a very disturbing email circulating at care2.com and the book that started it
Mood:  incredulous
Topic: stop and think
This message has me worried. Just because some follow what can be considered an extreme form of a religion does not mean that everyone who follows said religion feels the same way. It's like saying all Christians feel the same way that those from Westboro feel and believe.

This is too much like the alarmist attitudes about Muslims being terrorists after the September 11 attacks, except this is in a book from a woman who used to be Muslim but converted to Christianity.

As a former Catholic who is now Pagan, there is a lot I could say about the dangers of Christians, especially those who become hostile if someone doesn't want to hear their attempt to convert them. Religion of peace? Riiiiiight.

Because no one of any other religion has ever been abusive or mistreated anyone! (rolling eyes in frustrated manner)



So here's the message I have received from friends that I *thought* had more sense than to perpetuate this kind of discrimatory and inflammatory message that borders on hate speech.

Did I say borders on?

Original Message:
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This is not a very pleasant reading matter  - but a reality that is knocking at the doors of Non Muslims of this world.
Please read and realise the import of the reality that is  in store for  all of us  non Muslims
Joys of Muslim Women by Nonie Darwish
In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.
The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.
Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.
To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.
Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry.  The family has the right to execute her (an honour killing) to restore the honour of the family.  Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.
The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion.
The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.
In the West World ( America ) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law so the wife can not obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her.  It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Shariah law.
By passing this on, enlightened American women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.
Ripping the West in Two.
Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two.
She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.
Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel. He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza.
When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.
But Darwish developed a sceptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television.
In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping Shariah law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.
For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose shariah on the world. If that happens, Western civilisation will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual.  Islamic law (Shariah) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world.
Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world.
While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Shariah teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Shariah encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others.
While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Shariah advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism.
It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticise Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation.
While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petrol dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere.
In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U. S. to elect the President by themselves!
I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicised, unless each of us sends it on!
This is your chance to make a difference!

lawns, neighbours, and dogs
Mood:  irritated
Topic: stop and think
I can't understand my neighbours' thought processes. Well, really my parents' neighbours. You see, I live with my parents due to lack of job/money. They are friendly with their next-door neighbours.
Understandable.
I'm civil to them, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we're friends. The father of that family (I'll call him Manny here - not his real name) cuts our yard as a favour to my dad, who's chronically ill. I was willing to do it, but for some reason, I guess that just wasn't acceptable. Whatever.
That's not the issue with which I have a problem.
The problem is Manny takes it upon himself to water the lawn as well. That is not necessary as I water the lawn. The difference is that I actually point the water at the grass instead of the driveway. Also, I water at night when the ground is cooler and better able to absorb moisture. He knows I water at night! I've told him this before!
And yet, a little earlier today, right after he finished mowing the lawn, he turned on the sprinklers. But he set it in a position that got half the driveway wet.
I had been waiting for him to finish mowing so I could take my dogs outside. Imagine how I felt to see the water spraying in the air. Utterly ridiculous.
What's worse is that just three days ago, the local newspaper (Valley Morning Star) ran a story about the drought we are still experiencing. Granted, it was more about the heavier workload for WaterWorks due to an increase in water line breaks, but the drought was mentioned as one of the causes.
Besides all that, it rained just three days ago, a good couple of hours of decent rainfall. So why would he feel the need to take it upon himself to turn on the sprinklers here?
The front lawn is fine; I watered it in sections less than a week ago. Same as the back yard.
It just doesn't make any sense to me!
Another thing about that family I don't understand is why their children continue to taunt my dogs when we go outside. My dogs bark at eveybody, even more when someone starts jumping around and calling to them. Since I always have them on leashes when we go out, I pull them back and try to calm them down, but when those kids get my babies worked up, they keep at it until their mother reprimands them. I can't be heard over the barking of three loud little dogs, partially because of a perpetually sore throat brought about by my parents nearly constantly exposing me to tomatoes (I'm terribly allergic), but she can, and she frequently tells her children to "Leave the dogs alone!"
But they still do it.
I just don't get it.

Water usage vs waste
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: open your mind to the possibilities!
Topic: stop and think
I'm not sure if it's simple stupidity or intentional ignorance that makes a lot of people in south Texas act the way they do.

I mean, we are still in terrible drought conditions, the temperature keeps rising, water supplies are dwindling, yet no one seems to want to conserve water! You would think that if there are warnings about heatstroke and tips on how to prevent it regularly on the news, they would also mention, oh gosh, maybe NOT wasting water. But no, there are no such pleas. Lawns should be watered when it is cool, like, I dunno, maybe the evening after the sun sets or early morning before the sun rises.

And here's a thought, use sprinklers that actually water the grass instead of spurting it all into the hot afternoon air! Oy, it's unbelievable to me.

But, then again, this is an area where people tend to be blind to anything but what's right in front of them. They tend to have blind faith and won't try to expand their minds beyond what they have been told by certain people. And if anyone challenges that, they become hostile.

Or, to paraphrase something Hugh Laurie (as Gregory House) said, some people prefer to live in the holes in their lives, and if you offer them a way to get out of the hole, or even to fill it, they just dig themselves deeper until they can't see anything outside of that hole they made for themselves. Climb out of your holes, people!

And look at the world around you and recognise that we all live in a global community. We are all linked to each other. We cannot afford to ignore the problems that affect us, be they the impact humans have on the environment, discrimination against any group of people based on something as trivial as religious/spiritual preference (like paganism, heathenism, or atheism), sexual identity, dietary choice (like being a vegan), speaking up for those who have no voice, or the colour of their skin.

Forget the petty differences and remember that we all live in the same world. We might have a slightly different view of the same world, but it's still the same planet, and we all need to share it.