utemia

Reply to Joe Biden, could he be the kind of politician we are looking for? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Well, exotic examples aside (serial killer, popstar with issues..) culture and different cultural practices are a real issue and not one that is easily solved. Here (sorry for bringing up Germany all the time but it is sort of interesting to compare) so called honor-killings occur with an alarming frequency. Young muslim woman that grow up in western Europe and want to live a "normal" life with going out with friends, having a boyfriend etc. are sometimes killed by their own family because th

Murder in the courtroom in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Last week, a brutal murder took place in a german courtroom in Dresden. An egyptian woman was stabbed to death by the defendant in front of her husband and little son. This event has caused fury in Egypt.. it was a terrible crime and tragedy. Racism is just awful. From Spiegel online: A brutal murder in Germany last week has caused shockwaves in far-off Egypt. Thousands of mourners took to the streets of Alexandria o

Reply to Why are you a democrat? in Politics Stardock Forums

[quote]but a person is poor usually for specific reasons: uneducated, naturally stupid, and sheer dumb bad luck[/quote] oversimplifying much, aren't we? I stayed a year with a lady in Iowa as an exchange student who was poor but not for any of those reasons. She worked hard all her life, is educated and smart.. and still, she is poor. Seems that whole ideal of the American Dream - all you have to do is work hard and you can make it, and if you didn't then a) god hates you or b] you didn't wor

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

[quote]Early settlers in the US had a simple life, little government breathing down their backs.[/quote] Well, Nitro, that was because they had a pretty simple society in the west, and as society became more complex more structures developed. Society on the eastcoast had more government breathing down its neck at the same time, right? You cannot have a complex society without a sort of government. What exactly that government should or shouldn't do has been the debated for a long long

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

Repatriation - tried and true method of Stalin..who knows, they might even feel special (just kidding) It was intended more as a thought experiment than actually proposing to kick people out. They can have their oppinion, it is the job of the political public to make their oppinion meaningless by supporting a different majority. Politically speaking, there is a similar debate in Germany wether or not to ban the NPD, the nationalistic party of Germany (Neonazis). There is a split

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

[quote]Honestly what I found most disturbing was the op with "If it was up to me I'd repatriate the lot of them to WhiteRussia"[/quote] I was ranting - people downplay the terrorizing aspects of the GDR. They glorify it (Ostalgie) - so let them live in a country that is all that they miss so dearly - then they'll remember quickly why everybody was happy in 1990. Ask leauki - he grew in Berlin, he probably experienced it first hand. They wanted to leave, it was the people from the

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

Yes, my young friend, they all agreed, and not only the Germans. The rest of western europe didn't really mind the idea of a strong Germany leading from the top too much and thought oh well, the war will be over quickly and germany will have won and then a new chapter would start. But the airwar over england took longer than expected, the whole war took way longer than expected and it went differently. The important thing is to learn from your past experiences, and to embrace the syste

Reply to New medal for bravery in Misc Stardock Forums

[quote]Maybe too many cooks in the kitchen, and the head French chief? Well, personally I wouldn't want them cooking up what they served in WWI, WWII, and Indochina if you know what I mean.[/quote] Love your metaphor - never liked french cuisine myself - it is kinda gross (except for their baguettes and croissants) [quote]Germany's military reputation alone would go a long way in settling troubling issues[/quote] yeaahhh that's exactly it. We don't want to have that reputation anymore

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

It is not automatically evil. The people think back and only remember that they all had jobs and that there was no insecurity because the government literally controlled everything and provided everything. All the rest that goes alont with a socialist dictatorship is blended out and painted to look harmless. They trivialize the oppressive nature of the regime, which is their right of course, but which is also dangerous.. republicans would think this sort of regime their worst neightmar

Reply to George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Right-Wing Extremism in Republican Stardock Forums

[quote]I used to vote for the Green party, my family are traditional Social Democrats.[/quote] No! lol Gasp..Jügen Trittin was a cool guy though.

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

The museum was just one example. They looted hospitals, ministaries, private homes, shops and businesses, and those are the incidents that caused anarchy. Violent behaviour spreads like a virus. Had it just been the museum that would not have been so bad. The looters caused widepsread lawlessness which prepared the ground for the rest.

