA: To pay off previous karmic debt gathered over trillions of years.
6. What is the meaning of life?
C: To glorify God.
NA: To achieve enlightenment.
7. What is the true, the good, and the beautiful?
C: God-and his goodness can be seen through his creation.
NA: Since there is no distinction between creator and creation, there can be no distinctions between true-false, good-bad, right-wrong, ugly-beautiful, or pain-pleasure.
8. What is the best life?
C: A life in the full presence of God.
NA: The life immediately before enlightenment, since you will no longer exist as a person once you remember you are God.
9. Who is the best man?
C: Jesus Christ, the Man who never sinned.
NA: “Best” is a nonsensical moral category.
10. Why is there evil, pain, suffering, and injustice?
C: The Fall. Man exercised his freedom in rebellion to God and these are the consequences.
NA: People are paying off their karmic debt. As God, we are responsible for the reality we create for ourselves through our thinking and choices. If we are suffering, it is because we are choosing to suffer. If we think differently we can alter the external world and create our own reality.
11. Why do bad things happen to good people?
C: We live in a fallen world with moral freedom. Evil and sin exist. Men hurt themselves intentionally and accidentally. Our hope is only in God who is able to bring good out of evil.
NA: Karma. Karma and reincarnation have all kinds of fatal logical problems. Who started karma and reincarnation and why? Who decides what behavior gets rewarded and what gets punished, especially since there are no moral categories? How can there be a “who” to all this when God is a “what,” an impersonal force like gravity? How can an impersonal force help you in your relationships, heal your hurts, illnesses and wounds, help with your addictions and bad habits, lead you to confront social evils, poverty, crime, corruption, broken families, broken hearts?
12. Will good or evil ultimately triumph?
C: The resurrection of Jesus proves that good ultimately triumphs over evil.
NA: These are only apparent moral categories, they don’t really exist.
13. Is there life after death?
C: Yes! In either heaven or hell. Our destination is based on our response to the person and work of Christ.
NA: Yes and No. Yes, in that you may have trillions of more reincarnated bodies to inhabit as you pay off your karmic debt before reaching enlightenment. No, in that once you’re enlightened, you will cease to exist, since you will have remembered you’re really an impersonal force that New Age thinkers call “God.”
The New Age Movement is intellectually and spiritually bankrupt. But, it is making Tolle and Williamson-and especially Oprah-a whole bunch of money.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Obama pro-abortion: Doesn’t want his daughters ‘punished with a baby’ if they make a mistake
Wow! So if Obama’s girls make a mistake, he doesn’t want his daughters punished with a baby. What a statement!
Well, here’s a radical concept for Obama and his girls: How about accepting personal responsibility for your actions and doing the right thing? If you decide to have sex out of marriage and end up pregnant, face the consequences. Have the baby and give it up for adoption instead of killing it!!!
“Stop these abortions.”
By Ben Smith
Out in western Pennsylvania, the issue of abortion can strike a nerve. Democrats there often describe themselves economic liberals and social conservatives who favor gun rights and oppose abortion rights.
So, it was not unusual to see a woman stand near the end of Barack Obama’s town hall meeting in Johnstown, Penn., and offer a hurried, passionate plea for him to “stop these abortions.”
The ability of politicians like Obama to thread the needle between their own support of abortion rights and their constituents’ opposition can be deteminative in Pennsylvania. And Obama, who supports abortion rights, handled the questioner deftly.
“This is a very difficult issue, and I understand sort of the passions on both sides of the issue,” he said. “I have two precious daughters – they are miracles.”
But politicians must trust women to make the right decisions for themselves, he said.
“This is an example where good people can disagree,” the Illinois senator said. “The question then is, are there areas that we can agree to that everybody can get behind? We can all agree that we want to reduce teen pregnancies. We can all agree that we want to make sure that adoption is a viable option.”
The exchange appeared to be prompted by Obama’s earlier comments that he does not favor abstinence-only education, but rather comprehensive sexual education that includes information on abstinence and birth control.
