Now Who Could Have Possibly Forecast That?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/555434/Islamic-State-ISIS-Smuggler-THOUSANDS-Extremists-into-Europe-Refugees

[jomifl]

Isis are hand in glove with the Daily Express....both profit from reports like this.

[andy-hughes]

vetuste - "How many years of self-loathing courses do you have to take to arrive at this contempt for your own culture?"

Where does 'contempt for my own culture' come into anything I have said?

[andy-hughes]

vestuste - "If you and SP can't drag TTT and me kicking and screaming out of the 19th century, how do you propose to drag half a million savages kicking and screaming out of the 7th?"

You obviously imagine I possess some sort of major influence over millions of people - sadly I do not.

I have my opinions, but what I cannot change, I do not worry about, as I have stated earlier.

And as I have also stated earlier, that does not mean that I do not care - merely that I don't spend my days in a funk of paranoia and outrage fuelled by scandal-mongering scare-stories from a media with a vested financial interest in keeping the population on edge.

I am old enough to remember The Cold War, Ban The Bomb, CND - the same attitudes were present then - there is an amorphous mass that is bent on the subjugation or destruction of the western world and its values - we will die in our beds and so on ad nauseum.

It didn't happen - but thousands of people led miserable lives of fear and doom-laden imagination based on guff fed by a voracious media - rather than simple facts and truth.

I do not intend to live like that - and I believe I am much happier for it.

[anotheoldgit]

/// It's developed because of the relentless snide remarks and personal attacks that have been forthcoming from a small but vitriolic band of AB'ers. ///

It is not a small band, but an ever increasing band, and who are not vitriolic as you wish to insultingly call them, but perfectly normal persons who only wish to correct some of your rather slanted view points.

Many ABers are getting rather fed up with your pompous and sanctimonious posts, when are you going to realise and accept that fact?

/// No, I don't wish to follow your puerile petty baiting posts - ///

As hypocritical as ever it would seem, if you don't wish to follow what are perfectly valid and legal posts, yet then go on to turn them into your usual uncalled for slanging matches, then the answer is simple 'DON'T'.

/// you really do show yourself to be a bitter nit-picking thin-skinned posturer with this to-and-fro posting that you start on such a regular basis. ///

Out come the personal insults once more, and once again let me state a fact, I did not start this to-and-fro posting, you did, the evidence is there for everyone to see.

/// You are like a dog with a bone, or should that be an 'old dog' with a bone? ///

Personal insults and now 'ageism' are there not any depths you will not sink to?

Don't you dare lecture others for issuing out insults to their fellow ABers, you have cornered the market with your continuous yet unchecked insults.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "Don't you dare lecture others for issuing out insults to their fellow ABers, you have cornered the market with your continuous yet unchecked insults"

I thought you didn't like 'instructions' - I received a 'How dare you ...' from you when you perceived that was what I was doing?

If you are going to speak on behalf of 'an ever increasing band...' - (it's not, it's still the same two or three, but don't worry about it) you really must develop a level of cinsistency about what you are complaining about that you perceive I do, and what you do yourself, and try and not let the two overlap.

It rather dilutes the vein-throbbing ire of your message.

[anotheoldgit]

/// I am old enough to remember The Cold War, Ban The Bomb, CND - the same attitudes were present then - there is an amorphous mass that is bent on the subjugation or destruction of the western world and its values - we will die in our beds and so on ad
nauseum. ///

/// It didn't happen - but thousands of people led miserable lives of fear and - rather than simple facts and truth. ///

Yes If we could only look into the future? No one knew it would not happen, and it is a good job that there were some around to make sure it didn't happen.

I am also old enough to remember WW2, and yes there must have even been some around even then who possessed your attitude, "nothing I can do about it, I am not going to posses a doom-laden imagination based on guff fed by a voracious media".

And that time it did happen.

[anotheoldgit]

Notice you chose to ride over your continuous personal insults and ageism?

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "I am also old enough to remember WW2, and yes there must have even been some around even then who possessed your attitude, "nothing I can do about it, I am not going to posses a doom-laden imagination based on guff fed by a voracious media". "

Are you singling me out AGAIN to respond to - as is your habit?

Save your time - I am not interested in what you think.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "Notice you chose to ride over your continuous personal insults and ageism?"

Selective editing is something we are both guilty of.

I notice you chose to 'ride over' this section of my post -

"If anyone else following this exchange is finding it half as tedious as I am, they must wonder what on earth I am still doing engaging with you.

It is because I hold a glimmer of hope that beneath this increasingly personal antagonistic prodding and provoking personality that you have developed of late, the AOG I used to enjoy debating with is still around.

