Some of you chaps may enjoy the Adam Curtis film Bitter Lake on iplayer at the minute. Like Finm mentioned I wouldn't overly worry about 2050. My parents generation worried and worried what effect the troubles in Northern Ireland would have on mine. Would we have even more extreme views, hatred of each other etc? What really happened is what generally happens. The next generation is more tolerant than the one before. We basically couldn't give anywhere near as much a rat's ass, if any at all. That's what will probably happen.
I think that is what will happen, but one of the most worrying things about jihadism is that it's the 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants (so, not immigrants, then) who are becoming radicalised. The have rejected the mild Islam of their parents and grandparents as being just too fluffy for them. Why is this? That's a question a lot of people would like an answer to. You'd have thought that being brought up in a liberal society and being exposed to liberal views and media and other views and people, you'd end up liberal. But that doesn't always seem to be happening.
Scientology is a scam, designed to relieve you of money, rather than a religion. Hinduism is an interesting one. As Radhakrishnan said: "Hinduism is not just a faith. It is the union of reason and intuition that cannot be defined, but is only to be experienced." It covers a wide range of teachings and doesn't have the idea of a single almighty being, and is accepting of all religions. However, it still has its own internal divisions with differences, as well as the (pretty horrendous) caste system.
I take nothing as a slight, but you might. Others here accuse me of not offering any answers (which I have admitted and decline to attempt to) so you're wrong on that score I'm afraid. I am glad you think I am semi-literate. Better than being illiterate I suppose ... "a sense of humour and dare I say it , irony, seem to be a failing of many vocal people" - I don't think that's exactly what you meant to say, but what do I know? I'm only semi-literate! Thank you. Coming from one so eloquent as you that's high praise indeed. By the way it's best to avoid using irony, in particular, for comic purposes on forums where you don't know anyone and aren't known by anyone. There's a reason people use that horrible acronym lol. Irony is almost impossible to spot without a good deal of prior banter and personal knowledge of the true views if one's interlocutor. Why should I have thought you were taking the piss. I have no knowledge of your personality and nothing in any of your previous posts could possibly have led me to that conclusion. That prior knowledge is essential for irony to have the desired effect. And if it doesn't work immediately, it doesn't fucking work. There's no point in drawing someone's attention to it later. It's like a pun: if you have to explain it, it hasn't worked as a comic device so it's completely pointless. I'm sure you get my point! If I popped up in a forum and made an ironic post out of the blue - ie said the opposite of what I meant for comic effect - would you spot it? I very much doubt it. But you do so and then feel the need to mock me (in an illiterate fashion) for not getting the joke. Visual puns and visual irony, as exploited by, for example, the Pythons, are quite different because they are more obvious and require no prior knowledge as they are complete comic devices in themselves. Oh and by the way, information is not something I have any special access to as you seem to suggest - there's this thing called the internet, you see, for those who care to look. Neither is promoting MY views something that's ever on my agenda. I'd like to think that by disseminating information about events, along with alleged facts and other parties' views, and my own views I can make some small contribution to helping people make informed choices and come to their OWN conclusions. Remember Brian's words. "I'm not the messiah. Fuck off. Make up your own minds."
So I take it you're employed by a divine power to decide what is and isn't a religion are you? How do you decide? What's the difference between a religion and a cult? How long they've been conning people? I think you'll find Christianity has relieved it's adherents of far more money since the Middle Ages than Scientology - a modern belief system if you dislike the word religion. Serfs used to have to pay a Scientology-style tithe to the Church, Mormons still do and many mainstream Christians still drop money into collecting bowls - though in dwindling numbers I'm glad to learn - every Sunday. As for Hinduism, any religion with an elephant god gets my vote for bravery and effrontery in the face of reason.
This thread is very interesting and at the same time informative regarding some of the forum members views and tolerances regarding other forum members views! Personally, I am not going to risk a bloodied nose by poking it in at this stage, but before I retreat to the shadows back in stealth mode I will leave you with what Boris Johnson thinks about the Jihadists train of thought. Jihadists porn-driven losers: Boris (From Droitwich Advertiser)
No one is doubting that there are lovely Muslims Fin. I know plenty myself. That's just disingenuous. Some dogs you can hug, some you can't. It's the same with people! But we should be debating the role of those nice Muslims in a religion that makes it permissible and desirable to harm those not of the faith. That's just common sense isn't it? Or shall we just leave things as they are and hope the we and our loved ones are not part of the collateral damage created by those in their community who are of a militant tendency. My own view is that Muslim elders need to sort out the problem - but BJ's take in the previous post is informative as I have always thought Islam's frankly perverse view of women, which is counter to the evolutionary principles that got the human race where it is in terms of domination of the planet, is responsible for a lot of the testosterone-fuelled antics of its young men. What say you?
Try Balinese Hinduism. It doesn't bear much resemblance the Indian religion. Its part animism with a strong hint of far eastern shamanism. There is a God of metallic objects and they have a day when they bless motorcycles. If you ever have to ride a bike through Kuta or Denpasar you'll be glad of any help your can get.
Lol @ speed triple. All words and no content. Stop behaving like a panicking fist day worker. Come to us with problems and solutions. Or be sent away wit a flea in your eat for creating tension where there is non.
Good advice generally but of limited use when trying to formulate policy for a rainbow nation with widely divergent priorities, I fear.
i have had this chat with my copper mate, (trust me you would never know if you met him) he was armed and carried out one or two anti terrorist duties, he said it and i was thinking it, but do wee really need to know everything that goes on. dose it help.
Probably best that we don't know how close we came to another atrocity as it would inflame tension. I live near Heathrow and it didn't do much for me to know that police had foiled a jihadi plot to bring down a jumbo over my town with a surface-to-air missile I can tell you! Sometimes, rarely I grant you, ignorance is bliss!
Oh yes, like I can think of the solutions that have so far evaded governments, with all their resources and think-tanks etc, working full time on the problem. Get real Cranky! The fact that there us no tension is a tribute to the UK population's tolerance. I want it to continue and see the best way of ensuring that it does as being transparent about the challenges we face. Do you think that tolerance would survive IF we had a Lee Rigby or 7/7 outrage on a regular basis?
