By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 28 Jan 2016 • 5:46
civilisation: We are embroiled in a conflict.
I’M taking advantage of my right to reply to an email published in this week’s letters page
AS regular perusers of this blurb are aware, as much as I welcome your letters, I don’t normally enter into discussions concerning their often wide-ranging opinions. Basically, because it can lead to the column getting bogged down with a missive exchange that can become negative and somewhat insular.
On this occasion however I do take advantage of my right of replying to the email published on this week’s letters page.
To me this is typical of the ‘glass half full’ attitude that has created most of these problems in the first place. Firstly, I take umbrage as being portrayed as some kind of rebel rouser, stirring up unrest and provoking confrontation at every opportunity.
I’m not a warmonger, I simply report the facts as I see them. I would love to state that all was well, and everyone at peace with each other on this glorious planet of ours. I would be delighted to observe that loving thy neighbour was the ambition of every human being in existence.
Unfortunately, with the unrelenting expansion of organisations whose sole ambition is to obliterate all those who disagree with their doctrines, none of these Shangri La situations exist.
Whether those in denial choose to believe it or not, we are embroiled in a conflict that could, if we don’t at least recognise it, result in the end of our civilisation as we know it. Frankly, to say these acts of war are only happening in a few places, and there are hundreds of cities that are not being attacked, is pure unadulterated, dangerous bunkum.
Try telling the New York victims of 9/11 that all of them dying was OK because it wasn’t happening in Chicago, or those who perished in the Paris atrocities that it wasn’t so bad, because Lyon was peaceful that day.
Convince the maimed and slaughtered citizens of London they should be thankful that while they were being attacked, the streets of Manchester spent the day terrorist free! Give us a break, and for the sake of our children, wake up. Although I fear it may already be far too late.
Keep the faithLove Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com
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Hi Leapy!Well, since you say you don’t normally do this sort of thing I guess I got under your skin.
First though, let’s correct some errors.Didn’t call you a warmonger. Wouldn’t even have thought it. You plucked that out of thin air all by yourself. Scaremonger maybe – ÃÂ warmonger? No. Spot the difference. By all means keep reporting the facts as you see ’em. But nobody’s calling you a warmonger.
Didn’t call you “some kind of rebel rouser” either. I merely suggested that the type of article you wrote “stirs up trouble” in the context of swaying public opinion against Muslims in general. Which it does self-evidently. Ok, maybe it’s a fine point but I reckon rebel rouser’s a bit stronger. Did your experience in Saudi get to you or what? I don’t like Saudi either btw. They chop people’s heads off. Just like IS.
Finally, just to clear up – I’m as outraged at all the terrorism as you are. And it needs to be dealt with effectively. But I don’t live in Shangri La as you seem to think (although maybe Leapy’s Bar comes close!) I liveÃÂ in the same world as you do. But how many major terrorist incidents have happened in that world in the 15 years since 9/11? 50? 100? I don’t know, but don’t just ignore the other five thousand odd days FREE of terrorism. ÃÂ Proportion. It’s all about proportion. There’s way more risk of slipping and killing yourself in the shower than being caught up in a terrorist attack.Live Long and Prosper.LoveBrian 😉
The writer tou refer to here semms quitee naive. There is a huge security isue here.Women qnd children yas after avert stringent vetting pprocess. Fit young men NO. If radicalised muslim women from yhe UK can take their children to Syria to join up with SJS then what is stopping muslim women from ISIS comming here from to bomb us in our shopping Malls and deparment stures etc..
Hi IanNo not naive. Just more balanced in my outlook. I stand by my letter but maybe I’ll need to look out my old flak jacket 😉
Ol’ Grumpy – sorry – Leapy – has swallowed the fiction that terrorism is so huge it’s the biggest threat to life on the planet and we’re all doomed.
Not so. Here are some stats derived from worldwide cause-of-death figures. I’ve double checked them and they’re accurate.
Chance of dying in a car accident: 1 in 18,585Chance of drowning in your bath: 1 in 685,000.Chance of fatally slipping during a shower: 1 in 812,000
Chance of dying in a terrorist attack: 1 in 9,300,000 (9.3 million)
You can’t argue with the facts. It’s a safe bet that nobody reading this is at the slightest risk of dying in a terrorist attack but be careful crossing the street!
