I actually have a theory about how wars can be avoided. It's pretty simple, really.
Step 1: All senior elected politicians; the Prime Minister/President, Deputy/Vice Prime Minister/President, Foreign Secretary/Secretary of Defense etc must serve as part of the national military reserve while in office. So during peacetime they spend one weekend a month off training, running around in a field with a gun and a bunch of other people. It's a pretty common thing to do, really. Sound reasonable so far?
Step 2: In the event of any military conflict (apart from peacekeeping/aid operations directly requested by the UN) all senior politicians are immediately called up to frontline service as infantry NCOs. This way if they think a war is morally worth fighting, then it's worth *them* fighting personally.
But then I'm a cranky peacenik.
That's a good idea, but there's really only one way to stop all war, forever:
Step one: make sure everyone is one earth. We don't want any stragglers.
Step two: find one nice guy or gal. Put him/her in orbit, to come back in a month.
Not really about the politics in my country, but I just read this article about a proposed "indoor city" (or more realistically a huge shopping mall) in Dubai.
This place has everything: Consumerist excess A gaping void where taste should be Forced Labour
Yeah, that mock-up image really does contain a rip-off of the Disney Castle (itself a a rip-off of Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria), and a Pirate Ship, and what looks like Tony Stark's mansion all in the same place. I think someone needs to take the designer to one side and have a quiet talk about thematic unity, or originality, or something. And given Dubai and the rest of the UAE's rather poor record on the treatment of migrant workers, it'll probably be constructed by people who are pretty much slaves (see Human Rights Watch article above).
An ideal holiday destination. Just don't take a working holiday there if you're in the construction industry.
Not really about the politics in my country, but I just read this article about a proposed "indoor city" (or more realistically a huge shopping mall) in Dubai.
This place has everything: Consumerist excess A gaping void where taste should be Forced Labour
Yeah, that mock-up image really does contain a rip-off of the Disney Castle (itself a a rip-off of Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria), and a Pirate Ship, and what looks like Tony Stark's mansion all in the same place. I think someone needs to take the designer to one side and have a quiet talk about thematic unity, or originality, or something. And given Dubai and the rest of the UAE's rather poor record on the treatment of migrant workers, it'll probably be constructed by people who are pretty much slaves (see Human Rights Watch article above).
An ideal holiday destination. Just don't take a working holiday there if you're in the construction industry.
Hehe, Dubai.... Hilarious. You know what the police cars there look like, right? And for those who can't tell, that's a line up of bmw, Benz, Lamborghini, Aston, Ferrari, Bentley, and ford. And rumor has it there's a Bugatti in there somewhere as well. Over £2,000,000 of automobile in that pic.
Haha @Meagloth, I knew that one of the Italian police forces had bought a Lamborghini or two (allegedly because drivers were speeding too fast for them to catch otherwise) but that's ridiculous. How did a Mustang manage to sneak into that lineup?
Haha @Meagloth, I knew that one of the Italian police forces had bought a Lamborghini or two (allegedly because drivers were speeding too fast for them to catch otherwise) but that's ridiculous. How did a Mustang manage to sneak into that lineup?
That's a Ford Shelby Mustang Roush Edition, ~£70,000. And really, mustangs are very pretty cars, and the new Shelby's have a top speed of over 200mph. O_o Here's the list of these cars: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/86952/incredible-dubai-police-cars And it's worth noting that not *all* of the police cars there are $200,000 super cars. Most of them are just bmw 3 series, which I think is pretty standard for Europe. These are just a few they acquired for tourist areas. Apparently they recently tried to ban poor(hehe "poor") people from owning cars to clear up traffic there.
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Apparently they recently tried to ban poor(hehe "poor") people from owning cars to clear up traffic there.
Oh good god. Don't let Tony Abbott hear about that. Why spend millions on roads when you can just BAN THE POOR! Genius! :P
Oh I know how to clear up the welfare system! If you don't have a job paying more then 60k a year, YOU'RE BANNED FROM BUYING FOOD! Perfect!
See, look at that, poverty. Fixed at a stroke.
Seriously though. . . I get why they have police cars like that, if they are for touristy areas, they make a fortune off tourists so it doesn't hurt to have more things to entertain the 'Great Satan' while they are in your country.
Am I right in saying Dubai doesn't have income tax?
I just have a horrible feeling that some oil-rich countries with no other real strategy for income are going to go the way of Ozymandias in the Shelley poem. Except instead of a broken statue it'll be a wrecked Lamborghini or Shopping Mall. I see that Dubai and others are trying to diversify their industry toward tourism both traditional and medical, but it doesn't really seem like enough to sustain them once the oil inevitably starts to dry up.
Oh hell no. No way in hell. They're used to the rich and lavish lifestyle funded by oil, there will never be enough tourism to replace what they loose when the oil drys up. . . It'll be Fallout 3 in the desert instead of D.C.
