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Thread: Generational Dynamics World View - Page 55







Post#1351 at 05-08-2014 04:04 PM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
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Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
Or, you know, a Pentagon lie. To go with all their others. The pitiful thing is, for major troop movements, there are all sorts of means to verify who is lying. Your Pentagon, however, isn't offering any evidence... and none is being asked of them. Maybe the unmoved Russian troops have Saddam's WMD with them, too?
Based solely on logic, having his troops stand down but remain in place keeps the focus away from Crimea (Putin will want that for the bases alone) without raising the temperature any higher in Ukraine proper.

It's a smart move, so I assume it's true.
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#1352 at 05-08-2014 04:09 PM by Justin '77 [at Meh. joined Sep 2001 #posts 12,182]
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Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
Based solely on logic, having his troops stand down but remain in place keeps the focus away from Crimea (Putin will want that for the bases alone) without raising the temperature any higher in Ukraine proper.
The Russian troops which were moved closer to the Ukrainian border some weeks ago, ostensibly for "exercises", were all moved back to their normal places. Lots of those normal places are still not nearly as far from the Ukrainian border as, for example, Cleveland is. But the line the Pentagon and NATO is putting out is not just disingenuous -- it's stupid- and lazy-disingenuous. That makes it stand out among all the just-plain-lies that are the bread and butter of modern politics.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela, la loi ? On peut donc ętre dehors. Je ne comprends pas. Quant ŕ moi, suis-je dans la loi ? suis-je hors la loi ? Je n'en sais rien. Mourir de faim, est-ce ętre dans la loi ?" -- Tellmarch

"Человек не может снять с себя ответственности за свои поступки." - L. Tolstoy

"[it]
is no doubt obvious, the cult of the experts is both self-serving, for those who propound it, and fraudulent." - Noam Chomsky







Post#1353 at 05-08-2014 07:43 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
> That's also pretty pitiful. Even a cursory reading of
> the
> report
to which that particular lie claims to refer is
> plenty enough to reveal it as lazy propaganda.

> Here's
> a debunking
with the math done for you already
Before I respond to all this, I'd like to give some other examples.

Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in 2005 that Israel should be "pushed
into the sea," and this was widely reported in the press. I quoted
Ahmadinejad every now and then, and sometimes got messages from
readers criticizing me, and saying that Ahmadinejad was really saying
something about "turning the page."

My response was simple: Ahmadinejad's remarks were widely reported.
If he's being misquoted or mistranslated, then he can say so himself.
But in the last 9 years, he's never once offered to clarify his
remarks. My conclusion is that he did in fact want Israel "pushed
into the sea."

Another Iran example: A number of Iranians claim that Ayatollah
Khamenei issued a fatwa in 2003 against developing nuclear weapons.
Trouble is, there's no evidence that such a fatwa exists. No one has
read it. It's not on Khamenei's own list of fatwas on his web site.
Kerry keeps referring to this fatwa, as if it existed. So does it
exist? Khamenei himself could clear this up in one day, but he
remains silent. So my conclusion is that no such fatwa exists, but
Khamenei wants Kerry and others to believe it exists and that Kerry is
an idiot.

And then we have Obamacare, where almost every statement has turned
out to be a total lie, including numbers related to enrollment.
Anyone who believes anything that Obama says should have his head
examined.

I quote lies from analysts on CNBC all the time. I've quoted dozens
of obvious lies from Europeans during the various country bankruptcy
crises. A politician being a lying jerk is the norm today.

So let's get back to Putin. He's lied repeatedly and often. ("We
have no intention of annexing Crimea.") He's announced several times
that the Russian troops have been pulled back. Well, if they've been
pulled back in the past, why does he have to announce that he's
pulling them back again? How many times does he have to say he's
pulling them back before he actually pulls them back?

And if I'm forced to choose whether I believe Putin or the Pentagon, I
would give the Pentagon higher credibility.

Now let's get back to the Crimea referendum. The 97% figure is an
obvious lie, like the Obamacare figures have been lies. My conclusion
is this: If the figure were, say, 80%, then Putin would have used that
figure. By saying 97%, he shows what a jackass he is, and how much
contempt he's showing for everyone else, by giving a figure that
obviously false, but knowing that his sycophants will support him. So
my conclusion is that the real figure is MUCH lower than 97%. And 30%
of 50% = 15% makes a lot of sense, under the circumstances of the
referendum, so I consider that figure to be quite credible and
reasonable.

