Islamists threaten South Park

[mountainboii]

My issue arises with the fact that it is perfectly acceptable to take the piss out of certain religions and issues on tv but once you mention Allah or black people it is totally unacceptable. I am not in anyway racist but i recently received an email that addressed the double standards in society. Now the email was by no means gospel and was probably started by someone who is a racist but it does highlight some of  the double standards in society. I am a firm believer of whats good for the goose is good for the gander. If we can accept fun being poked at us and, in this circumstance that is all it is, it isn't an attack on allah. Then i feel all races/religions should have a little sense of humour within certain boundaries.

Was this the email by any chance?

http://gaaboard.com/board/index.php?topic=15988.0

[Tyrones own]

 

All Muslims are evil and have bombs hidden in their mosques. Fox news said so. QED.

*Yawn* Can you give a date, time and host of the show where this took place so we can verify you're not indeed full of dung
with yet more stereotypical blinkered hatred.........Thought so, grow up FFS

The fcukwits at the helm of the good ship Christian America are to be more feared especially in light of their recent performances throughout the world.

How so...and how does it compare with what Radical Islam has wrought throughout the world ... just curious?

The world would be a lot better place imo without any religion but especially so muslim, as there are brainwashed at an early age and there beliefs are interpretated to suit political agendas. Some of it is sick, im talking about child abuse sick.

Like actually poisoning young girls as they try to attend school and get an education for themselves in Afghanistan  ...real evil sick bastards!!
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201042663711279658.html

Of course there are fuckwiths in every religion.

Indeed there are but my point that is conveniently overlooked here is that it's clearly OK to berate and insult Christianity or indeed the Catholic Church
while ignoring the gorilla in the room...very strange how all of that gets a pass on the board

Would you then have the same opinion that all catholics are sick b**tards? Sligonian, nothing is black and white like that. You have to allow for the fact that there will be good people as well as bad in all walks of life.

Fcuk.... you wouldn't run over to the clerical abuse thread with this sage bit of advice by any chance

I don't think Muslims are any worse than any other religion.

Sure...along as you're not seen to be going against them or remotely insulting toward them and by God that doesn't take much
perhaps if the Catholic Church were to implement such a defense mechanism to insults and accusations 
there'd be boys on here a whole lot quieter  

[J70]

TO quote

Sure...along as you're not seen to be going against them or remotely insulting toward them and by God that doesn't take much perhaps if the Catholic Church were to implement such a defense mechanism to insults and accusations there'd be boys on here a whole lot quieter 

Are you suggesting that people who don't denigrate Islam on this board abstain from doing so because they are intimidated? Anonymous members of a gaelic sports internet forum?

TO quote

Indeed there are but my point that is conveniently overlooked here is that it's clearly OK to berate and insult Christianity or indeed the Catholic Church while ignoring the gorilla in the room...very strange how all of that gets a pass on the board 

And the context has nothing to do with this? The fact that probably 95+% of the members of this board were raised as catholics is irrelevant? There aren't too many discussions about the evils of Nazi Germany either – that the vast majority of people finds what they represented totally abhorrent is a given. I would have thought it was the same with violent Islamic terrorism, just as I would think that most find the theocratic, repressive societies respresented by the likes of Saudi Arabia abhorrent (well I certainly do, but again, I take that as a given and not really a topic of debate). Whereas the existence of a god is a topic of debate. The role of the church in covering up child rape is a topic of debate. The irrationality (or not, depending on your opinion) of Christian dogma and scripture is a topic of debate. Members of the board have a range of opinions on these matters and some good discussion follows on from that. Given that we have no muslims here, there isn't a whole lot to say, given that most people will agree on most the issues. Personally, I don't find echo chamber exchanges very interesting.

[mylestheslasher]

All Muslims are evil and have bombs hidden in their mosques. Fox news said so. QED.

*Yawn* Can you give a date, time and host of the show where this took place so we can verify you're not indeed full of dung
with yet more stereotypical blinkered hatred.........Thought so, grow up FFS

The fcukwits at the helm of the good ship Christian America are to be more feared especially in light of their recent performances throughout the world.

How so...and how does it compare with what Radical Islam has wrought throughout the world ... just curious?

The world would be a lot better place imo without any religion but especially so muslim, as there are brainwashed at an early age and there beliefs are interpretated to suit political agendas. Some of it is sick, im talking about child abuse sick.

Like actually poisoning young girls as they try to attend school and get an education for themselves in Afghanistan  ...real evil sick b**tards!!
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/04/201042663711279658.html

Of course there are fuckwiths in every religion.

