Taliban

[DiscoClint]

I don't think that works. We have tried that tactic for years in schools and as parents and it has got us nowhere. The majority of heroin addicts come from a poor social background and are therefore more likely to miss out on education in the first place.

The other problem is many people take drugs recreationally without any detrimental effects on their otherwise normal lives. For example "party" drugs such as ecstasy are taken every weekend in towns and cities throughout the UK on a recreational basis, but are classified as class A. The theory is that if someone has taken one class A drug then they are more likely to take another. Therefore you can go from taking a fairly innocuous drug such as ecstasy to taking a highly addictive drug such as heroin, by association alone. It is the common route of entry for someone from a relatively stable social background to become a heroin user.

I'm not sure how to fix this problem, but humans have taken drugs for a very very long time. They have relatively recently been made illegal and people seem to have absolutely no difficulty in procuring them, or qualms about taking them. Perhaps people who are drawn to drugs will take them regardless and instead of lining criminals (and Taliban) pockets with drug money, maybe the government should make some cash out of it all. It would lower your taxes.

[DiscoClint]

Jimcee, according to this website YOU are funding the Taliban: *Warning this links to website containing bad language*

http://grumpyoldtwat.blogspot.com/2009/ ... liban.html

To be fair, he seems a bit like a raving looney, but this article supports his claims:

http://blogs.reuters.com/global/2009/08 ... t-to-know/

A quick google search reveals that pretty much everyone on this planet is funding the Taliban. Just stop it would you?!

[jimcee]

Thanks for those two links, although the first one seems to be populated by anarchists with a very small vocabulary.
The second one, I found interesting. It implies that there is a protection racket funding the Taliban. While one could understand this in parts under Taliban control, it says very little for the authority of the elected government, in the parts that it is supposed to represent.
As a corollary, the situation in N.Ireland during "the troubles", is a similar situation. Both the IRA and the UVF obtained money to pay their thugs, by "protecting" their own kind from any upsets to their businesses. I would assume that this extortion is now largely a thing of the past in that neck of the woods.; So perhaps lessons from this change could be applied in Afghanistan? In Ireland it meant bringing Sinn Fein into power sharing, so perhaps the Taliban might settle for a desk job instead of being cannon fodder.

[khartoumteddy]

interesting thought.
maybe its been proven in the past that the reformed terrorist
is sometimes the best choice for a new coalition.

Nelson Mandella, Castro,McGuiness, and (SNP`s)Longshanks to name but a few.

TEDDY

[Pentlandpirate]

Most terrorists are murderers who are prepared to kill and maim innocent people, including women and children. They should never be allowed to think they can achieve their ambitions through terrorism. And that includes the Scottish National Liberation Army.

[Seil Blubber]

Most terrorists are murderers who are prepared to kill and maim innocent people, including women and children. They should never be allowed to think they can achieve their ambitions through terrorism.

So Mandela should never have been elected in South Africa? And what about the Israeli attacks on Gaza that killed children? And the US VIncennes? I could go on.

Acts of terror, acts of liberation, 'police' actions, mistakes; history is constantly re-written and teaches us that the world is not black and white but many shades of rather murky grey.

[Pentlandpirate]

There are differences in the examples you give, The common definition of a terrorist is someone who uses violence to create fear (terror), and is perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), with deliberate disregard for the safety of non-combatants.

The US Vincennes were fearful of a terrorist attack on themselves and took defensive action. The Israeli's make punitive attacks on 'terrorists' who deliberately aim at civilian areas, to try to eliminate the threat. I cannot condone the actions of Nelson Mandela if he was engaged in offensive terrorist activity. The same with Adams and McGuinness, no matter what 'honour' may be bestowed on them now.

Yes, there are many murky periods in our history, and I will just love, love it, if Blair is found guilty of a whole raft of sins in the Gulf War Inquiry. Now that's he's a Catholic I suppose he's ready to confess to all his sins, and conveniently hide his murky past behind the goodliness of Tony Blair's Faith Foundation.

[jimcee]

Obvoiusly KTeddy and Blubber have a streak of realism (maybe even optimism) in thinking that the way ahead is to bury the hatchet, and try to get some sort of consensus going, even if it means talking to former enemies. If the two sides continue a stand off, and attacks on each other, it just breeds a new generation of hatred. And here I am including State Sponsored Terrorism which I would hold responsible for the Gaza excursion. Israel and Palestine must surely qualify as a candidate for the Guiness Book of Records, as the two intransigent opponents who have been at each other's throats for longer than any other nation. And neither side can win until some US president who is not beholden to the Jewish vote, knocks their heads together.
Pentland pirate on the other hand holds the view that "once a terrorist, always a terrorist, and an eye for an eye" should be meted out to every incident, which just engenders increased animosity on both sides.
Unfortunately the "Brotherhood of Man " is still a pipe dream., but killing those who disagree with you is counter productive.

