http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-31759555

Islamic State (IS) militants have begun bulldozing the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, Iraqi government officials say.

Very sad news.

Seem to remember something similar happening in Afghanistan a few years ago......A couple of giant statues of Buddha ?
Cheers - Phil

I was reading online yesterday  that there are about 5 million sites in the area at risk  at present


Of course its only the big bits there destroying. All the smaller items are being smuggled out and sold on the antiquities black market

The trouble is these idiots want to impose their own cockeyed notions on the rest of the world. I fear that they will eventually have to be stopped by force.

To quote Fox News: "Bomb them, bomb them and then bomb them!" And while we're at it get their effing supporters out of this country.

A blow to the heart and to civilisation carried out by ignorant psychopaths and former petty criminals. Equally sad is that most of the world is indifferent to this and won't miss its absence.  

must be good for the US airforce, RAF etc to bomb these guys with a clear conscience. They're not bombing some conscript army or some poor blokes dragged to the front. They're safe in the knowledge they're bombing some complete evil, murdering bastards. I'd gladly pay more taxes to bomb these f**kers.

Succinctly put Matt.

On the up side, these religious fanatics do more in a month for the atheist cause than Richard Dawkins could in five years.

Matt - "They're not bombing some conscript army or some poor blokes dragged to the front."

In many cases ISIS fighters are in fact just that. Their discipline methods include killing and ****** the friends and family of "volunteers" if the said "volunteers" don't go sacrifice themselves.

ISIS/Daeush/IS/whatever is not the Knights Templar - it's a grimly welded together coalition of many fractious and opposing groups. Sadly airstrikes against frontline troops are likely to hit the least committed "fighters".

Just like placing your good old unreliable ally command out the front where the other player has to fight it in DBM

But yeah, their wanton destruction of the past is something makes me angry, and very sad

QuoteIn many cases ISIS fighters are in fact just that. Their discipline methods include killing and ****** the friends and family of "volunteers" if the said "volunteers" don't go sacrifice themselves.

I have no doubt this occurs but they don't seem to be short of willing volunteers from all over the world.

Another up-note: a Pakistani colleague tells me there's widespread condemnation of that vandalising of statues of the Buddha in her home country, and moves are afoot to reassemble them. Let's hope.

Sad; very, very sad.

That's all.

Quote from: Matt of Munslow on 06 March 2015, 11:29:17 AM
I have no doubt this occurs but they don't seem to be short of willing volunteers from all over the world.

Despite the tabloid hype, their armed units are mostly other groups that they've eaten and effectively impressed into service, around a core of again mostly locals. The celebrity jihadi's make good air time though.

That said, of the 15k or so "foreign" fighters about half are from Saudi. Quelle surprise.

As an archaeologist I am flaming well mad at the utter stupidity and ignorance of these idiots who seeem to think that anything from the past is such a threat to them.

My thoughts as a man are not even printable on here (and I know this is a fairly liberal site), safe to say that I do not think either talk or diplomacy against murdering b******s is the answer.  If a mad dog is attacking people it will be destroyed, and I think a mad dog has more rights than IS members and supporters.