MEG1.... I see your passion young JediWarrior :)

if ur looking for an outlet for all that which can take a more 'practical' form.. (if ur not already involved with something)

by all means email me at newlifeinhim777@yahoo.com.au and I'll give you a couple of contacts which might be of interest to you.

Something is coming up on 9/11 (protest/public event)

Cheers
BD

Thanks yvonne for putting the problem into context. It will be sad if we look back at this period as "The Time we Lost our Freedom", thanks to the self-interest of politicians and the gullibility of us lerts.

And just for the record, Ginx, the reason Meg1 adds all those hyphens is not to add any emphasis, but to fool the OLO word counter, which otherwise would stop her at 350, the limit that the rest of us adhere to. I have found that it is a device used by the less coherent contributors, by the way. Keep an eye out for it, see if you find the same.

Boaz, you really need to drag yourself away from YouTube, it is beginning to rule your life. News items like this - and I thought that this particular one did a reasonable job, although it became a little repetitive - are structured to highlight two sides of a situation of interest to their audience.

But it is up to you Boaz, to tell us what your conclusion from it was, don't make us guess.

Did you think "ah, this is a terrible situation, the government should act immediately to...", at which point we could legitimately ask "what?"

Or did you think "this is a problem that affects only those who differ in their interpretation of Islam, and since I am not a Muslim, I don't need to worry about it"? In which case I would ask, why draw our attention to it at all?

Or perhaps there is an interpretation of another kind? Do let us know. Were you trying to make a point about biased reporting? Religious violence in Canada?

>>Or..is it possible that you blokes simply don't 'see' with seeing eyes?<<

I saw, Boaz, but I still don't understand why you pointed it out to us, so yes, perhaps I don't have "seeing eyes".

So please explain to me what I saw.

Thanks Pericles; sneaky eh?

"GINX...here is a little bone to chew on..... I'd love to know your view of this vid.. is it 'Murdoch' press at work again ?" (Quote:BOAZ)

How many times?

How many times do I have to tell you? See what I mean about repeating a post? How long is it going to take to get through to you that I will not follow the agenda you set.

ANYBODY with your views who tells me to view links of THEIR choice to prove THEIR point can whistle Dixie. Won't do it. Won't do it also because I have learned in the time I've been here, that engaging with someone of the Ultra Religious Right is akin to nissing into the pind. Nah!

URR's are the epitome of hypocrisy and double standards.

I do like a nice juicy bone to chew on, though.., of MY choice.

Meg,

I feel depressed by the thought of the opinions you have expressed and the experiences you have alluded to in the last paragraph of your last post.

Personal political experiences in my family and myself has developed into a particular strong aversion to extreme political agendas, of any ilk whatsoever, AND the tampering/modifying by politicians of long standing successful justice systems. As I said before, I am far more conservative than you are were these matters are concerned.

The extreme political climate in the early 20th century in educated Europe that resulted in conflagration did not happen overnight. Peoples were made to be very, very afraid. Today we are being made equally afraid. So afraid that many really believe that the destruction of our Western political system and economy is imminent.

It is, but not by terrorists, Muslim or otherwise, but by ourselves. We are being made to doubt our own systems of government and justice. Why are we so easily persuaded of the inadequacy and decadence of these? Are the terrorists right after all? By some of the slurs that have been flung by some it seems there is agreement on this.

Since 2001, when terrorists hit at the heart of the American economic power and the seat of government, the Pentagon, what exactly has really changed? The global economy-nothing.

But we have been coerced into a brutal and ugly war with little forethought about the possible consequences that is increasingly being used as a rallying point to bring down the 'inadequate and decadent West'. By some of our own actions we are giving credence to what the terrorists are saying. We don't really believe in our justice systems ourselves.

That's why when we deal with a terrorist suspect we should be as scrupulous about our legal principles as when we deal with any other suspect.

Yvonne, You are supremely arrogant. You have no idea at all what I did or didn’t do at university and your speculation is amusing but self-indulgent.

I don’t care if you are the sole surviving member of the Russian royal family. How does any of your history give you greater moral authority to speak on the issues than anyone else? Being there only ever makes you an expert on what you saw. Nothing else

Debate my ideas. I post them here and not some place where everyone agrees with me because I think ideas are important. Calling into question my education or my experience is cheap and easy but totally irrelevant. It is always the first port of call, however, when someone disagrees with you but can’t find the words to articulate their thoughts.

Funnily enough Yvonne, what most disturbs ME is your cavalier attitude towards our GREATEST freedom. The right to continue living. Do you deny that terrorists would unleash a biological or nuclear agent upon innocent civilians if they had the opportunity? People like you will only wake up if you find a dirty bomb under your Christmas tree.

Your contention that we are on the slippery slope to a fascist state is nothing short of shrill alarmism. I can point to hundreds of terror attacks across the world, limited in scope only by the imagination and weapons of the terrorists. You can point to haneef, who is now home with his family in India, probably practising medicine.

When you say things like”.. Since 2001, when terrorists hit at the heart of the American economic power and the seat of government, the Pentagon, what exactly has really changed?”

It seems to me that you don’t care that it might happen again. Or at best, that you don’t think changes were needed to prevent a recurrence. Those who wail about our lost freedoms but are silent in the face of real evil in the world leave me cold.

The salafist/facists can ONLY win by using the soft left against the rest of us. Currently it is working

Paul, build a bunker. Stock pile it with water and food. When the nuclear/biological bomb has gone off you can come out and the terrorists and the 'shrill alarmists' about our slide down the 'slippery slope' will all be gone. You'll have the place to yourself.

I do not want to live in a nation reminiscent of China, or Nth Korea, or Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or Zimbabwe. That scares me much, much more than bombs of any kind or any kind of terrorist attack, horrendous as they are. I will fight to continue living in a free democratic and secular society where the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary are held as high ideals not to be meddled with.

The right to continue living under any circumstances is all yours. You mentioned the raping of women by terrorists. Hey, they'll at least be alive you know. So what's your problem with rape then?

Thanks for your observation of the irrelevance of my experiences and education versus the superiority of yours. Now I know that your are petrified of dying I understand where you are coming from.