Y'know what really grinds my gears?

[JayzusB.Christ]

The IRA were responsible for some truly evil acts of barbarism.  That didn't make it OK for soldiers to murder innocent people. I can't think of anything more to say about it than that.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

The biggest tragedy about Our Wee Country is that thoroughly decent people have been caught up in the crossfire between two irredeemable extemist showers of cunts. I fear the same tragedy is going to start playing out over a global scale after yesterday's events.

[ZenArcade]

What he said.....just wait, the tipping point into a new world of fear and mistrust and all of the associate bastardyness is a couple of more Paris shootings away (if not already here). Z

[TordelBack]

Having this particular perspective on events is very depressing - I read the Irish comment threads and it's like ISIS have just given the usual bigots the best blow-job of their lives. 6 million Muslims in France (most having their roots in French colonies, of course, but never mind that), and the spittle-flecked invective is send 'em all home, lock 'em all up, animals, dogs... And not one jot learnt from our own miserable history, just a chance to strut and shout , play the victim and call out the weak.

[Tjm86]

Ultimately though isn't that what ISIS are after?  Provoke outrage and knee jerk reactions to show that they are right and that Western Civilisation needs to be conquered?

On the subject of Bloody Sunday, I do wonder at the parallels with My Lai.  An atrocity committed by young men, poorly led and completely out of their depth.  Involved in a conflict that they should never have been involved in to begin with.  This is not to say that their actions were justified but as Tordelback says, 'not one jot learnt from ... history' and ultimately some poor bar steward of a squaddie is in the line for a murder conviction.

[TordelBack]

Another aspect of reaction  to the Paris nightmare that bothers me is the apparent obliviousness of commentators to the fact that France is already at war with IS, and that is the immediate context for all this. And bear in mind that the political cassus beli in this instance was that poor child on the beach, and the need to stop the flow of refugees.

France have had a dozen jets carrying out airstrikes on training camps and oil distribution centres and have recently committed an aircraft carrier. Why is it surprising that the barbarians that they are using their high-tech military against should use their own specific assets (radicalised French citizens) against them.  Now don't get me wrong, IS has to be opposed and for personal preference be utterly destroyed,  but it seems foolish to expect to do so militarily without consequences, just because you have the better guns.

And yes, I agree completely, the military value of massacring civilians is to encourage division, hate and repression, thus increasing marginalisation and radicalization. That's pretty much Chapter 1 in the NI scumbag handbook. Hopefully Hollande and chums have a copy to hand.

[TordelBack]

Sp: "casus belli"

Autocorrect being wilfully unhelpful there by inventing Latin words. Also, maybe this last topic or two have now headed in the direction of the Politics Thread, although by grud they do grind my gears.

[Tjm86]

Fair point.  This has strayed into the politics thread so maybe we are now in the Threadjacking thread ...

Also the air strikes in Syria / Iraq had been going on a lot longer than the image of Aylan Al-kurdi on the beach.  The effect was, you correctly note, to escalate the campaign.  Unfortunately a lot of the lessons of the twentieth century regarding conflict against a disbursed, poorly equipped opponent seem to have been ignored.  It is worth remembering that the only successful action of this kind was in Burma and the reason for the success was the Ghurkas.  The French engagement in Indochina in the fifties and early sixties is probably more reminiscent of what is happening now, with the added complexity of an opponent that is not geographically bound.

[JayzusB.Christ]

 

Ultimately though isn't that what ISIS are after?  Provoke outrage and knee jerk reactions to show that they are right and that Western Civilisation needs to be conquered?

On the subject of Bloody Sunday, I do wonder at the parallels with My Lai.  An atrocity committed by young men, poorly led and completely out of their depth.  Involved in a conflict that they should never have been involved in to begin with.  This is not to say that their actions were justified but as Tordelback says, 'not one jot learnt from ... history' and ultimately some poor bar steward of a squaddie is in the line for a murder conviction.

Hmm. Regarding both the My Lai and the Derry massacres, my sympathies lie very much with the victims and their bereaved families, and far less with the murderers - which is what they are, no matter how young, inexperienced and badly led they may be. 

Apologies for the Godwinisation of the thread, but 'I was only following orders' didn't hold up at Nuremberg, and it doesn't hold up now.

But Tordelback's right, maybe this should be kept for the Politics thread.

[TordelBack]

Also the air strikes in Syria / Iraq had been going on a lot longer than the image of Aylan Al-kurdi on the beach.  The effect was, you correctly note, to escalate the campaign. 

My impression was that France only started strikes in Syria at that point (although it had previously been active in Iraq), but to be honest it's not something I follow closely. I've been keeping up with the civil war side of things in Syria, but somehow my mind recoils from matters to do with Islamic State, possibly because I feel my emotions are being manipulated non-stop by both sides: I feel guilty when I'm horrified at Palmyra etc. being destroyed and have to remind myself that these are only stones, and not equal to one of the lives being lost and ruined everyday, and I'm just responding as predicted to deliberate symbols of cultural warfare.  So I tend to read articles about the economics and politics of it all, and blank the actual fighting.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

I'm partly responsible for this tangent. We really should move this to the Shark's Anarchist Utopian Ranting Political thread.

[ZenArcade]

I'll do a move post to the politics thread, as the topic has (for the want of a better word) merit. Z

[Mardroid]

Much less serious than the recent atrocity in France, or the not-so-recent-but well-within-memory, atrocities in Ireland.....


.... People who are noisy eaters. I understand when peoples jaws move there will be bit of sound. And crunching stuff doesn't bother me much. It's that 'squelch-squelch' sound suggesting a person is eating with their mouth open. Yuck.


I had it in mind to post that for a while, but with the recent thing in France it seemed petty and inappropriate. But then I figured,what the hell. Life goes on*, and that includes the little petty things that irritate us every day. This does not mean our hearts don't go out to those families who suffered though. But if that news bogs down everything... that's just another victory for the scumbags. But we won't forget.

Another petty issue:

.... people who boil the kettle, then go somewhere and don't use the water when you want to make yourself a cup of tea. It's like... okay... do I take your water? Do I wait for you to come back and use it? I'm thirsty! Grrr.

That last one is not a big deal and is easily reconciled, but it has been a source of annoyance in the past. Hee hee.

*Well for those victims it doesn't. And those who have been bereaved may feel like there lives are over. I didn't mean my comment to be callous, but I'm sure you understand how I meant it. Sigh. I'm back to being all serious again.

[TordelBack]

Hey, if you can't be unjustifiably pissed off by trivial everyday interactions with your fellow man, the terrorists win.

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Here's one. Can you imagine anyone saying this:

"Hello there vague acquaintance. I am currently experiencing trouble with my plumbing/wiring/car. I have no idea what the problem is and can only give you a vague and unhelpful description of the issues it is causing. It is entirely likely that I caused the problem, but I won't be accepting any responsibility. Now you must use your expertise, experience and qualifications to fix this problem. FOR FREE. Bear in mind, while you attempt to fix it, I will be breathing down your neck, either offering useless and unhelpful advice or complaining about how long it's taking to get fixed. Once you do finally fix it, I won't show any gratitude and I won't take on board any advice you offer to prevent problems in the future. If problems do arise in the future, I will blame you and the hard work you put in to fix it."

That would never happen would it? Unless you replace "plumbing/wiring/car" with "computer". Then that kind of situation happens to me every month or so.