No, you still can't reply in the affirmative inasmuch as you tried answering Questions Nos. 2 and 3 of the patented JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test (http://jgcaesarea.blogspot.com/2010/04/jg-caesarea-middle-east-iq-test.html) and failed miserably. Well, here's your chance once again to redeem yourself. As in the past, I already asked Obama this question (in this instance, earlier today), and he came up with the wrong response, so if you answer correctly, you can shout to the entire world, "I am smarter than the president of the United States!"
Ready? Excited? Let's begin:
"What do Maureen Dowd, a dyed in the wool liberal, and Ross Douthat, an inveterate conservative, have in common?"
As in the past, you have 10 seconds to respond. Not enough time? You think I care? . . . . Finished writing? Pencils down!
What? You answered that they're both New York Times columnists? That's exactly the same answer I received from Obama. Did you also call him this morning and ask him for the question? Were you trying to cheat? I like that, but it still doesn't earn you points.
The correct answer to Question No. 4?
You will recall that Maureen Dowd earlier this year visited Saudi Arabia and in a series of New York Times op-eds never once mentioned the barbaric practice of "honor killings" perpetrated against women in that country. While in Riyadh, she also didn't ask the Saudi royal family why women who are gang raped are sentenced to prison and lashed, why death sentences are handed out for "witchcraft", why persons go to jail and are whipped for "practicing magic", why limbs are severed for alleged theft, and why persons guilty of "apostasy" are beheaded.
Today, in a NYT op-ed entitled "Not Even in South Park?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/opinion/26douthat.html), Ross Douthat claims that Western culture "has few taboos that can’t be violated," but depicting the Prophet Muhammad in "South Park" was met with cowardice and censorship. I like "South Park" and can appreciate Douthat's sentiments. However, he also wrote:
"Islam’s radical fringe is still a fringe, rather than an existential enemy."
Actually, Islam's radical fringe is in some instances a "friend". Recall Obama's bow to Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whose kingdom, as noted above, possesses all the charms of Vlad the Impaler's 15th Century Wallachia.
Also remember Obama's outreach program to "not so friendly" Iran, where adulterers are stoned to death, homosexuals are hanged, women are subjected to "honor killings", and Baha'is and Kurds are brutalized and murdered. Iran will soon have nuclear weapons, thanks to the courage and forethought of Obama, and is developing ballistic missiles capable of hitting the U.S. in 2015. Iran is not an "existential enemy"?
Would Douthat have us believe that both Saudi Arabia and Iran represent the "fringe" of the Muslim world? Or to be more specific, "honor killings" are common throughout the Muslim world, and unfortunately there is nothing "fringe" or "radical fringe" about this abhorrent practice.
So by now, you probably know the correct answer to Question No. 4: Dowd and Douthat share a common desire not to share the fate of Theo van Gogh. Theo van Gogh, who was critical of Muslim treatment of women, was murdered in Amsterdam by Mohammed Bouyeri in 2004. Bouyeri shot van Gogh eight times, tried to decapitate him, and stabbed him several times in the chest.
So now you have failed to answer correctly the first four questions of the patented JG Middle East IQ Test. Sorry, did I hear you correctly? Is there something else you can give me to earn a passing score? Sorry, the patented JG Middle East IQ Test is incorruptible, unless maybe . . .
You're obviously growing wise to the ways of the Middle East, and it shows initiative on your part, but let's not go down that route for now. Keep your head about you (something that poor Theo van Gogh could barely do), answer correctly Question No. 5 in the not too distant future, and you will be able to declare once and for all that you are smarter than Obama!
I did not know who Ross Douthat is. It prevented me from giving a correct answer. However, unlike Obama, I know that Islam is the same as radical Islam. So, I won! Where can I get my prize?
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't get is the lack of reference to the Bush family's relationship with Saudi royalty. That would total 12 years of US administrations turning a blind eye to human rights abuses there, though, frankly, I don't recall any US president speaking out.
ReplyDeleteOf course, there is the cultural angle. Old school Hindus burn the surviving spouse of dead husbands alive on his funeral pier. China's one child law has promoted infanticide of baby girls.
It goes on and on.
I agree with Ben: Bush tried to pander to Islam as well, even though he would never come up with Cairo speech, praising Islam for Renaissance and algorithms and algebra and tolerance and....
ReplyDeleteThe difference between Islam and any other religion is simple: Islam claims that people of all other faiths are infidels, and they have to submit to Islam or die. The idea of using violence to achieve Islam's dominance is in the core of Islam, and it makes it radical and dangerous. Considering that many Muslims count at least half of other Muslims as infidels, this idea is too radical for Muslims themselves.