Friday, February 22, 2008

Bits and Pieces - Feb 22 2008

Ah, to revive an old feature...some bits and gleanings from my reading and media digestion:

Out of the gate....From the Speaking of Faith website: Reflections of a British Muslim Extremist. This chilling interview shows us a bit of what civilized society is up against in muslim extremists. This former extremist talks about how seemingly normal people are recruited and radicalized, he explains how moderate Muslims (and they do exist) are the first ones threatened by radical Islam. And here's a gripping quote on his thoughts on the "war on terror":
...but it must be said that al-Qaeda is just a name. It's really a mind-set
that we must be tackling
, literalist, rejectionist, Islamist worldview. And not
necessarily al-Qaeda as an organization because that can become defunct, but
those ideas still remain. So it's not a war on terror as the American government
has gone out of its way to suggest, but it's actually a battle of ideas. (emphasis mine.....see the earlier post on Winning the War by Being Better for a Russ cross reference)

Rounding the curb is this article from Forbes on Long Distance Marraiges...apparently 3.8 million people in america are living apart from their spouses in a different city (admittedly, many of these are due to soldiers serving overseas; however there are still millions who live apart for professional reasons). The article talks about various technological solutions such as the "Hug Shirt" the "Kiss Phone" and others.

On the stretch...this article from the Economist about the persecution of Christians in India. Turning the back corner is a related article about religious freedoms (or the relative lack thereof) in Egypt.

And finally crossing the finish line for this installment of Bits and Pieces...Liz Bowater's broadside against Open Theism ....well thought out, forceful, and right on.

Happy Reading faithful readers....

Soli Deo Gloria
Russell