09/30 Open Thread - International Blasphemy Rights Day

bruno4

~~ Bruno

Do we really need a blasphemy rights day? Most probably yes, especially globally, In the USofA it would seem to be covered by the First Amendment, twice; the right to free speech and freedom of religion, but it really isn't. Those rights are not respected, supported or enforced. They've been under constant attack since the founding of this country and the attacks keep getting more frequent, continuous, constant and pervasive. Seriously, thou shalt not say anything which could reasonably be expected to hurt anybody's fee fees in any way for any reason, nor shalt thou, in any way whatsoever, contradict, challenge, or question the accepted narrative promulgated by the government, "experts", the media, the powerful, or assorted cliques of true believers. There is a war on disinformation, a word that has lost all meaning other than that which the government or other powerful groups do not wish people to know hear, but I digress. The entire idea for such a day came about when, on 9/30/2005, "controversial" (satirical) drawings of Muhammad were printed in a Danish newspaper and all hell broke loose.

The right to blaspheme, or freedom to blaspheme is possibly best seen as an assertion that there should be no prohibitions, legal or social, on blasphemy. For starts, what the hell is blasphemy? Nobody can define it in a rational manner, IMHO. I entered the word "blasphemy" is a google search bar. Up popped the following, allegedly from Oxford Languages:

he act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk.
"he was detained on charges of blasphemy"

Please note that "profane" simply means not sacred, or secular, which is pretty much all everyday talk, the weather, fashions, baseball scores, poetry, literature, most political promises, etc. Meanwhile, "Gods" and "sacred things" have no universal objective meanings, they are just subjective babblespeak about the je ne cest quois that each believer personally believes in. On top of that, "sacriligous" is simply more of the same. My favorite definition is "involving or committing sacrilege.. Can you say circularity? Sure you can. Alternatively, there is irreverent which means nothing more that not exhibiting deep respect or admiration for, or, alternatively, not giving a shit about. How can any of this nonsensical gibberish be the basis for silencing or punishing anybody? What if their personal diety thingus requires them to speak thusly, like a holy commandment to disrespect any and all other dieties except the one the believer believes in?

You can't narrow this down, but you can, imho correctly. broaden it, such the wikipedia definition:

Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered inviolable.

Here we see the ultimate extension to graven images, relics, selected texts of books, and, in the minds of some, certain politicians, public figures, and the like. "Idols" need not be inanimate and icons need not be painted or carved. Idolatry is sadly common among the followers of numerous jumped-up ordinary humans, but I digress again, I see.

I am aware that this definition refers to an "insult", but that just begs the question; an insult is whatever anybody, for whatever (twisted) reason, considers to be insulting. All to often it is simply something insufficiently reverent, like failure to bow, kow-tow, genuflect, kneel, or otherwise acknowledge the majesty of someone or something, even if they or it isn't intrinsically special. I realize that everything in life would go a lot smoother if everybody afforded everybody else a reasonable degree of respect, but things would also go a lot smoother if people weren't so sensitive about so many things. Maybe its a boomer thing, but when I was growing up that everybody was always telling each other stuff like "you're so dumb you think that General Mills was a soldier", and it was a very rare individual who took umbrage at that stuff. I mean, just what kind of petty deity is it who can't take a joke, or shrug off an insult?

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On this day in history:

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September 30, 1791, was he first performance of Mozart's opera The Magic Flute

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1863 – Georges Bizet's opera Les pêcheurs de perles, premiered

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On September 30, 1882 Thomas Edison's first commercial hydroelectric plant began operation

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On September 30,1935, the Hoover Dam was dedicated. The dam created Lake Mead, a huge reservoir backed up behind it, and was the cause of the creation of Boulder City, Nevada, which was built to house and serve those working on the dam during its construction.

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September 30, 1938, was the date of the infamous Munich Agreement between Britain, France, Germany and Italy allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland, previously part of Czechoslovakia, which was not party to the agreement. What remained of Czechoslovakia was quickly divvied up by assorted other countries, and, of course, Germany too, with the result that it simply evaporated from existence.

