Ground Zero Mosque Update- Muslim Cabbie Stabbed by Ground Zero Mosque Fanboy; Florida Church to Burn Korans Saturday

A New York cabbie was slashed in the neck and arm by a fare after being asked whether or not he was a Muslim. The attacker, who was identified as 21 year old Micheal Enright, was arrested shortly afterwards and has since been charged with attempted murder and hate crimes.

Seems like an open and shut case of anti-mosque sentiment spilling over into real-life attacks against Muslims in the United States, doesn't it? But this case isn't as open and shut as it seems.

For starters, the victim- a 43 year old Bangladeshi immigrant named Ahemd Sharif- was reportedly against opening up a mosque in the former Burlington Coat Factory in which Imam Rauf wants to open up a 13 storey mosque and cultural center. On the other hand, Enright was a volunteer with an interfaith group called Intersetions International that is pro mosque. Enright also reportedly travelled to Afghanistan as a civilian photographer in May of this year to document US Army comat patrols in the Helmland province.

The story apparently died with a whimper because it didn't fit the media template of incidents of racist bigots (who were against the mosque, naturally) viciously attacking innocent Muslims dramamtically rising as a result of the Ground Zero mosque debate. So the mainstream media is left scrambling to shift the narrative with less than 24 hours before the 9 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. However, the reality is that according to the most recently available statistics, there are more hate crimes comitted against Jews and Chrisitans than there are against Muslims in the USA. Of the 1,732 victims of anti-religious hate crimes:

66.1 percent were targeted because of an offender’s anti-Jewish bias.
7.5 percent were victims because of an anti-Islamic bias.
5.1 percent were victims because of an anti-Catholic bias.
3.6 percent were victims because of an anti-Protestant bias.
0.8 percent were targeted because of an anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
12.8 percent were victims because of a bias against other religions (anti-other religion).
4.0 percent were victims because of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).
-Source, FBI

The rates for hate crimes against people of Middle Eastern background is even lower when compared to crimes directed at blacks (72.9%) and whites (16.8%).

ELSEWHERE: It's been all over the news this week to the point where I'm sick of hearing about it, but a pastor in Gainsville, FL has promised to mark the 9 year anniversary of 9/11 by publicly burning Korans on Saturday.

Just like the Ground Zero mosque and Imam Rauf, pastor Terry Jones is well within his rights to be a pedantic dickweed.....but that doesn't mean he should. That also means the government shouldn't intervene on behalf of a bunch of inanimite objects to avoid offending the sensibilities of people who were pretty antipathetic towards us in the first place.

While I think making a spectacle of publlicly burning the Koran is in bad taste, I also think that Muslims burning down Christian churches in Indonesia and Nigeria....with worshippers still inside in many cases...is much worse. Hell, I'd even be willing to go a step further and say that beheading an Islamic cleric and then setting the decapitated corpse on fire is much worse than a Koran-burning publicity stunt.

It's also worth noting that as offensive to some as this Koran burning stunt by a small Florida church may be, it's a one day affair. If completed, the Ground Zero mosque will be around for much longer than that.

Original Navajo Code Talker Passes Away in Arizona

Allen Dale June, one of the first 29 Navajo Code Talkers in WWII, passed away at a Veteran's Assistance center in Prescott, AZ at the age of 91.

Saying that there was nothing to do on the 'rez', June joined the Marine Corps at age 16 after lying about his age to a recruiter.

The Code Talkers were used to send encrypted messages by transmitting and receiving them in their native Navajo language in the Pacific Theater. Throughout the course of the war, the Japanese were never able decipher the transmissions. According to June's widow, the Marine Corps Sargent participated in a number of battles and crossed the equator eight times, leapfrogging from island to island in the Pacific.

After the war, June got his master's degree and worked as an accountant. He leaves behind 10 children from three wives.

Happy Rosh Hashanah, From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my regular Jewish and Israeli visitors [Do I have any? If not, I'll just wish it to Jewish passers-by then- NENESB!].

Since Bar Refaeli is apparently a draft dodger (not an easy feat coming from a nation that has mandatory conscription) I thought the High Holiday observing the New Year could be kicked off with some Israeli eye-candy that's actually wearing the IDF uniform.


Of course, some could argue that there's a sensationalist and exploitative element to pointing out the fact that there's attractive women living in Israel.

But for a more straightforward, slice of life look at contemporary Israeli women serving in the IDF, photographer Rachel Papo has an interesting photo essay called Serial No. 3817131.
It was my observation that if a woman could look good in BDUs (i.e. Battle Dress Uniform- the day-to-day camouflage uniform of the US Army), she could look good in pretty much anything. I think the same analysis could hold true for the IDF olive-drab uniform, although that hasn't hindered the IDF glee club any.

