The Refuge of the Toads

[Scented Nectar]

:lol: That gave me a good laugh.

It may sound funny, but I'm serious. I used to laugh at anyone who claimed a war on christmas or christians, but there really is a lot of undeserved shit they face for no other reason than their religion. I'm still against any incursion into things like the school system or city halls, but otherwise, I'm on their side these days.

Check this out. Milo, the famous fabulous faggot, got together with some very religious christians after Orlando. You won't see any muslims doing this (at least not with a huge dose of taqiyya). I'll never be a believer in gods, etc, but these ones have their hearts in the right place despite being against homosexuality. It's a very nice sentiment they're expressing. They are not saying "good, you've been smitten for your sins" or anything vile. So different from most muslims' responses to Orlando. Refreshing in comparison.

"Billy Graham volunteers pray for Milo"
[youtube]6wZWqcpvlUU[/youtube]

Yeah. When I was a young man, I was very anti-Christian. Over the past few decades I've come to realize that a fair amount of rationalist anti-Christian history I had learnt and thought I knew was skewed. (e.g. I used to think the Christians destroyed the library of Alexandria (Hypatia, etc.). Now I know that it partly just dissipated over the centuries and the final blow was in fact struck by Muslims.)

I blame Gibbon :) It's clear to me now that as a minority fighting for air in an overwhelmingly Christian world, rationalists (understandably in hindsight) did tell some porkies through the 17th to 19th centuries, and those lies are now unfortunately deeply-buried parts of the liberal/progressive gestalt.

This is part of a larger mental house-cleaning that's been going on over the past 10 years. I started off as a socialist in my youth, and more or less my whole intellectual life has been a dawning realization that I was Motte & Baileyed from a young age, that my core, heartfelt commitment was really always to classical liberal values, and that a major reason it's taken so long has been winkling out the last little gobbets of ideology-induced virtue-signalling from my psyche.

Back in the 80s, the feminists taught me that the library of Alexandria contained evidence of an ancient peaceful utopian matriarchal society, and that men had burned it down to suppress women. A bunch of us used to add 5000 years to the current date, or was it 8000? Judging by what google says, both were incorrect, but whatever. Who cares about facts when there's a cause to fight? I even did a little painting once where I dated the back with the feminist revised version. I believed anything back then. :)

[feathers]

Several years ago, after about seventeen years of marriage, I had a few brief affairs, because I found myself unequipped to handle certain unusual circumstances in our marriage, which I won’t discuss here because they intrude on my wife’s privacy. In the process of that I also came to realize I can’t do monogamy and be happy. Since this was going to come to light eventually, about two years ago I confessed all of this to Jen and told her I still love her but I would certainly understand if she wanted a divorce

...
But what can a man do about his sexual orientation? Even if it takes 17 years of marriage to manifest.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that he's enmeshed in a pomo community where they consider it an "orientation" rather than a psychological problem.

They're like a family of swans (no pun intended) telling him "But Richard, you're a Swan!" while, in fact, he's just an ugly duckling.

[Bhurzum]

I voted to #Brexit and even I find this funny.

http://thebrexitplan.com/

(If you can't laugh at yourself, huh?)

[Matt Cavanaugh]

Several years ago, after about seventeen years of marriage, I had a few brief affairs, because I found myself unequipped to handle certain unusual circumstances in our marriage, which I won’t discuss here because they intrude on my wife’s privacy. In the process of that I also came to realize I can’t do monogamy and be happy. Since this was going to come to light eventually, about two years ago I confessed all of this to Jen and told her I still love her but I would certainly understand if she wanted a divorce

...
But what can a man do about his sexual orientation? Even if it takes 17 years of marriage to manifest.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that he's enmeshed in a pomo community where they consider it an "orientation" rather than a psychological problem.

The 'Poly Pride' movement is well underway in the Plusser-dominated A/S activist community. But unlike Gay Pride, the Polys aren't satisfied with mere acceptance; they want to recruit -- need to, really, to feed the polycules -- and often argue that poly lifestyle is ethically superior to monogamy.

They're already actively indoctrinating undergrads, and may be bringing that message to kids. Heather Has Two Mommies will soon be joined on the bookshelves by Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends.

[jimhabegger]

... the ENTIRE FUCKING RELIGION OF ISLAM that says gays deserve to die.

5 Imams Who Are Openly Gay

[CommanderTuvok]

BTW, tomorrow - 3rd July - will be the Pit's fourth birthday!

Thanks for the 4 years, Boss, it's been a blast. You are the best! :clap: :dance:

Yes, thank you. I don't know what would have happened in a Pit-less world. Would FTB still be united? Would Radford still be fighting Stollznow? Would Avicenna still be stealing posts when he wasn't performing brain surgeries?

Yes, all that would still be happening.

