BruceVC

Don't feel guilty, I would say this is normal because the reality is the Democrats have there candidate and they dont seem to differ on major issues. so I find the Republican discussions more entertaining

This is not true AT ALL. These numbers are 100% phoney. Not to say that there aren't people like this, but they're not that common at all. Like for example whenever they do a pro-government rally, they actually have to force people to come, like students and government workers. Most people, like everywhere else i imagine, don't care one way or another. And there's a pretty significant portion (around 30% i guess) that actually hate Putin and what he had done with Russia. In fact, with the way things are right now, i'd say revolution, just like it was in Ukraine, is very much a possibility in the next 5-10 years. Thats interesting, we get told he is very popular and everyone thinks he is great You see your view is not common from Russians generally so once again thanks for sharing

But you do understand that when Carson asked about the purpose of big empty chambers in pyramids he got "we are not sure" answer? You call that a statement that should change his theory? You do understand that we don't have full understanding of building technique and full purpose of pyramids. We have purpose for one part of pyramids - storing dead pharaons, but what about the rest of the building? Your F-35 example is not applicable because F-35 could never be used as a submarine, but pyramids ARE capable by it's design and properties to be used as a storage for keeping food fresh? So the scientists have a theory and Carson have a theory. The problem is when you don't agree with scientists theory some dumb, unintelligent people will call you "clinically insane", even though you theory have the same probability of being true. It's like Islam and Pastafarians. They both have stupid story about a their god, but people tend to laugh at Pastafarians but not Muslims. So I would give Carson a pass with his theory about pyramids granary. Sorry, but usage of the pyramids as a granary is about as practical as usage of the F-35 as a submarine. You can store grain in a pyramid just as you can sit in a F-35 underwater but both of them are extremely impractical. I mean, a pyramid is a veritable mountain out of rock. The are narrow passageways inside it, and burial chambers which are tiny compared to the size of the pyramid. There are no "big empty chambers", that's a complete delusion right there. As far as we know, all of the chambers are either meant as traps, or were burial chambers. This leaves nothing to account for. Or are you saying that somebody built these massive pyramids with their tiny chambers for grain storage, only for later pharaons to use it as a tomb instead? Why the heck would someone build a pyramid to store grain when they could have just built a small house to store the same volume? Anyways, this discussion is getting more retarded by the minute. You might as well give me a pass on my theory about the F-35 being a submarine, since this has not been disproven thus far. Guys I share Ros concern about Carson....from an outsiders perspective he has made some strange intellectual comments But like Trump I doubt he will get to the end, Republican supporters need to realize that anyone who becomes the candidate will be facing a very confident and popular Democrat candidate in Hilary Clinton I see the Republican candidates constantly dismiss her as " irrelevant " but unless I am missing something once again I see the Democrats as having the real advantage here in Clinton. It seems to me that despite the last two elections the Republicans like Trump and Carson haven't realized that you really shouldnt dismiss and alienate minority groups. This includes not just the African American and Latino vote but the vote of women..and its the female vote that carries the most influence in the minority space and I'm sorry guys the Republicans still need to do more work to not appear to be condescending towards women and yes this is due to Trump and his comments about women In fact I will make a comment that I don't believe in the USA you will ever see another president from any political party if they dismiss minority groups. This next election will confirm this Finally I want to add something important, I know many of you guys who support the Republicans are white, males like me and maybe you are looking at the current outcomes of the last two elections and feel frustrated because you think " how is it possible where in a country where white people are the most dominant group that we can't win an election and it seems like the media, liberals or SJ groups have somehow created a voting environment where people dont vote on real issues anymore and will vote for the Democrats because they get told the Democrats are more progressive and offer promises on so called economic equality but at the expense of people who actually work" Maybe you feel somehow marginalized as white males and your views aren't considered important anymore...maybe none of you feel this way but I want to say this anyway, Voting for the Democrats is not in anyway an attack or a suggestion that white males are irrelevant or not a critical part of the USA...this will always be a fact. A vote for the Democrats is simply where you believe in a more equitable US society where the federal government has a right to intervene in the affairs of the states in some cases But this will not be abused, for example some things have to be driven from the Federal government because of the reality where some states just take too long to make certain choices, like the Gay Marriage Bill

