Thursday, August 16, 2007   RETURN TO TOP


CLARIFYING TRUTH FROM FICTION

Recently I've been having some fun with satire stories, and we have a satire writer on staff - Mike Landisberg (a pseudonym) - so I thought I should figure out a way to keep it abundantly clear which stories are the spoofs.

I like the idea that our satire teeters so close to the edge that some people might be convinced of their factuality, but in the long run, if we cannot be TRUSTED when we post a story, we cannot argue effectively for the conservative cause. And lets face it - with the dutch priest arguing for re-naming the one true God Allah - it's not easy to blur the line between truth and satire!

Henceforth, as we are A Newt One, and we have the utmost respect for the satire publication The Onion (although they tilt a little left - and that's ok!), our satire bits will carry somewhere within the post a label: A Newt Onion. This way you will know when we're pulling your leg.

Read on!
--Jimmy Z

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ABOMINABLE. HOW CAN THE POPE NOT RETIRE THIS GUY?

Bishop urges Christians to call God 'Allah'

Catholic leader believes it would help ease tensions between religions

c.2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Catholic churches in the Netherlands should use the name Allah for God to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians, says a Dutch bishop.

Tiny Muskens, the bishop of Breda, told the Dutch TV program "Network" Monday night he believes God doesn't mind what he is called, Radio Netherlands Worldwide reported.

The Almighty is above such "discussion and bickering," he insisted.

Muskens points to Indonesia, where he served 30 years ago, as an example for Dutch churches. Christians in the Middle East also use the term Allah for God.

"Someone like me has prayed to Allah yang maha kuasa (Almighty God) for eight years in Indonesia and other priests for 20 or 30 years," Muskens said. "In the heart of the Eucharist, God is called Allah over there, so why can't we start doing that together?"

Muskens thinks it could take another 100 years, but eventually the name Allah will be used by Dutch churches, promoting rapprochement between the two religions, he said, according to Radio Netherlands.

However, a survey published today in the Netherlands' largest newspaper, De Telegraaf, showed 92 percent of the more than 4,000 people polled oppose the bishop's view, the Associated Press reported.

Some letters to the paper were filled with ridicule for the bishop.
"Sure. Lets call God Allah. Lets then
call a church a mosque and pray
five times a day. Ramadan sounds
like fun," wrote Welmoet Koppenhol.
The chairman of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, Gerrit de Fijter, told the Dutch paper he welcomed any attempt to "create more dialogue," according to the AP. But he said, "Calling God 'Allah' does no justice to Western identity. I see no benefit in it."

A Muslim spokesman, for Amsterdam's union of Moroccan mosques, said Muslims had not asked for such a gesture from Christians, the AP reported.

Tensions with the Netherlands' 1-million-strong Muslim community have been high since the 2004 murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim avenging a film critical of Islam.

Last week, politician Geert Wilders talked about banning the Quran, shortly after the head of a group of former Muslims, Ehsan Jami, compared Islam's prophet Muhammad with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

Muskens made similar remarks several year ago about using the name of Allah, Radio Netherlands reported. He also suggested replacing the national Christian holiday Whit Monday - celebrated the day after Pentecost - with an Islamic religious day.

The bishop also has offended Muslims, saying in 2005 Islam was a religion without a future because it has too many violent aspects. [Well! He was right back then! --JZ] (SOURCE)

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