Like the illusion of Wall Street, with its vast and powerful investment banks, now shuttered, China too is an illusion perpetuated by the Globalists that gave us the 15,000 mile Caesar salad, poisoned cat food and lead based paint on babies' pacifiers. Like the illusion that money would come from thin air to always push housing prices higher, China has spent a generation pursuing its illusion. Pursuing an unattainable dream to be like the West, while 6000 years of its carefully shepherded top soil blows into the sea.
Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 553 Location: Al-Mariyya, Al-Andalus
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 5:07 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
This report tells us about an ad which has been banned in case it offends Christians. The fact that it doesn't offend women for being portrayed as sex objects interested only in advancing their attractiveness to (presumably) men, is to my mind the real news ...
So, there's your euro-censorship alive and well and nothing to do with inflamed Muslims.
Beauty ad banned after Christian outcry
Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday March 12 2008
A TV ad campaign featuring lingerie-clad women praying for beautiful hair has been banned by the advertising watchdog for potentially causing serious offence to Christians.
The series of three TV ads, created by ad agency TBWA Manchester for beauty firm ghd, had an overall religious theme using the strapline "Ghd. A new religion for hair".
Ghd's ads showed scantily-clad women in various positions, such as lying on a bed, while looking upwards with their hands clasped as if in prayer. Some had objects that looked like votive candles and rosary beads.
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:36 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
virgincrude wrote:
Beauty ad banned after Christian outcry
Mark Sweney
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday March 12 2008
A TV ad campaign featuring lingerie-clad women praying for beautiful hair has been banned by the advertising watchdog for potentially causing serious offence to Christians.
Once a upon a time, a singer wrote and sung a song as a complete satire of human materialism , whereby the lust for material goods has taken on a religious proportion. An attitude which is a complete insult to human dignity.
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.
Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends,
So Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz ?
Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Dialing For Dollars is trying to find me.
I wait for delivery each day until three,
So oh Lord, won’t you buy me a color TV ?
Remember, it was meant to be a satire
It was never meant to be an ad.
It seems that even satire can be corrupted!
Quote:
Satire is strictly a literary genre, although it is found in the graphic and performing arts as well as the printed word. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with an intent to bring about improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, the purpose of satire is not primarily humor in itself so much as an often quite angry attack on something the author strongly disapproves, using the weapon of wit.
I never imagine that I would live to see the day when even satire has been corrupted.
Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 553 Location: Al-Mariyya, Al-Andalus
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:42 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
Good one, ohanian. But it was not just 'a singer' for God's sake, it was JANIS JOPLIN. And yes, satire is totally lost, especially since Mercedes themselves turned the whole thing around and used the very social commentary against materialism which this song was, as an athem in praise of the social status granted those who buy/drive a farking mercedes benz
Joined: Apr 09, 2007 Posts: 6352 Location: Alaska (its much bigger than Texas).
Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:22 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
virgincrude wrote:
... why were all the photos taken at night?
Duh.
The synchronized protests occurred at night.
Please allow me to explain this very simply and very slowly for you.
The coverings weren't put on the public statues by the government.
The statues were covered by artists in cities across the EU in a secretly planned and synchronized move to protest growing censorship of art by governments across the EU and growing intimidation, death threats and even murder of artists by radical Islamicists.
Government authorities discovered the protest and removed the coverings on the statues first thing in the morning.
Covering the statues symbolized censorship
Get it?
The coverings weren't photographed in the daylight because the protest occurred at night.
Get it now?
CHEERS!
Last edited by Plantagenet on Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:06 pm; edited 1 time in total
Advertisers don't want to offend their own potential customers. I don't find it that worrisome if adverts are voluntarily taken off the air or painted over after protests from religious fundamentalists in the EU.
EU Goverments, on the other hand, probably shouldn't be in the business of censoring films, books, political cartoons, art, etc. at the behest of one religious group or another. _________________ "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
Joined: Mar 09, 2006 Posts: 553 Location: Al-Mariyya, Al-Andalus
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 4:22 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
Duh. I didn't see the text with those pictures. Thanks Plantagenet, yes, it's much clearer now: you are convinced europeans are really, really stupid for not noticing how their lives are being governed by choices made for them. Unlike where you live, of course.
Which EU governments are engaged in censorship? The advert showing women praying for nice hair was banned by a supposedly independent watchdog whose council members are politicians. It doesn't matter whether it's crazed stupid Muslims or uptight fundamentalist Christians, someone somewhere is always trying to tell you what's good and what's bad for you.
Hypocricy is very democratic: everybody indulges in it, we are to gather from the brothel ad news, that Moslems objected to their national flags being printed on the advert. They didn't object to the picture of a practically naked woman. In New York, an otherwise perfectly capable governer has voluntarily resigned because he liked sex with prostitutes: the President of the country can be impeached for a blow job in the Whitehouse - but not for sending thousands of troops to their useless deaths and spying illegaly on the population.
