All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Charles RB]

Sending special forces in is a mistake

You have to explain why. You can't just say "because some of the girls will die in the process" when every option means dead people. Are you saying that more people will die from use of sudden force than any other option? Are we sure about that? We don't know anything about where the girls are or how they're being held, we haven't got much to judge from.

My understanding of this, is that the military's history of coups and support for various dictatorships over the decades has resulted in the current government deliberately underfunding it as means of control.

Makes sense, Argentina's been doing the same thing for years. The Argentine army isn't even allowed to operate inside the country IIRC, it's external threats only. (In their case they don't have paramilitaries slaughtering across the north though)

[Vibranium]

Boots on the ground are what fixes this

I don't see any sort of diplomatic solution working

lose 20-30 of the girls, walk out with 150....

[Ship]

The Biggest Story In The World this week, according to The Sun, is that Pizza Express uses halal chicken and doesn't tell people (except that it publicly said it was doing this when it started and there've been stories before).

I'm sure this is about concerns about how animals are slaughtered and there's no other reason.

Oh man, Quebec went through this idiocy a couple years ago after Le Journal de Montréal (a right-wing tabloid) published a headline screaming "WE ARE ALL EATING HALAL!" The only difference was that some meat had received a blessing from an imam and some hadn't, so food processors figured it was cheaper just to have the imam bless the lot and then they didn't have to worry about keeping the halal and non-halal meat separated.

[Charles RB]

Oh man, Quebec went through this idiocy a couple years ago after Le Journal de Montréal (a right-wing tabloid) published a headline screaming "WE ARE ALL EATING HALAL!" The only difference was that some meat had received a blessing from an imam and some hadn't, so food processors figured it was cheaper just to have the imam bless the lot and then they didn't have to worry about keeping the halal and non-halal meat separated.

Why does Le Journal de Montréal hate business?

[Ship]

Why does Le Journal de Montréal hate business?

Nah, they just hate Muslims.

And Jews.

And immigrants.

And anglos.

And...

[Charles RB]

Nah, they just hate Muslims.

And Jews.

And immigrants.

And anglos.

And...

So what you're saying about the Journal is they're the very worst, each of then contemptible, and they're criticised and cursed.

Would you say they made the good times malicious and mad?

[Max Aero]

Why does Le Journal de Montréal hate business?

It's not just Le Journal. To a few Quebecers any exhibition of ethinicity/culture not their own is obscene, and a threat to their own.
There was a language police (that's a thing) crackdown on an Italian restaurant for having too many Italian words in the menu last year. They told the owner he needed a translation for pasta (among other words).

[Arvandor]

Oh man, Quebec went through this idiocy a couple years ago after Le Journal de Montréal (a right-wing tabloid) published a headline screaming "WE ARE ALL EATING HALAL!" The only difference was that some meat had received a blessing from an imam and some hadn't, so food processors figured it was cheaper just to have the imam bless the lot and then they didn't have to worry about keeping the halal and non-halal meat separated.

From what I've read, much of the complaints and controversy about Halal meat is that its regarded as inhumane. With regular meat, animals are stunned before being killed. With Halal, stunning is forbidden.

[Paradox]

Except the really obvious reason is OMG MUSLIM!!!!

[Ship]

From what I've read, much of the complaints and controversy about Halal meat is that its regarded as inhumane. With regular meat, animals are stunned before being killed. With Halal, stunning is forbidden.

For some people I'm sure that was true, but anyone who has even a passing familiarity with Quebec politics over the last few years knows why this was such a huge controversy.

Except the really obvious reason is OMG MUSLIM!!!!

And that's it. Except it's not just Muslims (although they're the biggest target). The province just went through a hugely divisive election campaign in which the governing Parti Québécois made a "Charter of Quebec Values" the central focus of their campaign. This charter would've made it illegal for public servants to wear "ostentatious" religious clothing. So no turbans, no hijabs, no kippas. Thankfully they got their asses handed to them, though that had more to do with the Liberals keeping the focus on the PQ's desire to separate from Canada.

There has also been controversies over the banning of Sikh boys and Muslim girls from playing soccer by the Quebec Soccer Federation (turbans and hijabs make soccer too dangerous for them you see) or about Muslims eating pea soup without pork when visiting Quebec's sugar shacks, and on and on.

[Dalak]

And here is another judge being an idiot, from Texas
Rapist of14 year old, gets a slap on the wrist, and the victim attacked by the Judge

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5251116.html

You cant even blame conservative Republicans for this one

Some further developments: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime...rls-rapist.ece

[Carabas]

From what I've read, much of the complaints and controversy about Halal meat is that its regarded as inhumane. With regular meat, animals are stunned before being killed. With Halal, stunning is forbidden.

Which kinda ignores pretty much everything that has ever happened to that animal before it is stunned to be butchered.

[king mob]

I feel like not sending in crack forces is a mistake. It might be a political mire to go in without sovereign invitation. But letting a-holes like Bono Barak run rampant is worse in the long run. And if the President does request help, as many allied countries with as many guys should go in and wreak as much havoc as possible.

Boko Harem have been running havoc for 8 years. It took a massive campaign by the parents of the missing girls for the west (though the BBC and Al Jazeera have provided excellent coverage) to even notice the problem.

Cameron's sent 'advisors' which are probably SAS, but there's the problem in that say they do rescue the girls. What then? Do we stay to help an obviously corrupt government wipe them out? Do we bail?

This is why really, it's got to be a UN solution in the long term back with those African countries helping at the moment.

[king mob]

You have to explain why. You can't just say "because some of the girls will die in the process" when every option means dead people. Are you saying that more people will die from use of sudden force than any other option? Are we sure about that? We don't know anything about where the girls are or how they're being held, we haven't got much to judge from.

Going in guns blazing isn't going to help and there's plenty on the left and right who want this while thinking there's going to be no girls killed. There's also the fact this is a tit-for-tat move as Nigerian security forces kidnapped the wives and children of Boko Harem.

You're right. There's no way this ends nicely without a loss of life, but now Nigeria are accepting help, we shouldn't jump the gun without working out exactly what the goal is.

[Michael P]

Following the Supreme Court ruling that opening local government meetings with prayer is not unconstitutional, a Satanist in Florida has petitioned his town for the right to open a council meeting with a prayer to Satan.