A Second Hand Conjecture

Continuing my ongoing Friday post series on the basics of Islam.  We’ve had some great questions, so far.  Keep ‘em coming, guys!
As always, let me lay down the ground rules:
1.  Please keep your questions general.  This isn’t a blog focused on Islamic beliefs and theology, so asking questions like, “Well, the Maliki school of jurisprudence […]

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I apologize for not being able to answer the excellent questions posed in my last Islam Q and A session.  Although I won’t reprint the questions and comments here, I will attempt to answer them in the order asked.  Additionally, in order to avoid confusion, I will use the comments section for my answers and […]

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The greedheads at Exxon/Mobil and Chevron/Texaco are at it again. Those clever devils who artificially raised oil prices so high that their profits gushed forth at @ a mediocre 10% margin have now cleverly turned the profit spigot down just in time for the election. Just down the street someone is selling gas for $1.98 […]

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There has been a lot of buzz the past few days about a recent National Intelligence Estimate (”NIE“), portions of which were leaked to the media, and just what it says about the current state of the GWOT. While the MSM seems prepared to accept as gospel truth the worst possible interpretations of the […]

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(Listening notes: The Clash)
I am not an attorney, and there are undoubtedly many things I do not understand about the legal points as to whether the NSA program complies with FISA or not, or whether the President has inherent authority to conduct such surveillance during wartime. I may have opinions, but they would hardly be […]

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First, I’d like to apologize for my prolonged absence.  I assure you, gentle readers, that the rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated.  I hope to redo my last post and respond to questions and comments related to it this week.  And now for something completely different.
Aziz over at City of Brass has dissected Pope […]

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(Listening notes:XTC)
Update: More resistance to Hezbollah.
When Israel launched its attack on Hezbollah back in July I was fearful. I have always had an attachment to Lebanon going back to my days in grade school when I did a project on its history and culture (I also did the same with Iran and India. I was […]

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Theology and moral codes tell us to be good, in conflict with our natural desires and appetites, which tell us the opposite: be bad! Take what you want! Look out for #1! Socializing ourselves to develop a sense of empathy–that is, an emotionally-based understanding for how our actions affect others–is crucial for the development of […]

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As of now my plan is to not give either of the major parties my vote in the upcoming elections. That could change, but nobody here in Baton Rouge has given me a reason to change my mind. Some races however have interested me, and one of those is the race for senator in VA […]

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The Honourable Dennis R. O’Connor, Associate Chief Justice of Ontario , issued a report concerning a factual inquiry into the Maher Arar case (”Inquiry“). As the Washington Post reports, the Inquiry found that:
Canadian intelligence officials passed false warnings and bad information to American agents about a Muslim Canadian citizen, after which U.S. authorities secretly […]

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It may be well known to you, dear reader, or it may not (it makes no difference), that Pogue Mahone is one of my favorite commenters, bloggers and writers. In fact, he’s been somewhat of a celebrity amongst my partners here, and our bretheren at QandO. His politics lean somewhat left for my […]

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There is an interesting debate going on over at Damnum Absque Injuria (Xrlq’s place) about whether or one should be required to be licensed with the state in order to practice law. It was inspired by an article arguing against licensure in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
As an attorney myself, I have a vested interest in restricting […]

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If you read the Washington Post yesterday, you may have noticed the story headlined, “Anti-Muslim Harrassment Complaints Jump 30 Percent” in which Michelle Boorstein “reports”:
A national Muslim advocacy organization yesterday blamed a “negative and politically charged” environment on the Internet and talk radio for the 30 percent jump in anti-Muslim incidents reported to the group […]

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Finally, Pogues back!
Please go and shower him with abuse for lack of consideration towards his fans. Besides, anytime a Baldwin brother is given a good smack it is important to support the effort.
Technorati Tags: Pogue Mahone, Steven Baldwin

Sphere: Related Content

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Update again: (Read this from Hitchens as well on another famous quote.)
In my quixotic campaign to indict people for what they do say, rather than what suits our prejudices, I direct you all to a post that is making its way around the blogosphere, but you may not have decided to read. Patterico’s dissection of […]

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My birthday is this Saturday and my lovely wife is taking me to Nashville, TN for Saturday and Sunday night as my present (yes, I am very lucky). We are staying at the Hilton, right downtown, and attending the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night. Other than that, however, we don’t have much planned […]

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According to news reports, the muslim world is in a serious uproar over a perceived attack on their religion by the Pope.