Interesting. And how exactly the west is planning to remove him? Assassination? Nah, making life so hard for regular russians, due to various embargos, that they would remove him from power themselves. Well, as a russian, i can only thank the west for that. They're doing something useful for a change. Can't wait when he's finally gone. No the West doesnt want to remove Putin, they are just looking for more reasonable political choices from Russia like not thinking they can just carve up Ukraine .....but I have enjoyed your view. I dont often get to chat to Russians, Fighter has provided me with some good insights but he doesn't always comment and I always enjoy understanding what the views are of actual Russian citizens Also Dark and Mam War I also want to thank you for explaining your views in detail because its the same thing where I don't know much about what Eastern Europeans think about the West And guys its not about us agreeing necessarily, this is a debate and we all have our own views but you have given me some new insights. Like the view of Slovakia towards the West

Interesting. And how exactly the west is planning to remove him? Assassination? Guys we really have to be careful when we say " the West wants to remove Putin " ....yes Drowsy thinks its true but how arrogant do you think the West is? Putin has an 80 % approval rating. The average Russian has real respect for what they see Putin has done for Russian pride In my opinion I think Putin has made some really good choices at restoring Russian pride but nowadays he has become very extremist around his distrust of what motivates the West. This has lead to the real slowdown in the Russian economy but its not because of the Western sanctions, they have had an influence but its more because Russia did not do enough work at diversifying its economy. Putin assumed like Venezuela and Iran that the oil price would always sit at a certain price, Russia needs the oil price to be at $100 http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/opec-russia-idUSL6N0TA16P20141120#eYBGiYEMhAghWsWt.97 Now this miscalculation is a serious economic blunder and I'm not sure if the average Russian citizen realizes that the issue with there economy is caused primarily by this and not by the Western sanctions.This mistake is really on Putin. Despite what you guys think the West doesnt assume that somehow the Russian people are going to " vote Putin " out, once again you guys make assumptions about the general ignorance of what the West thinks sanctions will achieve The expected outcome from sanctions is generally not regime change but rather where a country on its own changes certain political choices because of the negative impact the sanctions have on the economy, sanctions work but they take time But as I mentioned Russia real issue is not the sanctions Now Dark back to your general post, it makes no sense to me? Its illogical as the West doesn't need Russia for joint security and there is no way they will drop Eastern Ukraine for security in Syria? Do you have a link

Okay so here is the interesting thing about your prediction, its actually much harder to predict than you may think Why do I say that? The Arab Spring would have still happened but Saddam would have still been President in Iraq...he would have used force on any opposing political movements but the political uprisings in Syria and Libya would still have happened and yes I agree that ISIS wouldnt be as effective or in its current form as we can't say with certainty that the Iraq Sunnis would have joined ISIS But important lessons have been learnt from both Iraq and Libya. The West can assist militarily to overthrow a dictator but preferably not with ground troops and there must be a clear understanding or agreement that the West cannot be blamed for governments that fail, yes the West can assist with guidance around political decisions but this must be seen as something that is asked for and not just imposed. So in Libya the West provided air support but it was the Libyan rebels who did the hard fighting and were the ones that executed Gadafi. The new Libyan government didnt want the West interfering in there new government and the West really didn't want to get involved on that level So they left the country in the hands of new Libyan government ...yes sadly this failed for a number of reasons but I would assume mostly due to inexperience in understanding how to run a country but also due to the expectations of certain Libyan tribes who now had free reign. I don't blame the West for this? Why would you

