Exactly So

Laurie found a video in Arabic with subtitles. (see link above) The speaker captivated us all with her bravery, her passion, and her rationality. Dick found a transcript of the interview:

2/21/2006 Clip No. 1050

Arab-American Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan: There is No Clash of Civilizations but a Clash between the Mentality of the Middle Ages and That of the 21st Century

Following are excerpts from an interview with Arab-American psychiatrist Wafa Sultan. The interview was aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 21, 2006

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Wafa Sultan: The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

[...]

Host: I understand from your words that what is happening today is a clash between the culture of the West, and the backwardness and ignorance of the Muslims?

Wafa Sultan: Yes, that is what I mean.

[...]

Host: Who came up with the concept of a clash of civilizations? Was it not Samuel Huntington? It was not Bin Laden. I would like to discuss this issue, if you don't mind...

Wafa Sultan: The Muslims are the ones who began using this expression. The Muslims are the ones who began the clash of civilizations. The Prophet of Islam said: "I was ordered to fight the people until they believe in Allah and His Messenger." When the Muslims divided the people into Muslims and non-Muslims, and called to fight the others until they believe in what they themselves believe, they started this clash, and began this war. In order to start this war, they must reexamine their Islamic books and curricula, which are full of calls for takfir and fighting the infidels.

My colleague has said that he never offends other people's beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them Ahl Al-Dhimma, another time he calls them the "People of the Book," and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians "those who incur Allah's wrath." Who told you that they are "People of the Book"? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them "those who incur Allah's wrath," or "those who have gone astray," and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

I am not a Christian, a Muslim, or a Jew. I am a secular human being. I do not believe in the supernatural, but I respect others' right to believe in it.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: Are you a heretic?

Wafa Sultan: You can say whatever you like. I am a secular human being who does not believe in the supernatural...

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Khouli: If you are a heretic, there is no point in rebuking you, since you have blasphemed against Islam, the Prophet, and the Koran...

Wafa Sultan: These are personal matters that do not concern you.

[...]

Wafa Sultan: Brother, you can believe in stones, as long as you don't throw them at me. You are free to worship whoever you want, but other people's beliefs are not your concern, whether they believe that the Messiah is God, son of Mary, or that Satan is God, son of Mary. Let people have their beliefs.

[...]

Wafa Sultan: The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.

How to Enjoy a Saturday

Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Glen Arbor needed a Medicare Part D presentation at 10:30 this morning. Dick did a great job. It was a small group but very friendly. Afterwards we had a great lunch at Art's Tavern, which we always enjoy.

We also enjoy driving around Leelanau County! We drove past the Dunes Climb and were surprised to see 4 people up at the top with backpacks. We drove into Pierce Stocking drive, but it's not open yet. We went to Empire to find the end of the Shore to Shore Trail, and to scout out possible locations for caches for the new cache series.

After resting at home for a while, we took the other car to the dump and recycling. We had a great time driving around unusual roads out near Holiday Hills, and behind the Timber Ridge campground. I was amazed at the new houses out that way. We did the Subaru Cruise downtown except we were in the Ford Explorer - so I guess it was a Marco Explore, not a cruise. Downtown was busy - the marina area was deserted - the bay looked dark and angry.

Beef stew in the crockpot.

Second Place

I've been bumped into second place in the GenFamily bracket challenge. Melanie is now # 1. My pick for National Champ (Villanova) had a really tough time beating Boston College so now I'm biting my fingernails about the final outcome!

Dick worked at the Visitor Center from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. - an unusually long stretch. He was covering for Kathee, who is on Spring Break. The Agency had 2 people call him with Medicare questions - I think that's out of line. At least they didn't show up in person the way three of them did last week.

I had my C-T scan - they said it takes 3 to 5 business days for me to get the results, so it will be the end of next week. I was there from 12:30 to 3:30 - the test has a prep similar to the prep for a colonoscopy, but less so, thank goodness! But I did have to drink three large cups full of "stuff". We got pizza from Mancino's so that the day shouldn't be a total loss! (wink)

Coyle's, Caching & Companions

The DinoDuo are back up north, so it's time for a geo-get-together. We met in Houghton Lake for lunch at Coyle's, and to catch up on some caches not done in the past. It was a real cache catch-up. (Sorry) We also caught up on all of the latest news, told most of our favorite jokes, did some pre-planning of the Shore to Shore cache series, and did some caching in the rain. My favorite was the Ospreys Soar- I wasn't afraid to do the reach-in! Dick and I did 8 caches all together.

