Fresh criticism of Pope's remarks
Criticism is still pouring in from Muslim religious and political leaders over the Pope's remarks about Islam.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/europe/5351324.stm

I'm disgusted but not surprised at the Muslim response. The Muslim attitude for the past 5 years or more has been WE are allowed to insult the West and the Jews and YOU are not allowed to say anything remotely critical of Islam or the Prophet Mohammed. But the West tolerated this outragous hypocrisy. And so it comes to this. I hope the Pope refuses to apologise since he did nothing wrong. I hope the West wakes up and tells the Muslin world that they will just have to deal with it, that the West allows people to speak their opinions.

I hope we ALL remember the following -

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemöller

30 questions to elevate your awareness (and literacy) of the greater place in which you live:

1) Point north.

2) What time is sunset today?

3) Trace the water you drink from rainfall to your tap.

4) When you flush, where do the solids go? What happens to the waste water?

5) How many feet above sea level are you?

6) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom here?

7) How far do you have to travel before you reach a different watershed? Can you draw the boundaries of yours?

8) Is the soil under your feet, more clay, sand, rock or silt?

9) Before your tribe lived here, what did the previous inhabitants eat and how did they sustain themselves?

10) Name five native edible plants in your neighborhood and the season(s) they are available.

11) From what direction do storms generally come?

12) Where does your garbage go?

13) How many people live in your watershed?

14) Who uses the paper/plastic you recycle from your neighborhood?

15) Point to where the sun sets on the equinox. How about sunrise on the summer solstice?

16) Where is the nearest earthquake fault? When did it last move?

17) Right here, how deep do you have to drill before you reach water?

18) Which (if any) geological features in your watershed are, or were, especially respected by your community, or considered sacred, now or in the past?

19) How many days is the growing season here (from frost to frost)?

20) Name five birds that live here. Which are migratory and which stay put?

21) What was the total rainfall here last year?

22) Where does the pollution in your air come from?

23) If you live near the ocean, when is high tide today?

24) What primary geological processes or events shaped the land here?

25) Name three wild species that were not found here 500 years ago. Name one exotic species that has appeared in the last 5 years.

26) What minerals are found in the ground here that are (or were) economically valuable?

27) Where does your electric power come from and how is it generated?

28) After the rain runs off your roof, where does it go?

29) Where is the nearest wilderness? When was the last time a fire burned through it?

30) How many days till the moon is full?

The Bigger Here Bonus Questions:

31) What species once found here are known to have gone extinct?

32) What other cities or landscape features on the planet share your latitude?

33) What was the dominant land cover plant here 10,000 years ago?

34) Name two places on different continents that have similar sunshine/rainfall/wind and temperature patterns to here.

Have you ever seen a fox? A real fox, live, close up, in the wild so to speak, not behind a fence at a zoo.

They are not cute or cuddly. They are not beautiful, fluffy feline creatures. No. Not a bit.
Foxes up close are cold, creepy, predators. Much more doglike than one imagines after being raised on Disney animations of adorable foxes. Believe me, foxes are not adorable in any way.

They are killing machines and nuisances. They rip open your bagged rubbish, they kill the harmless small wildlife like squirrels. They attack and kill your small pets - kittens are favorite snacks of foxes.

I've seen foxes when I had the farm in Jeffersonville, NY. They are common in the Catskills. But yesterday I looked out my kitchen window at the back garden and there was a fox. Ugh. It had that same cold, predator stare. It would, it's a wild animal. It's not cuddly Disney fantasy.

But it was an interesting reflection on the nature of cities and life and survival to see one in a London back garden.

What's good for the Imams is good for the Pope.

Bravo to Pope Benedict, I say, for his courage in speaking out about Islam and the current conflicts, etc. I'm not surprised at the outraged response of Islamic leaders and communities. They are HYPOCRITES. I can't say that often enough. They want to insult and condemn the West and Israel with the most outragous insults and lies and accusations. But no one is allowed to say anything even mildly critical in response.

Let me repeat myself - Islamic leaders and communities are HYPOCRITES.

Anyone who knows me also knows I have little to no use for the Pope, the Vatican, and Churches in general. Hey, I read history, I know what they've done. But they have evolved and in general they accept that people will express critical views and should not be immediately condemned to death as heretics.

This time the Pope was spot on in his comments about Islam. And as usual, Islamic leaders and pundits and self-appointed spokespeople called out for the death of the West, the death of the infidels, force us all to accept Islam or die and how dare we express an opinion at all critical of Islam.

My message as a woman and an American is - suck it up, Islam. This is called Freedom of Speech. And as we all should know by now, Islam does NOT allow freedom of speech.

Think about that. Think about it very carefully.

9/11 - five years later

Humans are extremely good at getting used to things that were once unbearable. The site of the greatest mass murder of modern times no longer has the power to horrify those closest to it.