I was there, and loved that there was nowhere any garbage lying around. I seriously wish, that something like that, would be enforced in my country and in many EU countries, which I've visited as well... Do these count? Defeated the Nazis and Imperial Japan --> Germany and Japan became modern liberal democracies and allies. Defended South Korea from Communism --> South Korea became a modern liberal democracy and ally. (Look at North Korea to get an impression of what it would have otherwise become.) Deterred China from invading Taiwan --> Taiwan became a modern liberal democracy and ally. Put a stop to Soviet expansionism and supported democracy/freedom movements in the Eastern Block --> The Soviet Union is gone and countries like Poland and the Czech Republic have become modern liberal democracies and allies. I am from Slovakia. You have absolutely no clue what happened in 1989, so please don't try to teach me how the allmighty west saved me from Soviet oppresion... I consider myself as an proud European, but I am not blind to how corrupt is power in today's West, as much as my family were not blind how corrupted was power in Soviet Union. My family was forced to move by our government across Czechoslovakia because of their religion. My grand dad ended up in jail, because he did not wanted to convert himself to orthodox christianty, which was only allowed reliogion here at that time. It took 18 years to rebuild Slovakia after 1989 so that the people would get the same real income as they had in 80s. In 2015 the real average income in Slovakia is 13% above real income in 1989. But 57% of the population never had income at the level of average income. So statisticaly approximately 40% of our people have worse living standard than they had during period of Communism in 80's. So please excuse these people if they do not give a single flying **** about how all mighty west helped them to embrace the democracy. That being said. The 1989 coup in Czechoslovakia was executed by the technocratic communists who were fed up with the unability of the communist party to engage more into "free trade". The idea about the coup was nice, but in the coming 26 years, Slovakia has became the most corrupt country in the European Union and is currently being controlled by 5 people. Mr. Siroky, Mr. Hascak, Mr. Brhel, Mr. Vyboh and Mr. Tkac. These 5 people became multi billionaiers with the help of Slovak government in the last 26 years by actively promoting corruption and funneling the Eurofunds into their Cyprus and Belize accounts through various off-shore companies which are chosen without real competition to win state tenders. No one in the west gives a **** that these 5 people are stealing their money from their own taxes. All they care about, is getting cut costs for their companies so they can enjoy our cheap labour and not need to employ much costlier German, French, British labour. So once again, please excuse all those people having in 21st century in European Union monthly income at the level around 500 EUR to give a single flying **** about how you "perfect" westerner brought them democracy. Thank you. Mam I'm glad you made this post but I think you are being a little critical towards Ineth...you asked me a question and he answered ...and now you don't like his answer But if you had made this post before you asked that question it would definitely have changed how I would have responded to you because it adds important context about why you have certain issues with the West..and I understand now why you do indeed question what the West does...but I need to explain a few things to you The West wasn't the reason that the USSR ultimately collapsed...the USSR was basically bankrupt and many people in the USSR came to the conclusion that Communism wasnt a sustainable ideology. What at the end had beaten the USSR and Red China IMO wasn't necessarily a view that Western culture, military might or superior Western leaders were assumed to be better. it wasnt the fact that in the West people elected there leaders or had free press...it was the irrefutable fact that the free economic market is superior to one where a government tries to drive the economic growth. So the USSR could NEVER match the economic innovation or natural growth of the free market that exists in the West Now in the case of countries like Slovakia I can completely understand your frustration because I see similar views in my own country where certain people are very unhappy about the state of the economic transformation and now question the success of our Democracy. The thing about the free market is it has be driven by people and the ideas need to make sense and really be able to show profitability....and this isnt as easy as people may assume. I can also understand why this could have been very difficult for many Slovakian citizens to understand and just automatically adopt but to be fair no one ever said that Western ideology would always work. It needs to be implemented in a certain way with realistic expectations And to be honest, and you asked for brutal honesty but I think country your faces a much more difficult economic challenge. My aunt was married to a Czech man and all my cousins speak Czech and understand Czech culture and go to Czech once a year to see there gran, so I was acutley aware that Slovakia was its own country. But I'm sure the majority of people in places like the USA probably wouldn't be aware of that, most people outside of the EU probably don't know that. But the fault isn't there's if we are honest, its not because people are being dismissive or malicious. Its really about the fact Slovakia needs to be able to distinguish itself economically....I'll be very honest I know very little about Slovakia And yes the Free Market\Capitalism doesn't have a automatic way of addressing this as it expects countries to always have ideas..but it won't remind or even ask. So what is Slovakia good at? Skilled but cheap labour ...thats a dogs game and becomes very difficult to be competitive when you have the likes of India who have become the worlds largest exporter of qualified but cheap skills. So you should find a product or series of business services that can successfully exported around the EU?

