"Expert witnesses have hailed a judge's ruling that paediatrician Professor Sir Roy Meadow should not have been struck off for giving flawed evidence."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4726288.stm

This is an excellent example of the difference between our cultures, bb. Here in the US this physician would have been hammered by reporters amidst charges of “gross, almost criminal, misconduct.” The victims would have given horrific stories of how they are now permanently psychologically scarred and their lives ruined by the physician’s callous falsification of the facts.

You see, here it does not matter whether or not the error was intentional or not; or even if it was an error that any reasonably prudent physician could have also made. His real “guilt” would be that he had made “the fatal mistake” of causing someone(s) else distress in such a way that: (1) The press has a story that they can play to an always eager to feel “indignant, victimized general public”; and (2) Which the lawyers can use as a way of suing the insurance companies for millions of “free medical malpractice dollars.”

This is not to imply that we should not feel genuine sympathy for the victims. The point is that there is a difference between true justice and legalized lynching/extortion. This case in point illustrates the most reprehensible and destructive flaw in our national character and justice system here in the US.

From a strictly jurisprudence point of view, this case also serves to remind us of the very real danger in determining guilt or innocence based solely upon circumstantial evidence.

Good find, bb, I like him.

Just dropped in to give you this update before I forget the spelling. Fox News Ch31, "Big Story" aired the story again at 5:30 EST. This time they were interviewing the author of "Future Jihad," Wahlid Phares. According to Mr. Phares this action by Iran is a propaganda tool (hey Western powers, we are serious about obtaining nuclear capabilities) and as a strategy of "staying one generation ahead" in always having immediate access to suicide bombers for future use. [His words, not mine.]

The information sign behind the speaker's head at the Terrorism School said "Wipe Israel Off the Face of the Planet" (or words to that effect).

When Mr. Phares was asked by the Fox interviewer: "On the basis of this story does this finally clear up all the confusion as to whether Iran should be considered to be an official state sponsor of terrorism?"

Mr. Phares replied, "In my 1987 book, I made it quite clear that this was the case even back then."

I've looked at your posts, but for now it's diner and some unfinished business. In a nutshell, I believe that this time you are in for a surprise when I share our increased energy & property tax cost data with you.

God, listen to us, will you? Now it's who's getting a longer shaft? Amusing, perhaps. But certainly not funny.

Hello ppl hope that everybody is fine !




When it comes to NW africa, I can assure you that 90% of muslims are ideologically UNaligned with these protesters. They simply don't care. The first reason is that ppl considers that these riots give "bad image" of islam. The second reason is that the anger here is not expressed by the same physical violence (generally by jokes and 'silent' anger). and third, the riots that happened in Libya were directed by the muslim brotherhood organization, forbidden in Libya, but powerful due to egyptian immigration and old 'pragmatic' relationshisp with the Libyan state.

However for Pakistan/afganistan, I can believe that the riots are sincere because there the islamist ideology is deeply rooted...

But the contamination could spread...thaks to culture and religious globalisation
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This is exactly the BIGGEST misunderstanding in foreign cultures by the West, including scholars !

There is NO such thing as a "premise" .

Please let me explain. Human specie is a primate. As humans we all share some basic characteristics. But...

level 1 - human groups are genetically different. There are "ethnies", not necesserly by the obvious definitions (skin color, skull shape), but as a kind of local groups that have emerged in a determined envirnment, took very different decisions for example going out of africa, a "pioneers" decision, or surviving in glaciation era, or surviving in the deserts, or in the jungle, or in savanna, or in mountains, on in islands etc

level 2 - humans, as a "software" specie, are more influenced by culture than genetics. However, the natural selection of local groups should necessary have had an impact on the LOCAL cultures that developped with LOCAL ethnic groups. These specific cultures are not defined by what is VISIBLE, but what they ENABLE different groups to DO. Anyone can wear in general anything, eat anything, learn any language, go to univ and do any speciality. However, HOW different groups will use these TOOLS (everything is a tool) will give very different results.

level 3 - based on cultures, we find local civilizations (as opposed to meta-civilization which are in general an over simplification of reality for political reasons...). And these local civs CANNOT enter in contradiction with the other levels on which they are built. They are only a result, or a kind of interface for the "external world". How a group WANT OTHERS to see him (or not). And how a group want to see ITSELF.

