Teaching - this is considered creative

http://youtu.be/4cn4RTbNE0M

This is considered creative teaching but I hope no one expected to learn about real numbers; I did not learn a thing. This is entertaining but not learning.

U.S. Immigration Islamist Threat

Danger

A new study shows that the number of immigrants in the United States jumped 3 percent in three years — to a record 41.3 million in 2013 — and that the nearly 300,000 who came from Muslim countries pose a major national security threat, the report's co-author told Newsmax on Thursday. "All of that does raise national security concerns, and I don't think there has been any consideration of that," said Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies. The Washington-based nonprofit organization released the study on Thursday. It is based on an analysis of Census data from 2010 to last year. Camarota conducted the study and co-authored it with CIS demographer Karen Zeigler. "The primary threat from a group like ISIS to the homeland is through our immigration system," Camarota said, referring to the Islamic State terrorist group that has beheaded three Westerners in recent weeks. "No one's suggesting that they're going to launch a missile and hit New York, but rather they're going to board an airliner and blow it up," he added. "They're going to park a car in a public place, they're going to go on a shooting spree, or any one of those things. "Our immigration system is a vital part of national security. Everybody doesn't seem to recognize that," Camarota said. "The question is, what are the implications of our rapidly growing Middle Eastern population? The numbers certainly raise it." The CIS report shows that the United States was home to a record 41.3 million legal and illegal immigrants last year. That was up nearly 1.4 million from the 39.9 million in 2010, while the number was 31.1 million in 2000. By comparison, the U.S. immigrant population stood at 9.6 million in 1970. About 16 percent of the U.S. population last year was foreign-born, whether in the country legally or illegally, according to the data. That's about one in eight residents, or one of every six adults. "Those numbers reflect two basic facts: an extremely high level of legal immigration, a very permissive legal immigration system — and they also reflect a failure to control illegal immigration," Camarota said. "Somewhere between a fourth and a third of those immigrants are here illegally." The largest number of immigrants in the United States are Mexicans, with more than 11.5 million living here illegally and legally last year. The number of Mexican immigrants fell by 126,126 — or 1 percent — over the period because of some dying and others leaving the country, Camarota said. According to the study, the Middle Eastern population grew by 207,758 in the period, or 13 percent, to more than 1.8 million last year. That compared with 1.6 million in 2010 and 1.1 million in 2000. Leading the growth from that region was Saudi Arabia, with 43,878 immigrants — nearly double the number who were in the U.S. in 2010. The analysis shows that 88,894 Saudis lived in this country last year. Iraq was next, with about 41,094 immigrants, for a 26 percent increase to a total of 200, 894. But the total number of immigrants from predominantly Muslim countries totaled 295,743 in the period, according to the CIS study. That was up by 13.5 percent. The total number of immigrants from primarily Muslim countries in the U.S. was more than 2.4 million last year, compared with 2.1 million in 2010 and 1.5 million in 2000.

Japan to Market Robots First: U.S. Falls Behind in Tech, Again

Robot

gulp

Bomb the U.S.

Denver Common Core Enforces Sharia

Common Core

Lost in America: Visa Program Struggles to Track Missing Foreign Students

Lost

French Muslims Kill Over Satire

Imam promoting violence.
Are you Jewish?
O'Reilly
Freedom of Speech
–The two Muslim brothers who murdered 12 in the worst jihad attack in Europe since the London bus bombings had both been known by the intelligence services — The younger of the two brothers, 32-year-old Chérif Kouachi came to the attention of French authorities over 10 years ago –Cherif had dreamed of attacking Jewish targets in France. –His Paris imam urged him to kill American troops in Iraq as it “presented a better outlet for his commitment to jihad.” —Cherif was first arrested in 2005 in connection with a case centered on Farid Benyettou, a 26-year-old janitor-turned-imam who gave sermons calling for jihad in Iraq and justifying suicide bombings. —Among Mr. Benyettou’s would-be recruits was Chérif Kouachi, then 22, who was detained as he prepared to leave for Syria, the first leg of a trip he hoped would take him to Iraq.
Here’s the money quote, questions are being raised about “how Chérif Kouachi, so well known to the police for so many years, and his brother had managed to conceal their intentions. Part of the answer may be that they appear to have moved smoothly between normal immigrant society and an extremist Islamist underground.
Sounds like there is little difference between “normal” Muslim society versus “extreme Islamist underground.” Did no one in “normal Muslim” society speak, see, or hear anything wrong? if not? Why not?
The Religion of Peace
Cartoons
Muslim Children Cheer Kosher Market Killers

Richard Dawkins
Greg Gutfeld
Cartoonists Respond
French writer Voltaire enraged many in 18th century France with caustic depictions of royalty and the Catholic Church. The German magazine Simplicissimus in its 70-year existence saw cartoonists jailed and fined for ridiculing figures from Kaiser Wilhelm to church leaders, Nazi grandees and communists.

“Muhammad Orders the Execution of Critics,”  David Wood, Answering Muslims, January 11, 2015

When Muhammad entered Mecca, he ordered his followers only to fight those who refused to surrender to him, except certain people who were to be executed whether they surrendered or not. In our earliest detailed biographical source on the fall of Mecca, Ibn Ishaq lists eight people who were to receive the death penalty. The charges against four of the eight were “insulting Muhammad.” One of the four critics was eventually pardoned; the others were killed.

Politicians, the media, and Muslim groups assure us that Muhammad never retaliated against people who insulted him. Too bad these modern apologists weren’t there to tell Muhammad how tolerant they would one day imagine him to be.

