What are you reading?

[Underseer]

I remember it only passingly, but recall that I enjoyed the whole series. Clarke is an excellent writer, IMHO.

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The authors opinion is just that. The fact that Obama has either deliberately or unintended hired people that are in some way associated with the Brotherhood is not in dispute.

And opinions are not necessarily fact. Thus it's dubious, or at least questionable, to call that text a work of non-fiction.

Are you saying Obama isn't a Muslim?

It's a well-established fact that his birth certificate was faked and that he wast sent here as a terrorist spy-baby by Muslim goat-herders. You shouldn't believe what they say in the Liberal Media. They always lie because they hate our freedom and want the terrorists to win! [/conservolibertarian]

 

[angelo]

You are aware that it sponsors terrorism and islamism? The Egyptians learned that not long after making the gross mistake of electing them to power.

What has that got to do with whether or not they have infiltrated The Whitehouse?

I know what the Muslim Brotherhood is. I just don't see any reason to imagine that a story about them infiltrating Obama's Whitehouse is any less fictional than The Hunt for Red October (in which a Russian Naval Captain with an unexplained Scottish accent steals a nuclear missile submarine and defects to the USA).

Did they use any fancy gadgets hidden in apparently normal everyday items such as watches and cameras? Did they have a spunky female sidekick who looks stunning in a lycra body suit, and a charismatic leader who spends a lot of time with his shirt off to reveal his rock-hard abs? Was the cover a picture of the Whitehouse with a nuclear mushroom cloud superimposed on it? Was there at least one car chase?

Do you know who are the advisers to the Obama administration on muslim matters are ?
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/04/sharia-advisers-barack-obamas-muslim-appointees/

 

[bilby]

What has that got to do with whether or not they have infiltrated The Whitehouse?

I know what the Muslim Brotherhood is. I just don't see any reason to imagine that a story about them infiltrating Obama's Whitehouse is any less fictional than The Hunt for Red October (in which a Russian Naval Captain with an unexplained Scottish accent steals a nuclear missile submarine and defects to the USA).

Did they use any fancy gadgets hidden in apparently normal everyday items such as watches and cameras? Did they have a spunky female sidekick who looks stunning in a lycra body suit, and a charismatic leader who spends a lot of time with his shirt off to reveal his rock-hard abs? Was the cover a picture of the Whitehouse with a nuclear mushroom cloud superimposed on it? Was there at least one car chase?

Do you know who are the advisers to the Obama administration on muslim matters are ?
http://freedomoutpost.com/2014/04/sharia-advisers-barack-obamas-muslim-appointees/

I do not.

But I am 100% certain that the contributors to a website called 'freedomoutpost.com' don't either.

And clicking on the link, I find my expectations confirmed - the connection between the author of that page and reality is extraordinarily tenuous. How anyone could read that tripe and then have the lack of awareness to say 'I only read non-fiction' is beyond me. What possible grounds could you have for giving the slightest credence to such unalloyed idiocy?

When someone claims that the noted and well documented Christian, Barack Obama, is a Muslim, you can be certain that they have let their fear of Islam overwhelm reason.

Obama is no more a Muslim than Tony Abbott is a Protestant.

There is plenty of hard evidence of Obama's religion - indeed his opponents have frequently lambasted him for his choice of preachers.

You seriously need to stop forming opinions until you learn some basics of epistemology. You are simply not qualified to form valid opinions that are based in reality if you consider that pile of bovine excrement to which you linked to be 'evidence'.

Jesus fucking Christ.

 

[angelo]

The trouble with you is you refuse to even consider anything that's contrary to your political ideology.

 

[bigfield]

The trouble with you is you refuse to even consider anything that's contrary to your political ideology.

He considered it; you just don't like his conclusion.

You lack the basic critical thinking skills required to differentiate between reliable and unreliable sources of evidence.

 

[bilby]

The trouble with you is you refuse to even consider anything that's contrary to your political ideology.

Are you addressing me; or your mirror?

I am happy to consider anything at all that is supported by evidence; but I decline to take as evidence the unsupported word of somebody whose other statements are demonstrably incorrect.

Whoever wrote that piece on freedomoutpost.com was wrong about the stuff for which there is good evidence - such as his false claim that Obama is a Muslim, when there is overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, a Christian - so it is only reasonable to assume that he is also wrong about the stuff for which there is not much evidence; particularly when the little evidence that we do have suggests that he is wrong.

As Carl Sagan said, 'It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out.'

 

[Wiploc]

We (my wife and I read books aloud to each other) just finished Somebody Owes Me Money, by Donald E Westlake. Delightful. It's a lightweight mystery with a lot of humor and a little romance.

If you're going to read Westlake, I'd start with The Hot Rock and then do Bank Shot.

