Truck plows through a bike path in NYC

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 4:36pm

Happened about an hour ago in lower downtown near the west side highway. Reports are maybe 6 dead, the driver was shot by police but not critically.

Horrendous, hopefully everyone here and their families and friends are ok.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 4:57pm

https://www.wnyc.org/story/nypd-resonds-shooting-lower-manhattan

http://gothamist.com/2017/10/31/west_side_highway_shooting.php#photo-1

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/31/nyregion/police-shooting-lower-manhattan.html

[binau]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 4:59pm

Absolutely shocking. Just as after Vegas we called for gun control, it’s time we start a conversation thinking how we can better control the dangerous ideologies that lead to such events.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 5:25pm

Was this anywhere near tonight's parade route.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 5:30pm

"Activity over the NYPD scanner feed indicates that city officers are going about planned activities to prepare for the NYC Halloween parade 2017."

https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/new-york/is-the-nyc-halloween-parade-cancelled

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 5:51pm

Dollypop said: "Was this anywhere near tonight's parade route."

It's not far, probably a bit over a mile away.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 7:16pm

qolbinau said: "Absolutely shocking. Just as after Vegas we called for gun control, it’s time we start a conversation thinking how we can better control the dangerous ideologies that lead to such events."

Being apart of the Islamic world does equate to being a terrorist.

[binau]

Posted: 10/31/17 at 7:31pm

Owning a gun does not equate to mass shootings either - what is your point? You are responding to an argument that no one is making. 

Updated On: 10/31/17 at 07:31 PM

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 6:19pm

“He’s talking. He’s laughing. He’s very happy with what he did,” said a source who was briefed by a hospital staffer on the floor. “He feels accomplished.”

Of course he is. He is going to heaven now with 72 virgins according to his belief system. He should be overjoyed. Meanwhile, the rest of us live in fear or are angry because we KNOW it is going to happen again, and again, and again. There is something intrinsically wrong with religion that leads to these attacks - as well as a whole shopping list of other negative outcomes such as homophobia and sexism.

We need to get rid of the false assumption that religion is intrinsically peaceful. It is simply not true. We need a cultural revolution to increasing secularism and atheism. Meanwhile, we do what we always do - nothing.

[South Florida]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 7:50pm

Once thought Headband was the most odious creature in here.

 

[South Florida]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 7:58pm

Your anti religion rants have got boring.  The people who are doing the most good for this world, and dedicate their lives to helping the poor are the most spiritual.  Stop making your gospel about religious perverts, it makes you look...

[FrankieSay]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:02pm

Cue the obligatory post expressing the difference between religion and spirituality.

"The people who are doing the most good for this world, and dedicate their lives to helping the poor are the most spiritual."

Do you have citations for this assertion ... ?

 

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:05pm

It’s just hilarious. Religion is intellectually absurd, fly planes into buildings, run over people, kills and persecutes gay people, strips the rights of women or treats them as 2nd class citizens and yet - I’m the problem? We need people with genuine progressive and scientific values. Not whatever this conservative freak show that is going on in the world right now - and those that sympathize with it.

Updated On: 11/1/17 at 08:05 PM

[South Florida]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:31pm

I'm guessin Ghandi, our current pope, my sister, a staunch Catholic that has beliefs that don't conform to gay hate, and any of the other things Christianity is being accused of.  She teaches poor people around the world how to grow vegetables where they never have before.  A loser who runs over a bunch of people is not a religious zealot, just a loser.

 

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:31pm

qolbinau said: "
“He’s talking. He’s laughing. He’s very happy with what he did,” said a source who was briefed by a hospital staffer on the floor. “He feels accomplished.”

Of course he is. He is going to heaven now with 72 virgins according to his belief system. He should be overjoyed. Meanwhile, the rest of us live in fear or are angry because we KNOW it is going to happen again, and again, and again. There is something intrinsically wrong with religion that leads to these attacks - as well as a whole shopping list of other negative outcomes such as homophobia and sexism.

We need to get rid of the false assumption that religion is intrinsically peaceful. It is simply not true. We need a cultural revolution to increasing secularism and atheism. Meanwhile, we do what we always do - nothing."

