Aidan MaconachyAidan MaconachyA non-partisan blog that discusses a wide variety of topics. These include politics, religion, secular issues, culture, news stories. The blog also features a regular cartoon strip . Articles
UN expert stands by his Israel-Nazi comparison
2008-04-09 02:57:00 Professor Richard Falk, the next UN investigator into Israel i conduct in the occupied territories, has drawn some heat for comparing Israeli military actions in Gaza with the Nazi s. He continues to stand by his comments.Falk compared what he described as: 'the massive Israeli punishment directed at the entire population of Gaza', with the Nazi record of collective atrocity.He also makes the point that if the same type of extreme military action had been carried out by the Chinese against Tibetans or by the Sudanese government in its dealing with Darfur, the Nazi comparison would have been readily applied without objection.When these ruthless Israeli incursions into Gaza were taking place, the muted criticism in the media demonstrated yet again that a different standard applies to Israel.The use of overwhelming military force in Gaza and the civilian death toll that accompanied it, seems to be just a part of the "right" Israel arrogates to itself when it comes to raining carnage o... More About: Comparison , Expert
Kurt Westergaard: takes a shot at Geert Wilders
2008-04-07 04:05:00 Interesting interview with Kurt Westergaard in Der Spiegel. Westergaard is the artist who created the bomb-in-the-turban cartoon of the prophet Mohammad.He is suing Geert Wilders for using the cartoon in the video, Fitna. Westergaard says that "the cartoon must not be used against Muslim society as a whole." He makes it clear that his intended targets were Islamist terrorists.He points out how his views differ from Wilders:"Wilders has a overly generalized perception of Muslims as potential terrorists. But it's not like that at all -- I know a lot of Muslims living here in Denmark who accept democracy completely and who live their religion as a very private matter."The interview gives a glimpse into the thinking of a man who comes across as surprisingly reasonable.Tags: Kurt Westergaard, Geert Wilders, Fitna, Islam, prophet Mohammad" title="Atom feed">Site Feed More About: Shot
Tom Lukiwski tape: Tom's a type "A" guy ... right?
2008-04-06 06:25:00 A tape Canadian Conservative MP, Tom Lukiwski, made 16 years ago has come back to bite him. The homophobic remarks on the tape are about as vile as it gets.On the tape Lukiwski says: "Let me put it to you this way. There's A's and there's B's. The A's are guys like me, the B's are homosexual faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases."Wow ... Tom's an "A". He needs us to know this. Guys who go out of their way to strut their "straight credentials" leave you wondering why they feel the need to be assertive about it. Seems a little ... weird? The gay smear that follows is nasty. Tom wouldn't be overcompensating for anything here, would he?The Liberal and Parti Quebecois parties have called on Stephen Harper to fire Lukiwski as parliamentary secretary. Liberal MP Scott Brison, who is gay, made the point that it wasn't as if Lukiwski was a teenager when the remarks were made. At the time the tape was made he was a 40 year old adult.Stories like this re-enforc... More About: Type
Priest rakes in $6 million staging fake exorcisms
2008-04-05 04:06:00 Father Francesco Saverio Bazzoffi knows how to draw a crowd and loosen the purse strings. His exorcism "shows" were staged in the House of the Sainted Archangels in Florence, an organization he founded.At his exorcism events, often attended by as many as 400 people, Bazzoffi's associates would pretend to be possessed by demons. Bazzoffi would drive out the "demons" using ancient and cryptic rites . On occasion the priest spoke in Aramaic to add to the general air of suspense.Once the audience was hooked by the strange proceedings, the priest would offer to "heal" those in attendance, while soliciting contributions to his organization.Prosecutors have been monitoring Bazzoffi since 2005. They have also put 13 of his associates under investigation. A seizure of personal documents revealed that he had more than $6 million in his bank account. He said that since House of the Sainted Archangels isn't a registered business, he decided to open a bank account in his own name and funnel t... More About: Fake , Million , Priest , Staging
We can work something out
2008-04-05 04:03:00 Tags: exorcism, Pope" title="Atom feed">Site Feed More About: Work
Mobile phones: 'more risky than smoking and asbestos'
