June 14, 2006
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07:12 AM
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Short-staffed companies are requesting that employees who quit pay damages as the resurgence of Japan's economy is placing a strain on labor levels, Tokyo's Labor Consultation Center said...One of them, a 29-year-old man who works for a computer system development company offered to resign in March. But an official of the firm told him, "We won't allow you to quit until the system development job finishes in September. If you quit now, you have to pay several million yen in compensation."...
A top official of the Rodo Kumiai Network Union Tokyo said since sometime around 2002 the problem of overwork had become serious in some companies. "Those who managed to survive those tough times now want to quit or change jobs. But their employers don't want them to leave," he said.
Now, who in their right mind would accept a job offer from a company that demands compensation from resigning employees? I'm not sure that the HR departments have thought this issue through completely. It smacks of indentured servitude or slavery.
Update: Don't get any ideas, Vinnie.
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06:05 AM
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David S. Powers, professor of near eastern studies at Cornell University, has noted that Muslim scholars of abrogation such as Ibn Salama (d. 1020) claimed the "sword verse" cited above (9.5) had abrogating power over 124 other verses, including "every other verse in the Koran which commands or implies anything less than a total offensive against the non-believers." U.S.-born historian John Wansbrough found that the sword verse "became the scriptural prop of a formulation designed to cover any and all situations which might arise between the Muslim community and its enemies." Influential Islamist authors such as 'Abd al-Salam Faraj, Maulana Maududi and Sayyid Qutb have all expressed their agreement with the classical interpretation of the commands to fight and kill.
Abrogation: some verses were provided later in time and are considered to preempt verses earlier in the chronology. In other words, all of the peaceful verses come earlier in chronology than the sword verse, hence the sword verse should be considered the passage to follow.
Indeed, one of the greatest challenges facing peace advocates in Muslim nations is that the Islamist voices that seem to have the greatest appeal to youth are those that portray the Koranic commands to kill as clear and unequivocal. Some of these Islamists have already carefully processed Western criticisms and have deliberately reasserted the classical understandings. For instance, Egypt's Sayyid Qutb, a guiding force of the Muslim Brotherhood (from which al-Qaeda sprang), wrote that the tendency to interpret the Koran as if it enjoins only defensive war is an error of Muslims minds "defeated by the pressure of unfavourable conditions and the treacherous propaganda of the orientalists."But this need not be the only way of interpreting these texts. One alternative -- quite common in some faith communities -- might be to decide that these were commands for a very particular set of circumstances, but that they no longer apply to modern believers in this time. Another option, advanced recently by the Turkish scholar Israfil Balci, is to reject the classical interpretations of these commands as a product of the political tensions of the period.
I see the major issue as the infallibility of the text. The literal word of God can not be changed. This is why the above attempts at reinterpretation are often trumped by extremists: the extremists quote the text accurately so they seem to be following Allah accurately.
In other words, Muslims seeking to find a peaceful message in the Koran must fight not only the plain meaning of the Koran's text and the current fashion for militancy, but also the arrow of Muslim history.Interpreting the words of Muslim scripture so that they pose no threat to peaceful coexistence with non-believers thus seems a large challenge. In view of the high stakes in the world today, however, it is certainly a challenge worth taking up. Otherwise, Canadian proponents of multiculturalism will have a harder time arguing that traditional Islam is just another peaceful element in Canada's multicultural quilt.
Exactly. Koranic literalism* is the problem; it is unclear whether reinterpretation is possible if the new meaning contradicts the actual words in the Koran.
Read it all and do some thinking. Crossposted here.
*"Belief in the Qur'an's direct, uncorrupted divine origin is considered fundamental to Islam by most Muslims. This of course entails believing that the Qur'an has neither errors nor inconsistencies.
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05:21 AM
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June 13, 2006
I believe the old definition of a nanosecond was the gap between a New York traffic light changing to green and the first honk of a driver behind you. Today, the definition of a nanosecond is the gap between a Western terrorist incident and the press release of a Muslim lobby group warning of an impending outbreak of Islamophobia. After the London tube bombings, Angus Jung sent the Aussie pundit Tim Blair a note-perfect parody of the typical newspaper headline:"British Muslims fear repercussions over tomorrow's train bombing."
An adjective here and there, and that would serve just as well for much of the coverage by the Toronto Star and the CBC, where a stone through a mosque window is a bigger threat to the social fabric than a bombing thrice the size of the Oklahoma City explosion. "Minority-rights doctrine," writes Melanie Phillips in her new book Londonistan, "has produced a moral inversion, in which those doing wrong are excused if they belong to a 'victim' group, while those at the receiving end of their behaviour are blamed simply because they belong to the 'oppressive' majority."
