TeeJay

I could, but I think they'd have more impact coming from you personally Of course. [Edit to clarify] and by that I mean I agree with Sharia law as specified in the Holy Qur'an, not Sharia law as influenced by the hadiths of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. I would not be a Muslim if I did not agree to submit to all aspects of Allah's will. I never said that I did not agree with Sharia law. I said that I do not agree with the way this person has been treated, because the complaints against her were motivated by spite and personal malice, not legitimate complaint. As I said before, any government which acts in such away has moved away from the principles of Islam. True Sharia Law gives the accused the right to defend themselves and be fairly judged. It is not simply a harsh system of pre-determined punishments where the accused is automatically considered guilty. Keep telling yourself that Dani, obviously you do need to be educated about Islam, as you clearly do not understand the guidelines on what is halal. I don't care how many Muslim friends you had as a child, have you ever personally fully read the Holy Qur'an? If, as you say, they 'don't care too much' for the religion, and eat pork, then they should not call themselves Muslims. This has nothing to do with 9-11, it is an entirely different issue. With regards 9-11, that, and other acts like it, are NOT in anyway sanctioned or condoned by the Holy Qur'an, infact, they are utterly condemned as 'exceeding the bounds' (as Allah does not love those who exceed the bounds) The Holy Qur'an also forbidsonefrom 'throwing onesself into destruction'. It specifically forbids suicide. The beliefs held by such extremists are perversions of Islam, incomplete pieces of scripture taken entirely out of context, and which, when put in context, do not suggest the violent actions extremists believe that they do. This is the whole point of extremists: The do not think in such terms. There are passages in the Holy Qur'an which say that a person should not follow the 'beliefs of their fathers' if they (their beliefs) were inconsistent with Islam. These are impressionable people who have been maniplulated into following a corruption of Islam, which is why they would indeed have no problem with blowing themselves, and others up, despite specific instruction not to do so, because they are choosing to ignore those pieces of text. Indeed it is a valid question. One piece the Holy Qur'an states: A clear example that people sometimes have to do things they do not like. However, this passage is preceded (so must be balanced by, and considered with) As mentioned previously, to fight against people who do not fight with you, is exceeding the bounds, as is doing so in a way which is forbidden. This is the point I was trying to make about fragments of scripture being taken out of context, and then used to manipulate impressionable people into a course of action which is criticized and forbidden by the rest of the Holy Qur'an. Correction: EXTREMIST Muslims threatened to cut off his head. Compared to between 1.1 billion and 1.8 billion followers worldwide, yes. Whatever visualizations make it easier Same point as above though. 5-10 Klan members do not represent the majority opinion of the Aryan race. A few thousand extremist Muslims (living in a country which has moved away from the true principles of Islam (as can be confirmed by actually reading the Holy Qur'an)) do not represent the majority opinion of all Muslims world-wide. Yes, actions speak louder than words, but don't make the mistake of judging a group by the actions of a minority. Except for one crucial factor: A small distinction, but, it makes a whole lot of difference. Thanks, I truly appreciate that Another comment proving once more why people should not judge a group by the actions of a minority within the group. Absolutely so. Of course, 95% of the Muslims in the world, are not extremists. With between 1.5 and 1.8billionMuslims worldwide, the few who do commit heinous acts probably does not even equate to 1%... Contribute something worthwhile to the debate, and you'll get a worthwhile answer.

It is not a case of being 'better', but a case of one thing being correct, the other not. As I pointed out previously, the US and UK would claim to be 'Christian', but with very little thought actually given to the message Jesus delivered, rather the dogma created by Constantine and the Catholic Church. As I said above to Victoria, when I quoted from the Holy Qur'an, that is what Allah did do, when He reminded the prophet, peace be upon him, that it was not his place to guide others (by his own opinions/habits, but to pass on the message he had been given) If the law is based on the religion, then the religion has to be more important, for the law to be taken from it... That's not really the issue. The point is that to be a Muslim means to submit to the will of Allah. The will of Allah is the messages contained within the Holy Qur'an, as told to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel, not the laws which are taken from the hadiths, which, as previously mentioned, Allah reminded the prophet, peace be upon him, not to do, and, which the prophet, peace be upon him, himself instructed others not to record. (Again, this is like the difference between Jesus' message, and Catholic Dogma, but the modern confusion between the two) The laws which Allah expects Muslims to follow, are laid out in the Holy Qur'an. That would depend on which set of laws they are following. Not an Islamic expression, but, 'The Lord moves in mysterious ways'. Allah 'stopping them' might not be an obvious thing. People in the Church of England have suggested that the recent floods might be 'God's Punishment' for sinfull ways. The weather (world wide) has not been good in recent years... Tsunami, earthquakes, floods, typhoons, hurricanes etc... Maybe those are Allah's punishments to Mankind...

