Monday, April 29, 2013

What's so different about 'terrorism'?

It's nice to see that various Boston health services providers are going to pay the 'co-pays', ie, the money that the victims would have to pay out of their pockets. But I have to ask this question, without appearing to be a curmudgeon: Would these victims bills be paid for 'gratis' if they had been victims of everyday crime? Just two weeks before the Boston Marathon Bombings, someone shot up an MBTA (Boston's Transportation Authority in charge of buses and subways) bus at the Dudley Station around 5:30 in the afternoon. Yet there was no city-wide lock-down, no remain in your homes and lock your doors. One person was killed and I am sure that the other passengers on that bus were 'terrified'? So why the difference? During the Bush Administration, we were treated to almost daily, color-coded terror alerts and around Christmas time, we were told that Al Queda might try to blow up a mall, such as the Mall of America, the country's largest, in Minnesota. Just a few years ago, a young man, about 18 years old went on a shooting spree in a mall in Omaha, Nebraska. People were shot and others were cowering behind store counters. But again this was not labeled as an act of terrorism. Had the kid been yelling "Allah Akbar!" while doing it, would that have made it an act of terrorism? Would the victim's bills had been taken care of my the health insurance providers? On any given day at malls across America, someone is robbed, pick-pocketed, assaulted and occasionally killed just because they were at the wrong place and the wrong time. I am just curious to people's reactions, on a governmental and media level is so different when 'terrorism' is involved, while there is senseless killings that go on every day in this country. If you have to live in a high-crime neighborhood, you may be 'terrorized' as a party of your normal life. Someone, please explain...

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Chinese still want to come to the US for an education despite the bombings in Boston

http://behindthewall.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/22/17862168-despite-boston-marathon-tragedy-chinese-still-dream-of-us-education?lite

Muslim Exclusions Act?

The Scorched Pig: Squeals From The Desert is back online! It's been a long time. Way back since 2008 was my last post. One reason why I have been so long gone has been due to the fact that I've spent way too much time on Facebook and the other reason is I have been teaching English to college students in China where blogger is blocked. I have returned to my roots, now in Boston rather than Las Vegas, where this blog was conceived. Over time, I will post some of my experiences from China, but for now, I feel I must vent over the events in Boston over the Patriot's Day Weekend. In several Muslim countries, there are laws against religious prosletyzing that are punishable by death, notably in Afghanistan, Libya and Yemen and probably Saudi Arabia and Iran as well. It is also against the law in China, an officially atheistic country. Of course, not all Muslims are terrorists, but the majority of the terrorists have been Muslim. Fundamentalist Muslims, like fundamentalist Christians, see the world as they are 'right' and the rest of us are infidels. The Boston bombers, at least one of them, was motivated by religious extremism after a trip to Dagestan. Our 'ally' Pakistan is home to many of the religious 'madrassas' that promote fundamentalism that leads to terrorism. Muslims have problems with Hindus, just look at how they burn down each others' temples; with Jews - most hate Isreal, despite legitimate claims to land; and Christians - look at the bombings of Christian churches in Egypt on Christmas Eve a few years back. And now, Al Quaeda was planning to blow up a train in Toronto. In the 1880's the US passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The Chinese did nothing against the US, it was just union pressure in the mining industry in Virginia City, Nevada and other western mining towns that provoked the act. In light of the Trade Center Bombings in 2001 and Boston in 2013, maybe it is time we consider a Muslim Exclusion Act for the US. Several European countries have considered similar acts including Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria. If you are Muslim in say Syria, and want a better life, fine, escape to Egypt. Since there is no way we can weed out Muslims would do innocent people harm, because THEY want a world that resembles the Middle Ages,from peace loving (majority) Muslims, I propose that we prevent all Muslims, good and bad, from passage to the US, for business or pleasure until Islam purges ITSELF of radical elements. When was the last time you have heard of a Buddhist terrorist?