He forgets claims of torture of the arrested terrorists, which arrive at the same time as fears of Islamophobia. Torture, in the Canadian case, translates as "being kept in jail."
Well, if Hizzoner wants to make himself a laughingstock, what's the harm? Only this -- that the more rubbish spouted by officials in the wake of these events, the more the averagely well-informed person will resent the dissembling.
And here Mark hits the nail on the head. The blogosphere, as one example, rants about the "broad strata of society" who are inevitably pious Muslims. Is this intellectual dishonesty on the part of the police and government? Yes, of course.
Is it good policy? I believe it is. As the Guardian pointed out, we are winning the War on Terror because the mass of Muslims are sitting the thing out. We don't want to make this a Muslim vs. the West issue; we want it to be a "tiny minority of religious extremists" vs. the West and keep everyday Muslims on the sidelines. Bin Laden and his ilk want all Muslims to rise and fight, we want them comfortable on their couch, watching the World Cup.
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11:52 PM
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But don't worry, he's learned his lesson and paid his debt to society:
"I will maintain my struggle to uphold sharia (Islamic law), he added, before getting into a black van.
Phew, it seems our allies in the War on Terror showed him the error of his ways. It must have been easy to rehabilitate a gentle miscreant like this:
The 67-year-old cleric, who has called al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a true Islamic warrior, denied any wrongdoing. He insists Jemaah Islamiah does not exist, and Indonesian courts have dismissed charges that he led the network.
Of course Jemaah Islamiah doesn't exist, and neither does taqqiya.
Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: Allah's Apostle said, "Who is willing to kill Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Thereupon Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab). "The Prophet said, "You may say it." —Bukhari 5.59.369Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah: The Prophet said, "War is deceit." —Bukhari 4.52.69
Above quotes courtesy of Patrick az-Kafir
Previous Bashir posts:
Bali Bombing Mastermind Sentenced to 4.5 days in Jail per Victim
US 'Disappointed' with Bashir Sentence of 4.5 Days per Victim
Bali Bombing Mastermind's Sentence Reduced from 4.5 Days in Jail Per Victim to 3.8 Days in Jail Per Victim
Posted by: Vinnie at
10:18 PM
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Posted by: cbjohnson at
10:04 PM
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From Local6.com:
According to incident reports, a marine patrol deputy and a park ranger told a topless Roberson to cover up in separate encounters Sunday.Roberson must be eligible for some kind of an award for stupidity. She is due in court on July 18 to face charges of indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.Later, authorities received a complaint that a woman without a top was in view of children.
One report said a grandmother complained that the topless woman became "loud and disorderly" after she told the woman to cover up. Another camper told authorities the woman became belligerent when confronted.
2) In Austin, Texas, the local school board wants to fire 29-year-old Austin High School art teacher, Tamara Hoover (pic), for publishing her topless picture on the Internet. The Austin School Board voted yesterday to commence the termination process for Hoover.
From Tamara Hoover's web page on MySpace.com:
ARTIST AND ART Teacher (termination pending) at a high school in Austin, Texas. Looking for help with funding the gathering of evidence to defend myself against the Austin Independant School District. (both civil and criminal). They are firing me for pictures of me being on a website (celesta) and claiming the website is pornographic. [sic all]For those that donate, Hoover states that she will send them "something something sweet." Isn't that special?
From Interested-Participant.
Posted by: Mike Pechar at
05:47 PM
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I've begun to like Good Lieutenant (even though there's no evidence of hotness) but I have to wade into the 'hyperventilating anti-US reporting' post made earlier today and which has been running on Michelle Malkin's site for some time.
You are shooting at the wrong target.
The Times is not an Anti-American paper. It supported (and continues to support) the war in Afghanistan. It supported (and continues to support) the war in Iraq. It supported (and continues to support) the war on terror. It criticises, but it criticises tactics not strategy and we all do that.
Somebody (probably a hungover picture editor) made a mistake. S**t happens. When the mistake was pointed out to them, they apologised.
They didn't apologise in 36 point Times New Roman on the front page. It would be commercial suicide and the Times isn't some lefty cooperative that thinks that losing money is morally invigorating.
Demanding that they do makes us sound, well, a bit left wing. Its the left that continually hyperventilates, its the left that thinks that everyone who disagrees with them is an idiot, its the left that believes that there's a vast conspiracy plotting to undermine them. LetÂ’s continue to allow them to monopolise that particular set of qualities. It's what they're good at. It's why they keep on losing.
