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| Bloomberg to mosque foes: Shut up already! | |
| 2010-08-08 | |
| Mayor Bloomberg won't stop talking about the mosque near Ground Zero, harshly attacking opponents yesterday who "ought to be ashamed of themselves." Sounding more supportive of freedom of religion than freedom of speech, Bloomberg said, "I just don't think the government should tell people where they can pray and where they can build houses of worship. "It is a shame that we even have to talk about this," the mayor added on his WOR radio broadcast. The mayor ratcheted up his rhetoric against critics just days after defending the mosque in an impassioned speech on Governors Island, with the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop. Yesterday, Bloomberg said cops and firefighters who died on 9/11 didn't ask people in the World Trade Center, "Where do you pray?" as they tried to save their lives. "Most of the [9/11 rescuers'] families that I've talked to, they say, 'Of course our loved ones gave their lives to protect the very freedoms that we're talking about here -- people being able to practice religion and say what they want to say and be in control of their own destiny,' " the mayor said. Bloomberg also blasted demands for a probe of the mosque builders' finances. "Every time they pass the basket in your church and you throw a buck in, [do you want someone to] run over and say, 'OK, now where do you come from, who are your parents, where'd you get this money?' . . . A handful of people ought to be ashamed of themselves." The Landmarks Preservation Commission's decision Tuesday to let the 152-year-old former Burlington Coat Factory building on Park Place be torn down was based solely on the building's lack of "redeeming historic value," Bloomberg said. The building is owned by SoHo Properties. Its CEO, Sharif El-Gamal, hopes to raise $100 million for a 13-story mosque and cultural center. Opponents pressed their case yesterday, filing a federal lawsuit against the MTA for refusing to allow anti-mosque ads on its buses. The ads show a jet about to slam into one of the Twin Towers and depict what they call the "WTC Mega Mosque." The headline: "Why There?" The lawsuit, filed by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, says the MTA displayed its ads before -- but without reason rejected this one. "No decision has been made," an MTA spokesman said. Separately, CNN host Fareed Zakaria returned a $10,000 First Amendment award to the Anti-Defamation League to protest its opposition to the mosque.
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| Posted by:Fred |
| #28 Peasant or billionaire, they all kick the same way at the end of a rope. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-08-08 21:44 |
| #27 Peasants be still! The ruling aristocracy knows best for us, can you not understand? Bloomberg's billions will prevail. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-08-08 17:11 |
| #26 Boycott New York. |
| Posted by: Dale 2010-08-08 17:03 |
| #25 Much like the previous controversy, Grrrrr. Flight 93 Memorial, the “Crescent of Embrace.” http://michellemalkin.com/2005/09/10/flight-93-memorial-seeing-is-believing/ |
| Posted by: Spoluter Forkbeard6988 2010-08-08 15:54 |
| #24 And soon after the Mega- And of course there's the call to prayer five times a day. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-08-08 15:14 |
| #23 Wow, right on ground zero... humm... isn't there another building going up there? Or did the 13 floor mosk get the land... difficult to tell. Ground zero needs to be defined. And yeah, I'm all about building a Big Box over Little Round Top, it would smell like victory. And put a Popeyes on Seminiary Ridge to under_score the point. 0/ We win! |
| Posted by: Shipman 2010-08-08 14:01 |
| #22 Nanny's get very upset when their children turn petulant... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-08-08 13:32 |
| #21 When is this moron gone from office? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-08-08 12:43 |
| #20 'Of course our loved ones gave their lives to protect the very freedoms that we're talking about here -- people being able to practice religion and say what they want to say and be in control of their own destiny,' " the mayor said. The practice of islam includes slaughtering infidels, forbiding the constructiton of places of worship of others, teaching hatred towards all non-muslims, clearly explaining their vision of a global caliphate, murdering anyone who speaks out against islamic practices or wishes to leave the faith - even their own children and the list goes on and on and on. This death cult practices a religion that is intolerant (to the nth degree) of anything and anyone. There is no freedom in islam Bloomy. Nlone. So it stands at odds with all the freedoms on which the US is founded. "freedom to say what they want to say" Have you been listening to what muslims say, Bloomy? Most of it is hate speech, which is not a freedom. Kill the jews, kill all infidels, kill all apostates, kill all americans, we won't top til the world is islam, our jihad is to destroy the world to eliminate anyone who is not the exact same kind of muslim I am. many, many different schools of islam each trying to slaughter the others - infidels need not be even involved for muslims who embrace violence and ignorance - each other will suffice. There is no freedom to say what one wishes about islam. There is no freedom to draw a cartoon. Why your insistance, Bloomy, on letting only muslims "say what they want to say"? "Be in control of their own destiny..." Muslims destiny is a global caliphate. Muslims are very clear about this. Very, very clear, What part of this have you missed, Bloomy? it is not their own destiny which they seek to control, but your destiny and mine and that of every infidel in the world. That's the message of the minaret. it is insane to expect infidels to tolerate a "religion" that demands their own death. it is death to tolerate the intolerable. /rant |
| Posted by: Swanimote 2010-08-08 12:37 |
