Wow, talk about not wanting to see the truth.

The way things are going in the UK, Sudan will come to her ...very soon.

She probably feels sad about leaving the kids. I would too. But, ...

Does this qualify her for a Darwin Award?

At least a nomination?

Then you're effing stupid and I would have considered it wasting my time to have tried you get you out...

She probably feels she is doing something valuable for those children.

The only reason this woman is alive is because her evil western government carried a big stick. Pathetic.

It's because of the occu-pay-shon!

/what occupation?

Coo Koo Coo Koo the clock is ticking-- so sad to hear that.

So she has a death wish? Wow.

I don't think the Sudanese will let her stay. If those barbarians see her on the street, she's as good as dead.

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

She probably thinks that she can change the children and save then frm the insanity that is Islam. A noble cause but not very realistic.She is an infidel woman, they will learn that in the special way that they do.

Perhaps saying "she wishes she could stay" is a nice way of saying she wishes the Sudan weren't so F'd up (ie so then she could stay and go back to work).

Having kids take home a stuffed animal and writing in its "diary" is mainstream for elementary school. My kids did it and it was wonderful. My niece sent us a "Flat Stanley" and I took it to D.C. and got pictures in front of the Wash. Monument, the Capitol, in a Starbucks, to accompany the diary entries for those days. Then he went on to other parts of the country. I read that the kids named the bear. What a horrible twisted experience for them. She thought it would be like home and it's not.

Idiot!

I am starting to have very little sympathy for any non-muslim who gets in trouble in a muslim country. People want to deny that their is any problem with islam and are willing to risk their lives to try and convince those of us who see the threat and the barbarism that exist in those countries. Well if you want to risk your life like that then why should the rest of us even care.

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

At least she didn't pull a Patty Hearst and join the headchoppers.

I wonder if the whole episode will discourage foreign teachers from going to places such as Sudan.

How much was the ransom? Is it enough to pay the professional demonstrators that cried 'off with er head'?

I want people to know that I have been well treated and especially that I am being well fed

Why especially well fed?

From now on, folks, that's the signal! If we're hostage and being beaten, we emphasize that we're being fed. The worse the torture, the more well fed we claim.

If she still says that after she's out of the Sudan (remember, she's still in their clutches until she's safely back in Londonistan... Oops...) then she's stupid, suicidal, and no longer entitled to pity.

re: #20 EC Marm

At least she didn't pull a Patty Hearst and join the headchoppers.

Not yet...!

re: #8 Globular Cluster

The only reason this woman is alive is because her evil western government carried a big stick. Pathetic.

Maybe the only reason she was targeted is because her evil Western gov't carries a big stick (or wallet).

Who the heck knows what was agreed to/threatened behind closed doors to get her out of this.

I think she's just trying to get out with her head/shoulder connection intact!

re: #4 Indefatigable

Does this qualify her for a Darwin Award?

Not yet. Wait until the crowds get her.

re: #23 Silhouette

I want people to know that I have been well treated and especially that I am being well fed

Why especially well fed?

From now on, folks, that's the signal! If we're hostage and being beaten, we emphasize that we're being fed. The worse the torture, the more well fed we claim.

The Iranian Hostages might want to have a word with her.

re: #19 Globular Cluster

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

No, but what if she did make a big reeking insulting statement and call them all savages? You'd feel good?
She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

I predicted this.

I'm actually just suprised that she hasn't announced her conversion to Islam...to like-TOTALLY repent for the offense to Mo (peanut butter be upon him).

re: #21 MandyManners

I wonder if the whole episode will discourage foreign teachers from going to places such as Sudan.

No, because they're all just understood, and the real evil is in the UK/USA/Israel. That's why she doesn't want to leave Sudan, because the evil fascist UK is worse!

re: #16 Sunlight

Having kids take home a stuffed animal and writing in its "diary" is mainstream for elementary school. My kids did it and it was wonderful. My niece sent us a "Flat Stanley" and I took it to D.C. and got pictures in front of the Wash. Monument, the Capitol, in a Starbucks, to accompany the diary entries for those days. Then he went on to other parts of the country. I read that the kids named the bear. What a horrible twisted experience for them. She thought it would be like home and it's not.

Both of my kids that have been through kindergarten brought home a dressed bear, and we had to go somewhere over the weekend that we had it, and take pictures with it. The first time we had it, its clothes were so filthy (school t-shirt, boys' underwear, Lotto soccer shorts) that I ran its clothes (and it, too, on gentle cycle) through the washer.

Dhimmi says what?

Says something about our (civilized) society that someone this dumb could have lived that long without Mr. Darwin poking his head above the horizon and removing her from the gene pool. Talk about being unable to find one's own ass with a map!

OT: Good News-New Mr. Palestine Crowned.

Guess who?

This was Arafat's former title, IIRC.

re: #30 Peacekeeper

re: #19 Globular Cluster

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

No, but what if she did make a big reeking insulting statement and call them all savages? You'd feel good?
She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

She could have just shut-up and waited till she got back to the UK.

I'm not falling for this. She will be in London within 24 hrs.

re: #30 Peacekeeper

re: #19 Globular Cluster

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

No, but what if she did make a big reeking insulting statement and call them all savages? You'd feel good?
She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

Nobody who matters will take note of such a sign of deranged weakness. It's not being gracious, it's being dishonest or insane.

Talk about the Stockholm Syndrome!

The galling thing is the utter contempt and unforgiving nature of the Sudanese response. This woman likes them, she picked up her nice comfortable British life and plopped herself down in their failed state at great personal hardship to teach their chidren and maybe make their lives better.

She never meant to offend anyone and the next thing she knows the regime uses her faux pas as an excuse to express the ocean of ingratitude for her service to their nation.

So naturally, one of the the regimes in the world that most needs a prophylactic bombing goes on a rampage on what little good their is in their country. Sure takes the media attention from Darfur, take British do-gooder hostage. The entire mess should have been a nothing. But the government of Sudan chose to make it something for that, as if there weren't enough reasons already, you cannot hate the Sudanese regime enough.

Have we really become so cynical that we're unwilling to believe that a teacher could want to make a difference in the lives of her pupils?

If Sudan has a chance to escape the morass of backwards 7th century thinking, we'll need more people willing to teach the children to reason, not less.

I admit that I'm not optimistic that she'll achieve this outcome but I need to believe that it is possible. If indeed G-d is soveriegn, then His will cannot be thwarted by these barbarians.

I feel really sorry for this lady. OK, no, I don't...

re: #32 JamesTKirk

re: #21 MandyManners

I wonder if the whole episode will discourage foreign teachers from going to places such as Sudan.

No, because they're all just understood, and the real evil is in the UK/USA/Israel. That's why she doesn't want to leave Sudan, because the evil fascist UK is worse!

They've already been brainwashed by the dhimmi school and university system.

re: #36 WriterMom

OT: Good News-New Mr. Palestine Crowned.

Guess who?

This was Arafat's former title, IIRC.

Robert Fisk? George Galloway?

Cue the rush of moonbats to Sudan, ready to volunteer and show the noble Sudanese that at least some of us rude infidels can be respectful of their fine culture.

re: #30 Peacekeeper

I tend to agree.

She's saying she thinks her mission there was important, and she'd like to continue it. I don't detect any suicidal intent, or lack of gratitude to whomever helped her get out.

I also don't see this as a comment (positive OR negative) towards the ones that tried her for her "crime".

I'm sure if you could get her to comment on that off the record, she wouldn't say nice things about the ones who drove her out.

I told you when she was first arrested that she would be released early and that she would thank her captors for their kindness.

Next, she'll convert...er, revert.

re: #30 Peacekeeper

re: #19 Globular Cluster

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

No, but what if she did make a big reeking insulting statement and call them all savages? You'd feel good?
She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

In the world of twelve steps, it's called "enabling" when someone is so "gracious" about bad or abusive behavior. Usually the enabling results in effects just to the people around the perp. But in this case, it affects the whole world when she enables this behavior. However, I would cut slack for an individual caught in the web she's in when she actually was doing good (education = good).