There are Anti-American newspapers here in the UK (perhaps a post about the media scene here might be useful in the near future?) but The Times is not one of them. In the meantime, if you want to criticise a UK media source, might I suggest that a suitable target would be virtually anything written or broadcast by Al-BBC?
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04:45 PM
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I couldn’t resist – I delved into the
Because its so obvious that Rove, Bush and Cheney are all guilty of obstruction of justice
Well, thatÂ’s new. Fitz said its done. Before that I thought it was perjury. And before that, conservatism. And before that, effectiveness.
that it boggles the mind how people lose sight of the forest for the trees.
YouÂ’re still washing dishes with Merry and Pippin back in the shire, dear friend.
more...
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04:15 PM
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Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at
02:53 PM
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1. Reuters, 3-10-06.
3. Reuters, Today (6-13-06).
3. CNN, 11-23-05.
4. Guardian, 11-11-00
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12:40 PM
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"Project Valour-IT provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse."They are out of money, and need your help! Please donate here, and check out the blogs participating in this drive such as Blackfive, Castle Argghhh, and Mudville Gazette --- or find more on the TTLB tracking page for Valour-IT.
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11:12 AM
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Mohammed at Iraq the Model lays out his feelings towards those who would mourn their "hero" Zarqawi:
It is totally unimaginable why someone would describe the head chopping, children murdering terrorist as a hero. It's disgusting and infuriating beyond words.more...
Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at
09:18 AM
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According to the NYT, the progression of the much-ballyhooed CIA Plamegate case just plopped a heaping pile of dissapointment on the left-wingut blogosphere. There will be no frogmarch for The Evil One, Karl Rove. No charges, nothing. All that hyperventallating on Hardball, all the CNN pontification, the hoping, the praying, the "Truthout" BS - gone in a puff.
Watch for exploding heads and ripped tinfoil hats. Sombody make sure Jason Leopold is on suicide watch. Drudge is noting that the nutroots and internet "indictment pushers" who have for months been huffing and puffing (including disgraceful "anchor" Keith Olbermann's pathetic assurances on 26 different programs), are dragging their collective behinds reporting the actual truth today. I wonder if this little faux-pas will cause Keith Olbermann qualify for his own "Worst Wanna-be Journalist Person in the World" segment. Doubt it.
I await tonight's Countdown and Hardball with giddy anticipation and will take great pleasure watching these leftwingnuts eat their crow all day. After they shut up for five minutes and let sink in what actually happened in reality, of course.
Cross posted at Mein Blogovault.
Posted by: Good Lieutenant at
07:27 AM
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Posted by: cbjohnson at
07:10 AM
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The Washington Times explains why home-grown terrorists planned to attack peaceful, liberal, unassuming, toque-wearing Canada:
But if the real motivation for Islamic terror is an aggressive U.S. foreign policy or Israel's supposed oppression of the Palestinians, why did 17 young Muslim men allegedly plot to strike Canada?
Canada has no soldiers in Iraq. Few would consider it a good friend of Israel. Canada has offered its warm embrace for Muslims from around the globe. Canadian Muslims experience minimal discrimination, let alone anything even resembling oppression.
Leaders of Islamic terrorist groups, from Osama bin Laden to Shiekh Ahmad Yassin (the late "handicapped" and "elderly" founder of Hamas), universally agree that no government is legitimate unless it is Islamic. Establishing an Islamic state is, in fact, what most unifies jihadists around the world.
So why Canada? Because it is not an Islamic state.
But the drive for an Islamic state is probably not enough of a salient motivator for foot soldiers, as it is still a somewhat intellectual ideal. Hence the slanders. Telling young Muslims that their non-Muslim neighbors are going halfway around the world to rape Muslim women strikes a raw nerve.
So there you have it. If Canada would just accept Islamic supremacy there would be no problem. To motivate restless, causeless youths, you need high-octane propaganda, and that is provided by Islamists and our own media.
Can anyone list all of the atrocity claims that the media has has given credence to in Iraq? How many in the last month? Now, how many have turned out to be true? Our media enables Islamist propaganda, fueling our enemies.
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07:04 AM
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Test preparations are far more advanced than on previous occasions when North Korea appeared to be gearing up for a launch. The Taepodong-2 is a two, or three, stage “integrated” missile. The three-stage version consists of a solid-fuel booster rocket strapped atop a Scud missile attached in turn to a short-range Nodong missile.The US is monitoring the launch site to see if North Korea starts final assembly of the missile. If North Korea fuelled an assembled Taepodong-2, it would increase the probability of a test, since the move is difficult and dangerous to reverse.