We must not undersell ourselves at the Pit. We have gelded the fuckers at FreeThoughtBlogs, inspired wider anti-SJW movements, and humiliated several of the big FTBullies into obscurity. Look at Ophelia Benson and her cobweb now. We have fucking destroyed her. Nobody links to her, any more. PZ is now outed as a fucking rapist (by his own standards), a child rape enabler (by his own standards), and we have helped in destroying Avicenna, Carrier, McWrong, Brayton, Laden, and a bunch of other fucking losers.

It was the Pit wot won it. And we ain't finished with those paedophiles, yet.

[Really?]

Perhaps the biggest problem is that he's enmeshed in a pomo community where they consider it an "orientation" rather than a psychological problem.

The 'Poly Pride' movement is well underway in the Plusser-dominated A/S activist community. But unlike Gay Pride, the Polys aren't satisfied with mere acceptance; they want to recruit -- need to, really, to feed the polycules -- and often argue that poly lifestyle is ethically superior to monogamy.

They're already actively indoctrinating undergrads, and may be bringing that message to kids. Heather Has Two Mommies will soon be joined on the bookshelves by Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends.

I honestly don't understand the difference between "poly" and "swinging." It's all consensual sexual behavior and it's all been happening forever. Husbands and wives have always had "understandings." I don't know. Maybe it's more common now, but this really does seem like a "snowflakeization" of sexuality. I guess Carrier might claim that he and his "girlfriends" have relationships as opposed to just sex (even though he's only in town for a day, never to return), but husbands and wives have always had feelings for their partners on the side.

I do worry about the "Heather Has Two Mommies"/"Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends" situation. I have no objection at all to gay marriage/child rearing, of course. I do think that kids benefit when they have a strong male influence and a strong female influence. That influence can come from anywhere, of course. Perhaps a loving lesbian couple are friends with a couple of gay males and their kids hang out together. Or the male child of lesbians has a caring football coach. That's all fine.

I'm torn on the poly parenting situation, though. It sounds good if a little kid has five primary partners doting over it. I guess the problem arises in an Elyse situation, when the poor goddamn kinds are watching their father trace his neck with a knife, trying to work up the guts to go deep while the mother is out instagramming her abortion before she hits up Tinder a couple hours later.

[feathers]

It seems the German contingent of our board is miffed with the Brexit. Am I mistaken? Why are they displeased? Inquiring minds and all that.

They know they'll get the Alleinschuld when Europe falls apart. Been there, done that.

[feathers]

BTW, tomorrow - 3rd July - will be the Pit's fourth birthday!

Born on the third of July, eh?

BTW when you wrote that is was already the 3rd on Air Strip One and Eurasia, so congrats!

[CommanderTuvok]

Milo is a weasel, inisde a gadfly, inside a rabid badger.

Atheists may find common ground with him in the current rounds of the battles for free speech. But on the topic of religion he argues with all the honesty of Dinesh D'Souza.

As to your other opinions on the relative harmlessness of christians in America - I somewhat agree. Though I'm not up to date with the cases of for example the MRFF which does deal with some non-frivolous issues.

http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/

Absolutely. As good as Milo is in humiliating and baiting SJWs and the regressive left, he is fucking clueless when it comes to atheism. He shares a similar position on atheism as does Dean Esmay. Of course, Milo does not come from the liberal side of politics, whereas most SJWs do, or did. The SJWs split and dived into a regressive left politics, while the rest of us stayed progressive. This confuses the likes of Milo, who, as a conservative, doesn't really understand the different between the progressive left/liberals and the regressive left SJWs. He often lumps all SJWs in with "progressives". I've seen him do this in numerous interviews.

[CommanderTuvok]

Yeah, happy fucking birthday, Pit Crew and Arnie.

Here's to 4 more year fucking up the lives of Social Justice Warriors, paedophiles, child rapists, and other enablers of the regressive left.

We are coming to get you.

[feathers]

I had this to say on a blog entry about a Christian cross or some such thing on a watertower:

I see Herman has gone silent on Islamic terrorism. But, man, he is on top of Christian symbols on a watertower. If it had been a Muslim terrorist shooting a dozen people from the top of that tower he wouldn't have mentioned it. Keep us informed of Christian symbols on top of America's watertowers Hermant. Keep us safe.

True enough, but popping up on someone's blog and misspelling their name (Hemant) twice and differently might just not leave much of a good impression.

/pedantic

[Suet Cardigan]

BTW, tomorrow - 3rd July - will be the Pit's fourth birthday!

I've made some cakes to mark the Pit's birthday:

18_1463741157179.jpg

(32.97 KiB) Downloaded 171 times

I borrowed the plate from Myers' daughter.

[feathers]

I've just got back from the nether regions with all my nether wart and that

Too much information, too much information.

[Oglebart]

My wife has decided she might like an ex demo (1000km) 2016 Mini S soft top identical to below.

We have an 8 yo Honda CRV with all the bells and whistles. (L). It probably only worth about 7-10k.

