|
Hitler's Germany was probably one of the least effective governments to exist post-industrialization.
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2016 19:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 11:21 |
|
|
Your Dunkle Sans posted:What's the reason for Saudi Arabia intervening in Yemen? Isn't it sort of analogous to Afghanistan and Pakistan where Yemenis cross the border to Saudi Arabia to attack? I'm not well-versed in the situation there apart from it apparently being a huge humanitarian disaster still. The Houthis are backed by Iran and if they win Iran gets a puppet state that's basically embedded in Saudi Arabia's rear end in a top hat
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2016 20:08
|
|
|
Volkerball posted:I wouldn't say that. My point is that this clearly isn't "thanks Obama for bringing about a detente through the Iran deal, and ushering in a new era of diplomacy between our nations." Bringing about positive change in the relationship between the US and Iran was supposed to be the long-term pro in favor of the deal, and that would seem to not be happening at all. Ah, ok. I'm mostly amused by the US's outrage, and them expecting for us to be outraged as well. As usual with Erdogan's rhetoric, why he suddenly cited Hitler's Germany is bewildering, but he definitely did not say they were "effective." What he added though is that there are good and bad examples of presidential
|
|
#
?
Jan 1, 2016 20:22
|
|
|
Kim Jong Il posted:It's about enabling the reformist parties. Any analysis is premature until the next Assembly of Experts election. It's not a matter of right and wrong, it's of picking the least-worst option. Iranian death squads certainly have Syrian blood on their hands, but are we going to have more influence on them if Obama succeeds or as The Great Satan? The reformists are 100% at the mercy of the supreme leader and the hardliners. "Empowering" them is meaningless. Not to mention that there is a fine line between the reformists and the hardliners to begin with. Any reformist who lives up to the name finds themselves on house arrest. And this is more complex than simply siding with whichever option gives the US the best position moving forward to promote positive change in Iran, since the Iran deal comes at a cost. The unfreezing of Iranian assets, the removal of sanctions on larger missile systems, etc. All of this empowers Iran to act more recklessly within the region. So the deal doesn't just need to provide a better footing moving forward, but it also needs to do so at a scale that undermines the benefits given to the government through the deal that will very probably end up with the US enabling Iranian aggression in the region. $100b would buy a lot of mercenaries and barrel bombs.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 01:27
|
|
|
Kim Jong Il posted:It's about enabling the reformist parties. Any analysis is premature until the next Assembly of Experts election. It's not a matter of right and wrong, it's of picking the least-worst option. Iranian death squads certainly have Syrian blood on their hands, but are we going to have more influence on them if Obama succeeds or as The Great Satan? According to Iranian hardliners, we're the "great satan" because we have a strong Jewish community. I'd hope to god we continue to have such a community, and that Iran changes. Alas, the nuclear agreement has only enabled Iran to pursue genocide and terrorism, while giving them leverage with this administration that they can violate at will.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 01:47
|
|
|
Have a nice article about Iran from Vice, to clean up the smell left by some bullshit posts on this and the last page: https://news.vice.com/article/this-was-the-year-that-iran-finally-started-to-come-in-from-the-cold?utm_source=vicenewsfb
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 02:42
|
|
|
Nckdictator posted:"Effective" isn't the right word for the country that came up with the Maus. Nonsense. Maus is big. Maus is heavy. Maus can trample a lot of Kurdish houses with ease. Maus is good.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 02:51
|
|
|
Mans posted:Nonsense. Maus is big. Maus is heavy. Maus can trample a lot of Kurdish houses with ease. Maus is good. Maus ain't no Taus  "Melek Taus on Ashura"
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 02:53
|
|
|
What's with those goose soldiers?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 03:00
|
|
|
goose fleet posted:What's with those goose soldiers? Perfect username to ask the question. I guess when they were in boot camp, they took the instruction to "duck and cover" a bit too literally.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 03:08
|
|
|
It's another middle eastern quackmire
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 03:14
|
|
|
MothraAttack posted:So Jaish al-Thuwar is gunning toward Azaz again and ISIS is mounting something of an effective counteroffensive in Ramadi. Ugh. http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-forces-extend-ramadi-control-rescue-civilians-131444173.html quote:On Friday, IS staged a large attack on a compound used by the army's 10th Division, in a desert area north of Ramadi. Anything else about Ramadi was bullshit twitter daesh propaganda.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 04:52
