Henboy, Dem or Rep - what happened to her is repugnant.

I agree. Let's take her in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAYVDLqkqHU&feature=related

These people are so pathetic. To be so afraid of women that they would hide them behind vales and then shoot a little girl who disagrees with them. That is the weakest and most despicable kind of creature there is.

That's just a ridiculous comment. I'm a lifelong Democrat voting for Obama, but to even remotely compare the two situations is nauseating.

lee really? these cowards are scumbags and should be treated as such. shoot them all and let allah sort them out! they cant fight man to man they hide in the weeds and kill women and children in the name of their religion. send them to hell!

Shooting 14 year old girls!.....the Taliban......where so-called "men" are truly chicken shiit cowards................

Children often show more courage than adults. What a girl. Yes ... any country should be proud to have her.

Sometimes I think that we should limit our involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but then i think that the human garbage that is the taliban needs to be taken out, for the good of the civilised world. This disease is spreading thanks to funding by our "friends" the Saudis, who are playing double game, just like us, so I won't hold my breath. Still, the only good taliban is a dead one, but like roaches they keep coming, nothing short of extermination will do the trick !

Pakistani school girls pray for the recovery of Malala Yousafzai

I'm not sure prayers are what we/they need. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the guys that shot this little girl pray to the same god as she does, no?

Sometimes I think that we should limit our involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but then i think that the human garbage that is the taliban needs to be taken out, for the good of the civilised world. This disease is spreading.

This "disease" you speak of is unwavering faith in absolute truths.

The Taliban has very little to do with it, they are merely a symptom to a much larger cancer.

We see it everywhere (even here). People from all walks of life who sincerely believe they have divine mandates from celestial powers act as if ... well ... they have divine mandates from celestial powers. In other words, they act exactly as we would expect them to act.

Make no mistake about it, this isn't a clash of religions, it's a clash of civilizations. It's a fight for modernity and a war against archaic ideology. And, The Middle East is not the sole front. We wage this war on our very shores everyday.

Malala wrote in her dairy: ""My younger brother does not like going to school. He cries while going to school and is jubilant coming back home ... He said that whenever he saw someone he got scared that he might be kidnapped. My brother often prays 'O God bring peace to Swat and if not then bring either the U.S. or China here.'""

Does it not remind you people of Diary of Anne Frank during Nazi Germany?

Life even for most Pakis, especially girls, women and minorities, under Islamic religious Nazis like Taliban, al-Qaida, MB, Salaffi and some more label ones are worse than Nazi Germany.

Most of them are more barbaric and beastly than the Nazis!

What a dirtiest swamp Pakistan, a pure Islamic nation formed in 1947, has become!

What is sickning is there is probably a certain group in Pakistan cheering the brave solider of God who shot a 14 year old girl.

WOW. We better watch out for those bad ass Taliban guys.

I mean, look what they accomplished! They shot a 14 yr old girl on a school bus! And it "was" their main target. They're tougher than I thought man. Reeaal tough...

My prayers do go out to this little girl who like anyone else, just wants to live a normal life of peace...

Roosterboy(and I really mean BOY) and Mgrinder: To make this into a Republican bashing issue is way to pathetic. Odumbos the one saying the taliban are just misunderstood and have to be coddled.

Google "obama comments on Taliban".

You two "people" are just sad examples of human beings.

www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/05/02/president-obama-goes-all-in-on-the-taliban

chad-1841583 ----In name only!--- I pray to Jesus, so do those sickos at that Westboro Baptist Church. But my concept/perception of Jesus is VASTLY DIFFERENT than theirs. Likewise, this little girl's and her schoolmates' concept/perception of her religion is VASTLY DIFFERENT than that of the Taliban. I hope and pray that Malala's situation will galvanize her country into truly KICKING the Taliban out of there! And I hope and pray that she makes a full, FULL recovery!

What is sickening is that members of CodePink went to Pakistan to protest the US drone strikes that are trying to take out these cowards who shoot little girls. CodePink would rather protect the terrorists than brave young girls like this!

I pray to Jesus, so do those sickos at that Westboro Baptist Church. But my concept/perception of Jesus is VASTLY DIFFERENT than theirs.

Yes, your concept of Jesus is vastly different because you pick and choose which scriptures and doctrines you choose to follow, and disregard the rest. I'm not sure what point you were trying to make by pointing out the religious hypocrisy that plagues most faiths?

The reality is, it doesn't much matter what "your" perception of Jesus is, it doesn't change the fact that your religion is one with foundations in human sacrifice and eternal damnation for those that don't carry the same beliefs as you. You can walk around and praise Jesus and quote as many warm-and-fuzzy scriptures as you would like, it doesn't change what is written in your faith one bit.

What is sickening is that members of CodePink went to Pakistan to protest the US drone strikes that are trying to take out these cowards who shoot little girls. CodePink would rather protect the terrorists than brave young girls like this!

Really?

See, this is the type of bull@!$%# that really makes people laugh at you.

I don't really care for Code Pink, but get real. I'm pretty sure the protests had very little to do with the killing of terrorists and everything to do with the innocent civilians that are being killed in these strikes. Do you realize how many little girls (like the one this article is about) get blown up in these strikes? Have you seen the images, researched the reports? I have, it isn't pretty.

Some would argue that these strikes actually create more terrorists than they kill. I'm not saying I agree with that, I'm just saying those are the questions we need to deal with in the reality we find ourselves in.

When you try and push this narrative that one political side is the sole savior of patriotism ... and the other are evil libs who can't wait for the Taliban to invade America ... you just look like a fool. And I don't want you to look like a fool. Please stop.

For everyone saying 'My god is better than your God'....

It's what you do that matters, not whose Name you do it in!

There is no better example of this than Malala herself! She and the Taliban both pray to the same God--which prayer do you think He is most likely to answer?

Chad,

Let me tell you what the definition of a "Troll" is;

"A party who copies and pastes other peoples comments above their posts to show their displeasure with another parties beliefs and puts them down for their own self entertainment."

Didn't know if you knew this but, just an FYI.

Have a nice day...

CD

Let me tell you what the definition of a "Troll" is: "A party who copies and pastes other peoples comments above their posts to show their displeasure with another parties beliefs and puts them down for their own self entertainment."

I guess that's one way of looking at it.

Another way would be that providing full context of a commenter's messaging in order to reply a full and coherent rebuttal that can be cross-referenced and checked .... hmm ... could that make a little more sense?

I realize this is a pretty hard concept for you to grasp, considering you're such a partisan ideologue, but that's just the way it is.

And here I thought the story was about a brave girl standing up to cowardly thugs. Yet again we are reminded by all the retarded post that it is an election year. Don't you people get enough of the stupid adds already. You people must have life size dolls of each candidates and wank off on them or something.

Why are these people so afraid of girls/women? Why do they worship a god so small he must have men do his dirty work? When women are respected, everyone benefits; when women are not respected, everyone suffers.

Chad,

Scroll up and down. Take a look at other posts. They talk about the Story/subject. Now look at yours. You comment on "other" peoples comments and hardly (if at all) on the story as if you're getting off on it. Just saying it how it is dude. Now, it won't surprise me if you copy and paste and comment on my comment after Reading your "above" post.

You followed suit... plus you have potty mouth.

Like I said,

Have a nice day.

"potty mouth"

Let me guess ... am I a "pin head", too?

Oh Creek Dog, my little ideological grunt ... I do cherish these little talks of ours.

According to wiki, a troll is "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community... with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion."

Quoting someone so you can comment on their post is not trolling. If you post something in a place like this, you are inviting rebuttal or soliciting support. Or is it not acceptable to address other people's comments?

I'm pretty sure a troll is someone who just baits people into arguments by spouting irrelevant and off topic garbage - such as using this story to bash a domestic political party, or someone who provides no context or evidence to back up their wild claims and continues to post them after being debunked. Perhaps even someone who isn't pleased by another's point of view and just calls them a troll for replying to other posters.

I don't see how quoting someone and then responding to their comment in context and with at least some thought makes one a troll. There is a button for quoting people for a reason. It's so on a long thread we all know what and who someone is responding to. Your accusation is a stretch.

@ 1devon

There is a big difference between an immigrant applying for citizenship to avoid persecution and someone wading the river under cover of darkness. No one is suggesting that immigration be stopped. Only that the law of the land be enforced and people go through legal channels for entry. Aside from economic reasons, they are, however, suggesting that illegal entry poses security risks. I mean really, how hard do you think it is for al qaeda to fall in with a group of hispanics and get into this country. Does anyone think a coyote, given the nature of his 'job', would refuse to carry them? Hell, just last week a group of Chinese tried to enter through Mexico. That border is so open, the whole world is using it now.

Scroll up and down. Take a look at other posts. They talk about the Story/subject. Now look at yours. You comment on "other" peoples comments and hardly (if at all) on the story as if you're getting off on it.

You do realize the purpose of these threads, right?

This is a place for people to come and congregate about wide-ranging topics relevant to the articles at hand.

I read these stories to absorb the information and form my own conclusions. This is a passive, static activity.

I read these threads to engage-in, and provide commentary as needed. This is an evolving, dynamic activity.

In actuality, I often learn much more through the comments than I do through the articles. Even from people like you, whom I obviously completely disagree with. At the very best, we can make each other question or own views and think a little harder about issues we hold dear. At the very least, we can sharpen our own positions and form better foundations for our arguments.

None of the above, has anything to do with trolling.

You obviously disagree with my position, and probably find me to be a rather unpleasant individual. I can only make this observation because whenever we comment on the same article, you go straight to insults rather than providing an opposing point.

But I got to tell you .... I think this reflects much more poorly on you than it does on me.

lynseypug

What is sickening is that members of CodePink went to Pakistan to protest the US drone strikes that are trying to take out these cowards who shoot little girls. CodePink would rather protect the terrorists than brave young girls like this!

It is sickening what the Taliban and any extremist is doing over there.

But we can't ignore the civilian casualties that are happening with the drone program. The drones have killed a little over 3000 people. They have actually reported over 800 civilian deaths, with close to 200 children killed. Other experts have estimated higher civilian numbers, over 1000 civilians killed.

@Chad - I have to agree with Creek Dog you seem a little over impressed with yourself stick with the story and comment on that for a change.

This little girl is amazing, my prayers are with her to make a full recovery. I hope that her and her classmates may someday be able to go to school without the fear of the Taliban.

This child belongs to the world she has so much to give still. We all must pray for her and evoke the seals to go in and rescue her from the life of murderous men. Since she lives I am sure they are still out to get her. I would love to adopt her she is a symbol of world peace.

Chad

Everyone, concerning Chad, h notice he must toss in the final word of garbage behind everything....

here is is now everyone...

ain't he great lets give Chad a hand....

Pakistan provided a safe little nook for these animals and they are now reaping what they've sewn. I feel terrible about this girl but we could all see it coming a mile away unfortunately. You can't provide safe haven to fanatical murderers and then act surprised when they murder someone.

@Chad - I have to agree with Creek Dog you seem a little over impressed with yourself

I don't know if I'm really all that "impressed." I'm pretty average in the package department, and I've neglected my beer belly for quite some time (although I am currently in a lifestyle change so I'm hoping to trim a few pounds)

stick with the story and comment on that for a change.

You mean like this?

This little girl is amazing, my prayers are with her to make a full recovery.

That's great. I really hope this little girl is in all of our thoughts. Actually, I kind of hope your entire comment goes-without-saying.

But I'm not hear to offer up prayers and say little warm-and-fuzzies so people will "like" my comment. I think we can make better use of our time discussing the real and hard issues of why this little girl is in this predicament in the first place.

This is called Newsvinne. It's a place where people come to talk and learn about issues … it isn't a memorial service (and I'm pretty sure this girl and her family are not reading our comments). If you would like to offer prayers and condolences, go visit a site for people looking for such a thing.

Superskunk

When you realize that Hezbollah does not wear uniforms, everyone that is killed of injured in war is called a a civilian by the hezbollah, regardless that he is still carrying a RPG launcher. Not only that but every one of your statistic is made up without confirmed sources. Everytime the media tries to confirm actual injuries in Gaza they are not allowed in until a mach scene is built and the "dead civilians" are removed...

ain't he great lets give Chad a hand

I apologize, this last part is all I could make out/understand in your post.

I think the USA is headed this way. It won't be long before our religious extremists are taking away women's rights of free choice, or shooting down people who go against their beliefs. Oh, wait. I forgot about forced trans-vaginal scans or abortion doctor killings.

Christianity. The Taliban of the West.

BigJeff

There was recently a report that showed Americans just reached their most "non-religious" point in our nation's history (and this trend is only increasing every single year). This is promising news.

While eliminating religious pandering and meddling in governmental affairs is a great start, it's by no means a cure-all. But damn, it really does feel good that we are finally catching up to the rest of the civilized world when we show that we base our morality and our ethics on a shared human experience based within the human condition and not superstition and fear.

:)

I would encourage all to include her in your prayers. She is fighting for her life.

I truly cannot understand why there is not international outrage and (at the very least) severe sanctions against Pakistan regarding the shooting of this innocent teenaged girl and her friends. I know the government of Pakistan did not shoot her, but they clearly condone and permit the Taliban and Al Qaeda to operate freely in their country, and for that they are complicit in this horrible crime against innocent children.

