No need for me to say much only that i mostly agree with him.

[Agent0]

I called him a comedian because...he is a comedian.

I don't get it. You basically counter your own point. Arab men beat their wives, but you have Muslim friends who don't beat their wives. You seem to understand that the generalisation doesn't actually hold, yet you push it at the same time.

I know many Muslims, I work with several on a daily 40 hour/week basis. None of them are anything like the EDL etc would have you believe. They don't have horns or a tail. They send Christmas cards and take part in the office Secret Santa. The women work, drive and live their lives just as freely as the Christians in the office do. There are cultural differences that occasionally cause a minor inconvenience - we have to go to restaurants that server Halal when we go out for Birthday/Last day lunches or we might have to reschedule those lunches if they fall during Ramadan - but nothing that a reasonable person wouldn't willingly and gladly do to accommodate a friend.

The media hype just doesn't tally with my own experiences. The cognitive dissonance I get when I read an Islamophobic newspaper article or when I see a video like the one in this thread gives me a headache. I can only assume that people like this have never had prolonged interactions with Muslims...but then there's you, who is in a long term relationship with a Muslim but still has some of the same prejudices. Argh! I think I need to lie down.

 

[dream_sista]

I'm fairly certain Pat Condell has nothing to do with the EDL. IN fact, he was once asked to speak at an EDL demo, but refused.

Saying that, he is a supporter of UKIP, which isn't far off really.

 

[Shambolicious]

You can't compare Islamic extremists with the EDL.As far as I am aware the EDL hasn't blown anyone up on the tube and demanded that people who don't agree with them are beheaded.The EDL is a street protest group that was set up to counter Al-Muhajiroun and in that area it has done a good job as off shoots of Al-Muhajiroun,such as Islam4the UK and MAC, have now been proscribed.Muslims have opposed this group since 1992 but never got any media attention but with the creation of the EDL the issue has come out into the public domain and politicians have been forced to act.If the EDL had stuck to its original mandate it would have been okay but it started to see all Muslims as extremists and completely lost its way.Basically,if it reads the Koran,prays on Friday and dresses differently it will most likely blow itself up at some point in the future.Hardly a starting point for any sensible debate.

 

[daisymae]

No, the EDL prefer old school rioting and intimidation. They're thugs and football hooligans. If the ground opened up under an EDL demo and swallowed every last one of them, the world would be a far better place for it.

 

[NewMommy]

Was the video not about the empowerment/enabling of countries that allow the practice of radical Islam by the UN? If I didn't misunderstand the video, then I think that the topic discussion is straying from the intention of what the guy was trying to say.

Given that I believe the OP doesn't realize he took it in a different direction along with contribution by others, I believe personal experience with Islam vs. the intent of the video of what it hopes to make people aware of, is rather irrelevant. This is all regardless of the maker of the video and his personal contribution to anti-muslim views, which due to the reaction of many here are intollerant and prejudiced. Doesn't mean the guy doesn't have a point though does it?

 

[Ballaurena]

Quite possibly, yes- if somebody thought that I was an extremist based on which religion I'd been born into, I'd want to wind him up by expressing extremist views. It would be very funny.

 

[AlexisInfectious®]

Have you ever met anyone from the EDL? Some of them most certainly are thugs but in its ranks it also has ex-servicemen,disgruntled Labour voters who feel abandoned,and disenfranchised white youth.I guess its a sign of the times and once the economic situation improves it will gradually fade away.

 

[Eddy361]

Yes, I've met people from the EDL. The disgruntled labour voters, etc. etc. are generally people silly enough to believe that their new best friends aren't a bunch of evil-minded racists. Which they are.

 

[beautyx3]

That's a good point; during times of poverty or oppression, people are always looking for somebody to blame. It's much easier to just pick on Muslims, just because some extremists have given the religion a bad name in some areas, EDL ride on the back of this laughing gleefully, spreading violent propaganda.

If you believe what they say, maybe you should try not to be so weak minded and easily influenced; it's not difficult to see that the religion somebody practices makes them an evil person; terrible people have come from religions all over, and from atheist background too. You can be a Muslim and still the nicest guy on Earth, saying that Muslims are extremists is just plain stupid.

 

[WickerMan]

So thugs and idiots.

At the risk of Godwin-ing the thread. Not all Nazis were evil. In fact, 95%+ of the members of the Nazi party were just ordinary Germans who wanted living standard in Germany to increase and thought the Nazis were the best option...but it was that benign 95% who gave the remaining 5% the power to do evil.

 

[swantonbomb01]

It's difficult not to godwin when the people you're discussing are actually fascists.

 

[DreHannibalLecter]

Right so just to try and get closer to what the OP was discussing...

