RugbyRebels

Anyone else feel that this is just too much. Everytime I read a report like this I really wonder how did we get this insane as a society.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/pre ... 77266.html

Gets worse if you go to the comments section. It's like reading the Planet Rugby forum

I think Iron Council has a few issues.

Otherwise, it's a fine line between being vigilant and being too vigilant. It's not a huge surprise that people are reporting Muslims more than any other group, it's Islamic terrorism that is predominantly in the news. Back in the 80s, being Irish and reading a book on explosives would probably have gotten your collar felt far less politely.

It's a shame that this kind of thing can happen through a legitimate mistake, on the whole I'd rather this than something get missed.

What if you saw a white guy reading 'Soldier of Fortune' on a plane? Wouldn't that be pretty scary?

Amazing, really, that wars waged by nations with white Christian majorities have killed over 10 million Muslims in the Middle East over the past 25 years, but the victims of those wars have somehow come to be regarded as the villains. That's the power of propaganda, I guess. They did it to the Native Americans once, and kept it up until it really didn't matter any more, and now history repeats itself as they do it to the native peoples of the Middle East...

rowan wrote:What if you saw a white guy reading 'Soldier of Fortune' on a plane? Wouldn't that be pretty scary?

Amazing, really, that wars waged by nations with white Christian majorities have killed over 10 million Muslims in the Middle East over the past 25 years, but the victims of those wars have somehow come to be regarded as the villains. That's the power of propaganda, I guess. They did it to the Native Americans once, and kept it up until it really didn't matter any more, and now history repeats itself as they do it to the native peoples of the Middle East...

10 million. We should just leave that up on the front page of rr.

10 million muslims, all murdered by white christians. Heard it here folks.

Not sure what to think about that? Well, Rowan is here to tell you what you think!! Phew!! "the victims of those wars have somehow come to be regarded as the villains." Thats what you think about it. You think, you horrible weak white christian murderer, that the people who died (10 million muslims remember) did it to themselves.

Sandydragon wrote:I think Iron Council has a few issues.

Otherwise, it's a fine line between being vigilant and being too vigilant. It's not a huge surprise that people are reporting Muslims more than any other group, it's Islamic terrorism that is predominantly in the news. Back in the 80s, being Irish and reading a book on explosives would probably have gotten your collar felt far less politely.

It's a shame that this kind of thing can happen through a legitimate mistake, on the whole I'd rather this than something get missed.

Don't you feel that it's creepy having fellow citizens report you to the (secret) police?

Your example of a book on explosives is off - this book was an English language book on Syrian art iirc.

I think cases like this will fuel extremism more than prevent as it will add to a feeling of persecution.

I think cases like this will fuel extremism more than prevent as it will add to a feeling of persecution.

That's the idea. Five years ago US intelligence decided to put the whole of Europe on red alert level for a terrorist attack on its color-coded warning system. Interesting concept that, like predicting the weather, you see clouds coming and send out a storm warning. I wonder what clouds the Homeland Security team imagined they saw on that occasion. But they actually got it right - in a way. Just a few weeks later one of the worst terrorist attacks in Europe's history was to follow as Anders Behring Breivik went on the rampage in Norway, slaughtering 77 people (mostly youths) and injuring over 200 others. & that's where all this scaremongering, paranoia-provoking, politically-motivated racist propaganda gets you to...

Zhivago wrote:Anyone else feel that this is just too much. Everytime I read a report like this I really wonder how did we get this insane as a society.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/pre ... 77266.html

Let's assume her account in the Indie is both full and accurate.

1. I suspect we can all agree that both Thomson and the police massively over-reacted. Even if she had been reading a book entitled "Jihad and how to wage it" I struggle to see that any criminal offence could possibly have been committed. In fairness to the police they never arrested her and stopped her for only 15 minutes.
2. There is no involvement of any secret police.
3. None of the stats in the report is remotely surprising. It's like being surprised that (Northern) Irish people were those overwhelming accused of IRA terrorism.
4. There are or might be circumstances in which reporting a fellow citizen to (secret) police is entirely appropriate.
5. There is nothing that you could or should sensibly do to restrict the power of a citizen to report a matter of concern to the (secret) police.
6. Intelligence can save lives.

So do you also justify on this basis the fact black men in America are almost three times as likely to be stopped by police as white men?

& I'm still wondering if anyone would report a white dude to the cops for reading Soldier of Fortune on an aeroplane (or anywhere else for that matter). I bet the cops would laugh at you if you did. In fact, if you were black or Muslim and reported something like that, the cops would probably arrest you for behaving suspiciously...!

Someone gets a bit jumpy and reports a muslim woman for reading a book.

Police, in no way of any secret type , question Muslim woman for 15 minutes.

Muslim woman goes on her way.