So let's apply all this rant to some real examples

Take one "group" : semitic arabs (as opposed to the later arabized populations)

These are the real groups inside : nomads (in arabia) and sedentarians (in coasts, especially actual emirates, kuwait, qatar, bahrein)

-nomads : To survive and become powerful, nomads cannot recognize frontiers, nations and local kingdoms (pre islamic). They had to be all the time at war against each other, and other established kingdoms and empires (persias, roman,... ).
The main activity was "commerce" (but really distribution and in Mecca, pilgrim/religion economy, also pagan), not farming, building or manufacturing.

the culture developped the need of the appartence to a closed group (a "tribe", but this term can mean anything), led by a warlord, and had no specific land (no frontiers recognized)

When islam came (not important whether it's divine or human) , the WAY the group accepted islam was : military expansion, allegiance to the "islamic tribe" (called also umma ) and the generalization of the concept of what we can call 'Free Trade Desert Zone' to the whole known earth ( joking [:P]) , called by real muslim clerics : Ard-Alah (the land of Alah, and guess who speaks in the name of Alah ?) .

-sedentarians : To survive and become powerful, costal kingdoms entered in old relationships with pagan persia and india, developped some old cities and some civilized life (peace). The main activity was also "commerce" (not religion based economy) but with some jewelry handcraft and some fishing (so buiding ships and sailing).

The cultures had kings, with less tribal structure, and poetry, wine and women were the most important passtimes [:P]

When islam came, these weak kingdoms disapeared but there are still remains of arab poetry (pagan) that attest the survival of a real (but invisible to the "untrained" eye) different culture. Some exmaples ? the nomads were called pejorativly a'arAAb by other arabs (that called themselves a'arAbs).

Now, at present time, what a traveller in arabia can notice ?

1-the sedentarian arab countries are still much much more "liberals" than their BigBrother (SA). women can drive, they are not obliged to wear any buka (pakis) or hijab (egyptian). There are parliaments that counts (in a lesser extent than in the West of course), the are buddist/hindus temples, dish networks, no religion police, big investment in other areas than petrol, the recognition of the technological superiority of the West in the general culture and the "dream" to have something similar, artists (painting etc).

2-in SA ? [:P] you know the answer, almost everything is forbidden ! middle class Saudis, when they want to have holidays, get out of SA and travel to their neighbours...

So here, this is only a very stupid and basic example of the INEXISTENCE OF UNIVERSAL HUMAN CULTURE ! this is "marxist" ideology hidden inside politically correct social science (that serves the interests of imperialism, globalization, mass-religions ...)

human groups are so different, that even the "obvious" concepts (for a westerner) of LIFE/DEATH, HAPPINESS, HONESTY (western definition : truth above all, even if it leads to confrontation. try that outside the Western culture, for ex China) FREEDOM ( a very greco-philosophical concept), NATION, SOCIETY (another very complex and modern concept, directly related to the "contrat social" and Renaissance philo) are VOID for non europeans !

They are only words, with no specific (real, precise, important) meaning. There is simply NO natural human, and even NATURE does NOT exist ! in reality, look at biology, chemistry and physics : these are only MODELS invented by very few human groups (98% in Euro-greek civ) . To understand and control the rest of the ecosystem. (do you think that other human groups have this goal ? look at primitives and HOW they accept 'natural' problems without inventinga solution ! They have not EVEN the need ! It is not EVEN considered as a problem ! )

PS :

-In koran, there is an IMPORTANT classification (no interpretation inside) of the sourates called : Mekkya (in Mecca, the religious pagan homeland of Quraich tribe, where Ka'aba the black cube existed long before islam and served as a central pagan religious center) or Madanya (in the Madina, the "civilized city"). The sourate Mekkya are all about war, domination, oppression of muslims by the pagan arabs and revenge, Hell, the power of Alah and jihad etc. the sourates Madanya are much more "soft", law oriented, with merciful messages (god will forgive to everyone except hypocrites and murdereds and sex offenders etc etc.