My first thought was: I am damned glad Reagan started researching anti-missile defenses in the 1980's so we have partial protection against psychotics like the North Korean regime.
Sure, the missile sounds like jury-rigged mess...but when equipped with a nuclear warhead, it is a dangerous jury-rigged mess. From the Spook: "Some analysts have speculated that NK may be using the preparations to gain attention from the U.S. and South Korea. With no substantial progress in the six-party nuclear talks, Kim Jong-il may attempt to restart the process--on his terms--by reminding the other parties that he has nuclear weapons, and with the TD-2, a mechanism for striking targets well beyond the peninsula."
I think that can be summarized as nuclear blackmail. And it points up why we need to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis before it reaches the same stage.
Posted by: cbjohnson at
06:01 AM
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This picture is Exhibit A of what happens when hyperventallating anti-US reporting outruns the facts at "objective" news outlets - they end up printing propaganda for the enemy. As the old saw goes, truth is the first casualty in war (especially within the press).
The ever-vigilant Michelle Malkin has been following the propagation and dissemination of a dishonest smear attempt an "editorial oversight" that has been popping up in media outlets all over the world. The UK Times ran a photo (an AP photo and caption) showing Iraqi civilians bound and shot in a long row about two weeks ago. The paper incorrectly captioned them as victims of Haditha, while attributing the killings to the US Marines. In reality, the photo was taken months before the Haditha incident even took place, and the people were killed by Islamic terrorists (in typical Islamist fashion, might I add). All of this must be done keeping in mind that not a single charge has been filied against any US soldier in these incidents.
Not a big deal, you say? Bollocks. The UK Times has issued a retraction and apology - and...? The picture, already making its way with phony caption around the world time and again, became fodder for a leftwingnut political cartoonist for the Chicago Sun-Times, who was also forced to issue a retreaction (post-publication, so that the damage was already done). Terrorist news network Al-Jazeera also picked up the photo and broadcast it across their airwaves and on their website. The "echo chamber" of the anti-war press in effect:
More on the now established mainstream press tactic pattern of "smear first, ask / verify/ contextualize/ fact-check later" here. We are now seeing the mask come off the press, who collectively think that they are re-living 1968 all over again (aka, they want another US loss and failure). This ain't 1968, and if it weren't for fact checkers on the Internet, this vicious smear attempt would continue to be blasted nightly over cute little chirons and customized Haditha graphics at CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, TOday Show, MSNBC, the NYT, etc.
Given that the individuals in this photo are killed in typical Islamist fashion (civilians used to make an example out of them, bound, blindfolded, shot in cold blood, dumped in the street, etc.), it begs a set of questions about left-wing conventional wisdom. If these kinds of atrocities were being committed en masse by our troops as alleged by anti-warbots on a daily basis, then why are there so very few of these incidents that are reported? Why is the first instance in the entire conflict of such "alleged war crimes" so badly reported and so grossly blown out of historical and practical context? Could it be that the press has been chomping at the bit to get stories like this? Could it be that the US military, acting in the restrained and professional matter in which it always has, has been doing a nearly impeccable job of controlling and limiting civilian casualties and "alleged cold-blooded massacres?"
Where are the A1 corrections - above the fold in 36 point Times New Roman? Retractions and apoligies are lovely, but again, the damage to the troops is done whether the picture has anything to do with them or not (and it doesn't). I'll leave the readers and old media devotees to figure this one out, as their favored information sources backpedal, retract, misreport and misinform them.
Cross-posted at Mein Blogovault.
Posted by: Good Lieutenant at
05:17 AM
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THE chief judge in Saddam Hussein's trial barred the former Iraqi leader's half-brother and co-accused Barzan al-Tikriti from attending today's session after guards forced him out of court the day before.I think I smell something. I think it may be irony."The court decided to continue keeping defendant Barzan away for his repeated violation of the order of the court," Chief Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman said as the trial resumed at a heavily-fortified courtroom in Baghdad.
Former intelligence chief Barzan, who like Saddam and six other defendants face charges of crimes against humanity, was forced out of court on Monday screaming "This is a dictatorship" after an argument with Mr Rahman.
Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at
04:00 AM
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It seems that discussions about whether the equal protection clause applies to the X-Men and other mutants is moot. As the Disenchanted Idealist notes, a federal court has already determined that the X-Men (and other superheroes) are "nonhuman creatures," at least for the purposes of U.S. trade law.
'nuff said.
Posted by: Kos_Irhabi at
03:16 AM
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