People Thirst: Slave labourers are dying in 50°C heat

Imagine if religious fanatics in predominantly catholic countries like Ireland, Poland or Italy started physically assaulting non-catholics - for example, muslims - who were eating meat on "good friday" (or any Friday, as catholics used to ban).  Imagine if the catholics demanded laws to arrest and punish or imprison people who do eat meat on those days. 

Would you defend the creation of religious laws where the majority imposed their religious practices upon minorities who don't belong to that religion?  (Well, fanatical christians in the US would, so that's not a good place for an example.)  If it's wrong in one place, it's wrong everywhere.


Not eating meat won't kill anybody, but NOT being allowed to drink water will kill people who are forced to perform hard manual labour in 50-60°C heat (120-140°F for Americans). 

In 2016, ramadan is in June.  This is the hottest month of the year at the equator, and in most predominantly muslim Middle Eastern and North African countries, temperatures are high enough to kill people who are drinking water and not doing physical labour. 

‘Warning’ for non-Muslims caught eating in public during Ramadan

Saudi labourers still working in 55°C temperatures

Death toll among Qatar’s 2022 World Cup workers revealed

North Koreans working as ‘state-sponsored slaves’ in Qatar

Forcing people to work in 50-60°C temperatures while preventing them from drinking water is NOT "respecting culture".  It is a human rights abuse by a theocratic majority, endangering the lives of a powerless minority. 

People should have the freedom to practice their religion, what they don't have is the right to expect non-adherents to obey the religion of the majority.  But as with the catholics of the past (who did physically violate those who didn't follow catholic rules) muslim countries have no hesitation about ramadaning it down your throat.  Or rather, about preventing water going down your throat.

Terrorists Threaten: Ignorant yank jarheads display their stupidity

Some people in the US have been arrested and been charged and even imprisoned for uttering terrorists threats of murder. The far rightwingnuts in the US have spewn trite tripe about "thoughts and prayers" for the 49 victims in Orlando. But you can be sure not a single one of them will be calling for the two US military terrorists to be prosecuted for uttering terrorist threats - threats for which muslims have been imprisoned.

Marines Under Investigation for Allegedly Threatening to Attack Gay Bars

Two marines are under investigation for uploading a photo to social media in which they allegedly threatened to attack gay bars—all less than a week after the shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, which has been deemed the worst mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history.

The photo, which was posted on the Camp MENdleton resale Facebook group—a closed group for male marines with an amassed 25,000 members—features an unnamed male corporal holding a military rifle with his finger poised on the trigger.

The caption accompanying the photo reads "Coming to a gay bar near you!"

Words Fail : The change in "O Canada" lyrics is insufficient

The unfortunately-current Canadian government has put forward an incomplete bill that only addresses half of a problem, completely ignoring the other equally large half.  No doubt intentionally.

The bill proposes that Canada's national anthem "O Canada" remove a masculine noun in favour of a gender neutral noun. 

Current lyric: "In all thy sons command"

Proposed lyric: "In all of us command"

This is a start, but it is only half the job required.  A modern country that purports to be a democracy has no place promoting theocracy.  All promotion of religion should be purged from official documents and ceremonies.  When you promote one, you give it official status and discriminate against others.  You also allow them to argue for their religion in government.

Current lyric: "Mythical being keep our land glorious and free"

Proposed lyric: "Let us keep our land democratic and free"







A secular state is not an atheist state, no matter how many times the religious repeat the lie.

Should ‘O Canada’ lyrics be gender-neutral? Other countries have tweaked their anthem in the past

In 2013, Switzerland ran a public contest looking for more modern lyrics for its national song The Swiss Psalm, which critics said were too religious, (When the Alps glow bright with splendor / pray to God, to Him surrender,” for example.) A winner was announced on Sept. 12, 2015, but the Swiss government has not yet voted on the change.

Vomiting induced: Religion aids and abets a criminal. Again.

Briton Richard Huckle is currently on trial in England, facing twenty two potential life sentences for his crimes in Cambodia and Malaysia, the rape of dozens of children.  He worked for christian bible schools and ESL schools in those countries, gaining access to children through his job.

Christopher Neil is a serial child rapist who taught in Asia and committed crimes against children in Cambodia.  He was given an unfortunately short prison sentence in 2007 and has since re-offended after his release in 2012.

Neil is an ardent christian who studied to be a priest.  Is Huckle also an ardent christian like Neil?  I don't know.  But like Neil, he used his religiosity to gain access to children.  Those whose responsibility to hire foreign workers and protect those children failed to do their jobs.  They were all too willing to employ people based on religious fervour and willingness to accept poor working conditions.


Every non-christian I have met refuses to work for christian run ESL schools because such schools engage in questionable employment practices.  Most of them ask for unpaid work, excessive hours and six day workweeks, offer substandard pay or fail to pay as promised, provide poor living conditions, refuse to apply for or provide a legal work visa, etc.  Religious schools are scraping the bottom of the barrel in who they hire, so it doesn't surprise that they end up hiring slime.

From Buzzfeed:

Paedophile Who Raped Malaysian Children Faces 22 Life Sentences 

One of the UK’s most prolific paedophiles abused and raped children and babies in poor Southeast Asian communities for years, while bragging about it online and publishing a guide on how to carry out the abuse undetected.

Huckle taught English and Bible studies to children in Cambodia and Malaysia, outwardly appearing to be a trustworthy Christian. He even featured in a promotional video made by the British Council in Malaysia highlighting its work.

From The Telegraph, UK:

Britain's 'worst paedophile' Richard Huckle who targeted poverty-stricken children faces life in prison after admitting scores of offences

He then began to visit Malaysia regularly, posing as a teacher, photographer and philanthropist in order ingratiate himself with a local Christian community before raping and abusing their children.

