Bin Gregory Production #1 is

Bin Gregory Production #1 is off to Gramma’s for the week, so maybe I’ll get some time to revamp my site layout. Since I’m just starting out with all this, I might as well learn CSS rather than putting any more time into learning standard HTML. CSShark has been a great place to start for me.

Wahhabis in Kurdish Iraq Wahhabism

Wahhabis in Kurdish Iraq

Wahhabism is so strong in the US because there’s very little shared memory of what traditional Islam should be. So we’re happy to hold hands with everybody in the interests of Muslim unity. But the article above shows how Wahhabism stands out in stark contrast to the lived Islam of the Kurdish community. Sadly, impoverished as they are, they have little way to resist the flood.

“Islam and Judaism and Christianity have flourished together in this region for more than 1,400 years,” said Mullah Mohammad Akrey, the most senior cleric in the group. “These Wahabis are not Muslims and do not represent Islam.”
“…the mullahs told me that their countrymen had accepted the Saudi mosques for a simple reason — they couldn’t afford to build their own. But Mullah Talat Mantiq bitterly pointed out that in the years before the establishment of the U.N. Oil for Food Program in 1996, when people in the region were starving, the Saudis were building mosques — but were not, however, donating food, clothing or medicine.” Money with big strings attached. Similar is what happened in Bosnia, where centuries-old masjids built by the Ottomans, damaged by the war, were demolished and rebuilt as white-walled pillboxes.

MNRTF Ballot Passed The link

MNRTF Ballot Passed

The link is to Rails to Trails, a very hardwording non-profit boosting trail initiatives nationwide.

If you visit parks in Michigan, be they local, county or state, you’ve benefited from the MNRTF. There’s hardly a single significant park acquisition or expansion that hasn’t been partly funded through this program. I voted for the ballot proposal, but I do have a little concern about it. It swelled the cap for money into the fund from gas and mineral exploration revenue, which is great. But the heart of the proposal is to allow the state to invest MNRTF funds in the market, the same way the state is allowed to do for pensions. To me, that means the funds could lose money if when the stock market goes south. Park funding is the last thing anyone will worry about if the market really tanks, but still.

*Ahem* My dear friends and

*Ahem* My dear friends and relations, my dedicated readership (Hi Mom), I am pleased to present to you www.BinGregory.com. Ha! I have arrived. This is by far the best ten bucks I ever spent. Please note that you can still reach this site by the mile-long comcast url for now, but in a few short weeks, that will change. Also, I can now be reached by email at webmaster at BinGregory dot com, or anybody at BinGregory dot com (spammers, please ignore) for that matter.

Forgotten Detroit This is a

Forgotten Detroit
This is a very nicely designed site that showcases ruins and vacant buildings of Detroit. The photography is excellent, and the commentary is well-informed, too. I was always aware of the vacant lots, junkyards, burned down and abandoned homes that are all over Detroit. Even downtown has gaping holes where buildings once were. But it wasn’t until last year at an MASLA conference that I realized that every other huge towering gorgeous building still standing right downtown is vacant and abandoned. Empty skyscrapers!

Another great site with more pictures including the demolition of the Hudson’s Building is here.