Steely Dan

@Folium

Reconquista, that means taking back what was once captured, by force I might add. It is amazing how you can document all the bad behaviour of European Christians whilst studiously avoiding the context by which it came about.

http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2010/02/crusades-response-to-islamic-aggression.html

Just to underline your selective approach. The Turks have massacred their Greek population in the past and ethnically cleansed Turkey of all Greeks as recently as 1974. The Turks furthermore commited a genocide on over 1 million Armenians during WWI. Furthermore it has recently come to light that contrary to Kosovo being exclusively a Christian genocide of Muslims there were similar attrocities committed by Muslims against Christians. I can supply links if requested.

A history lesson is all very well, but when you go to such lengths to give a totally skewed view it does your argument no favours.

Well if ever Thaksins method of war on drugs was needed it seems to be in Mexico. It is simply horrendous what is going on. I don't think they have the death penalty in Mexico and putting these drug gang members in jail is just not effective. Does anybody actually go there on holiday any more? I could not take my family there if I was paid to.

It's a big Country. One of my friends married a Mexican girl and after living in the UK for a long while they recently went to live in Mexico, to a place called San Luis Potosi. His Mum worries about the news, but my friend points out that the closest gang violence to where they live is equivalent to the distance between London and Lisbon. All said and done though I would not have Mexico on my list of potential retirement destinations.

Normally I'm against censorship and for freedom of expression, sometimes things do go wrong. Football hooligans for example adopting the ritualised violence from films such as the Clockwork orange, which has been banned at times. I think this goes to show how the situation is fluid and never static, sometimes something causes undesirable effects and censorship may need to be considered depending on the size of the problem. It is fine pinning everything on individual rights and responsibilities, but these themselves are cultural and what may be the code of a gang or scripture of a religion may be used as a convenient excuse for the most extreme behavior. It is not 'islamophobia' to point out that there is indeed a problem of non-assimilation with a section of the Muslim community, allowing materials which are consistent with a foreign culture may have severly detrimental effects on the host culture. I invite you to look at the recent press relating to Pakistani gangs grooming and raping underage girls in the UK. It has been going on for ages and seems peculiar to the Pakistani Muslim community, the question is why? Are they naturally criminal? Does their behavior hide behind a written justification - it is of great importance to honestly answer this question, just as it is the question of whether Inspire pushes a borderline psychopath into action.

http://en.wikipedia....k_Orange_(film)

The British authorities considered the sexual violence extreme, furthermore, there occurred legal claims that the movie A Clockwork Orange had inspired true copycat crimes, as per press cuttings^{[clarification needed][citation needed]} at the British Film Institute. In March 1972, at trial, the prosecutor accusing the fourteen-year-old-boy defendant of the manslaughter of a classmate, referred to A Clockwork Orange, telling the judge that the case had a macabre relevance to the film.^[25] The attacker, a Bletchley boy of sixteen, pleaded guilty after telling police that friends had told him of the film "and the beating up of an old boy like this one"; defence counsel told the trial "the link between this crime and sensational literature, particularly A Clockwork Orange, is established beyond reasonable doubt".

Yet if you peruse any Military surplus store in the US there you will find many books written by the US military.

things like books on silencers & how they are constructed + much much more.

I agree with Pakboong....crimes start with actual actions not intellectual thoughts nor curiosity.

If left to someone like the islamophobia nuts we have read here...what is next? Do we also dissect religious scriptures to decide if they are in fact pushing hate? They may be interpreted to be inducing murder?

I do not like some things as much as the next person. Whether it be hate speech or most organized religions with their pompous claims of supeiority Yet I realize it is their right as much as those with opposing views.

It is a slippery slope. I will also say I am constantly amazed by the sheeple who bleat......"Oh I am doing nothing wrong so I have nothing to fear & what ever my government...who I elected...wants me to do I will gladly accept."

This is a sad case of people getting the government they deserve.

Information once in the public domain will always be so. There is indeed a difficult balance to strike between infringing people's rights to read what they want and people's rights not to be blown to pieces in order to allow others that freedom.

As for dissecting religious scriptures to see if they are pushing hate - Well that is exactly what should be done with no exemptions. Some even get deported after doing precisely this, though the European court of human rights in it's infinite wisdom fights tooth and nail against this.

