News Stories

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Kamui4356

China counts "stuff we were able to steal" as homegrown tech, since they had to put effort into stealing it, which is sort of like developing it.

Or than they didn't used the actual pieces from the shooted down F-117 for making the J20's

[AnimeFan188]

"Hundreds of angry protesters burned tires and blocked roads across Lebanon
on Tuesday after Iranian-backed Hezbollah secured the appointment of its
candidate to lead the next government.

The nomination of Najib Mikati as prime minister, endorsed by President Michel
Suleiman, is seen a victory for Hezbollah, which secured the parliamentary votes
needed to wrest control of the Lebanese government."

See:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41247842...ideastn_africa

[Ithekro]

I sense another war with Israel coming.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

I sense another war with Israel coming.

Not so much a "war" as a lot of people on both sides getting killed because the leaders are too busy waving their testicles at each other :P I hate even coming across middle-east news any more and just feel bad for the poor sods who just want to live life, go to market, and raise kids.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I hate even coming across middle-east news any more and just feel bad for the poor sods who just want to live life, go to market, and raise kids.

Ditto. I'm currently reading Otto Neugebauer's The Exact Sciences in Antiquity, which has some cool stuff about ancient Babylonian maths and astronomy (if you've ever wondered why we measure time in 24 hours of 60 minutes of 60 seconds, blame the Babylonians). It's depressing how the region that was the cradle for human civilisation has become a poster child for everything that's wrong with human nature

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

I sense another war with Israel coming.

actually, this turn on events, makes war with Israel considerably less likely.

Hezbollah gaining a position of power in Lebanon means they have a LOT to lose as a result.
the after effects of the Hariri murder investigation is already a death blow to the groups reputation in Lebanon, and their current rise to a position of power in Lebanon comes not as a result of support for Hezbollah among the general public, but from as a result of fear.

right now, Hezbollah have power because people fear them, and people fear them because they are strong.
but what happens if they pick a fight with Israel, and Israel actually takes them seriously this time.
the resulting war would either wipe Hezbollah out in and of itself, or leave them weak enough for the rest of the Religious/Demographic groups in Lebanon to finish them off.

Hezbollah knows this, and is therefore unlikely to provoke a war with Israel for fear of the result on their position of power.

sucks for the Lebanese though.
then again, they brought it on themselves.

[ChainLegacy]

Just heard about this...

Jack LaLanne, Father of Fitness Movement, Dies at 96

I watched some of his shows and interviews in the past, but even more important is the indirect impact he had on myself, and pretty much everyone that enjoys fitness in the modern 'gym' sense of the word. He certainly deserved that long life with all the hard work he put in. It's eerie because just last week I was reading an interview with him... RIP.

[JMvS]

Originally Posted by ZephyrLeanne

Two things.

1. We are looking at a CONSCRIPT army, not a professional one. Surely you're not going to hand out AK47s or M16s to every male citizen? Ever thought about cost?

2. If this was a professional army, the SAR21 would have gotten upgrades by now. But the SAR21 is supposed to be entry-level, so why bother when DSTA can go build nanobots for the 5th generation army or whatever MINDEF wants to call it.

Sidenote. Funny how when 2 Singaporeans meet on any thread on Animesuki, inevitably it turns to how terrible the SAR21 is.

Why would a conscript army be incompatible with state of the art weaponry? Here in Switzerland every citizen-soldier got it's own personal SIG SG550.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by JMvS

Why would a conscript army be incompatible with state of the art weaponry? Here in Switzerland every citizen-soldier got it's own personal SIG SG550.

but not before undergoing training.
what he meant (i think) was you don't simply hand out guns to people without having put them through the proper training for it.

also, there's cost considerations.
state of the art assault rifles ain't cheap.

