mr harris makes some really great points.however,his lack of historical knowledge and understanding of islam and the cultures where it is prominent takes away from the veracity of his excellent points.
since humankind began civilizations religion has been used as the whipping tool to control the masses.either by fear or a false sense of certitude.
if you listen to mr harris's points on suicide bombers you will be no closer to understanding why these people will blow themselves up than mr harris is.to his credit even mr harris admits this but then speculates it's due to this silly notion of "72 virgins".

i am a vehemntly passionate advocate against all forms of fundamentalism.so seeing videos like this that have so much potential to really get a strong,secular message out there(even though i am not secular,not in the purist sense anyways)only to fall short due to a large misunderstanding of not only the religion,but the culture about which he speaks,saddens me,because now i have to point out the discrepancy.

i would also like to add that islam should not be the only religion singled out.christians are just as manipulated and abused by those in power,using the peoples faith to perform atrocities in the name of god.
http://www.videosift.com/video/Christian-Mafia-Morality-Is-For-The-Little-People
religion has always been the vehicle of the powerful to oppress,control and manipulate the masses.this is evident throughout history.
this brings me to the main question,and why i feel so saddened by mr harris's obvious error,because it appeared to me to be his main question.
why?
and not only why?but how? and most importantly:
by whom?
its not god,nor some average joe just trying to survive.
remember the old adage?
who benefits?
lets talk about that...i think that is where we may find a far truer representation of the ills of the world.religion is just the mask.whom is behind?

>> ^Throbbin:
>> ^chilaxe:
This just in: mediocre guy makes stuff up in a book, becomes rich, and gets called "brave!"

Did this hit close to home or what chilaxe?


I like Maher, but he's not exactly a scientist. Jeff Sharlet saying a bunch of stuff without any proof or data isn't journalism, and Maher isn't doing his job as a media figure or as an intellectual by just assigning 100% truth to everything that comes out of peoples' mouths.

Sharlet does appear to have some credentials, so maybe there's something more to his claims than just him 'saying stuff,' but if there is, it's not present in this appearance, meaning Sharlet and Maher aren't doing their jobs.

>> ^chilaxe:
This just in: mediocre guy makes stuff up in a book, becomes rich, and gets called "brave!"


Hey it worked for Mohammed, Joseph Smith, L. Ron Hubbard, and many more.

>> ^chilaxe:
This just in: mediocre guy makes stuff up in a book, becomes rich, and gets called "brave!"


Did this hit close to home or what chilaxe?

>> ^ForgedReality:
My god, why are they cheering? It's not hard at all. I can do it easier than her with both of my elbows at the same time. Christ.


Ah, you little people have it so good, dontcha?

ooooooh, she means "little people" as in, "unimportant, poor, non-famous people". Here I thought she was using a current politically correct term, but she's really using an antiquated demeaning euphemism for the working class. Well played Barbra.

My estrogen levels just rose. Thanks.

Also, notice the disdain these people have for us common folk. "...with regular people, not a screening." "little people." It's nearly harmless, but enough implication behind their tone that it sets me off a bit.

And where are they now?
The little people of Stonehenge
And what would they say to us?
If we were here... tonight

One could argue that he was a tad "Schwarmy" in his presentation, but dead on in his conclusion.

Boulder Colorado went through this recently. A few old biddies raising a fuss made--and I kid you not--riding a bike naked a felony. Not just a felony, but a "sexual offender."

We keep bowing to little people, here in America, and other places.

Bowing to mean little people and thinking that they will someday go away, will not make a brighter future.

I am a radical leftist and it pisses me off when people say that Obama is a Marxist, because he's not even close! If he were halfway close he would earn my full applause. But he's just kissing rich ass.

I call him Obamarx because he's not a capitalist (except for his book deals) and how the hell is he 'kissing rich ass' by taking more and more from them (and the middle class), which then leaves less money to invest and create jobs the "little people" need to survive, much less profit?

Do socialists really believe their bad decisions cause no harm and have no negative consequences? Only the ones protected from their folly, which seems to be a great many. When a company screws up, they risk a more immediate and lasting punishment than some inept government agency that will stick around forever on the taxpayer's dime. Hasn't the collapse of GM proven that even that most favorite target of leftists--the corporation--is not immortal and infallible?

Are people who have little material wealth somehow morally superior to those with more money? No, they're exactly the same, only on a smaller scale.

The idea that only private enterprise is filled with selfish pigs while activists and government employees are humble self-sacrificing do-gooders is.....limited.

I'm not saying you're wrong to believe as you do; had I your experience I'd feel exactly the same way. If you're looking for a socialist paradise, I'd try the Netherlands or other Nordic lands or Australia.


"Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good
of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live
under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.
The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may
at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good
will torment us without end for they do so with the approval
of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

The cons have very short memories.

They've spent the past twenty or thirty years screaming for deregulation. They get it. Predictably, the financial institutions abuse this new-found freedom in a bid to make an obscenely high profit in a ridiculously short period of time. Most of them fail, and since they are "too big to fail" the rest of us little people have to bail them out.

But it's not their fault....

>> ^ForgedReality:
>> ^Darkhand:
Woohoo #1!!!
Can you guys mail the medal to me?

tear Don't forget all the little people who got you there! :`D


I will make sure everyone who voted for this video gets miniature versions of my medal

>> ^shagen454:
This isn't the first star comparison video, obviously, but I find it interesting that many of them contain this not so subtle message that YOU are but a speck of dust instead of focusing on the amazing massiveness and endless variations and possibilities. Why can't they just let the images speak louder than words instead of trying to cyber bully the viewer?


Or better yet, demonstrate how amazing it is that we can sit here on this planet killing each other over things such as religion, when we could combine and work towards going out and experiencing all of the amazing (amazing is such an understatement) things out there.

We sit on this planet in our little rat race of our own devising, working 9-5 to live in our tiny little house on our tiny little planet, shitting on other tiny little people to get a little bit more status/money, whilst the universe flies on past without us even knowing, but calling to us, saying "You don't NEED religion to feel special, look at all these wonderments i have, and you are alive to see it. AND YOU ARE ONE OF THESE WONDERMENTS. You're so fucking special it's beyond words."

The world has known about the the shit the Japanese are capable of for more than 70 years.
It's this kind of thing that made it "OK' to drop the big bombs on them.
Now they just do whacky shit on TV so that everyone will forget their true nature....mindless, souless, murdering little people who like to degrade other humans, including themselves.

>> ^Darkhand:
Woohoo #1!!!
Can you guys mail the medal to me?


*tear* Don't forget all the little people who got you there! :`D