Is she totally nuts? Now she'll have to hire a couple of bodyguards so the seething nutcases don't remove her head someday.

Poor little kids, though. They are the real victims of all this nonsense.

She probably does feel sorry that she can't stay. She was teaching kids, which is an admirable thing to do.

However, her life is seriously in danger - if she stays, and even if she leaves. Those death threats aren't going to stop at the Sudanese border.

More here.

Poster child for dhimmitude.

Reminds me of Forrest Gump -- "Stupid is as stupid does."

re: #41 SeattleSE

But will she be allowed to teach the children to reason? They almost killed her over a teddy bear. Imagine the punishment for teaching independant thinking or questioning authority?

re: #4 Indefatigable

Does this qualify her for a Darwin Award?

It would if she had the 40 lashes and then said she wanted to stay.

re: #41 SeattleSE

If Sudan has a chance to escape the morass of backwards 7th century thinking, we'll need more people willing to teach the children to reason, not less.

Send Bombs, then teachers, in that order

I admit that I'm not optimistic that she'll achieve this outcome but I need to believe that it is possible. If indeed G-d is soveriegn, then His will cannot be thwarted by these barbarians.

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Let her stay!

re: #39 JamesTKirk

I respectfully dissent. I am sure she has attachments to many Sudanese from her time there and that she is speaking to them, and her former pupils in particular. Why gratuitously slap at every good person in Sudan for the sake of maybe hitting the few bad ones? There's no sense.

She must have put out that ststement before she was transferred to the British Embassy. She said that ..."I am being well fed".
If however she put this out after she was safe it is different.
If she would really like to stay in the Sudan then she is just a nuckin fut.
An attempted rescue of her could have got people killed. If they had gone ahead & sentenced her to death, a rescue would have been likely.
This do gooder stuff needs to stop where insanity begins.
It was a teddy bear for %#@ sake!

Wow... judging from the comments here, comprehension may very well be dead in this country.

Isn't it possible that she is saying that it's a shame things went the way they did and that she loved the job and would have loved to stay on?

The article doesn't say anymore than what is necesaary to get people fired up about a few selected quotes from her. It's kind of like trolls on these and other forums. Just say enough to get people fired up.

Maybe she truly is a moron. But maybe she truly loved the job and just stated that she wished she could stay, but understands that she can't. And the understanding that she can't, was left out. Or it was just assumed that people would understand that.

Anyway... my 2 cents. I choose to try to look at things from all angles.

Well this woman is just proof that there is a fool born every minute. Great I hope she does stay, then they can ship her head home in one plane and and her body on a slow ship. Then they can have 2 services for her back home. Or maybe they can bury her head in the Sudan and her body in the UK.

I suspect the woman might be saying what her captors want her to say, in order to insure that she really can leave the country---in one piece.

#31 WriterMom

(sigh) Yeah, you were spot on about this. It may be spreading hate and lack of forgiveness, but, really, I admire the spirit of that one Italian guy who cried, "I'll show you how an Italian dies!" before the jihadis shot him. We need more like him.

#30 Peacekeeper

I seriously doubt anybody there is going to take much note of it, or see it as anything other than weakeness, and proper dhimmi submission in the face of superior Islam; c'mon, this society demands a firing squad for giving a teddy bear the wrong name!

And, even if some do take note---so what? Sudan isn't a free society, I doubt those who actually admire, and sympathize with this woman, will have much influence on their crazy leaders, and their crazier culture.

re: #54 Eowyn2

re: #4 Indefatigable

Does this qualify her for a Darwin Award?

It would if she had the 40 lashes and then said she wanted to stay.

No, you only receive the Darwin Award by removing yourself from the gene pool. As long as she's still alive, and still has an intact vajayjay (see previous thread), then she is not yet eligible for the award.

She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it .

Yeah, right. Especially the islamic weapon of choice, the hysterical mob in the street...

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Send Bombs, then teachers, in that order

Without the first, the second will have no effect.

Saint Bearcake?

If she could, she would.

But she can't.

This looks more like a statement of regret, not blindness.

She was teaching kids. Some ungrateful person decided to make a mountain out of a molehill. And now this woman has fatwas on her ass.

I don't see this as being naive. She doesn't appear to be stupid, and not suicidal. She appears resigned to her next actions to leave the country.

I find the reactions of the muslims amusing. They sputter and dissimulate. They claim that the sentence was fair, or the trial valid, or ... The ones with a clue realize how terribly damaging this whole charade was and is to the fictions that muslims are attempting to foist upon us. They vociferously pontificate on the tiny minority of extremists.

Oh really.

The president of a country of a tiny minority of extremists didn't seem to object to the trial or the outcome. Nor did the rest of the "government" of the failed state known as Sudan.

Wonder what she's teaching the kids?
I mean with a vacuum between the ears, what can she teach?

Well, she does look well fed.

re: #39 JamesTKirk

re: #30 Peacekeeper

re: #19 Globular Cluster

re: #13 Peacekeeper

The woman has turned the other cheek. Stop stirring up hate and resentment.

Jihadists just need Love!

No, but what if she did make a big reeking insulting statement and call them all savages? You'd feel good?
She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

Nobody who matters will take note of such a sign of deranged weakness. It's not being gracious, it's being dishonest or insane.

I think Peacekeeper's right, jihadis know the media too - I think this is a wise approach on the teacher's part - within reason. Emphasize that teaching the kids is what is important - but the evil jihadis won't let her.

The Islamists did all the damage with their bloodthirsty ideology, and our side looks all the better for it. Also, I doubt this teacher will feel very safe even in the UK too...

re: #12 Ward Cleaver

I don't think the Sudanese will let her stay. If those barbarians see her on the street, she's as good as dead.

What he said.

re: #57 Peacekeeper

re: #39 JamesTKirk

I respectfully dissent. I am sure she has attachments to many Sudanese from her time there and that she is speaking to them, and her former pupils in particular. Why gratuitously slap at every good person in Sudan for the sake of maybe hitting the few bad ones? There's no sense.

I respectfully submit that raging mobs calling for her death, and a government that imprisoned her for such a stupid offense, constitute far more than "a few bad ones". They constitute the dominant culture of a backwards nation whose dust ought to be shaken off of her shoes at the earliest possible moment.

she's already taught her students the most important lesson. they now realize their parents religion is insane.

now she needs to get the hell outa dodge.

And, even if some do take note---so what? Sudan isn't a free society, I doubt those who actually admire, and sympathize with this woman, will have much influence on their crazy leaders, and their crazier culture.

And, even if some do take note---so what? ROME isn't a free society, I doubt those who actually admire, and sympathize with this man, will have much influence on their crazy leaders, and their crazier culture.

re: #32 JamesTKirk

re: #21 MandyManners

I wonder if the whole episode will discourage foreign teachers from going to places such as Sudan.

No, because they're all just understood, and the real evil is in the UK/USA/Israel. That's why she doesn't want to leave Sudan, because the evil fascist UK is worse!

I don't think all teachers who go to foreign nations are like that. I believe many want to help Third World nations evolve.

re: #59 brothertrav

Wow... judging from the comments here, comprehension may very well be dead in this country.

Isn't it possible that she is saying that it's a shame things went the way they did and that she loved the job and would have loved to stay on?
.

I think people's negative reaction to her statements comes from the fact they want her to say "Sudan is a sh*thole full of cavemen, I'm outta here".

"Off With My Head!"

The lady's loopy.

Maybe she wants to stay in that hellhole so she can go through the "empowering, spiritual" ritual of female circumcision...Although naming her clitoris "Mohammed" would probably not be a good idea, all things considered.

Peacekeeper: Is the oxygen rare up there on the high moral ground you're standing on? Just curious.

No one is stirring up hate and resentment. The [bigoted word]s do that fine by themselves. I think the local lizard population recognizes this for what it is, and this woman has a death wish if she stays there. She just get out and leave those 7th century Morons to bake in their own ignorance.

