Europe Needs To Re-Examine The History Of The Moors

The horrible murders of men, women and children in France is just another reason that the world, especially Europe, needs to enforce their borders and scrutinize immigration. Immigrants who refuse to assimilate to their host country are problematical.

Perhaps Europe should re-examine the history of the Moors:

The term Moors refers to the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages, who initially were of Berber and Arab peoples of North African descent.

Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people and mainstream scholars observed in 1911 that "The term 'Moors' has no real ethnological value. Medieval and early modern Europeans variously applied the name to Arabs, Berber North Africans and Muslim Europeans.

The term has also been used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general, especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa.

During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names "Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors" in Sri Lanka, and the Bengali Muslims were also called Moors. In 711 the Moors invaded the Iberian Peninsula from North Africa and called the territory Al-Andalus, which at its peak included most of modern-day Spain, Portugal, and Septimania.

The Moors occupied Mazara on Sicily in 827, developing it as a port, and they eventually consolidated the rest of the island and some of southern Italy. Differences in religion and culture led to a centuries-long conflict with the Christian kingdoms of Europe, which tried to reclaim control of Muslim areas; this conflict was referred to as the Reconquista.

In 1224 the Muslims were expelled from Sicily to the settlement of Lucera, which was destroyed by European Christians in 1300.

The fall of Granada in 1492 marked the end of Muslim rule in Iberia, although a Muslim minority persisted until their expulsion in 1609.

The News As I See It: Elizabeth Warren has been invited to give an address on the first night of the Democratic Convention. Hillary Clinton will give the address on the final night and Bernie Sanders will be given the wrong address so that he misses the convention entirely.

A restaurant in China forces customers to solve complex math problems before they can order their meal. The restaurant has no plans to expand to the United States.

A man in Oregon got stabbed while playing Pokémon Go and refused medical treatment in order to keep playing. He leaves a wife, two kids, and six Squirtles.

Some nursing homes in New York are allowing elderly residents to have sex. There’s also a new trend the next morning at nursing homes known as the "Shuffle of Shame."

This Date In History: 1869; Margarine was patented in France by Hippolyte Mege Mouries. 1870; Georgia became the last of the Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union. 1918; The Second Battle of the Marne began during World War I.

1940; The world's tallest man (8 feet, 11.1 inches), Robert Wadlow, died. 1948; John J. Pershing, whose leadership in World War I earned him the title General of the Armies of the United States, died in Washington, DC.

1975; The Russian Soyuz and the U.S. Apollo launched. The Apollo-Soyuz mission was the first international manned spaceflight. 2010; After 86 days of gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico and several previous attempts to contain the flow, BP caps its leaking oil well.

Picture Of The Day: The picture speaks for itself.....

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Map Quest really needs to start their directions on number five. I've mastered the art of getting out of my neighborhood. An "avoid ghetto" option would be handy.  2) Kim Kardashian is more popular than Congress. And, like Congress, Kim's maximum capacity is 500 members. 3) A young man scolded me the other day for not paying attention to his question. I apologized and asked him if he had graduated from college. He scowled and said, "I majored in liberal arts." Then he said, "Will that be for here or to go?" 4) A twofold national problem is how to preserve the wilderness in the country and get rid of the jungle in the cities.  5) In an intellectual, equal pay society, how will I get my hamburger and fries and who will be the busboys?.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Cancer - July 15th: The odds are that you'll see something this weekend that you physically and desperately desire. However, the risk may not be worth the reward. I know this to be true as I have been married twice and payback is hell. Relax, have a beer and wait for the next bus.

Birthdays: Rembrandt, Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman 1606, Clement Moore, poet 1779, Mother Cabrini, nun 1850, Iris Murdoch, writer 1919.

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A busload of politicians were driving down a country road, when suddenly the bus ran off the road and crashed into an old farmer's barn. The old farmer got off his tractor and went to investigate. Soon he dug a hole and buried the politicians.

A few days later, the local sheriff came out, saw the crashed bus and asked the old farmer where all the politicians had gone. The old farmer told him he had buried them.

The sheriff asked the old farmer, "Lord, were they all dead?" The old farmer said, "Well, some of them said they weren't, but you know how crooked politicians lie."

Obama was sleeping one night in the White House and the ghost of George Washington appears. Somewhat nervous, Obama asks, "How can I best serve my country?" Washington says, "Never tell a lie." Obama says, "Ooh, I don't know about that."

The next night, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appears. Obama says, "How can I best serve my country?" Jefferson says, "Listen to the people." Obama answers, "Oh, I can't really do that."

On the third night, the ghost of Abe Lincoln appears. Obama says, "How can I best serve my country?" Lincoln says, "Go to the theater."

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: The 6th grade science teacher, Mrs. Parks, asked her class, "What human body part increases to ten times its size when stimulated?" No one answered until little Mary stood up and said, "You should not be asking sixth-graders a question like that! I'm going to tell my parents, and they will go and tell the principal, who will then fire you!"

Mrs. Parks ignored her and asked the question again, "Which body part increases to 10 times its size when stimulated?" Little Mary's mouth fell open. Then she said to those around her, "Boy, is she going to get in big trouble!"

The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class, "Anybody?" Finally, Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said, "The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye."

Mrs. Parks said, "Very good, Billy," then turned to Mary and continued. "As for you, young lady, I have three things to say: One, you have a dirty mind. Two, you didn't read your homework. And three, one day you are going to be very, very disappointed.

A woman called 911 when she realized she was about to give birth. Due to a power outage, only one paramedic responded to the emergency call.

The house was very dark so the paramedic asked Kathleen, a 3-yr old girl, to hold a flashlight high over her mommy so he could see while he helped deliver the baby very diligently. Kathleen did as she was asked.

The woman pushed and pushed and after a little while, a baby boy was born. The paramedic lifted him by his little feet and spanked him on his bottom and the child began to cry.

The paramedic then thanked Kathleen for her help and asked the wide-eyed 3-yr old what she thought about what she had just witnessed. Kathleen quickly responded, "Smack him again! He shouldn't have crawled in there in the first place."

That's it for today, my little tumble weeds. Remember, as you get older three things happen. The first is you get sexier, the second is your memory fades and I can't remember the last one. I'm heading over to AREA 51 for happy hour.

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Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !