Repressive Sexual Attititudes

Iran is in the news again after the shocking hanging of two gays, now Human Rights Watch reports:

" On Sunday, November 13, the semi-official Tehran daily Kayhan reported that the Iranian government publicly hung two men, Mokhtar N. (24 years old) and Ali A. (25 years old), in the Shahid Bahonar Square of the northern town of Gorgan.

The government reportedly executed the two men for the crime of "lavat." Iran's sharia-based penal code defines lavat as penetrative and non-penetrative sexual acts between men. Iranian law punishes all penetrative sexual acts between adult men with the death penalty. Non-penetrative sexual acts between men are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they are punished with death. Sexual acts between women, which are defined differently, are punished with lashes until the fourth offense, when they are also punished with death."

Too Much Sex?

What we had all expected has been revealed, Jihad and sex are connected:

" In a November 15, 2005 article in the Saudi daily Al-Iqtisadiyya, Sa'ad
Al-Sowayan, a reformist Saudi researcher and columnist, argued that
religious cassettes, which are widely available in Saudi Arabia, advocate
Jihad by emphasizing the sexual reward awaiting the martyr in Paradise. This
is aimed at tempting teenagers who can find no sexual release in
conservative Arab society. "

Heart Warming News

The nights are dark and it is turning colder, so any heart warming news is welcome: David Irving has been arrested in Austria for Holocaust denial

I feel warm and cheerful already! I wonder what the maximum sentence is?

Richard Evans exposed David Irving, for the nasty little Neo-Nazi that he is, in the book "Lying About Hitler".

New Guys on the Block

I appreciate wit, even my own half-wit but some blogs are better than others are, and these new bloggers caught my eye: simplyjews

They are sarcastic, unapologetic, clever and remind me of Norm’s recent point.

A Book A Day

The web and freely available books are a great combination, therefore I was pleased to see Google's Print Project restart after some initial problems.

Search books on-line and have a read. It is not yet fully operational but a boon if you like knowledge and books. Enjoy!

Soaps are Good for You?

The Torygraph reports that a new film in the Middle East "has broken new ground by daring to question the motives of terrorism committed in the name of Allah."

"In the Ghazali family household in Wadi Kadum, East Jerusalem, the finale of Beautiful Maidens, to be broadcast on the last night of Ramadan, is eagerly awaited.

Amani Ghazali, 20, has watched all 29 previous instalments, which focus on life inside a compound in Saudi Arabia filled with families from other Arab nations.
...

For her mother, Sana, 37, the story line was particularly powerful as she spent her childhood living in a compound as an expat Arab in Saudi Arabia. "I believe the programme has shown two sides of Islam," she said.

"One is a normal Muslim, who has a normal life. And one is an abnormal Muslim who wants to fight the Americans, to make jihad. But in practice, he is not fighting Americans, he is fighting his own people.

"She said the programme brought home how different she feels from those Muslims who commit terrorist acts in the name of religion. "I am a Muslim," she said. "I pray five times a day, I fast during Ramadan. But I do not like the radicals who grow beards and wear flowing gowns.

"They claim they represent Islam. Their image was ugly in the series and in life. They recruit disenchanted people, who have social problems, and they are stupid."