Indeed there are but my point that is conveniently overlooked here is that it's clearly OK to berate and insult Christianity or indeed the Catholic Church
while ignoring the gorilla in the room...very strange how all of that gets a pass on the board

Would you then have the same opinion that all catholics are sick b**tards? Sligonian, nothing is black and white like that. You have to allow for the fact that there will be good people as well as bad in all walks of life.

Fcuk.... you wouldn't run over to the clerical abuse thread with this sage bit of advice by any chance

I don't think Muslims are any worse than any other religion.

Sure...along as you're not seen to be going against them or remotely insulting toward them and by God that doesn't take much
perhaps if the Catholic Church were to implement such a defense mechanism to insults and accusations 
there'd be boys on here a whole lot quieter  

Fox news Kyle Thomas pretty much any time he appears as a guest on Today fm's Last Word on middle east affairs has said this on numerous occassions.

btw - we missed you on the clerical abuse thread, have you nothing to say on the rape of children or is it only when muslims do such things that it deserves comment - hypocrite. Never once did I say that all catholics were sick b**tards, many of my family are practicing catholics. Do I need to publically say that just cos you can't see that no reasonable person would say that about any group.

Now finally, could you do us a favour and take the tri colour of the republic down from your avatar and stick up the old stars and stripes. You're no republian so don't pretend you are.

[Gaaboardmod3]

OK lads. Calm down a small bit here. These topics always make for interesting discussions, but if you start hurling abuse it just weakens the point you are trying to make.

Of course it is also against Rule 1 of this forum, so please cease and desist.

Thanks

[NAG1]

I think its time that we moved away from the PC cuddly culture of not being able to say anything about anything without fear of offending some one. Im not a fan of South Park but would defend their right to take the hand out of anyone or anything for comedic value, Im an Irish Catholic which means that we have to take a bit of stick from time to time which is fine.

On the fundamentalism of religion both sides both Christianity and Islam are at it. I just have an apocolytic vision of years down the line that it will come to an all out war between the two ideologies at some point, such will be the radicalisation at that point.

[Hedley Lamarr]

J70 quotes
"just as I would think that most find the theocratic, repressive societies respresented by the likes of Saudi Arabia abhorrent"

"Given that we have no muslims here"

You base your first statement on what? have you lived there or do you know many Saudis?

How do you know there are no Muslims on here? and do you really think they would flag it given the amount of bile spouted on here?

There is another theocratic, represssive society a lot closer to home....namely the Vatican.
I've lived in the ME for over 10 years and have found it a very positive experience.....just my opinion.

[J70]

J70 quotes
"just as I would think that most find the theocratic, repressive societies respresented by the likes of Saudi Arabia abhorrent"

"Given that we have no muslims here"

You base your first statement on what? have you lived there or do you know many Saudis?

How do you know there are no Muslims on here? and do you really think they would flag it given the amount of bile spouted on here?

There is another theocratic, represssive society a lot closer to home....namely the Vatican.
I've lived in the ME for over 10 years and have found it a very positive experience.....just my opinion.

Never been there. I am assuming that the likes of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch aren't making it up as they go along though. I certainly would not want to be a woman or a migrant worker or incorrect flavour of muslim in Saudi Arabia.

But if your experience of SA is different...

As for the apparent lack of muslims on the board? Of course that is an assumption. None, to my knowledge, have revealed themselves. I do not see why they wouldn't. We get a wide range of opinions here and the vast majority of people are able to discuss things intelligently and respectfully. Its an anonymous internet forum - there's nothing to be afraid of.

[Hardy]

As Harry Hill wouldn't say, there's only one way to find out. Poll!

[Hedley Lamarr]

Ah yes, Amnesty, HRW.....along with the UN, Greenpeace etc.....toothless tigers.

While I'll admit it isn't Utopia I'll say that in all the time I've been here:

I've never been mugged/assaulted
never had my car broken into/stolen
never had my house broken into
can walk the street at night without fear

Now which way is Mecca

[Hedley Lamarr]

CHICAGO: On the banks of the sparkling green Chicago River, overlooking the vast expanse of Lake Michigan, the Sheraton Towers Hotel, venue of the first Saudi-American Business Opportunity Forum, was literally bursting at the seams and the action was as much in the corridors and lobbies as in the meeting halls.

In the lull between plenary sessions, in harmonious counterpart to official presentations, friends and colleagues gathered, relationships were forged or renewed, all in an atmosphere of palpable excitement. These spontaneous exchanges were not a distraction from formal program but rather the embodiment of the forum's primary theme: The commitment to a vital and enduring partnership between the two countries.

