Thread: Hell: Be afraid, "Islamic State" Board: Limbo / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
It would have been better for you if someone had placed a millstone around your neck and thrown you in the sea. It would have been better for you if you had never been born.

Do you think you can behead God's children and rape their mothers and then hide from from their Father?

One day the full awareness of your crimes will fall upon you like fire.

[ 22. January 2015, 02:04: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
And a hell call for you for believing that only Christians are God's children.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
Jesus wept. I neither said nor implied the word 'only' nor do I believe it.
 
Posted by Jon in the Nati (# 15849) on :
 
No, you apparently believe that war is something to be celebrated. And another American war, to boot. Team America, here to save the day. Fuck yeah.

You've posted this right where you belong.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I do think that trying to actually help people who are being exterminated is a good reason to intervene militarily (and, perhaps especially, since the US was responsible for making this damn ISIS takeover more possible, cleaning up the effects of our own mistakes rather than washing our hands like Pilate), but... wow, awkward thread.

I am genuinely glad we are intervening and I pray that this stops some genuinely horrible people (vastly worse than Hussein) from just coming in and taking Iraq over, and from slaughtering countless innocent civilians. But after the last decade or so, the US of all western nations has no damn right to crow about how virtuous we are by taking this action. By removing one of the few secular governments from power, we helped make this happen, as far as I am concerned.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jon in the Nati:
No, you apparently believe that war is something to be celebrated. And another American war, to boot. Team America, here to save the day. Fuck yeah.

You've posted this right where you belong.

Is it your custom to make up lies about people? I have never done or said any of these things! [Ultra confused]
 
Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jon in the Nati:
No, you apparently believe that war is something to be celebrated. And another American war, to boot. Team America, here to save the day. Fuck yeah.

You've posted this right where you belong.

I'm not sure where that came from. I thought the OP had an eschatological tone rather than a celebration of US intervention. Remembering the Yazidi and Shi'ite minorities who are also victims of this Frankenstein's monster, and I think Demas has, I'm not sure that anything but military response is possible. Sitting by and wringing hands and weeping alas and alack sure as hell ain't gonna help, and even if some sort of choking of IS supply lines were possible an entire genocide of the Yazidi and Christian communities, and wholesale slaughter of Shi'a, would take place while it was beginning to take effect.

[ 09. August 2014, 09:37: Message edited by: Zappa ]
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Zappa:
I thought the OP had an eschatological tone rather than a celebration of US intervention.

Yes! And yes, the little Yazidi children dying on the mountain and the little Shi'ite children, they too have a loving Father, who will see justice roll down like waters.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
To be fair--at least, for me, speaking as someone in the US who was against GWB's war in Iraq--there's a sense of "God damn it, not again!" especially after the US' fairly arrogant, self-serving pseudo-white-hat military adventurism. So I can profoundly appreciate any concern, frustration, or just plain downright paranoia about the US going into Iraq again after the last time, because we were so justified (aluminum tubes!) and it worked out so well before (Mission Accomplished!).

But as I said the other day when this was on TV, I believe this is the kind of situation in which we should intervene.

I do wish it was more of a UN combined thing rather than just the US going in, but people are dying of thirst on that damn mountain because if they come down they'll be exterminated, so... somebody's got to do something.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Yes! And yes, the little Yazidi children dying on the mountain and the little Shi'ite children, they too have a loving Father, who will see justice roll down like waters.

Amen. Please, God, amen.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
The thing is, someone has to do something.

I'd also prefer it if it were some kind of concerted UN action. Ideally, to be brutally frank - I wish it were some kind of joint UN, US, EU and Russia thing ... it might stop us falling out over Ukraine and concentrate efforts against a common foe - the radical jihadists.

This isn't a war on Islam - nor should it become one. The Shia's are fighting the Sunni extremists of Islamic State.

Sure, it's a mess of our own making but we can't stand by and watch the kind of atrocities that are taking place at the hands of Islamic State.

What the longer term solution is, heaven only knows - but something has to be done both in terms of humanitarian aid and, I'm afraid, the use of necessary force.

I'm normally pretty much a pacifist but when you've got fanatics offering people of converting, being fined or being killed then something has to be done to stop them.

The problem is, none of us have a good track-record in dealing with this stuff.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Yup, afraid so. I wish this were a UN thing too, and I'm not sure of the legality of it. But someone has to do something in the short term to stop ISIS, and I can't see anything that might work better.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Doing something "Because something has to be done" is a lousy reason. When laws are made or changed on that basis, you get bad law. When military intervention is attempted, in haste, things go the same way. See Gulf II, impressive military intervention, zero political objective, result: Growth of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and, I suppose, ISIS.

It's already been stated that the Shia are fighting the Sunnis of ISIS. This intervention is going to identify the Shia too closely with the USA, which will lose them friends and support in the Arab world. Why not provide them with backup and let people who are familiar with the territory, speak the language and understand the people do any fighting that needs to be done?
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
The kurdish peshmurga managed to get 11,000 people off sinjar mountain.

I think this situation is somewhat unusual, in most recent conflicts - radical faith groups have tried to establish political control, then make everyone follow outward rules.

IS was apparently offering massarcre populations wholesale - giving a situation closer to Rwanda than Syria.

I have been listening to a history of the ancient world from the first written records to the fall of Rome. It is depressing how similar what is happening in the middle east now, is, to what was happening three thousand years ago.
 
Posted by Jon in the Nati (# 15849) on :
 
quote:
I'm not sure where that came from. I thought the OP had an eschatological tone rather than a celebration of US intervention.
Funny, I didn't read it that way at all.

On the day on which the United States began airstrikes against ISIS, Demas makes this somewhat cryptic but obviously triumphalist post, telling ISIS that they will pay for their crimes. I interpreted this as him connecting the two, dangerously close to suggesting that US intervention with bombs and pointy things is divine judgment (the "hide from their Father" bit).

Given how hostile Demas has been to Islam in general on this thread, I don't think my interpretation is far off.
 
Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
quote:
Why not provide them with backup and let people who are familiar with the territory, speak the language and understand the people do any fighting that needs to be done?
That's been done before-the US provided "backup" to the Taliban and look where that got us. I'm vehemently opposed to arming or supporting anyone-that's too dangerous, it should be direct intervention or nothing.

I'm also opposed to sitting on our hands doing nothing whilst people are being slaughtered too. No solution is perfect but the more the US delays the stronger they get and that's not going to do anyone any good.
 
Posted by PeteC (# 10422) on :
 
I am appalled. Tears of impotency are rolling down my grizzled cheeks. I pray for all children of God, in whatever manifestation, who are caught up in this madness.

Argue all you want. Only, I beg you, I implore you, do not provide graphic images. I don't need them, nor do I want to ever, see them again. They are burnt in my memory.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jon in the Nati:
quote:
I'm not sure where that came from. I thought the OP had an eschatological tone rather than a celebration of US intervention.
Funny, I didn't read it that way at all.
Let me reassure you. The tone of my OP is that of anger not triumph. I can find absolutely nothing to be triumphant about in the current horrific situation.

And I was certainly not threatening the self-described "Islamic State" with mere US bombs. The US was not in my mind at all and I cannot imagine ISIS are scared of it in any case.

quote:
Originally posted by Jon in the Nati:
Given how hostile Demas has been to Islam in general on this thread, I don't think my interpretation is far off.

Oh fuck off. I am not 'hostile to Islam in general'. Reasonable people can read the thread and see my contribution for themselves. I'm not going to debate here with someone who for some unknown reason sees everything I write through the lens of an assumption of bad faith.
 
Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Do you think you can behead God's children and rape their mothers and then hide from from their Father?

ISIS' father is the devil, who chuckles with glee over what they are doing.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
I've seen some of the graphic images online too. If they are for real then ...

(speechless)

Seriously, Sioni and others, I'd generally be the first to jump up and down about US airstrikes anywhere but this time it's different.

Even the most conservative accounts accept that there is potential genocide going on here.

It has got to be stopped.
 
Posted by Jay-Emm (# 11411) on :
 
Another in the something needs to be done quickly and right and I'd hate to be in Obama/Cameroons/etc shoes. Quick might be possible, Right I really don't know.

Appeasement/Danegeld blatantly won't work.

Massed intervention might have an effect like that on the new French/Russian/Iranian of 'proving' that they've been too nice (though it's hard to see how Is can get any worse or see themselves as the reacting party) or that they can only escalate (though again how?). But if there's any misfires then even more so.
And on top of that you've always got the worry you're being played for a sucker.

Limited intervention has it's own problems.

[ 09. August 2014, 18:41: Message edited by: Jay-Emm ]
 
Posted by Arminian (# 16607) on :
 
When I saw ISIS were putting 'N' on peoples houses and demanding they leave or die it reminded me of Hitler's tactics with the Jews. The ideology behind ISIS is similar to fascism. Instead of the Aryan super race, its the ISIS caliphate. Brutal towards dissent, and keeps discipline through fear.

Lets hope the world doesn't make the mistake of thinking this problem will go away on its own. I hated the war in Iraq, but I don't see any other way of stopping this evil ideology other than by armed conflict. What they are doing is genocide by forcing hundreds of thousands into the wilderness where they will die. [Frown]
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I must admit I have suddenly found that I am not as pacifist as I thought I was.

I would like to arm women in the areas affected by ISIS and Boko Haram.

There is something odd about the tactic of kidnapping women (which I found, to my surprise in a Sherlock Holmes story, to have been an accusation made against the very early, Brigham Young period, Mormons). And about the emphasis on the 72 virgins (or, in the Syriac, raisins). Why are these men unable to find partners normally? (Even normally for their culture?)

I feel that the histories of Jael, Judith and even Delilah (not her fault she was born on the wrong side), should be taught to women in the area.
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Traditionally fighters displaced from their home communities by military campaigns have solved the problem of sex with prostitutes and rape. This becomes an issue if you are claiming religious purity.

So your fighters can't have sex unless their married, in the middle of a war zone they can't date - but provided with a wife they can claim a bonus "successful" conversion.

But the process itself is not really different to the "comfort women" or mass rapes of other conflicts.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Poor little diddums can't manage without sex. It's not necessary in the same way as food, water, or somewhere to deposit effluent.

The Janissaries did, having been castrated, and they were pretty fearsome in battle.

I seem to recall that captives in some societies not a long way in geography or belief from the multinamed bunch of subhuman "warriors" who only take on those weaker than themselves* expected the same thing done to them, and by the women.

*Seen an analysis - they turn aside when they see serious opposition.

[ 10. August 2014, 16:03: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
Hey, let's invade Iraq again. Are there weapons of mass destruction in view?
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
Poor little diddums can't manage without sex.

It's not about the home comforts. Sex and aggression are closely linked. Rape is an act of war, and has been systematically deployed as such, for example in Bosnia and Bangladesh.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
Hey, let's invade Iraq again. Are there weapons of mass destruction in view?

I concur with the argument being made sarcastically here.

We seem to have fallen into a pattern in which an intervention is staged on the grounds that things in an area are fucked up. Then, when the intervention leads things to being even more fucked up, we use the new state of chaos to justify another interventuion.

The humanitarian argument for an unprovoked war against Iraq relied heavily on the idea that Saddam was a special case, a brand of evil unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. So, no, we're not obligated to attack every dictator(so the argument went), just Saddam, because an evil beyond his is incomprehensible.

Well, apparently, with Saddam gone, we are IN FACT able to comprehend an evil beyond his, ISIS. And these Islamic nutbars warrant another intervention, because, well, you know, they are the REALLY bad guys. We couldn't possibly have foreseen them when we ousted Saddam, but here they are.

At some point, you simply have to break the cycle by deciding that there will be no more interventions, no matter how bad the atrocities are. Because if recent history has shown us anything, it is that these interventions don't do anything to stop further atrocities from occuring.

[ 10. August 2014, 17:33: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
Poor little diddums can't manage without sex.

It's not about the home comforts. Sex and aggression are closely linked. Rape is an act of war, and has been systematically deployed as such, for example in Bosnia and Bangladesh.
My reaction then was to the suggestion that sex was a problem for fighters that needed to be solved by dehumanising and using whatever women could be found.

I know there's a connection between aggression and the urge for sex - I seem to recall an experiment which reversed things a bit by having male subjects cross a bridge before having to deal with a threat. If there was an attractive girl standing on the bridge, they were more aggresive than if not. Really bad design, in my view. If men were rendered incapable of sex when feeling aggressive, the world would be a much nicer place all round. (And if anyone mutters about the Fall, they might like to think about how the connection was able to be enabled if the potential wasn't built in in the first place.) I know that there have been moves to identify war related rape and abuse as a war crime, but somehow I don't think those crazed heirs of the Hashishin are going to take much notice of that.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
I'd also like to point out that that these airstrikes are being ordered by the man who, less than a year ago, was pushing for his country to launch airstrikes against the Baathist regime in Syria.

Had those airstrikes been carried out, what effect would the undermining or possibly the toppling of Assad have had on the fortunes of ISIS in Syria?
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
If Stormin' Norman had had his way, then the allies in the 1st Gulf War would have pressed onto Baghdad and toppled his regime back then.

That would have certainly destablised the area and there would have sectarian violence back then too. One could argue, though, that it would have been done with the backing of the other Arab nations that were supporting the coalition forces at that time.

I'm not suggesting that would have been the right course of action, and agree that the cycle of intervention has to be stopped somewhere.

I'm not sure this is the right time, to be honest.

We now know that Hussein didn't WMDs at the time of the invasion ... but he certainly did have them at one point - and he used them against the Kurds. Yhen there was the Supergun thing and there were certainly some nasty weapons going into Iraq - some of them with the complicity of both the US and the USSR.

Nobody comes out of any of this smelling of roses.

But what to do about ISIS? We can't ignore them.

It's also a broader issue than ISIS. How did some 1,700 of so ISIS fighters rout 350,000 Iraqi regulars at Mosul?

It's clear that some of the Shia don't want to take on the Sunni Islamic State psychos.

I've seen it suggested online that the sectarian Shia regime in Iraq is waiting for Islamic State to do its own ethnic cleansing for them - to drive out the Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in order for Iraq to become a Shia dominated state.

That might be a very cynical view, but the Iraqi governments lack of success against what appear to be a relatively small number of Islamic State fighters begs a few questions.

Of course, I'd much rather see humanitarian aid drops rather than bombs but what happens if Islamic State head for the areas where the Yazidis and Christians are taking refuge?

Even the most conservative accounts suggest that there are dreadful, dreadful atrocities taking place - beheadings, shootings, rapes, forced marriages, forced FGM even ...

I was opposed to the invasion of Iraq. I am not opposed to limited military action against Islamic State.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Cross-posted ... yes, Obama was advocating the bombing of Syria and to my mind that would have been things even worse.

Assad is a monster but some of these rebels are even worse.

My Orthodox pals have long been warning about ISIS/Islamic State ... long before they appeared on our media and radar screens.

Ok, so some of them will have a fairly anti-Western agenda, but whilst some can go too far that way, I think - they do have contacts on the ground over there ... they could see this coming for a while and no-one was listening.

This article deftly summarises the dilemma for those of us who are on the lefty liberal side in all of this:

http://hopisen.com/2014/not-in-my-name/

[link corrected by host. Gamaliel, please check these things]

[ 10. August 2014, 18:21: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
Hey, let's invade Iraq again. Are there weapons of mass destruction in view?

I concur with the argument being made sarcastically here.

We seem to have fallen into a pattern in which an intervention is staged on the grounds that things in an area are fucked up. Then, when the intervention leads things to being even more fucked up, we use the new state of chaos to justify another interventuion.

The humanitarian argument for an unprovoked war against Iraq relied heavily on the idea that Saddam was a special case, a brand of evil unsurpassed anywhere else in the world. So, no, we're not obligated to attack every dictator(so the argument went), just Saddam, because an evil beyond his is incomprehensible.

Well, apparently, with Saddam gone, we are IN FACT able to comprehend an evil beyond his, ISIS. And these Islamic nutbars warrant another intervention, because, well, you know, they are the REALLY bad guys. We couldn't possibly have foreseen them when we ousted Saddam, but here they are.

At some point, you simply have to break the cycle by deciding that there will be no more interventions, no matter how bad the atrocities are. Because if recent history has shown us anything, it is that these interventions don't do anything to stop further atrocities from occuring.

But there's oil in them hills isn't there?

The UN peacekeeping missions used to work, before the unilateralists and economic developmentalists had their way.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Fair enough, Gamaliel. Reasonable people can disagree about these things, even in Hell.

One thing, though...

quote:
Even the most conservative accounts suggest that there are dreadful, dreadful atrocities taking place - beheadings, shootings, rapes, forced marriages, forced FGM even ...


The FMG allegations seem to be of somewhat debatable veracity.

People can draw their own conclusions, though I will say that it did seem a little odd to me that ISIS would suddenly, out of the blue and in total contradiction to their regional traditions, institute a practice that is so often held up by westerners as exemplifying the barbarism of Islam.

And, in any case, if we're going to justify bombing people on the grounds that they practice FMG, well, there are about two dozen countries in northern Africa we should be bombing.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Gamaliel wrote:

quote:
Cross-posted ... yes, Obama was advocating the bombing of Syria and to my mind that would have been things even worse.

Assad is a monster but some of these rebels are even worse.


Yeah, it's like a year ago, Obama was pushing for airstrikes that could have put ISIS in the driver's seat in Syria, and was thwarted in this endeavour only by a congressional uprising.

Now, we're being asked to trust this same man when he tells us that airstrikes are needed to stop ISIS from getting into the driver's seat in Iraq.

I know irony, in and of itself, is not a valid argument against doing something. But sometimes, it just kinda makes you stop and go "WTF?"
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
No Prophet wrote:

quote:
The UN peacekeeping missions used to work, before the unilateralists and economic developmentalists had their way. [/QB]
Yeah, I pretty much missed out on the Golden Age Of Peacekeeping.

Within my lifetime, we went from "Oh those Canucks, keeping the people of Cyprus safe and sound!!" to "Oh those Canucks, raping and beating Somali teenagers to death while yelling Heil Hitler."

[ 10. August 2014, 18:38: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Sure, the whole things a mess ... what's happening is that events are moving faster than the policy makers on Capitol Hill and in London, the Kremlin, Paris, Berlin and elsewhere can keep up with ...

There's a need for cool-heads all round. I'm glad both Obama and Cameron were defeated over their gung-ho stance on Syria.

In this instance, though, with what's come to light from ISIS/Islamic State's actions some kind of response is justifiable.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
Hey, let's invade Iraq again. Are there weapons of mass destruction in view?

No there are not,(yet anyway).

Just a determined band of marauders heading for our oil , and that simply won't do.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I'm not an expert on the Middle East, and it's a bit more difficult to follow where I am right now. But I've read about some ISIS attacks on the Kurds. Surely the Kurds would be able to fend off those attacks? I imagine that they have a well-organized defence force that is experienced in fighting, even if such a thing is illegal under the Iraqi autonomy they have now. I can't imagine now that ISIS puts Baghdad on the defence which could bring their own country closer into view, that they're going to give it away to ISIS?
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Analysis I heard said the kurds had to try to recapture something isis had already taken, and the isis forces spotted a gap and went for a key strategic target, they then had to pull away forces guarding qaraqoosh to protect that (Irbil I think) and isis were able to take qaraqoosh and other soft targets.
(Note, this half remembered from radio 4, I can't swear to it.)
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
But no-one really wants the Kurds to be independent and assert their desire for a homeland. Turkey particularly. The Kurds need to be powerful, just not too powerful: who knows what they might become. Yesterday's Afghan freedom fighters, funded and trained by the CIA against the Soviet Axis of Evil became the Taliban and Al Qaeda who then considered their former allies to be the great satan wasn't it?

Listened this morning on CBC to a son having finally learning from his father about being tortured at the 40 year anniversary of CIA-sponsored coup in Chile. Finding the details and provoked emotions rather troubling. Then, the Pinochet dictatorship supported by the USA was the ISIS except for the religious aspect unless we consider money as the religion, which of course it is.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Actually, np the RC church was very pro Pinochet.

While the Chilean hierarchy may have declared solidarity with the ousted elected regime, the Vatican's man, Archbishop (later Cardinal) Sodano was very close to Pinochet. JP II was warm in his praise for Pinochet's 'stand against communism' and when Pinochet and his wife celebrated their golden wedding they received personal congratulations from Sodano and a papal blessing from JP II. Sodano lobbied the UK government to release Pinochet when he was briefly held here.

The Vatican line was that most of the Chilean hierarchy was dangerously 'pink' and infeected with the virus of liberation theology, against which JP II waged a crusade.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Arminian:
When I saw ISIS were putting 'N' on peoples houses and demanding they leave or die it reminded me of Hitler's tactics with the Jews.

Rather a banal question, all things considered, but what does the 'N' stand for?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by Arminian:
When I saw ISIS were putting 'N' on peoples houses and demanding they leave or die it reminded me of Hitler's tactics with the Jews.

Rather a banal question, all things considered, but what does the 'N' stand for?
"Nazarene", apparently.

link
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
(There is a Shipmate who seems to have the Arabic letter 'N' in his/her signature right now. Is this a reference to this?)
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Doing some research here, I'm a little skeptical about the source of this "N" story.

Professor Gorka comes off sounding like one of those "white Chriatian males are the most oppressed group on the planet" types. Not always the most reputable sources.

And I find it a little distasteful the way the article opens by pointing out that Christians have been in the region centuries ahead of Muslims, as if that makes persecution worse.

Suffice to say, they guy seems to have an agenda beyond simply reporting the details of war crimes.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
It seems the reason for killing the Yazidi is that they are "devil worshippers".

It seems to me that the killers are closer to followers of Satan than the Yazidi. By their fruits...
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Doing some research here, I'm a little skeptical about the source of this "N" story.

It seems legitimate.
quote:
Wikipedia
In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani (نصراني), plural Nasara (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masihi (مسيحي) means followers of the Messiah.

Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salibi (صليبي "Crusader") from salib (صليب "crucifix") which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.


WordReference.com
Nasraani (which is after Nazareth and a name of a heretic sect of the 7th century which Muhammad may have known) was used solely by Muslims before the 20th century and was deeply hated by Christians because it was associated with the Ottoman millet system.

As soon as the Ottomans left in 1918, this word became obsolete in the Levant (and similar was the word Nusayri نصيري , the name of the Allawites under the millet system). The words نصراني and ثصيري (Christians and Allawites) were removed even from place names and to use them in Levant today is offensive and like calling an African person a nigger.

The latter comment makes a lot of sense in context.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
Justin Welby has issued a statement saying that his homepage photo had been changed to the Arabic letter N as a token of solidarity with Iraq's Christians:
quote:
We are Nazarene. Please share your thoughts and prayers on Twitter using #WeAreN, and consider changing your avatar on social media in solidarity with our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq.

 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
The Ship of Fools Twitter logo and a whole lot more have changed to the Arabic N, and it's not the only one.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Professor Gorka comes off sounding like one of those "white Chriatian males are the most oppressed group on the planet" types. Not always the most reputable sources.

That website decided to immediately (before having a chance to read the article) pop up a window asking me to subscribe, with a bold tagline of "You Deserve The Truth". Never mind Professor Gorka personally, that was enough to arouse my suspicions.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Doing some research here, I'm a little skeptical about the source of this "N" story.

It seems legitimate.
quote:
Wikipedia
In Arabic-speaking cultures, two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani (نصراني), plural Nasara (نصارى) is generally understood to be derived from Nazareth through the Syriac (Aramaic); Masihi (مسيحي) means followers of the Messiah.

Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salibi (صليبي "Crusader") from salib (صليب "crucifix") which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations.


WordReference.com
Nasraani (which is after Nazareth and a name of a heretic sect of the 7th century which Muhammad may have known) was used solely by Muslims before the 20th century and was deeply hated by Christians because it was associated with the Ottoman millet system.

As soon as the Ottomans left in 1918, this word became obsolete in the Levant (and similar was the word Nusayri نصيري , the name of the Allawites under the millet system). The words نصراني and ثصيري (Christians and Allawites) were removed even from place names and to use them in Levant today is offensive and like calling an African person a nigger.

The latter comment makes a lot of sense in context.

All of that speaks to the legitimacy of the meaning of 'N'. None of it speaks to the question of whether the current story, about 'N' being marked, is true.

It may well be. I'm just pointing out that those links verify the concept, not the event.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
All of that speaks to the legitimacy of the meaning of 'N'. None of it speaks to the question of whether the current story, about 'N' being marked, is true. It may well be. I'm just pointing out that those links verify the concept, not the event.

True. Sorry, I guess I misunderstood what was in question. I thought the marking by 'N' was basically established news, and that the question at hand was merely what that 'N' meant.

A short google makes this the most detailed source, including pictures and an appeal by the Chaldean Patriarch about it. But then the source itself is, shall we say, less known... The New York Times seems to think that the reports are correct though.

Googling around, I also found this t-shirt. It looks quite cool, actually. I'm semi-seriously tempted to buy that...
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I like that sign - it looks like an enfolding arm beneath a head bending over in sympathy.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Last year, many Christians in the US and elsewhere opposed bombing Syria, partly on the grounds that destabilizing Baathist Syria would be detrimental to Christians.

I wonder what these Christians are thinking now, when the rationale for bombing is "Stop ISIS or Christians die!!"
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
Lord save your children from the hates of their fathers.
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
The Financial Times (behind a paywall) is reporting that a group of pro-ISIS extremists was handing out leaflets in Oxford Street telling Muslims to pledge allegiance to the caliphate and move there. And that Muslims who confronted them in disagreement were verbally abused.

This is a deeply worrying development. Will it be possible to be a moderate Muslim in Britain anymore? There was also the ISIS-like flag that went up in East London last weekend, and reporters were asked by residents "Are you Jewish?"
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Story also in the Evening Standard
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
Will it be possible to be a moderate Muslim in Britain anymore?

If all the extremists pissed off to Iraq then it would be considerably easier to be a moderate in the UK.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Another angle to these ISIS nutters, which is in keeping with Taliban behaviour as well, is their enthusiasm for blowing up thousands of years of cultural heritage.

Follow the various links from this story and you'll smashed statues, bulldozed mosques and the like. Mind you, you'll also see that in Syria, all sides have been quite good at getting ancient architectural treasures destroyed.
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
Will it be possible to be a moderate Muslim in Britain anymore?

If all the extremists pissed off to Iraq then it would be considerably easier to be a moderate in the UK.
But they're not trying to get the extremists to Iraq. They're trying to get ALL of the Muslims to Iraq, and telling them that it's God's command that they do so. I would say that makes being a moderate Muslim pretty challenging, especially if one has school-aged children who are being targeted specifically.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I wonder why the Standard chose to put a "News picture of the day" of a litter of spotted piglets under the story.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
I wonder why the Standard chose to put a "News picture of the day" of a litter of spotted piglets under the story.

That's sub-editors for you.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
posted by Orfeo
quote:
Another angle to these ISIS nutters, which is in keeping with Taliban behaviour as well, is their enthusiasm for blowing up thousands of years of cultural heritage.
Not surprising at all.

The Wahhabi and Salafi strands of Islam most prevalent in Saudi Arabia view the preservation of artefacts connected with any person - including mosques, graves, cemeteries, etc - as idolatrous so they either bulldoze them or concrete them over.

Wahhabism has heavily influenced Boko Haram and Al Qaeda in the Mahgreb, to the extent that many of the 'protected' mosques, tombs and shrines in Timbuktu - a UNESCO world heritage site - have been either badly damaged or totally destroyed.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
Good to see the world's top muslim leaders condemning the attacks on Iraqi Christians.

And reported by the Vatican no less.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
Press releases by religious bureaucrats are all well and good but I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.

The radicals are trying to use these atrocities to drive a wedge between moderate Muslims and non-Muslim westeners and force the moderates into the arms of the radicals. A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Press releases by religious bureaucrats are all well and good but I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.

The radicals are trying to use these atrocities to drive a wedge between moderate Muslims and non-Muslim westeners and force the moderates into the arms of the radicals. A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.

Get out there and protest then. There are some, but only a few, Israelis in the demonstrations opposing the military actions against Gaza and the West Bank.
 
Posted by chris stiles (# 12641) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
I've seen some of the graphic images online too. If they are for real then ...

There are some indications that the most graphic images are from other events altogether.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Press releases by religious bureaucrats are all well and good but I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.

The radicals are trying to use these atrocities to drive a wedge between moderate Muslims and non-Muslim westeners and force the moderates into the arms of the radicals. A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.

Get out there and protest then. There are some, but only a few, Israelis in the demonstrations opposing the military actions against Gaza and the West Bank.
Bit difficult if Demas isn't a Muslim, isn't it?
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
Could someone please point to this rule that the size of demonstrations should always be proportional to the atrocities committed? I must have missed it when I joined Humanity Inc™.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
The issue isn't one of size but whether they are happening at all; 11 years ago, a lot of Brits were on the streets of London protesting against the Iraq invasion under the slogan (amongst others) "Not in our name". I'd like to see a bit of that at least....
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
There are anti ISIS demonstrations in the Netherlands. Muslims participate in them, and even organize them. Here is an example. But it's never enough, is it?
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
As far as I'm aware, there's nothing happening here organised by Muslims; I shall be delighted to be disabused of my ignorance if incorrect.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
Here and here are some examples from the UK.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Good. Thank you.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Bit difficult if Demas isn't a Muslim, isn't it?

Well, that's easy, just convert, then protest. Problem solved! [Smile]
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Could someone please point to this rule that the size of demonstrations should always be proportional to the atrocities committed? I must have missed it when I joined Humanity Inc™.

The size of a demonstration tends to be proportional to how much people care about an issue. The Israel protests are relevant because they show what can be organized if people care enough.

A huge Muslim anti-ISIS demonstration (led ideally by Sunnis not Ahmadis) would be the best thing possible for future Muslim community relationships,
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Demas: A huge Muslim anti-ISIS demonstration (led ideally by Sunnis not Ahmadis) would be the best thing possible for future Muslim community relationships,
Muslim community relationships with whom?
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
The wider non-Muslim majority.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
Ah, so the wider non-Muslim majority will have good relationships with the Muslim community on the condition that they organize an anti-ISIS demonstration that's at least as big as the one about Gaza?
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
It would help people of good faith avoid the clash of civilizations that people like ISIS so devoutly wish for and would strengthen the moderate majority against the lunatics.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I'm sorry but I'm just getting sick of the non-Muslim majority demanding that the Muslim community condemns extremism over and over again.

Their leaders publicly condemn extremism every time it happens. It's not enough.

The owner of the showarma shop in my street has condemned it over and over again towards his clients, even if he has nothing to do with the extremists. It's not enough.

Muslims organize demonstrations in the streets against ISIS. It's not enough.

Who the fuck are we to set ever-moving standards of when Muslims have condemned extremism enough? Maybe we should reach out to the Muslim community for once, without demanding things from them.

[ 13. August 2014, 19:40: Message edited by: LeRoc ]
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
I'm demanding nothing. I have no personal preconditions. I'm fearfully expressing my concerns about a future with an even greater gulf between 'us' and 'them' and suggesting one way which would help avoid what I see as an oncoming storm.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Their leaders publicly condemn extremism every time it happens. It's not enough.

Really?! Define "leaders", define "extremism" and define "every time". Maybe I am suffering from selective media reporting here, but my ears are not exactly worn out by Muslim leaders apologising over Muslim extremism.

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Who the fuck are we to set ever-moving standards of when Muslims have condemned extremism enough?

What moving standards would that be? Muslims murder, pillage, rape, destroy at newsworthy levels. A condemnation is in order. You know how often this has to be repeated? Every single time it happens. And if all was fair and square, then with ever increasing intensity and desperation. Because condemnations are supposed to be step one in stopping the condemned things form happening again, they are not supposed to be some kind of running commentary.

Yes, it's not "fair" to your harmless Muslim neighbour. So what? If he wants to complain, let him complain to those Muslim leaders who are apparently incapable of leading Muslim societies properly.

And by the way, I'm pretty sure that you are well-informed about the troubles in Northern Ireland, and you know about the Basque ETA, too. For that matter, you probably heard about the plane being shot down over Ukraine, and about Israel smashing up Gaza. It's not like there's some kind of news ban on all violence, war and terrorism but Muslim one. The reason why you get to hear so much about specifically Muslim trouble is because there is a lot of that going on in the world right now. And that's something for the Muslims to address.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
IngoB: Really?! Define "leaders", define "extremism" and define "every time". Maybe I am suffering from selective media reporting here, but my ears are not exactly worn out by Muslim leaders apologising over Muslim extremism.
Yes, really. Here is the latest one from imams in the UK about ISIS. And it's definitely not the first time. They do this every time something happens.

Muslim leaders in the Netherlands have condemned 9/11, the reactions of Muslims to 9/11, the death of Theo van Gogh (and just to be sure also of Pim Fortuyn even if it wasn't a Muslim who killed him), ISIS ... They do it every single time. And it is never enough.

quote:
IngoB: And by the way, I'm pretty sure that you are well-informed about the troubles in Northern Ireland, and you know about the Basque ETA, too.
Hereby I utterly, deeply condemn the violence that is happening and has happened in Northern Ireland, Basque Country and the Ukraine. I distance myself from it. If you don't want to have a relationship with my community because I'm from the same race as the people who perpetrated this violence, then I completely understand. I apologize for this, and feel deeply ashamed because of it. I know that it is my duty to address the violence done by my race everyday. In fact, I'll issue another condemnation apology tomorrow.

...

Oh, this is is embarrassing. For a moment, I forgot that I'm white. I don't have to distance condemn these things every day. You only have to do these things if you're Muslim.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
The size of a demonstration tends to be proportional to how much people care about an issue.

There's also the factor of how much difference the demonstration might actually make. A London protest against the actions of the UK government has a decent chance of being heard. A London protest against the actions of the Israeli government has at least the chance of persuading the UK government to put some pressure on Israel to change. But a London protest against the actions of a terrorist group in Iraq who won't pay the blindest bit of notice to it seems somewhat pointless to me.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Their leaders publicly condemn extremism every time it happens. It's not enough.

Really?! Define "leaders", define "extremism" and define "every time". Maybe I am suffering from selective media reporting here, but my ears are not exactly worn out by Muslim leaders apologising over Muslim extremism.


I've not heard any Jewish leaders condemn the excesses of Israel's actions in Gaza.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Sioni Sais: I've not heard any Jewish leaders condemn the excesses of Israel's actions in Gaza.
I have.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
Sioni Sais: I've not heard any Jewish leaders condemn the excesses of Israel's actions in Gaza.
I have.
Jews yes, but I've not heard leaders. Can you post a link or two?
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Sioni Sais: Jews yes, but I've not heard leaders. Can you post a link or two?
There is a Dutch organization called Een Ander Joods Geluid (A Different Jewish Voice). We can discuss about whether we can call them 'leaders', but they're definitely people who influence public discussions. They have often openly condemned Israeli violence in Palestine.

[ 13. August 2014, 20:43: Message edited by: LeRoc ]
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
To deal with ISIS - hhow about this? If Islamists want to go out there - give them a one-way flight.. give it a couple of days...

Then authorise nuclear or MOAB release - and turn the bastards to glass.


Done.
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
Just heard on Newsnight that they seem to have extended their supply lines a little too far. Time for TOmahawks to be lobbed in..
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Alex, do you want to pulverise the women they have taken prisoner? All the perfectly ordinary people surrounding them who can do nothing against them?

There's a few things I want to do to them, but selectively. So the people living there can get on with living there in peace. Not have to avoid a glassy wasteland.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
There is also political work to be done, since the success of IS in Iraq is in part attributable to the sectarian policies of Maliki, who has cold-shouldered the Sunni tribes, who had fought against Al Quaeda (the Awakening). The hope was that if these Sunni forces could be integrated into the govt and polity of Iraq, then sectarian divisions would lessen.

However, most journalists are reporting that Maliki basically said fuck off to the Awakening - with the result that some Sunni tribes and leaders said, OK, fuck you, and then when IS came a-calling, they were either supportive or neutral, as they wanted revenge on Maliki.

So as well as bombing IS right now, the longer term solution is to find this 'integration' in Iraqi politics; but as Patrick Cockburn states, that hasn't happened for the last 50 years. The alternative is a break-up of Iraq.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Muslim leaders in the Netherlands have condemned 9/11, the reactions of Muslims to 9/11, the death of Theo van Gogh (and just to be sure also of Pim Fortuyn even if it wasn't a Muslim who killed him), ISIS ... They do it every single time. And it is never enough.

I take it then that your definition of "every single time" means "for the highest profile cases that make a massive splash in the Western media, every 4-5 years or so". It's not like you know of an apology for say every known attack in 2013.

But fair enough, I have heard apologies, and from some apparently important Muslim leaders. That's one of the problems by the way: I simply do not know who has relevant status in the Muslim word, so that their condemnation actually will mean something. 100 Muslim scholars signed this or that declaration. What does that mean? Maybe it will through the education system eventually change the opinion of millions of people. Maybe it will be totally ignored on Muslim streets. I have no idea.

But anyway, you seem to have the opinion that somehow there must be an end to all this condemning. That's putting the cart before the horse. There must be an end to all this terrorising, and when there is, then the need to condemn goes away. Until that time Muslim leaders need to condemn over and over again.

quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
Oh, this is is embarrassing. For a moment, I forgot that I'm white. I don't have to distance condemn these things every day. You only have to do these things if you're Muslim.

Whatever the fuck are you talking about? Whenever significant terrorist actions occurs among "whites", relevant political leaders will indeed have to condemn them. Heck, they will probably even condemn mere paintings associated with such violence. It's part of the job description of a leader, to lead on such issues as violence in their community.

The reason why it's "never enough" is because the terrorism isn't stopping. If I never hear a single condemnation of Muslim terrorism again, because there is none, then I will be overjoyed. But while it goes on and on, condemnations are really the bare minimum one expects out of leaders.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
a London protest against the actions of a terrorist group in Iraq who won't pay the blindest bit of notice to it seems somewhat pointless to me.

As I said, a sufficiently large and assertive demonstration would greatly empower the moderate Muslims against local extremists and also greatly improve relations between them and the wider society.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Normally demonstrations in London march to the relevant embassy - where does a London march to against ISIS?

100 London Imams speaking out against ISIS

Oh and these photos too

It's not necessarily that things aren't happening, they often aren't reported.

[ 13. August 2014, 22:37: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
IngoB: But anyway, you seem to have the opinion that somehow there must be an end to all this condemning.
No, I applaud it every time when Muslims condemn extremism. I'm happy about that.

What I don't think that we have the right to demand this from ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with extremism. When they do condemn it, excellent, but I have no right to demand this from them. I have no right to condition communities of ordinary Muslims having a place in society upon them making these condemnations. And I have no right to set the standards of when these condemnations will be enough.

A few days ago, a white police officer shot innocent Michael Brown. I condemn that. But no-one demands of me that I condemn that, just because I'm white. No-one will exclude my community if I don't condemn this. No-one sets standards on whether I have condemned this enough. There's a word for that. It's called privilege.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Press releases by religious bureaucrats are all well and good but I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.

The radicals are trying to use these atrocities to drive a wedge between moderate Muslims and non-Muslim westeners and force the moderates into the arms of the radicals. A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.

Get out there and protest then. There are some, but only a few, Israelis in the demonstrations opposing the military actions against Gaza and the West Bank.
Bit difficult if Demas isn't a Muslim, isn't it?
You rather missed the logical corollary. Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them. But when talking about anti-Israel protests, doesn't seem to consider whether they have Israelis in them.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
As far as I'm aware, there's nothing happening here organised by Muslims; I shall be delighted to be disabused of my ignorance if incorrect.

Why would you be made aware? If you're not a Muslim, why would any Muslims notify you about the fact that they're organising a Muslim protest to satisfy the apparent need to have Muslim protesters?

[ 13. August 2014, 23:00: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
But fair enough, I have heard apologies, and from some apparently important Muslim leaders. That's one of the problems by the way: I simply do not know who has relevant status in the Muslim word, so that their condemnation actually will mean something. 100 Muslim scholars signed this or that declaration. What does that mean? Maybe it will through the education system eventually change the opinion of millions of people. Maybe it will be totally ignored on Muslim streets. I have no idea.

So how would you feel about the Pope being required to condemn every attack by an American religious nutter on an abortion clinic?

And who do you think Muslims, Buddhists and Hindus should identify as the CORRECT Christian leader to condemn an attack by an American religious nutter on an abortion clinic, or a mosque, or a temple?

[ 13. August 2014, 23:02: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
But there are protests against ISIS organised in the UK. I linked to a few below:

quote:
100 London Imams speaking out against ISIS

Oh and these photos too

It's not necessarily that things aren't happening, they often aren't reported.

The protests against the Gaza atrocities weren't covered in the media for a good week after I knew they were happening - because I'd seen them - and I'm sure there was stuff happening before I became aware of it.

xpost -that was in response to MattBlack

[ 13. August 2014, 23:01: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
CK, the second link - the 'photos' one - doesn't work.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Sorry - not sure where that one has gone - try this one

And this one of Muslims demonstrating outside Parliament

The problem is it's not hitting the media, but there's a lot on Twitter if you look

[ 13. August 2014, 23:05: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:

But fair enough, I have heard apologies, and from some apparently important Muslim leaders. That's one of the problems by the way: I simply do not know who has relevant status in the Muslim word, so that their condemnation actually will mean something. 100 Muslim scholars signed this or that declaration. What does that mean?

The article I linked to was from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

quote:
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (formerly Organization of the Islamic Conference) is the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world and ensuring to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.

Over the last 40 years, the membership has grown from its founding members of 25 to 57 states. The Organization has the singular honor to galvanize the Ummah into a unified body and have actively represented the Muslims by espousing all causes close to the hearts of over 1.5 billion Muslims of the world.

That's pretty impressive.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
IngoB: But anyway, you seem to have the opinion that somehow there must be an end to all this condemning.
No, I applaud it every time when Muslims condemn extremism. I'm happy about that.

What I don't think that we have the right to demand this from ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with extremism. When they do condemn it, excellent, but I have no right to demand this from them. I have no right to condition communities of ordinary Muslims having a place in society upon them making these condemnations. And I have no right to set the standards of when these condemnations will be enough.

A few days ago, a white police officer shot innocent Michael Brown. I condemn that. But no-one demands of me that I condemn that, just because I'm white. No-one will exclude my community if I don't condemn this. No-one sets standards on whether I have condemned this enough. There's a word for that. It's called privilege.

It's a veiled and creepy form of anti-Islam, isn't it? I mean, to keep asking Muslims to condemn terrorism, suggests that Islam = terrorism, so Muslims have to keep showing their Persil credentials.
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
IngoB: But anyway, you seem to have the opinion that somehow there must be an end to all this condemning.
No, I applaud it every time when Muslims condemn extremism. I'm happy about that.

What I don't think that we have the right to demand this from ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with extremism. When they do condemn it, excellent, but I have no right to demand this from them. I have no right to condition communities of ordinary Muslims having a place in society upon them making these condemnations. And I have no right to set the standards of when these condemnations will be enough.

A few days ago, a white police officer shot innocent Michael Brown. I condemn that. But no-one demands of me that I condemn that, just because I'm white. No-one will exclude my community if I don't condemn this. No-one sets standards on whether I have condemned this enough. There's a word for that. It's called privilege.

It's a veiled and creepy form of anti-Islam, isn't it? I mean, to keep asking Muslims to condemn terrorism, suggests that Islam = terrorism, so Muslims have to keep showing their Persil credentials.
ISIS have declared war on all other Muslim factions, AND against everyone else. And have done it in the name of a "true" form of Islam. They even threatened to destroy Mecca. I think people need to know where Muslims stand. This is war. They want to kill and destroy advanced civilisation.

Fuck them.

"If they put one of yours into hospital you put one of them in the morgue - THAT's how you get Capone".

Evacuate civis, put a ring around ISIS, extract hostages, drop nukes.

Time-on-target info shared between everyone BUT ISIS - invite all the people they threatened to the party.
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
Oh- and re Hamas/Israel, I believe HAMAS declared war - therefore they're committing war crimes against the Gazans by hiting their materiel in civi areas. HAMAS are SOLELY responsible.

Israel has had enough. Hamas want to destroy them completely - if they have to be flattened - tough.

Israel is sending aid in for Palestinian civis...

Hamas is provoking someone, then crying "he hit me!"
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I've got a better idea - the Western allies should invade another Arab or Muslim country! What could possibly go wrong?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
I think people need to know where Muslims stand.

WHICH ONES?

Honestly, the idea that a billion Muslims all 'stand' in the same place makes as much sense as thinking that a billion Christians all think the same thing, or a billion Chinese, or a billion anybody.

There is no central authority. And even if there WAS a central authority, the views of the central authority are not equal to the views of every single individual over which they have authority. The views of the American Government are not the views of every American (which should be damned obvious given the enormous political heat the American Government receives from a bunch of people in the Capitol, never mind the rest of the country). The views of the Pope are not, however much some would like this, the views of every Catholic.

There is no single Muslim view, just as there is no single Christian view. The very existence of the Ship is a demonstration of the latter.

And really, why the blazes should an invididual Muslim in the United Kingdom, Morocco or Indonesia be required to express an opinion on events in Syria and Iraq? Why does their opinion have any more relevance? Why make them answerable in any way for the actions of someone else that they have one thing in common with?

Plus there's the minor detail that a significant proportion of the people directly suffering at the hands of ISIS are Muslims.

I mean, when Ku Klux Klan members were killing folk, did anyone say "where do Christians stand?". Because some of them stood with their neck in the noose.

[ 14. August 2014, 10:09: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Helen-Eva (# 15025) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
ISIS have declared war on all other Muslim factions, AND against everyone else.

Where have these ISIS guys come from out of nowhere? I'd never heard of them before last month and now they've got half a country.
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I've got a better idea - the Western allies should invade another Arab or Muslim country! What could possibly go wrong?

Probably not. But the "let them convene then bomb the bastards" thought re ISIS did seem logical - as they were all convening in a small patch of desert...
 
Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Helen-Eva:
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
ISIS have declared war on all other Muslim factions, AND against everyone else.

