Posted by objectiveinsight on November 15, 2009
Today I’d like to talk about a Thai sauce named Sriracha. It is a blend of chili peppers, vinegar, salt, sugar, and win.
Recently I was faced with the unpleasant task of telling my wife about the long time love affair I’ve had….with food. I love food. Especially asian food. Especially Chinese food. I used to spend way too much money on it. Recently, I’ve taken up cooking. It’s rewarding, economical, and delicious. In general, I’ve never really cared for spicy foods, not even spicy Chinese dishes. That was until my wife and I decided to try Pho, a popular Vietnamese soup commonly served with a side of Sriracha Sauce. As I’m sure you’ve deduced from the title of this blog I tried it and I loved it. It was hot, to be sure, but it wasn’t the empty flavorless heat that I had come to expect. It was delicious and it enhanced the flavor of the Pho.
As days have passed I’ve tried it with basically everything that I’ve eaten that wasn’t a dessert. So far I feel that it has enhanced the flavor and added a kick to everything that I’ve tried it with thus far. That isn’t limited to just asian foods either.I’ve tried it with a variety of foods. As of right now i’m fairly confident in saying it will enhance without entirely changing the flavors of most dishes and tastes.
I shouldn’t really have to say this but it is a hot sauce. If, after reading this, you prepare something and pour half the bottle on it and subsequently ruin the food, your pallet, and your day, that’s on you.
Posted in Food and Beverage | Tagged: Cooking, Food, Sriracha Sauce | No Comments »
Posted by objectiveinsight on November 11, 2009
The following is a quote from President Obama to Fort Hood.
“It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy. But this much we do know – no faith justifies these murderous and craven acts; no just and loving God looks upon them with favor. And for what he has done, we know that the killer will be met with justice – in this world, and the next.”
The above statement is representative of a dishonest view of Islam and religion. A view that allows atrocities like the Fort Hood and other massacres to occur. One need only take a look at Hasan’s Presentation on Islam or briefly browse The Qur’an(Koran) to see that Islam is arguably the most zealous in its endorsement and justification of evil and violence toward anyone who denies the supremacy of Mohammed. Acknowledging the existence of Jesus is simply not enough. Islam even goes so far as to explicitly specify a rule of Abrogation (Qur’an 2:106) which essentially states that Allah, in its omnipotent omniscience, may contradict its self without question. To slay those who do not believe in and follow the Qur’an is what Allah commands. Neglecting or refusing to do so is to doom ones self (because somehow free will and divine predestination can exist simultaneously in these peoples minds) to eternal torment.
It is not “twisted logic” that is the problem. It is the abandonment of logic. It is the avoidance of reality. It is a refusal to reason. If logic and theism were compatible, blind faith would not be a necessary requirement. As a human, we are the only species capable of using reason and conceptual consciousness to sustain our lives and the only species who has to in order to survive. We use it constantly in every choice and decision we make. Our only alternative is to remain motionless and die or act as a parasite and rely on others who use their own minds to force feed us and care for us in order to sustain our lives. Yet there are billions of people around the world who purposely partially abandon and ignore reason, the faculty through which they survive, in favor of blind acceptance of the irrational. It is this partial abandonment of reason and self preservation that allows the acceptance of such evil and the reality avoidance necessary to die for the unreal.
Further examples of dishonesty can be found through just about every news and information organisation covering this story. It seems like you can’t spend much time at all tuned in to any news network without someone asking if what occurred at Fort Hood was an act of terrorism. This seems to me like an extremely stupid question that could only be asked by the deluded or dishonest. Even if examined in literal terms of the law the answer seems obvious.
“(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended— (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States”
A – Well, we can cross this one off the list. I think murder qualifies as dangerous to human life and in violation of criminal law(everywhere).
B – Take a look at the last slide in his presentation. He most definitely intended “to influence the policy of a government by intimidation” and “affect the conduct of a government(since he chose a government installation) by assassination.”
C – Texas is a part of the United States, last I checked.
This was unquestionably an act of domestic terrorism. Regardless of whether or not he had ties to any specific Islamic terrorist group(which is arguable considering his long term association with an Imam tied to 9/11 hijackers) ample evidence has surfaced that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the motivation for this attack was the desire to follow Allah’s word. This was an act of Islamic terrorism regardless of whether or not he was acting on his own.
Let’s be a little more honest with ourselves and each other, people. We should not be concerned with offending those Muslims who lead peaceful lives. We should instead encourage them to re-examine the Qur’an and their beliefs with an open and honest mind.
Posted in Philosophy, Religion | No Comments »
