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Old 2011-12-05, 06:28   Link #18001
SaintessHeart
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 35
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil View Post
U.S. Asks South Korea to Cut Petrochemical Imports From Iran



According to this article at reuters:



If we recall that Japan has similar amount of crude oil import from Iran, I wonder why is South Korea singled out ?
Mutual alliance? Probably SK had a long term indebtment to US since without US helping them out in the Korean War they wouldn't have existed today. And thay SK does plenty of trade with everyone else around the world.
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Old 2011-12-05, 07:41   Link #18002
ganbaru
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Putin's party clings to reduced majority in Russia
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7B019B20111205
Quote:
President Dmitry Medvedev said the election was "fair, honest and democratic", but European monitors said the field was slanted in favor of Putin's United Russia and the vote marred by apparent manipulations including ballot box stuffing.
And even so, they almost lost their majority
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Old 2011-12-05, 08:16   Link #18003
konart
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Exit polls were about 23%, the result is 49,5% ...
Fair my ass...
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Old 2011-12-05, 08:34   Link #18004
MrTerrorist
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Postwar Marines: smaller, less focused on land war
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Old 2011-12-05, 08:53   Link #18005
ganbaru
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MrTerrorist View Post
Probably a good thing for almost everyone.
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Old 2011-12-05, 13:00   Link #18006
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ledgem View Post
There are many sentiments within the populace that are not born out. There needs to be a level of organization and, usually, monetary backing. Without those two things, you'd essentially have disorganized gangs. That's not very effective, particularly since they might fight with each other. (That's likely also another reason for many of these groups' anti-Israeli rhetoric - if peace extends too far, people within these groups may not remain united.)
Disorganized gangs can still be troublesome.

Quote:
Oil pipelines and fields are extremely vulnerable targets, and now that many of these countries are wealthier, they are more averse to provoking conflict. Israel has shown that its military is quite capable, and it's a poorly kept secret that Israel is a nuclear power. Perhaps if all of the Arabic nations united together they could overcome Israel, but why would any one of them want to risk damage (or utter destruction) by attempting such a thing?
I doubt there'd ever be an outright conflict, but the threat of one could force Israel to compromise. When enough forces are aligned against it, the Israeli government will be forced to comply. Heck, look at the Suez Crisis and how the US stopped Britain from seizing back the Suez canal by threatening to destroy completely destroy the pounds value.

Likewise, if enough countries are dissatisfied with Israel, they'll simply get Israel into a position where they'll have no choice but to comply.

Quote:
Things can get worse for the militants. Also, as you're probably aware, the suicide bombers and such tend to be low-level members of these groups. When is the last time you heard of a high-level group member committing suicide? They're always caught or captured, even when the odds are seemingly completely against them. I think that says something about their desire to live.
Thing is, a suicide bomber doesn't need that much organisation behind him. Bombs aren't that hard to make yourself. Even if the top level is eliminated, people could continue to bomb.
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Old 2011-12-05, 13:12   Link #18007
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So, Merkel and Sarkozy (as Queen and King of all 17 Euro nations?) have come to a new agreement, "saving" the Euro yet again:

- automatic sanctions for countries that spend too much (we already have that, but whatever...)
- no Euro bonds (meanwhile the ECB is buying bonds against former treaties, but who cares?)
- the new permanent stability pact will be installed by end of 2012, not 2013

Decisions on sanctions are to be controlled by European Court of Justice and sanctions don't need 100% approval, but only 85%. (I'm sure this will backfire some day on Germany, like in the ECB). How countries like Greece should pay sanctions, when they are bankrupt has not been explained.

We have a proverb here: "I can't eat as much as I'd like to puke..."

On Thursday all Euro leaders will meet to discuss these proposals.