A notable aspect of the event was the turnout: over 1,000 attendees (many of whom braved skies tainted with ash and smoke in order to make it to Chicago).

The Organizing Committee had expected something close to 400. The overwhelming response on the part of both the US and Saudi delegates is testament to the sense of how vitally important this relationship is.

When asked about his initial reaction to the event, Omar A. Bahalwa of the Committee for International Trade said, "Marvelous! This event is unique. The number of registrants means that this is the largest-ever forum in the history of our two countries. And for the first time, we're targeting small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs. When someone said large crowds and a jam-packed schedule were 'bad news,' David Chaudron, representing Organized Change, laughed and added, 'It's absolutely wonderful that the bad news is the good news!'"

While the forum's theme of "The US and Saudi Arabia: A New Economic Order" was elaborated through a variety of lenses and business perspectives, the subtext of each panel's presentations was the recent global financial crisis and how the messages of that catastrophe have served to catalyze the need for increased communication and cooperation.

The morning panels glittered with heads of ministries and international corporations. Among the speakers on a variety of topics that included "Global Energy Interdependence, Global Responsibilities" and "Expanding US-Saudi Trade in a Competitive World" were Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi, Capital Market Authority Chairman Abdul Rahman Al-Tuwaijri, former US Secretary of Commerce  William Daley, Morgan Stanley's Richard Debs, J.P. Morgan Chase's Sir Andrew Crockett, GE's Ferdinando Beccalli, Chevron's John S. Watson and Acconia Energy's Peter DePrey.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza, CEO of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce Afana Al-Shuaiby, James Albaugh of Boeing and US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke spoke of the long relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia and how these two powerful and influential countries must partner even more extensively to strengthen the global economy.

The same underlying themes were expressed by each speaker: The need to diversify, the need to embrace the concepts of sustainability and environmentally friendly practices, the need for a firm stance against protectionism, and the recognition that the private sector is a vital part of the world economy - a rising tide that will lift all boats.

While they all recognized that challenges still exist that must be faced and overcome, including the still-fragile global economic recovery, they clearly felt that this forum truly marks a new chapter in US-Saudi Arabian friendship and a newly strengthened resolve to work together for prosperity and peace.

Saudi ministers remarked on how the Kingdom's future will be focused on knowledge-based initiatives and infrastructure development, stressing that "Saudi Arabia no longer wants to be the gas station of the world."

All noted that the real wealth of nations is its people. Alireza mentioned the late American President Abraham Lincoln who said, "I am a firm believer in the people. If you give the truth they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis."

Locke noted that currently four in every 10 citizens of the Kingdom are under 14. "As they grow up and enter the job market, the economy must be strong and vigorous so that they can prosper."

Perhaps he best summed up the atmosphere of hope that informed every speech, every deal envisioned or made: "We're here today so that the children of both of our countries can dream big and have their dreams come true."
:


We all know the only "god" the americas love is the greenback

[Hedley Lamarr]

Wonder where they learnt these tactics

HRW reveals horrific Iraq prison abuse
By AGENCIES

Published: Apr 29, 2010 00:53 Updated: Apr 29, 2010 00:53

BAGHDAD: Iraqi men held for months at a secret prison outside Baghdad were systematically raped, electrocuted, beaten up and forced to sign confession statements that they were forbidden to read, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday in a harrowing report reminiscent of the abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib.

Some of the detainees, mostly Sunnis from the northern city of Mosul, were beaten by Iraqi guards so badly they lost teeth and urinated blood for days afterward, said the report by New York-based HRW.

The watchdog interviewed 42 men who were recently transferred to another detention facility in Baghdad, after details of misconduct were passed to the government.

HRW described the prisoners' accounts of abuse as "credible and consistent," said there must be an independent and impartial investigation, and called for prosecutions at the highest level.

"The horror we found suggests torture was the norm in Muthanna," the watchdog's deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said, referring to the west Baghdad prison where the men were held until recently. "The government needs to prosecute all those responsible for this systematic brutality."

The men held at the prison were suspected Sunni Arab insurgents from the northern province of Nineveh, who had been arrested between September and December last year, according to the HRW report.

The existence of the jail has caused alarm for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, whose officials said it was shut two weeks ago after the abuse allegations were first published in the Los Angeles Times.

