Israeli-Palestinian conflict

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:44 PM, chenGOD said:

 in theory upholds fundamental human rights. 

Love that the definition of Western is this. 

Lots of countries have democratic governments and trade with the UK and US. 

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:35 PM, Thu Zaw said:

You have a strange understanding of misanthropy.

 

>a dislike of humankind

it's pretty straightforward lmao, what mental contortions are you doing this time?

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:44 PM, chenGOD said:

in theory upholds fundamental human rights

why even bother giving in to this charade? it's propagandistic, misleading, and straight out lying. if anything it's also racist, allowing "human rights" to be defined as the thing that western (white) nations define them to be

Israel is part of the mysterious Orient

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:55 PM, Thu Zaw said:

 

Lots of countries have democratic governments and trade with the UK and US. 

Yes and modern democracy kind of originated in "the west". 

But please explain why Israel isn't a western nation?

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:56 PM, cyanobacteria said:

>a dislike of humankind

it's pretty straightforward lmao, what mental contortions are you doing this time?

Misanthropy can manifest in many ways. I've been through my depressive "I hate everybody" phase. Now I'm at peace with myself. I don't hate people; I hate humanity. I hate it's innate traits of tribalism and ethnocentrism. I hate how the species is uncontrollably destroying the planet in the never-ending pursuit of reproduction. I hate the way tribalism blinds people to the humanity people share despite superficial cultural signifiers.

On an individual level, I can like some people very much. I'm even capable of love. 

But I am a misanthrope in that I've removed myself from the trap of societies. I hold no national, cultural, religious identity. I was never indoctrinated into one, and I've resisted inclusion in favour of an independent approach to being a human. I align myself with no group of people. I'm a self-imposed loner. 

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:56 PM, cyanobacteria said:

"human rights" to be defined as the thing that western (white) nations define them to be

They aren't, the UN declaration has had at least one binding treaty (out of nine) ratified by 193 member nations. Most have ratified four or more. But of the original 58 signatory states, the majority were "western". There's nothing racist about the UDHR.

  On 5/26/2021 at 11:00 PM, chenGOD said:

Yes and modern democracy kind of originated in "the west". 

But please explain why Israel isn't a western nation?

So Japan, South Korea, Brazil, India, etc are Western nations too?

The definition of Western isn't concrete. It's an outdated, archaic idea, just like the idea of 'races'. Some take it in it's original geographic sense, some in an ethnic sense, and some in the sense of a civilization.

Off to bed. Nighty night. 

reading the united nations security council resolutions pertaining to the nation of Israel, translated by sir richard francis burton in 26 volumes as part of the “sacred texts of the east” collection 

  On 5/26/2021 at 11:11 PM, Alcofribas said:

reading the united nations security council resolutions pertaining to the nation of Israel, translated by sir richard francis burton in 26 volumes as part of the “sacred texts of the east” collection 

  On 5/26/2021 at 11:05 PM, Thu Zaw said:

Misanthropy can manifest in many ways. I've been through my depressive "I hate everybody" phase. Now I'm at peace with myself. I don't hate people; I hate humanity. I hate it's innate traits of tribalism and ethnocentrism. I hate how the species is uncontrollably destroying the planet in the never-ending pursuit of reproduction. I hate the way tribalism blinds people to the humanity people share despite superficial cultural signifiers.

On an individual level, I can like some people very much. I'm even capable of love. 

But I am a misanthrope in that I've removed myself from the trap of societies. I hold no national, cultural, religious identity. I was never indoctrinated into one, and I've resisted inclusion in favour of an independent approach to being a human. I align myself with no group of people. I'm a self-imposed loner. 

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  On 5/26/2021 at 11:10 PM, Thu Zaw said:

So Japan, South Korea, Brazil, India, etc are Western nations too?

The definition of Western isn't concrete. It's an outdated, archaic idea, just like the idea of 'races'. Some take it in it's original geographic sense, some in an ethnic sense, and some in the sense of a civilization.