Until the day comes that Pakistan willingly exterminates these gutless cowards who hide in women's clothing and kill innocent children and women under the guise of thier religion, I think the world should drop all monetary aid, food aid, military aid, and domestic relief of any kind to Pakistan. The government and the people of Pakistan need to understand that the rest of the world does not tolerate this kind of behavior.

Chad, please understand the difference between faith and religion before you bash both. From you high horse that you have made for yourself, you cant see the truth on the ground.

Different interpretations are not picking and choosing. Children know this.

buzzlightyear2,

We dont stop aid exactly because it is not the government doing this, and that aid is mostly food, which, you know, feeds the very people we are angry are being attacked.

What if the US was receiving aid, and they stoped giving it to us because of all our gangs?

There was recently a report that showed Americans just reached their most "non-religious" point in our nation's history (and this trend is only increasing every single year). This is promising news.

Strange, your view is contrary to the truth, seems to everyone else that America and the rest of the world is falling apart, not getting better.

Where do get off thinking that a religion that preaches to love one another and to be peacemakers themselves is harming mankind? You call it superstition, thats irrelevant. If MORE people believed followed just the basic fundamentals of Christianity we wouldn't even need police.

Now you will continue stating how many religious nutcases their are, that we agree but that is NOT THE RESULT OF THE RELIGION. I know many scholars that this past year have went postal and committed mass murder, in your reasoning does that mean ALL SCHOOLS are the cause of mass murder?

As long as you keep spouting that the majority of Christians (100s of millions) that live peacefully on this planet are a problem with causing turmoil, you yourself will keep being wrong!

She is a special, courageous young girl. Unfortunately with a bounty on her. Get her to safety and hide her.

Let me get this straight. The taliban shot this little girl down and yet most of you atheists are still blaming christians for this?

This is Pakistan....... if the taliban didn't shoot her down, there are plenty of other muslims who will curtail her freedom anyway. I find it hard to believe that people can't associate one with the other.

Yes, your concept of Jesus is vastly different because you pick and choose which scriptures and doctrines you choose to follow, and disregard the rest. I'm not sure what point you were trying to make by pointing out the religious hypocrisy that plagues most faiths?

Chad: This just shows your ignorance. Atheists are the ones who pick and choose which scriptures to follow rather than reading the bible as a whole. People like you constantly quote specific verses from Leviticus to "make your point" but are completely dumbfounded when we counteract that point later on with bible verses and give the explanations why. Then you have the nerve to say our "definition of Christ is wrong" or that we are hypocrites........

No one is falling for that........

Strange, your view is contrary to the truth, seems to everyone else that America and the rest of the world is falling apart, not getting better.

Really? We are falling apart?

Your basing this comment through a political lens. The reality is, we are living in our most peaceful and prosperous times. Obviously not economically, we've been practicing unsustainable policies for the better part of a century ... but there is much more to the wellness of our species than the bottom dollar.

Read The Better Angels of Our Nature if you wish to get an unbiased, analytical-based view of why and how this time (right here and now) is the best time we've ever seen. And, it's up to us as human beings to make it better.

If MORE people believed followed just the basic fundamentals of Christianity we wouldn't even need police.

Which are?

My friend, there were moral codes, laws and ethics written thousands and thousands of years before your Christ graced us with his presence. Our country was founded on, and is based within, influences forged from the Principles of the Enlightenment ... not your Bible.

Now you will continue stating how many religious nutcases their are, that we agree but that is NOT THE RESULT OF THE RELIGION.

?

I know many scholars that this past year have went postal and committed mass murder, in your reasoning does that mean ALL SCHOOLS are the cause of mass murder?

Religiosity has absolutely no barring on one's intelligence. Some of the greatest scientists to ever live were religious. Please deal with what I actually say and stop trying to create straw man arguments to attack.

Atheists are the ones who pick and choose which scriptures to follow rather than reading the bible as a whole.

:)

My friend. Fully reading the Bible is the very reason why I'm writing to you now as an atheist.

My friend. Fully reading the Bible is the very reason why I'm writing to you now as an atheist.

Chad: Well if all that didn't help you...... Then you should of remembered this verse from your studies:

For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. (2 Corinthians 3:11-16)

One needs to ask where this aggressive, bellicose doctrine of the Taliban arises. They have one source for all of their doctrines and they know it religiously, so to speak. If they are mis-interpreting the Koran and Hadith, then it is strange, because it is the only documents and doctrine that they know well. Do we need to focus on the source of their madness? After all, the Taliban is madness. Perhaps the Taliban will be defeated, but if we do not find the source of the mental sicness, then we will find history repeating itself over and over. Malala will be just another among many tragedies crafted by a doctrine that appears to remain above reproach.

Let's hop that Malala survives, at the expense of the doctrinal creed that would have had her assassinated.

Unhappy

Thanks for that ... It's a truly beautiful scripture. Actually, I rather enjoy reading the Bible for this very reason. It's chuck full of all kinds of beautiful poetry, allegory, and narrative beauty. Its literary value knows no bounds.

But, it's just a book.

Just like the Analects of Confucius, or the wisdom poured to page through the Buddha.

I take wisdom, knowledge, and influence from a myriad of sources in my life ... and hopefully that will never change.

It would appear that the Taliban is made up of bullies and idiots who are truly evil; they are Godless and only worship the terror they create and the illusion of power. This young girl wanted an education but obviously the Taliban fear knowledge and see as a threat against the fear and ignorance they wish to keep people in. It is a shame that creatures like them hurt and kill innocent men, women and children. It is also a shame they can't capture them or drive them out of Pakistan. They are like cockroaches; hiding then sneaking out to injure and kill innocents, they contaminate everything they touch.

To the non-thinking who blame religion: do you SERIOUSLY believe if there was no religion, there would be no more wars? I guess you missed out on history class, when all of Europe was Catholic and there still wars between countries. If you look into it you will find war is never about religion; it is about greed and the lust for power...

Unhappy, you are making the incorrect assumption that athiests believe every thing they read. Your bible could say anything (and it does have some doozies), but that does not make it so.

I know I'll regret this, but Chad, what is your basis for determining right and wrong, if not a creator? Does it just magically pop into your thick skull, or what? For example, sex with goats, right or wrong, and why?

And, could you tell me where in modern American religious doctrine I can find commands to kill 14 year olds? After all, you seem to think Christians are the same as the scum that attacked this child, so back it up with some modern American references that actually make sense please.

Back to the story, I sincerely hope this child is provided legitimate protection going forward. I also wonder if our intelligence community knew about this one before hand. It certainly was not the result of some silly movie.

Thanks for that ... It's a truly beautiful scripture. Actually, I rather enjoy reading the Bible for this very reason. It's chuck full of all kinds of beautiful poetry, allegory, and narrative beauty. Its literary value knows no bounds.

But, it's just a book.

Just like the Analects of Confucius, or the wisdom poured to page through the Buddha.

Chad: Several of the analects of Confucius are very similar to those verses found in Proverbs....... Confuscius was said to have lived around 475 BC....... Solomon wrote Proverbs in the bible and would have said to have lived around the time of 970 BC.

So yeah..... we all know where Confuscius copied from.....

poor taliban leave them alone is not there fault is George Bush and the Republicans fault! we should ask the taliban and the muslim brotherhood to forgive us and get alone with them, cause Obama and Clinton said so. "being sarcastic"

Romney / Ryan 2012!

I know I'll regret this, but Chad, what is your basis for determining right and wrong, if not a creator?

Surely that's not a serious question?

Does it just magically pop into your thick skull, or what?

No. That's the whole point.

Morality has shifted, morphed, and evolved over thousands and thousands of years of human progress and shared human experience. Why did it take so long to end slavery ... or for women suffrage for that matter? The Bible was around for a few thousand years, right?

It took so long because our cultures and our morals are reflections of the societies in which we choose to build and create for ourselves ... not the holy books we clutch and praise. I looked to the Bible (among other influential books) for its literary value and beauty. And yes, of course, there's even some moral guidance in there. Although, one really can't be an honest scholar of history and not see where the Bible (and its writers) received much of their influence from previous cultures.

Again. That's the whole point.

There is NO guidebook that we can reach to and point to passage, page, and scripture and say: "Here! Ya see?"

Human morality and ethical codding are very tricky endeavors. But, Human flourishing must be predicated upon our own understanding of why we are connected with one another and why it's important to breed true altruism that reflects broadly on our culture as a whole .... not as separate and competing sects that wish to argue over who's god is better or true.

Chad

I am not political at all. 40 years ago where I live we never locked our doors, now everything walks away that is not chained down, there was no such thing as metal detectors or drug dogs in schools to flush out drugs and guns... and you are stating the its ONLY POLITICAL THINKING that assumes the world is getting worse!! You have head-up backside disease in the fullest sense of the word, you can't even grasp the obvious...

Its funny you talk about laws & ethics that existed long before Christianity? You obviously know nothing about the tribal life of the world back then, it was brutal in every sense of the word. Your idea of man's ethics is whatever the masses allow, give it time and soon you will be allowed to marry your children because there will be no morals left, so far you agree with these methods.

Hi Chad--interesting discussion! As far as having interpretations, thoughts, feelings, beliefs/world views--as long as it meets certain criteria like compassion, respect for other's personhood, etc, I don't have a problem with other people regardless of their world view--see my response #10.11 to Amanda.

Outrageous; what was done to this beautiful Pakistani girl who wanted girls to go to School.

"And we cannot call them Terrorists"?---I pray for her recovery so she can live on as a Symbol for the Jihad Terrorists, that they cannot kill to kill.

When is this ME/N. African Holocaust going to stop---Should the President not call out to the Terrorists of all Middle East Countries that this is not acceptable. Something has to be said about all the Terror going on in the Middle East/N. Africa.

It can no longer go unnoticed. These are children that are preyed upon by the Jihadists, either for Suicide Bombings, kidnapped from their parents to kill, or children who should be able to speak out, and gain some attention for the words they have to say. Criminals, and barbarians---it is getting worse, because NO ONE has come out against the War on Terror, or called them Terrorists.

Not addressing this issue, gives them more "fuel" to continue the War on Western Society, including their own. Is it going to take a Nuclear Bomb from Iran headed for the US to wake up the Government. Oh, that's right, we will NOT be alive to talk.

Fed up!

Hello Lisa,

I think the point I've been trying to make is that people's "world-view" tends to be skewed in one direction or another by a myriad of factors ... religion just happens to perform as a major catalyst in this equation.

Beliefs have consequences for all of us, not just the believer.

We all formulate beliefs and intuitions in one way or another, the difference is that some of these are informed and guided through reason and evidence, and others are not.

That's why I said at the top of this thread that the problem was: unwavering faith in absolute truths.

Hey Taliban, know what? You're a bunch of f*cking cowards.

Pathetic what they have done and will do. However all those comparing the GOP to them have ti backwards. The liberals are the ones that tried to burn chik-fil-a because they didnt like what they said, burn the boyscouts because they didnt like their beliefs, burn a priest (no I'm not catholic) because he wouldnt go against his beliefs for a lesbian, burn the christians for having rights at all, hate and spread hatred towards all non liberals, make up lies to make them look worse, lie, and accuse others of lying at the same time. Support a president whose autobiography was full of lies that he said made it more interesting and said it was ok for him to be a liar but no one else.

From what I see the liberals are simply evolving towards the taliban. The only difference is that their "religion" will be atheist. I didnt see any conservatives nearly as hateful as the liberals. Never have. I used to be a liberal, but all the hate mongery turned me towards the liberal side and the more hate i see from them the more of a conservative I become. Oh by the way I go to a church I was invited to by a GOP hispanic, its a white/black/hispanic church. Asians are welcome too, arabic, whatever we dont care. My hispanic friend has tatoos, our guitarist has long hair and beard, our music leader is a prep, and we accept anyone that simply can act normal in a church. So keep your lies to yourself.

The best way to handle a blogger like Chad who needs to have the last word on everything is to select ignore this author. Chad you can ramble on to all the other bloggers with you overwhelming depth of knowledge and morality, but at least I won't have to read your inane posts anymore.

gilamonster70

Why are these people so afraid of girls/women? Why do they worship a god so small he must have men do his dirty work? When women are respected, everyone benefits; when women are not respected, everyone suffers.

Its "funny" to see all these extremists, and fundamentalists, using things invented and/or designed by women every day, without even knowing it. Take Ayatollah Khamenei (among many many others) for example, he has a computer, and has Facebook and Twitter accounts, and probably has no idea that the first compiler for a computer programming language was written by a woman, Grace Hopper.

The best way to handle a blogger like Chad who needs to have the last word on everything is to select ignore this author.

"last word"?

Funny, I guess I see ongoing dialougue to be a different thing entirely ... one person presents an issue, the other responds, and so on and so forth.

Chad you can ramble on to all the other bloggers with you overwhelming depth of knowledge and morality, but at least I won't have to read your inane posts anymore.

Okay.

Have fun.

If only life had an "ignore" button so we could just "hide" everyone we disagree with ... wouldn't that be awesome? Of course, I guess we'd have to surrender any resemblance of our maturity though.

