The war on religion (video: JesusSavesAtCitibank at YouTube)

Man accused of trying to join Islamist militants appears in court
CNN
A Virginia man accused of attempting to travel to Somalia to join the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab appeared in federal court Thursday, requesting that an attorney be appointed for him. [ ... ]
rosecutors say Chesser, of Fairfax County, Virginia, had exchanged e-mails with Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, whose name has been linked to an attack and an attempted attack on the United States. Chesser allegedly tried to fly on July 10 to Uganda and then on to Somalia.
According to an affidavit, he tried to take his infant son with him, telling his wife it was part of his “cover” to make it less likely anyone would suspect he was trying to go to Somalia to join Al-Shabaab. He was arrested Wednesday. [ ... ]
In April, Chesser, who also goes by the name Abu Talhah al Amrikee, authored a post on the radical Islamic website Revolutionmuslim.com that included a warning to the creators of the TV cartoon series “South Park” after an episode included an image of the Prophet Mohammed in a bear suit.
The posting on Revolutionmuslim.com says: “We have to warn Matt (Stone) and Trey (Parker) that what they are doing is stupid and they will probably wind up like Theo van Gogh for airing this show. This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them.”

According to ABC News: “Zachary Chesser, 20, is accused of trying to join Al-Shabaab, a Somali-based Islamist militant group suspected in the recent bombing attacks in Uganda that left 73 dead and dozens more injured as they watched the World Cup final.”

The country’s attorney general has slammed and banned Facebook for blasphemy and those cheeky cartoons, but there are quite a few channels the Islamic Republic of Pakistan wouldn’t consider banning because they, presumably, save wear and tear on the country’s donkeys, horses, camels, goats and small Pakistanis. According to this report: “Google ranks Pakistan No. 1 in the world in searches for pornographic terms, outranking every other country in the world in searches per person for certain sex-related content.”

No. 1 Nation in Sexy Web Searches? Call it Pornistan
Fox News
They may call it the Land of the Pure, but Pakistan turns out to be anything but. The Muslim country, which has banned content on at least 17 websites to block offensive and blasphemous material, is the world’s leader in online searches for pornographic material, FoxNews.com has learned. [ ... ]
Pakistan is top dog in searches per-person for “horse sex” since 2004, “donkey sex” since 2007, “rape pictures” between 2004 and 2009, “rape sex” since 2004, “child sex” between 2004 and 2007 and since 2009, “animal sex” since 2004 and “dog sex” since 2005, according to Google Trends and Google Insights, features of Google that generate data based on popular search terms.
The country also is tops — or has been No. 1 — in searches for “sex,” “camel sex,” “rape video,” “child sex video” and some other searches that can’t be printed here.

It’s Fox News, folks, so take it with a grain of salt approximately the size of Lot’s wife. However, PZ Myers points to this revealing page at Google Insights.

(tips: The Freethinker, PZ Myers)

— Philip Pullman, British author and atheist, from About the Writing

Jello Biafra made a complaint about the Mel Gibson movie — AKA The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre — that there were no action figures. Well, here you go
(video: rexcat at YouTube)

Pakistan to Watch Web for Blasphemous Content – Truthdig
Eagle-eyed Pakistani officials will be fixing their gazes on major websites like Amazon, Yahoo, Google and MSN in an attempt to zero in on, and even block, content that might be considered offensive to Muslims.
BBC: YouTube, Amazon, MSN, Hotmail and Bing will also come under scrutiny, while 17 less well-known sites will be blocked.

This latest attempt by the islamists to avoid the acquisition of knowledge and the free exchange of information comes as a follow-up to Islam’s little tantrum about Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.

Pakistan authorities wants Facebook founder charged with blasphemy
freethinker.co.uk
FACEBOOK founder Mark Zuckerberg is being investigated by Pakistani police under a section of the penal code that carries the death sentence for blasphemy against the “prophet” Mohammed.
According to this report, Pakistan’s Deputy Attorney General has launched a criminal investigation against Zuckerberg and others in response to Facebook hosting a “Draw Muhammad” contest on the site late last month.
On May 19, Pakistani authorities blocked access to Facebook over the contest, and this ban was lifted on May 31 after Facebook removed the page in Pakistan and other countries.
Asked to comment, a Facebook spokeswoman told us the company does not comment on legal matters.