 

Off to bed. Nighty night. 

Japan was so influenced by the west during the Meiji restoration, (Ian Buruma's "Inventing Japan" is a really good, quick read) and have taken on a lot of Western influence through cultural exchange. South Korea's relation with the US and the west is also very evident. To deny the British influence on India is really just.."not on". 

But yes the definition of the west isn't concrete, and those concepts of occident and orient are extremely archaic. But in a geopolitical sense, Israel is very much a Western nation.

                                                                    tell us one or two things brian

My advice to everyone on this forum, once the virus is over, get the fuck out of your little bubbles and explore the world and actually meet some people. 

You spend your lives debating other Americans online, insisting you have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity, civilization, and conflict. But it's all fucking theoretical and masturbatory. 

Your main focus in discussing international politics is to one-up some other ego on some niche little message board frequented by spotty post-adolescent Americans. 

Your actual understanding of other humans is so impersonal. Peoples' lives, as they try to survive war and terror, are simply concepts for you to debate from the comfort of your couch while munching on a box of Pringles with one hand and casually stroking your dick with the other.  You're not political analysts. You're not on CNN. Stop trying to sound like you are. It's really childish and pathetic. 

This whole thread reeks of 

r/iamverysmart

most people don't have the monies to explore the world so we stroke dicks on a friggin idm forum

  On 5/26/2021 at 10:55 PM, chenGOD said:

My man - you should read up on Taiwanese resistance to Japanese rule. Sure the Taiwanese have more respect for the Japanese than Korea, but it is 100% disingenuous to call it benign. The point is that Japan tried to emulate the Western colonizers, not that they did for as long.

It wasn't merely boasts - and those countries often did accept the suzerain-vassal state. For a nuanced look at the issue, I recommend "Ambassadors from the Islands of the Immortals", or "Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: Qing Imperialism and Choson Korea". For a look at how Chinese philosophical thinking affected Korea, Martina Deuchler's "Confucian Transformation of Korea" is required reading.

Of course international relations in East Asia are more nuanced than that, so here, you can read some more of my thoughts on it.

 

ASIA 410 Term Paper (edit).pdf 150.2 kB · 2 downloads

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Probably wisest to stop digging 

  On 5/27/2021 at 9:26 AM, rhmilo said:

Probably wisest to stop digging 

 

Or you could accept that I've actually read a fair bit about East Asian history, and try and counter those points?

  On 5/27/2021 at 8:45 AM, Thu Zaw said:

My advice to everyone on this forum, once the virus is over, get the fuck out of your little bubbles and explore the world and actually meet some people. 

You spend your lives debating other Americans online, insisting you have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity, civilization, and conflict. But it's all fucking theoretical and masturbatory. 

Your main focus in discussing international politics is to one-up some other ego on some niche little message board frequented by spotty post-adolescent Americans. 

Your actual understanding of other humans is so impersonal. Peoples' lives, as they try to survive war and terror, are simply concepts for you to debate from the comfort of your couch while munching on a box of Pringles with one hand and casually stroking your dick with the other.  You're not political analysts. You're not on CNN. Stop trying to sound like you are. It's really childish and pathetic. 

This whole thread reeks of 

r/iamverysmart

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I see why Snares bullied you. not everyone on this forum is a white American or European, guy (nor does that necessarily discount the valid views of anyone who is of that stock). your world-traveller uberkultur ambassador schtick got tired pretty quickly and rather than feeling some kind of self-awareness about how lame it is to keep repeating it you double down on it at every opportunity. I put it to you that your theatrical enlightenment and performative liberalism is most likely as useless in the real world as any of the perceived armchair analytics you're railing against itt. this is a forum for wanking over pictures of Richard D James and the Brothers 'Chramazov, solving world crises is slightly beyond its scope.