This poor girl's life isn't worth a plug nickle in any Islamic country. Women have very limited value and even fewer rights. The West aids and abets this continuing barbarity by not standing up to Islam and speaking the truth about this inhumane treatment of women. Women deserve equal rights with men in all societies.

Anna, you are soooo right! And yet, these fundamentalists/extremists of any religion, love to spend their time to 'suppress' women any way they can. These men fear women, and I just wonder why. Any ideas on that one?

"Pakistan's future belongs to Malala and brave young girls like her. History won't remember the cowards who tried to kill her at school," Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Twitter.

AS elegant as ambassador Rices words are, it does not change the fact that unless the Pakistani people rise up and slaughter these Taliban animals they WILL loss their country to them.

Yes, DAB-588907, the gods forbid you should continue exposing yourself to any posts here with any "depth of knowledge". ignore away!

Ken Trout

Superskunk

When you realize that Hezbollah does not wear uniforms, everyone that is killed of injured in war is called a a civilian by the hezbollah, regardless that he is still carrying a RPG launcher. Not only that but every one of your statistic is made up without confirmed sources. Everytime the media tries to confirm actual injuries in Gaza they are not allowed in until a mach scene is built and the "dead civilians" are removed...

We're talking Taliban, not Hezbollah, I'm confused.

Second of all I don't post information unless I've confirmed it.

You obviously didn't read my post completely. I listed statistics and estimates, yes that is true. But before I listed the estimates, I listed the actual REPORTED civilians casualties reported by our government.

Hi again, Chad--I gave you a 'like' in your response to me, even though I do believe that there are a few 'absolute truths' but very few, and those few have to do with compassion for others, respecting their personhood, and have nothing to do with any one particular belief system/world view. But I get what you are saying--so much damage has been done with the 'my way or the highway' kind of thinking. I enjoy good, rational discourse among people who disagree--intellectual challenge is a good thing!

Thanks Lisa,

In regards to your comment about "compassion and respect for others" being an absolute truth, I would say I agree, but for different reasons. In reality, these too would be principles that we could test; socially, culturally, ethically (in other words, I still perceive these concepts within the purview of science).

Our cultures and societies have evolved to thrive on mutual compassion and respect. If we hadn't, we never would have gotten this far. But this too, took millenia to accomplish. Countless lives and numerous exercises in trial and error in order to create "a more perfect union."

As I pointed out to another commenter who strangely enough thought we "only" received moral guidance from the Bible. This position is always so mind-boggling to me considering how long the scriptures have been around and how long it has taken us to abolish slavery, give women equal rights, etc. That fact alone would make you think Christians would think twice about projecting such a false narrative regarding Biblical morality. But it doesn't.

The reason I think religion, by definition, is a conversation stopper regarding "compassion for others," is that most of these faiths break down my idividuality before I even have time to create a "self". All (well, most) major religions have dogmas and doctrines that centralize around the core concept of salvation and damnation. In most cases, this offense happens regardless of the type of life I live (and in some cases) it happens before I am even born.

It doesn't really matter how "moderate" a Christian or Muslim claim to be. In order to be true believers of their religion (i.e. take the documents of their faith seriously) they have to believe that my immortal soul will perish in flames and torture for all eternity ... not based on my actions, not based on my merit, and not based on the life I've lived. But simply because I do not accept the very premise of their faith.

On the outside, A Christian can be extremely respectful to me.

On the inside, the fact they somehow believe I am immoral, unpure, or simply "don't get it" because I'm not hip to their salvation, means that there can not be a mutual respect.

Any shred of cosmetic tolerance and respect that I receive on the surface is instantly diminished (for me at least) because I know what lives in their beliefs.

...and that's why new people don't get links.

According to rules, you can't post links until after a probationary period. This is an attempt to prevent spamming, trolls, etc.

You can post the link, it just has to broken up so that the software doesn't recognize it a link, that is something you can just click on a go there.

Sounds like a scam. Large percent of it is overhead costs while tiny bit of it actually reaches the receipent.

You would need too many of the funds!

The entire country of Pakistan is wishing her well. Instead of sending money to some possible scam it's best to wait - unless msnbc itself reports on some URL.

How is it that she was shot while attending a school that was supposedly closed? Please correct me if I missed something.

Creek Dog, that is not the definition of "troll". Not even close.

See what I mean said;

How is it that she was shot while attending a school that was supposedly closed? Please correct me if I missed something.

When the Taliban took over a few years back they closed all schools for girls. When the Middle East conflicts broke out and the Pakistani army routed the Taliban from Pakistan, the schools reopened,and Malala became an outspoken proponent of Westernization, liberty, freedom and equality.

The Taliban assassins waited outside her school yesterday, askingother students if they knew her. The students all know she's on the hit list and they refused to tell the assassins which girl was her. That's why two other girls were injured as well as Malala.

By this and other similar acts, the Taliban continue to show what they are...animals...incapable of joining civilization...they can NEVER be allowed to rule! They are the only living thing for which there is NO best and highest use!

Oh, here I was a fool believing Romney that Obama was not helping the Syrian rebels enough.

Was the recent big foreign policy speech a lie ?

Think about that come November !

No these are the people President Obama has been eliminating with the drone strikes !

Where are you getting your information from ?????????????????

You know that Romney wants to give them even bigger more powerful weapons don't you.?

This little girl has more bravery in her little finger than most of us have all our lives... making her a US citizen is not what she wants... she wants peace, and an education... we need to find a way to promote peace...

Mitt Romney wants more involvement in Syria - that usually translates into our sons and daughters being sent off to another war.......while there isn't one of his family - past or present - that ever served in the military. Have his own sons sign up before he decides to involve the rest of ours.

It is the same Taliban that our drones keep blowing up!

Can you prove that statement another attempt to make this political what a shameful act, you disgrace this page with your rants .

out--- Yes, we WILL remember the GOP lies come Nov!!

"out of the woods" should be "back to the woods" until you can put an intelligent thought together.

out of the woods

Did you sign up for military service yet? Maybe you will if R$mney gets in the WH and we ened up in another war. Or should I say "Wars". Yes, we will remember in Nov, and VOTE OBAMA.

Amazing that the right still has no empathy for 14 year old girl who is not afraid to speak up about liberty

Yes, this is the very same Taliban that is shutting down Planned Parenthood clinics in the United States and trying to change laws concerning "rape" to make it easier to rape women without culpability. Same Taliban that is trying to rewrite history books for schoolchildren to downplay the significance of slavery in our past and who question the president's legitimacy because he is black. Very same Taliban. Do remember THIS in November.

It's About Time said:

Amazing that the right still has no empathy for 14 year old girl who is not afraid to speak up about liberty

The world should rally behind this girl (actually if you look at her Facebook page, she's gotten an enormous outpouring of support from not only Westerners but also from a huge portion of the Muslim people as well, so I feel pretty safe saying that her people are behind her and rooting for her 100%.)

She espouses the highest ideals that we all should display; integrity, honor, respect, honesty, loyalty, intelligence, and common sense. She exemplifies the best emotions and examples of the human spirit, and for one to cheapen her efforts and her message with one of petty political aggrandizement and partisan bickering shows one's own narrow-mindedness, pettiness, and ability to see beyond one's own concerns to take in the wider world around you.

Her goals have been the US's goals; liberty, equality for all, freedom, the chance to make your life better through education and open-mindedness, the chance to see others as they are, not through the narrow filter of what your religious leader tells you you should see. She holds President Obama up as her ideal, she admires his leadership, focus and goals and I hope that if she recovers, she gets a chance to meet President Obama in person. That would be an historic conversation, and I'm positive they'd both learn a lot from each other.

If she recovers with no permanent brain damage I'd vote for her as the next President of Pakistan!!!

kat...there is a way to have peace with the taliban. Simply submit to their way of life.

out of the woods

Is this the same Taliban that is backing the Syrian rebels that Obama has been aiding ?

The same ones who kill and maim American soldiers ?

The same ones who did this to a little girl ?

Think about that come November !

I am simply shocked that there are at the time of this post 12 others supporting this absolute HS! You people are now to the point where you will say literally anything to attack this president no matter how far removed from reality. And of course you are supported by others with the same disease.

Are you voting for Romney now that he has adopted his own "liberal positions? Or refuses to take a position at all on a multitude of issues? Or talks of putting us back into another Middle Eastern conflict? That's the President you desire? Yet you complain to no end about the current POTUS. RIDICULOUS! GET HELP! ALL OF YOU!

kat kerr davis

This little girl has more bravery in her little finger than most of us have all our lives... making her a US citizen is not what she wants... she wants peace, and an education... we need to find a way to promote peace...

Yeah, I have to disagree with you and kinda offended. The part about "This little girl has more bravery in her little finger than most of us have all our lives". Nice way to generalize and overuse that word.

Is she brave? Sure. She blogged about her daily life in a war torn environment and critical of Taliban.

Maybe she has more bravery in her little finger than you or anyone else that you associate with but I see way more in everyday Ammericans. I can name a few.....

US Military who risk their lives everyday just so you can sit behind the computer telling everyone that most americans are not brave.

Police officers who deal with drunks, rapists, criminals and etc so that you can live in peace without being worried about crime.

Firefighters who risk their lives fighting fires just so you have a home to go to at the end of the day.

Social workers who help people everyday especially the low income and at risk while getting paid peanuts.

Coal miners who risk their lives in the worst environments so you can have energy to power your computer.

Medical staff like techs, nurses, doctors...... especially in the ER that deals with drunks, drug addicts, car accident victims, gunshot victims, etc....... hostile environment but yet save lives.

EMS, always there so they can help bring you to the hospital as soon as possible.

Organizers and volunteers that run social network like soup kitchens to help feed the poor everyday.

Gee........... thats freaking alot of Americans and many more. You make it sound like most Americans just sit in a cubicle all day typing on a keyboard. Generalizing most Americans as wimps who are scared is just full of it. There are more out there besides facebook and television buddy.

@ Christina Canziani:

Grow up, lady...

The Religious Right, as offensive as they are - are not the Taliban - we are talking about a 14 year old being shot for their convictions by a bunch of neo-nazi thugs who make even David Puke, erm Duke, look like Albert Schweitzer in comparison.

And if you would study your domestic enemy's viewpoint (AKA Jahari window) they see your precious clinics as miniature Treblinka's - which of cousre is not fair, but your rhetoric makes it plausible in their eyes.

That issue is no longer about protecting women's rights or the right of the unborn - you two have turned it into a desire to immolate each other....

Reinstate the draft, ONLY deferment accepted is for Physics, chemistry, engineering, and medical students, their contributions to be given AFTER they have graduated and can contribute best after their educations. ALL politicians children should be the FIRST sent to the front line, that should temper their eagerness to go to war.

I agree, once congress declares war the draft should be conscription should be mandatory for all, no exceptions.. This will eliminate the few fighting for the masses.. Iraq and Afghanistan would have ended years ago due to political pressure..

And where's all the condemnation from the MUSLIMS over this tragedy..

AntiStuopidity - Forget the Anti. You are really stupid! You start the draft again and all you are going to see is kids (including politicians kids) head for somewhere that will not send them back to the US as draft dodgers. That is why you have an all volunteer service. These are the real heros that want to protect this country, with their lives, if necessary. I spent 28 years in the US Army and it was done voluntarliy. And if you started the draft again, why would you deferr the ones you listed? Shouldn't everyone that is in college be given a deferrment? I think not. If one can be drafted, everyone should be - no exceptyions!!! Sometimes it takes war to get a point across to another country that we will not put up with any crap - as long as you have a President and Congress that has the guts to stand up and be counted! I've ranted enough - have a nice day.

Dawg said;

And where's all the condemnation from the MUSLIMS over this tragedy..

President Asif Ali Zardari directed the concerned authorities to provide best possible medical assistance to the injured girls. He said that the terrorists would never be able to shake the resolve of the nation through such dastardly acts and the nation will continue to fight against militants till its logical conclusion.

Parliamentarians in the Lower House of Parliament strongly condemned the attack on Pakistan's Malala and said that terrorists would not succeed in their nefarious designs through such cowardly acts. They praised Malala for her bravery, for standing firmly against the menace of terrorism and extremism. They termed the assassination bid on her as an attack on all peace loving people.

ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and provincial president, Senator Afrsiab Khan Khattak have strongly condemned the attack on the National Peace Award winner and have expressed grief and sorrow over the injuring of the laureate of Tamgha-e-Shujaat, Malala Yousufzai.

According to a condemnation statement issued from the Central Media Cell at Bacha Khan Markaz on Tuesday, they said that Malala Yousufzai has rendered matchless services for restoration of peace in Swat and in the recognition of her services the government of Pakistan had conferred the award of Tamgha-e-Shujaat on her. They said that their people would not be demoralized through nefarious activities. They also said that those spreading anarchy and chaos in the country are the enemies of Pakistan and they have no relations with any ideology or religion. They said that this attempt, like past nefarious designs for disrupting peace in the country, will be foiled in the future too.They appealed the people to remain calm and never quit patience and extend support to the government in the elimination of these enemies of humanity.

Expressing deep sorrow on the incident, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain said that firing upon innocent students and injuring them was blatant terrorism, and the perpetrators behind this vile act should be swiftly brought to justice, said a statement issued by the MQM here on Tuesday.