“Look, I got two daughters – 9 years old and 6 years old,” he said. “I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”
LINK: http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Stop_these_abortions_.html
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )‘Bush killed’ in Palestinian kids TV show
I wonder what Palestine-supporting Jimmy Carter thinks of this?? I’m sure he thinks its fine since they have been so ‘wronged’ by us. Disgusting!
‘Bush killed’ in Palestinian kids TV show
Repeatedly stabbed after White House ‘turned into a great mosque’
Posted: March 31, 2008
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A child stabs President Bush to death and turns the White House into a mosque in a children’s puppet show broadcast on the television channel of the ruling Palestinian Authority party, Hamas.
In the Al-Aqsa TV skit, aired yesterday, the child confronts the American leader: “I have come to take revenge with this sword – revenge for my mother and my sisters. You are a criminal, Bush! You are despicable. You made me an orphan! You took everything from me, Bush! I must take revenge on you, with this sword of Islam, the prophet’s Al-Battar sword.”
The Bush character tries to appease the child with food, toys and a visit to the White House but is rebuffed, as seen in a video clip translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.
“You are impure, Bush, so you are not allowed inside the White House,” the child figure says, because “it has been turned into a great mosque for the nation of Islam.”
The child declares: “I will kill you just like Mu’az killed Abu Lahab (an enemy of Islam’s prophet Muhammad). I will kill you, Bush, because that is your fate.”
The child stabs Bush repeatedly: “Ahhh, I killed him.”
(Story continues below)
Hamas, which won a majority in parliament in January 2006 elections, officially is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. As WND reported, a prominent Hamas leader recently was captured on video boasting of using children, women and the elderly as human shields in its firefights with Israeli soldiers.
Al Aqsa TV also has broadcast shows for children featuring a squeaky-voiced Mickey Mouse look-alike who became “martyred” at the hands of Israeli “child killers” and a bee that sought to continue the “path of martyrdom, the path of the jihad warriors” and “take revenge upon the enemies of Allah, the murderers of the prophets.”
As WND reported one year ago, an online forum tied to the website of Hamas posted a photo of a little girl in a combat vest and the head band of the terrorist Al-Qassam Brigades.
The message accompanying the photo said the girl “is part of the Muslim generation which will go down in history [as a generation] … that refused to [accept] humiliation and defeat.”
WND also reported Hamas launched a children’s website in 2002 that encourages kids to follow the example of terrorist suicide bombers.
LINK: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60382
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Issues Muslim-Americans want Obama to Address
This was taken directly from the “Muslim-Americans for Obama” website, and these are some issues they want Obama to address if he becomes President. We can’t pray in schools but they want designated prayer areas for themselves?? The sad part is that it might happen if we keep giving in to them.
Muslim-Americans for Obama – Issues and Solutions
QUESTION: What are issues and recommendations for solutions that are unique to Muslim Americans?
1. A Law against harrassment of a Muslim women wearing Hijab at the Airport, DMV and other public arenas.
2. Institute a Law to allow Muslim Employees to take a hours off from work for Friday Jummah Prayer.
3. Make the 2 Eid’s, recognized National Holidays on Calendars with days off from work.
4. Optional Halal meals in federal buildiings, public schools and colleges.
5. Provide prayer areas suitable for Salah and Jummah, in public and private facilities. (i.e. Malls, Airports, Universities and government buildings.)
6. Organize a Muslim American group to assist in recommendations for US foreign policy affecting majority Muslim countries.
LINK: http://muslimsforobama08.com/issues.html
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Immigration Laws of Mexico
Their immigration laws are tougher than ours and they say we are racists and bigots????? Double Standard Alert!!!
Mexico’s Immigration Law: Let’s Try It Here at Home
by J. Michael Waller
Mexico has a radical idea for a rational immigration policy that most Americans would love. However, Mexican officials haven’t been sharing that idea with us as they press for our Congress to adopt the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill.
That’s too bad, because Mexico, which annually deports more illegal aliens than the United States does, has much to teach us about how it handles the immigration issue. Under Mexican law, it is a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico.
At a time when the Supreme Court and many politicians seek to bring American law in line with foreign legal norms, it’s noteworthy that nobody has argued that the U.S. look at how Mexico deals with immigration and what it might teach us about how best to solve our illegal immigration problem.
