The death toll stands at 20!

The death toll in Afghanistan from the Jones Holy War now stands at 20. The riots are still spreading, fueled by the Taliban.

Protests Reach Kandahar - School Bus Attacked

The riots created by Terry Jones continue. How many more lives they will take is speculation, but Jones is not phased in the least.

Zalmai Ayoubi, spokesman for the governor, said the rioters attacked the Zarghona Ana High School for Girls, burning some classrooms and a school bus. The school is supported by the United States Agency for International Development. The Taliban have opposed education for girls.

Creating a New Quandry for the Christian Right

Something to think about: the Christian Right had a hard enough time keep the likes Fred Phelps at bay, so how are they going to doing it with Terry Jones? Phelps' actions had severe emotional reactions, but Jones' actions resulted in DEATHS. Who be stoned this time? The media was certainly not at fault this time because it didn't sufficiently cover the Quran burning - the time lapse proves that. Karzai? He's only a politician some anti-American sentiment in order to keep the troops there (via reverse psychology). 

With world events being as quick (and atrocious) as they are, it will be easy to forget about this incident, but beware:

1. Afghan Muslims won't forget.

2. Islamophobes will use it to their best advantage.

3. Jones' supporters will be coming out of the woodwork (e.g. they already have - sponsoring his appearance at an anti-Islam rally)

UPDATE: The death toll for the riots is now up to 12 and the injuries are up to 83.

Keep an eye out for everything that happens in Afghanistan and the rest of the Muslim world.

Update: Jones Unrepentent, Islam Unforgiving, Christians And Muslims Continue To Suffer ... As Death Toll Mounts

As of this writing, riots continue throughout Afghanistan. Anti-American and anti-Christian furors have sprung up, injuring more people. The death toll is now at 10, with 83 wounded.


What hath Jones wrought?

It is said that Pastor Terry Jones virtually studied his hatred at the feet of Fred Phelps. Phelps has not spoken to Jones after Jones' plans to burn the Quran last Sept. 11 became public, primarily because his efforts received more attention (the Phelps clann had actually burned the Holy Book before). I wonder how Phelps is reacting to his former student's fatal publicity grab. 


To the nation and the world, Terry Jones looks like Fred Phelps on steroids: with his deliberate act to cause mischief and strife, Jones has now run past Phelps in the race to be the Most Hated Man In America. Let us not miss the irony that both hold the title of "Reverend." That title alone would have forced Jones to feign shock and dismay at the results in Afghanistan. However, he showed neither, thus relegating him to the status of  self-righteous, cold-blooded killer. His ubiquitous statement to ABC News ...

“Of course we were very saddened and devastated by that,” he told ABC News. “It is of course a terrible thing anytime anyone is killed.” relayed not even the least amount of sympathy or regret. 

Afghanistan's indignation has sparked terror and criticism around the world:

Endangering Christians

Last week, St Thomas church in Wah Cantt (Afghanistan) was attacked by a group of Muslims who tried to break through the front door and set fire to the building.
The church’s pastor, Father Yousaf, said: “This is a reaction of the desecration of the Koran in Florida. Although the Catholic Church has officially condemned the incident and we have also displayed a banner outside the church condemning the incident, still the innocent people are facing the consequences.”

Pakistan has released official letters to the Vatican and to Interpol, beseeching both to take appropriate action and calling Jones a blot on the name of humanity.


The city of Dearborn, MI is hoping to dissuade Jones from a scheduled protest. A northern Michigan Militia group invited Jones to help protest outside of Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in North America.


Ethiopia: 

... Muslim extremists burned dozens of churches near Jimma town in the western Oromia region over the past several days. Even though the census show that about 60 % of the Ethiopia is Christian, still the sever reaction of the Muslim extremist couldn’t not be controlled or stopped.

More than 11 countries so far have condemned the Quran burning by Terry Jones: India, Bahrain, Indonesia, Pakistan, Britain, Canada, Malaysia, Lebanon, Germany, Vatican City, Kuwait. Note that they have condemned JONES and not the afghans who rioted.

WE ARE NOT ALONE

According to Examiner.com "Close to one million bloggers responded, providing reports, comments and analysis to these tragic events." Most of them are kinder than this writer by not attributing the violence entirely to Jones, but statements of "idiot" and "lunatic" abound. 