Once again, if Putin really wants to clear this up, he can order that
the detailed election results be released. Of course that would
expose the full truth, which is not what Putin wants.

And so, Justin, Putin is a crook and a liar, and the only thing that's
pitiful and pathetic is blindly supporting him.
Last edited by John J. Xenakis; 05-09-2014 at 12:23 PM.







Post#1354 at 05-08-2014 07:53 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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And let's not forget that Putin is a war criminal for supplying arms
to Bashar al-Assad for use in his "industrial strength" torture and
genocide and crimes against humanity.







Post#1355 at 05-08-2014 09:36 PM by Marx & Lennon [at '47 cohort still lost in Falwelland joined Sep 2001 #posts 16,715]
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Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
The Russian troops which were moved closer to the Ukrainian border some weeks ago, ostensibly for "exercises", were all moved back to their normal places. Lots of those normal places are still not nearly as far from the Ukrainian border as, for example, Cleveland is. But the line the Pentagon and NATO is putting out is not just disingenuous -- it's stupid- and lazy-disingenuous. That makes it stand out among all the just-plain-lies that are the bread and butter of modern politics.
In foreign relations, no one tells the truth if a lie works better. Why would you expect otherwise?

This game is simple. Putin gets Crimea with minimal fuss. The EU has a fair shot at the rest. Putin picks up any pieces that fall on the ground.

Would any of the players actually admit to this?
Marx: Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.
Lennon: You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die.







Post#1356 at 05-08-2014 10:50 PM by Anc' Mariner [at San Dimas, California joined Feb 2014 #posts 258]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
And let's not forget that Putin is a war criminal for supplying arms
to Bashar al-Assad for use in his "industrial strength" torture and
genocide and crimes against humanity.
You are using a legal term (genocide) in a non technical sense. Since Nuremburg, "genocide" is not synonymous with "killing lots of people." Genocide is much more specific: it means targeting people with the specific objective of eradicating them as a collective with a shared culture and ancestry.

Bashar al-Assad is so far a weak version of his father Hafez, but afaik his regime is killing people for political opposition not ethnic replacement. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Btw, genocide need not be direct state murder. It can be any state policy (openly stated or not) that has the intent of replacing a group of people sharing culture or ancestry. Doesn't necessarily have to be bloody, just a consistently demonstrated intent with the objective effect of replacing an existing group of people sharing descent and/or culture and beliefs.







Post#1357 at 05-08-2014 11:05 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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9-May-14 World View - Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls becomes international issue

*** 9-May-14 World View -- Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls becomes international issue

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Ukraine's pro-Russian activists to go ahead with secession referendum
  • Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls becomes international issue


****
**** Ukraine's pro-Russian activists to go ahead with secession referendum
****


Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine have defiantly announced that
they have 3 million ballots already printed, and that they're going
ahead with Sunday's referendum on separation from Ukraine, despite
Wednesday's surprising call from Russia's president Vladimir Putin to
postpone it.

I listened to several different analysts and commentators speculate on
the reasons why Putin made his flip-flop, and called for postponement
of the referendum. Here are some of the speculations:

  • As we reported yesterday,

    Putin has been caught in a lie, and the claims that 97% of the voters
    in the Crimean secession voted for secession. It turns out that these
    figures are fraudulent, and the actual figure is 50% of a 30% turnout,
    or 15% of voters. Putin would probably not easily get away with a
    similar fraud in an eastern Ukraine referendum.
  • A number of polls indicate that Putin's side is likely to lose. A
    recent Pew Research poll shows that 70% of east Ukrainians want
    Ukraine to be united, while only 18% want to secede; even Russian
    speakers in east Ukraine, favor a united Ukraine by 58% to 27%.
  • Putin may be afraid that events are spinning out of control, and
    that if the pro-secession activists win the referendum, then Ukraine
    may become completely chaotic, with a refugee crisis that will spill
    over the border into Russia.
  • Putin's flip-flop may simply have been another charade, since he
    knew that his call would be ignored. But then he can say that he did
    his best, and he would then avoid further Western sanctions.


Interestingly enough, I didn't hear a single commentator say that
Putin called off the referendum because "it's the right thing to do."