Mexico has a single, streamlined law that ensures that foreign visitors and immigrants are:
• in the country legally;
• have the means to sustain themselves economically;
• not destined to be burdens on society;
• of economic and social benefit to society;
• of good character and have no criminal records; and
• contributors to the general well-being of the nation.
The law also ensures that:
• immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor;
• foreign visitors do not violate their visa status;
• foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics;
• foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported;
• foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported;
• those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.
Who could disagree with such a law? It makes perfect sense. The Mexican constitution strictly defines the rights of citizens — and the denial of many fundamental rights to non-citizens, illegal and illegal. Under the constitution, the Ley General de Población, or General Law on Population, spells out specifically the country’s immigration policy.
It is an interesting law — and one that should cause us all to ask, Why is our great southern neighbor pushing us to water down our own immigration laws and policies, when its own immigration restrictions are the toughest on the continent? If a felony is a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, then Mexican law makes it a felony to be an illegal alien in Mexico.
If the United States adopted such statutes, Mexico no doubt would denounce it as a manifestation of American racism and bigotry.
We looked at the immigration provisions of the Mexican constitution. [1] Now let’s look at Mexico’s main immigration law.
Mexico welcomes only foreigners who will be useful to Mexican society:
• Foreigners are admitted into Mexico “according to their possibilities of contributing to national progress.” (Article 32)
• Immigration officials must “ensure” that “immigrants will be useful elements for the country and that they have the necessary funds for their sustenance” and for their dependents. (Article 34)
• Foreigners may be barred from the country if their presence upsets “the equilibrium of the national demographics,” when foreigners are deemed detrimental to “economic or national interests,” when they do not behave like good citizens in their own country, when they have broken Mexican laws, and when “they are not found to be physically or mentally healthy.” (Article 37)
• The Secretary of Governance may “suspend or prohibit the admission of foreigners when he determines it to be in the national interest.” (Article 38)
Mexican authorities must keep track of every single person in the country:
• Federal, local and municipal police must cooperate with federal immigration authorities upon request, i.e., to assist in the arrests of illegal immigrants. (Article 73)
• A National Population Registry keeps track of “every single individual who comprises the population of the country,” and verifies each individual’s identity. (Articles 85 and 86)
• A national Catalog of Foreigners tracks foreign tourists and immigrants (Article 87), and assigns each individual with a unique tracking number (Article 91).
Foreigners with fake papers, or who enter the country under false pretenses, may be imprisoned:
• Foreigners with fake immigration papers may be fined or imprisoned. (Article 116)
• Foreigners who sign government documents “with a signature that is false or different from that which he normally uses” are subject to fine and imprisonment. (Article 116)
Foreigners who fail to obey the rules will be fined, deported, and/or imprisoned as felons:
• Foreigners who fail to obey a deportation order are to be punished. (Article 117)
• Foreigners who are deported from Mexico and attempt to re-enter the country without authorization can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. (Article 118)
• Foreigners who violate the terms of their visa may be sentenced to up to six years in prison (Articles 119, 120 and 121). Foreigners who misrepresent the terms of their visa while in Mexico — such as working with out a permit — can also be imprisoned.
Under Mexican law, illegal immigration is a felony. The General Law on Population says,
• “A penalty of up to two years in prison and a fine of three hundred to five thousand pesos will be imposed on the foreigner who enters the country illegally.” (Article 123)
• Foreigners with legal immigration problems may be deported from Mexico instead of being imprisoned. (Article 125)
• Foreigners who “attempt against national sovereignty or security” will be deported. (Article 126)
Mexicans who help illegal aliens enter the country are themselves considered criminals under the law:
• A Mexican who marries a foreigner with the sole objective of helping the foreigner live in the country is subject to up to five years in prison. (Article 127)
• Shipping and airline companies that bring undocumented foreigners into Mexico will be fined. (Article 132)
All of the above runs contrary to what Mexican leaders are demanding of the United States. The stark contrast between Mexico’s immigration practices versus its American immigration preachings is telling. It gives a clear picture of the Mexican government’s agenda: to have a one-way immigration relationship with the United States.