But on this Rosh Hashanah, I will let you, good NANESB! readers, be the judge of that.

Playing Hooky Sports Chowdah Update- BoSox Take 2 of 3 From Blue Rays After Windy City Sox Breeze Thru Fenway; Eagles Soar While UConn's Sore

Elsa/Getty Images

MLB: Well scheisse....I've been a bad little blogger, trying in vain to score some easy cash playing the ponies whilst neglecting my blog. Then again, out of the last 6 games the Red Sox played, the only one I get to watch was Sunday's sucktastic snatching of defeat from the jaws of victory against the White Sox courtesy of Papelbon where the White Sox completed their sweep of the Red Sox.

The bad news is that absolutely NONE of the games in the subsequent homestand against Tampa Bay were close. The good news is that two of them went Boston's way, with Jon Lester going six innings while giving up four hits, two earned runs, three walks and striking out ten. Big Papi and Beltre homered and Ryan Kalish hit a grand slam off of Andy Sonnanstine in Monday's 12-5 win over Tampa.

Tuesday night was Boston's turn to get roughed up, with Daisuke Matsuzaka lasting all of four and 2/3rds innings while giving up eight earned runs in Tampa's 14-5 win over Boston.

Wednesday night's rubber game looked like it was going to be more of the same after Wakefield gave up an RBI sac-fly to Evan Longoria in the 1st, followed by a 3-run homer from BJ Upton in the 2nd. The Sox got on the board with a 2 run homer off the bat of Adrian Beltre before tying the game in the bottom of the 3rd with solo homers from Marcos Scutaro and Big Papi. Tampa briefly re-took the lead with an RBI double from Jason Batlett in the 4th, but the Red Sox re-took the lead in the bottom of the 5th thanks to Victor Martinez solo homer, followed by Ryan Kalish's RBI double and THEN scoring on an Evan Longoria throwing error with 2 away.

Boston would go on to tack on three more runs, including another homer by Scutaro to win by the final of 11-5 (this one being a little closer than it looked, given how quickly Tampa got out of the gate).

Vintage knuckleballer Tim Wakefield got 5 innings of work in, giving up 4 earned runs (plus one unearned) on six hits while walking two and striking out 4. With an abundance of run support, Wake's outing was good enough for the win, making the 44 year old knuckleballer the oldest Red Sox ever pitcher to get a win. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley was 43 when he got his last win in a Red Sox uniform.

Thursday's a pretty light day in general in the American league, and the Red Sox will be travelling for another West Coast road trip that gets underway with a Friday night start against the Oakland A's with Clay Buchholz (15-6; 2.25 ERA) scheduled to start against Trevor Cahill (15-6; 2.72 ERA) at 10PM Eastern time, 7PM Pacific.

OTHER RED SOX NEWS: Jason Varitek made an appearence with the AAA PawSox for their final two games of the International League season at McCoy stadium, going 2-5, batting .400 and driving in a run in two games against the Syracuse Chiefs before being activiated by Boston on Monday night. The captain made an appearence in Tuesday night's loss, going 0-2 with two groundouts, but sat out Wednesday's game against Tampa with the knuckleballer starting.

NCAA FOOTBALL: The BC Eagles are off to a 1-0 start after their 38-20 win over Weber State at Chestnut Hill on Saturday. Eagles QB David Shinskie was 10-20 with 185 yards, 2 touchdowns and two interceptions and LB Mark Herzlich returned to the lineup after missing the 2009 season to undergo treatment for bone cancer.

This was pretty much a first week 'gimmee' where the hapless Division 1AA/FCS team gets slapped around by their 1A/FBS counterpart. Next week, the BC Eagles will host Kent State for a 3:30 PM ET kickoff.

The UConn Huskies had a much rougher start to their season at the Big House in Ann Arbor, MI. The Husky D couldn't contain an occasionally shoeless Denard Robinson, who was 19-22 with 186 yards and a touchdown passing while rushing for another 197 yards and a TD. Michigan wins their home opener against Connecticut, 30-10.

The Huskies will next host the Texas Southern Tigers at Storrs at noon Saturday.

ELSEWHERE IN NCAAF: Pretty good game Monday night between Virginia Tech and Boise State. The game took place at Fed Ex Field in Landover, MD- home of the Washington Redskins- and had the uncanny ability to time some big plays in the second half when I went out to flip some burgers or brats on the grill on Labor Day. The visiting Broncos held off a late drive by the Hokies to win 33-30.