And on Thursday, the Pentagon repeated that there have been no changes
to the Russian forces on the border, despite Putin's obviously
dishonest claim that Russian forces had been pulled back. AP and Pew Research and CS Monitor

****
**** Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls becomes international issue
****


The United States is leading an international effort along with
Britain, France and China, to help Nigeria find the 276 or so missing
schoolgirls that were abducted by the terror group Boko Haram on April
16. It's believed that the U.S. will provide some military help using
drones, launched from a new drone base in Niger. However, it's
believed that the search for the girls will be hampered by the fact
that they girls have probably been split up into smaller groups, that
they've probably been moved into neighboring countries of Niger,
Cameroon and Chad, and that some of them may already have been sold as
slave girls.

Boko Haram has followed the abduction with a series of additional
terror attacks, including a bombing in the capital city of Abuja, the
abduction of 8 additional girls last Sunday, and the murder of
hundreds of people in a village on Monday. It used to be that Boko
Haram bombed government installations and Christian churches, but now
it seems that Boko Haram has almost "freaked out" with mass attacks on
civilians that are so gruesome and horrific that even al-Qaeda avoids
them, because of the negative publicity.

For a couple of weeks after the abduction occurred, it seemed that
nobody particularly cared, not the government of Nigeria, and not the
international community. (See "2-May-14 World View -- New car bombing in Nigeria, while 200 kidnapped girls are still missing"
.) But this week the
feminists have come out with a #BringBackOurDaughters twitter
campaign. Whether the cries of feminist outrage will encourage Boko
Haram to change its way or, to the contrary, will encourage Boko Haram
to abduct even more schoolgirls remains to be seen. CS Monitor and CNN and Tribune (Nigeria)


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Crimea,
Nigeria, Boko Haram, Niger, Cameroon, Chad

Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail







Post#1358 at 05-09-2014 09:16 AM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by Anc' Mariner View Post
> You are using a legal term (genocide) in a non technical
> sense. Since Nuremburg, "genocide" is not synonymous with "killing
> lots of people." Genocide is much more specific: it means
> targeting people with the specific objective of eradicating them
> as a collective with a shared culture and ancestry.

> Bashar al-Assad is so far a weak version of his father Hafez, but
> afaik his regime is killing people for political opposition not
> ethnic replacement. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Al-Assad appears to be trying to exterminate all Sunni Muslims, and is
particularly targeting women and children, so that he can finish the
job that his father started. All the signs indicate that al-Assad is
attempting to implement a "final solution" to the problem that his
Alawite sect is a small minority.







Post#1359 at 05-09-2014 04:11 PM by Justin '77 [at Meh. joined Sep 2001 #posts 12,182]
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Quote Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon View Post
In foreign relations, no one tells the truth if a lie works better. Why would you expect otherwise?
Naturally. That's why it's not the bullshit, so much as the great desire to have people eat the bullshit, that bothers me.

I mean seriously.... the Pentagon says something they don't want to hear is a lie... and that's supposed to mean a damn thing at all? Even moreso since days have passed and they've yet to put up even a single bad photoshop attempt to actually back up their empty claims.
Last edited by Justin '77; 05-09-2014 at 04:15 PM.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela, la loi ? On peut donc ętre dehors. Je ne comprends pas. Quant ŕ moi, suis-je dans la loi ? suis-je hors la loi ? Je n'en sais rien. Mourir de faim, est-ce ętre dans la loi ?" -- Tellmarch

"Человек не может снять с себя ответственности за свои поступки." - L. Tolstoy

"[it]
is no doubt obvious, the cult of the experts is both self-serving, for those who propound it, and fraudulent." - Noam Chomsky







Post#1360 at 05-09-2014 04:32 PM by Justin '77 [at Meh. joined Sep 2001 #posts 12,182]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
Al-Assad appears to be trying to exterminate all Sunni Muslims...
Either ignorance or lies. You pick.

Bashar Assad's Cabinet includes several Sunnis.

