Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Theocracy Shuts Down YouTube Worldwide
YouTube went down for about two hours yesterday - nearly world-wide. The reason? Pakistan's theocracy decided that the very best way to prevent their faithful from seeing an "inflammatory anti-Islamic video" would be to block all of YouTube, instead of blocking, oh I don't know, maybe just the one, single URL that pointed to the actual video itself. Then, it all went horribly wrong when Pakistan's crack team of internet gurus completely screwed up the routing information when they were attempting to block the site, causing a cascading series of routing failures resulting in YouTube.com in general being unreachable.
[link] Many users around the world could not access YouTube Inc.'s site for about two hours on Sunday. The video-sharing company blamed the outage on erroneous routing information introduced by a Pakistani Internet service provider. Pakistani authorities ordered ISPs there to block the site on Friday.
...
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) ordered the country's ISPs to block users' access to YouTube on Friday because of an inflammatory anti-Islamic video on the site, said Wahaj us Siraj, convener of the Association of Pakistan Internet Service Providers, in a telephone interview.
"If the video is provocative, then it is better it is removed, rather than provoke unrest in Pakistan," said Siraj, who added that he did not know the contents of the video.
I shudder to imagine what would happen to "provocative" countries if the theocratic nuts in Pakistan had access to nuclear weapons.
Sometimes it feels like the world is in the process of going collectively insane.
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Lawsuit!
Heh. Some nice Christian over on Pharyngula is lambasting the evil atheists for judging all Christians based on the hateful few.
And here are these nice Muslims, killing part of the Internet FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD, in support of their idiot religion. Granted, it was just for a few hours, but still, they affected ... what, hundreds of millions of people? Just on a stupid whim.
And it's kinda scary that such a thing is even possible. You mean one pissant little ultraconservative country can crash an entire web service? Is it really that vulnerable?
If I was the powers that be, I'd find some way to say "You want less Internet? How about NONE, assholes?"
Or, maybe not. I've heard it said that the best way to fight Islam is to airdrop whiskey and Baywatch videos on the entire middle East. A little freedom arriving via modem might be just the thing for all those youngsters who officially are restricted to strict Muslim fare.
On insanity
"Sometimes it feels like the world is in the process of going collectively insane."
...in the process? Did you just get here?
As for you, Jim Downey, a Heinlein reference. Ah, it's like a breath of nerdy air. That reminds me, I haven't read Stranger in a Strange Land in a while.
Wow
Utterly insane. What's sad is that a collection of individuals had to collectively consider and review a solution to the video, and their "peer-reviewed" response was to shut the whole thing down.
Fools.
Come on everyone
Well i don't say what my countryman (If they were really the one doing it ) did right to block it world wide but this kind of stupid stuff should be blocked and removed from such a famous side of which i was also fan.
See we all love our religion our beliefs our cultures BUT does that mean we can insult each other. We have to understand that this kind of activities does not help the cause of peace, love, and spread hate.
I love ISLAM as i am MUSLIM
I love PAKISTAN as i am PAKISTANI
I love ALL HUMANS weather Muslims or not.
And such statements like
"I shudder to imagine what would happen to "provocative" countries if the theocratic nuts in Pakistan had access to nuclear weapons."
make me feel real bad how would you feel when i say similar things for you.
So please be humans and behave like one. Spread love and love all
Love white, love black, love people of all religion, love western countries and love eastern ones.
Screw it.
Talha, there is no "right" to not be insulted.
And as usual, here you are talking peace and love and let's-all-live-together while at the same time DEFENDING the theocratic nuts in your own country.
You probably think you're a moderate, modern Muslim, but still you're willing to provide cover and protection for the extremists who still live in the Islamic Dark Ages.
Have you ever in your life spoken out against them? Ever done anything to diminish their ability to affect, even wreck, other people's lives?
I'll bet the answer is no.
Is it really so important to defend them?
Islam never had an Enlightenment. I hope it's happening now. Too bad it had to come from outside, huh?
