World Affairs

[Cobraroll 138]

Unfortuneately the dictator in the US is still going strong and can now use drones to take out whomever he wants in the borders of his own country.

 

So killing foreigners is okay, but once the guy at the receiving end is an American, it's suddenly cruelty? At least the US government has, you know, governance within its own borders.

 

Americans reacting to drone strikes only when Americans are (hypotethically) targeted is an insult to the four thousand other people killed this way.

[Larks2242 251]

Unfortuneately the dictator in the US is still going strong and can now use drones to take out whomever he wants in the borders of his own country.

 

 

So killing foreigners is okay, but once the guy at the receiving end is an American, it's suddenly cruelty? At least the US government has, you know, governance within its own borders.

 

Americans reacting to drone strikes only when Americans are (hypotethically) targeted is an insult to the four thousand other people killed this way.

 

Except the fact that taking out a terrorist that could kill hundreds of people is beneficial to the well-being of the country, The US does not suffer from consent suicide bombers taking innocent lives, Its an entirely different matter.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

It is regrettable that some of us are thoroughly immersed in the propaganda machine.  Killing is wrong.  Period.

[timmie 988]

I think war might sometimes be necessary (alas), but the way the US massively uses drones to eliminate people is frightening. There is very little control over the use of drones (and often the US plainly violates the sovereignty of other nations, which is - most of the time - unacceptable!). It's a dirty way of fighting wars. I know international relations isn't exact science (there are realists, pacifists, militarists, Just War theorists,...), but there are serious moral problems with the use of drones.

[Cobraroll 138]

 

Except the fact that taking out a terrorist that could kill hundreds of people is beneficial to the well-being of the country, The US does not suffer from consent suicide bombers taking innocent lives, Its an entirely different matter.

 

And what if the terrorist in question happened to be a citizen of the US? Should his Americanship or his terroristship be the deciding factor? After all, the statement about using drones in the US, against Americans, used the word "hypotethical". It's not like Obama sits on his golden throne with a list of people he wants to bomb, and the drones are already on the runway waiting for the bills to be stamped. It's more like "In the event of significant threats of terrorist activity in the US, we might want to send drones after them. Until then, we'll leave it be."

 

Blowing up a bomb factory in Sana'a or in the Rockies, there shouldn't be a difference if the bombs were planned to be used against innocents. Though, on American soil a drone would be an inferior tool in most situations. I'd imagine it to be more of a last-ditch effort. If the government were as trigger-happy as some people seem to think, they'd have sent the drones first and told the media later.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

So now the U.S. Caesar has proscription lists.  How very Roman of him.  The next thing will be the removal of political rivals.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Kenya election.

 

In a squeaker, Uhuru Kenyatta wins.  Now what happens to the ICC indictment?

 

Strikes me that I've heard somewhere that uhuru in Swahili means something like peace or freedom.  Interesting that such names might be given.  I knew a Greek (Cypriot) chap in uni whose name was Eleftherios.  (freedom in Koine).  One wonders, sometimes, what possesses parents to give such names.

[LexusInfernus 908]

Meh who cares if the guy is an American citizen or not when they send a drone after him. Look at what these guys do. Yes they are technically American citizens, most of them haven't lived in the US for decades and are actively preaching hate against the US and are involved in conscripting and planning terrorist strikes against the US or US interests. Should the US just idly stand by letting them do all those things because they can't send in a squad to arrest the person so they can give him a fair trial? God no, send in the drones and blast him to bits. Accurate, fast and almost guaranteed to succeed. 

[timmie 988]

Tradition probably plays a role, I guess those names are not a recent phenomenon. For the Greek case, it also helps that Elefterios Venizelos was a very important statesman of the 20th century. In Cyprus too, there are many streets named after him: Elefteriou Venizelou (literally: of Elefterios Venizelos, genitive case, if I'm not mistaken). The Greek often use the genitive too when they marry: if a woman marries a man with the surname Venizelos, she will often take over the surname Venizelou ('of Venizelos').

[astronelson 339]

Falklands hold referendum on whether to remain part of the UK.

 

Result expected to be "yes", Argentine government expected to not like it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The Argentine has used the Falklands for a long time as a casus belli whenever they need to distract their people from internal bad conditions.  Considering that the islands were unpopulated when the British arrived, there is no particular claim for Argentina.  If there was no oil there, would anyone care?  The people should be left in peace.

[Larks2242 251]

In a squeaker, Uhuru Kenyatta wins.  Now what happens to the ICC indictment?

 

ICC is such a joke. war criminals living in a country club prison and the judges are too lenient, where are the death penalties?  

 

They should be rotting in a gitmo style detention camp.

[timmie 988]

Some people on this world believe the death penalty is morally unacceptable and I consider myself one of those people. From what you say I conclude that you would probably find a prison like this luxurious: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1989083,00.html (since criminals must rot in a detention camp, according to you). I don't think you can call it luxurious (compare it to your average house, it is quite spartanic after all). The point of detention is not to take revenge, it is to punish people for the crimes they did commit (and this is done by taking away their liberty, which is a very serious penalty). Especially for people who eventually will become part of the society again, it seems better that they come out better of the prison than they went in (an outright individualistic reason). This is not something you can accomplish by treating these people like garbage. This is done by treating them okay and helping them for their eventual reintegration (teaching them a job,...).

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Brevik got what he deserves.  Who is the worse murderer: the one who kills his fellow man; or the one who kills freedom?

 

Depriving people of their freedom to go about their affairs is one of the worst punishments.  If one thinks a prison is luxurious, even the most relaxed, one is missing the point?  A sentence of life imprisonment is far worse than sentencing someone to death.  Both are death penalties, but one is of much shorter duration.