2008-04-02 03:18:00 There have been mixed messages about the possible dangers of mobile phone use. Clinical studies have on occasion produced contradictory findings, making it difficult for mobile phone users to arrive at a realistic assessment of the risks.Research undertaken by Dr Vini Khurana, has shed new light on the dangers, and takes the view that prolonged mobile phone use could kill more people over time than smoking or asbestos.Professor Khurana is a top neurosurgeon with many awards to his name. He has reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phone use. Recently he placed the results of his research on a brain surgery website - www.brain-surgery-us.He cites a body of evidence that demonstrates a link between mobile phone use and brain tumors. Professor Khurana believes the use of a handset for 10 years or more could double the risk of a brain tumor.A number of clinical studies have made a connection between mobile phone use and brain tumors. One of the best known is a study by... More About: Mobile , Mobile Phones , Phones , Smoking
Hillary Clinton's big Bosnian adventure
2008-03-28 07:47:00 In March 1996, Hillary Clinton made a trip to Bosnia. She claims the trip was "too dangerous" to be undertaken by the President. In a speech to supporters, she regaled them with tales of "landing under sniper fire" and running "with our heads down."This is little more than fiction, and calls into question Clinton's judgment - especially given the fact that there are eye witnesses who have stepped forward to tell it like it was.The comedian Sinbad accompanied Clinton on the trip. He claims the scariest part was deciding where to eat. Responding to Sinbad's remarks, Clinton dismissed him archly as "a comedian".However there are others with clear recall who aren't comedians. A reporter who visited Bosnia after the 1995 Dayton peace agreement, made clear that Tuzla was a heavily fortified US air base. Prior to Hillary's arrival, Bill Clinton paid a visit to Tuzla on January 13, 1996.The Washington Post's, John Pomfret, covered the trip and he is adamant that Tuzla airport is one of... More About: Adventure
Christopher Hitchens' identity crisis
2008-03-28 05:54:00 Recent online discussions about Obama and the race factor, prompted me to revisit a Hitchens column ,"identity crisis", that appeared in Slate in January.Hitchens' objections to placing "emphasis on shade" makes it ironic that he sort of does. In a reference to Obama he says - "And why is a man with a white mother considered to be "black," anyway?"That's hardly the point. The point is that Obama has chosen to articulate himself as African-American. Nor incidentally is Obama's African-American identity easily pigeonholed, despite Hitchens' best efforts with Trinity United - "a sub-standard and shade oriented place."Then we we get this:"Last week happened to be the week that the nation of Kenya—birthplace of Obama's father—was convulsed by a political war that contained ghastly overtones of violent and sadistic tribalism. It would sound as absurd to a Kenyan to hear praise for a black candidate as it would sound to most of my European readers to hear a recommendation of a "g... More About: Christopher Hitchens , Identity , Crisis
John McCain's "senior moment" insights
2008-03-25 19:09:00 When John McCain opens his mouth about Iraq, he keeps parroting Bush administration talking points.Given his recent Al Qaeda gaffes, McCain doesn't inspire confidence. When he talks you would think he was referring to some war movie with a divinely sanctioned plot that guarantees America always wins in the end. In the meantime his attitude seems to be that poorly understood details will kinda ... sort themselves out.He keeps bleating "we're succeeding in Iraq", even though the reality in Iraq doesn't exactly endorse his optimism. In the face of criticism, he added recently "We're succeeding. I don't care what anyone says."The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace released a sombre report on Iraq that offers much needed realism:"Despite the presence of over 160,000 U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of 2007 and an improvement in the security situation, Iraq remains an unstable, violent, and deeply divided country, indeed a failed state ... The balance of power between Iran and... More About: Senior , Moment , Insights
"Cool Islam" and Hadith revisions
2008-03-24 19:52:00 Medine is a Muslim rapper from Le Havre. At one time he wasn't such a cool dude. When he was younger he was on-the-fringes of a French society that he viewed as decadent. Not any more. Now Medine is finding a new way to dialogue, a new way to do business.Medine wants to take advantage of a free economy and liberal democracy to promote his talent and his message. But he hasn't sold out his Muslim heritage. He prays at the required times. He is devout. These days he is more interested in discovering common ground. He speaks of universal principles, rather than dogma. He's about reaching out.In France young Muslim women are stepping out in new ways also. A BBC article gives us a glimpse into the life of Zahya, as she shops in the area of the Gare du Nord in Paris. She's shopping for a traditional western-style white wedding dress. An imam will preside over the ceremony, but the rest of the wedding will be as western as her life in France.As Zayha puts it when speaking of her leisu... More About: Islam , Cool , Hadith
The tomb of St Peter: new documentary challenges Catholic tradition