BTW, the B-36 "Peacemaker" was one of the largest planes ever built, and was the forerunner to the B-52, and the mainstay of America's nuclear delivery arsenal until replaced by more efficient designs. Just thought you might like to know.

Does anyone know if there were there any girls in her classroom?

re: #74 MandyManners

Evolve into what pray tell?

re: #31 WriterMom

I predicted this.

Yes, you did.

re: #76 profitsbeard

"Off With My Head!"

The lady's loopy.

As long as you don't call her loppy. :~)

Teacher,
somebody put a package on your desk!

/its ticking.

Why turn your cheek voluntarily to the jihadi masses who will happily lop it off with your head as well?

Stuck on Stupid.

She appears mad now, but I disount what she says for the rest of her life because of the threat she will always be in from these nutters.

It is the responsibility of the governmnets and people of the world who believe in freedom to deal such a smackdown to the types of people (such as the sudanese rioters) that they either cannot think anymore, or will think differently.

Any real solution that results in a sane world will involve a really big mess at some point.

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims.

"I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

re: #84 WriterMom

Why turn your cheek voluntarily to the jihadi masses who will happily lop it off with your head as well?

Martyrdom? (for what i don't know... teaching?)

#41 SeattleSE

Well, the experiement's been tried, and the results are in---and it's pretty obvious that the Sudan is a society that will go into riot-and-kill mode over an alleged insult to their prophet involving a stuffed animal.

Sorry, but these guys are not yet ready for civilzation, and I'm not in favor of sending more well-intentioned Western teachers over there, to be sacrificed to their psychotic culture just so we can all feel good about about ourselves, because we're supposedly "making a difference" in their idiot lives.

There are poor kids in the west, yes, and mentally retarded, physically handicapped and autistic kids, too! I think would-be do-gooders would be well-advised to direct their attentins to them, and leave the third world alone.

re: #84 WriterMom

Why turn your cheek voluntarily to the jihadi masses who will happily lop it off with your head as well?

She's gonna turn her cheek alright...
As her head rolls down hill.

re: #82 loppyd

re: #76 profitsbeard

"Off With My Head!"

The lady's loopy.

As long as you don't call her loppy. :~)

lo.

"Off With My Head!"
ten pounds of stupid.

Uh, Sudanese boyfriend, perhaps?

Frumpy, overweight English teacher travels to Sudan. Finds boyfriend, finally.

Teddy bear gets in the way of romance, and is quickly disavowed and jettisoned.

If I were the teddy bear, I would be upset.

re: #71 JamesTKirk

I respectfully submit that raging mobs calling for her death, and a government that imprisoned her for such a stupid offense, constitute far more than "a few bad ones". They constitute the dominant culture of a backwards nation whose dust ought to be shaken off of her shoes at the earliest possible moment.

Captain you are being illogical. For you to make such a statement is fine with me, but for her to do it would be to portray the West to the people of Sudan as enemies. In other words, if the Islamic fundamentalists could script it for her, they would want her to sound racist, superior and spiteful. Do you see my point?

re: #73 Peacekeeper

And, even if some do take note---so what? Sudan isn't a free society, I doubt those who actually admire, and sympathize with this woman, will have much influence on their crazy leaders, and their crazier culture.

And, even if some do take note---so what? ROME isn't a free society, I doubt those who actually admire, and sympathize with this man, will have much influence on their crazy leaders, and their crazier culture.

Yes, keep in mind that the Sudanese government and the janjaweed are busy carrying out a genocide against Christians, animists, and others, in order to impose a strict Talibanesque society on the people. Leaving is her only option.

It was a Sudanese extortion plot. I wonder how much the Brits paid?

I have great respect for the Islamic religion

And that is exactly the part that p*sses me off every time I hear it.

re: #73 Peacekeeper

Are you the same "Peacekeeper" who used to post the classic "Grand Theft Auto - Paris Burning" series here during the French Riots several years ago?

re: #86 Ojoe

I "disCount"

PIMF

re: #59 brothertrav

So good of you to come down from Mt. Olympus.

re: #82 loppyd

re: #76 profitsbeard

"Off With My Head!"

The lady's loopy.

As long as you don't call her loppy. :~)

Does she have a talking bra? ;-)

re: #75 so.cal.swede

I think people's negative reaction to her statements comes from the fact they want her to say "Sudan is a sh*thole full of cavemen, I'm outta here".

At the very least, that statement would have had the benefit of being both honest and sane.

re: #90 jcm

re: #84 WriterMom

Why turn your cheek voluntarily to the jihadi masses who will happily lop it off with your head as well?

She's gonna turn her cheek alright...
As her head rolls down hill.

all you infidel lizards are gonna suffer for these comments.
Mo.

/lo

re: #89 TalkinKamel

There are poor kids in the west, yes, and mentally retarded, physically handicapped and autistic kids, too! I think would-be do-gooders would be well-advised to direct their attentins to them, and leave the third world alone.

Amen.

re: #76 profitsbeard

Funniest yet.

re: #66 kafir

If she could, she would.

But she can't.

The president of a country of a tiny minority of extremists didn't seem to object to the trial or the outcome. Nor did the rest of the "government" of the failed state known as Sudan.

I agree with all you wrote but this part.

Apparently, the Sudanese President personally intervened to have her released. Whether or not he objected to the trial is irrelevant, he shaped the outcome.

And if you think about it, she got literally the BEST possible outcome here, namely she was forced to leave the country unharmed.

Dhimmilicious.

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She really, really, really likes it and she's "well fed". Well, I for one say, let her stay there and no more "help"..what happens in the Sudan should stay in the Sudan!

re: #80 Nevergiveup

re: #74 MandyManners

Evolve into what pray tell?

A civilized nation.

re: #57 Peacekeeper

I tend to agree -- she obviously has a passion for teaching and sees her work as a kind of mission (albeit in a wholly secular way). And one cannot doubt her sincerity about her feelings about the kids and even the country. The sense I got from the stories is that up until the accusation emerged she had not had any reason to fear her students or their parents.

That said, she likely had (as do many people with a strong missionary impulse) a great deal of naivety about the situation in the country. People who teach under those circumstances (and I've known many -- many of my former students have done PeaceCorps gigs) are often insulated from the larger realities of society and politics. And their own liberal/leftist sensibilities often provide them with ample devices to rationalize the more unpleasant things they see as results of capitalism, etc. And state propaganda helps as well.

She is very likely suffering from extreme cognitive dissonance at the moment. It is clear that the very people she had trusted most and believed in most strongly betrayed her -- her principal first of all and the parents of the one child second. This whole thing has struck me as another example of manufactured outrage. She was used by the same authority figures who, up until that moment, had awarded her status as a member of the elite.

But note that they didn't surrender her to the crowd. That would have defeated the purpose. She will not be a martyr; on the contrary, the regime can now be praised for being beneficent and forgiving. That means that others can still come and do what the government won't do -- provide basic education. Dictators love mission work. Among Islamic elites, she is just another good example of a poor, well-meaning, but ignorant kafir -- you know, you just can't expect foreigners to "get" the Islamic world. Expect lots of Al-Jezeera commentaries about that. And at home, the anger is unsatisfied -- she was let off. To that the rulers can say, "yes, we were threatened again by the evil Imperialist powers .. any day now they will be hurling missiles into aspirin factories all over Sudan." Remember: it's no shame to stand down to the imperialist powers so long as you've stood up to them in the first place -- the military defeats suffered by Nassar, Sadat, Saddam, etc. always could be recast as "victories" at home. Same deal here, I suspect.

re: #87 looking closely

I am so sick and tired of the religion of peace being offended by words and rather mild words at that! There are so many liberals in this country that have greatly offended me with their words and thoughts, But I have never called for their heads to roll or even for them to leave this country. Now many of them had threatened to leave if Bush were elected and then reelected, so I do feel I am owed something but that is another story all together!

re: #70 Barking Pumpkin

re: #12 Ward Cleaver

I don't think the Sudanese will let her stay. If those barbarians see her on the street, she's as good as dead.