Here’s the passage from Ibn Ishaq, with details on the critics underlined. Pass it on

“Enforcement Of Shari’a Law In The Muslim World For Insulting Islam, Prophet Muhammad: A Review Of Recent Arrests, Imprisonment, Flogging, Death Sentences,” MEMRI

In Arab and Muslim countries, defaming Islam and the Prophet Muhammad is still defined as an offense against the shari’a that entails punishment. Recent examples of enforcement include the arrest of Saudi intellectual Dr. Turki Al-Hamad and Saudi blogger Hamza Kashgari; another Saudi liberal, Raef Badawi, was sentenced to public flogging, and both Mauritanian blogger Mohamed Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir and Iranian blogger Soheil Arabi were even sentenced to death. 

These recent cases were preceded by well-known assassinations or assassination attempts against individuals accused of insulting Islam or the Prophet, such as the fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 against the author Salman Rushdie, which called to kill him for his book The Satanic Verses (this fatwa still holds in Iran); the assassination attempt against Nobel laureate Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz for irreverent allusions to Allah and the Prophet in his book Children of Our Neighborhood; the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh for his film Submission, which shows Koranic verses written on the body of a woman; and fatwas permitting the killing of the artists responsible for the Danish cartoons published in 2005.    

Historic Perspective: Punishment Of Prophet’s Defamers Based On Koranic Verses, Hadith, Authoritative Sirah Literature (Biographies Of The Prophet)  

According to the shari’a, defaming the Prophet is an act of blasphemy, the punishment for which is death even if the accused repents. This law is a Koranic decree, for Koran 9:61 says: “Those who hurt Allah’s Messenger will have a painful punishment.” The same Surah also states: “…Say: “(Go ahead and) mock! But certainly Allah will bring to light all that you fear. If you ask them (about this), they declare: ‘We were only talking idly and joking.’ Say: ‘Was it at Allah and His verses and His Messenger that you were mocking? Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after you had believed. [Koran 9:64-66].” In addition, the Sira literature (biographies of the Prophet) and the Hadith include many instances in which Muhammad ordered to kill his maligners or praised his followers for doing so. In the Muhammad’s era, writing poems against him was considered an unforgivable crime, and many poets were killed for this, including the Jewish poet Ka’b bin Al-Ashraf, who would ridicule the Prophet. According to a hadith, he was killed by Muhammad bin Maslama at the behest of the Prophet himself and with his blessing. Another poet who composed a poem against Muhammad, the Jewess ‘Asma bint Marwan, was assassinated by ‘Umayr bin ‘Adiy, who was later praised by the Prophet for executing her. Some sources state that Muhammad asked who would kill this woman on his behalf, and a member of her tribe volunteered. Two more poets killed for this crime were Abu ‘Afak, assassinated by Salem bin ‘Umayr, and  the Meccan poet Sarah, whom the Prophet ordered to kill on the day Mecca was conquered.

Prominent medieval Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyya, considered by many to be the father of the modern fundamentalist Islamic movements, wrote on this issue: “Mocking Allah, His verses or His Messenger is blasphemy.” He wrote further: “Whosoever curses the Prophet, be he a Muslim of an infidel, must be put to death. All [religious] scholars take this view.” The late Saudi mufti ‘Abd Al-‘Aziz Ibn ‘Abdallah Ibn Bazz said: “Anyone who curses Allah or His Messenger Muhammad in any way is a heretic apostate.”

- See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2015/01/muslims-follow-muhammads-example-in-slaughtering-those-that-insult-islam.html/#sthash.HiSSIa10.dpuf

Islamisation of Paris Warning, 2010
Submission - by Theo van Gogh (MIRROR) [English w/ Dutch captions], 10:59
Original video description:
Short film by Dutch movie maker Theo van Gogh in association with Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
The film deals with the oppression of women in many Muslim countries. Van Gogh was killed by a Muslim fanatic in 2004 because of the film. Ayaan Hirsi Ali is planning the second part of the film.
"Submission" is the translation of the Arabic word "Islam".
http://youtu.be/neQcqyUAhr8?list=PLr-Yh2nOIpxEDZetiPsE3fnx7ZTBGfyLO
"The jihadist who murdered Theo van Gogh didn't act on his own" 1:51
The 2nd of November, exactly ten years ago is the day Holland will not easily forget. It is the day writer and filmmaker Theo van Gogh was killed by muslim fundamentalist Mohammed Bouyeri. In broad daylight Van Gogh was stabbed and killed whilst cycling on a busy street in Amsterdam. Holland was never the same afterwards.
http://youtu.be/nnhO1R3A1ns
The 12 Original Jyllands-Posten Muhammad Cartoons, 1:48
http://youtu.be/vbbfxZOyw8U
Richard Dawkins
Piss Christ
Three Books
Bill Maher
Imam regrets role in Mohammed cartoon protests, 5:06
http://youtu.be/UTWSdyB2CC0
Ahmed Akkari was a controversial radical Muslim religious leader, who helped stoke worldwide anger against Danish cartoons showing Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. Now he has undergone an equally radical transformation of tolerance. Seven and a half years after the cartoons controversy, the former imam says the drawings were justified as free expression. 09/02/2013 FOCUS An exclusive in-depth report from a FRANCE24 correspondent, followed by comment and analysis with the author and the anchor in the newsroom in Paris. FRANCE 24 INTERNATIONAL NEWS 24/7 http://www.france24.com
O'Reilly
'The Future Must Not Belong To Those Who Slander The Prophet of Islam', :44
http://youtu.be/T6uZFSj_ueM

FBI Breaks Law and Engages in Propaganda

Federal law makes it illegal for the government to engage in domestic propaganda.