Christina Hendricks- Scrounging For Designer Clothes?

Jason Merritt/Getty

Turns out besides kickoff for College football, the Emmys were this weekend. Like paint drying or grass growing, I typically could let an event like the Emmys pass by without comment, but it seems realistically-proportioned eye-candy Christina Hendricks was once again the focus of some media buzz.

Or at least her stylist, Lawren Sample, was when she told of how difficult it was to find a designer dress that could fit Hendricks.

"She's a woman, she's got a woman's body. But most actors these days, there's nothing to them - they're a clothes hanger."

Lawren admits with unusual candour that though the 35-year- old actress's curves - her vital statistics are reported to be a 38DD-26-34 - are the envy of Mad Men fans, designers prefer to steer clear.

"If you have a fitting with anyone else - her Mad Men co-star January Jones, for example - she's going to get 50 beautiful runway samples sent to her," says Lawren.

"We need to have dresses made. If we don't have them made, we have to get a larger size that's been made for someone else but never worn, or a vintage piece."

Lawren has to beg, buttering up the designer, saying Christina is a "huge, huge fan" of their work. Yet nine times out of ten, it is still a flat "No".

"They'll say: ''Unfortunately, we don't have the sizes to support her,'' or ''Unfortunately, we only have a size two or four.""

I have to say, this Zac Posen fellow has made me stop and reassess whether or not the fashion industry is comprised exclusively of angry homosexuals who's sole purpose in life it is to try and make attractive women look as much like androgynous urchins as possible.

In the end, New York designer Zac Posen stepped up to the mark to dress Christina for the Emmys.

He wanted to accentuate her shape, rather than hide it. The lilac, cleavage-bearing, hourglass dress in chiffon with hand- stitched feathers was specially made for her, with a structured, boned bodice

"She's got a beautiful body, there's no reason to hide anything. Let's celebrate what she has," he said.

I'll let the final product speak for itself.

Fredrick Brown/Getty

Personally, I think Hendricks almost falls into the 'Hollywood Pudgy' category and I think it's pretty telling that the fashion industry can't or won't make dresses for an actress who's measurements seem to be closer to that of most American women than most of the other actresses or singers out there.

This Week's Word on the Democrats Word A Week Calendar: 'Firewall'

And the media seems to have picked up on it as well:

Smoke on the Firewall for Senate Dems?

As one of the hottest summers on record begins easing into fall, the political heat has yet to subside. And that has Senate Democrats sweating states they once thought they had made in the shade.

Democrats knew they had trouble in states where their elected incumbents had resigned (Illinois, Delaware, Colorado), retired (Indiana, North Dakota) or lost the primary (Pennsylvania). They knew they had two more incumbents staggering under terrible poll numbers (Nevada, Arkansas).

But even if all eight of these seats were to be lost, and even if they were to capture no new seats from the GOP, the Democrats reasoned they could still hold the majority.

That "firewall theory" was based on the belief that the rest of the majority's current 59 seats would remain in the hands of Democrats or affiliated independents.

But now there's smoke sighted along the firewall as well. Recent polls in California, Washington and Wisconsin show three more Democratic veterans, all first elected in 1992, are tied, trailing or only slightly ahead of their Republican challengers

It isn't just the Senate that the 'Firewall' phrase is being applied to, either. House Democrats in competitive districts appear to be scattering whenever President Obama is in town while the DCCC is trying to figure out who's campaign can be salvaged.

Democrats Trying to Build Firewall Around Strongest Cadidates

Races that are believed to have particularly vulnerable Democrats include those of newcomers who won Republican seats during the last two pro-Democratic election cycles -- like Betsey Markey of Colorado, Tom Perriello of Virginia, Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio and Frank Kratovil Jr. of Maryland -- as well as more senior members, like John Spratt of South Carolina and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota, according to the Times.

I suspect there are a few more names on that list as well- the Democrats problems clearly are more widespread than a five or six competitive districts.