What he said.

Twice!

I want people to know that I have been well treated and especially that I am being well fed

As Silhouette noted earlier, this is a very curious statement...wonder if this was meant to be ironic or sarcastic or maybe a code word that something is going on behind the scenes? Pictures of her show that she was overweight to begin with.

Not quite OT:

Has the NYT had a moment of clarity on the treatment of women in Islamic society?

Maybe. Just maybe.

Muslims who wonder why non-Muslims are often baffled, angered, even frightened by some governments’ interpretation of Islamic law need only look to the cases of two women in Saudi Arabia and Sudan threatened with barbaric lashings.

They're starting down the path, but don't quite go far enough in outing the misogynistic nature of Islam, and the treatment of non Muslims in Islamic-dominated lands around the world.

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Not what I said.

Besides, if G-d isn't sovereign, then ending Islamic terrorism makes the world safe for what? Secular progressivism? In the long run, Islam is probably better since it at least has a set of rules.

We've got nut jobs. We've got troofers. We've got moonbats. We've got Econazi's. We've gotclimate commies. Now we've got Gibbonians

re: #105 looking closely

the Sudanese President personally intervened to have her released.

Yes, he took a moment away from his busy schedule of managing and hiding the genocide of the Darfurians.

He's a prince.

re: #93 Peacekeeper

re: #71 JamesTKirk

I respectfully submit that raging mobs calling for her death, and a government that imprisoned her for such a stupid offense, constitute far more than "a few bad ones". They constitute the dominant culture of a backwards nation whose dust ought to be shaken off of her shoes at the earliest possible moment.

Captain you are being illogical. For you to make such a statement is fine with me, but for her to do it would be to portray the West to the people of Sudan as enemies. In other words, if the Islamic fundamentalists could script it for her, they would want her to sound racist, superior and spiteful. Do you see my point?

The West is already being portrayed to the people of that entire region as enemies; which, to them, we are. Her statements do nothing but feed the denial of the West.

re: #97 Globular Cluster

re: #73 Peacekeeper

Are you the same "Peacekeeper" who used to post the classic "Grand Theft Auto - Paris Burning" series here during the French Riots several years ago?

That's me. I am not talking about my personal perception and opinions here. I respect that woman's right to be conciliatory towards her tormentors. Right now she has an opportunity to burn bridges and she chooses not to do it.

re: #109 MandyManners

re: #80 Nevergiveup

re: #74 MandyManners

Evolve into what pray tell?

A civilized nation.

Well beginning from scratch would be a good place to start.

re: #100 Ward Cleaver

re: #82 loppyd

re: #76 profitsbeard

"Off With My Head!"The lady's loopy.

As long as you don't call her loppy. :~)

Does she have a talking bra? ;-)

Certainly not one as witty as mine.

Actually, I think that her statements once she is actually IN Britain will be more instructive. The standard I LOVE ISLAM THEY TREATED ME SO WELL blah blah is just that-the standard tune till they get to freedom. Unfortunately, as we've seen in the past, these idiots continue to play the same tune and rail against the west like the journalists in Gaza, and all the way down the slippery Islamic slope to "reversion".

re: #110 Lucius Septimius

she obviously has a passion for teaching and sees her work as a kind of mission (albeit in a wholly secular way). And one cannot doubt her sincerity about her feelings about the kids and even the country.

Oh, one can doubt.

I believe she is in love with the 'big bamboo'.

re: #79 loppyd

Does anyone know if there were there any girls in her classroom?

Hard to tell with all of the 55 gallon trash bags over a bunch of kids heads.

Needs a new category. I suggest "Useless Idiot".

Is this woman out of her freaking mind? Having been to central Africa during the Rwanda massacres in 1994 moving an Ethiopian mechanized battalion into the hot spot all I can say is you can keep it. The ROP lunatics want her dead and she wants to stay in this intolerant environment. She is lucky the good folks in Londonstan aren’t calling for her death too. This woman is really trying for an honorable mention at this years Darwin awards ceremony.

I was listening to Al Rantel this weekend, and they were talking to Mike Mendoza in the UK. His sentiment was that the riots we saw were stirred up by re: #101 JamesTKirk

re: #75 so.cal.swede

I think people's negative reaction to her statements comes from the fact they want her to say "Sudan is a sh*thole full of cavemen, I'm outta here".

At the very least, that statement would have had the benefit of being both honest and sane.

Well, amuse me here, but couldn't we imagine she was a little naive, and went to Sudan on kinda like a peacecorps thing. But the people she encountered were mostly kindhearted folks. I don't think she actually ran into any problems until some local cleric raised hell about the poor teddy bear.

Although, I agree, if there was a horde of people in the street calling for my head, I'd leave.

Apartheid in Israel: Jews driven out of ancient Galilee village (INSIDE the "Green Line" for the "Peace Now" freaks)

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims.
"I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Prepared statement.

Except for that little asshole who decided to wreak havoc on my life and the lives of thousands because the kids named a teddybear after their profit. HEY IDIOTS. I DIDNT NAME THE F*&%^& BEAR.

re: #107 JamesTKirk

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She may have had good relations with the Sudanese she encountered on her job (kids, parents, and other teachers), but now she's had a rude awakening by running afoul of islam. The fact that she's only been there four months is telling. She's of the "it's only a tiny minority" mindset.

I side with the obnoxious whack-a-doo from Vermont.

This woman's comments are entirely reasonable from the perspective that she loved teaching and loved the students she was teaching.

re: #123 Maine's Michael

SUCH a sick Heb.

LOL

:P

#73 Peacekeeper

Sorry, Peacekeeper, but this lady isn't Jesus of Nazerath; she's just an unhappy, rather naive school teacher, who happened to be in the wrong place and the wrong time. And Sudan isn't ancient Rome. Rome, at its most barbaric, still possessed a culture that was superior to that of the Sudan, (or just about any other Islamic society today) it had some tradition of philosophy, reason and rule by law, and its citizens were, in general, probably more literate than the Islamic street today.

Nice try, no cigar.

I keep wondering what happened to the bear.

re: #115 SeattleSE

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Not what I said.

Implied by what you said, else why say it.

re: #107 JamesTKirk

"I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people."

Wow she really is insane. By generosity...she meant they would remove her head generously. And by kindness...well...who wouldnt want a violent mob waving machetes to meet me anywhere? If that isnt a gesture of love I dont know what is.

# 96
Is Islam truly a religion, If they have been comprimised by extreme radicals.

Soon we may be reading about her severed head demanding to be reattached so it can go back to teaching in sudan.

Hey, quitters never win and winners never quit!

The bear was beheaded by Rage Boy.

Peacekeeper, You asked if the feeling would have been better if she called them savages. They are savages. If she was already in British custody , she did not need to say what she did. If not she may have.
The point is, I do not think that you or anybody else should be overly concerned about Sudanese sensibilities.
I repeat this entire episode is the proof statement for savagery

re: #110 Lucius Septimius

re: #57 Peacekeeper
.

Exactly my thoughts, run through an eloquence filter.

re: #115 SeattleSE

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Not what I said.

Besides, if G-d isn't sovereign, then ending Islamic terrorism makes the world safe for what? Secular progressivism? In the long run, Islam is probably better since it at least has a set of rules.

Are you nuts?

#87

But they're not sorry they caused her distress. (Which must have been significant.)

What am I saying? Infidels are due nothing.

A desire to see her get her own "wish" fulfilled to stay is a a defacto vote to read about her murder sometime in the future, probably sooner than later.

re: #119 Peacekeeper

re: #97 Globular Cluster

re: #73 Peacekeeper

Are you the same "Peacekeeper" who used to post the classic "Grand Theft Auto - Paris Burning" series here during the French Riots several years ago?

That's me. I am not talking about my personal perception and opinions here. I respect that woman's right to be conciliatory towards her tormentors. Right now she has an opportunity to burn bridges and she chooses not to do it.