|
|
|
ShutteredIn posted:http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-forces-extend-ramadi-control-rescue-civilians-131444173.html I heard on NPR today that the Iraqi military suffered 60 casualties in this attack. Ouch.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 05:14
|
|
|
Anosmoman posted:Iran is mostly Shia and is supporting Shia rebels in Yemen, which has a majority Sunni population. Saudi Arabia is also mostly Sunni and doesn't want an Iranian puppet in their back yard. icantfindaname posted:The Houthis are backed by Iran and if they win Iran gets a puppet state that's basically embedded in Saudi Arabia's rear end in a top hat Thanks for the heads up.  Also, with Erdogan and Netanyahu going full  ... Just  . It takes either brazenness or stupidity (maybe both) to use Hitler as an example to be emulated in political dialogue. Erdogan was  'ing about people taking what he said out of context, but when you go Full Hitler, it really doesn't matter if what you said is in or out of context, it's just a really dumb move rhetorically and politically.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 07:12
|
|
|
Hello http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35213244 bbc posted:Saudi Arabia has executed the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, the interior ministry said. He was among 47 put to death after being convicted of terrorism offences, it said in a statement. Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in Eastern Province in 2011, where a Shia majority have long complained of marginalisation. His arrest two years ago, during which he was shot, triggered days of unrest. Sheikh Nimr's death sentence was confirmed in October. His brother said he was found guilty of seeking "foreign meddling" in the kingdom, "disobeying" its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces. Now taking bets on the Sunni Shia civil war spreading to Arabia now.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 09:54
|
|
|
Friendly Tumour posted:Hello can't decide if saudi arabia destabilising would be a good thing or a bad thing for everyone else
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 10:15
|
|
I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
|
blowfish posted:can't decide if saudi arabia destabilising would be a good thing or a bad thing for everyone else me neither, but least it'll be entertaining
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 10:16
|
|
|
If nothing else, it'll spur LFTR tech, so I'm all for it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 10:17
|
|
|
Friendly Tumour posted:Hello Eh I think it will be more of an uprising in the Shia area of Saudi Arabia followed by a very brutal crackdown and no condemnation by the US because hey, gas is super cheap right now.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 10:22
|
|
|
WarpedNaba posted:If nothing else, it'll spur LFTR tech, so I'm all for it. Eh, I think India is already investing in that pretty nicely.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 12:33
|
|
|
Charliegrs posted:Eh I think it will be more of an uprising in the Shia area of Saudi Arabia followed by a very brutal crackdown and no condemnation by the US because hey, gas is super cheap right now. The lone voice of sanity telling us What Will Actually Happen In The Real World.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 14:49
|
|
|
But for real, gently caress Saudi Arabia. They're literally a medieval Islamist dictatorship. But hey, people like cheap gas, so have a nice day, you swarthy Arab gentlemen. Please oppress the gently caress outta any minorities you need to and behead all the wizards, just keep it below two bucks a gallon you crazy hillbilly fucks.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 14:54
|
|
|
Charliegrs posted:Eh I think it will be more of an uprising in the Shia area of Saudi Arabia followed by a very brutal crackdown and no condemnation by the US because hey, gas is super cheap right now.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 15:27
|
|
|
Charliegrs posted:Eh I think it will be more of an uprising in the Shia area of Saudi Arabia followed by a very brutal crackdown and no condemnation by the US because hey, gas is super cheap right now. Yeah! And we're going to do something about it!
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 15:28
|
|
|
My Imaginary GF posted:Maus ain't no Taus The Angry Birds franchise got weird all of a sudden.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 16:42
|
|
|
Friendly Tumour posted:Hello nothing will happen. but part me hope something does.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:28
|
|
|
Gmaz posted:I wonder if SA is actually able to do something like that without outside intervention, their military doesn't seem like the most capable in the world. On the first read of this, I parsed "SA" as "Something Awful", and my initial thought was "No poo poo they're not capable, did you see what happened when GiP tried to build a house?" 