Meaningless
Love is nothing more or less than the relationship that you have with the image of someone or something in your mind. This applies to people, places, things and even memes like religion. Each of us can know and keep in mind from 150-300 (depending on the source). Theoretically you could indeed love each of them. What you cannot do is keep six and a half billion people simultaneous in mind. To say that you 'love all people' is silly. What you might love is some nebulous concept of 'all people' which is not the same thing. I do not love all people but I recognize that I am a human being and that puts me in the company of other human beings.
I couldn't help but notice the order that you placed those in. Religion first, country next and other people last. I will give you credit that you actually included it. I think it is sad that you chose the things that divide before the one thing that unites us. We are not brothers in Islam for I am not a Muslim. We are not brothers in nationality. I am not a Pakistani. But we are genetic brothers for we are both human.
I will always think Islam is silly because I believe in nothing supernatural, but I will fear and disrespect it less when it stops restricting the potential of half the species, and by this I mean Islamic women.
Meaningless WHY????
Love is pure and yes we can love all human. Yes we can think of Billions of peoples simultaneously. Not that we can go and visit all or pay a party to all yeah we can't do that but to have a good will about humanity is love for all humans.
You rightly notice the order of my love and I'll not deny it I love ISLAM the most then my country then all humanity but that does not mean that i don't love other humans. And you are my brother human.
well if you think supernatural is silly than for you all religions are silly becouse all for religion speak of "ALL POWER FULL GOD ALMIGHTY" who we can't see but we know he is the creator of us all.
well i was not able to get what do you mean in your last line but i guess you meant veil of woman or weather they are allowed to work or not.
'Nobody can force you to religion' that means if women want to take veil or do job she can. if she don't want its her will and wish. But modesty level is very different in islam and west, for you may be bikini will be modest dress but here for us its too exposing. So we have to respect each other that is what love is all about.
Distant brothers
Love is pure? Pure what?
There are six and a half billion people on the planet. You don't know all of their names. You don't know all of their histories. For the vast majority of those billions you do not have any shared experience. You have not so much as shared a meal with them. So how then could you purport to love them? It is meaningless. What act of love will you do that will positively affect the lives of those six-and-a-half billion? Being nice to the people you interact with is worthwhile, but even that is not 'loving all people'.
My brother you have chosen to prioritize two things which divide us above the one thing that joins us. Naturally I am saddened by that because your book calls for the torture and murder of people like me. Time will tell how strong your humanity is when pitted against the tide of Islam.
Can't see. Can't hear. Can't smell. Can't touch. Can't taste. Can't verify through experimentation. So how do you know anything about this being? Someone told you right? And that person read it in some book dictated by a seizure wracked man who had an eye for nine year old girls right? Is that where you put your faith?
So I should just ignore all those Islamic executions on charges of heresy?
Except that if she doesn't wear it she will be shunned and liable for raping right? I am not sure that would be her will or wish.
So here you have this creation by your benevolent all powerful creator and the first thing you want to do is cover it up. Do Islamic men just have no willpower and restraint at all? Sheesh. But that isn't the big issue.
If Islam (or Islamic people) called for the equal education of women, equality under the law, equal freedom to move about and equal ability to work then I would certainly have more respect for it, but since it emphasizes the isolation, ignorance, and repression of women's potential I will call it a bad thing. I don't blame Islam for that really. Religions have no power to act. People have the power to act and so they do, much to the detriment of millions of women.
misconseptions and more misconceptions
There are six and a half billion people on the planet. I agree we can't share meal with all of them. Can you me or anyone can share a meal with our dead PARENTS or dead love ones or dead siblings Does this mean that we have stopped loving then because we can share a meal with them??????????????
and that is totally wrong. this is quoted out of context and simply trying to portray islam bad
Law is law anyone do something wrong he has to be booked for that. Next time you'll say that if i murder someone so don't punish me ignore me!!!.
My mom and sister don't take veil and they never complained that they were shunned or something. come on, be real there is much more rape is secular states and here. If one case appear hear its makes headline because its uncommon here and its real big offense.
you got good body why don't you start walking naked everywhere why to cover at all. ???? that is my answer to your last point.
