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Old 2012-09-16, 19:23   Link #23721
Ithekro
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Join Date: Feb 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RRW View Post
i made china-japan island dispute thread

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=114790
I would point out that the Japanese took control of those islands as a result of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 (rather than the Second Sino-Japanese War/World War II in the 1930s and 1940s).
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Old 2012-09-16, 21:20   Link #23722
Sugetsu
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US arms sales spike to record levels, Gulf leading buyer

Published on 16 Sep 2012 by RussiaToday

The world may be terrified of a potential war with Iran, but for arms producers - tensions fear is good business. So it is for the Unites States. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, within just one year the US has tripled its arms sales and half of what US sold last year went to Gulf states.



Published on 26 Aug 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

US weapons sales hit a record high in 2011, according to a congressional report. The country sold $66bn worth of arms last year, tripling the number it sold in 2010. The previous record was $31bn in 2009. The report said that the sales were driven by countries in the Gulf region, where tension centred around potential military action against Iran has been building. The biggest customer for the US arms industry was Saudi Arabia, according to the report. All in all, the US sold 78 per cent of the world's arms in 2011. Russia was a distant second, with $4.8bn in arms sales. Al Jazeera speaks to Richard Weitz, the director for the Centre for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC, about the significance of the latest revelations.



66 billion dollars that no regular Joe will ever see... Am I too paranoid to assume that the military industrial complex is itching to start a war with Iran?
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Old 2012-09-16, 21:58   Link #23723
Ithekro
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The tax on those sales would be interesting (income tax, export tax, or sales tax?)
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Old 2012-09-16, 22:08   Link #23724
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugetsu View Post
US arms sales spike to record levels, Gulf leading buyer

Published on 16 Sep 2012 by RussiaToday

The world may be terrified of a potential war with Iran, but for arms producers - tensions fear is good business. So it is for the Unites States. According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, within just one year the US has tripled its arms sales and half of what US sold last year went to Gulf states.



Published on 26 Aug 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish

US weapons sales hit a record high in 2011, according to a congressional report. The country sold $66bn worth of arms last year, tripling the number it sold in 2010. The previous record was $31bn in 2009. The report said that the sales were driven by countries in the Gulf region, where tension centred around potential military action against Iran has been building. The biggest customer for the US arms industry was Saudi Arabia, according to the report. All in all, the US sold 78 per cent of the world's arms in 2011. Russia was a distant second, with $4.8bn in arms sales. Al Jazeera speaks to Richard Weitz, the director for the Centre for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC, about the significance of the latest revelations.



66 billion dollars that no regular Joe will ever see... Am I too paranoid to assume that the military industrial complex is itching to start a war with Iran?
There's politics and there's capitalism. This is not about capitalism. I know arm merchants are an easy target, but let's not make this into a caricature.

As the news said, it has much more to do with the insecurity of the Saudi regime rather than arm sales. I can see why they are nervous after the Arab spring and what is happening to several of their neighbors. Whether this actually providing security or doing the opposite and raising tensions is another topic.

Iran is allies with China and Russia. No one is going to benefit from that conflict. EVERYONE is going to get fucked.

Yes, it's clear there are people that fanning the flames from both within and outside the USA, but as far as I can tell, profit is not the motive.

which is why I'm really nervous on what Isreal and Iran is going to do in the next month. They don't have $$$ in mind. That would make it things predictable, actually

For them this is about survival and they're really tense and paranoid
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Last edited by Key Board; 2012-09-16 at 22:20.
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Old 2012-09-16, 22:13   Link #23725
Ridwan
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For a large forum, this place is fairly sensible when it comes to Islam. But we definitely lack any real voice of expertise in the field.
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Old 2012-09-16, 22:38   Link #23726
Key Board
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I spent my childhood in 3rd world muslim country

It was not a happy one

but I will tell you from personal experiences, why I think, these outburst often repeat themselves

it's because the quality of life is poor...

people with lower living standards.. lower education.. lower happiness.. and lower chance to move up in life.. have A LOT more things to be angry about, and they are also much less tolerant.

