[Buddha-l] Re: The mess in America

[Dan Lusthaus]

Richard H. wrote:
> Nice try to introduce a red herring into the discussion. Richard's cryptic
> comment cannot possibly be the jeering to which you were referring
initially.

We agree here on the referent of RB's comment, although I don't know what
you mean by "initially," and the only red herrings have the been the ones
venting spleens about Israelis.

I wrote:

4. This brought forth what appeared to me to be an irrational rant, accusing
me of fantasizing the whole thing.

I guess because I *paraphrased*

"Reading comprehension difficulties? Or, just twisted into something it was
not?"

as "fantasizing" -- a fair paraphrase I should think -- and the word
"fantasizing" was used by RH in a related but different thread, that #4
referred "initially" to his post, not the one it was actually referring to.
You're so vain you probably thought that reference was about you. I've
called you a lot of things (as you have me), but an irrational ranter has
never been one of them.

> What you originally said was that when you brought up the question of
shariah
> in Europe last fall, it was met with jeers. I still claim that was a false
> perception on your part.

It is still being met with jeers. How did a discussion of sharia become an
anti-Israel diatribe? Along with the rhetorical strategy I highlighted
previously, this one has also been around -- and effective -- for several
decades (actually, it's an ancient strategy, used, e.g., by magicians,
called misdirection.). Whenever anything goes wrong anywhere in the Muslim
world, blame Israel. Western reporters rarely challenge that and let their
interviewees thus change the subject. Watch for it next time your reading or
watching the news.

When's your birthday? I'll send you a clean mirror. Sudden or no sudden,
yours needs wiping.

Dan

PS On the assumption that sharia provides stability, here are two pieces
from the current Egyptian weekly, Al-Ahram that address that.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/883/re3.htm
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2008/883/eg7.htm