Three Peer Reviewed Studies Demonstrate American Mosques Pro-Violence

Violence

Religious Breakdown of Congress

Congress

No Global Warming

No Global Warming

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/no_warming_for_19_years?nk=aefec96439b81de690d12c4b30598f62

Ian Hunter: Lisa Ronson single

New

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Government Debt Passes $6 Trillion

Foreign Ownership
 
For the first time in the nation’s history, foreign interests now own more than $6 trillion in U.S. government debt.



 

Fair DUI Process

Checkpoint

Islamist Palestinians on the Holocaust

Islamist Palestinians on the Holocaust

Question

Churches and Politics

Churches

World Consumption of Alcohol

Cheers

Ein glueckliches neues Jahr

Ein glückliches neues Jahr

Eutychismenos o kainourgios chronos

Felix sit annus novus

Ia manuia le Tausaga Fou

Conform Common Core

Conform

Armed, Safest Counties in Country

Safest

Obamacare Tax on the Way

Obama Gift: more taxes

Cat Islam Stevens Steals Roman Catholic Hymn, Converts to Islam, Kill Salman Rushdie

Roman Catholic Hymn sung in a 7th Day Adventist Church

Cat Stevens Islam Theft.

1989, Muslim convert would kill author Salman Rushdie.

Sir Salman Rushdie vs. Yusuf Islam

Easy Way to Stop School Shootings

KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Russia Briefly

Russia

Muslim Stabs Man for "Merry Christmas"

Blutige Attacke in Köln: Mann ruft “Fröhliche Weihnachten” und wird niedergestochen

Geschrieben von: Janina 25. Dezember 2014 (thanks to Southern Cross)

M02908

Wer nachts auf Deutschlands Straßen unterwegs ist, besonders in eroberten Gebieten gewisser Zuwanderungsgruppen, dazu Heiligabend ist und „Fröhliche Weihnachten“ mehrmals ruft, bekommt den vollen Respekt der „Gläubigen“ zu spüren. In der Hochburg der Türken, in Köln-Ehrenfeld, fühlten sich drei intolerante „Personen“ von dem Weihnachtsgruß zweier Männer derart gestört, dass sie hinterrücks einen dieser Männer niederstachen.

Express berichtet:

Kwei Männer (34 und 43 Jahre alt) liefen in der Nacht zu Donnerstag über die Venloer Straße und riefen dabei immer wieder „Fröhliche Weihnachten!“.

Davon fühlten sich drei entgegenkommende Personen (ein Mann und zwei Frauen) offenbar gestört.

Der 34-Jährige wurde plötzlich hinterrücks angegriffen. Ihm wurden Schnittverletzungen an Kopf und Rücken zugefügt. Das Trio flüchtete.

Die beiden anderen Männer alarmierten die Polizei. Der 34-Jährige wurde ins Krankenhaus gebracht. Ob ihm die Verletzungen mit einem Messer oder einem anderen spitzen Gegenstand zugefügt wurden, konnte er nicht sagen. Er habe die Attacke nicht kommen.

See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2014/12/german-is-stabbed-in-back-by-muslim-after-wishing-him-and-two-muslim-women-merry-christmas.html/#sthash.NrwHummE.dpuf Bloody attack in Cologne: Man calls "Merry Christmas" and is stabbed Written by Janina December 25, 2014 (thanks to Southern Cross) M02908 Who on Germany's roads is about at night, especially in conquered territories of certain groups of immigrants, this is Christmas Eve and "Merry Christmas" repeatedly calls, gets to feel "believers" full respect of. In the stronghold of the Turks in Cologne-Ehrenfeld, three intolerant "people" felt disturbed by the Christmas greeting two men so that they treacherously stabbed one of these men. Express reported: Two men (34 and 43 years old) walked in on Wednesday night on the Venloerstraße and called again and again "Merry Christmas!". Of these, three oncoming people (a man and two women) felt obviously disturbed. The 34-year-old was suddenly attacked from behind. He was added to the head and back cuts. The trio fled. The other two men alerted the police. The 34-year-old was taken to hospital. Whether the injury with a knife or other sharp object to him had been added, he could not tell. He did not see the attack coming. - See more at: http://pamelageller.com/2014/12/german-is-stabbed-in-back-by-muslim-after-wishing-him-and-two-muslim-women-merry-christmas.html/#sthash.NrwHummE.dpuf

Protect Yourself Against ATM Theft

http://youtu.be/8Vc-69M-UWkProect

Doggie on Two Paws

Doggie

Homosexual Inclination as Objective Disorder

Communio

Fethullah Gulen Islamist Terrorist Funded by American Taxpayers

Bomb U.S.

States: Explode bomb against U.S.

Mott The Hoople Pics Courtesy of Morgan Fisher

Pics

Monkey Saves Monkey

Saved

Mott The Hoople, BBC Ballad of Mott The Hoople

Mott The Hoople

Gutsy Black Woman Should Be the Next President

Guts

Islamist Choudary on Foley Beheading: Hannity

Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson Tribute, 20 Years Ago, Last Time Morgan Fisher Played with Ian

Morgan

Ian Hunter, Mott in America, Los Angeles Continental Hyatt House, 1974

IAN HUNTER WITHOUT GLASSES, IN THE "RIOT HOUSE" HOTEL POOL

SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY MORGAN FISHER

This is a collage of 4 stills from Morgan Fisher’s “Mott in America” 8mm film of Mott the Hoople’s 1974 US tour (DVD is on sale now in this store!). Inevitably it has a funky, grainy look, which is quite evocative of the 70’s.