The weather was miserable - we got rained on and snowed upon, and went down a couple of two-tracks which weren't very vehicle friendly, but that's really fun for us. That's about as adventurous as we get!

On the way home we agreed that it was our favorite kind of a day.

Have you tried frozen Bertolli pasta dinners? Yum! We had that for a late dinner, with polenta.

B-Day

This was a Very Nice Birthday! It began with a call from Tom - we had fun talking about kitties, and his job. He's a little stressed out because he has an upcoming deadline, and he doesn't have his xenon-fluoride chamber perfected yet. And you know how frustrating that can be. (!) I got gorgeous yellow tulips from my offspring, a lot of really cute birthday cards from Dick, a lovely, lush azalea plant from Tim and Susie, and a phone call from Jana.

I spent most of the morning playing guilt-free games on the computer - Did you know that today is National Goof Off Day? (see link above)

We went to the movies and saw Eight Below, which is a dog story about lost sled dogs in Antarctica (http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/8below/). The dogs were really good actors, and displayed a surprising amount of human compassion for each other. But seriously, folks, we really enjoyed it. The dogs were beautiful, and the young, mostly unknown cast was quite good. We were especially impressed with Jason Biggs, the comic relief. He was funny without actually scene stealing the way it sometimes happens. Dick was able to detect some flaws in the technical aspects of dog sledding, but I was enthralled by the drama and the pathos.

We went out to dinner at the Hofbrau in Interlochen, and I had a marvelous time! They have one of those interactive games where you answer trivia questions at your table and your score shows up on the TV monitor. I won, because no one else was playing.

To top it off, Michigan won their 3rd round NIT game against Miami - so it was a perfect birthday. This from mgoblue.com:

The Michigan men's basketball team earned a return trip to Madison Square Garden with a 71-65 NIT quarterfinal victory over Miami (Fla.) Wednesday, March 22, in Crisler Arena. The quartet of Daniel Horton (19 points), Chris Hunter (16), Lester Abram (15) and Dion Harris (15) combined for all but six of the Wolverines' points as U-M gained an NIT semifinal berth for the third straight season (two postseason, one preseason). Graham Brown added 10 rebounds for Michigan, which will face Old Dominion next Tuesday, March 28.

Google Images / Life Story

This idea came from another blog. The project is to do a pictorial autobiography using only images from searching "Google Images". No other pictures or images are allowed. It's a real adventure to see what you can come up with! Some are absolutely appropriate, some of the images are a bit of a stretch, but all in all I'm happy with the way it turned out. So here's my 70th birthday Google Images Life Story:

Grand Traverse Bay. My family moved to Traverse City in 1941 - I was in 1st grade. Dick and I were lucky enough to be able to retire here after living in Wayne County for over 30 years. 

Who could be happier? I was amazed to find this picture on google images. I'm using it to represent Dick - it's a great photo. 

Dick and I both graduated from Traverse City Central High School, Dick in 1954, and Nancy in 1953. 

Dick and Jane (Nancy Jane, that is) 

The University of Michigan continues to be a big part of our lives. We enjoy all of the sports activities, and even better than that, all of our children hold degrees from Michigan - they are all 4th generation Michigan grads. 

After High School I was off to Ann Arbor for four years at the University. BAed'57 

And so after college we established the Steiger Family, which follows: 

Laurie - of all the choices available when you google image Laurie, I liked this one the best because it's sweet and beautiful. 

This is for Dylan, the world's best grandchild. Since we were destined to have only one, it's a miracle that we got the best one! 

Tom, the middle child - graduate of MIT, University of Michigan, and physicist with Cymer. I thought this was especially appropriate because Tom once did his own version of a tour of the Pacific Rim. 

Jana Louise, our youngest child. She is now a corporate barracuda and a cat lover. 

I completed a quilt this year - no one is more surprised than I am - it was a fun (if somewhat nerve-wracking) project, and the best part about it is that it's finished. 

Scrapbooking is an absorbing, colorful, entertaining hobby. I love to sort through all of the available stickers and ribbons and tags and papers - it's very satisfying. I'm not sure for whom I'm doing the scrapbooks - nobody is really overly interested - but Dick says it OK to just do it for myself, and so I continue to enjoy it. 

Pogo.com, my favorite online activity (after e-mail and blogspot, of course).