According to HRW, prison guards hung blindfolded detainees upside down during interrogations, then kicked, whipped and beat them before placing a dirty plastic bag over suspects' heads to cut off their air supply. When prisoners passed out, they were awoken by electric shocks to their genitals or other parts of the body, the report said.

The detainees, who were interviewed at the Al-Rusafa detention facility in Baghdad on April 26, told HRW that interrogators and security officials sodomized some detainees with broomsticks and pistol barrels.

Some young men said they were whipped with heavy cables, burned with acid and cigarettes, and had their teeth smashed.

Another detainee, who was 21, said interrogators threatened to rape his mother and sisters if he did not confess. During one torture session, guards made another detainee rape him.

"What happened at Muthanna is an example of the horrendous abuse Iraqi leaders say they want to leave behind," Stork said. "Everyone responsible, from the top down, needs to be held accountable."

One of eight detainee accounts published by HRW described how an imprisoned doctor instructed guards that an abused cell mate, who he suspected had internal bleeding, required urgent medical treatment.

"The guards took the tortured man out but returned him an hour later saying that he was fine. He died in the cell an hour later," it said.

The HRW report bore similarities with the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, in 2004, where a US military unit tortured Iraqi prisoners in a scandal, which shocked the world.

Dalshad Zebari, a Kurdish lawmaker from Nineveh province, where most of the detainees were from, said a government investigation was not enough and there should be international involvement. "We will ask the UN and the International Red Cross for an urgent investigation of these human rights violations and to force the Iraqi government to make public the names of those involved in these cruel crimes and ensure they face justice."

The revelation has come at a sensitive time for Al-Maliki as he tries to negotiate alliances with other factions that would allow him to be reappointed as prime minister following an inconclusive election in March.

The Human Rights Ministry says three Iraqi Army officers have been arrested for questioning. The prison was illegal because it was not under the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry and the Human Rights Ministry was not informed of it.

Conditions in legal Iraqi prisons are often not much better. The justice system relies on confessions for prosecutions, not evidence. That makes torture common though perhaps not as routine as under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. The report has angered the Sunni population who sees it as another example of persecution at the hands of Shiite-led government.

[Hedley Lamarr]

In the interest of fairness and to back up what J70 says.....

JEDDAH: In an unprecedented twist, a court in Buraidah recently granted a 12-year-old Saudi girl a divorce from her 80-year-old husband.

According to reports, the girl was married against her will to her father's cousin for a dowry of SR85,000.

Like many other cases involving child brides, this case also sparked debate in the Kingdom as well as attracting international media concern.

The girl and her mother, who is separated from the girl's father, took the case to court seeking a divorce for the girl. The case prompted the governmental Human Rights Commission (HRC) to appoint a lawyer to assist the child bride.

An unexpected twist occurred, according to a source within the HRC, when the case was dropped by the girl's mother in February when the girl failed to appear at a court hearing. Her failure surprised the HRC committee which had been formed to investigate the case.

The source also alleged in a previous interview with Arab News that the girl, her mother, and her mother's lawyer had come to court and withdrawn the request for divorce. Other reports said that the mother had reconciled with the girl's father, who had married her off and this is what led to the sudden dismissal of the case. There has been no independent confirmation of any of these developments.

Arab News spoke to Dr. Bandar Al-Iban, president of the Human Rights Commission (HRC), who said, "The case was dropped by the girl when she appeared in court in front of the judge, lawyers, and media along with her mother and legal representative to say that she didn't have a case and that she wanted to get married and since there was no law prohibiting it, she believes that the HRC should not be involved and therefore the case should be dismissed," he said, adding that everyone was shocked by the girl's statement.

Al-Iban, commenting on the recent granting of divorce, said that the HRC had no information about how the divorce came about. "We don't know how the girl and her husband were divorced as it was all done very quietly," he said.

Less than a year ago, an eight-year-old Saudi girl from Onaizah won an annulment of marriage from her 58-year-old husband after receiving assistance from Qassim Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar and after she promised to return the SR 8,000 dowry her husband had given to her father.

Underage girls married to older men have been in the international news media recently. Barely two weeks ago, Elham Mahdi, a 12-year-old Yemeni girl, reportedly died of internal bleeding three days after marrying an older man.

"Her death is a painful reminder of the risks girls face when they are married too soon," said Sigrid Kaag, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In many cases, the girls are married off to older men to settle the father's "debt" and so that the girl will no longer be seen as a financial or moral burden on her family. In some cases, there are agreements made between the bride's family and the groom to wait until she is older before consummation of marriage but this is not always the case.

A minimum age for girls to marry is still being debated in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The HRC and the Shoura Council have said openly said that they are working on a law setting a legal minimum age for marriage.

