Madness Beckons

When you think of radical religious leaders trying to maintain absolute control of their followers you normally think of the Muslims and certain fanatical imams.
–How about thinking instead about Israel’s Haredi rabbis.

These ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who’s followers live in walled enclaves, isolated from the rest of society, yearn for a return to the dark ages where religion ruled everything and outside influence was forbidden.

These religious leaders have ranted and raved about the dangers of the internet for years and want kosher filters on cellphones so no one may read or see anything that they haven’t pre-approved.

In one infamous incident, the family of Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, Shlomo Amar, had a 17-year-old boy kidnapped and beaten at knifepoint after he became acquainted with the rabbi’s daughter through an Internet chat room and later met her unchaperoned – an ultra-Orthodox taboo. Amar was not charged in the case.

Now according to the Washington Post a number of Haredi rabbis are calling for a boycott of web sites built and run by Haredi Jews. Saying the sites, which allow free discussion, with irreverent and unmonitored reader responses – including direct criticism of rabbis’ authority, are disseminating “gossip, slander … filth and abominations.” –None of these sites offer porn, profanity or other material that has traditionally raised the ire of these rabbis. They simply allow freedom tho discuss topics that make the rabbis uncomfortable and challenge their authority..

It’s impossible for a stone age mentality to compete with the freedom of the internet so they fear it.

Johnathan Swift: “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

In Vietnam four men were arrested in June and charged with spreading spreading anti-government propaganda.

Le Cong Dinh, a human rights attorney, best known for defending Vietnamese interests in the selling of cheap catfish against charges brought by US catfish farmers.

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, a man described as an internet entrepreneur.

Nguyen Tien Trung, the leader of the Assembly of Vietnamese Youth for Democracy.

Le Thang Long, a member of the “Chan research group.” –In his “defense?” Le Thang Long produced 29 documents, 13 of which contained information describing plans to encourage the people to overthrow the government.

Early this month state prosecutors dropped the propaganda charges and the men were charged instead with subversion, which carries a maximum possible sentence of death.

After a day-long trial, all four men were convicted of “activities aimed at subverting the people’s administration”. With sentences ranging from five years for Le Cong Dinh to sixteen years for Tran Huynh Duy Thuc.

Four men tried and convicted under differing parts of the penal code, with one trial lasting one day. Now that’s efficient.

Read more here.

“I can’t come to work today, I’ve murdered someone” was the text message a Belgian woman sent to her boss.

Police were alerted by her employers, after a man was found lying dead in a pool of blood at the nurse’s home. –He had been stabbed several times.

Read the article.

So you think you’re having a bad day? How would you like to find out that the FBI used your photograph as the basis for Bin Ladin’s wanted poster?

AP- Madrid -A Spanish lawmaker was horrified to learn that the FBI used an online photograph of him to create an image showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today.

 

The image using Gaspar Llamazares’ photo appeared on a wanted poster updating the U.S. government’s 1998 photo of the al-Qaida leader.

 

FBI spokesman Ken Hoffman acknowledged to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the agency used a picture of Llamazares taken from Google Images.

 

In a statement Saturday, the agency would say only that it was aware of similarities between their age-progressed image “and that of an existing photograph of a Spanish public official.”

 

“The forensic artist was unable to find suitable features among the reference photographs and obtained those features, in part, from a photograph he found on the Internet,” the FBI said in a statement to The Associated Press.

You can see from this photo where the similarities are.

I suspect that it’s more about the use of his photo than about the likeness. But the FBI has removed the photo.

Photographer Weikang Lu re-created the singer’s bold outfits for dolls, in hopes of sharing his appreciation for fashion with other doll lovers.

What’s left to say? except too weird for words…. And so are the dolls.