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A friend of a friend is a military police investigator (MPI) in Iraq. He helps run one of the military prisons in southern Iraq – supposedly one of the ‘nicer’ areas.

Let’s call him Bill. It’s a nice name, and he’s a nice guy.

He says something interesting. He says that the nicest prisons in Iraq are the ones run by the US military. And, as an MPI, he never needed to resort to harsh methods to obtain information.

Never.

A friend of a friend is a military police investigator (MPI) in Iraq. He helps run one of the military prisons in southern Iraq – supposedly one of the ‘nicer’ areas.

Let’s call him Bill. It’s a nice name, and he’s a nice guy.

He says something interesting. He says that the nicest prisons in Iraq are the ones run by the US military. And, as an MPI, he never needed to resort to harsh methods to obtain information.

Never.

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I have a problem.

I get annoyed. About Little things.

Well, not EVERY Little thing, but a lot of Little things – like, for instance, the proper pronunciation of words.

I was driving home today after dropping my aunt off at the airport and was listening to my second favorite radio station, when the announcer said the word calzone. However, instead of saying it right, he said it like this: cal-zohn.

Look, calzone is Italian, which means that you ALWAYS pronounce the last vowel. ALWAYS. When you say calzone, say it like this:

cal-ZO-neh

I have a problem.

I get annoyed. About Little things.

Well, not EVERY Little thing, but a lot of Little things – like, for instance, the proper pronunciation of words.

I was driving home today after dropping my aunt off at the airport and was listening to my second favorite radio station, when the announcer said the word calzone. However, instead of saying it right, he said it like this: cal-zohn.

Look, calzone is Italian, which means that you ALWAYS pronounce the last vowel. ALWAYS. When you say calzone, say it like this:

cal-ZO-neh

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Enter the Mahdaviat.

We’ve talked about the Nazism at the roots of the Palestinian national movement. We’ve hinted at the genocidal racism at the roots of other Sunni radicals.

But, what about the Shia?

What lies at the root of Shiite radical Islam?

Something far, far more frightening than neo-Nazi ideology. When dealing with Nazis, you can at least appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Yes, yes I know that they preach self-immolation in the form of suicide bombing, but that’s for the rank and file. The leadership are far more concerned with living well and sending their kids to London to earn advanced degrees in eyewear – like Hafez did for his boy Bashar.

Enter the Mahdaviat.

We’ve talked about the Nazism at the roots of the Palestinian national movement. We’ve hinted at the genocidal racism at the roots of other Sunni radicals.

But, what about the Shia?

What lies at the root of Shiite radical Islam?

Something far, far more frightening than neo-Nazi ideology. When dealing with Nazis, you can at least appeal to their sense of self-preservation. Yes, yes I know that they preach self-immolation in the form of suicide bombing, but that’s for the rank and file. The leadership are far more concerned with living well and sending their kids to London to earn advanced degrees in eyewear – like Hafez did for his boy Bashar.

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To outsiders, the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites seems rather vague and esoteric. They both absolutely believe and venerate the Qur’an (aka Koran), the holiest book of Islam. They both call themselves Muslim. They both go on Hajj every year to Mecca, in Saudi.

But, they seem to have spent the last 13 centuries killing each other.

I won’t go too deeply into the differences here. A deeper discussion can be found in the links at the end of this piece. But, I will discuss some general differences in character.

History

To outsiders, the difference between the Sunnis and the Shiites seems rather vague and esoteric. They both absolutely believe and venerate the Qur’an (aka Koran), the holiest book of Islam. They both call themselves Muslim. They both go on Hajj every year to Mecca, in Saudi.

But, they seem to have spent the last 13 centuries killing each other.

I won’t go too deeply into the differences here. A deeper discussion can be found in the links at the end of this piece. But, I will discuss some general differences in character.

History

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The Arab world is on the verge of yet ANOTHER major defeat. Yet again, the Arab world is at war – and losing it. And in fact, they’ve probably already lost it.

What war am I talking about?

The hearts and minds of their people.

The Arab world is engaged in an ideological war. The weapons are words, ideas and ideals – and the cement mixer. The battlefield is the classroom, the news vendor and the mosque – and the construction site.

The Arab world is on the verge of yet ANOTHER major defeat. Yet again, the Arab world is at war – and losing it. And in fact, they’ve probably already lost it.

What war am I talking about?

The hearts and minds of their people.

The Arab world is engaged in an ideological war. The weapons are words, ideas and ideals – and the cement mixer. The battlefield is the classroom, the news vendor and the mosque – and the construction site.

Read Full Post »