News of the day

[Uncle Al]

Terrorists have attacked Paris, France. The French President has
closed all borders. At this time, flights to France have been delayed
or canceled. Some may not notice this. Others may pray for the
safety of the people.



A few comments have been made about 'the perceptible willy' and the
pictures, that were shown, should be removed. This pales in comparison
to the devastation that has occurred in France. We are human, bipedal
beings. We do not have smooth, featureless bodies. Men 'ogle' womens
"features" just as women 'ogle' mens "features". (Yes-women do this too!)
Why must men be 'Victorian' in their thinking that 'bits' are not to show?
Stereotype thinking? Do we need the 'cod-piece' back? To me the 'cod-piece'
emphasizes the area, not hiding it. Wearing a kilt, the sporran(kilt purse)
'hides' the area, helping to keep 'things' under control. No problem. It's
accepted practice.

Some accentuation may be attributed to the design of the team uniform.
The pictured design, in itself, accentuates the groin area. Granted it may
hold extra padding for protection, but the color change really draws attention
to that area of the rider. Some women's team uniforms have done the same
thing, with color change, to give the impression that they are nude on the bottom.
I've seen body-paint on people which shows less - and they are nude!

This is my opinion, but - - get over it! It's part of life and being a human being!



Now we need to help, in any way we can, stop the terrorists from gaining ground,
and influence our children to 'their' way of thinking. I like my life the way it is
and I don't want any 'Iman' or other Mid-East hate based 'religion' telling me what
to do and how to do it.

Uncle Al

[TheEnforcer]

I have shut myself away from dogmatic religions, so I won't be compelled to blow myself up for a 'religious' organisation.

Hopefully the people in France would be able to successfully fend off the terrorists. They are not the kind of people who would allow others to do this to their country.

Seriously, something needs to be done about these organisations. People just brush them aside thinking that they would be of no harm as their operations are mainly in Middle East. Once they have full control of Middle East, it would be too late to stop them. They would have enough resources and manpower to wage war on our shores.

[Big and Bashful]

Well said Al, very well said. Same goes for TheEnforcer.

In my life, watching religous zealots blow each other, and/or themselves up, as well as invading other countries trying to convert the natives (Yes, I include several flavours of Christian in that, although they don't tend to explode!) I have become more and more anti-religion bacause I see so much killing in the name of whatever God the armies, missionaries, zealots and terrorists fancy. Also you don't have to be religous to be a good person.
Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike or hate people who are religous, It's the fanatical people who want to convert, punish, maim or just brainwash everyone who doesn't see things their blinkered way and use religion as an excuse.
When all is said and done, the Middle East, Christian missionaries, knights versus the "Dark side" has been happening ever since the respective books were written, it's nothing new. We had what, thirty years of two flavours of christian blowing each other up in Ireland? the peace there still sometimes lookis rather fragile.

It's 5 in the morning, I am sober and wide awake, wearing my current favourite skirt and have a cat on my lap trying to nuzzle my typing hands. My thoughts are a bit wooly at this time of day, I hope nothing in here is offensive to anyone, it isn't meant to be. I just have this feeling I might have to edit things later on once my brain kicks in properly!

[moonshadow]

@ Big and Bashful

I've been in your shoes, discussing these very sensitive subjects before, and therefore I won't quote what was said in case you do decide you want to edit it.

That being said, I hope you don't because I agree with you 100%.

I'd also like to point out, the rumor is, that most Muslims are not violent.... well that may be true, but I sure wish they'd stand up and be counted as a supporter of peace rather than sitting on the sidelines... I think it's time to say, you are either for us or against us. There is no longer any middle ground!

My heart weeps for this news, and my blood boils, to the extent that I shall refrain from discussion, as I will surly get into one hell of a rampage about it, and right now I wish to convey peaceful energy for those who have suffered as a result of this tragedy.

I'm not going to subscribe to this thread. I don't want to talk about it anymore. For if I do, I will surely say something that's going to piss someone off, and I'm just not in the mood for it tonight. Tonight.... let there be peace.

[Judah14]

And for the French authorities dealing with the crisis, here is a message for them:

And that task is keeping violent religious fanatics (who "twist" religion to fit their crooked ideals) at bay, and innocent people safe!

[crfriend]

Thanks for the observations, B&B, and for calling the shot cleanly.

An interesting facet of this is that one can remove the word "religious" from this and still observe the crux of the problem -- extremism. This can take many forms, but "religion" is one of the easiest to usurp. Politics is another, and frequently has the former bodged on as an amplifier.

Combating extremism is where we have failed -- abjectly -- as a society, a people, and, it seems, as a species. I'm not sure whether we're witnessing the seeds of our own destruction beginning to germinate, but we're certainly seeing something, and it's not pretty. I also don't have an answer. The easy one, "Kill the bastards" doesn't work because it just breeds more; the harder one, that of trying to win hearts and minds, may not be possible either. What I do know is that random and indiscriminate killing, wounding, and maiming is most emphatically not the answer.

Of note is that using one god against another is wholly as bad as the original offence; the problem with gods is that there are so many to choose from. Whenever I hear somebody utter, "God bless {something}" I am frequently compelled to ask, "Whose god?". To crib a line from Dire Straits' Industrial Disease, "Two men say they're Jesus / One of them must be wrong." -- save that in this case two is, in fact, a great many including some really nasty personal inventions.

