tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post6944528497191649560..comments2023-10-03T07:01:41.144-05:00Comments on Always On Watch: Semper Vigilans: Recommended ReadingAlways On Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-7844065705103398472017-03-28T09:19:33.762-05:002017-03-28T09:19:33.762-05:00Central African Republic.Central African Republic.jeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-677006519047671752017-03-28T06:43:25.246-05:002017-03-28T06:43:25.246-05:00Jez,
Please identify CAR.Jez,<br />Please identify <i>CAR</i>.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-82706525080459379372017-03-28T06:42:42.533-05:002017-03-28T06:42:42.533-05:00Jez,
I was surprised by how recently the Spanish I...Jez,<br /><i>I was surprised by how recently the Spanish Inquisition beheaded a heretic -- 1826, less than two centuries ago.</i><br /><br />See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitation" rel="nofollow">Decapitation</a> at Wikipedia.<br /><br />In the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapitation#Europe" rel="nofollow">section on Europe</a>, we read this:<br /><br /><i>In France, until the abolition of capital punishment in 1981, the main method of execution had been by beheading by means of the guillotine. Other than a small number of cases[which?] where a firing squad was used, the guillotine was the only legal method of execution from 1789, when it was introduced during the French Revolution, until 1981. </i><br /><br />Beheadings are still the method of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-8649314375230744202017-03-28T05:49:13.427-05:002017-03-28T05:49:13.427-05:00"... beheadings. But in the past few centurie..."... beheadings. But in the past few centuries? Nope."<br /><br />I was surprised by how recently the Spanish Inquisition beheaded a heretic -- 1826, less than two centuries ago.<br /><br />Meanwhile, more obscure branches of Christianity continue to get up to all sorts of mischief, I think the UN recently accused "christians" in the CAR of burning witches.jeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-18284921690503658452017-03-27T06:55:50.645-05:002017-03-27T06:55:50.645-05:00"Yes, the US have done a lot of bombing and k..."Yes, the US have done a lot of bombing and killing, but none of it in the name of Christ or religion."<br /><br />Some of those bombs were dropped in the name of democracy and liberty, though. Perhaps Ducky is right, our Greco-Roman heritage deserves a more equal share of the rhetorical limelight. I reckon Boris Johnson is the man to do it -- a man so enthralled to classical civilizations, he'd probably be more comfortable conducting his business in Latin (at least that way fewer peoples would realise that they'd been insulted!)jeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-54777644610322543172017-03-27T06:46:59.706-05:002017-03-27T06:46:59.706-05:00I think there's a good body of evidence that e...I think there's a good body of evidence that eg. the Iraq war contributed to Islamist recruitment within Iraq; the effect on muslims within our midst is less clear. I don't think mere criticism contributes significantly to radicalization, directly; actual foreign policy does, though. To the extent that the temperature of the discourse affects the kind of policies that pass the legislature, it's an important factor.jeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-82731292087893473962017-03-27T06:20:37.745-05:002017-03-27T06:20:37.745-05:00Well, FT, if we're going to go that far back, ...Well, FT, if we're going to go that far back, you should ask SF to tell you about what nominally Christian English kings and queens were getting up to over the same period. But, for the same reason that it would be mad for a country to base her foreign policy with Britain on their assessment of the Tudors, I'm interested in the more recent context.<br /><br />"I deeply resent my goverment's unwillinginess to do everything possible to protect natural-born Caucasian-Christian Americans"<br /><br />I recognise that our governments' duty towards its non-caucasian, non-christian and/or immigrant citizens is equal to their duty towards the ones you favour. If you have a problem with that, I believe you are at odds with the explicit provisions of your constitution, and you should openly declare yourself to be an anti-patriot.<br /><br />SF: I really don't know enough about Lebanon, but I'm starting to think this might be the key to the whole thing. I know that it absorbed many of the Palestinians that were involved in conflict with Israel during the '70s. Whom else did they take in? Demographically, I don't think there's been a straight-forward increase in Muslim proportion, it's wiggled up and down, hasn't it?jeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-18881173624555298682017-03-25T12:26:41.421-05:002017-03-25T12:26:41.421-05:00SF,
Excellent points!
