Hahaha. The laughs just keep coming from Stephany. Here's another one ...

"Minority cultures do not thrive under Islam."

Yes, of course they don't. I mean, Sheik Musa bin Maymoun al-Qurtubi would have faired much better were he with King Richard. And what is the religion of the family that continues to hold the keys to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre? And I guess you think it was Saladdin's troops who massacred all the Jews, Orthodox Christians and Muslims of Jerusalem.

Your absolutist worldview is a barrel of laughs. Keep going.

bushred: So, what you're saying is Winston Churchill wanted his generals to know about his gassing of the Kurds so they could firebomb Dresden properly? ;P

MichaelK: I'm not exactly sure what your point is. Mine is that we can beat around the bush as much as we like, but it does appear strange that, for instance, with 12 million people, the Jews (including non-Israeli Jews) have produced 159 Nobel Laureates, compared to the entire Islamic world of 1.4 billion having produced eight. Don't like the Jews, fine, have a look at the table at the bottom of this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_laureates_by_country

I don't believe it's any co-incidence that of the top twenty nations on that list, only one (Japan) is not Western. Of course, individuals do their own thing, but some cultures are more conducive to producing great individuals than others due to an over-arching worldview that informs such individuals.

To get back to the topic, why should I have any respect for one quarter of the world's population who, despite once being great, have for the past five centuries been lucky to collectively fill a thimble with their intellectual contributions to humanity? If I am, or the West in general is, accused of regarding modern Islam as a culturally and intellectually bereft wasteland that constantly makes a caricature of itself, maybe it's because it (Islam) is very good at living up to that stereotype whilst doing very little to counter it.

I know, I know, we're all biased. Well, everyone used to (probably still do) hate the Jews, but the Jews just invented, discovered, wrote and composed until no one could ignore them. If it weren't for oil and bombs, Islam would be very easy to ignore.

That about 20% of the Nobel laureates are Jews is a statement touted by the Zionist and parroted by its sympathisers such as the Christian Zionist and the lunatic fringe Christian sects that speak of a future rule by 'God' with Jerusalem being the capital of the world.

The fact is that Israel has only 8 nobel laureates. The remaining supposedly 'Jewsish' Nobel laureates are spread among the secular countries of USA, UK, Germany and some other countries.

No theocratic country like Israel and the mainly Islamic countries is ever going to excel in the sciences or achieve social progress because superstition and mindless irrationality stands in the way of scientific thinking.

(A distiction has to be made between Judaism and Zionism)

http://wake-up-america.net/ISRAEL-%20A%20THEOCRATIC%20RACIST%20STATE.htm
http://www.jewsnotzionists.org/differencejudzion.html

"Australia, where indigenous peoples, by and large, live in a state of institutionalised disadvantage"

this is a common misconception - the reality is that no other minority group receives so much support from the public purse, nor is given so much opportunity. unfortunately in general it is wasted, with the receipients not appreciating what is being offered, instead flouting civilised laws, and then complaining about the aforementioned "institutionalised disadvantage".

indigenous australians have some of the worst living conditions and health standards in the developed world, despite receiving so much. instead of blaming others, or wanting an apology for past attrocities which can never be undone, they should work themselves out of the slum they have created for themselves.

Philip: Of course, and I'm not arguing for Israel, Zionism or the Jewish religion (or any religion for that matter!). I'm merely pointing out that one cultural group is disproportionately high on the achievement list. Interestingly, although these guys are part of the broader secular Western nations within which they exist, they still outperform other people within such nations of different background, perhaps because of a subset of other cultural traits peculiar to the subset of (Western) Jewish culture.

It's surprising how much ignorance is out there - not to mention mispelling, misunderstanding and sometimes mad views.

I didn't manage to work through all the entries but was struck by the person who recently spelled Pa as Par, and mentioned a female chief at Gate Pa, Tauranga, who helped the wounded of both sides - but she wasn't a chief as he claimed!

There's talk of the Waitangi Treaty - but no mention of the unpublished version devised by NSW Governor George Gipps. It is different to the English and Maori versions signed by chiefs at the Bay of Islands. It has never been considered in all the debate over this contentious issue.

NZ history is far more complex than armchair historians, or newcomers like Irfan could possibly realise. Maori were supersticious people for whom weather and natural phenomenon played a vital part. Their's was a culture still poorly known today.

Like Australia's Aboriginal people, Maori have proved to be extremely forgiving about colonialism. It says much about their quiet wisdom, that this is so.