Do not make the mistake of watching the movies. There have been many, but, as far as I know, they all suck except The Hot Rock, which is merely indifferent. Some of them are, if you can imagine, worse than what Chevy Chase did to the Fletch movies. (My wife would have me add here, "Not that I have an opinion.")

But the books are still excellent.



ETA:

I just looked at his filmogrophy at IMDB. He has a lot of titles. I can't say they're all bad; I haven't watched a tenth of them.

But I'm still prejudiced against them. He's a great writer, but people do bad things to him while making movies.

Of his books, I prefer the humorous ones, the ones he wrote under his own name.


ETA:

I haven't seen any movie that he wrote the screenplay of, only movies that were made from his books.

 

[Archimedes]

I know what the Muslim Brotherhood is. I just don't see any reason to imagine that a story about them infiltrating Obama's Whitehouse is any less fictional than The Hunt for Red October (in which a Russian Naval Captain with an unexplained Scottish accent steals a nuclear missile submarine and defects to the USA).

Nitpick: he's Lithuanian, not Russian.

 

[bilby]

I know what the Muslim Brotherhood is. I just don't see any reason to imagine that a story about them infiltrating Obama's Whitehouse is any less fictional than The Hunt for Red October (in which a Russian Naval Captain with an unexplained Scottish accent steals a nuclear missile submarine and defects to the USA).

Nitpick: he's Lithuanian, not Russian.

Ah. That would explain the accent then.

Wait, what?

 

[angelo]

The trouble with you is you refuse to even consider anything that's contrary to your political ideology.

Are you addressing me; or your mirror?

I am happy to consider anything at all that is supported by evidence; but I decline to take as evidence the unsupported word of somebody whose other statements are demonstrably incorrect.

Whoever wrote that piece on freedomoutpost.com was wrong about the stuff for which there is good evidence - such as his false claim that Obama is a Muslim, when there is overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, a Christian - so it is only reasonable to assume that he is also wrong about the stuff for which there is not much evidence; particularly when the little evidence that we do have suggests that he is wrong.

As Carl Sagan said, 'It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out.'

Google these names. All are in the Obama administration. Rashad Hussain, Dalia Mogahed, and Mohamed Magid. There are many more, but that'll do for now.

I know what the Muslim Brotherhood is. I just don't see any reason to imagine that a story about them infiltrating Obama's Whitehouse is any less fictional than The Hunt for Red October (in which a Russian Naval Captain with an unexplained Scottish accent steals a nuclear missile submarine and defects to the USA).

Nitpick: he's Lithuanian, not Russian.

 

[bilby]

Are you addressing me; or your mirror?

I am happy to consider anything at all that is supported by evidence; but I decline to take as evidence the unsupported word of somebody whose other statements are demonstrably incorrect.

Whoever wrote that piece on freedomoutpost.com was wrong about the stuff for which there is good evidence - such as his false claim that Obama is a Muslim, when there is overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, a Christian - so it is only reasonable to assume that he is also wrong about the stuff for which there is not much evidence; particularly when the little evidence that we do have suggests that he is wrong.

As Carl Sagan said, 'It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out.'

Google these names. All are in the Obama administration. Rashad Hussain, Dalia Mogahed, and Mohamed Magid. There are many more, but that'll do for now.

OK, Rashad Hussain is, according to Wikipedia, " an American attorney, and Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. Hussain has also served as U.S Special envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, with 57 member states. Hussain, a Muslim of Indian heritage, has served in the White House Counsel's Office and on the National Security Council as a political appointee of the Obama Administration. He has also worked in the Department of Justice as a trial attorney and as a criminal prosecutor. In his role as Envoy, Hussain has advised the Administration on policy issues related to the Muslim world. He has traveled to numerous countries and international conferences, and has met with foreign leaders and Muslims around the world. His position, "a kind of ambassador at large to Muslim countries, was created by President George W. Bush." Hussain's appointment as Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications was announced by President Obama at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February 2015."

He is the author of:

Protecting the Rights of Christians and Religious Minorities in the Muslim World
A Strategy for Countering Terrorist Propaganda in the Digital Age
Reformulating the Battle of Ideas: The Role of Islam in Counterterrorism Policy
Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Recruiting in the Digital Age
Why the United States Cannot Agree to Disagree on Blasphemy laws
Security with Transparency: Judicial Review in "Special Interest" Immigration Proceedings
Costs of Post-9/11 National Security Strategy, The
Countering anti-Semitism in the Month of Ramadan

However there seems to be no indication that he is a member of, or even a supporter of, the Muslim Brotherhood; indeed his work suggests exactly the opposite.

Rather than referring me to www.google.com, which appears to contain a SHITLOAD of data that refutes your slanderous assertion that the Obama Whitehouse has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, perhaps you could link me to a reputable source that has evidence actually supporting your claim?