Where have these ISIS guys come from out of nowhere? I'd never heard of them before last month and now they've got half a country.
They have been around for a few years - they used to be called Al Qaida in Iraq.


How often did the Pope condemn IRA attacks? I certainly don't recall it happening every time...
 
Posted by Helen-Eva (# 15025) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by JoannaP:
quote:
Originally posted by Helen-Eva:
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
ISIS have declared war on all other Muslim factions, AND against everyone else.

Where have these ISIS guys come from out of nowhere? I'd never heard of them before last month and now they've got half a country.
They have been around for a few years - they used to be called Al Qaida in Iraq.


How often did the Pope condemn IRA attacks? I certainly don't recall it happening every time...

Very fair point about the different expectations and the Pope not being asked to condemn things. There's also a news story today about some total nutcases in China who murder people they think are "demons" and yet subscribe to being sort of christians. Should we condemn them? Happy to if it would help but no-one expects it.

On the ISIS thing I don't know why the news don't make it clear that they used to be called Al Qaeda - that's a familiar name and we all know what it means. The new name (and specially "the Islamic State") makes them sound more legit.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
Press releases by religious bureaucrats are all well and good but I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.

The radicals are trying to use these atrocities to drive a wedge between moderate Muslims and non-Muslim westeners and force the moderates into the arms of the radicals. A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.

Get out there and protest then. There are some, but only a few, Israelis in the demonstrations opposing the military actions against Gaza and the West Bank.
Bit difficult if Demas isn't a Muslim, isn't it?
You rather missed the logical corollary. Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them. But when talking about anti-Israel protests, doesn't seem to consider whether they have Israelis in them.
Er...no I didn't miss anything: Demas was encouraged to get out and protest as if in some way that would mean that there would consequently be Muslims protesting against IS.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
As far as I'm aware, there's nothing happening here organised by Muslims; I shall be delighted to be disabused of my ignorance if incorrect.

Why would you be made aware? If you're not a Muslim, why would any Muslims notify you about the fact that they're organising a Muslim protest to satisfy the apparent need to have Muslim protesters?
I haven't been notified of any trades union marches, Stop the War demos, anti-Israel or anti-student loans protests but I've been aware of them. I'm note sure therefore how you equate "not being notified" with "not being aware".
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Because according to Wikipedia it's not as simple as ISIS was originally Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is one of several groups that have come together to form ISIS - so saying it's Al Qaeda would be inaccurate.

And Matt Black - that's all to do with reporting. There are demonstrations by Muslims in the UK against ISIS, but they are not being reported. I found out by searching Twitter

[ 14. August 2014, 11:12: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Er...no I didn't miss anything: Demas was encouraged to get out and protest as if in some way that would mean that there would consequently be Muslims protesting against IS.

Where the fuck did I state or imply that? Not for the first time, you have wilfully and deliberately misunderstood my post. You're an intelligent guy, so Read For Comprehension, rather than a desperate attempt to take a cheap and spurious advantage.
 
Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
I think people need to know where Muslims stand.

WHICH ONES?

Honestly, the idea that a billion Muslims all 'stand' in the same place makes as much sense as thinking that a billion Christians all think the same thing, or a billion Chinese, or a billion anybody.

There is no central authority. And even if there WAS a central authority, the views of the central authority are not equal to the views of every single individual over which they have authority. The views of the American Government are not the views of every American (which should be damned obvious given the enormous political heat the American Government receives from a bunch of people in the Capitol, never mind the rest of the country). The views of the Pope are not, however much some would like this, the views of every Catholic.

There is no single Muslim view, just as there is no single Christian view. The very existence of the Ship is a demonstration of the latter.

And really, why the blazes should an invididual Muslim in the United Kingdom, Morocco or Indonesia be required to express an opinion on events in Syria and Iraq? Why does their opinion have any more relevance? Why make them answerable in any way for the actions of someone else that they have one thing in common with?

Plus there's the minor detail that a significant proportion of the people directly suffering at the hands of ISIS are Muslims.

I mean, when Ku Klux Klan members were killing folk, did anyone say "where do Christians stand?". Because some of them stood with their neck in the noose.

The biggest error made by major govts was to STOP ISIS adherents of sympathisers from going out and joining them. If they'd been helped.. they're isolated. Then it would have been easy to cut them out of the discussion. As in "chemotherapy applied by Trident".

Yes - it's a rather politically incorrect way of dealing - but militarily it would have been *perfect*. ISIS are Tumblr Islamists.. more "pure" than AQT...
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
Oh- and re Hamas/Israel, I believe HAMAS declared war - therefore they're committing war crimes against the Gazans by hiting their materiel in civi areas. HAMAS are SOLELY responsible.

Israel has had enough. Hamas want to destroy them completely - if they have to be flattened - tough.

Israel is sending aid in for Palestinian civis...

Hamas is provoking someone, then crying "he hit me!"

This may be a surprise to you Alex, but it is Likud party policy to reclaim the West Bank and Gaza strip, ie all of the Palestinian territories, for Israel. Benjamin Netenyahu is the Likud leader as well as PM (and in Likud terms he's a moderate).

If you're going to condemn Hamas for inflexibility and a destructive policy towards its neighbour, you have to consider that of the current Israeli government too.

Whatever your pastor tells you.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Sioni, this is where you said it:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Get out there and protest then.

I'm not sure I am 'wilfully misunderstanding' what you said: you said what you said. I am (not wilfully) however misunderstanding what you are trying to now say about it. Please clarify what you meant by your original statement. [Confused]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Or maybe I'm just having a particularly thick couple of days but I am genuinely confused now.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Sioni, this is where you said it:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Get out there and protest then.

I'm not sure I am 'wilfully misunderstanding' what you said: you said what you said. I am (not wilfully) however misunderstanding what you are trying to now say about it. Please clarify what you meant by your original statement. [Confused]
Yeah, because "get out there and protest then" really equates with "get out there and protest because [insert spurious reasoning by Matt Black here]".

I explained it to you, and you just went ahead and ignored my explanation. So now you want another explanation?

[ 14. August 2014, 12:24: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I've got a better idea - the Western allies should invade another Arab or Muslim country! What could possibly go wrong?

Probably not. But the "let them convene then bomb the bastards" thought re ISIS did seem logical - as they were all convening in a small patch of desert...
I'm not sure if it's logical, but it's certainly fucking stupid. The Middle East really needs the Western powers to be dropping bombs all over the place; I think maybe they are a bit tired of that. Any Western intervention is loaded with dangers now, and might even suit IS, which can use it as propaganda.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Sioni, this is where you said it:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Get out there and protest then.

I'm not sure I am 'wilfully misunderstanding' what you said: you said what you said. I am (not wilfully) however misunderstanding what you are trying to now say about it. Please clarify what you meant by your original statement. [Confused]
Yeah, because "get out there and protest then" really equates with "get out there and protest because [insert spurious reasoning by Matt Black here]".

I explained it to you, and you just went ahead and ignored my explanation. So now you want another explanation?

OK, let's break this down:

Demas said:

quote:
A few large angry mobs of Muslims shouting anti-ISIS slogans and protesting Christian and Yazidi persecution would help Muslim/non-Muslim integration in the West immeasurably.
To which Sioni replied:
quote:
Get out there and protest then.
I then made the point:
quote:
Bit difficult if Demas isn't a Muslim, isn't it?
Chast got the point by jokingly suggesting that Demas should convert. Please tell me which bit of this therefore I am 'wilfully misunderstanding' and how your 'explanation' makes sense in the light of the above.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Or maybe I'm just having a particularly thick couple of days but I am genuinely confused now.

Did I say 'couple of days'? If you're confused, read orfeo's post, he's put it in clearer language still.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them.

Demas has neither demanded, requested or even expressed an opinion on the desirability of "anti-Muslim protests". For the record I would strongly condemn any such protest.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them.

Demas has neither demanded, requested or even expressed an opinion on the desirability of "anti-Muslim protests". For the record I would strongly condemn any such protest.
Oh fine. The anti-ISIS protests. The protests against a particular group of Muslims.

See, I can be just as casual and sloppy with language as any of you. I still understood, though, the basic flaw in obliging Muslims-that-are-not-members-of-a-particular-group-of-Muslims to be involved in the protests against a particular group of Muslims, while not similarly requiring Jews-that-are-not-members-of-the-Israeli-government to make an appearance at protests against that particular Jewish group, the Israeli government.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
Or maybe I'm just having a particularly thick couple of days but I am genuinely confused now.

Did I say 'couple of days'? If you're confused, read orfeo's post, he's put it in clearer language still.
I said 'couple of days', referring to yesterday and today. And Orfeo's explanation makes no sense in the light of the post trail in my last post.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And Orfeo's explanation makes no sense in the light of the post trail in my last post.

Ah, but see, I did this crazy little thing called 'reading the entire post' instead of selectively picking out one sentence from a two-sentence post. Like you've done, oh... about 3 times now?

(EDIT: And that's for Sioni's post. You've also edited out a big chunk of the post of Demas' that he was replying to.

Basically, the 'post trail' you've set out has almost nothing to do with Sioni's actual thought process, because you've edited out the relevant parts of each post! Demas' complaint about the size of anti-ISIS protests removed. Two mentions of Israel made to vanish in a flash of your keyboard. )

Where did you develop this rule that a full stop means it's time for your brain to shut down?

[ 14. August 2014, 14:59: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Sorry, still don't get it: Demas was calling for Muslims to make anti-IS protests; yes or no?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Oh bloody hell, let me fix your post trail for you, by quoting the FIRST paragraph of Demas' post, not the second.

Demas ALSO said:

quote:
I really wish, for everyone's sake, that there were anti-ISIS demonstrations happening everywhere that were at least equal in size and intensity to the recent anti-Israel demonstrations.
And Sioni said:

quote:
Get out there and protest then.
Makes perfect bloody sense. Sioni's first sentence was a response to Demas' first paragraph, and Sioni's second sentence was a response to Demas' second paragraph. You then went and decided to pick Demas' second paragraph and combine it with Sioni's first sentence, for reasons only you can fathom.

[ 14. August 2014, 15:05: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
OK <penny drops> I get it now. Apologies to Sioni (and to you). I obviously am having a particular dense few days here [Hot and Hormonal] [Help]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
We got there in the end, is the main thing.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Took a whole bloody page nearly though! I blame too many late nights and being distracted by this ghastly thing called 'work'.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Oh my am I relieved. Thanks Matt, and to orfeo for his patience in unravelling the bloody thing.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them.

Demas has neither demanded, requested or even expressed an opinion on the desirability of "anti-Muslim protests". For the record I would strongly condemn any such protest.
Oh fine. The anti-ISIS protests. The protests against a particular group of Muslims.

See, I can be just as casual and sloppy with language as any of you. I still understood, though, the basic flaw in obliging Muslims-that-are-not-members-of-a-particular-group-of-Muslims to be involved in the protests against a particular group of Muslims, while not similarly requiring Jews-that-are-not-members-of-the-Israeli-government to make an appearance at protests against that particular Jewish group, the Israeli government.

I think talking about 'Islam' and 'Muslims' is just inviting inexactitude, which is risky in relation to this region. I was just reading about the Kurdish PKK, which is currently supposed to be helping the Yazidi escape from IS - but the PKK is officially classed as a terrorist group! So maybe we should be bombing them as well.

It is beyond satire that the very states which dismantled the infrastructure of Iraq, which in part led to the exile of many Christians, are now being asked to intervene in the humanitarian crisis. It's like asking the burglar to fix the alarm.
 
Posted by Demas (# 24) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Demas demands that the anti-Muslim protests have Muslims in them.

Demas has neither demanded, requested or even expressed an opinion on the desirability of "anti-Muslim protests". For the record I would strongly condemn any such protest.
Oh fine. The anti-ISIS protests. The protests against a particular group of Muslims.

See, I can be just as casual and sloppy with language as any of you. I still understood, though, the basic flaw in obliging Muslims-that-are-not-members-of-a-particular-group-of-Muslims to be involved in the protests against a particular group of Muslims, while not similarly requiring Jews-that-are-not-members-of-the-Israeli-government to make an appearance at protests against that particular Jewish group, the Israeli government.

See, I think my use of language has been just fine. I think you are reading sloppy because then you can pigeonhole me and feel righteous.

I haven't demanded anything, nor am I obliging anyone to do anything. I am worried though that the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in the West is a car headed for a brick wall. This is the sole fault of neither. But I am not going to resile from my view that a sufficiently large and angry anti-ISIS demo which is Muslim driven would help community relations and strengthen the moderates in their struggle against the extremists.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:


I haven't demanded anything, nor am I obliging anyone to do anything. I am worried though that the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in the West is a car headed for a brick wall. This is the sole fault of neither. But I am not going to resile from my view that a sufficiently large and angry anti-ISIS demo which is Muslim driven would help community relations and strengthen the moderates in their struggle against the extremists.

There have been anti-ISIS demonstrations and protests organised by Muslims. I suppose there haven't been enough of them and they haven't been big enough though [Snore]

[ 14. August 2014, 18:30: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
To quote myself...

quote:
At some point, you simply have to break the cycle by deciding that there will be no more interventions, no matter how bad the atrocities are. Because if recent history has shown us anything, it is that these interventions don't do anything to stop further atrocities from occuring.


Realpolitik guru Stephen Walt argues the same thing:

"It's time to walk away and not look back."

(That website comes up kinda disjointed on my computer screen, but doesn't seem to do any harm.)

[ 14. August 2014, 20:14: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
Contrary to the selfish, cowardly and cynical bullshit that Stetson has been coming out with on this thread, I for one am extremely pleased that the USA has intervened recently in Iraq to halt the advance of the psychopaths of IS, and to bring aid to the besieged Yazidis.

Simpletons like Stetson would just let these people die. That makes him / her as bad as IS, in my view.

The USA et al may have created the mess in the first place. Therefore the most irresponsible action would be to walk away. Rather, they should take responsibility and intervene appropriately to do something to clean up the mess they made.

The solution is not non-intervention but appropriate and justified intervention. I don't expect someone like Stetson to understand this (bloody obvious) distinction though.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
EE wrote:

quote:
The solution is not non-intervention but appropriate and justified intervention.
What I am arguing is that, at this point, there is no "appropriate and justified intervention", ie. nothing that actually will reduce the body count long term. (I am basing this on the recent history of western action in the region.)

So, I'm not saying "Who cares if more people die, I want a US pullout anyway." I'm saying "A US presence isn't going to do anything to prevent more people from dying, and may very well make things worse, therefore I want a US pullout."

There is reasonable debate to be had about whether continued US action can, in fact, do anything to make things better, and I'm certainly open to that discussion. But it is a mischaracterization to call my motivations selfish.

[ 14. August 2014, 20:50: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Oh, and one more thing...

quote:
Simpletons like Stetson would just let these people die.
Do you advocate western intervention in every country where it might prevent a particular group of people from getting killed? Because that would be a lot of intervention.
 
Posted by Figbash (# 9048) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:

quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:

I think people need to know where Muslims stand.


WHICH ONES?

Honestly, the idea that a billion Muslims all 'stand' in the same place makes as much sense as thinking that a billion Christians all think the same thing, or a billion Chinese, or a billion anybody.


Also, why should Muslims have to 'stand' anywhere? For example, are Christians en masse required to show where they 'stand' whenever (say) the Lord's Resistance Army goes round committing a spot more beastliness (it says) in the name of the Christian God? Do we have to demonstrate where we 'stand' whenever Fred Phelps' followers do their thing, or various former Archbishops tell us that teh gay makes baby Jesus cry?

Shouldn't it just be bloody obvious that peaceful, law-abiding, middle-of-the-road Muslims don't support crazed genocidal theocrats without some latter-day Senator McCarthy demanding that they prove their allegiance? On the grounds that they wouldn't be peaceful, law-abiding, etc, etc, etc if they were?

quote:
Originally posted by Alex Cockell:

The biggest error made by major govts was to STOP ISIS adherents of sympathisers from going out and joining them. If they'd been helped.. they're isolated. Then it would have been easy to cut them out of the discussion. As in "chemotherapy applied by Trident".

Yes - it's a rather politically incorrect way of dealing - but militarily it would have been *perfect*. ISIS are Tumblr Islamists.. more "pure" than AQT...

'Militarily it would have been *perfect*', eh? Let's unpack that a bit. How are you proposing to:

 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Oh, and one more thing...

quote:
Simpletons like Stetson would just let these people die.
Do you advocate western intervention in every country where it might prevent a particular group of people from getting killed? Because that would be a lot of intervention.
I was thinking about the 4 million who died in the recent wars in Congo. Should we have intervened there? If not, why not?

As you say, we could make a long list of wars and conflicts with large numbers of dead - which ones should be the target of Western intervention? The ones with oil deposits, I suppose.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Of course, the staggering irony is that it's because the Western powers went into Iraq and smashed up the infrastructure, that the Christians have gone into exile, the Sunni tribes have turned against the govt (after some of them actually fought against Al Quaeda), and IS have been able to move from Syria.

How many US presidents have intervened in Iraq - is it four? Fucking hell.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Demas:
See, I think my use of language has been just fine. I think you are reading sloppy because then you can pigeonhole me and feel righteous.

If that were the case, I would hardly be the first person around here to do a bit of pigeonholing.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I wonder if the ISIS people also have wives and children who would be killed if they were in a blast zone?

[Votive] God, have mercy.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Figbash:
'Militarily it would have been *perfect*', eh? Let's unpack that a bit. How are you proposing to:

By engaging in some adolescent G.I. Joe revenge fantasy, that's how! Hooo-eeee, just so easy to tell the good guys in their white hats from the baddies in their black turbans. Evacuate the civvies, bomb the IS back to the stone age (convenient that the IS doesn't check their mail and missed the evacuation notice everybody else seems to have gotten), forget that the empty desert isn't actually that empty, and rest content in the knowledge that we've done a good job of exterminating pests, using the metaphorical can of Raid.

Solving terrorist threats: even easier than killing roaches. Thank you, Alex, for making this oh-so-very-clear to us all.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Also, it suggests Alex hasn't been looking at maps recently, where it shows that IS now have influence from eastern Syria, into northern Iraq, up to the Kurdish held territory. Good luck with bombing all that, it will make Shock and Awe look like a vicar's knees-up.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Spoilsports. You're so goddamn practical. You're ruining the purity of the ideology.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
The problem with trying to intercede with ISIS/IS (or whichever bunch of murderous thugs citing the Prophet as their inspiration one is endeavouring to reason with) is twofold.

First, you're dealing with a region where virtually everyone has access to firearms and where backing down from a fight is automatically seen as weakness.

Second, there is no single organisation within islam that can act as an honest broker that would be respected by everyone else. Evensong puts the case for the OIC (Organisation for Islamic Cooperation) but a glance at the membership is enough to tell you that you'd be on a hiding to nothing there.

While you have a situation where most of the larger branches see other 'brands' as heretical, where being brought up in another strand is seen as deliberate apostasy (ditto being born into a non-muslim family), and where heresy and apostasy are punishable by death you cannot reason.

We in the west regards nuanced views and the ability to be pragmatic in the pursuit of a greater goal as strengths: the islamic world sees these traits as either weak, or wicked, or both. It really is a case of a world made up of shades of grey trying (and failing) to understand a world of black and white.
 
Posted by EtymologicalEvangelical (# 15091) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson
So, I'm not saying "Who cares if more people die, I want a US pullout anyway." I'm saying "A US presence isn't going to do anything to prevent more people from dying, and may very well make things worse, therefore I want a US pullout."

But the recent US intervention in northern Iraq has undoubtedly prevented the deaths of innocent people, and it doesn't follow that non-intervention in the region will curb extremism. After all, the West has been recklessly kind to Saudi Arabia and has not intervened in their country (except on their side in the first Gulf War), but that has seemingly done nothing to curb extremism in (and especially through) that country. The idea that military intervention inevitably provokes terrorism is a poor argument. For example, have we had over sixty years of Japanese terrorism since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? You know the answer to that question. (BTW, that is just an example. I am not advocating the use of WMD in Iraq, in case you try to draw any such inference from this argument).

quote:
There is reasonable debate to be had about whether continued US action can, in fact, do anything to make things better, and I'm certainly open to that discussion. But it is a mischaracterization to call my motivations selfish.
I heavily criticised you for your contribution on this thread. It was not just about the immediate comment to which I was responding. Your insinuation that Christians are being hypocritical because they seek to support the least worst option for their protection in the Middle East, is totally out of order. You may live in a fantasy world of perfectionism and idealism, but in the real world we usually have to choose between levels of evil. The regime in Syria is clearly the lesser evil as far as the well-being of Christians in that country is concerned. The same goes for the regime of Saddam Hussein. It is indeed deeply 'selfish' to put one's own idealistic notions (from a distant position of comfort) above the appalling and tragic reality and dilemmas that others have to face. So I do not apologise for my language.

quote:
Do you advocate western intervention in every country where it might prevent a particular group of people from getting killed? Because that would be a lot of intervention.
I will answer that by asking you a question: Do you think it is right to say that we cannot attempt to save anyone unless we can find a way to save everyone?

And if you feel tempted to bring up the question of motive (such as oil), then here is another question: Would you rather your life was saved by someone with impure motives, than be abandoned by idealists who neglect involvement in the difficult problems of the real world for fear of besmirching their self-obsessed sense of personal integrity?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
EE wrote:

quote:
I will answer that by asking you a question: Do you think it is right to say that we cannot attempt to save anyone unless we can find a way to save everyone?

I am opposed to saving anyone(assuming that saving people means sending western soldiers and weapons into other countries), as a matter of principle. So your question does not apply to me. Maybe we can save everyone, maybe we can't. I oppose interventions either way.

But, since you DO favour interventions, I think there is an onus on you to explain where you would draw the line in terms of supporting certain interventions, but not others.

quote:
The idea that military intervention inevitably provokes terrorism is a poor argument. For example, have we had over sixty years of Japanese terrorism since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? You know the answer to that question.
That's obviously a case of an intervention going exceptionally smoothly, for a number of reasons possibly related to politics and culture. I'm not sure if you can extrapolate from that to the Middle East.

quote:
After all, the West has been recklessly kind to Saudi Arabia and has not intervened in their country (except on their side in the first Gulf War), but that has seemingly done nothing to curb extremism in (and especially through) that country.
Yeah, but I'd be willing to bet that if the west started attacking Saudi Arabia with the aim of overthrowing the Saudi royals and/or liberating women and Shiites, the long-term results would be an Arabian peninsula that's even worse than the one we have now.

quote:
And if you feel tempted to bring up the question of motive (such as oil)
I don't think impure motivation, in and of itself, makes a difference. If my son was kidnapped, I wouldn't really care if the cop leading the investigation was just doing it to impress his girlfriend or get a promotion.

On the other hand, if my son had been kidnapped by a black guy, and the KKK came to me and offered to send a heavily-armed vigilante squad into the black neighbourhood to find him, well, that would be a different story.

As the father, I might say "Sure, whatever, just get my son back". But I think a disinterested third-party might regard that strategy as inadvisable(even if it were the only way of rescuing my son), given the long term repercussions of sending homicidal white supremacists into a black neighbourhood.

And, just to be clear, I'm not saying that western troops in the mideast would be the equivalent of the KKK. Just that the overall situations would be the same, ie. short-term benefit leading to longer-term harm.
 
Posted by Figbash (# 9048) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
EE wrote:

quote:
I will answer that by asking you a question: Do you think it is right to say that we cannot attempt to save anyone unless we can find a way to save everyone?

I am opposed to saving anyone(assuming that saving people means sending western soldiers and weapons into other countries), as a matter of principle. So your question does not apply to me. Maybe we can save everyone, maybe we can't. I oppose interventions either way.


In view of your opinion, would you care to comment on the parable of the Good Samaritan? My, doubtless naive, reading of it would suggest that Christ's point was that a policy of strict non-intervention was a non-starter, but I am sure you have some very good reason for disagreeing with him.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Second, there is no single organisation within islam that can act as an honest broker that would be respected by everyone else. Evensong puts the case for the OIC (Organisation for Islamic Cooperation) but a glance at the membership is enough to tell you that you'd be on a hiding to nothing there.

And, just on information, if I wanted the Supreme High Leader of all the world's Buddhists who would be respected and acknowledged by every Buddhist, from every country, school, or culture, who would I call? Same thing for every Jew. Or every Christian.

quote:
While you have a situation where most of the larger branches see other 'brands' as heretical, where being brought up in another strand is seen as deliberate apostasy (ditto being born into a non-muslim family), and where heresy and apostasy are punishable by death you cannot reason.
So that's different than Christianity until fairly recently how? Heck, that's different than Christianity in much of the world today how?

As to your notion that reason and religious conflict are incompatible, remind me again, wasn't the rise of modern philosophy under Descartes something that happened during the Thirty Years' War? The beginnings of the Italian Renaissance during the Babylonian Captivity and Western Schism? The philosophy of Dante, John Duns Scotus, Marsilius of Padua, and William of Ockham—who gave us developments in political thought like the social contract and the separation of church and state, as well as advances in logic that wouldn't be seen again for almost 600 years—in the religious unrest of Unam Sanctam and Avignon? Evensong's beloved postmodernism a reaction to the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust? If anything, senseless sectarian and religious violence might be an incentive to reason, if only because people have more cause to try to find a way out of it.

quote:
We in the west regards nuanced views and the ability to be pragmatic in the pursuit of a greater goal as strengths: the islamic world sees these traits as either weak, or wicked, or both. It really is a case of a world made up of shades of grey trying (and failing) to understand a world of black and white.

So what you're saying is that we westerners always make pragmatic compromises and never try to demonize our enemies. How very Belgian of you. I'm sure that, being a good Westerner, you don't have to deal with political parties that demonize people they see as different. As a member of the quintessentially modern, Western nation, with its quintessentially modern, Western government (hey, that's Tocqueville for you), I'm glad to see those involved in my nation's government engaged in pragmatic decision making, compromise, defusing tensions, and engaging in reasoned debate.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Figbash wrote:

quote:
In view of your opinion, would you care to comment on the parable of the Good Samaritan? My, doubtless naive, reading of it would suggest that Christ's point was that a policy of strict non-intervention was a non-starter, but I am sure you have some very good reason for disagreeing with him.
I'm not sure if helping an immobilized guy lying on the roadside, his assailants long gone, is really comparable to the circumstances surrounding the kind of cross-global, heaviily-weaponized interventions into multi-polarized regions that we're talking about. Again, see my caveat...

quote:
(assuming that saving people means sending western soldiers and weapons into other countries)
I could probably construct parables where the scenario is more comparable to the current Iraqi situation than the Good Samaritan is. But I'm sure you could imagine those on your own.

Suffice to say, I have no problem whatsoever with countries granting refugee status to people fleeing conflict zones.
 
Posted by Figbash (# 9048) on :
 
Sheesh. Do you really think the parables were meant to be taken that literally? So it's okay to be dozy and unprepared so long as you're not one of twelve foolish virgins?

Have another go at answering the question. Prevarication suggests you can't.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Figbash:
Sheesh. Do you really think the parables were meant to be taken that literally? So it's okay to be dozy and unprepared so long as you're not one of twelve foolish virgins?

Have another go at answering the question. Prevarication suggests you can't.

Okay. I think we should help people(as in The Good Samaritan story), but not in cases where the help offered is likely to make things worse in the long term.

It's that bit about "making things worse" that renders The Good Samaritan an unsuitable comparison, in my view.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I must have missed the part of the Parable where the Samaritan bombed the whole area to get rid of the thieves who robbed the traveller.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I must have missed the part of the Parable where the Samaritan bombed the whole area to get rid of the thieves who robbed the traveller.

Yes, exactly. Contra figbash, the issue is not the literalness of TGS parable. The issue is the details of the parable, even as metaphor, are so far removed from the circumstances in Iraq, and the solutions being proposed to remedy them, as to be completely inapplicable.

[ 15. August 2014, 18:20: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Only help people when it's at no possible cost to yourself. Got it.

Which neatly obscures (1) the Samaritan was on a dangerous road, too, and (2) plenty of people would have reacted against the mere existence of an interaction between a Samaritan and a 'clean' person, regardless of the reason.

But let's not think about the context of the story, lest it start sounding like the real world.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Only help people when it's at no possible cost to yourself. Got it.

Which neatly obscures (1) the Samaritan was on a dangerous road, too, and (2) plenty of people would have reacted against the mere existence of an interaction between a Samaritan and a 'clean' person, regardless of the reason.


Well, it's not just the salf-harm that could come to the Samaritan. If you read my posts, you'll see that my main point is that the OVERALL situation(not simply the interests of the USA and allies) will likely get worse as a result of intervention.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Only help people when it's at no possible cost to yourself. Got it.

Which neatly obscures (1) the Samaritan was on a dangerous road, too, and (2) plenty of people would have reacted against the mere existence of an interaction between a Samaritan and a 'clean' person, regardless of the reason.


Well, it's not just the salf-harm that could come to the Samaritan. If you read my posts, you'll see that my main point is that the OVERALL situation(not simply the interests of the USA and allies) will likely get worse as a result of intervention.
That is for the injured traveller, the Samaritan (whether good or otherwise), the innkeeper and all his guests.

Meanwhile those who beat up the traveller have, shall we say, gone away. I don't remember Our Lord and Saviour chasing them with a forked stick. Maybe that passage was deleted from the accepted canon.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
The problem with Iraq is that doing nothing is standing by and watching genocide. The question the West is now asking is what can be done that isn't going to make things worse and prevents genocide.

In the long term, how do we, the West, put right the original mess we made in the Middle East by arbitrarily dividing the area into countries (the Sykes Picot lines) and toppling Saddam in the Gulf Wars leaving a vacuum being filled by what we have now.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Only help people when it's at no possible cost to yourself. Got it.

Which neatly obscures (1) the Samaritan was on a dangerous road, too, and (2) plenty of people would have reacted against the mere existence of an interaction between a Samaritan and a 'clean' person, regardless of the reason.


Well, it's not just the salf-harm that could come to the Samaritan. If you read my posts, you'll see that my main point is that the OVERALL situation(not simply the interests of the USA and allies) will likely get worse as a result of intervention.
That is for the injured traveller, the Samaritan (whether good or otherwise), the innkeeper and all his guests.

Meanwhile those who beat up the traveller have, shall we say, gone away. I don't remember Our Lord and Saviour chasing them with a forked stick. Maybe that passage was deleted from the accepted canon.

Sinoi:

I'm afraid I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, and I don't understand what you're saying here. As in, I don't even know if you're argeeing or disagreeing with me.

Would you be able to re-phrase that for my linkheaded comprehension?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
CKTC wrote:

quote:
In the long term, how do we, the West, put right the original mess we made in the Middle East by arbitrarily dividing the area into countries (the Sykes Picot lines) and toppling Saddam in the Gulf Wars leaving a vacuum being filled by what we have now.

But toppling Saddam was, itself, supposed to be the thing that rectified the "original mess" of previous western interventions.

So much of the liberal interventionist arguments seem to assume that the western-powers are just good-hearted-but-slightly-bumbling boy scouts, who are on the verge of setting things right, if only they can just have that one last chance.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
That is for the injured traveller, the Samaritan (whether good or otherwise), the innkeeper and all his guests.

Meanwhile those who beat up the traveller have, shall we say, gone away. I don't remember Our Lord and Saviour chasing them with a forked stick. Maybe that passage was deleted from the accepted canon.

Sinoi:

I'm afraid I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, and I don't understand what you're saying here. As in, I don't even know if you're argeeing or disagreeing with me.

Would you be able to re-phrase that for my linkheaded comprehension?

I was agreeing with you, in a muddled way for which I apologise. I was trying to say that all those whom we would wish to benefit would be harmed had intervention akin to that which the US is carrying out in Iraq been done, and contrasted that with what Christ could have done: He told the story of what the Good Samaritan did, He did not punish those who attacked the traveller.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Sinoi:

Thanks. That was one of the interpretations I was playing with. And no need for apologies, I just wasn't in the right mindframe for a more subtle literary style.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Stetson - I don't know what the answer is, and if thought:
  1. the West knew what it was doing and
  2. the West could do anything to right the wrongs it has already perpetrated in the Middle East
I would have a lot more confidence in any action.

Can the West stand back and watch genocide, again?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Stetson - I don't know what the answer is, and if thought:
  1. the West knew what it was doing and
  2. the West could do anything to right the wrongs it has already perpetrated in the Middle East
I would have a lot more confidence in any action.

Can the West stand back and watch genocide, again?

Yeah, I dunno. Part of the selling point this time around seems to be that we'll be siding directly with the Kurds, who all the armchair Woodrow Wilsons agree are the one group of unsullied Good Guys in the region. Supposedly, they can be trusted not to use whatever weapons and strategic advantages we give them to go on revenge sprees or launch attacks against anyone thwarting the cause of Kurd independence, in the aftermath.

Which may be true, but it seems to me that at least one of the major Kurd militias(PKK, I think) has been placed on the list of recognized terrorist groups by the EU, possibly the US as well. Do you know for certain that these guys(or those like them) are totally out of the picture?

There's also the question of whether or not the morality of the western powers really HAS changed since the days of Sykes-Picot. Are we certain that the US, EU etc really have the best interests of the region at heart here? Can they be truted to refrain from actions that, while possibly in their own self-interest, would nonetheless lead to more chaos and bloodshed for the local populations?

[ 16. August 2014, 19:20: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

Are we certain that the US, EU etc really have the best interests of the region at heart here? Can they be trusted to refrain from actions that, while possibly in their own self-interest, would nonetheless lead to more chaos and bloodshed for the local populations?

It's hard to foresee a day when Iraq will be free from bloodshed and chaos. What with neighbouring Syria also in turmoil I just can't imagine how local populations even manage.

Still, how many times in history have people in various dire situations thought that night will never be followed by day ? When I was young the news seemed always blighted by the Vietnam war . My son recently spent a month there and found it now to be a most peaceable place.

Hell isn't the place for prayers so I'll content myself with this evening's news reports that US jets are currently giving ISIS something to think about . A far from comfortable state of affairs though.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I'm scared to think that the only thing which might fix something like this would be to simply have some stronger power invade, take over, and make the whole place a state/province of itself.

(No idea what would have happened if the US had done that and started Iraq on the path to being the 51st US state (or 52nd--it's not fair to keep leaving Puerto Rico out in the cold like this), with voting rights and congresspeople and all of the rights under the Constitution and so on. Maybe it would have been a worse disaster.)

We need a nice big island to put people on and then say, "OK, who wants to get the hell out of here and raise your kids somewhere safe? We're beginning airlifts and will just leave Iraq to the crazies, and you guys can finally be free from fear and terror."

I know, I know, these are fantasies, but I don't know what else could be done. And since the US has been responsible for weakening what was once one of the few secular states in the region, I feel like it should take responsibility for what it's done somehow...
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
It's not always possible to 'do something'. There are times when it's possible to intervene and times when it isn't. It's rather difficult to stop someone falling off a cliff when they are halfway through the actual falling part.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
It's not always possible to 'do something'. There are times when it's possible to intervene and times when it isn't. It's rather difficult to stop someone falling off a cliff when they are halfway through the actual falling part.

I guess I feel like... no, I truly believe, the US helped push them. We got rid of their dictator and now they're much more in danger of getting something far worse than he was, and it's to a great degree the US' fault.

I mean, has Iraq said, "No thanks, go away, you've done more than enough, stop 'helping' and leave us alone to sort this out ourselves"?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Rolyn wrote:

quote:
Still, how many times in history have people in various dire situations thought that night will never be followed by day ? When I was young the news seemed always blighted by the Vietnam war . My son recently spent a month there and found it now to be a most peaceable place.


Yes, but tellingly, Vietnam's recovery began with the disengagement of outside powers, specifically the USA.

From what I've plausibly been told, there were indeed some pretty serious human-rights violations carried out by the Communists after the South fell to their control. But would things be any better today if the US had said "Well, we gotta help the South Vietnamese stay out of those godawful re-education camps, so we'd better keep up the bombings"?

I don't think so. At the end of the day, they just had to cut their losses, get the hell out, and do what they could to help the refugees who managed to escape.

Now, sticking to that general conflict, my sparring partners may wish to cite the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia as an intervention that did indeed make things better, since pretty much anything would be an improvement over Pol Pot. However, it is arguable that Vietnman undertook that mission in self-defense, having previously been visited with several Cambodian incursions that, adjusting for population, took more lives than the USA lost on 9/11. So it wasn't just a case of invading in the hope of making things better, by the standard justifications for military action, Vietnam had a pretty rock-solid case.

[ 17. August 2014, 03:50: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
It occurred to me this morning that the 25th anniversary of Gulf war I , when Iraq took Kuwait, is nearly on us .
I get the feeling that the West is less sure of itself now than it was in 1990 . Many people had a gut feeling in 03 that the invasion of Iraq just didn't smell right.

But all said and done ISTM we'll bomb or negotiate our way past tin-pot dictators, be-heading nut groups, you name it, just to get at the black goo. And as long as it's buried there we ain't never gonna leave that seemingly god-forsaken place alone.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Here, the discussion has whether to arm the Kurds through the peshmerga because ISIS have modern up-to-date arms and the Kurds are using old Kalashnikov rifles and that would even up their chances. However, arms don't stay where they are put, so that decision seems somewhat fraught with difficulties.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
The Kurds already have a territory, and they have a good economy. If they also have a well-equipped army, then for all practical purposes they have a state. If ISIS does get defeated, I can't imagine any other outcome than the Kurds proclaiming their own state. Personally I think they're entitled to that, but I also think it will generate all sorts of other problems.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
The Kurds already have a territory, and they have a good economy. If they also have a well-equipped army, then for all practical purposes they have a state. If ISIS does get defeated, I can't imagine any other outcome than the Kurds proclaiming their own state. Personally I think they're entitled to that, but I also think it will generate all sorts of other problems.

You bet it will. While most of 'Kurdistan' would be (current) Iraqi territory, parts of it are in Syria, Iran and Turkey, the last of which is a NATO member. It would moreover be surrounded by these countries.
 
Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Rolyn wrote:

quote:
Still, how many times in history have people in various dire situations thought that night will never be followed by day ? When I was young the news seemed always blighted by the Vietnam war . My son recently spent a month there and found it now to be a most peaceable place.


Yes, but tellingly, Vietnam's recovery began with the disengagement of outside powers, specifically the USA.

From what I've plausibly been told, there were indeed some pretty serious human-rights violations carried out by the Communists after the South fell to their control. But would things be any better today if the US had said "Well, we gotta help the South Vietnamese stay out of those godawful re-education camps, so we'd better keep up the bombings"?

I don't think so. At the end of the day, they just had to cut their losses, get the hell out, and do what they could to help the refugees who managed to escape.


There's a damn lot of South Vietnamese (waves, hallooooo!) who wish to hell the US had stayed, thank you. It may LOOK peaceful now, but you have only to visit any Vietnamese community in your country and talk to the elders to discover the gawdawful things that happened when we pulled out.
Can you spell T-O-R-T-U-R-E, children? Very good!
[Mad]

And it isn't lovely perfection today, either, regardless of what things look like to tourists.

As always, it just isn't that easy.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Mr. Lamb came within 24 hours of execution in one of those camps and was saved only by miracle. He was NOT saved from starvation, torture, beating, etc. And he's not unusual among expatriate Vietnamese, who mostly wound up in their new countries as a result of imprisonment and torture etc. Indeed, if you can find a man of that generation who didn't go through that, you've found a rare creature indeed (I think I know ONE). And sanctions against their families in VN still continue.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Lamb Chopped:

For most conflicts, you can find someone on either side with a personal tragedy that might have been avoided had events gone the other way. Vietnamese children who lost their limbs in American bombing raids. How would they answer the question "Do you wish the Americans had continued bombing Vietnam?"

You may know I live in the Republic Of Korea, which until the late-80s practiced torture on left-wing dissidents. Those people could say "Well, I wish the North Koreans had won the Korean War, because then I wouldn't have been tortured." Which may very well be true, but there story in and of itself doesn't really answer the question of whether a North Korean victory would have been a good thing overall.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Persuant to what I wrote earlier, apparently the PKK is in fact working side-by-side with the peshmerga, and will thus likely benefit from American aid.

So to further re-boot the Good Samaritan story...

Imagine that in order to stop the beating of the traveller by the robbers, the Samaritan heads over to the local tavern and rounds up a posse, including some other robbers whose faces have appeared on "Wanted" posters put up by the Samaritan himself.

The Christian Science Monitor
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

You may know I live in the Republic Of Korea, which until the late-80s practiced torture on left-wing dissidents.

OMG I did not know this. What in the US we call "South Korea" did this?? [Frown]
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Are you really this naive ? You know the states have been torturing people for years, right ?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

You may know I live in the Republic Of Korea, which until the late-80s practiced torture on left-wing dissidents.

OMG I did not know this. What in the US we call "South Korea" did this?? [Frown]
Not just tortue, outright murder in some cases.

Google Jeju Massacre and Gwangju Massacre, for starters.

[ 18. August 2014, 08:00: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:

You may know I live in the Republic Of Korea, which until the late-80s practiced torture on left-wing dissidents.

OMG I did not know this. What in the US we call "South Korea" did this?? [Frown]
Yes, fuck yes: the present President's daddy was not a Nice Man™

[ 18. August 2014, 08:33: Message edited by: Matt Black ]
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
Another anti-ISIS demonstration in the UK, organized by Muslims.

This seems accurate.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Authorities in the US and UK have verified the video released by IS of the beheading of James Foley, a US journalist kidnapped in northern Syria in 2012.

Mr Foley was shown in a orange jumpsuit in front of a black clad figure who spoke with a UK accent.

The UK government have confirmed that it appears the person who carried out this atrocity is British, and it is likely that police forces and MI5 are now trying to identify the man.

If there are still any apologists for radicalisation of young men and women from a moslem background they should think hard about the pain being caused to the Foley family and the mind-set behind the cold-blooded murder of a man who threatened them and their religion with only a tape recorder and a video camera.

There is no middle-way with these people and we should all be acutely aware that any sign of countries trying to reach an accommodation with these people will only be seen as a sign of weakness and degeneracy which can be exploited.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Drop a nuke on them.

Seriously. An agreement between the US, Russia, UK to drop a nuclear weapon on them ought to be sought.

The UN can sit this out, they will be informed as will the rest of the world a few minutes before it happens.

Then launch one. Give ISIS pause. Show them the ultimate future of their so called state.

Yes the innocent will die along with the guilty but the time to show the true horror of what lies ahead for them is at hand. No quarter can be given to this enemy and the time for walking softly is gone. The big stick needs to be wielded.

The argument that will be raised is that it will turn moderate muslims against the west. Got news for you... they already are.

In any case, what is the downside? We can't invade because too many lefty-types will get all wound up and people like me wont be able to drive to work because they will be blocking the streets protesting. You can't win a war from the air so air strikes do nothing except wind up ISIS, wind up lefties and we get no forader. Diplomacy is less use than a shitty stick.

Dropping a decent size nuclear weapon on them hasn't been tried so why not give it a go?
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Kill them all. God will know his own.

It is not now generally thought that the abbot of Beziers was correct.
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Drop a nuke on them.

Seriously. An agreement between the US, Russia, UK to drop a nuclear weapon on them ought to be sought.

The UN can sit this out, they will be informed as will the rest of the world a few minutes before it happens.

Then launch one. Give ISIS pause. Show them the ultimate future of their so called state.

Yes the innocent will die along with the guilty but the time to show the true horror of what lies ahead for them is at hand. No quarter can be given to this enemy and the time for walking softly is gone. The big stick needs to be wielded.

The argument that will be raised is that it will turn moderate muslims against the west. Got news for you... they already are.

In any case, what is the downside? We can't invade because too many lefty-types will get all wound up and people like me wont be able to drive to work because they will be blocking the streets protesting. You can't win a war from the air so air strikes do nothing except wind up ISIS, wind up lefties and we get no forader. Diplomacy is less use than a shitty stick.

Dropping a decent size nuclear weapon on them hasn't been tried so why not give it a go?

This attitude is essentially the mirror image of ISIS - if you are going to turn into your enemy why bother fighting them ?

(And are you really dumb enough to believe this would lead to a decrease in extremist attacks ?)
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
You've changed your tune from a few days ago Penny haven't you? You were all for arming the women. I thought "Hooray, the eyes are opening!"

But whatever. Keep them alive to rape a few more women, what do you care eh?

How much more extremist attacks do you think we'll get Doublethink? Hopefully it will drive more of the extremists over to those lands to fight agin us. Flush 'em out and mow them down like the sewer rats they are I say.

In case you think I'm being facetious, I'm not. The definition of a moderate muslim seems to me to become more and more incoherent and apologetic each day.

Shia muslims are as much the enemy of the west as Sunni! Iran wants a nuke for fucks sake! How much more evidence do you want that the entire muslim world is anti-western and only in the scale of their attacks on it do they differ. A moderate muslim is simply one that doesn't want to kill us.

That isn't good enough I'm afraid.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
deano: Keep them alive to rape a few more women, what do you care eh?
Your idea of nuking these women is much better.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
deano: Keep them alive to rape a few more women, what do you care eh?
Your idea of nuking these women is much better.
I acknowledged some innocents will die along with the guilty.

But the more guilty men are killed, the fewer women they will rape and kill. Do you think they stop at one?
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
deano: Keep them alive to rape a few more women, what do you care eh?
Your idea of nuking these women is much better.
I acknowledged some innocents will die along with the guilty.

But the more guilty men are killed, the fewer women they will rape and kill. Do you think they stop at one?

That's pretty much what the West has been doing since 2003. It hasn't worked so far, so what makes you think it is suddenly going to achieve its aims?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
(And are you really dumb enough to believe this would lead to a decrease in extremist attacks ?)


I think Deano assumes that the entire Muslim world would just collectively surrrender to the US, like Japan in the wake of the atom bombs.

Which makes the error of assuming that a global religion of 1.5 billion people is comparable to a nation-state, in terms of having a centrally-directed foreign policy.
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
And the previous crusades are notable for the problems they are still causing just under a thousand years later.

A modern repeat will not help.

That is the pragmatics, it does not address the absolute moral evil of what he proposes.

Deano your ideas disgust me, they are born of ignorance and hatred - you should be ashamed.