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-mar...e-to-curb-debt


Alse, there's been some discussions about the so called TARGET2 system in recent weeks. In this system payments between countries are controlled and the sums between the Euro countries were pretty much zero until the crisis started, but now the PIIGS have large debits, while Germany's credits (I hope I got "debit" and "credit" correct, basically the ECB owns Germany a lot of money, while the PIIGS own the ECB a lot of money) have grown to some 460 bn Euro the last time I looked. Increases are as big as 60bn Euro per month.
It is discussed whether this is a back door bail out for the PIIGS and poses an additional risk for countries like Germany, Austria, Holland etc....

http://verlorenegeneration.de/2011/0...be-even-worse/
http://blogs.ft.com/gavyndavies/2011...#axzz1fgVUgvos
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Old 2011-12-05, 14:54   Link #18008
bladeofdarkness
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Disorganized gangs can still be troublesome.
not as much as organized ones

Quote:
I doubt there'd ever be an outright conflict, but the threat of one could force Israel to compromise. When enough forces are aligned against it, the Israeli government will be forced to comply. Heck, look at the Suez Crisis and how the US stopped Britain from seizing back the Suez canal by threatening to destroy completely destroy the pounds value.

Likewise, if enough countries are dissatisfied with Israel, they'll simply get Israel into a position where they'll have no choice but to comply.
putting aside the question of how (and the practically of threatening Israel at all).
lets start with the WHY,
WHY would such a thing as what you just described happen ?
the Arab world is knee deep (head first) in its own problems, and will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future.
why would they even BOTHER aligning against Israel at this point ?

politics 101 - countries act on interests.
and the Arab world has no interest in conflict with Israel right now.

Quote:
Thing is, a suicide bomber doesn't need that much organisation behind him. Bombs aren't that hard to make yourself. Even if the top level is eliminated, people could continue to bomb.
you don't know the level of organisation required for such a thing.
its not as simple as you seem to think, and requires its own brand of infrastructure.
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Last edited by bladeofdarkness; 2011-12-05 at 15:21.
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Old 2011-12-05, 15:31   Link #18009
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness View Post
putting aside the question of how (and the practically of threatening Israel at all).
lets start with the WHY,
WHY would such a thing as what you just described happen ?
the Arab world is knee deep (head first) in its own problems, and will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future.
why would they even BOTHER aligning against Israel at this point ?

politics 101 - countries act on interests.
and the Arab world has no interest in conflict with Israel right now.
It's not necesarily ara countries that are the problem. Western Countries who want to finally get some kind of peace as a political "hit" at home, Leaders who may simply have a personal animosity with Israel, or simply trying to maintain greater control of the region. Israel needs the world far more then world needs Israel. International politics is built on compromise, and if leaders can't get what they want through compromise, well, there's always extortion. The US could seriously damage Israel if it wanted to. Of course currently Israel can do the same to the US. But if popular support for Israel subsided...

Quote:
you don't know the level of organisation required for such a thing.
its not as simple as you seem to think, and requires its own brand of infrastructure.
I can go online and find out how to make a bomb on my own. It does require a bit of know how, but not a lot, particularly if you're making pipe bombs or IEDs rather then suicide bombs.
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Old 2011-12-05, 15:46   Link #18010
bladeofdarkness
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
It's not necesarily ara countries that are the problem. Western Countries who want to finally get some kind of peace as a political "hit" at home, Leaders who may simply have a personal animosity with Israel, or simply trying to maintain greater control of the region. Israel needs the world far more then world needs Israel. International politics is built on compromise, and if leaders can't get what they want through compromise, well, there's always extortion. The US could seriously damage Israel if it wanted to. Of course currently Israel can do the same to the US. But if popular support for Israel subsided...
if you didn't pay attention over the past 9 months, Israel is about 2 years away from becoming the ONLY pro-western country in the middle east.

the regimes who make up western "control" over the region, are being replaced by ones less prone to being "controlled" by the west, and a good indication of this is the latest elections in Egypt and Tunisia.
which means that sooner rather then later, Israel is going to become the crux of western involvement in the region.

Quote:
I can go online and find out how to make a bomb on my own. It does require a bit of know how, but not a lot, particularly if you're making pipe bombs or IEDs rather then suicide bombs.
and then you can also find out what it feels like to get blown up while making it.
bombs are made by professionals, even in these groups.

and thats without getting to the logistics of actually getting INTO Israel. (that big wall isn't there for nothing).
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Old 2011-12-05, 16:00   Link #18011
Ithekro
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Bombing requires more than just making bombs. In order to be effective you must also have a target. That requires a network to find and figure out when people are in high concentrations, where patrol routes are, and how best, not only to gain entry with a bomb, but also when to gain entry. Blowing up a random car or bus is one thing, but effective terrorism requires more than random destruction.

