So, I suppose all those Muslims drowning in the Med trying to get to Europe...

Post #406,305 by a6l6e6x 11/16/15 7:52:37 AM Reply	So, I suppose all those Muslims drowning in the Med trying to get to Europe... are part of a "fifth column". We need to kill them all now! Also send 200K ground troops for a new Crusade with an equal number of bible thumpers to do conversions of those not wanting to die. Blow up all the mosques not suitable for conversion to churches. Yeah, that will work! I'm with Wade. Religion is only an excuse. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #406,306 by scoenye 11/16/15 8:02:49 AM Reply	There is actually a significant homegrown component At least 3 were brothers born and raised in Brussels. There is a huge susceptible reservoir in both countries. Structural unemployment among young men of Turkish/North African descent runs as high as 30%-50%. Xenophobia on the part of the natives is largely the cause.
Post #406,309 by a6l6e6x 11/16/15 9:17:25 AM Reply	Yep, Europeans are clanish and integration of immigrants is a problem. It's less so in the States, but it's true here as well. Left to their own devices people clump up with "their own kind". Hence you get China towns, "Little Italy", etc. Andrew talks about such areas near him all the time. First generation immigrants are especially prone to do this. Even in urban areas, churches are catalysts for this kind of effect. Singapore is one place that as a public policy when it comes to housing, deliberately mixes up people. But, it's an benevolent authoritarian state. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #406,324 by scoenye 11/16/15 7:25:13 PM Reply	Problem is, discrimination is protected 1st generation clumping is one thing, no escape for the 3rd/4th generation is something else altogether. In Belgium, the legal environment is upside down compared to the US. You can't say racist things, but you can act, even if not officially. The burden of proof is on the target and it is near impossible to meet the bar. There is a catch-22 situation where the cops won't get off their duff without evidence and any evidence collected by a private individual is consider outside the law. This is why housing discrimination complaints usually end up in the round file. Employment complaints are similar. A while back, Adecco got caught marking positions the equivalent of "slegs vir blankes". The only thing that ever came of it was a promise by Adecco to never ever do that again. Nothing was ever undertaken against the requesters. No one has ever checked up with Adecco. Molenbeek, the town now in the news, has been left to rot for years. Even though it is one of the 19 that make up the Brussels agglomeration, it got no help dealing with the big city problems dumped on its doorstep. The US news just mentioned certain governors will attempt to block the resettlement of Syrian refugees. That is actually pretty mild. ~ Three weeks ago, the mayor of Koksijde, a tourist trap on the coast about an hour from where I grew up, cooked up the idea that all refugees should be forced to wear visible markings on their clothing. (1. Where have I heard that one before? 2. Plenty of national level politicos thought that was a wonderful idea...) (And just in case: this is not condoning/apologizing for/... what happened in Paris. I would just like to make clear that this should not have come as a surprise to anyone in office in Belgium and France. Unfortunately, given that the extreme right has been hovering a half a vote away from regaining national control in substantial parts of Europe, I don't foresee any sensible attempts at defusig the situation any time soon.)
Post #406,325 by Another Scott 11/16/15 7:55:34 PM Reply	:-( Thanks for the post.

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