Islam extremists a danger in Amsterdam?
Mar 24th, 2008, 10:34 AM
#41
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Travelgormet wrote:
"Frankly, it all kind of irks me. I live in Denmark, and I am incredulous that Danes can't understand why the 'Mohammed Cartoons' might cause the stir that they did. The drawings conflated an entire religion with terrorism. This is not rocket science. It is about being even remotely aware of the power of the printed word. And if you don't respect that power, then you don't belong in journalism."
I have to disagree strongly. In a free society one had better get used to being offended and learn how to express outrage peacefully. Some years ago, there was a row in the USA when a government-funded artist painted a picture of the crucifix dipped in urine. Many Christians were outraged but there were no riots.
The real problem is that Islam is in dire need of an enlightenment to purge itself of its extreme tendencacies, which according to Ayan Hirsi Ali (friend of the slain van Gogh) is the norm. When the cartoons were published Muslims responded with riots that killed many people. Cartoons of Mohommad should not offend Muslims. Psychopaths blowing themselves up to kill innocent bystanders specifically in the name of their religion *ought* to offend Muslims. Apparently, it does not. Islam in general has a lot of growing up to do before it can integrate safely and successfully into western society.
"Frankly, it all kind of irks me. I live in Denmark, and I am incredulous that Danes can't understand why the 'Mohammed Cartoons' might cause the stir that they did. The drawings conflated an entire religion with terrorism. This is not rocket science. It is about being even remotely aware of the power of the printed word. And if you don't respect that power, then you don't belong in journalism."
I have to disagree strongly. In a free society one had better get used to being offended and learn how to express outrage peacefully. Some years ago, there was a row in the USA when a government-funded artist painted a picture of the crucifix dipped in urine. Many Christians were outraged but there were no riots.
The real problem is that Islam is in dire need of an enlightenment to purge itself of its extreme tendencacies, which according to Ayan Hirsi Ali (friend of the slain van Gogh) is the norm. When the cartoons were published Muslims responded with riots that killed many people. Cartoons of Mohommad should not offend Muslims. Psychopaths blowing themselves up to kill innocent bystanders specifically in the name of their religion *ought* to offend Muslims. Apparently, it does not. Islam in general has a lot of growing up to do before it can integrate safely and successfully into western society.
Mar 24th, 2008, 10:51 AM
#42
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as posted by <b>afterall</b>,
<i>Never attacked in WW2</i>
well, as already mentioned, Pearl Harbor does seem like a significant piece of WW2 history, but just in case that's not enough:
<i>The Mighty Battlefields of Washington, Oregon and California
February 3rd, 1942: A Japanese Submarine lobs a few explosive shells at the Ellwood oil production facilities near Santa Barbara, California in hopes of causing mass destruction. A pump house and a catwalk are damaged. Whoever was in charge of aiming the weapons on the sub is probably demoted.
June 20th, 1942: Another Japanese Submarine surfaces just off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and Chief Gunner Hashiro Hayashi begins to fire 5.5” (that is, really big) shells at the Estevan Point Lighthouse. He misses his target entirely and fails to send any sort of message to the Americans. The Japanese army is once again disgraced by incompetent aim.
June 21st- 22nd, 1942: A third sub surfaces near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington and, in an unprecedented move, becomes the only sub to open fire at an American military installation during the war when it engages Fort Stevens. Unfortunately, the sub's aim is off a little (in keeping with the developing pattern) and manages only to damage the backstop of a nearby baseball field. Apart from probably causing some disappointment among some local baseball teams, the mission is a complete failure. The sub retreats in disgrace.
September 9th, 1942: The Japanese finally stop relying on the skills of the gunners on their submarines. Clearly, this isn't working. A new strategy is developed, wherein a small aircraft (specifically, a Yukosuka E14Y Seaplane) is launched from atop a submarine, where it proceeds to fly over the forests of Oregon, dropping bombs and, hopefully, starting massive and uncontrollable forest fires, thereby sending all of America into a panic under the great Japanese might. The first part of the task is a complete success.
The plane is launched, the bomb is dropped, and a fire is started. A few Americans witness the event and respond quickly to the scene of the explosion, and with some help from some local firemen, the fire is put out by the following morning. While two bombs were apparently dropped on Oregon, there has never been any trace of a second bomb. It would probably be quite the collector’s item today if it could be located.
For this attempt, at least the Japanese will go down in history as being the first foreign power to ever have the guts to attack the United States from the air.
November 1944 – April 1945: Fast forward a few years, as the Japanese are becoming even more desperate, for the war is becoming more and more costly for them. The bright idea is hatched somewhere in the military that it might be a good idea to launch some “fire balloons” at the United States. These balloons would be carried by high into the air, where they would be picked up by trade winds to the United States. Eventually, they would fall from the air and explode on impact, hopefully causing some forest fires (much like the previous fire-bombing attempt).
Unfortunately, it is in this attempt that the Japanese achieved their only measure of success. The only deaths caused on the American mainland by the Japanese occurred when six people were killed, five of whom were children, when one of these balloons was found in a tree near Bly, Oregon, and exploded when it was being pulled down. A sad footnote.