Also from MSN's Homepage;

Yes, a bolt to the head. Which counts as 'a blow'. Something forbidden by the Holy Qur'an. No. Not because of 'what some dude' said, but because of what was commanded by Allah. There really is a huge difference there, which I pointed out in my above post. It seems you are not reading anything I am saying which would educate you on the subject. I admit, the video I saw was 15 years ago, but, it was in a UK slaughter house. Ah PETA... A group who's tactics have left them reviled by people on both sides of the debate on animal rights. PETA are as much extremists as terrorists who kill 'in the name' of Islam...

This is true, I am a convert, but, the distinctions which need clarifying because of that are: 1) I am a 'Qur'an-only' Muslim. I do not follow the hadiths from the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, because there is a section of the Holy Qur'an which specifically states: That is, without question, specifically telling the prophet, peace be upon him, not to guide people (by his own opinions/habits/thoughts) and that is precicely what the hadiths are, his opinions/habits/thoughts. In fairness, in the recordings of the hadiths, the prophet, peace be upon him, did instruct his followers to record nothing from him but the Holy Qur'an, and if they had recorded anything else, to erase it, so he himself was trying to clarify that the only guidance a Muslim needs, is the Holy Qur'an itself. 2) The vast majority of 'raised Muslims' do infact live by the hadiths, and consider them equal in stature to the Holy Qur'an, which was never the intention of the prophet, peace be upon him, but something they have been raised to do by their parents. That is not to say that people who live by the examples and opinions of the prophet, peace be upon him, are wrong, but it is fair to say that strictly speaking, it is not 'true' Islam, because 'true' Islam is submission to the will of Allah, and the instructions from that are nowhere but in the Holy Qur'an. [Edit toadd] Essentially, this would be analagous to following the teachings of Jesus, and not the Catholic Church's version of 'Christianity', which are two rather different things. 3)Being a Muslim is essentially a very personal experiance. It cannot be done 'second hand'. It involves a moment, known as ihsan (realization) of being 'born anew', and every Muslim has to experience this before they can indeed truly submit to the will of Allah. Any so-called Islamic government that has become tyranical has moved away from the principles of Islam, no matter how self-righteous it may claim to be. Such reports are easy enough to find. Here's one from the MSN homepage: Theproblems in the region, as in Iraq, under Saddam's rule, are social and political, not religious. It is a government usurping and perverting Islam for it's own ends, so these 'moderate Muslims' donot speak, under fear of reprisals and punishment from the authorities. As in my above reply to Victoria, moderate Muslims do (and are) speaking out in this issue. One reason why moderate Muslims are perceived to be silent is because, the press marginalizes their comments, because it allows for demonization of Islam to sell copy, and another, is because Muslims are taught not to involve themselves in the affairs of others, and to be respectfull of other's privacy. This is, sadly, why many of the UK's 'homegrown' terrorists were not discovered by members of their communities or families. It is a different mindset, much like the 'inscrutable orientals'. Absolutely so. Islam teaches Muslims to be kind to animals and it is said that the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was also a man who was kind to animals. As I said in my previous post, and you appear to have totally ignored, the method of slaughter used by the Jews and Muslims (cutting the juggular vein) was the most humane method of slaughter available to them at the time, and, as I mentioned, the Holy Qur'an forbids eating anything which was killed by a fall, by a blow, by strangulation or by being gored. That is specifically forbidding eating (or killing) an animal killed in an inhumane manner. I would be most interested to see the footage from the kosher slaughter house, because cutting (properly) the juggular vein should result in near instant unconsciousness and death. I would suggest, that the animal in the footage, did not have it's juggular properly severed, which may explain the length of time taken to bleed to death. Also, as I mentioned previously, pigs are slaughtered by being hung from their back trotters, and having a 12 inch blade put in the chest. There is absolutely no humane treatment in that method of execution at all, and, I believe it is also customary now, for animals killed in the halal fashion to be electronically stunned so there is not even the sensation of being cut. Indeed, it was the children who chose to name the teddy Muhammad, more specifically, one boy chose the name, because it was his own name. Something which the tabloids have tried to keep quiet, is that the teacher was reported for malicious reasons, not because of actual objections to what happened. And, as I mentioned before with the 'when in Rome' comment, she should have been more mindfull, and possibly better informed, about the codes of conduct in a country operating under sharia law before taking the teaching post. They say ignorance is no defence, but in all honesty, that is her only 'crime' here, certainly not malice or disrespect to Islam. Infact, a newspaper interview with her son, had quotes where she had said that she did not want this to cause a huge upset, and did not want people to use it as an excuse to vilify Muslims.