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1938 – The League of Nations unanimously outlawed "intentional bombings of civilian populations". That and subsequent expressions of like sentiments have been consistently ignored by all militaries ever since

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September 30, 1941, was the second and final day of the Babi Yar massacre. Pursuant to a decision and order to kill all of the Jews in Kiev, German soldiers, Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, and other Ukrainian Nazis and collaborators killed approximately 33,771 Jews in a 2 day massacre. Ukrainian participation and the Ukrainian participants in this and other genocidal operations in Russia have generally been given a pass by the Western Allies and western historians because the victims, though Jews, were also goldurn no good dirty Russkies.

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On September 30, 1943, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was dedicated by FDR. Created largely in response to the disastrous 1934 SS Morro Castle fire. This institution should not be confused with the California Maritime Academy created in 1929, which is still the only degree granting Maritime Academy on the West Coast because reasons.

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On September 30, 1954, the world's first nuke powered ship, appropriately enough, a warship, the USS Nautilus, was commissioned.

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On September 30, 1962, Caesar Chavez founded the National Farm Workers Association AND

James Meredith entered the U. of Mississippi despite rules mandating racial segregation. (Queue Phil Ochs).

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1980 – Ethernet specifications were published by Xerox working with Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.

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1999 – The second Tokaimura nuclear accident caused the deaths of two technicians and irradiated 667 other persons

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2005 – "Controversial" drawings of Muhammad were printed in a Danish newspaper. Things got really ugly

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Some people who were born on this day:

Fame is only good for one thing - they will cash your check in a small town.

~~ Truman Capote

1207 – Rumi, a renowned mystic and poet.
1550 – Michael Maestlin, astronomer and mathematician
1765 – José María Morelos, priest and revolutionary leader who took over after the execution of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
1814 – Lucinda Hinsdale Stone, feminist, educator, and writer
1832 – Ann Jarvis, activist, community organizer, and co-founder of Mother's Day.
1870 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, physicist and chemist
1882 – Hans Geiger, physicist
1883 – Nora Stanton Blatch Barney, civil engineer, architect, and suffragist
1897 – Charlotte Wolff, physician and psychotherapist, wrote influential works on lesbianism and sexuality and dreck on hand analysis

1901 – Thelma Terry, bassist and bandleader
1917 – Buddy Rich, drummer, bandleader, and actor
1924 – Truman Capote, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
1928 – Elie Wiesel, author and activist
1933 – Cissy Houston, singer
1935 – Johnny Mathis, singer and actor
1940 – Dewey Martin, drummer
1942 – Gus Dudgeon, record producer
1942 – Frankie Lymon, singer and songwriter
1943 – Marilyn McCoo, singer
1946 – Héctor Lavoe, singer and songwriter
1947 – Marc Bolan, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (Glam Rock)
1952 – John Lombardo, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1953 – Matt Abts, drummer
1954 – Basia, singer, songwriter, and record producer
1954 – Scott Fields, guitarist, bandleader, and composer
1954 – Patrice Rushen, singer, songwriter, and producer
1958 – Marty Stuart, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1977 – Nick Curran, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer

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Some people who died on this day:

Logarithmic plots are a device of the devil.

~~ Charles Francis Richter

1977 – Mary Ford, singer and guitarist
1985 – Charles Francis Richter, seismologist and physicist
2011 – Anwar al-Awlaki, prominent anti-US propagandist; the first US citizen assassinated without due process by drone strike. In separate attacks, the US subsequently murdered his teenage son and 8 year old daughter, both also US citizens, neither of whom had been accused of anything. Do not say bad things about the US.

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Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Birth of Morelos (Mexico)
International Translation Day
International Blasphemy Rights Day
International Podcast Day

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Today's Tunes

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International Translation Day

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Thelma Terry

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Buddy Rich

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Cissy Houston

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Johnny Mathis

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Dewey Martin

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Gus Dudgeon

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Frankie Lymon

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Marilyn McCoo

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Hector Lavoe

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Marc Bolan

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John Lombardo

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Matt Abts

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Basia

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Scott Fields

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Marty Stuart

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Mary Ford

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Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?

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Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com

Open Thread, Blasphemy Rights Day, Translation Day, Thelma Terry, Mary Ford, Boulder Dam, James Meredith, Marilyn McCoo, Frankie Lyman, Hans Geiger, Johnny Mathis

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QMS's picture

.
great breakdown of blasphemy
reserve the right to blaspheme
(John Kerry notwithstanding)

RIP Kris Kristofferson
a great songwriter

happy 70th to Basia
aka Barbara Stanisława Trzetrzelewska

and a link to The Peace and Freedom Rally
about 5 hours long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlA3yAg2v30&t=9385s

thanks for the OT!

