3-Mar-15 World View -- Why did ISIS release 19 Assyrian Christian hostages? / Iran aids Iraq's army attack on Tikrit

[John]

> When I read generalized statements about Muslims here in this
> forum, I contextually understand that the specific Muslims being
> referred are the jihadists criminals and not the millions of
> Muslims that aren't trying to kill non-believers. It kind of goes
> without saying, does it not? Must we in every instance make a
> lengthy clarification of how we delineate the people we are
> discussing?

You would think so, wouldn't you. But the fact is that there are a number
of people on the right who would like to see every Muslim deported or killed.

So when I ask the question "How many Muslims are evil," there are some people,
like vincecate, who respond with a number closer to zero than 100 million,
and there are people like NoOneImportant who is not responding, but who
might well believe that the answer should be 1.7 billion.

[John]

> I have many friends who love Morocco and some live there with no
> issues whatsoever.

And that's why this talk about all Muslims being evil seems like
lunacy, as if they were talking about Martians instead of ordinary
people. Former PIMCO chief Mohamed el-Arian is on TV all the time
talking about the global economy. Is he evil?

I don't have many Muslim friends, but I have a few, and a lot of these
claims have no ring of truth at all. There's a Catholic family that
I've known for decades. The son, now 28 years old, met an Egyptian
girl and converted to Sunni Islam. They were married last year in a
lovely wedding that both families attended. I met her family and
spent a long time talking to her father, who was visiting from Egypt.
These are all decent people for whom the descriptions of Muslims as
"evil" are nothing short of crazy. I spent some time with the new
couple last month, and they were not at all murderous.

[vincecate]

> I have a question for you. I think that ISIS core people (the
> inner 5,000) think they are following the Koran. Can you see how
> they could think they are following the Koran?

Yes of course they do.

But that's a trap, because any religious book -- Koran, Bible, etc. --
cannot survive for centuries unless any politician can use it to
justify any action he wants.

But in the 21st centrury it is uncommon for people of other religions to initiate violence because of their religion, while still a frequent thing among those following the Koran. So there is a difference.

In any case, glad to see we can agree they think they are following the Koran.

[John]

> But in the 21st centrury it is uncommon for people of other
> religions to initiate violence because of their religion, while
> still a frequent thing among those following the Koran. So there
> is a difference.

That's only a temporary situation, because the Muslim nations and the
Christian nations are on different generational timelines.

[vincecate]

> But in the 21st centrury it is uncommon for people of other
> religions to initiate violence because of their religion, while
> still a frequent thing among those following the Koran. So there
> is a difference.

That's only a temporary situation, because the Muslim nations and the
Christian nations are on different generational timelines.

Again, I don't think you understand how the Koran works. Small groups reading the Koran may just decide to go blow something up. It is not a country level decision. It is not like old guys who used to stop this are dying off. If the group really believes the Koran they may just kill some infidels. A generation ago small groups of Christians did not initiate the kind of violence small groups of Muslims do today. A generation ago small groups of Muslims still did this kind violence. I don't think it is a generational thing.

[John]

> Again, I don't think you understand how the Koran works.

Oh yeah, like you're the big Koranic scholar.

> I don't think it is a generational thing.

Again, I don't think you understand how the "generational thing"
works.

By the way, how's that hyperinflation thing going?

[vincecate]

> Again, I don't think you understand how the Koran works.

Oh yeah, like you're the big Koranic scholar.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has a doctorate in Islamic studies from a university in Baghdad. I am not a Koranic scholar like him. I am talking about how the Koran works. It is a virus of the mind that gets a few people to sacrifice their lives to help the virus spread. You don't need to be a dedicated scholar of the detail of the content to understand it at this high level.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Bakr_al-Baghdadi

> I don't think it is a generational thing.

Again, I don't think you understand how the "generational thing"
works.

By the way, how's that hyperinflation thing going?

The hyperinflation in Japan will come. There is no other plausible way out.

[gerald]

Humans or Chimps --- the difference is ----

Gang of Chimps Torture and Kill a Lone Chimp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPznMbNcfO8

[John]

Humans or Chimps --- the difference is ----

Gang of Chimps Torture and Kill a Lone Chimp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPznMbNcfO8

Which ones are the Republicans, and which are the Democrats?

[gerald]

Humans or Chimps --- the difference is ----

Gang of Chimps Torture and Kill a Lone Chimp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPznMbNcfO8

Which ones are the Republicans, and which are the Democrats?

and the difference is ?