BJelly,

I understand your point. But my point was that this new terror threat and concomitant intrusive surveillance is brought to you by the cult of multiculturalism. We can hardly complain about terror threats and increased security when we were the ones who knowingly, willingly imported the threat.

We were the ones who destabilized existing regimes across the ME in the name of 'freedom' while pretending anything was better than a local tin-pot tyrant. It was like all we needed was one great big group hug to make the world better. Unfortunately, removing existing tyrants only created a power vacuum and chaos ensued. As any student of history will tell you, chaos is nearly always the worst possible outcome.

Maybe we should start teaching real history again rather than stuff like feminism, multiculturalism, GLBT Rights, Aboriginal rights etc (pick your bandwagon) that passes as history nowadays. No matter what the 'experts' tell us, none of what is happening to our societies was unpredictable. In fact, it was 100% predictable if not perhaps inevitable.

And before someone goes off on the not all Muslims are terrorists trope let me repeat another lesson from those of us who actually studied history. Terrorists cannot survive unless they enjoy widespread community support. Islamic terrorism is a Muslim problem. It is the Muslim community's responsibility to root it out.

Dane, I agree with you. We should teach real history again.
I was discussing the Islam problem with a relative and almost as
an aside I mentioned the defeat of the Moslems at the gates of Vienna
by the Austrians and the Poles.
She was astounded, she had never heard of that. She was a schoolteacher !
It seems it is just not in the curriculum.
She had known that the moslems invaded and occupied Spain as she
had been to the Alhambra.
The Serbs know the truth, they lost their homeland, Kosovo, to the Moslems thanks to the Islamic invasion.

I do not think that moslems will change as they believe the Koran has told them
that Mohommad was the last prophet and there will be no changes to the Koran at pain of death.

Dear Bazz,

<<I do not think that moslems will change as they believe the Koran has told them that Mohommad was the last prophet and there will be no changes to the Koran at pain of death.>>

Too bad that Mohommad himself never believed that he was the last prophet - but well, he never read the Koran!

Yuyutsu,

I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying the Koran is not the word of God through his prophet Mohammed?

I have a suggestion for you. Why don't you put that on a sign and walk down Lakemba Street in Sydney?

It'll be a ball of laughs. You'll learn all about tolerance and respect multicultural style. Hey, you might even get a group hug out of it!

Let us know how it goes.

The whole thing about the "megadata" is that there is so much of it that an individual
can hide in plain sight. Unless the security services already have a reason
for you to be a "person of interest" they would never know you were there.
They will only be holding in the data that you sent an email to so & so.
They could list everyone you sent an email to and so work out your contacts.
It looks to me that is how the people raided in Sydney recently were tied together
and why most were not charged, but they had to be checked.

I do not believe they can hold the contents of the emails.
There is just not enough storage to hold all that data that can be afforded.
It would be overwhelmed by the kids photos being sent to grandma.

Hi Dane,

I think we'll have to agree to disagree re the role of multiculturalism, feminism, LGBT, Aboriginal rights etc, eroding our rights and liberties.

I think there is far more evidence to support the argument that it is the corrupting influence of corporate elites, and military-industrial complex, rather than minorities that have eroded our democracy.

I believe we are moving towards a fascist police state, where corporate rights usurp citizen's rights. Eg TPP agreement which will give more power to multinationals even at the expense of national sovereignty. These negotiations are being held in secret and we know very little about them. I could be wrong, but that is my best guess.

Those in power just set us off against each other so we are fearful and confused. Kind of handy when you want to protect and extend your power and influence, don't you think?

"Terrorists cannot survive unless they enjoy widespread community support. Islamic terrorism is a Muslim problem. It is the Muslim community's responsibility to root it out."

I don't believe this is true. I would argue terrorists like the Unabomber, Christians who kill doctors who perform abortions or bomb abortion clinics, The people like Timothy McVeigh who bombed the government building in Oklahoma which killed 168 people including children, did not enjoy widespread community support (these are the ones that came to my mind immediately, there are no doubt other examples). To suggest the opposite for Muslims seems a bit unfair.

Most people want to live their lives in peace, raise their children, and live a good life. Only nutjobs or power hungry psychopaths want to cause strife. Luckily they normally are few and far between, but when propaganda is used to incite fear and loathing, more of these creatures come out of the woodwork - on both sides - Muslim and non-Muslim

But like I said before, this is only storm and stress to keep us prols occupied while the big stuff is happening elsewhere - pretty nifty trick huh?