Amnesty questions claims about Libyan attrocities

My whole arguments has been aimed at the 'real motives' behind this new war; especially since this insane person has been supported by the west for so long. Second issue which we ended up talking about was the disconnect between the people on the street and facts, hence, this lack of knowledge mean people are in no position to a) understand how politicians and media misguide them, b) real motives of such facical* wars.

* Because people like Qaddafi (before him Saddam + Mubarak etc.) are propped up by the west, and once they are of no mmore use, they are swiftly disposed off by 'fabricating' or sometimes 'engineering' conditions for a change, wherein, a new puppet is installed to serve the interests.

I completely understand and agree with what you're saying here, Archean...But looking at alternatives and seperate outcomes, I don't think i would want it any other way.

The further south (through Africa) or East (through Asia) in general you travel, the more freedoms and practices we all take for granted disappear; democracy, free speech (within context), press freedom, equal rights for women, equal rights for gays, fair and just law, the right to a fair trial, ect...

I would much rather it be us playing puppetmaster than any of the so called 'victim' countrys. Sometimes you've got to consider yourself lucky that the USA is as big and powerfull as it is.

You are positively correct on most points, but I think the real result of such 'continuation of politics through war' actually alienate the populations in the longer run, creating such hatred and anger which lasts for generations. Eventually when people do eventually rise up against such regimes the results usually mean that the masters are the biggest losers. But any way, fact of the matter is, power has its own way of expressing itself, so as long as it lasts the imperial mindset stays, once it is lost, well the new cycle begins with new empire and new faces.

Yeah, maybe you're right. One of the great examples for me though, was the Roman invasion of Britain over a millennium ago. The Roman's brought things to Britain that we had never had before, things even todays modern countries don't have, i.e. democracy, a more civilized society (and a proper sewer system )...These things stuck long after the Roman's were booted out.

Granted, the world today is a very different place though.

Interestingly enough these same things (sans the democracy part) were present 5,000 years ago in Indus basin civilization of that period.

Few years ago BBC made a very interesting documentary series on 'Islam and Science' which characterized the scientific achievements of Muslim empires spanning over almost a 1,000 years. Incidentally before that series I didn't knew (amongst many other things) that Egyptian Hieroglyphs were first translated by someone called Ibne-ul-Wahshiya (I am not sure about spellings sorry), along with advances in astronomy, optics, medicines, algebra/algorithms etc. in fact the first ever hospital of the world was established by them as well. So in a way almost every empire do advance science/knowledge for the period they are on top, until some other nation rises and move things bit further.

I think something similar (i.e. documentaries covering achievements of empires) should be in order for other great empires of their times. What do you say?

Good old Egyptians, they were the masters alright. What a find the Rosetta Stone was...We certainly wouldn't know what we know now without it.

Is that a sneaky play on the British empire i wonder? Jeez, we did make some mistakes though: China's Hong Kong springs to mind...and filling Australia with convicts wasn't a very good idea. India didn't turn out that bad though, they're still chugging along quite happily.

Yup, especially since in most sports they *censored* *censored* and more *censored* you guys ....... until recently, well until you won the ashes

India, is a different and complex story, and the emerging huge difference between haves and have-nots could eventually lead to un-rests, along with problems with regard to rampant corruption etc. Anyway, what else one could expect from a 3rd world country trying to pick itself up.

Yeah, we really like to rub the ashes in their faces. We also like to rub the 2003 Rugby world cup final in their faces also (and that really hurts!). But what do they expect, saying all the English do is drink tea and worship the Queen...not to mention calling us "Pomie's"

I fancy a cuppa now after that rant

You gotta give India some credit bieng quite a stable country in amongst a lot of chaos...It's amazing how much thy hate Pakistan.

Indian stability is near farce by the way, as there is 30 (+/-) or so different separatist struggles going on in that country, which funnily enough, their media always 'fail' to report. Some of them are pretty bloody some are not. And yes the way there is hatred amongst them is pretty staggering to put it mildly.

When is the next rugby WC by the way? Isn't it supposed to be during 2011?

I was rather thinking about beer :rolleyes:

Maybe it's an "out of sight, out of mind" thing with India then. Maybe some of the hatred might be the fact that Pakistan has nukes, and that Pakistan hates India. (You really have to think hard when saying Pakistan has nuclear weapons...It's scary!)