Also with suicide bombing, you don't want your network people as the ones blowing up, as they have useful knowledge for more than one bombing (sometimes). Especially knowledge of patrol routes and habits of local officers and enlisted people. Also keeping up with the daily routines of the people who live there for ways to best exploit their habits so you can get someone in to blow up something either vital, or shocking enough to aid your cause, rather than just simple destruction. (terror isn't simply blow stuff up. While that can be terrifying, the more random it is the less effective it gets...as it becomes "normal" and gets ignored (kind of like small earthquakes in California). Effective terror seems to be those that make people fear, cause massive security increases, and potentially increases the case to leave the region or whatever the goal of the terrorists are).


Israel's problem, with its general reaction to threats (historically speaking) is that one day they are going to react harshly at the wrong country and get run out of Israel...again. Some might say that is what happened with the Romans or any of the other Empires that drove the old Kingdom of Israel out of those lands for a period of time. The constant is that the Jews eventually return. Be it in seven days or 2,000 years, they still came back.

The alternative seems worse, actually. The scortched earth policy were Israel goes nuclear against their enemies and potentially itself in the "if we can't have it no one can" mentality. While there would still be more Jews in the world after than there are currently in Israel after such an act, the region would be radioactive for a long, long time. So another return would have to wait for the lands to become viable for survival. And even then, if everything is destroyed...the remains of the Temple, the cities, the hills, the rivers...everything....what would the point be in returning. It would be a monument to the dead, and perhaps the foolishness of man. A symbol of what hate can do and how we should try to overcome it.
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Old 2011-12-05, 16:22   Link #18012
DonQuigleone
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness View Post
if you didn't pay attention over the past 9 months, Israel is about 2 years away from becoming the ONLY pro-western country in the middle east.

the regimes who make up western "control" over the region, are being replaced by ones less prone to being "controlled" by the west, and a good indication of this is the latest elections in Egypt and Tunisia.
which means that sooner rather then later, Israel is going to become the crux of western involvement in the region.
Trust me, the weight of popular opinion in Europe is way against Israel. And we never got much out of the Arab dictatorships either...

Between the Arabs and Israelis, Europe would probably end out choosing the Arabs. Especially when you consider the large numbers of Arabs living in Europe who make up a rather valuable constituency, and will only be more valuable as they grow.

That pretty much describes the left. People on the extreme right are amenable to Israel (unless their rabid antisemites), but they're not really the types of friends you want...
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Old 2011-12-05, 16:26   Link #18013
Anh_Minh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Trust me, the weight of popular opinion in Europe is way against Israel. And we never got much out of the Arab dictatorships either...

Between the Arabs and Israelis, Europe would probably end out choosing the Arabs. Especially when you consider the large numbers of Arabs living in Europe who make up a rather valuable constituency, and will only be more valuable as they grow.

That pretty much describes the left. People on the extreme right are amenable to Israel (unless their rabid antisemites), but they're not really the types of friends you want...
I'd say that right now, "popular opinion", for what it's worth (ie, not really a lot), would choose "a pox upon you both. We're kinda busy with our own thing here."
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Old 2011-12-05, 16:32   Link #18014
Darkbeat
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DonQuigleone View Post
Trust me, the weight of popular opinion in Europe is way against Israel. And we never got much out of the Arab dictatorships either...

Between the Arabs and Israelis, Europe would probably end out choosing the Arabs. Especially when you consider the large numbers of Arabs living in Europe who make up a rather valuable constituency, and will only be more valuable as they grow.

That pretty much describes the left. People on the extreme right are amenable to Israel (unless their rabid antisemites), but they're not really the types of friends you want...
To be fair, Europe is a drop in the ocean of World opinion right now. Drowning in their own economic woes with the Eurozone nearly at the point of collapse. It's almost inevitable.

There is still strong support for Israel in Germany (especially), France and the United Kingdom. There is no chance of that changing because quite frankly, the Middle East is not important enough to cause a rift with Uncle Sam.

