Speak Or Forever Hold Your Peace

2007-05-23 - 10:17 a.m.

Well, due to the virtue of someone knocking on my door...someone who just couldn't wait long enough for me to untangle from the CPAP and actually get to the door...I'm awake.

Muttermuttergrumblegripebitchmoan...

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A poll released this week by the Pew Research Center has some very interesting items. You can download the entire results of the poll here.

According to the poll, one in four young Muslims living in America feels that suicide bombings to defend their religion "can be justified". This is the "religion of peace", remember. You can say, of course, that this means that three out of four younger Muslims - and about 80 percent of Muslims altogether - say that suicide bombings are not appropriate. Still, one in four is a pretty good-sized number...especially when the idea of "defending their religion" includes the act of killing people who draw cartoons of Mohammed...or utter any kind of negative comment of any nature whatsoever about Islam. Gee, that makes me an infidel, I guess.

Also, remember that these are Muslims living in the United States. Many are US citizens. So where are they being taught that suicide bombings "can be justified"? Their Mosques? Other Muslims?

Discuss amongst yourselves.

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Barbra Striesand is receiving criticism for her high ticket prices. Not here, but in Italy:

ROME - Italian consumer groups want authorities to cancel Barbra Streisand's concert in Rome next month because of excessive ticket prices.

The Adusbef and Codacons groups urged the city of Rome and the Italian Olympic Committee to deny permission for Streisand to perform at the Stadio Flaminio on June 15. It is the 65-year-old singer's first-ever concert in Italy and the start of her European tour.

The ticket prices, which range from just under $200 to more than $1,200, are "absurd and shameful," the groups said in a statement Monday.

The 24,000-seat stadium, owned by the city and managed by the Committee, "is public property and cannot be used for immoral deals that are shameful to a civilized country," the statement said.

Concert organizers weren't immediately available for comment.

All but the cheapest tickets were available for purchase Tuesday on the Internet.

Streisand's monthlong European tour also includes concerts in Austria, France, Ireland and Britain.

Her big "farewell" tour a few years ago consisted of four shows, with tickets going all the way up to $5,000...and a good chunk of the money went to the DNC.

Maybe there aren't enough Democrats in Italy.

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Most of the Presidential candidates are talking up ethanol. As usual, they're pandering.

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It seems the "report anything suspicious" request by law enforcement has hit a few snags...

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Got lots to do today.

Be seeing you.

Brin - 2007-05-23 13:26:10 -
Those numbers are very disturbing. Especially to me. Twenty-five percent. One in four. I had a one in four chance of surviving that illness back in 1983. But I did, and I'm here, and that's why those numbers are very disturbing.

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