The plan is to get a second car, keep the Honda for son and daughter to learn and drive on, down size for the smaller per journey numbers now in play and use the Honda when a full load is required.

The Mini would be a big extravagance used daily but only in local area.

It's not an S (ie it's a 1.5 turbo) but is optioned up. Wife has always had a sporty car like this on her bucket list as long as I can remember. She test drove it today and loved it.

Deci$ions. Anyone had any experience here.

Please.

http://resources.carsguide.com.au/style ... le-(4).jpg

Brive, my sister has the Mini Countryman, which is a SUV type thing, it's more spacious, she ferries her 3 young uns around in it. I was messaging her earlier and asked her what she thought, and she said "I do love it, it's a great car, but since the 3 year warranty ran out loads of things need fixing, my friend had the same, so whether bad luck or common I don't know. Last year the clutch went, now brake discs ansd a massive long list :cry: :cry: "

So, anecdata I know, I would have thought that BMW being in control would mean good reliability? Good ol' German engineering and all that!

This is the Countryman.

http://images.honestjohn.co.uk/imagecac ... %20(1).jpg

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

Happy birthday

funny-hot-girl-happy-birthday-greetings-gif_zpsbu4yss2g (2).gif

(1.35 MiB) Downloaded 167 times

[jimthepleb]

A Pee Bidet Pitizens!

[feathers]

Once you go BMW, you never go back - and that's coming from an ex-serial Jaguar nut.

My current whip:

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a61 ... uxzncd.jpg

Had it for years and even though I'm forever saying I want to upgrade to an M5, I just can't bear the thought of parting with it. Nippy, comfortable and very, very reliable. Handles like a dream too.

Pity though that in a short while, the British roads won't be able to carry European cars anymore.

[feathers]

http://resources.carsguide.com.au/style ... le-(4).jpg

Looks like somebody stole the steering wheel on that one...

And the roof. Fucking gypsies.

[Oglebart]

Once you go BMW, you never go back - and that's coming from an ex-serial Jaguar nut.

My current whip:

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a61 ... uxzncd.jpg

Had it for years and even though I'm forever saying I want to upgrade to an M5, I just can't bear the thought of parting with it. Nippy, comfortable and very, very reliable. Handles like a dream too.

Pity though that in a short while, the British roads won't be able to carry European cars anymore.

Do I see a 2-seater Smart car in the background?

[feathers]

BTW, tomorrow - 3rd July - will be the Pit's fourth birthday!

Thanks for the 4 years, Boss, it's been a blast. You are the best! :clap: :dance:

Suck-up.

Everything for the renewal of the Pit Art Master emblem.

[Ape+lust]

BTW, tomorrow - 3rd July - will be the Pit's fourth birthday!

Thanks for the 4 years, Boss, it's been a blast. You are the best! :clap: :dance:

Suck-up.

http://imgur.com/2CeJzyB.jpg

[Malky]

My wife has decided she might like an ex demo (1000km) 2016 Mini S soft top identical to below.

Wife has always had a sporty car like this on her bucket list as long as I can remember. She test drove it today and loved it.

Deci$ions. Anyone had any experience here.

Please.

[.img]http://resources.carsguide.com.au/style ... le-(4).jpg[/img]

I only have experience of driving minis as a loaner from the BMW service garage, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have experience of being the wife with expensive things on her want list, and in my humble opinion there is everything to be gained by sourcing such items. Go for it.

My first thought was how does he think he really has a choice now :think:

[Skep tickle]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/emo ... d=40299049

http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/07/02/tarishijain/

http://m.ajc.com/news/news/local/emory- ... tac/nrrNC/

Three college students studying in US among those killed in attack in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Two were studying at Emory, 1 at Berkeley. Two women, 1 man, & all 3 POC.

Wonder how much this will affect the views of students at those colleges & others, who have been reluctant to acknowledge Islamic-inspired violence.

[HunnyBunny]

Life here in Limousin is very exciting. We have 2 stages of the Tour De France this week. And then President Hollande is coming to the town 15 kms away from us on Saturday to open a museum. I can hardly contain my excitement. :|

Oh shit! All my sympathies :(

As long as Hollande doesn't turn up in lycra it should be ok. This time of year old men who should know better get excited about le tour and experience a sudden urge to don Lycra shorts and cycle on the country lanes around our place. As we are at the top of a hill, they often use the refuge afforded by our gates to take a breather and adjust their bits. Seriously guys, don't do that.

[Kirbmarc]

Yeah. When I was a young man, I was very anti-Christian. Over the past few decades I've come to realize that a fair amount of rationalist anti-Christian history I had learnt and thought I knew was skewed. (e.g. I used to think the Christians destroyed the library of Alexandria (Hypatia, etc.). Now I know that it partly just dissipated over the centuries and the final blow was in fact struck by Muslims.)

I blame Gibbon :) It's clear to me now that as a minority fighting for air in an overwhelmingly Christian world, rationalists (understandably in hindsight) did tell some porkies through the 17th to 19th centuries, and those lies are now unfortunately deeply-buried parts of the liberal/progressive gestalt.