Let’s call Mexico’s bluff on its unwarranted interference in U.S. immigration policy. Let’s propose, just to make a point, that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) member nations standardize their immigration laws by using Mexico’s own law as a model.
This article was first posted at CenterforSecurityPolicy.org.
LINK: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=14632#continueA
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 7 so far )Christian High School Honors Marine Alumnus and fallen GI Grad
Good for this school!!!!
Brother’s keeper! Warrior! Champion!
Desert Christian High School honors Marine alumnus, fallen GI grad
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press Saturday, March 29, 2008.
By: Dennis Anderson
Valley Press Editor
LANCASTER – The football team at Desert Christian High School rose as one Friday morning, standing at attention to celebrate a Marine alum’s return from Iraq and to honor another Desert Christian graduate, an Army soldier killed in action on Easter Sunday.
“What is a Knight?” the team shouted in unison. “I am my brother’s keeper! I am a warrior! I am a champion!”
Each student-athlete was signaling respect, rejoicing and mourning.
Rejoicing at the safe return of a former teammate, Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick Lee, who received 50 “care packages” from students at his alma mater while stationed in Fallujah during the Christmas holiday.
Mourning the Easter Sunday loss of Army Pvt. George Delgado, 21, class of 2004.
Lee, 19, who graduated from Desert Christian in 2006, recited the Knights chant along with them, wearing his Marine dress “Charlie” tan and green uniform and ribbons for service in Iraq and the global war on terror.
“I got 50 care packages,” the Marine said. “Everyone loved them. The Iraqi children got the candy. It was just a huge blessing for all of us.”
Lee, who served in the Anbar province city of Fallujah, formerly the most violent area of Iraq, said, “Contrary to what you hear people say, Fallujah is now a great area to be in. It’s turned around about 200% for the better since 2004.”
There was solemn and heartfelt mourning for Delgado, killed Sunday with three other soldiers in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device killed them and wounded another GI. Their deaths are counted in the more than 4,000 killed in action so far.
Killed with Delgado were Staff Sgt. Christopher M. Hake, 26; Pfc. Andrew J. Habsieger, 22; and Spc. Jose A. Rubio Hernandez, 24. The four were assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat team, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Fort Stewart, Ga.
About 400 students gathered in the Desert Christian High gymnasium for a Friday assembly that mixed routine announcements with gratitude for the troops, living and killed in the line of duty.
“We want everyone here to remember that there are people standing and fighting for our freedom and to make things safe for you and me,” said Cecil Swetland, executive director of Desert Christian Schools.
Swetland cited Philippians, Chapter 4, verses 6-7, in urging a spirit of mourning but also hope for God’s protection on all the troops in the fight and respect and affection for Delgado and all those who lost their lives.
Swetland read the verse, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The educator noted that the students were in eighth grade when Delgado graduated, but doubtless had older siblings who remember their classmate fondly.
Swetland continued, “We cannot know the timing or the why of it … but we know He will not leave us or forsake us.”
The soldier’s mother, Maria Calle , told Swetland on Thursday about the loss of her son.
“He came to us in his senior year, and it wrought a change in his life,” Swetland said. “George became a Christian at Desert Christian, and his mother said he found himself and found an absolutely fabulous experience.”
Devin Thomas , dean of students, recalled how Delgado expressed keen interest in learning what it takes to become a teacher. He transferred to Desert Christian after moving with his family from San Diego in 2003.
Delgado’s family runs the Inka Kitchen restaurant in Palmdale.
“He would come back, time and again. He always wanted to know what was the best way to teach, because he was set in his desire to one day be a teacher,” Thomas said.
The dean of students told the students assembled that the reward and fulfillment for educators arrives when their students return, engaged in honorable duties and responsibilities and wanting to revisit their school.
“You are a tremendous bunch, just a great group,” Thomas told the students. “I want to thank you for being sensitive to others, and that the memory of you stays with us when you leave, that you are something special to us.”
In that light, Thomas said, the memory of George Delgado was special.
Swetland said memorial services were pending, but depending on the family’s wishes, Desert Christian students plan a high turnout in respect for Delgado.
