Today's News Quiz

New York Times ^ | THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

[MickMan51]

This guy Friedman seems pretty sharp, or at least in tune with what's happening in the third world. He makes the Charlie Rose circuit and has written a book on how technology has affected life in the less developed world.

[CaliforniaDreamer]

Good points!

[Britton J Wingfield]

Thanks, neat article.

[owen_osh]

bttt

[Aaron_A]

....

[Lent]

As dennisw says though wait until the demographics catch up to the Hindus - then it will be another story. Remember as well hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Hindus transferred from Pakistan to India and India to Pakistan. Same with Bangladesh. Maybe that's the real story behind the story.

[dennisw]

How about Kosovo? That was a part of the messy Yugoslav democracy. But as the Muslim numbers increased they mounted Jihad. Same for Macedonia.

Large families are great in principle. When I trot out the line "demographics is destiny", I'm just stating fact. The fact that they who reproduce faster will swamp the others ethnic groups. This part of the Muslim Jihad is always grinding away in the background. Everywhere there are Muslims.

[Torie]

But as the Muslim numbers increased they mounted Jihad.

Dennis, with all due respect, you simply don't know what you are talking about when it comes to Kosovo. It really isn't about religion, it is about ethnicity. Albanians speak a different language from the Serbs among other things. Neither they nor the language is Slav. And the Muslims have been a majority there for a least a century, and probably three.

You should read the WSJ today. It has an interesting article about how the CIA with the cooperation of the government spied on and scouped up an Arab terrorist cell in Albania. Quite interesting. The article described the Albanians (in Albania) as secular Muslims. That is quite right.

[Lent]

demographics is destiny

Yep, good phrase. The writer above is deluding himself as to the nature of this problem:demographics is destiny@. You should copyright that saying dennisw because someone's going to steal it and claim credit for it!

[dennisw]

Come on! I saw 50 Serb Orthodox churches dynamited by the Jihadist Muslims. Bin Laden had some of his operatives there. There is some merit to your perspective but I see a Jihad. Jihad does not explain all but it explains a good part of what went on.

Objectively speaking Muslims emerged victorious in Kosovo. This means Jihad to me!

[dennisw]

This phrase has been around. I can not claim credit for it.

[Torie]

Well everyone has their prejudices I guess. You seem to revel in yours though. You might be interested to know that the KLA booted the Arab volunteers. They wanted nothing to do with them. You might also be interested to know that the Serbs in the region of Bosnia they dominated militarily destroyed all 21 mosques, leaving nary a trace of their existence, and converted the land to other uses.

[dennisw]

The article described the Albanians (in Albania) as secular Muslims. That is quite right.

Many are secular. More than in your typical Arab nation. So what? I still see Jihad and another territory in the Muslim column. And who blew up the Serb Orthodox Churches?

[dennisw]

Bosnia Muslims are secular?

[Torie]

And who blew up the Serb Orthodox Churches?

The Jews probably did it. Actually, the militants shelled the churches I think not so much because they were Orthodox, but rather because they were Serb. The 50 number btw seems way high to me. Where did that come from?

[Torie]

Less so than the Albanians. But probably more so than Christians in the bible belt. In any event, after what they went through in Bosnia, it is not surprising that their faith has been rekindled to some degree. The guy that runs Bosnia though said if any Al Quida et al types come into Bosnia, while they may think they will find heaven, in fact will find hell. Rather a nice line I thought.

[dennisw]

Well everyone has their prejudices I guess. You seem to revel in yours though.

All I say is Jihad does not explain all of what happened in Kosovo but it explains a lot. Same for Israel. Jihad does not explain all of why the Muslims want Israel destroyed but it explains plenty to me. I see religious conflict where you see ethnic conflict.

[Lent]

You might also be interested to know that the Serbs in the region of Bosnia they dominated militarily destroyed all 21 mosques

This brings tears to my eyes. Interesting when the Jihad gets reversed how the whining escalates. Maybe you should remember that when the Jihad extended for several hundred years over the Balkans, the Muslims had destroyed numerous churches and some of those very mosques which were destroyed sat on former churches.

[dennisw]

The guy that runs Bosnia though said if any Al Quida et al types come into Bosnia, while they may think they will find heaven, in fact will find hell. Rather a nice line I thought.

Just Muslim jive talking. Hosni Mubarak would say the same thing, yet Egypt is brimming over with Islamic fundamentalists. Who are quiet for time being.