Barackface

This image shows the Arctic as observed by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite on September 16, 2007. The image shows a record sea ice minimum in the Arctic. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The phrase global warming draws this image where everything is the same except the temperature keeps going up and up, gradually but relentlessly. And that was never to be. The weather is a complex phenomenon. That is why predicting the weather is such a hard science.

So the earth warms up due to green house gases. That melts ice. One place that happens is the Arctic. Used to be land and ice were connected all through the year. Now in summer there is enough melt that you can navigate around the Arctic. Well, that has implications. Now the super cold winds in the North have more room to play. And they come way South.

And so you get more turbulent summers (like Sandy hitting NYC) and colder winters. Global warming actually means more cold. Go figure.

Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus' description of himself "I am the Good Shepherd" (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: "To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is not the cow. It is what the cow means to the Hindu.

It is China's tragedy that free speech is not in its arsenal. Free speech is the most fundamental tenet of democracy. Everything else flows from it.

But when was the last time I saw someone make fun of Jesus? When I was the last time I saw cartoons of Jesus?

Black people getting stereotyped is considered bad. Free speech but bad speech.

Islam is a religion like Christianity. And it deserves an equal pedestal of respect.

Western democracies are Christian countries. It is so obvious when you walk around. Islam is going to have a major presence in the Arab democracies, and I am talking democracies with rights for women, democracies with space for opposition. Modern democracies.

Talking shit about Islam has to be put in the same category as talking shit about black people. Muslims should not be made to feel out of place just because they are Muslim. Most Muslims, like most Christians, just want to share cat videos online.

Don't make fun of the Muslim religion if you are not making fun of your own. Have respect.

There is an Islamism that rhymes with fascism, and there is an Islamophobia that rhymes with homophobia.