Prime Minister (formerly Minister of Health)
Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Religious Affairs
Minister of the Interior
Minister of State (Reconciliation Affairs)

"Genocide" is indeed a word that means something. We're all here pretty used to your using it emotionally in absence of (or contrary to) fact, but don't think that you can just blow off a criticism when it arises and then get a pass.
Last edited by Justin '77; 05-09-2014 at 04:34 PM.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela, la loi ? On peut donc ętre dehors. Je ne comprends pas. Quant ŕ moi, suis-je dans la loi ? suis-je hors la loi ? Je n'en sais rien. Mourir de faim, est-ce ętre dans la loi ?" -- Tellmarch

"Человек не может снять с себя ответственности за свои поступки." - L. Tolstoy

"[it]
is no doubt obvious, the cult of the experts is both self-serving, for those who propound it, and fraudulent." - Noam Chomsky







Post#1361 at 05-09-2014 05:21 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
> Naturally. That's why it's not the bullshit, so much as the great
> desire to have people eat the bullshit, that bothers me.

> I mean seriously.... the Pentagon says something they don't want
> to hear is a lie... and that's supposed to mean a damn thing at
> all? Even moreso since days have passed and they've yet to put up
> even a single bad photoshop attempt to actually back up their
> empty claims.
You've already answered your own question. If the Pentagon did
produce a photo, you would say it's photoshopped.

And what kind of photo would satisfy you? A photo of a tank
somewhere? What would that prove? So what you've written is total
nonsense.

Just to be clear, there's no photo that would satisfy you. You would
mock and ridicule any such photo. You're just playing a game. Or to
put it another way, you're the one who's eating bullshit.

Here's what AP says:

Quote Originally Posted by AP
> But there were no immediate signs that either move was truly
> happening or that they would cool the Ukrainian crisis. NATO and
> Washington said they saw no indication of a Russian pullback, and
> the pro-Russia insurgents behind the referendum have not agreed to
> go along with Putin's proposal.
> http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireS...order-23622600
Here's Nato's Secretary General:

Quote Originally Posted by Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen"
> I have very good vision but while we’ve noted Russia’s statement
> so far we haven’t seen any - any - indication of troops pulling
> back. If we saw visible signs of a meaningful pullback by Russian
> troops, I’d be the first one to welcome it."
> http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/...kraine-border/
So apparently you'd rather believe Putin than anyone in the West. I
suppose you think everyone's lying but that wonderful Saint Putin.
Hosanna! Hosanna!







Post#1362 at 05-09-2014 05:31 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
> Either ignorance or lies. You pick.
I assume you're talking about yourself. I pick both. You're
a dishonest moron.

Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
> Bashar Assad's Cabinet includes several Sunnis.
There were a number of Jewish / Zionist collaborators with
Hitler:

http://www.jewwatch.com/jew-occupied...w-support.html

By your reasoning, Hitler didn't commit genocide either. Are you
a Hitler sycophant too?

Quote Originally Posted by Justin '77 View Post
> "Genocide" is indeed a word that means something. We're all here
> pretty used to your using it emotionally in absence of (or
> contrary to) fact, but don't think that you can just blow off a
> criticism when it arises and then get a pass.
Nobody ever gives me a pass, least of all the morons and sycophants.
However, there's plenty of evidence that al-Assad is committing
genocide, and I've written posts about this on a number of occasions.
I'll stick to the facts, and let you stick to your love affair with
Putin and al-Assad.







Post#1363 at 05-09-2014 06:21 PM by JordanGoodspeed [at joined Mar 2013 #posts 3,587]
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Erm, you've also claimed that Putin is committing genocide on the Ukrainians. I really don't think that you're using the word properly. As was stated before, it doesn't just mean BAD.

Also, your little crackpot website (Jew Watch? WTF?) mentioning letters between the Stern gang and the Nazis asking that he expel the Jews rather than shoving them in the ovens isn't same thing at all. Now, if Hitler had several Jewish ministers and the majority of the Wehrmacht were secular Jews, that would be an apples-for-apples comparison, but as it stands that's no more than a cheap example of Godwin's law in action.

I think your geopolitical analysis would be improved if you had gradations beyond "bastion of truth justice, and the American way" and "omg Hitler!".







Post#1364 at 05-09-2014 06:39 PM by Justin '77 [at Meh. joined Sep 2001 #posts 12,182]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
There were a number of Jewish / Zionist collaborators with
Hitler:
Sure. Everyone knows that Hitler's next-in-command for the armed forces was Jewish. As was his minister of propaganda and his vice-chancellor. It's quite the remarkable example you oozed out.

