Jul
8
2013
I received an irate request today from a man who believes that the geography of the moon is proof that Gohar Shahi is Islam’s messiah. “Stop making a mockery out of people’s faith,” he demanded.
Good point. I’ll make that gentleman — and all people of faith — a deal: I’ll stop mocking you if you stop beclowning yourselves by spouting such deliciously mockable poppycock.
Jul
8
2013
Mr. Islam, a migrant worker in the United Arab Emirates, didn’t approve of his wife’s attempts to get an education:
A jealous husband is facing life in prison after chopping off his wife’s fingers because she began studying for a degree without his permission.
Rafiqul Islam, 30, blindfolded his wife Hawa Akhter, 21, and taped her mouth, telling her he was going to give her a surprise present.
Instead he made her hold out her hand and cut off all five fingers. One of his relatives then threw Ms Akhter’s fingers in the dustbin to ensure doctors could not reattach them.
The attack is the latest in a series of acts targeting educated women in the Muslim-majority country.
In June, an unemployed man gouged out the eyes of his wife, an assistant professor at Dhaka University, apparently because he could not stand her pursuing higher studies at a Canadian university.
[Thanks to Daniel G. for the link. Photo via the Daily Mail.]
Jul
7
2013
Allah’s African stormtroopers excel at coldblooded, indiscriminate murder. But even for them, this may be a new low.
Armed Islamic militants have killed 29 students and an English teacher in an attack on a boarding school in northeastern Nigeria.
Survivors being treated for burns and gunshot wounds said some students were burned alive in the attack on Saturday which has been blamed on a radical terror group.
Gunmen, believed to be from Islamist sect Boko Haram, stormed the premises of Government Secondary School in the town of Mamudo in Yobe state at around 3am, setting fire to parts of the complex.
Dozens of children from the 1,200-student school escaped into the bush and have not been seen since.
Parents rushed to the school and screamed in anguish as they tried to identify the charred and dead bodies of the victims.
Jul
6
2013
Via Yahoo News:
A Virginia man was convicted earlier this week in the death of a 2-year-old who died during a 2011 exorcism. Eder Guzman-Rodriguez beat his daughter Jocelyn to death in an attempt to rid her of the demon he believed was inside her.
Police summoned to the scene encountered several people holding Bibles outside the home, where Guzman-Rodriguez stated that he had also become possessed by a “bad spirit” when he punched and choked Jocelyn to death. The girl was found on a bed, wrapped in a blanket surrounded by Bibles.
Jul
5
2013
This guy may just be getting a little bit too much comfort from his rod and staff. In the middle of Mass, no less.
[source]
Jul
4
2013
Dateline Easton, Pennsylvania:
Easton plans to seize numerous properties owned by the Rock Church on Fifth Street in order to collect on $30,000 to $40,000 in back taxes and water bills.
That’s according to the Morning Call, which interviewed city officials who say they are tired of battling the church over its bills and zoning violations at its properties.
Churches get big tax breaks that no other entity automatically qualifies for. Apparently even those greatly reduced financial obligations are too much for the church to pay without claiming it is being unfairly targeted.
In a follow-up story, church attorney Kevin Santos accused the city of “picking a fight” over a church property at 509-511 Northampton St., and said that the cost of fixing the remains of that building has made it impossible to pay taxes and utility bills.
The church — through a subsidiary — owns numerous properties in the neighborhood, including the Hooper House at 501 Northampton St.
That building is believed to be the oldest residence in Easton, but has been vacant since 1979, when the church bought it. In the summer of 2011, the city put it on its list of blighted properties.
[image via Easton Patch]
Jul
3
2013
Wikipedia says that in Islam, the Mahdi (Guided One) is the Messiah,
…the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years … before the Day of Judgment … and will rid the world of evil.
Well, he was here, and you missed him. (I guess it’s true that, in the words of Joni Mitchell, “You don’t know what you got till it’s gone.”) Meet Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi, a Pakistani mystic also known as Sultan ul Salateen ul Fuqra Imam Mehdi. He met Jesus in 1997, then disappeared in 2001 (some say he’s serving a life sentence in a British jail).
How do we know Shahi is the Messiah?
Because he is literally the man in the moon, his followers say. See for yourself:
Almost as much fun as detecting Jesus in a smear of bird shit!
Jul
2
2013
Jul
1
2013
Beyond Footloose. And beyond my comprehension.
Two teenage sisters in Pakistan have been shot dead in a suspected ‘honour killing’ after a video clip emerged of them dancing in the rain.
Five unidentified men in the Chillas town in the Northern areas of Pakistan shot and killed Noor Basra, 16, and Noor Sheza, 15, and their mother, News24online reported.
Local police have detained Khutore, 22, the sisters’ step brother, for allegedly planning the attack.
“It seems that the two girls have been murdered after they were accused of tarnishing their family’s name by making a video of themselves dancing in the rain,” a police officer told News24online.
Jul
1
2013
It’s hard for believers to distinguish fantasy from reality. So a rabbi who thinks he can impersonate God or a cop at will — it just makes sense, I guess. Probably a case of You will respect my authori-tah!
A third victim has come forward with a claim that a Westchester County rabbi impersonated a police officer during a traffic dispute.
The 26-year-old Scarsdale man told The Journal News that Rabbi Alfredo Borodowski, the Rabbi of Congregation Sulam Yaakov in Larchmont, pulled a badge on him and a friend after an incident on I-87 near the Bronx-Yonkers border.
The man claims that Borodowski pulled the badge and demanded that he pull over after he swerved into the Rabbi’s lane. …
He said that a passenger recorded the incident and turned the video over to authorities.
Borodowski has apparently been committing this felonious behavior for a while now.
Earlier this month a woman accused Borodowski of exploding in a road rage incident on Mamaroneck Avenue.
“The man was acting extremely aggressively and started shouting out his car window at her,” her attorney Richard Clifford said.
The woman said she was driving 20 mph — the posted speed limit in the school zone. The rabbi allegedly got mad at her slow speed and then is accused of flashing a fake police badge. … [Police] arrested the rabbi and charged him with criminal impersonation.
Earlier this week a second victim came forward with accusations that Borodowski was impersonating a police officer during a road rage incident.
Jun
30
2013
From the New Jersey Star-Ledger:
A public school teacher in Newark has agreed to the revocation of his teaching certificates over allegations that he repeatedly groped teenage boys in the 1970s and 1980s, when he was engaged in active ministry as a Roman Catholic priest.
The Rev. John Capparelli reached a settlement with the State Board of Examiners, the body that regulates teachers, ahead of a scheduled hearing before an administrative law judge earlier this month. The revocation takes effect today.
(image by Robert Sciarrino via the Star Ledger)
Jun
28
2013
How this for a response to a pup’s natural impulses?
Authorities have charged a South Carolina woman with felony animal cruelty, saying she hanged her nephew’s [one-year-old] pit bull from a tree with an electrical cord and burned its body because the dog chewed on her Bible.
Animal control officers said Monday that 65-year-old Miriam Smith told them she killed a female dog named Diamond because it was a “devil dog” and she worried it could harm neighborhood children. …
Authorities say the remains of the dog were found under a pile of grass with part of an electrical cord around its neck.
It wouldn’t be nice to fantasize about strangling Smith with an electrical cord while angry dogs tear at her flesh, would it? No sirree Bob, it sure wouldn’t.