Clipmarks | AtlLiberal's clips

Tradition or Atrocity?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:12:26 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Isn't it time more people stepped up to condemn this practice? Should modern day knowledge not replace outdated tribal rituals? I have no idea how common place this practice is but I think most would find it injurious to the child.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Saudi Arabia: Eight-Year-Old Girl Wants Divorce

A girl as young as eight shouldn't even be married, never mind trying to get a divorce — and from a man who is fifty years older! It's only because traditionalist Islam continues to sanction the barbaric practice of marrying off prepubescent girls is this even an issue and that's only because Muslims believe that their prophet, Muhammad, married a girl of about the same age.

This practice would probably be easier to stamp out if only it were permitted for Muslims to say "Not everything Muhammad did was right, and just because Muhammad did it doesn't mean we should today." That, however, is difficult in a religion that considers even visual depictions of Muhammad to be blasphemous, never mind criticism. It's good that most Muslims around the world reject marrying little girls, but it's only in spite of Islamic traditions.

Tags: islam, child bride, saudi arabia

It Beats Jesus on Toast!

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:34:43 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I'm astounded too. Not by the "Allah meat" but by the gullibility of people. And they even found a vet who gave credence by claiming it "defied scientific explanation". As far as no explanation this shows an astounding lack of imagination. I'm no vet but can readily come with an explanation as could any rational person. But then, who ever claimed that the Allah beef followers were rational?

There is a name for this phenomenon: pareidolia:

"The tendency to interpret a vague stimulus as something known to the viewer; such as interpreting marks on Mars as canals or seeing shapes in clouds."

I'm off to McD now and fully expect to find a holy patty. Ha!

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

'Allah meat' astounds Nigerians

Diners have been flocking to a restaurant in northern Nigeria to see pieces of meat which the owner says are inscribed with the name of Allah.

What looks like the Arabic word for God and the name of the prophet Muhammad were discovered in pieces of beef by a diner in Birnin Kebbi.

He was about to eat it, when he suddenly noticed the words in the gristle, the restaurant owner said.

"When the writings were discovered there were some Islamic scholars who come and eat here and they all commented that it was a sign to show that Islam is the only true religion for mankind," he said.

Thousands of people have already gone to the restaurant to see them since they were discovered last week.

A vet told the newspaper the words "defied scientific explanation".

"Supposing only one piece of meat was found then it would be suspicious, but given the circumstances there is no explanation," Dr Yakubu Dominic said.

Palin a Good Christian Soldier

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:05:53 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Well, there goes her cred in the Arab street. But then, I never thought for a moment that the McCain/Palin ticket was focused on peace in the Middle East. Her proclamation of what amounted to a call for a Crusade just might fit perfectly with the bomb, bomb, bomb - Iran mentality of McCain.

These are dangerous people. Unless you wish to keep squandering billions in revenue and wasting countless lives in needless wars they must be defeated in November.

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

Palin: Soldiers on a task that is from God

As mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin was asked to address the graduating class of commission students at a local church. As she spoke about her family, she mentioned Track, her 19 year old son, was to be deployed to Iraq shortly. All good so far. She continued:

She urged students to pray “that our leaders -- that our national leaders -- are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God.”

She added, “That's what we have to make sure that we are praying for: that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.”

“I can do my job there in developing our natural resources, in doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded. But really that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts aren't right with God.”

Tags: politics, war, hypocrite

Off Limits? I Think Not

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:57:39 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Ordinarily a situiation such as the pregnancy of Sarah Palin's daughter would be off-limits but the Republican party has been the first to put it front and center as a political tool. The Holier than Anyone Right has used this to showcase how "special" their darling VP hopeful really is and the point has driven home at the RNC yesterday. That and the supposed non-political issue of McCain's POW status.

Have the voters become so inured to the Republican machine that they are incapable of seeing through their deceptions and lies?

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

Palin and the Christian Persecution Syndrome

The McCain camp explains that the pregnancy does not disqualify an otherwise highly qualified person. But Palin’s utter lack of qualifications and questionable record in office call this explanation into question.

I have been wondering amid all the evidence on Sarah Palin’s lack of qualifications, questionable dealings as governor, and her big-spending, sales-tax raising and debt-ridden mayoral tenure, why in the world the Rovian Republican machine picked her. Yes, I know she was selected to appeal to the hard core Christian dominionists and their somewhat less fanatical ilk.

That, however, does not explain signing off on a pregnant minor daughter in a candidate being sold on family values, abstinence only education and the principle of much of modern right-wing Christianity that parents are absolutely responsible for their children’s walks as Christians.

Tags: republican, hypocrite, abortion

USA minus Alaska

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:03:38 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: If all you look at is Fox Noise or read is The Washington Times then you may have missed this tidbit. It stands as yet another example in a growing list of examples of poor choices that McCain has recently made.

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

Recapping Palin's Secession Scandal

If you spent yesterday at a Labor Day picnic rather than at the computer, you missed the story that broke here regarding Sarah Palin's 1990s membership in the Alaskan Independence Party (AIP).