The bottom line, is that what makes the news is newsworthy, not the norm. The apparent abundance of dictatorial Muslims holding sway over european nations is newsworthy, although completely misleading. But that's what you're being fed, and that's the image you're fond of, along with Alex who sees us as blind and unaware of the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. If you are fond of your image of Danes and Dutch, Germans and French huddling in their cafes waiting for the Muslim hordes to come out of the mosque (and stop torching cars) then why would anybody actually living in any of those countries wish to change your perception?
Joined: Mar 05, 2006 Posts: 420 Location: East edge of the Milky Way
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:47 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
'Alex who sees us as blind and unaware of the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads' ~VC, no, most are blind, some intentionally, some too are aware. What is sad is the one's who are aware, and are afraid(fearful?) to act upon this knowledge. Any knowledge that is gained through Reason, should be acted upon, or it is wasted.
Tell me, what was the solution to the sword of Damocles hanging over the poor sot's head who wanted to be tyrant?
Alex
Joined: Apr 09, 2007 Posts: 6352 Location: Alaska (its much bigger than Texas).
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:33 pm Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
Large scale Islamic immigration into Europe is a reality. Paranoid Fantasies like that offered by virgincrude above of the immigrants as a "Muslim horde" out to get Europeans as they sip lattes in cafes are childish and silly. The vast majority of these immigrants are hard working people who come to Europe to find a better life for themselves and their children. Their arrival will strengthen and enrich Europe's culture (already they are introducing new ideas, like the burqua babe above).
However, the fact remains that there is a minority of radical and potentially violent Islamicists who wish to override traditional European freedoms with Sharia Law among the Islamic immigrants. It would be a mistake for Europeans to surrender their freedom of speech because of pressure tactics, threats and violence from radical Islamicists. _________________ "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -- George Orwell
Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 1770 Location: Nirvana
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
FourOfSwords wrote:
zensui wrote:
FourOfSwords wrote:
(...)
As for 'grand conspiracy' read the Koran, Hadith, and Sura to understand that according to the Prophet, Muslims have a God given directive to convert EVERYONE who is not a true believer.
(...)
To be fair, all Abrahmic religions do the same. Chrisitianity, Judaism and Islam. I'm glad to be converted by my free will the other way, to Dharmic religions (Buddhism).
I understand your point of view zensui. Buddhism certainly takes the 'fire' out alot of other religions, with regards to converting non believers and such. That being said,(and not being against the peaceful aspects of Islam), not all Abrahamic religions perceive it their mission to convert non believers at the point of a sword. Islam does, and demands it from it's faithful. We can all pick and choose what passages from any text of any faith we choose to believe in, and live our lives as those passages prompt us. So far so good. This holds true for the vast majority of practitioners of the Islamic faith. Now, here is where the fundamental difference with regards to other Abrahamic faiths lies. The verses in the Koran, Hadith and Suras are generally arranged from longest to shortest. When someone reads the Koran lets say they are not aware that the later verses supercede anything said in the earlier verses. I forget the Arabic term for this at the moment, but what it amounts to is 'abbrogation' of anything said earlier. The verses are not necessarily written in chronological order as they were revealed to the prophet Mohammed. Hence a devout Muslim cannot pick and choose what he wishes to live by via the verses appearing in the texts mentioned. He/she is demanded by God through Mohammed, to follow the verses that were revealed LATER in Mohammeds life before his death...and let me tell you some of them are mighty gruesome, and certainly not peaceful. Many devout Muslims are not aware of this and would be aghast at some of the things 'demanded' of them by God via Mohammed.
Other religions(at least none that I am aware of) DEMAND their adherents convert infidels, if said infidels do not convert willingly, the adherents are free to kill them, with no sin to them in the eyes of God. This is the radicalization of Islam that is taking place in Europe, Britain, North America, etc. This radicalization, unfortunately does not preach a religion of peace.
No other religion that I know of allows non believers to still exist within it's sphere, while kept in servitude(Dhimmi's)and forced to pay an extortionistic fee, or be killed on the spot.
Again said Dhimmi's and non believers can be raped(females) at will without legal or divine repurcussions.
There are other examples too numerous to go into, and I reckon at this point in many PO forumers eyes I'm perceived to be anti Muslim, bigoted, racist, whatever title fits the bill. Nothing could be further from the truth, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
This is not to say that the other two Abrahamic religions are 'sparkly clean' either.
People on this thread, and on this forum are entitled to their own opinions, and at this point we are only discussing them. I suggest to those who are not familiar with Islam, or wish to refute statements said here, that they educate themselves by reading, and actually talking to Imams and other religious figureheads, then come back and we can discuss this topic in more detail...after all is this not what freedom of speech is about? No matter where we hail from, or what we believe in?