[ 20. August 2014, 20:44: Message edited by: Doublethink ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
(And are you really dumb enough to believe this would lead to a decrease in extremist attacks ?)


I think Deano assumes that the entire Muslim world would just collectively surrrender to the US, like Japan in the wake of the atom bombs.

Which makes the error of assuming that a global religion of 1.5 billion people is comparable to a nation-state, in terms of having a centrally-directed foreign policy.

No I don't. I'm saying...

(a) it hasn't been tried and we don't KNOW what the outcome will be.

(b) if the outcome is that more militants living in the west join ISIS to fight against us, it just makes a bigger target for us to aim for next time.

(c) If on the other hand they start to engage in domestic terrorism, well what's new. They probably will any way so let's force the issue.

It's as though the muslim world has started a war and nobody is coming. I find that impolite.

If (c) prevails (along with some (b) then again let's take the war to them. I never had a problem with the shoot-to-kill policy against IRA terrorists in the 80's. I sure as fuck don't have one against islamic terrorists. If we get wind of terrorists in Leeds, Bradford, Oldham, Dewsbury, Leicester, Birmingham or wherever, then send the army in and kill them.

Do something! Either roll over and give in to them or kill them! The indecision is giving them (islamic militants) time and space to strengthen, whether Sunni or Shia.

But let's talk about the innocents. Which innocents would you prefer to see die...

1) Their innocents. Women and children in ISIS controlled areas and in other parts of the world under the tyrrany of islamic militants?

2) Our innocents, on mountain tops, going to work on the London underground or in skyscrapers in New York

You don't get to say "neither!" because if you do then the islamic militants will kill our innocents in increasing numbers.

I'm afraid the answer, to me, is easy. Option (1). It's sad but inevitable that if we do nothing one group will be targeted. Of we do something then perhaps both groups will be but we will at least be dealing with the militants at the same time.

They might be 1.5 billion strong but the West and Russia and India and China (who have their own muslim issues) are more than a match. And we have better weapons.

Nah, it's starting to become a real war now. We need to respond, and not with more platitudes, or worse with sentimental nonsense like "if we're nice to them they won't hurt us". Which I think seems to be the prevailing view on here.

But before you have another go at me, what will fix it then. What will stop muslims having anti-western feelings? what will stop them trying to wage war against us? What will make muslims like us in the west?
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Deano, you are obviously a lot thicker than a thing that is pretty thick.

Penny's 'Kill them all, God will know his own' is clearly meant ironically.

You clearly don't get irony.

In fact, you clearly don't 'get' anything very much.

Dropping a nuclear bomb on ISIS ... like as if that would be possible without killing Yazidis, Christians, Kurds and those Muslims who don't support ISIS.

As if a nuclear bomb could distinguish between the various groups.

'Kill them all, God will know his own,' is a quote attributed, I believe, to Simon de Montfort (not the one over here but the one in France) when the crusaders sent against the Albigensian heretics captured the city of Beziers.

The story goes that as they stormed the gate after the retreating troops and entered the city there was no time to distinguish between the heretics and the Catholics (who had lived peacefully alongside each other for years). So the order went up, 'Kill them all, God will know his own ...'

That's the point Penny is making. Dropping an atomic bomb would kill friend and foe indiscriminately.

Clearly that's what you want to do. You sick bastard.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I'm completely schizophrene about this. My new-found pacifism, seen unforgettably in the radiant face, the life of Jesus together with my observation that Christendom swallowed Babylon whole and the gator everted on the snake, is at ... war with something must be done.

We fecklessly created this obscenity.

What would Jesus do? What SHOULD Jesus do? In us?

Do I extrapolate pacifism beyond Jesus? As I now extrapolate social liberalism on His arc?

What a mess. For us all. God be with us all in this. Which He is.

God bless those doing our dirty work.

And reveal to us what we should do instead. What Christianity should be doing in a very plural, polarized world of Devil's alternatives.

I don't know what to do or say any more. Which won't stop me will it?

deano, Beeswax, everyone

Tears. That don't quite come.

Useless tears, words. Beliefs.

Well, this IS Hell ...

I wonder what Brian McLaren would say, will say at Greenbelt this weekend?

Pacifism would demand that we do NOTHING violent. While benefitting from others violence against worse.

That does force tears.
 
Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Is there anything that would make you post in plain English using a normal sentence and paragraph structure ?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
Deano, you are obviously a lot thicker than a thing that is pretty thick.

Penny's 'Kill them all, God will know his own' is clearly meant ironically.

You clearly don't get irony.

In fact, you clearly don't 'get' anything very much.

Dropping a nuclear bomb on ISIS ... like as if that would be possible without killing Yazidis, Christians, Kurds and those Muslims who don't support ISIS.

As if a nuclear bomb could distinguish between the various groups.

'Kill them all, God will know his own,' is a quote attributed, I believe, to Simon de Montfort (not the one over here but the one in France) when the crusaders sent against the Albigensian heretics captured the city of Beziers.

The story goes that as they stormed the gate after the retreating troops and entered the city there was no time to distinguish between the heretics and the Catholics (who had lived peacefully alongside each other for years). So the order went up, 'Kill them all, God will know his own ...'

That's the point Penny is making. Dropping an atomic bomb would kill friend and foe indiscriminately.

Clearly that's what you want to do. You sick bastard.

Yes, probably. Don't worry though, the politico's would never have the balls to do it.

Notice you sidestepped the questions in my last paragraph though. And the one about which group of innocents YOU want to see die (don't forget "neither" isn't allowed).
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I understood this post.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doublethink:
Is there anything that would make you post in plain English using a normal sentence and paragraph structure ?

Don't worry about it. I get the impression he agrees with me. What would Jesus do? Drop the nuke of course... they are killing Christians!

They are a bastardised religion based on some blokes dreams. Okay, fair enough. If they stay nice and quiet and don't bother anyone then carry on I say, but kill the bothersome ones.

That's what MPC means.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I'm conflicted deano. A double-minded man. Unstable in all my ways. A pathetic sinner. Lost. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank the Lord Jesus Christ. How long oh Lord?

I don't believe God ever nuked or ever will nuke anybody.

If I'm wrong, He'll reconcile the irreconcilable.

The trouble is now I cannot live up to the ethics of the Prince of Peace.

For I no longer know what they are.

Note I say ethics.

I know His LAW, love, how is that worked out? With a nuke? With what utilitarian situation ethics?

I don't know any more.

How's that for a result deano?

Is this where faith has to come in?

How?

George is having the same problem I see. So we're in good company.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Bollocks, Deano, I didn't side-step anything. I'd be in favour of robust action against ISIS and jihadists in general.

Dropping nuclear bombs on areas where there is a mix of people - some of them good guys, some bad - ain't going to solve anything.

There are what, several thousand ISIS fighters in Iraq? You don't need a nuclear weapon to deal with several thousand fighters. Imagine a nuclear strike taking out what - 1500 fighters? Would that be worth it if it killed another 50,000 people who had nothing to do with it?

If there were jihadist groups launching attacks here in the UK then I would certainly support armed military response to prevent that. I wouldn't advocate nuking Bradford, though, if some jihadists came from there. Would you? If you would then you are an even bigger prat than you sound.

Longer term, the solution has to lie in education, in winning hearts and minds ... that's easier said than done, of course.

But nuking people isn't the answer.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
I'm conflicted deano. A double-minded man. Unstable in all my ways. A pathetic sinner. Lost. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? I thank the Lord Jesus Christ. How long oh Lord?

I don't believe God ever nuked or ever will nuke anybody.

If I'm wrong, He'll reconcile the irreconcilable.

The trouble is now I cannot live up to the ethics of the Prince of Peace.

For I no longer know what they are.

Note I say ethics.

I know His LAW, love, how is that worked out? With a nuke? With what utilitarian situation ethics?

I don't know any more.

How's that for a result deano?

Is this where faith has to come in?

How?

George is having the same problem I see. So we're in good company.

See! As far as I can make out MPC is fully behind my position.

Great news. Glad to have you aboard. We're getting some wristbands made up with WWJD? - NE! on them, I'll pop one in the post for you.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Have it your way deano. Or be real. If you are being, you're way more lost than me even.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Fine deano.

I would rather die than them.

Their lives are not worth less than mine, just because they don't look like me. And if you're going to present the false dichotomy, if you're going to ask which side of the bullshit dilemma you posed I'll take, I'll take "us."

Why? Well, stupid question gets a stupid answer, and "us" is just as good as "them." But really. Do you have any moral scruples at all? Does the work of thousands of years of civilization have absolutely no impact on your ethical calculus? Are you worthy of being called a rational human being? Or are you going to revert to the most basic form of tribalism, choosing to be a barbarian, a brute, not even human?
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
He's an Ayn Rand man: 'The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men no matter who they are."'

And now ... who isn't?
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Then if it's the civilized verses the savages, then we're all united against the likes of him, I take it.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
No Ariston. We're on the same spectrum. He is NOT other. He regards himself, just like we do, just like the butcher of James Foley does, as truly civilized.
 
Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Recognising the provocation and the risks of hate speech in earlier posts (referred to Admin BTW), please make sure you stick to the arguments and move away from considering deano's personal defects. In accordance with C3 and C4.

Barnabas62
Dead Horses Host.
 
Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
Whoops!

Belay that order - apologies to HellHosts and Shipmates. Crossed wires from my early morning post reviews!
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
Kill them all. God will know his own.

It is not now generally thought that the abbot of Beziers was correct.

quote:
Originally quoted by Gamaliel'Kill them all, God will know his own,' is a quote attributed, I believe, to Simon de Montfort (not the one over here but the one in France) when the crusaders sent against the Albigensian heretics captured the city of Beziers.

[Pedant's Hat]It was Arnaud Amalric, Abbot of Citeaux, who allegedly said it. Occasion though was indeed the Siege of Beziers. Simon de Montfort Senior was there but didn't lead the assault or utter those words[/Pedant's Hat, as you were]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Barnabas62 - forgiven.

Everyone - take care when when making sweeping accusations about races, faiths and nationalities. Remember that the First Amendment regarding freedom of speech is part of the US Constitution and does not therefore have worldwide or even Ship-wide effect.

IANAL but I believe there are even limits to it in the United States.

Sioni Sais
Hellhost

[ 21. August 2014, 09:25: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Thanks for the correction, Matt Black, I was going to look the quote up before posting but couldn't be arsed. After all, it was only Deano we were arguing with ... [Razz]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
[Biased]
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
What would Jesus do? Drop the nuke of course... they are killing Christians!

He didn't act to stop people killing Himself, so what makes you think that?

You're either trolling us or you're being serious, and either way you're a fucking nutball trying to stoke up tensions and animosity between Christians and Muslims. If you're trolling then it's pretty much garden-variety fuckwittery, but if you're serious then you are frankly worse than ISIS, because at least they take care to ensure that only the people they hate get killed.

I cannot for one moment imagine that you're actually serious though. Dropping a nuke on Iraq to stop people there being persecuted? It's like the police resolving a hostage situation by killing the hostage [Disappointed] .
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
... or by blowing up the whole building where the hostage situation is occurring. I mean, seriously, Deano, WTF? Yes, if I'm honest, there's a part of me that wants to seriously twat them and indeed kill or at least kick the shit out of anyone who flies their flag or otherwise supports them in the UK. But as a Christian - heck, as a human being - I am called to rise above that rather dark part of me and come up with something different. I'm still working on what that might be but it sure as hell won't be what you're advocating.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Iran wants a nuke for fucks sake!

Somewhere in Iran...

"America is our enemy! They have nukes for fucks sake!"

I mean, this is basically just a higher level, and more lethal, version of the laughable proposition that all the good guys need to have guns but the bad guys need to be prevented from having guns, as if everyone one on the planet wears nice little white or black hats so we know precisely which is which.

The inability to grasp the difference between one's subjective relationship to the world and some kind of objective state of affairs would be breathtaking, if deano hadn't demonstrated his complete lack of experience with the concept of 'empathy' for years and years already.

[ 21. August 2014, 10:15: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Alright so you don't like my solution. Hey ho, what's new, like anyone was ever going to given the serious port-side list to the ship.

So what is the solution. I'll give you another false dichotomy (three actually) to constrain your answers...

1) Israel will continue to exist within her current borders and will continue to exist as a sovereign state within the Levant.

2) There will be no Palestinian state brought into existence in the lands currently occupied by Israel.

3) The "west" will not change policy on oil and will continue to defend their national interests by protecting the security of supply at the current levels. Yes we want the oil and will do whatever needs doing to protect the supply from the middle east.

Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!

We concentrate our efforts on terrorists and militants, whoever they attack and disregarding the 'Islamic' element, especially as the people most able to help in identifying the terrorists are quite likely to be Islamic themselves. There was an article in Metro, the freebie newspaper, stating that some UK Muslims, including some related to UK nationals who have joined ISIS, want to join the efforts to defeat ISIS. It won't be quick but quick solutions, such as 'Shock and Awe' don't have staying power.

We certainly don't treat every Muslim and Arab as part of some amorphous enemy.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Thank you Matt. I should have put the Abbot at Beziers, shouldn't I?

(I think that may have been the place where the wonderful secret knowledge of a particular sort of enamelling passed down since the Roman Empire was wiped out. beyond recovery.)

On Woman's Hour this morning there was an interesting report from women who had been released. This was, apparently, because their husbands had been identified as converted - they were not required to convert themselves, in the light of that situation.

Before the release, they had been asked repeatedly to convert. They had been treated with respect. One jihadi who had attempted to fondle one had had the offending finger removed! Though they were imprisoned, and not fed well, and in some cases there had been fake executions, there was an almost - internal thesaurus failure here, can't think of word for positive emotion that quite fits the situation - attitude in the young men, who were a bit desperate for the conversions.

The women were promised houses of their own if they did so, but they knew that these would be houses as wives, since IS does not recognise the position of femme sole (medieval term for woman trading in her own right, like Mohammed's first wife before she married him) and they would be pressured into these marriages, while losing all contact with their Yazidi families, which have a very closed cleanliness belief about their faith. The reporter did not say they did not convert because of a belief that their faith was true and Islam not, but that they rejected the possibility of a fake conversion to achieve release for practical reasons, as above.

This fits with one of the things I heard yesterday about the young men's conversations - they not only missed Mars bars, but had found it difficult to find wives.

(Yeah, so let's make ourselves really attractive by going off and emulating the worst excesses of the French revolution.)

My earlier remarks about the way I felt about killing, were not remarks I was happy about, but I think I may have mentioned sniping. This is not the equivalent of nuking.

The most I would feel comfortable with would be the equivalent of the raid on the Danish Gestapo headquarters which aimed to destroy the Germans in the lower floors while freeing the prisoners on the top floor. (Did it work?)

Reports of the American destruction of the trucks involved in the massacre of men from a village a couple of days ago were remarkably short of information about the women who had been captured. But of, course, they are only women, so can easily be written off as collateral damage.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!

We concentrate our efforts on terrorists and militants, whoever they attack and disregarding the 'Islamic' element, especially as the people most able to help in identifying the terrorists are quite likely to be Islamic themselves. There was an article in Metro, the freebie newspaper, stating that some UK Muslims, including some related to UK nationals who have joined ISIS, want to join the efforts to defeat ISIS. It won't be quick but quick solutions, such as 'Shock and Awe' don't have staying power.

We certainly don't treat every Muslim and Arab as part of some amorphous enemy.

Concentrate how SS? I'm looking for the detail here. "Concentrate our efforts" is a little woolly, and what do we actually do with them? Kill them, try and imprison them (how are we getting on with that these days? Is giving evidence in open courts working to put them away?)

It seems that quite a few here are happy to have the status quo if it avoids Western powers actually attacking anyone. That is unacceptable and no longer viable.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright so you don't like my solution. Hey ho, what's new, like anyone was ever going to given the serious port-side list to the ship.

So what is the solution. I'll give you another false dichotomy (three actually) to constrain your answers...

1) Israel will continue to exist within her current borders and will continue to exist as a sovereign state within the Levant.

2) There will be no Palestinian state brought into existence in the lands currently occupied by Israel.

3) The "west" will not change policy on oil and will continue to defend their national interests by protecting the security of supply at the current levels. Yes we want the oil and will do whatever needs doing to protect the supply from the middle east.

Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!

What the hell does the situation in eastern Syria and north-western Iraq have to do with Israel and Palestine? Is everyone who isn't nicely pale-skinned just some undifferentiated mass to you?

I suspect so, given your previous remarks about the Muslim world, all 1.5 billion of 'em. Meanwhile you would bend over backwards to have yourself oh so carefully distinguished on the basis of your nationality, class and political leanings.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!

We concentrate our efforts on terrorists and militants, whoever they attack and disregarding the 'Islamic' element, especially as the people most able to help in identifying the terrorists are quite likely to be Islamic themselves. There was an article in Metro, the freebie newspaper, stating that some UK Muslims, including some related to UK nationals who have joined ISIS, want to join the efforts to defeat ISIS. It won't be quick but quick solutions, such as 'Shock and Awe' don't have staying power.

We certainly don't treat every Muslim and Arab as part of some amorphous enemy.

Concentrate how SS? I'm looking for the detail here. "Concentrate our efforts" is a little woolly, and what do we actually do with them? Kill them, try and imprison them (how are we getting on with that these days? Is giving evidence in open courts working to put them away?)
Ah, detail. Your suggestion to nuke them all is specific, but not detailed. I'm not being specific either but we have to act on the basis of intelligence and the long-term good rather than with a view to the press headlines and the next elections. Intelligence ought to determine our efforts, not a bunch of special advisors at No 10 and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who are only looking after their own jobs.
quote:
It seems that quite a few here are happy to have the status quo if it avoids Western powers actually attacking anyone. That is unacceptable and no longer viable.
I'd suggest that the Western powers don't intervene unless they know where they want to be, and where they expect to be, at the end of that intervention. Too often Western (and other) powers intervene simply because 'something must be done', which is a lousy excuse. We went into Iraq on that basis and look at the place now.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright so you don't like my solution. Hey ho, what's new, like anyone was ever going to given the serious port-side list to the ship.

So what is the solution. I'll give you another false dichotomy (three actually) to constrain your answers...

1) Israel will continue to exist within her current borders and will continue to exist as a sovereign state within the Levant.

2) There will be no Palestinian state brought into existence in the lands currently occupied by Israel.

3) The "west" will not change policy on oil and will continue to defend their national interests by protecting the security of supply at the current levels. Yes we want the oil and will do whatever needs doing to protect the supply from the middle east.

Now, answer the question. How do we get Islamic militants to stop targeting westerners?

Go on, fix it! If you can't I guess this will be the last post on this thread!

What the hell does the situation in eastern Syria and north-western Iraq have to do with Israel and Palestine? Is everyone who isn't nicely pale-skinned just some undifferentiated mass to you?

I suspect so, given your previous remarks about the Muslim world, all 1.5 billion of 'em. Meanwhile you would bend over backwards to have yourself oh so carefully distinguished on the basis of your nationality, class and political leanings.

Don't care about the colour of anyone's skin. Black, white, brown no worries. I'm comfortable with that. You may differ though, I dunno.

One of the oft-quoted reasons for muslim hatred of the west is because of the west's support for Israel. But if you weren't aware of that then you need to do some pre-work. Try to get the notes from a classmate.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
One of the oft-quoted reasons for muslim hatred of the west is because of the west's support for Israel. But if you weren't aware of that then you need to do some pre-work. Try to get the notes from a classmate.

Yeah. Because the people being affected by what's going on in eastern Syria and north-western Iraq are overwhelmingly Westerners. It's all about Western hatred. [Roll Eyes]

I know why some people say they hate the West. What I don't know is why you think that is the sole driver of ISIS, why every single thing that happens in the world is All About You. People in other parts of the world are perfectly capable of having their own concerns and conflicts that aren't All About You until you stick your bloody nose in yelling things like "let's nuke 'em all".

(EDIT: In fact, the explicit purpose of beheading Foley was to say don't stick your nose in.)

I mean, does Iran hate the West? Quite possibly, at least in some parts of its post-revolution history. Does Iran exist for the sole purpose of hating the West? Of course it bloody doesn't.

But then, the very purpose of a 'black hat' existing is to create evil plans to destroy the 'white hats', right? No independent concerns or motivations, just an opposing force, entirely defined by its opposition.

Enjoy your cartoon world, you moron.

[ 21. August 2014, 12:33: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright so you don't like my solution. Hey ho, what's new, like anyone was ever going to given the serious port-side list to the ship.

Like you, I can get frustrated by the bizarre left-wing drivel that gets spouted on here, but a belief that dropping a nuclear warhead (or two) on Iraq is not a good idea does not make one a lefty. It really doesn't.

Also, if one nuclear bombs ISIS, will there still be a State of Israel? Nuclear fallout can travel...
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:



I mean, does Iran hate the West? Quite possibly, at least in some parts of its post-revolution history.

The main reason for that can be found in one name from its pre-revolutionary history: Kermit (and, no, I don't mean the frog; we have enough muppets here already with Deano).
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:



I mean, does Iran hate the West? Quite possibly, at least in some parts of its post-revolution history.

The main reason for that can be found in one name from its pre-revolutionary history: Kermit (and, no, I don't mean the frog; we have enough muppets here already with Deano).
Distant cousin of this muppet.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Actually the saying "Kill them all, God will know his own" is more correctly attributed to Dominic Guzman - known to RCs as Saint Dominic.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Has anybody else noticed that 'I, deano' is an anagram of 'no idea'?
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by L'organist:
Actually the saying "Kill them all, God will know his own" is more correctly attributed to Dominic Guzman - known to RCs as Saint Dominic.

Citation, please, because every time I have ever seen that incident mentioned—the Sack of Béziers during the Albigensian Crusade—it was always the papal legate Amalric who allegedly said that, never St. Dominic.

ETA: When trying to find out where St. Dom was in 1209, I found this from a vita:
quote:
Dominic himself had no illusions as to the efficacy or propriety of inducing Christian orthodoxy by military activity nor, as as is sometimes alleged, had he anything to do with the establishment of inquisitions in concert with the civil power, which was done in the Midi from the end of the twelfth century. He never appears to have in any way concurred in the execution of any of those unhappy persons that then suffered. The original historians mention no other arms to have been used by him against heretics than those of instruction, patience, penance, fasting, tears and prayer; and he rebuked his ex-troubadour supporter, Fulk, Bishop of Toulouse, when he went on a visitation accompanied by soldiers, servants and sumter-mules, with the words, “The enemies of the faith cannot be overcome like that. Arm yourself with prayer, rather than a sword; wear humility rather than fine clothes.”
Yup. Warlike and bloodthirsty, that one was. Call it hagiography—I mean, it is—but don't attribute quotes so someone that nobody thinks said them.

[ 21. August 2014, 15:56: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Citation? Two French tour guides, one in Beziers, the other in the cathedral in Albi. In the latter they used the words in English and the original French. Both ascribed them to Dominic Guzman - and both referred to him in that way, not at St Dominic.
 
Posted by Chesterbelloc (# 3128) on :
 
As someone who trains tour guides for part of my living, let me tell you that all sorts of unsubstantiated ahistorical shit gets into all sorts of guided tour all the time. I really wouldn't cite them as a reliable source for a historical claim. Ever.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Yes indeed, in actual fact the person who really said it was St Deano of No Idea ... or Dunno for short.

What he really said was, 'Nuke the lot of them and it doesn't matter if innocent people are killed as well ... the more who're killed the better, particularly if they're those scruffy, leftie layabouts who stop me getting into work on time ...'
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Great, enjoy yourselves. Glad to help. But the elephant in the room of course is that all your ad hominem attacks are merely diversionary tactics to avoid answering my questions...

How is it going to be fixed?

This is for at least the third time of asking and no answers pertinent to the real world that exists right now has been forthcoming. We've had one "concentrate on the terrorist" which is a bit vague, but nothing else.

Come on, give us some solutions that will work.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
Yes indeed, in actual fact the person who really said it was St Deano of No Idea ... or Dunno for short.

What he really said was, 'Nuke the lot of them and it doesn't matter if innocent people are killed as well ... the more who're killed the better, particularly if they're those scruffy, leftie layabouts who stop me getting into work on time ...'

No, I didn't say that of course. You may have imagined it that way but what goes on inside your little head isn't actually reality. I said dropping a bomb would bring you lot onto the street and get in my way.

I don't want YOU lot dead, just not getting in the way of people trying to get to work and earn and honest crust by helping bankers fleece the poor.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
This is for at least the third time of asking and no answers pertinent to the real world that exists right now has been forthcoming.

You want answers pertinent to the real world? Ask questions pertinent to the real world, not your adolescent Crusader fantasies.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
You are very literal as well as daft, Deano.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Wikipedia attributes the quote to the papal legate, the Abbot of Citeaux, Arnaud-Amaury, but has a dispute about it thus:

quote:
According to the Cistercian writer Caesar of Heisterbach, Arnaud-Amaury, when asked by a crusader how to distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics, answered: "Caedite eos! Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius" – "Kill them [all]! Surely the Lord discerns which [ones] are his". On the other hand, the legate's own statement, in a letter to the pope in August 1209 (col.139), states:

while discussions were still going on with the barons about the release of those in the city who were deemed to be Catholics, the servants and other persons of low degree and unarmed attacked the city without waiting for orders from their leaders. To our amazement, crying "to arms, to arms!", within the space of two or three hours they crossed the ditches and the walls and Béziers was taken. Our men spared no one, irrespective of rank, sex or age, and put to the sword almost 20,000 people. After this great slaughter the whole city was despoiled and burnt, as divine vengeance miraculously...

Lovely chap.

Here's an account: Warlike religious

Here's Wikipedia on Beziers. Massacre at Beziers
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Coming around again, it's easily fixed with money. Foley could have been bought for $132M. Nothing for his employers. All the Christians and Yazidi could be bought. It's only money.

deano is a simple soul, a Biblical literalist. Been there. Like most Christians. And Muslims. Intelligence is no defence either, against the oldest trope of all: redemptive violence in a patriarchal world.

Always negotiate with terrorists. Always let them have what they want. That's how to defeat them. That's what Christianity did once upon a time.
 
Posted by Steve Langton (# 17601) on :
 
by Martin PC;
quote:
deano is a simple soul, a Biblical literalist.
[Confused] [Ultra confused] [Help] [Confused] [Ultra confused]

Not in my Bible he ain't.... There is no easy answer here because we're starting from a mess; the ultimate answer will be to unravel the mess on our side. Counter the idea of an 'Islamic State' by rejecting, as the NT does, the idea of a 'Christian state'. It won't happen overnight, but it's the only answer and it's what Jesus, Paul, Peter, etc., told us to do....
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
I resent that. I've said on a number of occaisions that the Bible means far less to me that the Nicene Creed, so where do you get Biblical literalist from?

Far as I'm concerned I'd happily junk most of it as utterly useless of the modern day.

But that is beside the point.

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION YOU COWARDS!!

Have I made myself clear? I hope so. That's how you do it Martin, short words, few syllables and stick to the point. Does fuck all though because nobody has any answers. None. Not one of you. SS came the closest and that was woolly, vague fucking bollocks. The rest have just refused to give an any answer at all.

BECAUSE THERE AREN'T ANY ARE THERE????

Yes I'm fucking shouting, because that's all there is left to do with you lot. Perhaps you will now...

ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION YOU COWARDS!!
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Please stop shouting, it gives everyone the idea that you have made your mind up and won't consider any option that doesn't kill everyone who just might, possibly kill any citizen of a Western nation.

If you're going after those who are likely to kill Westerners, then you're probably looking at a few thousand but if you are looking at everyone who falls into the demographic profile, then you are probably looking at hundreds of millions.

Whatever is done will not happen overnight, will have to be done with a lot of assistance by Iraqis and Syrians and will have to be driven by intelligence. Note that word, maybe you'd like to employ it some time.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Downsides to that one?

Not enough barbed wire? Not enough non-Moslems to police the perimeter?
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Radicalisation of all Muslim men? 2.9 million Muslims in the UK suggests 1 million men, 1500 British Muslims fighting for ISIS means about 0.15% of British Muslims radicalised enough to be fighting in Syria or Iraq.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?

Yeah, because until there were Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30 in the UK, nothing bad ever happened in the UK. Jack the Ripper? Actually a Muslim (age 26). IRA bombers? Muslims. The lot of 'em.

I'll tell you the biggest downside, though. A downside so freaking obvious that it's almost hilarious that you don't see it (although you're in good company there).

Treating Muslims in ways that they perceive as harsh and unjust is exactly what creates radicals in the first place, you idiotic piece of unthinking detritus. What do you think arbitrarily detaining an entire class of people without trial and because of your fear of what they might do, rather than their individual actions, IS GOING TO DO?

Dear God. It's like you treat Muslims as inanimate objects. Drop a bomb on some of 'em. Great! Problem eradicated! Never mind all the Muslims in 50 other countries who will be outraged at your actions in a way they've never been before. Detain them all. EXCELLENT! THEY'LL JUST SIT THERE!

You are quite literally proposing 'solutions' that will prove every bad thing about the West that a radical has said about us. You are a radical imam's wet dream. You will recruit more people to the cause than he could ever hope to. You're even proposing the perfect ideological training camp: 12 years in camp, in fact, with nothing to do except hear how evil the Christians are, with the proof bloody well surrounding the listeners for 12 years.

[ 21. August 2014, 23:40: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Deano charmed us all with...

[QUOTE] WHERE ARE YOUR SOLUTIONS?

ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION YOU COWARDS!!


Well, I think I answered that one a few pages back.

Just walk away. Disengage from the whole region.

Stop backing successive gangs of thugs to take each other out. That just gives more firepower to whatever gang of thugs you're supporting at the current time, anc convinces the rest of the people in the region that your whole aim is to inflict the thugs upon them.

Sure, the killings might go on for a while, possibly years. But, eventually, people in the area will start to say "Hmm. These gangs are still running around slaughtering people, even though the west disengaged a decade ago. Guess there's not much point in attacking the west anymore."
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?

1) Under 18's
2) Over 30's
3) Angry Muslim women (Wives, mothers sisters etc)
4) Non-Muslims who reckon the government has Gone Too Far and deserves all it gets.

All to give an illusion of safety. Even if I take your idea seriously, which it doesn't deserve, it joins a long list of proposals emanating from the "Something must be done" school of thought, that propose action which will actually makes things worse.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?

What the fuck is wrong with you?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Waleed Aly explains nicely how deano is doing exactly what ISIS wants him to do.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
My, my deano. Jesus IS getting to you isn't he! Your conversion is coming.

The solution is Islam.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

Yeah, sure. And while we're at it, why not lock up every single man in the country in order to eradicate rape? Or hell, why not lock up every single person in the country and eradicate all crime forever?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
So we are reliant on doing nothing much and putting our safety in the hands of "moderate muslims", whatever the hell they are. Are they the ones who don't want to hurt us but wish we just didn't exist?

That isn't good enough and I believe it gives the impression we are toothless and impotent and actually encourages islamic militants to see us as something to be attacked.

Perhaps some of you see that as justified retribution for the British Empire or because we are a wealthy western nation. I don't I'm afraid. I see that as a threat to me, my family and and my friends and have no desire to put their safety in the hands of a few so-called moderate muslims, who don't seem to have been very effective over the last couple of decades in giving up the militants. If there are so few militants and so many moderate muslims why is there a problem?

Perhaps it's because a moderate muslim is one who just doesn't have a gun and a westerner to aim at yet!
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Substitute Islam for Rome. You for a Christian.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Substitute Islam for Rome. You for a Christian.

Cheers, even MPC agrees with me!

You will be getting quite the reputation if you keep doing that Martin.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
That doesn't work. Assuming that you deliberately misunderstand.
 
Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
deano, let me introduce you to one of my favourite quotations:

quote:
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.
- H. L. Mencken
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
So we are reliant on doing nothing much and putting our safety in the hands of "moderate muslims", whatever the hell they are. Are they the ones who don't want to hurt us but wish we just didn't exist?

No, you trolling shit, they're the ones who are perfectly happy to live alongside us in peace. You know, the same way virtually everyone else of every other religion (and none) does.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
So we are reliant on doing nothing much and putting our safety in the hands of "moderate muslims", whatever the hell they are. Are they the ones who don't want to hurt us but wish we just didn't exist?

No, you trolling shit, they're the ones who are perfectly happy to live alongside us in peace. You know, the same way virtually everyone else of every other religion (and none) does.
Yeah right! 1.5 billion nice muslims and a few hundred terrorists and nobody is grassing them up. None of them are known to the 1.5 billion eh?

Seriously, nobody recognises the voice of the terrorist who beheaded the journalist, no British muslim out there at all has any clue? Or do they have a clue and are just not ringing the police? You may have a view but MPC and me know which of the two options is more likely.

I'm sure some people will say moderate muslims are indeed passing information to the security services, but that ain't good enough, I want to see them jamming the police switchboards with information and then standing up in open court saying "that's him!"

That's the only way I will trust them.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?

Yeah, cos that really worked in Northern Ireland [Roll Eyes]

In addition to what everyone else has said about your fuckwitted idea, how do you tell which 18-30 men are Muslims and which aren't? Do you have some kind of magic Muslim-o-meter or something?
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Seriously, nobody recognises the voice of the terrorist who beheaded the journalist, no British muslim out there at all has any clue? Or do they have a clue and are just not ringing the police?

You don't think that people close to this individual might have fears for their life if they were to make a report?

This happens in all sorts of communities, it's not a Muslim thing. In the US the phrase is "snitches get stitches."
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Alright! How about a little Old Skool for you. how about internment of all muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30?

That should bring a little safety to the UK and stop some of the fuckers joining the enemy.

Downsides to that one?

Yeah, cos that really worked in Northern Ireland [Roll Eyes]

In addition to what everyone else has said about your fuckwitted idea, how do you tell which 18-30 men are Muslims and which aren't? Do you have some kind of magic Muslim-o-meter or something?

Well watching them for 24 hours and seeing if they pray towards Mecca would do wouldn't it?

If the muslim world wants me to trust them then as I say I want to see the name of that murderer being shouted out by so-called moderate muslims now! I want his name and his photo shown on the six o'clock news tonight, and I want him to be afraid to come back to the UK because he knows that people who know him will stand up in open court, point their fingers at him and say, with one voice, "That's the man who beheaded James Foley".

That for me is the litmus test. That is the measure that there are moderate muslims. Nothing else, no hiding behind islamic law of "thou shalt not grass up thine own", no tut-tutting about how sad it all is, none of that. Give him up and clear your own names or be tarred with the same brush.

It's a simple message... "If you ain't for us you are against us."
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
No you didn't did you. You just don't get Jesus.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
So, how are you going to watch c 1 million men on a daily basis? Or even know which 1 million to watch?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Seriously, nobody recognises the voice of the terrorist who beheaded the journalist, no British muslim out there at all has any clue? Or do they have a clue and are just not ringing the police?

You don't think that people close to this individual might have fears for their life if they were to make a report?

This happens in all sorts of communities, it's not a Muslim thing. In the US the phrase is "snitches get stitches."

Tough. It's time for them to take a stand against the terrorist in their midst, openly and loudly.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
So, how are you going to watch c 1 million men on a daily basis? Or even know which 1 million to watch?

Geographical profiling will do for a start in the UK as the majority of muslims live in a band of towns and cities between Oldham and Leeds, and then add in the other large communities in Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicester and London.

That should get us 90% of the way there without batting an eyelid.

Of course if their own communities watched some of them and informed on some of them, and gave evidence against some of them, then perhaps we wouldn't need to do any of that.
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Tough. It's time for them to take a stand against the terrorist in their midst, openly and loudly.

As long as you realize this is not some moderate Muslim conspiracy and that it happens in many communities where people fear for their lives and the lives of their families if they report extremists and criminals to external authorities.

Ever heard of Omerta?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Geographical profiling will do for a start in the UK as the majority of muslims live in a band of towns and cities between Oldham and Leeds, and then add in the other large communities in Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicester and London.

That should get us 90% of the way there without batting an eyelid.

But 90% isn't good enough, is it? That leaves 10% (i.e. thousands of Moslems) free to plot disgusting attacks. Let's nuke Oldham, Leeds, Nottingham, Sheffield, Birmingham, Leicester and London. It's the only way we can be sure we get all of them.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Yeah right! 1.5 billion nice muslims and a few hundred terrorists and nobody is grassing them up. None of them are known to the 1.5 billion eh?

I don't remember too many Irish people "grassing up" IRA terrorists back in the day - they must have been known to some of them. I guess that means we should have killed every single Irish person in existence, right? No surrender, no mercy, no such thing as an innocent Irish man or woman, right?

The fact that what I just wrote is quite blatantly ridiculous is all the evidence I need that the filth you're spouting on this thread is equally - if not more - ridiculous. And harmful. And dangerous. And evil. And just, simply, wrong.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Tough. It's time for them to take a stand against the terrorist in their midst, openly and loudly.

As long as you realize this is not some moderate Muslim conspiracy and that it happens in many communities where people fear for their lives and the lives of their families if they report extremists and criminals to external authorities.

Ever heard of Omerta?

Yes, and it is destroyed when enough good people stand together. Where is that happening?

Here's something from The BBC's web page - an article around British Muslims returning from Syria ....


quote:
At least 500 people from the UK are thought to have gone to Syria to fight - and many of them have already returned.

Some people in Muslim communities believe that quasi-official estimate to be a woeful underestimate. They have seen significant numbers of youngsters motivated to go to Syria either out of anger or because they have bought into the propaganda pouring forth on social media.

Well there we go. A "woeful underestimate". How would the muslim communities know it was an underestimate if they didn't know the people involved? Of course the moderate muslim communities know who the militants are.

Sorry but you ain't going to move me on this. I don't give a rats arse about omerta and other bullshite! They stand up and they name names. Nothing else will persuade me there are any such things as moderate muslims, only muslims who kill and those who enable them either actively or passively.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Until we embrace islam, we keep Jesus waiting.
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Yes, and it is destroyed when enough good people stand together.

When did that happen? I grew up outside of NYC and I knew a kid whose dad went to jail for Mafia activities. Omerta has not been destroyed. His dad was in handcuffs on the front page and he insisted he was just a wrongly accused businessman. The only way the Mafia has been busted has been by undercover operations, stings, wire taps, and surveillance.

I heard on the radio a few weeks ago that some ex-IRA members gave interviews to Boston College for a history project, and are now terrified because the NI police have subpoenaed the tapes. They're not scared of being arrested, they're afraid of being accused of ratting and getting attacked.

You want Muslims to be tougher and braver than most other groups that have had a criminal element. Fine - you can believe that, your choice. But when you start going here:

quote:
Nothing else will persuade me there are any such things as moderate muslims, only muslims who kill and those who enable them either actively or passively.

you start seeming bigoted.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
you start seeming bigoted.

"Start"?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
So, Islamic Omerta will allow and enable islamic militants to plan and carry out operations on the UK mainland, the US mainland and to travel back and forth to IS area to both fight and train. The moderate muslims are too scared to identify and stop them.

Great. Now what.

Well, we're back to where we started aren't we. If the moderate muslims are unreliable and wont help then they are passively supporting islamic militantism.

We need to stop the radicalised young men from engaing in terrorism and from heading out to ISIS and other islamic militant controlled areas abroad. Without the help of the so-called moderate muslims.

Intern them.

Drop nuclear weapons on the ISIS areas, or if you don't have the balls for that... break out the napalm.
 
Posted by seekingsister (# 17707) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
you start seeming bigoted.

"Start"?
Yeah - in retrospect I shouldn't have equivocated.
 
Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
You are talking complete nonsense Deano. I live in a predominately Muslim area in Rochdale. My friends and neighbours are Muslims. I pray for peace with my dear friend Adiba. These people are just as outraged by this disgusting organisation calling itself ISIS as we are.

You are talking out utter ignorant prejudice.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Have you met my friend Jesus deano?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
You are talking complete nonsense Deano. I live in a predominately Muslim area in Rochdale. My friends and neighbours are Muslims. I pray for peace with my dear friend Adiba. These people are just as outraged by this disgusting organisation calling itself ISIS as we are.

You are talking out utter ignorant prejudice.

And I will gladly join in that prayer with you, however as the BBC article says the muslim community is aware of many more radicalised muslim men who have trained in Syria and yet they are still at large.

It needs a solution. Nobody has any. Mine is outrageous and violent and distasteful and horrific but it is inevitable. Haven't any of you thought the scenario I have outlined above may actually happen? It will be an Israeli nuke though, if ISIS even so much as look south-west over the Golan Heights!
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Er...I think the IDF is more than capable of dealing with ISIS should they need to without resorting to dropping a nuclear weapon on them which will in all likelihood have its fallout blown their way.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
It will be an Israeli nuke though, if ISIS even so much as look south-west over the Golan Heights!

Why would it? As far as I can see, Israel has shown restraint when Middle Eastern aggresors try to provoke it. I'm thinking, for example, of Saddam Hussein's Scud attacks against Israel during the Gulf War.

___

I think the issue of British jihadis does raise questions about immigration, integration and Moslem integration in particular. But this thread is now obviously not the place to have a discussion on that.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
It will be an Israeli nuke though, if ISIS even so much as look south-west over the Golan Heights!

Why would it? As far as I can see, Israel has shown restraint when Middle Eastern aggresors try to provoke it. I'm thinking, for example, of Saddam Hussein's Scud attacks against Israel during the Gulf War.

___

I think the issue of British jihadis does raise questions about immigration, integration and Moslem integration in particular. But this thread is now obviously not the place to have a discussion on that.

Read Schwarzkopf's autobiography and Colin Powell's autobiography. The background work to prevent the Israeli's from intervening was immense. They had planes in the air!

If ISIS actually move over the Golan Heights I suspect there wont be any diplomacy to prevent the Israeli's from defending themselves, and more than likely the Israeli's will ignore any overtures that are made.

What's in it for the Israeli's to not defend themselves against ISIS?
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Here you go, deano. Get your tissues and settle down to some one-handed viewing.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Mine is outrageous and violent and distasteful and horrific but it is inevitable.

Only if enough people refuse to give up their blinkered, prejudiced, Thunderdome-style "two cultures enter, one culture leaves" way of approaching the issue.

You clearly will not. I can only hope and pray that your idiocy does not spread.
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
No way ISIS invades Israel. The IDF would be the best military ISIS has encountered by far. And if ISIS tried to invade Israel does anybody think the US wouldn't send ground troops to fight with the Israelis? Invading Israel would be suicide. Israel wouldn't need nuclear weapons.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Quite. I'm no particular fan of the IDF but they would knock seventeen kinds of shit out of ISIS.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Beeswax Altar:
Invading Israel would be suicide.

I like your confidence that ISIS fighters won't view suicide as a valid method of waging war! Did the Al Quaeda mob set the autopilots and parachute to safety on 9/11?

Suicide is islamic fanatics raison d'etre until the d'etre stops you numpty!

If it isn't next week, next month or next year, at some point, if ISIS is allowed to secure and stabilise the borders of a "caliphate", the "caliph" will get into some internal political trouble and will - like Syria, Egypt and Jordan before them - try to push Israel into the sea, assuming their numbers and suicidal tendencies will make it work. I have no faith that they will abandon suicide as a mechanism for war.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Two UK Foreign Secretaries argue over Allying With Assad Vs. Merely Attacking His Enemies...

The Guardian
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Third rate fantasy. Nobody is nuking anyone. Especially not Jesus. Though I'm sure you'll have it that He did it to the Cities of the Plain in that first rate one.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Third rate fantasy. Nobody is nuking anyone. Especially not Jesus. Though I'm sure you'll have it that He did it to the Cities of the Plain in that first rate one.

Spot on Martin, spot on! No daylight between us at all.

Yep, the napalm and nukes. The only way to make them sit down and shut up.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Couple of quotes from Benjamin Netanyahu...

quote:
Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas. They’re enemies of Peace. They’re enemies of all civilized countries.
quote:
ISIS and Hamas are “Two branches of the same poison tree,” and cited the oppression of women, Christians and gays as a shared program.
Israel is linking Hamas and ISIS and will not make a distinction between them.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Couple of quotes from Benjamin Netanyahu...

quote:
Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas. They’re enemies of Peace. They’re enemies of all civilized countries.
quote:
ISIS and Hamas are “Two branches of the same poison tree,” and cited the oppression of women, Christians and gays as a shared program.
Israel is linking Hamas and ISIS and will not make a distinction between them.

If he's getting that information from Mossad then Israel's fucked.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
If he's getting that information from Mossad then Israel's fucked.


I doubt his statement is based on any hard information at all, but is rather something along the lines of "Those politicians are all the same, buncha crooks, in it for themselves."
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
quote:
If he's getting that information from Mossad then Israel's fucked.


I doubt his statement is based on any hard information at all, but is rather something along the lines of "Those politicians are all the same, buncha crooks, in it for themselves."
True enough. It depends on Netenyahu's audience and if he's talking to Likud or the government's partners then he has to sound hawkish because in comparative terms, other Likudniks, not to mention some from coalition parties, would like to see Israel drive all Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank full stop.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Sorry, they were Twitter messages from the PM's office.

Link

He was talking to an audience of course but to paraphrase Admiral Josh Painter in The Hunt for Red October...

quote:
"Politician don't take a dump without a plan son!"

 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Sorry, they were Twitter messages from the PM's office.

Link

He was talking to an audience of course but to paraphrase Admiral Josh Painter in The Hunt for Red October...

quote:
"Politician don't take a dump without a plan son!"

Either way, the whole middle east is fucked. Personally I'm hoping for a greater Israel... from the Mediterranean to ooh, India?

That would be amusing, Pakistan with Indian nukes on one side and Israeli nukes on t'other. Sweeeeet!
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
...and Pakistani nukes in the middle? I think I was right: you really do get off on the idea of great oig bangs and towering mushroom clouds, don't you?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Albertus:
...and Pakistani nukes in the middle? I think I was right: you really do get off on the idea of great oig bangs and towering mushroom clouds, don't you?

Ahh... I'm a simple soul. Here's and old joke from the mid 80's. "The weather forecast for Tehran today is partly cloudy and temperatures reaching 100,000 degrees".

It was funny then and it's still funny now.

