Political discussions and other rants about useless things like culture

[Defiance]

Well what shall I say. It's terribly stupid of course. Furthermore, I had never heard of this issue before so I must admit I don't know enough about it to fill a well-built post in a discussion.

Concerning you, it's complicated As far as I understand you're 1/4 German, you live in Costa Rica and you don't consider yourself Costa Rican. Furthermore you're British and Canadian. Because you have relatives (e.g. parents, grandparents?) there? And how did you ever end up in Costa Rica then?

It's really becoming quite controversial, since it's basically an outright and shameless invasion. Feel free to look for more info.

Ah yes, and the problem is that CRns rarely understand how I feel. They don't understand how hard it is to live in a country you don't belong to, and to have to deal with cultural issues/differences on a daily basis. Just yesterday I was having some beers with a classmate from the M.A. She basically said "That's bullshit, you're CRn; what a load of crap", yada yada yada. It really hurt my feelings, and tried to get her to even listen to my point; however, most CRns simply just don't get it and don't listen to what I've got to say.

I've noticed that people who have travelled to other countries comprehend my situation a lot more, and that people who have never been out of the country become quite obnoxious and don't really understand what I'm saying.

My father was born in England (London, so pretty much the "I'm a cold bastard stereotype" ), and grew up in Canada. My grandpa was born in Rostock, DE, and my grandma in London (however, her parents were Latvian). When my father came to teach maths to CR…ta-dah, he met my mother (who also was a maths professor, although of education, not pure, crazy maths like my dad). And hence, I'm here.

I've actually given it some thought, and I'm really considering of giving away my Costa Rican citizenship to get the German one. Might be a bit difficult to get it, but I'm not a Turk (no offence intended) so I do have high possibilities of obtaining it. I just need to pay for a trip to DE, which might happen next year.

 

[Naglfar]

On the bright side, if Daniel Ortega and the Nicaraguans get too uppity... guess which bogeyman would be happy to put them in their place?

Come on, you know, deep down, you love America.

 

[Defiance]

^ you know, this conflict might start WWIII.

 

[Maxim1110]

Oh my fucking god. I seriously can't stop laughing. Wilders and the PVV got themselves into trouble, and it's so funny!

Let's start out with the fact that two members (who are currently seated in the parliament) recently had negative publicity concerning some violence issues. For example, Wilders' right hand Hero Brinkman has had serious alcohol issues and once attacked a barman.

These things were not quite troublesome for the PVV though, as they didn't really threaten their position in the parliament. Now, a third guy, Eric Lucassen, is getting his ass kicked. Earlier this week a report was published in the newspaper which mainly consisted of interviews with former neighbours of Lucassen. They said he had repeatedly threatened them, swore at them all the time and destroyed certain things. Elderly people living in the same neighbourhood came to the police in fear, officers said. He had, for example, destroyed an elderly man's hearing aid by pouring a bucket of cold water over his head and threatened his neighbours to urinate in their mailbox. To make it short: he was the terror of the street. (notice how this is even more funny, since one of things Wilders is constantly yelling about is the "street terror" caused by Moroccans.

That report basically started a chain of events. A few days later he was all over the news because reports had come in that he had been convicted for fornication in 2003, because he reportedly had sex with students when he was a sergeant in the army. Yesterday, the website www.stopkinderpornonu.com (an anti child-pornography organisation) announced that he was also on their list of "pedophiles online".

Of course, it is not acceptable that he stays in the parliament. That won't add up to the credibility of the new administration which only holds 76 seats out of 150, a very narrow majority. Opinion polls have already been held and about 85% said he should be fired from the party immediately. The good thing is, if he is fired they will lose one seat and they will not have a majority anymore. R.I.P. administration Rutte I? I hope so

 

[Maxim1110]

It seems like the whole situation is heading in the right direction. Lucassen wasn't thrown out of the PVV so the coalition's majority in the parliament holds. Yesterday, however, information about another member of the PVV, James Sharpe, leaked. The Hungarian company which he led has been convicted twice for fraud and charged with a fine of, if I'm not mistaken, over a million euros. Furthermore, he attacked and threatened a fellow sportsman back in the 90s and he exploited several websites with pornographic contents.

In the past few days the PVV has lost 5 seats in the opinion polls, going down from 30 to 25. Sharpe announced to leave the party today and gives his seat in the parliament to another member of the PVV.

 

[Zach.Zhang]

I use Google translator every time I browse this forum. Thats why I can type words.

On the topic about China

Well I'm not sure about that. There's still a lot of censorship in China, otherwise there wouldn't be Chinese-born people in the US creating programmes like UltraSurf.

Try reading this http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/ff_firewallfighters/

Wow wow wow, Daniel, my friend, you scared me!
Don't let FaLun Gong brain-wash you! I swear I know what I am talking about.

Let me tell you what FaLun Gong is. FaLun Gong is NOT a religion, is NOT a sect!
FaLun Gong is totally bullshit. It IS an evil cult! It is a disaster of mankind!

