Daily Archives: December 20, 2013

12/20/13

‘Duck Dynasty’ family stands together

Hat Tip: BB

The Lord is My Shepherd

(Ezekiel 34:11-24; John 10:1-21)

{A Psalm of David.} The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Duck Dynasty strikes back: Robertson family responds to A&E’s decision

The family has since issued a formal response to the networks decision via their Duck Commander website:

We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E’s decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate. We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right. We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.

Glenn Beck Makes Exciting Offer to Duck Dynasty to Switch Networks

Evil Preaches Tolerance Until It Is Dominant, Then Seeks to Silence Good

12/20/13

Bishoy Armyia – Victims of Sharia

By: Aeneas Lavinium
ICLA

Sharia Reference: Apostasy From Islam (Ridda) – Reliance of the Traveller (page 595, o8.0)

Human Rights Abused: Freedom of Religion

Human Rights References: Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 18; European Convention of Human Rights Article 9; United States Constitution First Amendment.

Report from: Voice of the Copts.

Background to the Case: Bishoy Armyia (formerly Mohammed Hegazy) converted from Islam to Christianity. He sought to change his religious identity on his Egyptian ID card. An Egyptian court ruled that Sharia forbids anyone from leaving Islam. It is reported that Mr Armyia has suffered death threats, has been forced into hiding, has been tortured, and is now in prison for “contributing to a ‘false image’ that Christians in Minya are a target of violence.”

Goal: That Egyptian authorities release Bishoy Armyia from prison as soon as possible and prior to Eastern Christmas.

Action: The International Civil Liberties Alliance recommends activists to do the following:

  • Sign the petition that can be found at Voice of the Copts.
  • Write the Egyptian embassy in your own country highlighting the above case and calling for Bishoy Armyia’s (formally Mohammed Hegazy) immediate release. Be polite and respectful in your letter. The postal addresses of Egyptian embassies in various countries can be found HERE.

You may take ideas from the letter below written on behalf of the International Civil Liberties Alliance and tailor them to your own letter:

His Excellency the Egyptian Ambassador

Egyptian Embassy
26 South Street
London W1Y 6DD

20 December 2013

Dear Ambassador

THE CONTINUED IMPRISONMENT OF BISHY ARMYIA (FORMERLY MOHAMMED HEGAZY) IN EGYPT

I write to you on behalf the human rights group the International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA) about the case of Mr Bishy Armyia. It would appear that Mr Armyia was arrested on very tenuous charges and remains in custody without the prospect of a trial in the near future.

It would appear that the motivation for his arrest was his change of religion from Islam to Christianity. His treatment is therefore contrary to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is unbecoming of a great nation like Egypt. ICLA respectfully requests that you make representations with your home government on our behalf calling for the release of Mr Armyia in the interests of religious freedom.

We appreciate that your country is recovering from the legacy of the fanatical regime of the Muslim Brotherhood and we welcome the progress that your Government has made. We look forward to seeing an Egypt where human rights including freedom of religion are respected fully in your country.

Yours faithfully

Chris Knowles

On behalf of the International Civil Liberties Alliance.

12/20/13

The Council Has Spoken!! This Weeks’ Watcher’s Council Results – 12/20/13

The Watcher’s Council

The Silencing of the Ducks

Dedicated to the Robertson Family and Duck Dynasty

The Council has spoken, the votes have been cast and another Watcher’s Council match-up is engraved in the vast halls of cyberspace!

The winner this week, The Right Planet’s excellent I Don’t Believe In Defeat is aptly named, because it concerns the mindset and the tactics used in times of conflict. Here’s a slice:

A little while back I was on Twitter and started to express my frustration with something I’ve seen too much over my lifetime; and it’s only gotten worse, in my opinion. I’m referring to what I would call a “spirit of defeatism.”

I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve listened to people say they believe the whole game is rigged, so to speak. The “man” is in total control and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. In the end, according to the defeatists, we’re just cogs in a giant machine being controlled by mysterious dark forces that we have no control over; but they have total control over us, as the story goes; we are simply helpless victims who are powerless to do anything about it: “It’s just how it is.”

This sort of defeatism has never sat well with me, because at the end of the day–even if it were all true, and it may be, for all I know–it’s an excuse to do absolutely nothing about anything. Why should one waste any energy trying to change something for the better that cannot be changed?

But I can’t help, at times, to feel the frustration, anger, and even downright demoralization, of living in a world where so much evil does exist. I always agreed with Ephesians 6:10 in the Bible: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

I don’t believe in defeat, even though defeat may be a part of life, even our own–which brings me to the ancient military philosopher Sun Tzu and his view of defeat. Years ago I read the book The Art of War by Sun Tzu. The book left a big impression on me. It is not a lengthy work. One might argue it’s not really a book per se.

Although Sun Tzu wrote The Art of War, it really is a collection of maxims from many sources throughout history that Sun Tzu collected and organized, along with his own maxims on war. I quickly discovered it’s not a book you read just once and put down; it’s really a reference you return to over and over again. People refer to the Bible regularly as a reference, and often see something new in it each time they read it. Sun Tzu’s treatise is much the same way; it could be thought of as the bible on warfare.

One day, not too long ago, following a day of frustration with certain individuals who I would say are seriously afflicted with the cancer of defeatism, I got on Twitter and sent out the following Tweet:

Brent Parrish ® ‏ @therightplanet1
Sun Tzu did not believe in DEFEAT. He just changed tactics when confronted w/ a superior or inferior force. ONE WORD: VICTORY! #USA

Thomas Huynh @SunTzuShine Follow
@therightplanet1 You got that right

What’s interesting is who replied. It wasn’t just anybody; it was Thomas Huyne. At first, I wasn’t sure who he was, but for some reason his name and face just rang a bell. And then I thought about it a little more and wondered if I had seen him interviewed somewhere, or if it was his name that I recognized. The only thing I could think of was a rare documentary on Sun Tzu and The Art of War I saw on the History Channel a while back. So I Tweeted Mr. Huyne and asked him if he had anything to do with the documentary. Huyne responded by saying, yes, indeed, he was one of the primary consultants for the History Channel’s documentary on The Art of War.

Much more at the link.

In our Non-Council category, the winner was Council alumni David Gerstmanfrom Le.gal In.sur.rec.tion with Al Qaeda is on the Run …to Everywhere submitted by Liberty’s Spirit.

David took on President Obama’s famous statement about al-Qaeda being ‘on the run’ and gave it a pretty vicious going over… a great read.

Okay, here are this weeks’ full results. Both The Razor and The Mellow Jihadi were unable to vote this week, but neither was subject to the usual 2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners

Non-Council Winners

See you next week! Don’t forget to tune in on Monday AM for this week’s Watcher’s Forum, as the Council and their invited guests take apart one of the provocative issues of the day and weigh in… don’t you dare miss it. And don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter… ’cause we’re cool like that!