Myrtus

Personal Questions- Oh, la la

Some of the respondents have asked why I ask demographic and personal questions (for example, about religion and politics). I am not just being nosy :) When doing studies on groups of people, it is important to know about the population you are investigating not only so other researchers can improve on the information you gather but also so you know if the information garnered from your research can be applied to other groups or if your study is representative of the larger population to which it belongs. I hope this makes sense. Also, these surveys are completely anonymous and, other than the information provided on the first page, I have no idea who is responding to the other parts of the survey. I hope this eases your concerns a little. 

Certains répondants ont demandé pourquoi je demande à la démographie et les questions personnelles (par exemple, au sujet de la religion et politique). Je ne suis pas juste être curieux:) En faisant des études sur des groupes de personnes, il est important de connaître la population que vous êtes d'enquêter non seulement pour d'autres chercheurs peuvent améliorer les informations sur vous recueillir mais aussi pour vous pour savoir si l'information recueillie à partir de votre la recherche peut être appliquée à d'autres groupes ou si votre étude est représentative de l'ensemble de la population à laquelle il appartient. J'espère que cela fait sens. En outre, ces enquêtes sont totalement anonymes et, autres que les renseignements fournis sur la première page, je n'ai aucune idée de qui est de répondre aux autres parties de l'enquête. J'espère que cela facilite vos préoccupations un peu.

Fighting Hate with Hate

It's really upsetting when people insist on combatting hate with their own hate, so that around and around they go bashing each other back and forth without any real change. It seems that so many people think they get a special dispensation to hate entire groups of people in order to suit their own agenda and make a point. Uh ... wrong.

The entire process has gotten so corrupt ... how frustrating.

Check this out ... some dude named "Urban Infidel" has photos of the anti-Ahmadinejad rally in NYC. And yes, it is true that AJ is a renowned hatemonger. His presence should be protested, and his views thoroughly rejected, but not with stupid, blanket bigotry, hello!

This is not how one protests a real and obvious hate monger. This is how one perpetuates negative stereotypes against Muslims. Enough!

Taught to Hate

How much do you want to bet the vast majority of these people have never met an American or an Israeli in their lives, and know next to nothing about either society except what has been indoctrinated into their minds? They are just taught to hate. It's very sad really, and intolerable. This is not Islam's purpose, and whoever says it is is a liar. Ramadan is about spiritual cleansing, not politically-inspired hatred. This is just so wrong.

This is not just about hating the USA and Israel, it's also about abusing Islam and turning it into something it is not. These are Pakistanis following the Iranian government by commemorating that government's overly politicized and non-spiritual "al-Quds Day" on the last Friday of Ramadan. Do these people look renewed, rejuvenated, and reconnected to G'd? No. But they are supposed to be.

Going out of your way to hate people you have never met or had conflict with during a time of spirital cleansing? Unbelievable.

Enough already!

From Reuters

Project 10 to the 100 - Your chance to change the world

Google is celebrating its 10th birthday by giving you a chance to change the world.

Project 10^100 is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible.

Happy now?

I'm sorry Reb, our boys were complaining about purple.  Their eyes were hurting, so we're back to blue.

Change is good.

Jewish Fundamentalism

We usually hear plenty about Muslim fundamentalism, not nearly as much as Christian fundamentalism, but we rarely hear anything about Jewish fundamentalism.  Almost as if it doesn't exist, or the truth is somehow kept hidden from view.

Well, here is one of those rare instances where it actually does come out.

Outrage as Jewish newspapers ban pictures of Israel's new PM-in-waiting because she's a woman | Mail Online

Tzipi Livni is poised to become Israel’s next prime minister - but ultra-orthodox newspapers in the Jewish state are refusing to publish her picture for reasons of religious modesty.

Israeli feminists have described the ban as ‘laughably ludicrous.’

The 50-year-old foreign minister and mother of two has been hailed by some of the world’s press as a ‘Mossad beauty’ but she has image problems closer to home.

Only about 600,000 of Israel’s 7 million population are haredi, or ultra-orthodox, but they pack a strong political punch and include key officials including cabinet ministers and the mayor of Jerusalem.

Their lifestyle is governed by a strict code with regulations for food, clothes, reading material and education which many critics say goes beyond the rules of orthodox Judaism.

Signs hanging at the entrance to the ultra-orthodox neighbourhoods in Jerusalem warn women to dress modestly in the area.

‘No haredi paper will publish Livni’s picture,’ said Avraham Kroizer, a public relations adviser to the incoming premier.