IAN HUNTER used to love swimming, any chance he could get. Morgan Fisher grabbed this opportunity to shoot him WITHOUT SUNGLASSES! This was in the rooftop pool of the Los Angeles Continental Hyatt House, re-christened the Riot House by bands such as Mott and Zeppelin who stayed and, well, rioted there! TV out the window, motorbike in the lift, that sort of thing, you know... Ian of course had nothing to do with that and relaxed by the pool...

This is a one-off digital print, an artist's proof, the only one of its kind. It is signed on the front by Morgan Fisher, who also has inscribed the following text in the border: 

"IAN HUNTER WITHOUT GLASSES!! He used to swim a lot - that's why he's still rocking at age 74... From MOTT IN AMERICA 8mm film."

Printed on Epson archive-quality Velvet Fine Art Paper. Size: 16.5” x 23.5” 

Jerry Lee Lewis-Live at the Star Club Full [Live Album]

"Mean Woman Blues" (Claude Demetrius) "High School Confidential" (Hargrave, Lewis) "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy) "Matchbox" (Carl Perkins) "What'd I Say, Part 1" (Ray Charles) "What'd I Say, Part 2" "Great Balls of Fire" (Otis Blackwell, Jack Hammer) "Good Golly, Miss Molly" (Bumps Blackwell, John Marascalco) "Lewis' Boogie" (Lewis) "Your Cheatin' Heart" (Hank Williams) "Hound Dog" (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) "Long Tall Sally" (Enotris Johnson, Little Richard) "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" (Sunny David, Dave Williams)

http://youtu.be/Oxh9XIiVUAE

Shale Revolution to Create Jobs and Free Us from Islamists

Drill, baby, drill

"Why America is NOT the greatest country in the world, anymore"

Long version, America

America

Cell Phone Protestors Guide

Guide

German People Oppose Elite's Promotion of Islamization

Das deutsche Volk gegen die Islamisierung stehen und wie die Eliten dort sind es die Förderung.

Anti-Islamisierung-Demos werden in Deutschland wächst. Die Graswurzelorganisation hinter den Protesten, Patriotic Europäer gegen Islamisierung des Westens, werden verschmiert sein, diffamiert und verleumdet. Jede Bewegung entgegen Jihad und Scharia, wird zusammenfassend mit westlichen Eliten zerstört. Ich frage mich, ob die Führer wissen, was sie sind für. Ich hoffe, sie sind aus härterem Holz als die Gleichen von Tommy Robinson und Kevin Carroll, der abgestürzt und verbrannt werden, nicht in der Lage, um die Hitze nehmen gemacht.