Your tantrum impresses no one, and does nothing at all to hide the fact that reality doesn't back up the words you are typing. More gradation, as Jordan suggests, would certainly be a start in helping with your geopolitical "analysis". Getting your facts straight would be a next good step.
"Qu'est-ce que c'est que cela, la loi ? On peut donc ętre dehors. Je ne comprends pas. Quant ŕ moi, suis-je dans la loi ? suis-je hors la loi ? Je n'en sais rien. Mourir de faim, est-ce ętre dans la loi ?" -- Tellmarch

"Человек не может снять с себя ответственности за свои поступки." - L. Tolstoy

"[it]
is no doubt obvious, the cult of the experts is both self-serving, for those who propound it, and fraudulent." - Noam Chomsky







Post#1365 at 05-09-2014 06:41 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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Quote Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed View Post
> Erm, you've also claimed that Putin is committing genocide on the
> Ukrainians.
Please tell me exactly where I said that.

Quote Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed View Post
> Also, your little crackpot website (Jew Watch? WTF?) mentioning
> letters between the Stern gang and the Nazis asking that he expel
> the Jews rather than shoving them in the ovens isn't same thing at
> all.
All I did was google something like "Hitler jewish collaborators" and
picked one out for Justin, to respond to his list of Sunni Muslims.
If you don't like that one, there are thousands of others. Pick one
you like.







Post#1366 at 05-09-2014 07:50 PM by JordanGoodspeed [at joined Mar 2013 #posts 3,587]
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
All I did was google something like "Hitler jewish collaborators" and
picked one out for Justin, to respond to his list of Sunni Muslims.
If you don't like that one, there are thousands of others. Pick one
you like.
Exactly. For future reference, actually READING your sources would probably lead to better results. For instance, you might be able to distinguish between an anti-Semitic website referencing letters and a list of a sizable segment of the Syrian High Command, not to mention the bulk of the business community, middle class, and rank and file soldiers. Brutal and oppressive the government may be (is), but a "final solution"?







Post#1367 at 05-09-2014 08:11 PM by JordanGoodspeed [at joined Mar 2013 #posts 3,587]
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From here:

A Russian official is justifying the invasion to guard against
"terrorists," which is the code word used by Russia's president
Vladimir Putin and by Syria's genocidal monster president Bashar
al-Assad whenever either of them wants to use military force to
exterminate an ethnic group
.
Also, for what it's worth:

As for, "Not all adversaries are Hitler," you and Putin are the ones
screaming Nazi, not me.







Post#1368 at 05-09-2014 08:42 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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I've never said anything that was meant to imply that Putin even wants
to exterminate the Ukrainians, nor do I believe that he wants to do
that. I've even suggested on several occasions that Putin doesn't
even want to invade Ukraine. The line you're quoting refers to
Putin's use of code words, and it applies only to the Sunni Muslims in
Syria.

I can't for the life of me understand why the two of you are
supporting Bashar al-Assad. This guy is an enormous disaster to the
region and the world. He and Putin may end up being the ones that
trigger WW III.

It reminds me how the loony left college students in the 60s and 70s
would idolize Mao Zedong, even though he slaughtered tens of thousands
of people in the Great Leap Forward and the Great Cultural Revolution.
Some people just like psychopaths and genocidal monsters, I guess.







Post#1369 at 05-09-2014 09:42 PM by JordanGoodspeed [at joined Mar 2013 #posts 3,587]
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I am pleased that you are avoiding the claim that Putin has exterminated any ethnic groups, or intends to. I asked you several times on the page I got those quotes from and you didn't answer me directly.

And I'm not supporting Assad, or Putin. I wouldn't want to live under a regime run by either one. I am simply pointing out things you have said that are not supported or flat out contradicted by the facts. I can say that Putin is authoritarian, and Assad a murdering dictator, without either being the reincarnation of Hitler, just as I can criticize Obama without him necessarily being a Kenyan Islamo-Marxist.

Words have meaning. Things are true, or they are not. You are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.

Also, on a purely selfish note, I think an intervention into Syria would be spectacularly ill-advised, and as we are in a 4T I find the sight of aging Boomers working themselves into a frenzy of belligerent rhetoric against nuclear-armed powers to be foolhardy.