No my dear what you just posted may seem reasonable but its not accurate and I'll explain why.....by the way many people have your view on UN For the UN to send troops to a place like Syria or any conflict there has to be no Veto, which is a vote, from the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. So for example if even one of the following countries USA, UK, France , China or Russia say No then this automatically means No for the whole possible UN military intervention What happened in the Syrian conflict in the beginning is there was disagreement on who was in the wrong. Russia and others supported Assad while most of the West felt Assad was a brutal dictator who has quite prepared to commit his own military to annihilate his own people just to stay in power or not implement any political reform ...I share this view So the UN could never had a successful vote because the permanent members had a fundamental different view on who a UN military force would be supporting if they went into Syria ISIS are not Syrians, they are from all the world who joined them, the same with FSA and Al Qaeda. In fact ISIS was FSA and Al Qaeda, they combined becoming ISIS. They only appear after USA attack Iraq and leave. ISIS are not Iraqis either. They are deuchbags, criminals, rapists, robbers, murderers and what not. You see, when USA attack Iraq, just imagine how many getting out from local prisons? And how many Muslim criminals running away from their countries to join them? These islamists groups giving refuge, that's why they are brutal, have no humanity, insane...they are also take drugs... You know, i was about to be recruited by Al Qaeda, i speak the truth, they use internet, they want Asian Muslim women to join them, well you know why...but i am not a fool...i was active on You Tube back then, i play along, getting into their webs, i know how they recruit Muslims especially women...i don't want to expose all here but i can say for Muslim women they can be charming fellows with sweet talks...then they will introduce us into their hive group of sisters...these sisters act like fantasy sisters, because real sisters are not like them...they will take care, listen to our problems, and on and on...the guys will act like they are most religious Muslim ever and giving advices...suffice to say they give an escape for a Muslim girl to go out from this cruel world we are living in...then they slowly inducing their twisted ideology....they will look on us if we can be lured further into their ring or not...i tell you, they will hunt us if we back off...they know our numbers, know we live, they even interfere with our social life...but i manage to get away...and i save some sisters... Anyway, as i mentioned it is not a simple matter, ISIS and such groups are the physical ones, they are armed group, but what more dangerous is their ideology, and this infiltrating the religion, even effecting scholars...the key person in ISIS and such group are of course mercenaries, but the ones who become their cows and sheeps are gullible Muslims...no Muslims will joined them if not because of being indoctrinated by their ideology...you may think you know evgerything about them, you don't, ISIS is just one branch of hooligans, but the most dangerous thing is these twisted ideologies they spread through spies and through what i reveal above... There are groups not armed but carrying this ideology, and they appear like non-offesive, but their goal is to overthrow governments, they need the people of any governments overthrow their own governments, then groups like ISIS will come in and do the rest of things. That what happen in Libya, Syria and the rest....Who want to overthrow governments really? Ask yourself who gain from all these? Not ISIS, not Al Qaeda, not any Muslim Terrorists, not even Muslims gain any profit out of this.... That question answering the question of why UN silence all these time..... Oh no....you cannot possibly think the West is behind ISIS ....please tell me you dont think that?

No why would you think that? ISIS are a barbaric and brutal organisation that need to be destroyed in both Mosul and Raqqa...I don't know anyone who is at least slightly informed that doesn't think ISIS has committed reprehensible acts

No my dear what you just posted may seem reasonable but its not accurate and I'll explain why.....by the way many people have your view on UN For the UN to send troops to a place like Syria or any conflict there has to be no Veto, which is a vote, from the 5 permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. So for example if even one of the following countries USA, UK, France , China or Russia say No then this automatically means No for the whole possible UN military intervention What happened in the Syrian conflict in the beginning is there was disagreement on who was in the wrong. Russia and others supported Assad while most of the West felt Assad was a brutal dictator who has quite prepared to commit his own military to annihilate his own people just to stay in power or not implement any political reform ...I share this view So the UN could never had a successful vote because the permanent members had a fundamental different view on who a UN military force would be supporting if they went into Syria

No I was talking to someone else about your opinion and unless there is a forum rule about this I will continue. You make very serious points about Muslims and you ignore my questions to you, thats fine but now you wonder why I make assumptions about your views. My advice is try to be a little more mature about a debate, try to respond when people ask you a question and then you won't find people misunderstanding you