Expressing deep sorrow on the incident, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan, in a statement, said that firing upon innocent students was blatant terrorism and the perpetrators behind this act should be brought to justice.He said that Malala was working to promote education despite difficult circumstances. He demanded of the government to take serious notice of the attack and take action against the elements involved in it.

Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and termed it as a cowardly action of the Taliban. He said that these attacks can not dent the cause for which Malala stood for.

Many schools in Pakistan's Swat Valley closed their doors in protest Wednesday and the country's army chief vowed to fight on against militants as anger erupted across the nation over the Taliban attack on a 14-year-old activist famed for promoting girls' education.

The country's top military officer, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, issued a strongly-worded statement condemning the attack. The powerful army chief rarely makes such public pronouncements, even when it comes to strictly military matters. "In attacking Malala, the terrorist have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage and hope who vindicates the great sacrifices that the people of Swat and the nation gave, for wresting the valley from the scourge of terrorism," Kayani said.He vowed the military would not bow to terrorists like those who shot the young activist. "We will fight, regardless of the cost we will prevail," he said.

Private schools in the Swat Valley were closed Wednesday in a sign of protest over the shooting and in solidarity with Malala, said Ahmed Shah, the chairman of an association of private schools. Flags in front of the Mingora government headquarters were at half-staff, and police officers stood guard outside her family's house.

A demonstration is expected to be held later Wednesday at the press club in Mingora and another one was under way in the eastern city of Lahore. In the southern port city of Karachi, the city's main political party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was having a service at their headquarters to pray for the girl's recovery.

So as you can see, there's been plenty of condemnation. I also recommend you take a look at her Facebook page to see what has been said for her and about her in support and well-wishing.

Romney and his team will be another Bushes jumping up and down as directed by Sunni Saudis, oil companies and their lobbyists and extremist Jews like Netanyahus!

Do they have any ideas of ME and Afghan regions? There will be too many "mission accomplished."

Look at that McCain dramas in Libya! Where was he when the US ambassador and others were pulled out and killed?

Who with little sense will continue sanctions on Iranian oil and manipulating oil prices higher and higher just like during Iraqi wars?

We don't have any roles in Syria and Iran. Century old battles of Shiites vs Sunnis are their own and not ours.

Where are Bushes, McCains and others in Afghanistan? Due to Paki backstabbing NATO is being badly defeated in most places and half of NATO forces deaths are due to them.

At least, those who are talking big of Syria and Iran, should go to Afghanistan and plan how to withdraw forces from Afghanistan!

The Religious Right, as offensive as they are - are not the Taliban - we are talking about a 14 year old being shot for their convictions by a bunch of neo-nazi thugs who make even David Puke, erm Duke, look like Albert Schweitzer in comparison.

Did you notice Wade Michael Page, who shot up a Sikh temple 3 months ago?

There have been killings by fundamentalists in the US as well, people killed for being different or simply because the perpetrator(s) wanted to make a statement.

I find it nearly incredulous that Doctor Khan would say 'for the grace of Allah she will recover', it is Allah who put her there, it is Allah's followers that make this travesty a, near daily, routine event for Muslim victims.

One might find, it is a sin in Islam, to kill a virgin; these 'men' are expected to rape her first.

Malala's god willing, she will survive. And the Pakistani's public outrage? It will be forgotten in a couple days and these people, who have the power, will do nothing more to stop the Taliban or any other gang of their ilk.

I claim no religion but, I'll pray for her recovery never-the-less.

There have been killings by fundamentalists in the US as well, people killed for being different or simply because the perpetrator(s) wanted to make a statement.

Such as...

example please.

And where's all the condemnation from the MUSLIMS over this tragedy..

Well now I know who didn't read the article...

My heart goes out to this little girl and her family. I hope she recovers quickly and completely.

NOW to a brief observation. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? Not all of you, but those who must bring up your political rhetoric at every turn of the corner. Here is an article of a girl shot worlds away and suddenly you blame the republicans of the democrats.

DO YOU EVEN CARE WHAT THE ARTICLE SAID OR EVEN CARE OF THE PLIGHT OF THIS LITTLE GIRL? If this were your daughter would you be thinking the dems or repubs were responsible? Probably not unless you have no moral standards. Every article I read some loon has got to get the ball rolling of who this and who that. Read the damn article and stick to its contents. No one gives a Rats A$$ about your political views. You're all just wasted space.

We are Americans people. We are a compassionate and moral society and not right wing/left wing/any wings judges and juries.

They are the one's praying for her. This is not the work of god, but small evil men. They have kill 50,000 to 600,000 Muslims. Al qaeda is different in each country. But it is always evil. We have killed may time that number, fighting evil. War is always a negative in the long run. The small good it achieves is always lost to time.

Yes, this is the very same Taliban that is shutting down Planned Parenthood clinics in the United States and trying to change laws concerning "rape" to make it easier to rape women without culpability. Same Taliban that is trying to rewrite history books for schoolchildren to downplay the significance of slavery in our past and who question the president's legitimacy because he is black. Very same Taliban. Do remember THIS in November.

Cristina Canziani: Are you sure you are not confusing the word Taliban with the word PARANOID. YOU are a racist to assume that we judge our President's performance on skin color...... The President sucks at his job, okay...... Anyone can see that....... I'm not even white and I can see that.

As for Planned Parenthood..... Believe it or not, most of us are not Anti-Baby....... most times women choose to have sex.......Sorry, but you are referring to extreme cases........

I will remember this come November.....

Such as...

example please.

Such as when I started out by giving an example in the first place.

Thank you njofaustin. Well said.

I find it nearly incredulous that Doctor Khan would say 'for the grace of Allah she will recover', it is Allah who put her there, it is Allah's followers that make this travesty a, near daily, routine event for Muslim victims.

And she also prays to Allah, as do the doctors who saved her. Maybe if you bothered to actually pay attention to the reality, you might be somewhat less incredulous.

As for "Allah putting her there", Allah doesn't exist, just like any other god.

You folks comparing anything American to the Taliban are absolutely clueless. Venture out of your warm little houses or apartments or refrigerator boxes as the case may be and see the world for what it is. Better yet, volunteer for one of the services and go over to the Stan and see for yourself.

Far be it for me to judge other belief systems but make no mistake. By the WORST American standard the Taliban are animals. Incompariable to anything the US has to offer. So when you compare US churches, politicians or most anything American to the Taliban you are only showing a gross lack intelligence and understanding of this world.

Do the us all a favor and shut your pieholes until you can get a modicum of understanding of the relevant facts. Lord it's disgusting to read the crap you some of you post. Disgusting!

That is a colloquialism. Insha'Allah (God willing) is a qualifier that is used to humbly acknowledge that the outcome is in God's hands, not in theirs. Everyone says it, all the time. Don't read too much into it.

out of the woods

Is this the same Taliban that is backing the Syrian rebels that Obama has been aiding ?

The same ones who kill and maim American soldiers ?

The same ones who did this to a little girl ?

Think about that come November !

I love the stupidity. Did you flat out ignore the comments Romney has made concerning Syria? Here let me show you.

Mitt Romney announced this week that as president he would make sure Syria’s rebel fighters get the heavy arms they seek to bring down President Bashar al-Assad’s helicopters and fighter jets.

So, if you consider the non-weapon assistance Obama has authorized, what does Romney's plans to start providing actual weapons to them show?

Don't you just hate facts when they pop out and kick you in the teeth?

had-enough-470242

Maybe she has more bravery in her little finger than you or anyone else that you associate with but I see way more in everyday Ammericans. I can name a few.....

Let me respond...

US Military - that would be my husband... whom I support 24/7/365... you do not know me or of what you so proudly spout of about...

Police officers - Two nephews... they are very brave...

Firefighters - half my town... and frequent visitors to my workplace for treatment...

Social workers - that would be my mother... 'nuff said on that one...

Coal miners - grandfather... coughed his lungs out as he died...

Medical staff like techs, nurses, doctors...... oh, wait... i fit in there... have for 20 plus years... hostile work environment? We actually kinda thrive on it...

EMS, these are my besties...

You preach loudly... maybe you should do a little research before you preach...

This little girl showed bravery in seeking an education that she felt was vitally important to her...

in the middle-2260511

Thank you njofaustin. Well said.

Thank you. I am just sick and tired of these clowns who bring up politics. I notice though that you are the only response I received. Make me wonder how many folks out there are guilty of this and how afraid they are to respond. Maybe I caused them to rethink their rhetoric and non-caring attitudes

kat kerr davis

Please, thank everyone on your list for me. I praise their bravery and sacifice. I am a 25 year retired veteran. Spent time in Vietnam and know what it is like to receive no respect from Americans for that war. Did Granada, Kosava with NATO, Desert Storm and Somalia. Somalia took me out of service and disable with leg and arm loss. It was good to see respect from folk in those actions.......but I would do it all over again.

I praise them all for their courage! Unlike most folk here don't know courage if in bit them in the a$$!

Please thank them all as you can from a soldier in Austin, TX.

NJOFAUSTIN!

Thank you for the voice of reason! Every other comment should be deleted!!! I get SO sick of the politics of these narrow minded people who want to "blame" someone else. The thing is, we are all in this boat of life together and blaming and bashing, whatever side you are on, won't help a damn thing, and probably will hurt, in the long run. So, my friend, thank you for your service. I appreciate you and all of those (including my own father-yup, am a service brat myself) who have given of themselves for freedoms that most take for granted! May Malala stand up again to shout for peace once more. Bless the child.

kat kerr davis

Let me respond...

US Military - that would be my husband... whom I support 24/7/365... you do not know me or of what you so proudly spout of about...

Police officers - Two nephews... they are very brave...

Firefighters - half my town... and frequent visitors to my workplace for treatment...

Social workers - that would be my mother... 'nuff said on that one...

Coal miners - grandfather... coughed his lungs out as he died...

Medical staff like techs, nurses, doctors...... oh, wait... i fit in there... have for 20 plus years... hostile work environment? We actually kinda thrive on it...

EMS, these are my besties...

You preach loudly... maybe you should do a little research before you preach...

This little girl showed bravery in seeking an education that she felt was vitally important to her...

So you saying this little girl has more bravery on her little finger than most people on your list. I agree she is brave but to discount most Americans as cowards is just wrong on your part.

kat kerr davis

This little girl has more bravery in her little finger than most of us have all our lives...

Most people do not get the recongition that this girl got nor multiple awards but instead continue their lives as normal. But to claim that the little girl has more bravery in her little finger than most police officers, US military, school teachers, coal miners, firefighters, etc..... I have to disagree on. Just because they don't post on blogs and tell everyone what they did does not mean they are not brave. It might be different if you claim "some of us" but to say "most of us', then it's offensive.

It's as if I claim I have more intelligence on my pinkie than most of you. It's just as saying most of you are stupid. Bet you would be offended.

You start the draft again and all you are going to see is kids (including politicians kids) head for somewhere that will not send them back to the US as draft dodgers.

So? If they can't be bothered to fulfill their obligations then let them hide somewhere else as wanted criminals never able to return to the US.

had-enough-470242... why do you pick apart what I post? I stated that she has more bravery than most people gather in all their lives. I meant that. I deal with life and death every day of my life. I do it, knowing that the next person coming through the door may be under stress, and packing a gun, or a knife again. I do what I do, because it is the right thing to do. I know the next person may give me HIV... I do it anyway.

I see the cowards. The people that beat their kids, their spouse. They can say anything they want. We know. The marks don't lie. I deal with the suicides.... the people looking for an escape. I deal with the drunks, that are trying to drown their sorrow, and manage instead, to kill the good father, mother, or worse yet a child, due to drink. Come work with me for a week... and meet the cowards...

Bywrong, Wade Page was a Nazi, not a Christian fundamentalist. Maybe you can't tell the difference but most people can.

I think we can only do that if asked. And I believe they won't ask except as a last resort. For those who may have been critical of Western influence in the Middle East, it could either be seen as more Western interference or it could be seen as her being our 'puppet'--after all, she said President Obama was her ideal.

By letting the Pakistani people take care of one of their own, they'll be showing solidarity against the Taliban, a support not only of her and what she believes in and advocates for but also a demonstration that what she started they will continue. From other articles I read their Prime Minister gave her their highest civilian award, and they've also committed to building a modern IT focused college, named it after her, and will stock it with computers and things like that and will be open to anyone who wants to study, male of female. If a trauma team goes there, it should be a multinational coalition, with experts from many different countries. Unless the US specifically is asked.

I don't think it's wise to ship a team of trauma doctors and neurosurgeon half way across the world to Pakistan and start barking up orders in their countries. You will start getting very poor care if 50 different doctors thinking their way is better.

Talking to NBC News after the surgery, Khan said Malala's brain had started swelling as its left portion was damaged by the bullet.

He said they operated on the damaged part of her brain and neck and removed the bullet from her body.

Sounds like the outcome is not good, no matter how advance care she receives.

And in late-breaking news on MSN Arabia, we get this brief but succinct report:

The attackers of Malala Yousafzai have been identified, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Geo News reported.Talking to media here Wednesday, Malik said the attackers would be apprehended and brought to justice. He further said that the decision to send Malala Yousufzai abroad for treatment has been postponed and according to her doctors she was out of critical condition. Malik informed reporters that neurosurgeons from London and the US were ready and would be called to Pakistan if the need arose.

