Sex Attacks in Cologne and other European Cities Part VII

[januarybrown1998]

part 6

part 5

part 4

part 3

part 2

part 1

The events of NYE were shocking enough; the subsequent minimising and under-reporting were an affront to women's rights to equality across Europe.

It's a testament to the tenacity and commitment of this community that we are at thread VII; do join the discussion and feel free to share the links and letters to anyone you think may wish to be part of this important debate.

We are currently awaiting the approval of a petition to parliament.

Shortly we will post links for those who want to take a proactive part in safeguarding the rights of all UK women to live in freedom from the fear of mass sexual assault as we sadly saw in NYE and reports of which are finally seeing daylight across Europe.

Calm "Yes 100% I have not been here as long as some but good few years now, and never ever ever come up against such a poster. Well there is one actually, over in education but this is a different level."

Yes, I've been very much put in mind of that particular poster's tactics too!

Does anyone remember doing their swimming badge? How hard it was when you had to jump in with pyjamas? Imagine if you were wearing heavy clothes and some form of head covering?

Going back about 1000 years, a teacher of mine used his holidays to train life guards at a new and upcoming African resort (Ghana maybe?). The first test was to swim 100 metres. Yes, yes no problem. Te locals got in the water and all but two waded 100m along the shoreline unable to swim. They were shocked. Just anecdotal of course and we all know anecdotes don't equal data.

From the NY Times article linked just upthread:
The real nightmare for Swedish politics is not that it now includes the kind of continental-style far-right party it once thought itself immune to. It is rather that mainstream forces have surrendered all critical perspectives on immigration to a party with which they can neither collaborate nor bear to see affirmed.
Bingo. What was being said several threads ago? Oh, yuh, if moderate politicians don't tackle this issue, the far Right will own it, so bawling people down with cries of 'racist' will be counter-productive in the long run (and no, before someone starts sniping, I don't think anyone said that in as many words but it was clearly what was being said).

And from the same article:
Reducing foreign aid in such substantial amounts promises to fuel the same instability and desperation that is causing the migrant crisis. Worse yet, by refocusing its humanitarian effort on individuals healthy enough and wealthy enough to take themselves to its shores, Sweden is shunning those abroad in greatest need.
Indeed. I've thought that for a long time: the people who reach Europe are not the ones who need our help the most urgently. The ones who really need assistance are the ones who can't even afford a bloody bicycle, and live 20 miles from the nearest market.

And... on the subject of boats and geography. Turkey is not an island, in fact it has a land border with Hungary and it's possible to travel by train all the way from Istanbul to France. You need not dip your toes in any water at all to cross europe. Was nearly lucky enough to do this journey myself many years ago except the orient express had been suspended due to the "Bosnia" situation.

A bit off thread but talking about swimming reminded me of when I was in Egypt, the men around the pool were in swimming trunks and going in the pool with the children and playing, swimming and splashing about. The women were dressed in full burkas, one did go into the water in said outfit but just to cool down I guess as all she did was stand in the water. Most of those poor women were just sat around in searing heat covered head to toe in black, they must have been boiling hot.

kesstrel I think I know which one you mean! I'd forgotten until now.

I think the best solution is to not rise to any baiting, answer any valid points and keep it all civil, which means calling no one unacceptable things whatever may be your private opinion. I have no objection to converse viewpoints as long as it is kept civil and accurate.

Returning to point how is the petition going and has there been any responses from mp's etc?

And remember - the dogs bark but the caravan rolls by!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35406072

Staging of female worker in sweden

Stabbing

www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/worker-stabbed-to-death-at-swedish-refugee-centre

Yep, story was on this thread last night. Judging by the photos she'd fully embraced "Swedish culture", yet as a first generation refugee was giving back and presumably her mother-tongue was Arabic - so in essence the perfect "bridge" between the two cultures. :(

Lumela those quotes are very apt and sum up my real concerns.

I am writing an email today to send out asking people to sign and pass on to ten more friends. I am happy to share the wording if anyone wants to use it.

I'm also looking for journalists to email and will pass those on for the main data base. Is anyone compiling a resource tool to include links to the articles we've been discussing?

“The government now considers that the current situation, with a large number of people entering the country in a relatively short time, poses a serious threat to public order and national security,” the government said in a statement accompanying legislation enabling the border controls

From The Guardian.

As everyone was aware of, except, it would seem, the Government.

kesstrel I think I know which one you mean! I'd forgotten until now

amazing how obv the other is too doesn't matter what people have said it doesn't fit in with her view and she keeps mentioning one sentence some one said once under heavy goady and baiting fire from herself. She got her sound bite and now quotes it out of context on nearly every thread about said subject.

Anyway, there are some excellent contributors here, there is no stipulation to ansa every posters post is there, I mean people often over look mine

Every one else is up to speed but some posters have aknowledged they know little about the subjects at hand and obv do not read any links provided...so...as they say:

You can take a horse to water, but you cant make it drink.

Best to

January I am going to email a couple of people today. I like a lot of people don't do Facebook!