FaLun Gong to us is just like Aum Doomsday Cult to Japanese. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Shinrikyo

-----

At a doctrine level, FaLun Gong is much worse than Scientology. Such as refusing medical care, stop needing food and water, sell all your possessions and donate them to the group.

My high school teacher has a strong belief in science, he explained to me how ridiculous FaLun Gong's theory is. He actually read some FaLun Gong book.

Some FaLun Gong practitioners died of illness because they refused medical care. Some committed suicide. Some practitioners even murdered their family members!
They were crazy, they were out of their mind. That's why the policemen locked them up. That's why the gov outlawed FaLun Gong.

The leader of FaLun Gong escaped to the United States, with a lot of money that he gained from his believers.

-----

At first I was surprised that FaLun Gong was not designated an illegal organization by the United States. But then I realized that, some American politicians want to use FaLun Gong as a tool to press China. They give FaLun Gong financial support.

Don't believe the articles about FaLun Gong on Wikipedia. Don't believe the FaLun Gong clips on Youtube.FaLun Gong use your media to preach their lies.
In 2002, a few FaLun Gong practitioners immolated themselves by fire on the Tiananmen square, because their spiritual leader told them to. REALLY horrible!

So, FaLun Gong became one of the reasons why the gov block Internet access to websites like Youtube and Twitter. - That's why some people here approve gov's censorship.

I mean , I definitely know that the gov want to use censorship to hide their corruption and stuff.

-----

Daniel, I kind of lied to you. I'm using Freegate actually, but I will NEVER believe what FaLun Gong said.

I mean, it's like a hate-love feeling. You have to use a software that created by some people you hate! But I want to watch concert clips on Youtube, want to communicate with people on Facebook.

I hate the gov, but I hate FaLun Gong even more!

So, now you know why I'm not glad to discuss censorship on the Internet. I feel sick.

 

[Maxim1110]

http://www.businessinsider.com/sara...ve-gotta-stand-with-our-north-korean-allies-1

One word: LOL!

 

[Naglfar]

I hate the gov, but I hate FaLun Gong even more!

So, now you know why I'm not glad to discuss censorship on the Internet. I feel sick.

it's ok, i hate all cultists too!

the whole falun gong business and the american perception of the group, if it helps your sanity, is kind of an american cold war-type reflex. back in the 1980s, reagan made a big deal about the persecution of small christian minorities in soviet russia. in the u.s., the persecution of religious minorities is seen as sort of a black flag about any government. so these kind of things get a lot of press on principle. it's not that anyone here knows anything about falun gong.

i mean, in my opinion all religions are bullshit and i dont see how the vatican, scientologists, imams and falun gong are any different. i dont like spirituality being organized into religion. mao and i are of one mind on this issue

 

[Defiance]

Will post on the Falun Gong stuff later.

 

[Zach.Zhang]

it's ok, i hate all cultists too!

the whole falun gong business and the american perception of the group, if it helps your sanity, is kind of an american cold war-type reflex. back in the 1980s, reagan made a big deal about the persecution of small christian minorities in soviet russia. in the u.s., the persecution of religious minorities is seen as sort of a black flag about any government. so these kind of things get a lot of press on principle. it's not that anyone here knows anything about falun gong.

i mean, in my opinion all religions are bullshit and i dont see how the vatican, scientologists, imams and falun gong are any different. i dont like spirituality being organized into religion. mao and i are of one mind on this issue

I get you. I know Cold War. I've read some stuff about China from CNN. Some journalists simply have Cold War mentality.

Mao is dead. China is not that paranoid any more.
Seriously, there is no "persecution".

 

[Naglfar]

Seriously, there is no "persecution".

That's not what Chinese scholars I often speak to, who are in no trouble whatsoever and freely come between the U.S. and China, tell me. I think what you and I consider persecution is perhaps different. I may equate scientology and falun gong in terms of them both being a crock, but I wouldn't want the U.S. government doing to scientologists what the Chinese government does to falun gong. Monitoring and hacking the accounts of dissidents is also a non-starter.

Think of it this way: we're having a debate here about what to do with homegrown Islamic extremists. Is it alright to follow them around and harass them, hack their bank accounts and home computers? There's a threshold one has to cross in order to receive that kind of treatment: you have to intend to take up arms or actually take up arms against the government. What's being argued by some people is that in our world, that's no longer enough of to protect our country.

What happens if we start doing that? To paraphrase Denzel Washington's wonderful line from the torture scene in the Siege, what if what they want is for us to start acting that way? Break our own rules, change the way we live by changing the way we protect ourselves, restricting our freedoms?

I guess that's my way of saying, well, just as you exhort us over here to understand the context of your society and the way things have changed over the last 20-30 years in your country (something that is lost on most Americans), I want to exhort you to understand that a lot of us who are more genuinely critical on China on human rights on this side of the Pacific are not nutty right wingers. For us, accountability, respect for basic civil and political rights is the fundamental element for not only people getting along within a society, but also between nation states. Common American revulsion against North Korea, for example, has zero to do with any collective memory over the Korean War. There's just a consensus that what that place does to its citizens is a horror.

