Palestinian TV: Furry Bear Teaches Children to Slaughter Jews

Palestinian Media Watch explains:

The bear puppet host, Nassur, of a Hamas children's TV program used different words for “slaughter” to describe how to rid Israel of Jews.

First the bear explains that all Jews must be “erased from our land.” Later in the conversation he adds, "We want to slaughter them, Saraa, so they will be expelled from our land.” He repeats, “…We’ll have to [do it] by slaughter."

He first uses the Arabic expression for “slaughter,” “Nidbah-hom,” and later on uses the word “Shaht.”

The following is the transcript from the children’s program Tomorrow's Pioneers:

Nassur: “There won't be any Jews or Zionists, if Allah wills. They'll be erased.”
Saraa: “Chased away.”
Nassur: “And just like we will visit the Qaaba [in Mecca]... everyone will visit Jerusalem.”
[Seven-year old Palestinian child on phone tells how his father, a member of the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades, “died as a Shahid (Martyr).”]
Nassur to child on phone: “What do you want to do to the Jews who shot your father?”
Child on phone: “I want to kill them.”
Saraa: “We don't want to do anything to them, just expel them from our land.”
Nassur: “We want to slaughter (Nidbah-hom) them, so they will be expelled from our land, right?”
Saraa: “Yes. That's right. We will expel them from our land using all means.”
Nassur: “And if they don't want [to go] peacefully, by words or talking, we’ll have to [do it] by slaughter.” (Shaht)

Hat Tip: Jihad Watch

San Francisco: Buddhist monks lead prayers at Episcopal Grace Cathedral

Grace Cathedral seems to be getting in to the act late on having Buddhist monks come in to make prayer mandalas, but the San Francisco Chronicle thought it was news. What interests me is the way the activity is spun as cultural preservation rather than religious indoctrination.

Mandalas grace Grace Cathedral

Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, September 26, 2009

Protractors and pencils in hand, four Tibetan monks silently drew precise lines on a table inside Grace Cathedral.

They flew to San Francisco from Nepal to build intricate sand Shi-tro mandalas - ancient Tibetan circular artworks that symbolize peaceful awareness.

Notice how the story lede is promoting the claim these are merely artworks of a particular culture although the practitioners are clearly representatives of a particular religion. A simple google search on "Shi-tro" brings up the fact that this mandala image is a "path to enlightenment" and provides other spellings Zhi khro, and Xi tro, shi khro, and xi khro. Wikipedia has interesting information about Shi-tro under the spelling Zhitro which clearly associates the mandala practice with Buddhist religious teaching.

But the SF Chronicle seems to shift back and forth between acknowledging this is Buddhist religious practice and treating this as a cultural artwork activity:

Using metal cones similar to a cake decorator's funnel, they carefully tapped colorful grains of sand into the pattern they had drawn.

The delicate artwork will take about 65 hours to complete, and on Sunday, in Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the monks will sweep the mandalas away. They will cast the sand into the bay to remember that everything is impermanent, and so that the prayers the lamas made while creating it will live on in the currents.

For master mandala-maker Lama Thogme, 47, who has created innumerable mandalas, it's his first invitation to make one inside a Christian church.

"It's very meaningful," he said through an interpreter. "Doing this shows that no matter what your religious tradition, we all share a common fiber, a common purpose of peace."

The lamas are being aided by middle school students from San Francisco and Oakland who have participated in a dharma summer camp run by the nonprofit Tools for Peace in Tehachapi (Kern County), which is sponsoring the goodwill visit along with the American Foundation for Tibetan Cultural Preservation.

OK, finally we learn who is behind this. Obviously, Tools for Peace and the Tibetan Cultural Preservation are promoting a Buddhist path to peace. But actually we never learn who in the Episcopal Church is behind this. And then skipping down to the end of the article, in the second to last paragraph, we learn there will be a fundraiser at Grace Cathedral regarding this:

Today, longtime Tools for Peace supporter singer k.d. lang will join the lamas at a gala fundraiser at the cathedral.

Is this a fundraiser for the Episcopal Church? No, searching on line we can find that this is a fundraiser for the Buddhist organization:

k.d lang will perform inside Grace Cathedral for a fundraiser to benefit Tools for Peace, a program that empowers youth and adults through training in motivation, mindfulness, meditation and compassion in camps, classrooms and workshops in California.

Is this Legal -- Teaching elementary school children to sing praises to Obama?

Can you imagine the outcry from liberals if, when Bush was president, some school teacher had done something similar regarding him?



This was filmed around June 19, 2009 at the B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, NJ.

Lyrics
========
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that all must lend a hand [?]
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said we must be clear today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama
Yes
Mmm, mmm, mm!

Barack Hussein Obama

segue to

Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all [do? doth??] say "hooray!"
Hooray Mr. President! You’re number one!
The first Black American to lead this great na-TION!
Hooray, Mr. President something-something-some
A-something-something-something-some economy is number one again!
Hooray Mr. President, we’re really proud of you!
And the same for all Americans [in?] the great Red White and Blue!
So something Mr. President we all just something-some,
So here’s a hearty hip-hooray a-something-something-some!
Hip, hip hooray! (3x)

Hat Tip The Two Malcontents

Census Reports 28% Decline in Number of Gay Couples in USA

There is a new AP story out about newly released census numbers for same-sex couples. The numbers are:

2005 -- 780,000 same sex couples, 390,000 considered themselves spouses
2006 -- 780,000 same sex couples, 390,000 considered themselves spouses
2007 -- 753,618 same sex couples, 341,000 considered themselves spouses
2008 -- 563,743 same sex couples, 150,000 considered themselves spouses

(It appears the numbers for 2005 and 2006 were estimates and now the census is collecting real data.)