Hell, we've got 'em and they ain't. Let's use 'em I say.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
Ah, this is like Screwtape Letters, with Deano showing us what the Devil would say, or Colbert with his extreme parody of the crazy right wing. Well done! It took me a while to get it. I thought you were actually a loathsome hate-filled monster!
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
Ah, this is like Screwtape Letters, with Deano showing us what the Devil would say, or Colbert with his extreme parody of the crazy right wing. Well done! It took me a while to get it. I thought you were actually a loathsome hate-filled monster!

Oh no. It ain't trolling if you really believe it. Sorry to pop that particular balloon.

I also like to read P J O'Rourke and Ann Coulter. and Jeremy Clarkson.

[ 22. August 2014, 22:01: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by seekingsister:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Seriously, nobody recognises the voice of the terrorist who beheaded the journalist, no British muslim out there at all has any clue? Or do they have a clue and are just not ringing the police?

You don't think that people close to this individual might have fears for their life if they were to make a report?

Even more than that, deano: You don't think it possible that someone has in fact made a report which is being investigated?

Why should YOU deano, be told that a British muslim has in fact made a report and has called the police? Why would anyone inform YOU? What are YOU going to do about it?

Absolutely bloody nothing. You have no ability to investigate and find out whether such a witness is accurate. Nor, if it's verified to be accurate, do you have any ability to take action against the terrorist in question.

It's just laughable that you go from "no-one has told me who the terrorist is" to "no-one has told anyone who the terrorist might be".

It makes about as much sense as saying that the US couldn't possibly have tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden because they never let you in on the plan. If it really happened, it would have been broadcast live on cable!

[ 23. August 2014, 00:25: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Deano, please stop being an asshole.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Deano, please stop being an asshole.

But you only think I am because of you socialist views. If you didn't have those you may - like MPC - completely agree with me.

Sorry, I reject the premise of your post.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Two points here, deano. (i) One doesn't have to be a socialist to think that you're an arsehole. I suspect, from following threads you've been involved in, that there's more than one very definitely non-socialist shipmate who thinks you're an arsehole. (ii) It's 'if you didn't have those you might - not may- completely agree with me'. The use of 'may' where 'might' is required is increasingly common these days, but it is still almost always a sign that the writer is not thinkiong about what he or she is saying.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Thing is, if you're fighting assholes it's usually necessary to become one yourself.
As much as we all might like Islamic extremism to simply pack it's bags and go away that isn't going to happen.

Banging on about nukes is a bit silly at this stage . We can be sure there are no quick fixes on offer, just the same old carrot and stick mid-east policy the West has used ever since the day we poked our nose in.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Jesus agrees with you too deano.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
rolyn, which is why we should buy them off and talk to them.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Deano reminds me of a computer game about world politics I was shown once (at an astronomy meeting!?) in which any and every scenario ended with nuclear war. There were only limited choices available, though. No giving aid to developing countries, for example. No negotiating with half friendly governments. No interfering with the arms trade. I can't remember what the choices were - probably who one allied with. But they all ended up going boom. I considered it to be very boring, and not worth playing, unless one wanted to see simulations of mushroom clouds. It didn't run simulations of the consequences. (I think the man who was so pleased with showing it off may have had something to do with an organisation which valued IQ tests rather highly.)
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Sorry, I reject the premise of your post.

The sole premise of the post was that you are currently being an asshole.

The evidence that this is true is overwhelming to anyone who has not in fact disappeared up the anus in question.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Penny S: Deano reminds me of a computer game about world politics I was shown once (at an astronomy meeting!?) in which any and every scenario ended with nuclear war.
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

[ 23. August 2014, 11:24: Message edited by: LeRoc ]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
THAT'S what Jesus did.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Sorry, I reject the premise of your post.

The sole premise of the post was that you are currently being an asshole.

The evidence that this is true is overwhelming to anyone who has not in fact disappeared up the anus in question.

Assholes can be recognised by the shit coming out of them.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard
quote:
which is why we should buy them off and talk to them.
In theory buying them off is fine, laudable, civilised and better than brute force and ignorance.

The trouble is, ISIS (or IS) is possibly the best-funded group of fundamentalists ever - so buy them off with what? Money they have; most consumer durables they (allegedly) despise; land - well they seem pretty good at taking that at gun point; more arms would be self-defeating and, in any case, they're fully-stocked with up-to-date weaponry courtesy of the fleeing Iraqi army.

As for talking to them: they won't listen. They regard everyone - absolutely everyone, religion immaterial - who is not IS as an enemy; they even regard most of their fellow muslims as heretics. They accept no nuances or subtleties of opinion in relation to anything: their way is not only the right way, it is the only way.

Any attempt to try to put yourself in their position to understand where they're coming from is interpreted as weakness, or deviousness and weakness.

The only hope with this kind of absolutist mind-set is that time (or real life) brings about a toning down or loosening of attitudes. The problem for the rest of us is that for the people in the immediate area where they are at the moment there is no time. And as IS gets stronger and spreads geographically so more people are left in the same position of having no options and no time.

The same situation was true in past centuries, of course; but where it is so much more dangerous now is that modern communications mean they can advertise their revolting barbarism over the worldwide web, and use the same web to spread their poisonous doctrine of alienation, hatred and violence.

As I've said upthread, any attempt to 'understand' will be interpreted as weakness. I speak with some small knowledge having watched young Iranians I lived with in the 1970s turn from perfectly ordinary run-of-the-mill students into fanatics almost overnight who were as the deaf adder in Psalm 58 - except, of course, that the adder was female and there is nothing more calculated to infuriate your male muslim fanatic than being likened, however remotely, to something female.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Very well said L'organist. In that case we must pay and submit. That's what Jesus did. Subversively. Don't play the game. Talk to them to say we surrender, we have erred, we are sorry, how can we make amends, what do you require? They win and therefore lose.

A good fable.

It's not going to happen, the US alone can EASILY fix the problem, it just doesn't want to be worse than they are. That's all total war costs. So it will compromise and maintain the status quo.

So can WE Christians find a way to be cotton wool between these sharp stones in the geological specimen box?

I have NO idea and can only continue to want to repent of discouraging in working that out.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
We need to be stronger than they are, more ruthless than they are and more vicious than they are. If they think we can and will exterminate them out of hand without a moments thought then they will probably leave the west alone.

I believe the old idea of Pax Romanus needs to be brought back where a Roman citizen could walk across the known world safely lest the might of the Roman army come crashing down around you... Pax Westernus anyone?

Buy them off? Great, give them more money to spend on weapons an operations. Twat.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
We need to be stronger than they are, more ruthless than they are and more vicious than they are. If they think we can and will exterminate them out of hand without a moments thought then they will probably leave the west alone.

Ah, "they". Such a wonderfully non-specific phrase. Everyone can nod their heads in agreement without engaging in the tricky task of working out who "they" are.

Enjoy your global game of Hatfields and McCoys.

Also, funny how what you care about is that leave the West alone. So long as "they" only murder Shiites, Yazidis and Iraqi Christians, you're fine with that, right? But by golly, touch a Westerner and...

[ 23. August 2014, 13:26: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


I believe the old idea of Pax Romanus needs to be brought back where a Roman citizen could walk across the known world safely lest the might of the Roman army come crashing down around you... Pax Westernus anyone?


If you read your history you will find out that Rome endured some terrible defeats and they defined the extent of Roman territory. Teutoburg Forest, the running battles against the Gauls and Celts, the Battle of Carrhae, in what is now Turkey, plus a whole raft of defeats in Africa before Carthage was subdued.

There was a Pax Romanus, but it only held where Rome saw fit, and Romans were smart enough not to pretend otherwise.
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
Whither the United Nations: sacrificed on the altar of Mammon. While the difference between them and us is merely in the packaging.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


I believe the old idea of Pax Romanus needs to be brought back where a Roman citizen could walk across the known world safely lest the might of the Roman army come crashing down around you... Pax Westernus anyone?


If you read your history you will find out that Rome endured some terrible defeats and they defined the extent of Roman territory. Teutoburg Forest, the running battles against the Gauls and Celts, the Battle of Carrhae, in what is now Turkey, plus a whole raft of defeats in Africa before Carthage was subdued.

There was a Pax Romanus, but it only held where Rome saw fit, and Romans were smart enough not to pretend otherwise.

Yes, I didn't pick up the claim that a Roman citizen could walk across the "known world". As opposed to being able to walk across the Roman empire.

I did notice, though, that it's Pax Romana not Pax Romanus, and then I noticed that the Wikipedia article on Pax Romana states that it's the exact opposite of what deano is conceiving, in that the entire point was to have genuine peace rather than to intimidate all opponents into submission, which was the previous Roman tradition.

And then I noticed that the Wikipedia article on Roman citizenship and the rights involved says nothing at all about this notion of having military might behind your back. In fact, the only reference I can find to that notion is a quote from an episode of The West Wing.

quote:
Originally said by President Josiah Bartlet:
Did you know that two thousand years ago a Roman citizen could walk across the face of the known world free of the fear of molestation? He could walk across the Earth unharmed, cloaked only in the protection of the words civis Romanus -- I am a Roman citizen. So great was the retribution of Rome, universally certain, should any harm befall even one of its citizens.

Great show, but hardly a bastion of historical accuracy.

But let's not allow all those trivial details to stand in the way.

[ 23. August 2014, 13:50: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Damn my Latin. And recall of the subtleties too.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
And now, thanks to my curiosity, I've found two debunkings of the West Wing claim. One of which says the error didn't start with the West Wing, but with the Pope in the Middle Ages.

West Wing/Proportional Response

The City of Rome

I really should stop trying to drag deano into the real world, it can only end in tears.

[The poor scroll lock…poor, poor thing —A.]

[ 24. August 2014, 03:33: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Deano wrote:

quote:
I believe the old idea of Pax Romanus needs to be brought back where a Roman citizen could walk across the known world safely lest the might of the Roman army come crashing down around you... Pax Westernus anyone?

So, you want a world where if a western traveller gets beaten up by some drunken cops in a non-western country, troops from NATO or ANZUS or whatever will come parachuting down to rain holy hell on that country?

As an expatriated westerner, allow me to say that that idea is, well, the polar opposite of smart.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Another thing, Deano. Read the comments on this article about two Canadians detained in Egypt, and government efforts to help them.

About 85% of them are along the lines of "These idiots go to a third world hellhole and now they want the government to bail them out??" I have even seen comments laughing at the prospect of them being raped in jail.

And these comments are almost all coming from Canadians. So I'd really question how much support there is in the west for your idea that we should risk our soldiers lives to avenge compatriots overseas.

[ 23. August 2014, 14:23: Message edited by: Stetson ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I had to laugh at that comment, 'they will probably leave the west alone'. I think that could be reversed - when the fuck will the West ever leave the Middle East alone, or the Arab world, come to that? Poke a wasps' nest, and guess what, lots of angry wasps come buzzing out, and then we shout, leave us alone. How fucking stupid and ignorant can we become? Well, plenty of way to go yet.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Martin PC etc

Paying and submitting is not an option if we are expected to have back in this country people who have committed such atrocities and who are on record as looking forward to doing more of the same on our own streets.

For the UK, I'd say that as a precautionary measure anyone who comes back to the UK from Syria should be subject to rigorous investigation - and be under a sensible control order while that is ongoing - until it can be proved that we aren't bring back either someone guilty of war crimes on foreign soil and/or who is hell-bent on perpetrating similar atrocities once back here.

I can here the civil liberties lobby howling even now but I think in this instance we should err on the side of caution: I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the government to do its utmost to protect the majority of UK citizens against the demented barbarism of a small minority.
 
Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I had to laugh at that comment, 'they will probably leave the west alone'. I think that could be reversed - when the fuck will the West ever leave the Middle East alone, or the Arab world, come to that? Poke a wasps' nest, and guess what, lots of angry wasps come buzzing out, and then we shout, leave us alone. How fucking stupid and ignorant can we become? Well, plenty of way to go yet.

As much as I loathe Islamic radicals, that's the constant message that the West receives whenever it bothers asking them what they want. Many of them want the West to stop interfering in their affairs and to stop arming Israel to the teeth.

Which of course the US will not do, because of oil in the region.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I had to laugh at that comment, 'they will probably leave the west alone'. I think that could be reversed - when the fuck will the West ever leave the Middle East alone, or the Arab world, come to that? Poke a wasps' nest, and guess what, lots of angry wasps come buzzing out, and then we shout, leave us alone. How fucking stupid and ignorant can we become? Well, plenty of way to go yet.

As much as I loathe Islamic radicals, that's the constant message that the West receives whenever it bothers asking them what they want. Many of them want the West to stop interfering in their affairs and to stop arming Israel to the teeth.

Which of course the US will not do, because of oil in the region.

Is it just the oil? I suppose so, plus so-called 'strategic interests'. The West seems to have had a love/hate relationship with the Arab world for a long time, and can't leave them alone.

It's striking that massacres in many parts of the world, e.g. Congo, elicit indifference by Western politicians and intellectuals. I suppose Congo is not in our 'sphere of interest' or something. I think 4 million have died there in the recent wars.
 
Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I had to laugh at that comment, 'they will probably leave the west alone'. I think that could be reversed - when the fuck will the West ever leave the Middle East alone, or the Arab world, come to that? Poke a wasps' nest, and guess what, lots of angry wasps come buzzing out, and then we shout, leave us alone. How fucking stupid and ignorant can we become? Well, plenty of way to go yet.

As much as I loathe Islamic radicals, that's the constant message that the West receives whenever it bothers asking them what they want. Many of them want the West to stop interfering in their affairs and to stop arming Israel to the teeth.

Which of course the US will not do, because of oil in the region.

Is it just the oil? I suppose so, plus so-called 'strategic interests'. The West seems to have had a love/hate relationship with the Arab world for a long time, and can't leave them alone.

It's striking that massacres in many parts of the world, e.g. Congo, elicit indifference by Western politicians and intellectuals. I suppose Congo is not in our 'sphere of interest' or something. I think 4 million have died there in the recent wars.

My suspicion is that in the West, many people have this idea of Africa always being a region of poverty, violence, and criminality, so the result is "why bother, Africa has always been that way, why bother interfering?"*

*Conveniently forgetting or being ignorant of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa

The interesting thing about American rhetoric in the Middle East is how different players play the "Evil" role in discourse. First Al Queda was Evil! Then it was Saddam Hussein and Iraq, then it was Assad. Now it is ISIS and there are reports that the US is planning on supporting Assad in its campaign against ISIS:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/west-poised-to-join-forces-with-president-assad-in-face-of-islamic-state- 9686666.html

Basically everyone in the Middle East can play the Evil character, except Israel and Saudi Arabia.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Anglican Brat wrote:

quote:
As much as I loathe Islamic radicals, that's the constant message that the West receives whenever it bothers asking them what they want. Many of them want the West to stop interfering in their affairs and to stop arming Israel to the teeth.

Which of course the US will not do, because of oil in the region.


It's never been clear to me how backing Israel helps the US secure mideast oil. I think FDR and the Saudis basically made the deal to become BFF in the 40s. No Israeli sidekick required. And it's not like Israel's colonization of Pelestine is bringing vast new oilfields under American domain.

I've heard it argued that the alliance with Israel makes it easier for the US to project power into the mideast, but I don't see how. There must be a zillion other ways to run their military show(western powers certainly had no trouble doing that pre-48).

And if it's soft power we're talking about, that is hardly enhanced by having your main ally being the most hated country in the region.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
The UK Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond has said no to joining with Assad's Syrian government, although it appears to pre-date the State Department's statement, so things could change.

[ 23. August 2014, 17:22: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
My suspicion is that in the West, many people have this idea of Africa always being a region of poverty, violence, and criminality, so the result is "why bother, Africa has always been that way, why bother interfering?"*


Actually, France has been pretty deeply involved in post-colonial Africa, mostly in terms of funding, arming, and sometimes providing military backup for dictators of their choice, much like the US in Latin America.
 
Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 
And if it's soft power we're talking about, that is hardly enhanced by having your main ally being the most hated country in the region.

There is a big difference between the Arab regimes and the Arab populations on the street.

The Arabs on the street, may hate Israel, but the Arab governments on the other hand, may be ambivalent or mildly supportive of what Israel is doing. The reason why some Arab regimes, particularly Egypt, have been relatively quiet about Israel's current action in Gaza is that they also despise Hamas and would not cry a tear if it was dismantled.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
The reason why some Arab regimes, particularly Egypt, have been relatively quiet about Israel's current action in Gaza is that they also despise Hamas and would not cry a tear if it was dismantled.


Isn't Egypt possibly also restrained in its commentary by American money, sent over partly on the condition that Egypt be nice to Israel?

I'm asking seriously, because I don't know how blunt Egypt usually is in its opposition to Israeli policy.

And yes, it's true that arab governments may be more tolerant of Israel than the arab masses. But, honestly, if you're the US government, is your ideal ally really going to be the one that provokes street riots against itself across the whole region?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
One more thing...

Even if countries like Egypt approve of Israel going after Hamas, the fact is that Hamas only exists in the first place as a reastion against Israeli policy.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I imagine that at least some Arab countries would be willing to tolerate Hamas right now, because removing them from their sphere of influence would leave a vacuum where ISIS could step in.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
I imagine that at least some Arab countries would be willing to tolerate Hamas right now, because removing them from their sphere of influence would leave a vacuum where ISIS could step in.

Well, something catastrophic has happened in Iraq along those lines. Some of the Sunni tribes had previously fought against Al Quaeda and had driven them out, and had even allied with the US forces, (the so-called 'Awakening' groups).

So there was hope of some kind of peace in Iraq, with the extreme radicals neutralized.

As I said, something has happened to wreck this. Some journalists are saying that it is Maliki's sectarian policies; but possibly, it is also just greed, i.e. trying to take all the financial contracts and cold-shouldering the tribes.

At any rate, this time the tribal leaders seem not to have opposed IS, partly to bring down Maliki.

However, there must still be Sunni who don't want IS bossing everything; who knows if they can begin to group together. Their previous association with the US is now looking like a death warrant, however.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
God bless you deano. Can you join up the dots for me? If you don't fight your enemy, if you refuse to have an enemy, why does he need weapons?

L'organist. My fantasy will happen one day. It is written. We will declare peace. We will love our enemies.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
A strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

This may also apply to interacting with deano.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
As much as I loathe Islamic radicals, that's the constant message that the West receives whenever it bothers asking them what they want. Many of them want the West to stop interfering in their affairs and to stop arming Israel to the teeth.

Which of course the US will not do, because of oil in the region.

quote:
Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
My suspicion is that in the West, many people have this idea of Africa always being a region of poverty, violence, and criminality, so the result is "why bother, Africa has always been that way, why bother interfering?"*

*Conveniently forgetting or being ignorant of the legacy of European colonialism in Africa

Wonderful! Exactly the scenario's I painted upthread. Blame us for supporting Israel, blame us for wanting oil, blame us for having an Empire.

No, blame the muslims for being fuckwitted followers of a non-religion that advocates violence, and for not getting a grip on their children.

We are going to support Israle - that is non-negotiable.

We are going to require their oil until we have developed an adequate independent energy supply for both static (power stations) and modile (cars, planes etc) that allows us to maintain our economies at the present scales, and to grow them as we see fit - that is non-negotiable.

We have had a colonial past, an Empire, and some of us see that as something to be proud of not revilled. Regardless, it is a fact of history and not something that we are going to apolgise for, nor make so-called reparations for - that is non-negotiable.

that's how the real world looks. That is what it is. Stop whinning about it, it isn't going to go away.

Don't you realise how pathetic it makes you look... "Oh how we are wrong, oh how we are to be blamed, oh how we should roll over and let them fuck us and our children!"

Well you can get fucked. I'd rather drop a nuke or napalm on them and lock them up indefinitely.

[ 24. August 2014, 08:05: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
The strange thing is that deano sounds very like Al Quaeda - the same puffed up bombast, and declarations of mercilessness. Mirror-images?

[ 24. August 2014, 08:15: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Not to sound like a heartless jerk or anything, but does anyone else find it a little odd the way the death of James Foley is being portrayed as some sort of moral turning-point in all this?

"..a new context for confronting Isis..."

He's hardly the first civilian killed by Isis in this conflict. Maybe the first American, but the US didn't declare war on El Salvador because of the Maryknoll nuns(for example).

And I can't help but noting that Foley was very much the kind of victim who tugs the heartstrings of well-meaning western liberals: young, progressive world traveller, eager to explore and understand foreign cultures and peoples. As opposed to some slackjawed missionary from Oklahoma who went over to hand out bibles and fridge magnets.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Yes, I thought the same. There is a kind of subterranean racism in all this - IS can kill lots of towelheads, who after all, are (some of them), themselves Muslims, but a nice American boy with clean-cut features - that is a step too far.

Another point is that the Kurds, who are actually on the frontline against IS, are themselves (many of them) Sunni.

At the moment, though, they are good towelheads, although the PKK is still listed as a terrorist organization!
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Whereas you are a fuckwitted follower of a religion that advocates violence.

Which is obviously what Jesus came to teach.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Other weird things that seem to be happening in the region - Hezbollah have raised their heads as voices of moderation, against IS; Iran is supposed to be arming the Kurdish fighters; Al Quaeda has condemned IS as too extreme; as have the Saudis.

It's a bit like musical chairs - who will be Western favourites, when the music stops?

Incidentally, IS have been decapitating Syrian rebels for months, and releasing the videos, but as said above, they are towelheads, so nobody bothers about it.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quetzlcoatl wrote:

quote:
Hezbollah have raised their heads as voices of moderation, against IS
Well, remember, Hezbollah are Shiite in orientation, and IS is basically the Sunni supremacist version of the Ku Klux Klan. So, if nothing else, it's in Hezbollah's mortal interest to oppose IS.

But it'll be interesting to see if this leads to any ad hoc alliances between western interests and Hezbollah. Right now, everyone's waiting with popcorn in hand to see how far our leaders can go with attacking ISIS in Syria without cutting any deals with the Baathists, the mortal enemy of six months ago.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Stetson, anything is possible now. All kinds of weird alliances will arise.

On Friday, a Shia militia slaughtered 70 people at a Sunni mosque, but this militia is linked with the Iraqui government, and have fought against IS!
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I forgot to say that this is one reason that Sunni tribal leaders have been giving IS a free pass, since they see the Iraqui goverment as blatantly sectarian. And some of these leaders fought against Al Quaeda.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Yes, I thought the same. There is a kind of subterranean racism in all this - IS can kill lots of towelheads, who after all, are (some of them), themselves Muslims, but a nice American boy with clean-cut features - that is a step too far.

You say it like it's a bad thing.
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
Is deano for real?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
I have no interest in anyone's skin colour, sexual preference or gender.

I don't even mind if people are genuinely moderate muslims. But I don't see any. The religion itself precludes moderation. It abhors western values and culture and seems to be predicated on destroying it.

That's how it seems to be.

But I am not good at turning the other cheek, and fuck you Martin before you weigh in with some fuckwitted quote about Jesus.

In fact I'm not very good at getting one of my cheeks slapped in the first place. I would rather kick someone who even looks like they MIGHT try to slap my cheek in the bollocks, and give them some shoe when they are down.

I grew up in a tough old pit village, went to a tough old school where I was the brightest child there by some margin and suffered the bullying because of it. I survived school rather than went to school.

So that's my outlook on life - get the first hit in before the other guy seizes the initiative and it ends up as me getting the shoeing.

When I see a threat to me, my family, my lifestyle, my faith, my culture, or my security, my instinct is to deal with that threat and if it requires violence then so be it. And I'm not interested in minimum violence. You stop bullies by giving the worst bully such a good fucking kicking that you put him in hospital and he needs to have facial surgery and new teeth put in at some point. The other's will not dare to try anything.

It works in the playground and in the pub. It will work with muslim fanaticism as well.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
You stop bullies by giving the worst bully such a good fucking kicking that you put him in hospital and he needs to have facial surgery and new teeth put in at some point. The other's will not dare to try anything.

It works in the playground and in the pub. It will work with muslim fanaticism as well.

You try these tactics, do you? Or do you just advocate them for the lower classes you've occasionally talked about?

How did they go? Ever get any injuries yourself? Ever try it with a bully armed with a grenade launcher?
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
The trouble is that for far too long, and for the most ignoble of reasons, 'the west' has tolerated state barbarism in the middle east, just so long as it suited out own ends or they were only torturing, maiming and killing their own citizens or co-religionists.

Before you howl me down, how else to explain the silence of the US and European governments about the revolting abuses of power in Saudi Arabia, about Savak in the Shah's Iran (and Khomeini's thugs after him); about the ruthless exploitation and denial of rights in Kuwait, the UAE states and Bahrain, etc, etc, etc.

Now if 'the west' wishes it can try to pull up the drawbridge to keep the barbarism in the middle east, but the problem will continue of our own citizens who have become radicalised.

Of course, you could (perhaps should) argue further that the seed-bed for UK based radicalism was partly created by the mis-placed attitudes of the multi-cultural lobby that refused to acknowledge that quasi acceptance of all the nastier habits of some of our muslim immigrants (FGM, forced marriage, 'honour' crime, etc) was in reality saying to some immigrant communities that they could do as they liked so long as they kept their unpleasantness within their own sphere.

The tag from Hosea about reaping the whirlwind comes to mind.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
You try these tactics, do you?

Yes, I have done but not so much since I left school, left the village and moved out of poverty into a more middle-class area. I don't go to those particular pubs anymore either for various reasons.

But I'm still very aware when I am in those surroundings of what is going on and who is looking at me and mine in a way I recognise as not friendly.

If I'm with my family we will leave; if I'm with my mates I might not.

quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Or do you just advocate them for the lower classes you've occasionally talked about?

No. See above. I've developed them within that class and took them with me when I thankfully moved out of that class into a better one.

quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
How did they go? Ever get any injuries yourself?

I got injuries before I figured out the best thing to do what get in first. In junior school and early secondary the injuries hurt but didn't last and I managed to give some back anyway.

When I saw the older boys in secondary school and the genuine damage being inflicted I decided I needed to change and as I grew older I got my attacks in first and I made sure they were more damaging than what the bullies would have done to me.

I put one of them in hospital with fractured skull. He was off school for a few months. Am I proud of that? No. I was pleased by the lack of bullying for a good year or so. C'est la vie.

I've been in pub fights where my hit got in first but the other bloke managed to smack me back. I just went in even more aggressively and really hurt that fucker. He needed jaw surgery. Not prod but again nobody ever bothered me in that pub again.

quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Ever try it with a bully armed with a grenade launcher?

Nope. None of the people I fought ever had grenade launchers. If they had I would have scaled up the violence and dropped a nuke on them. Oh... hang on a sec?


Fuck you orfeo and the cowardly little horse you rode in on. Not all of us went to nice, peaceful posh little schools in nice, peaceful posh little areas like you and and because of that some of us recognise the warning signs and know the solutions.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Fuck you orfeo and the cowardly little horse you rode in on. Not all of us went to nice, peaceful posh little schools in nice, peaceful posh little areas like you and and because of that some of us recognise the warning signs and know the solutions.

To become a bigger bully.

Just because you don't label yourself as a bully doesn't mean you aren't one. You put someone in hospital. How often did the 'bullies' actually put people in hospital? As often as you? You've in fact stated that you caused greater damage than the damage you were trying to avoid. You're just happy because it happened to someone you didn't like.

You want to see what cycles of escalating reprisals look like? Look at Israel and its enemies. Look at the relationship between the West and radical Islam. Look at the Hatfields and the McCoys.

And all you want to do is escalate it up another notch.

You still haven't acknowledged that your belief about 'Pax Romanus' is a fantasy that is the exact opposite of the true facts about Pax Romana. Do you get it? The entire POINT of Pax Romana was to not be the kind of "well, they're too terrified to attack me" approach that you advocate.

What you're advocating is in no sense peace. It is eternal vigilance. It is having to have the weapon at hand at all times, because people will hate you and if they ever notice that you're not holding that weapon, that will be the moment they take to pounce.

Your proposals all escalate hatred of the West to a ridiculous degree. They will provide large numbers of people who can tolerate living on the same globe as you with a reason to actively hate you. And you'll rely on all these barriers and defences to prevent them getting to you, somehow satisfied that they're somehow in the wrong for hating you for what you've done. You'll label their hatred as innate and irrational and motiveless, blissfully unaware that dropping nuclear bombs and locking up an entire generation without trial are actually quite sound reasons to hate you.

[ 24. August 2014, 12:47: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Bostonman (# 17108) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Nope. None of the people I fought ever had grenade launchers. If they had I would have scaled up the violence and dropped a nuke on them. Oh... hang on a sec?

You know a nuclear warhead doesn't just kill ONE person, don't you? So your analogy here is more or less that you'd preemptively shoot up the entire school to stop the bully? That you'd throw a hand grenade into the bar and walk away? Hint: when you advocate killing all your schoolmates to minimize bullying, you're maximizing bullying.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
And I'm not interested in minimum violence. You stop bullies by giving the worst bully such a good fucking kicking that you put him in hospital and he needs to have facial surgery and new teeth put in at some point. The other's will not dare to try anything.

It works in the playground and in the pub. It will work with muslim fanaticism as well.

Strong words on the internet there deano. The methods you advocate work well there too, where there's no possibility* of anyone taking a cyberbully, or an offensive loudmouth, outside and giving them a good shoeing.

*Actually that's not entirely true: there's a Welsh rugby site I use which also has pen-names, but everyone lives within c 30 miles of Bridgend and at least 80% are known to others. It's passionate, but civil. Even to the English.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I put one of them in hospital with fractured skull. He was off school for a few months. Am I proud of that? No. I was pleased by the lack of bullying for a good year or so. C'est la vie.

Oh deano. You're such a softie. You should have killed him. That would have put an end to the bullying permanently. People would have been so happy.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I don't even mind if people are genuinely moderate muslims. But I don't see any.

You aren't looking very hard then.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
deano,

I've just read your long post to orfeo. It seems that your reaction to every threat to your personal safety has been to instil fear into others. As it has worked for you, you seem to think it will work for others, regardless of whether they are physically and mentally equipped or have might on their side.

Consider this: you're a young Muslim guy in Iraq. Your family has been killed in an American bombing raid or by the post-2003 Iraqi army, ie after the fall of Saddam Hussain. Who do you hold responsible? If you are looking after your own safety, what do you do? I expect that making peace with the post-2003 Iraqi army and others backed by the United States comes a long way down the list of options.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

So that's my outlook on life - get the first hit in before the other guy seizes the initiative and it ends up as me getting the shoeing.

Ah yes, the good Ol' *Pre-emptive strike* . Fat lot of friggin good that's done us since those sunny days of March 03 .

Given the situation we have now ? Containment is the only option . If I really and truly thought someone like General deano could eradicate extremism for all time they'd get my vote . Problem is it's already been tried.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
And God bless you deano, with the awareness of His Son Jesus' love.

Did you get my little irony earlier? Or was it too subtle?
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
And I'm not interested in minimum violence. You stop bullies by giving the worst bully such a good fucking kicking that you put him in hospital and he needs to have facial surgery and new teeth put in at some point. The other's will not dare to try anything.

It works in the playground and in the pub. It will work with muslim fanaticism as well.

Strong words on the internet there deano. The methods you advocate work well there too, where there's no possibility* of anyone taking a cyberbully, or an offensive loudmouth, outside and giving them a good shoeing.

*Actually that's not entirely true: there's a Welsh rugby site I use which also has pen-names, but everyone lives within c 30 miles of Bridgend and at least 80% are known to others. It's passionate, but civil. Even to the English.

Deano reminds me of so many people I've met, who stand at the back, shouting, forwards. Empty words.

[ 24. August 2014, 13:57: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I put one of them in hospital with fractured skull. He was off school for a few months.

Look everybody! It's a tough guy ... on the Internet!

So in this story in which you attack someone and fracture his skull, do you also end up serving time in prison?
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I'm immensely proud of having stood up to bullies. And ashamed of having failed to do so. And everything in between. Including being mugged with a friend by six guys. That was miraculous in its outcome.

Standing up to one transformed our relationship. It was remarkable.

Pouring coals of plutonium fire pre-emptively on ones potential persecutors isn't quite what Jesus meant deano.

Do you know Him by the way?
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Yes, little boys go on the internet, and say, I am very very hard, and if you annoy me, I will cut your head off. And then there's deano, who envies them so much.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Deano has mates.

That's the most astonishing thing I've read aboard Ship for a long time ...
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Oh dear. If eve people like you lot ever come to power I fear for us.

Thank fuck the overwhelming majority of you are far to left wing to ever have any chance of real power on either side of the pond.

I was asked a series of questions by orfeo. I answered them, not to prove my toughness which is zero, hence my getting the hits in first, but because he asked.

Some of you didn't like the answers. I don't give a fuck.
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
Does this mean we're not going to get any details about that time you attacked someone and put him in the hospital with a fractured skull?

I was hoping you could make it sound more impressive. As it is, it hardly compares to that time when I killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
That's what Jesus would do.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
So in this story in which you attack someone and fracture his skull, do you also end up serving time in prison?

Exactly what I was wondering. Also about the guy who required surgery on his jaw.

And ... why exactly should we take seriously the opinions of a criminal? Because that's what he is.

[ 24. August 2014, 17:57: Message edited by: RuthW ]
 
Posted by Ethne Alba (# 5804) on :
 
This is so much arm chair theorising.....we haven't got a clue.

None of us.

And not knowing what to do...well it doesn't half produce some interesting ideas.

[ 24. August 2014, 17:58: Message edited by: Ethne Alba ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
Does this mean we're not going to get any details about that time you attacked someone and put him in the hospital with a fractured skull?

I was hoping you could make it sound more impressive. As it is, it hardly compares to that time when I killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Hey come on, I beat up a whole gang, just with a pencil. 3 of them ended up in hospital, one of them had an orgasm, and one of them asked me to marry him. I was well 'ard!
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
I'm not left-wing at all, deano. It's just that you are so far to the right that anyone who isn't Genghiz Khan looks like some kind of woolly librul who isn't well 'ard.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
Is "well 'ard" some sort of sexual thing? It sounds like some sort of sexual thing... [Confused]

knowwhatimean knowwhatimean saynomore saynomore eh eh eh?
 
Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Deano, please stop being an asshole.

But you only think I am because of you socialist views. If you didn't have those you may - like MPC - completely agree with me.

Sorry, I reject the premise of your post.

The only view I have right now is a view of your backside. It doesn't take any politics at all to recognize an asshole. The look doesn't suit you at all.

Stop being one.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
'e's uh dog in 'stEnders en 'e.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
And Chast, we're English. We do NOT compliment a chap on the turgor of his member. Even in impolite society. It just ISN'T done, even alluded to old chap.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Some of you didn't like the answers. I don't give a fuck.

Oh good. Then you won't give a fuck that we don't like your answers for Middle Eastern conflict either, and will stop banging the table and shouting about how we should agree with you.

PS Oh look. I've just noticed that the suspected killer of James Foley has been identified. That certainly takes away ONE of your reasons for ranting and raving, about how no-one had told you who it was within the first few minutes of the murder. You berk.

[ 24. August 2014, 22:43: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
Does this mean we're not going to get any details about that time you attacked someone and put him in the hospital with a fractured skull?

I was hoping you could make it sound more impressive. As it is, it hardly compares to that time when I killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Hey come on, I beat up a whole gang, just with a pencil. 3 of them ended up in hospital, one of them had an orgasm, and one of them asked me to marry him. I was well 'ard!
A pencil? Ha! I used a withering glance and a few well-chosen bon mots.*

* NB I'm not claiming they were in French; though if they were, I'm not sure how that would reflect on my 'ardness. Would it indicate that I am more 'ard, or rather that I am less 'ard? I cannot say.
 
Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

I don't even mind if people are genuinely moderate muslims. But I don't see any. The religion itself precludes moderation. It abhors western values and culture and seems to be predicated on destroying it.

To be fair to you, you probably don't know very many ordinary Muslims; or perhaps your personal or professional life involves undue contact with Islamist extremists.

You say that Muslims uniformly hate 'Western values', but I thinhk it would make more sense to say that in a globalised, interconnected world, we all influence each other. Muslims probably appreciate and seek to absorb some aspects of 'Western values', but that doesn't necessarily mean that every Muslim will adore all things Western. The British Empire's gone now!

Relatively speaking, though, Muslims around the world probably have to negotiate Westernisation far more than the average middle class Englishman in a middle class community has to negotiate Islamicisation. They have to cope with Americanisation, the dominance of the English language, rising demand for consumer goods, increasing levels of education - particularly for girls - and improvements in medical care. One outcome of all of this is the gradual reduction in fertility. Yes, even in the Muslim world! Just the other day I learnt that the average number of children per woman in Bangladesh was now less than three. Family planning is a 'Western value', isn't it?

[ 24. August 2014, 23:23: Message edited by: SvitlanaV2 ]
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I don't even mind if people are genuinely moderate muslims. But I don't see any.

To be fair to you ...
To be fair to deano, he probably wouldn't recognise a moderate muslim if one smacked his head on the pavement till his skull fractured, shouting all the while, 'I am a moderate muslim, you fucking ignorant bully!'

And, again, to be fair (of course) we wouldn't recognise a moderate muslim who did that either, because by his actions he would be self-proclaiming as extreme, whatever words he came out with. But then, if that is the only language deano understands, what is the moderate muslim to do? You see the problem?

Pity deano can't.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
My oldest friend was a Sufi, now alas, gone to meet the Beloved. He was not violent! As far as I could see, neither were his Sufi mates.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
Does this mean we're not going to get any details about that time you attacked someone and put him in the hospital with a fractured skull?

I was hoping you could make it sound more impressive. As it is, it hardly compares to that time when I killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Oh you want detail. Okay....

Two of the schools biggest bullies sat down one either side one wet lunchtime. We had bays and I was sat in an end one which backed up to a brick wall. My back was to the wall. i was reading a physics text book.

As I say they sat down next to me. They started to take the piss and try to grab the book. I knew what was going to happen because I'd seen it before and suffered it before.

I stuffed the text book back in my bag, which had other books in as well. It was a sports style bag. I grabbed the handles and swung it up as hard and fast as I could into the guy on my lefts face. His head was slammed back into the wall and he fell face forwards. He was out for twenty seconds or so. The other guy legged it. I walked away.

The next thing I knew was a note coming round saying xxxx had been taken to hospital with a possible fractured skull.

I was thirteen or fourteen. A criminal eh? How very left wing and totally of the comfortably raised!

If you don't like the answers don't ask the questions.

By the way, my quote above was paraphrased from Jed Bartlett's speech in The West Wing. Is it accurate? No and a few of you have shown that to be the case.

That is an irrelevance though. i agree with the principle. If a westerner is killed in a village in Pakistan for jihadist reasons, we should eradicate the village. Everyone dies the buildings are levelled and it is gone.

If terrorist blow up a tube train, find out if they were Sunni or Shia and then nuke a middle eastern city and again erase it from existence.

That will raise the question in the jihadists minds as to whether they dare to carry out operations against the west.

Pax Westerna. If a muslim kills one westerner, we will retaliate by killing a disproportionate number of muslims.

We need to inform the muslim world that islam cannot be spread by the sword. It is a tradition, in some minds and obligation and may be advocated in the Koran for all I know.

But it must be shown to be not possible anymore. A bullet gets a missile, a grenade launcher gets a full on air strike and suicide bomb gets a nuke. The jihadis need to be shown that spreading islam by the sword is no longer a viable principle.

In fact, as an ultimate demonstration of that fact, I would advocate dropping a nuclear weapon on Mecca. That way muslims wont need a compass to locate the right direction to pray in, they will need a Geiger Counter!
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
And if a Muslim is killed anywhere in the world by the kafir, we should make sure that a 1000 kafir are killed in reply! God is good. (Al Quaeda training manual).

Spot the difference.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
ChastMaster - 'hard' can mean tough in idiomatic English over here. So 'well 'ard' means 'very tough'. It's a kind of 'Mockney thing' ... Mock Cockney.

Meanwhile, we need to be all lefty, loving and affirmative with poor old deano. He was bullied at school and this explains why he acts like one online.

It's pitiable really, like his rather myopic view of the world.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I'm surprised that such religious hatred is OK on this forum. Is it really alright to advocate dropping a nuclear bomb on Mecca?
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Deano is just blustering - and also displaying his lamentable lack of geographical understanding. Some of the communities he wants to nuke contain people of many faiths and not just particular branches of Islam.

But that doesn't matter to him. They are all foreigners so it doesn't count.

All I can say is that he must have received a pretty high level of bullying to turn him into the monster he is today.

There was a fair bit of bullying at the bog-standard comprehensive I attended in a South Wales Valley. I'm a twin so attracted a fair deal of attention - 'If I hit yewer brother will yew feel it as well?'

It wasn't pleasant, but it didn't turn me into a venomous, twisted cross between Jeremy Clarkson and Attila the Hun.

Deano is proud of his own ignorance. That's the scary thing.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
deano

One of the things about Judaism and Christianity is that we subscribe to a view that killing people is wrong.

That applies to everyone, even the people we don't like, people of whom we disapprove, even people who are either trying to kill us or who say they will strive to kill us. Dammit, it even applies to people killed in the course of war or those killed by the state in those barbarous nations which still carry out capital punishment, such as the USA, Saudi Arabia, China, etc.

And 'nuking' is going to kill a lot of people so is most definitely very wrong indeed.

There's also the problem that you'll render the area uninhabitable for goodness knows how long, plus wipe out thousands of innocent men, women and children.

We cannot fight or oppose these people by sinking to their level, however tempting. But we should look at our past behaviours and see what we might have done differently so as to prevent more of the same in the future.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
Deano is just blustering - and also displaying his lamentable lack of geographical understanding. Some of the communities he wants to nuke contain people of many faiths and not just particular branches of Islam.

But that doesn't matter to him. They are all foreigners so it doesn't count.

All I can say is that he must have received a pretty high level of bullying to turn him into the monster he is today.

There was a fair bit of bullying at the bog-standard comprehensive I attended in a South Wales Valley. I'm a twin so attracted a fair deal of attention - 'If I hit yewer brother will yew feel it as well?'

It wasn't pleasant, but it didn't turn me into a venomous, twisted cross between Jeremy Clarkson and Attila the Hun.

Deano is proud of his own ignorance. That's the scary thing.

I get you about bluster, and that he is a joke really. But then Al Quaeda were laughed at in the early days, when their bombastic preachers produced their puffed up revenge fantasies.

Well, there isn't much difference, is there? Would you be happy with an AQ preacher being on the forum? What about impressionable people who might read it, and act on it?
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Deano, your strategy sounds like a good way of turning the 90% or so of moderate peaceful muslims into fire-breathing Western haters .

I sometimes think that at some time, in the far off future, if/when Islam becomes the dominant Global religion people will say it forced Christianity out by the sword .
The truth, as many of us know it now , is that much of Western Christianity is dying on it's arse through natural causes without the help of anyone's sword.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
It wasn't pleasant, but it didn't turn me into a venomous, twisted cross between Jeremy Clarkson and Attila the Hun.

Unfair to Clarkson, who may be a bit of a twat at times, but has never (as far as I know) advocated war crimes. It might even be unfair to Attila. Let's face it, deano has just lost it.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
That's why we argue with deano, to point out that we don't agree with his views.

He's so caught up in his obnoxious world view and enjoying the affirmation he receives from the distressingly high number of others with the same opinion that I doubt we'll change his mind, so arguing with him is pointless. The best to hope for is that he says something in real life to the wrong person and learns why it's so offensive up close and personally.

Cross-posted with the world so edited to make it clear I meant deano

[ 25. August 2014, 10:44: Message edited by: Curiosity killed ... ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Deano, your strategy sounds like a good way of turning the 90% or so of moderate peaceful muslims into fire-breathing Western haters .

Fine. Bring it on. Let's get it over and done with and start the war that they want. We will win at a stroll and they will be eradicated from existence which makes your following point moot.

quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
I sometimes think that at some time, in the far off future, if/when Islam becomes the dominant Global religion people will say it forced Christianity out by the sword .
The truth, as many of us know it now , is that much of Western Christianity is dying on it's arse through natural causes without the help of anyone's sword.

I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

Is that clear enough for you?
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Is it really alright to advocate dropping a nuclear bomb on Mecca?

Didn't a former US President mentioned it ? The same who said to the Iraqi insurgents 'Bring it on'.
They've certainly done that.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
]I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

And how are you going to do that? Nuke the entire globe and start again from scratch? You sound more and more like a Bond villain with every word you post.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

Is that clear enough for you?

That is clear to me .

Just a tad unnerving as your mindset seems identical to the average Joe-IS currently committing atrocities in Northern Iraq.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Well, perhaps that's what it will take. A mindset that matches theirs rather than a mindset that is weaker than theirs and has no answers anyway.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
]I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

And how are you going to do that? Nuke the entire globe and start again from scratch? You sound more and more like a Bond villain with every word you post.
Yes. I just showed this stuff to my wife, and she laughed like a drain, and said, you wally, you've been set up. Damn, I thought I'd got good at detecting wind-ups. There's no fool like an old fool.
 
Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
Deano,

How do you define your neighbour?

You seem to be a member of the same subset of Christianity as Anders Breivik only without the willingness to suit actions to words.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
]I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

And how are you going to do that? Nuke the entire globe and start again from scratch? You sound more and more like a Bond villain with every word you post.
Yes. I just showed this stuff to my wife, and she laughed like a drain, and said, you wally, you've been set up. Damn, I thought I'd got good at detecting wind-ups. There's no fool like an old fool.
Seriously? Is that what you and she believe?

I am quite serious.

If you think I am winding you up, fair enough. There's nothing I can do to stop that except to say it isn't.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
quetzalcoatl - unfortunately deano is consistently the same poster across the boards - and this suggests he's for real.

I have met and worked with teenage boys (and their fathers) who have similar views. Too much CoD and war-gaming seems to build some very unrealistic ideas as to what is possible and how real people react.

I guess what we should request is that games designers include radicalisation as an effect of actions and that the implementation of a nuclear weapon ends the game with everyone killed.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
A mindset like Jesus'?

[ 25. August 2014, 11:58: Message edited by: Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
quetzalcoatl - unfortunately deano is consistently the same poster across the boards - and this suggests he's for real.

