Jinn of Quality and Risk

Muqtedar Khan: It's time for us to search our souls. How can the message of Muhammad become a source of horror and fear? How can Islam inspire thousands of youth to dedicate their lives to killing others? ... We are supposed to invite people to Islam, not murder them. It is good to see some of these questions asked in the Muslim community, finally. Too bad the author felt he had to inject some anti-semitic complaints. I am also curious to know if he advocates religious tolerance of all non-believers (Christians, Jews, pagans, atheists, etc.). 

Space Power: This country was bounded to the West by a desert. One day a telescope built on one of the country's mountains revealed what looked like sea far away beyond the desert which would have to be crossed in order to discover if there was habitable land on the coast. So the politicians got together and established a government agency to send some people through the desert. They called it the National Agricultural Frontier Administration, NAFA for short, and charged it with a dramatic task to demonstrate the vigour of the nation: it would carry out a "mission" to send people right through the desert to the West coast of the continent and bring them back safely, within a decade... 

Six months ago: Russia and NATO have become partners in an expanded alliance, from Vancouver to Vladivostok. Last week, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia were invited to join NATO. Up until 1991, all of these countries had communist governments. What else will happen in this coming decade? 

Thank you. Well done. Beautiful. Delicious. The right thing. Wow. You did it. Very helpful. Thanks again. These simple words recognize, praise, and reward the good. Sometimes we long to hear a simple Thank You because it entails visibility and appreciation, two basic human needs.

The most virtuous focus is to see and praise the good, not to waste time with the bad (or evil); to seek value, not destruction, nor sacrifice, nor hatred, nor revenge, nor power over others; to acknowledge, not ignore, nor belittle; to be benevolent, not malevolent, nor indifferent; to smile, not frown, nor shrug. Thanksgiving is an essentially American, benevolent perspective on life. Keep rocking! Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. — Voltaire