|
Teacher arrested in Sudan for naming teddy Mohammed (pg. 8)
|
View this Thread in Original format
| zoogla |
^^^bingo
| quote: | Originally posted by Trance Nutter
but why can a person have the name Mohammed, but a teddy bear can't?
Especially when the bear may have been named after a common name in Islamic countries. |
Dude, don't ask me!!! I don't know anything about the Sudanese regime (never studied it :() and I do know that all kinds of atrocities and genocides have occurred in the central African region, some in the name if Islam if I'm not mistaken, so I'm clueless as to the religious connection for this case, aside from what has already been pointed out above. If it's a foreign teacher he'll most likely get out of there pretty quick, because this offense is hardly a serious offense; way too many murders going on for there to be such a big focus on this. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
Hey bro, I don't think anyone counts us with the extremists, but when we try to shed some light on the issue people's heads are so far up their asses that they refuse to respect any other perspective other than their own "extreme" western liberal views. I guess if everyone pursued a "balanced" approach where we express our liberal views but at the same time respect some of the backward behaviours in other societies (after we take the time to understand the complete context beyond the CNN article) we'd all be considered bland and boring. :rolleyes:
Personally, I enjoy the narrow views some people have as it brings up healthy (if insulting at times) discussion! :gsmile: |
well to be honest mate, it doesn't help the situation when you go out of your way to defend archaic practices in saudi arabia (no matter how articulately you might explain yourself).
fact is, the world would be a much better place if every country was a liberal democracy. and one day, that will be the case. the temptation of free press, free elections, free economy, free religion, freedom of expression, female emancipation etc etc etc will be too much for even the fanatical heartland to resist. it'll just take time. lots of it. until then, i and other humanists will lazily be fighting for it on tranceaddict.com/forums. |
|
|
| zoogla |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
fact is, the world would be a much better place if every country was a liberal democracy. and one day, that will be the case. the temptation of free press, free elections, free economy, free religion, freedom of expression, female emancipation etc etc etc will be too much for even the fanatical heartland to resist. it'll just take time. lots of it. until then, i and other humanists will lazily be fighting for it on tranceaddict.com/forums. |
Is humanists the new word for atheists? |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
fact is, the world would be a much better place if every country was a liberal democracy. and one day, that will be the case. the temptation of free press, free elections, free economy, free religion, freedom of expression, female emancipation etc etc etc will be too much for even the fanatical heartland to resist. it'll just take time. lots of it. until then, i and other humanists will lazily be fighting for it on tranceaddict.com/forums. |
lol. United Federation of Planets is not going to happen anytime soon. doubt it'll ever happen based upon trends in human history.
democracy requires people to be educated in its use. too many people don't know how to use democracy, nor do they understand it
and considering the fact that many people do not give a rat's ass about the govt as long as they have a roof over their head and food in their belly, democracy for many is a novelty concept only
spreading concepts like democracy, human rights, liberty, etc. requires humanity to give a rat's ass about each other. the fact is, we don't.
not in the scale required to promote democracy and all that other stuff worldwide |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
Is humanists the new word for atheists? |
it's all about the marketing these days |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
Is humanists the new word for atheists? |
haha, don't be facetious.
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
lol. United Federation of Planets is not going to happen anytime soon. doubt it'll ever happen based upon trends in human history.
democracy requires people to be educated in its use. too many people don't know how to use democracy, nor do they understand it
and considering the fact that many people do not give a rat's ass about the govt as long as they have a roof over their head and food in their belly, democracy for many is a novelty concept only
spreading concepts like democracy, human rights, liberty, etc. requires humanity to give a rat's ass about each other. the fact is, we don't.
not in the scale required to promote democracy and all that other stuff worldwide |
sorry, but the ever-increasing affluence and insidious popular culture of the west will one day dominate the world. you can already see it now; mid east nations having to ban satellite tv etc. videos of osama (or was it al sadr, i forget) wearing reebok runners etc.
INFORMATION is the key. the chinese know it, that's why they're attempting to control an entire society's access to it.
people will come to realise that the easiet way to guarantee "roofs over heads and food in bellies" is through free trade markets. and to have proper free trade, you need free government.
it is inevitable. "the stronger you tighten your grib, the more star systems will slip through your fingers" -princess leia. so true. the oligarchs and dictators in this world cannot possibly remain ad nauseum, there will be too much information, popular culture, economic influence for it to be so. the dictatorship has a limited lifespan.
too many citizens around the world appreciate the beauty of our (very) flawed democracies. they will want their gaming systems, music, books, tv shows, elections, free newspapers etc etc etc.
it is only a matter of time. social evolition. it will happen. |
|
|
| zoogla |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
well to be honest mate, it doesn't help the situation when you go out of your way to defend archaic practices in saudi arabia |
Anyway, there's no need for me to defend them and I don't believe there is any situation to be helped. Saudi Arabia's diplomats are speaking for themselves as members of the UN and I'm pretty sure they will continue without any sanctions long after their oil is gone.