Yep, this year, in New Zealand, in October/November. So who are you routing for then?

Well, I'm English, it has to be tea or otherwise i might lose my passport...Beer is allowed, but only in very large measurements; It is also mandatory for beer to be consumed at football matches.

Are you even allowed to use an adverbial form of "funny"?
I've never heard that used in "Ameriglish". We colonists tend to stick to , "oddly", or perhaps, "comically", in that context.

Anyway, as to western media exaggerating "Libyan atrocities", it's fairly easy for a cub reporter to confuse a Molotov cocktail with a tactical nuclear weapon, at least if he or she wants to get out of the mail room full time.

Nope, I think this is purely my own 'transgression'. There is a saying here, which goes something like this "you can see a twig in someone else's eye, but you can't see a boulder in your own' ....... I am sure you know what I mean.

I can throw in bit more fuel to lit the fire as well, i.e. media in almost every country does this, to cater for certain interests including their own.

Now this is new one for me. I thought people go to football matches only to see some bald men wearing studs running around kicking opponents in the face or if they are really angry in the nuts (I hope this word is allowed on TSF). Besides, I don't want to hear/smell a really beery burp right next to me.

Generally the only 'bald men running around kicking opponents in the face or nuts' only happens after the match round the backstreets.

Well, if you've ever been to an English football match you would know that that's almost an impossibility...sadly

(unless you sit in a Royal box...then it's more of 'Pimms' burp)

Sadly the answer is no, if I ever decided to spend money to watch some sports, I'd rather go and watch Sharapova playing tennis. And to the royal burp ........ I guess that honor should go to Captain, as he is the most senior tech spotter amongst us .

Even in EPL some matches are boring considering your observation here, so I wouldn't mind some on pitch on-camera action like this.

If you ever want to see some bald "action" in regards to a football match, check out a football team called Millwall. They've pretty much decided to forego the football stuff and just have a good old fasion punch up...with kicks and nut crunching added just for extra spice.

I don't know what to make of the Sharapova remark. I mean, I don't even know if you yourself are male or female? (and the outcome of either could have very different meaning, for me ).

With regards to Captain: how do we know his real age?...When do you ever find 'old people' that are into Tech?...Maybe he's just a spotty 20 something with an advanced wit, who intern, beautifully disguises himself as an older, more seasoned man.

Who knows such things?

Okay, I though it would be very obvious from my choosen user name i.e. Archean that it must be a male user name.

I suspect I am right about his age, as once upon a time in some thread we ended up talking about 'some vegetable' stuff :evil:

I guess there are few positives about being bald, e.g. one saves on shampoo .... and well when things really get hot on field people have 'less things' to hold onto while beating the crap out of each other.

Archean a male user name? I must be missing something there :suspiciou ...Well in that case i'm not surprised you like a bit of Sharapova (or is that you would like a bit of Sharapova? ) She's on the TV right now paying a semi-final at Wimbledon funnily enough.

'some vegetable stuff'?...Yeah, maybe that could explain an age i suppose.

I wouldn't know with the advantages to being bald because i have long hair (I woke up one morning thinking i could look like Johnny Depp if i grew my hair...I'm still single 4 years after that morning)...But a bald head does also give you a respectable look; Patrick Stewart springs to mind. Also, you can actually polish your head...which i think is just cool.

No I don't really fancy or like 'bit' of her. It is just that, it is more easy on eyes to see her play than that Spanish fat legged monster. Well to be honest I think beauty of Tennis has been utterly destroyed by the two-handed backhand players, so usually I don't watch whenever such players are on tv.

This should explain what Archean means.

Head polishing? Okay I wonder why I've never seen someone getting it done at a nearby hair saloon

You're male and you don't fancy Maria Sharapova?...Are you an alien or something? What the hell is going on man.

That's very interesting, saying the two-handed backhand has destroyed the beauty of Tennis...Not alot of people would notice something like that. Personally, I love Roger Federer for the very reason of his one-handed backhand.

I still can't see the obvious male link...

I don't think people go to saloons to get their head polished...they more do it themselfs at home. It isn't hard to whack a little furniture polish on the top and give it a quick run over for that nice sheen.