We are in a very bad place....SF,<br />Excellent points!<br /><br /><b><i>We are in a very bad place. </i></b><br /><br />Yes. I'm glad that I'm as old as I am.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-887194846036035552017-03-25T12:14:10.195-05:002017-03-25T12:14:10.195-05:00Ducky,
The threat, so stated by "good liber...Ducky, <br /><br />The threat, so stated by "good liberals," is we had better be careful criticizing Islam and Muslims, because doing so will radicalize the Muslims in our midst.<br /><br />Now, ask yourself a question: Do you really want such infantile and easily-manipulable people in your midst? People so easily goaded into violence against fellow inhabitants of the society in which they live?<br /><br />What does such a belief--that our mean, ill-mannered statements about their religion will spur them to violent jihad--say about the Muslims in our midst?<br /><br />We are in a very bad place. If militant extremist Islam is a societal arsonist's fire, empty-headed progressivism is the accelerant.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-7815375132517925352017-03-25T05:13:47.427-05:002017-03-25T05:13:47.427-05:00Better to retain our secular values and allow musl...<i>Better to retain our secular values and allow muslims to integrate by understanding they can Westernize.</i><br /><br />Dream on!<br /><br />No such integration can occur for Islamic supremacists, who work to convert those who have secularized or would secularize. For Islamic supremacists, Western values -- including freedom of expression -- are toxic.<br /><br />I'm sure that all of us know secular Muslims. I certainly do. But I have also seen one secular Muslim, a good friend and next-door neighbor, became "revived" at the local Wahhabist mosque. Creepy change! And a change that I witnessed with my own eyes -- although I wasn't sure what I was seeing at the time (1998, when I was dumb as a door about Islam since the Iranian Revolution). Thank God he moved back to the Middle East! One of his frequent visitors here was arrested a few years after 9/11 because of funding Hamas.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-41366337415991392482017-03-24T22:20:05.428-05:002017-03-24T22:20:05.428-05:00"Better to retain our secular values and allo..."Better to retain our secular values and allow muslims to integrate by understanding they can Westernize."\<br /><br />Yea, in your dreams!JonBerghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01718776762194333398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-1040149283822548832017-03-24T21:13:12.640-05:002017-03-24T21:13:12.640-05:00Fabulous discussion.....I wish Silverfiddle was wr...Fabulous discussion.....I wish Silverfiddle was wrong with his last sentence but...alas...Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15989573357446569262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-62361947190323139162017-03-24T21:10:54.159-05:002017-03-24T21:10:54.159-05:00No, I disagree.
Our meddling in the Middle East h...No, I disagree.<br /><br />Our meddling in the Middle East has come at a serious price and if we continue to see the entirety of Islam as an enemy to be destroyed, we'll continue to pay a price.<br /><br />Better to retain our secular values and allow muslims to integrate by understanding they can Westernize.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-33118967715072361172017-03-24T20:14:35.129-05:002017-03-24T20:14:35.129-05:00Well said, SF....and I know you don't use pers...Well said, SF....and I know you don't use personal attacks as rhetorical currency......all the kore reason we're sad to see your site shuttered. I absolutely agree that Christianity has come along way over the centuries......and one would hope that Islam would...or could...do the same. I admittedly have doubts that it can.<br /><br />What also gets us nowhere, writ large....the the proffering of the notion that we can eradicate a belief [Islam] from American Muslims. Those who do so, seem to ignore that their beliefs are as firmly held as other creeds among the faithful. Not too mention the sheer absurdity of thought control.Constitutional Insurgenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03251746798758539951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-54341041813178564242017-03-24T17:09:14.138-05:002017-03-24T17:09:14.138-05:00Ducky,
I have suffered through listening to such ...Ducky,<br /><br />I have suffered through listening to such debates, and it makes my ears bleed, with both sides over-pronouncing KOOR-AHN and Hah-Deeth to death.<br /><br />To hell with it! Who has time for that crap?<br /><br />They need to take their debates to some muslim country where people are interested.<br /><br />The only debate we need here in the US is how far does the constitution allow us to go is quashing militant islam here at home and blocking more of it from getting in.<br /><br />Things changed after 9/11. Was it citizen hostility towards Muslims in our midst? Was it Bush and Obama carelessly letting in hate-filled Muslims hostile to us, or at the least, totally ignorant of our society and culture?<br /><br />Things were pretty good here pre-9/11. I still maintain we had the best Muslim population in the world: Doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, military service members, patriotic Americans all. And we all got along. <br /><br />In summary, Osama bin Ladin won.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-15613607237149211142017-03-24T16:35:32.875-05:002017-03-24T16:35:32.875-05:00Do you really believe that, silverfiddle?