Or are you seeking to imply that being a Muslim, or even just having an Islamic sounding name, is sufficient proof that a person supports the Muslim Brotherhood?

 

[bigfield]

Are you addressing me; or your mirror?

I am happy to consider anything at all that is supported by evidence; but I decline to take as evidence the unsupported word of somebody whose other statements are demonstrably incorrect.

Whoever wrote that piece on freedomoutpost.com was wrong about the stuff for which there is good evidence - such as his false claim that Obama is a Muslim, when there is overwhelming evidence that he is, in fact, a Christian - so it is only reasonable to assume that he is also wrong about the stuff for which there is not much evidence; particularly when the little evidence that we do have suggests that he is wrong.

As Carl Sagan said, 'It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out.'

Google these names. All are in the Obama administration. Rashad Hussain, Dalia Mogahed, and Mohamed Magid. There are many more, but that'll do for now.

This reminds me of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the namesake of McCarthyism who was active during the Cold War. He accused hundreds of men of being communists for the sake of stirring up fear and paranoia, and as a result he ruined the lives of many men and their families who were completely innocent.

In high school history classes, McCarthy is held up as one of the worst kinds of people to emerge from the climate of paranoia that prevailed during the Cold War, because it is evil to profit by accusing the innocent in order to advance your own political agenda. That is evidently not a lesson that you have learned.

McCarthy's 'list' of Communist infiltrators, which was totally fabricated:

[YOUTUBE]maLIXQLxvvA[/YOUTUBE]

Your antics are no different: some McCarthyist crackpot publishes a list of Arabic names and you blindly slander these men as agents for the Muslim Brotherhoo without any evidence whatsoever.

So do us a favour and keep your list of names to yourself. You are a spectacularly ignorant and racist man and you should be ashamed of yourself.

 

[angelo]

Google these names. All are in the Obama administration. Rashad Hussain, Dalia Mogahed, and Mohamed Magid. There are many more, but that'll do for now.

OK, Rashad Hussain is, according to Wikipedia, " an American attorney, and Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. Hussain has also served as U.S Special envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, with 57 member states. Hussain, a Muslim of Indian heritage, has served in the White House Counsel's Office and on the National Security Council as a political appointee of the Obama Administration. He has also worked in the Department of Justice as a trial attorney and as a criminal prosecutor. In his role as Envoy, Hussain has advised the Administration on policy issues related to the Muslim world. He has traveled to numerous countries and international conferences, and has met with foreign leaders and Muslims around the world. His position, "a kind of ambassador at large to Muslim countries, was created by President George W. Bush." Hussain's appointment as Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications was announced by President Obama at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February 2015."

He is the author of:

Protecting the Rights of Christians and Religious Minorities in the Muslim World
A Strategy for Countering Terrorist Propaganda in the Digital Age
Reformulating the Battle of Ideas: The Role of Islam in Counterterrorism Policy
Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Recruiting in the Digital Age
Why the United States Cannot Agree to Disagree on Blasphemy laws
Security with Transparency: Judicial Review in "Special Interest" Immigration Proceedings
Costs of Post-9/11 National Security Strategy, The
Countering anti-Semitism in the Month of Ramadan

However there seems to be no indication that he is a member of, or even a supporter of, the Muslim Brotherhood; indeed his work suggests exactly the opposite.

Rather than referring me to www.google.com, which appears to contain a SHITLOAD of data that refutes your slanderous assertion that the Obama Whitehouse has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, perhaps you could link me to a reputable source that has evidence actually supporting your claim?

Or are you seeking to imply that being a Muslim, or even just having an Islamic sounding name, is sufficient proof that a person supports the Muslim Brotherhood?

He is an Islamist first, an American last. He has connections with various islamist and Brotherhood orgs. Islam is not compatible with democracy, nor will it ever be. There's no way sharia can live with democracy or vice versa.
It's all about making Americans see Islamics in a positive light. To forget about the human rights abuses, the mutilation of females, the child brides, and the fact that their prophet was a paedophile and a terrorist war monger.

 

[bilby]

OK, Rashad Hussain is, according to Wikipedia, " an American attorney, and Special Envoy and Coordinator for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications. Hussain has also served as U.S Special envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, with 57 member states. Hussain, a Muslim of Indian heritage, has served in the White House Counsel's Office and on the National Security Council as a political appointee of the Obama Administration. He has also worked in the Department of Justice as a trial attorney and as a criminal prosecutor. In his role as Envoy, Hussain has advised the Administration on policy issues related to the Muslim world. He has traveled to numerous countries and international conferences, and has met with foreign leaders and Muslims around the world. His position, "a kind of ambassador at large to Muslim countries, was created by President George W. Bush." Hussain's appointment as Special Envoy for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications was announced by President Obama at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism in February 2015."

