The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

[Kepler]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Makes you worry, though. If an enormous country with a pretty good education system can control opinion so well, the implications for us are worrisome. That doesn't mean I think the Reptoids are really in charge, but US media is controlled by a small and atypical subset of the public, and they have their agenda on some economic issues.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Another one: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07...rs-from-radar/

What the **** is going on with planes? Have we ever lost this many passenger planes in a short time? This is 3 in LESS THAN A WEEK.

[Kepler]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Another one: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/07...rs-from-radar/

What the **** is going on with planes? Have we ever lost this many passenger planes in a short time? This is 3 in LESS THAN A WEEK.

From what the Beeb was reporting this morning, this one may be chalked up to weather, or just Africa.

It says something when a plane going down from natural causes is marginally "good" news...

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

From what the Beeb was reporting this morning, this one may be chalked up to weather, or just Africa.

It says something when a plane going down from natural causes is marginally "good" news...

Yeah, not the good news you'd want to hear.

From what I read it sounds like the likely cause is weather, but due to the areas it was flying over, they won't discount terrorist activities. Sounds like the terrorists in that area are not thought to have weaponry capable of taking down a jet. Still, could have been a terrorist onboard the aircraft, I don't imagine Burkina Faso has the tightest regulations.

[Kepler]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

I don't imagine Burkina Faso has the tightest regulations.

When a peer of my wife was assigned to BF a few years ago, his going away party was like a funeral. It used to have the distinction of "most hellish country in the world," but the DRC and Sudan have passed it. For oldies and philatelists out there: Burkina Faso is what used to be called "Upper Volta," back when it was, comparatively, a functional nation.

All you need to know about Africa is that Somalia isn't the most dangerous country on the continent.

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

When a peer of my wife was assigned to BF a few years ago, his going away party was like a funeral. It used to have the distinction of "most hellish country in the world," but the DRC and Sudan have passed it. For oldies and philatelists out there: Burkina Faso is what used to be called "Upper Volta," back when it was, comparatively, a functional nation.

All you need to know about Africa is that Somalia isn't the most dangerous country on the continent.

True. Sadly the competition for that title is stiff and getting stiffer each year. I remember being in Ghana, staying with a family there, and the dad was reading the paper one morning and on the radio they were reporting that the Ivory Coast (next door to Ghana) had had a coup the previous evening. It was considered no big deal, kind of just business as usual in Africa. He did make the point that, while Africans complained about the negative impacts of colonialism, the Africans by and large had done very poorly governing themselves once the colonial power were gone. The folks I've met over the years from Africa are generally really great people, but somehow the nations for the most part can't govern themselves very well.

[joecct]

True. Sadly the competition for that title is stiff and getting stiffer each year. I remember being in Ghana, staying with a family there, and the dad was reading the paper one morning and on the radio they were reporting that the Ivory Coast (next door to Ghana) had had a coup the previous evening. It was considered no big deal, kind of just business as usual in Africa. He did make the point that, while Africans complained about the negative impacts of colonialism, the Africans by and large had done very poorly governing themselves once the colonial power were gone. The folks I've met over the years from Africa are generally really great people, but somehow the nations for the most part can't govern themselves very well.

I would argue that the nations are artificial boundaries drawn up by colonial powers a long time ago. It may be better to redraw the boundaries based on tribes.
Zululand
Berberland
Mandikaland
etc.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

We have some people that want to try to extend our business to Africa...if that comes up, I may have to draw the line, and say No to travel. There are some countries I'd be OK with, there was a project in South Africa earlier this year, that would have been OK, but there are some countries that I have no desire to set foot in.

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

I would argue that the nations are artificial boundaries drawn up by colonial powers a long time ago. It may be better to redraw the boundaries based on tribes.
Zululand
Berberland
Mandikaland
etc.

It's an interesting idea and certainly has some merit. How it would actually be done is hard to fathom.

[Kepler]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

It's an interesting idea and certainly has some merit. How it would actually be done is hard to fathom.

Only way I can imagine this happening is a pan-African Congress where they erase all the lines and then redraw them by tribe, in one go. I worked with a (aside: unbelievably attractive, as in good god they make people who look like that?!) Kenyan guy who explained the 1001 reasons why this will never happen, only about half of which are bad reasons.

If Africa ever got its act together it would be as or more productive and wealthy as any other continent -- even after 200 years of extractive rape by the west and now Asia it still has more resources than anybody else -- but barring some revolutionary transformation, they're permanently jammed.

Tell us more cool Ghana stories. Why were you there? That's really interesting.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Yeah, I don't see Africa getting its act together anytime soon, as in, in my lifetime. They are just too far away, and it will be a slow process. Not saying that they can't get there, I'm just saying that it is going to take a while.

I don't think the idea of re-drawing the lines would work, mainly because there is no way you'd get buy-in from even 50% of the countries. All it would do is cause more war in the short-term, I'm afraid.

[Rover]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Tell us more cool Ghana stories. Why were you there? That's really interesting.

Bob got a little depressed after Obama's re-election and was looking for a new country to reside in. Unfortunately he didn't take my suggestion of North Korea, where true conservative leadership reigns.

[bigblue_dl]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Apparently some just can't participate in a productive conversation without bringing partisan BS into it. Sad, but par for the course for here, or really anywhere on the internet.

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Only way I can imagine this happening is a pan-African Congress where they erase all the lines and then redraw them by tribe, in one go. I worked with a (aside: unbelievably attractive, as in good god they make people who look like that?!) Kenyan guy who explained the 1001 reasons why this will never happen, only about half of which are bad reasons.

If Africa ever got its act together it would be as or more productive and wealthy as any other continent -- even after 200 years of extractive rape by the west and now Asia it still has more resources than anybody else -- but barring some revolutionary transformation, they're permanently jammed.

Tell us more cool Ghana stories. Why were you there? That's really interesting.

A handful of us from my church went over and visited some church groups there we had gotten to know. They have an end of year conference every year, with folks from across West Africa, so we joined them for that. So, there's like six of us white folks in a gathering of a thousand Africans. And you know what, it didn't matter, as we felt totally at home. Really, you go to a place like that and meet folks that are happy with nowhere near the material goods we have, and you start thinking a lot more than the American way may not be so great in some ways and American influence isn't always a positive thing. A fun thing is that we flew back on New Year's Eve (and this was going from 1999 to 2000, so the Y2K thing was in full furor). So, we take off in the evening of December 31, 1999 from Ghana. At some point in the air we go into 2000. Then later (after a stop over), we're back in 1999 and remain there until we land in Phoenix. Then we tick into 2000 again. So I can tell people I've experienced cross over from once century to the next twice! Que to comments about how much of an oldie I must be!

[Bob Gray]

Re: The Global War on Terror 5.0: Putin on the Risk

Bob got a little depressed after Obama's re-election and was looking for a new country to reside in. Unfortunately he didn't take my suggestion of North Korea, where true conservative leadership reigns.

After spending a couple weeks in Ghana, we had more than a passing thought that we could see ourselves sticking around there, though that was well pre-Obama, so that part of your narrative doesn't stick.