the greatest threat

[want_to_believe]

After reading all the postings here over the last weeks and also reply to allot of them I think Its time to ask everyone a real important question.
After the communism ( what was without questioning the pest of mankind and the main root of all evil in these world ) has finally nearly totally disappeared , has the Islam with his radical religious movements become now  the greatest threat  to peace and freedom in this world .  It is one of the main sources for terror attacks , conflicts and wars in this world .There is hardly a war without Moslem involvement (Iran/Iraq, Yugoslavia , Afghanistan) , and at least 75 % of all terror organizations in this world have a Islamic background. What do you think ?

[Burbage]

Probably the greatest and most likely threat to humankind is running out of antibiotics.

World peace can hardly be threatened at the moment, since the world isn't at peace. However an escalation in the conflict status of the world could depend on a number of factors.

My view at the moment is that an escalation of the conflict status of the planet is most threatened by the inability of BOTH the American led West and the Islamic nations to really listen to each other. Although that's a very simple way of looking at it. But the next escalation in conflict will probably be jointly awarded to these two by future historians.

I'm sure Antoine will go into more detail  

[Monkey Hanger]

What do I think?I think you,ve lost the plot.Big time!

[Bruno]

Burbage, just what should we be listening to from the Islamic world?

[rubber ducky]

depends on your world view. i think in the wake of the cold war, it would be a conflict not solely of religion, but also fueled by economic disparity/relative deprivation.

[Burbage]

Bruno,

I don't know, and I don't particularly care. We elect leaders (at least in the West) to sort these porblems out. There is clearly a misunderstanding between the West and many people in the Islamic world. Hitting people with a stick, just because you have a stick, is not going to solve anything.

One major problem in the Islamic world that I see is that the governments of too many Islamic countries do not represent what the people think. Many of these governments are propped up by the West because they are considered very friendly to the West. Maybe that should be considered.

[nosy]

PhilM,

As usual you took the words out of my mouth. But there is no way I could say it better.

Can't the others see this? Are people really that simple minded not to be able to see that they are being used and abused by these leaders?

[Manc Man]

Sorry Nosy, PhilMs comments are as naive and off the mark as those whose opinions you question.

The reason is that there is a huge omission of guilt in the scenario he paints.

The Western populations are not unkowingly lead or manipulated by "the powers that be", the common man is complicit in the crimes committed against the developing world.

Information is available for decisions to be made in an informed manner, the tool of change (the ballot box) is also readily available and easy to use in the West. However, the average citizen is complicit in the crimes PhilM describes. He/She at some level understands that the benefits derived from stripping other countries raise the standards of living of all in the societies of those doing the stripping.

It is "don't ask don't tell" on a grand scale, most people know that actions are being taken that cannot be morally justified but the guilt associated, if investigated, will detract from their enjoyment of the flat screen TV, the two cars, the air conditioning etc etc.

All populations end up with the government they deserve. If the West is now lead by glib talking plunderers, that is because the population consents, and they consent because most of them share in the benefits of the morally questionable acts perpetrated in their name.

It is not the powers that be that have created the system, it is the democratic voting population that have created the powers to be their henchman. It is a symbiotic relationship.

It is cowardly or naive to blame the powers without accepting personal responsibility.

If PhilM, as an Englishman, wants to know who is repsonsible for the rapacious acts of the EU corporate giants and supporting governments, he need not look in "The Economist", just in the mirror.

[Bruno]

Look, it's fine and dandy to say communism, Islamism etc aren't the real threat, but that people's misuse of them are. I can say the same thing about nuclear weapons, anthrax, child pornography and alcohol. But like Islam and communism, they nurture conditions that cause harm. Islam is clearly a threat, to its adherents as much as to non-Muslims (see the Islam thread). Politically correct hand-wringing will not change this.

The greatest threat may be the propensity of free people to diminish the importance of the values that give them that freedom.

[seditiousdeviant]

Let he who be without sin cast the first stone.
what kind of nice computer did you submit that post on?
Where did you eat last night?
been in a taxi lately?
had a nice cold beer?
don't assuage your own feelings of guilt by taking it out on someone else - your points are valid, your personal attack not.
unless you know PhilM, that is.
He might just be Mother Teresa in man's clothes.
Or maybe he wears a dress.
Point is I don't know - and neither do you.

[Manc Man]

What personal attack? Little thin skinned today aren't we?

[Manc Man]

PhilM

"It is cowardly or naive to blame the powers without accepting personal responsibility"

I stand by that, if you do accept some responsibility then you're off the hook aren't you?

And yes, as an Englishman myself, I believe that we must each accept far more than 1 six billionth of the responsibility for the mess the world is in since we and our forefathers were some of the principal architects of the current world.

So no, I didn't mean you personally are any more responsible than me, but we collectively are more responsible than, say, your average Congolese bloke.

Plus. If you take such exception to personal criticism then can I expect to see you also sturdily rebuffing the inordinate amount of personal praise heaped upon your posts here?

Gotta take the sh@t with sugar mate.

mm

[nosy]

This goes back to the issue of whether western countries have a truly  democratic system?

I agree that we ALL have a responsibility to make things better. This board is a way of doing that, in the hope of encouraging others not to hate and look for solutions instead.

It is human nature to follow others and as mentioned on a different thread, most people are too busy providing for their families to bother about whether their government is doing the right thing by others. This should not be an excuse. In most democratic countries, people are given the option to vote for a political party. It is this party who chooses how to deal with issues. People don't really have a say at the end of the day. It is true that you can voice your opinion freely but this is no guarrantee that the politicians would take your views into account.

For example, a country like the Great Britain choosing to back Bush in bombing Afghanistan. This does not mean that the decision is what the public want. It is a decision that the government makes. This will determine whether the political party is re-elected. But they still may be re-elected because the public may disagree with another policy of the oposition.

It is true that we should all accept responsibilty for what is happening today. And I truly believe that even if you can teach one person not to hate another because of their religion or race or the way they live, you have a much better chance of having a peaceful life.

I don't know about you but I don't want to see life disappear on this planet in my lifetime only because of some oversized egos. The way we are going, it is looking very probable.

You have seen people generalise on this message board about the third world countries, Islam, Judism, different race of people and you can sense the hatred in their comments. They accept the words of their politicians or their religious teachers without questionning the intentions behind what is said. They blame the poeple of a whole country or region because of what one individual has done.

This in my opinion is dangerous. We have some lose cannons at the moment, namely Saddam, Bush Administration, Bin Ladin, ... and we really need to put together a reputable world body to oversea their actions. It saddens me to see the arrogance of these leaders and their lack of respect for human life. All to prove a point and to gain more power. It is truly disgusting!

[Bruno]

Nosy, the British public overwhelmingly backed the war in Afghanistan. So democracy worked in this case.

But you're right, it doesn't always. According to a recent poll, quite a large majority of Canadians are opposed to more immigraton, yet the government intends to accelerate the intake of newcomers.

Such is life.