‘Graphic artists will blur the faces of women that do make their way into pictures that the papers want to use.

‘They will also blur pictures of television sets or other items deemed improper to be seen by the wider haredi public.’

Naomi Ragen, author of The Sacrifice of Tamar and other popular novels set in the ultra-orthodox world, said the ban on Livni’s photograph was ‘over the top.’

‘But I’m not surprised,’ said Ms Ragen, who campaigns for equal rights for religious women.

‘The haredi newspapers never publish pictures of women. Women don’t exist. These papers are the equivalent of a boys’ club.

Michael Moore's SLACKER UPRISING

MM is passing out his propaganda once again, but nothing new there.

The only difference this time: He says he's not charging you a dime for it, it's FREE!

Click here to watch Michael Moore's SLACKER UPRISING completely free of charge.

50 organizations to protest U.S. religious leaders' lovefest with Ahmadinejad tomorrow 9/25

www.925rally.org

The following organizations are participating in the rally to protest the Hyatt event with Ahmadinejad.  This coalition is unprecedented in its breadth and in the variety of organizations joining together to oppose the dire threat of Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs’ tyrannical regime.  Organizations are joining the rally every hour, so we will update this list periodically through the afternoon of September 25.

The Stop Ahmadinejad Rally - September 25

This just in via email:

WOMEN UNITED: CODE RED
www.925rally.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Women United (212) 726-1124
info@925rally.org
Over 30 organizations to protest September 25 Ahmadinejad dinner-dialogue with U.S. "religious leaders"

New York City, September 22: Over 30 national organizations - including prominent Jewish and Christian leaders and political leaders - will mount a major protest across the street from the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, September 25 at 6 p.m., to counter a meeting by Iranian president Ahmadinejad with U.N. officials and "religious" leaders.

Blogoma Research Survey

Najia has graciously invited me to her blog to promote my research project on the Blogoma and to invite you all to take my survey. My research question is the following: How do Moroccan bloggers and people that blog about Morocco discuss Islam in their blogs, particularly as it relates to politics? The purpose of my research is to demonstrate that Islam is not the monolithic ideology that it is presented by the state and media in many non-Muslim countries. I am not Muslim but I try to avoid stereotyping a religion that stretches over several continents and that over a billion of people identify with and/or practice and I try to avoid the biases with which the American people are constantly inundated. The survey is offered in both English and French. I apologize for not being able to offer it in Arabic as well but I could not afford the translation software; however, I have a colleague that can read Arabic so if you would prefer to answer the questions in Arabic please feel free to do so. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge and opinions, please follow these links:

Najia m'a gracieusement invité à son blog pour promouvoir mon projet de recherche sur la Blogoma et de vous inviter tous à prendre mon questionnaire. Ma question de recherche est la suivante: Comment les blogueurs marocains et les personnes qui  bloguent au sujet du maroc discutent de l'islam dans leurs blogs, en particulier en ce qui a trait à la politique? Le but de ma recherche est de démontrer que l'islam n'est pas l'idéologie monolithique qui est présenté par l'État et les médias dans de nombreux pays non musulmans. Je ne suis pas musulmane, mais je cherche à éviter les stéréotypes d'une religion qui s'étend sur plusieurs continents et que plus d'un milliard de personnes s'identifient et/ou  pratiquent et je tente d'éviter les préjugés avec lesquels le peuple américain est constamment inondées. Le questionnaire est offerte en français et en anglais. Je m'excuse de ne pas être en mesure de l'offrir en arabe aussi bien mais je ne pouvais pas payer les logiciels de traduction, mais j'ai une collègue qui peut lire l'arabe si vous préférez répondre aux questions en arabe allez y. Si vous êtes intéressé à partager vos connaissances et vos opinions, s'il vous plaît suivez ces liens:


Part I: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=DKbkAENWXQamCNJlrGKatA_3d_3d

Part II: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=d8FN2YjW1Agp7zxpWjMA4A_3d_3d

Part III: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E_2fakeRx2qPMtYhRseiA_2bAw_3d_3d

Part IV: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=l4ZB1Y5vY8XKafZH36kXoA_3d_3d

Part V: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=IM2Q8eoW_2fTcDAbAfHugTdw_3d_3d

Part VI: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=b1IwrsnPcKRuUn732Qrn9A_3d_3d

Thank you in advance for your participation and for your feedback on how to improve the survey! Thanks again, Najia!!!

Merci d'avance pour votre participation et vos commentaires sur la façon d'améliorer le questionnaire! Merci encore, Najia!