Miscommunications etc.
One presumes you had shared experiences and meals with departed family members so loving them after they are dead is certainly possible and you make my point for me that love is all in the mind, after all once they are dead all you have of them is an image in your mind. Unless you tell me what act of love you are going to undertake that will positively affect the lives of the 6.5 billion human inhabitants of earth I am going to persist in saying that your claim of 'loving all people' is ridiculous.
I have no need to do this. The Islamic people do a fine job of this without my help. By its own admission the religion is founded by a child molester subject to seizures. I noticed you failed to address that. I will ask again - Is that who you put your faith in? Why? Because someone told you to? Did they offer you any evidence or did they just say shut up and take my word for it? As to being out of context maybe you can tell me that all of these are out of context.
So in your mind heresy is equivalent to murder? Interesting. You know a society could not survive if everyone was a murderer, but it could get along just fine if everyone was a heretic. I wonder though, if someone outlawed the practice of Islam would your respect for the law be as great?
Your evidence for this is what?
Indeed a big offense and it is the woman who is punished for the crime of being a victim. Unless of course you'd care to deny the Islamic practice of 'honor' killing?
This all thing told to you
This all thing told to you is all out of context and wrong.
You have started to disrespect Messenger of GOD. so i won't write any further because you are behaving in the way that you are just trying to make fuss about islam without any knowledge about it. You are saying all which is told to you by some idiot. i won't clarify anything more because you are abusing my religion and doing all opposite of what i was say here. Which was love not spread hatred. I could have answered all your misconceptions but now after your fanatic behavior i say BYE. May GOD help you.
You don't love me anymore
So I guess you can take my name off your list of 'all people' that you love. Loving the rest of the species (minus me) will be challenging enough. As long as you define 'loving' as shoving Islam down their throats with a sword I guess everything is okay. Fanatic? Me? You follow a peculiar jinn believing religion founded by an ancient, epileptic pedophile and I'm the fanatic?. You are right though, I am fanatically dedicated to what can be proved with evidence. Would that all people did the same.
Good luck with that whole 70 virgins/raisins thing.
Fanitc me ??? funny
yeah brother its funny. I am trying to spread love and i am saying may be there would be many things you do that i don't agree with. But i didn't use a single word to disrespect you as you did with my religion. So this makes me fanatic right???.
you say
about my religion and this makes me fanatic not you hmmm , So kind of you
So how do you describe islam explaining all scientific facts which people 1400 years ago could not know like
whole pregnancy process, water cycle, light of moon reflected light, all moon sun and earth revolves in their own cycles and many more.
No no you won't talk about that because that makes you wrong you' describe honor killing; which is not allowed in islam; as islamic law. you will just try to disrespect us and advocate that this is right. wow what great things are you learning from you so called modern society.
you are so happy to say that i believe in jinn so that makes me fanatic.Is exsistance of jinn till now has not been scientifically proven so that is also not been proven wrong so in future that may be proven right\.
to live like human not like animals make me whole 70 virgins/raisins thing. then i am proud of it that i am not hanging around any one i found and i am totally committed to my wife not many keeps.
And about love , I still love you thats why i said "MAY GOD HELP YOU"
BYE
Religous Moderates are Part of the Problem Too
Mr. Yousef,
First of all, welcome!
I have been following your conversation with Thameron with interest. As a matter of fact, your answers prompted me to do a post on the front page called 'Assud the Hamas Jihad Bunny.' Would you mind taking the time to read that post and watch the included video? Usually I criticize Christians because that is the dominant religion here in the US, but because of your recent visits, I decided to condemn Islam for a change of pace. I really want to know what you think.
I realize the kids in the video are speaking from a fanatic/fundamentalist point of view, but I think religious moderates are also to blame. The problem that religous moderation poses is that it doesn't allow criticisms to be spoken about religious literalism. Here in the United States, we are not supposed to call the fundamentalists crazy because they are just practicing their rights as guaranteed by the US Constitution (ie freedom of religion).