[ChainLegacy]

Apparently there are demonstrations/protests of a revolutionary nature currently ongoing in Egypt

But even finding a relevant news article on the subject takes a bit of effort, since apparently Egypt is blocking all outgoing twitter/facebook/online media from leaving the country. It is supposedly inspired by the protests in Tunisia, Egypt's neighbor. I wonder if this is going to remain isolated to these two countries or more of North Africa will become plunged into the conflict.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Apparently there are demonstrations/protests of a revolutionary nature currently ongoing in Egypt

But even finding a relevant news article on the subject takes a bit of effort, since apparently Egypt is blocking all outgoing twitter/facebook/online media from leaving the country. It is supposedly inspired by the protests in Tunisia, Egypt's neighbor. I wonder if this is going to remain isolated to these two countries or more of North Africa will become plunged into the conflict.

there are now, as a result of three different factors, riots/protests ongoing in
1)Egypt.
2)Lebanon.
3)the west bank.

guess its just that time of year.

[Anh_Minh]

And Algeria.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

And Algeria.

forgot that one

[don_Durandal]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

"Hundreds of angry protesters burned tires and blocked roads across Lebanon
on Tuesday after Iranian-backed Hezbollah secured the appointment of its
candidate to lead the next government.

The nomination of Najib Mikati as prime minister, endorsed by President Michel
Suleiman, is seen a victory for Hezbollah, which secured the parliamentary votes
needed to wrest control of the Lebanese government."

See:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41247842...ideastn_africa

That's quite an over-simplification, as usual. Hezbollah didn't take power in Lebanon, that's just silly. It's just one party in the March 8 alliance (the 3rd one with the most representatives in the Lebanese parliament, the 1st being Aoun's FPM). Even so they only managed to get Najib Mikati elected because supreme opportunist Wallid Joumblatt supported him (got to wonder what he was promised in return).
Hezbollah's electoral base is quite limited, being pretty much limited to the lower-class Shiites and part of South Lebanon's population, and they share the first with Amal. They are an important political force in Lebanon, but by no means a dominant one.

The main reason other parties in the alliance oppose the re-election of Hariri is because he's been accused of embezzlement over millions of dollars. It's not blind support for the Hezbollah.

[AnimeFan188]

Here's one for the comic fans out there:

"Thursday’s news that DC Comics will replace the nearly 60-year-old Comics Code
Authority Seal of Approval with its own rating system was followed on Friday by
an announcement by Archie Comics that it, too, will drop the Code. The two were
the last publishers to abandon the CCA — Marvel withdrew in 2001, Bongo just
last year — which means that as of next month, the once-influential self-
regulatory body created by the comics industry in the wake of the 1954 Senate
hearings on juvenile delinquency will cease to exist."

See:

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com...ng-end-of-era/

[ganbaru]

In fields and city streets, Cuba embraces change
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNew...70O5X720110125
Wondering about until where the change will go...

[AnimeFan188]

"The North American anime distributor Funimation filed a copyright infringement
complaint against 1,337 "John Does" over the 481st episode of the One Piece
television anime on Monday. According to the suit filed in the Northern District of
Texas, the unidentified defendants "collectively participated, via the Internet, in the
unlawful reproduction and distribution" of the episode "Ace Rescued! Whitebeard's
Final Order!" via the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol. The suit lists defendants by
their host IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and Internet service providers. The
alleged incidents of copyright infringement took place between January 9 and
January 12."

See:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...over-one-piece

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Not so much a "war" as a lot of people on both sides getting killed because the leaders are too busy waving their testicles at each other :P I hate even coming across middle-east news any more and just feel bad for the poor sods who just want to live life, go to market, and raise kids.

Unless you count the Palestinians who are brainwashed or gang-pressed into waging a jeezhad at the Israelis.....the Palestinians could have lived in peace in their own state if it wasn't for those self-serving fanatics.

And now Iran has nukes and Ahmadickjad wants to wax Israel with it...the ME seems alot like a gone case to me. The Koran preaches peace and respect for a stranger's culture, yet the radicals and fake imams in that region like to preach death to their so-called enemies. I'd say those nuts should just serve pork kebabs instead of lead rounds : it is equally hypocritical but no lives are lost.

[ganbaru]

Retribution 'inevitable' after airport attack: Putin
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1881669/
Not really a surprise but, I guest than bombs should be falling soon...

[Ithekro]

"Godzilla" was loose in California
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41267913...ews-weird_news