Keep the peaceLoveBrian
Well said Leapy I am with you 100%. Brian, you may be right in the chances of being killed or injured in a terrorist attack, but you cannot ignore the increasing danger of the Muslims becoming more and more powerful in Europe. With the million that came here last year, and the four million expected this year (official figures), they are steadily increasing their numbers in Europe.It is well known that four thousand ISIS fighters entered last year under the guise of being refugees, and they even set up a training camp in Croatia, and there may be more.Not only are the Muslim numbers increasing with refugees, but their birthrate is six or seven times that of a European couple, so what does that tell you? It is estimated that within thirty years Muslims will rule most, if not all European countries. To me this is far more dangerous than being caught in a terrorist attack, for it will be a direct assault on everything European and will affect everyone. Best Regards,Roy.
We’re a funny lot us humans. Every second of every minute of every hour somebody gets killed or maimed on the roads. Tick, there goes one, tock, another, tick, another, tock, another. Maybe we should be very afraid of roads, but that would be silly, wouldn’t it?
So why in the name of common sense are so many of us afraid of Muslims – 99.99% of whom are perfectly peace loving people just like you and me. Oh, it’s because 0.01% who CLAIM to be Muslims are out to get us – so let’s be as afraid of the other 99.99% too! Fear is a funny thing. It is very easy to create and very hard to dispel.
Keep the faith…
Brian, if you live long enough you will get to regret these words. The big danger is the 0.1% infecting the 99.9% as we have seen in the past. Don’t forget that the attackers in this last Paris outrage were NOT fresh immigrants, but EU residents who were turned by ISIL people into committing this terrorist act. Any further acts of terrorism in Europe will be the same.
ISIL are not here to carry out the attacks themselves, but to TRAIN European resident converts to carry out acts of terror. The world was completely peaceful until Osama bin Laden started the Muslim crusade by attacking New York on 9/11.
Since that time we have seen a massive growth in terror organizations across the world. As you well know, many people are always open to propaganda, and the idea of turning Europe, among other places, into an Islamic state is a magnet to many.
Don’t forget that these people are brainwashed from birth to follow Islam and the word of Allah. You can see this in photo’s of very young children reading the Qur’an when they are barely old enough to read. Only time will tell who is right.
Ok, hands up all those who believe every word Leapy writes… Wow! That’s a big number! Now hands up those who don’t… (counting) 1… 2… 3… Ok, Leapy wins hands down! Heheh.
Back when I was a school kid, my English teacher gave me these words of wisdom – not her exact words of course, but close, “Don’t believe everything you read just because it’s in print Brian. Authors are simply ordinary people who write stuff. They’re not special. Mostly they just select a few facts to fit their opinion and ignore those that don’t. Be critical of everything. Do your research. Check out those other facts and compare them. Then decide if the author is right or wrong.”
I’ve done that. And guess what? I believe the Gospel according to Leapy as much as I believe the original Gospel! Y’know the one that says God came to Earth as a baby. He was His own father and His mum hadn’t had sex. 3 people found Him by chasing a moving star that stopped over Him. Later on He turned water into wine, restored a dead man to life and came back from the dead Himself. Then He went up to heaven in a shining beam of light and now He’s everywhere looking after His believers all the time! Well it must be true ‘cos it’s the Gospel!
Btw He got this particular sermon against me spectacularly off course. Just check my earlier crit.
Hi RoyMemories can be short, but the world was certainly NOT “completely peaceful” as you put it, before 9/11.ÃÂ ÃÂ Cast your mind back just a little to the IRA who were terrorising England (Scotland and Wales were largely spared) in the mistaken belief that they could bomb it into submission to reunite Northern Ireland into the Irish Republic. Well, that didn’t happen and the IRA was disbanded and de-commissioned.
The IRA was very similar to ISIL ÃÂ in that IRA militants were wholly Catholic and were fighting the Protestant UVF and the UK government, just like Shia militants and Sunni militants fight each other as well as everybody else! But they did NOT represent most Catholics any more than ISIL represents most Muslims! The similarities are striking.