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truth is considered foreign influence, world peace is a threat to national security

enhydra lutris's picture

@QMS

You have a constitutional right to blaspheme all you want to, provided, of course, that nobody else hears you. Otherwise you can be persecuted and harassed not only by neighbors, businesses and even the government itself.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

usefewersyllables's picture

October 11, which is when the state of CO will mail me my ballot. I intend to use it to blaspheme heavily on October 12.

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

enhydra lutris's picture

@usefewersyllables

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cassiodorus's picture

"No, it's not possible, they couldn't be indiscriminate killers whose only point in discussing anything would be to lie to you to keep you asleep while geolocating you co they can assassinate you. Nobody could be that bad."

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"The expansion of Israel and its proxies is an absolute fundamental necessity for the United States." - Tim Walz

enhydra lutris's picture

My apologies for the first video. That was Bod Dylan's sign language at the time I worked up this column. You Tube has now blocked it because SESAC allegedly has some rights to it. SESAC allegedly has rights to a ton of artist's performances, including Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, Rush, Neil Diamond, Nirvana and more. How any of these persons became Europeans is beyond me, but it is not my problem.

SESAC is the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers, a performers rights organization that once had a legitimate purpose of protecting the rights and royalty streams of certain performers. You Tube used to have a contract with them but it expired and You Tube hasn't been able to reach an agreement with SESAC on terms for a renewal. This is quite understandabler.

SESAC was bought out by a private equity firm, and, in particular, one that specializes in leveraged buy outs. Such firms have no legitimate business or social purpose but are simply vehicles to further enrich wealthy speculators. Given the owner's raison d'etre is quite specifically to make as much money as possible as soon as possible off of the target property or business, one can assume that whatever terms it is seeking are excessive. All we can hope is that this particular parasite doesn't kill its host.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

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snoopydawg's picture

@humphrey

It can’t stop horrific atrocities and authorizes other atrocities.
The fact that the criminal Netanyahu was allowed to waltz in and give a scathing speech about it shows how dysfunctional it is.
Hopefully something new for world justice can come from BRICS. And the US and Israel are held accountable.

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“When out of fear you twist the lesser evil into the lie that it is something good, you eventually rob people of the capacity to distinguish between good and evil.”
~ Hannah Arendt

Great thinking about the absurdities of the day.
When I was 3 or 4 years old, I asked the Sunday school teacher why our all-powerful God allows The Devil to live? The answer was to shut up and do not ask questions.
That was the last time I gave religion much thought.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

enhydra lutris's picture

@humphrey

then should we not let it do so? WE don't have that right; it is nowhere in the Constitution, nor are we permitted to be committed by any treaty to go to war without an express declration from Congress.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

@on the cusp

the very same, perhaps he is seriously schizo.

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

@enhydra lutris who caused my Dad to get shot by a machine gun 9 times. Seemed fair to ask why The Devil seemed to have as much power as our All powerful God. Well, it was a sin to ask.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/politics/2024/09/30/blinken-says-mi...

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Middle East is safer after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and that the US is continuing to push for a diplomatic solution as the situation escalates.

Israel has ramped up its attacks in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbolllah, including the massive strike Friday on the group’s headquarters in southern Beirut that killed Nasrallah. Israel has said it’s preparing a potential ground incursion into southern Lebanon, a step the US and others fear would risk a drawn-out conflict pitting Tehran against Washington.

“During his leadership of Hezbollah, the group terrorized people across the region and prevented Lebanon from fully moving forward as a country — Lebanon, the region, the world are safer without him,” Blinken said at an event in Washington on Monday.

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dystopian's picture

Hi all, Hey EL,

A GREAT blasphemous post EL! Great soundscape too!

I love me some good blasphemy! Toss in a little heresy and sacrielig and I am good to go!

I saw Johnny Mathis, not in concert, in a green 4-door Mercedes sedan on I-10 where it ends at the ocean and drops to PCH for the bit up to Malibu. It was just after sunup and I was headed birding, and there he was right out the window. I didn't see him at Malibu Lagoon, so presume he had other things to do, well, chances are...

Love Buddy Rich!

Thanks for the OT EL!

happy trails all!

edit to fix typoes

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein