I mean, as it says in the Koran (Shakir):

[ 9: 29 ] Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

[ 9: 30 ] And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!

[ 9: 31 ] They have taken their doctors of law and their monks for lords besides Allah, and ( also ) the Messiah son of Marium and they were enjoined that they should serve one Allah only, there is no god but He; far from His glory be what they set up ( with Him ).

So, America is to be destroyed because of its beliefs but its people think that’s OK because they’re tolerant, wonderful people. It’s a bit reminiscent of Spike Milligan’s very short poem: The boy stood on the burning deck whence all the crew had fled – twit!

The GMC found the surgeon guilty of serious professional misconduct and dishonesty and recommended that he be struck off. Yet he is still working.

On reading the article I was reminded of my own daughter, Susan. She was one of twins born in 1977. Our GP had written on my wife’s ‘co-op’ card that there was a possibility of a multiple birth, in red and three times underlined. This I handed in to the nurse on arrival at the hospital when my wife went into the delivery room.

The first twin was born by forceps after it was found that her shoulder was caught on my wife’s pelvis. Give him his due, the doctor attending the delivery came to see me and told me that. I thought: Ah, well that confirms it then – and started to think about all the additional things I would have to buy. The doctor had gone by the time I came to and was able to ask him anything more about the birth.

I walked to the entrance to the delivery room; I had been told to leave when the possible use of forceps was discussed. I looke in and heard a shout: there’s another one here! Panic and pandemonium erupted. After the second twin was born I was told that she would be severely brain damaged because the cord was wrapped round her neck.

A few weeks later our own doctor came to see us and told us he didn’t think we had been told the truth. He gave us the name and address of a solicitor. An inquiry found that after the first birth, a drug was injected to contract the uterus and expel the afterbirth. The doctor didn’t know there was the possibility of a multiple birth because he hadn’t read the co-op card! We were told there was a prima facie case of negligence.

However, medical experts concluded that it was an accident. Indeed, one said that, anyway, he had no intention of ruining a colleague’s career. Without expert opinion to say that negligence was involved the case collapsed. Susan lived for fifteen years and died choking on her food.

The experience taught me that all doctors must be treated like incompetent idiots and must be questioned carefully to ensure they know what’s going on. It also taught me that doctors think far more about other doctors than they do their patients.

The article by the BBC seems to show that nothing has changed.

2:  Many cults and sects appeared after the disappearance of Jesus. The stories on which they were based varied widely. At least one sect taught that Jesus had been reincarnated.

3: A sect began a story that Jesus was crucified by the Romans. This was considered so dangerous by Roman authorities that they killed and tortured Christians. One of the preferred forms of killing was crucifixion, a common form of capital punishment used by the Romans. In response to the persecution by the Romans, stories arose defining Jesus in terms of a supernatural entity.

4: A particularly aggressive Christian sect convinced Constantine that he could unite his army under banner of Christianity. After Constantine’s enemies were vanquished, the sect held conferences to decide what beliefs should constitute Christianity. The supernatural version of the Jesus story was chosen as the ultimate and only version. Stories were chosen and adapted to fit the emerging supernaturalist version. Those who disagreed with this version were tortured and killed by the emerging Christian Church.

5: The supernatural version split into two; the Orthodox Church in the east and the Roman Catholic Church in the west. These were the only versions of Christianity allowed. Christian missionaries from both sects were sent around known world to promote the supernatural version.

6: Some missionaries were killed by members of indigenous religions who objected to their religions being usurped by Christianity. Sometimes Christianity was partly absorbed into old religions. The Roman Catholic Church, in particular, used this to argue that versions other than Roman Catholicism must be eradicated.

7: Many people were killed by purges committed by the Roman Catholic Church in the name of promoting its version of the supernatural Jesus story.

8: The Roman Catholic Church couldn’t eradicated every pagan instinct and it was almost brought down by its own members who demanded a goddess figure. The Church introduced Virgin Mary worship to pacify the demands for a goddess.

9. Eventually, Protestantism became a significant force in Christianity as more and more people came to despise the Roman Catholics’ strict demands. Many variants of protestantism emerged and were tolerated.

10. Modern Christianity emerged in response to the scientific and rational revolution known as the Enlightenment. Although Christianity has been badly diminished by fewer and fewer people feeling a need for religion, it still survives. However, Christianity is still based on the fabrication of a supernatural Jesus and is therefore a target for historians and archaeologists.