Notice that:

1) The percent of same-sex couples who consider their relationship to be akin to marriage has gone down from 50% with the 2005-6 estimates, to 45% in 2007 and now to only 27% in 2009. The comparable number for heterosexual couples, according to the Census Bureau, is 91%. The suggests to me that the same-sex couples are self reporting that their relationships are not "just like" heterosexual couples.

2) The total number of same-sex couples has gone down 28% in a four year period. This suggests that the early estimated numbers were too high or that something has caused a net reduction in the total number of same-sex couples.

Of course, that is not the way the AP article is framed, but those are the actual numbers in the story. The AP story seems to be written focusing on the actual number of gay marriages and civil unions versus the the number who consider their relationships akin to marriage and provides an un-sourced explanation in the fourth paragraph that seems to me to be written to support the "gay rights" talking points:

Analysts said the disparities are probably a reflection of same-sex couples in committed relationships who would get married if they could in their states. The numbers are also an indicator of the count to come in the 2010 census, a tally that could stir a state-by-state fight over same-sex marriage, gay adoption and other legal rights.

But when I look at the numbers, I am thinking that the demand for same-sex marriage in the USA has been significantly overestimated, perhaps to support the cause of "gay rights". Alternatively, it could be that the emphasis on same-sex marriage has caused a significant break-up of gay couples in the USA. If most do not view their relationships as akin to marriage, perhaps the new pressure by one of the partners to marry or form a legal domestic partnership is leading to break-ups.

Carrie Prejean at the Value Voters Summit

I am sorry that the only videos that I could find of Carrie Prejean at the Value Voters Summit were on a website that labels this "Comedy". Well, it does demonstrate what she is saying about being mocked. Anyway, I think she is terrific.





Even the Los Angeles Times recognized that Carrie Prejean gave a good talk:

It’s easy to make fun of beauty queens -- their plastic smiles, their bottle-blond tresses, their dreams for world peace. But Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California whose declaration that marriage should be between a man and woman earned her the vilification of some in the gay rights community, provided an unanticipated emotional highlight at a conference of Christian conservatives in Washington today.

In a heartfelt talk that moved some in the crowd to tears, Prejean recounted for the 1,700 activists gathered for the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit in Washington how distressing it was to go from shoo-in for Miss USA to not only losing, but being reviled and mocked for the answer on gay marriage she gave to pageant judge Perez Hilton, the celebrity gossip blogger.

Hat Tip: Elizabeth Evans at Get Religion

The Trouble with Burqas

As well as the obvious feminist complaints, burqas provide cover for male criminals with weapons. As the Wall Street Journal reports on recent events in Pakistan:

ISLAMABAD -- Islamic militants clad head-to-toe in women's burqas attempted to attack an oil-storage facility in Karachi, raising fears that insurgents are fleeing northwestern Pakistan and infiltrating the nation's main business hub.

Three gunmen disguised as women tried to enter the high-security terminal used by oil companies late Monday night, Waseem Ahmed, the city police chief, told Pakistani television on Tuesday. Police say they suspect the assailants disguised themselves as women to try to slip past security checkpoints.

Pakistani police officers examined weapons and ammunition left behind by attackers in Karachi, Pakistan, on Tuesday.

When stopped by security guards, the militants opened fire, killing one guard. The assailants fled during a gun battle, leaving behind the burqas, purses and hand grenades.

"We suspect they wanted to carry out a big terrorist attack which our prompt police action thwarted," said Mr. Ahmed in an interview with Geo TV Pakistan.

Pakistan imports foreign oil through the Karachi port, and stores it there before transporting it throughout the country. An attack on the port facility could have threatened the fuel supply for the country's industry and transport, just as Pakistan's economy is struggling to recover from the global downturn and security woes at home.

Later Tuesday, police arrested four men suspected of involvement in the attack. During a raid on a house in Karachi, where the arrests took place, police found additional burqas, women's handbags and weapons, Mr. Ahmed said in the television interview.

Police say the arrested men are suspected of having links to the militant group led by Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban leader who was killed last month in a U.S. missile attack in South Waziristan. A large number of militants from Waziristan and other areas fleeing army attacks have been taking sanctuary in Karachi -- the capital of Sindh province -- according to Zulfikar Mirza, the Sindh provincial home minister.

China: Gay Men Assert Right to Congregate in Public Park

Now even China is reporting problems with gay men having sex in park restrooms. This text below is from the middle of an AP article written from the perspective of gay rights:

But as those cities showed signs of being more tolerant, Guangzhou authorities were starting to crack down in People's Park — a shady oasis of trees and gazebos in the middle of the muggy, traffic-congested city. The park is popular with youngsters who play badminton or retirees practicing their ballroom-dancing moves to stereos blasting out tunes like "Sukiyaki," the Japanese ballad that became a hit in the U.S. in the 1960s.

For years, the park has also been a favorite hangout for gay men, especially among the young or working-class who can't afford the bars and restaurants around town that cater to the community. The men — many dressed in tank tops and tight jeans — stroll around the park or sit together on a long line of stone benches. Nearby is a public restroom, where some men have sex — a source of much of the friction with the police.

I wish gay rights activists would come up with a solution to this problem of sex in public restrooms. They usually act as if this is all about homophobia, when it is usually about this kind of obnoxious behavior. But I guess they want parks around the world to follow the lead of the park in Amsterdam that just gave up and designated areas where gays have sex.