Conciliation normally is a two party solution. One party in this case is still sharpening it's head choppers.

re: #139 pat

The bear was beheaded by Rage Boy.

someone needs to make an action figure of this.
Islamic Rage Boy the figure, who comes with a machete and a teddy bear with a removable head. Priceless.

re: #128 Alouette

Apartheid in Israel: Jews driven out of ancient Galilee village (INSIDE the "Green Line" for the "Peace Now" freaks)

At the link:

The De Jungs, both Holocaust survivors, emigrated from Holland to Israel four months ago, and are now considering returning to Holland. In the meantime they are staying with friends, as they currently have no place to live.

I wouldn't go back there, either.

Just an aside. Sean Taylor, the NFL guy who got shot and is being buried today. OJ is there. I guess he has searched all the golf courses in the country for Nicole's murderer and now he is doing the Funerals in search of!

OT
Missed this yesterday. BBC was in favor of Chavez plans. WTF?
[Link: www.powerlineblog.com...]

On the other hand maybe it is not OT. Insanity seems to be a communicable disease.

...imprisoned and threatened by angry mobs for allowing her students to name a teddy bear “Muhammad,” says she wants to stay in Sudan.

Must have an IQ about the same as a sack of rocks!

I want people to know that I have been well treated and especially that I am being well fed.”

ROFL.

She's being fattened up for slaughter. The pot's on the boil.

A few turnips and potatoes are already bobbing in the cauldron.

re: #139 pat

The bear was beheaded by Rage Boy.

He vaporized it with his bad breath.

re: #130 Ward Cleaver

re: #107 JamesTKirk

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She may have had good relations with the Sudanese she encountered on her job (kids, parents, and other teachers), but now she's had a rude awakening by running afoul of islam. The fact that she's only been there four months is telling. She's of the "it's only a tiny minority" mindset.

Yes, but she didn't say "I have received mostly kindness and generosity" - she said "nothing but". Big difference.

re: #142 MandyManners

re: #115 SeattleSE

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Not what I said.
Besides, if G-d isn't sovereign, then ending Islamic terrorism makes the world safe for what? Secular progressivism? In the long run, Islam is probably better since it at least has a set of rules.

Are you nuts?

I believe you are correct!

Well... Someone has to say it :

Some women are just asking for abuse.

#84 WriterMom

Well, that's a very good question, isn't it?

Jesus said "Turn the Other Cheek" (and He appears to have been talking about relations between close neighbors, not laying down rules for international diplomacy---but that's beside the point here).

He didn't say "If your enemy wants to kill you, hack off own head, to make him happy!", or, "If your enemy wants to kill you, hack off your own head for him! But, before you do, hack off your neighbors' heads as well, because he probably doesn't like them either, and killing them will make him happy!"

This "hacking off your neighbors' heads as well", by the way, isn't just a moot point, in my opinion. The more the jihadis get away with this sort of stuff, the more they're going to be encouraged to go after any and all westerners, for any reason; all this sweetness and forgiveness is, at this point, just going to endanger other would-be hostages. I really believe the most moral thing at this point would be to show a little more sterness, a little less willingness to submit.

re: #95 Edgesitter

It was a Sudanese extortion plot. I wonder how much the Brits paid?

I think you're right.

Her comments came from her "legal team", not directly from her. They are doing nothing more than mouthing what they think the Sudanese and the politically correct want to hear. I really doubt she would like to stay at this point.

"I am being well fed" certainly, to me, sounds like a statement the Sudanese attorney gave her to say, etc . . . Remember, we are dealing with a moderately educated school teacher and bunch of north African desert-dwellers. Read between the lines.

Now, if she continues to spout off how great her captors are and crap like that, THEN we know that she is nothing more than a useful idiot.

Stupid is as stupid did?
Or is it, Life is like a box of choc...

/Forest

re: #153 JamesTKirk

re: #130 Ward Cleaver

re: #107 JamesTKirk

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She may have had good relations with the Sudanese she encountered on her job (kids, parents, and other teachers), but now she's had a rude awakening by running afoul of islam. The fact that she's only been there four months is telling. She's of the "it's only a tiny minority" mindset.

Yes, but she didn't say "I have received mostly kindness and generosity" - she said "nothing but". Big difference.

Maybe she meant "Up until they threw me in a rotting cell and the streets filled with started calling for my blood".

re: #160 so.cal.swede

some editing issues here, but you get what i mean.

re: #155 rob.schmitt

Well... Someone has to say it :

Some women are just asking for abuse.

"The Religion That Hates Women and the Women That Love it"?

re: #110 Lucius Septimius

re:

re: #46 looking closely

re: #30 Peacekeeper

I tend to agree.

She's saying she thinks her mission there was important, and she'd like to continue it. I don't detect any suicidal intent, or lack of gratitude to whomever helped her get out.

I also don't see this as a comment (positive OR negative) towards the ones that tried her for her "crime".

I'm sure if you could get her to comment on that off the record, she wouldn't say nice things about the ones who drove her out.

I agree too. But I wish that people in these situations would stop saying that they have been well treated. Being imprisoned on ridiculous trumped up charges is not good treatment. Ditto for kidnappings etc.

re: #96 infidel4ever

I have great respect for the Islamic religion

And that is exactly the part that p*sses me off every time I hear it.

I definately respect it. It is a form of subjugation that few heads of state have ever accomplished. Complete subjugation of the masses. Never before have either a political system nor a religion had such complete control over the daily lives of those who followed the teachings.

We are talking about a religion which tells you what to eat, how to eat, when to defecate and how to wipe your butt. The permeation into the lives of individual Muslims does not widely vary from country to country or sect to sect.

We have to respect that power. We dont have to like it but we do have to respect it to know it well and defeat it.

re: #162 Ward Cleaver

"Men Are From Mars, Women Are For Beating, Raping, And Stoning"?

re: #155 rob.schmitt

Well... Someone has to say it :

Some women are just asking for abuse.

WTF?

The actions of the Sudanese Government and it's mobs speak for themselves. Instead of answering with hate she chose to be conciliatory. She has a right to do that and it does not mean she is dumb. When the history is written it will show that all the rage and hate came from the Islamo facsists.
There is a big Islamic world out there, the vast majority of whom are good and decent people. Our anger at these provocations is just: but we also must temper that anger with wisdom. The Islamofascists would like nothing more than to see Westerners rioting and calling for the destruction of the Islamic world. They peddle this lie everyday. We should not be willing accomplices.

re: #153 JamesTKirk

re: #130 Ward Cleaver

re: #107 JamesTKirk

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She may have had good relations with the Sudanese she encountered on her job (kids, parents, and other teachers), but now she's had a rude awakening by running afoul of islam. The fact that she's only been there four months is telling. She's of the "it's only a tiny minority" mindset.

Yes, but she didn't say "I have received mostly kindness and generosity" - she said "nothing but". Big difference.

I bet the statement came not from her but from her legal team.

re: #162 Ward Cleaver

Didn't Oprah allready beat you to that Ward?

re: #156 TalkinKamel

Turning the other cheek, is for the spiritual gain of both parties. Think of the priest in Les Miserables giving Jean Valjean the silver.

I figure she's just another dolt on the way to "revertin'"...Soon she'll be donning a burqa and affixing PBUH and Inshaallah after every other phrase/partial statement/semi-thought...It's Darwinian regression (the Brits are particularly adept at this).

Why do you feel such sympathy for her? The fat broad ("and especially that I am being well fed") voluntarily went to an Islamofascist hellhole (that only very recently outlawed slavery and is currently in the process of exterminating blacks) and she didn't even bother to learn local customs before going.

As far as I'm concerned, she got off easy. When an infidel goes into a Muslim country, they become a dhimmi. (Unless they're in the military . . . heh.) If you want to be a dhimmi, that's fine by me, but don't come crying when the Muslims want to cut off your head because you're not good at being a dhimmi.

Multiculturalism doesn't mean imposing left-wing anti-religious everything's-a-joke views on the Sudanese. It means accepting their brand of bullshit. That's why I'm not a multiculturalist!

re: #13 Peacekeeper

Can I change my name to Reasonkeeper?