Most of the top Gen and politicians have dual citizenships, Paki and British and others.

Gen Mush, the biggest backstabber and criminal, responsible for the mess in Afghanistan and Pakistan is hiding in London and his son is in the US!

These Pakis have too many faces: they have one face in our nation and another in their own nation.

But basically, most of them are the same everywhere in due course: liabilities and curses on a society and nation due to their baggages of Islamic religious extremism!

And in late-breaking news on MSN Arabia, we get this brief but succinct report:
The attackers of Malala Yousafzai have been identified, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik...

No Kidding! They're called Taliban and they made the announcement themselves taking "credit" for the attack.

Malik said the attackers would be apprehended and brought to justice.

We'll see about that. I'm reminded of the car bombing in Tripoli Libya this past summer where almost before the smoke and dust of the bombing had cleared, the government (such as it was/is there) announced that it had solved the case and made arrests. It's called pretending that you are in charge.

Adam;

I simply reported what is being said on the news network for that region,which said reports have not gotten to this news channel yet. So yes, we'll wait and see who is brought to justice for this.

I simply reported what is being said on the news network for that region,

As if it was meaningful. Otherwise, why bother?

Sweet baby Malala (peaceful Islam) say hello to the Taliban (political Islam), contradicting messages of Allah as prescribed by prophet Mohammad.

Adam;

Because the original poster Robert asked if we had a trauma team on the way. I was getting back to the topic of the original post with this short clip that shows that yes, we do, and they are ready to go the moment they are requested to come.

I will be praying for her. May she heal and her and her family come through this safely and together. I pray she'll have a full recovery and her wonderful brain heals. And I pray this doesnt happen to any other child either.

I hate to say it, but incidents like this are what are needed sometimes--a wake-up call to the people that are living under such conditions.

The United States marched in to Iraq and Afghanistan with its interpretations of democracy and ethics, but until the people living in those regions are fed up with being bombed, tortured, shot and killed, it's only going to continue. No outside forces will bring change--they can INSPIRE change, but to bring change, that's up to the people living within those countries. They're the ones that have to say "enough is enough," recognize the evil among them, and rise up to crush them.

The Taliban shot a fourteen-year-old girl... grown men were terrified of statements being made online by a child. Cowardly behavior such as that is exactly what people need to recognize in order to break free from it. It is a shame that this had had to happen, but that is the point: it HAD to, because negotiation is beyond the understanding of the fanatic.

Where is the commentary from Obama? He had plenty to say about Travon Martin....

StandUpJokeOff, your third paragraph is probably the best statement I have seen on this whole tragedy.

Tribal issues were always there.

The same Afghan and Paki regions were most prosperous before followers of Islamic cult set their feet.

Now high dosage of heroin addiction of Islamic religion/cult has messed up the Paki and Afghan regions beyond repair.

These days, many Pakis have become so intolerant that they are doing genocides of minority Muslim sects like Shiites (18 percent), Sufis (love and peace fooling Islamic version), Ahmedias and minority tribes.

Many areas in this region and places like Mali came under the influence of Islam through Sufi love and peace dancers.

When the Sufis, Shiites, Ahmedias pray on Fridays, their mosques are blown up to pieces and even the injured are killed by bombing the hospitals.

Can there be more barbarism and beastly acts using religion/ideology or anything?

Conditions of minority religion is still worse!

Well whoever it was is sure a pussy, yellow bellied, coward to be so scared of a young girl writing an online blog. I can envision a suitable punishment that involves pigs and blood and pig manure and a sex change for the cowards involved....

We have fathers killing their daughter's right here in the United States! Wasn't there a Mayor who just said leave your beliefs at the door? I'm with him!

Until the people living under Taliban control make a stand for themselves, all of "our" fighting (the U.S., NATO, etc.) isn't going to do anything. THEY, the people of those countries, have to be the one to make a stand in their own country. Unless they do, and until they do, they ARE giving these extremists permission to continue.

We have been in an open period of war in this country since 1990. We have amassed more veterans who are depending on our government for support than all the previous conflicts put together. And for what? Our troops are being killed by the very people that they are trying to train. The Taliban is still there. You can't go house to house, shooting up suspects at random; there are any number of cases where that has failed dramatically. This kind of fighting is guerilla warfare not unlike Vietnam or Korea, and look how well that went.

If you want to put a boot in someone's ass? Put it in the civilians that are being bombed and shot. They have to stand up for themselves; we can't keep propping them up.

We have propped people up before and it worked. The Germans, Japanese and the South Koreans. After that we have been fighting politically correct wars and losing our asses. We were lucky to have the outcome in Korea because it was our first political war and we still have 20,000 troops on the border with North Korea. We fight these "touchy feely" wars now that can't be won. Wing tip to wing tip B-52 carpet bombing would be the name of the game and this would end. The "hiding in the mountains" excuse for not being able to find the bad guys would be over. These people would be terrified to pull the tigers tail again and all would be right. This isn't arm chair general talk, these people only respect force & power, nothing more. Showing up with Hillary Clinton saying we are sorry and then sit and watch our soldiers get killed by the people we are helping and do nothing? People wonder why we are losing? You gotta break a few eggs.

Again Religion and Politics has played apart in humankinds excuses for barbarism....The taliban is scared shi***ss of a little girl who seeks to erase their power and hold on the people....But this is a story that has been played out thousands out of times through history, in every part of the world...Every group in every part of the world has acted out these type of astroscities to maintain power and control....No one group has a up on the other when it comes to this type of behavior....Read world history........Look at the astroscities created in the name of " WORLD EXPANSION" Rome was one of the greatess at creating fear and horrilbe death to those who wanted to argue their rule. WELCOME TO THE WORLD

Stand Up Joke Off said:

We have been in an open period of war in this country since 1990.

We've never been at war in Pakistan. We sent a SEAL team in to get Bin Laden, but we've never openly been at war there.

We have amassed more veterans who are depending on our government for support than all the previous conflicts put together. And for what? Our troops are being killed by the very people that they are trying to train.

In Afghanistan and Iraq.

If you want to put a boot in someone's ass? Put it in the civilians that are being bombed and shot. They have to stand up for themselves; we can't keep propping them up.

while I agree with you on that one--that the civilians are going to have to be responsible for routing out the extremiosts from their own midst-- I wouldn't say that we were 'proppong them up'--merely showing them what is possible. They have been living under restrictive Taliban rule for so long that they go a kind of tunnel vision, they could only see the inside of the box.

Then the US came along, and the conflicts in the middle east, and seeing women soldiers fighting alongside the men must have had a profound impact on these women and girls who have all their lives been taught they were not equal, that the only thing they are good for is having babies and hiding suicide bombs under their burkas. Seeing that we accept each others' equality as a fact rather than as an exception opened the lid of that box, and the people of the Middle East, like this girl, are starting to think outside of it, looking at the possibilities and seeing what they've been missing.

The Sumer Olympics this year was an excellent example of that. For the first time, all competing countries had both males and females competing for their country. Previous to this summer, there had been one country who refused to let females participate even if they qualified per the IOC's rules, and that was Afghanistan. This summer, a woman marched in the Afghani delgation, competed for the honor and glory of her country and her countrywomen, and wasn;t forced to wear a burka while doing it--she wore a headscarf out of personal choice. Like Pandora's box, once it's out you can't put that back in. These women are not going to allow their dreams of equality die. (I've always thought that a lot of the world's ills could be cured by empowering women.)

I don't know if you've seen the headlines over the last few weeks, but in Benghazi, Ambassador Stevens death created an huge outpouring of Western support and a week after his death, a huge crowd of the ordinary people storemed the compound where the militants were hiding and drove them out of the city (and i believe killed a couple. Thirty ordinary people died in that, but they achieved their goals and it's another step in empowering them; they've seen for themselves what can be accomplised when you're determined.

And in Somalia, there was an old fort by the beach there that had been serving as a stronghold for Al-Quaeda extremist forces. A coalition of military forces from countries all over Africa (led by Kenya, who have recently driven theseextremists out of their own country) launched an all-out offensive across that beach to drive the extremists out. They succeeded, in what is now being called 'Al-Quaeda's D-Day' and all that is left are small, disorganized splinter forces.

The Middle east is slowly rising to thow off the chains of extremist occupation, and while it took us to show them the possibilities, I do believe it's going to be up to them to take it the rest of the way. We've helped the baby to stand, now it's time to let them try taking their own shaky steps.

I understand your confusion but let me clear one thing up--these aren't men. They're pigs. Nothing but mindless animals and it's time to cull the herd.

Robert-1107492

We have propped people up before and it worked. The Germans, Japanese and the South Koreans. After that we have been fighting politically correct wars and losing our asses. We were lucky to have the outcome in Korea because it was our first political war and we still have 20,000 troops on the border with North Korea. We fight these "touchy feely" wars now that can't be won. Wing tip to wing tip B-52 carpet bombing would be the name of the game and this would end. The "hiding in the mountains" excuse for not being able to find the bad guys would be over. These people would be terrified to pull the tigers tail again and all would be right. This isn't arm chair general talk, these people only respect force & power, nothing more. Showing up with Hillary Clinton saying we are sorry and then sit and watch our soldiers get killed by the people we are helping and do nothing? People wonder why we are losing? You gotta break a few eggs.

And you recommend invading Pakistan and carpet bomb everywhere, while killing both taliban and innocent people? It's easy to say lets bomb everything while sitting behind a computer. Unless you actually experienced combat, you are just another arm chair war mongering wannabe. Iraq alone will cost us 3 trillion. Pakistan will fight back since they have nukes unlike Iraq and Afghanistan.

watch our soldiers get killed by the people we are helping and do nothing? People wonder why we are losing? You gotta break a few eggs

Soo worried about our military kids? What do you think going to Pakistan will do to them? They are already getting war weary from multiple back to back deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan...... now Pakistan? All because a 14 yr old kid got shot? Really?

Iraq and Afghan vet.

Had enough, where did I say invade Pakistan? Where did I say Bomb everywhere? Where did I say kill innocent people? Where did I say send "weary troops" back in to Afghanistan? Do you make this stuff up as you go along? Clearly the ground troops are not getting it done so it's time for a couple of years of terror from the skies. Use drone technology to select targets and wipe them completely out. This isn't just for a 14 year old girl but she makes a better reason than most. This little scenario is for the common folk of Afghanistan to see what happens to these bad guys when it rains bombs on them like the little cloud that rains just on Wylie Coyote wherever he walks or hides. As far as our unsuccessful ground war with the Taliban goes, it has tuned into just that, weary soldiers just doing time and counting the days until they can leave. They understand that they have little effect if any in the big picture of "hearts and minds" and would rather expend their energy on waiting and wanting to leave. This is to be expected because bridging the cultural gap between us and them is extremely hard at best and the troops know it. Lets not leave this like the Russians did or like the USA did in Vietnam. Lets finish this with a clear resolution and the honest people of all the middle east saying to would be terrorist "don't you dare start that @!$%# around here because the tiger will be back!" and mean it. Thats how you get the participation of the people and only then will you see them throw the terrorist' out on their ear.

American Tax Payer for 34 years.

Amanda 2017567--your post #6.5 is a good post--you made some excellent points! It reminded me of a very short poem I wrote many years ago about the Solidarity movement in Poland (led by Lech Walenza (sp?) ):

They've had a taste of freedom

and they will never ever

be the same........

I agree with your saying that it's time that they take it the rest of the way. They have a HUGE task ahead of them.

BTW, your posts show a lot of thought and research on your part. I might not always agree with you, but I appreciate your thoughtfulness, rationality, and diplomacy. Keep up the good work!

Lisa C:

Hold fast to dreams/For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly...

I don't know who write that but it seems appropriate for this situation.

These women, these people, have now seen what is possible. Despite the fact that we went there to wage war, there will be far-reaching repercussions on that peace. Only time will tell if those repercussions will be good or bad, but we've opened Pandora's Box for them and we cant put all of that back. i is up to them to decide if they will stay and cling to the hope they found, or if they will run after the bad imps released.

(I rather think some of the men who have become used to the chauvinistic society will run after the imps, and the women and children will stay and cling to the hope. And eventually it is those children who will rule their world.)

And thank you. I try to stay rational. Not always successful, but I do try.

Robert-1107492

Had enough, where did I say invade Pakistan? Where did I say Bomb everywhere? Where did I say kill innocent people?

Here is a quote from you....

Wing tip to wing tip B-52 carpet bombing would be the name of the game and this would end. The "hiding in the mountains" excuse for not being able to find the bad guys would be over. These people would be terrified to pull the tigers tail again and all would be right

This happened in Pakistan and I'm assuming you want to just carpet bomb Pakistan all because a 14 yr old was shot. And if you carpet bomb an area.... that means it will involve innocent people in the process.

Where did I say send "weary troops" back in to Afghanistan? Do you make this stuff up as you go along? Clearly the ground troops are not getting it done so it's time for a couple of years of terror from the skies. Use drone technology to select targets and wipe them completely out.

