2005[#52].2.21=1:4703.1.13[#13/60]: Everyone back. To get rid off P. 1)Eurabia. 2)Gobal Warming twice bad. 3)Star-Quake.

Sun then dark cloud then rain, fair: lost sleep but up earlier, tel & fax payment & adding to house mortgage's principal payment, Mei tel for P.'s tel#. Drove under expanding black cloud, house under rain, Mei appear. Home Mei suddenly wants P. off, lunch, emails a bit then back to yesterday's blog and this blog as topic appearing, now 5:10pm. Forcibly rush through emails. 8:10pm for o.h. Mom was tired and tel Ju to take her to Chinese doctor tomorrow, bed 1am. 1) Eurabia: (0) EU: "EU Constitution: Where member states stand": http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3954327.stm (1) " The emerging 'Eurabia' ", By Diana West, Washington Times, News World Communications, Published February 18, 2005: http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20050217-084155-2847r ''" It was just a coincidence that "Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis" appeared in the mail the same day a New York Times article on the subject of Eurabia landed on the doorstep. "Eurabia," the long-awaited book by Bat Ye'or, is a comprehensive, even overwhelming and absolutely shocking explication of how and why it is that Europe is transforming itself into what the Egyptian-born historian calls "a new geopolitical entity " Eurabia." The New York Times article, on the other hand, a muddled analysis by Craig S. Smith about the "fear of Islamists" and the "far right" in Belgium, is one more illustration of how desperately Bat Ye'or's trail-blazing work is needed. Few of us have the long-view vision to make sense of the sweep of history as it smokes past our eyes; Bat Ye'or, as a historian of Islam, and, in particular, the dhimmi (the non-Muslim peoples who live as second-class citizens under Islamic rule), has precisely the laser-lens required. She also has the fortitude of the historian/gumshoe to wade through the stacks of articles, memoranda and conference declarations generated by something called the Euro-Arab Dialogue (EAD). Created 30-odd years ago at the instigation of France and the Arab League, the practically unknown EAD has provided structural and theoretical underpinnings to a Euro-Arab axis " Eurabia. These have fostered the political, economic and cultural bonds between Europe and the Arab world that Bat Ye'or maintains were designed to create "a global alternative to American power." How? Very basically " and this is detailed in the book " by shepherding a meeting of Euro-Arab minds, first and foremost, on the Arab League war on Israel. This would come about in exchange for freely flowing Arab oil into Europe, which would come about in exchange for freely flowing Muslim immigration into Europe, which would come about in exchange for research and development and labor and education and tourism and cultural ties between the Europe and the Arab world... which would all come about with an increasing independence of, and, indeed, hostility toward America. "" (2) "The Decline of Eastern Christianity Under Islam: From Jihad to Dhimmitude : Seventh-Twentieth Century", by Bat Ye'or http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0838636888/qid=1109036482/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-4548159-6867221?v=glance&s=books "" LAND OF ISLAM, A 'VALLEY FULL OF DITCHES' 2 KINGS 3:16, January 5, 2005, Reviewer: W. Lumm - See all my reviews Elisha prophesied to the King of Judah, Jehoshaphat, that he would not see wind nor rain, yet G-d would miraculously fill that dry, famished, war-ridden land with water giving sustenance and victory to Judah over the invading Moabites/Edomites. G-d deceived the Moabites because when they looked into the ditches, they did not see water but blood, and thought their victory was ensured, or so they thought. The reality within Dar al-Islam, however, for peoples of other faiths, most resembles ditches full of their bodies and shed blood which can be found in two photographs in this book of Armenians killed in 1915. Of course, massacres didn't happen all of the time, yet look today at the Sudan or Israel where conflicts of some sort, these days, happen fairly frequently. Bashir Gemayel was the president-elect of Lebanon who was assasinated on September 14, 1982. By faith, a Maronite Christian, he was the originator of the concept and word dhimmitude to describe the complexities of the dhimmis' (the peoples, non-muslim) world within Islamic lands. His aim, once in office, was to rid Lebanon of PLO guerrillas, especially at the border of Israel. He's only briefly mentioned in Bat Ye'Or's Introduction and notes whose work for 30 years has been on this subject; so, I supply you with that bit of trivia. This book has had my name on it for some time, yet I set it aside because I knew it would require time and concentration to faithfully digest the contents. I purchased my copy from Bat Ye'Or herself when she was in Boston speaking at a small gathering of people where I was the only christian. Of the books for sale, this book was recommended to me. This book is ancient history like I never learned it, yet the contents are applicable to today's situation also. I have to admit I had biases of my own before I read this book which were only confirmed and elaborated on in this book. This book, I would think, should be read by seminary students because it sheds light on the state of christianity before and during the advent of Islam. It seems that the christian world prior to 600 A.D. was riddled with factions, disputes, corruption, possibly, (I think), after the Roman emperor Constantine declared christianity the official religion of Rome in 332 A.D.. At the time of Muhammad in 622 A.D., there seemed to be two predominate factions within christianity, Nestorian (Persia) and Monophysite (elsewhere). Muhammad took advantage of dissatisfied and oppressed christianized arab marauders and nomads in the first Islamic wave of conquests and enlisted them in his ranks to overturn an oppressive yoke of christian administrators/tax collectors. So, it seems to me, that Islam was a reactionary movement against injustices suffered under Christian rule, yet, not all christians were as corrupt as their own overseers, and yet, christians and everyone else became victims of a new, unjust, and oppressive regime. Proverbially, out of the frying pan, into the fire. Yet, it is not wise to generalize, and Bat Ye'Or, to her credit, never does. That's an amazing feat given the amount of information from so many centuries, so many cultures, so many different situations. This book is not a speed read, but it is very thorough, very comprehensive. It is thought provoking, and I think muslims would not be offended by her fair-minded analyses. When I first tried to read this book, I only made it to the third chapter. Second time around, I read the last half, first, which contains documents and letters from non-muslim and muslim persons describing life of the dhimmis in the dar al-Islam, land of Islam. Reading it this way made the bulk of the book, in the first half, easier to comprehend. This book was highly recommended to me, and I highly recommend it to others. I also suggest reading from the biblical book of Daniel, Chapter 2(Nebuchadnezzar's dream, his statue), and Chapter 8 (Daniel's vision). The split of the Roman empire is depicted in the legs of the statue, (I think). Daniel's vision is interpreted as a conflict between Persia and Greece (Asia vs. Europe) which had been ongoing centuries before Daniel was born and continued for many centuries after Christ's birth. More homework I give you! "" 2) Global Warming twice bad: " Global Warming Is 'Twice As Bad As Previously Thought' ", By Steve Connor, The Independent U.K., Thursday 27 January 2005: http://www.truthout.org/docs_05/012805V.shtml "" Global warming might be twice as catastrophic as previously thought, flooding settlements on the British coast and turning the interior into an unrecognisable tropical landscape, the world's biggest study of climate change shows. Researchers from some of Britain's leading universities used computer modelling to predict that under the "worst-case" scenario, London would be under water and winters banished to history as average temperatures in the UK soar up to 20C higher than at present. "" 3) "Huge 'star-quake' rocks Milky Way": http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4278005.stm "" The position of SGR1806-20 in a radio image of the sky - 50,000 light-years awayAstronomers say they have been stunned by the amount of energy released in a star explosion on the far side of our galaxy, 50,000 light-years away. ""