This is exactly why religion has to be kept away from government:

[SacredCow]

a 3 month jail sentence for "planning to commit sin."

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Indian-man-woman-jailed-in-Dubai-for-steamy-text-messages/articleshow/5697214.cms

I heard about this story on talk radio this morning. The right-wing host was making light of it, and saying that yes- this is too much religious intrusion in government. Yet he somehow didn't see the hypocrisy of using religion to defend so-called "traditional marriage."

Makes my head hurt.

:banghead:

[HopeHoops]

1. Hell, if "planning to commit sin" were a crime here, I'd be in jail for life!

Actually, I can't think of a time when I WASN'T planning to commit sin.

[lunatica]

3. They'd all be in jail too

Might as well put a wall up around the entire country and call it Penitentiary of America.

[HopeHoops]

7. It is sort of getting like that anyway - at least if you're poor and a minority.

And remind me again why you can get 10 years for a personal use bag of pot but get millions in bonuses if you commit white collar crime (as in Wall Street)?

[fascisthunter]

2. what a bunch of backward degenerates the right wingers are

holy shit are they whacko

[Razoor]

4. makes my head hurt too

seriously a 3 month sentence for plaaning to commit sin? wow what a bunch of nutjobs the right wingers have become

[hayu_lol]

6. Without the concept of 'SIN,' there would be no need...

for christianity.

Might be good to remind those folks about that once in a while.

Marriages: Only civil government can license marriages. Religions can choose to perform a ceremony according to their own individual ritual...or people can choose to ignore the rituals altogether. There are, after all, many ways to hold a marriage party.

[SacredCow]

5. But I should point out....

this IS in the UAE- they have all kinds of crazy laws there.

[riderinthestorm]

8. Dubai, same place that British couple received a month jail sentence for a kiss. nt

[alfredo]

9. Theocracies are very violent toward their subjects. I lived

in Ethiopia during Halie Selassie's reign. It was a Monarchy with a Sacred King. He claimed to be a descendant of Solomon and Sheba. The word of Ras Tafari was the word of God. His rule was so cruel, the people of Ethiopia turned to Marxism as a more just society. The church was the mouthpiece, and the whip and noose their symbol of power. The cop on the beat had M-16's and old or replica Thompsons. On our army base, we only had M1's M60's.


Ras Tafari Makonnen was Halie Selassie's real name. Halie Selassie translates to the power of the Trinity. He had a rather high opinion of himself.

[Odin2005]

14. So the Rastafarians named themselves after a brutal tyrant?

:yoiks:

[alfredo]

16. yes.

[felinetta]

10. Wake up everybody: religion is the root of all evil. Think for yourselves.

[Toasterlad]

11. No, EVIL Is the Root Of All Evil. Religion Is Just the JUSTIFICATION For All Evil.

[Festivito]

12. Replacing "follow the money" or are you hiding that notion? /nt

[WCGreen]

13. Iran...

That's should be enough to make any reasonable secular person run for the hills...

[Odin2005]

15. The last tyrant needs to be strangled with the entrails of the last priest.