Posted on 11/08/2014 12:55:08 PM PST by cartan
If you read your own link, you’d see that the intended law is a cackhanded sweeping law, which would endanger basic freedoms by its bull-in-a-china shop approach.
In other words, the UK govt does not actively intend to outlaw criticism of Islam/Sharia or religion in general, BUT would do so by dint of a badly constructed law.
That makes the UK govt foolish and idiots, but not dhimmis.
Thanks for the clarification. I do read the Economist but the US edition does not have the same British scope as I am sure the UK edition(s) do. Still, our concern / my concern is that we feel a natural filial concern about the British Isles from whence many of us have some ancestry AND the fact that much of the news from there seems to have the aspects of a non-integrating immigrant minority being treated with deference which we here in the US see as happening all too easily here.
I know you have been doing a yeoman's job in helping your fellow FReepers avoid the inevitable confusions and error and for that I thank you and apologize for those that are my doing. However, in closing I will say that our use of "Middle East" as a term covering the area from Turkey to India is at least equally accurate and, I believe, derives from British Empire usage, does it not?
Never said American society even approaches perfection, far from it. We have been becoming more crass, materialistic, & irreligious at least since the late 1960’s. But in Britain the touchstone of comparison is now the `generation of 1940’. For us, `the world’s greatest generation’ were those who served in WWII.
Perceptions count. I served one tour in Vietnam, as a helicopter pilot. For years afterward Vietnam vets were depicted as drug crazed psychopaths suffering flashback nightmares. The stats are finally in that the majority simply got on with their lives in the normal fashion.
The variety of attires worn by Prince Charles used to be regimentals or Scottish, suitable to his role as heir apparent. But the ethnic garb of South Asia? If a Sikh invites me to his house, should I show up wearing a turban?
Yes, there are isolated evildoers. But the Rotherham scandal is unique as well as related to the Muslim problem. As you know, my favorite Chaucer quote is “For if the gold rust, what shall the iron do?”
BTW, Geert Wilders was finally unbanned, wasn’t he? Looks like the real anti-Shariah backlash is taking place in Australia. Those guys in burkas getting yelled at by an enraged muzzie were a real hoot.
As for guns, one question: can you understand how Americans equate gun ownership with liberty, & that rights are innate human qualities and not something conferred by governments?
Have you given me your opinion about Ms. Stacey Dooley? Some think she’s a showboat & drama queen, others like me think she is incredibly brave for standing up to Choudary’s people.
BTW I have never, ever, tarred native Britons with the epithet `inbred’. As for Pakis & other `Asians’ in U.K., first cousin marriages are fact & the long term effects are well known. I apologize for calling HRH a Habsburg; that family really did have some genetic problems. Charles the Prince of Wales & Charles the Bewitched have absolutely nothing in common.
Real question: I once read a post by a British citizen of Indian ancestry who described his being scolded by a Muslim for enjoying a `bacon & egg crusty roll’ outside a fast food shop. He reminded the Muslim that the British blood supply comes mostly from pork eaters, should he ever need such in hospital; the Muslim blanched pale & ran off.
Can’t find bacon & egg crusty roll on the internet. Is this a real British treat?
No need to apologise for anything, and yes, I believe Middle East is originally British phraseology.
‘The variety of attires worn by Prince Charles used to be regimentals or Scottish, suitable to his role as heir apparent. But the ethnic garb of South Asia? If a Sikh invites me to his house, should I show up wearing a turban?’
No, but if someone invites you into a place of worship, you should wear the relevant garb as a mark of respect. And that what Charles does. These photos are taken when he visits temples or mosques or churches/synagogues.
‘BTW, Geert Wilders was finally unbanned, wasn’t he?’
Yes, he was. Should never have been banned. Nor the others like Savage or Geller. Nobody here knows who they are, banning them just made them martyrs, for all their bellowing, they actually love it, as its great publicity for them.
‘As for guns, one question: can you understand how Americans equate gun ownership with liberty, & that rights are innate human qualities and not something conferred by governments?’
As a pro-American, literate UK gun owner and pro-gun man, of course I can. Whether some of my fellow Brits and Irish do, I dont know.
‘Have you given me your opinion about Ms. Stacey Dooley? Some think she’s a showboat & drama queen, others like me think she is incredibly brave for standing up to Choudary’s people.’
I like her, her programmes are made for the BBC3 cable/satellite channel, which is a channel aimed at 14-25 yr olds.
‘BTW I have never, ever, tarred native Britons with the epithet `inbred’.’
No, that was just a joke by me.
‘Can’t find bacon & egg crusty roll on the internet. Is this a real British treat?’
Anything bacon and egg is delicious, lol. I prefer it as a meal on a plate. Yes, its lovely in a roll. Make sure the roll is well buttered, nothing worse than a dry roll.
I assume you have crusty rolls, they are just well fired rolls as opposed to soft rolls. My dad loves them, I prefer a softer roll.
http://slindonbakery.co.uk/products/breads/rb/wh_crusty_rolls.jpg
http://www.lescamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/roll.jpg
Those look like a Kaiser roll.
Gentile visitors to a synagogue often wear kippah as a sign of respect, and HRH is always an official visitor wherever he goes. Headgear is one thing, full robes are....well, Obama in Muslim robes was making a statement, whether intended or not.
Full Arab kit worked for Col. Lawrence but that was a unique circumstance. Gen. Allenby wore khoffiyeh with his regular uniform but Glubb Pasha stuck by his glenngarry. Going native dress is usually fraught with uncertainty.
I was deployed to Uzbekistan ten years back where the four cornered tubeteika cap was worn by older Uzbek men. Americans who bought these Uzbek caps in the local bazaar & wore them looked ridiculous IMO since they were neither Central Asian nor Muslim.
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