It could be that she is afraid for her students and the other teachers she is leaving behind. There are still 10,000 sword wielding maniacs back there with a frustrated blood lust... and if they can't get her, well her students and the school are still sitting there defenseless.

The Sun said that this was the result of a disgruntled employee at the school who told the cops about Mohammad the Bear in an attempt to get the headmistress arrested, but the cops arrested the teacher instead.

Times like this I miss Hector Macdonald and Lord Kitchener.

re: #115 SeattleSE

Make that less complicated for us simple folks, please.

re: #160 so.cal.swede

re: #153 JamesTKirk

re: #130 Ward Cleaver

re: #107 JamesTKirk

re: #87 looking closely

Per the NYT:

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims."I have been in Sudan for only four months but I have enjoyed myself immensely,” the statement said. "I have encountered nothing but kindness and generosity from the Sudanese people. I have great respect for the Islamic religion and would not knowingly offend anyone and I am sorry if I caused any distress.”

Again, that is a blatant falsehood; and if she's still saying that after she gets out of Sudan, she is insane.

She may have had good relations with the Sudanese she encountered on her job (kids, parents, and other teachers), but now she's had a rude awakening by running afoul of islam. The fact that she's only been there four months is telling. She's of the "it's only a tiny minority" mindset.

Yes, but she didn't say "I have received mostly kindness and generosity" - she said "nothing but". Big difference.

Maybe she meant "Up until they threw me in a rotting cell and the streets filled with started calling for my blood".

I think that's what she meant, but I think she also has a blinkered view of islam.

#57 Peacekeeper "Why gratuitously slap at every good person in Sudan for the sake of maybe hitting the few bad ones? There's no sense."

Umm I don't exactly regard 10,000 sword-wielding blood-lust savages in the streets of Khartoum demanding to saw this woman's head off "a few bad ones". 10,000 is just the tip of the iceberg.

re: #169 xtraBilly

I bet the statement came not from her but from her legal team.

That's why I have said, more than once, that final judgement will come when we see if she's still saying that after she's home.

re: #173 Daryl Herbert

When an infidel goes into a Muslim country, they become a dhimmi. (Unless they're in the military . . . heh.) If you want to be a dhimmi, that's fine by me, but don't come crying when the Muslims want to cut off your head because you're not good at being a dhimmi.

EXCELLENT POINT.

re: #170 reloadingisnotahobby

re: #162 Ward Cleaver

Didn't Oprah allready beat you to that Ward?

Let's not get started on beatings. ;-)

re: #162 Ward Cleaver

So true.

re: #175 LtRasczak

The school, it's employees, and all who can should get the hell out of dodge! They have been warned.

re: #62 JamesTKirk

Well, let's at least put her in the "Potential Winner" category, which, undoubtedly, has many individuals listed.

#103 WriterMom

{WriterMom!}

:>)

(Yes, I'm getting sick of the "Oh, they treated me so well!" burble, and the eventual reversion, too! It's not charity, it's not forgiveness, it's Stockholm Syndrome, fer cryin' out loud!)

re: #133 TalkinKamel
I wasn't claiming she was, the analogy is instructive in that a good act, of charity or mercy can change the world in ways we can not see from where we stand. WHo knows, her students may one day be running that Government.

re: #128 Alouette

Apartheid in Israel: Jews driven out of ancient Galilee village (INSIDE the "Green Line" for the "Peace Now" freaks)

nonsense. we all know the palis dont believe in appartheid.

re: #155 rob.schmitt

Pretty awful comment. Some women get intrigued by the OOOH OOOH MAHMOUD factor, but no woman asks to be abused.

re: #183 Nevergiveup
I venture that three fourths of the population would like ti get the hell out of there.

What's to keep anyone from thinking she'll be dead in a week? I mean, if she thinks those guys with the swords and the clerics pushing them to behead her are gonns be all hunkydory with everything because the "government" caved to western pressure...she's more than a few fatwas short of a holy war.

You can't fix stupid.

#171 jcm

jcm, sorry, I agree with a lot of what you say, you're a smart guy, but on this I disagree.

Turning the other cheek is useless, if the other side is determined to cut off your head. Think of the merciless policeman, who continues to hound poor Jean Valjean.

re: #129 Eowyn2

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims.

This is something else that needs to stop. She just validated the extremists. In the light of that I have revised my opinion of this woman.

re: #168 Peacekeeper

A little history lesson. The three most respected Infidel figures in Islam are Charles Martel, El Cid & Richard the Lion Heart.
Not one of them talked about being well fed, or how much they respect Islam.
The common thread is that they pushed back & kicked ass.
Pandering is not respected & promotes more barbarity in the entire history of the RoP. It is just an unpleasant truth.

re: #179 JamesTKirk

re: #169 xtraBilly

I bet the statement came not from her but from her legal team.

That's why I have said, more than once, that final judgement will come when we see if she's still saying that after she's home.

the answer will be in her book

"The more the jihadis get away with this sort of stuff, the more they're going to be encouraged to go after any and all westerners, for any reason; all this sweetness and forgiveness is, at this point, just going to endanger other would-be hostages."

They didn't get away with much. They worked themselves into an orgasm of fury only to watch as the little english lady said toodle loo and departed. They would have been much happier had she called Sudan a land of savages deserving bombing to extinction, THAT would have strengthened their hand.

re: #192 Jimmah

re: #129 Eowyn2

According to the BBC, Ms. Gibbons issued a statement today saying she was sorry for offending Muslims.

This is something else that needs to stop. She just validated the extremists. In the light of that I have revised my opinion of this woman.

she needs to scream from the rooftops
"I DIDNT NAME THE LITTLE BASTARD BEAR, YOU F&*%&*%^ IMBICILES"

re: #190 Owl

a few fatwas short of a holy war.

Rotating title nomination.

Well, I've said my bit. I'm moving on peace be with you.

Anyone remember that old Cheech and Chong bit about the old man who had to sign the papers?
same stuff

#186 Peacekeeper

Maybe her students will be running that government.

Or, maybe the government will have executed them, for having wicked, unislamic ideas, and corrupting "pure" Sudanese society. Or maybe their parents, imams and the local mosques will have convinced them that the infidel woman teacher was evil, and tried to brainwash them, and they must submit to Islam, and forget all about her.

I certainly hope the kids will be okay---they certainly seem saner then the crazed adults in their society. But this is a very bad culture (remember Darfur), and all that; I'm not sure happy talk, or the perceived submission of a rather naive teacher is going to do much to change it. However, as I pointed out earlier, this submissive attitude could put other westerners in danger.

re: #196 Eowyn2

LOL

I am offended by the sight of any muslim. I am offended by the sight of a muslim woman in a head scarf, burka etc. Just as I am offended by the sight of a woman with a black eye given to her by her husband/boyfriend/pimp and believes that something she did warrented the abuse. To be a muslim is to be a slave... and a voluntary slave at that. Who can respect someone who choses this lifestyle?

Bush needs to give up and give her the Nobel Peace Prize. That country doesn't deserve her. Any jail time is a travesty.

re: #195 Peacekeeper

"The more the jihadis get away with this sort of stuff, the more they're going to be encouraged to go after any and all westerners, for any reason; all this sweetness and forgiveness is, at this point, just going to endanger other would-be hostages."

They didn't get away with much. They worked themselves into an orgasm of fury only to watch as the little english lady said toodle loo and departed. They would have been much happier had she called Sudan a land of savages deserving bombing to extinction, THAT would have strengthened their hand.

I respect your opinion and understand your point. However, there is a middle ground. She could have crafted her words more judiciously, e.g., "I will miss some wonderful students" and then shut up.

#195 Peacekeeper

How would it have strengthened their hand? The woman isn't an official, she has no power. She could call on them to be bombed all she liked, nothing would necessarily happen, so it's not like they could claim she was declaring war on them. And these people have no real need for real insults---they make up their own. This woman wasn't insulting them, she wasn't attacking them, she was teaching their kids. The horrible "insult" to their prophet was the naming of a frikkin' teddy bear, for G-d's sake! That is reaching for something to be offended about.

