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POPSIraqis Terrorised by Child Kidnaps The authorities say they cannot provide figures for exactly how many kidnappings have taken place since the beginning of the year, but some estimates suggest the number could be as high as one per day. Brig Gen Faisal Mohsin, a senior police commander in Baghdad, told the BBC he believed at least some of the ransom money was funding insurgent activity. "Iraqi forces have become more professional now, and they are on high alert," he said, "pursuing all kinds of crime, and cutting off the sources that fund terrorism. So some of the terrorists have started financing their activities by kidnapping children." The situation has become so acute in Baghdad that the ministry of education has instructed schools to take special precautions.
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POPSIraqis have second thoughts over June 30 date for US troops to leave Instead, we had Iraqi leaders kissing up to the “death to America” leaders in Iran. Instead, we had local councils demanding to be paid off instead of working to rid their cities of al-Qaeda. Instead, we had power brokers in Baghdad sticking it to George Bush at every opportunity they had. The Iraqi attitude toward the United States is mutual among the 53% who voted for the guy who opposed The Surge. Now it is dawning on some Iraqis that having the U.S. military leave is not a good thing. Iraq had a choice to make. It could have been South Korea. Instead, it decided to be South Vietnam. Men in Iraq, start growing your beard now. The Taliban likes beards.
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POPSHamid Dabashi on Iran: this isn't class or sectarian conflict -- it's something new Hamid Dabashi is a Columbia University professor. He views the current situation in Iran as something fundamentally non-ideological. He compares it to the U.S. civil rights movement and predicts that a nonviolent resistance will continue for some time. I like the final line: "We need to sit back, hope for the best and let this inspirational movement of a whole new generation of hope teach us courage and humility."
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POPSBYU Gets to Keep Bending the Rules No surprise here, especially since Peter Morrill is from Idaho. This is probably a fair decision -- but I'm watching you, BYU. You're in my back yard anyway.
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POPS"Comprised of" (for my usage collection) I see this used incorrectly all the time (although I've read that the rule seems to be changing because its misuse is so common. Etymologically speaking, though, the usage here is still wrong). The board IS COMPOSED OF station managers or it COMPRISES station managers. It is not COMPRISED OF the managers, as "comprise" means "to include" or "to contain." This is why I never get anything done. Sigh.
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POPSRepublicans Block Obama's 1st Judicial Nominee over Religion It was Obama's first judicial nominee, but the Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have temporarily blocked him over religion. The Judge "ruled that prayers used to open the Indiana State Legislature must be nonsectarian." Oh, horrors, this judge, the son of a minister, didn't rule that no prayers should go on in the legislature (which should have been the ruling if real separation of church and state prevailed) but that sectarian prayers shouldn't occur. How could we preserve the illusion that the USA is a Christian nation with such a ruling? Superstition prevails again.
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POPSAs the US Retreats, Iran Fills the Void Israel has every right to be very concerned about Iran. (thank you, Mr. Obama) and yes, even take out their nuke sites if they can. They are being encircled just as the US is by Russia, China, and Iran. It seems that the history of entire civilizations have been forgotten.
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POPSDid an Obama judicial nominee really express a preference for Allah over Jesus? No, but that didn't stop Gingrich from lying about it and wignuttia to go ape$#@! over it. Compare what Newt said versus the clipped section: "You have Obama nominating Judge Hamilton, who said in her ruling that saying the words Jesus Christ in a prayer is a sign of inappropriate behavior, but saying Allah would be OK. You'll find most Republican senators voting against a judge who is confused about whether you can say Jesus Christ in a prayer, particularly one who is pro-Muslim being able to say Allah."
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POPSDEJA VU Once again America screws it up. Before we all know it there will be another civil war in Iraq. Both sides are American allies armed and trained by US forces. It is almost like a bad Hollywood comedy. The US forces occupy a country and then don't know what to do, killing and destruction they do know, peace they have no idea.
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POPSI've been saying.... This will become more recognized as time goes by. If it makes you uncomfortable, then maybe that is because the facts are uncomfortable. The irresponsibility of the Neo-Wilsonian Bush administration has primed us for this reality.
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POPSWhat is Shi‘a Islam? Recent scholarship has created a more balanced view of Shi‘ism. Thus, it is now possible to move beyond stereotypical assumptions and reject the view that there is an ‘orthodox’ or ‘authentic’ Islam, from which Shi‘ism is a departure.