This is why we should at least prepare clean energy solutions.
In some sad news, 298 people were killed flying over the Ukraine in a Malaysian airlines flight. Shot down by a SAM if I had to bet on it. . . Probably Russian. Although naturally everyone is denying everything. The Yanks have technology that can detect the signals used to lock onto targets by SAM's so it'll be interesting to see what they have to say. . . not that we can trust the Americans to be honest when they have their own agenda. >:/
Oh hell no. No way in hell. They're used to the rich and lavish lifestyle funded by oil, there will never be enough tourism to replace what they loose when the oil drys up. . . It'll be Fallout 3 in the desert instead of D.C.
This is why we should at least prepare clean energy solutions.
In some sad news, 298 people were killed flying over the Ukraine in a Malaysian airlines flight. Shot down by a SAM if I had to bet on it. . . Probably Russian. Although naturally everyone is denying everything. The Yanks have technology that can detect the signals used to lock onto targets by SAM's so it'll be interesting to see what they have to say. . . not that we can trust the Americans to be honest when they have their own agenda. >:/
The issue of oil drying up is highly exaggerated. It is unlikely that this will be a big issue.... For a long time. It's true that over the next 100 years we will have used most of the easily accessible oil, but it certainly won't run out. It'll just get expensive. And even if it does, there are other fossil fuels. Coal, natural gas, ect. @Corvino In more tragic news, here is a link to the Malaysia airline flight stuff: http://fox6now.com/2014/07/17/report-malaysia-airlines-flight-crashes-in-ukraine/ Terrible news. Malaysia airlines seems to be having a hard time.
Oh yea, but it will eventually. At the moment it's getting to expensive for most common people anyway. Won't be long before they price themselves right out of the market. We need to figure out alternatives. Besides, it's dirty shit to begin with.
Oh yea. Not going well. I'm very suspicious of Russia . . .
I heard on the radio that there was a tweet from the leader of the Ukrainian rebels saying they had shot down a cargo plane, which was subsequently removed. It was in passing and out of context, however. I wasn't really listening to the show.
Gotta love when people make a post and then remove it. Particularly people who have many followers. Its like...do you really think for a second nobody noticed?
I just have a horrible feeling that some oil-rich countries with no other real strategy for income are going to go the way of Ozymandias in the Shelley poem. Except instead of a broken statue it'll be a wrecked Lamborghini or Shopping Mall. I see that Dubai and others are trying to diversify their industry toward tourism both traditional and medical, but it doesn't really seem like enough to sustain them once the oil inevitably starts to dry up.
Which is why fusion is so crucially important. People bemoan the expense now but it's not going to get any less expensive, and if we never reach it we're going to have to fall back to unreliable and increasingly difficult-to-produce sources of energy. At the very least we need to put more research into superconductors, because some of the pie in the sky "green" schemes getting floated (such as those road/solar panels) fall flat because of the costs and inefficiencies of transmitting current long distances.
Ironically enough the UAE actually has a climate where solar power would be ideal for some applications. I'm not sure about the entire road/solar thing which does sound a bit optimistic (solar panels typcially needing to be clean to function well), but in general "green" electricity generation is a fairly new and expanding sector of technology. A lot of types are still in their infancy though, like tidal generation, which offers a potentially enormous amount of energy if we can harness it.
Seriously though. . . I get why they have police cars like that, if they are for touristy areas, they make a fortune off tourists so it doesn't hurt to have more things to entertain the 'Great Satan' while they are in your country.
This "Great Satan" comment is a bit off base imho. The UAE is far more forward thinking than most nations in that region. Dubai is actually one of the most international cities in the world. Kind of like the Hong Kong of the Middle East. I have two friends who have lived in Dubai. One is Czech and the other is Bangladeshi.
I don't think its fair to lump them in with other Middle Eastern cultures. *Mr Garret voice* "Stereotyping is wrong, mmmkay?"
As far as their economy is concerned, they are not entirely dependent on oil. Unlike Kuwait (or even Russia), they have actually diversified. They have opened the gates to foreign investors and now lead in aviation, real estate, financial industries and tourism.
They were actually smart and realized that if you use the oil money on airlines, tourism and banks you will actually have a healthy economy if your natural resources dry up. Plus you don't have to start wars to protect your monopoly (I'm looking at you, Putin).
They also have the best education and health care systems in the entire Arab world. Not too shabby for a people living in the most war torn region of the world. I wish other nations with natural resources were as responsible (Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and even Brazil to a certain extent come to mind)
I do wish they'd stop buying football clubs though. If Man City win the league again I will change my tune. Plus I was so sick of seeing "Fly Emirates" on every stupid Arsenal kit!
