WWIII

End of days?

  • Yes, it will ALL be over by Christmas

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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
U.S. military vehicles paraded 300 yards from the Russian border

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...es-paraded-300-yards-from-the-russian-border/

imrs.php
 
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vimothy

yurp
Although, glibness aside, it's not that I'm anti-NATO (far from it), but that the EU is caught up in a web of contradictions. It wants to expand its own territory by dissolving national borders. That is the sine qua non of the EU. So it can't very well complain (at least in a principled way) when the Russian gangster-state attempts to do some border-dissolving of its own, in the name of ethnic Russians in the Crimea and its strategically important seaport at Sevastapol. At the same time, the military threat of Europe could hardly be more pathetic, -- transparently so -- and its people, who have long since ceased to believe in their shared nationhood, can't be expected to rise to the defence of nations or borders that no longer exist. (The very idea is risible.) Thus, the Ukraine is dying, not in a glorious way as it ascends to a higher plane of existence in the EU, but in the sad mire and mud of historical reality.
 

trza

Well-known member
I still think its a media double standard when teenage girls run away to join Isis its treated like some kind of international outrage, on par with the slavery and the genocide. British Teen Jihadi Brides, like there is some kind of contradiction there.

On another note,

I had a peer on another forum who was obsessed with chat sites that claimed to be with Ukrainian Brides. He insisted on calling them "Slavic Goddesses", and wished he had the money to meet one. The forum then was targeted by spammers who kept bumping this thread about the guy chatting with "slavic goddesses", giving us more and more links to ukrainian love chat sites.
 

Leo

Well-known member
I still think its a media double standard when teenage girls run away to join Isis its treated like some kind of international outrage, on par with the slavery and the genocide. British Teen Jihadi Brides, like there is some kind of contradiction there.

but isn't the media attention more because it's just much more rare/unusual for young females to run off and join terrorist groups on the other side of the world? the vast majority of people who do so are typically male, right?
 
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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I still think its a media double standard when teenage girls run away to join Isis its treated like some kind of international outrage, on par with the slavery and the genocide. British Teen Jihadi Brides, like there is some kind of contradiction there.

Either I'm being dense or you haven't explained yourself very well. Between what and what is the contradiction?
 

mrfaucet

The Ideas Train
China will be marking the 70th anniversary of the end of WW2 with a... military parade, naturally.

Back in 2009, an official from the National Day Military Parade Joint Command attempted to reassure observers that the public display of China’s military might was not meant to intimidate anyone. “A country’s military ability is not a threat to anyone; what is important is its military policy,” he insisted. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying echoed this stance when asked about the 2015 military parade in Tuesday’s press conference. “By hosting commemorative events with other counties, China is to awaken each and every virtuous man’s desire for and commitment to peace, to refresh people’s memory of the history and love for peace, and to showcase China’s staunch position of upholding the victory of WWII and the post-war international order, and safeguarding world peace,” Hua said.

One Chinese media report, however, is offering a different explanation. An online piece from People’s Daily attempts to unravel the political significance of China for the first time holding a military parade not linked to the anniversary of the PRC founding. The very first reason? “To display China’s military power.” Military might is a crucial aspect of national strength, the piece explains, the necessary backing for both political chess matches and economic competition. Now that China has become a major player in the world’s geopolitical scene, it’s time for China to display its military power.

The second reason given by the People’s Daily piece is the one receiving all the attention: “to intimidate Japan.” The piece explains, “In recent years, backed by the U.S. return to Asia strategy for containing China, Japan’s China policy has been more and more unrestrained… Barring an unexpected occurrence, Japan is going to take further steps toward amending its pacifist constitution and pushing toward national normalization.” The only way to stop this “insane attempt,” the piece argues, is for China to show its own military might and demonstrate its determination not to allow Japan to change the post-war order.

To place this analysis in context, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent comments about the way he will frame his statement on the war have caused consternation in China. As the Asahi Shimbun reported Monday, Abe might omit certain expressions used in past apologies by former prime ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi, focusing instead on Japan’s “intentions for the future, such as what contribution Japan will make for the globe and what sort of world it will help to create.” China immediately reacted with dismay; Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said China would be paying close attention to see if Japan is “trying to deny or water down that part of history.”

But as much as China’s military parade might be a message to Japan, warning against historical revisionism, it’s aimed even more at the U.S. Even the People’s Daily piece gave a nod to this by repeating a commonly held view in China – that Japan is only causing problems because the U.S. seeks to use it to “contain” China. The parade is meant to convey the message that China has arrived militarily on the world stage. It now has the clout to back up its economic and political interests with force (as, it must be noted, a last resort).

Further adding geopolitical spice to the parade, Chinese media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to attend the parade. According to Chinese media reports, this will be the first time a foreign leader has ever attended such a military parade and the accompanying troop review ceremony. Just as U.S. President Barack Obama spent Monday watching a display of Indian military might, Putin will sit at Xi’s side to watch the Chinese military strut its stuff. Talk about sending a geopolitical message.

http://thediplomat.com/2015/01/chinas-military-parade-a-warning-to-japan-and-the-us/
 
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