If this isn't the worst doctored audio I've ever heard, then I don't know what is. Sounds like a Italian chef, a news reporter, and an American cowboy. It's more proof that Israel is trying to dupe the world from it's murderous acts.
>The date stamps on my photos are all over the goddamn place, because my camera tends to forget the date when I leave it turned off.
Erm... to me that says they fished pictures from different time periods. You#d think one camera - they#d all have the same inconsistant wrong date. Plus, I think one of the commenters who also owns the same camera has said the date doesn't* reset.
God is the only objective force in the universe. Humans by nature are subjective, giving into their whims and desire (most of the time wholly contrary to expert advice on what's good for them and what's bad for them).
Take homosexuality for example... as recent as a few decades back, it was an abhorrent crime, hated by society, hated by government. A few years later, it's celebrated, with countless open air marches and festivals around the world. God's position on this hasn't changed - peoples has!
Take dress code as another item.... the definition of 'modesty' holds a whole different connotation almost year on year. What's acceptable in terms of women dress wear, magazines, films, is slipping bit by bit, year on year. Again, another human whim.
The harmful nature of swine has been studied and documented to the nth degree. The bacteria it contains, and the susceptibility of the meat to transmit viruses is well known within certain research communities (do google search).
"Religion alone has caused more suffering in history than any other idea, and has lead to wars, deaths, torture, discrimination, intolerance, sexual repression, sexist discrimination to women, and a slowdown for science, culture and knowledge."
On the contrary. Human beings have killed people. Religion hasn't. All the 3 major religions are against innocent loss of life. The death toll in Iraq has gone off the scale. The death toll in Afghanistan has reached into it's hundreds of thousands. These are Atheist wars! In modern history, Atheism has killed more people than centuries of religiously motivated killings.
Religion has brought, not only moral truth, but also has cultivated the soil for humanity to be scientifically and technologically where it is at now. The Islamic Golden Age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Golden_Age) has contributed an invaluable amount to almost every aspect of our existence today (from universities, to contracts, to music...). What has atheist brought really? than just ignorant and prejudice ideas?
"God is the only objective force in the universe" <- yet its mere existence still has to be proven
"Take homosexuality for example... as recent as a few decades back, it was an abhorrent crime, hated by society, hated by government." <- and in ancient greece it was normal and accepted
"Take dress code as another item" <- Fashion in dressing has changed over the course of the centuries
"The harmful nature of swine has been studied and documented to the nth degree. The bacteria it contains, and the susceptibility of the meat to transmit viruses is well known within certain research communities" <- The same could be said of other animals such as bovine and birds.
"On the contrary. Human beings have killed people." <- But in the name of religion! And not only in the name of the 3 major monotheistic religions, but the monothoeistic religions happen to be less tolerant with other's beliefs. There are many examples, the crusades, inquisition, witch hunts...
"The death toll in Iraq has gone off the scale. The death toll in Afghanistan has reached into it's hundreds of thousands. These are Atheist wars!" <- Doesn't ex-president Bush Jr told the world that the bad ones where islamic fanatic terrorists? He even wanted to call the war "Divine Justice" or something alike.
"Religion has brought, not only moral truth" <- again, that is very debatable. Religion claims it has The Truth, yet every religion claims the same, and their truths are different from each other.
"In modern history, Atheism has killed more people than centuries of religiously motivated killings." <- That is absolutely demagogic. Atheism hasn't killed anyone. People kills people, and in modern wars is it is always for economic reasons.
"The Islamic Golden Age has contributed an invaluable amount to almost every aspect of our existence today" <- That is exactly correct. And during the Islamic Golden Age, muslims where not as fanatical as they are nowadays. On the contrary, on that age, christians were as fanaticals as muslims ara nowadays.
"What has atheist brought really?" <- Freethinking, a neutral vision of nature and the universe, curiosity and the ability to ask questions and look for answers beyond "it is god's <change your deity name here> will". If it were for religion, we will still think that earth is plain.
"than just ignorant and prejudice ideas?" <- That is exactly what I would say that religion has given to humanity.
> "The Islamic Golden Age has contributed an invaluable amount to almost every aspect of our existence today" <- That is exactly correct. And during the Islamic Golden Age, muslims where not as fanatical as they are nowadays. On the contrary, on that age, christians were as fanaticals as muslims ara nowadays.
I understand your point, but I seriously doubt this is correct. This sort of argument is not likely to impress anyone, least of all a religionists.
> in modern wars is it is always for economic reasons.
Even if that were the case - and I don't believe that it is for a second - what about indirect causes? What about gaining enough power to wage war by simply pandering to theists and labelling the wars as God's work? I can think of at least one example you may have heard of, but Mr Godwin wouldn't like me mentioning it.
It's a depressing situation that we find ourselves in when people hold so much hatred against a religion/community, that they scope out an internet campaign to spur their hatred out. How much do people actually know about this man that they're so openly insulting? Look at what some prominent non-Muslims have said about the Prophet Muhammad, to get some perceptive to who he was and what he brought:
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history. - Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.
