Flash: Pope Blasts Islam

stevebaby said:

Sure,cut US foreign aid.Israel (despite being the 16th wealthiest country in the world) is one of the largest recipients,just behind Egypt and just in front of Saudi Arabia.The balance of "foreign aid" is actually a subsidy for US agricultural and military corporations.
It will be difficult to increase military spending.The Us is ,per capita,almost the highest spending country already.In absolute terms...the US is the biggest spender on arms,and the largest supplier of arms.The mainland of the US has not been attacked since ...1814?
Why does the US have such a large military? Geographically.it would be almost impossible to invade and no country in the world could afford it anyway.Look how much it's costing the US to invade a small country like Iraq.
The US remains the only country to be condemned by the UN for State sponsored terrorism.The UN should expel them.

That would be great if the UN would expel the US. I don’t see it happening. I would like to see the US withdraw from the UN though. It not hard to increase military spending; spend more than was spent the year before and you have increased spending. This will be needed if the US was to ever truly start defending itself. The US is currently being invaded and has been attacked on its own soil fairly recently.

unicos said:

That would be great if the UN would expel the US. I don’t see it happening. I would like to see the US withdraw from the UN though. It not hard to increase military spending; spend more than was spent the year before and you have increased spending. This will be needed if the US was to ever truly start defending itself. The US is currently being invaded and has been attacked on its own soil fairly recently.

The US can't even afford to fight the war against Iraq (population 28m and falling) without borrowing heavily from China and Japan.Why would anyone lend the US more? It's a bad bet.
The US military,despite having the largest military budget in history (around 48% of the world total) failed to stop 20 terrorists armed with box-cutters from demolishing the World Trade Centre.That must be the most spectacular military failure of all time.
And you want to reward them by giving them more money?
I underestimated you. You're a bigger fool than I thought.

PS.There is a difference between an invasion and immigration. Geddit?

PS.There is a difference between an invasion and immigration. Geddit?

The American Indians and the Native Aussies might disagree.

jhuskey said:

PS.There is a difference between an invasion and immigration. Geddit?

The American Indians and the Native Aussies might disagree.

And they would be correct.
Uncos was obviously referring to illegal immigrants who could not be described as invaders by any stretch of the imagination.They are not taking military action,they do not claim the US as their own and they do not seek to substantially change the social order...all of which occurred in the US and Oz and which are correctly described as "invasions".

limerickman said:

I don't know the reason why the burn the effigy of the Pope - all I know is that I passed through Lewes some years ago when this ritual was taking place.
Cararra made the point that burning effigies is unwelcome.

The Lewes celebrations have their roots in several historic events.

• During Mary Tudor's reign, the burning of 17 martyrs in Lewes. In the High Street, the place of their deaths, is recorded on a plaque.
  
• The Gunpowder Plot (1605).
  
• The landing of William of Orange (William III, half of William and Mary) to restore a Protestant monarchy. Significantly, he landed on 5th November 1688.
  

lewesbonfirecouncil.org.ukindex.htmlOpen ↗ is worth a look.

:eek: John :eek:

jhuskey said:

PS.There is a difference between an invasion and immigration. Geddit?

The American Indians and the Native Aussies might disagree.

Yes, what of the aborigines????Hey Steve baby...enlighten us...

Have to disagree a bit. Radical Islam is arising also because the immense oil wealth in some Islamic countries is being kept by a few people on top, while the disenfranchised majority is living in near poverty. The billions that flow into those countries are not translating into a better life for the majority of people. That is breeding grounds for revolution.

The Islamic nations could stop our influence tomorrow, if they wanted to. All they have to do is shut off the oil. Blast the wellheads shut, and turn off the taps. We'd lose all interest in the place very quickly. But, they just can't do it.

You can't become a major player in the world's economy without also getting the world's interest. That is probably the most basic moral imperative of all - practical reality.

[quote="11ring"]I think to understand these issues one must realise that religion is incredibly flexible. It can be used as a call to subservience or rebellion, for peace or war.

Political islam is expressing modern ideas and in reaction to modern realities. like nationalism and imperialism. Why is Islam the most popular flag of anti-imperialist resistance? Namely, because the nationalist secular movements in the Arab world were defeated by Israel and the US, with the help of their own realiance on stalinist interpretations of socialist tactics. (cosy up with right wing nationalists that eventually chop your heads off, all in the hope of establishing a "popular front" against imperialism)

Sure there are "fundamentalist" Islamic groups that are truly guided by their leaders interpretation of Islam. But time and time again throughout history in religious societies we see a political movement end up expressing its aims in religious terms.

The thirty years war in Europe was obsensibly religious. But what you see motivating people is not religion per say but incipient nationalism, liberalism and ideas regarding property rights.

Likewise in the middle east Jihad can be used to mean "war for independence" or "struggle against imperialism" which are the real motivators.

In Iraq, 90% want us troops out. In the absense of a secular alternative they express this urge through the langauge of religion.

Carrera said:

If your point is that radical Islamics are currently showing themselves to be more extreme than Jews and Christians in these modern times, I take your point.

John Knees said:

The Lewes celebrations have their roots in several historic events.

• During Mary Tudor's reign, the burning of 17 martyrs in Lewes. In the High Street, the place of their deaths, is recorded on a plaque.
  
• The Gunpowder Plot (1605).
  
• The landing of William of Orange (William III, half of William and Mary) to restore a Protestant monarchy. Significantly, he landed on 5th November 1688.
  

lewesbonfirecouncil.org.ukindex.htmlOpen ↗ is worth a look.

:eek: John :eek:

Thanks JK.