In the UK, pigs are slaughtered by being suspended by their back trotters, having a 12 inch blade rammed into their chest, and then bleeding to death. Neither Jews nor Muslims eat pork. Christians do though... It is my understanding, that in the UK, animals killed in accordance with Islamic practice, are electronically stunned before being killed. If someone does not like the method an animal is killed by, then they should avoid animal-based products all together. That is not religious issue, but one of personal morals. I am not someone who would tollerate any kind of animal cruelty, but I do accept that food beasts are raised and killed precicely for the purposes of supplying food, and are (or certainly should be) killed in as humane manner as possible. Having one's jugular vein slit, and instantly becoming unconscious and dying, is much less traumatic than being suspended by the back legs and having a 12 inch blade rammed into one's chest and then flopping about while bleeding to death. [Edited to add] I forgot to say, that the Holy Qur'an specifies, not only which animals are forbidden, but also prohibits eating animals which died in suffering, such as in a fall, or strangled or gored. Back in the time of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, slitting the juggular vein of an animal (and markedly different from simply "cutting it's throat") was the most humane method of dispatching a food beast. I don't know, what did Ghandi say about it?

I think that's very true. I think it's also amusing when people try and demonize reps by comparing them to gens, but only do so with the cheapest POS Canal St junk they can lay their hands on. I'd like them to try stopping a guy in the street, showing him a UPO and gen 2901.50.91 and being told which one was the replica. Infact, in a totally unbiassed test, with no input from the questioner, I doubt the everyday Joe Public even would guess which was which. Again, I'd agree with that. Again, absolutely so, the everyday public aren't going to notice a watch like that, when compared to something like a Fossil, which is almost designed for maximum eyecatching effect. That said, it is nice to be able to wear a watch and not get asked "Is that real?", simply because the watch itself is largely unknown in the public eye

Oh I quite agree, reps certainly give collectors the option to have many fine watches, rather than just one or two. Afterall, the four Rolexes and (soon to be) four PAMs in my collection would equal a heck of a lot of money, and sadly, I'm not a billionaire industrialist like Bruce Wayne, so I wouldn't've been able to afford all of them as gens. However, some of them, I could have done, and it was the generalization that people only by reps because they can't afford to buy any gens which I felt needed addressing. Definitely. Thus is the nature of Supply and Demand. Of course, it wouldn't wind up too high, or people would just buy the gens anyway (unless they objected to consumerism, of course )

And of course, every Muslim is a suicide-bombing rapist. Just like every white person is a racist and every German is a Nazi. Not so long back, (just before I converted) someone posted that this community needed more Muslims. Given the level of tollerated Islamophobia running rampant here, is it any wonder that there aren't??

Sorry, but that old expression "When in Rome..." comes to mind here. I don't approve of what's happened, and it actually sounds like the 'complaint' against the teacher were actually motivated by personal beef, not 'religious objection', but the fact of the matter is, as Ken pointed out above, the teacher should have been much more aware of what would, or would not be acceptable, so responsibility for that, should also rest on the agency which employed her to work in the country. In all honesty, she's getting off lightly, given that she could have been on the receiving end of fourty lashes. Two weeks in a filthy jail, and then deported from the country. Certainly not as bad as the tabloids, which were practically begging for her to be flogged, just so they could shift more copies of their sleazy rags, where suggesting would be the outcome. Also, before people start getting all worked up about Islam and Muslims, just remember that these people in Sudan are about as 'Islamic', as the 'Christians' who live in the UK and US and never set foot in a church or observe any other religious holidays. I'm sure the people there go through all the motions involved with Islam, but in an indoctrinated way rather than one of personal choice. It wouldn't matter if the people in Sudan where Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or even Athiests, they would still have a [censored]ed up country and outlook on life. If anyone wants to start saying anything else against Islam, they'd better have read the Holy Qur'an and actually make quotes from it, rather than just acting in a manner which, if attributed to something other than religion, would be considered both bigoted and racist.