Please tell me more what would happen in my own country, because i obviously don't know anything about it. Before you continue please understand Drowsy is Serbian and is much more critical of Muslims than most people as Serbia has had its own chaotic and badly handled experiences with Muslims So you can't expect him to really support Muslim refugees or support the idea of Muslims being militant in parts of the world as to be fair to Serbia historically they have been treated quite badly by Muslim powers, like the Ottomans so he just sees the negative

and this is the view people in EU should have as well. Help them THERE, not keep them flowing into own countries. I was wondering if anyone would comment on this The reality is the EU and the West has a very different view on what is considered acceptable conduct around human rights...what Malaysia did would be considered by many Europeans probably illegal and a flagrant violation of human rights Now yes sometimes the West and the EU becomes a a victim of its own attempt to enforce its own rules....the rules become more important than the social impact to its own citizens. But this is more the occasional decision than the norm And I think we should be proud of the way places like the EU believe in certain values

And what you're talking about has nothing to do with Islam but Chechnya, and the fact that it's ruled pretty much by a bunch of bandits, by people who faught against Russia. But sure, f it. Let's oversimplify everything and blame Islam for the incredibly complex issues happening around the world right now. That will surely solve every problem. Yeah no offense Sakai but I didn't want to say this earlier because I didnt want you to think I was being critical about Russia but Russia has a very bad global view of how you treat Muslims and yes its because of Chechnya and places like Dagestan But I understand that Russia has a very different and militant history with Muslims and countries like Russia have decided that they won't be pressured into just accepting refugees from places like Pakistan Now I don't agree with this but I do see the Russian point...maybe its actually the way the EU should behave and just be much harder about refugees and what they can expect from immigrating? The West sees this differently and believes to trying to absorb these people, I guess only time will tell

Lol. No, it's just that i don't equate people who practice Islam with "islamists". http://pressa.today/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Miting_musulman_v_Moskve_25_janvarja.jpg This is what happenes every year in Moscow, and yet somehow the city is still standing. Sakai I agree with why you are asking Meshugger this...its valid your point but you are misunderstanding something that Meshugger is actually experiencing as a European but he isn't explaining to you So firstly these refugees are not just from Syria, we have Afghans, Pakistanis and I am embarrassed to admit this but 5-6 African countries also have a steady stream of Africans who leave Africa and look for a better life in Europe When a country like Russia or South Africa says " we also have immigrants who come here " its not the same as the Europeans actually integrate these people into there societies meaning they will pay for housing, social grants and try very hard to provide jobs...but these immigrants become not only a real cost but a real social responsibility But for example we do nothing in South Africa to integrate the millions of economic migrants who arrive...they find there own housing and have to find there own jobs. We only care if they have a work permit, so we think we have a problem with migrants yet the reality is we are not doing anything for them. I'm sure in Russia its the same, do you guys actually spend real government time and resources trying to make sure " Chechen's who arrive in Russia feel welcome " ? So my point will take us back to the EU, why should we expect the citizens of the various EU countries to be happy to take in people from African countries like Sudan or Somalia when the African Union itself doesn't care if these people leave? This is a failure of the African Union to not take care of its own citizens. And the same logic applies to the refugees from the Middle East. Why aren't the countries like Saudi Arabia or UAE taking in fellow Muslims ....in fact none of the Sunni\Gulf countries are prepared to take in ONE Syrian....but we expect the average EU citizen to just be fine with this And then finally you do have a risk where some of these refugees may arrive in a place like Finland but not be able to find work so without a job they would never truly integrate . So then they will just end up living in these housing estates ...probably blaming Finland a little but also being happy to live off social grants because the reality at home is much worse. And you can understand how the thought of thousands of people just living off social grants and never really contributing towards the economy is also an annoying concern. That to me is the real reason for this push back from Europeans and its understandable

Yes you right I know very little about Malaysian culture but I have traveled and worked extensively in the Middle East and I am confident that I could travel to Malaysia and not offend anyone and be able to work there Also you mustn't think that just because your average Westerner doesn't know much about Malaysia its because they assume its some kind of backward, extremist place where groups like ISIS are influential . You see for us as Westerners unless there is a logical reason to study the culture of a particular country there wouldn't be a point ....so its not personal. Its just that we tend to focus on countries that you may have direct trade with or an economic connection or a real relationship with. So what I'm really saying its not just a country like Malaysia that your average Westerner knows nothing about, this is true to many African or South American countries unless you interact with them. But I can understand why you may want to know more about Westerner culture...I think its great because I think some people in the Muslim world have certain negative views of the West and we need to change this