This is part of a larger mental house-cleaning that's been going on over the past 10 years. I started off as a socialist in my youth, and more or less my whole intellectual life has been a dawning realization that I was Motte & Baileyed from a young age, that my core, heartfelt commitment was really always to classical liberal values, and that a major reason it's taken so long has been winkling out the last little gobbets of ideology-induced virtue-signalling from my psyche.

Every side tells lies and distorts reality. Propaganda works that way, and every intellectual movements has it. It's not all bad as long as one takes every account skeptically.

I don't think that being anti-Christian is bad per se. There's plenty of room to be anti-Christian while you're also anti-Islam, if you recognize that Islam right now is by far worse (at least in "the West"). These days many Christian organizations are even the lesser evil when compared to Scientology or other newer cults. This doesn't mean that Christianity is faultless or blameless or that there's no room for criticizing violations of separations of church and state by Christians when you have time, as long as you have your priorities straight.

The difference between Christianity and Islam isn't that one is intrinsically better than the other, but that Christians split and remain split, while Muslims did split, but not enough, and now are being unified, or at lease some sects attempt to unify them.

Christians have been gradually losing political and social power since the Reformation. The loss of religious unity within Western Europe meant a lot. It meant that persecuted minorities of "heretics" could escape the clutches of the big organization and eventually settle in the colonies or abroad, where they were forced to have a neutral or quasi-neutral state to avoid a civil war. This is why the culture of dissent from authority and of free thought that create the Enlightenment was possible. Were you persecuted in Rome? You could escape to Geneve, or to Venice. Did the King of England want your head? Time to set sail for Virginia (or, in many cases, to be sent there as a prisoner).

In the thirteen Colonies you got every sort of Protestant sect, from English Quakers to French Huguenots to Scottish Presbyterians. You had religious refugees, idealists, persecuted people, all sorts of dissenters. When the US constitution was written it was informed by the ideas of the Enlightenment, by the ideas that not one of the many Christian confession could seize power and kill all the others.

Eventually this process started to happen in Europe too, first in France, then, after the Napoleonic invasion, everywhere else.

Islam, on the other hand, was under the control of big, powerful empires (the Ottoman Empire, the various Persian dynasties, the Moghul empire, the Indonesian kings) which eliminated or suppressed most of the dissent. Muslim countries also didn't have any overseas colonies where they could send "troublemakers". So they had to dispose of them.

The process of modernization in Islamic regions (where it happened) had to happen quickly and from above, bypassing all the slow, painful twists and turns of Christianity. Society in many regions where Islam is the religion of the majority is still the traditional patriarchal and tribal society which has all but gone in "the West".

The richest and most powerful Muslim countries are authoritarian theocracies which aren't much different from the old empires and you get a static, reactionary culture, which is spread through teaching, and teaches Muslim superiority and a plan to remake the world into a Muslim place. Those theocracies are frequently the "allies" of the West.

The process of modernization of Islam, if it will happen, will be slow, painful, tortuous and full of periods of progress and regression, of action and reaction, just like the process of modernization of Christianity.

The process of modernization of Christianity is only complete in some regions, and still falls behind in others. It's probably absurd to expect it to happen in a matter of a few generations in Islam.

Demographics also tell us that fundamentalists tend to have more children, and Muslims even more so, while secularist have less. : considering how long it takes for deep social changes to set in, and how long people live these days, the reactionary, conservative, regressive Muslims are probably going to stay as they are now for a couple of centuries (if not more).

It's the progressives who have to worry the most about this. It's time for progressives to ditch failed experiments on how to improve society through authoritarian means and focus on protecting and fighting for liberal values, especially in "the West", and especially against conservative Islam.

In the end what really matters are liberal values. Private profession of faith is pretty much inconsequential and easy to avoid if it bothers you. Public policies are what affects us all, and if they're inspired by authoritarian religions or ideologies they make our lives worse.

I wish that more leftists would understand this.

[Kirbmarc]

I honestly don't understand the difference between "poly" and "swinging." It's all consensual sexual behavior and it's all been happening forever. Husbands and wives have always had "understandings." I don't know. Maybe it's more common now, but this really does seem like a "snowflakeization" of sexuality. I guess Carrier might claim that he and his "girlfriends" have relationships as opposed to just sex (even though he's only in town for a day, never to return), but husbands and wives have always had feelings for their partners on the side.

It's all about "snowflakeization". It's all about yet another Oppressed Category which needs to be shielded from Oppression (read: given power).

I do worry about the "Heather Has Two Mommies"/"Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends" situation. I have no objection at all to gay marriage/child rearing, of course. I do think that kids benefit when they have a strong male influence and a strong female influence. That influence can come from anywhere, of course. Perhaps a loving lesbian couple are friends with a couple of gay males and their kids hang out together. Or the male child of lesbians has a caring football coach. That's all fine.