Stop Islamization

Bremmer, Jan N., Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World

Complete text of Initiation courtesy of de Gruyter

BMCR 2014.12.24 on the BMCR blog Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2014.12.24 Jan N. Bremmer, Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World. Münchner Vorlesungen zu antiken Welten, Bd 1.   Berlin; Boston:  De Gruyter, 2014.  Pp. xviii, 256.  ISBN 9783110299298.  $84.00.    Reviewed by Hugh Bowden, King’s College London (hugh.bowden@kcl.ac.uk) Complete text In this short but thoroughly researched book, Jan Bremmer focuses on reconstructing the religious rituals of various mystery cults in antiquity. It is not therefore a study of ‘initiation’ as a general phenomenon, but of different initiation ceremonies. The implications of this are an issue to which I will return. The six chapters and two appendices can be read independently of each other (and have mostly been presented in separate talks in a number of locations, as the notes make clear), but they do form a more or less coherent whole. Chapter I, ‘Initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries: A “Thin” Description’, offers a new reconstruction of the whole programme of the Eleusinian Mysteries, with a particular focus on what happened in the sanctuary. There is plenty of room for scholarly debate about the details of the festival, and Bremmer makes clear on which side of the debate he comes down in each case. Thus he argues that would-be initiates were ‘introduced into the secret teachings of the Mysteries’ before the ceremony (3); there was a single procession, rather than two separate ones as favoured by some scholars (5 n. 31); the myesis and the epopteia were separate rituals that happened on different nights, rather than the latter being the same ritual experienced for the second time (11). In coming to his conclusions Bremmer pays a lot of attention to the (mostly very late) literary evidence and the arguments of modern scholars, which are given summary approval or criticism. For example Kevin Clinton’s reconstruction of the events is dismissed as ‘in my opinion unpersuasive’ (1 n. 2). But Bremmer does not shy away from making comparisons with modern times: ‘At times, the scene must have resembled that of fervent Catholic or Shi’ite processions’ (6); ‘the ancient Greeks were not yet like modern consumers who would certainly have demanded their money back if they had not seen everything. We may better compare church services in medieval cathedrals’ (16). While there is a thorough analysis of the literature, the site itself is not so carefully considered. Pausanias (1.38.7) declined to describe anything within the walls of the sanctuary at Eleusis, suggesting that the whole of the sanctuary area had special significance. Bremmer has would-be initiates entering the sanctuary on arrival, then (presumably) coming out again to witness sacrifices, before going back in again – and only what took place within the telesterion counted as ‘the actual initiation’ (9). In his brief discussion of the goal of the Mysteries (18-20) Bremmer plays down the importance of eschatology in favour of an emphasis on agricultural fertility, but he notes that ‘people will have made their own choices about what to bring home from the festival’ (20). Chapter II, ‘Mysteries at the Interface of Greece and Anatolia: Samothracian Gods, Kabeiori and Korybantes’, similarly attempts to reconstruct the ritual of initiation into the mysteries of the Great Gods of Samothrace, the Kab(e)iroi on Lemnos and in Boeotia, and the Korybantes primarily in Erythrae. Bremmer emphasizes the paucity of the evidence, but suggests that the ritual on Samothrace (but oddly not that on Athenian-controlled Lemnos) was modeled on that of Eleusis. He also suggests that the rituals of the Kabeiroi ‘seem to have been a jollier affair than the more serious Eleusinian Mysteries’ (48). Chapter III, ‘Orpheus, Orphism and Orphic-Bacchic Mysteries’, starts with a discussion of ‘Orphism’ as a historical phenomenon, with a focus on Athens: Bremmer sees Orphic texts and an ‘Orphic lifestyle’, which ‘rejected central values of Greek society of their day’, being introduced to Athens in the fifth century by Orphic initiators (69-70). In taking this approach he aligns himself with the work of Alberto Bernabé (and against e.g. Radcliffe Edmonds, whose views are described as ‘ultimately unpersuasive’ (74 n. 104)). He goes on to suggest a convergence of these Orphic ideas and practices with Dionysiac ecstatic rituals to create Orphic-Bacchic Mysteries, the evidence for which is found in the Derveni Papyrus and the so-called ‘Orphic Gold Leaves, and which he sees as similar to ‘New Age cults’ in the modern world (80). Chapter IV, ‘Greek Mysteries in Roman Times’, focuses on two areas: ‘local Greek mysteries’, by which are meant the cult of Despoina at Lycosura, of the Great Gods at Andania, and of Hecate on Aegina, and ‘the Dionysiac Mysteries’. We have the evidence of Pausanias for the local cults, and in the case of Andania a substantial inscription. These are the basis of Bremmer’s reconstructions, but some of his assumptions seem at least open to question. In particular he emphasizes the solemnity of the events at the Andanian Mysteries, or at least the intention of solemnity (‘Perhaps those who had already been initiated before were later less impressed and chatted to their neighbours or made funny faces at inappropriate moments.’ (95)). There is no suggestion that such festivals were at the same time social and commercial occasions (as clearly was the festival of Isis at Tithoreia according to Pausanias (10.32.15).) The second part of the chapter discusses the vexed issue of Dionysiac Mysteries. Bremmer excludes from the book Greek maenadic practices, on the basis that these did not involve initiation. He also recognizes that the evidence for initiation associated with Dionysus is very limited (101-2). Nonetheless he offers what he calls a ‘rather speculative’ reconstruction, drawing on a range of literary and iconographic sources from across the Roman empire (102-9). The first half of Chapter V, ‘The Mysteries of Isis and Mithras’, is essentially a discussion of the first description of initiation in Apuleius Metamorphoses, Book XI, which is taken to be a reasonably reliable account of Isiac initiation. The second half discusses the problems of reconstructing Mithraic initiation. Evidence for Mithraic rituals is very limited, but Bremmer argues that the evidence from the Mithraeum at Capua and the Mainz cup point to ‘trials of humiliation and harassment’, and further suggests, ‘it is reasonable to suppose that the roughest treatment of an initiate would take place at the beginning when he was still fairly unknown to the others’ (135-6). Chapter VI, ‘Did the Mysteries influence early Christianity?’, begins with a discussion of the history of the study of mystery cult, with a particular focus on Rudolf Steiner, Isaac Casaubon and Arthur Darby Nock, intended to demonstrate that ‘all efforts to derive earliest Christianity from the ancient Mysteries have been unsuccessful’ (154). This is followed by discussion of the attitude of Christian apologists to ‘Pagan’ mysteries, which undergoes change from the hostility and rejection of earlier writers, to the co-option of mysteric terminology in the period after Constantine when the dominance of Christianity was assured. Bremmer notes in conclusion that mystery cults were never so widespread in society as to pose any real threat to the rise of Christianity. The book is rounded off with two appendices, which have a tangential relationship to the main text. The first is a discussion of ‘Demeter and Eleusis in Megara’, offered as a set of observations on local cults. It deals with the temples of Demeter, the festival of the Thesmophoria (where Athenian and Megarian celebrations are compared) and the cult of Demeter Malophoros. No overall conclusions are drawn. The second appendix, ‘The Golden Bough: Orphic, Eleusinian and Hellenistic-Jewish Sources of Virgil’s underworld in Aeneid VI’, proposes a revision of the discussion of the sources for the description of the underworld in Eduard Norden’s commentary on Aeneid VI. Bremmer draws attention to those passages which appear to show ‘Orphic and Eleusinian beliefs’, and he also suggests the possibility that Virgil borrowed from 1 Enoch, a Jewish text of the third century BC. It is not clear whether such borrowings would have been direct, or via postulated ‘Orphic katabaseis with Enochian influence’ (204). Bremmer expresses the hope at the end of the main part of the book, ‘that I have succeeded in making these age-old Mysteries just a little bit less mysterious’ (165). This prompts the question any reader must ask of this work: why should one prefer Bremmer’s interpretation over that of previous scholars? The first thing to note is that his bibliography is substantial (34 pages) and very definitely up-to-date: there are no fewer than 60 items from 2013 and seven from 2014. Some credit should also go to the publishers, De Gruyter, for the speed of production, and they should be congratulated even more for making the volume Open Access (under a Creative Commons “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0” license), and therefore free to all. However, while Bremmer appears to have read everything that has been written on Greek religion in the last several decades, he cites very little other material. As I have noted, he is not averse to making comparisons with religion in the modern world, sometimes more convincingly than at others: he dismisses the idea that astrological ideas played a significant role in Mithraic cult by suggesting that ‘just as most modern Protestants have not ploughed through the 13 volumes of Karl Barth’s Kirchliche Dogmatik and most Catholics were not terribly interested in the latest dogmatic insights of Pope Benedict XVI, we need not suppose that most Mithras worshippers followed or were interested in these highly complicated speculations’ (130). Given the visibility of astrologers and astrological symbolism in the Roman world, some might find the parallel ‘unpersuasive’ (to use Bremmer’s adjective of choice). He is also aware of the importance of experience in religious activity, and of the potential value of scientific approaches: he notes at one point that ‘recent neurological research has stressed that a good walk can produce euphoric effects’ (7), but cites the research only indirectly, via a work on medieval Christian pilgrimage. But he shows no interest in work in the field of the cognitive science of religion: there is no place in the bibliography for Thomas Lawson and Robert McCauley,1 or Harvey Whitehouse,2 despite the fact that much of Whitehouse’s fieldwork dealt with initiation. Not all scholars of ancient religion are convinced that the work of cognitive scientists has anything to offer the study of ancient religion, but it seems odd to acknowledge the value of the work of the cultural anthropologist Victor Turner from the 1960s (7), and not to consider much more recent work in the area. Bremmer’s intention in this book is clear: he aims to reconstruct the actual initiation rituals associated with the various cults he discusses. This deliberately narrow focus means that he inevitably pays less attention to the wider context in which these rituals belonged. But such an approach may actually make the aim harder to achieve. If we are to ask why individuals chose to be initiated into these cults, or what the experience felt like, it helps to know how these rituals fitted in to wider social activity—not only religious activity. And since ‘religion’ in the ancient world did not necessarily occupy the same social space as in the modern world, comparisons between ancient religious rituals and modern ones may be at best limited and at worst misleading. Bremmer repeatedly notes that the ancient evidence is difficult to use and not reliable. How then can we determine what to trust and what not to? There is no easy answer to this question. But even if Bremmer’s conclusions can be challenged, he has provided us with a very firm basis for developing alternative arguments. That is the value of the best kind of scholarship, and students of ancient religion should be grateful for this work, even more so because it can be reached by a single click of a mouse. Notes: 1.   E.g. McCauley, Robert N., and E. Thomas Lawson. Bringing Ritual to Mind: Psychological Foundations of Cultural Forms.Cambridge University Press, 2002. 2.   E.g. Whitehouse, Harvey. Arguments and Icons: Divergent Modes of Religiosity. Oxford University Press, 2000.  Read comments on this review or add a comment on the BMCR blog Home Read Latest Archives BMCR Blog About BMCR Review for BMCR Commentaries Support BMCR