Yea I agree. It was actually a place I was thinking of going for work. A lot of people in my current line of work come and go from the UAE because of the whole no income tax thing.
Emrites is also my favorite airline. Along with Air New Zealand. Their service is amazing, their aircraft are great, well maintained and never more then a handful of years old.
Anyone notice what Israel has been up to while everyone was off glaring at Russia for most likely being involved in the shoot down of a Malaysian airliner?
Oh and don't worry about the whole Berlusconi thing, he still does community service once a week for tax fraud. So, obviously very fair and balanced punishment there.
The entire Berlusconi thing is a farce. He was also under investigation for bribing a number of key witnesses in the underage prostitution trial, no idea if that's been dropped. Not to mention his illegal political funding ongoing case. Aside from the fact that he's a billionaire I have no idea how he gets away with this crap.
The UAE might be a stable nation, but it has significant problems. Health and education is free for citizens, but only 16.5% of the population are citizens. There's a huge immigrant working class, mostly from Southeast Asia, who are not eligible for free health or education. Multiple news reports in the past year have focused on the fact that many migrant construction workers involved in the building of Football stadiums for the World Cup are treated little better than slaves. Human Rights Watch and the US Dept. of State have both raised concerns about labor abuse. The UAE Constitution is that equality, free speech, free assembly and free worship are all enshrined in law, but there are actually significant limits enforced by the government.
The cousin of a friend of mine worked out there driving trucks for a while. He spent his day using a sewage truck to empty the septic tanks at the bottom of skyscrapers, because the city he was working in had expanded too fast and didn't have a real sewer system. That's why every time I hear of another grandiose project, I wonder which important bits are going to get missed.
Most western migrants get treated well. I know quite a few guys who have been out there for work, but they're generally healthy young men who don't run into issues with health, education or gender discrimination. One of them brews his own beer, and has set up a home bar in his basement for friends. They seem to like it, and definitely like the pay over there.
He's a pretty piss poor combination. Billionaire and Politician. He's going to get away with bloody everything. Slimy bastard. Though that's hardly unique. Can say that about pretty much every politician and billionaire these days. I really only like Richard Branson and I'm sure he's probably into some shakey shit somewhere.
That's why it's attracting so many western and asian workers. The pay is good, if your healthy young/middle aged men you have no troubles. I used to work with people who are now in private security for pharmaceuticals companies in the UAE and getting paid a FORTUNE for their services. All tax free. They're looking at retiring to a Caribbean island in 10 years.
Multiple news reports in the past year have focused on the fact that many migrant construction workers involved in the building of Football stadiums for the World Cup are treated little better than slaves. Human Rights Watch and the US Dept. of State have both raised concerns about labor abuse.
The UAE are not hosting the World Cup, you are confusing them with their less forward-thinking neighbors Qatar.
But yeah, obviously I agree their system is far from perfect. I was just highlighting that they are fairly modern by Middle Eastern standards and that they are not as friendly to extremists as some believe (in response to the "Great Satan" comment)
Two more things I'd like to clarify a. For people late to the conversation I uh... don't *actually* support Berlusconi. I just used his picture because it was pretty metal and he's hilarious. b. I mixed up Mr. Garret with Mr. Mackey and therefore fail in my South Park reference
By the way the Italian criminal justice system is possibly the biggest joke in the world. You can be retried for the same crime after being found "not guilty" and convictions get overturned on a regular basis. They seem to be well behind any other Western democracy in this area, and that includes Greece (which also has a shambolic criminal justice system).
Also the USA government's completely biased stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one of the most frustrating things in world politics. Not only is it morally dubious to favor a side so blindly in a complicated conflict, but the backlash has been so horrible that you'd think people would learn. Its sad to hear this issue discussed in the US media. It would be almost preferable if our government did not get involved in any way. The only real success from it was under Carter of all people.
Comments
Step one: make sure everyone is one earth. We don't want any stragglers.
Step two: find one nice guy or gal. Put him/her in orbit, to come back in a month.
Step thee: kill everyone.
Step four: bring the one guy back.
Step five: enjoy your world peace.
This place has everything:
Consumerist excess
A gaping void where taste should be
Forced Labour
Yeah, that mock-up image really does contain a rip-off of the Disney Castle (itself a a rip-off of Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria), and a Pirate Ship, and what looks like Tony Stark's mansion all in the same place. I think someone needs to take the designer to one side and have a quiet talk about thematic unity, or originality, or something. And given Dubai and the rest of the UAE's rather poor record on the treatment of migrant workers, it'll probably be constructed by people who are pretty much slaves (see Human Rights Watch article above).
An ideal holiday destination. Just don't take a working holiday there if you're in the construction industry.
You know what the police cars there look like, right?