[DiscoClint]

Jimcee, this is the second time I have seen one of your posts imply that the "Brotherhood of Man" is the solution to the problems of terrorism and hatred. Are you suggesting that we should all become Freemasons or are you a big fan of "Kisses for me" and other such songs from the 1976 Eurovision winners of that name? I'm afraid you'll have to explain things for me as I haven't heard of it before.

[jimcee]

First - two things - I would not consider the Freemasons to exemplify peaceful co-existence- they are a secret society, promoting the interests of their members. Also I am unaware of 99% of the names of pop groups, past or present, so have no knowledge of "Brotherhood of Man" or their offerings.
It has been said that homo sapiens is the only inhabitant of this planet that deliberately kills his own kind. The other hunting species only kill their prey to assuage the pangs of hunger, to survive. But homo sapiens has a huge streak of agression (mainly in the male) built into the DNA. This was probably a very useful attribute during the early days ( a long time BC) where survival depended upon being a successful hunter. However, these days have long since past. It could here be suggested that had this agressive streak not been prolonged, man killing man, we would long ago have exceeded the population explosion we are now facing, and that this was one way of culling the species, and also ensuring the survival of the fittest.
Due to medical advances, and the higher birth rate among those least equipped to deal with life, the quality of stock is getting diluted. So this agressive streak is probably still neccessary to keep numbers down within manageable (and feedable) numbers.
So it could here be argued that Terrorists are doing a good job for us, in doing a bit of culling, to save governments having to address the issue. It's not a particular pleasing prospect, but I would suggest that as the population grows, the number of disadvantaged will grow even faster, and due to their agressive streak, will swell the ranks of those who take up Terrorism as a profession.
Unless something is done.

[canUsmellthat]

Hi Jim, that type of behaviour has also been observed in Chimpanzees and some other primate species...there was quite a good documentary about it some time ago…

[DiscoClint]

I agree with what you said in part.......but what is "The Brotherhood of man"?

[Minimum]

Obviously something that doesn't include women.

[jimcee]

It's probably a phrase that I heard somewhere which echo's the sentiment that we are all "Jock Tamson's bairns" , and should try to live in peace, with other members of the human race, regardless of colour, nationality, creed, or other differences.
I have just noticed the small post above this, and would like to add that "man" should be translated as "mankind".

[Minimum]

And "brotherhood"?

[DiscoClint]

Ah, I see.

Sorry, I was worried you were in some kind of Scientology splinter group.........to be honest I was kind of hoping that your were in some kind of Scientology splinter group!

So are you saying then that religion is a good thing as it produces terrorists which essentially cull the human race, or it's a bad thing and we should just live in religion-free harmony until we over-populate? Sisters AND Brothers together, Minimum.

[jimcee]

You are putting words into my mouth.
Religion is not the only source of terrorism it just happens to be the one that affects us the most - See Tamil Tigers previously mentioned, and a whole raft of insurgents in South America, Che Guevera and Fidel Castro spring to mind. Bader Meinhof closer to home, a bunch in East Timor. These are just some examples of non religious groups who used a bit of mayhem to publicise their objectives.
So what I was suggesting that their efforts are, in a very small way, keeping the population from expanding beyond the resourcse of the earth to sustain it. In this respect China has realised the problem and is doing something about it - others will eventually have to follow their example. It is rather unfortunate that both the Pope and the American anti-abortion lobby are putting spokes in the wheel. I read somewhere that Western Europe is getting close to zero growth, with only the economic brake to activate it.

[Eric the Viking]

N1 = N0 + B - D + I - E + morality

[jimcee]

Sometimes in life one comes up against a brick wall.
In my formative years, during the period when education was a compulsory activity. it was impressed on me that the study of Algebra was indispensible in dealing with life's problems.
Unfortunately, at the time, I did not go along with this premise, and during the sessions when it was being expounded, I must admit that my mind was on other things, of a more sensual nature.
However I rue the day, because I am at a complete loss to make head or tail of the conundrum posed by this Norseman - is this some Scandinavian secret formula which I, because of my lack of attention in the classroom, am left completely in the dark.
It would be interesting to know whether any other reader of these pages (apart from the Norseman), can supply a cohesive answer to the equation, in which case I will don the dunce's cap and retire gracefully to the corner of the room.

[Pentlandpirate]

It really is pretty easy Jimcee. The wonders of Google.

Just stick "N1 = N0 + B - D + I - E + morality" in Google and up pops your answer. It's not algebra at all, but a multiple choice biology test by Dr Subroto Biswas and Biswas about the moral and biological dilemma of killing off the lesser advantaged in the world population. How Eric knows about these sort of things I'll never know. Give it a try and see how you get on http://www.wiziq.com/online-tests/3666- ... t-07-of-10. Try and make sure as many of your answers are Taliban related as possible.