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Written by Rondi
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Saturday, 11 September 2010 12:32 |
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...about today and about Iraq and about certain world views. He wrote it seven and a half years ago, in response to "The March" in London. Worth re-reading in its entirety, but here's a money quote:
In all my 38 years, I have never before felt such a sense of personal shock. I am shocked that so many of my friends would rather a brutal dictator remained in power — for that would be the direct consequence if their views won out — than support military action by the United States. I am ashamed that they would rather believe the words of President Saddam Hussein than those of their own Prime Minister. I am nauseated that they would rather give succour to evil than think through the implications of their gut feelings.
It is a shocking experience to realise that your friends are either mindless, deluded or malevolent.
I used to think that 9/11 was the most important day of my life. It was indeed a day which transformed the world; its influence will be felt for decades, if not centuries. But however foul the “America had it coming” refrain, that came mainly from the usual suspects. This is different. This time the words come from friends.
I have many friends with whom I disagree politically; it would be a small-minded person who could not say that. But this goes beyond mere politics. This is about fundamentals. And what makes it truly shocking is how many normal, apolitical, otherwise decent people are so deeply wrong, so stridently misguided.
I have tried to point out that saying you are in favour of “peace” is meaningless. Which sane person is not? The question is: peace on whose, and what, terms? If it is peace on the terms of brutal dictators, secured by allowing them to build up whatever weapons arsenals they wish, then that is not peace. It is suicide.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:48 |
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Written by Rondi
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Saturday, 11 September 2010 12:01 |
...but a goodie, I hope. If you want to send it to anyone, you can do so here. 
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:48 |
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Written by Rondi
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Saturday, 11 September 2010 11:57 |
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Further to my previous (or to my Frum-related previous), David Frum debunks some of the myths of 9-11.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:48 |
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Written by Rondi
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Saturday, 11 September 2010 11:54 |
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A Muslim stonemason who spent nearly four decades helping to restore a Roman Catholic cathedral in France has been immortalized as a winged gargoyle peering out from its facade — with the inscription "God is great" written in French and Arabic.
It was conceived as a symbol of inter-religious friendship that reflects the city of Lyon's links to its large Muslim population. But a widely publicized outcry from a small extreme-right group has forced the Archdiocese of Lyon into damage control.
"This has nothing to do with religion. It's a sculptor who wants to pay homage to a construction site chief," said the Rev. Michel Cacaud, rector of the cathedral. "That's all."
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Ahmed Benzizine, who was born in Algeria, a former French colony, sees the gargoyle in his image as "a message of peace and tolerance."
"When I started to work in churches ... exactly 37 years ago, it was considered a sin that a Muslim enter a place of worship other than a mosque," he said.
He has worked off and on since 1973 at St. Jean Cathedral, which dominates the old city of Lyon and has been honored as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A nice story for today, I think.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:48 |
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Written by Rondi
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Saturday, 11 September 2010 08:01 |
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 December 2010 12:48 |
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