I think it should be okay for me to criticize anyone else's religion. It's okay to criticize another person's understanding of history, or politics, or physics, but it's considered rude to criticize religion. Why is that? Why the societal taboo against questioning myth and superstition?
Questions like the ones I am asking you and many more can be found in some really good books if you are interested. Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens write about these 'taboo' subjects. If your faith really is so strong, you should be able to read these books with an open mind without losing your faith. Or you can just keep reading UTI.
Anyway, even if you don't agree with most of the posters here, your thoughts and opinions are appreciated.
Dirk
imaginary friends
We can parse words here if you wish. Believing in imperceptible magic people - gods, or djinn, makes you irrational. Does that equate with fanatical? Depends on your definition. If that is unkind, well sometimes the truth is unkind and you just need to deal with it. You have my sympathies, you really do. No doubt from a very early age you were told that everything said in this one book was absolutely true. You were told this night and day ever since you learned to speak. You were never encouraged nor given a chance to view all of the evidence objectively. The people who fed you told you it was true. The people who cared for you told you it was true. Even now your friends tell you its true. The price for saying "You know this might not be true." is high and indeed might very well be your life in some places. How indeed could you ever have thought otherwise? They prepared you a long time ago with all the armor you would need against people like me. People who say believe your senses and not that book, believe your reason and not that book, believe your instruments and not that book. The people who told you the book was absolutely true were lying to you. It would be too much to expect that you would suddenly adopt the way of reason, but it isn't too much to hope for. Some few escape that theocultural trap.
As for making 'loving' someone equivalent to commanding the good wishes of your imaginary god, well that is mighty convenient. Saves you from actually doing anything doesn't it?
Rape Proof
And Oh you were talking about rape proof i was looking and i found, So here it is
United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced,secular,and modern countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.
Conversation for sake of conversation
Yeah yeah Mr Thameron, I was quite sure that you won't talk about the facts i told you.
The people who fed you told you to disrespect Islam. The people who cared for you told you to disrespect Islam. Even now your friends tell you to disrespect Islam.
So i don't want a conversation for sake of conversation.
Good luck
Bye.
You are so very wrong
My mother, who fed and cared for me, never mentioned Islam even once for which I posthumously thank her. My impressions of Islam came from watching heresy beheadings in Saudi Arabia, Taliban statue destructions in Afghanistan, riots in France, death threats to authors, and of course 9-11.
I would be happy to talk about the fact that your religion was, by its own admission, founded by a bloodthirsty, polygamous, epileptic pedophile, but you don't want to talk about that or about any of the outlandish afterlife claims it makes. Raisins or virgins anyone? What about the jinn? Do you believe in all the little spirit beings like fairies because they appear there in your book, dictated by the aforementioned bloodthirsty, polygamous epileptic, pedophile?
I hear you say that word 'respect' but that isn't what you really mean. What you really mean is 'obedience under threat of violence'. You and the rest of your ilk have egos and faith so fragile that you just can't bear it when people disagree with you. You cannot handle the truth and so you need to silence it and silence the tongues that speak it. Wouldn't that be a Muslim paradise for you when those had not been outright killed by the Muslims lived in terror of offending them? Then you could be happy in that land where everybody talked all day every day about just how wonderful everything was.
Having a conversation with someone whose mind is made up past all possibility of contravening evidence (that would be you) is pointless.
Good luck to you as well keeping back the tide of reason and evidence. You are doing a fine job.
