Author: Zack

Dad, gadget guy, bookworm, political animal, global nomad, cyclist, hiker, tennis player, photographer

A Moderate Voice of Islam

Here is King Abdullah II of Jordan in the Washington Post: Our religion calls us to live and work for justice and to promote tolerance. Daily, we share God’s blessing: Salaam Aleikum — “Peace be upon you.” This is the true voice of Islam, but it is not the voice that Americans always hear. Instead,… Continue reading A Moderate Voice of Islam

Tribalism and Conservatism

Unqualified Offerings talks about how US intervention looks from a foreigner’s perspective: Do not mistake Unqualified Offerings’ point here. UO is not saying Mr. Nawfal is right and we’re terrible people. Unqualified Offerings is saying that what matters is that Mr. Nawfal thinks he’s right and we’re terrible people. The fact that we launched our… Continue reading Tribalism and Conservatism

Coming Attractions

Comments on the article “Wrestling with Islam” via Aziz Poonawalla. Comments on Aziz’s latest in the silence of the media series. More comments on the Israel-Palestine problem, especially discussing this NY Review of Books article via The Poor Man. A discussion of the theology of the religious political parties in Pakistan, to dispel some of… Continue reading Coming Attractions

Published
Categorized as Internet

I am Getting Old

Today is the 61st anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It is also my 32nd birthday. I can’t believe I am still in school at 32. An interesting factoid: My dad was born on Aug 6, the same day that the US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Published
Categorized as Life

Let’s Roll Back Time

This is what Trent Lott said at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday: “I want to say this about my state: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We’re proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn’t have had all these problems over all these years,… Continue reading Let’s Roll Back Time

Published
Categorized as Politics

Global Attitudes Survey

There are some interesting results in this Pew survey. Large majorities (>80%) in US, UK and Germany (surprise!) think Iraq is a danger. A majority of Germans, French, and Russians and 44% of the British think the US wants to use force in Iraq because they want to control Iraqi oil. Is there something we… Continue reading Global Attitudes Survey

Infidelity is Bad for Your Health

Finally, a reason not to cheat on your spouse: Graham Jackson, a heart specialist at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, found couples in long-term relationships were far less likely to have heart attacks while having sex than those having affairs or one-night stands.

Eid Mubarak

A Happy Eid to you, dear readers. Today is Eid-ul-Fitr here in Atlanta, the day celebrating the end of Ramazan, the month of fasting. So I have Eid here today, while my wife in New Jersey will have hers tomorrow. What’s the deal with that? I have no idea. Eid is celebrated on the new… Continue reading Eid Mubarak

Redux: The Non-Taxpaying Class

I am getting a lot of hits (my definition of “lot” may differ from yours) for searching on this WSJ editorial. I am #11 (yes, that’s near the end) on Google. I thought I should point my readers to my posts as well as others. My original post My post about Neal Boortz beating WSJ… Continue reading Redux: The Non-Taxpaying Class

History of Abrahamic Religions

I am interested in finding out more about the history of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Not from the point of view of their followers, but from good scholarly sources which discuss independent sources for the history of the early periods of these religions as well as the history of the Bible and the Quran (based… Continue reading History of Abrahamic Religions