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
lol. United Federation of Planets is not going to happen anytime soon. |
:haha: :haha:
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
"the stronger you tighten your grib, the more star systems will slip through your fingers" -princess leia. |
LOL that's awesome!! It's true what they say--you really are a geek! :p |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
sorry, but the ever-increasing affluence and insidious popular culture of the west will one day dominate the world. you can already see it now; mid east nations having to ban satellite tv etc. videos of osama (or was it al sadr, i forget) wearing reebok runners etc.
INFORMATION is the key. the chinese know it, that's why they're attempting to control an entire society's access to it.
people will come to realise that the easiet way to guarantee "roofs over heads and food in bellies" is through free trade markets. and to have proper free trade, you need free government.
it is inevitable. "the stronger you tighten your grib, the more star systems will slip through your fingers" -princess leia. so true. the oligarchs and dictators in this world cannot possibly remain ad nauseum, there will be too much information, popular culture, economic influence for it to be so. the dictatorship has a limited lifespan.
too many citizens around the world appreciate the beauty of our (very) flawed democracies. they will want their gaming systems, music, books, tv shows, elections, free newspapers etc etc etc.
it is only a matter of time. social evolition. it will happen. |
don't assume that people will like the information they have access to.
just because they can have all the western ideas and pop culture and whatnot, this does not mean the people will automatically accept them |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
Anyway, there's no need for me to defend them and I don't believe there is any situation to be helped. Saudi Arabia's diplomats are speaking for themselves as members of the UN and I'm pretty sure they will continue without any sanctions long after their oil is gone.
|
realpolitik will dominate international politics, no matter how much the idealists preach free democracy, free trade and whatever |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by fayraree
LOL that's awesome!! It's true what they say--you really are a geek! :p |
yeah man. i was playing games before most TAs were born, i cried at the age of about 5 when i couldn't understand all the words in "pit and the pendulum", the first movie i remember seeing at the cinema was return of the jedi, the first job i ever had was so i could buy a PC, my favourite books are fantasy, my favourite tv shows are scifi, i played D&D as a young adult. the list goes on :D
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
don't assume that people will like the information they have access to.
just because they can have all the western ideas and pop culture and whatnot, this does not mean the people will automatically accept them |
of course it does. it will leak into their societies. self-interest will come to dominate. the free market will kill the oligarchs in the middle east, mark my words.
if you could present an alternative argument, that has a plausible reason why societies will NOT pursue avenues of greater wealth and prosperity, i would really like to read it. |
|
|
| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
of course it does. it will leak into their societies. self-interest will come to dominate. the free market will kill the oligarchs in the middle east, mark my words.
if you could present an alternative argument, that has a plausible reason why societies will NOT pursue avenues of greater wealth and prosperity, i would really like to read it. |
your argument is based upon the fact that free market is guarantee to prosperity in general and that everyone gets rich. this is not true
at least from outset, 'free market' in Russia only benefits few. the rise of authoritarianism in Germany from 20s to 30s is large part due to failure of free market economy. (well, indemnities Versailles didn't help) |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by EvilTree
your argument is based upon the fact that free market is guarantee to prosperity in general and that everyone gets rich. this is not true
at least from outset, 'free market' in Russia only benefits few. the rise of authoritarianism in Germany from 20s to 30s is large part due to failure of free market economy. (well, indemnities Versailles didn't help) |
no, it is based upon the fact that free markets guarantee prosperity in general, which they do.
| quote: |
AUSTRALIA is the third most desirable country to live in, according to an annual United Nations report that looks at wealth, life expectancy and educational levels.
Australia came in behind top-ranking Iceland and Norway in second spot.
The top three nations have not changed since last year's report, when Australia was again third but Norway was on top and Iceland second.
AIDS-afflicted sub-Saharan African states occupied the lowest rankings of the UN Human Development Index.
As expected, rich free-market countries dominate the top places.
Behind Iceland, Norway and Australia come Canada and Ireland.
But the US has slipped to 12th, from eighth last year. |
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22833151-2,00.html
germany's period of fascism was brief, so hardly a valid argument. especially considering their status now as an open, free trade monster. |
|
|
|
|
