What will Europe Look Like in Fifty Years?
#62
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Robe, OBL is not a dumb country camel, he knows a lot about the West and what sells here and what doesn't. He may be insane, but he is not stupid enough to lay out his "real" gameplan to the Great Satan - America.
Spain was his trial balloon to see if he could scare a small nation and influence behavior/promote a passive stance. In his view that tactic worked since they pulled out of Iraqi.
OBL also has relatively limited resources and can not hit everywhere at once. He must conserve/hide his resources and attack for maximum effect since every attack exposes his operatives to being killed or captured.
I personally think a great number of his people have been killed or captured. He is one the run and much weaker than he lets on. We are looking hard for him and one day he will be found and killed.
Spain was his trial balloon to see if he could scare a small nation and influence behavior/promote a passive stance. In his view that tactic worked since they pulled out of Iraqi.
OBL also has relatively limited resources and can not hit everywhere at once. He must conserve/hide his resources and attack for maximum effect since every attack exposes his operatives to being killed or captured.
I personally think a great number of his people have been killed or captured. He is one the run and much weaker than he lets on. We are looking hard for him and one day he will be found and killed.
#63
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eric502...robin williams did NOT say this. this is a well known urban legend. this is just racist crap but somehow becomes more acceptable if you think robin williams said it. http://urbanlegends.about.com/librar...liams-plan.htm
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quote>>>>
It seems to me that if European societies do not regain some sense of belief in their own cultures and ethnicities as things worth defending then they are going to be outnumbered and eventually ruled over by people who do not share their cultural values.
>>>>>
are you implying that the US is more defensive of her way of life than europe? please strip away the flag waving and military fireworks before you answer.
second...
quote>>>>
It seems to me that if European societies do not regain some sense of belief in their own cultures and ethnicities as things worth defending then they are going to be outnumbered and eventually ruled over by people who do not share their cultural values.
>>>>>
are you implying that the US is more defensive of her way of life than europe? please strip away the flag waving and military fireworks before you answer.
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A very polite and nice young Jewish man at the high school where I am a librarian has told me that he and his family left Paris and moved here because they could no longer stand the Anti-Semitism there. They fear that it will only grow worse if the French and other European countries do not stand up against it.
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Degas, according to this student, his parents think it is too late for France to wake up. (does that sound like a familiar scenario?) That is why they fled persecution before it cost them dearly. The good thing is that they are all very happy here, and think the US is a wonderful place.
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hansikday, "almost" is progress. (Hey, how about we bomb North Korea?)
The Spanish government was set to be defeated anyway, bombs or no bombs. After the Madrid bombing they compounded their unpopularity by trying to blame Basque terrorists for the Madrid bombing and being caught out.
No doubt greater minds than mine are behind the hunt for bin Laden. This would explain the brilliant tactic of throwing him off his guard by looking for him where he isn't.
The Spanish government was set to be defeated anyway, bombs or no bombs. After the Madrid bombing they compounded their unpopularity by trying to blame Basque terrorists for the Madrid bombing and being caught out.
No doubt greater minds than mine are behind the hunt for bin Laden. This would explain the brilliant tactic of throwing him off his guard by looking for him where he isn't.
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Whatever it looks like, I can guarantee it'll look a whole lot better than I will in 50 years.
But since we're debating the relative merits of facing reality - when has immigration in one form or another NOT been constantly changing the face of Europe and the world? Any particular reason why now, as compared to the rest of the timeline of human existance, is this the time that it should cease? Why, because it happens to affect us?
PS: Surely no one is saying that Muslims in general can't find a way to live in a democratic society, are we? I mean, I keep hearing that it's an expectation these days in some parts of the world, yes? Surely then, we're all in agreement that it's not an impossibility or there'd be no point.
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Sorry, I got excited and went off-topic in the last post - apologies to all.
Back to the point: "...will a growing Muslim population eventually turn Europe into a place that we will not want to visit?"
- Well, anything's possible, I suppose, but one doesn't necessarily have to lead to the other. My country's nearest neighbour, Indonesia, is the world's biggest Muslim country, and I certainly wouldn't be deterred from visiting on that account. And if it weren't for the difficulty of finding a beer I'd be happy to visit Iran, where travellers report being received with great hospitality and generosity by those dreadful axis-of-evil people. (Also, my local halal butcher is a nice bloke and sells excellent lamb shanks.)
Let's not smear a large percentage of the world's population by association. My daughters used to be vegetarians, but had nothing else in common with Heinrich Himmler, and I doubt that most Christians would appreciate being likened to the KKK.
Apropos of silly old Brigitte Bardot, we had a racist politician not so long ago, and she ended up in jail - but that was for electoral fraud, a bit like Al Capone being jailed for tax evasion. She was cleared on appeal, but is now out of Parliament and likely to stay that way.
Back to the point: "...will a growing Muslim population eventually turn Europe into a place that we will not want to visit?"
- Well, anything's possible, I suppose, but one doesn't necessarily have to lead to the other. My country's nearest neighbour, Indonesia, is the world's biggest Muslim country, and I certainly wouldn't be deterred from visiting on that account. And if it weren't for the difficulty of finding a beer I'd be happy to visit Iran, where travellers report being received with great hospitality and generosity by those dreadful axis-of-evil people. (Also, my local halal butcher is a nice bloke and sells excellent lamb shanks.)
Let's not smear a large percentage of the world's population by association. My daughters used to be vegetarians, but had nothing else in common with Heinrich Himmler, and I doubt that most Christians would appreciate being likened to the KKK.
Apropos of silly old Brigitte Bardot, we had a racist politician not so long ago, and she ended up in jail - but that was for electoral fraud, a bit like Al Capone being jailed for tax evasion. She was cleared on appeal, but is now out of Parliament and likely to stay that way.
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