What Does Fido Do All Day?

Fido

Joe Cocker, RIP

With Tom Jones

The Letter

RIP

Government Modifies Weather

Government controlled weather

Governor Jindal Sues Feds Over Common Core

Jindal

Islamist Youth Television: Children Are the Future

Islamist Youth

Import-Export Bank

Bank

Islamists Demand Law Enforcement Training to Favor Islamism

Training

Jihad in Brooklyn: Two Cops Killed in Cold Blood

Jihadi Prays at Brooklyn Terror Mosque

Brooklyn

Aftermath

Host World Meeting of Families

Host

Anti-Semitic Harvard Bans Israeli Soda

Anti-Semitic

Merry Christmas from Al Qaeda

Twats

Chemistry Professor Bans Blessing in Class

No "bless you" in class.

Obama Movie Snit

In Obama's snit against movie makers I guess he forgot about pressuring filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza.

Snit

Week 1 Religion; Week 2 Hinduism

Religion
A Brief History of Religion
What is Religion? 2:23
Published on Apr 23, 2013With the goal of increasing awareness about five of the major world religions, I filmed nineteen in-depth interviews with leaders and members of congregations representative of Buddhism, Christianity (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant), Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, as well as faculty experts from the Religious Studies Department at Missouri State University. After editing together the interviews and footage from religious services, the result was a series of five videos, approximately ten minutes each, providing an overview of each religion. In addition to the conversations I had with leaders, members, and experts, I attended four weeks of services at each different religion's congregation. This was a very hands-on learning experience, which really forced me to step out of my comfort zone in seeking to understand others' religious beliefs and practices. My purpose with this project is not only to increase my knowledge of these religions, but also to educate others.I hope these videos will promote understanding of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism as they are expressed in Missouri, and in doing so reduce existing stereotypes and misconceptions regarding these religions -Julie Wrocklage A BIG thank you to the 20 I interviewed for this project, My advisor Lora Hobbs for her constant support and encouragement, my good friend Marrie Ochieng for her artistic ability in designing the cover and table of contents AND transcribing 10 of my interviews, my grandma Nancy Kuncaitis for transcribing 7 more of the interviews, Jessy Unger for her help in filming the interviews, Kong Thao for his audio work, the MSU Honors College, and the Religious Studies Department.
http://youtu.be/lQm_mJKoO50

