What on Earth is going on in the world today? It's gone mad

[shawnbm]

Islamic caliphate anybody? What is happening in Iraq right now is a tragedy of immense proportions. Fallujah and Mosul (Nineveh) are in the Islamic extremists' hands, there are mass beheadings, all Muslims are ordered to attend the five prayer sessions in a mosque every day, they are marching towards Baghdad. Most disconcerting, the president is calling on Iraqi civilians to pick up what arms they can find and fight the terrorists running amok through an area almost half the size of the post-WWI British--demarcated nation because the Iraqi soldiers trained and armed by my country (which left three years ago) have dropped their weapons and fled. It is going to be Syria all over, but far worse. What we really seem to have in these areas is a modern (Islamic) version of the wars in Europe between religious groups--the Sunnis (in this case the extremists in Iraq and rebels in Syria) against the Shiites (those in political power in both areas). I am very concerned about how this is going to destabilize the area and the world in general. Gasoline prices are already spiking at $111 per barrel and it is going to get worse. Heaven help us.

 

[Kieran]

Good post, Shawn. The new terror is called ISIS: Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham.

The whole region is a mess, and getting messier. A lot of people will blame the west for all of this, and while the interventions of the west over the last century haven't improved things, these are old tensions which are boiling over into uncontrollable fire, fuelled by Islamicist warlords and differing views of Islam...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

The leader of ISIS is claiming he is a direct descendant of Muhammed. Some folks will always believe that kind of talk.

Dangerous times.

 

[TsarMatt]

Israel is really under siege at the moment. Many are calling this the worst crisis in the state for a few years, at least. I don't like how divided people are here (not on this forum, but in general) - it's either you are with the Jews or the Palestinians. It's really not that simple. There are atrocities committed on both sides. Perhaps one side many be worse than the other in a few examples, but it's really not that black-and-white.

Hopefully the crisis doesn't worsen.

 

[shawnbm]

Sadly, TsarMatt, I feel there is no place to go here but the worst place. I don't think the Obama administration knows how to deescalate the situation diplomatically and Putin and his gang are coming in to fuel the power vacuum. It is really getting crazy and the Islamic caliphate is the thing that is going to upset all of the apple carts--nobody can control that outfit. Only violence will stop them, sadly.

 

[Kieran]

This caliph guy is curious. I mean, it's no small thing to be a caliph among Muslims, and here comes this chap to say he's the caliph and I haven't read or seen any dissent among Muslims who aren't attached to ISIS. And though ISIS are terrifyingly violent and depraved, I haven't seen any uproar among Muslims disowning them, or criticising them.

Am I reading the wrong news outlets and missed this, or has it just not happened?

 

[shawnbm]

I just saw some report on a poll of Muslims in Syria in which only 4% supposedly like them, but then this is the kind of group that IMPOSES its will-both religiously and politically-on the rest.

 

[Kieran]

That's interesting, Shawn. There is, of course, a Muslim civil war going on, and I didn't factor that in. The Syrians and Iranians won't like him...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

This caliph guy is curious. I mean, it's no small thing to be a caliph among Muslims, and here comes this chap to say he's the caliph and I haven't read or seen any dissent among Muslims who aren't attached to ISIS. And though ISIS are terrifyingly violent and depraved, I haven't seen any uproar among Muslims disowning them, or criticising them.

Am I reading the wrong news outlets and missed this, or has it just not happened?

Isis are Sunni, so right of the bat, vast majority of Shia's will be against them because they are killing Shia's wherever they find them. You have Iran next door that is %90 Shia as well. That tells you that region is ripe for something big again...

 

[shawnbm]

Today the AP reported that there is an increasing interest in Lebanon--the pearl of the Middle East a century ago--to try and bring something like ISIS/ISIL to that country. Tens of thousands have reportedly reached out in support of the self-proclaimed Islamic Caliphate. They want in, and to bring it into Lebanon. My LORD this is frightening. I saw a disturbing interview with a Sunni Muslim from Antwerp yesterday (forwarded to me by a friend and collegue), who very matter-of-factly describes how Islam will dominate that country by 2030 at the latest, will impose Sharia law (this is already the case in the predominantly Muslim neighborhoods) and that everyone must come under the rule of Islam eventually. He talked about how in the 1300 years of Islam, there have been "only 60 or so" hand amputations and similar punishments meted out! The Europeans, with the Church militant praying over the armies and navies, were able to stave off the Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto in 1588, but now they are overrunning Europe by the power of giving birth to more Muslims to wretch away political control over time. They have filled the vacuum left by Europe abandoning its Judeo-Christian roots in favor of secularism--which feeds right into the Islamaic plan of domination over the next few centuries. Scary time.