He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretentions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the divine right, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports - Lamartine, "Historia de la turquie", Paris 1854. Vol. II. pp.276-7
I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life. - Mahatma Gandhi, "Young India", 1924.
I Have Studied Him the Wonderful Man, & In My Opinion Far From Being An Anti-Christ, He Must Be Called the Saviour of Humanity. I Believe That If a Man Like Him Were to Assume the Dictatorship of the Modern World, He Would Succeed in Solving the Problems in a Way That Would Bring It the Much Needed Peace & Happiness. Europe is Beginning to Be Enamoured of the Creed of Muhammad. In the Next Century It May Go Still Further In Recognizing the Utility of That Creed in Solving Its Problems & It is in This Sense that You Must Understand My Prediction. - George Bernard Shaw
Insulting someone people love is never a nice thing, and people are going to react emotionally. Let's say person A insults person B's mum (who died after a long struggle with cancer), person A will rightly get really really offended. This from the love and attachment they had for their mother. Many Muslims have a very strong attachment to Muhammed (if you were to study his life, then you would probably understand why), and thus they react very emotionally when people attack him in this manner.
OK I guess I could not question your decision here maybe but let me make my point:
Firs, I was raised in a non-religious home and all my ancestors were either protestant, catholic, or Jew, or probably adored a totem or some other chunk of stone or wood ;-) And as such I have a problem with the emotional reactions. I have a problem with the violence and death threats. I have a problem with a war on terrorism that is conducted by terror and disdain for Muslim protests in return.
This question of the perception of Islam by non-Muslims is such a challenge. Islam has been around and is not going away. However, Islam is complex and diverse. It's so important to keep discussing and resolving and exchanging ideas on this.
Even if us geeks like to think that the world is made of predictable things like science, machines, and nice people, it's not. And it has been that way since the dawn of people. So if a growing portion of the Muslim world thinks there is a problem with the way we portray them, if they keep thinking we disrespect their values and prophets, maybe we ought to listen, debate, and propose new ideas.
I, for one, believe that many Muslims are wedded to a value system that comes more from ancient tribal societies than from modern industrialized democracies. I believe that this is the main root of this clash of "cultures" instead of the "Clash of Civilisations" which sounds like an announcement for a war to come.
I do not want to bore you guys or take this out of the realm of Hacker News etiquette but this seems like such an important issue. Please kill it without killing my karma ;-)
I have lived in the Valley for years before moving to Oregon and I know the culture there is not very favorable to questioning racism, political and religious values. But please ask yourselves if you really think that Muslims are monsters or if you have just not misunderstood them. Then put the violent ones in jail and stop attacking the religion of the other 99% who are peaceful.
It's a depressing situation that we find ourselves in when people hold so much hatred against a religion/community, that they scope out an internet campaign to spur their hatred out. How much do people actually know about this man that they're so openly insulting? Look at what some prominent non-Muslims have said about the Prophet Muhammad, to get some perceptive to who he was and what he brought:
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history. - Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.
He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretentions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the divine right, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports - Lamartine, "Historia de la turquie", Paris 1854. Vol. II. pp.276-7
I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity,the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life. - Mahatma Gandhi, "Young India", 1924.
I Have Studied Him the Wonderful Man, & In My Opinion Far From Being An Anti-Christ, He Must Be Called the Saviour of Humanity. I Believe That If a Man Like Him Were to Assume the Dictatorship of the Modern World, He Would Succeed in Solving the Problems in a Way That Would Bring It the Much Needed Peace & Happiness. Europe is Beginning to Be Enamoured of the Creed of Muhammad. In the Next Century It May Go Still Further In Recognizing the Utility of That Creed in Solving Its Problems & It is in This Sense that You Must Understand My Prediction. - George Bernard Shaw
Well, a number of messages later, and a very stern message from them (see quotation in article), I've not got anywhere. If you can push a few buttons on my behalf, then I would be highly grateful.
...oh, and should anyone wish to re-enable my account, it was registered under: miahs101[at]hotmail.com (yes, it's a desperate attempt, but I might aswell).
The only data he really lost is messages and what not, which isn't too bad (I doubt many people store life critical data in their Facebook messages). Photos he should already have on his computer. It sounded to me that he wanted his Facebook account back so he could continue to use the site, not capture posts he made so they could be saved.
Anyway, I'd treat it as a lesson learned. You have no recourse with a free service. Don't count on it as always being there. Especially for services like Facebook that are burning through crazy amounts of cash. Facebook could go away entirely tomorrow and the world wouldn't grind to a halt.
This sort of data proprietarianism is just evil. For exactly the reasons that were discussing this topic today. Holding people hostage for their data is a slimy and vile way to treat your customers.
Agreed. I knew there was a good reason why I have never put anything of any real value on FaceBook... Or any social networking site for that matter.
The only reason I even joined up on FaceBook to begin with is that a friend invited me, and I thought being in the web industry, I should see what all the fuss was about. I joined, clicked around for a bit, found no value, left and never really looked back.