Well the IRA are just a bad memory now, thank God, and we no longer have THEIR terrorists bombing pubs, railway stations, the Household Cavalry in Hyde Park, Harrods, Thatcher in her Brighton hotel etc. etc. All such things have to end sometime and just as the IRA did so will ISIL. You can bet on it!
Really, there is so much else I could take apart in your remarks, but I’m running out of space. JustÃÂ stop being so afraid Roy. ISIL WILL be defeated. It’s only a matter of time. Leapy’s final words are, “…I FEAR it may already be far too late.” That’s the problem. All he does is peddle irrational FEAR these days. Whatever happened to the jolly wee guy who used to sing, “Little Arrows”? Bring him back somebody! Please?
Final words for this week Leapy before Thursday’s issue is put to bed. A quote from episode 2 of the current series of “Call The Midwife” would you believe!
It’s actually in the context of being spoken to a nun who was advocating breast feeding at all costs even when the mother couldn’t breast feed and the baby was dehydrated and seriously ill and desperately needing formula milk despite the midwife’s total opposition and the mother actually bleeding from trying so hard to feed her baby.
Here’s the quote.
“You have such influence. Be careful how you use it.”
Please use your power responsibly Leapy.
Brian – “The world was completely peaceful until Osama bin Laden started the Muslim crusade” – With this statement I was referring to the world problems with the Muslims.The battle against the IRA was totally different to that which we now experience with ISIL. They did not try to ‘take over the world’ as ISIL are trying to do, hence them being active in so many countries. I agree that ISIL will be defeated eventually, but how many have to die before that is accomplished. I have often stated in my blog that the U.N. should take the necessary action to remove these people from the world, but to no avail. It seems they are not up to the task.In the meantime I agree with much of what Leapy says in his column for he often writes what most other people are afraid to.
Honestly Roy, I’m sure you’re a really nice guy but you’re writing nonsense just like Leapy. Do you not even use Google or Wikipedia to check it? If you really think “The world was completely peaceful until Osama bin Laden started the Muslim crusade” just watch even one single documentary called “Bitter Lake” by Adam Curtis. That will tell you how the West has been at war in the Arab world throughout the entire 20th century – 100 years before 9/11.ÃÂ It’s still available on the BBC iPlayer among other sources. If you can’t get the iPlayer to work in Spain get a VPN and set it for the UK. If you don’t know what a VPN is Google it. If you STILL think there was no trouble with Muslims before 9/11 Google “Richard the Lionheart” or “The Crusades” or “Saladin”. Do any of that and then tell me if you still agree with Leapy!
And if you seriously think that stupid rabble of dipsticks called ISIL can “take over the world” against the combined military might of the entire Western world don’t make me laugh!
The fact is, terrorism has always been with us ever since the first Stone Age man said to the second Stone Age man, “No like tribe of Neanderthals over hill. They no worship our Sun God. They worship some MoonÃÂ Goddess. They invent thing called wheel that me no like. I say we arm us ÃÂ with bones and bash them, rape wives, steal children and kill all men.”
ISIL is nothing new.
I’m not afraid to say the things Leapy does NOT say!Keep the faith…
Brian, I did not say ISIS will take over the world I said they are trying to. Do not forget that they are active in 167 countries across the world. Of course they will not succeed but it won’t stopped them trying. With the refugee crisis no-one knows how many of their followers have entered Europe, and we have already seen two attacks in Paris. What makes you think they will not carry out more attacks in other E.U. countries including the U.K.? They are trying to stir up trouble between Europeans and the Muslim immigrants who have settled here and trying hard to recruit followers from among them. Don’t forget that the Paris attack was not carried out by their members but by European Muslims they had enlisted to their cause. If they can influence sufficient young Muslims in Europe we will have a real battle on our hands and I hope you are clever enough to recognize that fact. The rapes and attacks on Germans in Cologne and other cities at New Year should give you a good indication of the Muslim mentality. Whatever you think, we cannot simply ignore the threat posed by these people and what they are trying to do.
Hi Brian
Statistics only reflect the situation at the time. The statics you quote are actually of little value as they are historical and were probably done a while ago. The fact is that if you live in a major city your level of exposure to risk is greater than (for example) here on the costa..