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:33
|
|
|
Captain Bravo posted:GiP tried to build a house 
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:36
|
|
|
Young Freud posted:The Angry Birds franchise got weird all of a sudden. This looks like either a modern Bayeux tapestry, but woven by Yazidis, or a political cartoon by the same.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:38
|
|
|
kalstrams posted:Link. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:40
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 17:46
|
|
|
Great talk hosted by POMEPS that gives some context to sectarianism in Saudi Arabia: https://vimeo.com/131102935quote:Toby Matthiesen is a research fellow in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. He is the author of Sectarian Gulf: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the Arab Spring That Wasn’t (Stanford University Press, 2013). POMEPS hosted Matthiesen in 2013 to discuss Sectarian Gulf in POMEPS Conversations 28. He discusses his recent release The Other Saudis: Shiism, Dissent and Sectarianism (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Kristin Smith Diwan offers comments. Diwan is a professorial lecturer at American University and a visiting scholar at the George Washington University’s Institute for Middle East Studies.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 18:34
|
|
|
kalstrams posted:Link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHds3HGzCak The SAclopedia entry is surprisingly sparse, given the wealth of material it has inspired. I'm not even sure the house actually collapsed. There's more details here (the thread looks to be about a fighter jet, but gets derailed pretty quickly). Cat Mattress fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Jan 2, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 19:33
|
|
|
Gmaz posted:I wonder if SA is actually able to do something like that without outside intervention, their military doesn't seem like the most capable in the world. Well in 2011 during the Bahrain uprising (which was another attempt at Shias to get equal treatment from the government) the Saudis and Emiratis sent their military and police to Bahrain to help suppress the uprising. So I imagine internal suppression is probably the one thing the Saudi military is good at. And of course you didn't hear a peep from the US back during the Bahrain crackdown, I guess we didn't want to lose a naval base or something like that we have there?
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 19:40
|
|
|
Cat Mattress posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHds3HGzCak You linked tribute.avi This is groverhaus.avi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7zPiTHjzVI though the stability of the buildings in both cases is arguably similar
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 20:11
|
|
|
Volkerball posted:The reformists are 100% at the mercy of the supreme leader and the hardliners. "Empowering" them is meaningless. Not to mention that there is a fine line between the reformists and the hardliners to begin with. Any reformist who lives up to the name finds themselves on house arrest. And this is more complex than simply siding with whichever option gives the US the best position moving forward to promote positive change in Iran, since the Iran deal comes at a cost. The unfreezing of Iranian assets, the removal of sanctions on larger missile systems, etc. All of this empowers Iran to act more recklessly within the region. So the deal doesn't just need to provide a better footing moving forward, but it also needs to do so at a scale that undermines the benefits given to the government through the deal that will very probably end up with the US enabling Iranian aggression in the region. $100b would buy a lot of mercenaries and barrel bombs. Iran is still a hell of a lot less empowered to act with impunity than they would be as a nuclear power, so there's that.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 20:41
|
|
|
blowfish posted:Eh, I think India is already investing in that pretty nicely. There needs to be more more more more more. But it's cool people already know about it.
|
|
#
?
Jan 2, 2016 21:58
|
|
|
Friendly Tumour posted:Hello GalacticAcid posted:
The proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran seems to be becoming a little less "proxy". fade5 fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Jan 3, 2016 |
|
#
?
Jan 3, 2016 00:47
|
|
|
quote:Saudi Arabia's top cleric, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, defended the executions, calling them a "mercy to the prisoners" as it would prevent them committing more crimes, Associated Press reported. 
|
|
#
?
Jan 3, 2016 00:53
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 11:21 |
|
|
Charliegrs posted:Well in 2011 during the Bahrain uprising (which was another attempt at Shias to get equal treatment from the government) the Saudis and Emiratis sent their military and police to Bahrain to help suppress the uprising. So I imagine internal suppression is probably the one thing the Saudi military is good at. And of course you didn't hear a peep from the US back during the Bahrain crackdown, I guess we didn't want to lose a naval base or something like that we have there? Bahrain was a fairly small scale thing. Nothing comparable to what happened in Yemen or Syria from a difficulty standpoint. If there was something major, the Saudi's aren't exactly prepared to deal with it any better than Assad was. They are better equipped, but they also don't have equivalent regional and international powers who would strap themselves to the royal family when poo poo went down like Russia and Iran did for Syria. Like with Mubarak in Egypt, I would expect any major uprising within KSA would end up with the Obama administration trying to stay more or less "out of it," then establishing/maintaining relations with the winner while trying to keep the appearance that they did what supported human rights in Saudi Arabia. And all of KSA's other allies are more or less subordinates. They aren't likely to face anything like that, however. Shia's are a very small minority, and this type of execution is business as usual, not an exception to the rule, to the point that I'm surprised this incident was even posted in the thread. The "revolution" during the Arab Spring that the Shia cleric was indicted for supporting was the sidiest of side notes during that time period, and only 17 people died. There will be no challenge to the royal family that isn't heavily supported by Sunni's, and I don't think "hey we're being oppressed!" from Shia's within KSA is going to get them on board.
|
|
#
?
Jan 3, 2016 01:17
|
|