Cheers
Alex
fair enough. But Christianity and Judaism have another tactic: outgrow your enemies. "be fruitful and multiply", "you will have so many descendants like the stars in the sky"... between Islam killing and Christianity and Judaism outgrowing I think the only hope for Dharmic religions is to prove the worth of their own memes, ethics, and so on against the virus-like "outgrow or kill your enemies" memes that are part of Abrahamic religions. _________________ @deviantART @wordpress @hi5
Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 1770 Location: Nirvana
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:11 pm Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
virgincrude wrote:
(...)
Posters who don't live in the UK are telling posters living in the UK what it's like, and most seem to think freedom can have no limits. The news from the UK is that third generation Pakistani youths are going to overrun the country, and according to zensui I must be a xenophobic hypocrite (I'm Spanish, and on Sunday over 11 million of us voted to continue the Socialist government which has enabled more than 4 million foreign workers to establish residency here. The foremost immigrant group in this country by the way are from Latin America, and therefore not predominantly Muslim.) In 2004 the Madrid train bombs killed 191 people, unlike in the US, the Spanish police and security agencies rounded up as many suspects as they could, and put them all on trial last year. We didn’t invade Morroco, Pakistan or Afghanistan, or ostracise our Muslim population, so zensui, your impressions are laughable.
(...)
History speaks for itself. Spain and Portugal pillaged Latin American and now they are trying to "apologize". Give us back our dead aboriginals and resources! The UK and Euro Inc. pillaged vast parts of the world too. The 2 world wars were born in Europe. Christianity's empire was extended by force with the Inquisition and conquest of foreign land. Europe's natural resources are largely dead, that's why renewables and recycling have become fancy. Not to mention that Europe has pillaged Africa to the point of almost annihilation.
I've lived 6 months in Spain, and yes, there was some xenophobic attitudes born from ignorance towards my family. But, I'm talking of Europe as an entity. I'm not attacking you personally, I've met some europeans that are nice people and I'm learning Italian to visit Italy some day (my family is part-italian). What I'm arguing is that Europe Inc. as poster child of ecological and other ethics is laughable. _________________ @deviantART @wordpress @hi5
Joined: Apr 09, 2007 Posts: 6352 Location: Alaska (its much bigger than Texas).
Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:54 pm Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
zensui wrote:
Spain and Portugal pillaged Latin American...The UK and Euro Inc. pillaged vast parts of the world too.
So what?
The various tribes and nations in Latin America and the rest of the world were all busy pillaging each other when the Europeans showed up and joined in the pillaging.
If Latin Americans had been clever enough to invent the wheel or the sailboat or even manage to forge iron swords they might have been able to defend themselves or perhaps even launched their own conquests into Europe. But they weren't, and so they were defeated by the Europeans.
Europeans didn't create the only cultures that conquered and pillaged other cultures....they just created the cultures that were the most successful at it.
Joined: Jul 26, 2006 Posts: 1770 Location: Nirvana
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:02 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
Plantagenet wrote:
zensui wrote:
Spain and Portugal pillaged Latin American...The UK and Euro Inc. pillaged vast parts of the world too.
So what?
The various tribes and nations in Latin America and the rest of the world were all busy pillaging each other when the Europeans showed up and joined in the pillaging.
If Latin Americans had been clever enough to invent the wheel or the sailboat or even manage to forge iron swords they might have been able to defend themselves or perhaps even launched their own conquests into Europe. But they weren't, and so they were defeated by the Europeans.
Europeans didn't create the only cultures that conquered and pillaged other cultures....they just created the cultures that were the most successful at it.
I will try to make this clear:
Europe can NOT be a poster child of ethics.
But that does NOT imply that some other region can be that poster child.
And actually native americans did used their intelligence to gain knowledge, like the Mayan calendar. Which is much superior than the Gregorian calendar (the same one that has 1 year longer than the rest every 4 years) because it tracks a 26 000 astronomical cycle that has being rediscovered by NASA.
"If Latin Americans had been clever enough(...)"
stop the non sense, all humans are clever enough to know and make stuff... it's a shame that few actually know and make worthy stuff. _________________ @deviantART @wordpress @hi5
Joined: Aug 03, 2006 Posts: 4337 Location: Graceland
Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:09 am Post subject: Re: Europe as next superpower?
Back to the OP, it reminds me of the saying:
"The only thing better than having a boat is having a friend with a boat."
The only thing better than being a superpower is having a buddy who is a superpower.
"Superpower" is code for being responsible for every injustice anywhere on earth and the country that will be the target of every jealous B-lister.
I will be enormously relieved when some other country or confederation takes the place of the U.S.--hopefully this new superpower will have friendly relations with the U.S.; sort of like the U.S. and Great Britain.
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