[Larks2242 251]

Compared to what crimes they have committed, especially the ones towards children, they don't deserve to live.

 

You can't teach a monster to be able to be a productive member of society, in the end it is a massive waste of money.

[Cobraroll 138]

^You can't always reduce a human being into an always-evil, one-dimensional "monster" like in the movies, I'd say.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-reasons-humanity-desperately-wants-monsters-to-be-real/

 

Classifying a person as "simply evil" and offing him is a crude banalization of reality. If you start by declaring "this guy is evil and he won't ever behave otherwise", you won't really get anywhere.The US has 0.7% of its population in jail at any time, there are plenty of civilian weapons around to deter crime, death penalty is still practised, but the crime rates are still rather high. It has been this way for decades. Shouldn't that be an indicator that treating the criminals like evil scum isn't the optimal solution?

[Ocram's Razr 963]

I'm sorry but Brevik is indeed a monster and an enemy to humanity, as bad as any terrorist and deserves to be locked up without a key and served nutrition packets through a slot in a metal door. --Ocram

[timmie 988]

Justice is not about revenge, it is about healing the wounds of society. From what I've seen from the Breivik-trial the Norwegians seem to understand that. Revenge does not heal wounds. I am not saying criminals shouldn't be punished, of course they should be.

 

I oppose calling criminals 'monsters'. While understandable, it puts people outside our society, makes us believe they are different, they are some beasts of nature. This is an illusion: they are as much part of this world and society as we are, and by calling them monsters, we make it impossible to turn it into an opportunity to look at ourself: where do we stand, how could this have happened, what is the condition of our society,...

[astronelson 339]

Falklands hold referendum on whether to remain part of the UK.

 

Result expected to be "yes", Argentine government expected to not like it.

 

Called it. With 99.8% of the vote, too.

 

This certainly won't be the end of it, the Argentine government has stated before that the wishes of the people who live on the islands are irrelevant.

 

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Falklands hold referendum on whether to remain part of the UK.

 

Result expected to be "yes", Argentine government expected to not like it.

 

Called it. With 99.8% of the vote, too.

 

This certainly won't be the end of it, the Argentine government has stated before that the wishes of the people who live on the islands are irrelevant.

Argentina's only interest is the off-shore oil.  The islands are so far off the continent, there is no territorial imperative, only greed.

[Blakeway 211]

 

Falklands hold referendum on whether to remain part of the UK.

 

Result expected to be "yes", Argentine government expected to not like it.

 

Called it. With 99.8% of the vote, too.

 

This certainly won't be the end of it, the Argentine government has stated before that the wishes of the people who live on the islands are irrelevant.

Argentina's only interest is the off-shore oil.  The islands are so far off the continent, there is no territorial imperative, only greed.

Very true. Claiming such land after that many years is ridiculous. I don't see Germany claiming parts of Poland or anything lol

[LexusInfernus 908]

Argentina's only interest is the off-shore oil.  The islands are so far off the continent, there is no territorial imperative, only greed.

Yeah, but they are even further from the UK.

 

The only relevant thing here is who has the greatest amount of firepower to defend their claim on a piece of territory.  

[timmie 988]

Habent Papam!

The first non-European pope in 12 centuries and, for obvious reasons, the first Latin-American pope. Also the first Jesuit, and the first pope called Francis. Which is a nice excuse to post a picture from a statue of Francis of Assisi in Millesgården, near Stockholm.

Image of ♥ B i b b i ♥ on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibbiw/305739323/)

 

I know the female pope is probably a myth (although you hear it constantly on the news as if it was a fact...), but: Duos habet et bene pendentes

[LexusInfernus 908]

Meh, there is some historical evidence that there was a female dressed up as male who became a pope. But that was a long time ago, and the historical accounts of it are sketchy, due to the chaotic nature of information in those days. 

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

Habent Papam!

The first non-European pope in 12 centuries and, for obvious reasons, the first Latin-American pope. Also the first Jesuit, and the first pope called Francis. Which is a nice excuse to post a picture from a statue of Francis of Assisi in Millesgården, near Stockholm.

Image of ♥ B i b b i ♥ on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bibbiw/305739323/)

 

I know the female pope is probably a myth (although you hear it constantly on the news as if it was a fact...), but: Duos habet et bene pendentes

Allegedly the same as the last.

not Catholic, but I am holding out for a progressive pope who is in line with the needs and ideas of today. John Paul II did a lot for us, but we need to go further.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

The early signs are that much pedantic stuffiness will disappear from the Vatican.  I wonder if heads wrapped in scarlet also roll uphill?

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

More plot twists than a Dostoyevsky novel.

 

Wrong doing on a massive scale.  And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

Syrian rebel group shows its true colours.

 

Handsomely now, Mr. Bush.  Get those dead pigs loaded into the cannons.

 

France.

 

I always thought that it was a deadly insult to call a Frenchman a camel.  What about giving him one?

[Terring 6,473]

No kidding!

[timmie 988]

Well, Greeks never have been really kind to migrants, have they (my father is Greek, so I know the country somewhat)? It's horrible that such an extreme party as Chrisi Avgi is at 12% in the polls, making it the third largest party!

 

---

 

Well, apparently it is time for the yearly manifestation of Western sense of superiority. Belgian newspaper De Morgen reports that 'the new method of slaughtering dolphins in Japan is even more cruel'. We handsomely forget the fact that in Belgium alone, each year 1 million cows, 12 million pigs, 300 million (!) chicken are slaughtered. Sounds very not-cruel, doesn't it? The Western sense of moral superiority is completely inappropriate. Oh those cruel Japanese, how dare they kill dolphins.