Swetland and Thomas asked for “continuous prayer to be offered up” for Delgado’s family and all those serving.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Pvt. George Delgado, who gave his life to defend freedom and protect the people of the United States,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement issued by his office. “George served our country with honor, integrity and steadfast loyalty to his fellow soldiers. California has lost a true patriot. Maria and I send our sincerest condolences to his family during this difficult time.”
Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, and state Sen. George Runner, R-Lancaster, also issued statements on the death of Delgado.
“Our prayers go out to the family of Private Delgado during this difficult time,” Sharon Runner said. “The Antelope Valley lost a great American – a true patriot and protector of our freedom.”
“Private Delgado’s courage to defend our country and commitment to further the cause of freedom is truly remarkable,” George Runner said. “His service to our country will always be honored and never forgotten.”
Adding her condolences was Col. Nancy P. Wharton, 95th Air Base Wing commander at Edwards Air Force Base.
“Although Private Delgado was a soldier in the U.S. Army, his death affects all the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines stationed here. We are one family, and we will do whatever we can to assist his family and his Army brethren in coping with this tragedy,” Wharton said in a statement.
LINK: http://www.avpress.com/n/29/0329_s1.hts
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Former ‘Nightline’ reporter Quits Al-Jazeera English
Well, surprise, surprise. I remember when this guy first started working for the Al-Jazeera network. It amazed me that any American would want to do it, and frankly it kind of ticked me off. Anyway I’m not surprised that he finds them to be too anti-American. Of course they are!!!
Dave Marash quits Al-Jazeera English
By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
NEW YORK – Former “Nightline” reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in this country.
Marash said he felt that attitude more from British administrators than Arabs at the Qatar-based network.
Marash was the highest-profile American TV personality hired when the English language affiliate to Al-Jazeera was started two years ago in an attempt to compete with CNN and the BBC. He said there was a “reflexive adversarial editorial stance” against Americans at Al-Jazeera English.
“Given the global feelings about the Bush administration, it’s not surprising,” Marash said.
But he found it “became so stereotypical, so reflexive” that he got angry.
Marash, who’s being replaced by former CNN International host Shihab Rattansi, said he was the last American-accented anchor at the network, which broadcasts from Washington, London, Kuala Lumpur and Doha, Qatar. He said there are more Canadians than Americans working at the Washington office.
Will Stebbins, Washington bureau chief for Al-Jazeera English, denied any bias against Americans.
“We certainly evaluate U.S. policy rigorously,” he said. “But we do our best to give everyone a fair shout.”
Al-Jazeera English has been largely unsuccessful in getting U.S. cable or satellite systems to pick it up, except for the municipal cable system in Burlington, Vt., and a small system visible in Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio. But its programming is available on the network’s YouTube site.
Marash said there are other reasons for his exit. He said the network has quickened the pace of its broadcast instead of having the slower, more reflective tone than he had expected. But he praised the network for its coverage of issues south of the equator.
He said he plans to write a book and hopes to teach. His exit was first reported in the British publication The Guardian; Marash’s last day was March 21.
Stebbins said Marash was recently told that he would no longer be an anchor at the network. Al-Jazeera thought Marash was better utilized as a reporter, and singled out a recent series he did on American suburbia as worthy of praise.
“We were sorry to see Dave go,” he said.
LINK: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080327/ap_en_tv/tv_exiting_american
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Threats force website to pull Quran Video
Sad that we are losing our freedom of speech. Sadder still that we allow it to happen without a fight.
Threats force website to pull Quran video
Dutch MP’s 17-minute documentary debuts to attacks
Posted: March 28, 2008
© 2008 WorldNetDaily
A 17-minute documentary on the Quran, juxtaposing images of Islam’s holy book with terror attacks and bombings by Muslim extremists, was taken down from a British video-sharing website, LiveLeak,com, after the organization reported “serious” threats to its staff members.
The documentary had been posted against the wishes of the government of the Netherlands by Geert Wilders, a Dutch MP and leader of the Freedom Party. His video is called “Fitna,” an Arabic word meaning strife.
It appeared on the political party’s website first, but soon disappeared because of “technical difficulties,” reported the London Times.