 

[shawnbm]

And now the poor Kurds are getting attacked again, this time by the caliphate warriors with weapons seized in northern Iraq and from western Syria. That is a tribe of folks who deserve outside help. They have lived in these lands for thousands of years, far longer than Islam has existed. It just gets worse and worse and Israel may be leaning to a ground invasion any day now to capture/kill Hamas radicals firing missiles into Israel. Times are troubling.

 

[Kieran]

The Europeans, with the Church militant praying over the armies and navies, were able to stave off the Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto in 1588, but now they are overrunning Europe by the power of giving birth to more Muslims to wretch away political control over time. They have filled the vacuum left by Europe abandoning its Judeo-Christian roots in favor of secularism--which feeds right into the Islamaic plan of domination over the next few centuries. Scary time.

This happens with the aid of dreaded "multi-culturalism", which protects the rights of the few over the history and traditions of the many, brother. I've also seen moderate Muslims on British TV discuss freely how Britain will eventually become Muslim. The tale darkened when these nice people told us how things will change when this happened. Europe is walking blindfold into a scenario where it won't defend its own culture and religions because it doesn't want to offend anybody.

The idea of demanding reciprocal freedoms in Middle Eastern states for Christians hasn't seemed to occurred to anyone in Brussels, Strasbourg or Berlin...

 

[britbox]

^ In a doomsday scenario, Europe probably would defend against it with a massive backlash... but it seems that liberal lefties will insist on that bearing fruit before any meaningful action takes place.

 

[shawnbm]

I think you are right, Owen--they will wait until almost overrun before doing something concrete to curb the problem. And that is what this is--a very significant problem for those of non-theocracies in the West. These folks will institute what they feel is obligatory under Islam, whether others object or not.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

Guys, I am not sure if there is a bit of a paranoia going on here. I mean, vast, VAST majority of Muslims come over here to Canada BECAUSE they want to get away from the sheria law and all that crap and to have a better life for their children...not to recreate the old life in another geography. And Canada is as liberal as it gets. But when it comes to law, there is one law.

I remember some years back , a bunch of Muslims asked to use the sheria law within their own community. Canada, being the nice (!) country that it is, asked the muslims and I think , what, %97 or so said no, they would not want that. Basically if they wanted that lifestyle, they would have never left.

Muslims come in different sizes and shapes, just like any other religion. For example %46 of Christians in America believe the world is 6000 years old . That scares me more than anything for our planets future .

 

[shawnbm]

Is Obama's USA becoming more European? This article probes the question. What are the thoughts of my global politico afficionados here?

http://theweek.com/article/index/264649/is-obamas-america-becoming-more-european

The USA has periodically gone through isolationist and expansive personality changes, particularly since becoming a world power in the aftermath of the First World War. What your thoughts to the article?

 

[Iona16]

A passenger plane from Malaysia Airlines has been shot down in Ukraine.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/17/malaysia-airlines-plane-crash-east-ukraine?CMP=twt_gu

 

[shawnbm]

Yes, Iona, I was just reading that on the web--an immense tragedy. My prediction is that Ukraine says Russia did it and the Russians claim Ukraine did it. Either way, it is a travesty. What I don't get is why the pilot would even fly over that particularly dangerous area to begin with.

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

^No kidding...Airlines should stay clear of certain areas these days.

 

[Iona16]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/17/malaysia-airlines-mh17-flying-just-above-restricted-airspace

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was flying just 1,000 feet (300 metres) above restricted airspace when it was shot down, according to the European air traffic control body.

Eurocontrol said Ukrainian authorities had barred aircraft from ground level to 32,000 feet but the doomed aircraft was cruising at 33,000 feet, still within range of sophisticated ground-to-air weaponry, when it was hit. All flights in eastern Ukraine have now been barred from the area, Eurocontrol added.

"The aircraft was flying at Flight Level 330 [approximately 10,000 metres/33,000 ft] when it disappeared from the radar," said Eurocontrol. "This route had been closed by the Ukrainian authorities from ground to flight level 320 [32,000ft] but was open at the level at which the aircraft was flying."

It also emerged that as recently as a month ago British airlines were given the all-clear to overfly the area where flight MH17 was downed, after being told that operations were "normal" in the region.

A notice posted by the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on 14 June urged carriers to avoid overflying Crimea and parts of southern Ukraine a month ago due to safety concerns, but they were not ordered to avoid the rest of the country.

Airlines were asked not to overfly Crimea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov due to the potential for conflicting air traffic control instructions between Ukrainian and Russian authorities. It added: "Operations are normal in all other Ukrainian FIRs [flight information regions]." However, the CAA notice added that UK airlines flying into the Dnepropetrovsk flight region, which includes Donetsk, should "review current security/threat information".