Still working on the keeping track of Allah's mercy assignment, day 4. So, we've seen quite a bit this week. But there is more.

Now we're all aware that the bird flu has been particularly bad in Asia, even though Asia has a high population of followers of a certain deity. But now, Iran has dead birds out the wazoo. Iran? Their great satan hating credentials are impeccable!

Read the full story.

I'm telling you, if I was blowing up women and children to make my god happy and he sent me the bird flu, I'd be getting a new god. Sheesh. Of course, could just be the Ramadan trips to the mall that are doing this.

Posted by Bill Turner at 2:30 PM EDT

Updated: October 13, 2005 2:34 PM EDT

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The Counter Inquisition has, through exhaustive searching comprised of scanning the New York Times' International section, discovered a potential source for religious consternation among adherents to a certain religion that has claimed a unique purity among certain sects chosen by those adherents. Phew. That's a lot harder than writing poopie-headed Al Queda.

Anyway, it turns out that Santa Claus is going cross cultural. Check this out-

From the New York Times -

Ramadan Ritual: Fast Daily, Pray, Head to the Mall

By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: October 12, 2005
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 7 - The decorations are hanging, the cash registers are clanging, and the air of holiday cheer is everywhere. For a holy month, Ramadan is not what it used to be.

Once an ascetic month of fasting, prayer and reflection on God, Ramadan has gradually taken on the commercial trappings of Christmas and Hanukkah, from the hanging lights that festoon windows to the Ramadan greeting cards and Ramadan sales and advertising campaigns that have become the backbone of commerce for the month.

Marketers and businesses have caught on to the potential of 1.3 billion people at home fasting or breaking their daily fasts and getting back to normal life, a captive audience eager for entertainment and celebration, and more than willing to feast when the sun goes down.

Here in Dubai, the region's supermall, commercialism has taken on a life of its own as almost everything has been dressed in the cloak of Ramadan, from consumer goods to cars. Malls are open till the early morning, and the nights rock away at dinner parties in desert tents.Read the full story

So much for the holier than thou crap. A chill wind is blowing (don't you just hate that cliche?) across the desert of the Holy. Ok, so camels are pulling the sleigh, what's the difference?

This just in: Al Jazeera reports that dozens of people were seen in the mall.

Here's tinsel in your eye, Osama. Want a candy cane?

Posted by Bill Turner at 12:40 PM EDT

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In the interest of getting a better understanding about the nature of a certain deity, I decided to keep track of things for a week or so, just to see where the hostile winds are blowing.

From News Central Asia-

Slow Cotton Harvest Leads to Dismissal of 13 Governors in Turkmenistan

Ashgabat, 7 October 2005 (nCa) --- The slow cotton harvest that has been the source of concern for the last several weeks, led Thursday to mass dismissal of provincial and district governors in Turkmenistan. Two provincial and several district governors were dismissed by President Niyazov right during a meeting in Mekan hall, Ashgabat.


Governor of Labap province has been sacked and reappointed as governor of a district in Ahal province. Governor of Mary has been dismissed and he has been offered job as teacher in an institute.


Governors of 11 districts - Farab, Koitendag, Tagtabazar, Oguzkhan, Mary (district), Sarakhs, Tejen, Kakhka, Altyn Asyr, Baharly, Goekdepe - and deputy governor of Ahal province were dismissed and their successors appointed. Read the full story (If you must)

Now, I'm pretty sure that a bunch of the adherents of a certain deity were harvesting that cotton. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Did we miss by a continent on the old hostile winds again?

Posted by Bill Turner at 3:10 PM EDT

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From the World Tribune.com-

"Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, director of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowment's research center, published an article titled "The Terrorist Katrina is One of the Soldiers of Allah, But Not an Adherent of Al-Qaeda."(1) the Aug. 31 edition of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa. Following are excerpts:"

"...As I watched the horrible sights of this wondrous storm, I was reminded of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah [in the compilations] of Al-Bukhari and Abu Daoud. The Hadith says: 'The wind is of the wind of Allah, it comes from mercy or for the sake of torment. When you see it, do not curse it, [but rather] ask Allah for the good that is in it, and ask Allah for shelter from its evil.'

"When the satellite channels reported on the scope of the terrifying destruction in America [caused by] this wind, I was reminded of the words of [Prophet Muhammad]: 'The wind sends torment to one group of people, and sends mercy to others.' I do not think — and only Allah [really] knows — that this wind, which completely wiped out American cities in these days, is a wind of mercy and blessing. It is almost certain that this is a wind of torment and evil that Allah has sent to this American empire."

So Allah controls everything? OK. But wait, what about this from CNN?

"Pakistan puts quake toll at 18,000 - Emergency workers toil through the night; deaths high in Kashmir - Saturday, October 8, 2005; Posted: 11:32 p.m. EDT (03:32 GMT)

Oops. Looks like ol' Allah needs a mulligan. And for a further look at how distorted things can get -

From the ever reliable and journalistically unimpeachable Al Jazeera-

"Dozens die in Pakistan earthquake - Saturday 08 October 2005, 10:21 Makka Time, 7:21 GMT

Why, in the name of Allah, can't Al Jazeera even get this one right? I'm sure it's because every soul in Pakistan is trying to help the U.S. that Allah sent the quake to kill dozens/thousands. Say, weren't those jerks in London from Pakistan. Allah is soooooooooooooo complicated.