http://www.mapsofwar.com/ind/history-of-religion.html  How has the geography of religion evolved over the centuries, and where has it sparked wars? Our map gives us a brief history of the world's most well-known religions: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Selected periods of inter-religious bloodshed are also highlighted. Want to see 5,000 years of religion in 90 seconds? Ready, Set, Go!
A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945
Japanese artist Isao Hashimoto has created a beautiful, undeniably scary time-lapse map of the 2053 nuclear explosions which have taken place between 1945 and 1998, beginning with the Manhattan Project's "Trinity" test near Los Alamos and concluding with Pakistan's nuclear tests in May of 1998. This leaves out North Korea's two alleged nuclear tests in this past decade (the legitimacy of both of which is not 100% clear).  Each nation gets a blip and a flashing dot on the map whenever they detonate a nuclear weapon, with a running tally kept on the top and bottom bars of the screen. Hashimoto, who began the project in 2003, says that he created it with the goal of showing"the fear and folly of nuclear weapons." It starts really slow — if you want to see real action, skip ahead to 1962 or so — but the buildup becomes overwhelming.
 
Vedic Hinduism: World's Most Ancient Religion of the world - TIMELINE
Concept of God in Hinduism, 3:08
Hindu Students Association and Hinduism Today, brings you series of videos to educate Hindus, and non-Hindus on basics of Hinduism. It is our intentions to make this videos brief, and easy to digest.

The goal is to assist young Hindu's learn about Hinduism, and to dis-spell common misconception about Hinduism

This first video addresses the question, "Why does Hinduism have so many Gods?" A quick answer to this question is very simple, it goes, "Hindus all believe in one Supreme God who created the universe. She (or He, OR whatever your experience makes you see the supreme reality as) is all-pervasive. She created many Gods, highly advanced spiritual beings, to be Her helpers." From What is Hinduism? by Editors of Hinduism Today

Swami Bodhinatha Veylanswami :
The narrator of the video is Swami Bodhinatha Veylanswami. Swami Bodhinatha Veylanswami is a 163rd preceptor of the Nandinatha Sampradaya's, Kailasa Parampara.

Most of the year finds him on the island of Kauai, where he oversees the varied publications of Himalayan Academy and serves as publisher of the international magazine, Hinduism Today. At the 458-acre monastery-temple complex, he trains the younger monks in both their service duties and their spiritual practices, and guides the lives of hundreds of families around the globe. Bodhinatha is actively immersed in a series of educational projects and international seminars that focus on bringing spiritual instruction to Hindu youth.

Hindu Students Association :
Hindu Students Association is a independent organization for the education and awareness of the Hindu religion for university/college students, graduate students and young professionals.

If you would like to have any of your question answered by us, please leave a comment, or email us at info@hsamail.org.

The information, views and commentary herein is provided by Hinduism Today and does not necessarily represent the gamut of opinions within Hinduism or those of the Hindu Students Association.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Fezg2Ss5E
View of Human Nature
View of Good and Evil
Hinduism's Take on Evil and Suffering, 5:46
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami of Kauai's Hindu Monastery answers the first of five questions posed to a panel of diverse religious leaders at the Permian Basin's first interfaith gathering held at St. Stephen's Catholic Church in Midland, Texas, on April 7, 2011.
This question: How does your faith help you understand evil and suffering?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Q32RpzJhhE
View of "Salvation"
Are monks seeking salvation selfish? 3:17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQPOjrRK5qM
View of After Life
The Hinduism Afterlife in Under One Minute, :53
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCPBlVa5qPU
Practices and Rituals
Hindu Religious Practice 1/3, 9:36
The first part of a lecture by Dr Nick Sutton. Part of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Continuing Education Department's online initiative. www.ochs.org.uk/ced
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgcShm2zBjg
Celebrations and Festivals
Diwali - Festival of Lights, 3:05
In India, one of the most significant festivals is Diwali, or the Festival of Lights. It's a fiveday celebration that includes good food, fireworks, colored sand, and special candles and lamps.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrrW3rO51ak
Wendy Doniger 'On Hinduism' 15:18
Through this magisterial volume which she calls "the book of my books" Wendy Doniger, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most original scholars of Hinduism, enlarges our understanding of an ancient and complex religion. Comprising a series of connected essays, 'On Hinduism' examines many of the most crucial and contested issues in Hinduism, from the time of the Vedas to the present day: Are Hindus monotheists or polytheists? Is it possible to reconcile images of god with qualities (saguna) and without qualities (nirguna)? How can atheists be Hindu, and how can unrepentant Hindu sinners obtain salvation? Why have Hindus devoted so much attention to addictions, and why have they always been ambivalent about non-injury (ahimsa)? How have Hindu ideas about death, rebirth and karma changed in the course of history, and what do dogs and cows tell us about Hinduism? How and under what conditions does a pluralistic religion remarkable for its intellectual tolerance foster intolerance?
The book closes with short autobiographical essays in which Doniger looks back upon her academic career complete with its Orientalist heritage, self-critiques and controversies and talks eloquently and movingly about the influence of Hinduism on her own philosophy of life.
Drawing upon Doniger's writing over forty years, 'On Hinduism' is scholarship of the highest order, and a compelling analysis of one of the worlds great faiths.

REFERENCES

Rock songs with Hinduism

iH-121. Ravishankar and Beatles part of blast of Indian philosophy in American History, 3:40

http://youtu.be/nR6_TDNcvuw

Norwegian Wood, 2:03

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lY5i4-rWh44

Kashmir, Led Zeppelin

Anti-Israel Bias in the Press and Why

Bias

Ian Hunter, The Scenery, Thread of Time

Ian Hunter, The Scenery, Thread of Time, by the Martinet

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67EqcYkxfjg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=67EqcYkxfjg

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sPSMN82gGPU

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Rey

Obama Lowers Nuke Security While China Advances

Obama weakens defences.