Also worth noting, the non-partisan Charlie Cook Political Report last week made 17 updates to House, Senate and Gubenetorial elections. ALL 17 were in favor of the GOP:

•WYOMING Governor: Likely Republican to Solid Republican (9/02/10)
•TENNESSEE Governor: Lean Republican to Likely Republican (9/02/10)
•PENNSYLVANIA Governor: Toss Up to Lean Republican (9/02/10)
•OREGON Governor: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)
•WEST VIRGINIA Senate: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•OHIO Senate: Toss Up to Lean Republican (9/02/10)
•ARKANSAS Senate: Toss Up to Lean Republican (9/02/10)
•WISCONSIN District 8: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)
•WASHINGTON District 2: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•TEXAS District 23: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)
•NORTH CAROLINA District 11: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•MICHIGAN District 9: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•ILLINOIS District 17: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•FLORIDA District 22: Likely Democrat to Lean Democrat (9/02/10)
•COLORADO District 3: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)
•ARIZONA District 5: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)
•ARIZONA District 1: Lean Democrat to Toss Up (9/02/10)

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake Strikes New Zealand's South Island

Authorities in the Canterbury reigon of New Zealand's South Island had declared a state of emergency after a 7.0 earthquake struck the island and heavily damaged many structures in and around the city of Christchurch at around 4 AM local time Saturday. Eighty extra police officers were brought in from Auckland to enforce a 7 PM to 7 AM curfew while personnel from New Zealand's Army were brought in to help with relief work.

A fire had flared up in downtown Christchurch, but firefighters efforts were stymied when there was no water pressure due to the broken pipes. There were also reports of sporadic looting, but authorities began making arrests.

Engineers say that at least six major bridges in the Canterbury region were heavily damaged by the quake and even on the roads that were undamaged, debris from collapsed buildings blocked lanes. No tsunami warnings were issued, although concerns that strong aftershocks could knock down already damaged buildings led authorities to seal off the downtown area.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said in a statement that there were no confirmed fatalities, although many people were being treated for injuries from falling debris or broken glass at area hospitals.

Sports Chowdah Pre Labor Day Update- O No! Sox Hang On To Take 2 Out Of 3 From Baltimore; Are You Ready For Some (NCAA) Football?

RED SOX: Well, I'd hardly call taking two out of three from the AL East's cellar dwellers a triumph, but after dropping three straight within the division, including the series opener at Camden yards Tuesday night, one takes what one can get.

Daisuke Matuzaka got the start Thursday night and was working with a 5 run lead for much of the night thanks to a very productive 2nd inning that started off with an Adrian Beltre and was punctuated by a 2-RBI single from Big Papi. However, Baltimore would rally in the bottom of the 6th, making it a 1-run game and chasing Matsuzaka from the mound.

Scott Atcheson came on in relief with two away and caught Nolan Riemold looking at strike three to end the threat with the tying run on 2nd. After getting a little insurance on a Mike Lowell RBI groundout in the top half, Atcheson would have a 1-2-3 seventh inning and get the first two batters out in the eights before being relieved by Okajima, who got Luke Scott on a foul pop up along the 3rd base side, retiring the one and only batter he faced.

Papelbon made it interesting in the bottom of the 9th, starting off the inning by giving up singles to Felix Pie and Matt Weiters before Corey Patterson got down a sac-bunt to put runners on 2nd and third with one away before striking out Ceasar Izturis and Josh Bell to end the ballgame, good for his 35th save of the season.

The Sox will face the (Chi)Sox this weekend, which means we apparently traded in one Johnny Damon 'reunion' for two Manny 'reunions'. Friday's scheduled starters were supposed to be John Danks (11-9; 3.65 ERA) against Clay Buccholz (15-4; 2.21 ERA), but that was rained out and will probably be made up as a doubleheader Saturday. With Hurricane Tropical Storm Earl approaching, I'm wondering how they could get the whole series in though.

NCAA Football- My my! The games that count are already here with the NCAA Football kickoff on Thursday night. Just a cursory glance of the TV listings indicated that there were some Thursday night, but I was blindsided by just how many there were when I did some channel surfing.

Presbyterian 13- Wake Forest 53

Rhode Island 0- Buffalo 31

Murray State 10- Kent State 41

SE Missouri State 10- Ball State 27

Hampton 0- Central Michigan 33

Minnesota 24- Middle Tennessee State 17

Norfolk State 0- Rutgers 31

Florida A&M 0- #13 Miami (FL) 45

Marshall 7- #2 Ohio State 45

Towson 17- Indiana 51

Southern Miss. 13- South Carolina 41

Florida Atlantic 32- Alabama-Birmingham 31

SE Louisiana 21- Tulane 27

Northern Illinois 10- Iowa State 27

#15 Pittsburgh 24- Utah 27

North Dakota 0- Idaho 45

Eastern Washington 24- Nevada 49

#14 USC 49- Hawaii 36

NFL- Pats lost to the Giants 20-17 in the final preseason game on Thursday night. They will play host to the Cincinnati Bengals for opening day at Foxboro on Sunday, September 12. Kickoff is at 1PM Eastern, 10AM Pacific.