-This natural classification have been taken into account by some clerics (in the old days of abbasydes etc) to cancel the effect of the sourates mekkya, because there were no more arab pagans in arabia, no more wars etc etc.
But now, it is no more used, because it does not serve the expansionnist ideology.

the Koran is simply like a compilation CD the device that plays it (believer's brain) decides what to play or not. This is a brain problem. And that's true for ALL religions. Only, some have suceeded to UNIFORMIZE the brains and impose one "kocher/Halal" software, while others (christianity for ex) have failed. Hopefully for european brains...
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Keyword : DESPERATE. Desepoir, and fear are the worst, most animal instincts.
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Sorry I do not agree.

First, these "democracies" (by what objective criteria ? ) are also powerful expansionnists countries (except for India here) . Some of them have also encouraged terrorists (talibans for US against URSS).

second, usually, in these democracies, citizens (the decisive majority) are usually passive and accept war. In general, war protestations in "democracies" take only place in the worst scenarios, loss. Not by PRINCIPLE.

Or am I wrong ?
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In my humble opinion, Iran cannot be a threat. For a very simple reason : If EVER iran pocesses nuke power, it will give TOTAL legitimacy to the other -illegal and secret- nuclear power in the region (IL) to use it, with the benediction of the West (as usual).

what the american intelligentia fails to understand, is that a modern nation is based on : Science, relative democractic culture and sovreignty. Iran is in my opinion heading in that direction (the iranian parliament is much more representative and have more power than any other arab country; even minorities are represented by law), and the modernization of society (intellectually) has already began. the actions of the US are only radicalizing the population, because iranians have a very strong identity (and consider themselves as the victims of history in the region), and they seem to have NO trust in international organizations (and the leading powers) as they have learned from their own history (the US/UK interference in the iranian policy).

there is only one treath : if this radicalization continues, shia'a would ally with sunna, and here, remember that pakistan is sunna and HAVE nukes and the popular ideology that goes with it ! Third World War ?

Big powers are really hypocrites (and arrogant which gives always : stupid), as they can simply state that MDW are genocide weapons, and act accordingly, giving a positive example.
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Exacly bb.
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I did not hear that in AL-jazeera (that is not pro shiaa)

But it could be. During the Iran/irak war (that have the main aim of pushing the new islamic republic to use all the modern weapon given to the Shah regime), Iran called its citizens to martyr against Saddam, which led to millions of deaths http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_iraq_war

Religion leads to serious Brain-disease.
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ciao

(For reference purposes to other posts only. Thanks to bb for providing the link.)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xm.../2006/02/19/ixportal.html

Iranian fatwa approves use of nuclear weapons
By Colin Freeman and Philip Sherwell in Washington
(Filed: 19/02/2006)

“Iran's hardline spiritual leaders have issued an unprecedented new fatwa, or holy order, sanctioning the use of atomic weapons against its enemies.

“In yet another sign of Teheran's stiffening resolve on the nuclear issue, influential Muslim clerics have for the first time questioned the theocracy's traditional stance that Sharia law forbade the use of nuclear weapons.” . . .

One f/m AKC chocolate 3.5y/o & a 3y/o male yellow mix (rescue).

It was good to see ns posting again. Unfortunately, all I've had time to do so far is to give it a quick once-over and print it out. The problem with ongoing stimulating internet dialogues is that it's too easy to fall behind due to the necessity of having to deal with other matters which are often not nearly so interesting.

I'm off and running once again.