I'm torn on the poly parenting situation, though. It sounds good if a little kid has five primary partners doting over it. I guess the problem arises in an Elyse situation, when the poor goddamn kinds are watching their father trace his neck with a knife, trying to work up the guts to go deep while the mother is out instagramming her abortion before she hits up Tinder a couple hours later.

The thing about "poly" is that it's bound to create tensions. The more people you bring into child-rearing, the more likely you are to (at least) get different views on child-rearing. Children have it hard when two parents disagree. Imagine a disagreement between five or six parents.

[jimhabegger]

The anti-Muslim propaganda that's popular here is ludicrous, and displays a pathetic lack of critical thinking.

[feathers]

... the ENTIRE FUCKING RELIGION OF ISLAM that says gays deserve to die.

5 Imams Who Are Openly Gay

https://victoriancollections.net.au/med ... -large.jpg

[Jan Steen]

Want to book Dr. Carrier PhD to speak at your event? Here's how.

I live in Columbus, Ohio, within twenty minutes of its airport. Often the lowest expense is lodging. I prefer a nonsmoking room at any reasonable establishment. But if you can find volunteers to take me in, all I need is a warm bed and a hot shower. Be aware that I do sometimes travel with a girlfriend (though that requires no additional expense, it should be acceptable to anyone hosting me). If instead of flying you would like me to drive to you in my own car, I charge 50 cents a mile (counting the distance once, not round-trip). For any engagement (virtual or actual) I am also often unavailable, as my calendar fills quickly, so arrangements should be made at least three months in advance, and preferably six months or more. Contact me for negotiating a date and other essentials. You can also check my Events Calendar for availability.

His calendar fills quickly, eh? Let's have a look at his events calender.

July: a podcast on 8 July, otherwise empty.
August: empty.
September: Dragoncon, 1-6 September, otherwise empty. He is probably just visiting Dragoncon, as he is not listed on the guests page.
October: Freethought Day (?), 14-17 October. Here our world renowned historian will be selling his books, along with...Greta Christina. That should be fun.
Milwaukee on the Town, 18-24 October. When I google "Milwaukee on the Town" I only get two exact matches, both referring to what appear to be sex dating sites (I didn't click on the links). "Dating sites married women in milwaukee on the town group. Girls in warner robins ga mature women who want oral sex by women (...)" Obviously, this can't have anything to do with Dr. Carrier. Must be some mistake.
Price - Ehrman debate, Milwaukee, 21 October. Here Dr. Carrier will just be a visitor, albeit probably as a VIP (assuming Dr. Sticky can drag himself away from Milwaukee on the Town, whatever that is).
Great Lakes Reason Fest (Detroit), 27-31 October. Dr. Carrier is not on the speakers list, although Google suggests that he was on the tentative speakers list. Unfortunately, the page that mentions him is now blank.
November: Skepticon (?), 10-14 November. We all know that this is not going to happen, as the good doctor has been banned from the event. Time to update his calendar. No other engagements in November.
December: A teleconference on 5 December, otherwise empty.
January: empty.
February: empty.
Make that, 2017: empty.

So, if you want to book Dr. Carrier, the good news is that he will have plenty of time. The bad news is that he may bring a member of his virtual harem, so be prepared to do some cleaning up after his stay.

[Lsuoma]

Bloody shame. First class comedy writer and performer. "So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" Legend. :lol:

Yep. Ricky Tomlinson was great too.

I was talking about this to my 25 yr old daughter last night, who is normally reasonably sensible. She had no idea who Caroline Aherne was or seen the Royle Family, so we watched an episode. She thought it was awful for middle-class people (aka Aherne) to make fun of poor people like that. And her Mrs Merton line about "So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" was sexist. :roll:

Tonight I'm going to discuss the Bangladeshi terrorist attack, see how far the rot has set in.

Barbarian fuckheads have killed another 125 in Baghdad.

[Bhurzum]

Once you go BMW, you never go back - and that's coming from an ex-serial Jaguar nut.

My current whip:

http://i1286.photobucket.com/albums/a61 ... uxzncd.jpg

Had it for years and even though I'm forever saying I want to upgrade to an M5, I just can't bear the thought of parting with it. Nippy, comfortable and very, very reliable. Handles like a dream too.

Pity though that in a short while, the British roads won't be able to carry European cars anymore.

Do I see a 2-seater Smart car in the background?

No, it's the arse-end of my sister-in-laws Honda roadster - a custom variant of the S2000:

http://news.boldride.com/wp-content/upl ... oncept.jpg

For the record, I've driven it and would rather walk. Naked. In a shit-storm.

The only other thing is the boat (hiding under one of my old desert-pattern ponchos) but that's clearly not a smart car. It wasn't a smart investment either but we'll not get into that...

