<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>On Jul 30, 2010, at 1:43 PM, Tomasz Rola wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><blockquote type="cite"><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#000000"><br></font></blockquote>John, I think you are awesomly unfair. </div></blockquote><div><br></div>Well at least I'm awesome.<br><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>you seem to judge a culture by its last 100 years? Maybe 50? This <br>is simply unfair. </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>If you are a stupid and cruel person I would not think more highly of you if I discovered that your great great great great great grandfather was brilliant and kind.</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div> there is much potential in Islam to improve and become acceptable in modern times.</div></blockquote><div><br></div>I agree, in fact Islam has more potential for improvement than most groups because almost any change would be an improvement. If Islam really wants to improve the first thing it should do is abandon religion.<br><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>I don't believe that Islam is a monolith </div></blockquote><div><br></div>Again I pretty much agree, they constantly fight among themselves over trivialities, certainly Muslims have killed more Muslims than non-Muslims have. But it is near monolithic in thinking we should go back to the values of the eleventh century, although some more progressive elements think the fifteenth century will do. <br><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div> I try to understand the other side. </div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>That is an excellent idea, you should always know your enemy; but remember, understanding why somebody is a monster does not make him one bit less a monster.</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>Also, I find it interesting that in one sentence you condemn some actions <br>taken by one Muslim group on the other, and in the next sentence you <br>condemn the whole Islam as such.</div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>Let me ask you one question, do you condemn the whole Nazi group?</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>I post a link to article about treatment of Nobel laureates by some Muslim groups</div></blockquote><div><br></div>I assume you mean Muslim Nobel laureates, there were 7 not 6 as I said before, I forgot the 2006 prize for economics. Among those 7 are political hack Anwar Sadat, terrorist Yasser Arafat, and writer Naguib Mahfouz who's novel is banned in most of the Islamic world for blasphemy. <div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>When Y1 began, colonial powers popped out on the map in most places where there are Islamic countries today, and [...] <br></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>And I don't care!! It's irrelevant, explaining why Islam is a dysfunctional culture does not make it one bit less dysfunctional.</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>I would say, they were mostly successful - compared to countries like Congo</div></blockquote><div><br></div>Wow what a ringing endorsement. </div><div><br></div><div></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>What is interesting, is that guys were able to come into building atomic technology so fast </div></blockquote><div><br></div>Yes, the fact that Pakistan has the bomb is interesting, in the way a 44 magnum held to your head is interesting.<br><div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>The case of ma'am Ayaan Hirsi Ali has been already covered by someone who <br>obviously knows more about her than I. I am sorry to hear she is in <br>danger. Her biogram in wikipedia reveals that she is very interesting <br>persona. Yet again, it is the same "crackpot religion" in Somalia and in Iran.</div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><div>Ayaan Hirsi Ali is indeed a remarkable and admirable human being, but she is not a Muslim, she once was but not anymore, she has publicly disavowed it and said she is an atheist. That's why the followers of that religion who's name means peace wants to disembowel her. </div></div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>I understand that Islam - when it is let to rule the country - makes life harsh for a lot of people.</div></blockquote><div><br></div>One of the great understatements of all time.<br><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>it was their own Iranian people who made their Islamic Revolution. </div></blockquote><div><br></div>If true that would undermine your assertion that it is only a tiny minority of Muslims who are troglodytes. </div><div> </div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>Changing hate object is like changing drug. It doesn't help at all</div></blockquote><div><br></div><div>You seem to be saying hate is never appropriate, but it's impossible never to hate and I don't believe it's desirable even to try. If hate were a truly useless emotion its hard to understand why Evolution preserved it for hundreds of millions of years. Some things are just hateful. </div><div><br></div><div>This last part is aimed at the apologists for all religions not just Islam, when they preach about the wonderful things these organizations have done they always ignore one little fact, it's all based on a colossal lie. Doesn't the truth count for something? </div><div><br></div><div>By the way, on the front page of today's New York Times is an article about the Ground Zero Mosque: </div><div><br></div><div> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31mosque.html?_r=1&ref=global-home">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/nyregion/31mosque.html?_r=1&ref=global-home</a></div><div><br></div><div> John K Clark</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>