I have met and worked with teenage boys (and their fathers) who have similar views. Too much CoD and war-gaming seems to build some very unrealistic ideas as to what is possible and how real people react.

I guess what we should request is that games designers include radicalisation as an effect of actions and that the implementation of a nuclear weapon ends the game with everyone killed.

Yes, it depends on what you mean by 'real'. I've met wind-up people who kept it up for years and years, and kind of lived inside the part. As you say, teenage boys can go on like this for a long time, but a lot of them grow up. But not all of them.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Yes, I'm afraid deano is all too real. It's down to his arrested development due to the bullying he received at school.

Similar arrested development leads people to become jihadists.

If we wanted to be reductionist about it, then we could say that Kaiser Bill started WW1 because he was bullied over his withered arm, that Napoleon wanted to conquer the whole of Europe because he had a very small willy and deano ...
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I think he didn't get enough titty from his mummy; it's well known that this produces intense revenge fantasies for the rest of one's life. I bet a lot of jihadists are into heavy titty porn.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
By the way, my quote above was paraphrased from Jed Bartlett's speech in The West Wing. Is it accurate? No and a few of you have shown that to be the case.

That is an irrelevance though. i agree with the principle.

An irrelevance, eh?

You agree with a principle that hasn't been shown to work in practice. You were quite keen, originally, on the fact that it had been shown to work in practice. It's interesting that it's taken you this long to recover from the blow to your argument and come back with "I don't care if it hasn't been done before! It's STILL right!"

[ 25. August 2014, 12:22: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I'm surprised that such religious hatred is OK on this forum. Is it really alright to advocate dropping a nuclear bomb on Mecca?

Leave the hosting to the Hosts, thanks.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Deano, your strategy sounds like a good way of turning the 90% or so of moderate peaceful muslims into fire-breathing Western haters .

Fine. Bring it on. Let's get it over and done with and start the war that they want. We will win at a stroll and they will be eradicated from existence which makes your following point moot.

[Killing me] What, you mean how we won at a stroll the last time?

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - Vizzini in the Princess Bride.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I think he didn't get enough titty from his mummy; it's well known that this produces intense revenge fantasies for the rest of one's life. I bet a lot of jihadists are into heavy titty porn.

Well now if not getting enough from my mother made me right-wing, then may I suggest that given the totality of your left-wing views, you may have got too much from your mother. Indeed, I suspect you were fucking her anally for quite a few years to become so socialist.

I hope you and she enjoyed it. Perhaps your wife might like to read this little post as well.

Of course, if she wants a real man who cares enough about her to not have her forced into a burkha, then she'll have to look around for someone other than you.

And I bet your fucking ugly. With a small dick.

Hey Martin, would Jesus tell quetzalcoatl he's fucking ugly witha small dick? I bet he would. I bet Jesus would have gone "Hey quetzal fellah, you are one ugly fucker, and you have a small dick! Ha! Hey Peter, come and look at this ugly fucker with a small dick!".
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Deano, your strategy sounds like a good way of turning the 90% or so of moderate peaceful muslims into fire-breathing Western haters .

Fine. Bring it on. Let's get it over and done with and start the war that they want. We will win at a stroll and they will be eradicated from existence which makes your following point moot.

[Killing me] What, you mean how we won at a stroll the last time?

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - Vizzini in the Princess Bride.

Err, I said we WILL win at a stroll. Not we DID win at a stroll.

Proof-reading before hitting "Add Reply" is your friend. Try it. Dickhead.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
It's 'you're' not 'your'.

They obviously didn't learn you how to spell proper at that sink-estate school you managed to escape from through force of arms.

Knuckle-dragger.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Deano, your strategy sounds like a good way of turning the 90% or so of moderate peaceful muslims into fire-breathing Western haters .

Fine. Bring it on. Let's get it over and done with and start the war that they want. We will win at a stroll and they will be eradicated from existence which makes your following point moot.

[Killing me] What, you mean how we won at a stroll the last time?

You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - Vizzini in the Princess Bride.

Err, I said we WILL win at a stroll. Not we DID win at a stroll.

Proof-reading before hitting "Add Reply" is your friend. Try it. Dickhead.

This dickhead can read just fine. I find it utterly hilarious that you think we'll win at a stroll precisely because this isn't remotely the history of our engagement in the region during the last 35 years.

Learning history before posting ludicrous propositions is your friend. Try it. Large grotesque caricature with a brain the size of a microbe.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
It's 'you're' not 'your'.

They obviously didn't learn you how to spell proper at that sink-estate school you managed to escape from through force of arms.

Knuckle-dragger.

What a pity you're completely wrong. Stay out of it.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
[Confused]

I was right about it being 'you're' and not 'your'.

'You're ugly' not 'your ugly'.

But I'll stay out of it. The rest of the post was a jibe because ...

Oh never mind ...
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
[Confused]

I was right about it being 'you're' and not 'your'.

'You're ugly' not 'your ugly'.

But I'll stay out of it. The rest of the post was a jibe because ...

Oh never mind ...

Oh FFS. Look at which post was the last one. It would not be correct to say "Proof-reading before hitting 'Add Reply' is you are friend." PROOF-READING IS YOUR FRIEND.

But I bet you were making a crack at the post higher up the page, right?

If you can't be arsed to learn how to use quotation marks or otherwise indicate which post you're replying to, are we supposed to guess? Are we psychic?

And if all you've got to contribute is a pissweak little grammar lesson, then yes, stay out of it.

[ 25. August 2014, 13:17: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
This thing about winning at a stroll is odd, since while the invasion of Iraq did go quite easily, since the Iraqui army largely melted away, yet it has produced the mother of all messes, and the smashing of its infrastructure, and in part, IS itself. How would we go on and win then? I suppose drop a nuclear bomb on Baghdad, that will stop the ragheads whining about Western imperialism.

Cue song, 'genocide is painless, it brings on many changes, and I can take or leave it as I please ...'

[ 25. August 2014, 13:20: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by piglet (# 11803) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
... Let's get it over and done with and start the war that they want. We will win at a stroll ...

I suspect that the kind of war you're talking about might not have any winners, or if it did, they wouldn't have anywhere safe to live.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
A little bit of good news from a load of shite.
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
It all makes more sense once you realize that deano is fundamentally a coward.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Oh it's a rising-tide of it, is it? Not just me then?

From the article, Mr Youssef is quoted as saying...

quote:
"It is our duty as Australians to speak out against the terror and genocide happening in the Middle East and elsewhere," he said.
Well go on then. Don't let me stop you. Whilst your at it Mr Youssef can you name names please?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Oh yes, because an Australian Muslim has the whole of Iraq and Syria on speed dial. [Roll Eyes]

Do you know what the MOST irritating part of the deano show is? For me, anyway?

It's the constant jumping up and down demanding that other people come up with solutions and information and what-not.

As if anybody has TIME in between reacting to your ideas. Seriously. We're dealing with someone who thinks that it's preferable to spend 5 minutes coming up with an idiotic solution and doing it NOW rather than spending days or weeks considering approaches to a nuanced and complex problem.

If you'd just stop dominating the thread like a yapping dog and shut the fuck up for a while, maybe the rest of us would actually have time to discuss something else besides your relentless egotistical dominance of the conversation through deliberately offering up the most over-the-top schemes you can think of.

I don't think you actually want solutions. I think you actively enjoy being the centre of attention. I think you're a childish troll.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
I have been informed in the Styx that I am engaging in hate-speech. I reject that and I will clarify it...

1) I have no wish to kill any innocent people. But in wars they do die. That's the nature of war. If innocents have to die then I prefer them to be of the muslim faith than western. I don't believe that is hate, just a simple statement of the reality of war and of finding oneself on a particular side.

2) I believe that nobody - certainly on this thread, and not it TRW - has any answers to islamic militantism. I believe that a disproportionate response will be more productive - for the west - than a proportionate one. I don't want to drop a bomb on them because they are muslim, but because some of them want to kill me. If they were white lesbian women living in a particular part of the world trying to destroy what I hold dear then I would be equally as keen to drop a bomb on them. In fact if they were white, middle-class people living in a particular part of the world and they wanted to destroy all I hold dear, then I would advocate dropping a bomb on them too. But at the moment neither of the latter two circumstances exist. There is a real one to deal with.

3) I am a Christian - whether you like it or not - and I do not recognise islam as a legitimate faith. I'm sorry but I don't see how I can, as a Christian, recognise as an equal, a faith that doesn't agree with Christ as God made flesh, or that he was crucified and was resurrected. I agree people holding those views in faith have a right to equality under the law - that is beyond dispute - but don't ask me to personally give it legitimacy beyond what the law says I must. If you want it in stark terms, I prefer to follow a religion that says Jesus Christ was the Son of God and he rose from death, than one that denies that on the strength of some blokes dreams. Sorry.

4) I don't give a damn about the colour of anyone's skin, be they black, white, brown or whatever. A black Jew or a white Buddhist isn't out to destroy the culture I live in and force me to convert to their faith. A white muslim might well be.

5) I admit I do hate people to want to destroy me, my family, my faith, my country or my culture. Be they muslim or whatever. It's just that at the moment the ones who do want to destroy those things ARE muslim. Do I hate all muslims? No. No I do not. Let me state that loud and clear. There is a definite line to be drawn in the sand here and I will make it clear that I do NOT hate all muslims. I do hate the ones with violence in their hearts. I'm just not sure what is in the hearts of the remaining ones. As keeps getting quoted on the ship "By their fruits shall you know them". I want to see the fruits of their moderation.

6) I really don't give a rat-fuck about some of the amateur psychology or grammar-Nazis that aren't able to keep up with the debate and want to divert it, and I'm more than willing to get down and dirty trading offensive insults if that's what is desired.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Do I hate all muslims? No. No I do not.

Then maybe you'd like to retract the suggestion of locking up all Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30 without trial?

And maybe you'd like to find a capital letter once in a while. If you are a "Christian" then they are "Muslims". If you're going to continue to talk about "muslims", I'm going to start calling you a "christian". You successfully capitalise "Jew" and "Buddhist" while relentlessly refusing to give followers of Islam the same courtesy.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
]I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

And how are you going to do that? Nuke the entire globe and start again from scratch? You sound more and more like a Bond villain with every word you post.
Yes. I just showed this stuff to my wife, and she laughed like a drain, and said, you wally, you've been set up. Damn, I thought I'd got good at detecting wind-ups. There's no fool like an old fool.
I pretty much stopped buying into Deano's blue-collar-hero, shock-the-guardianistas schtick a couple of pages back. I'm sure he believes in the overall viewpoint he's promoting, but his presentation is just so over the top, I can't really take it seriously as engagable commentary.

Mileage may vary, but unless one is the kind of person who enjoys trolling as an art form in and of itself, I'd recomment just disengaging from Deano's discourse.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
That friend speaks my mind.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Then maybe you'd like to retract the suggestion of locking up all Muslim men between the ages of 18 and 30 without trial?

No. As I say, I don't want to intern them because the are muslim, but because many of them have death-to-the-west in their hearts and I can't decide which is which from their fruits.

I'll advocate locking up white Christians if they are trying to kill me. Like we did in NI in the 60's & 70's. No problem at all. Not hate, just a practical suggestion for handling people who DO hate us in the west.


quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
And maybe you'd like to find a capital letter once in a while. If you are a "Christian" then they are "Muslims". If you're going to continue to talk about "muslims", I'm going to start calling you a "christian". You successfully capitalise "Jew" and "Buddhist" while relentlessly refusing to give followers of Islam the same courtesy.

How unsurprising that someone as PC as you noticed that I was doing that. It was deliberate on my part.

No I will not give them the benefit of capital letters. Why should I when I do not give their faith equal credence to mine except so far as the law mandates it. The law doesn't say I must capitalise any words as far as I'm aware.

I'll knock of the capitalism of buddhist by all means, and any others that I refer to in teh future such as hindu or shinto. Not Jew though, because Christ was a Jew and they are part of the Judeo-Christian ethos that underpins my own faith. I'll give them the same respect as Christianity.

[ 25. August 2014, 15:04: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Some doubts that the execution of James Foley was actually filmed.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
How unsurprising that someone as PC as you noticed that I was doing that. It was deliberate on my part.

No I will not give them the benefit of capital letters. Why should I when I do not give their faith equal credence to mine except so far as the law mandates it. The law doesn't say I must capitalise any words as far as I'm aware.

I'll knock of the capitalism of buddhist by all means, and any others that I refer to in teh future such as hindu or shinto. Not Jew though, because Christ was a Jew and they are part of the Judeo-Christian ethos that underpins my own faith. I'll give them the same respect as Christianity.

It's not because I'm PC, it's because I'm a professional writer who is paid for his analytical skills and attention to detail.

You are a pathetic little shit, aren't you? Bending the normal rules of the English language to make a point. Mostly a point about your insecurity.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
I don't mind anyone having a go at Guardianistas and alleged PC-ness and whatever else, provided they do it from a position of insight and credibility ...

Rather than them simply being a twat.

In deano's case that would be rather too much to ask.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
There are certainly British Kurds going out to fight with the peshmerga; I suppose at the moment they are good guys, but just wait a few months, and maybe they will be wearing the black hats.

Maybe various governments could publish regular bulletin boards, indicating which groups are in favour and which not.

Thus, Shia militia - possibly OK, unless involved in massacres.
Sunni militia - dodgy, especially with black flags.
Kurdish militia - good guys right now.
Non-Islamist Syrian rebels - oh, I don't fucking know.
Hezbollah - formerly very bad guys, but might be useful to us.
pro-Assad groups - once very bad, but possibly on the rise now.
pro-Iranian, see under Syrian rebels, no idea.
Deano - jihadist nutter, sedate.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

Yes. We ignored the likes of you then as well.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

How about Western politicians who go out there? Are they presumed guilty?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

How about Western politicians who go out there? Are they presumed guilty?
Depends what they're doing when they're out there I would suppose.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Quetzlcoatl wrote:

quote:
There are certainly British Kurds going out to fight with the peshmerga; I suppose at the moment they are good guys, but just wait a few months, and maybe they will be wearing the black hats.


Part of me thinks the whole issue of westerners fighting in the mideast is overhyped, and gets its traction more from a sense of cultural anxiety("OMG! That executioner has a BRITISH ACCENT!!"), rather than from any actual increase in threat level.

I gather the idea is that these kids are all gonna head off to fight for Isis, and come back all radicalized and ready to rumble. But, logic would dictate that they were already radicalized before they headed off to join Isis.

I suppose you could argue that actually going there and getting involved in violence makes them more likely to engage in violence when they get back to western soil, as compared to when their radicalization was just at the theoretical stage, pre-expatriation.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I've read accounts of some kids who went out to Syria, rather 'moderate', whatever that means, and getting radicalized out there. I don't know how that would work really, whether it's some kind of adolescent melodrama going on, or maybe the Islamists are the best fighters?

Also maybe it happens in civil wars - both sides tend to get more and more extreme - in the Spanish Civil War, you ended up with priests being shot in the head, and so on. I suppose this is a polarization. I remember Trotsky wrote about this, and said that civil wars become desperate really, and you end up with barbarism.

But maybe all wars do this - you end up with torture, and shooting of prisoners and so on.

[ 25. August 2014, 16:32: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Quetzlcoatl wrote:

quote:
Maybe various governments could publish regular bulletin boards, indicating which groups are in favour and which not.

Thus, Shia militia - possibly OK, unless involved in massacres.
Sunni militia - dodgy, especially with black flags.
Kurdish militia - good guys right now.
Non-Islamist Syrian rebels - oh, I don't fucking know.
Hezbollah - formerly very bad guys, but might be useful to us.
pro-Assad groups - once very bad, but possibly on the rise now.
pro-Iranian, see under Syrian rebels, no idea.
Deano - jihadist nutter, sedate.


Q, if you haven't seen it already, you may find this chart of interest.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
There's something darkly comic about that. It will be interesting to see any changes.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I've read accounts of some kids who went out to Syria, rather 'moderate', whatever that means, and getting radicalized out there. I don't know how that would work really, whether it's some kind of adolescent melodrama going on, or maybe the Islamists are the best fighters?

Also maybe it happens in civil wars - both sides tend to get more and more extreme - in the Spanish Civil War, you ended up with priests being shot in the head, and so on. I suppose this is a polarization. I remember Trotsky wrote about this, and said that civil wars become desperate really, and you end up with barbarism.

But maybe all wars do this - you end up with torture, and shooting of prisoners and so on.

But sometimes people come back from wars older and wiser: more disillusioned, more sceptical about their own side's propaganda, more aware that right is not all one side, more aware of the dirty aspects of warfare.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
There's a bleak article in the Guardian today, by a journalist travelling with some Shia militia. They are fighting IS, but they are vowing that from now on, they want a pure Shia territory, with no more Sunni, since the Sunni tribes have gone over to IS. I don't know if there is any way back from this; but sometimes there is, as in N. Ireland. Or maybe complete separation will have to be the solution.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I've read accounts of some kids who went out to Syria, rather 'moderate', whatever that means, and getting radicalized out there. I don't know how that would work really, whether it's some kind of adolescent melodrama going on, or maybe the Islamists are the best fighters?

Also maybe it happens in civil wars - both sides tend to get more and more extreme - in the Spanish Civil War, you ended up with priests being shot in the head, and so on. I suppose this is a polarization. I remember Trotsky wrote about this, and said that civil wars become desperate really, and you end up with barbarism.

But maybe all wars do this - you end up with torture, and shooting of prisoners and so on.

But sometimes people come back from wars older and wiser: more disillusioned, more sceptical about their own side's propaganda, more aware that right is not all one side, more aware of the dirty aspects of warfare.
Yes, you're right - Orwell springs to mind. He saw the infamous infighting on the left, and the Communists torturing anarchist fighters. I don't know whether you end up in despair or wisdom, or maybe both.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Nobody comes out very well out of any of this.

It's been argued that the radicalisation of ISIS/Islamic State itself comes as a Sunni reaction to Shia intolerance ...

The whole thing is a godawful mess.

On the issue of the 500 UK citizens over there - mostly in Syria ... from what I can gather some of them went to provide humanitarian aid and others have gone out there with the intention of fighting. Either way, they get caught up in the whole thing and become even more radicalised once they are over there.

The fear is that they will become brutalised because of the routine beheadings and killings - and I have no reason to doubt that these aren't taking place - and come back here and cause mayhem.

I think that's a pretty reasonable cause for anxiety.

The answer, of course, isn't to nuke Iraq or Syria any more than nuking Dublin would have been an effective option to deal with Republican terrorism in Northern Ireland or nuking Buenos Aires would have been a sensible option in order to recover the Falkland Islands.

I don't think anyone here is arguing that terrorist threats shouldn't be countered robustly. I'm certainly not arguing that.

What I am contesting is the kind of video-game approach that deano appears to favour.

When the Stern Gang and other Jewish terrorists were murdering British soldiers and civilians in Palestine under the British Mandate, would the sensible option have been to nuke Tel Aviv or impound all Jewish people living in the UK?

The deano view of the world would suggest that it might have been.
 
Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
deano

Your comments have inspired a savage poetic moment:

'Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough!
Too many Muslims live there now.'

(Apologies to P. Larkin - and, of course, to all 'nice' Muslims. And to everyone else who isn't in an entirely cynical mood.)]

It highlights a problem: how are you going to wipe out worldwide Islam without destroying swathes of Olde England? Smart bombs aren't that smart!

Secondly, why would American Neo-Cons have any interest in pursuing this plan of annihilation, when they've shown no interest in going after Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Bin Laden and his family and also the least 'Westernised' country one could imagine?

No good mentioning the British - there's nowhere near enough military might here to conduct a war against the 'Muslim world'. And the French? The Germans? The Russians have a big army, but they also have a lot of Muslim soldiers (who are less likely to be off their heads on vodka). That leaves the Chinese....

Perhaps I'm becoming a conspiracy theorist in my old age, but I don't think Western governments are all that bothered about 'Islamic states' as such; they're interested in certain political problems that exist in a few of them here and there. And I don't think it's Islam that Christians have to worry about primarily - it's the sapping of Christian strength via apostasy and indifference among the indigenous Western populations. IOW, Islamic strength only matters because of Christian weakness. You could call it the decline of Western civilisation if you want to put it in non-religious terms.

Finally, since it's Hell: Islamic extremists aren't cowards, are they? Not in the sense of quaking in their boots that the Big Western Infidels are coming with their bombs to hurt them and make them cry. Don't go and bomb them (and their families, and everyone else, militant or not) unless you can kill them all in one fell swoop. Otherwise, the ones who remain are going to make my life a misery, even if they weren't too bothered before. I won't thank you for that.
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
The thing is that Muslims, AFAICS, fall into three categories:

Firstly there are the Muslims who have no intention of murdering Deano, You may say that they are a little bit lax. I could not possibly comment. But there they are, and there are probably millions of them.

Then there are the ones who believe that, in theory, Deano ought to be killed. He is after all an infidel who does not pay the salient taxes and one must never discount the power of pure irritation. Nonetheless the Muslims in this category, whilst sagely agreeing that Deano's life is forfeit, are probably not going to do very much about it. I suspect that this category are outnumbered by category one but I have other things to do with my life than seek out Muslims who hold that Eldrad, sorry, Deano must live!

Finally you have actual Muslims who are conspiring to make an end of Deano. I suspect that these are rare but you never know your luck and if he ceases to post on the Ship for any length of time we can chalk one up to the medieval headchoppers for Mohammed. As The Blessed Freddy Mercury (PBUH) observed: Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Allah, Allah, Allah Will pray for you...Hey!

In any event, this means that any rational soul will want to dial down the bellicosity because once we realise that the difficulties in the Middle East do not revolve around Deano and that "Whack Deano" comes about 743rd on Al Quaeda's "to do" list. We can start treating Radical Islam as a problem which requires a rational solution and not an opportunity for wetting our pants and screaming for our mummy. I realise that this will require Deano to stop treating things as an opportunity for self-dramatisation but, hey, ess-aitch-one-tee happens.
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by SvitlanaV2:


'Come, friendly bombs, and fall on Slough!
Too many Muslims live there now.'

(Apologies to P. Larkin - and, of course, to all 'nice' Muslims. And to everyone else who isn't in an entirely cynical mood.)]

Your apologies are due to J. Betjeman.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
What faith is that mate?
 
Posted by SvitlanaV2 (# 16967) on :
 
Firenze

Quite right! Sorry, Betjeman!

I don't know what either of these men thought about Islam, or about Muslims.

[ 25. August 2014, 20:47: Message edited by: SvitlanaV2 ]
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Well, perhaps that's what it will take. A mindset that matches theirs rather than a mindset that is weaker than theirs and has no answers anyway.

Ultimately, I agree, it would take as such .

However I also agree with other posters who say doomwatch scenarios like yours will produce very few winners .
OK the extremists might all wind up dead , which is their cherished wish . Alongside them will many more times people like you, me and our families who just happen to be in the way.

As for 'answers' to violence and oppression in the
Middle East or other places in the world, past present and future ?
A single answer doesn't exist. If it did 10,000 years of human civilisation would have discovered it by now.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I pray for your deliverance now deano, but if not, it will happen after you die, with James Foley and his killer.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
The answer rolyn, is peace. Now.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gildas:
The thing is that Muslims, AFAICS, fall into three categories:

Firstly there are the Muslims who have no intention of murdering Deano, You may say that they are a little bit lax. I could not possibly comment. But there they are, and there are probably millions of them.

Then there are the ones who believe that, in theory, Deano ought to be killed. He is after all an infidel who does not pay the salient taxes and one must never discount the power of pure irritation. Nonetheless the Muslims in this category, whilst sagely agreeing that Deano's life is forfeit, are probably not going to do very much about it. I suspect that this category are outnumbered by category one but I have other things to do with my life than seek out Muslims who hold that Eldrad, sorry, Deano must live!

Finally you have actual Muslims who are conspiring to make an end of Deano. I suspect that these are rare but you never know your luck and if he ceases to post on the Ship for any length of time we can chalk one up to the medieval headchoppers for Mohammed. As The Blessed Freddy Mercury (PBUH) observed: Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Allah, Allah, Allah Will pray for you...Hey!

In any event, this means that any rational soul will want to dial down the bellicosity because once we realise that the difficulties in the Middle East do not revolve around Deano and that "Whack Deano" comes about 743rd on Al Quaeda's "to do" list. We can start treating Radical Islam as a problem which requires a rational solution and not an opportunity for wetting our pants and screaming for our mummy. I realise that this will require Deano to stop treating things as an opportunity for self-dramatisation but, hey, ess-aitch-one-tee happens.

Very good. But I'm wondering why we're not talking about the people of other faiths, or indeed no faith at all, who have a desire to wipe deano from the face of the Earth.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gildas:
The thing is that Muslims, AFAICS, fall into three categories:

Firstly there are the Muslims who have no intention of murdering Deano, You may say that they are a little bit lax. I could not possibly comment. But there they are, and there are probably millions of them.

Then there are the ones who believe that, in theory, Deano ought to be killed. He is after all an infidel who does not pay the salient taxes and one must never discount the power of pure irritation. Nonetheless the Muslims in this category, whilst sagely agreeing that Deano's life is forfeit, are probably not going to do very much about it. I suspect that this category are outnumbered by category one but I have other things to do with my life than seek out Muslims who hold that Eldrad, sorry, Deano must live!

Finally you have actual Muslims who are conspiring to make an end of Deano. I suspect that these are rare but you never know your luck and if he ceases to post on the Ship for any length of time we can chalk one up to the medieval headchoppers for Mohammed. As The Blessed Freddy Mercury (PBUH) observed: Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Ebrahiem, Allah, Allah, Allah Will pray for you...Hey!

In any event, this means that any rational soul will want to dial down the bellicosity because once we realise that the difficulties in the Middle East do not revolve around Deano and that "Whack Deano" comes about 743rd on Al Quaeda's "to do" list. We can start treating Radical Islam as a problem which requires a rational solution and not an opportunity for wetting our pants and screaming for our mummy. I realise that this will require Deano to stop treating things as an opportunity for self-dramatisation but, hey, ess-aitch-one-tee happens.

Oh what a clever, smart post.

I do wonder, what would the families of those who died on 911, in the London tube bombings, Madrid, and those relatives of Daniel Pearl, James Foley, Jennifer Lynne Matthews, Kenneth Clodfelter and countless others who have died at the hands of jihadis, make of your oh so smart post. I bet they would appreciate the delicate wit contained within it.

I on the other hand just think you are a coward with no regard for the victims of jihadis, only for the victims of western retribution for those deaths.

[ 25. August 2014, 23:05: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
Does this mean we're not going to get any details about that time you attacked someone and put him in the hospital with a fractured skull?

I was hoping you could make it sound more impressive. As it is, it hardly compares to that time when I killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die.

Oh you want detail. Okay....

Two of the schools biggest bullies sat down one either side one wet lunchtime. We had bays and I was sat in an end one which backed up to a brick wall. My back was to the wall. i was reading a physics text book.

As I say they sat down next to me. They started to take the piss and try to grab the book. I knew what was going to happen because I'd seen it before and suffered it before.

I stuffed the text book back in my bag, which had other books in as well. It was a sports style bag. I grabbed the handles and swung it up as hard and fast as I could into the guy on my lefts face. His head was slammed back into the wall and he fell face forwards. He was out for twenty seconds or so. The other guy legged it. I walked away.

The next thing I knew was a note coming round saying xxxx had been taken to hospital with a possible fractured skull.

How ... disappointing. Previously, you had put someone in the hospital with a fractured skull. Now you were in a childish scuffle in which you apparently accidentally bumped your playmate's head against a wall, resulting in "a note coming around" (whatever that means.) In a day or two, perhaps it will further evaporate into "a really serious bruise, let me tell you!"

If you can't tell us that you then went round to his house and killed all his family and their pets, why should any of us take your threats at all seriously? What are you, some kind of a coward?
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I do wonder, what would the families of those who died on 911, in the London tube bombings, Madrid, and those relatives of Daniel Pearl, James Foley, Jennifer Lynne Matthews, Kenneth Clodfelter and countless others who have died at the hands of jihadis, make of your oh so smart post. I bet they would appreciate the delicate wit contained within it.

How many members of those people's families have advocated dropping a nuke in the Middle East?
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
A good deal of the people functionally involved in the implementation of the one- and- only nuke strike later spent a large part of their lives publicly despairing that they had gone near the damn thing at all. It's real easy to crow about using it when you know it's locked up tight, either by physical distance or political impossibility. I'm looking at you, every US President who made silly postures about using the bomb, which is pretty much every President since Truman.

The people actually saddled with carrying out the order did. Not. Find. It. Fun.
 
Posted by Laud-able (# 9896) on :
 
At a tangent:

Kelly Alves writes of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki:

quote:
The people actually saddled with carrying out the order did. Not. Find. It. Fun.
This view is somewhat misleading. Some of the people involved were certainly haunted by the bombing, but there were others who were not.

Notably Paul Tibbets Jnr (d. 2007), pilot of Enola Gay (named for his mother); Charles Sweeney (d. 2004), pilot of Bockscar; Theodore Van Kirk (d. 28 July 2014) navigator of Enola Gay; and Thomas Ferebee (d. 2000) bombardier of Enola Gay, all died supporting the rightness of what they had done.

I was four years old when the war broke out. We were given a half-holiday when Italy capitulated; we thankfully celebrated VE Day; but at the surrender of the Japanese – hated and reviled in Australia for long after the war – we danced in the streets.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
First off, you'll note I didn't say " all." I am aware opinion is divided.

Second, if you fast forward to about 2:00 Here you'll see evidence if co- pilot Captain Robert Lewis's jubilation over the Hiroshima strike. On second thought, start from the beginning, it sets up what people pretty much didn't know they were rejoicing about.

And while I am sure a lot of people sincerely think the strike was the right think to do, I doubt you'll find anyone saying that they never had a minute's trouble with the aftermath.
 
Posted by Laud-able (# 9896) on :
 
Again, I must beg to differ.

A week from today on 2 September we remember the New Guinea Martyrs.

My parish church supported the Anglican Mission from its inception in 1891. As a child I knew that my Sunday School pennies went to support ‘our missionary’ (we continue to support the autonomous Church of Papua New Guinea to this day}.

The Japanese murdered more than three hundred missionaries in New Guinea: they did not even care to spare their German allies.

I do assure you that I and others of my generation have never had a minute's trouble with the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
And since you do did not say" all, I will agree with you. We could both probably find equal numbers of sources to prove our points.

WWII a nightmare of various people dehumanizing others: Americans calling the Japanese "yellow monkeys" and punishing US citizens for thing people a half a world away were doing. Japanese brutalizing Koreans and POWs as they were subhuman, Germans demonizing Jews, Russians demonizing Jews-- the war brought out the best and worst in everybody. But the running theme of trouble seems to be finding excuses to dehumanize. Most of the guys responsible for Nanking were probably off fighting in Manchuria when the bombs hit, the people back home were noncoms, civilians, Korean slaves-- truman himself reported the first casualties as about 3500 soldiers. He didn't mention the 300,000 non soldiers.

Which leads back to what deano is saying-- when do we stop giving ourselves that excuse to dehumanize? How did the Japanese army talk themselves into thinking Nanking was ok, how did the Russians talk themselves into thinking the brutalization of the town of Berlin was OK? How do we decide that leveling Tehran-- including the marketplaces and the schools and the freaking goat herders that never had anything to donwith terrorism-- is justified?

I say " we" because every nation has done it, and we are piss poor at repenting of it.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

Short of the couple of dozen who've declared themselves as jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and probably a few more dozen that MI6 and Co have IDed, how exactly are passport control meant to ascertain that, given that these are British citizens with British passports? I can just imagine the conversation:

"Go anywhere nice for your holidays, sir?"

"Yeah, I spent the summer fighting for the Caliphate against infidels and apostates."

Can't imagine it somehow...
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
And, as I said earlier, some British Kurds are going out to fight with the peshmerga - are they going to be treated as guilty? Or are they sufficiently good guys? Then how about somebody fighting with the Shia militias against IS - they're kind of curate's egg right now, good in parts.

[ 26. August 2014, 08:56: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

Short of the couple of dozen who've declared themselves as jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and probably a few more dozen that MI6 and Co have IDed, how exactly are passport control meant to ascertain that, given that these are British citizens with British passports? I can just imagine the conversation:

"Go anywhere nice for your holidays, sir?"

"Yeah, I spent the summer fighting for the Caliphate against infidels and apostates."

Can't imagine it somehow...

Le them go. Just don't let them come back.
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
Originally posted by Deano:

quote:
I do wonder, what would the families of those who died on 911, in the London tube bombings, Madrid, and those relatives of Daniel Pearl, James Foley, Jennifer Lynne Matthews, Kenneth Clodfelter and countless others who have died at the hands of jihadis, make of your oh so smart post. I bet they would appreciate the delicate wit contained within it.
They, dear heart, are actual victims of Islamist violence. You, on the other hand, are just a cry-baby with a modem.

quote:
I on the other hand just think you are a coward with no regard for the victims of jihadis, only for the victims of western retribution for those deaths.
Courage, Grasshopper, lies in learning not to wet one's bed. Blaming the Islamists for making your Action Man pyjamas smell of wee is not an adequate substitute.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
Let them go. Just don't let them come back.

And then what? I find the logic of this mystifying (and you're not the only person to propose this), because surely allowing them back also allows you to prosecute them.

I've no doubt that most countries' legal systems allow them to create offences for their own citizens - you must not go elsewhere and engage in child sex tourism, you must not go elsewhere and sign up to a terrorism organisation we have banned, etc etc.

But to successfully prosecute those offences you have to get them back in your own country.

The notion of permanently excluding people from where they've been is just going to backfire. It's not going to stop most of them from going. It'll just be a positive insistence on our part that they commit to the terrorist cause fully and permanently. To describe that as counterproductive is an understatement.

[ 26. August 2014, 09:59: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
It also says that no-one can be rehabilitated. Well, the TV is full of ex-jihadists, who seem to be giving very useful insights into jihadism, and how it develops in Brits.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
quote:
Originally posted by Stetson:
Boris Johnson says the people who go to Syria and Iraq should be considered guitly of terrorism until proven innocent.

The Guardian

This is starting to remind me of Iraq 2003, only with less skepticism from the global community.

Short of the couple of dozen who've declared themselves as jihadists in Syria and Iraq, and probably a few more dozen that MI6 and Co have IDed, how exactly are passport control meant to ascertain that, given that these are British citizens with British passports? I can just imagine the conversation:

"Go anywhere nice for your holidays, sir?"

"Yeah, I spent the summer fighting for the Caliphate against infidels and apostates."

Can't imagine it somehow...

Le them go. Just don't let them come back.
That doesn't answer my question: how do you know they've been? I mean, my secretary has just come back from a holiday in Bodrum, Turkey - at least that's what she's told me....
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
That's very troubling Laud-able.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
What is?
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
It also says that no-one can be rehabilitated. Well, the TV is full of ex-jihadists, who seem to be giving very useful insights into jihadism, and how it develops in Brits.

I believe in rehabilitation. Nevertheless, I'd much rather a jihadist was over there than over here.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Matt wrote:

quote:
That doesn't answer my question: how do you know they've been? I mean, my secretary has just come back from a holiday in Bodrum, Turkey - at least that's what she's told me....


My guess would be that Johnson assumed that anyone entering Iraq or Syria would have their passport stamped to indicate they entered the country.

That would have been my default assumption as well, as I'm pretty sure my passport gets stamped by the Republic Of Korea every time I enter.

Mind you, I think there are some countries that don't stamp(I've been told the DPRK doesn't, at least not for westerners), presumbaly because the governments know a visit there is likely to be controversial.
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?

If there's credible evidence that they have been involved in jihadist activities you stop them coming back. That is what border control is for. The geezer who checks the passports has them detained and they are sent back to Iraq or Syria or wherever it is they came from.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?

If there's credible evidence that they have been involved in jihadist activities you stop them coming back. That is what border control is for. The geezer who checks the passports has them detained and they are sent back to Iraq or Syria or wherever it is they came from.
Are governments ever allowed to refuse admission to their own citizens? I know they can put them on trial for what they did overseas, but I'm not aware of them having the right to disallow them from entering.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
That creates a whole host of problems:

1. You're relying on the spooks' intelligence which will at best only cover a fraction of the jihadists.

2. It'll be a human rights nightmare; you'd have to clear that particular hurdle before 'sending them back' anywhere.

3. The country that is their point of origin has to be willing to accept them. This is unlikely to be Iraq or Syria themselves but more likely somewhere like Turkey or Jordan who would be well within their rights to say, "Er...these are UK citizens: why the hell should we have them?"
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
And they aren't necessarily going to be crossing borders at recognised points equipped with nice rubber stamps - after all, the supposed new state doesn't recognise borders.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Yes, one route into Syria is via Turkey, which has left an open border for a long while so that rebels could get into Syria without hindrance. So you will just have a Turkish stamp in your passport. Of course, Turkey is now reconsidering this position.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Hence my comment about my secretary - should I tip off UK Border Control just to be on the safe side?
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
If the UK refused to allow UK nationals to return to the UK it would be in violation of the UN Declaration on Human Rights, to which it is a signatory, and would (no doubt) get a certain amount of grief from the European Court of Human Rights. Denying one's nationals citizenship if they went abroad to an unfavoured country was one of the practices of the bad old Soviet Bloc and tended to be deplored by the UK back in the day. Of course, the Intelligence Services ought to keep tabs on UK nationals who travel to Syria or Iraq but a UK national of Syrian descent who returns home to attend the deathbed of an aged relative ought not to have to appear before the beak to demonstrate that they were not, in fact, engaged in the overthrow of Bashir Assad (which was, ISTR, UK government policy, fleetingly, last year) in order to retain their citizenship. In any event, a UK national entering Syria or Iraq in order to overthrow the government is hardly likely to go through Immigration in the usual way.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?

If there's credible evidence that they have been involved in jihadist activities you stop them coming back. That is what border control is for. The geezer who checks the passports has them detained and they are sent back to Iraq or Syria or wherever it is they came from.
I still haven't the foggiest idea why you would think sending them back to rejoin the jihad is preferable to prosecuting them. I mean, you're literally talking about turning them back at the border and saying "please go and rejoin the war".
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Their last sentence.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
OK, I get it know
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
"Now", even!
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?

If there's credible evidence that they have been involved in jihadist activities you stop them coming back. That is what border control is for. The geezer who checks the passports has them detained and they are sent back to Iraq or Syria or wherever it is they came from.
I still haven't the foggiest idea why you would think sending them back to rejoin the jihad is preferable to prosecuting them. I mean, you're literally talking about turning them back at the border and saying "please go and rejoin the war".
Because as I said, I'd feel more comfortable with them over there than over here.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Christianity should be bloody uncomfortable.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And you still haven't answered the question: how are you going to stop them coming back?

If there's credible evidence that they have been involved in jihadist activities you stop them coming back. That is what border control is for. The geezer who checks the passports has them detained and they are sent back to Iraq or Syria or wherever it is they came from.
I still haven't the foggiest idea why you would think sending them back to rejoin the jihad is preferable to prosecuting them. I mean, you're literally talking about turning them back at the border and saying "please go and rejoin the war".
Because as I said, I'd feel more comfortable with them over there than over here.
You'd feel more comfortable with them over there, freely plotting with their terrorist buddies, than over here in jail.

Wow. I can't remember the last time I read something THAT stupid. You make deano look like a genius. At least his over-the-top schemes involved getting rid of bad people, even if they did involve getting rid of millions of good people in the process.

Whereas your idea is to have credible evidence of being bad and specifically use it as grounds to send people back to be bad again.

Catch-and-release programs are meant to be applied to fish. Not murderers.

[ 26. August 2014, 22:48: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
Yeah! Like they'd stay prison. What planet are you on? It makes perfect sense if you ask me. I'd rather have a jihadist on the other side of the world than here.

[ 26. August 2014, 22:52: Message edited by: Ad Orientem ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
Yeah! Like they'd stay prison. What planet are you on?

The same planet as Iraq and Syria. Yeah. Like they'd stay there and have absolutely no means of affecting you in your part of the world, because there's absolutely no way they couldn't aid and abet someone who wasn't on your list. What planet are YOU on?

Do you think that Osama bin Laden walked into New York and pushed over buildings himself?

[ 26. August 2014, 22:53: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
Eh? So, you'd rather have a terrorist living on your doorstep? You're weird.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
Eh? So, you'd rather have a terrorist living on your doorstep? You're weird.

You're the one who wants a terrorist living free rather than in prison.

I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
You're the one who wants a terrorist living free rather than in prison.

I just don't want them in my country. Whether they are free or in prison, quite frankly, is irrelevant. But if you think they'd stay in prison for very long, well, keep on dreaming.


quote:
I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?
Did he try?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
For someone in Finland to tell someone in Australia that they think the important thing is that someone "isn't in their country" shows a breathtaking inability to grasp the interconnectedness of the modern world.

Did he try? The entire point, you silly fool, is that it wasn't necessary to try.

[ 26. August 2014, 23:31: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
Eh?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Given that terrorists located outside a country have a history of being able to affect that country, why on earth do you persist with the belief that sending someone away makes a difference?

Imprisonment means punishment, monitoring and prospects for rehabilitation. Your plan involves complete freedom, encouragement even, to plan and commit further crimes. Yet you seem to believe that so long as the planning happens a few thousand kilometres away that's fine and dandy.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
orfeo. Perfect.
 
Posted by Tukai (# 12960) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by Ad Orientem:
Let them go. Just don't let them come back.

And then what? I find the logic of this mystifying (and you're not the only person to propose this), because surely allowing them back also allows you to prosecute them.

I've no doubt that most countries' legal systems allow them to create offences for their own citizens - you must not go elsewhere and engage in child sex tourism, you must not go elsewhere and sign up to a terrorism organisation we have banned, etc etc.

But to successfully prosecute those offences you have to get them back in your own country.

The notion of permanently excluding people from where they've been is just going to backfire. It's not going to stop most of them from going. It'll just be a positive insistence on our part that they commit to the terrorist cause fully and permanently. To describe that as counterproductive is an understatement.

The current Australian Government (who are in all sorts of domestic unpopularity) are trying to increase their appeal to some voters by (a) suggesting Australia should get involved in military action against ISIS, and (b) toughening "anti-terror" laws, including requiring anyone who is returning to Australia from Iraq or Syria to demonstrate that they are NOT a terrorist. This last measure is nasty reversal of traditional burden of proof in Australian law, where you are presumed innocent until proven guilty - a "reverse onus of proof". It is especially unpopular with the numerous Australians who migrated from the Middle East and still visit their relatives there when it is peaceful enough to do so.

This cartoon by David Pope in the Canberra Times of 27 August is a beautiful reaction to this. It shows the former Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard who was so keen to to go "all the way with USA" that he got so close to George W Bush that Howard's head went right up Bush's backside, and Howard sent Australian troops to the Iraq War.

Note: if this link initially shows a different cartoon, simply move through the gallery to which the link points.
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Yesterday in the Guardian, at the end of this article, Counter terror laws was a glimpse that suggested that the story of the young sub-humans who were brought up in the UK and have gone to join ISIS is not unconnected with the other nasty story today of those in Rotherham. Sickening.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Penny S:
Yesterday in the Guardian, at the end of this article, Counter terror laws was a glimpse that suggested that the story of the young sub-humans who were brought up in the UK and have gone to join ISIS is not unconnected with the other nasty story today of those in Rotherham. Sickening.

It's pretty much an article of faith among some people that every problem involving Muslims is directly linked to every other problem involving Muslims. Criminal gangs in the north of England are inextricably bound up with suicide bombers in western China, all under the direction of Islam Inc.

(Hat tip to William S. Burroughs for that last reference there.)
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Better not go on about the Rotherham abuse scandal, might be accused of ethnic discrimination and all that . Precisely ISTM why people stood back and did nothing.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Yes, and it was wrong that they did that. I'm your typical Guardian-reading soft and moderate leftie but ignoring it in the hope that it'd go away or thinking that by doing something one would incur charges of racism or somehow undermine 'community cohesion' was clearly the wrong response.

Some aspects of the whole PC thing have got a lot to answer for in that regard.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
sub-humans?
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Better not go on about the Rotherham abuse scandal, might be accused of ethnic discrimination and all that . Precisely ISTM why people stood back and did nothing.

Actually, it's more likely IMHO that this just presented itself retrospectively as a plausible excuse. It's more likely that they did nothing because they were lazy, or spineless, or were making prejudiced assumptions about these children. Try this piece from (yes) The Grauniad by Suzanne Moore for a more in-depth analysis of what was going on.
 
Posted by Kelly Alves (# 2522) on :
 
That's what I got out of it, too, that there was much more of a paper trail on the police's assumptions about the kids than on any fears they had about racial unrest.
 
Posted by Rosa Winkel (# 11424) on :
 
The SYP coming up with a lie in order to protect themselves?

Get away.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Just sitting here weeping silently in my helpless privilege. Thanks QLib.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
Too easy to blame the other; too hard to blame ourselves?

[ 27. August 2014, 21:23: Message edited by: QLib ]
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
Plenty of people blame you, QLib, and Suzanne Moore for that matter. Not for the reason you want them to blame you but blame you they do. Of course, the same people also blame the "Asian" gangs that actually raped the girls.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I wonder what those plenty of people are?
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
What are the people who blame the perpetrators of crime for the crime they perpetrate?

Rational
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
So QLib, Suzanne Moore and I are criminals? And that's rational? Riiigghhht.

[ 28. August 2014, 16:58: Message edited by: Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard ]
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Beeswax Altar:
Plenty of people blame you, QLib, and Suzanne Moore for that matter.

Presumably they're all dickheads like you, so I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. If you knew anything at all about the state of race relations in northern England you would know that the chances of people hushing up sexual abuse by ethnic minority gangs for reasons of "political correctness' would be virtually zilch. But, boy, is it an easy drum to beat.
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
QLib wanted to blame "ourselves" for the rape. By ourselves, I assume she included you. So, obviously, QLib accepts some culpability for the rape. I just pointed out that plenty of people blamed people like her for having culpability in the rape. Thought both of you would be happy to be seen as perpetrators.