In South America, A Bizzare Love Triangle With One Party 700m Underground

Trapped in a collapsed mine 700M below the surface?

Things could be worse- at least your wife hasn't found out that you're screwing around with that one chick from the training course at work a few years back....

What's that? She has....? Aw shit. Well...sucks to be you.

One of the 33 miners trapped in a Northern Chilean copper and gold mine is hoping the 4-month timeline for a possible rescue is actually a lowball estimate after his wife encountered his mistress at a vigil held by the families of the trapped workers.

Yonni Barrios' wife, Marta Salinas, and Barrios' lover, Susana Valenzuela, were both holding vigils for him outside the mine.

Salinas was stunned when she heard Valenzuela shouting his name amid a crowd of miners' loved ones.

Salinas, 56, is said to be "horrified". However, she is determined not to give up her man to her love rival.

She told friends: "Barrios is my husband. He loves me and I am his devoted wife. This woman has no legitimacy."

But Valenzuela said the 50-year-old miner, who she met on a training course five years ago, was planning to leave his wife for her.

She said: "We are in love. I'll wait for him."

Barrios has been one of the heroes of the landslide drama -- using his first-aid training to treat sick colleagues.

He also vaccinated all 33 men, including himself, against flu and pneumonia.

One has to wonder if Barrios is using anything taught at the training course he met Valenzuela at that could be applicable in his situation.

[Hat tip: Jammie Wearing Fool]

An Inconvenient Truth: Armed Right Wing, Bigoted, Hate-Mongering Tea Partier Storms Discovery Channel HQ, Takes Hostages

[The only reason I didn't go with the headline Gun-Wielding EcoTerrorist Demands Human Population Reduced, Montgomery County SWAT Team Obliges apparently was already taken by the Daily Caller- NANESB!]

Just days after Sarah Palin and Glen Beck's neo-fascist rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. (which apparently drew 12 people and 299,990 looky-loos passing by the Mall, according to NBC), a deranged right-wing teabagging gunman stormed into the nearby headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, MD brandishing a pistol and metal canisters and took hostages in an attempt to get the network to change their programming to shows that suited his ideological outlook.

Only the gunman's ideological outlook is already subject to some spinning by the mainstream media and the left half of the blogosphere.

43 year old James J Lee posted a lengthy online screed decrying Discovery Channel's programming for "encouraging the birth of more parasitic human infants" and "encouraging war" before arriving at the network's Maryland headquarters on Wednesday [you'd think that he wouldn't mind the war programming so much, since that would reduce the population in some way shape or form- NANESB!]. The eco-terrorist got his wish in a roundabout way when Montgomery County Police SWAT officers moved in and shot Lee dead after he pointed his gun at one of the hostages. All three hostages were able to escape unharmed and a bomb disposal unit was called in to detonate an device Lee was wearing (one device appeared to go off when he was shot).

However, even a cursory examination of Lee's screed indicates that it's not exactly chock full of right-wing shibboleths.

...war must be halted. Not because it’s morally wrong, but because of the catastrophic environmental damage modern weapons cause to other creatures

Shoot....I thought us right wingers loved war and violence.

Civilization must be exposed for the filth it is. That, and all its disgusting religious-cultural roots and greed. Broadcast this message until the pollution in the planet is reversed and the human population goes down! This is your obligation. If you think it isn’t, then get hell off the planet

Wait a second....if civilization needs to be done away with for good, how exactly do you plan on broadcasting anything? Part of Lee's demands included Discovery airing more shows that mirrored his disdain for humanity and 'Apply solutions'.

While it might be tempting to dismiss Lee as a lone crank, the so-called news outlets weren't as quick to dismiss the Pentagon shooter or Texas kamikaze pilot Joseph Stack as lone cranks and desperately were attempting to tie them to the Tea Party, talk radio or other participants in the vast right wing conspiracy. Instead, Lee's hysterical alarmism regarding overpopulation and global warming seems eerily reminiscent of the global warming hysteria surrounding the leadup to last year's Copenhagen climate change conference. It was also reported that Lee was in part inspired by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. To be blunt, there probably more concrete evidence to tie Lee to the popular and mainstream global warming alarmists and overbearing envirnonmentalists as there is Robert Stack to the Tea Party.

Lee, reportedly from San Diego, CA, was arrested in 2008 on charges of trespass and disorderly conduct in front of the Discovery Channel's headquarters where the threw thousands of dollars in cash up in the air.