Baz yawns.

OptimisticJock wrote:Someone gets a bit jumpy and reports a muslim woman for reading a book.

Police, in no way of any secret type , question Muslim woman for 15 minutes.

Muslim woman goes on her way.

Baz yawns.

Moral of the story, in future stick to Mills and Boone!!









I'm joking by the way, just in case anything thinks Im seriously suggesting that women, of any faith or background, can't read what the hell they like.

Alternatively buy a Kindle and then read what the hell you want without anyone knowing.

rowan wrote:So do you also justify on this basis the fact black men in America are almost three times as likely to be stopped by police as white men?

& I'm still wondering if anyone would report a white dude to the cops for reading Soldier of Fortune on an aeroplane (or anywhere else for that matter). I bet the cops would laugh at you if you did. In fact, if you were black or Muslim and reported something like that, the cops would probably arrest you for behaving suspiciously...!

How would irish people being accused of irish terrorism justify black people being disproportionately arrested in th US?

Get a white bloke in Islamic dress reading any book whose title references war then you'll probably find someone stupid enough to report it.

Sandydragon wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:Someone gets a bit jumpy and reports a muslim woman for reading a book.

Police, in no way of any secret type , question Muslim woman for 15 minutes.

Muslim woman goes on her way.

Baz yawns.

Moral of the story, in future stick to Mills and Boone!!









I'm joking by the way, just in case anything thinks Im seriously suggesting that women, of any faith or background, can't read what the hell they like.

Alternatively buy a Kindle and then read what the hell you want without anyone knowing.

I know. It's laughable that people will report someone for reading art but at the same time it's a non story.

OptimisticJock wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:Someone gets a bit jumpy and reports a muslim woman for reading a book.

Police, in no way of any secret type , question Muslim woman for 15 minutes.

Muslim woman goes on her way.

Baz yawns.

Moral of the story, in future stick to Mills and Boone!!

I'm joking by the way, just in case anything thinks Im seriously suggesting that women, of any faith or background, can't read what the hell they like.

Alternatively buy a Kindle and then read what the hell you want without anyone knowing.

I know. It's laughable that people will report someone for reading art but at the same time it's a non story.

You may be ok with large scale informer networks reporting innocent people to the police, but I'm not.

Zhivago wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:
Moral of the story, in future stick to Mills and Boone!!

I'm joking by the way, just in case anything thinks Im seriously suggesting that women, of any faith or background, can't read what the hell they like.

Alternatively buy a Kindle and then read what the hell you want without anyone knowing.

I know. It's laughable that people will report someone for reading art but at the same time it's a non story.

You may be ok with large scale informer networks reporting innocent people to the police, but I'm not.

Large scale informer networks

Are all employees of any company part of these networks, or is it only the airlines who have signed their staff up? Is it simply recommended, like joining a union? Or is it opt-in, like organ donation? I feel like it should be opt in.





Holy crap, am I in one?

Zhivago wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:

Sandydragon wrote:
Moral of the story, in future stick to Mills and Boone!!

I'm joking by the way, just in case anything thinks Im seriously suggesting that women, of any faith or background, can't read what the hell they like.

Alternatively buy a Kindle and then read what the hell you want without anyone knowing.

I know. It's laughable that people will report someone for reading art but at the same time it's a non story.

You may be ok with large scale informer networks reporting innocent people to the police, but I'm not.

I'm OK with hysterical people too. It balances the world out I feel.

OptimisticJock wrote:

Zhivago wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote: I know. It's laughable that people will report someone for reading art but at the same time it's a non story.

You may be ok with large scale informer networks reporting innocent people to the police, but I'm not.

I'm OK with hysterical people too. It balances the world out I feel.

BAZantine, you are funny today, aren't you?

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... ile-muslim

On March 26 this year, Hasan Aldewachi was on his way back from a science conference in Vienna, and looking forward to seeing his family. As he took his seat on the flight to Gatwick, he sent his wife a text message to let her know the plane was delayed. A woman sitting across the aisle got up and left her seat. Moments later the police arrived.

Khairuldeen Makhzoomi can sympathise. In April, the 26-year-old was on his way back to his university in California when he phoned his uncle in Iraq to tell him he had been invited to a formal dinner at which Ban Ki-moon would be present – he even asked the UN secretary general a question. A woman in front of him reported him and Makhzoomi was asked to leave the plane, confronted by police officers, and had his bag searched in front of other passengers.

It's just plain old fashioned xenophobia, no?

Zhivago wrote:

OptimisticJock wrote:

Zhivago wrote:
You may be ok with large scale informer networks reporting innocent people to the police, but I'm not.

I'm OK with hysterical people too. It balances the world out I feel.

BAZantine, you are funny today, aren't you?

I do try.