[InfraRedBucket]

Hmm, watching an interview with Theresa May, the favourite to become the next PM, and it's being crafted to give a more personal insight. She just said she is a practicing christian and she had to miss church to do this interview. Still quite rare for politicians to say they are atheist, even in what is effectively a secular society. The christianity-lite of the CofE still is given approval, disappointing. Oh well, keep chipping away.

And the other female contender Andrea Leadsom is:

a "very committed Christian" and says she prays "a lot"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-politics-36570120




Sent from the Negative Zone via LockJaw the teleporting dog

[Skep tickle]

5 Imams Who Are Openly Gay

Oh, look. All 5 live in Muslim-majority countries.

(Not.)

[Kirbmarc]

The anti-Muslim propaganda that's popular here is ludicrous, and displays a pathetic lack of critical thinking.

If you have any criticism to make based on critical thinking I for one would be glad to hear it.

[HunnyBunny]

I was talking about this to my 25 yr old daughter last night, who is normally reasonably sensible. She had no idea who Caroline Aherne was or seen the Royle Family, so we watched an episode. She thought it was awful for middle-class people (aka Aherne) to make fun of poor people like that. And her Mrs Merton line about "So what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?" was sexist. :roll:

Tonight I'm going to discuss the Bangladeshi terrorist attack, see how far the rot has set in.

Barbarian fuckheads have killed another 125 in Baghdad.

But did they shout Allahu Akbar before slaughtering people? Cos if they did it's a sure sign that this incident is "nothing to do with Islam"™

[jimhabegger]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

While we're forming our critical thoughts about Islam, why don't you regale us with the scientific and cultural accomplishments of Muslim-run countries to help us get a little perspective?

[jimhabegger]

The anti-Muslim propaganda that's popular here is ludicrous, and displays a pathetic lack of critical thinking.

If you have any criticism to make based on critical thinking I for one would be glad to hear it.

I'll explain what I mean later, in the Islam and Islamists thread.

[piginthecity]

Back in the 80s, the feminists taught me that the library of Alexandria contained evidence of an ancient peaceful utopian matriarchal society, and that men had burned it down to suppress women. A bunch of us used to add 5000 years to the current date, or was it 8000? Judging by what google says, both were incorrect, but whatever. Who cares about facts when there's a cause to fight? I even did a little painting once where I dated the back with the feminist revised version. I believed anything back then. :)

I wish I'd met the earlier Scented. I Loves me the cray-zee ladeeez !



Sent from my SM-G901F using Tapatalk

[jet_lagg]

You're giving me a lot to look forward to!

I'm still trying to learn not to get hopelessly lost when I go exploring, and never find my way back to my house and my mines. I've given up and started all over three times now because of that.

When I first started playing, I couldn't find any coal to make torches, and I didn't know I could make my own charcoal from wood, until I did some research on it online.

Huh, I still didn't know you could make charcoal from wood. That might have been in an update. Anyway, a tip I got from a youtube video was to find the highest hilltop in your vicinity and building a simple tower with a ladder to reach the top. Line it with torches, and now you've got a nice beacon to guide you home if you stray too far and get lost (if your system specs won't allow for max draw distance you can always turn it up temporarily when looking for the beacon).

[HunnyBunny]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

"Anti-Muslim propaganda" isn't that popular round here, unless you count Steers. Stating factual, evidence-based criticism of the barbaric religion that is Islam is quite common though.

[jet_lagg]

When you are at your house, or anywhere you want to know how to get back to, press F3. There is a lot of info there about where you are. For finding your way the bit that says Z / Y / Z is the mot important bit. Write down the X & Z (Y is height) numbers of your location. When you are lost you can head back to those numbers. It's like GPS for minecraft.

Cheating :P

[Shatterface]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

While we're forming our critical thoughts about Islam, why don't you regale us with the scientific and cultural accomplishments of Muslim-run countries to help us get a little perspective?

Well, in the last 500 years alone there was that thing.

And, umm.

Okay, I'm out.

[jimhabegger]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

While we're forming our critical thoughts about Islam, why don't you regale us with the scientific and cultural accomplishments of Muslim-run countries to help us get a little perspective?

I shouldn't have said anything about critical thinking. I forgot that "critical thinking" doesn't mean the same thing to most of the people flying the banners of skepticism and critical thinking, that it does to me.

[jimhabegger]

Anyway, a tip I got from a youtube video was to find the highest hilltop in your vicinity and building a simple tower with a ladder to reach the top. Line it with torches, and now you've got a nice beacon to guide you home if you stray too far and get lost (if your system specs won't allow for max draw distance you can always turn it up temporarily when looking for the beacon).

:clap: Thank you! Just what I needed!

[Kirbmarc]

5 Imams Who Are Openly Gay

Oh, look. All 5 live in Muslim-majority countries.

(Not.)

From the article:

Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention. And because of the necessity in our community, that’s why I came into this particular role,” he told Al-Jazeera, talking about how he was thrown into being an imam when all the local imams refused to give a gay Muslim the last rites, forcing the scholar to step in.