Don't tell me all that weeping and gnashing of teeth you do is just self-righteous schtick.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
Don't weasel words with me, you fuckwit. We both know what you meant.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:

I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?

No, but being in Pakistan made it an awful lot easier for the SEAL's to shoot him in the fucking face than it would have been in say Kansas.

Less lawyers.

[ 28. August 2014, 18:12: Message edited by: Ariston ]
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
The UBB practice thread is in the Styx, not here, you halfwit. Mind your fucking code.

And it's "fewer."
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
The UBB practice thread is in the Styx, not here, you halfwit. Mind your fucking code.

And it's "fewer."

I understand you use "fewer" if you are talking about discreet values, such as a whole number of pedantic left-wing pricks.

You use "less" for a continuum such as finely sliced lawyers.

Therefore I am correct in saying less lawyers as they ought to be finely sliced on a continuous basis.

Of course if we were able to dispose of lawyers then hell, yeah, let the fuckers back into the country as we can save lots of fuel before we shoot the fuckers in the face.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
(...anything, really...)

Oh God he's still here. [Waterworks]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChastMastr:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
(...anything, really...)

Oh God he's still here. [Waterworks]
I am. Been on me 'olidays to sunny Spain, then been workin'.

I once called Ken - God bless 'im - the Ebola of the Ship, but it seems I'm taking on that role. In and out, and just when you thought I'd gone... bam! Back again.

But I don't think I'm worthy of the title just yet. Let's say, The Wick of the Ship. You don't get one for a bit then you do, and it's a pain in the arse (actually finger, but you know what I mean).

That do you?
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Beeswax. Having fun are you mate? Man of the cloth and all? Of whom much more is expected. Whose judgement will be the more searching.

I wept because I wept. Because I'm helplessly privileged.

Which is no ones 'fault' of course.

You see WE don't exclude anybody, even you. Or the Islamic State. WE don't exclude ourselves from society, from being part of the problem. OUR police, OUR social services have fecklessly, innocently failed OUR children. Because they are like US. They ARE us.

I'm just so impressed that you have nothing to do with anything. No responsibility. Even with a flock and all.

deano, welcome back old friend, hope you had a nice time. You have family difficulties I recall.
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
Don't weasel words with me, you fuckwit. We both know what you meant.

What did I mean?

I know what you meant with that whole self righteous bullshit about it being "easier to blame others than blame ourselves."
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
quote:
Beeswax. Having fun are you mate? Man of the cloth and all? Of whom much more is expected. Whose judgement will be the more searching.


Who expects more of me? God? Nah. God demands everything but will accept nothing just the same. Besides...it ain't my fault. Nothing is anybody's fault. Everything is everybody's fault. I,like everybody else, am guilty of everything and nothing all at once. So is my flock. We should just smoke some weed and sing Kumbaya.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:

I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?

No, but being in Pakistan made it an awful lot easier for the SEAL's to shoot him in the fucking face than it would have been in say Kansas.

Less lawyers.

The laws that tend to discourage shooting people in the face are the primary reason why you manage to stay alive despite giving everyone who encounters you the urge to do you injury.

Also, there's no apostrophe in SEALs.

[ 29. August 2014, 03:22: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I don't smoke weed nor sing Kumbaya. I'm glad you recognize that all things are true.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:

I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?

No, but being in Pakistan made it an awful lot easier for the SEAL's to shoot him in the fucking face than it would have been in say Kansas.

Less lawyers.

The laws that tend to discourage shooting people in the face are the primary reason why you manage to stay alive despite giving everyone who encounters you the urge to do you injury.

Also, there's no apostrophe in SEALs.

Fine, but can we remove those laws from applying to young men returning from Syria, Pakistan etc. I would feel safer knowing THEY could be shot in the head by the military with no issues.

Also, I'll put an apostrophe wherever I like. I might not be perfect but it gets the message across pretty effectively. Your continual correction of people's grammar makes you look like a frustrated schoolteacher. Perhaps you are.
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I would feel safer knowing THEY could be shot in the head by the military with no issues.

And a lot of people would feel a lot safer if all those who think like you could be shot in the face. Is there any particular reason we should favour your feelings over theirs?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Deano, I believe my only previous correction of your grammar was when you tried to imply that Muslims were somehow inferior to yourself by de-capitalising their religion.

Which, I agree, got across the message that you're a prejudiced git with a dangerous tendency to dehumanise others just fine.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Beeswax Altar:
Who expects more of me? God? Nah. God demands everything but will accept nothing just the same. Besides...it ain't my fault. Nothing is anybody's fault. Everything is everybody's fault. I,like everybody else, am guilty of everything and nothing all at once.

I imagine you would be capable of understanding these distinctions with a little effort, but you are apparently being wilfully obtuse for the sake of making cheap sallies which you seem to mistake for wit. if you really are a minister, then I imagine the least God expects of you is not to make a religion out of your own ignorance and idiotic obsessions.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I would feel safer knowing THEY could be shot in the head by the military with no issues.

And a lot of people would feel a lot safer if all those who think like you could be shot in the face. Is there any particular reason we should favour your feelings over theirs?
Well the fact that I'm a middle aged family man who doesn't want his family or his culture or his faith destroyed by jihadis ought to go a long way don't you think?

The jihadis do want to kill us, so I would like it to be a little easier to stop them.

That do you for a reason Marv?
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Well, you certainly sound like a frustrated something or other, deano. I'm not quite sure what but you sound like a frustrated something ...

I don't see anyone arguing that we should make it easier for jihadis to kill us.

Nor, unlike Marvin, would I suggest that people would think the world a safer place if someone were to shoot you.

No, I'd rather they gave you a gentle sedative to calm you down.

You're obviously working far too hard as opposed to the feckless, workshy lefties that make up these boards. You could do with a break. Hopefully in the Antarctic to cool you down.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Interested to see that you've posted on the Schrodinger's Cat thread, deano. What's your line on that- 'the cat might be alive or it might be dead but I'm going to nuke it just to be on the safe side'?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
You could do with a break. Hopefully in the Antarctic to cool you down.

Nah, global warming is melting the place. Although a few nukes might reverse the trend with a nuclear winter. Win-win!

Albertus, yes I posted on the Schroedinger's Cat post with something relevant. What's your excuse?
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
This is Hell. Do we have to be relevant? Just taking the opportunity to make a typically smart-arse know-all lefty comment, that's all. What else would you expect?
 
Posted by Marvin the Martian (# 4360) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Well the fact that I'm a middle aged family man who doesn't want his family or his culture or his faith destroyed by jihadis ought to go a long way don't you think?

And so you're willing to kill (or advocate the killing of) every member of a different culture/faith in order to protect your own.

Which makes you exactly the same as those from that culture/faith who don't want it to be destroyed by The West, and are thus willing to kill (or advocate the killing of) every Westerner in order to protect it.

Have you seen the enemy yet? It's you.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:

I repeat, do you think Osama bin Laden was thwarted by being refused entry into the United States?

No, but being in Pakistan made it an awful lot easier for the SEAL's to shoot him in the fucking face than it would have been in say Kansas.

Less lawyers.

The laws that tend to discourage shooting people in the face are the primary reason why you manage to stay alive despite giving everyone who encounters you the urge to do you injury.

Also, there's no apostrophe in SEALs.

And it's 'fewer' lawyers, not 'less'.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Deano is reflecting that mind-set which thinks that the Middle East is an area where the Western powers can basically do what they want. Then they profess outrage when there is blowback - as when you poke a wasps' nest, and the wasps object.

Then you get, 'but if we attack just one more time, we will get it right, and the problem will end!'

This went on in Vietnam, didn't it? I am sure I remember various generals who used to say, just give me 50, 000 good men, or maybe 100, 000, and I will pacify Vietnam for good. And so on and so on.

Those bloody ragheads are so annoying, they won't just lie down and give up.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Can you point to the teachings, the life of Jesus which you emulate so that I can? With regard to making enemies and murdering them? Or do you do this like a real man: on your own recognizance?
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by Beeswax Altar:
Who expects more of me? God? Nah. God demands everything but will accept nothing just the same. Besides...it ain't my fault. Nothing is anybody's fault. Everything is everybody's fault. I,like everybody else, am guilty of everything and nothing all at once.

I imagine you would be capable of understanding these distinctions with a little effort, but you are apparently being wilfully obtuse for the sake of making cheap sallies which you seem to mistake for wit. if you really are a minister, then I imagine the least God expects of you is not to make a religion out of your own ignorance and idiotic obsessions.
No, QLib, you said ourselves. You didn't rape anybody. You weren't part of the investigation. I'm assuming you don't hold negative views about sexually active teenagers. However, extreme political correctness gave the Pakistani rape gangs the cover to get away with what they did for as long as they did. No, I don't buy that all of them are just making up the political correct excuse.

The Rotherham council leaders who presided over the sex abuse scandal

Joyce Thacker is the same person who removed two children from UKIP foster parents over concerns about multiculturalism. You have two Labour politicians one of them with a relative known to be having a relationship with an underage girl. If you really believe political correctness had nothing to do with this scandal, you are the ignorant fuckwit. However, I suspect you know as well as I do the tendency on the Left to avoid saying anything negative about Muslims at all cost led to this scandal. You just prefer to blame others instead of those with the same views that you hold. Like you said, it is easier to blame others than blame ourselves.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
I can't prove that political correctness had absolutely nothing to do with it, but I remain deeply sceptical about it being the main or even a significant reason. And citing the dear Torygraph as a source on the 'political correctness gone mad' theory is not going to convince anyone.

Confusing this issue with the debate over trans-racial fostering and adoption is unhelpful. I'm not sure that allegations about the private lives of politicians' relatives are particularly helpful or relevant either - in fact, I'm not sure why you think this somehow supports your argument. Equally puzzling is your comment that people on the left are disinclined to make sweeping attacks on muslims. I know plenty of fairly right-wing people who aren't racist either. How is this relevant?

You've shown on the gun control thread that you're reliable when you know your stuff - and aren't grinding away at your stupid anti-liberal axe - but the fact is that you know fuck all about race relations and political correctness in the north of England.
 
Posted by Beeswax Altar (# 11644) on :
 
How about The Guardian?
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Beeswax Altar:
How about The Guardian?

Well, first of all, The Guardian says: "As so often, many of those in Rotherham who should have been on the victims’ side saw these vulnerable children as authors of their own misfortunes and failed, cruelly, to listen to their accounts." That was my point, and I still see that as being the major factor.

Immediately after that, it adds: "Then there was a misguided reluctance to consider whether there was an issue of race involved." Now call me picky if you like but I don't regard fears of feeding a racist agenda and/or fears of provoking race riots as being quite the same as a fear of not being seen to be "politically correct".

Someone raising concerns about young Pakistani men having around school gates was criticised? Yes, well, taken on its own it wouldn't seem to be a particularly helpful observation. The question is who was doing the criticising and were they the same people who should have been following things like this up and who would then have been in a position where they could put two and two together? I don't know the answer to that, and I suspect the reporter doesn't either.

I'm not saying that there weren't people who were't looking hard enough, but what I'm saying is that ethnic considerations would not have been a factor if it was any other kind of crime. That's a very different thing from suggesting that people looked, listened, saw and then turned away because of fears about not being 'politically correct'. The overriding factor had to be the judgement (if that's the word) that these girls simply did not matter enough to be worth creating a fuss.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
If you read the report, the girls abused in Rotherham were all races, not just white, and there are undoubtedly many more girls of all races who have not come forward yet.

And ... it is unbelievably offensive to assume that because a small group of mainly Asian origin men were abusing these girls that all the Asian men in the area approved of this and aren't as horrified and disgusted as anyone else. Particularly the fathers of the Asian girls who were abused.

It was the assumption that the girls who were absconding from children's homes were "asking for" sexual encounters, because teenage girls are all "up for it" all the time, aren't they? So their complaints were ignored by the police. The social workers on the ground were trying to get the message across, and were ignored further up the line. (Ring any bells about the Savile case? Or the Catholic church cases? Or any other sex abuse case recently?)

The stories coming out are saying that many of the girls were threatened and believed the threats; threats to their mothers, threats to their sisters. Which added to the conspiracy of silence.

The only connection between this abuse case and the young men becoming radicalised is that the same sort of poverty and inequity that caused the assumptions about these girls discriminates against young Muslim men and radicalises them.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
How about patriarchy?
 
Posted by Rosa Winkel (# 11424) on :
 
The dossier about the abuse showed that tt was a Pakistani who as chief-prosector for the North West made these prosecutions happen.

Furthermore, that ouncillors only engaged with Pakistani leaders, not with the people themselves, and Pakistani women were ignored.

The claim of not being afraid of being called racist came from the SYP. The SYP. This claim was not supported by examples.

(Taken from this article.)

Meanwhile, white abuse of children (North Wales, Saville, Rolf Harris) doesn't become a "racial" issue.

[ 30. August 2014, 10:11: Message edited by: Rosa Winkel ]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
We're only half-way along the arc.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And it's 'fewer' lawyers, not 'less'.

Jesus wept. Try to read the fucking thread before posting. You might appear less behind the times, and thus less of a twat.

As being behind the times and having a level of twatishness are both continous variables I assume there are no objections to my using "less" in that context?

quote:
Originally posted by Marvin the Martian:
And so you're willing to kill (or advocate the killing of) every member of a different culture/faith in order to protect your own.

To protect? No. What I said was that I would kill every muslim in order to ensure I wasn't forced into becoming a muslim. Just to be clear, I mean in the context of an all out war with islam should that ever happen. A war that islam starts to spread islam by the sword.

I'm sure we can "protect" our faith and culture without going to that extreme though.

Or do you believe that I ought to capitulate and become a muslim against my will so that I don't kill anyone at all? Is that what faith means to you? Something disposable and not worth fighting for?
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Some of us a lot less ...
 
Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Curiousity K
quote:
The only connection between this abuse case and the young men becoming radicalised is that the same sort of poverty and inequity that caused the assumptions about these girls discriminates against young Muslim men and radicalises them.
The actors in both cases are young Muslim men, plus, in the abuse cases, older Muslim men. Poverty and inequity may be significant in both cases, but it is the men who are the doers, not the girls.
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Just to be clear, I mean in the context of an all out war with islam should that ever happen. A war that islam starts to spread islam by the sword.

That's quite a step back from your first position on this thread.

What are you, some kind of miserable coward, waiting for the other guy to start the all-out war?

Or is this just your attempt to find a face-saving way of saying "Just to be clear, I have now clawed my way through the fog in my head to the dim realization that what I said before was really pretty fucking stupid."?
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Much as I hate to interrupt the discourse on Deano's socio-political profundities, there are reports that the killer of James Foley has been identified.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
This thread at an anti-Islamic site has links to some of his YouTube videos.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:
That's quite a step back from your first position on this thread.

No it isn't you illiterate fuckwit. I advocated dropping a nuclear weapon on the ISIS. That is very far from advocating killing all muslims. Don't put words in my mouth you prick.

quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:

What are you, some kind of miserable coward, waiting for the other guy to start the all-out war?

Er... don't look now but I believe the other guy has already started it. We just haven't bothered to turn up yet.

quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:

Or is this just your attempt to find a face-saving way of saying "Just to be clear, I have now clawed my way through the fog in my head to the dim realization that what I said before was really pretty fucking stupid."?

No.

Keep shouting at me. I have no problem with it at all. I love Hell. It's where I feel most at home.

But the sad part is that the peace-first hanky-wringers have absolutely no plan to deal with ISIS, and any plan drawn that has any military option in it to deal with ISIS will never be acceptable to the peace-first hanky-wringers.

The truly worrying thing that nobody has addressed yet is not that I have advocated what I have, but that I have felt the need to.

Consider this. Robert O. Paxton puts forward the theory in his book "The Anatomy of Fascism" that the reason why enough people gravitated towards the Nazi's in pre-war Germany to elect them into power was because none of the mainstream parties had any plan to deal with the issues facing Germans, but that the Nazi's did.

That plan of course was abhorent, but it was a plan. Someone upthread said somethign about "show me a plan that is appropriate, timeley and I'll show you a plan that is wrong" or whatever. The point is people want a plan. It doesn't have to be perfect, or even right, but it does have to exist.

The recent increase in anti-islamic feeling in the West - and you can't deny that it is increasing - is explained by Paxton's theory in my view.

The mainstream parties have no answers. The peace-first hanky-wringers have no answers.

I've said on a number of occaisions that my choice for leader of the Conservative Party in the last leadership election was Ken Clarke. I am on the left of the party, I support the welfare state, reasonable taxation, gay marriage and women bishops! And yet in dealing with islam I feel forced down a route that is alien to my views on other matters. I am not alone.

You can shout and bitch at me all day and I'll return the compliment, but the elephant in the room is that marginal parties with an answer will start attracting votes away from the mainstream parties who don't have an answer, and you may well not like those marginal parties at all.
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:

What are you, some kind of miserable coward, waiting for the other guy to start the all-out war?

Er... don't look now but I believe the other guy has already started it. We just haven't bothered to turn up yet.

Oh? What about this?
quote:
Just to be clear, I mean in the context of an all out war with islam should that ever happen.

Well, has it started or hasn't it? Just to be clear, I mean.
quote:
quote:
Originally posted by Dave W.:

Or is this just your attempt to find a face-saving way of saying "Just to be clear, I have now clawed my way through the fog in my head to the dim realization that what I said before was really pretty fucking stupid."?

No.

Keep shouting at me. I have no problem with it at all. I love Hell. It's where I feel most at home.

Somehow I'm not surprised that you have a lot of experience with people shouting that you're an idiot. (And who's shouting at whom?)
quote:
The truly worrying thing that nobody has addressed yet is not that I have advocated what I have, but that I have felt the need to.
Well, that may be the truly worrying thing for you, but assuaging your current pants-wetting levels of anxiety probably isn't really high on anybody's to-do list.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:


Consider this. Robert O. Paxton puts forward the theory in his book "The Anatomy of Fascism" that the reason why enough people gravitated towards the Nazi's in pre-war Germany to elect them into power was because none of the mainstream parties had any plan to deal with the issues facing Germans, but that the Nazi's did.

That plan of course was abhorent, but it was a plan. Someone upthread said somethign about "show me a plan that is appropriate, timeley and I'll show you a plan that is wrong" or whatever. The point is people want a plan. It doesn't have to be perfect, or even right, but it does have to exist.

The recent increase in anti-islamic feeling in the West - and you can't deny that it is increasing - is explained by Paxton's theory in my view.

The mainstream parties have no answers. The peace-first hanky-wringers have no answers.

I've said on a number of occaisions that my choice for leader of the Conservative Party in the last leadership election was Ken Clarke. I am on the left of the party, I support the welfare state, reasonable taxation, gay marriage and women bishops! And yet in dealing with islam I feel forced down a route that is alien to my views on other matters. I am not alone.

You can shout and bitch at me all day and I'll return the compliment, but the elephant in the room is that marginal parties with an answer will start attracting votes away from the mainstream parties who don't have an answer, and you may well not like those marginal parties at all.

You're stretching things to explain the rise in anti-Islamic feeling by reference to Paxton's analysis which has five components:

1. Popular disillusionment with democracy - check.

2. A fascist movement, aided by deadlock and polarization, becoming a player on the national stage - UKIP is racist, but not fascist.

3. Arrival to power, where conservatives seeking to control rising leftist opposition invite the movement to share power - the Conservatives would only do this after ditching Cameron but who else is remotely electable?

4. Exercise of power, via a charismatic leader (Hitler or Mussolini)and traditional elites - show me a potential charismatic leader. Apart from a World Cup winning England captain or Simon Cowell that is.
5. Radicalization (per Nazi Germany) or traditional authoritarianism (per fascist Italy) - Britain would take the latter path, but who could tell the difference?

Come on deano, do try a bit harder.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Some positive news from Iraq, where the town of Amerli appears to have been taken from IS, by a combination of Iraqui forces, Kurdish peshmerga, and Shia militia. Maybe this points the way to future gains.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Some positive news from Iraq, where the town of Amerli appears to have been taken from IS, by a combination of Iraqui forces, Kurdish peshmerga, and Shia militia. Maybe this points the way to future gains.

You mean there's a chance that ISIS won't have to be nuked? That won't do at all.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Some positive news from Iraq, where the town of Amerli appears to have been taken from IS, by a combination of Iraqui forces, Kurdish peshmerga, and Shia militia. Maybe this points the way to future gains.

You mean there's a chance that ISIS won't have to be nuked? That won't do at all.
It is disappointing. All those mushroom clouds and charred bodies would have looked good on the front pages, and would have testified to our virility. Man up! Drop the bomb!
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I advocated dropping a nuclear weapon on the ISIS. That is very far from advocating killing all muslims. Don't put words in my mouth you prick.

quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
]I would rather eradicate all muslims than have Islam forced upon me regardless of the state of Christianity.

And how are you going to do that? Nuke the entire globe and start again from scratch? You sound more and more like a Bond villain with every word you post.
Yes. I just showed this stuff to my wife, and she laughed like a drain, and said, you wally, you've been set up. Damn, I thought I'd got good at detecting wind-ups. There's no fool like an old fool.
Seriously? Is that what you and she believe?

I am quite serious.

If you think I am winding you up, fair enough. There's nothing I can do to stop that except to say it isn't.


 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
deano, don't you recognize your own words?

Advocating killing all Muslims?

Did someone hack your account?

Did you forget them?

Forget that you advocated killing all Muslims?

Or isn't that what you meant by 'I would rather eradicate all muslims'?

Unless you intend to do it alone?

You're not advocating it for anyone else to share in doing?

Like Jesus?
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Keep shouting at me. I have no problem with it at all. I love Hell. It's where I feel most at home.

So... you are an internet troll.

Perhaps the method the Fantastic Four used to deal with the Impossible Man would be apropos here.

Part one, Part Two.

Goodbye, annoying person.

Goodbye.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
And it's 'fewer' lawyers, not 'less'.

Jesus wept. Try to read the fucking thread before posting. You might appear less behind the times, and thus less of a twat.

As being behind the times and having a level of twatishness are both continous variables I assume there are no objections to my using "less" in that context?


Not with regard to the latter use but certainly with regard to the former - which is why I restated Ariston's objection as you clearly didn't get the point.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
The truly worrying thing that nobody has addressed yet is not that I have advocated what I have, but that I have felt the need to.

I agree that your dissatisfaction with the current strategy of helping local Kurdish and Shiite forces is truly worrying.

The gap between your nuclear blast/wide-ranging lock-up strategy and your caricature of peace-first hanky-wringers with no alternative plan is vast. Personally I fall within that gap quite comfortably. I think the current US/Western strategy is a fairly smart one, and furthermore it appears to be working.

I know you'd love the problem to be 'solved' in the space of 5 minutes with a bright flash and thousands of years of radioactivity somewhere where it isn't your problem, but it's not as if that's the only possible method.

I bet you take crash diets as well.

[ 01. September 2014, 10:51: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
The gap between your nuclear blast/wide-ranging lock-up strategy and your caricature of peace-first hanky-wringers with no alternative plan is vast. Personally I fall within that gap quite comfortably. I think the current US/Western strategy is a fairly smart one, and furthermore it appears to be working.

I hope it does. I hope muslims stop seeing Western culture as abhorent and I look forward to the day when all muslims decide that the doctrine of spreading islam through war is wrong and ought to be discarded.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
[Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Your apology to Dave for your the mindless amnesic rage of Jesus is noted.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I hope muslims stop seeing Western culture as abhorrent and I look forward to the day when all muslims decide that the doctrine of spreading islam through war is wrong and ought to be discarded.

Amen < are we allowed amen's in Hell ?>

Western culture may leave a lot to be desired as we know, but if islam wants to learn by our past mistakes then forget the Holy wars, forget about Just wars, maybe forget about wars altogether cos it's all a bit shit really.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Your apology to Dave for your the mindless amnesic rage of Jesus is noted.

Cheers, It's always nice to hear from someone who is fully behind my arguments.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I hope muslims stop seeing Western culture as abhorrent and I look forward to the day when all muslims decide that the doctrine of spreading islam through war is wrong and ought to be discarded.

Amen < are we allowed amen's in Hell ?>

Western culture may leave a lot to be desired as we know, but if islam wants to learn by our past mistakes then forget the Holy wars, forget about Just wars, maybe forget about wars altogether cos it's all a bit shit really.

Don't you know nuffink? Western run, Christian wars are Good! Do get with the plan.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
You haven't made one yet. You just argue and lie. Like Jesus.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Was it just the weekend before last? I wobbled in the irenicism of Jesus? It didn't last long, although it was pretty acute at the time.

It even looked like George was wobbling and still is.

As for deano, sorry mate, if you're NOT lying like Jesus, then you're insane like Jesus. Or both. Like Jesus. Which is it mate?

There is a way out mate.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
Don't you know nuffink? Western run, Christian wars are Good! Do get with the plan.

I know, how shockingly remiss of me .

It was a ridiculously heretical statement . Especially in this year, the Centenary of that Great and lovely war which was supposed to end all war.
And of course you are right, only we Christians are allowed to blow everything to fuck and back , not those dodgy turks and hereticks with their dirty bombs, dastardly schemes and shabby guerilla tactics.
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Darling: So you see, Blackadder, Field Marshal Haig is most anxious to eliminate all these German spies.

Melchett: Filthy Hun weasels fighting their dirty underhand war!

Darling: And, fortunately, one of *our* spies--

Melchett: Splendid fellows, brave heroes, risking life and limb for Blighty!
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Was it just the weekend before last? I wobbled in the irenicism of Jesus? It didn't last long, although it was pretty acute at the time.

It even looked like George was wobbling and still is.

As for deano, sorry mate, if you're NOT lying like Jesus, then you're insane like Jesus. Or both. Like Jesus. Which is it mate?

There is a way out mate.

Absolutely. Couldn't have put it better myself.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
News is coming in that the second US journalist being held by IS/ ISIS has been murdered.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
[Votive]

I'm a host so I can use smilies. And it's right. His poor family.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
What should Jesus do now deano?

You're a Christian, so you know. You represent him with your lies, your murderousness, your confusion, that's His of course.
 
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on :
 
I really don't know what the best response is - I was, however, disturbed by seeing the Metro calling the man doing the beheading "Jihadi John" - giving him a pet name like that serves to trivialise his actions.

He's not some amusing anti-hero - he's a murderer. Plain and simple.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
What should Jesus do now deano?

You're a Christian, so you know. You represent him with your lies, your murderousness, your confusion, that's His of course.

Dunno because nobody on this planet is actually Him. I have no idea what he would do. Frankly I care more about what WE should do because trying to foist our responsibilities onto Christ is an admission that we have no answers.

Asking what Christ would do is an attempt to trivialise a serious issue and avoid facing it.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
I really don't know what the best response is - I was, however, disturbed by seeing the Metro calling the man doing the beheading "Jihadi John" - giving him a pet name like that serves to trivialise his actions.

He's not some amusing anti-hero - he's a murderer. Plain and simple.

It's a manifestation of the long tradition of ridicule that has been used by We British against all sorts of enemies, from the monotesticular Nazi leader to Chemical Ali and beyond. It does trivialise and can easily be racist, but it's a defence mechanism and if not peculiar to the British, it's a defining characteristic when there's a war on, which is almost all the time.
 
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
What should Jesus do now deano?

You're a Christian, so you know. You represent him with your lies, your murderousness, your confusion, that's His of course.

Dunno because nobody on this planet is actually Him. I have no idea what he would do. Frankly I care more about what WE should do because trying to foist our responsibilities onto Christ is an admission that we have no answers.

Asking what Christ would do is an attempt to trivialise a serious issue and avoid facing it.

But what if we
do have no answers? Isn't that exactly when we should ask Christ?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
But what if we
do have no answers? Isn't that exactly when we should ask Christ?

That's a hypothetical question and irrelevant. We haven't run out of answers yet. My answers still stand, no matter how distasteful some of you find them.

(UBB sorted by host. Again.)

[ 03. September 2014, 11:04: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger (# 8891) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Originally posted by The Phantom Flan Flinger:
quote:
But what if we
do have no answers? Isn't that exactly when we should ask Christ?

That's a hypothetical question and irrelevant. We haven't run out of answers yet. My answers still stand, no matter how distasteful some of you find them.
I didn't say I found your answer distasteful, I simply asked a question based on your answers. You know, attempting a discussion.

(UBB again corrected by Host)

[ 03. September 2014, 11:05: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
But, much as it pains me to agree with Dildo, we haven't yet run out of answers. But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But, much as it pains me to agree with Dildo, we haven't yet run out of answers. But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

I don't know; perhaps start with what he's meant to have said when he was here, stuff about loving your enemies, blessing those who curse you and working it out from there.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
I'm not sure how that helps me how to work out how to help the victims of IS, though, as it is not me personally who is being shat on by them.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
And your answers are Jesus' answers as you speak for Him and by Him, being a Christian.

Hateful, murderous, lying, graceless answers.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
I haven't given any answers yet, so resent your mischaracterisation of them.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
The odds that Martin PC is ever replying to the post immediately above his own are remarkably low.

Also, he is one of the Shipmates (not the only one) that appears to have a religious objection to the 'Quote' button.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Ah!
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
I think he was talking to me. I mean, martin and myself seem to share the same worldview on this.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I think he was talking to me. I mean, martin and myself seem to share the same worldview on this.

You reckon? One has to be a mindreader to understand Martin PC. Sometimes I don't think he understands himself (Jack Kerouac eat your heart out).
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I think he was talking to me. I mean, martin and myself seem to share the same worldview on this.

You reckon? One has to be a mindreader to understand Martin PC. Sometimes I don't think he understands himself (Jack Kerouac eat your heart out).
Nah. What he says is perfectly clear. If others are misunderstanding him then it's their issue not his. I assume no newcomers to the ship, reading my posts will doubt that MPC and myself are of one mind.
 
Posted by RuthW (# 13) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" was unclear?
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
orfeo: The odds that Martin PC is ever replying to the post immediately above his own are remarkably low.

Also, he is one of the Shipmates (not the only one) that appears to have a religious objection to the 'Quote' button.

I can understand that. I mean, the thought of Martin PC's posts having bits and pieces of ours all crawling and slithering inside of them. It's disgusting, really.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" was unclear?
But they are not persecuting me. Of course, I stand in solidarity with those who are being persecuted but the verse you quoted doesn't assist in telling me how to help those other than me who are being persecuted.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I assume no newcomers to the ship, reading my posts will doubt that MPC and myself are of one mind.

Whereas the old-timers know better.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I think he was talking to me. I mean, martin and myself seem to share the same worldview on this.

You reckon? One has to be a mindreader to understand Martin PC. Sometimes I don't think he understands himself (Jack Kerouac eat your heart out).
Nah. What he says is perfectly clear. If others are misunderstanding him then it's their issue not his. I assume no newcomers to the ship, reading my posts will doubt that MPC and myself are of one mind.
Befuddled?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" was unclear?
Oh very clear. But I'm not that good at doing it. I prefer to hurt them very, very much.

But didn't Christ say we were all pretty shite at doing the right thing even if we knew what it was?

[ 03. September 2014, 19:16: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" was unclear?
Oh very clear. But I'm not that good at doing it. I prefer to hurt them very, very much.

But didn't Christ say we were all pretty shite at doing the right thing even if we knew what it was?

He did just that, but it wasn't part of His "How to" guide.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
No it was Paul.

Your honest confession of helplessness is a good start.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by RuthW:
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
But if you want to go all hypothetical, what if Christ is silent when we ask Him?

"Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" was unclear?
Oh very clear. But I'm not that good at doing it. I prefer to hurt them very, very much.

But didn't Christ say we were all pretty shite at doing the right thing even if we knew what it was?

... no it was Paul.

That's me trying to repent in my befuddled way.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
But didn't Christ say we were all pretty shite at doing the right thing even if we knew what it was?

That.... doesn't mean.... we stop trying to do it!!!!!!! [brick wall] [brick wall] [brick wall]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Until a just war comes along?
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
"Turn the other cheek" is all well and good (although difficult enough in practice IMO) when applied to oneself, but I'm not sure that the Sermon on the Mount gives me the right to force third parties to turn their cheeks when they are being persecuted; the text says "turn the other cheek", not "look the other way".
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
No Christian would do that.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Until a just war comes along?

No, even when that is happening, we need to conduct it according to certain rules, not stepping over various lines; such is my understanding, anyway.
 
Posted by Ad Orientem (# 17574) on :
 
I guess I'm a pacifist at heart, though not an absolute pacifist. Therefore I have much sympathy for Martin's view concerning war, even if I don't share his absolutism regarding it. I don't think the first Christians were pacifist by accident. They saw it clearly in the teachings of our Lord and as such, being faced with death, preferred martyrdom to wielding the sword. I also think that just war theory is by-and-large nothing more than a series of rationalisms. I do think it interesting though that in the Gospel according to St. Luke our Lord does not admonish the centurion who has so much faith for being a soldier. Are we able to read something into that? I don't know. Then there is the conundrum of how far a state, even a Christian one, can or should go in order to protect itself and its citizens. Again, I don't pretend to have an answer to that.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
I'm reasonably OK that NATO are uniting to stamp out Islamic extremist terror and violence . I'm not happy that many service personnel and innocent bystanders will be killed or injured in the process.

Islam has much to offer a West that seems to be teetering on the verge of brokenness . Do it peacefully , do it by example and we'll all be the better for it.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
I think the only thing the West can do to end this cycle is to radically revise its relationship with the Middle East and the Islamic world. Starting by listening.

Listen to the Syrians, the Kurds, the sunnis who support ISIS, the people who are in the areas it controls ... What do they want? What solution do they see? Listen to Muslims in other countries, including our own. What way do they see out of this? And how can we behave to facilitate that?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?

Rather reminds me of the Western enthusiasm for free and fair democratic elections in Palestine, right up until Hamas won.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?

Well, that covers a pretty wide field! Suppose Muslims in these countries say, please go back to your own countries, and leave us alone - well, fair enough.

Big problem though - they have lots of oil! Can we do a trade?

If they say, you are stinking kafir, and we are coming after you, not so good.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Anglican't: But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?
Is that how you enter a conversation?

I've had many conversations with Muslims, and most of them seem very reasonable to me. In fact, I have the feeling that when we refuse to listen to them, some of them become unreasonable. Starting out by expecting that what they'll say will be unpalatable to us creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. Just listen.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
Anglican't: But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?
Is that how you enter a conversation?

Well, no, but I've never started a conversation that is designed, ultimately, to end murderous hostility, which is what I understood you to be suggesting.

I've no objection to dialogue, but if the answer to the question 'what would you like?' is 'I'll only be satisfied once Israel is driven into the sea and a homosexual hangs from every lamp post' then, well, I'm not sure what any conversation is going to achieve.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
We are actually incredibly good at ignoring what people say they want, if we don't like the answers.

The one that always sticks with me is suicide terrorism, because of the seminar given by Robert Pape that I attended. Quite some years ago now, but it was so astoundingly insightful it stayed with me.

We are far too ready to say "they're crazy terrorists who just hate us and our way of life". In other words, to say that it isn't about anything specific we've done, it's just a general hatred and they'll pursue us no matter what, and now way are we going to give up our WAY OF LIFE to please them, dammit.

Except it's not true. Because many of the people that are supposed to hate us with a passion do not engage in suicide terrorism. You won't find a history of Iranians engaging in suicide terrorism.

What Pape found by looking at the hard data on suicide terrorism was that it occurred in campaigns - series of bombings - and that every campaign was linked with the presence of occupying forces in the location. Any time the occupying forces left, the bombing stopped. When France and the USA both had troops in Lebanon, and the French forces left, the bombing against French-associated targets stopped. The bombing against American-associated targets stopped when the American forces left.

Pape also pointed out that some of the rhetoric from Al Qaeda at the time specifically referred to the presence of Western forces in Muslim lands. It wasn't just some random rhetoric of Western-lifestyle hatred, it was specific: get out of our lands.

Which doesn't mean you HAVE to get out of 'their' lands of course, but at least if you understand what the demand is you can make an informed decision of whether or not to comply with it.

ISIS is not engaged in terrorism, it is behaving far more like a military force, so I'm not suggesting that the observations above are directly applicable to ISIS. What I'm suggesting is that the process of listening and of understanding exactly why things are happening is an essential first step to finding a solution. It doesn't mean you simply give someone everything they want - not when it seems that this will lead to them persecuting Shiites, Christians and Yazidis - but you do rather need to understand what they want before you can work out how to respond to that.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
Anglican't: I've no objection to dialogue, but if the answer to the question 'what would you like?' is 'I'll only be satisfied once Israel is driven into the sea and a homosexual hangs from every lamp post' then, well, I'm not sure what any conversation is going to achieve.
Then don't enter the conversation expecting this answer.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by LeRoc:
quote:
Anglican't: But what if what they say is unpalatable to us?
Is that how you enter a conversation?

Well, no, but I've never started a conversation that is designed, ultimately, to end murderous hostility, which is what I understood you to be suggesting.

I've no objection to dialogue, but if the answer to the question 'what would you like?' is 'I'll only be satisfied once Israel is driven into the sea and a homosexual hangs from every lamp post' then, well, I'm not sure what any conversation is going to achieve.

If you think the conversation could go that way you don't ask a closed question about their ultimate objective (unless that is, you actually want to piss off the party of the second part). To give another example, how many successful seductions commence by asking outright for a fuck?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
I suppose it depends on who you're trying to seduce...
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Orfeo wrote:

quote:
It wasn't just some random rhetoric of Western-lifestyle hatred, it was specific: get out of our lands.


Bit tanhemtial, but I've always thought that the correct formulation of the Lifetsyle Vs. Imperialism debate surrounding motivations for anti-west terrorism was that the terrorists probably DO dislike the supposed decadence of the west, but that it takes the occupation of their lands to make that issue into an obsession.

In other words, in the absence of western interference, western lifestyles would just be seen as some odd thing that people have a mild distaste for, but will generally just shrug off as something going on in strange countries far away.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
^ I have no objection to that way of thinking about it.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
^ I have no objection to that way of thinking about it.

Yes, I figured we were on the same page.

Anyway, the US State Department has relased a propaganada video meant to counter ISIS recruitment.

Not sure how effective this would be, even apart from its dubious(from the pov of radicalized Muslim youth) source.

The video tries to point out the supposed irony in ISIS claiming to defend Muslims, while blowing up mosques. But, of course, ISIS and its followers likely don't regard those mosques as legitimate anyway. Especially if the mosques are Shia. They probably regard them the way Ian Paisley regards Catholic churches.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Pape also pointed out that some of the rhetoric from Al Qaeda at the time specifically referred to the presence of Western forces in Muslim lands. It wasn't just some random rhetoric of Western-lifestyle hatred, it was specific: get out of our lands.

Some of the rhetoric may have been, but I never got the impression that al-Qaeda's aims were ever consistent. Sometimes, they wanted the West out of Saudi Arabia. Sometimes they wanted an Islamic caliphate that stretched from Andalusia to Indonesia. Sometimes they were willing to make 'peace' with Europe alone if they disassociated themselves from the US.

Perhaps the 'West in Muslim lands'-thing was at the core of it, but I always got the feeling that a lot of al-Qaeda's 'war aims' were an attempt to give form to a general hatred of the West and Western values.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Ad Orientem - you OFTEN impress me, especially when up against me and my expression.

I waver. Emotionally and therefore rhetorically, especially in my inner rhetoric, my beliefs, absolutes. My narrative on all this. I wobbled big time two weeks ago over the IS treatment of the Yazidi in particular (800 of whom were murdered by Iraqi Kurds in 2007), who seem to be by far the most intense victims of persecution, way beyond Shia and Christians (in that order) who are nonetheless being persecuted with grinding evil. I get the pulse of kill them, kill them ALL. Extirpate them in righteousness. Evaporate them as the French airforce did in Libya. Let fire fall from heaven. I am soused in the myth of redemptive violence, it's in my memes for 80% of my life as well as my genes.

I listened to the BBC interview with the Syrian Peshmerga this morning at 08:45. Awesome. Bloody superb people. And the heart-rending interview that followed on British IS fighters desperate to come home. We MUST love these guys home. And love them when they're back. With mandatory deprogramming, counselling. And unconditional love.

My absolutism is the result of the polarization that goes on here. It works on overcoming all manner of half baked baggage I've carried for 50 years. It is A view that has to be articulated here and refined in fire, regardless of how I waver over it and how inadequately I propose it. Regardless of how I don't know what to do either. I haven't the faintest idea. Like Jeremy Hardy on Any Questions in 2003 I think, arguing against the invasion of Iraq up against a Tory who asked what his alternative was to invasion. And that the efforts of good men like Obama and Cameron, involving our superb military, soldier saints as far as I'm concerned, are the best there can be. This IS the best of all possible worlds. And despite my reversion to rhetorically holding Christianity responsible for much of the evil of the past two millennia, I temper that with the understanding that we can't help it. We really are fecklessly innocent in all this. ALL of us. Including the IS.

As for Jesus and the centurion and therefore war, I've used the same argument myself and saw it as seemless with John the Baptist's attitude to the military before Him and the apostle Paul's after. So in all my absolutism, in all my excoriation of Christianity, I FULLY acknowledge that in the incarnate Jesus it WAS an evolving, ambiguous position. Especially in His discourse. A discourse TRANSCENDED by His actions. His language is of its time. I see Him using the language of His time against itself, but not completely. He and His narrators were blithely Christological in their interpretation of the Old Testament in ways that moderns like us cannot be. In ways that are exemplary for us in THIS matter and others - like divorce, gay marriage. But He could not transcend the narrative of the God the Killer requiring penal substitutionary atonement. To read postmodern transcendence of that in to The Son of Man is absurd. Jesus believed in God the Killer, believed that He HAD to lay His life down to save us legalistically. Even though He appeared to attribute some of the narrative to Moses and not the Holy Spirit directly. His knowledge, His understanding were shacked by His humanity even in their leap of and for divine intent. But in His ACTIONS He was sublime, He was transcendent, the greatest example for me being in the woman caught in adultery. The courage, the mercy, the emotional intelligence, the cleverness, the vastness of mind. Lesser and still astounding examples abound: rending unto Caesar, the Syro-Phoenician woman.

In the arc of the moral universe Jesus is the inflection point where the arc entered a new trajectory where it naturally would not have. So the argument for absolute pacifism is inferred along, beyond His discursive trajectory at the time. With ease in the saying of it now. As in ethics beyond legalism generally. A legalism - about His sayings - He would NEVER have endorsed.

Peace is on the arc.
 
Posted by JoannaP (# 4493) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Pape also pointed out that some of the rhetoric from Al Qaeda at the time specifically referred to the presence of Western forces in Muslim lands. It wasn't just some random rhetoric of Western-lifestyle hatred, it was specific: get out of our lands.

Some of the rhetoric may have been, but I never got the impression that al-Qaeda's aims were ever consistent. Sometimes, they wanted the West out of Saudi Arabia. Sometimes they wanted an Islamic caliphate that stretched from Andalusia to Indonesia. Sometimes they were willing to make 'peace' with Europe alone if they disassociated themselves from the US.

Perhaps the 'West in Muslim lands'-thing was at the core of it, but I always got the feeling that a lot of al-Qaeda's 'war aims' were an attempt to give form to a general hatred of the West and Western values.

Al-Qaida was always consistent in that its long-term aim was a Caliphate from Andalusia to Indonesia. To do that, they had to remove most of the rulers of Arab and other Muslim countries, whom they regarded as "apostate". To do that, Osama Bin Laden believed that they had to reduce US and other Western support for these apostate leaders. So attacking the US was a tactic used to achieve the strategic goal of the Caliphate.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
I'm sorry, Martin, but I'm sure you see
That on this we do not agree

 
Posted by Laurelin (# 17211) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
I wobbled big time two weeks ago over the IS treatment of the Yazidi in particular (800 of whom were murdered by Iraqi Kurds in 2007), who seem to be by far the most intense victims of persecution, way beyond Shia and Christians (in that order) who are nonetheless being persecuted with grinding evil.

I'm sure I know no more about the situation there than you do, but why do you assume that the poor Yazidi people are 'the most intense victims of persecution'? Just because the world media suddenly cottoned onto their ghastly plight on that mountain? The world's media has lost interest in them since. And it makes no mention now of the Shia Muslims and the Christians either. But ALL these people are suffering equally.

quote:
We MUST love these guys home. And love them when they're back. With mandatory deprogramming, counselling. And unconditional love.
Who's 'we'? If our government can behave humanely and succeed in deprogramming some of these young men, then I can get behind that, I guess.

I also want to see those who have committed atrocities to be arrested and tried with due process.

But 'unconditional love' is beyond the remit of any government. Only Christ can give that, IMO.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
AWESOME orfeo, thank you.

Aye Chas. But I love you any way.

I'm sure you do Laurelin.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Islam has much to offer a West that seems to be teetering on the verge of brokenness .

What things would they be then? What can islam show the west that we don't already know and are either doing or have rejected?

Make us a list.

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
If you think the conversation could go that way you don't ask a closed question about their ultimate objective (unless that is, you actually want to piss off the party of the second part). To give another example, how many successful seductions commence by asking outright for a fuck?

Why not ask like that? This is nation-state level diplomacy and warfare we are discussing. The niceties stop after "How are you? Did you have a pleasant journey? Now, about your aims..."

I think the conversation is more the west saying "you are not going to be allowed to fuck us" rather than the way you have it SS.

quote:
Originally posted by JoannaP:
Al-Qaida was always consistent in that its long-term aim was a Caliphate from Andalusia to Indonesia.

Given Andalusia is part of the west, part of Europe, part of Spain, it needs to recognised that the long-term aim will never be allowed to be met.

Why would the west ever countenance giving over Europeans to islam?

What would taking that position do to the "delicately phrased" discussions SS wants?

quote:
Originally posted by Laurelin:
If our government can behave humanely and succeed in deprogramming some of these young men, then I can get behind that, I guess.

I also want to see those who have committed atrocities to be arrested and tried with due process.

"Some"? Only "some"? So you are willing for the remainder to be active participants in terrorism against the west? To launch bombings in London, New York, Madrid etc?