Now you are backtracking away from carpet bombing to now drone attacks. What do you think will happen if you start drone attacks inside Pakistan? Expecially when they were already pissed when we went to get Bin Laden? They are not weak Iraq and Afghanistan. They are a country with nukes. They will fight back. Drone attacks will not work after a while. Sooner or later we have to put troops on the ground like in Iraq. Guess what? That means pulling those war weary Iraq and Afghan deployed troops to Pakistan. Either way, innocents will end up getting killed. Drone attacks are not 100% fool proof like in the movies.

Lets not leave this like the Russians did or like the USA did in Vietnam. Lets finish this with a clear resolution and the honest people of all the middle east saying to would be terrorist "don't you dare start that @!$%# around here because the tiger will be back!" and mean it.

Like a war mongerer. Lets attack everyone that disagrees with us and stay there for decades. Iraq will cost us 3 trillion if not more. We are already going bankrupt because we are trying to be the world's police and going to senseless wars. Unless you been to Iraq and Afghanistan, you will realize that it is a losing war. And going to war with Pakistan is just plain stupid over a 14 yr old girl. We had no clear resolution in Vietnam after 10 yrs, and same with Afghanistan after 10 yrs +. How many more years do you need? How much more trillions being flushed down the toliet over there. Spending half a million dollar bombs to blow up mud huts gets old after a while....

Guess what? We raided Social Security funds to pay for Vietnam. Imagine if we stayed there indefinately.... that fund would have been long gone. Talks about Social Security going bankrupt will have already happened in the 80s or 90s.

Of course what do I know about war......

Iraq and Afghan vet.

We are that's what all those drone strikes are for. OBL style (Navy Seals) risks more lives and in OBL's case they were also after intel.

I wouldn't say terrified of her. They were mainly annoyed. Killing some one that is airing their dirty laundry so they shot her. Terrified of her? I doubt it.

Evening Alan...Each to their own and what ever they perceive that to be..No "these types things will never end" when you have Christians killing and blowing each up in Ireland so is that any different to the Taliban? You are no different in your thinking to that of the Taliban but in a Christian version. I have no quarrel with anyone of any religion as the vast majourity of people are not "fanatical" nor have the "mine is bigger than yours" mentality. Last time I checked we have "freedom of religion here" and I assume it is the same in the States. I will pray if I want to whoever I like, not who some "feral" tells me to. As you are so fond of quoting God, "then God help us" because between you and the Taliban we are stuffed.

Hate to burst your bubble Alan but your mythical god is no different than theirs.

Alan keep that crap out of the newsvine. You are so far out of line its not even funny. I am christian, however I reject the so-called need to harass and persecute whomever does not believe as I do. Whether they honor the Prophet Mohammad, believe in reincarnation, or don't believe in anything at all, I respect the fact it is their choice, whomever and whereever they live.

Anyone who forcibly shoves religion done another's throat just creates resentment and hate.

I personally believe that only people who choose to seek and understand God's blessings will receive them. It is far better to have a volunteer than it is to have a conscript.

Back on topic: There is no cause, no reason, nor any motive that EVER justifies the attempted murder of innocents. I am well aware that most Muslims in other parts of the world deplore these acts of violence.

Alan, you have your mythical sky fairy and they have theirs...That's the problem. You both have given up your right to think for yourselves by believing in your higher gawds.

Pathetic.

Alan:

The God of the Holy Bible and the God of the Qu'ran are both the same deity. Adam, Abraham, Joseph, Cain and Abel, Noah, Lot, Moses, Joshua, Jonah, David, Solomon, Job, Aaron, Zachariah, Elisha, Elias, Eleazar, Deborah are all mentioned, the Immaculate Conception involving Mary is described and they do acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, Son of Mary.

From the viewpoint of someone outside all three of the Abrahamic belief systems (Jews, Christians, Muslims) sorry, I don't see a lot of diference between the three of you. I worship the Goddess, and humankind was worshipping the Great Mother since we we as a species were still fingerpainting on cave walls. Our belief system has endured even through the Greeks and Romans trying to wipe us out, the Jews and Christians trying to wipe us out, and the Muslims. Practically every belief system in the world has tried to wipe us out.

So if practically EVERY belief system on the planet has tried to wipe us out and yet we are still here, by your reasoning would that not mean that my Goddess is stronger than your God?

That, however, is not what we believe. There is no one true way, and my Way may not work for you (and your Way not work for me) because what I perceive as my truth is not the same as what you perceive as yours. It's what you do that matters, not whose Name you do it in. Your talk of a 'false God' and denigration of someone else's belief system doesn't indicate to me that you are any more or less 'good' than the ones you castigate.

(BTW--you do know that your Holy Bible and your Jesus never specifically condemned pedophilia? The Bible says 'Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy children,' but says nothing about uncovering the nakedness of someone else's children, nor does it say 'Thou shalt not lie with a child as with an adult.' Scholars say that Mary could have been as young as 12 when she got pregnant with Jesus, wouldn't that make your God a pedophile too?)

And one more thing: first you say 'There is Only One True Living GOD' then you say ' Pray to them and them Alone.' Use of the word 'them' indicates plurality. So which is it? Is God singular or plural?

That girl who was shot is, from your point of view, one of "the pedophile Muhammad's deluded followers". So, in one post you simultaneously bless her and call on her to "be eliminated".

Wow. Just, wow.

Alan, you are wrong to associate all muslims with this. A lot of them deplore the girl's murder, i am sure. The taliban however, is human trash, and beyond redemption. I sincerely hope our coalition troops ( I am French ) are killing as many as possible.

And no, they weren't "scared" of the girl, just annoyed at her for speaking up. That he could walk up to her and pull the trigger shows that these are not real men, and don't belong in a civilized world. Well, that's my take on it..

Amanda writes:

BTW--you do know that your Holy Bible and your Jesus never specifically condemned pedophilia? The Bible says 'Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy children,' but says nothing about uncovering the nakedness of someone else's children

I'm an atheist myself but that is very callow reading Amanda.

Adam said:

I'm an atheist myself but that is very callow reading Amanda.

How is that 'immature'?

In Leviticus it specifies you 'must not uncover the nakedness of your daughter'. It also specifies the same for your son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, and any children of your son and daughter-in-law and your daughter and son-in-law. It's very specific in outlining the relationships that were forbidden. So if we were to take the Bible at face value and literally word-for-word, then it can be argued that the Bible never forbids lying with a child as with an adult.

Back then life was short and hard and infant mortality was high. In the interests of ensuring the preservation of your genetic material, it was biologically most advantageous to marry early and often and start your females bearing children as soon as physically possible in hopes of getting ONE child to survive to adulthood, so females got married as soon as fathers gave them permission to.

And while we're at it, the Bible (again, very specifically) says 'Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman, it is a detestable thing' but it never says anything about two women lying together, so God must be ok with lesbians but not with gays. I wonder why God has a double standard.

In Leviticus it specifies you must not uncover the nakedness of your daughter, son, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, and any children of your son and daughter-in-law and your daughter and son-in-law. It's very specific in outlining the relationships that were forbidden. So if we were to take the Bible at face value and literally word-for-word, then it can be argued that the Bible never forbids lying with a child as with an adult.

That's what I mean by callow. Arguing about what any religion does not explicitly forbid is a waste of time.

And while we're at it, the Bible (again, very specifically) says 'Thou shalt not lie with a man as with a woman, it is a detestable thing' but it never says anything about two women lying together, so God must be ok with lesbians but not with gays.

More games. A waste of time.

Hi Amanda! As I said in my earlier post (#6.9) I don't always agree with you....here I must say there are a few things we disagree on. Jesus did say that "Whoever causes these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them if a millstone were tied around their neck and cast into the sea". I believe that can very well be applied to pedophilia. You do have a point about females being married as soon as they reached puberty back in ancient times, due to very short life spans and the uncertainty of survival. I myself am a Christian, who believes that the Golden Rule to do unto others as you would have them do unto you is key. And I recognize that that rule has been found in many forms in many different religions. As long as a person's perception of their belief system/world view enables and empowers them to love others as they love themselves, have compassion and respect for other peoples personhood, then I don't have a problem with them regardless of what their belief system is, including atheists and Gaia worshipers.

Scholars say that Mary could have been as young as 12 when she got pregnant with Jesus

Proof please, which Scholars, Islamic?

How old was Mohammad's Mother? I doubt she was 9 years old.

Adam said;

Arguing about what any religion does not explicitly forbid is a waste of time.

The original poster Alan brought it up when he said 'Pedophile Mohammed'. He brings up what HIS religion says, i'm quoting back to him the specifics of what his religion says so that if he will quote his Holy Book as written-in-stone-truth, then by that written-in-stone-truth Mohammed was not a pedophile.

Now yes, the gays and lesbians comment was a bit out of line, but it was to illustrate the contradictions in his written-in-stone-truth.

lisa said:

Jesus did say that "Whoever causes these little ones to stumble, it would be better for them if a millstone were tied around their neck and cast into the sea". I believe that can very well be applied to pedophilia.

Point taken, but that would be an interpretation rather than a specific. but yes, I would agree with that interpretation.

You do have a point about females being married as soon as they reached puberty back in ancient times, due to very short life spans and the uncertainty of survival.

Many people tend to project modern morals and ethics on the people who lived in those times when the actual circumstances themselves were very very different from what they are now, so people who call Mohammed a pedophile aren't taking into account the times and circumstances during which he lived. I'm hoping to foster a little more tolerance and open-mindedness through some contextual understanding.

As long as a person's perception of their belief system/world view enables and empowers them to love others as they love themselves, have compassion and respect for other peoples personhood, then I don't have a problem with them regardless of what their belief system is, including atheists and Gaia worshipers.

And neither do I. In that we can agree. Thank YOU for your thoughtful, rational post!

I said;

Scholars say that Mary could have been as young as 12 when she had jesus

latekate aid:

Proof please, which Scholars, Islamic?

How old was Mohammad's Mother? I doubt she was 9 years old.

From truth or tradition (dot) com:

In ancient Israel, girls married in their teens, even early teens. For Mary to be betrothed (engaged) but not yet formally married, yet old enough to have and nurse the Messiah, she would have been 12-14. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible points out, “It appears that both boys and girls were married very young. Later [after the New Testament period] the rabbis fixed the minimum age for marriage at twelve for girls and thirteen for boys.”

Some customs of biblical Palestine continued through the centuries, and after her trip to the Near East around 1910, Alma White commented on the age of marriage in Palestine, “A girl is usually married in her twelfth or thirteenth year, and sometimes as early as her tenth year.” W. M. Thompson, a missionary in the Middle East for some 30 years, attests to the same thing. James Neil points out that everyone married, because they felt obligated to fulfill God’s command to be fruitful and multiply, and that, “Girls are ‘given in marriage’ at eleven or twelve years of age, though this is not the limit. They are frequently married as young as nine….”

Gospel mysteries (dot0 Net says:

According to the gospels, Mary became pregnant with Jesus through a divine action. Luke 1:26-35 says that the angel Gabriel visited her beforehand and told her that "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." And Matthew 1:18 says "she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit."

When Mary became pregnant, she was engaged (but still unmarried) to Joseph. Matthew 1:19-24 says that Joseph wanted to back out of the marriage after he found out about the pregnancy. But then an angel appeared to him in a dream, told him about Jesus, and convinced him to accept Mary as his wife. Matthew 1:25 says that he "had no union with her until she gave birth to a son", thus confirming that it was a virgin birth.

Jewish girls of that period usually became engaged when they were twelve or thirteen years old. Actually, for legal purposes this engagement was regarded as the first stage of a marriage, although the girl would normally remain with her parents for about a year before going to live with her husband and consummating the marriage. If she became pregnant before then, she would face public disgrace, and if the law was strictly enforced, could even be executed as an adulteress.

How old was Mohammad's Mother? I doubt she was 9 years old.

I haven't been able to find anything on that, but considering this is the 7th century CE, she would likely have been about the same age as Mary would have been.

Hebrew has a specific word "almah", which may mean "maiden," "young woman," or "virgin". When Matthew 1:22 states: "Behold the virgin shall be with child" it uses the Greek term "parthenos" as "virgin" as in the Septuagint translation of Isaiah, while the original Masoretic Isaiah uses the Hebrew "almah".^[32] This Greek translation "alters or refines the meaning of Isaiah's original Hebrew: where the prophet had talked only of a ‘young woman’ conceiving and bearing a son, the Septuagint projected ‘young woman’ into the Greek word for ‘virgin’ (parthenos)."^[33] Raymond Brown suggests that the translators of the Septuagint may have understood the Hebrew word "almah" to mean virgin in this context.^[32]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_birth_of_Jesus#cite_note-43

Alan is a plant to make Christians look bad. I know of no Christians that speak the way he does. Typically, the most hatefull people I meet are atheists, as displayed in the messages above.

Evening fmstereo. That is an insult to animals, but know what you mean. Have a good day over there.

And you recommend being the World's police? Shooting 14 yr old girl? Yeah that sucks. What do you recommended? Get deeper in debt so we can get rid of Taliban in Pakistan so not only we have to support Iraq and Afghanistan but now Pakistan? Going to war is not cheap.

Dorian Grey said:

No God, No Allah, No Mohammed and certainly no person possessing a spiritual heart, mind and soul, would ever condone this type of violence.

Absolutely.

Religion has the distinct reputation in the history of mankind for being responsible for having committed more human despair, more human destruction and more human deaths than all the conventional wars ever fought on this planet.

