Absolutely barking.

Omid Djalili makes the observation that when there is a controversy regarding Islam, the media will usually wheel out a chap nominated as a representative of the Muslim community who waves his arms about while ranting and raving and behaving like a general lunatic.

The hardline Jewish reps tend to be a little more palatable for Western consumption. Whilst they are just as hateful and hardline as their Islamic counterparts, they aren't so manifestly bonkers. Or are they?

A Jewish rabbinical court condemned to death by stoning a stray dog it feared was the reincarnation of a lawyer who insulted its judges, reports say.

Riiiiiiiiiight.

The dog entered the Jerusalem financial court several weeks ago and would not leave, reports Israeli website Ynet.


It reminded a judge of a curse passed on a now deceased secular lawyer about 20 years ago, when judges bid his spirit to enter the body of a dog.

These are important people in their community. This man, a judge, a person who is supposed to deal in fact, thinks it is the reincarnation of a lawayer who said a bad thing, probably something along the lines of 'you're all nuts, you lot.'

One of the judges at the court in the city's ultra-Orthodox Mea Shearim neighbourhood had reportedly asked local children to carry out the sentence.

One of the judges what? Are you telling me that a community leader set up a bunch of kids to stone a dog to death because he thought it was the reincarnation of a lawyer?

What chance do these kids have?

Another demonstration of why religion is still a dark age practice where people demand that others live their lives by someone else's interpretation of a superstition and should be pointed and laughed at at every opportunity, and why I'm convinced that the best way to deal with both sets of nutters on this landmass is to starve them of cash and supplies and just let them get on with it.

There's no reasoning with people like this, none at all.