Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm hoping we're not falling into the trap of "everything is beautiful in its own way" here. Some cultures--such as any culture which justifies killing to promote any religion--are worthy of being stamped out. Any "unique" qualities in their culture which are worth saving can be found in other Islamic cultures, or other Middle Eastern/Asian cultures, anyway. The defining element of their culture is the belief that killing infidels is good and earns them a spot in eternal bliss. That certainly isn't worth preserving. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[edit] Not that I think that exporting Western culture to them is the best thing to do; there are many elements of Western culture which I also find objectionable (such as the increasing emphasis on personal rights instead of personal freedom--general freedom requires the individual to act responsibly whereas the right to do something removes all responsibility for an action from the individual).

[ July 12, 2003, 04:04: Message edited by: Krsqk ]

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's not a defining element of their culture; if it was, all islamic states would have declared a Jihad against ALL other cultures on the planet.

Also, every culture is unique; American Culture is different than British culture, just like Palestinian culture is probably different than Iraqi culture. It seems to me as if you talk as if you live in Planet PickACulture, where it's alright to stamp out anything you deem intolerable.

BTW, Islam does not promote itself by killing other, nor does any other modern religions of the world.

Edit: Minor grammatical error

Another Edit: I'm pushing this towards an OT discussion. I'll stop replying further.

[ July 12, 2003, 04:28: Message edited by: TerranC ]

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

I'm not saying it's the only way, but it is _a_ way. I would hope that it gets to the point where there's a level of cultural understanding, so those factions where the goal really is "kill all the infidels" eventually lose their influence and voice in the culture, and then disappear entirely. I don't like all aspects of western culture either (most of my issues are with American culture, since I'm living in it), including the "victim" culture that we have. But, a complete incorporation would be very difficult, and take quite a bit of time, so I don't think that will happen. Most likely, it will result in changes to their culture and ours, but both will remain independant.

In an attempt to shove something resembling on-topicness, this would be similar to the changes deccan would like to see in S.I., land reform with definite boundries, government power given to local regions rather than central capital, etc. Small changes to the culture, which bring it in line with the rest of the world (as far as definitions of property), promote stability, etc.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

I see (I think). You were looking at Islamic culture/Middle Eastern culture as a whole, whereas I see fundamentalist/terrorist factions as a separate culture. To the best of my knowledge, most Muslims have a healthy respect for human life, something terrorists definitely do not have. I think an important characteristic like this shared by a widespread, reasonably organized group of people is enough to define it as a culture of its own. IMO, of course.

And you're right--this is well off topic.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

Once again... you cannot target the terrorists directly because they (and those who support them) are in hiding. This applies to cultural warfare (nice phrase, Will) as well. What you CAN do is target the population as a whole and bring them closer to your position, so that it becomes harder and harder for the extremist factions to find new recruits and get funding.

Post-war Japan is an example of this process. Their unique culture has not died out, but it has become intermingled with Western culture (and Western culture has received a contribution from them). The example is not perfect because Japan is an industrialized nation and that has an impact.

Thermo : I was trying to be funny, and I was referring to Robert Heinlein. I know you are not him because he is no longer alive. But you do sound a lot like him.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">1) No. I don't believe that the current problem is pressing enough to be worth the time of the UN Security Council. As crises go, this one is pretty small in the grand scheme of things.

2) Tropical timber, some gold deposits (not terribly rich), fish. That's about it.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">"Wonky"?

What is this "wonky"?

You should tell us about "wonky".</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, they're really weird. For example, there's this clan that goes around calling themselves the lost tribe of Israel, or something, complete with silly justifications on how they ended up in this part of the world and are black.

There are also only two t.v. channels here. One is the BBC, the other is some evangelical Christian station using American programming.

I don't think that they're prone to terrorism because they seem to have an infinite capacity to absorb / assimilate other beliefs into their own, essentially making one big super-pantheon of gods etc., even though Christianity is supposed to be monotheistic.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

The S.I. Parliament unanimously passed a "policy statement" stating their support in principle to the intervention, but the actual 'enabling" bill has yet to be passed.

The S.I. Prime Minister has also requested that the Australians only investigate and prosecute crimes that occur after the intervention and not before. He was widely booed. Looks like someone's trying to cover their behinds.

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This seems to have served them very well in the past, I have no doubt that it will continue to do so for wome time to come.

[ July 14, 2003, 12:30: Message edited by: Loser ]

Re: OT : Australian intervention in Solomon Islands
 

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> BURN THE WITCHES!!!!