He is the author of:

Protecting the Rights of Christians and Religious Minorities in the Muslim World
A Strategy for Countering Terrorist Propaganda in the Digital Age
Reformulating the Battle of Ideas: The Role of Islam in Counterterrorism Policy
Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Recruiting in the Digital Age
Why the United States Cannot Agree to Disagree on Blasphemy laws
Security with Transparency: Judicial Review in "Special Interest" Immigration Proceedings
Costs of Post-9/11 National Security Strategy, The
Countering anti-Semitism in the Month of Ramadan

However there seems to be no indication that he is a member of, or even a supporter of, the Muslim Brotherhood; indeed his work suggests exactly the opposite.

Rather than referring me to www.google.com, which appears to contain a SHITLOAD of data that refutes your slanderous assertion that the Obama Whitehouse has been infiltrated by the Muslim Brotherhood, perhaps you could link me to a reputable source that has evidence actually supporting your claim?

Or are you seeking to imply that being a Muslim, or even just having an Islamic sounding name, is sufficient proof that a person supports the Muslim Brotherhood?

He is an Islamist first, an American last. He has connections with various islamist and Brotherhood orgs.

Not according to any evidence whatsoever.

This is just pure slander.

Islam is not compatible with democracy, nor will it ever be.

In your opinion. An opinion that is rather undermined by your evident tendency to accept completely unevidenced statements that meet your prejudices without making any effort to test their veracity.

There's no way sharia can live with democracy or vice versa.

A statement that is of no relevance unless you can show that anyone at the Whitehouse supports the introduction of sharia law.

It's all about making Americans see Islamics in a positive light.

Why should they not? Most Muslims in America are rather more committed to the upholding of the US constitution than the Christians are. Both religions have a tiny minority of nutters; and the rest are just ordinary folks going about their business.

To forget about the human rights abuses, the mutilation of females, the child brides, and the fact that their prophet was a paedophile and a terrorist war monger.

As they have forgotten the abuses of the rest of the world's religions.

None of these things are typical of Islam - or of Roman Catholicism. But they have all been done in the name of various religions at various times.

Ascribing the worst characteristics of the worst extremists in any group to the whole of that group is rarely anything other than counterproductive.

 

[James Brown]

There's no way sharia can live with democracy or vice versa.

One could say the same about Judeo-Christianity. The U.S. Constitution's First Amendment is a direct violation of the First Commandment.

But lots of people in the U.S. seem to manage.

 

[Wiploc]

Nitpick: he's Lithuanian, not Russian.

Ah. That would explain the accent then.

Wait, what?

Not him, him.

 

[Keith&Co.]

If you're going to read Westlake, I'd start with The Hot Rock and then do Bank Shot.

I'd probably suggest Dancing Aztecs, for a start. It's a one-shot, so there's no need to be sure to get it in the right order. And as far as I know, now one's made it into a horrible movie with a horribly mis-cast version of Dortmunder, Kelp or any of the rest. But it does have the humor and a loveable band of not-all-that-evil crooks, and the mystery and some romance.

IF that book appeals, for the writing, then i'd suggest devouring everything Dortmunder.

 

[Archimedes]

Nitpick: he's Lithuanian, not Russian.

Ah. That would explain the accent then.

Wait, what?

You gotta admire Connery's lack of even the vaguest attempts to pretend to adopt the accent of the characters he plays.

I'd rather hear an actor using their natural Scottish accent to portray an Irish cop in prohibition era Chicago than see some ham attempting an Irish accent and bouncing between Belfast, Dublin, Cork, etc. in the course of a single sentence.

 

[bilby]

Ah. That would explain the accent then.

Wait, what?

You gotta admire Connery's lack of even the vaguest attempts to pretend to adopt the accent of the characters he plays.

I'd rather hear an actor using their natural Scottish accent to portray an Irish cop in prohibition era Chicago than see some ham attempting an Irish accent and bouncing between Belfast, Dublin, Cork, etc. in the course of a single sentence.

Or like Colin Friels the Aussie actor, who played Billy Connolly's brother in The Man Who Sued God; Apparently he spent months getting voice coaching to perfect his Scottish accent. When he met Billy on set, he asked for his opinion, and Billy agreed that it was an almost perfect accent and that he could easily pass for a Scot. He didn't have the heart to ask why a Glaswegian would have a brother with an Edinburgh accent...

 

[angelo]

Just started reading Human Monsters volume 4: 30 Terrifying Serial Killers by crime author Robert Keller. I'm fascinated by man's inhumanity to man. The title " Human Monsters" is correct for not everyone can become a Bundy, or one of the hundreds of serial killers who went even much further than he did.