Iquan al Muslimeen HQ attacked in Egypt

[Rupert_Baehr]

That was then, and not just Wales, but this is now. In the meantime we have had these puritanical rules relaxed, perhaps too far in the eyes of many, but nonetheless ...

 

If a religiously motivated government was to tell me I could no longer buy alcohol after 10pm then I would protest.

 

In the part of Florida in which I live, you can't buy alcohol (in a retail outlet) between midnight and 4am.

 

Nobody riots. Those who want to drink between the hours of midnight and 4am seem to be able to work it out that it is possible to buy the booze earlier.

 

You (in the UK) have had the 'puritanical rules ' relaxed, but other countries have not.

 

If I don't like the way certain countries are run, I don't go there. (And there are a number of countries I decline to visit for that reason.)

 

There are plenty of other countries which will take my money and treat me as if I'm welcome there.

[Clown Shoes]

In the part of Florida in which I live, you can't buy alcohol (in a retail outlet) between midnight and 4am.

 

Nobody riots. Those who want to drink between the hours of midnight and 4am seem to be able to work it out that it is possible to buy the booze earlier.

 

You (in the UK) have had the 'puritanical rules ' relaxed, but other countries have not.

 

If I don't like the way certain countries are run, I don't go there. (And there are a number of countries I decline to visit for that reason.)

 

There are plenty of other countries which will take my money and treat me as if I'm welcome there.

 

But you can probably buy a AR-15 automatic rifle between 12am-4am

 

Id rather be confronted by a perma-tanned drunk girl on West Street than one of those.

 

Only just though

[Rupert_Baehr]

No, you can't. - Nor can you buy a fishing rod.

[Clown Shoes]

No, you can't. - Nor can you buy a fishing rod.

 

You can buy guns in Walmart (ASDA) and its open 24hrs.

 

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_query=gun&Find=Find&search_constraint=0

[quisquose]

In the part of Florida in which I live, you can't buy alcohol (in a retail outlet) between midnight and 4am.

 

Nobody riots. Those who want to drink between the hours of midnight and 4am seem to be able to work it out that it is possible to buy the booze earlier.

 

You (in the UK) have had the 'puritanical rules ' relaxed, but other countries have not.

 

If I don't like the way certain countries are run, I don't go there. (And there are a number of countries I decline to visit for that reason.)

 

There are plenty of other countries which will take my money and treat me as if I'm welcome there.

 

In Florida I've been refused service because it was "one drink per person" and had a party of New York visitors almost "riot" on my behalf. I've also been refused service in supermarkets because I couldn't prove my age. I think Florida has pretty puritanical rules, and last time I was there got into a discussion with a Canadian resident who now lived there and admitted it was pretty backward there. Incidentally I have never seen so many drunks lying in the streets as I have in some of the Florida Malls. This is something my wife commented on last time we were there, so the puritanical rules aren't working.

 

However, the point is not how the status quo is, but having change enforced upon you because of the religiosity of others.

 

My friend in Turkey saw the rules on alcohol as the last straw, just as others saw Gezi Park as theirs'. The protests in Turkey are about the growing authoritarianism of the government and restrictions over individual liberties, of which alcohol restrictions are just part.

 

It is not so much the introduction of alcohol rules that bothers many citizens of Turkey, but why and how it has been done and Erdogan calling Ataturk a drunkard and, anyone who drinks, an alcoholic. This was just the last in a series of cultural laws that Erdogan passed that seeks to impose "Islamic values" on the lifestyles of Turkish citizens. So, it is the imposition of an "approved" lifestyle on the population that bothers most.

 

Besides, drinking is not a significant public health concern in Turkey, it already has the lowest per capita alcohol consumption in Europe.

[Rupert_Baehr]

You can buy guns in Walmart (ASDA) and its open 24hrs.

 

http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_query=gun&Find=Find&search_constraint=0

 

No you can't (I was thinking specifically of Walmart and in the nearest store to me the gun and ammo department (along with the fishing licence department [it should have been fishing licences, not fishing rods in my last post] shuts at 10pm.

 

The remainder of the store is open (apart from the opticians which shuts when the optician wants to go home and the booze bit, which shuts between midnight and 0400.)

 

Just because you can look at an online advert after 10pm, doesn't mean you can go into a store and buy a gun after 10pm.

 

---------- Post added 01-07-2013 at 14:05 ----------

 

In Florida I've been refused service because it was "one drink per person" and had a party of New York visitors almost "riot" on my behalf. I've also been refused service in supermarkets because I couldn't prove my age. I think Florida has pretty puritanical rules, and last time I was there got into a discussion with a Canadian resident who now lived there and admitted it was pretty backward there. Incidentally I have never seen so many drunks lying in the streets as I have in some of the Florida Malls. This is something my wife commented on last time we were there, so the puritanical rules aren't working.

 

As I know you're aware, Florida is just a bit bigger than Sheffield (and about 2/3 the size of England.) It's difficult to make meaningful comparisons, because Florida is a far from homogenous state. Each county (and indeed each city, town and village) makes its own laws and the degree of compliance varies from locale to locale.

 

Some areas are quiet and have low-crime rates (Mr Rogers' Neighborhood) Others are not.

 

However, the point is not how the status quo is, but having change enforced upon you because of the religiosity of others.

 

My friend in Turkey saw the rules on alcohol as the last straw, just as others saw Gezi Park as theirs'. The protests in Turkey are about the growing authoritarianism of the government and restrictions over individual liberties, of which alcohol restrictions are just part.

 

It is not so much the introduction of alcohol rules that bothers many citizens of Turkey, but why and how it has been done and Erdogan calling Ataturk a drunkard and, anyone who drinks, an alcoholic. This was just the last in a series of cultural laws that Erdogan passed that seeks to impose "Islamic values" on the lifestyles of Turkish citizens. So, it is the imposition of an "approved" lifestyle on the population that bothers most.

 

Besides, drinking is not a significant public health concern in Turkey, it already has the lowest per capita alcohol consumption in Europe.

 

I can understand how your friend feels. I - like perhaps many others - was surprised (and somewhat upset) by the levels of violence I saw.

 

It certainly made me think: "Does the EU really want that bunch as new entrants?"

[maxmaximus]

Ain't democracy a bitch.

 

Democracy is just the means by which you choose your dictator, hopefully life under that dictator remains tolerable.

[boyfriday]

Egypt is demonstrating that Islamic parties cannot enforce their rule on a modern society without oppressing people.

 

 

Thats why I don't hyperventilate about the 'spread of Islam'-people with Westernised influences will only tolerate so much fundamentalism.

 

The normal Egyptian Muslim is voting with his feet (and his Doc Martens) and giving the Muslim Brotherhood a proper (deserved) kicking. Hopefully the politicians in this wonderful country will take the right path without the threatened military intervention coming to pass.

[Hillpig]

The simple fact is that Muslim states politically and sexually subjugate their populations. Democracy as we know it will never be acceptable to these people, they are ethnically and eugenically incapabe of rational discoursre.

 

Let them get on with it, and make sure we dont import any more.

[Dingus]

The simple fact is that Muslim states politically and sexually subjugate their populations. Democracy as we know it will never be acceptable to these people, they are ethnically and eugenically incapabe of rational discoursre.

 

Let them get on with it, and make sure we dont import any more.

 

You have a point there. Islamic governments don't want to look after the interests of the population. They want to look after the interests of Islam and impose it on the entire population. So governance is not about letting everyone enjoy their human rights, it is about imposing Islam, Islamic law, Islamic dress & Islamic practices on everyone regardless of whether they want it or not, and restricting their rights to their chosen freedoms at the same time.