Still wearing and loving this combo

Sorry, but that's something of a false generalization. Look around at the membership of this, and other, forum(s). Many of the people here have the means to purchase the real thing, but, for various personal reasons, choose to buy reps instead. Sure, not everyone can afford gens, so they'll buy a rep, but, that doesn't mean that everyone who buy reps can't afford gens...

Absolutely so, however, these are only 'high end' goods, because consumerism says they are. Okay, with some watches there is historical interest and value, but even that does not really translate into justifying the prices which companies charge for their products... That's why I say that the 'value' of the item, shouldn't be directly compared to the cash cost, for as I said above, as long as someone is prepared to pay the retail price, the companies will continue to charge them

Interesting question... Personally, I think as long as there is 'someone' who will buy the gens at their retail price, the companies will continue to sell them at those prices. As for them 'losing their value', that's another matter entirely... I don't think that any of these high end watches are actually worth (in terms of nuts and bolts costs) the charges applied to them, so from that perspective, their value is (or rather should be) little more than the cost of the materials involved, and any advertizing/R&D costs (which have been recouped long ago) All the time companies are prepared to outsource work, then they are effectively reducing the actual 'value' of their own product, as everyone knows, it doesn't make $5 to make a Big Mac, or $10 for a CD

No problem It's really not too difficult to support the watch with your free hand, just a case of turning it round to 'pinch' the other lug For further support, you could always rest the watch on a towel on your lap (incase you drop the screw/bar) Ahh, indeed, that won't work for polished, but, as suggested, Cape Cod cloth should take care of that Thanks PS If you could edit your post to remove my given name, I'd really appreciate it. I've seen the effects of cyber-stalking, and am always wary about having my name used on open forums Thanks in advance, amigo

When changing the strap, cup the watch in your 'off-hand', so you can pinch your thumb and forefinger around the tip of the screwdriver while it's in the screw

Thanks, amigo At least one of us is patient I can't wait to send this off for you to work your magic on it Damn Christmas and financial obligations I've decided to get a 2nd 111h, so when I get them both, the one which has the better 'backwinding' facility, can be fitted with the 111g dial, the one that is more fiddly, can be converted to a 112h, like the PVD plan. The 'backwinding' on the PVD is a real [censored] to find the 'sweet spot', but, by tweaking the regulation, I've got it running (as far as I can tell) at +/-0 seconds per day It keeps perfect time to the radio-controlled clock in the study, the only problem is I can't roll the second sweep back to synchronize the seconds

A quick update to include the photos with the new strap/buckle combo

Here's a wrist-shot/watch-only combo for you. The watch, my PVD 111g, from my Usual Source, the strap, part of a very generous gift from my man in Hawaii, Lanikai, and the buckle, from someone off eBay Hope y'all like the watch/strap/buckle combo as much as I do Behold! (trying to show the AR) (buckle/strap combo)

I like the Blancpain, but am not impressed with the Breitlings. No lume on the dial means it wouldn't be very visible at night (or in deep water ) so I'd have to say "Close, but no cigar..." to the person who designed that watch [Edit to add] Sorry, I take that back... I just saw the tiny dots of lume above the batons Those're gonna be really visible

All of that I totally understand, however, I do have one question re: overwinding. Is it possible, once the crown will no longer wind, and is "Fully Wound", is it possible, if someone were to be a little clumsy or heavy-handed, for them to actually force the crown to wind further, thus causing some other kind of damage? (possibly snapping internal connections? ) Is that what people might refer to as 'over-winding'? I'm not trying to argue anything, just better understand the expression

Kinda reminds me of the 'cazzomir' Nice spot, by the way

Fantastic anecdote, and I've got to agree, dealing with TWP is a pleasure, he is indeed a true gentleman, I can't wait to get my own project with him underway, I know the results will be fantastic. Re: your success with the ladies, I hear that self-confidence (wholly different to being an arrogant jerk ) is one of the qualities women find most appealing in a man.

When I first took it out of the wrappings (and it was still inside one of the plastic case-shields) I actually thought the watch had a blue dial It wasn't untill I took it out completely and examined it properly, that I realized that wasn't so