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POPSA Muslim on the Crucifix Controvery at Boston College ...So the student said, "Oh, ecumenical means we think we're all equal, and we didn't want to discriminate against others, and offend outsiders." And the Muslim said, "You mean people like me, and my friend the Jew?" "Well, yes." "Well, I am highly insulted." "Why?" "Well, you're treating me like a bigot." "No, we hate bigotry." "Let me explain. Suppose you came to my country. You enrolled in a Muslim university. Now we don't have pictures or images; we think that's idolatry, but when you are in a Muslim university, you know you are in a Muslim university. Who would object to a Muslim symbol in a Muslim university, except a bigot? Now you expect me to be offended by a Catholic symbol - the crucifix - in a Catholic university, so you are treating me like a bigot." He didn't stop. He said to the students, "How many of you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?" And most of them raised their hand.
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POPSAwww! Here they go again! Once again we hear the Christian Right screaming foul for being victimized. I seem to remember the story about the little boy crying wolf...
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POPSThou Shalt Have No Other Gods Before Him The bill includes $20 billion for school “modernization, renovation or repair of facilities” – with $14 billion for elementary and secondary schools and $6 billion for higher education, which includes the secular string attached. What exactly is “a substantial portion”? If an organization lets the scouts meet in their facility, will they no longer be able to use government money to fix their building? It’s simple, really. You grow the public sector, shrink the private sector, and fund only what you deem ideologically sanitary.
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POPSThe True Death Toll of the Iraq War Unfortunately, the masses of ‘Merikan sheeple will never understand this or even be aware of it…but thanks for posting and I’ll pass it on…some of us actually DO CARE!
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POPSDisguised religion... More nonsense about honoring a "moment of silence" in schools. Why do people want this stuff institutionalized. Let kids so what they want with their time: but don't force everyone to contemplate shit they don't believe in...
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POPSWhy we need rationality Underpinning much of the turmoil in the world is belief in the supernatural, i.e. religion. To deny this and focus on how much good is done by religious people is to be blind to the dual persona that religion presents. I contend that the good that is done by religion is in part necessitated by the bad that is done in the name of religion. Herculean humanitarian efforts in war torn regions of the world would not be needed if these regions were not embroiled in sectarian strife. In a way, it's like the snake oil salesman first infecting you and then offering you the cure.
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POPSChristians and Muslims Celebrate Christmas Holidays In Baghdad Even before I can ask Interior Ministry spokesman Major-General Abdul Karim Khalaf a question, he greets me with a big smile. "All Iraqis are Christian today!" he says. Many of the people attending the Christmas celebration appear to be Muslims, with women wearing head scarves. Suad Mahmoud, holding her 16-month-old daughter, Sara, tells me she is indeed Muslim, but she's very happy to be here. "My mother's birthday also is this month, so we celebrate all occasions," she says, "especially in this lovely month of Christmas and New Year." Father Saad Sirop Hanna, a Chaldean Christian priest, is here too. He was kidnapped by militants in 2006 and held for 28 days. He knows firsthand how difficult the lot of Christians in Iraq is but, he tells me, "We are just attesting that things are changing in Baghdad, slowly, but we hope that this change actually is real. We will wait for the future to tell us the truth about this."
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POPSHundreds reported dead in Nigerian riots Correspondents say communal violence in Nigeria is complex, but it often boils down to competition for resources such as land between those that see themselves as indigenous versus the more recent settlers. In Plateau, Christians are regarded as being indigenous and Hausa-speaking Muslims the settlers.
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POPS War's Over Indicator #52 Berlin-style walls put in place to keep Shias and Sunnis apart, have been gradually coming down. A 5-metre high barrier separating the Shia area of Abu Safeen and the Sunni zone of al-Fudal, was removed almost two months ago. Violence has yet to return. Baghdad’s civic planners seem intent on making connections. But the small steps they have taken so far pale next to the grand plan for a metro. A train line under Baghdad was first flagged under Saddam Hussein during the 1970s, but shelved owing to three decades of war, blockades and invasion. One of the new proposed subway lines would run 11 miles from Shia-dominated Sadr City in the east to Adhamiya in north Baghdad. The other would traverse 13 miles and link mixed central Baghdad to the primarily Sunni western suburbs. Both lines would have 20 stations each and run through a patchwork quilt of sectarian neighbourhoods, which largely remain divided, despite the security improvements.
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