"We are still working to create a law setting a minimum age for marriage in Saudi Arabia," Al Aiban told Arab News.  "But it is very challenging as we are often dealing with conservative cultural bodies who do not believe that child marriage is a problem," he added.

[Tyrones own]

Ah yes, interesting reading there alright hedley however
I must have skimmed over this too quickly as I didn't get
your take on the poisoning of the young girls trying to attend school 

[mylestheslasher]

Wonder where they learnt these tactics

HRW reveals horrific Iraq prison abuse
By AGENCIES

Published: Apr 29, 2010 00:53 Updated: Apr 29, 2010 00:53

BAGHDAD: Iraqi men held for months at a secret prison outside Baghdad were systematically raped, electrocuted, beaten up and forced to sign confession statements that they were forbidden to read, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Wednesday in a harrowing report reminiscent of the abuses that took place at Abu Ghraib.

Some of the detainees, mostly Sunnis from the northern city of Mosul, were beaten by Iraqi guards so badly they lost teeth and urinated blood for days afterward, said the report by New York-based HRW.

The watchdog interviewed 42 men who were recently transferred to another detention facility in Baghdad, after details of misconduct were passed to the government.

HRW described the prisoners' accounts of abuse as "credible and consistent," said there must be an independent and impartial investigation, and called for prosecutions at the highest level.

"The horror we found suggests torture was the norm in Muthanna," the watchdog's deputy Middle East director Joe Stork said, referring to the west Baghdad prison where the men were held until recently. "The government needs to prosecute all those responsible for this systematic brutality."

The men held at the prison were suspected Sunni Arab insurgents from the northern province of Nineveh, who had been arrested between September and December last year, according to the HRW report.

The existence of the jail has caused alarm for Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, whose officials said it was shut two weeks ago after the abuse allegations were first published in the Los Angeles Times.

According to HRW, prison guards hung blindfolded detainees upside down during interrogations, then kicked, whipped and beat them before placing a dirty plastic bag over suspects' heads to cut off their air supply. When prisoners passed out, they were awoken by electric shocks to their genitals or other parts of the body, the report said.

The detainees, who were interviewed at the Al-Rusafa detention facility in Baghdad on April 26, told HRW that interrogators and security officials sodomized some detainees with broomsticks and pistol barrels.

Some young men said they were whipped with heavy cables, burned with acid and cigarettes, and had their teeth smashed.

Another detainee, who was 21, said interrogators threatened to rape his mother and sisters if he did not confess. During one torture session, guards made another detainee rape him.

"What happened at Muthanna is an example of the horrendous abuse Iraqi leaders say they want to leave behind," Stork said. "Everyone responsible, from the top down, needs to be held accountable."

One of eight detainee accounts published by HRW described how an imprisoned doctor instructed guards that an abused cell mate, who he suspected had internal bleeding, required urgent medical treatment.

"The guards took the tortured man out but returned him an hour later saying that he was fine. He died in the cell an hour later," it said.

The HRW report bore similarities with the abuse that took place at Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, in 2004, where a US military unit tortured Iraqi prisoners in a scandal, which shocked the world.

Dalshad Zebari, a Kurdish lawmaker from Nineveh province, where most of the detainees were from, said a government investigation was not enough and there should be international involvement. "We will ask the UN and the International Red Cross for an urgent investigation of these human rights violations and to force the Iraqi government to make public the names of those involved in these cruel crimes and ensure they face justice."

The revelation has come at a sensitive time for Al-Maliki as he tries to negotiate alliances with other factions that would allow him to be reappointed as prime minister following an inconclusive election in March.

The Human Rights Ministry says three Iraqi Army officers have been arrested for questioning. The prison was illegal because it was not under the jurisdiction of the Justice Ministry and the Human Rights Ministry was not informed of it.

Conditions in legal Iraqi prisons are often not much better. The justice system relies on confessions for prosecutions, not evidence. That makes torture common though perhaps not as routine as under ousted dictator Saddam Hussein. The report has angered the Sunni population who sees it as another example of persecution at the hands of Shiite-led government.

Hedley, I presume you are blaming the yanks for this by the comment above. Lets be clear about one thing. The man who was previously in charge of Iraq, Sadam Hussein, was a psycho and a butcher as were his secret police. Robert Fisk would be no friend of the US but if you read his section on Iraq in his book "war for civilisation" you will see that what went on in his prisons was disgustng and just plain evil. That of course does not excuse the americans for what they did there but it is worth having a little balance.