Nice post Cant But maybe you should tell her you support the Republicans ....wait don't, ignore that please...lets not chase her away

Your media always makes other countries look bad, your movies too...according to your movies, Japanese love to cut off people head and going kamikaze, then they killed themselves in harakiri...Russian always big grumpy men talking simple broken English and dumb looking...Chinese are weird kinky people and militaristic communists...Vietnams are all bad and savages...Germans always have serious cold face and love to rant...Middle Easterners are dirty bearded angry looking people...and on and on and on...everyone are bad except you Why would anyone want to listen to you and following your set of morality and laws? Iihave a country, I have my people, my culture, my religion, this is my land, the business of the people of my land is our business...so what is your problem with my land? Do i complaint about your land and your business? Gromnir please don't respond to this No Qistina that is a very old way of how International Western media operates. Nowadays they present a much more accurate and less generalized view of other cultures Also its a global world that is interconnected so its very easy to research other cultures and not make assumptions like this Also I don't mean to get involved in your and Gromnirs debate but you guys are both misunderstanding each other, Gromnir actually comes from a minority group in the USA. He is a Native American and he has personally been victim to real discrimination and bigotry from fellow Americans....so I can promise you he is not someone who thinks the West is perfect. He is probably more aware of certain issues in Western countries that most of us have never encountered

Do you mean you were retrenched ? I'm not trying to sound unsympathetic but from what you have shared about your company you never seemed to really either like your job or how the company was structured or run So I would see this as golden opportunity for you to find something that you enjoy and feel committed to I love my job and believe in my company..I don't think I could work for a corporation if I didn't feel both these things ?

Sorry, but you are the same hypocryte as you are accusing them... Badmouthing them about not respecting the western culture and meanwhile not respecting the culture which is their own... is not hypocrisy. am not asking for western culture to be respected. am not much o' a fan o' western culture. Gromnir is in favor o' personal liberty. where culture intrudes on basic fundamental rights, we believes culture should give way. that is what the Bill o' Rights is all 'bout. personal freedoms is very frequent in conflict with cultural norms. regardless, that weren't the issue were it? qistina were boasting 'bout freedoms in malaysia w/o seeming to realize just how oppressive malaysia can be insofar as religion, sexual orientation and a host o' other basic freedoms that westerners take for granted. HA! Good Fun! Its funny that you don't think Western culture needs to be respected, you normally use logic in your views but this seems to be an incongruous point ? What is wrong with saying that the West has systems of government that have consistently been proven to offer there citizens the best quality of life ? Yes the West has made mistakes, yes the West has issues but that doesn't mean that the Western system of governance doesn't work. The facts speak for themselves http://uk.businessinsider.com/legatum-institute-prosperity-index-top-countries-2015-10 And I'm not suggesting its because the West is the best because white people are running the West or the West is intellectually superior Any country can implement what Western countries do but there need to be four key fundamentals that are common in all Western countries but to ensure real economic transformation and to achieve reasonable happiness of the average citizen you need to follow all four of these as much as possible ( I am just summarizing these points in the interests of brevity ) Effective governments that manage the government institutions properly Governments that are elected by the people and are accountable to the people Governments must respect the rule of law in there countries The economy needs to be driven primarily by the free market What I often see in the African context is governments that follow maybe two or three of these points but fail in others and then wonder why they dont achieve, for example, a stronger economy So the success of the West is not because of Imperialism, Colonialism or because " we are white males " ....no its all about how the countries are run and governed and this would naturally lead to an economic and positive social transformation

Look to be fair you can't judge these types of perceived strange or unreasonable decisions by countries like Malaysia ...I understand they seem strange but these are countries are ruled by religious doctrine and modern laws Its fine, we don't have to understand or agree with them but its there decision. As long as they don't export terrorism or have tens of thousands of immigrants wanting to get to Europe its not a big deal Just reminded myself that in Singapore you get caned for throwing chewing gum on the street. I was there, and loved that there was nowhere any garbage lying around. I seriously wish, that something like that, would be enforced in my country and in many EU countries, which I've visited as well... Oh I want to add that I have no issue with a country following what I would consider are religious conservative laws or just unreasonable strict laws as long as the citizens of those countries don't live in poverty or just not part of the economic system due to lack of good governance Because I believe in regime change or at least political pressure put on countries if they are dictatorships...I'm not saying the West needs to go to war with every non-Democrat system out there but we don't need to accept it unless there is some strategic or political consideration like China or Saudi Arabia Now I know many of you guys don't get this and you believe that the West shouldn't interfere in other countries affairs but there is definitely a real case for this if done in the right way