And now she is apologizing for having offended them (making them seem to be in the right on this), and who knows what backroom deals and ransoms and concessions Great Britain might have given up to get her back, and, once again, the West looks weak and Islam's victims are apologizing to it, not it to them.

re: #191 TalkinKamel

#171 jcm

jcm, sorry, I agree with a lot of what you say, you're a smart guy, but on this I disagree.

Turning the other cheek is useless, if the other side is determined to cut off your head. Think of the merciless policeman, who continues to hound poor Jean Valjean.

My point is turn the cheek has limited application. When the one being oppressed believes or knows his act of turning the cheek will have an impact on the abuser causing some introspection and changes. The archetypical case being the priest giving the silver Valjean, who then uses the proceed to turn his and other lives around. In scripture it is a physical metaphor for spiritual actions, which may have repercussion in the physical world.

I in no way advocate turning the other cheek physically, unless the prerequisite spiritual conditions exist.

I ain't give a burglar in my house the silver, they just get to look at the muzzle of my firearm till the cops or coroner gets there, their choice.

Can't really blame her... given all the death threats, I'd be trumpeting the greatness of Sudan to the point where they might offer me the job as the director of their Ministry of Tourism -- until I was safely out and could really speak my mind.

re: #195 Peacekeeper

"The more the jihadis get away with this sort of stuff, the more they're going to be encouraged to go after any and all westerners, for any reason; all this sweetness and forgiveness is, at this point, just going to endanger other would-be hostages."

They didn't get away with much. They worked themselves into an orgasm of fury only to watch as the little english lady said toodle loo and departed. They would have been much happier had she called Sudan a land of savages deserving bombing to extinction, THAT would have strengthened their hand.

I think you might be putting up a bit of a false dichotomy there. There are other options, like pointing out how illogical and ridiculous the charges against her were, even from an Islamic perspective. If we can't bring ourselves to call them on that shit, there's a big problem.

How many trillions have we spent promoting global capitalism around the world? Look at how the world really is. The twentieth century was the bloodiest in history. ( and it had nothing to do with religion ) This century is starting even worse. What should be OUR policy?

re: #142 MandyManners

Are you nuts?

Well, probably but that's not the point.

I'm just not going to be rebuked for implying that G-d has a role in what the outcome will be. I never said nor implied that we should sit idly by no matter what is done in the name of Islam.

But why hasn't anyone called the folks in the bomb first, teach later camp crazy? Is that what Christians, Jews, Buddhists or even the secularists believe?

Perhaps I should have just pontificated on the difference between implying and inferring.

re: #195 Peacekeeper

"The more the jihadis get away with this sort of stuff, the more they're going to be encouraged to go after any and all westerners, for any reason; all this sweetness and forgiveness is, at this point, just going to endanger other would-be hostages."

They didn't get away with much. They worked themselves into an orgasm of fury only to watch as the little english lady said toodle loo and departed. They would have been much happier had she called Sudan a land of savages deserving bombing to extinction, THAT would have strengthened their hand.

Ok, I'm schtoopid. How so?

gibbons has the same goofy smile you offen see on the SHEHAG.

I suspect she is just as much a moonbat like what normal person would want to go to the sudan anyway?

re: #142 MandyManners

re: #115 SeattleSE

re: #55 Globular Cluster

Oh cool, God is sovereign -- may as well sit back in that case and let Islamic terrorism cure itself.

Not what I said.
Besides, if G-d isn't sovereign, then ending Islamic terrorism makes the world safe for what? Secular progressivism? In the long run, Islam is probably better since it at least has a set of rules.

Are you nuts?

The anser to that question has to be yes. I can't think of anything in the Universe that islam isn't worse than...anyone? anything? Anyone think of anything else that destroys, enslaves, intimidates, murders, lies - anything at all that's worse than islam.

Nope. Sorry. Can't think of anything worse than the islam that I see in the news every day. nothing.

She isn't actually giving the government a thumbs up with her statement. I imagine she feels crummy about leaving the kids who seem to really care about her.

But yes, it might have been better if she'd left and not said anything at all. Except maybe "I'll miss the kids." so they'd know she cared about them.

Although her whole statement might be an effort to keep them off her back when she gets back to the UK-istan.

re: #205 TalkinKamel

I think your on to sumthin' " she was teaching their kids ".

Forty lashes!

Oy.

She is repulsive.

re: #206 jcm

turning the other cheek is what Jews were expected to do in euroland for centuries, in America we are free so the only cheek's the islmo fascists will get to see are the two i sit on.

re: #207 DougTheWriter

Can't really blame her... given all the death threats, I'd be trumpeting the greatness of Sudan to the point where they might offer me the job as the director of their Ministry of Tourism -- until I was safely out and could really speak my mind.

Do us all a favor and don't travel, mkay?

But why hasn't anyone called the folks in the bomb first, teach later camp crazy?

Oh, I dunno if I'd call them crazy...and maybe few are called crazy because...oh, i dunooo...because the people you're trying to teach would rather lop off your head or strap bombs around themselves and kill you for what you're saying to them?

So when she gets her head whacked off, do I have to feel sorry for her?

re: #217 yochanan

re: #206 jcm

turning the other cheek is what Jews were expected to do in euroland for centuries, in America we are free so the only cheek's the islmo fascists will get to see are the two i sit on.

Right before we open fire!

re: #19 Globular Cluster

at least their kids do.

I never noticed it before, but I just heard on the radio one Sir Elton John sing " my redneck ways" and I ...I don't know what...I just...err...

there, he said it again...

hmmm...i just don't know. . .

ugh.

#215 littleO

Yes, maybe that was it.

She was teaching their kids, and the Sudanese parents didn't really like them learning about the real world, (the one outside of Islam), so they trumped up this whole "unbearable" scandal, to get her out. Can't have the kiddies exposed to un-Islamic ideas, after all.

re: #209 littleO

Religion (ie muslim, mormon, catholic...) is a faith-based and fantastical ideology. The "bloody" 20th century was due to other faith-based and fantastical ideologies... communism, fascism, socialism... etc.

Our "policy" should be impartial reason and logic. Should... but I am not holding my breath.

re: #30 Peacekeeper

She's being gracious and there are many there who will take note of it.

Let's see...

The Sudanese government threatened her with 40 lashes, 6 months in prison and a hefty fine. For what crime? Allowing her Muslims students to name a stuffed bear Mohammad? She's not being gracious, she's being an idiot. She needs to shut her yap until she's out of the country before the mobs find and kill her.

“II know so many people out there have done so much.

Hey there, Honey, did you happen to notice the ones clamoring for your execution? You know, the hoards waving machetes and assorted sharp things?

I want people to know that I have been well treated and especially that I am being well fed.”

Judging by your photo, I had no doubt you were well fed, if not a tad portly. You could have not been fed at all while being "well treated" by your Islamic overlords and probably survived awhile. If you call being threatened with lashing and jail time over a teddy bear, yeah, I'd say you were treated pretty sweet.

If she's truly this stupid (and you know she is), she deserves to stay. And she deserves whatever comes her way if she again happens to offend Islamic sensibilities. I, for one, am not going to get worked up over a pack of barbarians threatening to kill someone who had the option to leave, but chose to stay.

Thanks for setting back the women's movement and acting like a dhimmi. Idiot.

Experts weigh in on Teddy Bear Intifada:

[Link: article.nationalreview.com...]

re: #213 Owl

The anser to that question has to be yes. I can't think of anything in the Universe that islam isn't worse than...anyone? anything? Anyone think of anything else that destroys, enslaves, intimidates, murders, lies - anything at all that's worse than islam.

Nope. Sorry. Can't think of anything worse than the islam that I see in the news every day. nothing.

Really? For all it's seething hate, Islam-ism is backward and inefficient. Beheading is an inefficient if gruesome way to impose ones ideology on the masses.

