2010-06-14, 11:24 | Link #7801 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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with Lithium being the new oil, even if the US withdraw someone else will move in. There won't be foreseeable peace in Afghanistan's future for the next few decades.
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2010-06-14, 12:20 | Link #7802 | |
Sensei, aishite imasu
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hong Kong Shatterdome
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Bandit #1:Muahahaha! We have kidnapped this random girl and now have her imprisoned in our lair. What are we to do with her? Bandit #2:Hold there! This be no random girl, but I believe this be the princess! Bandit #1:The princess? Bandit #2:Yes, the Princess. She surely would be worth a great ransom in gold. Bandit #1:Yes, indeed she would. Now we shall ride off to the castle to kidnap the princess and hold her for ransom! Not sure that's a valid fear. These seem like mining operations that require a level of infrastructure and stability that would generally infer that there wouldn't be a civil conflict to fund anymore. Last edited by Roger Rambo; 2010-06-14 at 12:30. |
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2010-06-14, 14:03 | Link #7803 |
books-eater youkai
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Betweem wisdom and insanity
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If it was diamon his fear would be more valid, looking at what happen in congo/ex-zaire. But I wouldn't discredit the probability of the increasing of the corruption/briding problem.
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2010-06-14, 16:16 | Link #7804 | |
Rawrrr!
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: CH aka Chocaholic Heaven
Age: 40
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Cobalt if it is present associated with Tantalum as the renowned Coltan which funds the civil and border wars in the Congo area. And Lithium could qualify, as it can be concentrated locally using rather low tech technology. These kinds of high value, locally concentrable ores could very well fund civil war, as all the gemstones and precious stones are doing now already in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Conversely, those mines could also be seized by a foreign power for plunder, as is done in the Congo for Coltan. So these could very well be exploited with no benefits for the population. Most of the others types of mineral deposits (copper, iron, etc...), require heavy investments and thus peace as a prerequisite, those might benefit the population, but only as a collateral of the establishment of peace. And of course all of this doesn't take into account the fact that mining has an extremely high environmental impact, and can require a lot of water, which is rather scarce in the area. BTW, I'm a geology grad student, and for me the surprise is rather that those discoveries have been made public only now. As per all our mineral resources and gemology courses, this area is well known as one of the richest and most diverse in the World.
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2010-06-14, 19:24 | Link #7805 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: USA
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Spoiler for Sample Giotto - see blue in sky, mostly flaked off, though:
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2010-06-15, 02:01 | Link #7806 | |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Separatists' poll victory widens Belgian divisions
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2010-06-15, 02:14 | Link #7807 | |
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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Meanwhile, in the land of the After Many Leaders, Japan Still Hopes for Recovery It's a rather long post, but relating back to the discussion of Japanese education system not too long ago, it is infinitely clear that these leaders are all useless simply because they come from jaded political families. It never bodes well. Remember Bush 43? Also, political families are a big headache. Remember this anime? Look carefully - all the surnames are derived from past Japanese premiers!
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2010-06-15, 10:18 | Link #7808 | |
Senior Member
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We're already in Afghanistan. And if you haven't noticed in your drug induced world, we haven't touched any of Iraq's oil either, so your thought process is inherently flawed. |
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2010-06-15, 16:49 | Link #7810 |
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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The independentists are actually relatively pro-EU. (Well, the brand that got elected, anyway.) To their way of thinking, the EU's weakened national governments in favor of supra-national (meaning, the EU's) and regional power. Which is fine by them. They want a powerful (if possible, independent, but they won't insist on it... for now) dutch region and a weak Belgian government.
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2010-06-16, 11:56 | Link #7811 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Nightmare vision for Europe as EU chief warns 'democracy could disappear' in
Greece, Spain and Portugal See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...-Portugal.html I realize that the great depression fueled Hitler's rise to power, but I doubt the situation in Europe is likely to get that bad in the forseeable future. |
2010-06-16, 12:19 | Link #7812 | |
Asuki-tan Kairin ↓
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fürth (GER)
Age: 43
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2010-06-16, 15:45 | Link #7813 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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2010-06-16, 17:01 | Link #7814 | |
NYAAAAHAAANNNNN~
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
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Quote:
I am not sure if Israel is a good example of a desert turned into a metropolis, but they have good water-carrier technologies which can similarly be used in Afghanistan. However, starting a mining business can result in a resource war between hungry, high tech countries like China and US competing for raw material in that region. If things get bad enough, the Taliban might switch to using such resources to fund their insurgency, much like the Swat emerald mines.
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2010-06-16, 17:36 | Link #7816 | ||
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Without looking at the particulars...
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2010-06-16, 21:19 | Link #7817 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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2010-06-16, 21:27 | Link #7818 |
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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The people are Keyensian. I tell you, Thatcherism is the way to go. Just look at the Keynesian spending habits of previous Japanese premiers from Shinzo Abe to Hatoyama. All got them thrown out. People didn't always like Koizumi's policies. But at least he stuck.
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2010-06-16, 23:58 | Link #7819 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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Quote:
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2010-06-17, 01:26 | Link #7820 |
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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25 days, plus a handful of holidays at fixed dates (don't know how they're called in English. Things like Christmas or New Year and stuff.)
Unless you're talking about teachers, I guess, which is a more complicated issue. Or maybe you're counting week-ends? And unless we're civil servant, it doesn't come out of the pocket of the government, does it? |
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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