Gradually getting more movement in my hands. Humira is a wonder drug! Nurse confirmed it costs over £200 for a single injection. Worth it as far as I’m concerned but I’m glad I don’t have to pay for it myself.

On the drugs front, looks like Pfizer is going to retain a presence in Sandwich with around 350 staff retained. It’s the other 4000 I feel sorry for. I can’t help but think that the Government might be behind it, though. Sandwich was in the running to become what’s called an Enterprise Zone. The Government wants a piece of nowhere called Ebbsfleet to be an Enterprise Zone. If Sandwich retains Pfizer, albeit a much more streamlined Pfizer, then the government can say Ebbsfleet is the more deserving case. What’s at Ebbsfleet? Very little at the moment: a Eurostar station, a football team and lots of mud. The government wants to create lots of housing, it says. Yeah, right. And what’s happening to the money being pumped into the area already? Mmm. Arab governments know nothing when it comes to corruption. You want corruption? Try asking the British government …

Had Bellfield been found not guilty one presumes he would have been free to kill again. And again. Luckily, the jury saw through his, and his lawyers’, scheming.

Regrettably, lawyers seem more interested in rhetoric than evidence and truth. One is entitled to ask if this is because they can charge more the longer they can keep a case going? How utterly corrupt if so! But has our legal system ever been more than a forum for sophistry? Are we deluding ourselves that our system is the best? Sadly, it looks as if truth is as much a casualty of our legal system as the Dowler family.

Some people in the West, often left-wing and vociferous, seem determined to believe that Muslims are being violent in reaction to previous domination by Western countries or Muslims are reacting because they are an under-valued minority. What they seem unwilling to accept is that there have been few, if any, nations that have converted to Islam by the free choice of the indigenous population. Most have converted after repeated and sustained violence by immigrant Muslims, or invasion by other, already converted, Islamic nations.

Violence and Islam go together in the same way that violence is used by any other religion – to impose its will on non-believers. Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism, has long been associated with violence: the Inquisition, ‘witch-finding’ and the deliberate murder of members of non-conforming sects or individuals, among others. Only since the Enlightenment and the rise of the scientific method has the influence of the Catholic Church been diminished. Although no longer violent, attempts to silence dissenters still exist. Most recently, there has been a willingness on the part of victims to admit to being sexually abused by paedophile priests and to call for their prosecution. During subsequent investigations, the involvement of high-ranking church officials in hiding the extent of the problem has become apparent. Imagine what would have been the result of victims’ cries for justice had the Catholic Church still been a significant influence on public perceptions of morality. Given the history, it is quite possible that victims would have been burnt at the stake, accused of heresy or witchcraft.

It doesn’t matter what the religion, violence is, or has been, used to hide malfeasance. It is imperative, therefore, that those who believe in free thought, free association and free expression stand up to religions and say: we have a right to know the truth. People must be allowed to show their anger and contempt for religious violence, preferably in a non-violent way. So today, people throughout the world are saying to Muslims: you have your beliefs and you are entitled to hold them – but don’t try to impose them on us!

Friendly Atheist by @hemantsblog » Draw Muhammad Day: A Compilation

Sounds like they’re borrowing from communist behaviour. Or maybe they are communists in disguise, attempting to change the American Constitution?

Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards – NYTimes.com

Afghans who are Christians should be welcomed into the country because they sure as hell won’t be welcome in their own country.

These are just the sort of people who should be given refuge in this country. Yet it seems they are persecuted in their own country and then persecuted when they come to Britain. It’s bad enough for the government to allow racist Muslims into the country – and there are a lot of them, no matter what Gordon Brown says – who would willingly attack Christians let alone white nazi sympathizers.

Still, why should we expect white racists to be able to read the Koran when most Muslim immigrants can’t read it. Muslims must learn the Koran in Arabic, a language foreign to most, and must rely on their religious leaders to interpret for them, whether or not what they are being told is the truth.

BBC News – Three men attack Afghan teenagers

I know some members of the Commons have brought Parliament into disrepute but most of those who committed the offenses were in what are called ‘safe’ seats and likely to be re-elected time and time again. If these safe-seat members became corrupt how corrupt must the monarchy be after all this time?

Surely most people are interested in what is in the monarch’s speech, not all the pomp and circumstance. The BBC would have us believe that most people in the country like events like the State Opening of Parliament. I think they’d be more interested in whether their taxes would be going up, if they are going to have to pay more for their pint in the pub, whether they are likely to be made unemployed because of the Government’s actions or if immigration is going to be tackled.

The BBC really does push out a load of twaddle.