Nazi Fascism and Russian Communism were much worse, IMHO. And please don't conclude that I am in any way condoning or supporting the Islamists, I'm not. Islam-ism is a pernicious evil that whose spread to the West needs to be contained with real measures, not clever slogans.

Understatment of the year, from the above article:

On Friday, thousands of protesters gathered to demand Gibbons face a harsher sentence than the 15 days she received

Harsher scentence = death scentence.

re: #224 TalkinKamel

She was teaching their kids, and the Sudanese parents didn't really like them learning about the real world, (the one outside of Islam), so they trumped up this whole "unbearable" scandal, to get her out. Can't have the kiddies exposed to un-Islamic ideas, after all.

The parents weren't the ones who complained. It was a school secretary who brought the issue to the ministry of education.

Seems to be lacking in the common sense department

re: #217 yochanan

LOL!
Love it!

At this point, to speculate about what motivated her to make this statement would be foolish.

Did she convert yet?

re@ 224
U mean someone agree's with me.

Re225
Reason and rationalism and science as religion is what Socailism and Communism are based on.

re: #227 theheat

I too have been well-fed... and am a bit too portly for my own taste. However, I have not been threatened with beheading over an *effing* child's toy.

Go home and stuff your gap with some yorkshire pudding you pandering fool ... and name some stuffed animal whatever the hell you feel like naming it.

I would name if *effing mohammed*

Hey Gibbons! Got a hijab to sell you, cheap!

One can only hope that NHS will provide Ms. Gibbons with adequate mental health care.

re: #229 SeattleSE

We'll know bad when a thermal nuclear bomb goes of in NY

re: #167 MandyManners

re: #155 rob.schmitt

Well... Someone has to say it :

Some women are just asking for abuse.

WTF?

Battered Woman Syndrome!

(Not Stockholm Syndrome)

Now that right there folks is:

"A Special Kind of Stupid"

re: #236 littleO

Afraid you are mis-informed darlin'. Socialism and communism are COMPLETELY faith based. Faith in an ambiguous and unsubstantiated quality in mankind to sacrifice the individual for the cause of the "greater good". We are not hive creatures.

What she says and what she does are two different bears.

The mountain will leave Muhammad.

There is another explanation - she met a lot of nice and helpful people there, too, and her life there had been quite pleasant.

Khartoum is a huge diplomatic/aid/business base with international schools set up to educate the dependents of diplomats, contractors, technical people. There is a lot going on there that doesn't get out. All our media, all our satellite communications - and people are hardly more educated about life in other countries than 100 years ago - I would venture to say LESS educated.

Had family just this year touring the ancient pyramids around Khartoum - lots to see that isn't on the usual tourist routes, and had no problems, so actually, I can see why she's bummed to have to go. She was used as a tool by someone who needed something - and the fact that a face-saving arrangement was worked out should indicate that it was a manufactured outrage by one group. Most Sudanese people were not in on it and didn't approve of what was going on. Remember, not all these things are necessarily against the individual involved - people are used to bring pressure against the government.

#231 Wendya

I'm still suspicious. Parents, and/or the local imam, or officials, might have been pressuring the secretary to complain about it. As Wanumba says, I think this is a case of a chosen victim being used to bring pressure against the government. And, I suspect, the Sudanese powers that be really don't like the kids being taught Western ways. . .

#242 luckygirl

Socialism and Communism are faiths, and rather ugly faiths, at that:

They're demanded, and gotten, a horrific amount of blood sacrifice throughout the course of the 20th Century.

What else is she going to say while still in their custody and control?

Hopefully she gets out of Sudan safe and sound.

re: #79 loppyd

I am curious about that myself.

I told you that I suspected any one who wouuld want to go teach in the Sudan as being a bit of a misfit.

Ma'am in the words of that purple thing from YAAFM
You Are a Fucking Moron

re: #250 mayor of imaginationland

purple thing=Reginold

“I’m really sad to leave and if I could go back to work tomorrow then I would.”

I KNEW it!

I will never understand this thinking (and I'm around it near san fran)...not in a million years.

re: #247 ak47pundit

What else is she going to say while still in their custody and control?

Hopefully she gets out of Sudan safe and sound.

That could be true as well. Unfortunately it just wouldn't surprise me if she was serious about saying that.

I hope she also gets out safe. I'm amazed that she is still alive.

SCHMUCK---

As long as she's still captive, I wouldn't expect this woman to talk any differently, but I'm not the type to get mushy over the same sort of Styrofoam imbeciles--as this woman obviously is--who have mired down our own educational systems.

Isn't there some photo of British or American (damn the booze for killing my brain cells) hostages where they are all discreetly "showing the bird"?
Does anyone here know what I am referring to?

re: #251 paxnhymn

Ah, forgot the name
funny stuff though did you see the Michael Moore one?

re: #257 mayor of imaginationland

Saw that Bowling for Columbine was airing last night. The description was something about "America's romance with guns". When is Michael Moore going to do Bowling for Islam? Description: "Islams romance with beheadings, gang rapes, lashings and suicide bombings".

Nothing more confusing than a confused do-gooder brit confused

re: #257 mayor of imaginationland

yeah, but being an evangelical makes it a bit unpalatable, but I try to keep an open mind.

Why this sudden outpouring of anger towards this woman? Because she believes (perhaps rightly) that the children that she is teaching are not responsible for the reprehensible behaviour of the Sudanese Government? Perhaps she is simply being gracious in the situation and bowing out with some grace or perhaps she believes (perhaps rightly) that were she to go back to her students they would maybe learn something from this. When these children grow up and are told that all westerners and non-believers are subhuman the memory of their teacher could clue them in that this is not true.

Yes, perhaps Gillian Gibbons is an unrealistic idealist. But there is a world of difference between her statement and say Rachel Corrie. Just because she is not saying "All Sudanese are barbarians and need to be destroyed" she is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome or is some sort of moonbat? She is by far not the first idealistic Brit to get herself in trouble in Africa. Think of the missionaries in Rhodesia. They preached and practiced non-violence in an effort to influence the children of Rhodesia and end the violence. Most of them did not blame the problems of the country on the UK or anyone else. They simply sought a solution through non-violence. The many missionary deaths in Rhodesia and the state of Zimbabwe today are evidence of the futility of that approach.

As a soldier I typically advocate a more direct approach. However, are there too many examples of places were military intervention has created a stable, safe and productive country out of a basket case? No, not really. The only thing that can be said for sure is that neither method will work by itself. It takes both carrots and sticks for any chance of success in reforming a society. Even with maximum effort and coordination it is still a monumental task to undertake.

What is more amazing though was the reaction of Barbra Walters to this affair. She briefly touched on the fact that the Sudanese response was excessive and then launched into the hypothetical situation of "what if an American class named their teddy Jesus?" Her hypothesis was that Christian parents would complain about it as 'irreverent.' What she is ignoring is that the Sudanese teddy was named after a student and not the historical figure. Another flaw in the theory is that I am sure she very much underestimated the uproar that an American class naming its teddy Jesus would cause. Except it would not be Christians complaining of irreverence, more likely it would be the ACLU screaming about church and state.

I'm willing to to let bygones be bygones vis-a-vis Sudan...Just as soon as they apologize for their deranged response. Just as soon as they condemn those thousands wo chanted death to this woman. Just as soon as they beg forgiveness from all civilized people for their sick barbarism.

"When you hang from a gibbet for the sport of your own crows, we'll have peace."
- King Theoden (LOTR)

Sudan should let her stay.

When the raging primitives finally get to her and she ends up dead, this episode can finally come to a satisfactory conclusion, since she will have gotten what she wanted (to stay in that hellhole), and the raging primitives will have gotten what they wanted (to kill infidels), and everybody will be happy.

The British teacher jailed for naming a teddy bear Muhammad

Not quite accurate : It was her pupils who named the bear. She merely allowed them to choose the name themselves. Naturally, in Islam, this affront to the Prophet cannot go without severe sanction.

What do they say about no good deed going unpunished ? Whoever thought of that proverb has clearly visited an Islamic country.