Note I said Independence not Independent. It's not just an "independent" party--it is a party whose explicit goal is to have a vote on Alaskan independence.

As user Liz Arnett first informed us yesterday morning, the AIP is a political party in Alaska whose motto is "Alaska First." It's goal is to have a vote on Alaska's state status so that Alaskans may decide whether the state should secede, become a territory, become a commonwealth, or remain a state.

Yesterday night, it was is confirmed that Sarah Palin and her husband were members of the AIP at least in 1994. Indeed, Palin reportedly attended the AIP convention.

Tags: politics, mccain, alaska, palin

An Old Myth Investigated

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:49:51 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: This clip is from a short piece explaining very well why, as Cline points out, freedom of and freedom from are two sides of the same coin. You can't have one without the other. Interested people might benefit from linking to the original and reading it in its entirety.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

What is Freedom From Religion?

Freedom of Religion Requires Freedom From Religion

Conservatives insist that the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, and argue against strict separation of church and state. Too often, though, conservatives seem to have a flawed understanding of what freedom from religion really entails and fail to realize that freedom from religion is crucial to religious liberty in general.

It is evident that a person misunderstands the concept of freedom from religion when they say that promotion of the idea is part of an effort to eliminate religion from the public square, to secularize America, or to deny religious believers a voice in politics. None of this follows from a belief that people have a right to be free from religion.

Tags: constitution, government, religion, atheism

Palin's History Knowledgte

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:45:20 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: For a subject that I'm sure she has a strong opinion about it's remarkable that she comes to that opinion without understanding the facts first.

Yeah, she sure is ready to lead the country!

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

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Palin On Pledge Of Allegiance: "If It Was Good Enough For The Founding Fathers, It's Good Enough For Me"

In a 2006 questionnaire for Alaska's gubernatorial race, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin seemed to muddle her American history.

Question: Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

The pledge, of course, was not written until 1892 and the words "under God" were not added until the 1950s.

Tags: palin, politics, history, prayer

McCain's Desperate Move

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:12:11 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: While it may be that all VP picks are politically motivated, the good choices usually are those that besides being politically advantageous are also beneficial to the nation. After the nation discovers who Sarah Palin is and what she believes I think that McCain will realize what a colossal blunder he has made. Or maybe not??

Clip Source: www.salon.com

McCain's Palin pick is the epitome of tokenism

Suddenly all anyone needs to qualify as a potential commander in chief is to be a religious ideologue with female gender characteristics?

Aug. 30, 2008 | It is hard to think of a more cynical and contemptuous political act this year than John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. Having served as governor of Alaska for less than two years -- and as mayor of a small town before that -- her qualifications for national office are minimal.

Palin is the epitome of tokenism, exactly what conservative Republicans have always claimed to scorn, until today, as the politics of quotas and political correctness.

But if Palin's résumé is limited, to put it politely, she possesses the only two qualities that McCain now seems to consider essential: She is a right-wing religious ideologue with female gender characteristics.

Tags: politics, palin, vp, republican

Are We Safer Now?

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:42:28 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I doubt if the public's safety was forefront in this misguided attempt to silence protest during the RNC. Partly because of hysterical paranoia of terrorists the powers that be have long used the pretense of protection to denigrate and undermine our most basic rights and freedoms. And do we stand up and raise our fists in anger over theses blatant stabs to our freedoms? Afraid not. It seems everyone just sits back in their easy chairs and watches as the powers that be wall off protesters to Orwellian "Protest Zones".

Yes, bad people want to do us harm. But a modicum of sanity should accompany our plans to provide a reasonable level of protection from these people. As it is now, this smacks more of politics than of legitimate protection.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Dozens Detained Ahead of Convention

ST. PAUL, Minn. — On the weekend before the Republican National Convention, law enforcement agencies detained dozens of people and issued a series of search warrants aimed at groups believed to be organizing demonstrations while delegates and Republican officials are in town.

On Friday night the Ramsey County sheriff's department, accompanied by the St. Paul police, detained people inside a building here that was being used as a headquarters to plan protests.

“They handcuffed all of us,” said Sonia Silbert, 28, from Washington. “They searched everyone.”

Ms. Coffey said that the officers, citing fire violations as the reason for their visit, “detained over 50 people in an attempt to pre-empt planned protests.”

The sheriff's department continued the sweeps on Saturday morning, executing warrants for three houses in Minneapolis and two in St. Paul, detaining more than 50 people and arresting 4.

Tags: politics, convention, republican

We Just Don't Get It

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:17:24 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Yep! How could anyone escape the iron clad logic of presented here? Well, I'm sold. I've always said that if anyone could provide irrefutable evidence I'd convert in an instant. Hallelujah!

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

The Atheist Delusion

[Video]

Tags: parody, god, religion, humor

Pakistan Honor Killing

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 17:01:46 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Religion continues to wreck its havoc around the world. This time, under the guise of "tribal custom" the brutal murder of 5 women in Pakistan has come to the forefront. No longer can we accept the excuse that certain practices are custom or tradition. These acts of barbarity must be made public and soundly condemned.