As a reminder, or in case you had not heard, 3 July is officially Everybody Bake Jesus Day. Start your planning and shopping now, because there’s no excuse for a half-baked Jesus.

Music video by Lady Gaga performing Alejandro – © 2010 Interscope Records
(video: LadyGagaVEVO at YouTube)

Taking a short break from his one-man campaign to cram the less than saintly Mother Teresa down America’s secular throat, the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue (and his computer) has gone completely gaga:

Lady Gaga is playing Madonna copy cat, squirming around half-naked with half-naked guys, abusing Catholic symbols–they’re always Catholic symbols–while bleating out “Alejandro” enough times to induce vomit. Dressed occasionally as a nun in a glossy-red habit, the Madonna wannabe flashes the cross, swallows a rosary and manages to get raped by her S&M boyfriends. Hence, she has now become the new poster girl for American decadence and Catholic bashing, sans the looks and talent of her role model.

Like Madonna, Lady Gaga was raised Catholic and then morphed into something unrecognizable. “So I suppose you could say I’m a quite religious woman that is very confused about religion,” she told Larry King last week.

That she is confused is an understatement. In any event, we hope she finds her way back home. In the meantime, Catholics will settle for her treating us like Muslims.

Via The Freethinker, we learn the video’s director, Steven Klein, has responded:

The religious symbolism is not meant to denote anything negative, but represents the character’s battle between the dark forces of this world and the spiritual salvation of the soul. Thus at the end of the film, she chooses to be a nun (and she swallows the rosary beads to represent) the desire to take in the holy.

M’kay. I actually kinda happen to prefer PZ Myers‘ response:

Donohue does have a point, I hate to say. I watched the whole thing, with its muscular young men gyrating in jackboots and tight shorts and nothing else, the weird headgear, the sadomasochistic imagery, the black leather uniforms, the flaming homoeroticism, and I was thinking, yeah, all that does remind me of Catholicism.

I didn’t think it was Catholic bashing, though. I thought it was a recruiting video.

FOX: Catholics Outraged Over Paintings of ‘Virgin Mary’ Holding Weapons
(video: Atheist Media Blog at YouTube)

Proof positive, once again, that while America’s Christian right thinks Islam should get a sense of humor, when it comes to Christian symbolism some things – and they’ll let you know what they happen to be – are just too darned sacred to mess around with.

Fox: Are you doing this for the kind of attention we’re giving you? O lard. Somebody, cue the Catholic League’s BIll Donohue and his laptop.

Comedy Central Protects Islam, Slams Christianity
www.cultureandmediainstitute.org
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Viacom’s Comedy Central is developing an animated show practically designed to offend Christians. But the network’s handling of recent controversy over depictions of the Muslim prophet Muhammad illustrates a stark double standard in how the entertainment media deal with issues of religion.
Comedy Central announced it is developing the script for an animated show tentatively titled “JC.” According to the network’s release, the show is about Jesus Christ “wanting to escape his father’s enormous shadow to live life in [New York City] as a regular guy.” The announcement described God as “all-powerful yet apathetic” and said the show would be a “playful take on religion and society with a sprinkle of dumb.”

Here comes that crazy Christian clown car:

Others, like the Media Research Center – the Culture and Media Institute’s parent organization – are urging potential advertisers not to sponsor the “JC” show. In a teleconference scheduled for Thursday, June 3, MRC President Brent Bozell and other leaders will call on Comedy Central advertisers to publicly pledge not to underwrite “JC,” and urge Comedy Central to follow suit by canceling preproduction of the show.

Bozell will be joined by Parents Television Council President Tim Winter, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, radio host Michael Medved, author and radio host Rabbi Daniel Lapin, and Catholic League President Bill Donahue.

Somebody, please call a Bwwwaammmbulance!