2008-03-23 19:13:00 A new documentary, "The Secret of the Twelve Disciples", manages to put a dint in one of the pillars of the Roman Catholic tradition. The documentary features academics who accuse the Church of fabricating its connection with the apostle Peter , in order to create the impression of an unbroken link to Christ. The Roman Catholic version of events, has St Peter ending up in Rome, where he was allegedly crucified and buried. The documentary describes this belief as "a conspiracy of faith". There is no scientific basis whatever for the claim that the apostle made it to Rome, and even less proof that he was crucified and buried there. The Catholic Church expects its adherents to go along with this version of events based upon received knowledge, what some Catholic theologians refer to as the "great weight" of tradition. The Catholic claims become even more suspect when you consider that in 1939, the Vatican stage managed what can only be described an archaeological circus. Pius Xll ord... More About: Documentary , Tradition
Apostolic succession
2008-03-23 18:27:00 Tags: apostolic succession, Pope Benedict, St Peter" title="Atom feed">Site Feed More About: Succession
Stuff White People Like
2008-03-21 14:08:00 Stuff White People Like is a newish blog that has been drawing a huge amount of traffic and comments. It's run by Christian Lander, who is himself a white guy ... a white guy from Toronto even. He moved to LA 2 1/2 years ago. When he started White Stuff he was pulling in about 200 hits a day, but the hit count has since sky rocketed to 300,000 daily.A post on Asian girls ranks in his top 11 posts. The reasons white guys like Asians according to Lander, is partly because of guilt about WW2 internment camps and the Vietnam war. As far as looks are concerned, Landers thinks Asian women appear more desirable because white women are jealous of them. He offers the following evidence:"Take for instance the fact that Asian women well into their 30s and 40s retain teen / college girl looks without the help of botox, yoga or a trendy diet (future posts). Asian women also avoid key white women characteristics such as having a mid life crisis, divorce, and hobbies that don’t involve taking... More About: Stuff , White People
Ezra Levant as freedom-of-speech champion?
2008-03-20 00:23:00 Ezra Levant 's griping about the evils of the Human Rights Commission, is a little rich. Levant as freedom of speech champ? Well maybe, if you have a really good sense of humor.Conservatives who make a big deal about HRC assaults on freedom of speech are less than consistent. When they happen to be the target of speech they don't like, it's an entirely different story.The frivolous, self-serving lawsuit isn't a hard call for the well heeled who have no problem covering the legal fees. In Conrad Black's case it was almost a reflex action. Of course they argue that well ... unlike the HRC, we're talking about a court of law, rules of evidence etc with the risk of having to cough up legal fees if you're on the losing end. This overlooks the truth that lawsuits of this type are frequently used to shut people up for self-serving reasons that require a bit of finessing by a resourceful lawyer or two in order to stand up in court.Forget about the lawsuit end of it.The conduct of a ... More About: Freedom , Freedom of Speech , Speech , Champion
Bjork angers the Chinese with "Tibet! Tibet!" chant
2008-03-18 22:51:00 At the close of a performance in Shanghai, Bjork performed the tune "Declare Independence". At the end of the song she began shouting "Tibet ! Tibet!", an add-on that wasn't a hit with the Chinese Culture Ministry. A spokesperson said that they would take steps to ensure that Bjork doesn't repeat her one-woman demo."If Bjork continued to behave like that in the future, we may consider never allowing her to perform in China."The Ministry released a statement saying Bjork had "broken Chinese law and hurt Chinese feelings"."Declare Independence" is a song that Bjork has customized before in order to lend support to other countries' bids for independence, for example Greenland and the Faroe islands.The Chinese were obviously asleep at the wheel because Bjork's support for Tibet isn't exactly a secret. She performed at several fundraising concerts in the US in the 1990's in support of Tibetan independence.Most Chinese view Tibet as a part of China and can get resentful when outsider... More About: Chant
Stephen Harper: hides behind the law on Cadman allegations
2008-03-17 17:11:00 The lawsuit Harper has filed against the Liberals is just another example of conservatives attempting to use the law to shut down legitimate comment. It's the fascist reflex, which is ironical when you consider how upset they get if a Human Rights Tribunal has the nerve to put the clamps on what they regard as their freedom of speech.The Liberal finger pointing over what Harper allegedly knew about the Chuck Cadman deal, is low key when you consider what Harper has himself aimed at opponents.Think back a bit to the years when magazines like the Western Standard were targeting the Liberals during the adscam affair. The mud slinging and accusations flew thick and fast with Western Standard's Ezra Levant leading the charge. The magazine played up a mafia caricature, and referred to the Liberals as "the Libranos". The accusations being hurled were extremely personal and damaging. It makes the Liberal finger pointing in the Cadman affair seem almost polite. The Tories didn't pull thei... More About: Stephen Harper , Stephen