Clip Source: scienceblogs.com

“Our tribal custom”

Balochistan Senator Sardar Israrullah Zehri stunned the upper house on Friday when he defended the recent incident of burying alive three teenage girls and two women in his province, saying it was part of "our tribal custom." Senator Bibi Yasmin Shah of the PML-Q raised the issue citing a newspaper report that the girls, three of them aged between 16 and 18 years, had been buried alive a month ago for wishing to marry of their own will. The barbaric incident took place in a remote village of Jafarabad district and a PPP minister and some other influential people were reported to have been involved. The report accused the provincial government of trying to hush up the issue. Ms Shah said that the hapless girls and the women were first shot in the name of honour and then buried while they were alive. She also said that no criminal had been arrested so far.

Tags: religion, custom, tradition, misogyny

Too Far Right!

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 18:38:04 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Your father raped you? Too bad. Global warming an issue? Poppycock. Teach creationism in science class? Sure, let the students decide.

Ultra right wing religious fanatics are salivating all over themselves over McSame's choice.

A Hillary replacement? Ha! Going to draw Hillary supporters away from Obama? In a pig's eye. Republicans must believe that women voters are all stupid idiots.

This is McCain's judgment in action!

Clip Source: airamerica.com

Sarah Palin is Bad for Women

There can be no doubt that Palin’s selection is purely tactical — a decision based more on image and balance than on substance and qualifications. Palin’s youth, beauty, and distance from Washington were all chosen because they directly counter shortcomings of McCain. Her indisputable conservatism in areas where McCain has appeared moderate — abortion, the Second Amendment, drilling — as well as her “strength” in domestic issues, balances nicely with McCain’s flip-flopping war-focused campaign.

Quite frankly, conservatives have rewarded a woman politically for deciding to keep a baby and for sending her son to Iraq. For this reason, Palin’s selection is a great disservice to women — and further evidence of how truly destructive a Republican victory will be for American women.

Hail Mary!

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 17:51:12 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: By her social agenda alone she should scare the pants off any thinking voter. By her own words, an avowed Creationist, anti-science fundamentalist, and she denies global warming is man-made. I didn't know that GWB had a sister!

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Palin: You're no Hillary Clinton

None of my pro-Hillary female friends are falling for this obvious GOP pander. To the contrary, McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his VP is drawing hoots of derision.

Once they learn that Sarah Palin opposes rape and incest exceptions for women seeking abortion, they completely write her off.

One female friend said: "Sarah Palin is to the movement for women's equality what Clarence Thomas is to civil rights. She's an extremist and an enemy to the cause that has been fought on her behalf.... Someone should stand up and say: 'I know Senator Clinton. Senator Clinton is a friend of mine. And Sarah Palin is no Hillary Rodham Clinton.'"

Then she added, with a laugh, "The only thing he is going to let her do in the White House is teach him how to use the internet."

Another said, "It just seems desperate and calculated."

Tags: politics, abortion, evolution

A Bit of Rationalism

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:37:59 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: It's always positive to point out what is myth and what is reality. Often they are confused, especially by people who depend so much on myth. The attached clip offers a bit of sunshine to brighten up those dark corners of peoples brains.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Myth:

Atheists are angry at God because they think He should have done something for them in their pasts.

Response:
The idea that atheists are angry in general is itself already quite popular, but the myth that atheists are angry specifically at God for not having done what they want may be more popular. This combines the idea that atheists are angry, that they are prideful enough to think that they know better than God, and that they are rebelling against what God wants for the world. Atheists are thus attacked from a variety of convenient directions, except for the fact that the claim is all wrong.

The most obvious reason why everyone should recognize that this myth is false is the simple fact that you can't be angry at God unless you believe that God exists. This means that anyone who is angry at God must be a theist, not an atheist — an atheist is a person who doesn't believe in any gods at all. Atheists therefore cannot be angry at any gods.

Tags: atheism, religion, logic, rational

God Did It

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:25:23 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Just as we often react negatively towards religious driven policy in the Muslim world we ignore the blatant religious pandering in the USA. It has become pro forma to invoke God's blessing on the US after all speeches. Little thought is given to the substantial segment of the population who doesn't subscribe to this viewpoint. A cynic might think all the public posturing is being done solely for votes. And they may not be too far off the mark.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Democrats' Religious Pandering Doesn't Impress

Recent efforts by Democrats to pander to religion and religious believers is offensive and immoral, but could it possibly be defended on the grounds that it at least works? In politics that which works tend to survive no matter how offensive or immoral it is, so this isn't an irrelevant question. Unfortunately for the apologists for pandering — and fortunately for the rest of us — all the efforts thus far appear to have been in vain.

Using religion as a surrogate for substantive political discussion is precisely what's going on when people start bringing religion into political debates

When a person says that God "wills" some policy, the only options left are to deny that it's what God really wills or to declare one's opposition to God.

I think this is often deliberate because invoking God is a handy way of avoiding the hard job of substantively defending a political agenda.

Tags: politic, religion, hypocrisy, christian