Now, there I would have to disagree with you. Religion and one's personal faith can be a very powerful incentive to get up in the morning and keep you going through the worst life has to throw at you. Organized religion, and turning said organized religion into politics and trying to dictate secular laws from a religious framework is where it all starts going wrong, and its not the religion that's responsible, it's the people who claim to practice that religion.

and its not the religion that's responsible, it's the people who claim to practice that religion.

That's kind of like saying that Nazism wasn't to blame for what happened in Germany, or that Communism wasn't to blame for what happened in the Soviet Union. It was just the people who claimed to be Nazis and Communists who screwed things up.

Adam said:

That's kind of like saying that Nazism wasn't to blame for what happened in Germany, or that Communism wasn't to blame for what happened in the Soviet Union. It was just the people who claimed to be Nazis and Communists who screwed things up

Nazism was a political movement, not a religion. Communism is a political idea, not a religion. The core ideas behind the Nazi Party and the Communist movement were just that; ideas, a set of precepts. It's what an individual person does with those precepts that creats the fuss. Christianity is a good idea, a good set of personal-faith rules and precepts, but it can be screwed up by those who practice it--look at Joseph Kony down in the Congo, killing people and drafting children to be child soldiers and child brides; look at Anders Breivik, the Norway shooter, self-professed christian upset that the government was allowing Muslims to immigrate so he went and shot up a youth camp.

But then you have Ghandi, who was NOT a christian but still did great good; Mother Theresa, who WAS Christian and also did great good.

And look at Malala herself; she is Muslim, and so are the nutjobs who shot her. Each has a different interpretation of the same religion. I think that'a pretty clear case of "It's what you do that matters, not whose Name you do it in."

Had to go away for a bit. Back now.

Nazism was a political movement, not a religion. Communism is a political idea, not a religion. The core ideas behind the Nazi Party and the Communist movement were just that; ideas, a set of precepts.

And religions aren't ideas and/or sets of precepts? They are.

It's what an individual person does with those precepts that creats the fuss.

Or what they are commanded to do.

Christianity is a good idea, a good set of personal-faith rules and precepts, but it can be screwed up by those who practice it

You were just arguing that Communism and Fascism were just precepts and how that makes them different from religion. Now you are talking about religious precepts.

--look at Joseph Kony down in the Congo, killing people and drafting children to be child soldiers and child brides;

The last I heard, he was somewhere in the border region between Uganda and Sudan, a long, long way from the Congo. At any rate, these days he is more of a myth than anything else. Very few followers.

look at Anders Breivik, the Norway shooter, self-professed christian upset that the government was allowing Muslims to immigrate so he went and shot up a youth camp.

Anders Breivik is NOT a self-professed Christian. He said himself that he never attended church and never read the Bible. Unless he was tryiing to create his very own tiny, renegade Christian cult then you are simply wrong in claiming he was a Christian. He himself did NOT make that claim.

But then you have Ghandi, who was NOT a christian but still did great good; Mother Theresa, who WAS Christian and also did great good.

Okay...

And look at Malala herself; she is Muslim, and so are the nutjobs who shot her

I doubt that she knows much about Islam, whereas the scum that riddled her with bullets are likely to be MUCH more versed in what the "holy" texts of Islam proclaim and recommend to followers.

Each has a different interpretation of the same religion

So you think that she is some kind of Islamic scholar with her own interpretation of what the different texts and verses mean?

. I think that'a pretty clear case of "It's what you do that matters, not whose Name you do it in."

Except that Islam motivates MILLIONS of Muslims across the world to violence, or approving of violence, to either "defend" Islam against perceived enemies, or to advance Islam and Allah's Law (Shariah) to a position ABOVE all other faiths or creeds.

Other faiths and creeds motivate isolated nuts or a few handful of nuts to do the same but in nowhere near the vast numbers that Islam generates.
Why is that? I argue that it is plainly because Islam provides such bountiful material supporting such fanatics. If they didn't have such support in Islamic texts then there wouldn't be so many of them. They didn't make it up, that's for sure. Then, conversely, there is much less text promoting harmony, accepting "the other," and advancing peace (except among fellow Muslims). There is some of that but mostly in the early Quran when Muhammad was advocating something much more like Christianity. Later on, after he was rejected on that path, he hardened and started to employ violence to further his agenda and advance his creed. Finally he became basically a warlord and got what he wanted through war and conquest. That is clearly reflected in the later Quran which is chock full of intolerance, violence, and making Islam and Allahs' Law supreme over all others.
Unfortunately, whenever Quranic verses are in conflict with each other, for example on questions of war and peace, or how to approach and treat Non-muslims, the Islamic scholarly principle of "Abrogation" comes into play. It assers that wherever there is a conflict between verses in the Quran, it is always the verses revealed later in Muhammad's received messages that are to supersede whatever came before. In other words the more aggressive and violent Quran.

p.s. on "Muhammad's received messages."

That's the nice way of describing his make-believe, self-serving transmissions from allah.

Adam said:

You were just arguing that Communism and Fascism were just precepts and how that makes them different from religion. Now you are talking about religious precepts.

The difference is political precepts versus religious precepts., now, as both are precepts, then yes,you could be justified in not making a distinction between the two; however, to my way of thinking, religious/spiritual precepts are to govern's one's own actions in dealing with others, and political precepts try to govern everyone.

The last I heard, he was somewhere in the border region between Uganda and Sudan, a long, long way from the Congo. At any rate, these days he is more of a myth than anything else. Very few followers.

Uganda, the DRC and Sudan border each other on the eastern part of the DRC in the Lac Kivu region. The US forces in US African command are actively engaged in providing support ad logistics to the combined African forces trying to hunt him down.

Anders Breivik is NOT a self-professed Christian. He said himself that he never attended church and never read the Bible.

According to what I read on Religion News Service:

The mass murders in Oslo have raised a host of agonizing questions, but few have such an ancient lineage and contemporary resonance as whether Anders Behring Breivik, the right-wing extremist behind the attacks that killed 76 Norwegians last Friday (July 22), is a Christian.

Breivik claimed that he is a Christian in various forums, but most explicitly and in greatest detail in the 1,500-page manifesto he compiled over several months and posted on the Internet.

"At the age of 15 I chose to be baptised [sic] and confirmed in the Norwegian State Church," the 32-year-old Breivik wrote. "I consider myself to be 100 percent Christian."

I doubt that she knows much about Islam, whereas the scum that riddled her with bullets are likely to be MUCH more versed in what the "holy" texts of Islam proclaim and recommend to followers.

Have you seen her Facebook page and read what she herself has said?

So you think that she is some kind of Islamic scholar with her own interpretation of what the different texts and verses mean?There is some of that but mostly in the early Quran when Muhammad was advocating something much more like Christianity. Later on, after he was rejected on that path, he hardened and started to employ violence to further his agenda and advance his creed. Finally he became basically a warlord and got what he wanted through war and conquest. That is clearly reflected in the later Quran which is chock full of intolerance, violence, and making Islam and Allahs' Law supreme over all others.
Unfortunately, whenever Quranic verses are in conflict with each other, for example on questions of war and peace, or how to approach and treat Non-muslims, the Islamic scholarly principle of "Abrogation" comes into play. It assers that wherever there is a conflict between verses in the Quran, it is always the verses revealed later in Muhammad's received messages that are to supersede whatever came before. In other words the more aggressive and violent Quran.

I have several American Muslim friends and one of them gave me a copy of the Qu'ran. I read it, then read my bible again. And I confess I see nothing inciting any more violence than the Old Testament of the Bible does. The copy I have was published in 2011 by Islam Publications in the UK, and none of it's dated so I don't know what was written 'earlier' and what was written 'later'.

Now, my friend did mention that many Muslims study the Sunnah, which includes the hadith, which even she admits wasn't very peaceful at all. She explained that the Sunnah (or Sunni, plural, because there are several)which contain the Hadith are actually other people writing several different biographies of the Prophet's life and were written several hundred years after Muhammed lived, and so any references to Sunni and hadith in the Qu'ran were added later by religious leaders, and she and her friends read the Sunni and hadith but do not include that as 'the Qu'ran'. As she put it, "Muhammed is only a Messenger. To worship him and seek to emulate his actions is to deny the assertion in the Qu'ran that decrees only one God is to be worshipped, and it would also be like trying to behave like Moses did with all his burning of cities and telling people to slaughter men and women and children in God's name.'

And she gave me these two verses:

The Arabs of the desert are the worst in disbelief and hypocrisy, and most apt not to know the ordinances of the Revelation which God has sent down to His Messenger (Quran, chapter 11:97

And among the Arabs of the desert are those who regard that which they spend for God as a fine and they wait for calamities to befall you. On themselves shall fall an evil calamity. (Quran chapter 11:98

Except that Islam motivates MILLIONS of Muslims across the world to violence, or approving of violence, to either "defend" Islam against perceived enemies, or to advance Islam and Allah's Law (Shariah) to a position ABOVE all other faiths or creeds.

The copy of the Qu'ran I have, when I took a peek at the index, doesn't have 'shara'a' or 'Sharia' listed. I see 'Servants Of Allah', 'Shu'aib, Prophet', then it goes right into 'slander' and 'slaves'. The three Muslim friends I've been talking with say that institution of Sharia courts is a platform of the Islamist Movement, of which none of them are a part of, and they espouse separation of church and state. They think Britain's installing Sharia courts, even though they ONLY mediate religious observances and family disputes, is nuts--or, as one of them is British Muslim, this is how she put it: 'T'hey're absolutely mental. We learned from you Americans that there's no such thing as separate but equal.' She was decidedly against the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision to support it. Of note, she was equally against Britain's installing the Jewish Beth Din courts.

Other faiths and creeds motivate isolated nuts or a few handful of nuts to do the same but in nowhere near the vast numbers that Islam generates.
Why is that? I argue that it is plainly because Islam provides such bountiful material supporting such fanatics. If they didn't have such support in Islamic texts then there wouldn't be so many of them.

And I look at where the fundamentalist extremist movement was born. The deserts of the Middle East. People are poor, life is hard, they live from day today and didn't have a lot of leisure time for anything. But now they look at what is going on out there in the world; computers, all kinds of things to make life easier, and they want those things because once their lives are easier they will have more time to learn to read, to become educated and enjoy the things that modern life has to offer.

A recent study of the people in Afghanistan found that 30% of the people are illiterate, and about half the population is functionally illiterate. They can't read their Holy Book to see what it says for themselves; they have to trust their religious leader to tell them what it says (the Qu'ran says nothing about 72 virgins, my Muslim friends can't imagine how that could have possibly started.) And one twisted charismatic religious leader can brainwash a lot of people, and as others fall under the sway of the movement.

Most of the Muslim extremist movements out there in the world today are directly traceable to Al-Quaeda and the Taliban, and this also explains why they focus on stopping progress and being so against education and literacy--because once the people read the Qu'ran for themselves they'll realize just how they've been manipulated and brain washed and they will rebel. The younger generation is already doing that--look at Malala.

Dorian,

I cannot prove God's exisitence just as you cannot prove he does not. You claim that I am a stupid believer, yet your claim is based on the same lack of evidence as mine. So, therefore, you must be stupid as well??? I just don't get it. Why would you (and so many more like you) make personal attacks on so many people whom you have never met? Are you saying that all Christians, Jews and Muslims are stupid because they believe differently than you regarding our origins? Well, that's quite the claim.

Regardless, I coach a girls team this same age (if you remember, we were talking about a 14 being shot), and this is terrible. But, I am happy to know that the young girls I coach have never had to live under such terrible conditions. And, by God's will, I hope they never do. Those people making comparisons between the east and the west should keep this in mind before making such ignorant claims.

Adam said;

p.s. on "Muhammad's received messages."

That's the nice way of describing his make-believe, self-serving transmissions from allah.

Well, then Pharaoh was right in saying 'I will not let your people go just because YOUR God said so', and you can also say the same thing about Moses killing the Midianites because God told him to. And Mary could have been covering up the fact that she had sex with someone else by saying 'God told me I'm having his Messiah.'

In The Middle 2260511:

Kindly refer to my response within the text of your rebuttal:

I cannot prove God's existence just as you cannot prove he does not.

Dorian: My post is not about the existence of a God on either side of the spectrum (I.e., Believers and/or non-believers). I am merely quoting from the historical record. So consider me to be a historian. Not someone making a claim or attempting to rewrite history. Just reporting the facts!

You claim that I am a stupid believer, yet your claim is based on the same lack of evidence as mine. So, therefore, you must be stupid as well??? I just don't get it. Why would you (and so many more like you) make personal attacks on so many people whom you have never met? Are you saying that all Christians, Jews and Muslims are stupid because they believe differently than you regarding our origins? Well, that's quite the claim.

Dorian: I am NOT claiming a thing! My post is not a personal claim or bias at all. And it has nothing to do with my personal belief system. The “evidence” I am disseminating has been written in the historical record based on writings regarding the founding and origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

If you read up on your history, you would first have to agree that at some point in time, many millenniums ago, there was neither Judaism, Christianity nor an Islam. If you are adept and knowledgeable about the origins of these three religions, the historical record clearly states that Abraham, Mary and Mohammed all lay claim to having been visited by an angel who appeared before them and gave them a list of instructions to follow along with future events to come.