When they get a chance, their pent up frustrations explodes and they become animals

price of daily goods go up -> blame minority (in this case, non muslims) -> looting, riots and rapes

favorite soccer team loses -> vandalize and loot minority stores

some shit happening in Palestine -> protest and take it out on the minority

some faulty product was discovered -> blame minority involvement, or maybe the company owner is a minority himself

government being oppressive -> tale it out and oppress some other minority

Now put yourself in the shoes of a poor unhappy bastard living in middle east. What's your scapegoat going to be?
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Old 2012-09-17, 00:39   Link #23727
Ridwan
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Colonialism did wonders for sure.
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Old 2012-09-17, 02:34   Link #23728
Urzu 7
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Someone didn't like what I had to say about Tibet. I reread some of the things I wrote, and I can see how someone might misunderstand some things that I wrote. I said something about the Tibetans wanted their 'land' back but I know it wasn't something so simple as something like China invading the region. I know it involved a lot of political elements and that Communist China made an agreement with them that made their land an autonomous region and sometime in the 1950s there was a rebellion and the U.S. decided not to back them (they did to a minor degree, but they decided not to give them any good backing). The rebellion only made matters worse, but over the years, China has been pretty hard on a lot of Tibetans. The "they want their land back" statement was in regards to many who fled the lands due to oppression who'd like to return to the lands of their people. The statement about "they want those who were killed to be back"; I know the Chinese haven't been wiping a lot of them out or anything, but you have things like some times when monks are tortured and sometimes die from it. I know you have some Tibetans being militant over the years, but I wasn't really talking about the rebels. Tibetan people who fled the region are trying to preserve their culture and do worry about it being preserved in the long run. Maybe what I said wasn't spot on and some things were misleading, but the Chinese government has been pretty hard on a lot of Tibetans over the years and a lot of them are experiencing oppression. I mean, you don't have a very large amount of them fleeing the country over the decades for nothing.
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Last edited by Urzu 7; 2012-09-17 at 04:26.
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Old 2012-09-17, 07:58   Link #23729
ganbaru
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Join Date: Dec 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ithekro View Post
The tax on those sales would be interesting (income tax, export tax, or sales tax?)
Probably not in the way you think. If General Electric managed to make 10 billions in profit and paying no tax on it, I am pretty sure than those other corporation will do somethink like that as well.
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Old 2012-09-17, 11:52   Link #23730
flying ^
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Aegir View Post
Colonialism did wonders for sure.
colonialist(s) left too early!

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Old 2012-09-17, 12:06   Link #23731
SeijiSensei
AS Oji-kun
 
 
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Age: 74
I wonder if either of those guys let their wives drive.
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Old 2012-09-17, 12:16   Link #23732
Vexx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
I wonder if either of those guys let their wives drive.
I'm thinking they don't let their wives do math, never mind drive.
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Old 2012-09-17, 12:21   Link #23733
Sumeragi
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Well, technically, why would the wives need to do more than the basics of math, in a society that tries to force women into the house.
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Old 2012-09-17, 12:32   Link #23734
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In Niger, child marriage on rise due to hunger

Quote:
HAWKANTAKI, Niger —
Each day before the reaping, the 11-year-old girl walked between the stunted stalks of millet with a sense of mounting dread.

In a normal year, the green shoots vaulted out of the ground and rose as high as 13 feet (4 meters), a wall tall enough to conceal an adult man. This time, they only reached her waist. Even the tallest plant in her family's plot barely grazed her shoulder.
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationw...gerbrides.html
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Old 2012-09-17, 15:24   Link #23735
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Caught on camera: The 30 metre high tornado of FIRE that whirled around Australian o

YouTube
Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

Quote:
An astonished filmmaker is coming to grips with the moment he witnessed one of nature's rarest phenomenons - a tornado comprised entirely of fire- and lived to tell the tale.
Chris Tangey had been out in Alice Springs, Australia, scouting locations for a new movie.
After finishing the task, he went over to help workers at a cattle station when he was confronted by one of nature's most intimidating spectacles.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz26lDlV9Em
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Old 2012-09-17, 15:57   Link #23736
Destined_Fate
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Location: "Sacrifice one to appease the few."
That's pretty badass...
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Old 2012-09-17, 16:06   Link #23737
Terrestrial Dream
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Opposition Makes Pick in South Korea
Quote:
SEOUL, South Korea — A former human rights lawyer and ally of former President Roh Moo-hyun was chosen on Sunday as the main opposition party’s candidate for the presidential election in December.

The candidate, Moon Jae-in, a lawmaker from the southeastern city of Pusan, won more than 56 percent of the votes cast in a series of regional primaries that ended Sunday, the opposition party, Democratic United, announced.

Mr. Moon, 59, was widely expected to enter negotiations with Ahn Cheol-soo, an entrepreneur turned university dean, to decide which of the two should represent the broader liberal camp in the election.

If Mr. Ahn, who does not belong to any party, decides to enter the race, it is unclear whether he will run as an independent or support Mr. Moon. To avoid splitting the liberal vote, he could also try to persuade Mr. Moon to step aside and seek his endorsement. He has said he will announce his plans this month.