It is a glimmer - but it is still there.

Let's stop this now shall we - it is a waste of our valuable time, and no-one else wants to read about us bickering like this.

And no - that is not 'an instruction' - just a hope that you can meet me half way, and we can all move on.

What do you think?"

Apparently you are not willing to meet me half way - and that is a shame.

I think our bickering is reaching a stage where it has no benefit to the AB, others on the AB, or you or I.

So again - can we stop, draw a line, and move on?

[anotheoldgit]

/// Are you singling me out AGAIN to respond to - as is your habit? ///

It is not a habit, it is how this site operates, a person offers up a view and those who so wish, reply.

/// Save your time - I am not interested in what you think. ///

At last and after all that interest shown with your relentless replies.

Couldn't be that this time you have lost the argument?

[andy-hughes]

AOG - I would wish to withdraw my remark about not being interested in what you think - posted in temper, and regretted.

So once again -

"I think our bickering is reaching a stage where it has no benefit to the AB, others on the AB, or you or I.

So again - can we stop, draw a line, and move on?"

[anotheoldgit]

Your 12.36 post and my 12.41 post obviously crossed.

We have drawn a line and moved on a couple of times now, but you soon revert back to your old ways, just as I have said before.

This particular time started when you indirectly called me a racist, which in turn alienated me towards you.

This latest thread started off so peaceful but then you found it necessary to criticise me for calling you naive in the past, for no reason whatsoever.

Take this latest paragraph, why? when you are trying to offer up an olive branch?

/// "If anyone else following this exchange is finding it half as tedious as I am, they must wonder what on earth I am still doing engaging with you. ///

And then this,

/// It is because I hold a glimmer of hope that beneath this increasingly personal antagonistic prodding and provoking personality that you have developed of
late, ///

It is not I who has developed these traits but you who have brought them on, It is not very often that I find the need to defend myself against personal insults etc with any other poster on this site, but as I have said in the past if they insult me first, then I will retaliate in the same way that they do, and you are no exception.

And while we are on that subject, another thing that you are guilty of is the fact that if I or another ABer happen to be rude against certain ABers, (who you seem to so gallantly defend), you will take it on yourself to intervene, regardless of what has been taking place between the two parties beforehand.

It is not you place, to get so involved, and only goes to alienate that ABer who you try to chastise, against yourself.

/// the AOG I used to enjoy debating with is still around. ///

He certainly is, I have not changed, take a look at yourself, dust yourself down and lets start all over again.

In the true AnswerBank polite way that is.

[andy-hughes]

AOG - I thought it would be nice if we both took responsibility for letting ourselves get a little too het up and far too personal in our exchanges.

It appears that you believe all the responsibility to be mine.

Well, I did try.

[anotheoldgit]

/// It appears that you believe all the responsibility to be mine. ///

All it takes is for you to admit that fact, and then we can move on.

[venator]

Come on, children, play nicely and don't throw your toys out of the playpen...

[andy-hughes]

AOG - "/// It appears that you believe all the responsibility to be mine. ///

All it takes is for you to admit that fact, and then we can move on."

You have known me on here long enough and well enough to know that I will acknowledge my errors when I make them, and apologise for offences caused when they have been unintentional.

You also know that I am diligent in fighting my corner, and standing up when I believe something is wrong.

If you believe the reason for our antagonism is all mine, then I beg to differ.

I have offered to meet half way twice, and my offer is spurned because you believe that I am the only one to blame.

If that is your view, then there is nothing more to be said on the subject.

I shall move on - you can do as you did last time, advise that you will no longer debate with me, and then do so anyway, or you can ignore me.

What you will not be able to do is bait me into these nasty and pointless arguments - I have managed to stop it with the two or three people who still try to get a reaction, and are ignored. If you wish to join them, feel free, you will receive similar treatment.

If you wish to debate - the offer is there.

I really cannot say fairer than that I feel.

[anotheoldgit]

This posted after only 11 minutes into the debate, without any previous 'derogatory observations' from me.

/// AOG loves to call me naïve - among his other litany of derogatory observations - I am delighted to bat that epithet back on the basis of this OP.
13:18 Wed 09th Sep 2015 ///

I rest my case.

[andy-hughes]

Do you really really really have to be right all the time?

Does it really matter to you so much that you 'win' and I 'lose'?

My time is too precious for any more of this, I am sure yours is too - but I think a response in the spirit of rapprochement such as I offered would have been nice - sadly it is not to be.

[anotheoldgit]

When you admit that in this case you were to blame, then perhaps we can move on.