h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

>>do like the early christians and live by the book and turn the other cheek<< Blicky

<> Honestlago

The early Muslims only did that because they were being oppressed by the polytheists in Mecca. Once they moved to Medina and became dominant there, they quickly dropped the tolerance bit.


Monotheism doesn't really do tolerance in the long run.

a few final (I hope) thoughts/questions from me and then I must go tend my garden:

I don't have a big problem with the recycling of supernumerary books although I've never done it myself


but

I do have a problem with the idea of publicly burning books as a 'statement'. I don't quite understand why anyone would want to associate themselves with an image so replete with negative historical baggage. A proud book burner immediately joins the illustrious idea-space of countless ethnic-cleansers, genocidaires, and murderous fanatics of history. Certainly a backwoods pastor lighting up a Penguin translation of the Koran doesn't have any hope of wiping Islam and Muslims from the world, but I suspect he has the desire to do exactly that.

and

What exactly is the 'protest' in the burning of a Penguin translation of the Koran? That action isn't a protest: it's just incitement

As I understand it, the thing wasn't burned as a protest. The Pastor tried it in a court of some kind, found it guilty and sentenced it to be burnt.


As you do.

It seems to me he had no authority from anyone to put it on trial and his sentence was only binding on copies owned by his local church.
someone said if it weren&#39;t for the internet nobody would have even been aware that the trial happened or that the sentence was carried out.

My question about protesting was in reference to the initial `post of this thread.

> That action isn't a protest: it's just incitement<

Yes as was the motive of a small group of Muslim poppy burners here.

I can't remember the details or can be bothered to look it up but I think some piffling fine was imposed. Personally I wouldn't have bothered..but the state decided otherwise.

Lest we forget:
http://991.com/Buy/TopItems/LennonGlasses/Hate.aspx

"Ridicule is man's most potent weapon"
http://feedyouradhd.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-time-to-burn-my-beatles-records.html


~jwf~

Jesus that blogger and respondents are thick. Who on earth gives a flying purple banana what some ageing musician thinks about such things? The guy was genius back in the day, in conjunction with Lennon and as part of the Beatles.

But christ why would his opinion on the Gulf Oil disaster or climate change, mean anything more than his choice of breakfast cereal?

""but library books often turn out more expensive than from charidee shops.""

eye yam confuddled by that

our library has a table where you place your old paperbacks and pick up another, not library books, just a paperback swap table, no stamp or due back date.....!

After long and earnest consideration I could probably
list several dozen books I'd quite happily incinerate.

But in the interest of brevity I will limit it to one, and,
only because it has both ceremonial and religious overtones
of the mob mentals variety similar to the subject at hand,
let me commend The Klingon Dictionary to the flames.




~jwf~

If I was to choose one book to burn I'd burn The Overton Window

My one book to burn ... Monster Love by Carol Topolski ... I have never been so horrified by a book, and I've never thrown one across the room when I've finished it before ... she's a professional psychoanalytic psychotherapist and it shows, horrid horrid book!! !!

Ah, but you did finish it...

Yeah I guess, but I'm a right stickler ... if I start a book then I'll finish ... I finished that book as fast as I possibly could!!

I was SO pleased when it was over, it left a nasty taste in my mouth!! !!

Lx

"let me commend The Klingon Dictionary to the flames"

Thou art an infidel.

"As I understand it, the thing wasn't burned as a protest. The Pastor tried it in a court of some kind, found it guilty and sentenced it to be burnt."

Whilst the "trial" took place the "defendant" was soaking in a bucket of inflammable fluid, or so I hear tell.


Guess innocent until proven guilty isn't a Christian concept. Odd that, I also heard America's laws were built on Biblical principles.

Like a sneaky infidel I visited your homepage
and recognised some of the names you've used
over the years. And in your journals I found
this link for which I am thanking you.

http://www.symphonyofscience.com/

It will keep me amused and entertained for days.

~jwf~

Hi Effers,

This is Albert Einsteins take:
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

@jwf: petaQ!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/09/bnp-candidate-arrested-quran-burning

It is unclear on what grounds this man has been arrested. There is no mention of him being charged, and I'm not a lawyer but it's hard for me to think of any offence he's committed that would warrant arrest.

I'm further unimpressed with the government response:

"The government absolutely condemns the burning of the Qur'an. It is fundamentally offensive to the values of our pluralist and tolerant society.

"We equally condemn any attempts to create divisions between communities"

How about freedom of speech, guys? Oh yeah - British people don't have it. We apparently don't have the right to freedom of association, either, and we provably don't have freedom of peaceful assembly. We don't have the right to remain silent when arrested. Truly, the Muslim terrorists are winning.

Hitchens on book burning.

http://richarddawkins.net/articles/613509-cynicism-by-the-book