On your second point, the evidence to try these people is hard to come by when they are wearing masks and operating out of Syria, Iraq, Pakistan or Afghanistan. Not much allowance for the FBI or Anti-Terrorist Branch to get on the ground and gather evidence that is admissible in courts. They may well get their heads lopped off the minute they start wandering round and interviewing local residents don't you think?

Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows vs jihad; hmmm... Let me call Ladbrokes and put a bet on.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
If you think the conversation could go that way you don't ask a closed question about their ultimate objective (unless that is, you actually want to piss off the party of the second part). To give another example, how many successful seductions commence by asking outright for a fuck?

Why not ask like that? This is nation-state level diplomacy and warfare we are discussing.

To describe ISIL as a nation state is nonsense. You're falling for their rhetoric.
quote:

The niceties stop after "How are you? Did you have a pleasant journey? Now, about your aims..."

I think the conversation is more the west saying "you are not going to be allowed to fuck us" rather than the way you have it SS.


That's the whole purpose of the "other track". Didn't I say this was a twin-track approach? We have to reduce ISIL's effectiveness permanently which takes more than air strikes, which are the 21st century equivalent of Gunboat Diplomacy. That led to WW1 remember.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
We have to reduce ISIL's effectiveness permanently which takes more than air strikes, which are the 21st century equivalent of Gunboat Diplomacy. That led to WW1 remember.

Talking to the tribes? How did that work out in Afghanistan?

We can talk to the tribal leaders and get their agreement to fight IS, then somebody in that tribe kills the leaders and IS win again.

Eventually the tribal leaders decide the best way to stay alive is to get with the guys with the guns.

That, according to the peace-first hanky wringers MUST NOT be the west. So it is IS.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

[ 06. September 2014, 11:44: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
You don't read for comprehension do you, just so far as suits your own twisted prejudices.

Twin-track worked in Ireland and Malaysia too. It could be argued that in worked in Kenya and Cyprus: not ideal, but far better than outright military action alone which you advocate.

As for Afghanistan, we've been there four times and the best outcome was the stalemate in 1920. Going there really does demonstrate that one shouldn't start a land war in Asia.
 
Posted by Laurelin (# 17211) on :
 
Deano - when I said 'some', I was trying to be realistic because I am certainly not confident that all of these young men could be deprogrammed or even if any of them could be.

Obviously I'd be over the moon that the remainder would be left to wreck horrible mayhem. [Roll Eyes] Give me a break.

I favour military action against IS. No sunshine or pink unicorns here.
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
Someone suggested on an online post I read elsewhere that Islam is going through something akin to the Reformation at the moment ... with some rather radical and Puritanical types attempting to divest it of what iconography and art it currently has ... even to the point of blowing up the shrine of Mohammed and replacing it with a few pieces of gravel.

This might sound far-fetched, but similar things have happened at the shrines of other Islamic saints and holy men.

So the whole religion is in a state of flux and change - as Western Christianity was back in the 1500s and 1600s - and that was pretty bloody too.

I really don't see what deano is advocating beyond some kind of genocidal approach where all Muslims are deemed guilty until proven otherwise.

I'd be in favour of limited - but effective - military action against IS - perhaps the use of special forces and so on.

That's rather different to wanting to nuke the entire area - combatants, non-combatants, innocent and guilty alike.

Deano simply strikes me as an angry and unpleasant middle-aged reactionary with enough chips on his shoulder to build a log cabin.

His real target isn't Islamic extremists but either his own demons or the projection of those onto the touchy-feely liberal lefties he despises so much and who are - generally speaking - a heck of a lot more intelligent than he is.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:

Deano simply strikes me as an angry and unpleasant middle-aged reactionary with enough chips on his shoulder to build a log cabin.


Are you suggesting he should get a Harley-Davidson or, failing that, grow a ponytail?
 
Posted by Gamaliel (# 812) on :
 
He may have both already as far as we know.

If he lives in Derbyshire, as I think he does, then a blow-out across the Peaks on a high-cc motorbike might do him some good.

Just so long as he doesn't keep going and cross the border into the North Staffs/South Cheshire area, I'd be pleased for him if he did.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Islam has much to offer a West that seems to be teetering on the verge of brokenness .

What things would they be then? What can islam show the west that we don't already know and are either doing or have rejected?

Make us a list.

How not to objectify females
How to reduce the divorce rate
How to reduce alcohol and drug abuse
How to prevent obesity
How to prevent imaginary illnesses and depression
How to not live consumeristic lives that screw the planet.

Was going to say 'How to live in peace', but think we'll call it a draw with Christianity on that one.

Not that I'm necessarily pro-islam or anything. There are many days a week when I'd be etremely happy to see a worldwide ban on all religion -- considering the trouble it causes.
Not quite sure how that could be implemented though [Confused]
 
Posted by Rosa Winkel (# 11424) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:

Deano simply strikes me as an angry and unpleasant middle-aged reactionary with enough chips on his shoulder to build a log cabin.


Are you suggesting he should get a Harley-Davidson or, failing that, grow a ponytail?
Or even worse, take up golf.
 
Posted by Chesterbelloc (# 3128) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Islam has much to offer a West that seems to be teetering on the verge of brokenness[...]

How not to objectify females
How to reduce the divorce rate. [...]
How to not live consumeristic lives that screw the planet.

[Ultra confused] I'm no Deano-ite, but, seriously?
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
There are many days a week when I'd be extremely happy to see a worldwide ban on all religion -- considering the trouble it causes. Not quite sure how that could be implemented though [Confused]

Why, by a brutal suppression of fundamental human rights, silly. There are plenty of totalitarian regimes you could learn from - do use your imagination!

[ 06. September 2014, 19:02: Message edited by: Chesterbelloc ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gamaliel:
He may have both already as far as we know.

If he lives in Derbyshire, as I think he does, then a blow-out across the Peaks on a high-cc motorbike might do him some good.

Just so long as he doesn't keep going and cross the border into the North Staffs/South Cheshire area, I'd be pleased for him if he did.

But then I'd have to become one of those desperately sad fuckwits who pile into Matlock Bath on Sundays to admire each other bikes, eat fish and chips then piss off back home.

No ta. I'd rather advocate dropping a nuke than become one of "those" people.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I'd rather advocate dropping a nuke than become one of "those" people.

Unfortunately, in view of your apparently increasing readiness to drop nukes on all and sundry, this doesn't tell us a lot. It's become a bit like: "Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!" as an expression of surprise.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Well nuke me sideways. If the current and last Mrs. Biohazard dumps or predeceases me, I will be getting a Triumph Bonneville and roaring in to Matlock Spa. So I can roar out bare assed like Rambo out of Madison.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
quote:
deano: But then I'd have to become one of those desperately sad fuckwits who pile into Matlock Bath on Sundays to admire each other bikes, eat fish and chips then piss off back home.

No ta. I'd rather advocate dropping a nuke than become one of "those" people.

Makes you much cooler than them. Seriously.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Hey deano.

Nuke off and get nuked you nuking nukewit nuker.

Just had to say that.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Why would the west ever countenance giving over Europeans to islam?

Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Actually, the more I think of it, the funnier an adherent of a Middle Eastern religion saying "we would never hand Europe over to a Middle Eastern religion" becomes.

I expect that in deano's subconscious, Jesus was actually born in a small village in Somerset.

[ 07. September 2014, 03:54: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Well nuke me sideways. If the current and last Mrs. Biohazard dumps or predeceases me, I will be getting a Triumph Bonneville and roaring in to Matlock Spa. So I can roar out bare assed like Rambo out of Madison.

I love you, Martin! I don't understand you nine times out of ten, but every once in a while you post a zinger and this is one! [Overused]
 
Posted by The5thMary (# 12953) on :
 
quote:
I expect that in deano's subconscious, Jesus was actually born in a small village in Somerset.
I nominate this for the SOF quote file! [Killing me]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Well nuke me sideways. If the current and last Mrs. Biohazard dumps or predeceases me, I will be getting a Triumph Bonneville and roaring in to Matlock Spa. So I can roar out bare assed like Rambo out of Madison.

(my italics)

In a moment of clarity Martin PC demonstrates outstanding class. Any mutt can buy a Harley, but a Bonnie is another matter.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesterbelloc:
do use your imagination!

I'm quite happy with my imagination the way it is ta . I'm also happy that this is an age and society where it can be used without risk of being tortured or burned at the stake.

Faith of any kind must stand on it's own merit .

Totalitarianism and religious persuasion have often jumped into bed with each-other . The Nazis had that off to a fine art.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Islam has much to offer a West that seems to be teetering on the verge of brokenness .

What things would they be then? What can islam show the west that we don't already know and are either doing or have rejected?

Make us a list.

How not to objectify females
How to reduce the divorce rate
How to reduce alcohol and drug abuse
How to prevent obesity
How to prevent imaginary illnesses and depression
How to not live consumeristic lives that screw the planet.

Was going to say 'How to live in peace', but think we'll call it a draw with Christianity on that one.

Not that I'm necessarily pro-islam or anything. There are many days a week when I'd be etremely happy to see a worldwide ban on all religion -- considering the trouble it causes.

You've justed listed a bunch of things you think religion can do that would be good then advocate a ban on all religions? [Confused]
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
quote:
Originally posted by Chesterbelloc:
do use your imagination!

I'm quite happy with my imagination the way it is ta . I'm also happy that this is an age and society where it can be used without risk of being tortured or burned at the stake.

Faith of any kind must stand on it's own merit .

Totalitarianism and religious persuasion have often jumped into bed with each-other . The Nazis had that off to a fine art.

I accidentally read that as off to a fine fart.

As I understand it, the Nazi's tried to co-opt the church for their blond haired - blue eyed schemes but they weren't so keen in the end.

Besides, you don't need religion for totalitarianism. It does very well at creating bloodbaths on it's own if the 20th century is any evidence.

[ 07. September 2014, 10:39: Message edited by: Evensong ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Well nuke me sideways. If the current and last Mrs. Biohazard dumps or predeceases me, I will be getting a Triumph Bonneville and roaring in to Matlock Spa. So I can roar out bare assed like Rambo out of Madison.

Sadly Martin, I'm not surprised. You and your ponytail and futile mid-life penis extension will fit right in. I don't think many folk will turn their heads though as Matlock Bath is full of them on Sundays. You will be simply another part of the sheep-subculture. Nothing special.

quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

Well of course, I'm sure to you it would be merely "a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing"

quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
I expect that in deano's subconscious, Jesus was actually born in a small village in Somerset.

Funny. Pointless to the issue of how to deal with islamic terrorism and hegemony but amusing all the same.

quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
I'm quite happy with my imagination the way it is ta . I'm also happy that this is an age and society where it can be used without risk of being tortured or burned at the stake.

I'm happy for you. Take a quick flight into Syria or Pakistan and see how long you can continue to use your imagination without fear of torture and death.

That freedom needs protecting. Some people on this thread seem to not want to do that, and would quite happily allow places like Andalucia become an extension of Syria or Pakistan or Afghanistan etc. Wouldn't you orfeo?
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
Well the good news is Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim country, is doing well.

I'm proud of my home country. [Yipee]

[ 07. September 2014, 11:10: Message edited by: Evensong ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

No. Would you be happy for the people of Bosnia and Albania to be forced to convert to Christianity on account of your belief that Muslims are inherently dark-skinned people from somewhere other than Europe?

Al-Qaeda shouting "these are our lands" is unacceptable. But so is you shouting the exact same thing.

[ 07. September 2014, 12:29: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

No. Would you be happy for the people of Bosnia and Albania to be forced to convert to Christianity on account of your belief that Muslims are inherently dark-skinned people from somewhere other than Europe?

Al-Qaeda shouting "these are our lands" is unacceptable. But so is you shouting the exact same thing.

No. They are part of Europe and mainly muslim. Fair enough. Their choice. Did you get that word "CHOICE" orfeo?

The concept of a caliphate wont leave room for CHOICE in Andalucia. You seem to believe it will. You are naive.
 
Posted by Chesterbelloc (# 3128) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
quote:
Originally posted by Chesterbelloc:
do use your imagination!

I'm quite happy with my imagination the way it is ta.
Irony is a bit like leady and goldy on your planet, I take it. I'll grant you this: you're capable of imagining several times a week how good it would be to suppress all religions, apparently. But not of working out the consequences of implementing that, otherwise - to give you the benefit of the moral and historical doubt - I don't think you'd be suggesting such a thing.
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
I'm also happy that this is an age and society where it can be used without risk of being tortured or burned at the stake.

There should definitely be a Godwin's Law-type rule about losing an argument when invoking the Inquisition.
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Faith of any kind must stand on it's own merit.

Before being suppressed entirely by you should it prove to be religious, right?
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Totalitarianism and religious persuasion have often jumped into bed with each-other. The Nazis had that off to a fine art.

[Roll Eyes] I'll give you a Godwin pass, since I was the first one explicitly to invoke totalitarianism. But wait a bit. You bring up your idea to ban all religious expression, and I'm the one who has to field Nazi slurs? That's more than a bit rich - that's a mark ten on the Croesus scale.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Banning all religion would in reality be difficult, probably impossible .

I'm a tentative churchgoer, and call out to a non-specific deity in private. But to believe that religion doesn't have the potential to cause or fuel trouble, or be used for mass manipulation/oppression , is to ignore history and indeed the very subject title of this thread.

And the Godwin fans among us may be interested to know that those drafted into Waffen SS were compelled to swear service to the fuhrer, on oath to the holy spirit .
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I lie corrected deano: Bath, not Spa. Have the little boats with the lanterns on gone down the Derwent yet? Damn that's cute.
 
Posted by Rosa Winkel (# 11424) on :
 
The Nazis were mixed with regards to Christianity. This isn't what one sees with people using them as claims for the bastardness of Christians/atheists. Same with Stalin.

On the one side you have Hitler playing tithes to his local church in Austria till he died. On the other side you have the persecution of priests and pastors who stood against the Nazis, which could include simply openly praying for the Nazis' enemies (or, in the case of Polish RC priests, being put in Dachau among other camps simply for being priests). You have Theodor Eicke, the then camp commandant of Dachau telling newly interned priests/pastors that there is no God, only Satan, and he is Satan. You also have the Wehrmacht symbol with "God with us" (Gott mit uns) on it.

Bormann, Goebbels, Rosenberg and Himmler were all anti-Christian.

It was a Christian priest whose protests led to the official (but not actual) end of the "euthanasia". At the same time, the Nazis banned "free-thinking" (atheist) organisations (as far as I know, most or all were left-wing). Hitler had said, by the way, the Nazism was based on science and not on faith.

In other words, the Nazis were contradictory with regards to Christianity and can't be effectively used a a "Nazi card" by either Christians or New Atheists.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Cut the Godwin stuff, or the thread gets it.

Sioni Sais, bored Hellhost
 
Posted by Chesterbelloc (# 3128) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Banning all religion would in reality be difficult, probably impossible.

But still something to aspire to, eh?

Do me a favour: look up "totalitarianism" in the dictionary. Having done so, let me know how much else appeals to you about it.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

No. Would you be happy for the people of Bosnia and Albania to be forced to convert to Christianity on account of your belief that Muslims are inherently dark-skinned people from somewhere other than Europe?

Al-Qaeda shouting "these are our lands" is unacceptable. But so is you shouting the exact same thing.

No. They are part of Europe and mainly muslim. Fair enough. Their choice. Did you get that word "CHOICE" orfeo?

The concept of a caliphate wont leave room for CHOICE in Andalucia. You seem to believe it will. You are naive.

Wow. What part of the word "No" didn't you understand?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

No. Would you be happy for the people of Bosnia and Albania to be forced to convert to Christianity on account of your belief that Muslims are inherently dark-skinned people from somewhere other than Europe?

Al-Qaeda shouting "these are our lands" is unacceptable. But so is you shouting the exact same thing.

No. They are part of Europe and mainly muslim. Fair enough. Their choice. Did you get that word "CHOICE" orfeo?

The concept of a caliphate wont leave room for CHOICE in Andalucia. You seem to believe it will. You are naive.

Wow. What part of the word "No" didn't you understand?
And what will that word "no" do to the "delicate" negotiations with a caliphate who demand Andalucia or will continue with jihad?

And what will your response be then? To wring the hanky a little more?
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
And what will that word "no" do to the "delicate" negotiations with a caliphate who demand Andalucia or will continue with jihad?

And what will your response be then? To wring the hanky a little more?

As opposed to what? More armchair warrior posturing? I'd suggest more gin, but it only seems to make you more bellicose.

Look, it's not going to happen. The Islamic State have an awful of Muslims to kill before they're going to get anywhere near Spain. They will, inevitably, come up against the regional power blocs of Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Maybe they'll keep a small, unstable kleptocracy on the borders of Iraq and Syria. Maybe they'll get crushed, maybe they'll implode.

All your doing is being a shroud-waving Cassandra. Even I couldn't make your deranged ramblings into a semblance of a coherent plot.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Chesterbelloc:
Do me a favour: look up "totalitarianism" in the dictionary. Having done so, let me know how much else appeals to you about it.

Done better than that, read a long wiki piece on the subject, and I don't in actual fact find very much of it terribly appealing.

Tell me, do you think Islamic State have a totalitarian agenda ? Tell me , do you think it's advocates are motivated by religion ?
I may getting this wrong but you appear to think totalitarianism and religion are mutually exclusive, whereas I'm pretty damn sure there are not.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
quote:
Originally posted by Chesterbelloc:
Do me a favour: look up "totalitarianism" in the dictionary. Having done so, let me know how much else appeals to you about it.

Done better than that, read a long wiki piece on the subject, and I don't in actual fact find very much of it terribly appealing.

Tell me, do you think Islamic State have a totalitarian agenda ? Tell me , do you think it's advocates are motivated by religion ?
I may getting this wrong but you appear to think totalitarianism and religion are mutually exclusive, whereas I'm pretty damn sure there are not.

Most religions have enough dogma in them to enable zealots to construct a totalitarian system, ie one in which all that is not mandatory is forbidden.

I doubt any religions are inherently totalitarian, but they make wonderful pretexts.
 
Posted by Chesterbelloc (# 3128) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
I may getting this wrong but you appear to think totalitarianism and religion are mutually exclusive, whereas I'm pretty damn sure there are not.

I hate to tell you, but you are getting this wrong. I think no such thing.

I am merely pointing out that your apparent wish - that all religions should be banned - is exactly the kind of thing that qualifies for a totalitarian label. It's exactly the kind of thing that only a totalitarian regime would attempt, and only totalitarian regimes have attempted.

So when you said you frequently (a few times each week) would like to do this but were wondering about how it may be done, I replied that it could only be done by the suppression of the most basic of human rights - the free practice of a religion. All thats's "mutually exclusive" here are the implementation of you desire and certain human rights.

Is this really so difficult to understand?
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Why would the West think it owns Bosnia and Albania?

So you would be quite happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion?

No. Would you be happy for the people of Bosnia and Albania to be forced to convert to Christianity on account of your belief that Muslims are inherently dark-skinned people from somewhere other than Europe?

Al-Qaeda shouting "these are our lands" is unacceptable. But so is you shouting the exact same thing.

No. They are part of Europe and mainly muslim. Fair enough. Their choice. Did you get that word "CHOICE" orfeo?

The concept of a caliphate wont leave room for CHOICE in Andalucia. You seem to believe it will. You are naive.

Wow. What part of the word "No" didn't you understand?
And what will that word "no" do to the "delicate" negotiations with a caliphate who demand Andalucia or will continue with jihad?

And what will your response be then? To wring the hanky a little more?

I was talking to you, not to a caliphate. Try a little reading comprehension. You asked me if I would be happy to let the Spanish people living in Andalucia be subject to islamic law and forced conversion, and I said no.

After that you just went off on some flight of fancy about what I might have said.
 
Posted by Macrina (# 8807) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:

How not to objectify females
How to reduce the divorce rate
How to reduce alcohol and drug abuse
How to prevent obesity
How to prevent imaginary illnesses and depression
How to not live consumeristic lives that screw the planet.

Was going to say 'How to live in peace', but think we'll call it a draw with Christianity on that one.

Not that I'm necessarily pro-islam or anything. There are many days a week when I'd be etremely happy to see a worldwide ban on all religion -- considering the trouble it causes.
Not quite sure how that could be implemented though [Confused]

1. I am not sure that obsessing so much about the female body you can't stand to look at it and so insist on shrouding it away under layers of fabric is somehow any better than obsessing about it so much that you try to engineer it being covered by as little as possible but y'know YMMV.
2. Yup because arranged marriages and patriarchy with a healthy dose of honour killings if you shame your family are just so great for women.
3. You do know that the Muslim community abuses psychoactive substances that just don't happen to be alcohol - right?
4. Go Kuwait!
5. Okay, what the fuck?
6. Did someone forget to tell the Saudis that they can't do bling?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
So, rolyn's list is worthless. It turns out that islam can't teach us anything. Fuck 'em.
 
Posted by Macrina (# 8807) on :
 
I think that what Islam can teach the West, and conversely what the West can teach Islam (once we stop trying to murder each other) is that humans can co-exist peacefully even with differing world views and that people with differing world views are not inherently evil. Though I think we're a long long way from that.

I don't like rolyn's list because it makes some pretty sweeping assumptions about Islam and the West that make the list invalid.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
So, rolyn's list is worthless. It turns out that islam can't teach us anything. Fuck 'em.

No doubt someone has asked this before but I thought you were a Christian? Whatever happened to loving your (perceived) enemy?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
So, rolyn's list is worthless. It turns out that islam can't teach us anything. Fuck 'em.

No doubt someone has asked this before but I thought you were a Christian? Whatever happened to loving your (perceived) enemy?
Sure, once they try to stop killing me and mine. I'm not very good at loving enemies or turning the other cheek. Is that a pre-requisite?

As a Universalist I figure I'm okay though.
 
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
quote:
6. Did someone forget to tell the Saudis that they can't do bling?
Great list, Macrina. My electoral ward is about 30% Pakistani extraction - and since I'm an Essex boy, I may comment without prejudice that they're largely down with my erstwhile homies when it comes to big German cars (or Lexus-es...Lexi..Lexorum Lexis Lexis?) and Doric columns in white plastic holding up a UPVC porch.

You're right - what we have to show each other, is that we can do better than a depressing, primitive tribalism. Well, one day at a time.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
So, rolyn's list is worthless. It turns out that islam can't teach us anything. Fuck 'em.

No doubt someone has asked this before but I thought you were a Christian? Whatever happened to loving your (perceived) enemy?
Sure, once they try to stop killing me and mine.
But not ALL Muslims are trying to kill you and yours. Why persist in the demonisation? My Muslim mother would certainly have no ill will towards you.

quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I'm not very good at loving enemies or turning the other cheek. Is that a pre-requisite?

For Christianity? Well yes. The idea percolates in our thoughts and actions from the smallest person that annoys you next door to the biggest demon you can imagine.

quote:
Originally posted by deano:

As a Universalist I figure I'm okay though.

That's great, but it's a cop out. THIS world matters. How we treat each other NOW matters.

(p.s. That's not to say I'm perfect at loving my enemies either - but if you keep it in your consciousness it makes a helluva difference.)

[ 09. September 2014, 11:06: Message edited by: Evensong ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Sure, once they try to stop killing me and mine.

The "they" construct is probably the most destructive manifestation of evil on earth. Who is your "they"? All adherants of Islam or perhaps a hundred thousand militants?

quote:

I'm not very good at loving enemies or turning the other cheek. Is that a pre-requisite?

I wouldn't describe it as a prerequisite, but you're aware of this, so it's a good start. Did anyone ever suggest the Christian life was easy? certainly not Christ.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by mark_in_manchester:
[QUOTE]My electoral ward is about 30% Pakistani extraction - and since I'm an Essex boy, I may comment without prejudice that they're largely down with my erstwhile homies when it comes to big German cars (or Lexus-es...Lexi..Lexorum Lexis Lexis?)

It's an interesting trend that I've noticed. When I was young all Asian men seemed to drive Japanese cars. Now they all seem to drive German cars. Just increased wealth, perhaps?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:

quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I'm not very good at loving enemies or turning the other cheek. Is that a pre-requisite?

For Christianity? Well yes. The idea percolates in our thoughts and actions from the smallest person that annoys you next door to the biggest demon you can imagine.
Oh. So soldiers who are obliged to, you know, actually shoot and kill the enemy are not allowed to be Christians then?
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
In christian theory, no.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Which is why I view you with so much disdain.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:

quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I'm not very good at loving enemies or turning the other cheek. Is that a pre-requisite?

For Christianity? Well yes. The idea percolates in our thoughts and actions from the smallest person that annoys you next door to the biggest demon you can imagine.
Oh. So soldiers who are obliged to, you know, actually shoot and kill the enemy are not allowed to be Christians then?
You're familiar with the Anabaptists, I presume? Ditto the Quakers? Or John Howard Yoder's The Politics of Jesus?

To put it mildly, radical pacifism has a long and noble tradition in Christian theology and history, though it's by no means the only theory of Christian bellicosity—just war theory, in which wars are kept limited in scope, for particular purposes, and atrocities and mass slaughter avoided also has a fair bit of traction. "Fuck the teachings of this Jesus dude 'cause I'm bad at following 'em," not so much.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Evensong was stating that no soldiers - who have fought and died for her right to post such drivel in complete safety - can call themselves Christians.

I don't need to take lessons in morality from people like her. A feral dog has more morals.
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Which is why I view you with so much disdain.
Stop making me like Evensong.

(eta)

And we should be taking moral lessons from someone who spits in someone's drink, but is very careful to make sure they don't see them do it? You are the very epitome of
quote:
... an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.


[ 09. September 2014, 12:44: Message edited by: Doc Tor ]
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Evensong was stating that no soldiers - who have fought and died for her right to post such drivel in complete safety - can call themselves Christians.

I don't need to take lessons in morality from people like her. A feral dog has more morals.

Then how about taking lessons from Jesus, whose easy yoke and light burden seems to be Just Too Much for you to even consider seriously?
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Christian theory? WTF is that when it's at home? Once theory and practice are distinct you are in the same situation as some of those churches Paul wrote to all those years ago.
 
Posted by L'organist (# 17338) on :
 
Yes, I know that some of the history is bad (and I can only think of Orlando Bloom as Legolas but watching Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven on TV last night was especially thought provoking.

Would that the amoral, thuggish killers of IS were watching.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Which is why I view you with so much disdain.
Stop making me like Evensong.

(eta)

And we should be taking moral lessons from someone who spits in someone's drink, but is very careful to make sure they don't see them do it? You are the very epitome of
quote:
... an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Hah! My finest hour! Arthur Scargill swallowed my dirty, dirty drool, the dimwitted commie looser! Sweet. Wish we had Baroness Thatcher back now, she would have dealt properly with jihadis, God bless her.

But evensong, those soldiers who fought and died for your freedoms were much more Christian than you will ever be, regardless of their beliefs or your ivory-tower, privileged piety.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I don't need to take lessons in morality from people like her. A feral dog has more morals.

Well, I suggest you start taking some lessons in morality from the nearest feral dog. I look forward to seeing the improvement.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Which is why I view you with so much disdain.
Blame the messenger hmmnnnnn? I didn't make the message.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
In christian theory, no.

Which is why I view you with so much disdain.
Blame the messenger hmmnnnnn? I didn't make the message.
Oh I don't think so. I think you have no clue about the message. When you read the message it got all jumbled up in that pretty little head of yours and you can't seem to get it straight when you try to pass it on. Never mind, I'm sure you bake a lovely cake. I would advise sticking to that rather than pretending to have a go at grown up stuff like being a messenger.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
You're so CUTE! [Big Grin] All that enraged masculinity. Go you!

[ 09. September 2014, 13:40: Message edited by: Evensong ]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Evensong, are you sure your mother doesn't have ill will towards deano?

Not because she's Muslim, you understand. More because she's a good judge of character.

[ 09. September 2014, 13:45: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

But evensong, those soldiers who fought and died for your freedoms were much more Christian than you will ever be, regardless of their beliefs or your ivory-tower, privileged piety.

The courage and self-sacrifice of those lost in war must be honoured and their loss observed. But the church must never condone the glorification of the war myth. War is humanity's darkness and a product of our broken selves. It is nothing to be celebrated and everything to be mourned.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

But evensong, those soldiers who fought and died for your freedoms were much more Christian than you will ever be, regardless of their beliefs or your ivory-tower, privileged piety.

The courage and self-sacrifice of those lost in war must be honoured and their loss observed. But the church must never condone the glorification of the war myth. War is humanity's darkness and a product of our broken selves. It is nothing to be celebrated and everything to be mourned.
And according to you and your perverted view of a "theory", to deny Christianity to soldiers who take part in it.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
No. Practise is different from theory.
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Hah! My finest hour!

I am absolutely sure it was, and you have done nothing of any worth ever since. Certainly not here.

Tell you what: there are an estimated 30,000 IS activists in Syria and Iraq. I will personally pay for you to fly to Turkey, arrange land transport to the Syrian border, whereupon you can spit in as many jihadis' coffee cups as you can find.

But don't let them see you do it. Heaven forfend the consequences.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
No. Practise is different from theory.

Are you suggesting that those who "Talk the talk" should not be expected to "Walk the walk" too?
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
I'm not sure that there's any debate about whether soldiers can be Christians. I believe that Church history is divided on whether Christians can be soldiers.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Hah! My finest hour!

I am absolutely sure it was, and you have done nothing of any worth ever since. Certainly not here.

Tell you what: there are an estimated 30,000 IS activists in Syria and Iraq. I will personally pay for you to fly to Turkey, arrange land transport to the Syrian border, whereupon you can spit in as many jihadis' coffee cups as you can find.

But don't let them see you do it. Heaven forfend the consequences.

Why would I want to do that? I already pay for those Trident D5's. I'd rather have one of them fly to Syria direct and land right on top of those jihadis. That's better.
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Hah! My finest hour!

I am absolutely sure it was, and you have done nothing of any worth ever since. Certainly not here.

Tell you what: there are an estimated 30,000 IS activists in Syria and Iraq. I will personally pay for you to fly to Turkey, arrange land transport to the Syrian border, whereupon you can spit in as many jihadis' coffee cups as you can find.

But don't let them see you do it. Heaven forfend the consequences.

Why would I want to do that? I already pay for those Trident D5's. I'd rather have one of them fly to Syria direct and land right on top of those jihadis. That's better.
Brave Sir deano ran away.
Bravely ran away away.
When danger reared it's ugly head,
He bravely turned his tail and fled.
Yes, brave Sir deano turned about
And gallantly he chickened out.
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
Has he personally wet himself though? Enquiring minds...
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Apart from deano's nuclear option, an obvious strategy is now opening up for Obama (even if he thinks he doesn't have one) and other Western leaders.

There are 3 obvious prongs:

1. Help those forces currently fighting IS, to remove their bases and supply lines.
2. Help the unity government in Iraq, especially to inform various Sunni leaders, that the govt. are no longer interested in imprisoning thousands of Sunni tribesmen and fighters.
3. Put out feelers to tribal leaders who are reported to be cooling off IS, and want a way out. Some of them fought against AQ before, so they will be keen to separate from IS, given enough encouragement and inducements.

This applies to Iraq; the situation in Syria is more chaotic.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Evensong. I salute you.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Evensong. I salute you.

That comes as no surprise seeing as you share the view that soldiers cannot be Christians as well.

Have you told your mates in the SAS of your views, or is that something you don't wish to burden them with?
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Evensong. I salute you.

That comes as no surprise seeing as you share the view that soldiers cannot be Christians as well.

Have you told your mates in the SAS of your views, or is that something you don't wish to burden them with?

Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Evensong. I salute you.

That comes as no surprise seeing as you share the view that soldiers cannot be Christians as well.

Have you told your mates in the SAS of your views, or is that something you don't wish to burden them with?

Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?
Are you aware that I don't give a fuck you patronising twat?

Are you, evensong and martin advocating not allowing soldiers (former or serving) from taking Communion? It sounds like it.

Soldiers protect our freedoms including the freedom to pontificate from the safety of 21st Century Western democracies, and if a soldier says "I am a Christian" then neither you, nor evensong, nor martin nor whoever in the early church have any right to deny them their faith.

I see no distinction between those who would deny a soldier his Christianity because he is (or has been) a soldier, and those jihadi's who murder Christians unless they convert to islam. Both are forcibly removing the right of someone to practice their faith as they wish.


 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Evensong. I salute you.

That comes as no surprise seeing as you share the view that soldiers cannot be Christians as well.

Have you told your mates in the SAS of your views, or is that something you don't wish to burden them with?

Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?
Was that because of the church or the Roman authorities? I have read that the Theban legion converted to Christian in the late 3rd century and a few years later was successively decimated so that none of it remained.
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Soldiers protect our freedoms

Sorry, but this rarely applies. When we think of WWII, we get the warm fuzzies, handing Fritz and Tojo their arses. We sometimes think of the Falklands, rescuing the islanders from servitude under Jonny Dago.

Things get more problematic with WWI - fighting the Boche, yes, but imperial European powers slugging it out across a hundred yards of Belgian field. The Boer War? Concentration camps? The Sudan, massacring the natives with machine guns? The Suez Crisis? Afghanistan? Iraq?

Soldiers protect the national interest, whatever the politicians of the day decide that is. The soldiers don't get to choose.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Soldiers protect our freedoms

Sorry, but this rarely applies. When we think of WWII, we get the warm fuzzies, handing Fritz and Tojo their arses. We sometimes think of the Falklands, rescuing the islanders from servitude under Jonny Dago.

Things get more problematic with WWI - fighting the Boche, yes, but imperial European powers slugging it out across a hundred yards of Belgian field. The Boer War? Concentration camps? The Sudan, massacring the natives with machine guns? The Suez Crisis? Afghanistan? Iraq?

Soldiers protect the national interest, whatever the politicians of the day decide that is. The soldiers don't get to choose.

Be that as it may, is it right to deny Communion to soldiers who identify as Christians, which is what Martin, Evensong et al would have happen? All in the name of "theory" or early church dogma!
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Be that as it may, is it right to deny Communion to soldiers who identify as Christians, which is what Martin, Evensong et al would have happen? All in the name of "theory" or early church dogma!

Except they haven't said anything of the sort. Making crap up and putting it in the mouths of people (geez, even Evensong counts as "people") is the tactic of a retarded fuckwit who forgets this is a text-based messageboard and we all have scrollwheels. [Roll Eyes]
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?

I'm not aware of that. Both St Peter at Caesarea and St Paul at Philippi baptised military men, about 40-50 AD. The next evidence we have is of the Christian Twelfth Legion that fought in the Marcomannic Wars (from 166 AD) under Marcus Aurelius. At most then, there is a gap of about 120 years where we have no direct evidence, but wherein we go from a few soldiers being baptised to (at least!) one entire legion of Christians soldiers. I'm aware of some Church Fathers commenting, but it is only a few and their position is hardly a simple "no baptism for soldiers", see the discussion here. In fact, the clearest words from Tertullian come after he has become a heretic Montanist, and before he appears to consider the existence of Christian soldiers as a matter of course. So given all this, I would be surprised if there was any clear historical evidence for a denial of baptism to soldiers in the early church. Feel free to surprise me though...
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Martin would happily crawl under fire to share communion with any soldier. And bring up ammunition. Which is why I'm NOT a padre.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
(geez, even Evensong counts as "people")

Oh the charity! The charity! [Axe murder]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Martin would happily crawl under fire to share communion with any soldier. And bring up ammunition. Which is why I'm NOT a padre.

And yet we still have this in Oblivion...

The first time Martin denied soldiers the right to be Christian

If you are backtracking from your position of 22 months ago then fine, but you need to be clear about that.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
Wow. Evensong is getting majority support in a Hell thread. Someone's handwaving gambit isn't working.

Will wonders never cease?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ariston:
Wow. Evensong is getting majority support in a Hell thread. Someone's handwaving gambit isn't working.

Will wonders never cease?

Ha! I suspect most people on the ship are sympathetic to her views on "Christian theory" and not allowing the military to be Christians.

I'm not surprised, just relieved that in the real world people on the ship have no power and no influence. It must be frustrating for you, but it is safer for the rest of us in the long run.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Martin would happily crawl under fire to share communion with any soldier. And bring up ammunition. Which is why I'm NOT a padre.

And yet we still have this in Oblivion...

The first time Martin denied soldiers the right to be Christian

If you are backtracking from your position of 22 months ago then fine, but you need to be clear about that.

Backtracking. Something only ever done by other people, eh deano?
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
(geez, even Evensong counts as "people")

Oh the charity! The charity! [Axe murder]
[Big Grin]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
And wrong. Wrong to the point of deliberate misunderstanding. I've not changed since then in the slightest. Nothing in ANYTHING I wrote then in context suggests that soldiers cannot be Christian, far from it, there's one who was sitting behind me on Sunday, a lovely bloke with a heartbreakingly lovely family he had to leave behind, a fine Christian, just back from his final tour of Afghanistan.

During Desert Storm there was an astounding BBC reconstruction of a Scud Busting operation (I may WELL have a member in my Friday night flock) in which a trooper who had been hell on wheels one moment, prayed for 'the lads' whilst on lookout for them.

The finest example of Christian soldiers I can think of were the Guards at Dunkirk. Unbelievable courage.

These guys are on the arc, no question. And they MISLED, failed by the Church. Which cannot help it.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
And wrong. Wrong to the point of deliberate misunderstanding. I've not changed since then in the slightest. Nothing in ANYTHING I wrote then in context suggests that soldiers cannot be Christian, far from it, there's one who was sitting behind me on Sunday, a lovely bloke with a heartbreakingly lovely family he had to leave behind, a fine Christian, just back from his final tour of Afghanistan.

During Desert Storm there was an astounding BBC reconstruction of a Scud Busting operation (I may WELL have a member in my Friday night flock) in which a trooper who had been hell on wheels one moment, prayed for 'the lads' whilst on lookout for them.

The finest example of Christian soldiers I can think of were the Guards at Dunkirk. Unbelievable courage.

These guys are on the arc, no question. And they MISLED, failed by the Church. Which cannot help it.

So you have changed your position. In the thread I linked to above you tell me that I understand your position "just fine"; that is a Christian can only be a pacifist. You wrote it and confirmed it.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I did not.

I haven't changed my position in the slightest.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Well, the thread is there for people to read and make their own minds up.

Perhaps if you made yourself clearer these issues wouldn't arise.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Indeed deano and for that I apologize.

I was going to this morning prior to your previous update, but I let you wind me up.

I used the word MUST in terms of the imperative, not the definitive, not exclusive and was in to playing rhetorical hard ball then.

And I apologize for that too.
 
Posted by jbohn (# 8753) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

The first time Martin denied soldiers the right to be Christian

Having read the page you linked (why do I do this to myself?), I can't see him saying anything of the sort. Do you have a point, or are you just engaging in your usual dickhead dick-waving?
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by jbohn:
(why do I do this to myself?)

It's hard isn't it?
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
Evensong. I salute you.

That comes as no surprise seeing as you share the view that soldiers cannot be Christians as well.

Have you told your mates in the SAS of your views, or is that something you don't wish to burden them with?

Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?
Was that because of the church or the Roman authorities? I have read that the Theban legion converted to Christian in the late 3rd century and a few years later was successively decimated so that none of it remained.
Opinion is divided about the reasons:

some say it was because soldiers killed - that they had to repent and leave the army. Very difficult at that time.

others say that it was because soldiers made oaths and offered sacrifices to statues of the emperor and various (other) Roman gods

If the latter, it would tie in with teachers having to give up their way of life, also actors - because the curriculum and drama dealt with roman gods.
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Meant to add that repudiating paederasty was also an issue for both teachers and soldiers.
 
Posted by jbohn (# 8753) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by jbohn:
(why do I do this to myself?)

It's hard isn't it?
[Razz]
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
Are you aware that soldiers could not be baptised in the early church?

I'm not aware of that. Both St Peter at Caesarea and St Paul at Philippi baptised military men, about 40-50 AD. The next evidence we have is of the Christian Twelfth Legion that fought in the Marcomannic Wars (from 166 AD) under Marcus Aurelius. At most then, there is a gap of about 120 years where we have no direct evidence, but wherein we go from a few soldiers being baptised to (at least!) one entire legion of Christians soldiers. I'm aware of some Church Fathers commenting, but it is only a few and their position is hardly a simple "no baptism for soldiers", see the discussion here. In fact, the clearest words from Tertullian come after he has become a heretic Montanist, and before he appears to consider the existence of Christian soldiers as a matter of course. So given all this, I would be surprised if there was any clear historical evidence for a denial of baptism to soldiers in the early church. Feel free to surprise me though...
The article you linked to is interesting and shoes that the issue is far from simple. The article is also coming from a particular viewpoint - as am I, from the other direction when I link to:

The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus 16:9

and

see Hippolytus and Tertullian on the necessity to repudiate military service before baptism.

There's also Origen (Contra Celsum 8) and even after Constantine, the Council of Nicea 325 ordered that soldiers could be catechumens and attend the ministry of the word but not the communion, before which catechumens were dismissed (see Canon 12)
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
The article you linked to is interesting and shoes that the issue is far from simple. The article is also coming from a particular viewpoint - as am I, from the other direction when I link to:
The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus 16:9
and
see Hippolytus and Tertullian on the necessity to repudiate military service before baptism. There's also Origen (Contra Celsum 8)

All of these sources admit other interpretations, as pointed out by the article I linked to, and importantly it is evident from the existence of an entire legion of Roman Christian soldiers, 120 years after soldiers were baptised by St Peter and St Paul, that de facto at least there was no binding prohibition against being a Christian and a Roman solider in the early Church - whatever this or that text or authority might have said.

quote:
Originally posted by leo:
and even after Constantine, the Council of Nicea 325 ordered that soldiers could be catechumens and attend the ministry of the word but not the communion, before which catechumens were dismissed (see Canon 12)

That was not a general canon against military service, but rather one aimed at specific, recent circumstances. To quote from relevant commentary:
quote:
LAMBERT
... In his last contests with Constantine, Licinius had made himself the representative of heathenism; so that the final issue of the war would not be the mere triumph of one of the two competitors, but the triumph or fall of Christianity or heathenism. Accordingly, a Christian who had in this war supported the cause of Licinius and of heathenism might be considered as a lapsus, even if he did not formally fall away. With much more reason might those Christians be treated as lapsi who, having conscientiously given up military service (this is meant by the soldier's belt), afterwards retracted their resolution, and went so far as to give money and presents for the sake of readmission, on account of the numerous advantages which military service then afforded. It must not be forgotten that Licinius, as Zonaras and Eusebius relate, required from his soldiers a formal apostasy; compelled them, for example, to take part in the heathen sacrifices which were held in the camps, and dismissed from his service those who would not apostatize.

BRIGHT
This canon (which in the Prisca and the Isidorian version stands as part of canon 11) deals, like it, with cases which had arisen under the Eastern reign of Licinius, who having resolved to "purge his army of all ardent Christians" (Mason, Persec. of Diocl. p. 308), ordered his Christian officers to sacrifice to the gods on pain of being cashiered (compare Euseb. H. E. x. 8; Vit. Con. i. 54). It is to be observed here that military life as such was not deemed unchristian. ... Bingham (Antiq. xi. 5, 10), "the ancient canons did not condemn the military life as a vocation simply unlawful. ... I believe there is no instance of any man being refused baptism merely because he was a soldier, unless some unlawful circumstance, such as idolatry, or the like, made the vocation sinful." ... In the case before us, some Christian officers had at first stood firm under the trial imposed on them by Licinius. ... These men had responded to a Divine impulse: it might seem that they had committed themselves to a noble course: they had cast aside the "belts" which were their badge of office (compare the cases of Valentinian and Valens, Soc. iii. 13, and of Benevoins throwing down his belt at the feet of Justina, Soz. vii. 13). ... but their zeal, unlike [that of Auxentius], proved to be too impulsive--they reconsidered their position, ... by making unworthy attempts--in some cases by bribery--to recover what they had worthily resigned. ...This the Council describes in proverbial language, probably borrowed from 2 Pet. ii. 22, but, it is needless to say, without intending to censure enlistment as such. They now desired to be received to penance: accordingly they were ordered to spend three years as Hearers, during which time "their purpose, and the nature (eidos) of their repentance" were to be carefully "examined." ...

Honestly, to the best of my knowledge there is no indication that the early Church had any systematic prohibition against becoming a (Roman) soldier. In fact, almost amazingly so, given that abuse of Christians was regularly meted out by Roman soldiers, and Roman soldiers potentially had to face idolatrous requests ("worship the emperor") in the form of military commands. I would to the contrary conclude that the tolerance of Christians to this profession in that time is rooted in the NT, in which Roman officers for the most part are displayed in a very positive light.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Macrina:
I think that what Islam can teach the West, and conversely what the West can teach Islam (once we stop trying to murder each other) is that humans can co-exist peacefully even with differing world views and that people with differing world views are not inherently evil. Though I think we're a long long way from that.

I don't like rolyn's list because it makes some pretty sweeping assumptions about Islam and the West that make the list invalid.

I did quite like your counter-list though , it made me chuckle .

Sweeping statements and once-an-for-all fixes have been somewhat contagious lately. Probably caught from air-marshall deano with his -- let's carpet-bomb N. Iraq with nukes policy.

My list re. advantages islam may offer was made in haste. Surely trying to find some middle ground is preferable to incinerating each other.

As for pissing ChesterBelloc off by going on about banning all religion , admittedly I was going OTT . However I still maintain that history is full of bloodshed over one person vowing their religion is correct while the other person's is not.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
jbohn - I can see how I caused deano to think that's what I meant. Please forgive him on my account.

IngoB - yep. Nice final para.
 
Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by IngoB:
quote:
Originally posted by leo:
The article you linked to is interesting and shoes that the issue is far from simple. The article is also coming from a particular viewpoint - as am I, from the other direction when I link to:
The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus 16:9
and
see Hippolytus and Tertullian on the necessity to repudiate military service before baptism. There's also Origen (Contra Celsum 8)

All of these sources admit other interpretations, as pointed out by the article I linked to
Thank you - I made up my mind on this several years ago as a result of various books. It is more complex than i thought. As are most things.
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
I know some Muslim leaders have spoken out against these creeps. (Even Al Qaeda has denounced them.)