Park Geun-hye, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, a former president who established a military dictatorship, is the presidential candidate of the conservative governing party. Ms. Park has had a lead in recent surveys, trailed by Mr. Ahn and Mr. Moon.

But Mr. Ahn, whose criticism of the existing political parties and big business made him a political star, would pose a strong challenge to Ms. Park if they competed one on one, according to the polls.

Mr. Moon has served in various political posts, including as Mr. Roh’s chief of staff. The two had been friends since the 1980s, when they worked together to defend students and labor activists who were persecuted under the military dictatorship.

Mr. Roh, who completed his five-year term in 2008, committed suicide in 2009 as prosecutors began investigating corruption accusations against his family. Mr. Roh’s allies considered the inquiry a political vendetta by the conservatives who assumed power in 2008.

Mr. Moon consolidated the opposition by emphasizing that he would finish the work that Mr. Roh had started: ending corrupt practices by the country’s rich and powerful, expanding welfare benefits, punishing what he called “politically motivated prosecutors,” protecting small businesses from the country’s family-controlled conglomerates and seeking peace with North Korea.

“Fairness and justice will be the base of my government,” Mr. Moon said in his acceptance speech on Sunday.
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Old 2012-09-17, 16:12   Link #23738
willx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sneaker View Post
@willx

So if the "Koran condones violence against non-believers" (which is an belittlement in itself) and the believers follow that, it has nothing to do with religion?
If "only written documents" matter, it has nothing to do with religion, like the Pope has nothing to do with the Catholic religion?
If their ulterior motives are "religious states" (meaning that all people have to object themselves to religious laws) it has nothing to do with religion?
Well, I'd tell you to read my previous post but I deleted it because I was -rep'd, called a "loon" and a "religious apologist" -- but Uruz 7 seemed to at least partially understand my point in responding to his post point by point and critically dissecting the arguments and statements was to specifically address the fact that he was not criticizing religion as a whole, but specifically criticizing only Islam. Please don't take my posts out of context.

So let me address each and every single one of your criticisms and comments:

1) [So if the "Koran condones violence against non-believers" (which is an belittlement in itself) and the believers follow that, it has nothing to do with religion?] -> So do other religions, my point was that it had nothing to do with Islam. I'd also add that non-religious ideologies, although many don't outright condone or encourage violence, could be implied to permit it due to lack of human interest or moral compass. Other nationalistic ideologies or philosophies specifically espoused slavery or subjugation of other nations, societies and people.

2) [If "only written documents" matter, it has nothing to do with religion, like the Pope has nothing to do with the Catholic religion?] -> My point here was specifically: The interests and motives of those that lead organized religions and religious states in the middle east usually have nothing to do with religion and are due to secular concerns. They want to have and/or keep their power. They have very human and very complex motivations that have a long history, some of which may be valid and some of which may be not.

3) [If their ulterior motives are "religious states" (meaning that all people have to object themselves to religious laws) it has nothing to do with religion?] -> I assume you mean "subject" themselves. This is the one comment I have the least to refute with.. simply because I find it hard to believe you really think that the only motive behind attempts at establishing religious states is actually religion? Seriously? How many of the Saudi royal family do you think abide by sharia law? Power, wealth, anger, hate, envy and jealousy -- not motives enough? Do you really think the elite members of these societies are really that devout and are driven utterly by faith?

Now, I don't know if you were the one that thought I was a religious apologist or a loon or whatnot, but I'm personally a secular humanist .. I personally dislike religion due to the simple fact that I don't like any "school of thought" that encourages a halt to intellectual curiosity and encourages "faith" However, I believe that before anyone starts making comments on religion or other people's beliefs, I believe first and foremost in thoroughly understanding topics and forming rational and logical arguments. I have mixed (not really) feelings being subject to vitriol for encouraging moderation..
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Old 2012-09-17, 16:13   Link #23739
ganbaru
books-eater youkai
 
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
Muslim Rage & The Last Gasp of Islamic Hate ( article in Newsweek by Ayaan Hirsi Ali)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newswee...nal-stand.html

And some ''result'' of this article:
Newsweek 'Muslim Rage' cover sets off social media. How about sales?
http://www.latimes.com/business/mone...,1829373.story
Journalists React to Newsweek's Cover
http://storify.com/jilliancyork/jour...wsweek-s-cover
But the best is from Gawker : 13 Powerful Images of Muslim Rage
http://gawker.com/5943828/13-powerfu...of-muslim-rage
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Old 2012-09-17, 16:16   Link #23740
Vexx
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Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
Here's a scientific phenomenon that could start a desert cult skygod religion... (kind of like those volcanic ash lightning storms but this is "right in your face")

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