Posts by Jessica Gonzalez

Nuts, peanuts, just a little snack...

Matthew Young35 said:Alright, folks.
Do you even realize the actual balance of power here?
For every single American lost in an attack by an EU nation, they could lose a hundred thousand people in the Middle East.
What happened in Paris was horrific, there's no debate about that. But if this triggers a massive retaliation from France against thousands in the Middle East... Hmm.
And it looks like that’s exactly where this is headed.
A dozen terrorists take out two hundred people, and the response will be disproportionate.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if we see tactical nukes—the small ones—dropped on Syria. Not necessarily by the French, though.
These idiots have absolutely no idea what kind of beast they've just poked.

This whole thing is spiraling way too far, too fast.

What they'll likely do is send French soldiers into that desert, where those kids will probably perish for no real reason. The French president seems a bit ridiculous to me; all these moves feel pretty absurd. He’s putting 115,000 police officers on the streets now that everything is already over, mostly just so he doesn't lose the next election.

Christian America has certainly produced its own share of terrorists—think groups like the Weather Underground, the Unabomber, or even lone actors like Anders Breivik. While they might not have been charging into battle clutching a Bible, I guess it’s hard to argue that terrorism is exclusively tied to Islam. If I were to write out my full thoughts on Islam right now, I'd probably get banned immediately, but I suspect it isn't the sole reason behind these terrorist attacks in this broader context.

So now that guy Hollande is announcing that France is going to take down ISIS... 🙄
I guess some people just don't really get how this works. Maybe they should ask Bush for some advice on how he successfully dismantled terrorism.

Even if some people think I'm just talking nonsense, I suppose similar opinions have popped up before:
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-34833134

Everything I've mentioned seems to be covered right here.

It’s not all black and white, so I guess I haven't been particularly shaken by any of it. There have always been wars and terrorism; maybe it's just because violence is such a deep-seated part of human nature.

Morgan Williams said:So you're implying we aren't all that different from those folks in the Middle East?
I’ll admit, we’ve still got a long way to go to meet my standards, and things could turn volatile fast. But honestly, I find it hard to argue there's a massive gap between modern Germany, Spain, and Syria.

I suppose it all just depends on how you look at it. In Spain, one of the top military generals is saying they won't let Catalonia break away. Just three years ago, things in Ukraine seemed fine, and now there's a war. Even Syria wasn't seeing combat until just a few years back, and the same goes for the North America before the 90s...

Morgan Williams said:Look, I’m not saying they haven't done plenty of dirty work, but compared to the crews in the Middle East? They aren't even in the same league. My god, even here in the States, we were having massive debates over social issues and traditional values just a couple of years ago—and we're part of this Western movement. Of course, change doesn't happen overnight, but you have to start somewhere. Even Catholic Ireland has moved toward same-sex marriage via referendum; Western nations are slowly "growing up," and frankly, I think these Muslim-majority countries are falling way behind us.

Exactly 100 years ago, Europe was going through the "Belle Époque," which was this era where war seemed almost unthinkable and the continent felt like a peaceful cultural haven. What happened after that is something you probably see all the time on National Geographic documentaries.

Noah Carter24 said:Switching gears from yesterday's news in Paris—when it comes to the whole colonial mess, the French are hands-down the biggest villains out there. They’re easily a hundred times worse than the U.S. I’m just passing along what I’ve been seeing on another forum.

The "Colonial Pact," basically the contract they forced onto their former colonies:

Here are the 11 main pillars of this ongoing colonization pact that's been running since the 1950s:

#1. Colonial Debt for the benefit of French colonization

They have to pay back the costs of infrastructure built by the French. What's wild is there isn't even a mention of reparations for all the natural resources they snatched without paying a dime while they were actually running the show.

#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves

So, every African nation using the West African or Central African franc has to hand over 65% of its foreign exchange reserves to the French treasury every single year. On top of that, they toss in another 20% to cover "unexpected losses" or needs. That leaves them with a measly 15% of their own hard-earned cash (usually from selling natural resources) to actually use. If a country needs more than that 15%, they can tap into their 65% stash, but get this: they have to pay market interest rates to do it! It’s like having to pay interest just to use your own money. Crazy, right?

#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource discovered in the country

France gets first dibs and total control over exploiting any natural resources found in those 14 countries. It’s basically a monopoly for companies like ExxonMobil, and who knows how much cold, hard cash is being sucked out through underpriced resource deals.

#4. Priority to French interests and companies in public procurement and public bidding

Every single government contract and infrastructure project has to be offered to French companies first.

#5. Exclusive right to supply military equipment and train the country's military officers

All military hardware purchases have to go through France.

#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene militarily in the country to defend its interests

#7. Obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language for education

#8. Obligation to use France's colonial currency, the FCFA

#9. Obligation to send France an annual balance and reserve report.

Honestly, this is probably the smallest issue on the list, especially when you consider we have something pretty similar going on within the EU and the Eurozone.