I dunno, maybe it's inevitable at this point. The types of things I said would need to happen to lead to a third World War seem to be happening right on schedule. We'll see how things go.







Post#1370 at 05-09-2014 09:49 PM by TimWalker [at joined May 2007 #posts 6,371]
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What are Putin's intentions? What is he doing?







Post#1371 at 05-09-2014 10:27 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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I keep getting accused in BigPeace of advocating an invasion of Syria,
but I never have. However, I do believe that Obama's "red line" and
subsequent flip-flop were a geopolitical disaster. And I do think
that if he'd carried through on his threat of using missiles to take
out al-Assad's air force, it would have done a lot to head off what's
clearly coming - a major sectarian Mideast war that will probably
spiral into a world war.

The al-Assad regime is dropping barrel bombs containing chlorine-based
chemical weapons on innocent women and children almost every day.
He's killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and he's created
millions of refugees. I believe that my use of the word "genocide" is
not just an opinion, but is fully justified by the facts.







Post#1372 at 05-09-2014 11:16 PM by John J. Xenakis [at Cambridge, MA joined May 2003 #posts 4,012]
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10-May-14 World View -- Ethnic tensions rise in Thailand as PM is forced to resign

*** 10-May-14 World View -- Ethnic tensions rise in Thailand as PM is forced to resign

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

  • Ethnic tensions rise in Thailand as PM is forced to resign
  • Many young people in Kenya learning Mandarin
  • MERS virus spreads more rapidly in Saudi Arabia


****
**** Ethnic tensions rise in Thailand as PM is forced to resign
****



Yellow-shirt protesters sit with police, who generally side with them against the red shirts (Reuters)

After a series of court rulings this week, Thailand's prime minister
Yingluck Shinawatra was impeached, and she and much of her cabinet
were forced to resign, in what opponents are calling a "judicial
coup." The case that was used to force the resignations appears to be
a really crazy activist government kind of thing. Yingluck in 2011
began a rice-subsidy scheme that paid rice farmers well above market
rate for their crop. This pleased Yingluck's biggest group of
supporters, the mostly indigenous Thai rural population, but it cost
the government $21 billion, and infuriated the powerful elite
opposition in Bangkok, mostly Chinese descendants.

The crisis was brought about by months of protests by the
"yellow-shirt" market dominant light-skinned Thai-Chinese elite
minority, vastly outnumbered by the "red shirt" dark-skinned Thai-Thai
who do most of the menial labor, and who continue to support the
Yingluck's Pheu Thai political party. Because of the Thai-Thai
majority, the Pheu Thai have won the last five elections and can
continue to do so. It's almost comical that the minority elite
repeatedly used the courts to throw out a Pheu Thai prime minister.

Now Thailand is in a ridiculous situation. Yingluck offered to resign
and call new elections in January, but the yellow shirt elite
protesters forced the new election to be called off because they knew
that the Pheu Thai candidate would win. Now Thailand has no
government at all, and the only constitutional way forward is another
election -- which the Pheu Thai would win.

The elites are backed by the King, by the army and by the courts, none
of whom like all those rural workers who grow the food and do the jobs
no one else wants to do. So they're going to use the army and the
courts to prevent another Pheu Thai candidate from becoming PM.
They're going to use the army and courts to appoint a "people's
council" of their own sycophants to run the country, with no election
required. The only problem with that is that the majority of
Thailand's population is going to be infuriated.

The rural "red shirts" are planning a march around Bangkok on
Saturday. The red shirts have held off, as long as Yingluck remained
in office, but now they're expected to become a lot more belligerent,
and possibly violent.

When Yingluck took office in 2011, she promises to use 'femininity' to resolve disputes.
It
looks like it didn't work. Today Online (Singapore) and Time

****
**** Many young people in Kenya learning Mandarin
****


With China investing so many billions of dollars in transportation and
energy projects in Kenya, many young Kenyans see the best hope for
their future job opportunities is with China. For that reason, many
young Kenyans are learning Mandarin. Al Jazeera

****
**** MERS virus spreads more rapidly in Saudi Arabia
****


During the last 24-hour period, there were 14 new confirmed cases of
MERS-CoV (the Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus)
diagnosed, and 5 new deaths from the disease. At the same time, the
first MERS patient was diagnosed in Lebanon, a man who had recently
returned from visiting a Persian Gulf country. The rising incidence
of new MERS cases in Saudi Arabia indicates that human to human MERS
transmission is widespread in western Saudi Arabia, which raises
serious pandemic concerns.