Indeed the above two examples are linked. As you put it curiousity might be the motive for reading inspire, and circumstance of being born Muslim or piety may make someone read the Koran, including direct exortations to kill infidels. I know it is not ideal but courts have to determine motivation and context.

As an aside an ex-Muslim Pakistani in Spain has petitioned the government to ban the Koran on grounds of it being hate speech. I guess the courts there would have to decide what to do in a similar manner.

As an American, I understand the problems with religious fundamentalism / extremism very well.

But Christianity has nothing to fear from Islam, nor the inverse. It is only the groups of people who feed their intolerance with religion who cause problems.

And the FN is not about religion, but about racism.

Have you any idea how annoying it is, not to mention racist, to assume that other races than the majority one are themselves incapable of being racist. There are 751 no go zones in France, which non-Muslims are not safe and the police are routinely attacked when they enter them. Five million Muslims live in these zones over which the state has lost control. Then there is the French government comissionioned report which concluded the racism exhibited by Muslim pupils against Jewish pupils was at such a level that the latter could not be safely taught in French state schools, needless to say tens of thousands of Jews are leaving France and will soon be followed by other groups if the rot is allowed to continue.

Yet the left laughably dismisses those who protest against the war being carried out against their own culture as racists and xenophobes, all 17% of them based on the last election.

http://www.gatestone...lim-no-go-zones

Think about it, with all the serious problems our country - and the world at large - are faced with nowadays, the Obama Admin started off 2012 with its "War on Women" (contraception issue), then race baiting (Trayvon) and now Gay Marriage. <deleted>?

But it still ain't working.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/11/poll-obama-learns-what-happens-when-you-ignore-voters

In one, the economy is sputtering and people are anxious about their long-term prospects. Government is borrowing money we can't pay back to prop up a political status quo who's foundation is cracked. At the end of the year, the economy will get a knock-out blow when the largest tax hike in history takes effect. In the other world, though, the economy is just fine and the most pressing issues on voters' minds is whether Billy can marry Bob and if women can get someone else to pay for their birth control. Oh, and in this world, apparently racist, homophobic thugs roam the streets ready to harm gays and minorities.

So Pakboong ,what You are implying is you are against censorship of any kind either for the public good or safety, so in essence its quite OK for the tens of Thousands of <Snip!> perverts out there to sell ,deal and watch Child pornography and freely advertise it wherever it please,s them?, there just has to be certain standards to be set, among those is to have information freely at hand which could in the wrong hands cause death and destruction to hundreds of Innocent people.

Colin, I think you will find the only thing that is consistently censored is the truth if it goes against the narrative we are supposed to believe.

P.S Another case in Rochdale, this time they are looking for fifty! Or indeed the 100 homes evacuated due to a bomb found. In other words this news is a diversion to stop people focusing on far more serious crimes commited by the usual suspects.

Doncha just love champagne socialists. Hollande piously states he hates the rich, but let them eat cake would be more appropriate.

http://www.thisislon...ra-7737519.html

France's new Socialist president owns three holiday homes in the Riviera resort of Cannes, it emerged today.

Francois Hollande, 57, who “dislikes the rich” and wants to revolutionise his country with high taxes and an onslaught against bankers, is in fact hugely wealthy himself.

You must be joking.

The London Evening Standard seems to be on equal footing with The Nation. Naturally a conservative paper is not going to be kind to a socialist, but the little blip you quote is just nonsense. Any 57 year old, half-way successful manager from a long-standing French family would have assets similar to this - calling him "hugely wealthy" because he has almost 1 million € in property and an apartment in Paris is laughable.

The Standard tries to make it seem like this is an offense to the French voters - but that is just a bold-faced lie on the part of the Standard.

Ah, the source police are back in lieu of any coherent argument. Incidentally if your keyboard can't stretch to a pound sign I'd better put you straight on that 1 million pounds not euros. Incidentally I expect the Euro to collapse within 2 years. Massive social unrest in Spain and Italy where the government has not ruled out calling the army in.

Here is a bit more info about this teenage culture enricher.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/9260207/Extremist-behind-gay-free-zone-posters-jailed-for-possessing-al-Qaeda-literature.html

He has a previous conviction for putting 'gay free zone' stickers up in East London. Such behavior at one time would have appalled the lib-left, however nowadays Islamic warriors tend to get a free pass.

In related news, Afghan President Hamid Karzai apologised today for yet another coalition soldier shot dead by a member of their Afghan Army allies. Yeah, like that'll ever happen.

You would have thought with their record of murdering supposed allies they would employ full time professional appologists, or perhaps they indeed do.

Doncha just love champagne socialists. Hollande piously states he hates the rich, but let them eat cake would be more appropriate.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/world/socialist-hollande-owns-three-homes-on-the-riviera-7737519.html

France's new Socialist president owns three holiday homes in the Riviera resort of Cannes, it emerged today.

Francois Hollande, 57, who “dislikes the rich” and wants to revolutionise his country with high taxes and an onslaught against bankers, is in fact hugely wealthy himself.

Look at the top leadership in each party. Pelosi, Reid, Schumer...in the Dems & Boehner, McConnell, Cantor in the GOP and tell me that both parties aren't being run by the fringe element within their party. Seems that about a dozen ideological wackjobs dictate how the entire 535 member Congress votes. Maybe they should outlaw political party affiliation altogether for candidates....and establish term limits

And why is it that when a democrat flip flops, the US media calls it "evolving"......?

Revolving would be more accurate.

Tis a right farce, always has been coming to think of it.

It's getting nasty this, it seems the world is slipping into a major conflict but I have my doubts the West has really worked out either an exit plan, entry plan or even whether any intervention will lead to a decrease in human suffering.

http://www.debka.com/article/21997/

The shocking impact of the twin explosions which killed 55 people and injured almost 400 in Damascus Thursday, May 10, galvanized Bashar Assad’s allies, starting with Iran, into frenetic activity. Within hours, Tehran had ordered its Lebanese proxy Hizballah to open up its arms stores and run quantities of weapons and military equipment across the border to the Syrian army – a striking reversal of the routine direction of arms supplies.

GK both you and I have made a prediction and nailed our Colours firmly to the mast that the good ship "Socialism" will founder on the rocks on its "maiden voyage" for the French Electorate ,of course those who are at odds with our statements and say (or should I say think) we are writing BS why not have the courage of their convictions (as we have) and just say its going to be an unbridled Success judged on the performances of previous Socialist Govts and have done with it

Not only is the ship in danger of hitting the rocks but all the lifeboats have been leased out to asylum seekers it would seem.

But is no Santa Claus coming to that Christmas Island. They will have to wait till they eventually get to the mainland. That is when all thier Christmas' will come at once.

They should be taken to Easter Island and given stone working tools.

There was a much bigger story in the news this week concerning the conviction of British moslems.

Quite true but one must not dig too deep into the sordid affair as it may well cause offence and be deemed racist extremism and we can't have that can we!!.

If you'd read any of the respectable UK newspapers you'd have seen that the case was very well and factually reported and no concessions were made as to the race or religion of those convicted. I'm not sure how the Mail reported it. Perhaps you can tell us?

Shame the police did indeed make concessions causing endless unnecessary suffering and more criminal acts to be committed. With regards to the O.P you can prosecute individuals but with the internet potentially damaging information will always find a way to be distributed.

Yep, seen the clip where Farage takes Von Rompuy apart. The trouble these days with whoever is elected is that there are no true patriots around any more. What I mean by this is someone who enacts policies out of a conviction they are right, not out of expediency, opportunism or out of a desire to hang onto power. It used to be regarded as an honour to govern and if doing the right thing sacrificed popularity so be it.

Forget the Arab spring, or Greece or indeed France, but a remarkable event has happened which has been hushed up by the media as this event terrifies our politicians. I refer to the Icelandic population making it's entire government resign, nationalizing the banks and refusing to pay external debt. Then there is a public assembly to re-write the constitution. If you like a modern Bastille day without the severed heads.

Make no mistake, the Euro may completely unravel, and if it does the unelected bureaucrats of Brussels with their misguided social engineering may collapse leading to the re-birth of many nation states. This is badly needed as cultural identity has been under premeditated assault and this has happened against the will of the people. 2012-13 are going to be interesting.

The Taliban and Al Qaeda both follow an extreme Wahhabi Islamic doctrine, including strict sharia law, they are peas in the same pod. The only difference they have is geographical scope. The Taliban claim to be fighting a foreign aggressor, even though they themselves seem to have no compunction in attacking Afghanistan from Pakistani soil or visa versa. Don't be fooled by the brand name, Kraft and Nestle have many too.