Either which way, it doesn't especially matter. Israel has always put it's security requirements and right to exist before international opinion.
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Old 2011-12-05, 16:51   Link #18015
Ithekro
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Well the largest populations of Jews outside of Israel (closing on 6 million) are the United States (over 5 million) and France (closing on half a million). This is followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, and Russia, who between them all have almost a million Jews. The likely remainder of the planet outside those places is about a million to a million and a half Jews (estimated based on a world population of about 13.3 millon Jews).

Taking this into account, the largest support for Israel is the United States. If that fades, the rest of the world seems to be in the "we could give a rat's ass" phase, outside the Islamic jingoistic anti-Zionist ranting that is.

Also note that the Islamic population in the United States is smaller than the Jewish population (roughly 2 and a half million Muslims), while in France it is far larger (at over 3.5 million). In Europe it is estimated there are over 38 millon Muslims (about 16 million in the European Union a few years back), while there are less than 5 million in all the Americas. Therefore the Americas may continue to give aid for a time, if the cost is not too high...and if they see results in the region. Europe is likely to just say "kiss off" in the near future. No clue what the non-Islamic coutries in Asia (like China and Japan for example) or Africa would do...nor what the Eastern Asian Islamic counties would do for that matter, as they are far from the Middle East politically.

Of course Israel is likely in a position were they really don't need aid anymore.
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Last edited by Ithekro; 2011-12-05 at 17:13.
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Old 2011-12-05, 17:41   Link #18016
Haak
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Regarding Europe and anti-semitism:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16041640
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Old 2011-12-05, 22:28   Link #18017
Xellos-_^
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Quote:
Once upon a time, prisons were known as reformatories or penitentiaries because they were supposed to be places for reform and penitence. At least that was the theory, inherited from the Quakers who devised the Anglo-American prison system in the 18th century to replace whips, stocks and gallows.

Today, they’re just called prisons and their purpose, under the law, is to punish criminals and protect society. The point was driven home Monday by an appeals court ruling that said federal judges have no authority to sentence someone to prison, or increase the length of a sentence, to promote their rehabilitation.

In other words, you can’t be sent to the federal pen for your own good.

The only purposes of imprisonment are “retribution, deterrence and incapacitation, not rehabilitation,” said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, relying on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent interpretation of a 1984 sentencing law. The ruling, written by one of the court’s most conservative judges, Andrew Kleinfeld, overturned a Hawaii man’s two-year sentence for violating the terms of his release and sent the case back to the trial judge to impose a shorter term.


http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2011/12...r-rehab/?tsp=1
somebody finally said it outright.
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Old 2011-12-05, 22:56   Link #18018
Sugetsu
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Peter Joseph discusses money, debt, RBE and Occupy Wall street. I know there are many here who don't like TZM but I can't honestly see you anyone here disagreeing with what the guy is saying:

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Old 2011-12-05, 23:17   Link #18019
ganbaru
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xellos-_^ View Post
somebody finally said it outright.
At least in the US,and it's turning this was more and more in Canada since Harper had his majority. It a ''way'' than cost more and get more recidivists than trying to rehabilitate them. Some think than in Quebec we are going too softly on the criminal, but in the long run, it's probably a more efficient way.
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Old 2011-12-06, 01:06   Link #18020
Xellos-_^
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Last week, Tacolicious – and its adjacent Tequila bar, Mosto — opened in the Mission. This weekend, a group of protesters showed up outside of Tacolicious with 99 Percent signs, megaphones and lots of chanting. Occupy somehow found its way to Valencia. Both diners and staff had no idea what was going on. And it’s likely that the most protestors didn’t, either.

As reported by Mission Local, protestors were upset about evictions in the neighborhood, claiming that Tacolicious was displacing some longtime tenants in the upstairs unit. There were rallying cries like the following:

“The owners of Tacolicious want to evict us !”

“A taco shop has been set up under our noses!”

“… Boooo!”

The mind-boggling thing is, of course, that the protestors supporting tenant rights were harassing another rent-paying tenant.

Tacolicious does not own the building at 739-741 Valencia. Tacolicious cannot evict anyone, any more than you can evict your neighbor. It’s a landlord issue. As Scoop reported in 2010,

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog...sion-protests/
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