Omar Khadr framed: doctored evidence revealed
2008-03-17 06:03:00 Toronto native Omar Khadr was 15 years old when he was arrested at an Al Qaida camp in Afghanistan. He was just a kid - a child soldier under the control of a father-with-a-cause.Khadr is now 21 and an inmate at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay. The US government claims he threw a grenade during a fire fight that killed a soldier.It now turns out that the official documents that describe the alleged grenade incident, had been doctored to suit what Khadr's lawyer calls "the reality that was most convenient to the United States government at that time.” In other words Khadr was framed.This came to light when the documents changed hands as a result of the discovery process. In the original report dated July 20th,2002, a commander had written that the person who threw the grenade had died. A couple of months later a line was altered. The report then indicated that the grenade thrower had survived.The judge in the case sided with the defense team and granted Khadr's lawyers access... More About: Evidence
Seyed Mehdi Kazemi: given temporary reprieve
2008-03-16 03:07:00 UK Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, has granted Mehdi Kazemi a temporary reprieve from deportation.This is great news. A lot of effort went into the fight to save Mehdi from being sent back to Iran, where he may possibly have faced a death sentence for being homosexual. Thanks to all who lent their support.Last year a number of demonstrations were staged in Europe protesting the execution of gays in Iran. A vigil held in Cologne on the 19th July was organized by baraka and the Gay Homeland Foundation.Mehdi, a 19 year old Iranian, was refused asylum in the Netherlands. It was feared that he would be deported upon his return to the UK. As I mentioned in an earlier post, a former partner of Mehdi's was hanged in Iran for the "crime" of being a gay man. So there were very good reasons to fear for Mehdi's safety.All told it is estimated that Iran has executed more than 4,000 gay men and lesbians since the Ayatollahs seized power in 1979.Chief executive of the gay rights group Stonewall, B...
Steyn gets paid for this?: apologies to jackasses
2008-03-15 18:51:00 Some of Mark Steyn's little helpers have staged my online execution, Al Qaida style, over at Daimnation! That's about their speed. I'm glad to announce that reports of my demise are premature. Check out the post by Mark Collins of Ottawa, as he is sometimes called.I posted Mark Steyn spins reality with "America Alone" earlier this week.As I discovered later, Steyn was onto it as soon as it hit Google. He was in and out of my blog watching for edits. He leaped to the conclusion that my editing was being influenced by something he had just posted. As I discovered later, he misrepresented my post as "a review".I wasn't alerted to the post about me on his site until I opened an email from a Fred Patten, a member of Steyn's wingnut club, who dissed me for having the temerity to call his hero a bigot. It was Patten or "Fredly", as his email was signed, who alerted me to the post in Steyn's yellowish cyber den.I've read "America Alone". I'm well acquainted with Steyn's delusional... More About: Paid , Jackasses
Geraldine Ferraro gets it wrong on Obama
2008-03-14 04:20:00 Former vice-presidential candidate and member of the Clinton finance committee, Geraldine Ferraro, puts down Barack Obama 's success in the Democratic race to the fact that he is a black man:"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."Truth is, Obama didn't exactly have an easy ride. A Kenyan father and a white American mother may make him African-American, but it also made him an outsider in the eyes of some black Americans. He received part of his education in Asia, not the good ole USA. His name might even be considered a liability when applying for a job in some parts of the country.The success Obama has enjoyed is due to his ability to rise above the type of pettiness that makes racial characteristics a determining factor. The fact that Geraldine Ferraro played the race card in attempting to explain a... More About: Wrong
Dow Marmur and Meir Hirsch: two tragedies, two Jewish opinions
2008-03-13 18:29:00 It was interesting to note how the media covered the Israeli attack on Gaza, as compared to how it covered the tragic shooting of eight young students at the yeshiva in Jerusalem.The Israeli incursion into Gaza involved ground troops, bulldozers, tanks, helicopters and F-16's. Over 120 Palestinians were killed, including women and children. How many times have we seen this before? You begin to wonder if the faceless Palestinians who are killed and injured are simply human collateral damage that the world has grown accustomed to sweeping aside in the name of support for the state of Israel. Do we even know the name of one victim? Gazans are dispensable. No names, no faces, no family history - just more unfortunate Arabs caught in the crossfire.By contrast when a lone gunman entered the Jerusalem seminary and killed eight students, the media cast it as "the moment the peace process died," with politicians right and left full of condemnation and regret. British PM, Gordon Brown, even ... More About: Jewish , Opinions , Tragedies , Hirsch
