re: #136 iceweasel

Yeah, I disagree with you on that article. You also have to read the entire article before you can find out how misleading the headline is (I’m sure you did, of course.)
The Times appears to be pandering to the not-unsizeable Muslim-hating contingent. (Bear in mind too that the UK largely reserves its worst bigotry and racism for ‘Pakis’— India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and anyone vaguely ‘Arab’ looking. That was true long before 9-11 or 7-7— it’s just that it got worse after.)

NO you misunderstand me.

My standard is: your cultural rights as a member of a sub-culture end when you start impinging on the rights or safety of others.

Unless the article is completely false, the police are going to allow a mob that is protesting, i.e. already pissed off, to throw things. This is a public safety hazard.

It violates my standard.

Now as to the racism in England towards Pakistanis, I of course do not condone that. However, there is the other side to that where you really do have a different socio-economic and religious situation with British and European Muslims as opposed to American ones. There is a much different mix of educated and not so educated, non-violent - and OK with violence there then there is here in the US. That is just the way it is. While I fully agree that open bigotry and racism against various Muslim groups is more prevalent there than here from the bottom of Brit society, there is also much more tolerance of radical preachers and radical groups from the British top.

The people who would organize any Muslim protest there that felt the need to throw shoes, are generally not the nicest people and the people who listen to them are not the most even tempered. It ias public safety hazard at best and courting major escalation at worst, and yes it was done out of cowardice on the part of the British leadership.