My thoughts go with France -- and all of mankind. We either win this or perish from it.

[Big and Bashful]

Carl,
Yes I agree, extremism in all its forms, not just religous but political extremists as well. I don't think Hitler quoted religion, but he was certainly an extremist!

So far this thread is going well, no toys getting thrown out of prams, long may it continue!

Oh no, I've used a smiley, I must be tired!

[dillon]

I've had it with the effin' muslims. I've tried to be tolerant and understanding, but you can't continue to give what you don't get back. They deserve every misery that their perverse interpretation of God's will has wrought upon their wretched lands. Until they grow the balls to reclaim their faith from the extremists, they deserve no consideration from the civilized world.

[crfriend]

By tarring and feathering an entire religious group for the actions of a small minority one is doing no-one any favours.

If this thread is going to descend into bashing of assorted broad groups it'll find itself locked in no time flat. We're better than that.

[Ray]

Dillon, that's harsh and unfair. You come from a country which really doesn't understand Muslims, whose press and media are appalling, and whose population has a strong Christian fundamentalist streak running through it. Part or all of the above may explain your polemic. I live in a country where there are hundreds of thousands of peace loving Muslims who are as appalled as we all are at the attacks in Paris. Please don't tar them all with the same brush. It's like us saying all Christians are loonies because some of them believe in creationism or that homosexuality is wrong. Do these deranged beliefs apply across all of christendom? I do not believe so.

Try to read non USA press. It may give you some balance.

[Jim]

I've had it with the effin' muslims. I've tried to be tolerant and understanding, but you can't continue to give what you don't get back. They deserve every misery that their perverse interpretation of God's will has wrought upon their wretched lands. Until they grow the balls to reclaim their faith from the extremists, they deserve no consideration from the civilized world.

This is what the terrorists want. Hatred and discrimination against Muslims will turn many more to radicalism. A proper interpretation of God's will, "love your enemies" is doing just that.

[dillon]

I stated in another thread that I believe religious fundamentalism to be the greatest evil to confront mankind, be it muslim, Christian, or Jewish. Certainly it has always existed, but never has it been so destructive as now in an era of extreme weaponry, capable of so much destruction of human life, and never employed as readily as it has been by muslim extremists. When I was teaching in Ethiopia, I found a place where men of different religions coexisted in peace. It seemed as far removed from the deterioration of humanity as one could imagine, so I am as aware as anyone that men of different faiths can live in peace, but as the saying goes "It takes two to tango".

You can call me insensitive, call me bigoted, call me whatever pleases you, or whatever makes you feel moral. But if I was not enraged over the brainless violence that flows from the muslim world, then I'd be questioning my own humanity. We, westerners, especially Europe and the US, have a dreadful legacy in that part of the world, but how does that justify the slaughter of innocents? And if you expect me to see it differently, then go ahead and lock the thread, because that won't happen. If muslims defend such things, then the moral deficiency is theirs. I decry Christian attacks against muslims here, when they happen. But show me anything that compares to this.

[Kirbstone]

During both World wars Man created wastelands like my submitted picture, but these dust-ups were formally ended and in time these wastelands were restored, creating the environments that we like to live in now.

This Benghazi was a pleasant seaside town with an easy ambience in which to go about one's daily life. With the Western- encouraged fall of Ghadaffi the chaos that ensued has resulted in this. What is troubling is that there appears to be no end in sight.

Benghazi 2015 Rs.jpg

Young bloods from such places are forced to seek jobs and existence elsewhere (migration) and a small minority are schooled to export this mayhem into the West. Easy access to lethal weaponry has facilitated this.

In order to transport such weaponry to their chosen 'killing fields' they must somehow conceal them. This is what the security people must address.....loose clothing, haversacks &c., also Intelligence. It will be a very onerous task to pinpiont these radicals, but one reads all to often that such a suspect 'was known to the authorities' before an atrocity.

Tom

[john62]

What amazes many in Australia is the number of mass shootings in the USA, they seem to happen on a very regular basis, are therefore all US citizens gun crazy killers , no of course not, are all Muslims killers, no. Dividing non Muslin against Muslin them is what the radicals want.

John

[dillon]

What amazes many in Australia is the number of mass shootings in the USA, they seem to happen on a very regular basis, are therefore all US citizens gun crazy killers , no of course not, are all Muslims killers, no. Dividing non Muslin against Muslin them is what the radicals want.

John

Don't think for a minute that I don't get equally outraged by those shooters and the industry that proliferates the cowboy image of firearms, the lobbyists and propagandists that promote paranoia to inspire the mentally weak to arm themselves to the teeth, and the chickenshit politicians who don't have the balls to stand up to either of the others. We have almost 320 million people and perhaps more than our share of the insane, but we don't conspire to impose a worldwide religious caliphate which speaks either death or slavery to those who do not accept the theology. Perhaps if they crashed airplanes into the Sydney Opera Hall while it was filled with people, then Australians would better understand American's feelings. Of course not all muslims are evil, but where are the good ones? I'm about ready to let God sort out the good ones from the theocratic dupes. I won't apologize for my outrage.