And today the International Red Cross announced a pull out from Pakistan.

Congratulations all around to the kidnappers on a job well done on hurting their own people.

GK do you honestly believe those who perpetrate these crimes against humanity give a toss ,one way or the other.

Of course they don't. But we can always hope that regular people and their leaders will take action against the kidnappers.

But let's face it, these terrorists get away with it for one reason - the gov't and security forces aren't serious about putting a stop to it. Until they are, I wouldn't lose sleep if my country pulled out completely in every way from military to humanitarian.

Not to mention financial. This is exactly the sort of repercussions that may have an effect on the terrorists if their actions cause sufficient misery for the local population that they do the job themselves. The Pakistani government has to decide whose side it's on, but it will take the path of least resistance until doing so becomes intolerable.

I had a gay roommate back in the 1980's. He "acted normal" and told me that he and others like him didn't like the flamboyant gays because they made life tougher for gays who didn't want to prance around in g-strings waving flags. The "flamers" as they are sometimes called are the ones always used to "scare" the more conservative people which just compounds the resistance. The old aggressive chant, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it!" was just counter-productive and probably set the gay rights movement backwards. I think anti-gay people out there become more accepting when they meet gays who seem more like themselves - except in the privacy of their bedrooms.

It works the same way with any prejudice. The more people can see how alike they are instead of just the differences, the less prejudiced they'll be.

That said, having a "special" law "allowing" gays to get married to me seems like the wrong approach. There shouldn't be any governmental law for or against any consenting adults getting married. If you're 18 or older, you pay your fee, you get your license, you get married. Good luck and don't come back until you want to pay the fee for the divorce.

This is the old 'As long as it's not thrust in my face argument'. Actually I think upsetting the intolerant is for the greater good in the end, though I will concede you are probably right in that such behavior will alienate some folk, but they were probably waiting to be offended anyway.

Ask ANY Arab or someone that looks close enough to to one what it's like, Not too nice toward Thais as well, btw.

Tell me about it! I suspect the only way I could get picked out more would be to wear a T-shirt with 'Underpant bombers take it in their strides' printed on it.

Poor old France:

Economic meltdown within 2 years

By 2052 the majority of the French population will be unemployed muslims

By 2052 Paris will look like a 4th rate African city

The FN will win 30% of the votes in the next election

Civil war will break out

Well at least the Brits will be happy, though the chances of any of these happening are IMHO slim to none, and there's more chance of me joining the EDL than all of them happening!

Well lets have a look at the realpolitik for a minute. Hollande was elected principally because the French are sick of austerity. If France were in control of it's own currency the 'solution' would be simply to print money, which eases the pain, much in the way morphine works for a patient with terminal cancer. As it stands Hollande will have to have a word in the ear of chancellor Merkel asking for Germany's consent to print a few billion more Euros, a bit of egalite and fraternity with everyone paying to ease France's woes. Merkel will almost certainly say no and then Hollande will try to raise money on the bond markets. France already has debt at 390% of GDP so this will not be an easy task - watch for French bond yields rising for first signs this is happening.

The result is that Hollande is as lame a duck as the UK Con-Lib coalition and should he try to push his measures through France will go bankrupt. Now with nobody paying the Police and the huge volume of benefits to the underclass you have an incendiary situation.

P.S Spain is even worse off, but I digress. As for joining the EDL, you can now join the British Freedom party as the two have in effect merged, and Paul Weston seems like a nice middle class chap probably more to your taste.

He was for gay marriage in 1996 when running for the Illinois Senate.

He was against gay marriage in 2004 when running for the US Senate.

He was against gay marriage in 2008 when running for the Presidency.

Now he is for it again in 2012.

Yeah, sure, he has the strength of a bowl of Jello, which also wobbles in the wind.

Sadly but predictably I detect that the canonization of the human weather vane has started apace in both the press and the blogosphere based on the 2012 wind direction as oppose to the 2004 and 8 positions. Don't get me wrong, I'm personally in favour of gay marriage, but not in favour of the issue being cynically used as a political football by someone whose proclamations on the issue vary. I do admit it is a cynical an astute move as credit can be taken in the states that adopt gay marriage legislation whilst blame can be apportioned elsewhere in states that do not.

Finally, if this is the position of the U.S head of state I hope it is commended to other Countries with (ahem) different views on gay marriage.