Salaam Canada is now one of the major organizations in the Muslim community who are giving people alternative information to the traditional, and generally homophobic, perspective.

“We can never change the Koran, but we can change our interpretation of it,”

When he was a teenager in Algeria, Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed became so depressed about the reconciliation between his sexuality and faith that he left Islam

“I was very lucky by having encountered some Sufi teachers, whose ideas about Islam and homosexuality were rather progressive and accepting, who explained things to me in a different light than the average fossilized Mullah,”

Note: There are several others in Muslim-majority countries, but they have been excluded from this list to make sure their safety is not compromised. If you are aware of them, please do not mention them in the comments section. Thank you.

There are always outliers, progressive thinkers, independent reasoners, etc. within any movement, or sects which don't align with a general zeitgeist within a religion (like the Sufis within Islam). More power to them, but they don't automatically make the big movement flawless and above criticism just by existing.

I also wish that they were the powerful and heavily financed ones, that they were the ones that were treated seriously by Western authorities while the conservatives aren't listened to and enabled, but that's not the case. The parts of the article which I have highlighted in bold show that this isn't the case.

Salafis and conservatives Shias are more powerful, well-connected, well-financed and authoritative than the imams you mentioned. There's a reason why gay imams are at risk for their safety in Muslim majority countries.

Reformation, anti-literalism and modernization of Islam would be good changes, but they can't happen if we pretend that Islam is flawless or "the religion of peace" or "the religion of the oppressed". Islam has many problems which need to be dealt with, and hiding behind those who are fighting those problems from within is more than a bit dishonest.

[jimhabegger]

... the barbaric religion that is Islam ,,,

Thank you. I was trying to remember some examples of the anti-Muslim propaganda that i'm talking about, and that's a good one.

[CaptainFluffyBunny]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

While we're forming our critical thoughts about Islam, why don't you regale us with the scientific and cultural accomplishments of Muslim-run countries to help us get a little perspective?

I shouldn't have said anything about critical thinking. I forgot that "critical thinking" doesn't mean the same thing to most of the people flying the banners of skepticism and critical thinking, that it does to me.

Still, show (other than Steersman) any anti-Muslim propaganda. And do explain what you mean by critical thinking.

[jimhabegger]

Reformation, anti-literalism and modernization of Islam would be good changes, but they can't happen if we pretend that Islam is flawless or "the religion of peace" or "the religion of the oppressed". Islam has many problems which need to be dealt with, and hiding behind those who are fighting those problems from within is more than a bit dishonest.

Is that what you think I'm doing?

[Kirbmarc]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

I don't think that "anti-Muslim propaganda" is popular here. I see a lot of anger at Regressive Islam-absolving propaganda, which is IMHO more than justified. Maajid Nawaz is criticizing the Regressive Left too, and he's a liberal Muslim.

There's of course Steersman's "Koran-pissing/Ban Islam" rhetoric, but that's not exactly "popular" in this forum. He's pushing it relentlessly, but that's because he's a persistent little robot.

[Billie from Ockham]

Deci$ions. Anyone had any experience here.

I've raced several Minis and it's the most enjoyable FWD car out there. Turns and stops great, and easy to recover from a stupid move. The S is better, but the supercharger is not as important as you might think at street speeds because you just don't have the grip unless you have a Clubman AWD (which I don't recommend). The key is the better shocks (or "dampers" to Brits) on the S; that's what makes them worth it.

[Jan Steen]

Actually, I'm not sure how popular anti-Muslim propaganda actually is here. I can only think of a few people that I've seen promoting it. Maybe my feeling that it's popular comes from not seeing any opposition to it, except from Kirbmarc, and even that looks very weak to me. All in all, it created doubts in my mind about how much critical thinking anyone here has done about it.

We have probably done more critical thinking than you have about that Baha'i cult of which to claim to be a member, if I recall correctly.

http://community.beliefnet.com/go/threa ... ry_therapy

I was a raised in the Baha'i Faith. I left in my early thirties, about ten years ago. I've come to realize that I suffer from severe psychological problems stemming from my experiences in the Baha'i community -- mainly severe shame, anxiety, loneliness and alienation.

My wife suggested that I find a cult recovery therapist who has experience with Baha'is. Are there any around? Better still, are there any in the Denver-Boulder area?

[Shatterface]

While we're forming our critical thoughts about Islam, why don't you regale us with the scientific and cultural accomplishments of Muslim-run countries to help us get a little perspective?

I shouldn't have said anything about critical thinking. I forgot that "critical thinking" doesn't mean the same thing to most of the people flying the banners of skepticism and critical thinking, that it does to me.[/quote]

This much is true.

[jimhabegger]

Still, show (other than Steersman) any anti-Muslim propaganda. And do explain what you mean by critical thinking.

I'll explain later what I mean by "anti-Muslim propaganda," in the Islam and Islamists thread.