Hope the rocks fell on Osama. He's probably sorting out the accident too. I mean, come on, who wants to die for a diety who can't even hit the right continent? Please. I'm having a bacon sandwich and going to bed.

Posted by Bill Turner at 7:25 PM EDT

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It's that time of year again. With all of the important things going on: hurricanes, wars and indictments, oh my... I thought I'd hit on something critical.

You see, the problem with the world is that we sometimes take things way too seriously and we don't relax. By the way, have you given anything for hurricane relief yet? Anyway, I'm just burned out on everything right now.

Except my new, shiny, Cadillac.

If you've been watching the first three weeks of the NFL season, then you've heard of him. He runs like the wind and is a punishing run finisher.

I've been a bunch of things in my day. I've had many unique and fascinating friends come and go. I've been all over the world.

But I've always been a Buc fan. And during the last two years returning to the valley of the shadow of death, I have feared that the boys might be done for in the short term.

Then along came the Cadillac.

We Buc fans have long speculated just how dangerous our defense would be if only it had a running game to keep it rested. Even when we were kicking the dog poo out of Oakland in the Super Bowl, many of the faithful were wondering how hideous the score could have been with a bruiser in the backfield (and Pittman had one heck of a game).

Always we longed for "THE" back. That one special guy who could take a game and put it on ice. The guy who could sit Brett Farve's talented behind firmly on the bench until he got up long enough to toss a pick to a well-rested Buc safety. Now, brethren of the crossed swords, we got one.

So when I listen to the Philly talk show homers talking about Carolina and Philly being the class of the NFC, I have to laugh. These are the same homers who were packing their bags back when the Bucs last rolled into town in January. The complete lack of respect boggles the mind.

It's a long road to Detroit, but you can bet that if our Caddy keeps his wheels on the turf, that road begins at the other end of Interstate 75, down in the Sunshine State.

So, Philly homers, keep talking about the Panthers and the Falcons and whatever dead meat you can scavenge out of the NFC North and West. But make sure you get those well worn crying towels out if you think that it ends there. It may be you're heading to Tampa come January. And, for literary effect, the only hell hotter than the spotlight of angry Philly fans is the heat of a Tampa January Sunday when the boys are pounding you on offense and running you through the back of the end zone on defense.

I hear Detroit is lousy in January. You guys can stay home and let us take care of representing the NFC. Hey, that may just be an order. Keep yapping.

Posted by Bill Turner at 9:10 PM EDT

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Looking for Katrina's silver lining? Check out the long lines of traffic snaking out of Houston 2 days before Rita's landfall. Looks like some lessons were learned well.

Best of luck to Houston. Hopefully, Rita will decrease in intensity before landfall also.

Posted by Bill Turner at 7:25 AM EDT

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Hurricane Rita is barreling toward the Gulf Coast. Would the person with whom God is angry please turn himself/herself in to the appropriate authorities. I'm just kidding, the Taliban isn't.

Ok, but on a serious note, if Allah is so angry with us, why aren't we living in squalor in the middle of an ugly desert surrounded by highly armed and well trained men trying to kill us? Not yet, you say? Pessimist.

We'll rebuild whatever gets knocked down. No thanks on the burqas.

Posted by Bill Turner at 10:48 AM EDT

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The President took responsibility for the Federal Government's poor response time in New Orleans. Ok, manly thing to do. The bureaucratic malaise was awful. The Homeland Security Department was overwhelmed.

The President's solution?

Build more layers of bureaucracy. Ugh. Whatever happened to Reaganism? This is not good.

Posted by Bill Turner at 7:20 AM EDT

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I'd love to see an originalist on the Supreme Court. Someone who understands that the government can't solve the questions of poverty and every other social ill known to man. The best the government can hope to do is use those problems as sounding boards for more government, which leads to more problems, which leads to more government... (You get the picture.)

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

"The committee's ranking Democrat, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.) cited Hurricane Katrina and the devastation in the Gulf Coast region as evidence of continuing inequality in the United States.

Kennedy said of Roberts: "Many of his past statements and writings raise questions about his commitment to equal opportunity and the bipartisan remedies we have adopted in the past."

From the Massachussetts Budget and Policy Center:

"August 30, 2005

Demonstrating the difficulties the Commonwealth continues to face in recovering from the 2001 recession, data released August 30 by the U.S. Census Bureau for 2004 show that the percentage of people without health insurance in Massachusetts has risen, while both the Commonwealth’s median household income – a common benchmark of middle-class economic security – and its poverty rate remained statistically unchanged."

Massachussetts has a HUGE government infrastructure.

"All politics is local." - Tip O'Neil

Posted by Bill Turner at 10:25 AM EDT

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I had just walked into the phone company office in St. Croix when the first image flashed across the screen. Peter Jennings was saying that a small plane may have crashed into the World Trade Center. As the next hour unfolded, most of us could not believe what we were seeing.

One day out of the year, I am a New Yorker. This is that day.

Posted by Bill Turner at 7:28 AM EDT

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