I was so very right
Still no word on rape proof i gave or scientific evidence i gave
I was so very right
Bye
Talha Yousaf
No, you were wrong
The 'scientific proof' you cited is a bunch of vague statements which have been interpreted as 'scientific' because science subsequently discovered the answers. It is as 'scientifically accurate' as a horoscope. Are you waiting for science to prove the existence of fairies/jinn now? The rape statistics you cited didn't break it down per capita and didn't even cite any statistics from any Islamic country, which would be fairly worthless anyway since they don't have a free press and would be unlikely to report things that make them look bad. When you find some Islamic statistics be sure to list the number of honor killings that women endure in the U.S. Now its your turn - Acknowledge that your religion, the thing you prize above all other things in this world, was founded by a man who married (and likely subsequently bedded) a nine year old girl. Islamic men try to emulate Muhammad as much as possible don't they? Isn't it the ideal of every Islamic man to have sexual relations with a nine year old girl just like their prophet?
Ha ha
my proof is no proof your proof is proof
makes me laugh.
Thameron, you do not understand...
Thameron, you do not understand - it is OK because this is the one true religion! He is the Prophet! It says so right there in his own book!
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Perfect YES
No doubt he(Peace Be Upon Him) was perfect.
Answer to above soon, as i am not scholar of Islam I'll have to do my homework. I hope, as you all explain yourselves as rational, you will be rational enough to give me time.
take care
Here ya go, Shari!
All the *PROOF* needed to know that the Quran is the direct Word of God! Woo-hoo! Time for us misguided heathens to all embrace the Prophet!
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
A Perfect Man
A perfect man has as many wives as his lust demands just like Mohammad did.
A perfect man may take another man's wife from him if he finds her attractive just like Mohammad did.
A perfect man slaughters the people who oppose him without mercy just like Mohammad did.
A perfect man marries a nine year old girl just like Mohammad did.
A perfect man will talk about imperceptible spirit beings (jinn) as if they were real and expect that everyone around them will do the same just like Mohammad did.
A perfect man will justify the satiation of all his earthly desires by saying that God wanted these things for him just like Mohammad did.
May we be saved from all the perfect men.
I wonder though if Muslim people don't like having Mohammad depicted so we can't see a family portrait of this old guy there with his nine year old wife.
Abusing and doing nothing else
go ahead i guess only reason you are here is to abuse.
Yeah, pretty much.
Yeah, that pretty much sums it up right there.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Love people of all religion
Nope. Sorry. Can't do it.
Religious people are a big part of the problem.
I feel a lot warmer about RATIONAL people. They're the nation that I belong to.
Religion is nonsense ... and to the exact degree that someone embraces it in their heads, I think they're dangerous dimwits. If you're VERY Muslim, you're a dangerous dimwit. If you're VERY Christian, you're a dangerous dimwit.
I love the IDEA of loving all humans, but it's difficult to see how we can default on our duty to notice when people take actions that harm others.
...
Meanwhile, I hope you're raising your modern-Muslim voice in Pakistan against Islamic extremists, at least to the degree you're here raising it in support of we in the West loving our neighbors in the East. Squashing extremists will go farther in the world right now toward creating peace than will preaching peace to the west while continuing to give extremists free rein back home.
When Pat Robertson (or George Bush) says something stupid and vile here, I speak up. I hope you're doing at least that much there in Pakistan.
Love all humans
well i respect what you say but i had greater message i-e LOVE ALL HUMANS that do include people of all religions. If one follows a religion this do not at all means that he is irrational.
Well i appreciate that you love the idea of loving all people but have problems with people who harm other in name of religion. I call these types of people NON-RELIGIOUS as no religion atleast not ISLAM allows that so I neither consider then HUMANS or MUSLIMS.
Well as far as modesty is concern if women choose to wear veil I or you or anybody should not have problem and if women choose not to wear then again we should have no problem.
So that's what it was LOL. I
So that's what it was LOL. I thought it was me !
Shocking as a Broken Tazer
If they wanted to block YouTube why didn't they just pray for god to smite the website or something? Funny how when they actually want results they're willing use technology, and not surprisingly they're not very good at it.
"We have a civilization based on science and technology, and we've cleverly arranged things so that almost nobody understands science and technology. That is as clear a prescription for disaster as you can imagine" - Carl Sagan
Well . . .
Well, while it doesn't track on actual dates, in terms of world-wide developments, these are clearly the Crazy Years . . .
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.