Seyed Mehdi Kazemi: update
2008-03-12 13:07:00 Word has just been received that Seyed Mehdi Kazemi's appeal for asylum by Dutch authorities has been turned down.Mehdi is a 19 year old gay Iranian, who was 'outed' in Iran when a friend revealed his relationship with Mehdi to the authorities. The friend was subsequently hung on sodomy charges. Mehdi is a member of the EveryOne group. He faces a possible death sentence in Iran for being a homosexual. Until this recent decision by Dutch authorities, Mehdi was being held in the detention center at Rotterdam Airport.Mehdi will be sent back to the United Kingdom. It is likely the Home Office will deport him to Iran. According to sharia law, homosexual relations (defined as "lavat") is a crime punishable by death.Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, spoke out on Mehdi's behalf: "It seems absolutely clear that any gay or lesbian person sent back to Iran is at risk of their lives," he said. "Such returns must be stopped."Support has also come from Jean Lambe... More About: Update
Muslims in Europe: everyone's favorite scapegoat
2008-03-12 01:22:00 The problem in Europe is not "Islamofascism" - a term Christopher Hitchens continues to use without any embarrassment. The problem is fascism. The problem in Europe is not radical hordes of Muslims threatening to take over - the problem is xenophobia, racism, marginalization and unemployment faced by Muslim men and women who far from living in expectations of "Eurabia", are more realistically living in expectation of the penal colony, a very large one with no fences in which they exist as an underclass.A small percentage of Muslim youth is radicalized along the lines of the British tabloid stereotype. A larger number of Muslim youth is sufficiently marginalized and angry to resort to delinquent behavior, including rioting. However the vast majority of European Muslims consist of families struggling to get by in societies that stigmatize them, however subtly, and relegate them to the fringes.When I say that fascism, not "Islamofascism", is on the rise I'm not engaging in hyperbole. ... More About: Favorite
The future is ours
2008-03-12 00:48:00 Tags: Eurabia, European Muslims, unemployment" title="Atom feed">Site Feed More About: Future , The Future
Germany : record number of right-wing attacks in 2007
2008-03-11 05:16:00 The German activist group, Gesicht Zeigen! (Show your Faces), monitors attacks by right-wing thugs and neo-Nazis. The group was founded by the anti-racist campaigner, Uwe-Karsten Heye, a former spokesperson for Germany 's Social Democratic-Green Coalition.The stats kept by Gesicht Zeigen! show that some 600 people were assaulted by right-wing attackers in 2007. In the state of Brandenburg alone there were 11 attacks on businesses operated by immigrants. It is part of a right-wing strategy aimed at intimidation and the destruction of livelihoods.Over the last two decades 130 people have been murdered by thugs from various right-wing groups. These include immigrants, asylum seekers and the homeless. The hard men of the right rarely pick fights with those who can fight back, invariably they pick on the weak, the vulnerable and those they perceive as outsiders.Xenophobia is alive and well in Germany. Heye caused controversy in 2006 when he stated that parts of Germany were no-go areas f... More About: Right Wing , Wing , Record , Attacks
Eurabia : reasons it's a fantasy for the paranoid
More articles from this author:2008-03-09 17:29:00 The internet is full of alarmist cries of "the Muslims are coming! ... the Muslims are coming!". According to a number of best selling alarmists who hide behind a cloak of authorial respectability, Europe is heading toward a Muslim take-over. It's not going to happen. A lot of this hype comes with a very large ulterior motive. Wealthy and influential Jews in America and Europe allied with pro-Israel organizations are not unnaturally alarmed by growing Muslim populations, and the increasing influence of Islam in Europe. Much of the scare mongering comes from this corner.When you look at the backgrounds of the Chicken Little impersonators issuing the warnings, you will find conservative Republican connections, Zionist connections, dig further and it will become clear that many are themselves Jewish or with pro-Israel sympathies. This thing is a huge crock.Although demographics can be useful, stats can also be abused to support shaky hypotheses. Often a gut level response from someone... More About: Fantasy , Eurabia , Reasons , Paranoid 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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