h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh lordy!

You aren't going to get a driving license in Russia if you are transgendered, transsexual, exhibitionist, a fetishist or a voyeur.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30735673

The justification seems to be that there are too many accidents on Russian roads.

PP.

They'll have to add a few additional questions to the driving test.

Any suggestions?

At the sme time as the Paris shootings were being reported in the British media, this news item was given little coverage.

Boko Haram have raided a small Nigerian town which is now deserted. 100's AT LEAST have been killed.

Which is more shocking? Which is the greater crime? What is the difference and why virtually no coverage of the Nigerian violence?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30728158

PP.

To be fair, massacres, slaughters and genocides in Africa are pretty commonplace. French policemen being executed in the street live on tv is a little rarer.

http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/charlie-hebdo-this-attack-was-nothing-to-do-with-free-speech-it-was-about-war/

We were talking about that at work.
Some thought it was some kind of hierarchy in the value of human life, but most people seemed to agree that it's some kind of self preservation filter : if you cry for every horrible thing that happens, you'll never ever stop.

People die every day, but you get more upset about the death of a friend or relative than a stranger.
In the same way, something horrible that happens close to home is hard to compare to something equally (or even more) horrible that happens far away.

Doesn't necessarily make it right, but I for one am only human, and I'm not sure I could stand to live if I didn't just block out some of the bad stuff.

It's all over for now. 4 hostages dead.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30752239

And I think that we can anticipate this becoming more commonplace here in Europe too.

PP.

Meanwhile, the idiots on the other side now get to work...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11332467/Paris-shootings-lead-to-firebomb-attacks-on-French-mosques.html

Several attacks on mosques, some molotov cocktails, some pig heads and entrails, some graffiti.



Those are no more representative of all French people than the other ones were representative of all Muslims.
Some people are idiots, some people are mean, some people are both.

I think this cartoonist may have summed that up.
http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/federal-politics/cartoons/david-pope-20120214-1t3j0.html

Recently talibans killed about 100 children and their teachers. Media covered it, and generally, people felt sad , people not close to Pakistan, just ordinary people everywhere.

This summer, leaving aside the adults and the material destruction, there was another massive attack on palestinian, and more than 500 children died. In this case the media coverage was different: previous attacks were ignored, but this year, at least there were some doubts for first time about whether Israel was self-defending or whether it was a genocide....

It seems that depending on who is the killer, who is the victim and how media covers it all, people are more or less sorry about the carnage.

Now we have 12 people who have been killed. MOst media say it´s an attack on the west values of democracy, freedom of speech.... But from the first moment I thought Is this really just about lacking a sense of humour? is this just an attack on democracy?

I imagined myself as a muslim woman thinking of how the arab springs have been smashed by UK, USA, France... that democratic west.
I would think of Abud Graib, drone strikes, talibans, Wahabists, IS and others monster created by UK, USA... stupid foreign policies just to keep autoctonous social forces far from spoiling their self-serving interests.

I would think of the ideals of liberté, egalité , fraternité... and would wonder why I can´t wear a hiyab if I like it, why I have to not be offended if a magazine depicts my beliefs in a vile way. ( Mahoma with a Koran on his chest full of bullets and saying, koran is a shit, it can´t stop bullets...)

Now, as a muslim woman I´m forced to say I´m Charlie Hebdo, despite I dont like its islamophobic cartoons, but I´ll have to because islamophobia laws say that you are a suspect criminal just for being muslim.


I feel I´m alone, I´ve received criticism for being heartless, etc. but that´s not true, I´m sorry for those deaths, but I refuse to say that those death are becase of an attack on the right of freedom of speech, those attacks are part of a war that started around 1900 with colonialism.
One teacher of History used to told us that colonialism hadnt ended, it just had changed the surface but the workings were all just the same.

I agree

Can we have a smiley please?

you have something better, a free your tongue smiley with reasoned words added.