Apart from this single incident, however, it was another failed experiment for the Japanese, who were apparently no longer as blessed in war as they had been during the invasion by the Mongols hundreds of years earlier, when they were “magically” rescued by a storm called the kamikaze (Japanese for “divine wind”). No such miraculous intercession occurred during World War II, as the rest of the story is well-known history. After a devastating war in the Pacific, the Japanese finally conceded defeat in August of 1945.</i>
The German submarines terrorized US commercial shipping, in many cases, just outside the main US ports, but no, we really were never attacked.
Read some history books son.
<i>Never attacked in WW2</i>
well, as already mentioned, Pearl Harbor does seem like a significant piece of WW2 history, but just in case that's not enough:
<i>The Mighty Battlefields of Washington, Oregon and California
February 3rd, 1942: A Japanese Submarine lobs a few explosive shells at the Ellwood oil production facilities near Santa Barbara, California in hopes of causing mass destruction. A pump house and a catwalk are damaged. Whoever was in charge of aiming the weapons on the sub is probably demoted.
June 20th, 1942: Another Japanese Submarine surfaces just off the coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia and Chief Gunner Hashiro Hayashi begins to fire 5.5” (that is, really big) shells at the Estevan Point Lighthouse. He misses his target entirely and fails to send any sort of message to the Americans. The Japanese army is once again disgraced by incompetent aim.
June 21st- 22nd, 1942: A third sub surfaces near the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and Washington and, in an unprecedented move, becomes the only sub to open fire at an American military installation during the war when it engages Fort Stevens. Unfortunately, the sub's aim is off a little (in keeping with the developing pattern) and manages only to damage the backstop of a nearby baseball field. Apart from probably causing some disappointment among some local baseball teams, the mission is a complete failure. The sub retreats in disgrace.
September 9th, 1942: The Japanese finally stop relying on the skills of the gunners on their submarines. Clearly, this isn't working. A new strategy is developed, wherein a small aircraft (specifically, a Yukosuka E14Y Seaplane) is launched from atop a submarine, where it proceeds to fly over the forests of Oregon, dropping bombs and, hopefully, starting massive and uncontrollable forest fires, thereby sending all of America into a panic under the great Japanese might. The first part of the task is a complete success.
The plane is launched, the bomb is dropped, and a fire is started. A few Americans witness the event and respond quickly to the scene of the explosion, and with some help from some local firemen, the fire is put out by the following morning. While two bombs were apparently dropped on Oregon, there has never been any trace of a second bomb. It would probably be quite the collector’s item today if it could be located.
For this attempt, at least the Japanese will go down in history as being the first foreign power to ever have the guts to attack the United States from the air.
November 1944 – April 1945: Fast forward a few years, as the Japanese are becoming even more desperate, for the war is becoming more and more costly for them. The bright idea is hatched somewhere in the military that it might be a good idea to launch some “fire balloons” at the United States. These balloons would be carried by high into the air, where they would be picked up by trade winds to the United States. Eventually, they would fall from the air and explode on impact, hopefully causing some forest fires (much like the previous fire-bombing attempt).
Unfortunately, it is in this attempt that the Japanese achieved their only measure of success. The only deaths caused on the American mainland by the Japanese occurred when six people were killed, five of whom were children, when one of these balloons was found in a tree near Bly, Oregon, and exploded when it was being pulled down. A sad footnote.
Apart from this single incident, however, it was another failed experiment for the Japanese, who were apparently no longer as blessed in war as they had been during the invasion by the Mongols hundreds of years earlier, when they were “magically” rescued by a storm called the kamikaze (Japanese for “divine wind”). No such miraculous intercession occurred during World War II, as the rest of the story is well-known history. After a devastating war in the Pacific, the Japanese finally conceded defeat in August of 1945.</i>
The German submarines terrorized US commercial shipping, in many cases, just outside the main US ports, but no, we really were never attacked.
Read some history books son.
Mar 24th, 2008, 11:05 AM
#45
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I think the UK got a wake call itself on a few occasions recently. Unless, that is, bombings by Islamofascists don't count.
We have been awake for decades.
Why can Seppos never realise that most Europeans have been dealing with terrorists for ages.
We have been awake for decades.
Why can Seppos never realise that most Europeans have been dealing with terrorists for ages.
Mar 24th, 2008, 11:28 AM
#47
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Josser..
You tell my fellow countrymen and women...of course the USA had no compulsion about supporting the Irish Terrorists during the troubles in Northern Ireland...many of the worst of them were protected by the US government when the British, supposedly our close friends and allies, asked for their return to stand trial for the murders and other crimes they committed...many of them today are living very respectable lives in the New England region...lest we forget!
You tell my fellow countrymen and women...of course the USA had no compulsion about supporting the Irish Terrorists during the troubles in Northern Ireland...many of the worst of them were protected by the US government when the British, supposedly our close friends and allies, asked for their return to stand trial for the murders and other crimes they committed...many of them today are living very respectable lives in the New England region...lest we forget!
Mar 24th, 2008, 11:36 AM
#48
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I don't get the UK CCTV camera obsession either. When a crime does occur, they always seem to be either unmonitered or faulty. Or inadmissable as evidence - for example, we had them at work and whenever your car got pranged in the carpark, security would cite some sort of privacy law as justification for not revealing the guilty party.