What I mean by critical thinking is carefully and thoroughly examining your own views for possible fallacies.

[Billie from Ockham]

At the end of the day, Hemant will always be an SJW pussy at heart.

I half agree.* I'd say that Hemant will always be a professional blogger, such that a change in the prevailing mood would instantly change his behavior.

* nb. I agree that he's a pussy, but not that he'll always be an SJW

[Kirbmarc]

Reformation, anti-literalism and modernization of Islam would be good changes, but they can't happen if we pretend that Islam is flawless or "the religion of peace" or "the religion of the oppressed". Islam has many problems which need to be dealt with, and hiding behind those who are fighting those problems from within is more than a bit dishonest.

Is that what you think I'm doing?

I wasn't talking about you specifically. I've seen that article or other articles on imams mentioned in SJW circles as a defense against criticism of Islam.

I frankly don't know what you're doing. I can guess that you're trying to say that Islam isn't a monolith, that there is dissent, which is true, but I don't think that people here believe the opposite idea. Even Steersman mentions that there are Muslims who "piss on the Quran" (i.e., in better terms, don't accept its literal meaning).

[Matt Cavanaugh]

They're already actively indoctrinating undergrads, and may be bringing that message to kids. Heather Has Two Mommies will soon be joined on the bookshelves by Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends.

I honestly don't understand the difference between "poly" and "swinging." It's all consensual sexual behavior and it's all been happening forever. Husbands and wives have always had "understandings." I don't know. Maybe it's more common now, but this really does seem like a "snowflakeization" of sexuality. I guess Carrier might claim that he and his "girlfriends" have relationships as opposed to just sex (even though he's only in town for a day, never to return), but husbands and wives have always had feelings for their partners on the side.

I do worry about the "Heather Has Two Mommies"/"Heather's Mommy Has Five Boyfriends" situation. I have no objection at all to gay marriage/child rearing, of course. I do think that kids benefit when they have a strong male influence and a strong female influence. That influence can come from anywhere, of course. Perhaps a loving lesbian couple are friends with a couple of gay males and their kids hang out together. Or the male child of lesbians has a caring football coach. That's all fine.

I'm torn on the poly parenting situation, though. It sounds good if a little kid has five primary partners doting over it. I guess the problem arises in an Elyse situation, when the poor goddamn kinds are watching their father trace his neck with a knife, trying to work up the guts to go deep while the mother is out instagramming her abortion before she hits up Tinder a couple hours later.

I don't buy that poly is a sexual orientation, as with homosexuality. But that's how many polys, including Dicky, present it. (Great way for him to rationalize away having cheated on his wife.)

Poly's believe they can eliminate the emotion of jealousy by replacing it with something they call "compersion". No surprise that most of these poly activists also reject EP.

The hippies tried it, the dadaists tried it, the romantics tried it. Every generation or so tries it, and each thinks it's discovered some amazing, liberating secret to happiness and a commitment-free fuck buffet. And it fails every time, because jealousy and the desire to form dedicated pairings is innate in humans. If you get off on watching or hearing about your partner banging someone else, hey go for it -- but it's a kink, not a new social paradigm.

[Scented Nectar]

Back in the 80s, the feminists taught me that the library of Alexandria contained evidence of an ancient peaceful utopian matriarchal society, and that men had burned it down to suppress women. A bunch of us used to add 5000 years to the current date, or was it 8000? Judging by what google says, both were incorrect, but whatever. Who cares about facts when there's a cause to fight? I even did a little painting once where I dated the back with the feminist revised version. I believed anything back then. :)

I wish I'd met the earlier Scented. I Loves me the cray-zee ladeeez !



Sent from my SM-G901F using Tapatalk

It wasn't until 89 that I started hanging out with men again, so you'd have had to wait until then. Luckily, all my experiences with men before the feminists got me were good ones, so they never scared me away permanently. Mind you, by 89, I wasn't quite as crazy any more, so it defeats the purpose. Although, maybe I'd have had a good time with you anyways, on the sly (never did do that, but should have, oh well), and then felt guilty about it later. The feminists temporarily convinced me during that decade that my desire for dick was something to overcome, a remnant of the patriarchy, and that I was participating in my own oppression. They said that a woman who can become aroused by a man is being fooled. He's really taking advantage of her and she doesn't even realize it. The patriarchy is laughing behind her back at how she's been somethingrapey. Being gullible, I believed it, felt ashamed by that nasty desire (tried to overcome it unsuccessfully), and even preached it to other women. Thanks for all the slut shaming, you cunts.

tl;dr The feminists successfully shame themselves and other women sexually way more than their imaginary western patriarchy has ever done.

[jimhabegger]

I see a lot of anger at Regressive Islam-absolving propaganda, which is IMHO more than justified.

I see that, and I agree with you about that, but I see it continually intermingled with anti-Muslim propaganda, and more as camouflage for anti-Muslim prejudice than actually trying to do anything to help stop the violence.