Je suis Charlie aussie

It is so that I who have been a Christian all my life but have also loved Muslim friends and broke bread with them now feel that the young Muslims I meet feel I, personality am their enemy and wonder why they should hate me, simply because I am white non religious man that reveres life and loathes all religion including my own

maybe they have had a bad experience with "white non religious men" you know, that kind of rabid atheist a la Dawkins.

anyway, there are more than 1500 million of muslims, surely you can find a friendly one.
The same aplies to christians. I think that being muslim or christian or whatever religion you may be, doesn´t mean anything. It´s the person and their circunstances what determines their behaviour. Religion is just another cultural layer. Circunstances determine the role religion may have, not religion itself.

examples:
christian: KKK versus liberation theology or quakers
muslims: the sufi philosophy of love versus talibans (both from afganistan)

I am afraid that I now detest all religions, invented by primitive peoples to propitiate some natural forces they couldn't explain, it quickly devolved into believe as I do or I will kill you.
Mohammed PBUH,Jesus Christ, Buddah and many other great prophets had one main commandment, Love one another' Look how we humans have corrupted that.Spirituality good. Religion bad!
Je suis Charlie

Maria, the one that is forbidden is the one that covers the face.
The hijab is only forbidden in two cases : for civil servants, who represent the state, and thus have to conform to the principle of laicité. (they can do whatever the hell they want as soon as they're not at work).
And in schools, because the whole point of school is to teach kids that they *can* conform to the traditions their parents are giving them, but they don't *have* to. One could call it a religion-neutral zone.
Which is also why the ban on hijab-wearing mothers on school outings was lifted, the exception being cases of proselytism (basically in the same way that racist parents are not allowed to escort school outings *if they try to push their views on the kids*).

By the way, other "ostentatious" religious symbols are also forbidden in those same cases. Kippas, big crosses/crucifixes, etc. A small cross, star of David or Hamsa for example are perfectly fine and anyone who says otherwise is badly misinformed.
(also the reason why the public regional office that had installed a nativity scene in its lobby had to put it away, by the way).

Also, did you see any of the cartoons that Charlie Hebdo published about the Pope ? Pretty bad too.

I didn't like their humour (too extreme for me), it was often bad taste, but you can't call them islamophobic. Religiophobic if you want, but not just against Islam.
Try this one about Catholics and marriage equality, for example (*very* bad taste, not safe for work, and all that) :
http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2012/11/06/provocation-contre-leglise-catholique-en-une-de-charlie-hebdo-236819
Provocative. Yes. Disrespectful ? Probably. Caricatural ? Of course.
But that's kind of what satire is about, after all, isn't it ?



Sorry, took me a bit of time to type all this in a way that would make sense (or at least I hope it does).

All good points, and worth the wait, Superfrenchie.


A big problem with devout people of the Abrahamic faiths is that because they believe their religion is revealed truth, they believe that the tenets and laws of their faith apply to others. Proscriptions against blasphemy and insulting Islam do NOT apply to non muslims just as proscriptions against contraception do NOT apply to non catholics.

This morning a young man in Saudi Arabia received the first 50 lashes of 1000. His "crime"? He created a website for Saudi Arabian Liberals where they could have open discussions about, among other things, their faith. He was charged with breaking Saudi internet laws and "insulting Islam". (If youd like to take action: http://owl.li/H0Ijz )

I read an interesting piece yesterday that suggests the true goal of these terrorists, these "takfiris" is not to punish Western journalists and governments, but rather to enrage Westerners to the point they retaliate on moderate muslims, further margianalizing them and encouraging more moderates to become radicalized. They WANT a holy war.

I don't know if there is much that we westerners can do. I don't even think there is much even "moderate" muslims can do at this point when a moderate muslim nation uses such brutal punishments against web bloggers.

Yes BG, I read that article, or at least one that made the same point.
I guess what we can do is show the moderate muslims that we know they're not all terrorists, and hope that the rabid non-muslims don't manage to push them into extremism.

This Sunday, a number of marches are organised in most French towns, in remembrance of the Charlie Hebdo dead, but also to show extremists that we do *not* think they represent all muslims.

Will that be enough? Maybe not.

There have been several attacks on mosques and muslim prayer halls already, by people who very clearly don't know the difference between arab, muslim, and islamist (*).
Let's hope the moderate muslims don't think those morons represent all of us.



(*) A guy was arrested after graffitying "death to the arabs" on the wall of a mosque. If you really want to be heinous, at least be accurate.

We're calling Saudi Arabia a moderate muslim nation?

I agree that Charlie Hebdo seems to have been insulting to everyone, they didn't single out islam. They just didn't leave it alone as many others would.

Part of why this got coverage is because it was unusual. Boko Haram being Boko Haram is less so.