| #19 But natch. Bloomberg's yapping is just another way of saying that if the mosque doesn't get built the terrorists will have won. If he wasn't the mayor of New York he'd be boring. As it is he's not very interesting. |
| Posted by: Fred 2010-08-08 12:33 |
| #18 not -21, but at: 21.425, 39.8255. Sometimes I forget PIMF. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-08-08 12:32 |
| #17 Interesting Qibla Locator. Suppose you were at -21.425, 39.8255. I believe you could see it. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-08-08 12:26 |
| #16 E-Mail the mayor. I assume everything posted here is permitted/encouraged to be copied for education purposes? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2010-08-08 12:24 |
| #15 Some proposed projects for the Bloomberg Foundation: - a Japanese Center for Shinto Dignity in Nanking, China (hat tip: Mary Peretz of tnr.com's "The Spine" blog) - a Russian Orthodox monastery and retreat in Poland's Katyn Forest - a Confederate History Museum next to the bridge in Selma, Alabama |
| Posted by: lex 2010-08-08 11:28 |
| #14 I love the inversion in this Bloomie statement: "our loved ones gave their lives to protect the very freedoms that we're talking about here -- people being able to practice religion and say what they want to say and be in control of their own destiny." So in Bloomie's bizarre equation, by (supposedly) attacking "freedom of religion," the anti-mosque crowd are attacking those who on 9/11 "gave their lives to protect" freedom of religion. In other words, those who consider it inappropriate to build a mosque next to the most horrific scene of islamist terror are the equivalent of ... islamist terrorists. Hey, you stupid f***, here's a clue for you: the reason the Poles refused to allow a carmelite convent next to Auschwitz wasn't because they're anti-Catholic or against freedom of religion. It's because history matters, and requires tact and judgment. |
| Posted by: lex 2010-08-08 11:24 |
| #13 Qibla Locator Please press the Satellite view when at the site. The direction in which Muslims should pray is called Qibla. Five times a day, Muslims face Makkah and pray. Using the correct Qibla as shown via the link above, the congregation will have their backsides to Ground Zero. Oh, and Mr. Bloomberg, I will not shut-up. You Sir, need an education in 1st Amendment Rights. |
| Posted by: Goodluck 2010-08-08 10:41 |
| #12 NImble: thanks for that. Aaargh. Is nothing sacred anymore? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2010-08-08 10:36 |
| #11 Onward to funding! GRRRRRRR Next stops for Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of the plan for a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero: Courtesy of the U.S. State Department, Rauf — a.k.a. Imam Feisal – is scheduled to spend the rest of the summer on a swing through the petro-dollar palaces of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, and Qatar. http://pajamasmedia.com/claudiarosett/news-flash-ground-zero-imam-heading-to-saudi-arabia-uae/ |
| Posted by: Sheba Shusoper3773 2010-08-08 10:33 |
| #10 George Stephanopoulas sides with Mayor Bloomberg on this issue, all the while knowing St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, destroyed on 9-11-01, has yet to get a go ahead to rebuild from the City of New York. (Link) Islam has a history of building mosques at sites of Islamic Victories - Neil Boortz |
| Posted by: Goodluck 2010-08-08 08:46 |
| #9 No Wal*Marts at Gettysburg? How about Casinos The Adams County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday to support the proposed Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino. Commissioners Lisa Moreno and Glenn Snyder voted to approve a Memorandum of Understanding that guarantees Adams County $1 million annually. In exchange, the commissioners are required to testify in support of the proposal during a public hearing held later this month by the state Gaming Control Board. Gettysburg businessman David LeVan and former Penn National Gaming executive Joseph Lashinger Jr. have proposed converting the Eisenhower Inn & Conference Center on Emmitsburg Road, about 0.8 miles south of the Gettysburg National Military Park, into a gaming resort with 600 slot machines and 50 table games. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2010-08-08 08:44 |
| #8 Bloomberg IS A MUSLIM. No he's not, Redneck Jim. He's a fairly secularized, left wing Jew. And like many people in this country and in Europe he's drunk the KoolAid of an intentional disinformation campaign being waged against the West by Islamicists. |
| Posted by: lotp 2010-08-08 08:40 |
| #7 Location of the site under discussion. View Larger Map |
| Posted by: Goodluck 2010-08-08 08:17 |
| #6 That pesky 1st ammendment. I will never shut up! But you Mr Bloomberg, will get voted out of office. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2010-08-08 07:23 |
| #5 The man is truly an idiot. He must have little or no knowledge of how Islam works. To compare it to other religions or to equate terrorist funding actions as equivalent to a charity basket is pure BS. |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-08-08 06:53 |
| #4 Yesterday, Bloomberg said cops and firefighters who died on 9/11 didn't ask people in the World Trade Center, "Where do you pray?" as they tried to save their lives. Might be a while before we can actually follow-up on this one Mr. Mayor. Can you provide us some opinions from the LIVING please? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-08-08 04:58 |
| #3 Bloomberg is proof that money cannot buy happieness... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2010-08-08 01:03 |
| #2 STFU Bloomberg. You little boy. You made money but that means nothing for your morals. Read boy. Read. I suggest the WSJ for now and the bible when you are ready. You are in DEUT 28 right now. In fact Deut 28:27 is what you cheer on. Idiot. Money is not wisdom. Do not any of you get that yet? |
| Posted by: newc 2010-08-08 01:02 |
| #1 SO, Bloomberg IS A MUSLIM. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2010-08-08 00:37 |