There are 12 signatories to the early day motion 953 about press minimisation of NYE now. From SNP, DUP, 1 Conservative and Labour.

David TC Davis isn't on it , for the poster who was in contact with him.

Is there going to be a fresh thread in Petitions (with a link) as the first one became a bit messy?

I found this and found it quite interesting as it has a different perspective on the way fundamentalism can be used and differs so much from the core religion it may claim to be based on.

NB. For any posters who may take it to mean I agree with everything that is in the article - I do not and I doubt this is definitive. I have not gone off to listen to Skrewdriver albums!

www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2016/01/slavoj-zizek-cologne-attacks

That's a good point. If MN cannot amend the first post could they delete the whole thing and we repost a new one?

I'm surprised that, while most women I have asked about the petition have agreed to sign and share instantly, the only ones who have been doubtful or questioned it are those who I'd have thought would be most behind defending women's rights. Just goes to show how we all see things differently

www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/greece-refugees-life-jackets_us_56730134e4b0688701dc99f2?utm_hp_ref=world
This is an article on Lesbos one month ago.

Just makes you feel incredibly sad, but I suspect there was no other choice and I guess if it's that or nothing you do your best and hope. I suppose the majority of the toys there were the mark of a successful landing, but the journey is still uncertain for many of those kids even after they have made it...

Interesting from The Economist:
www.economist.com/news/leaders/21688397-absorb-newcomers-peacefully-europe-must-insist-they-respect-values-such-tolerance-and

Interesting and maddening.

"Europe must insist they respect values such as tolerance and sexual equality"... well, yes, quite. How, exactly?

The Economist has been staggering naive about this whole issue. They have finally admitted in their latest edition that Merkel may have been a little too gung-ho in telling everyone to come to Europe.

This was after weeks and WEEKS of editorials and articles in the Economist cheerleading her policy in a staggeringly daft manner.

I don't quite "get" the Economist recently. Half their articles tell us that loads of low-skilled jobs are about to be automated, the other half are shouting at us to import as many low-skilled workers as possible RIGHT NOW, because Europe will need them and we are running out, quick!

Make up your mind, please, Economist.

If I were into conspiracy theories, I would be noting the fact that the Economist, just like the IMF, is now using the massive numbers of unskilled migrants as a rationale for "liberalizing" European labour markets (ie cutting minimum wages and "rethinking" worker protections, benefits and so on), on the grounds that such steps will be necessary to integrating large numbers of unskilled migrants.

NewStatesman I didn't think that idea anywhere near conspiracy theory level.

I took it as read!

I have visited the Cologne threads offline from time to time but never had time to attend. My daughter urged that I check in so I am hurriedly doing so. I have to say that I am appalled that a certain group of posters with a hostile agenda are still here having been allowed to continue.

I note that they have not contributed anything useful to the debate, and instead dissect, knock down and criticise everyone else’s contributions. They have never bothered to submit an extract to the forum or a link or shown that they are properly engaged in the conversation.

I am a member of a number of forums and yesterday I was on bullyonline.org. Two posters were thrown off for exactly this style of diminishing behaviour that MN allows. I know of no forum that allows a cabal of saboteurs to remain. Their style of writing is to undermine and exasperate op but pretend it is a difference of opinion. They dissect other people’s statements but have nothing pertinent to say themselves.

There are some marvellous people in this debate who I can see are being deliberately antagonised by the problem troupe.

Discussion is the raison d’etre of this site, but MN has allowed several posters, who back each other up, to behave as arbiters of what is true and what is not, despite witness reports coming out of Europe and of some posters personal knowledge. Everyone is wrong, cruel, unfeeling except them.

I have been on online forums ever since they were invented and what I see on here aint right. The cabal attacks and pulls apart nearly every post from someone else, but when challenged manages to sound so-reasonable. This is actually bullying behaviour under a clever guise. Mumsnet HQ – you are either misinterpreting your own rules or there is something else going on here that I am missing. I have been a forum administrator myself and know that this type of aggressive contrariness is outside the rules of any forum.

I have signed the petition.

NewStatesman, that's interesting in the light of this I just saw on another thread www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35300262 - Denmark voting on a bill to seize asylum seeker's valuables. Sounds horrific, until you read the article and note where it says that it's to achieve parity with their own jobless, who have to sell assets to claim benefits. In the UK you're ability to claim benefits is progressively reduced the more savings you have (which while aimed at getting money to the most needy also puts the poorest in a bit of a poverty trap...)

Perhaps something good that could come out of this is to rethink how we treat our poorest, as inequality increases all over the western world and in few places so sharply as the UK. Bring on citizen's basic income perhaps.

I've missed something somewhere - Mariscallroad, what are you counting and why?? I'm curious.

I need a 'like' button for your post Veronica. No idea why MNHQ are allowing this constant derailing, it's been going on for weeks.

Reposting this for anyone interested.
From wikipedia
In Internet slang, a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response [2] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion,[3] often for their own amusement.