Bill Maher: Western culture isn't just different, it's better.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

On "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart relatively soft-pedaled his defense of fellow Comedy Central employees, "South Park's" Matt Stone and Trey Parker, against a group of Muslim critics. Over at HBO this weekend, though, Bill Maher wasn't holding anything back. On his show "Real Time With Bill Maher," the show's every-incendiary host opined during his segment "New Rules:"

"When South Park got threatened last week by Islamists incensed at their depiction of Muhammad, it served -- or should serve -- as a reminder that our culture isn't just different than one that makes death threats to cartoonists. It's better." In his defense of the First Amendment and other Americal civil liberties, Maher -- who made the film "Religulous" -- continued: "The Western world needs to make it clear: Some things about our culture are not negotiable. And can't change. And one of them is freedom of speech, Separation of church and state is another."

Completely spot-on observation about real differences in cultures, one that will not play well with PC police. Bill Maher is certainly no friend of religious people; and gives grief equally to Christianity, Judaism, Scientology, and Mormons as you will see. But he specifically singles out Isalm with the recent actions in Afganistan and the Taliban's attack on an all girls school.

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Ah, so if I understand this right-the reality that most Muslim states are either military dictatorships, Arab nationalist dictatorships, some permutation of dictatorship such as the Hashemites, the Assads, and Indonesia, but none of them are secular where at least 12 countries recognize some form of Christianity as their state religions is completely irrelevant.

Because we all know that the Western world is perfectly secular aside from these 12 countries that are legally theocratic whatever they are in practice.

China's a capitalist economy in fact, but is still officially Communist in the same way that European countries still adhere to feudal theocracies officially.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

According to the latest annual report from the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) ten Muslim countries were among the 13 designated as "countries of Particular Concern (CPC): Eritrea, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Along with those, the worst violators of religious freedom around the world, six other Muslim countries were on the USCIRF's watch list: Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Somalia, Tajikistan and Turkey.

GO figure!

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Given that in another thread I said these are theocratic in the sense that Communist China is Communist.....but do go on. But note that two of these are war zones invaded by countries where forcible conversion is an aspect of the war.

And Turkey's on the Islamist list? FAIL.

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Here, have a tree, because you can't see the forest.

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

So mind telling me how they are given that the Turkish state *began* as an irreligious semi-fascist state and has continued to be one to this day?