 

How does it feel to have spent all this time all these months on these idiotic rants and yet have as far as I can tell, convinced no one that all religion is bad that wasn't already convinced before you started?

You're like the little kid in 3rd grade whose mom never ever put a dessert in your lunch box and you have to see all the other kids whose mom gave them a piece of cake or pie or cookies. Instead of simply asking if they would share, you decide to try to convince them that all dessert is bad for them, poisonous even and they should throw theirs away. Of course most just ignore you and some laugh at you, kind of like here.

But I do admire how much free time you seem to have and how you never tire of saying the exact same thing for the umpteenth time. So, if it makes you feel better, knock yourself out.

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:36pm

I mean it’s awful to be kept being proven right all the time. And to see how truly stupid many of the people are here - some of the most stupid I’ve ever dealt with in my life. But someone has to do it. Because people are literally dying and gay people are literally suffering. Yet you fools don’t seem to care at all.

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:42pm

qolbinau said: "I mean it’s awful to be kept being proven right all the time. And to see how truly stupid many of the people are here - some of the most stupid I’ve ever dealt with in my life. But someone has to do it. Because people are literally dying and gay people are literally suffering. Yet you fools don’t seem to care at all."

You really should never under any circumstances call anyone else stupid. You're so arrogant, so impressed with what you think is your own above average intellect that you're not bright enough to recognize there are bad people in this world who will do bad things. If they didn't use religion, they would cloak themselves under the banner of nationalism or whatever they felt they needed to use to justify in their own mind their evil acts. But you're too impressed with your own bvll**** to be able to recognize that.

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:42pm

South Florida said: "I'm guessin Ghandi, our current pope, my sister, a staunch Catholic that has beliefs that don't conform to gay hate, and any of the other things Christianity is being accused of. She teaches poor people around the world how to grow vegetables where they never have before. A loser who runs over a bunch of people is not a religious zealot, just a loser.

"

A loser who runs over a bunch of people who identifies as a religious person and claims he is inspired by religious beliefs of a religious organisation is not a religious zealot? Just a ‘loser’? Wow the denial of the truth here is unbelievable. Call a spade a spade.

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 8:51pm

UncleCharlie said: "qolbinau said: "I mean it’s awful to be kept being proven right all the time. And to see how truly stupid many of the people are here - some of the most stupid I’ve ever dealt with in my life. But someone has to do it. Because people are literally dying and gay people are literally suffering. Yet you fools don’t seem to care at all."

You really should never under any circumstances call anyone else stupid. You're so arrogant, so impressed with what you think is your own above averageintellect that you're not bright enough to recognize there are bad people in this world who will do bad things. If they didn't usereligion, they would cloak themselves under the banner of nationalism orwhatever they felt they needed to use to justify in their own mind their evil acts. But you're too impressed with your own bvll**** to be able to recognize that."



I mean this is just completely false. Like I can tell you actually don’t know anything about this subject at all by trotting out this old baseless cliche. If you investigate this further you will quickly find that at the core of many religious extremists are deeply held religious beliefs and behaviours that are completely consistent with an honest reading of the doctrine.

The 9/11 memorial in NYC is incredibly honest about this subject, for example - and goes into detail about the religious and political motivations behind the attack. Maybe there is a leader that might have sinister motives - but what gets people on board (no pun intended) are deeply held religious beliefs around forwarding the interests of their religion and the rewards for doing so. Without these factors - religious terrorism wouldn’t exist. You severely underestimate the power of dangerous ideas to make good people do bad things. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WT4ruiB941I

Where to find more info: Read or listen to Sam Harris on this subject, look at religious doctrine, listen carefully to extremists and their motivations - for example watch the documentary among the believers.

Updated On: 11/1/17 at 08:51 PM

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 9:14pm

qolbinau said: "UncleCharlie said: "qolbinau said: "I mean it’s awful to be kept being proven right all the time. And to see how truly stupid many of the people are here - some of the most stupid I’ve ever dealt with in my life. But someone has to do it. Because people are literally dying and gay people are literally suffering. Yet you fools don’t seem to care at all."

