Faves: eric

Exclusive: The Cruise Indoctrination Video Scientology Tried To Suppress

eric — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:59:25 GMT

Tom Cruise. Scientologist. Smug. He know what you do not.

This video was apparently pulled from YouTube upon litigation threat. Gawker has posted it and vowed not to remove it.

Quoted: "When you're a Scientologist, and you drive by an accident, you know you have to do something about it, because you know you're the only one who can really help... We are the way to happiness. We can bring peace and unite cultures."

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A Reporter At Large : Azzam the American: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

eric — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 19:16:06 GMT

An amazing portrait of Azzam al-Amriki (AKA Adam Gadahn), a Muslim convert now working PR for al-Qaeda. While the whole article is an intriguing biography, the last section detailing how individuals end up being recruited into revivalist and extremist groups, is especially poignant.

Quoted: Adam Gadahn, the first American to be charged with treason in more than fifty years, was born in Oregon, grew up in rural California, and converted to Islam at the age of seventeen. He is now twenty-eight. No one who knew him before his religious awakening ever thought that he would join Al Qaeda, and many people who knew him after he did are still perplexed. And yet, in a short time, Gadahn has become one of Osama bin Laden’s senior operatives. (He is believed to be hiding in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan.) He is a member of Al Qaeda’s “media committee,” and his responsibilities are thought to include those of translator, video producer, and cultural interpreter.

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Good People: Fiction: The New Yorker

eric — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 17:03:54 GMT

A work of short fiction by David Foster Wallace writing for "The New Yorker," about two "good people" trying to come to a joint decision.

Quoted: The New Yorker

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Gallup: Many Americans Harbor Strong Bias Against U.S. Muslims

eric — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:09:27 GMT

This makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

Quoted: Nearly one in four Americans, 22%, say they would not like to have a Muslim as a neighbor. [...] Almost four in ten, 39%, advocate that Muslims here should carry special I.D. That same number admit that they do hold some "prejudice" against Muslims. Forty-four percent say their religious views are too "extreme."

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Amazon.com: Mere Christianity: Books: C. S. Lewis

eric — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 08:13:15 GMT

This is apparently the book that tilts skeptical scientists towards religion. I have no idea what it is like other than the fact it was referenced as heavily influential by Francis Collins.

Quoted: Amazon.com: Mere Christianity: Books: C. S. Lewis by C. S. Lewis

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Amazon.com: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Books: Francis S. Collins

eric — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 08:10:19 GMT

I just watched a Charlie Rose episode from earlier in the week where 20 minutes was dedicated to an interview with Francis Collins. Francis is a really interesting and eloquent person. He was raised without faith as an agnostic. As a collegiate scientist, he actually moved towards atheism. Later, his scientific beliefs pushed him towards spirituality and he is now a devout Christian who happens to be one of the chief scientists on the Human Genome Project. I liked the language he was using to describe his beliefs on the show and the book certainly seems to have a great premise. It might be an interesting read.

Quoted: Amazon.com: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Books: Francis S. Collins by Francis S. Collins

Faves: eric

Exclusive: The Cruise Indoctrination Video Scientology Tried To Suppress

A Reporter At Large : Azzam the American: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Good People: Fiction: The New Yorker

Gallup: Many Americans Harbor Strong Bias Against U.S. Muslims

Amazon.com: Mere Christianity: Books: C. S. Lewis

Amazon.com: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief: Books: Francis S. Collins

An early religion lesson