Muslims around the world expressed outrage Friday over Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on Islam, with Turkey’s ruling party accusing him of trying to revive the spirit of the Crusades and scores taking to the […]

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***UPDATEx3***

The pugnacious Italian journalist has died. Reactions to that will no doubt vary. Her personal and intellectual bravery however cannot be doubted. A hat tip is owed to neo-neocon.
UPDATED AGAIN:For another roundup of links, but more interestingly a selection of links to writings by and about Oriana from prior to her death I suggest Iraqi […]

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(Listening Notes: The Specials)
Via Normblog I am reminded once again about another situation which I think will not get better. It will not get better because in fact we don’t care. We don’t care that approximately two million people have died in Sudan already, mostly in the South. We don’t care that the same kind […]

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A while back I mentioned a post by the wife of Peter, the proprietor of The Liberal Capitalist Party. Well the short brown firebrand who is the wife of the adorably pink Peter has her own blog now. If you missed her rather pointed and amusing comments on marriage, orthodoxy, class, lesbianism and hiccups I […]

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I hear all of the time about how this corporation is subsidized or that person received a subsidy, but I’m not entirely positive that the word always means the same thing. What exactly is a “subsidy”?
Let’s look at the Answers.com, which provides several definitions. First there’s the dictionary definition:
sub·si·dy
n., pl. -dies.

Monetary assistance granted by a […]

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(Listening notes: Van Morrison)
****UPDATED****
Originally Posted July 28th, 2006
One thing that bugs me, is the tendency of people to make general statements such as “wingers” always….. or you leftists always…. etc. It is silly and insulting, and I really try to avoid such things.
Still, the left in recent years, including many moderate Democrats has disappointed me. […]

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Omar got my mental wheels turning a few weeks ago when he wrote about the World Wildlife Fund debt-purchasing plan for conservation, as well as about some other free market alternatives to what is generally considered today to be in the purview of governments. Then Lance turned the spotlight on an exciting program in […]

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Norm Geras has reached his, and his reasoning certainly resonates with me.
On the other hand, I am trying to overcome my feelings about fans of Phish. Luckily my new brother-in-law, who is a musician, hates Phish, loves the Stooges. In fact, when my little sister called to tell me about her being engaged to someone […]

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Bradford Plumer let the cat out of the bag today. I know, everybody is blogging about his justification of pork barrel spending as necessary for the growth of activist government, but Capt. Ed makes the best point about Plumer’s point:
Plumer’s entire essay should be read in order to ensure that CQ readers understand exactly what […]

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Milton Friedman sits down with Russ Roberts. You can also listen to the podcast.
Elsewhere Ron Bailey has an article “The Man Who Fed the World,” on Norman Borlaug whose work may have saved more lives and relieved more suffering than any other person in human history. See also this earlier interview with him in Reason […]

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(Listening notes: Who else but Fela Kuti)
Cafe Hayek reminded me this week about one of the more interesting groups working to help in Africa, Enterprise Africa. One highlight has been the work of Monsanto:
Enter the private sector, specifically Monsanto South Africa, with the Combi- Pack, a box containing enough maize seed, herbicide, and fertilizer to […]

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I have delayed addressing the previous posts regarding fascism in order to let the comments percolate and the issue become more defined. Before I do so here, please take the time to read the previous posts (here and here) and the comments to them. The discussion was valuable and enlightening and I thank […]

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It’s time again for my weekly Questions and Answers session covering the beliefs and practices of Islam.  Feel free to jump in and ask any questions you’d like about Islam or Muslims.  The only rule, as always, is to keep the questions fairly general.  I don’t want detailed or highly technical questions like, “Well, sura […]

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***Corrected due to problem with missing text when posted originally***
One of our favorite commenters, Glasnost, who should have his own blog by the way, has left some trenchant criticisms of the argument that has haphazardly formed in the comments section of the introductory post we have on Neville Chamberlain. So I am reposting that part […]

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