Then it appeared on LiveLeak.com, only to be replaced with an advisory.
“Following threats to our staff of a very serious nature, and some ill informed reports from certain corners of the British media that could directly affect the safety of some staff members, LiveLeak has been left with no other choice but to remove Fitna from our servers,” the organization said.
“This is a sad day for freedom of speech on the net but we have to place the safety and well being of our staff above all else. We would like to thank the thousands of people, from all backgrounds and religions, who gave us their support. They realized LiveLeak.com is a vehicle for many opinions and not just for the support of one,” the site said.
“Perhaps there is still hope that this situation may produce a discussion that could benefit and educate all of us as to how we can accept one anothers culture.
“We stood for what we believe in, the ability to be heard, but in the end the price was too high.” The expression of regret was signed LiveLeak.com.
Wilder, a critic of the “Islamization” of the West, released the film after weeks of debate couched in terms of free speech and religious bigotry as well as fears of violence like that following the Danish publication of cartoons depicting Muhammed.
Wilders said he understood Muslims could be upset by the film but said that was not his purpose in producing it.
“It remains widely within the framework of the law … My film was not made to provoke violence,” he said.
Plans to put the film on the Internet were briefly stalled earlier this week when the domain registrar, Network Solutions, refused to host Wilder’s Internet domain.
The film has been condemned by Wilder’s government. The Dutch foreign minister, Maxime Verhagen, called it irresponsible after rioting Muslims killed over 50 people following publication of the Danish cartoons.
“The film equates Islam with violence. We reject that interpretation,” Jan Peter Balkenende, the Dutch prime minister, said.
“We believe it serves no purpose other than to offend,” he added.
Early critics had expressed fears Wilder would show a copy of the Quran being destroyed in his film but the ending offered a slight surprise.
As someone leafs through the Quran, a sound of tearing is heard.
“The sound you heard was from a page [being torn out] of the phone book. It is not up to me, but up to the Muslims themselves to tear the spiteful verses from the Quran,” the screen text read. “Stop Islamization. Defend our freedom,” it concluded.
LINK: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60198
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Liberal Hypocrisy and Giving
Hmmm…Interesting. Apparently liberals are only generous with money when it’s NOT their own money. Also, Pastor Wright doesn’t seem to practice what he preaches about materialism. He seems to have done pretty well in this racist country that’s tried to keep him down.
Obama’s Former Pastor Getting $1.6M Home in Retirement
by FOXNews.com
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Excerpt:
This was supposed to be the week that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr. returned to the pulpit to preach for the first time since his anti-American sermons generated nationwide outrage and drew condemnation from his longtime parishioner, Barack Obama.
But, citing security concerns, Wright canceled his speaking engagements in Florida and Texas. A spokeswoman at his former church in Chicago said his schedule is pending.
A two-week FOX News investigation, however, has uncovered where Wright will be spending a good deal of his time in retirement, and it is a far cry from the impoverished Chicago streets where the preacher led his ministry for 36 years.
FOX News has uncovered documents that indicate Wright is about to move to a 10,340-square-foot, four-bedroom home in suburban Chicago, currently under construction in a gated community.
While it is not uncommon for an accomplished clergyman to live in luxury, Wright’s retirement residence is raising some questions.
“Some people think deals like this are hypocritical. Jeremiah Wright himself criticizes people from the pulpit for middle classism, for too much materialism,” said Andrew Walsh, Associate Director of the Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life with Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
Obamas Donated Less Than 1% of Their 2000-2004 Income
Bloomberg.com
By Ryan J. Donmoyer and Julianna Goldman
(excerpt)
March 25 (Bloomberg) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle gave $10,772 of the $1.2 million they earned from 2000 through 2004 to charities, or less than 1 percent, according to tax returns for those years released today by his campaign.
The Obamas increased the amount they gave to charity when their income rose in 2005 and 2006 after the Illinois senator published a bestselling book. The $137,622 they gave over those two years amounted to more than 5 percent of their $2.6 million income.
LINK: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=apR1J1py2Ouc&refer=home
« Previous Entries
Don't Get Me Started... 