#10. Renunciation of entering into military alliances with any other country unless authorized by France

#11. Obligation to ally with France in situations of war or global crisis

So, look at it this way—those African nations end up paying tribute to local warlords, while those same elites probably have a GDP per capita around $40,000. They live easy lives, going to concerts and ballgames, and then act totally surprised when people in the "provinces" start revolting. It seems like there's this massive disconnect with people in the West; I suppose their biggest concerns are whether the local Starbucks has free Wi-Fi or the exact carbon footprint of a McDonald's burger. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, people aren't even sure if they'll make it through the night.

I don't think anyone was particularly losing sleep back when the Siege of Ottawa was happening, either...

Morgan Williams said:Let’s not kid ourselves; even the Bible has its fair share of revolting parts. But their issue is they haven't experienced an American Revolution or any of the major social shifts we have. They're stuck where we were centuries ago: religion dictates state policy, witch hunts are still a thing, women are treated as second-class citizens, and scientists who challenge scripture are branded dangerous. It wouldn't be such a massive headache if they just stayed behind their own four walls instead of threatening the rest of the globe. They need a total revolution—everything from dismantling terrorist cells to a complete societal overhaul—otherwise, things won't look good. In this high-tech era, the world has become far too small for this kind of instability.I think it hits the nail on the head.

Finding a way to fix this without causing massive collateral damage is a tall order.

The U.S. and Europe moved past those old eras, which is why powers like Great Britain eventually dominated much of the globe (alongside France, Spain, and others exporting peace and democracy). And I suppose we shouldn't forget how German Christians, who were leading industrial and cultural forces for ages, took that sense of superiority one step too far and caused tens of millions of deaths in just a few years. That's about it for revolutions and progress.

I guess I find all this sudden support for France a little bit unsettling. Did YouTube change its colors to match the Pakistani flag when bombs were falling there? Did they paint the opera houses in Sydney in the colors of Iraq whenever dozens of people were dying in Baghdad? I suppose people are people, but it feels like the world doesn't view everyone with the same level of empathy. Innocent people in Paris have suffered a tragedy that nobody deserves, but I worry these things happen because certain lives seem more valued than others. It all feels quite absurd—so much so that Wikipedia has entire pages listing incidents in Iraq, almost like it’s a list of Arsenal match results or a rundown of Big Brother winners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror...n_Iraq_in_2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror...n_Iraq_in_2014

Looking back after a few years, maybe I'm starting to see things more clearly. It seems like what happened in America hundreds of years ago, or across Africa over the last few centuries, is being repeated in the Middle East. It feels like a pattern of Western interventionism... It's sad that innocent people end up losing their lives at concerts because of someone else's mistakes.

Politics is mostly a game, and I guess the Republicans were the first ones to really figure that out, which is probably why they grabbed power so quickly. They work hard to secure those votes from Americans living abroad because they know how much they matter. It’s essentially a battle, and in a fight for control, you have to use every tool at your disposal. The Democrats, on the other hand, seem pretty ineffective when it comes to reaching out to our fellow citizens overseas.

Since you think I'm some kind of visionary, I guess I'll just start predicting all the interesting scenes coming up during Karavanka.

Larry Fox5 said:Phil, it would be even more pathetic if you were sitting here mocking refugees—people who have gone through basically the same hell you did. These poor souls traveled thousands of miles just to escape death, leaving everything they ever loved behind.

I don't give a damn about your attitude, because I just can't wrap my head around it.

I think you might be missing the point of what we're discussing here. Out of that massive group of people, only some are actually fleeing for their lives. I wouldn't even say they make up most of them; maybe it's less than 50%. If you include the ones arriving in Italy by boat from Africa, the percentage probably drops even lower. I doubt you'd find anyone in this group making fun of women and children escaping Syria.

I wonder if they could just take buses over to Canada instead? There's that small crossing near Bregana where the booths are usually pretty much empty.

Robin Fox2 said:It would be easy for Syria, considering there are billions more people coming from Asia and Africa... if they actually start moving, a wall won't be nearly enough, we'll probably need landmines 🤣

Well, I guess we’ve always been close friends with the African community. People like Chago, Mass Sarr, Antimon, and Pavo crnac... We get along well with folks from Asia too; I think we still remember Miure and that journalist.

The internet can be pretty risky when it comes to health advice and medical treatments. I guess warm water might be better than cold, but maybe it's just me.

I guess if that’s the way things are going, we might see a billion Africans and another billion Asians arriving in the US.

wiredfalcon2 said:Hey Sunček, why didn't you stay behind and fight against the corruption and crony capitalism back in the States? You're a young guy in his prime.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by that. I haven't actually gone anywhere, though I suppose I've had plenty of chances. Is the solution to every problem just for everyone to move to Germany? Honestly, it feels like all of Eastern Europe thinks that way—like everyone should just give up and take a bus to Munich for a few extra hundred bucks. I guess the difference is that Germans didn't build their country by running away after things went south in World War II. That seems to be the distinction between them and many migrants. Some people focus on building something, while others maybe just wait for someone else to do it for them.

Noah Roberts46 said:For God's sake, all anyone needs to do is end this damn war. If the major global powers actually had the will to make it happen, this entire crisis would have been settled ages ago. If these people hadn't meddled in places they had no business being, most of them wouldn't be knocking on the doors of the European Union right now. Honestly, they’d probably have a better quality of life back home than they do here.

Starting a war somewhere isn't that hard. Stopping one—well, that's much tougher.