There must be numerous people retired out here who worked in an industry where the necessity to conducti a risk assessments is part of the normal day.The would probably agree that the only ‘statistic’ that really counts is the existing level of risk based on the evaluation based on the most up to date information available.Personally I prefer to take note of the current security level existing in the UK based on the information currently provide by the security sevices.
Yes Terry, my statistics are now more than a week old because this item is too 😉 It was done to death at the time but suffice to say I stand by everything I have written.
You are of course free to prefer the UK government threat level for the UK alone, but it does not apply to someone like you who lives in Spain. More appropriate to check the Spanish threat level I would think 😉
Brian We all know that statistics are quite often not worth the paper they are written on.The point I am making is that the only information that is valid is that which is produced as a result of a risk assessment that takes all current factors in to account.
And in anticipation of some facetious remark in advance yes I am something of an expert in such things
Ian, I promise you I won’t be facetious.
Leaving aside all the statistics that are readily available online I would like you to consider the following.
Ask yourself ÃÂ have you ever had a close shave with a terrorist incident or actually been involved in one during your entire lifetime. I would guess not.
Then ask yourself how often you’ve had a bit of a scare in traffic. Most people have by the time they are getting old. Heaven knows, I’ve had loads, including a couple of serious collisions. My wife was very nearly killed when a big van ran through a stop sign at speed and slammed into the side of her car trapping her inside the wreck which laterÃÂ caught fire after the van driver managed to pull her out.
So has a terrorist ever blown himself up beside you? No. Have you ever had a close shave or even an actual accident on the road. Yes probably.
Basically all I’m saying is the possibility of terrorism having any direct effect on you is very small. Relax. Don’t worry. As I say – Keep Calm and Carry On. That’s not being facetious – just basic good advice I think.
You asked me to ask myself had I ever had a close shave with a terrorist incident or actually been involved in one during your entire lifetime. I would guess not
Wrong. I was in Aden in 1963 with the RAF and not only witnessed the aftermath of terrorist attacks but also had a close shave when a bullet hole was discovered in a land rover we used to go to the beach.
Sorry to hear about that Ian. A close shave indeed! Glad you’re ok.
The Aden emergency was an insurgency against British Government forces in a British controlled territory – now Yemen – and it was confined to that foreign territory, not worldwide on the streets and on civilian aircraft. It’s a moot point whether that counts as terrorist activity or a battle. You may disagree, but in my book terrorism is suicide bombers on our streets and on aircraft etc. targeting civilians – not against soldiers occupying a foreign country. You were a RAF military man – not a civilian – and you were posted into harms way as part of your job. I reckon that would increase your chances of coming to harm considerably compared with being a civilian in the UK or Spain.
Unfortunately, although very poorly reported, Yemen is now in the same state as Syria – civil war.
I’m very pleased you survived.
BrianYou asked me a question. Ianswered it. If blowing up a street market is surely an act of terrorism. Anyway the circumstances are really not really relevant.
The bottom line is this. One of the main features of my work since I left the RAF any was analysing and calculating the level of risk in a variety of operations where, if anything went wrong the outcome in the ultimate event would be catastrophic.Then we would meet with all parties to establish the precautions to be in place to avoid any unplanned event along with an emergency response and recovery plan should the worst case scenario occur.Bottom line was, hopefully we got it right but if things were to go wrong we would be ready for it.So my attitude is, hopefully nothing will go wrong but if it should we will be ready.Let,s face it none of those people who died in Paris expected it but it happened.
Ian, the fact that more people are killed or maimed in road accidents every year than in any kind of terrorist activity should have settled this issue long ago. Stop flogging your dead horse. Your expertise in risk assessment is not in question but you can’t deny that first sentence.
Also, if you refuse to accept the obvious – that military groups (RAF or otherwise) involved in military action in a battlefield situation are automatically at a higher risk of injury or death than 6 Billion or so civilians living in peace – then there is nothing further I can do to convince you and there is no point in continuing this discussion. You still need to take care crossing the road though 😉
I will not be making any further responses to you on this ancient issue. Have a nice Valentine’s day. And relax…
I have to agree with you on this Roy, there are fools everywhere who don’t understand the consequences of damage the smallest minority of a people can create, it is not worth letting anyone into our society where there is the smallest chance they can kill.
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