Terror attacks by Islamist groups

[Skids]

ROME -- The State Department is warning that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Milan's cathedral and La Scala opera house, as well as "general venues" like churches, synagogues, restaurants, theaters and hotels have been identified as "potential targets" in those two cities for terrorist attacks.

The U.S. Embassy in Rome sent out early Thursday a "security message for U.S. citizens," saying that "terrorist groups may possibly utilize similar methods used in the recent Paris attacks."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-fbi-ital ... tractions/

[Skids]

The head of Sweden's intelligence service SAPO says police are searching for a man who is wanted in connection with a terror probe.

Anders Thornberg said Wednesday that police have launched "a preliminary investigation regarding preparation for a terrorist offense."


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/terror-susp ... thornberg/

[David]

[watt price tully]

[HAL]

I don't have to do whatever you say. I have my own free will.

[Mugwump]

The Islamisation of Northern Europe is the issue, David. There is a tipping point in terms of the influence of Islam, its pervasive sense of grievance , its relative unity, passion and its imperialist claims. On the basis of nothing more than gut feel, i suspect it is in the range of 15-20%. At that point, islam will exert a poweful influence on our laws. And you'd hate it !

Whether a group of Mulsims have done good things in the past is really terribly irrelevant.

[Skids]

Brussels terror alert: US aidworker named among 21 dead in Mali, as Belgium warns of 'imminent attack' after chemicals and explosives found - latest
People living in Brussels, which has a population of 1.14 million, have been urged to stay away from crowded areas including stations, airports and concert halls.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -live.html

[HAL]

Oh a web page.

[Skids]

2015.11.21 Cameroon Leymarie
5 dead 15 wounded
Five civilians are laid out by a thee female suicide bombers outside their residence.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/d ... 52103.html

[Wokko]

http://www.breitbart.com/national-secur ... ium=social

You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

[David]

And yet this is a regime that the US and Australia still gives almost unconditional political support to. Any other country with such an appalling human rights record would be receiving economic sanctions from us right now.

[Morrigu]

^Not just the USA and us - maybe the world and the waste of time and money UN could step up??

Nah no nope of that given Saudi Arabia has a seat on the Human Rights Council, the United Nations' top rights body

[Mugwump]

And yet this is a regime that the US and Australia still gives almost unconditional political support to. Any other country with such an appalling human rights record would be receiving economic sanctions from us right now.

It's a really fair point, but not as simple as it may seem. The Al-Sauds are a pernicious influence. But they are a source of stability, and i'd be wary of allowing Saudi Arabia to slide into anarchy as well. They are also US allies, and even if your allies are stinkers, trust matters. This is not a game where you get to support a set of liberal nice guys against Nazis. This is one of the most strategically-sensitive parts of the world, and regrettably, it hosts the lifeblood of our economies. As always in diplomacy, it is better to have good relations with someone bad that does not actually want to kill you, especially in a region where so many people do, and to back good relations with meaningful support. If we reach the point where the Saudis are actually knowingly and directly funding terrorism - and that is quite possible - then of course we should cut them loose.

None of that says it is not a disgusting regime. It is, and i hope it can be changed by engagement. In the end, it'll probably be engulfed by the forces it has played a large part in setting in motion, but for the moment, i'd put pressure on them but not fall out of alliance. When and if they do fall, our past support will no doubt be cited by some vicious sect or other as a good reason to kill us, and our own Left will consider the long-standing support for the Saudis a kind of justification for that attitude. Funny business, international affairs.

[Skids]

2015.11.22 Israel Etzion 1 dead - A young Israeli woman is brutally stabbed to death by Palestinians.

2015.11.22 Nigeria Maiduguri 8 dead 7 wounded
A female suicide bomber exterminates eight people at a displaced persons camp.

Did somebody say muslims?

[pietillidie]

And yet this is a regime that the US and Australia still gives almost unconditional political support to. Any other country with such an appalling human rights record would be receiving economic sanctions from us right now.

It's a really fair point, but not as simple as it may seem. The Al-Sauds are a pernicious influence. But they are a source of stability, and i'd be wary of allowing Saudi Arabia to slide into anarchy as well. They are also US allies, and even if your allies are stinkers, trust matters. This is not a game where you get to support a set of liberal nice guys against Nazis. This is one of the most strategically-sensitive parts of the world, and regrettably, it hosts the lifeblood of our economies. As always in diplomacy, it is better to have good relations with someone bad that does not actually want to kill you, especially in a region where so many people do, and to back good relations with meaningful support. If we reach the point where the Saudis are actually knowingly and directly funding terrorism - and that is quite possible - then of course we should cut them loose.

None of that says it is not a disgusting regime. It is, and i hope it can be changed by engagement. In the end, it'll probably be engulfed by the forces it has played a large part in setting in motion, but for the moment, i'd put pressure on them but not fall out of alliance. When and if they do fall, our past support will no doubt be cited by some vicious sect or other as a good reason to kill us, and our own Left will consider the long-standing support for the Saudis a kind of justification for that attitude. Funny business, international affairs.

You're just guessing, though; these are preferable extremists because, well, they're not Syria or Iraq.

This is the catch-up football everyone is playing here. Is richer, must be better. Is not in chaos, must be better. Wears cleaner white robes, must be better. Has been for longer, must be better. But those are just abstract heuristics that don't tell us anything specific at all about what is an enormous dynamic system. This storyline approach basically ends up backing the status quo because it *feels* righter, rather than providing solutions based on real insight.

We certainly know that any serious insight will have to be based on the major forces within overall dynamic system, ipso facto. Saudi Arabia is actually a powerful beneficiary of the present dysfunctional oil economy and regional order, and thus in science and economics would be seen as incentivised to maintain that advantage. To postulate on the basis of their *relative* success that they *must not* be the crux of the problem is a very odd guess to start with indeed.

Approaching that sort of black box from the perspective of whatever we have heard said most, and therefore what feels most right, is the stuff of Afghanistan and Iraq.