Interesting site for you Yabby.

http://www.yourjewishnews.com/Pages/20553.aspx

Example; Muslims cut of the head of a Christian in public ceremony in Tunisia.

Kinda graphic, maybe too much for the squimish like csteel, etc.

Just want to register my revulsion at the actions of the Taliban - in general - and particularly in the case of the young girl.

Jayb, - I don't think it's necessary, or in good taste, to thump your chest at so-called "dissenters" using this girl's horrendous situation as a glove to slap in our face. In no way was I defending the despicable actions associated with religious fundamentalism. My despair was always at the propensity for humans to formulate belief systems and/or hierarchies of power that promote savagery amongst humanity as a form of control - especially employing group-think and hysteria as a tool to attain it.

Hi Poirot,

At last:

"In no way was I defending the despicable actions associated with religious fundamentalism. "

Welcome to 'our' side, Poirot. Yes, the Enlightenment will eventually prevail for everybody, equality and justice in all societies. Eventually. But what a b@stard of a century it's going to be in the meantime.

Cheers,

Joe

Well all this just confirms what I have been saying all along, ie
the veneer of society is pretty thin. We are mere walking, talking primates, smart enough to invent interesting new things, not smart
enough to use them wisely. In the end we will destroy ourselves.

Ah well, there are a few benefits. I just sat here and ordered a
new mobile phone and case from Hong Kong on Ebay. Sometimes capitalism
is truly grand, Poirot :)

Loudmouth,

I assumed it "went without saying" (ie, was tacitly understood) that the fundamentalist psyche would be rejected by anyone with an ounce of true humanitarian interest.

"...our side..." - well there you go.

I'm afraid humans are forever condemned to segregate themselves into "sides".

That's right, Poirot:

Yes, there are 'sides': reactionaries on one side, and [relatively speaking] progressives on the other.

The world is a complicated place: there are USUALLY more than two parties contending for dominance, in many political situations.

Look at Syria: there a secular dictatorship brutally struggles against a democratic opposition, and a reactionary fundamentalist opposition as well. Once the Opposition has 'won', the bigger battle between the democrats and the fundamentalists will start, and it will be more vicious and bloody than the current one.

And so it may well be in all of the Arab and Muslim countries: a struggle between dictatorships, democratic forces and fundamentalist forces.

Sides, Poirot. Which one will you be on, over the next decades, as these struggles play out ?