  On 5/27/2021 at 9:38 AM, usagi said:

I see why Snares bullied you. not everyone on this forum is a white American or European, guy (nor does that necessarily discount the valid views of anyone who is of that stock). your world-traveller uberkultur ambassador schtick got tired pretty quickly and rather than feeling some kind of self-awareness about how lame it is to keep repeating it you double down on it at every opportunity. I put it to you that your theatrical enlightenment and performative liberalism is most likely as useless in the real world as any of the perceived armchair analytics you're railing against itt. this is a forum for wanking over pictures of Richard D James and the Brothers 'Chramazov, solving world crises is slightly beyond its scope.

Wait wait wait, I've got the best comeback for this....

Ireland doing the right thing: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/26/ireland-recognises-israels-de-facto-annexation-of-palestine

breaking news: entire nation of Ireland declared anti-semitic

  On 5/27/2021 at 12:24 PM, usagi said:

breaking news: entire nation of Ireland declared anti-semitic

That happened a long time ago, back at least to the 50's when Erskine Childers exposed the myth that Arab nations called for the evacuation of Palestinians during the Nakba, or maybe when when we complained about Israel murdering our peacekeepers (repeatedly), or when we complained about them forging our passports for assassination squads... it's hard to keep track of all the anti-semitism.

  On 5/27/2021 at 12:24 PM, usagi said:

breaking news: entire nation of Ireland declared anti-semitic

and then placed on time out.

  On 5/27/2021 at 8:45 AM, Thu Zaw said:

insisting you have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity, civilization, and conflict. But it's all fucking theoretical and masturbatory. 

that’s a mirror

  On 5/27/2021 at 8:45 AM, Thu Zaw said:

My advice to everyone on this forum, once the virus is over, get the fuck out of your little bubbles and explore the world and actually meet some people. 

You spend your lives debating other Americans online, insisting you have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity, civilization, and conflict. But it's all fucking theoretical and masturbatory. 

Your main focus in discussing international politics is to one-up some other ego on some niche little message board frequented by spotty post-adolescent Americans. 

Your actual understanding of other humans is so impersonal. Peoples' lives, as they try to survive war and terror, are simply concepts for you to debate from the comfort of your couch while munching on a box of Pringles with one hand and casually stroking your dick with the other.  You're not political analysts. You're not on CNN. Stop trying to sound like you are. It's really childish and pathetic. 

This whole thread reeks of 

r/iamverysmart

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honestly.. on watmm... views, thoughts, questions etc are often just as good as CNN. that's kind of a low bar. they do have some good people on sometimes but often aren't any less "masturbatory" than anyone else. is don't have cable so don't really have a grasp on what they're up too other than youtube clips that turn up now and then. it's arguable that this whole fucking universe is a big wank anyways. not to copout of the problems of the human condition but wtf..  i mean.. i've not heard anyone (well maybe now and then) here "insist they have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity..." other than just sharing their thoughts and doing their best..  that's all anyone can do w/whatever tools they have and whatever experiences have shaped their lives.  i've had my perspective challenged on one or another on forums like this one and have no rouble admitting i was wrong or naive about something or just plain stupid about it. 

anyway.. many have made similar small rants about america and it's true politics became a sport long ago here w/team victories being more important than actual policy to make life better here.. this is nothing new. we're mostly aware but it's also a trap easily fallen into. but there are plenty of americans who understand this and try to change it and are also aware of the rest of the world, our place in it and american hegemony etc etc.. 

it is what it is.. but rants now and then are good for getting it off your chest.. cleansing the palette or whatever.. so rant on... it's pretty easy to poopoo on america.. i do it all the time.. there's some well written stuff about america and where it's at and why etc... but those links have faded in my brain.. if i find one i'll come back and dump it here.. it's cathartic to read some of that stuff.. i'm guessing there's a few such links posted in the 'how does the world view america' thread... 

  On 5/27/2021 at 5:32 PM, Alcofribas said:

  On 5/27/2021 at 8:45 AM, Thu Zaw said:

insisting you have a profound, intellectual understanding about humanity, civilization, and conflict. But it's all fucking theoretical and masturbatory. 

that’s a mirror

 

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QFT & page break