I'm not sure. Is it "blowing up", "shopping precinct" or "Warrington" that makes it terrorism? Or the combination? I suppose the fact that it was the IRA, a known terrorist group, that committed the act makes it terrorism, to some, but there have been instances where the goal may have been simply to kill others.

If America bombs an Iraqi wedding, killing a lot of Iraqis, should we be on the Iraqi terrorist watch list or since we gave ourselves permission would such a label not apply?

I don't think its religion necessarily, since Christianized parts of Africa also have problem. I think the main cause of Africans woes is cultural, from the top down, there are aspects of culture or tradition keeping Africa from progressing.

The problem with this debate is that you can use stats and history to prove the other side is wrong or at least worst than you. First of all I am white although married to an Asian. I do not think I can go over to the all white side or the all Asian side. I think Cassiel will know in a mixed marriage most of your friends are also in a mixed marriage. I only have one friend where the couple is all Filipino and none who are all Anglo white.

We have to bridged the area in between. I can say my Asian friends are different, whether that makes them more violent is hard to prove. Asians tend to have more knives than whites. But I do not think they killl or injure more than say a white Australian with a bottle. Of course guns are ban here as in Britain but I am not saying gun loving countries like the USA have more violence than the rest of the world.

The same applies to religion. A powerful religion will have more power to kill. Whether it does is hard to prove. Despite the Inquistion killing about 3000 people few were killed when the Catholic Church had such power in Europe. Religious violence is usually associated at a time when a religion is losing power. The Reformation in Europe,or the battle for Independence in Ireland when both the Protestant and Catholics were losing power are examples. Even the confict between Muslim , Jews and Christians is more about losing power. It is true that Islam is growing in numbers in certain countries but on the whole it has little power compare to the great Islamic Empire of the past in Iran and Iraq.

The few cases I have study in Africa follow the same patern. The Uganda killings,abd The Hutu and Tutu conficts are examples of these. Some may involve Muslims and Christians but this is not the main reason for conflict. A fear that your side in cultural , economic,political and religious terms is losing power to another is the cause. This is not unique to Africa even today.

Good morning Helice you said:

I am sorry to say Helice that I did think that Myrddin was talking about color when he talked mentioned darkness and Africa in the same sentence.Twenty years ago I worked for a company and the boss said one day to someone (do not darken my door step again).I was frozen for about 10 seconds,I had never heard that phrase before and I was just trying to understand what he was trying to say.Since then I have never heard that comment ever used in a positive sense or light.I was thinking about you yesterday and my response I was going to make on this thread and wondered where a pharse like that would come from.Then it came to me in the 60's when our parents came to England looking for accomodation landlords had in their windows signs saying(no Black,no Irish,cats and dogs allowed).If these landlords thought it was a good idea to have them signs up then to me it's easy to image some of them landlords saying to a knee-grow or 2,(to get away you cannot live here,and do not darken my door step again).Do you see where I might be coming from Helice.


Helice:

All I can say about that Helice is that just because someone does not call me stupid it does not mean that they are not thinking it.I know that me and you are friends so you would never think that of me.

Mamajean I was reading through your posts recently and thought this lady is almost like my friend I used to have here on foolmoon called Dixienurse,she was smart and balanced like you,then what do you go and do bitch-slap me.

Mamajean:


I was having a joke with aus22 I know he is white and like me has married outside of his race.aus22 I look on as a friend like I do Stone these people made me want to sign up to foolmoon and stay.I believed aus22 would take my joke in the way I intended and would never offend him knowingly.

If your black friends were looked at by their black community as a sell out,they may call them coconuts and could say that black person has gone over to the white side,so the comment go over to the white side cannot apply to aus22 because he is already white and I did not want to use the word dark because of the comments made by Myrddin.So I do not believe that I was being racist but if it sounded like I was I will say sorry.I am not here to offend people who speak truth.

Aint:

I dont know what's wrong with you I meant no offence to you so I cannot understand what your post is all about.Black people in England are not the same as the black people in America,so I am not going to even answer your post other than to say yes I am a wanker in your nightmares you keep having because a blackman is in whitehouse as president.

aus22;


Good morning aus.I have said it before and will say it again if the westen world was run by people like yourself,Stone,and Cy you would not hear a peep from black people like me on the subject of race and racism.

Aint the straight talking and shooting American:

Thats not the question clever cloggs.The question is should the majority of the world which is black and brown skinned,worry more because of a nuclear armed Iran,or having a new world order imposed on them.

Well, you see, he said he wished dawn would come to that "darkness besieged" continent. Did that suggest to you that he wished the light of reason and humanity would come and conquer the night of genocide and corruption, or did you think he was wishing that when dawn came all the people would stop having dark skin...? One meaning seems pretty clear, and the other is something any sane person would have a tough time getting to.

As someone who grew up speaking the English language from birth in an English-speaking country, how can you have never heard the common phrase "do not darken my door[step] again"? It is said to people one wishes to go away, and it has nothing to do with skin color. "Darken my door" means to block out light by one's shadow and perhaps by a gloomy or menacing appearance. You have been to school and English is your native language; I have trouble believing you mistook "do not darken my doorstep" for a racial slur.

Frankly, I think that you are obsessed with race and religion, you see slights where there are none, and you make blatant racial slurs here all the time yourself and claim wide-eyed innocence when you are criticised for it. You are strongly anti-Semitic, even though you claim to have "some friends who are Jewish" you have said some outrageous and inexcusable things about Jews and about Israel on this website. You yourself are treated like all members here are.... when you say something that people disagree with they call you out for it, and you, with your bigoted outlook, immediately start blabbering on about "knee-grows" (a spelling that I personally think is very offensive) and playing as if you said something brilliant and everyone is denying it because you aren't white. Bollocks. If you didn't keep bringing it up and going on and on about being a poor, persecuted black man who is a victim of white society, no-one would ever give it a thought, because on the internet no-one can see your skin color. Besides, I am strongly anti-bigotry. I would ban or drive away anyone who made racial slurs to you because that is the standard Dax and I have in our hearts, and this is our place. We don't permit that here. In the way that we don't allow any bigotry against blacks here, we don't allow it against Jews either, so I'm making a formal statement to you now that you won't be allowed to do that any more. Anyone who crys discrimination must be prepared to give it up himself.

I wish you would stop whinging and crying about being a poor persecuted black man, and just settle for being a man. No-one on this sites gives a whit what color you are, and we're tired of hearing you use your skin color as an excuse to try and get away with outrageous statements.

I've never been to the UK, but I can tell you that the language you've used on Fool Moon ("knee-grow", "big nostrils", etc) is not socially acceptable in the United States coming from anyone, white or black. It is considered racist speech, and it is considered to be very antagonizing. I suspect it is much the same in the UK. Would you please do yourself and all of us a favor by stopping the constant references to race and the constant whinging and crying about your non-existent persecution?

When I get mad at you, I'm never mad because of the shade of your skin. I'm mad because you're being a real jerk. And that transcends race, I assure you.