We are ...Do you really believe that, silverfiddle?<br /><br />We are likely to be more successful acting from ignorance than knowledge?Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-55023939312664235162017-03-24T16:21:43.781-05:002017-03-24T16:21:43.781-05:00SF,
Multiple up votes for that comment! Every las...SF,<br />Multiple up votes for that comment! Every last word of it!Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-63170280165843068882017-03-24T16:20:55.858-05:002017-03-24T16:20:55.858-05:00Ducky,
I don't need to try to understand why ...Ducky,<br /><br />I don't need to try to understand why the hornets swarmed grandpa on his way to the outhouse. I just need to understand they are dangerous and we shouldn't have them around.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-8392518065709550732017-03-24T16:18:22.722-05:002017-03-24T16:18:22.722-05:00FT, We are basically in agreement. As someone said...FT, We are basically in agreement. As someone said below, I do not think Islam is compatible with Western Liberal Democracy. They are antithetical. It casts no aspersions on Islam to say that.<br /><br />Given that, I don't believe we should be importing Muslims. <br /><br />We have been way too sloppy in who we let in and we have carelessly abandoned even trying to help people assimilate.<br /><br />I'm tired of the "duty to refugees" blather. We should simply pay some other country to take our quota. That is what Australia does, and they have thrown up a naval cordon sanitaire to prevent Muslims from reaching their soil. Smart people.<br /><br />Forget all the talk of terrorism. I don't want foreigners with incompatible beliefs coming in here, making noisy demands and forcing us to change our society and walk on egg shells because they may be offended or fly into a fit of violent rage.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-23334145702894096602017-03-24T16:10:33.801-05:002017-03-24T16:10:33.801-05:00oh Waylon, if you wish to educate yourself concern...oh Waylon, if you wish to educate yourself concerning the hadith, an interesting place to start would be music.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-41173703923364297402017-03-24T15:36:36.525-05:002017-03-24T15:36:36.525-05:00It's clear that I'm not saying that at all...It's clear that I'm not saying that at all. Don't be a sophist.<br /><br />I clearly state that the major conflicts with western culture are found in the Hadith and Sunnas. Those are open t interpretation.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-18212415433497071992017-03-24T15:28:05.494-05:002017-03-24T15:28:05.494-05:00It's surprising that Westerners put so much em...It's surprising that Westerners put so much emphasis on the Quran when the greater sources of conflict with Western culture are the Hadith and Sunna which are open to interpretation.<br /><br />____<br /><br />So you're saying the holy book of the religion, The Koran, carries less weight than mere sayings of the Prophet.<br /><br />I'd like to see some evidence not just blowing smoke out your ass, please.Waylonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08533895509055020394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-57617407155312610882017-03-24T15:14:30.084-05:002017-03-24T15:14:30.084-05:00I doubt that this essay will help much to advance ...I doubt that this essay will help much to advance the cause of Islam in America or the West. Those that do more to advance the cause of Islam and hurt or denigrate America are not identified in todays Main Steam Media.<br /><br />John Brennan the former head of the CIA in the Obama administration, a self-identified supporter of communism in America and a convert to Wahhabi Islam while station chief for the CIA in Saudi Arabia earlier in his career, is one who has done much damage to the country.<br /><br />But the child molesting pedophile elite in the media and Washington politics would abort any attempt to expose his treason, I'm sure. It's a rigged game. Waylonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08533895509055020394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-31268925858242686612017-03-24T14:16:17.913-05:002017-03-24T14:16:17.913-05:00Jon,
Excellent link! I hope that others here read...Jon,<br />Excellent link! I hope that others here read it.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-841126763283985482017-03-24T14:13:48.650-05:002017-03-24T14:13:48.650-05:00SF,
Christianity could not have moderated itself a...SF,<br /><i><b>Christianity could not have moderated itself and purged its bad aspects absent a free society with free speech.</b></i><br /><br />But the Left will not allow for criticism of Islam without screeching, "Islamophobia! Islamophobes!"<br /><br />Islam will continue to do what Islam does until there is a real reason for Islam not to continue doing so. The West seems unable to provide that reason.Always On Watchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.com