There is no evidence at this stage that he abused any children in the UK, but the authorities have not ruled out victims coming forward.

Huckle's favourite method was to target vulnerable children in poverty stricken communities, even boasting of his exploits to other paedophiles online

Music Rules: Rough Trade, "What's the Furor About the Führer?"

Who says things never change? Sometimes they get worse.

"Air is thick with propaganda
Terrorists? The new SS
We're in the midst of a recession
A new master race goossteps into our hearts
[...]
Every one of us is a neo-nazi
Living in a so-called democracy"

Hysteria Repeats: Like father, like son of a...

In February 2016, Justin Trudeau signed a law that falsely equates boycotts of Israel to be "anti-Semitism" and attempts to silence reporting of Israel's actions.  In doing so, he has proven he is his father's son, both overreacting and reacting with callous bigotry and denying human rights and free speech.

From 1963 to 1970, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ, or in English, Quebec Liberation Front) was a political terrorist group active in Canada.  They engaged in various acts of terrorism across the province such as bombing railway lines, the home of Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau, and bombing government buildings.  Their most well known acts were the kidnappings of British trade commissioner James Richard Cross and Quebec vice premier Pierre Laporte in October 1970, now referred to as the October Crisis.  (Cross was eventually released, but Laporte was murdered soon after being kidnapped.)

Then Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau enacted the War Measures Act, which was normally used only in wartime to do things like imprison Canadians of Japanese descent (and confiscate their wealth and property, for which they were never reimbursed).  This effectively turned Canada into a police state, giving the RCMP the authority to arrest people without charge and deny them access to lawyers or trials if they spoke or displayed any sympathies towards the FLQ.  Claims of torture by the RCMP were made but never proven (i.e. whitewashed by internal "investigation", not by independent eyes).

Little Trudeau's anti-BDS law is as morally repugnant and unethical.  It whitewashes war crimes and human rights violations of Israel (e.g. collective punishment of innocent civilians, the reporting of murders and illegal executions, illegal prisons where people are tortured and have no legal protections, the denial of food, water and medicine to civilian populations) and makes talking about and reporting such acts a crime.

No matter what each did or does to prop up their own image (i.e. national medicare or claiming to be a feminist), nothing is going to erase the taint of their unethical acts.  Like father, like son of a....

They Gave Up: Call them "Desperation Bombers", not "Suicide Bombers"

Many people object to the term "Suicide Bomber" for those who engage in violence that cause their own deaths.  (If they aren't suicide attacks, what were the Japanese kamikaze attacks in World War II?)  Some have tried to use the term "Homicide Bomber", but that is a more apt term for those who kill and commit mass murder from a distance, like bomber pilots or drone operators.

A better term for those who kill themselves would be Desperation Bombers. They are people who no longer have concern for their own lives and living, who are willing to die for their cause because they have nothing else. The willingness of those who kill themselves for terrorist groups is no different than the willingness of soldiers to follow orders and die in combat. The only difference is their motivation.

People who have chronic and incurable conditions (e.g. terminal cancer, MS, ALS, etc.) sometimes choose to commit suicide because their quality of life is declining and will never improve. They have lost optimism and hope, choosing to end their own suffering. It is not a sign of mental illness.

The same is true of the kidnapped torture victims at Guantanamo Bay who attempt or commit suicide. It’s not a political statement or mental illness (though it is a sign of mental and physical abuse). And it’s definitely not an attempt to kill Americans since the victims have no resources nor the ability to cause harm. Their suicides are acts of desperation to end their suffering, the only means they have left.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of young Palestinians choosing to become bombers, and the reason is a lack of a future. Israel and its military intentionally bomb schools, demolish homes, cut off Palestine economically, kill people indiscriminately with no accountability, cut off access to water, food, medicine and other necessities. Desperation and lack of hope makes it easy for Hamas to recruit. It’s not because Palestinians are inherently violent. Jobs and futures are a scarce commodity in Palestine.

Who Are the New Hamas Recruits in Gaza?

Many of 15,000 applicants have no interest in police work or in politics – they just are looking for jobs.

When the Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip announced recently plans to hire about 1,000 new policemen, 15,000 applied.

Only a few of those reporting for fitness tests one recent afternoon expressed an interest in police work or said they belonged to the Islamic militant group. Most just wanted a job.

Plagued by poverty for decades, Gaza’s private sector has been all but wiped out by nearly four years of closed borders and last year’s devastating Israeli offensive. In the meantime, Hamas has solidified its grip, making it Gaza’s second largest employer.

The same applies to young muslims in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, etc.) and Europe (e.g. France, Belgium, England). Poverty, racism, high rates of unemployment and a lack of opportunities among young populations makes it easy for extremists to find recruits. When there is no future and nothing to live for, it’s easy to convince someone to die for a cause.

What Motivates the Suicide Bombers?

Study of a comprehensive database gives a surprising answer

[…]

In September 2007 when American forces raided an Iraqi insurgent camp in the desert town of Singar near the Syrian border they discovered biographies of more than seven hundred foreign fighters. The Americans were surprised to find that 137 were Libyans and 52 of them were from a small Libyan town of Darnah. The reason why so many of Darnah’s young men had gone to Iraq for suicide missions was not the global jihadi ideology, but an explosive mix of desperation, pride, anger, sense of powerlessness….

Neither increased policing, military presense, spying nor tracking people will stop extremist terrorism in Europe. Those will only exacerbate the situation. The answer is including minority communities in society and giving them work and educational opportunities, giving them a future. When people see themselves welcomed and included in society, they will have no reason to listen to, support or join extremists.

When they have a reason to live, they won’t be willing to die as desperation bombers.