This is it. Could be the final straw breaking the camel's back. Many French people are going to say enough is enough. A symbol and an establishment of what it means to be French and European had been grievously attacked leaving so many dead including the chief editor.
The French are going to say we cannot live with the Muslims. We are just too unlike each other
At the same time European leaders are weak and suited to sailing in calm weather. This bad blood is going to get worse. As if Europe doesn't already have enough problems on so many other fronts.
Le Pen now has a huge edge. That party is anti foreigner.
If this do not reverse, the Americans are eventually going to get involved in a big way because America's global position is going to be fatally compromised if Europe goes under. Too much troubles everywhere is making it hard for them to pivot to Asia even as Japan can only become a weaker partner over time.
China can rise without too much care.
How should Singapore position itself?
Update: Jan 9 10:10am
I am sadly quite on the mark about my fear for the French.
And a warning for Singapore in the same NYT article. The French are homesick at home, We could also have Singaporeans are homesick in Singapore because we transform and give our island away to those who could afford it.
Maybe the Americans no longer care anymore
ReplyDeleteLike you said, manufacturing is important
Oh the yanks do care. They are dying to see a war somewhere - but never in their own turf. Talking about pitching brother v brother, remind one of someone?
ReplyDeleteMeantime, "In (JPM) Bank, they still trust?" Bloomberg has an interesting article - time religious bodies place their trust in God than mammon??
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-08/losing-faith-in-jpmorgan-two-churches-claim-self-dealing.html
http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-air-force-closing-some-european-bases-1420729645
ReplyDeletehow can china rise if they cant go anywhere? btw. can you?
Some terrorists have linked with Islam. It is very dangerous.How should governments deal with the religion?
ReplyDeleteWe should be careful not to link terrorists to particular religion. This is myopic and such thinking tends to be very much provoked by certain sinister bodies. I think the French prime minister made a sober point - "We are in a war against terrorism. We are not in a war against religion..." Don't let anyone pitch one group against another - to stand to gain from a war. A better approach would be like that adopted by Pope Francis and some French Muslim leaders following the Charlie Hebdo incident (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjvSKtHqPe8)
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, those terrorist groups link themselves to Islam.
DeleteIt is comforting to note that there are God-loving people who reach out to those of other religions rather than casting stones at them. Recently we read of Methodist Reverend Kang Ho Soon who (as he said) "been open to friendship with anyone in any station or walk of life, from all religions" - (http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/preacher-who-reached-out-muslims-sikhs-and-taoists#sthash.rYL78RWN.dpuf) We pray many more in his denomination as well as other Christian denominations would follow the same and not either stay silent and not speak out against terrorism (irrespective of what religion it has been branded) or worse, condemn - they must have forgotten what their Master warns "those without sin cast the first stone"
ReplyDeleteThis is a horribly hard nut to crack. Some of my Bible teachers send me stuff against Islam and I could not convince them otherwise. They thought in a certain way which cannot be broken. They cannot be persuaded and this is not a small group.
ReplyDeleteI have so many anti-Islam friends on Facebook but I also have Muslim and gay friends there too. Result? I have as good as lost my Facebook account since it takes too much effort to post something which will not make some people unhappy and they could surprise you with how unhappy they could get.
I think the popular media do not reflect well the undercurrents all they would not be mosque, church and synagogue bombings.
You cannot just tell the Muslims but the Christians too not to preach hate but note you are speaking to people who deeply believe that is what God is telling them about each other!
Quite sadly a number of these so-called Bible teachers are brought up in US setting and they view christianity as some white yank-free speech loving institution. Sadly they should realise the Founder Christ Himself was from the east (well, middle east) and He had his fair share of preaching the need not to get involved in politics, not to pitch brother v brother, not to cast stones unless one has no sin... We don't need to go further if we find ourselves in a situation where someone outside the family start sowing seeds of dissent among family members. It is up to us in the family to sit back and think - have we understood each other, have we been driving one another to frustration due to our own ignorance or bigotry??? It is all in the bible and if those Bible teachers can start pushing this age-old paranoia that the antichrist is here - they probably are themselves. Back in the seventies when I was in school, we got bombarded enough with all those crap from the likes of Dave Hunt and Hal Linsey making cries that everyone else outside their camp are from the Evil One. After all these years, has the nation where they hailed from been any better in spreading peace around the world?? Don't push people into a corner with bigotry and arrogance - and then blame them for starting a war!! God have mercy!!
ReplyDeleteWhat those Bible teachers fail to realise their self-righteousness, ignorance of salvation history and arrogance may have put them into the hands of the evil one who causes the first parents to bite the forbidden fruit, Abel to kill Cain ... and even all those who put Jesus to death. Hatred does not come from God. I will have second thought about those preachers (whatever religion or con set up) who do not heed to the Master's words - "Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye" (Matthew 7:5)
ReplyDeleteRemember there will be many false prophets and they speak in the name of religious leaders that had gone on. .
The reasons are historical.
ReplyDeleteSee Teaching Islam’s ‘Forgotten’ Side as Germany Changes
At a time of fear and loathing for Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe, Prof. Mouhanad Khorchide preaches tolerance and understanding at the University of Münster.
http://nyti.ms/1A01A3M
Karen Armstrong latest book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence will shed much light too.
Don't blame the peaceful Muslims.
Peng You, blessings on you for having a clear mind. Whoever so naively buy the view that terrorists claim themselves Muslim and hence Islam is evil is as gullible as those who claim to be Christian or any other creed and go on imposing their so-called religious values on others and justify even the act of violence in carrying that out. No wonder the evil one has such a field day!!
ReplyDeleteIndeed Karen's latest book Fields of Blood will be a good read for people who haven't opened up themselves to better understanding that "the true reasons for war and violence in our history often had very little to do with religion"
what's cooking?
ReplyDeleteGood read about the Economist "World in 2015"
http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/economist-2015-cover-filled-cryptic-symbols-dire-predictions/
Hey thanks. I do have a feeling this year going to be
Deleteinteresting
Yes, there are certainly certain quarters who want to make certain things happen for certain purposes. We should be careful not to be drawn into the crossfire and help fuel the fire. Take care and remain vigilant and discerning
ReplyDeleteTry finding yourself or your family members drawn - and I don't mean the fun side of caricature. I am a christian and I don't eat pork in the presence of my muslim friends - is that a big issue? Not in terms of say the food I enjoy most, but yes a lot - as a kind of respect for the religious norms of my friends. Freedom to do anything and everything does not mean we can cause disrespect or provoke others and then dismiss it as a joke. The problem is that people today think everything is a joke and yet we have ugly scenes when one can get bashed off by angry drivers/cyclists on the road and that's no joke if you are at the other end of the punch. Try a little kindness.
ReplyDelete