Has anyone issued a fatwa? I'm surprised that a guy could appoint himself a caliph, in this day and age, without some sort of religious authorization. So I would think that many leaders aren't happy.

I also find it hilarious that their acronym is the name of a mighty Pagan goddess--from their part of the world, no less
[Snigger]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
I'm surprised that a guy could appoint himself a caliph, in this day and age, without some sort of religious authorization. So I would think that many leaders aren't happy.


I expect it's an 'anointing' [Disappointed]
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I mean what do you call religion that requires human sacrifice?
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
However I still maintain that history is full of bloodshed over one person vowing their religion is correct while the other person's is not.

You've been gulled by a secular myth.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Redemptive violence, including the one Jesus fecklessly believed, is a myth.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
You've been gulled by a secular myth

Oh right . And there was me thinking I'd been gulled by a history book of Christianity which suggests more post-Reformation Christians were martyred by each other than by any external agent.

If, as some seem to think, this latest expression of faith in N Iraq is islam's Reformation then heaven help the muslims. They've only got a few more Centuries of bloodshed and ill-will to look forward to . That's if the 500 yr old cafflic/proddy divide, and history of warfare between Christian nations is anything to go by.

Try regarding human violence in pure isolation for a moment . We share the same DNA as bloodthirsty chimps . So that's it, that's all it ever will be -- religion or no religion.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
However I still maintain that history is full of bloodshed over one person vowing their religion is correct while the other person's is not.

You've been gulled by a secular myth.
Oh, I'm so glad that a renowned scholar from the world-famous University of St.Thomas, Minnesota has finally laid this one to rest. Great. Now all we have to do is re-write all the history books.
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard:
I mean what do you call religion that requires human sacrifice?

Strangely prophetic, even in its malign darkness.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
Oh right . And there was me thinking I'd been gulled by a history book of Christianity which suggests more post-Reformation Christians were martyred by each other than by any external agent.

There are certainly no absence of examples where dying for one's faith is acceptable. The reformation was quite bloody is some parts of Europe. But you're confusing correlation with causation if you think only religion causes violence.

Seeing as how the vast majority of Europe was "religious" for the last how many centuries it's inevitable that some will use the name of religion to champion their cause. It add's to their sense of justified violence.

quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:

If, as some seem to think, this latest expression of faith in N Iraq is islam's Reformation then heaven help the muslims. They've only got a few more Centuries of bloodshed and ill-will to look forward to . That's if the 500 yr old cafflic/proddy divide, and history of warfare between Christian nations is anything to go by.
.

Yes true. After that they will simply revert to nationalism or totalitarianism of a difference sort to justify their violence like the secular West does now.

Did you even watch the link I sent? America spends more money on the military than anything else. Violence in the secular state is simply legitimised in a different way. "Peacekeeping" is popular. The religion of Capitalism and economic interest is more real.

We in the west are happy to bomb people into democracy when it suits our economic interests.

quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:

Try regarding human violence in pure isolation for a moment . We share the same DNA as bloodthirsty chimps . So that's it, that's all it ever will be -- religion or no religion.

Now you're hitting the mark. We justify violence on many grounds. But it's still violence. Most of it is based on power and land and resources. It seems to be the human condition.

But Christ offers us a different way. A damn hard one in this broken and fallen world yet still.

History does not detail the wars and conflicts avoided by those that prefer the Way. So you won't hear about them much.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
However I still maintain that history is full of bloodshed over one person vowing their religion is correct while the other person's is not.

You've been gulled by a secular myth.
Oh, I'm so glad that a renowned scholar from the world-famous University of St.Thomas, Minnesota has finally laid this one to rest. Great. Now all we have to do is re-write all the history books.
Can't attack the argument so attack the credentials? How very ad hominem.

Poor form. Use that clever and thoughtful mind you have.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by QLib:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
quote:
Originally posted by rolyn:
However I still maintain that history is full of bloodshed over one person vowing their religion is correct while the other person's is not.

You've been gulled by a secular myth.
Oh, I'm so glad that a renowned scholar from the world-famous University of St.Thomas, Minnesota has finally laid this one to rest. Great. Now all we have to do is re-write all the history books.
Can't attack the argument so attack the credentials? How very ad hominem.

How very normal. Haven't you been to a court of law? It might be bad manners but attacking the credibility of the witness happens there. IMHO Purgatory is kind and considerate by comparison.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
How very normal. Haven't you been to a court of law? It might be bad manners but attacking the credibility of the witness happens there.

That's fine for sheep. But not for thinkers.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
We're not short of bleating around here.
 
Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
The reformation was quite bloody is some parts of Europe. But you're confusing correlation with causation if you think only religion causes violence.

The Reformation was hardly a non-political process. To a significant extent, the religious turmoil was shaped and employed by German princes trying to restrict the power of the Catholic Church in their own realm and to diminish the influence of the Holy Roman Emperor. Without the rather clearly secular interests of these German nobles protecting and pushing it, the Reformation would have fizzled out like so many religious enthusiasms before it. At that time regional wars of secession and annexation were entirely commonplace in Europe. The widespread political fragmentation of German lands under all these princes carving out their independence and setting up new alliances under a religious banner was pretty much an irresistible setup for a big, big war. Was that then a religious war when it came? Maybe, but hardly a holy war of pure religious intentions...
 
Posted by Steve Langton (# 17601) on :
 
I've said it before and I'm about to say it again - a religious war requires a religious state, that is a state which is dedicated to a particular religion, or alternatively a religion which seeks to set up for itself such a religious state.

Islam is a fairly clear example of such a religion, as even within Muhammad's lifetime it set up such an Islamic state, with Muhammad as effective king even if he didn't use that title. It is quite significant that the biggest Muslim 'heresy argument' is not so much about a theological issue, as about who should have succeeded Muhammad as 'king' of the original Islamic state.

Christianity was not originally so organised; instead the apostles set up a different kind of organisation in which His kingdom is 'not of this world' and His followers, the Church, are supposed to live as peaceable resident aliens throughout the world, and in the event the world objects to their faith, Christians are supposed to accept martyrdom rather than fight for their faith and wage physical war on its behalf.

This got messed up during the 4th Century CE when Christianity was co-opted as the official Roman Imperial state religion, in defiance of a great deal of NT teaching to the contrary! The Reformation no doubt involved many 'this world' issues as well as religion, but there were clearly wars in which rival versions of Christianity played a part - at least as the main formal excuse for the fighting.

The reason for this; well, the two 'sides' in the Reformation differed in many theological areas, but they were united in the idea of having a Christian state, and so both held it perfectly proper to fight each other, martyr each other, etc.

In terms of the primary topic of this thread, 'Islamic State' is following the basic idea of Islam to have such a state. Christianity has behaved similarly to IS in the past because the version post-Constantine has operated with similar ideas for a Christian state; and there are still places such as Northern Ireland, and groups such as the 'Religious Right' of the USA where there is still fighting or a clear willingness to fight.

by IngoB;
quote:
Without the rather clearly secular interests of these German nobles protecting and pushing it, the Reformation would have fizzled out like so many religious enthusiasms before it.
I kind of agree; but the most significant point was that the wider warfare of the Reformation also allowed space for the NT to be heard and for many to recover the original 'peaceable resident alien' ideas. Those who did recover that original teaching were the Anabaptists; their ideas led to the kind of plural/freedom-of-religion state that we now more or less have in most of the West, despite a few lingering relics of the medieval state of affairs - the CofE for instance.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
Did you even watch the link I sent? America spends more money on the military than anything else. Violence in the secular state is simply legitimised in a different way. "Peacekeeping" is popular. The religion of Capitalism and economic interest is more real.

We in the west are happy to bomb people into democracy when it suits our economic interests.

I did watch the link . Maybe the presenter was trying to oversimplify religion's non-culpability in stirring people to violence, the same way I'm no doubt over-simplifying the argument to the contrary.

Violence is a hard thing to quantify and measure . A pub fight, domestic violence, the soldier or civilian caught by bullets, explosives ..... etc. etc.

There is no question that Christ can turn a person away from the path of violence . It's just that the waters can so easily be muddied , the average homo-sap can so easily revert to type, (or be conditioned by the State to do so), thus we inevitably end up with a very warped reflection of the Gospel's essential message.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Langton:
I've said it before and I'm about to say it again - a religious war requires a religious state, that is a state which is dedicated to a particular religion, or alternatively a religion which seeks to set up for itself such a religious state.

I haven't said it before but I'll say it now: it doesn't follow that a war that your 'religious state' engages in is therefore motivated by religion.

I applaud your commitment, though, to demonstrating that Islam is inherently violent and horrible but that Christianity just fell in with a bad crowd for a while. I blame the parents.

[ 15. September 2014, 23:02: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by ChastMastr (# 716) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
I blame the parents.

As do I. “'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.'”
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
The thing is orfeo, that's basically it although by a gnat's whisker: The ONLY difference is - Jesus wasn't a killer.

If Christianity can justify war, capital punishment, human sacrifice, what chance does Islam have?

[ 16. September 2014, 06:00: Message edited by: Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard ]
 
Posted by Steve Langton (# 17601) on :
 
by orfeo;
quote:
I haven't said it before but I'll say it now: it doesn't follow that a war that your 'religious state' engages in is therefore motivated by religion.

I applaud your commitment, though, to demonstrating that Islam is inherently violent and horrible but that Christianity just fell in with a bad crowd for a while. I blame the parents.

On the first little para, obviously many of the wars engaged in by a 'religious state', whatever the religion, will have non-religious reasons - there was little difference in religion in WWI for example, with England's Anglicanism not so different from the Kaiser's Prussian Lutheranism. Nevertheless both sides were claiming some degree of 'crusade' aspect to their efforts ("Gott mit uns" on the Kaiser's side, for example). Even when the cause itself is not religious, being a religious state allows some dodgy attitudes - I recall a 60s protest song with lines about "With God on our side..."

I think your second para is perhaps being a little sarcastic at my expense?? But seriously, if you look at the historical development my point is essentially just true.

I'm not simplistically saying that Islam is 'inherently violent and horrible'; I fully recognise Islam's intention of peacefulness. It is simply that by having and practising the idea of a 'religious state', Muhammad sabotaged his own peaceable intentions and left his religion open to all the problems that arose in the 'established' form of Christianity - up to and including the shenanigans of the current 'Islamic State' in Syria/Iraq. This 'religious state' notion is 'built in' to Islam from the days Muhammad set up the first such state by setting his army against Mecca. It may be that some of the modern groups, particularly the 'terrorist' factions, behave in ways that would horrify Muhammad; but what was done by Muhammad in his lifetime was quite bad enough.

The NT is in fact pretty clear on how Christianity is meant to be, as I outlined in the earlier post. And the 'established' form of Christianity is clearly a late aberration, not the original teaching.

If you follow the NT, Christianity is a peaceable religion of a people of God who risk martyrdom rather than fighting and killing. If you go against the NT and try to set up a 'Christian country', then it is inherently impossible to remain peaceable.
 
Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :
 
Works for me, Steve.

ISTM to be a particular issue for Law religions. If holiness comes through the Law, then you need a state to make the law - that's what states do, along with enforcing that Law internally and perhaps against external states. Quite apart from "Christendom's" appalling record, Christians don't need a state, or a Law - though we may thank God for the peace and stability that come about from living under a good one, and campaign against the injustice inherent in living under a bad one.

I mention this only to offer another Christian distinctive...
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
All of which ignores the fact that there are a considerable number of Muslim countries that are thoroughly secular in their governance, and no more have Islam as the established religion than 'Christian' countries in Europe have Christianity as an established religion.

You might argue that a religious state is the 'right' form for Islam, and the 'wrong' form of Christianity, but the fact is a considerable number of countries are ignoring you in both directions.

Even among countries that have Islam as the official religion, many of them do not operate as theocracies. They derive the law from the Quran only to the same extent that the laws of the UK can be seen to have origins in the Bible.

[ 17. September 2014, 02:53: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
True dat. Think Indonesia - biggest Muslim country in the world.
 
Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
True dat. Think Indonesia - biggest Muslim country in the world.

According to Wikipedia, it is illegal for members of other faiths to attempt to convert Muslims in Indonesia. Wikipedia also mentions this jailing of an Indonesian atheist for being an atheist.

Are these things not true?
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
I followed the fate of three Christian women in Indonesia nearly ten years ago here.

A sympathetic judge kept the doctor in jail because she had been overtly threatened with murder and there was nothing else he could do about it.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
True dat. Think Indonesia - biggest Muslim country in the world.

According to Wikipedia, it is illegal for members of other faiths to attempt to convert Muslims in Indonesia. Wikipedia also mentions this jailing of an Indonesian atheist for being an atheist.

Are these things not true?

My point was that Indonesia is not a theocracy. The constitution is based on Pancasila . That does not necessarily mean there will not be religious tensions.

So technically Steve Langton is incorrect here.

I wouldn't be surprised if it was illegal to convert Muslims, but it would also be illegal for Muslims to forcefully convert non-Muslims. "There should be no compulsion in religion" after all. Pancasila reflects that.

I was born and raised in Indonesia (lived there 17 years) and religious tolerance was not a problem back then. I haven't been back for 20 years but I have heard religious tensions have risen. I suppose the same could be said for the rest of the world since 9/11.

Atheism would be a difficult one for the constitution because it's technically not a religion. But the dude wasn't sentenced for blasphemy. I suppose he might be considered suspect for inciting religious hatred. But hey, that's something we deal with here in Australia too. You can't do that here.

As I understand it from friends still living there, it's hard for the government to control outbreaks of religious violence from radical Muslims. But other types of Muslims are also not immune from persecution. Your article says that too.
 
Posted by Steve Langton (# 17601) on :
 
by orfeo;
quote:
You might argue that a religious state is the 'right' form for Islam, and the 'wrong' form of Christianity, but the fact is a considerable number of countries are ignoring you in both directions.
So what? Humans are sinful and get things wrong. But I don't think it can be denied that a religious state of any kind creates problems which are not created by a religion whose adherents on principle live as peaceable 'resident aliens' and do not try to run the state or use the police and military powers of the state on behalf of their religion. And as we see with IS, holding the religious state idea and trying to impose it also creates major problems.

On the issue of 'secular' Muslim states - some of these exist in imitation of western democracy rather than following Islamic ideas; they are often the result of former western colonialism. In other cases the secularism is a result of the rather inevitable effect whereby if you declare everybody in your state to be Muslim (or Christian or whatever) you'll have an awful lot of people whose religion is only nominal, only superficial conformity, and there will be a tendency over time to lose the strong original religiosity.

There are other issues and possibilities here as well - I don't think we need to get bogged down in detail of all the options....

I should point out that for me, one of the things 'Christendom' needs to repent of is the simple fact that at the time Muhammad founded Islam, 'Christendom' set completely the wrong example. Muhammad probably copied the state church without ever realising that it wasn't authentic Christianity.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Langton:

On the issue of 'secular' Muslim states - some of these exist in imitation of western democracy rather than following Islamic ideas;

How does that fit with the Quranic idea that there should be no compulsion in religion?
 
Posted by Steve Langton (# 17601) on :
 
by Evensong;
quote:
Originally posted by Steve Langton:

On the issue of 'secular' Muslim states - some of these exist in imitation of western democracy rather than following Islamic ideas;

Evensong response;
How does that fit with the Quranic idea that there should be no compulsion in religion?

Haven't time for a really detailed reply; but to me, marching an army to Mecca to set up an Islamic state would seem to be pretty much 'compulsion in religion', as would quite a few of Muhammad's other actions. How did he fit his own actions with the claimed divine word?

My point here was, in response to Orfeo, that yes many modern states in the Muslim world are nearly secular and this is partly because of the phenomenon I've noted elsewhere of a gradual decline over time in religiosity of religious states and partly because of the example or even interference of western powers. These situations are always confusing.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
At first, I could see the sense in the US helping the Kurdish fighters fight IS.

Today's paper has the headline 'Cameron prepares the path to war with Isis'.

This is classic mission creep - you start off with a little limited bombing, to help troops fighting on the ground in N. Iraq; but now it seems that the US, and a ton of other countries, are preparing to bomb Iraqui and Syrian IS positions.

How will this end? It seems very unpredictable now. I wonder if Western boots on the ground are on the way.

This is like deja vu all over again.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Today's paper has the headline 'Cameron prepares the path to war with Isis'.

This is classic mission creep

And what paper would that be?
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Today's paper has the headline 'Cameron prepares the path to war with Isis'.

This is classic mission creep

And what paper would that be?
The FT warns of "Mission creep for Obama", so it isn't the Guardianistas after Cameron this time.

[ 24. September 2014, 19:10: Message edited by: Sioni Sais ]
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
FT still quite lefty, though.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
FT still quite lefty, though.

So what would be righty? Kill, kill, kill!
 
Posted by Jane R (# 331) on :
 
Anglican't:
quote:
FT still quite lefty, though.
That was a joke, wasn't it?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
FT still quite lefty, though.

So what would be righty? Kill, kill, kill!
FT has often had a left-wing bias, editorially. Never understood why. They backed Kinnock over Major in '92!

Presumably their readers want the market data stuff and skip over the editorialising?
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Jane R:
Anglican't:
quote:
FT still quite lefty, though.
That was a joke, wasn't it?
No, not at all - see post above.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Yes, Anglican't is right, FT has quite often supported Labour, not sure why.

[ 24. September 2014, 19:35: Message edited by: quetzalcoatl ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
FT still quite lefty, though.

Compared to most of Fleet Street, it is out there with the International Marxist Group.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
The point is of course that the OPINION of the FT editors is that there is mission creep.

Those same FT editors are of the OPINION that Labour is better than Tory.

Suddenly there is no surprise in the headline is there.

Nice to see a former Labour Party leader who was (a) voted in as leader by the members of the labour party and (b) voted in as Prime Minster three times by the electorate, coming out and saying that boots on the ground will be needed.

Sure there are those who oppose him from his own side, but you have to question their judgement don't you. I mean, they did like him at one time.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
I would have thought mission creep isn't a matter of opinion. You take a statement about what the mission would be, you take later actions as part of the mission, and you see whether or not one fits within the other.

[ 25. September 2014, 02:55: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
I heard two fatwas/edicts were recently issued against ISIS.

I'm glad someone had the courage to do that. Probably won't affect ISIS directly, but maybe it will make someone think twice about joining.

I hope the two clerics stay safe.
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
FT still quite lefty, though.

Compared to most of Fleet Street, it is out there with the International Marxist Group.
Most of erstwhile Fleet Street is crypto-UKIP, these days. The FT remains resolutely Blairite - pro-Europe and seriously relaxed about people getting filthy rich.

As to the bit about mission creep, that's just common sense. Name any international conflict of recent years that has been put to bed by a couple of well placed air-strikes. Exactly. Once it's been established that a few bombing raids won't persuade ISIS to sign up to secularism, representative democracy and the rule of law either the US et. al. can shrug their shoulders and say "well, we tried" or they can increase their involvement in the region. Which do you think is most likely?
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Gildas:

As to the bit about mission creep, that's just common sense. Name any international conflict of recent years that has been put to bed by a couple of well placed air-strikes.

World War Two.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
quote:
Originally posted by Gildas:

As to the bit about mission creep, that's just common sense. Name any international conflict of recent years that has been put to bed by a couple of well placed air-strikes.

World War Two.
Woah! If I'd have said that the peace-first mob would be baying for my blood! "Well placed" indeed.

But surely those two "well placed" buckets of sunshine prove my point upthread. If it worked then, why can't it work now?

[ 26. September 2014, 07:40: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
I presume that Sioni was being sarcastic. Deano, on the other hand, has just outed himself as a certifiable idiot.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
But surely those two "well placed" buckets of sunshine prove my point upthread. If it worked then, why can't it work now?

Define "work".

Your problem is that you treat the situation as resolved the second the fighting stops. As if world history, and Japanese history, ended in August 1945. As if the narrative was "there was a bomb, and then everyone lived happily ever after. The End."

Meanwhile, here in the real world, we notice how conditions in Germany after World War I helped set up World War II. We notice how Al-Qaeda was made up of the people who fought the Soviets for us in Afgahnistan in the 1980s. We notice how the current mess is linked to the power vacuums created by the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Not that many years ago, we had all the declarations about how Al-Qaeda was smashed and a spent force. Now, we have a new organisation that is being labelled as bigger and badder than Al-Qaeda ever was.

Your idea of something 'working' is that you drop a nuclear bomb and THAT conflict is over, so you walk away saying "job done" and with a satisfied smile on your face. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of disrupted lives are left in your wake, societies crumble, and out of the discord emerge new problems that the next person in your job will have to wrestle with.

Personally I'd prefer solutions that remove the motivation to wreak havoc, rather than just removing the current capacity to do so.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
It's a bit like the myth of dragon's teeth - soldiers spring up from the ground, but when you try to suppress them, you sow more teeth.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
But surely those two "well placed" buckets of sunshine prove my point upthread. If it worked then, why can't it work now?

Define "work".

Your problem is that you treat the situation as resolved the second the fighting stops. As if world history, and Japanese history, ended in August 1945. As if the narrative was "there was a bomb, and then everyone lived happily ever after. The End."

Meanwhile, here in the real world....

... you list a whole series of bad things, none of which state what happened to Japan and Germany at the end of World War TWO. You have avoided the truth.

The bombs did stop world war two and both Japan and Germany rebuilt and became prosperous, successful nations no more likely to start a war than you would.

[ 26. September 2014, 09:34: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
But in the Middle East, every Western 'solution' has produced a new problem, which then requires a new solution, which ...
 
Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
From which it follows that a few thousand square miles of irradiated landmass is just what the Middle East needs to sort its problems.

I daresay we could give the policy a snappy name - Chernobylisation?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
Or the middle east needs to solve its own problems. Which is fine but...

(A) They have no track record of doing so

(B) They must stop attacks on the west.

It seems to me that there is an acceptance on the ship that the west must accept a number of western deaths so that the middle east can solve its own problems. This is unacceptable to me.
 
Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Mr Cameron has rejected claims that spending cuts have impaired the RAF's capacity to take part in air strikes against IS.
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
We are supposed to be bombing ISIS at the request of the government of Iraq. It is generally considered ill mannered to drop thermonuclear bombs on the territory of one's allies, even when parts of that territory are currently held by Islamic fundamentalists.

Moreover there are currently international flashpoints involving both Russia and China, at present. It might be worth giving serious thought to as to whether or not we want to announce to a watching world that we have no serious objections to great powers using thermonuclear warfare as an instrument of policy in regional disputes.

There might also be undesirable consequences both in the field of nuclear proliferation and in terms of our alliances in the region with fairly major knock on effects to the state of the global economy.

It would also be a war crime, would be of highly doubtful utility in achieving any reasonable policy aim and would reduce our name in much of the world to a hissing and abhorrence but frankly as we appear to have decided that there's something liberating about being a sociopath I assume those objections don't count for very much.
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Deano, your reasoning here is similar to me suggesting I mount a bazooka to the front of my bike and take out every car and lorry I see because the number of cyclists killed by them is unacceptable to me.

i.e. disproportionate overkill.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
I don't think the argument is that we have to accept a number of Western deaths, but that these are in large part caused by Western intervention. Hence, if this were to stop, the deaths would stop.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
But Obama has little choice, does he? If he stands back, he is the six stone weakling, in US political terms. Maybe he genuinely feels impassioned about IS, and maybe he is thinking of his 'legacy' and political virility.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Or the middle east needs to solve its own problems. Which is fine but...

(A) They have no track record of doing so

(B) They must stop attacks on the west.

It seems to me that there is an acceptance on the ship that the west must accept a number of western deaths so that the middle east can solve its own problems. This is unacceptable to me.

The 'Middle east" does not make attacks on the west. Some people from there and elsewhere besides commit crimes targetting places and people in and from 'the west'. It's like blaming Smith & Wesson for every shooting: there's a connection, but it's not the whole story.

I agree with you that the Middle east doesn't look like becoming peaceful in a hurry, but the western habit of half-assed interventions doesn't help, and there is a long & inglorious history of those. Now we have everyone jumping on the 'Air strikes on Syria' bandwagon, which will disrupt ISIL, and many of the groups opposing ISIL too, including President Assad's government, who remember were the baddies until about six months ago.

While many in the West (and some Arab nations too now) are happy to deploy shiny kit that is fairly safe to use, there are few willing to commit thousands of troops who will have to get on the ground and deny it to ISIL, or any successor. It isn't where you start that matters, but where you end up, and I don't see Cameron, Obama or many others showing a willingness to confront that, because it's an odds-on way to lose popularity.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I don't think the argument is that we have to accept a number of Western deaths, but that these are in large part caused by Western intervention. Hence, if this were to stop, the deaths would stop.

Leaving the jihadists free to kill as many non-muslims as they want inside their borders. Sweet deal... For some.
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I don't think the argument is that we have to accept a number of Western deaths, but that these are in large part caused by Western intervention. Hence, if this were to stop, the deaths would stop.

Leaving the jihadists free to kill as many non-muslims as they want inside their borders. Sweet deal... For some.
Yeah, but your solution kills millions of the aforementioned non-muslims inside their borders. You do know that nukes are remarkably indiscriminate, don't you?
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Deano, my local playing fields have a vacancy, for someone to move goal-posts. If you like, I could put your name forward. Experience is required, so you should be OK.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
I don't think the argument is that we have to accept a number of Western deaths, but that these are in large part caused by Western intervention. Hence, if this were to stop, the deaths would stop.

So do you think, for example, that the death of David Haines was as a result of western intervention? If you do, do you think western governments should consider themselves responsible for his death?
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
I suppose neutron bombs (remember those?) distinguish between people and buildings, destroying the former but leaving the latter intact...rather like mortgages.
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
I suppose neutron bombs (remember those?) distinguish between people and buildings, destroying the former but leaving the latter intact...rather like mortgages.

If a neutron bomb able to distinguish between good guys and bad guys could be devised, it might serve a purpose.

For anyone in possession of such a device.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Leaving the jihadists free to kill as many non-muslims as they want inside their borders. Sweet deal... For some.

Yeah, but your solution kills millions of the aforementioned non-muslims inside their borders. You do know that nukes are remarkably indiscriminate, don't you?
Nah. See, deano's invented a nuclear bomb that can spot a Yazidi or Shi'ite Kurd (due to them having COMPLETELY different appearances, most notably the hairstyle), and briefly cover them with a transparent blue plastic bubble right before it explodes and wipes out the baddies.

Peaceful Sunni folk just trying to go about their ordinary lives are still a bit of a problem though, and he hasn't quite worked out how to stop Kurdish land being irradiated to the point where the crops will give the locals higher rates of cancer for the next 50 years, but hey, it's a start.
 
Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Or how irradiating the area will leave any accessible oil, which could have some interesting knock on effects on the world economy
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Or how irradiating the area will leave any accessible oil, which could have some interesting knock on effects on the world economy

I admit this is a problem and the only reason I would stay my hand.

But once we have moved away from oil to nuclear and hydrogen, then we will have no need for a middle east will we?
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
The bombs did stop world war two and both Japan and Germany rebuilt and became prosperous, successful nations no more likely to start a war than you would.

Even you can't be this stupid. The reason why both Japan and Germany rebuilt, became prosperous and successful, and are no more (actually, far less) likely to start a war than we are is because how we treated them after the war.

If we'd fucked up the occupation of Japan and Germany in the same way we fucked up in Iraq and Afghanistan, we'd still be fighting both the Japanese and the Germans to this day.
 
Posted by QLib (# 43) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor to deano:
Even you can't be this stupid.

Oh yes he can. Think about it, why would anyone pretend to be this stupid, if not for a very, very stupid reason?
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Or how irradiating the area will leave any accessible oil, which could have some interesting knock on effects on the world economy

I admit this is a problem and the only reason I would stay my hand.

But once we have moved away from oil to nuclear and hydrogen, then we will have no need for a middle east will we?

Wait--hurting PEOPLE wouldn't stay your hand? Only OIL???

[Projectile]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Also, the notion that the Middle East exists solely for our benefit, as opposed to the benefit of the people of the Middle East.

Which is actually at the heart of most of the mess, in one way or another.
 
Posted by RooK (# 1852) on :
 
"Are you familiar with the works of Shan Yu?"
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Also, the notion that the Middle East exists solely for our benefit, as opposed to the benefit of the people of the Middle East.

Which is actually at the heart of most of the mess, in one way or another.

Which is actually at the heart of most messes of any kind, in one way or another. Treating people as things.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Has imperialism treated people as anything other objects in the past.? Things to be either coerced or removed.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
The bombs did stop world war two and both Japan and Germany rebuilt and became prosperous, successful nations no more likely to start a war than you would.

Even you can't be this stupid. The reason why both Japan and Germany rebuilt, became prosperous and successful, and are no more (actually, far less) likely to start a war than we are is because how we treated them after the war.

If we'd fucked up the occupation of Japan and Germany in the same way we fucked up in Iraq and Afghanistan, we'd still be fighting both the Japanese and the Germans to this day.

Hadn't thought of that. I think that's a really good point.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Golden Key:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Curiosity killed ...:
Or how irradiating the area will leave any accessible oil, which could have some interesting knock on effects on the world economy

I admit this is a problem and the only reason I would stay my hand.

But once we have moved away from oil to nuclear and hydrogen, then we will have no need for a middle east will we?

Wait--hurting PEOPLE wouldn't stay your hand? Only OIL???

[Projectile]

Got it in one. Oil over muslims. Because oil is the west and westerners are better than muslims.

We need oil, they've got it. We'll buy it if they'll sell it, but we need to be confident they will sell it.

If we have no confidence in them to trade in a businesslike way then that is a risk to the western economy and therefore a risk to westerners. That is not allowed.

It's a simple equation but one many people just don't get.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
If you're for real, you really need to read more history and more of your bible.

May the Lord have mercy on your soul.
 
Posted by Patdys (# 9397) on :
 
Get a sense of perspective . It's not like Deano's proposing a host and admin day for crying out loud.

Deano, please stop dehumanising people.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
If you're for real, you really need to read more history and more of your bible.

May the Lord have mercy on your soul.

Oh, as a Universalist, I'm sure He does pet.

As for history, I do like a good Niall Ferguson book.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
If you're for real, you really need to read more history and more of your bible.

May the Lord have mercy on your soul.

Oh, as a Universalist, I'm sure He does pet.

It occurred to me that your problem may be because you're a Universalist.
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Universalism means that everyone matters, everyone is precious.

Just because you know you're going to Heaven doesn't mean you should do anything you like on the way there.

IMHO, everyone's going to have work and healing to do. Why give yourself a worse load?
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
The reason why both Japan and Germany rebuilt, became prosperous and successful, and are no more (actually, far less) likely to start a war than we are is because how we treated them after the war.

I get that.
It also had rather a lot to do with bombing the living shit out of both those countries and turning the mentality of it's peoples 180 degrees. Reducing cities to rubble one by one is what brought this about, not just the heaping of financial goodwill afterwards.

Using the same logic I suspect even deanoites will be gratified in the way IS will be dealt with by the Alliance on this occasion.
The real tragedy, if one does not regard war itself a tragedy, is that an unspecified number of wholly unconnected people will die as well, (most likely including UK citizens). Whatsmore there is no guarantee prosperity and peace will flower in this region any more than it did after Gulf war 1 or 11.
 
Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 
Reducing places to rubble could be tricky in N. Iraq, where for example, some Sunni villages have welcomed IS, because of their extreme hostility to the Baghdad govt. I mean that bombing Sunni villages to rubble, might not be seen as winning hearts and minds in other Sunni areas. But I suppose we could go back to Charles Colson-speak - grab 'em by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow.
 
Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
But I suppose we could go back to Charles Colson-speak - grab 'em by the balls and their hearts and minds will follow.

H,mmm indeed, I'm not really convinced of my own rhetoric.
As one standup comedian sarcastically put it in before the 03 invasion -- you're unlikely to win the hearts and minds of a country when your bombs leave the hearts of many landing in a different place from their minds.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Got it in one. Oil over muslims. Because oil is the west and westerners are better than muslims.

You're disgusting. But then we already knew that.
 
Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Evensong wrote:

quote:
If you're for real
Well. he's made several arguments in favour of bombing, with the unifiying thread between them being that they are all expressed in the most offensive manner possible. Even the hardcore neo-cons in Washington don't openly come out and say "We need to kill people from inferior cultures in order to get their oil."

So, as I think I might have argued earlier, it's probably a waste of time discussing things with Deano. He KNOWS he is being offensive, and he gets a kick out of provoking the outrage.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
deano you are either a troll or have dangerously sociopathic tendencies. Human beings are not simply disposable tools to secure your own self interests.

If you're the former, you may have a limited ship life. If you're the latter, I sincerely hope you can get some help.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
Neither. Although I like your point about his universalism. It means kill them, kill them all as God will sort them out like the Amalekites: in fact we'd be doing them and Him a favour.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
deano you are either a troll or have dangerously sociopathic tendencies. Human beings are not simply disposable tools to secure your own self interests.

If you're the former, you may have a limited ship life. If you're the latter, I sincerely hope you can get some help.

As i've said many time, it isn't trolling if you believe it, so it is the latter option. But I would disagree with your description. It is more like....

quote:
deano you are either a troll or want to remove the risks to western people and culture currently posed by certain islamic people or culture
Sorry to piss on your parade but I don't troll. I have no need to; my opinions honestly expressed are enough to set the peace-first hanky-wringers into fits of apoplexy without making things up.

All I have to do is to remind shipmates I am a fully paid up member of the Conservative Party and they tend to start foaming at the mouth, so anything more gets them mobbing together with pitchforks and flaming torches.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
I'm not that interested in UK politics. I'm more interested in your propensity to be a murderous thug.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
I'm not that interested in UK politics. I'm more interested in your propensity to be a murderous thug.

You say potato...
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
All I have to do is to remind shipmates I am a fully paid up member of the Conservative Party and they tend to start foaming at the mouth, so anything more gets them mobbing together with pitchforks and flaming torches.

The obvious solution to this problem is to forward the Collected Deano to whichever hasbeen is now the party secretary. Reasonably certain deano's too toxic even for the Tories.

He'll fit right in with UKIP (or the BNP, or EDL...), however.
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Sorry to piss on your parade but I don't troll. I have no need to; my opinions honestly expressed are enough to set the peace-first hanky-wringers into fits of apoplexy without making things up.



I think there's quite a bit of ground between 'hanky-wringer' and 'nuke Iraq'.

quote:
All I have to do is to remind shipmates I am a fully paid up member of the Conservative Party and they tend to start foaming at the mouth, so anything more gets them mobbing together with pitchforks and flaming torches.
As am I, but I haven't met anyone in the party who wants to nuke Iraq.
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Doc Tor:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
All I have to do is to remind shipmates I am a fully paid up member of the Conservative Party and they tend to start foaming at the mouth, so anything more gets them mobbing together with pitchforks and flaming torches.

The obvious solution to this problem is to forward the Collected Deano to whichever hasbeen is now the party secretary. Reasonably certain deano's too toxic even for the Tories.

He'll fit right in with UKIP (or the BNP, or EDL...), however.

He's starting to sound like Britain First, to be honest. I think he's jumped the shark. OK you lot, confess, which one of you lefties has your hand up Deano?
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
OK you lot, confess, which one of you lefties has your hand up Deano?

Eww.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
As am I, but I haven't met anyone in the party who wants to nuke Iraq.

You need to get out more.

If anyone of you think I'm all on my own on this, here is a little thread from the army rumour service. Quite a few of those soliders seem to want to drop a few over the middle east...

Five Buckets of Instant Sunshine

Some of you might need to take showers afterwards. Soldiers eh?
 
Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Deano, that you can find other murderous thugs doesn't surprise me - I've already made reference to that bunch of clowns in Britain First who seem to share a lot of your foetid little excuses for opinions. People eh?

[ 29. September 2014, 09:20: Message edited by: Karl: Liberal Backslider ]
 
Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
deano's link is to a forum where real (and wannabe) soldiers shoot the breeze. The comments in "The NAAFI Bar" forum are about as realistic and well-considered as the South Park gang suggesting "Bomb Canada!"
 
Posted by Anglican't (# 15292) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
As am I, but I haven't met anyone in the party who wants to nuke Iraq.

You need to get out more.
Don't worry, I do.

[ 29. September 2014, 09:32: Message edited by: Anglican't ]
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Evensong:
deano you are either a troll or have dangerously sociopathic tendencies. Human beings are not simply disposable tools to secure your own self interests.

If you're the former, you may have a limited ship life. If you're the latter, I sincerely hope you can get some help.

As i've said many time, it isn't trolling if you believe it, so it is the latter option. But I would disagree with your description. It is more like....

quote:
deano you are either a troll or want to remove the risks to western people and culture currently posed by certain islamic people or culture
Sorry to piss on your parade but I don't troll. I have no need to; my opinions honestly expressed are enough to set the peace-first hanky-wringers into fits of apoplexy without making things up.

All I have to do is to remind shipmates I am a fully paid up member of the Conservative Party and they tend to start foaming at the mouth, so anything more gets them mobbing together with pitchforks and flaming torches.

I'm not conversant with Tory politics but I have a hard time believing they would say oil is more important than human lives.

Are you a Christian? If so, how can you possibly reconcile the belief that oil is more important than human lives? Is that not a direct play for self interest over the lives of others?
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
If the oil stopped tomorrow, how many western lives would be lost over the day, week, month, year?

Some of you may think it a good thing but I don't.

Losing the oil will cause westerners to die. I would prefer muslims dying to westerners. YMMV.

I would prefer neither die of course. I would like the world be a happy place where likkle bunnies can play nicely. But it isn't and I would like us to be on the winning side if push comes to shove.

Am I a Christian? I self-identify as one by saying the Nicene Creed in Church every Sunday morning. I believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God, was crucified and was resurrected and is alive in Heaven. Whether you think there needs to be more is your business.

I've stopped believing I can save everybody - that is Christ' s job - and now limit myself to trying to save fellow Christians and other westerners. The rest are 'out of scope' as they say in all the worst functional specifications. But if they want to become either Christian or Western then I'll get interested.

It's amusing in that of all the threads going on about this subject, nobody has come up with anything other than the same old bollocks that hasn't worked before.

I have no desire to join UKIP as they want to leave the EU. I don't.

I have no desire to join the BNP, NF, EDL or what have you as they care about the colour of people's skin. I don't.

Your classification system is letting you down.
 
Posted by Martin PC not & Ship's Biohazard (# 368) on :
 
VERY funny deano, very. Sorry. Has to be said. The avatars. Just a civvy. FourZeroCharlie and his list. And Ontap's list. One god turn: deserves another.
 
Posted by irish_lord99 (# 16250) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I would prefer muslims dying to westerners. YMMV.

[bullshit, bullshit, bullshit]

I have no desire to join the BNP, NF, EDL or what have you as they care about the colour of people's skin. I don't.

Unless it comes to the issue of their death, in which case whitey wins. Is that it? [Disappointed]
 
Posted by Dave W. (# 8765) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
If the oil stopped tomorrow, how many western lives would be lost over the day, week, month, year?

Some of you may think it a good thing but I don't.

Losing the oil will cause westerners to die. I would prefer muslims dying to westerners. YMMV.

There is nothing ISIS could possibly do to make the oil stop tomorrow.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I've stopped believing I can save everybody - that is Christ' s job - and now limit myself to trying to save fellow Christians and other westerners.

Aaaaaaaand we're back to thinking that Jesus was a nice little blond boy prancing around in England's green fields.

Some of the fellow Christians you're claiming to try to save would be obliterated by your nuclear bomb.
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
Some of the fellow Christians you're claiming to try to save would be obliterated by your nuclear bomb.

They didn't have the good sense to be born English. Fuck 'em, I say.
 
Posted by Evensong (# 14696) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:

Am I a Christian? I self-identify as one by saying the Nicene Creed in Church every Sunday morning. I believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God, was crucified and was resurrected and is alive in Heaven. Whether you think there needs to be more is your business.

I've stopped believing I can save everybody - that is Christ' s job - and now limit myself to trying to save fellow Christians and other westerners. The rest are 'out of scope' as they say in all the worst functional specifications. But if they want to become either Christian or Western then I'll get interested.

An incorrect but thoroughly understandable position to hold. Following Christ's commands to love our enemies and St Paul's to not repay evil for evil is very difficult.

Those that say Christianity is a crutch simply have no idea about the basics of the gospel.

I applaud your universalism and agree with you that it is indeed God's job to be involved in the saving of the world, but it does not mean we are off the hook in being Christ like and sharing the love of God with all in all.

Fake it till you make it is a good motto. Habits form that way.
Good ones.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by irish_lord99:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I would prefer muslims dying to westerners. YMMV.

[bullshit, bullshit, bullshit]

I have no desire to join the BNP, NF, EDL or what have you as they care about the colour of people's skin. I don't.

Unless it comes to the issue of their death, in which case whitey wins. Is that it? [Disappointed]
No. That may be your position but it isn't mine. West wins regardless of skin colour. Will you get it into your thick heads that skin colour is irrelevant to me. Faith and culture is not.

You seem to want me to be a token racist or BNP supporter. Sorry but I'm not going to play that game for you. I welcome all people regardless of skin colour, faith or culture providing they recognise that western faith and culture is non-negotiable and they must respect that western faith and culture if they are in the west.

Perhaps skin colour matters more to you though.
 
Posted by Molopata The Rebel (# 9933) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
[qb] I've stopped believing I can save everybody - that is Christ' s job - and now limit myself to trying to save fellow Christians and other westerners.

That's how wars start.
 
Posted by Gildas (# 525) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
quote:
Originally posted by Anglican't:
As am I, but I haven't met anyone in the party who wants to nuke Iraq.

You need to get out more.

If anyone of you think I'm all on my own on this, here is a little thread from the army rumour service. Quite a few of those soliders seem to want to drop a few over the middle east...

Five Buckets of Instant Sunshine

Some of you might need to take showers afterwards. Soldiers eh?

A cursory scroll through the link includes suggestions that they nuke Ground Zero, Romford and Basildon.

Which suggests to me that the distinction between "squaddie humour" and "military strategy" is alive and well in the British Armed Forces, if not in Deano's head.
 
Posted by Alan Cresswell (# 31) on :
 
I prefer not to speculate what's in deano's head. The evidence of what he posts suggests it's a rather unpleasant place.
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
western faith

There it is again.

I hate to break it to you, but your faith isn't fucking western. There were people in the Middle East with your faith while people in your neck of the woods were painting themselves blue and worshipping all manner of things.

I doubt you've studied a lot of history, but have you at least fucking well read an Asterix book at some point? Belenos! Toutatis! If you want a local western religion, that's it.

[ 30. September 2014, 13:50: Message edited by: orfeo ]
 
Posted by Doc Tor (# 9748) on :
 
*gets busy gathering wicker*
 
Posted by Matt Black (# 2210) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by orfeo:
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
I've stopped believing I can save everybody - that is Christ' s job - and now limit myself to trying to save fellow Christians and other westerners.

Aaaaaaaand we're back to thinking that Jesus was a nice little blond boy prancing around in England's green fields.

Some of the fellow Christians you're claiming to try to save would be obliterated by your nuclear bomb.

And He spoke Shakespearian English (it's the only language He understands; Heaven knows how He managed prior to 1611 - couldn't even speak to us in His own language until then).
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
This article is interesting. "Why Do Americans Hate Beheadings But Love Drone Killings?"

quote:
Above link
There are at least four main reasons that explain why Americans care far more about the beheadings (thus far) of two Americans and one U.K citizen, than they care -- here's the polling -- about the thousands of foreign victims of US drone bombing.

The beheadings of a few Americans and a UK citizen are more sensational is an obvious issue. But if we consider the total numbers of people killed, could this thread title be "Be afraid, American drones"? or do we have to stay with "Be afraid, deano's psychopathy"?

{{edit: 'Be afraid, ubb code'}}

[ 30. September 2014, 19:15: Message edited by: no prophet ]
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
This article is interesting. "Why Do Americans Hate Beheadings But Love Drone Killings?"

quote:
Above link
There are at least four main reasons that explain why Americans care far more about the beheadings (thus far) of two Americans and one U.K citizen, than they care -- here's the polling -- about the thousands of foreign victims of US drone bombing.

The beheadings of a few Americans and a UK citizen are more sensational is an obvious issue. But if we consider the total numbers of people killed, could this thread title be "Be afraid, American drones"? or do we have to stay with "Be afraid, deano's psychopathy"?

{{edit: 'Be afraid, ubb code'}}

Nah. I have no political power or influence beyond whinging (just like all of us here!), so you don't need to be afraid of me.

You need to be afraid if my party and the bulk of the people start to believe like me.

I see it starting, but it might be possible to avoid it.

But my soul is whole... I have, like Harry, never killed anyone.

Sorry, bit of cross thread conflation there.

To be frank I'm bored now. Seventeen pages an no minds have been changed. Is there a point anymore other than to be the last poster?

[ 30. September 2014, 19:44: Message edited by: deano ]
 
Posted by no prophet (# 15560) on :
 
You might not self-define as a troll deano, but your internet productions show this: Dark Triad.
 
Posted by deano (# 12063) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by no prophet:
You might not self-define as a troll deano, but your internet productions show this: Dark Triad.

Hah! You've missed one for the tetrad (or the full house as we call it). I'll explain in more detail as soon as I get this satsuma out of my mouth!
 
Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by Matt Black:
[And He spoke Shakespearian English (it's the only language He understands; Heaven knows how He managed prior to 1611 - couldn't even speak to us in His own language until then).

Pssst...that's God's native language. She invented it. Study up before you arrive in Heaven--there'll be a test.
[Paranoid]
 
Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by deano:
Is there a point anymore other than to be the last poster?

I'll give you a clue: there are 3 people who have a grossly unfair advantage in determining the winner of such a contest.
 
Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
And at least one of them is enjoying this demonstration of the absolute moral depravity of humanity.

Me, a cynic? Me, reading too much Kant on radical evil? Me, occasionally browsing 4chan to remind myself that there ain't no good in men? Nah. Hellhosting makes me bitter and evil enough.

Carry on.
 
Posted by LeRoc (# 3216) on :
 
... aaand the Netherlands are at war again. Just great.
 


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