Before there was Judaism, you had Abraham. A sheep and goat herding nomad living in the desert. His hobby was as an astrologer. He worshiped the stars. This was before the word Judaism was ever introduced into the lexicon of the day. You are talking somewhere in the vicinity of 1872 BC. In this instance, on an ordinary night, Abraham went to bed on the desert floor. And while sleeping, claimed an angel appeared to him and gave him an instructional list of things he was supposed to do. One year later (give or take a month or so) numerous men, who had never heard the word yarmulke before, let alone knew how to spell the word yarmulke, had their foreskins lopped off. Thus was the birth of Judaism.

Flash forward a millennium and a few centuries to the year 26 BC and we find Mary, a young Jewish woman, and a virgin, who, like Abraham before her, went to bed one evening and claimed an angel of God appeared to her as well. Her angel gave her a completely different set of instructions that were in direct conflict with the set of instructions Abraham’s angel gave him a millennium and a few centuries prior.

In this instance, Mary’s angel told her that she, as a virgin, was going to give birth to the son of God. And with the birth of Jesus, a Jew, a whole new set of diametrically opposed religious instructions were established. And with the birth of Jesus, came the birth of Christianity as well. This was also the very first friction in the historical record between Jewish belief, that had more than a millennium’s jump of brainwashing and indoctrination on thousands of people who now viewed Christianity, and the “new” Christian belief as a threat to “their” Jewish beliefs, their God and their way of life (Let the arguing, the fighting, the death and destruction begin!).

Flash forward again a number of centuries into the future and you are now at the year 527 AD or there about. Around this time, a guy who went by the name of Muhammad, in addition to having married his nine (9) year old first cousin (a pedophile by today’s standards), also went to bed on the desert floor as a nomad one evening. And like Abraham and Mary before him, and while asleep, he, too, claimed an angel appeared before him and gave him a whole new set of diametrically opposed religious instructions he was to follow, which were in direct conflict with those of Judaism and Christianity, and which he began in great earnest to write down the very next morning. One year later (give or take a month or so) numerous camel jockeys, who had never heard the word jihad before, let alone knew how to spell the word jihad, were brainwashed and indoctrinated into this “new” set of religious instruction known as Islam.

And with the founding of Islam, religious friction was further fomented between the followers of Islam, the followers of Judaism and the followers of Christianity of that time. And the friction, the fighting, the hatred and the killing of millions of innocent people over the last two (2) millenniums has continued to this very day (I.e., Malala).

Knowing this, I stand by what I said in my previous post, …Religion has the distinct reputation in the history of mankind for being responsible for having committed more human despair, more human destruction and more human deaths than all the conventional wars ever fought on this planet combined”… (I.e., just take a look at this endless and boring Israeli and Palestinian conflict that still foments to this very day!)

And we owe this great distinction to millions of people who bought, hook, line and sinker, the “dreams” of three (3) people (Abraham, Mary and Muhammad) who went to bed one evening and who claimed an angel “instructed them do it”. Now if that is not the definition of sheer stupidity, I don’t know what is.

Regardless, I coach a girls team this same age (if you remember, we were talking about a 14 being shot), and this is terrible. But, I am happy to know that the young girls I coach have never had to live under such terrible conditions. And, by God's will, I hope they never do. Those people making comparisons between the east and the west should keep this in mind before making such ignorant claims.

Dorian: Amen to that!

Amanda,

I had to be away for a few days so I missed your reply in a timely fashion, having just read it. I'll admit, you make some good points. I'll also admit that I made a mistake in my Africa geography. I was thinking that Uganda was situated higher, and the Congo lower, than they actually are. My bad.

Arguing some of the other points will have to wait for another day since I need to catch up on a lot of other stuff before I can indulge on newsvine again as I would like to.

In a nutshell, though, I would agree that the Quran is not as bad as the ahadith, for example, but that's not a whole lot of solace given how awful the ahadith are. Perhaps a "Quran Only" movement is the only hope for Islam in that respect, but it too is full of a lot of violence and intolerance toward "the other."

As for my disparaging characterization of Muhammad's receptions from Allah, it doesn't have much effect on me that you choose to equate that with some of Christianity's absurdities. I'm not a Christian nor a monotheist of any sort. I don't care if people are religious or not unless they are trying to kill me because of it. Only Islam fits that description.

I'm sure we will meet again and I will not be careless next time....

well said

In total agreement. This Paki government is so full of scheisse!

Beautiful.

I'm heartbroken.

Actually, there has been quite a reaction over there.

maddyindabuff said;

Where are the protest? Where are the angry mobs? Where are the flag burning idiots?
What does it say about the men of Pakistan that a brave young girl can be attacked like this and not one word has yet to be heard from them or the government or the army. Cowards!

This act is bad but the lack of a reaction is worse. A government who calls for a day of protest against a video has nothing to say when the taliban walk into a public school area and shot a child. Worthless!

Whoa. Just because you personally haven't heard anything doesn't men that plenty hasn't already been said. Have you taken a look at MSN Arabia?

President Asif Ali Zardari directed the concerned authorities to provide best possible medical assistance to the injured girls. He said that the terrorists would never be able to shake the resolve of the nation through such dastardly acts and the nation will continue to fight against militants till its logical conclusion.

Parliamentarians in the Lower House of Parliament strongly condemned the attack on Pakistan’s Malala and said that terrorists would not succeed in their nefarious designs through such cowardly acts. They praised Malala for her bravery, for standing firmly against the menace of terrorism and extremism. They termed the assassination bid on her as an attack on all peace loving people.

ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and provincial president, Senator Afrsiab Khan Khattak have strongly condemned the attack on the National Peace Award winner and have expressed grief and sorrow over the injuring of the laureate of Tamgha-e-Shujaat, Malala Yousufzai.

According to a condemnation statement issued from the Central Media Cell at Bacha Khan Markaz on Tuesday, they said that Malala Yousufzai has rendered matchless services for restoration of peace in Swat and in the recognition of her services the government of Pakistan had conferred the award of Tamgha-e-Shujaat on her. They said that their people would not be demoralized through nefarious activities. They also said that those spreading anarchy and chaos in the country are the enemies of Pakistan and they have no relations with any ideology or religion. They said that this attempt, like past nefarious designs for disrupting peace in the country, will be foiled in the future too.They appealed the people to remain calm and never quit patience and extend support to the government in the elimination of these enemies of humanity.

Expressing deep sorrow on the incident, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain said that firing upon innocent students and injuring them was blatant terrorism, and the perpetrators behind this vile act should be swiftly brought to justice, said a statement issued by the MQM here on Tuesday.

Expressing deep sorrow on the incident, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan, in a statement, said that firing upon innocent students was blatant terrorism and the perpetrators behind this act should be brought to justice.He said that Malala was working to promote education despite difficult circumstances. He demanded of the government to take serious notice of the attack and take action against the elements involved in it.

Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) Chief Nawaz Sharif condemned the attack and termed it as a cowardly action of the Taliban. He said that these attacks can not dent the cause for which Malala stood for.

Many schools in Pakistan's Swat Valley closed their doors in protest Wednesday and the country's army chief vowed to fight on against militants as anger erupted across the nation over the Taliban attack on a 14-year-old activist famed for promoting girls' education.

The country's top military officer, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, issued a strongly-worded statement condemning the attack. The powerful army chief rarely makes such public pronouncements, even when it comes to strictly military matters. "In attacking Malala, the terrorist have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage and hope who vindicates the great sacrifices that the people of Swat and the nation gave, for wresting the valley from the scourge of terrorism," Kayani said.He vowed the military would not bow to terrorists like those who shot the young activist. "We will fight, regardless of the cost we will prevail," he said.

Private schools in the Swat Valley were closed Wednesday in a sign of protest over the shooting and in solidarity with Malala, said Ahmed Shah, the chairman of an association of private schools. Flags in front of the Mingora government headquarters were at half-staff, and police officers stood guard outside her family's house.

A demonstration is expected to be held later Wednesday at the press club in Mingora and another one was under way in the eastern city of Lahore. In the southern port city of Karachi, the city's main political party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, was having a service at their headquarters to pray for the girl's recovery.

You hear that men of puckustan you are all worthless cowards. Being manipulated by men who will kill your women and children in broad day light right in front of you. Knowing not only do you not have the courage to do a thing about it. You don't have the common sense because they have manipulated you into agreeing that killing them is your stupid gods will. Pathetic excuse of men, I can understand that she couldn't be protected but I'll never understand the lack of outrage for justice for a harmless young girl that your country should be proud of!

As you can see from my post, there's been plenty of outrage, widespread condemnation, and well-wishing. I recommend you visit her Facebook page and see what's been going on there.

EDIT: And in late-breaking news on MSN Arabia, we get this brief but succinct report:

The attackers of Malala Yousafzai have been identified, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Geo News reported.Talking to media here Wednesday, Malik said the attackers would be apprehended and brought to justice. He further said that the decision to send Malala Yousufzai abroad for treatment has been postponed and according to her doctors she was out of critical condition. Malik informed reporters that neurosurgeons from London and the US were ready and would be called to Pakistan if the need arose.

And in late-breaking news on MSN Arabia, we get this brief but succinct report:
The attackers of Malala Yousafzai have been identified, said Interior Minister Rehman Malik...

No Kidding! They're called Taliban and they made the announcement themselves taking "credit" for the attack.

Malik said the attackers would be apprehended and brought to justice.

We'll see about that. I'm reminded of the massive car bombing in Tripoli Libya this past summer where, almost before the smoke and dust of the bombing had cleared, the government (such as it was/is there) announced that it had solved the case and made arrests. It's called pretending that you are in charge.

Yes, we'll see. This is one random news report that hasn't hit the US mainstream news yet, and it could be an unconfirmed, unsubstantiated rumor--we all know journalists do that, release stories just to have a headline before all facts are known.

They fear the taliban ...much like the people of Iraq feared Saddam and his evil dominance. He proved over and over that he had hundreds of men willing to torture an entire nation of people for his advancement.. no different than Hitler or Ahmadinejad

Yes, let's use this sad event to detract from the Republican agenda of forcing their bronze-age belief that women can't and shouldn't make decisions for themselves.

Moron.

Sounds to me like Tom is just calling your party out on their ridiculous, obvious lies. You want a war on women? Go speak to the Taliban.

Moron.

I can't believe that anyone would bring up American politics and social issues because of this sad event. The comments about Ms. Fluke are arrogant and stupid. Merely because some people suffer even more horrible victimization overseas because of who they are is no excuse to pretend that similar people don't have problems here at home. The argument that any group is treated less badly here than somewhere else does not in any sense justify mistreatment of them here. Shame on you.

And in case you're unaware, Ms. Fluke was talking about birth control pill to combat her friend's ovarian CANCER (NOT as birth control) but to combat CANCER! And for this, Limbaugh called her a "slut" and wanted to see porno films of her having sex!

Yet health insurance pays for men's viagra without any comment or contradiction.

Pattie,

"I can't believe that anyone would bring up American politics and social issues because of this sad event....................................The argument that any group is treated less badly here than somewhere else does not in any sense justify mistreatment of them here. Shame on you."

Way to be consistent.

Islam is a cancer of this world? You mean the religion that this little girl follows? The Taliban already did what you want, then, they tried to cut her out. Happy?

Nicely said. Also, completely ignoring the fact that this little girl is also Muslim. That's a bitter pill for you to swallow, isn't it?

Well thank goodness that she wasn't forced to go to some mind-warping Madrassa "school" with one book shoved down everyones throat till they puke on it (or on others). But the reason she didn't go to a Madrassa is that the Taliban don't allow girls to attend ANY school, let alone a pathetic Madrassa.
So, honestly Byron, how much do you suppose this girl really knows about Islam?

Adam; she does go to school, she has access to computers, she has a Facebook page, writes a blog, and, if you looked in the article above, there are other Muslim girls there in a school holding their hands out in prayer for her. She expresses her faith multiple time in numerous forums.

I recommend that you have a look at what has so far been written about her her life and her accomplishments, and take a look at what she herself has written.

Adam; she does go to school, she has access to computers, she has a Facebook page, writes a blog, and, if you looked in the article above, there are other Muslim girls there in a school holding their hands out in prayer for her.

Amanda, that is all possible ONLY because the Taliban were driven out of the Swat Valley. What I wrote is that she doesn't go to a Madrassa! A religious school.

She expresses her faith multiple time in numerous forums.

All I'm going by is what this article says. Expressing faith is one thing. What makes you think that she has any in-depth knowledge about the particulars of Islamic texts?

I recommend that you have a look at what has so far been written about her her life and her accomplishments, and take a look at what she herself has written.

Okay then, link to it please.

Adam: "All I'm going by is what this article says. Expressing faith is one thing. What makes you think that she has any in-depth knowledge about the particulars of Islamic texts?"

I recommend that you have a look at what has so far been written about her her life and her accomplishments, and take a look at what she herself has written.

"Okay then, link to it please."

Adam: Why not google it yourself? You've gone to school, haven't you?

She's the one saying that she's read this, that, and the other about the girl. Link to it/them then. When I make claims, I link to them.

p.s. who are you?