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

[quote]"I will blame first the perpetrators, then their supporters in the west, and last those who were trying to stop them and failed."[/quote] The looters in spring 2003 weren't terrorists but mostly just regular Joe's wanting to blow off steam and take revenge on the elite.. but those things always develop their own dynamic. They didn't have supporters in the west and nobody understood why nothing was done to stop the anarchy. HAD the US military done more to contain that mes

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

[quote]Do you really believe that the US army applauded the terrorists?[/quote] those are the applauding bystanders from your example of the nonswimmer thrown into a lake, not intended to sound like applauding terrorists in iraq. [quote]I was more thinking of the pro-terror "peace activists" who vilify the US and celebrate the terrorists as "freedom fighters" or "resistance".[/quote] eww, nasty. That's not me though. [quote]It is a completele mystery to how you managed to read the story like

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

[quote]What I believe the fellow is going for is lamenting the loss of how it felt rather than how it was. To me its the same as an upper class American talking about how great their nation is, while ignoring the multitude of injustices within the nation itself.[/quote] I was trying to come up with a good argument.. but it is difficult to reason with people who use feelings as the basis for their argument (not referring to you but the guys in the article) and whose feelings might be di

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

I misunderstood you then, sorry. I don't see the comparison to the situation after the invasion in Iraq to your example with the swimmer. If I (looting criminal) throw a nonswimmer in a lake (commit acts of random violence and distruction) and those standing around (Us military) applaud and do nothing, who is to blame? You forgot that those standing around and doing nothing (Us mlitary) disbanded and disabled the lifeguards (Iraqi security/infrastructure of any sort). Hmm you ac

Reply to Homesick for dictatorship in Misc Stardock Forums

It is insofar dangerous as people conveniently forget to mention just what sort of regime the DDR was. The critique doesn't really touch the economic system (the GDR was bankrupt btw) but the political one - where you could be thrown into jail for wanting to travel to the west or refusing to report/spy about your neighbors made you look suspicious. The StaSi controlled everything, they had a one party dicatorship, and it was a through and through unjust system. All that doesn't mean th

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

[quote]It is NOT the police's fault if crime gets out of control. It's the criminals' fault. And if the criminals and their allies totally outnumber those who are trying to keep order, there is not much I can blame the police for.[/quote] Yeah in your reality Isreal is the one thing that everything gets measured with, and the police has no reason to exist at all because civil unrest is not the fault of the police, it is the fault of the criminals. I gladly live in my own where public s

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

You have a very distorted view of reality.

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

Duh. Does anyone remember what reason was used to justify the invasion in 2003? It had nothing to do with Iraq invading Kuweit in 1990 (wasn't there a different war for that?) and all to do with as of today undiscovered WMD and a UN resolution and weapons inspectors. One could very well make a point in comparing it to a staged threat which was used then as a scapegoat.. but that would be ridiculous (honestl, I don't compare Hitler to Bush, it really is outrageous). [quote]I am si

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology JoeUser Forums

I wasn't blaming the military. They did all they could, and I am sure that most really tried to made a difference whereever they were stationed, rebuilding school and hospitals etc. What I was critizicing was the nonexistent preparations and planning for after having won, because there was never any shred of doubt that the US would win. That lack of planning and Rumsfeld's lackadaisical comments in regards to the looting of the national museum in Baghdad, hospitals all over etc. still

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

But will it stay that way after Summer 2011? I am happy for all that is better, don't get me wrong. I just fear that as soon as the americans leave that there is nobody around to make sure that progress and improvements stay, and then all the lost lives and all the billions of dollars it took to get this far would have been for naught - except for exceptionally trained potential future LEO's with a ton of experience I sill didn't get the your 3 lines of quote though.. colour me ignoran

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

You lost me there, sorry. Always fight for the weak, that is a noble principle. So, if you do that then you should do it right from the beginning (which didn't happen in Iraq) and ensure that the people stay free (which is doubtful as well). Tell me again what the US really accomplished in Iraq that will be so radically better than life under Saddam - because I am not convinced that any and all future forms of government will be very different in the long run.

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

On the other hand, I didn't want to imply that doing nothing to help others because it doesn't further your own goals is the way to go, either. But it is not enough to just dismantle a regime and then sit idly by as everything goes up in flames and tumbles into chaos only to realize that ooops, maybe we should have done something to prevent it! You need a plan as to what you want if you start a war, and if you don't have a goal bettern don't do it in the first place. I wouldn't really

Reply to At last, victory in Iraq... in Pure Technology Stardock Forums

hmm, yeah, if you roll the yarn from that end, you'd be right. But the government of a nation does not swear responsibilty to the victims and casualties of foreign agression, it is their foremost job to look after their own people and interests and do whats best for them. And a decision to start a war always has to be weighed carefully in regard to its intended goals and the costs it would require. It is a selfish position, if you will. Otherwise the one nation with the most powerful military