The matter of Jones' accountability, however, will be on everyone's mind in the weeks to come. It engenders the same angst we suffered during the Phelps vs. Snyder case and its treatment by the Supreme Court: freedom of speech vs. accountability. This time, however, people will suffer both emotional and physical anguish - including death - because one man chose to spurn humanity in deference to his own ego, an ego which was fostered and enlarged by a section of our religious society that did little to silence him.

Murder Is Popular

It seems that the last post was more popular than most. Check out the treatment on OpEdNews. Note that they didn't publish the photo (AP might have objected - I couldn't get permission in time). Feel free to comment there as well as here. 

Is the Murder of 7 UN Workers Enough For The Likes Of Pastor Terry Jones?

"There was somewhat of an awareness that there could be a violent reaction,"
                                                                              - Pastor Terry Jones
Yes, Pastor Terry Jones got what he wanted.
As the religious calendar of America wends towards Easter, some Christians might be prudent to think of their own sins as well as the sins of others that presumably placed Christ on the cross. But since a few in America's Christian leadership have a difficult time with "mea culpas," such soul-searching will be minor. For example: amidst all of the hand-wringing denunciations of the Afghanistan attack on a UN compound last week, there are some who are basking in a sun of self-righteousness: "See, we were right - Islam is a violent, evil religion."

Such self-righteousness is certainly not new* but what separates this case from many others, is that it was engendered by one man and not by deference to God.

"It time to hold Islam accountable."
In the past, the only being held accountable for disasters has been God. And the only entities held accountable for human atrocities have been groups somehow divorced from humanity and God. Pastor Terry Jones is neither. So should he be held accountable?

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Friday’s violence 

“proves why we were right to be concerned” when Jones made his original threats last summer. “Irresponsible words and actions do have consequences,” Morrell said. “This time, they were tragic, deadly consequences.”

"There was somewhat of an awareness that there could be a violent reaction,"
"Somewhat of an awareness" Can a more inanely defensive response exist? Knowledge of consequences is very close to malice of forethought. Knowledge of consequences is what weighs upon a country's leaders when they act aggressively. Knowledge of consequences can show a distinct lack of concern for others. Coupled with a supreme righteous arrogance, it was the same "knowledge of consequences" that led to history's infamous dictum: "Kill them all! God will take care of his kind."

It makes no difference to many on the side of the Righteous Right that too many parallels can be made with the radicals of Islam (e.g. using the Bible as justification for discrimination as strong as physical harm or relying on the premise of sacred exclusivity). So any direct link from Terry Jones to the Imam in Mazar-e sharif is irrelevant. Therefore, accountability is irrelevant.

But the accountability for Terry Jones in this case should be seriously considered: a man who holds a nation as hostage to his whims, relents, then acts anyway should, at the very least, be labeled a fraud. At most, putting military troops and innocent civilians in harms way should be considered treason. Jones' actions, however, will be covered up by the same proponents who (albeit covertly) supported Fred Phelps. The Westboro Baptist church has been causing real harm throughout the years, abetted by "social conservatives" under the disingenuous auspices of "free speech." And will continue to do so. Taking into account the strong possibility that Jones will never really be held accountable, will Jones be satisfied with his stunt? That may seem a prospect too horrible to imagine, but it must be faced: his twisted reasoning may give way to a "tally" of how many people are killed by "Islam."**

And taking Terry Jones as a lead, will other churches burn Q'urans to show just how "violent" a religion Islam is? Besides accountability, justification also hovers above the scene: Terry Jones' war against Islam can be seen as a righteous Holy War*** and parallels of Imams to ministers will cease altogether.

The situation is incendiary to say the least.

*recently, Cindy Jacobs e schewed the idea of relief for Japan in favor of positing that Japan's woes were brought upon by its innate paganism/atheism and the proof was that it is shaped like a dragon. It also did not respond sufficiently to he evangelizing attmepts several years ago.

** Doubtless, the UN staff will be given the status of martyrs or demons once their religious beliefs are affirmed.

*** "Justified War" has its basis in religion:

wikipedia: A religious war is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to spread its faith by violence, or to suppress another group because of its religious beliefs or practices. TheMuslim conquests, the French Wars of Religion, the Crusades, and the Reconquista are frequently cited historical examples, especially in History Books.

Senator Karl Kruger Gay?? No Way!!

At least not with a house as tasteless as this. The previous owner was a mobster who wound up taking a contract out on the architect - I wonder why!!

Joe My God:
While recently outed anti-gay New York state Sen. Carl Kruger and his gynecologist boyfriend await trial on federal bribery and corruption charges, the New York Times examines what Kruger did with all that looted dough.