As Ero-Sennin said the video was about concerns that areas that have extremist views or laws might be given a spot on the UN committees on Human Rights. The guy in the vid thought this was silly and gave what he construed as evidence that this was not a good idea. No EDL stuff. No mention of your everyday muslim being anything to be concerned of.

I also worked with muslims, treat muslims and know a few socially. All nice people. So what?

If the Gainsborough Church wanted to get a place on a committee for Planned Parenthood some might say that their behaviour was not consistent with the goals and aspirations of the organisation. Not supporting the Gainsborough people is not the same as hating christianity as a religion. Similarly you don't have to be anti-Islam or anti-muslim to be concerned if the people wanting to have a say on Human Rights don't agree with Human Rights as promoted in the UN. Yeah the guy was over the top but ad hominem attacks don't make what he had to say any less worth considering...

Coming from a multi-cultural society and having at least 3 (possibly 5) ethnic roots I definitely have a problem with anyone trying to define Human Rights in a way that would affect myself, my family or anyone else I know in a negative way. Our club had chinese, english, italian, vietnamiese, english and afro-canadians and others in it.

Now back to the OP's point.. have people listened to the video with an open mind and thought at least a substantial portion of his points might be worth considering?

Just askin'

LFD

 

[Ieshia]

Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, said of Condell that "Pat Condell is unique. Nobody can match his extraordinary blend of suavity and savagery. With his articulate intelligence he runs rings around the religious wingnuts that are the targets of his merciless humour. Thank goodness he is on our side".[56] In 2008, Dawkins's website released a collection of Condell's monologues on DVD, titled Pat Condell: Anthology.[56] The DVD was also sold on Amazon.com.[57]
In an interview with the Bosnian magazine Start,[58][59] Condell says his intent "is to get other people's unprovable beliefs out of my life, and out of government, the law and education. I don't care what people believe as long as I don't have to keep hearing about it."[60]
He has been criticised by Christian author Dinesh D'Souza on AOL News, who said "If the televangelists are guilty of producing some simple-minded, self-righteous Christians, then the atheist authors are guilty of producing self-congratulatory buffoons like Condell."[61] Atheist biology professor and blogger PZ Myers, on the other hand, endorsed Condell with a terse "Speak it, brother!".[62] The book Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief, describes Condell as "breathtakingly intelligent, articulate, uncompromising, and funny".[63]
He is a member of the National Secular Society[64] and has a large following of users on the Internet, including a Facebook group dedicated to him.[65]

Google is your friend ;' )

LFD

 

[girlabouttown]

His arguments only have merit if they are based on facts. Iran has never been a member of the UNHRC, and Sudan were a member of the old UNCHR for 1 year. In 2005.

 

[TiaP]

I don't think that he said that the countries were on the committees, only that they were applying to be allowed to become members and thus his concern.. Did I read/hear that incorrectly?

LFD

 

[ROXiiEANGEL]

''Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have recently been appointed to the new UN agencies for Women''

I was wrong, it isn't about Human Rights but about whether those two countries are sufficiently interested in promoting women's rights.. sorry.

LFD

 

[MustangWoman]

They're eligible by being members of the UN Asia and Pacific Regional Group - the members get elected.

But also, I think it's stupid to think that these councils should only hold the great and good. I think a country that has a say in the kind of rulings and business of these councils are more likely to try to conform to the standard they set.

Iran is far less likely to ignore everything the UNHRC says if they are an actual member of the UNHRC.

 

[clementine]

Possibly the most far right person in the UK in the last fifty years has been the author,A W Wainright.He is best known for his Lake District walking guides but in his autobiography Ex-Fellwanderer,published in 1987,he set out his political "philosophy".He wanted a return to public executions,the castration of criminals for crimes as petty as vandalism,farmers to be imprisoned in three foot square crates,prisoners to be fed a bread and water diet and women to be treated as second class citizens.His ultra right wing views were the result of sexual frustration.He was in a unhappy marriage and due to holding public office was unable to divorce.All I am thankful for is that he never formed a political party and stood for parliament as he made the EDL look like a bunch of lefties.

 

[Smash]

Late for Dinner - appreciate it. Google is my friend but I had needed a name to google! Looks like Wiki is your friend too ; D.

It just seems funny that people are doing exactly the same thing is this thread as far as generalizing as what they're fighting against (generalizing). And it's not even really on what I thought the topic was supposed to be on.

 

[RahilR]

Do you think there shoud be benefits to hold such a position, and that you should have to meet requirements in law and the enforcemet of those laws in your country in order to be allowed to even be considered?

"More likely" is not good enough for me. You can do "more likely" on your own before you get to be considered for a position.