FBI Stats Once Again Show Nation Anti-Semitic, Not Anti-Islam

FBI stats

–Of the 5,928 incidents of hate crime tabulated in 2013, 135 (2.3 percent) were anti-Islamic, an increase of five over the prior year but still slightly below the annual average of 139 from 2002 to 2011. –The small rise in recorded anti-Islamic incidents could be attributable to improved data collection rather than a true uptick. Reports submitted by law enforcement agencies covered a population of 295 million Americans in 2013, 18.6 percent higher than in 2012.

–There were 1,031 incidents inspired by religion last year, 625 (60.6 percent) of which were anti-Jewish. Anti-Islamic ones constituted just 13.1 percent.

–Anti-Islamic incidents were also outnumbered by those targeting blacks (1,856), whites (653), gay men (750), lesbians (160), LGBTs in general (277), Hispanics (331), and people of other ethnicities (324). Anti-Asian incidents (135) equaled anti-Islamic ones.

–Based on a 2013 estimate of 2.95 million Muslims derived from Pew’s 2011 figure and typical growth of 100,000 per year, there were 4.6 anti-Islamic incidents per 100,000 Muslims in 2013, the same as 2012’s rate and lower than the average of 6.0 per 100,000 for 2002–11. The 2013 rate for Muslims was less than half that for Jews (9.6 per 100,000 for a population of roughly 6.5 million) and homosexuals/bisexuals (11.0 per 100,000, assuming that they comprise 3.5 percent of the U.S. population). The rate for blacks was similar to that of Muslims (4.5 per 100,000 for a population of 41.6 million).

–Anti-Islamic hate crimes were no more violent than others in 2013. Of the 6,933 offenses spanning all hate crimes, 734 (10.6 percent) were aggravated assaults and 1,720 (24.8 percent) were simple assaults. The 165 anti-Islamic offenses mirrored this breakdown: 17 (10.3 percent) were aggravated assaults and 41 (24.8 percent) were simple assaults. Further, none of the five deaths in 2013 resulted from anti-Islamic hate crimes.

goTenna: Text with No Cell Network

goTenna

Liberals at College

Liberal College

Turnitin Debate, Plagiarism

Stealing

10 Year Old Tells Montclair School How Bad Common Core Is

Common Core Stinks

Phillips, Londonistan Explains Obama's Aiding of Enemies

Phillips

Germany Fights Islamization

Islamization

Obama Charges Taxpayers $10B per Year to Import 75,000 Islamists

Importing Islamists

Drone and Blimp

News

Geller vs. Lefty, Debate

Debate

Jerusalem Post Reporter Defends Israel Against Anti-Semitism

The Jerusalem Post Diplomatic Conference featured Ambassador of Denmark to Israel Jesper Vahr and Jerusalem Post senior contributing editor Caroline Glick.

Video

http://youtu.be/AYojm0TRGPg

Islamist Directions for Female Slaves

Islamist Slaves

Highpoints

Islamic Cleric Justifies Beheadings

Beheading

Glory of Islam: Video of 10-Year Old Female Genital Mutilation

Female genital mutilation

Apostasy in Islam

Apostasy

Benghazi Cover-up: No Security on Day of Attack

No defence

Thugs Shut Down Free Speech at Berkeley

Thugs

Baltimore Police Arrest Woman for Recording Arrest

Police Beat

Security Shuts Down O'Reilly Reporter

Security

https://vimeo.com/114272414

Moochelle Obama vs. American Kid's Lunch

Moochelle's Crap

Progressive Obama Supporters in University to Track Political Opponents

Surveilling Free Speech

Cornell West Sours on Obama

West

Libertarian Peter Thiel Shut Down at Berkeley on Anniversary of Free Speech Movement

Libertarian

Houston Police Violate 2nd Amendment

Houston

Sharia Restaurant in Vermont

CIA Report Released to Obscure Obama's Drone Kills

CIA

Cyborg Unplug

http://youtu.be/uJ-f7hNV0x4

#4433 - New York Friday Sermon: U.S. Muslims Should Boycott Coca-Cola, Nestle The Internet - August 8, 2014 - 04:00

Allie the Lab Has a Lot of Free Time on Her Doggie Paws

Allie

Professor Blake Armstrong Compares Tea Party with Nazis

http://youtu.be/PX-U3jj39_I

Cell Phone Tracking Worldwide

Tracking

Social media and privacy

Social media

World's Worst Parker: Calgary

Hit and run

Rand Paul's Appeal

Next President

Jersey Town Forced to Pay for Mosque

Forced

Catholic Schools Close: Community Suffers

Losing

Temple Islamists Try to Shut Up Opponents, Geller, Spencer, et. al.

Temple 2012 http://pamelageller.com/2012/04/video-pamela-geller-speaks-at-islamic-apartheid-at-temple-university-shoutdown.html/ Video

Wash Po: Obama's Unilateral Power Grab Unprecedented

Unprecedented

Harry Reid Lie about Romney during campaign

Harry Reid lie: Romney Hasn't Paid Taxes in 10 Years

"The word is out."

Price, Waterhouse, and Cooper verified Romney paid his taxes.

http://youtu.be/ORXJOixcS7c

Derrick Bell Lives to Harass White Folks, Obama Presides

Derrick Bell

Neanderthal Roots

Daddy Neanderthal