Does that mean Americans are overly moralistic? Yup. Does that make us the most monstrous hypocrites, considering how we treat poor, sick and immigrant people? Yup. But I think the basic content of American criticism of China's approach to civil and political rights is largely true, and that's why it strikes a nerve. That doesn't mean "we" are better than "you," just that, well, a spade is a spade.

 

[Defiance]

The alleged bomb in Stockholm is some really scary stuff, I'm quite glad nothing happened.

 

[Zach.Zhang]

For us, accountability, respect for basic civil and political rights is the fundamental element for not only people getting along within a society, but also between nation states. .....

I totally understand that and appreciate that.

I'm sorry I didn't type enough words to make you understand me.
There must be something lost in translation. By saying no persecution, I just wanted to tell you those falun gong members were not tortured or massacred. At least that's what I see and believe. I think it's unnecessary to explain more now.

But I think the basic content of American criticism of China's approach to civil and political rights is largely true, and that's why it strikes a nerve.

I know that.

On the one hand, my hatred to the government is growing everyday.
On the other hand, the Western media often lies to you people.
That's why I explained stuff here and that's why a Chinese student built a website called Anti-CNN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-cnn

http://www.welt.de/international/article4065819/140-Chinese-dead-in-Xinjiang-unrest.html

You should know that we also have homegrown Islamic extremists in China. You may have heard the Uighur protest in China last year. 140 people were killed. But CNN said it's a peaceful protest. WTF!

Well, I didn't expect you to say that much. Thanks for your kindness.

 

[Maxim1110]

The alleged bomb in Stockholm is some really scary stuff, I'm quite glad nothing happened.

Nothing happened? No, it only blew up a car and a man in two of the busiest streets in the city. For the rest, everything's fine. Luckily, the only one killed was the attacker himself.

These kind of bombings are scary though. It makes people like me realize that things like this can happen here too, and don't just happen to the twin towers or the London subway. If I were a muslim terrorist I'd rather have chosen TN to bomb instead of Sweden.

 

[Maxim1110]

Ok, the PVV now calls for an attack on Iran. Great, exactly what we needed.

 

[Naglfar]

I totally understand that and appreciate that.

I'm sorry I didn't type enough words to make you understand me.
There must be something lost in translation. By saying no persecution, I just wanted to tell you those falun gong members were not tortured or massacred. At least that's what I see and believe. I think it's unnecessary to explain more now.



I know that.

On the one hand, my hatred to the government is growing everyday.
On the other hand, the Western media often lies to you people.
That's why I explained stuff here and that's why a Chinese student built a website called Anti-CNN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-cnn

http://www.welt.de/international/article4065819/140-Chinese-dead-in-Xinjiang-unrest.html

You should know that we also have homegrown Islamic extremists in China. You may have heard the Uighur protest in China last year. 140 people were killed. But CNN said it's a peaceful protest. WTF!

Well, I didn't expect you to say that much. Thanks for your kindness.

Hey, as that one Offspring song goes, I try to speak aloud so I can hear what people have to say. I enjoy your opinion. I especially enjoy when people disagree to some extent with me, because I think finding common ground is a learning experience, even if just about basic facts (truth is a hard thing to sort out).

I don't think we fundamentally disagreed, but because we live in different places, we have different sources of information. Even where we agree, our perception can be different. Like your complaint about CNN coverage of the Uighur protests... that was a complicated matter. I agree with you completely. BBC coverage internationally is much better, I tend to rely on them for non-U.S. news (in fact, it's my homepage).

What's interesting about this China-U.S. relationship is that modern Americans have almost zero animosity, culturally and ethnically, towards Chinese people. The friction between our two governments is very interesting, because there's no people on earth with less reason to be hostile to each other than the U.S. and China.

 

[Zach.Zhang]

^ I see.

PS:
No one mentioned Wikileaks or Julian Assange here, huh ?

 

[Naglfar]

Cuz everyone loves Wikileaks but everyone hates Julian Assange. I like freedom of information but I hate megalomaniac rapists.

 

[Siren]

I haven't followed this topic in ages, but i have to write this.
I just watched a random documentary on (evangelical?) christians in the US, and i have to say that i now understand what people in here have been raging about. I'm still shocked that somewhere in the world (ie somewhere with schools, technology and the biggest universities in the world) there are lots and lots of people who firmly believe that the world was created a few thousand years ago, that there is no evolution, that people lived with dinosaurs (!!!) and that Behemoth was actually a big dinosaur.. I mean, i had heard about the evolution part, but come on, dinosaurs???
I'm even more shocked by the way people stand like cattle and let themselves and their kids be brainwashed with this bullshit, and by how convincing this brainwashing is..

 

[Defiance]

^ Yup! Which documentary is it? Jesus Camp?