>The idea that SOME Americans don't respect Islam< There will always be bigots. They can post anonymously, so we have the pleasure of hearing their true feelings. But the fact that anonymous posting brings out the little creatures from under their rocks is actually a good thing. It shows that the prevailing attitude in America is against bigotry. In so far as "little creatures" goes, the actual persons might be quite nice in person. It is just a good look at the darker side of human nature, and that is all it is.

Sometimes I wonder how long the US empire is gonna last. I wonder if at some point there won't be something that will make everything collapse. The US debt is so huge, I can't seem to be able to understand how the country's economy has still not crashed. 7 trillion dollars, HOLY SH*T, that's 1000 aircraft carriers...

"The US debt is so huge, I can't seem to be able to understand how the country's economy has still not crashed. 7 trillion dollars, HOLY SH*T, that's 1000 aircraft carriers.. " Vast sums are invested from foreign sources, much like vast amounts of oil are imported. The dangers of this war are that its ultimate effect may be to disrupt and limit the in-flow of capital and oil. In short, it is possible this war could turn out to a drastic strategic mistake that will damage America in the long run far more than Al Qaeda ever could hope to. Few here are willing to discuss this possibility, much like whistling past a grave yard.

If you wish to discuss economics, please start a new thread. This is the thread about respect for Islam. I, for one, and Roman, very probably (an econ major), will engage your ideas - both silly and serious - if you do.

http://hammorabi.blogspot.com/archives/2004_09_01_hammorabi_archive.html#109612910028610408 snip: Najaf Hawza is the theological foundation which includes schools and university established more than 1000 years ago snip: The kidnapping and killing of Iraqis, Arabs and Foreigners by organisations which considers all other than itself as infidels is not from Islam and its noble values and principles. One of the victims of these organisations are the Shia individuals, the university lectures and scientists, the intellectuals, the doctors, the officials, the innocent people in places of worship (Mosques, Churches, and others), the workers, the Shia drivers who were killed in Falluja, the Kurds, the Turkmans, and others. The crimes of the above organisations also involved the foreigners who came to Iraq for work or as professionals in their speciality to help in the process of building or planning. Those victims are from Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, France, Italy, UK, USA, Nepal, Spain, Canada, Russia, Bulgaria and others. We repeat what we have said before that these wrong and tyrannised acts do not belong to Islam by any way. We call for the release of all those who were kidnapped immediately whatever their nationalities or believes. The wrong organisations have nothing to do with Islam the religion of peace, love, forbearing, kindness, and good values. We also look forward from the intellectuals to differentiate between Islam as a religion and these wrongful bands. . It's great to see the Shia leaders stepping up to the plate on this....

"It's great to see the Shia leaders stepping up to the plate on this..." The U.S. has a natural ally in the Iraqi Shia population. The principle of Freedom of Religion is very attractive to the majority of the Shia population of Iraq. If we squander this, we will have no one but ourselves to blame. When the war started, and I saw the American Captain ordering his troops to kneel with their rifle barrels pointed down in front of Imam Ali Mosque, I laughed out loud at how the mental gears must be grinding for the Iranian mullahs (it sure was for the Al Sadr supporters who where there, by the looks on their faces). I'd have given that Captain a medal if it was up to me. Really, that was the spiritual equivelant of dropping an atomic weapon on them. The Great Satan kneeling at the Tomb of Ali, oh what ironic Mullah meltdown!

salaam al-aqaaid..... you are a joke.

Posters who refer to movie and television characters seem to think everyone in the world has time to watch such things - and will understand their referants. This is neither constructive nor appropriate. But it may explain why they think someone who really does things must be weaving fiction: they have themselves only encountered a person who deliberately changes things of significance only in low quality fiction. It also may explain why they don't respect Islam: note they do not even respect American Christians. They operate from negative assumptions, and this is a prescription for getting it wrong - whatever the subject may be.

The US has many potential allies in the Islamic world, not just Iraqi Shia. In Darfur people just voted for secular government instead of an Islamic one. They said if Sudan's central government did not honor the deal, they would return to the field (of battle). It did not and they did. The people MOST opposed to radical Islamic rule are those personally familiar with it.

From what I have seen in Star Trek, Star Wars, and every other science fiction or super hero story ever put in a book or on film, they have the same stories and problems that we "everyday people" have. The special effects teams just dress it up in fancy light shows and colorful explosions. But the basic outline of all those stories is just like everyday life: protagonist vs antagonist. It's either men against other men, men against nature, or man against himself. The scifi and superhero stories are no different than what goes on in the world today. It's just that the special effects guys make it look prettier and the screenwriters make the story sound more hopeful. Besides, a society cannot function adequately without sufficient recreation and entertainment for its citizens. Certainly, perhaps too many people want to recreate more than work. And that is also counter-productive, which also contributes to people sinking deeper and deeper into worlds of fantasy to try and help explain the problems they are seeing everyday (but perhaps they do so to see it in a more hopeful light.) Then again, some of them don't want to face reality, period. So they invent a fantasy world of their own heroes and villians to bring any sense of meaning to their life at all (when I was in high school, they were the Dungeons and Dragons crowd.) One of the biggest difficulties we have here on SP: not everybody is on the same sheet of music and being serious at the same time as everyone else. But, if we all had the same mentalities, same train of thought, same ideas, and same values, then what challenge is that for humanity's sake (or for these debates?) The fact that so many of us can dream and imagine so vividly is one of the traits that makes humanity so special, even if we sometimes direct it rather poorly (such as when people try and compare the various struggles amongst humanity's "tribes" to the struggles between the different races of the scifi universe.) (and for some of us, it's just light-hearted fun.).