You really should never under any circumstances call anyone else stupid. You're so arrogant, so impressed with what you think is your own above averageintellect that you're not bright enough to recognize there are bad people in this world who will do bad things. If they didn't usereligion, they would cloak themselves under the banner of nationalism orwhatever they felt they needed to use to justify in their own mind their evil acts. But you're too impressed with your own bvll**** to be able to recognize that."

I mean this is just completely false. Like I can tell you actually don’t know anything about this subject at all by trotting out this old baseless cliche. If you investigate this further you will quickly find that at the core of many religious extremists are deeply held religious beliefs and behaviours that are completely consistent with an honest reading of the doctrine.

The 9/11 memorial in NYC is incredibly honest about this subject, for example - and goes into detail about the religious and political motivations behind the attack. Maybe there is a leader that might have sinister motives - but what gets people on board (no pun intended) are deeply held religious beliefs around forwarding the interests of their religion and the rewards for doing so. Without these factors - religious terrorism wouldn’t exist."

It's not the religion itself. It's how the leader with sinister motives tells them their religion should be interpreted and these people who are often poor and poorly educated accept this interpretation cause they don't know any better. There are approximately 1.8 billion Muslims. If there was even the slightest thread of correctness in your argument and violence like what happened yesterday was truly what their religion taught "with an honest reading of the doctrine", there would be thousands and thousands of violent incidents like what happened yesterday, every single day. Yet, there aren't. Leaders with sinister motives use whatever arguments they need to make to appeal to and convert followers to attack their desired targets... blacks are biologically inferior, immigrants are taking your jobs, jews are stealing your money, gays want to molest your children, westerners are infidels and the Quran says they must be killed for their sins. But you naively latch onto what fits your atheistic narrative.

What you can't see is that you are every bit as much of a zealot as any one of them. At least thankfully, your clearly mounting frustration hasn't caused you to start advocating violence against religious people... yet.

[FrankieSay]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 9:46pm

And to see how truly stupid many of the people are here - some of the most stupid I’ve ever dealt with in my life.

 

If that's true, you must have a pretty good life, kid.

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 9:48pm

The reason why the overwhelming majority of Islamic adherents are not violent is because, like most Christians (who also have awful doctrine in the Bible), they don’t interpret their text in the same way as extremists or take it literally (and this has not always been historically true - there was a time where Christians did indeed burn witches alive and stone adulterers - and it wasn’t because they were bad people and have since become good. It’s because the doctrine evolved and ideas around how to interpret the doctrine evolved).

Religious doctrine is like a loaded gun - most will not do anything with it. Some will use it for good. And some for bad. It’s time we reform our cultural attitudes towards religion and education systems so that we can unload this gun. Muslims are dying in suicide bombings daily because of it. Gay people are being persecuted, jailed, beaten and killed.

Like gun control - it is indeed the few that don’t do the right thing that means we need to take action that will affect the majority of peaceful people.

Updated On: 11/1/17 at 09:48 PM

[Islander_fan]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 10:26pm

Qolbinau,

I am an atheist too. But, unlike you, I don't believe that religion is bad, those who follow it to any degree are bad for doing so and can easily agree to disagree. What I want to know is why is it so hard for you to agree to disagree? Why is it that you make religion in and of itself come off as the root of all evil when it's not. I think that you'd come off more agreeable if that were the case. Well, that, and I am sure that most around here would then be happy to not have to hear your verbal word vomit of how religion is bad etc etc. 

[binau]

Posted: 11/1/17 at 11:32pm

I guess similarly it’s hard for me to see how any gay atheist with a religious upbringing and religious education (such as myself) would not want to do something to stop religious destruction. We don’t even have gay marriage in my country - and I bet you can guess which powerful wealthy organisations are trying to do everything they can to stop this.

Similarly - how can you not feel sympathy for the hundreds and hundreds of Muslims that are suffering in the hands of their religious doctrine. Whether it be gay people, terrorist victims, women.

It seems like people would rather forget or ignore the bad (or worse, lie about it) - and focus on the good. Which I completely agree exists. There is a lot of good about religion. And a lot of neutral. But what keeps me up at night is the suffering.

Updated On: 11/1/17 at 11:32 PM

[FrankieSay]

Posted: 11/2/17 at 12:32am

How are you specifically "stopping religious destruction"? With redundant hectoring posts? Is that what you do? What's your verb?