Posted on 04/25/2002 10:39:32 AM PDT by tdadams
ALGIERS, Algeria - Attackers believed to be Islamic militants killed 16 people, including eight children, in an assault Wednesday on nomadic families, the official Algerian news service reported.
No group claimed responsibility, but the Armed Islamic Group, Algeria's most radical insurgency movement, is active in the region. On Sunday, assailants killed three shepherds nearby.
More than 120,000 people have died in Algeria's Islamic insurgency, which broke out in 1992 when the army canceled elections that a fundamentalist party was expected to win.
In an effort to reconcile the North African nation, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika promised amnesty to rebels willing to turn in their weapons. The army has been hunting down those who refused the offer.
Ding Dong!
Islam Calling!
Owl_Eagle
Guns Before Butter.
This is interesting, and even heartening information. However, if this is so, why is France having such problems with North African Muslim immigrants?
"The far majority of people living in ALgeria are secular muslims"
A couple of questions? If the fundamentlists were poised to win then that would have been the last election in Algeria. Muslim regimes do not have elections, and if they do they mean nothing like in Iran. Why would secular muslims vote for fundamentalists and end democracy?
"Calling FIS muslims is like calling the KKK christians."
FIS are racists who only kill black Algerians?
What in the hell is a "secular muslim"?
I have spent very little time in Europe, so I have little feel for the relative economic encroachments of its member nations. Its interesting to hear how much worse France is than England--and we know England has its problems.
Interestingly, my brother-in-law spends a lot of time in Italy and likes it. Maybe its because he's vacationing, not working. But, he's an economist, and his perspectives are interesting. He says the Italians have as much regulation as everyone else--on paper. But, he says, they don't take it seriously, and the underground economy is an acceptable way around the bureaucracy, not a heinous economic crime.
I worry that although the US has both free market and socialistic tendencies, socialism may still strengthen. The trends are towards fewer, more heavily taxed workers supporting both native and non-native non-workers. I'm reminded of Ann Coulter's line about Al Gore's campaign, where she said he uses the term "working families" as a euphemism for families in which no one works. The US is still a great place, but its not what it once was. Just try--in the NorthEast anyway--to put in a septic system, or dig a hole within 100 feet of any damp woodland area, aka wetlands. And, your comments on the difficulty of business in France are well taken. I have one, and as soon as you say "in business" a huge number of outstretched governmental hands appear, even here in the good ole' USA. You have to support a lot of people to run a business.
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