As happened last year, concerns are growing that a pandemic might
begin during the Hajj, when millions of Muslims from around the world
arrive in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for their once in a lifetime
pilgrimage. The Hajj in 2014 is scheduled for October 2-7. CIDRAP and Recombinomics


KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Thailand, Bangkok, Yingluck Shinawatra,
Kenya, Mandarin, China,
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, MERS-CoV
Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Mecca, Hajj

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Post#1373 at 05-09-2014 11:59 PM by Ragnarök_62 [at Oklahoma joined Nov 2006 #posts 5,511]
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05-09-2014, 11:59 PM #1373
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Quote Originally Posted by TimWalker View Post
What are Putin's intentions? What is he doing?
He's got the FSB out after cone snails for one.

Sheesh, those Russians keep files on everything. I guess some cone snails ate their sturgeons and they're pissed off over the missing caviar.
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP

There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."







Post#1374 at 05-10-2014 12:17 AM by Ragnarök_62 [at Oklahoma joined Nov 2006 #posts 5,511]
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05-10-2014, 12:17 AM #1374
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Quote Originally Posted by John J. Xenakis View Post
I keep getting accused in BigPeace of advocating an invasion of Syria,
but I never have.
Hello from BigNationalist.

]
However, I do believe that Obama's "red line" and
subsequent flip-flop were a geopolitical disaster.
True, all blow and no flow isn't the way to go.


And I do think that if he'd carried through on his threat of using missiles to take
out al-Assad's air force, it would have done a lot to head off what's
clearly coming - a major sectarian Mideast war
1. Obama should concentrate on getting any and all US military assets OUT of the Middle East.


that will probably spiral into a world war.
The Middle East is the locale of crackpots. Now's there's MERS. I fail to see why US military personnel should be exposed to virus that comes from camel asses.

The al-Assad regime is dropping barrel bombs containing chlorine-based
chemical weapons on innocent women and children almost every day.
He's killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and he's created
millions of refugees. I believe that my use of the word "genocide" is
not just an opinion, but is fully justified by the facts.
Yes, John you can say that stuff. However the Middle East is beyond fixing. The US can't do anything to prevent the inevitable slide into sectarian shit fucks. Sunnis hate Shiites, Shiites hate Sunnis, both hate Jews, now mix in a bunch of angry idle young men and the place will just explode regardless.

BigNationists sez , too many adventures, time to come home and sing "I'd like to tell the World to fuck off and leave me in perfect harmony..."

Go look at that cool Russian cone snail dossier.
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP

There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."







Post#1375 at 05-10-2014 12:24 AM by Ragnarök_62 [at Oklahoma joined Nov 2006 #posts 5,511]
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05-10-2014, 12:24 AM #1375
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Quote Originally Posted by JordanGoodspeed View Post
I am pleased that you are avoiding the claim that Putin has exterminated any ethnic groups, or intends to. I asked you several times on the page I got those quotes from and you didn't answer me directly.
Correct. He has an awful fine dossier of cone snails.


And I'm not supporting Assad, or Putin. I wouldn't want to live under a regime run by either one. I am simply pointing out things you have said that are not supported or flat out contradicted by the facts. I can say that Putin is authoritarian, and Assad a murdering dictator, without either being the reincarnation of Hitler, just as I can criticize Obama without him necessarily being a Kenyan Islamo-Marxist.
Or ALL problems are due to Republicans like Eric thinks.


Also, on a purely selfish note, I think an intervention into Syria would be spectacularly ill-advised, and as we are in a 4T I find the sight of aging Boomers working themselves into a frenzy of belligerent rhetoric against nuclear-armed powers to be foolhardy.
Slight correction. Some Boomers have a knack for making mountains out of molehills , period. I think it's the Boomer in question, not the age thereof.

I dunno, maybe it's inevitable at this point. The types of things I said would need to happen to lead to a third World War seem to be happening right on schedule. We'll see how things go.
Now that would be a case of what was old, will be new again .
MBTI step II type : Expressive INTP

There's an annual contest at Bond University, Australia, calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term:
The winning student wrote:

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and promoted by mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of shit by the clean end."
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