[geeks] Now for something completely geek

[Sandwich Maker]

" From: Mike Meredith <very at zonky.org>
" 
" On Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:30:27 -0400 (EDT), Sandwich Maker wrote:
" 
" 
" > it's sad to see well-intentioned arabic/moslem leaders wanting to re-
" > establish an islamic golden age such as they enjoyed six centuries
" > ago, when they don't understand that flowering depended on the
" > hammerlock they had on east-west trade, and the money they could
" 
" I wish them all the luck in the world ... an Islamic world reflecting
" the attitudes of the Islamic golden age would be much more palatable
" than the kind of Islam promoted by the fundamentalists. I'm not sure the
" golden age was driven purely by the profits of the east-west trade ...
" some at least must have been the result of open-mindedness and
" tolerance.

but open-mindedness and tolerance follow in the wake of money [trade].
see, there are all these foreigners passing through, with all their
strange ideas - and they are your cash cow.  pretty soon you find you
don't have enough scribes to track all the business, but skilled
foreigners, with all their strange ideas, can help - and might even
have useful knowledge your own people lack...  a bustling, thriving
international trade city must over time become open-minded and
tolerant.  that atmosphere combined with wealth...

" > there's one other empire whose influence we should reckon - the
" > catholic empire.  for much of the last two millennia the bishop of
" > rome has been more powerful than kings, even in europe.
" 
" Indeed. My attitude to them is just about summed up by Lemmy from
" Motorhead :-

i pretty much agree.  the disgust i feel for them can't be put into
words.
________________________________________________________________________
Andrew Hay                                  the genius nature
internet rambler                            is to see what all have seen
adh at an.bradford.ma.us                       and think what none thought