Oh yeah, let's turn the whole west into the incarnation of 1984. I think Jefferson would be proud now... Snowden is a traitor and betrayed his country.... and he did reveal how the NSA have the ability to monitor most social media so now maybe certain extremist groups may not use Facebook or Twitter as a way to communicate but I imagine this would have happened eventually so I don't think we can blame him for this ?

I would consider Malaysia a good example of a Muslim country that is perfectly functional.....didn't you have issues with presidential corruption? Now please understand I don't mean to criticize your constitution but it seems strange to insist that people must say they are religious ? What if you not, why would that mean you cant contribute meaningfully towards Malaysian society so what I'm asking is how is being religious something that benefits your economy or political stability Also you say that Science is important but what when Science and Religion clash , who wins ? We don't have president, but we follow British style of democracy, parliament with royals at the head. Which countries don't have corrupt politicians? You must have a religion to become Malaysian. It doesn't matter what religion, but you must believe in God. It is because when you say you belong to a religion you are bound to that religion morality, culture and way of life, which means you are not deuchbags, yes atheists are deuchbags. If you are Christian, i know you are bound to Christian morality, so it is easier to make business with, i mean i know where you stand. You don't have to be religious, but if there are problems with you we simply refer you to your priests and asking their opinions. If you are an atheist it will be a problem. Malaysia a multicultural country, Malays are only 50% now and Muslims 60%. I love Science vs religion debate, but now i just don't have the mood. Okay thanks for explaining, I am not trying to attack your culture or country as I do consider Malaysia a success story but I must say the whole reasoning behind the point " you must be religious as we believe religious people are easier to understand and manage " is very strange because it makes no sense I am an atheist and my commitment to my country and our success has nothing to do with religion but is based on a belief I love my country and want it to succeed so for example I pay my taxes But anyway we can agree to disagree...if this works for you guys then thats a good thing

I fail to see how this is surprising at all. Pretty much everyone around the world is condemning the attack. Hezbollah is in government together with Lebanese Christian parties, Lebanon has good relations with France... They are probably as disgusted as everyone else, and with literally no reason to not condemn the attack. Hezballah disgusted by terrorism, that's a good one. well, it's easy to see why hezbollah would be disgusted by terrorists who recently targeted hezbollah in southern lebanon. in fact, pretty much any attack on a terrorist group is decried as state-sponsored terrorism perpetrated by ________________. fill in blank with great britain (particularly if we are speaking o' the ira as victims) or israel or the USA or your choice o' state. terrorism is often presented as a matter o' perspective. HA! Good Fun! Yes Gromnir makes some good points but there is also another consideration. The ME is a complicated place due to the political and religious alliances, historical ties and general different views that some countries have on important topics ....like this Oil Price war that Saudi is insisting on We need to realize that certain groups and ideological blocks in the ME we need to see them as operating in a grey world of judgement ...they shouldn't really be judged on strict Western views. For example a few years ago I believed Iran under there older regime was the greatest threat to the region...now they have become an ally of the West in an interesting and unexpected wat Hezbollah like Syria are sustained by Iran and for the Iranians by far the greatest threat to there influence is now ISIS, they are seriously impacting two key Iranian allies in both Syria and Iraq And of course Hezbollah realizes this and they do understand how to manage public perception so when they say " jihadist " threat they mean ISIS which the whole region is opposed to and in this case they right...ISIS is the current and most pressing enemy

Look to be fair you can't judge these types of perceived strange or unreasonable decisions by countries like Malaysia ...I understand they seem strange but these are countries are ruled by religious doctrine and modern laws Its fine, we don't have to understand or agree with them but its there decision. As long as they don't export terrorism or have tens of thousands of immigrants wanting to get to Europe its not a big deal