And for those who can't tell, that's a line up of bmw, Benz, Lamborghini, Aston, Ferrari, Bentley, and ford. And rumor has it there's a Bugatti in there somewhere as well.
Over £2,000,000 of automobile in that pic.
Here's the list of these cars:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/86952/incredible-dubai-police-cars
And it's worth noting that not *all* of the police cars there are $200,000 super cars. Most of them are just bmw 3 series, which I think is pretty standard for Europe. These are just a few they acquired for tourist areas. Apparently they recently tried to ban poor(hehe "poor") people from owning cars to clear up traffic there.
Oh I know how to clear up the welfare system! If you don't have a job paying more then 60k a year, YOU'RE BANNED FROM BUYING FOOD! Perfect!
See, look at that, poverty. Fixed at a stroke.
Seriously though. . . I get why they have police cars like that, if they are for touristy areas, they make a fortune off tourists so it doesn't hurt to have more things to entertain the 'Great Satan' while they are in your country.
Am I right in saying Dubai doesn't have income tax?
That's an interesting system. It bothers me a lot less when governments buy flash things using money acquired from big oil. . .
It'll be Fallout 3 in the desert instead of D.C.
This is why we should at least prepare clean energy solutions.
In some sad news, 298 people were killed flying over the Ukraine in a Malaysian airlines flight. Shot down by a SAM if I had to bet on it. . . Probably Russian. Although naturally everyone is denying everything. The Yanks have technology that can detect the signals used to lock onto targets by SAM's so it'll be interesting to see what they have to say. . . not that we can trust the Americans to be honest when they have their own agenda. >:/
In more tragic news, here is a link to the Malaysia airline flight stuff:
http://fox6now.com/2014/07/17/report-malaysia-airlines-flight-crashes-in-ukraine/
Terrible news. Malaysia airlines seems to be having a hard time.
Oh yea. Not going well. I'm very suspicious of Russia . . .
I don't think its fair to lump them in with other Middle Eastern cultures. *Mr Garret voice* "Stereotyping is wrong, mmmkay?"
As far as their economy is concerned, they are not entirely dependent on oil. Unlike Kuwait (or even Russia), they have actually diversified. They have opened the gates to foreign investors and now lead in aviation, real estate, financial industries and tourism.
They were actually smart and realized that if you use the oil money on airlines, tourism and banks you will actually have a healthy economy if your natural resources dry up. Plus you don't have to start wars to protect your monopoly (I'm looking at you, Putin).
They also have the best education and health care systems in the entire Arab world. Not too shabby for a people living in the most war torn region of the world. I wish other nations with natural resources were as responsible (Kuwait, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and even Brazil to a certain extent come to mind)
I do wish they'd stop buying football clubs though. If Man City win the league again I will change my tune. Plus I was so sick of seeing "Fly Emirates" on every stupid Arsenal kit!
Such a weird coincidence... the minute I changed my picture to Boolusconi.
Maybe if I try hard enough, I could free half the former governors of Illinois.
Emrites is also my favorite airline. Along with Air New Zealand. Their service is amazing, their aircraft are great, well maintained and never more then a handful of years old.
Anyone notice what Israel has been up to while everyone was off glaring at Russia for most likely being involved in the shoot down of a Malaysian airliner?
The UAE might be a stable nation, but it has significant problems. Health and education is free for citizens, but only 16.5% of the population are citizens. There's a huge immigrant working class, mostly from Southeast Asia, who are not eligible for free health or education. Multiple news reports in the past year have focused on the fact that many migrant construction workers involved in the building of Football stadiums for the World Cup are treated little better than slaves. Human Rights Watch and the US Dept. of State have both raised concerns about labor abuse. The UAE Constitution is that equality, free speech, free assembly and free worship are all enshrined in law, but there are actually significant limits enforced by the government.
The cousin of a friend of mine worked out there driving trucks for a while. He spent his day using a sewage truck to empty the septic tanks at the bottom of skyscrapers, because the city he was working in had expanded too fast and didn't have a real sewer system. That's why every time I hear of another grandiose project, I wonder which important bits are going to get missed.
Most western migrants get treated well. I know quite a few guys who have been out there for work, but they're generally healthy young men who don't run into issues with health, education or gender discrimination. One of them brews his own beer, and has set up a home bar in his basement for friends. They seem to like it, and definitely like the pay over there.
That's why it's attracting so many western and asian workers. The pay is good, if your healthy young/middle aged men you have no troubles. I used to work with people who are now in private security for pharmaceuticals companies in the UAE and getting paid a FORTUNE for their services. All tax free. They're looking at retiring to a Caribbean island in 10 years.
The Israeli's really don't take any crap do they.
o.O
But yeah, obviously I agree their system is far from perfect. I was just highlighting that they are fairly modern by Middle Eastern standards and that they are not as friendly to extremists as some believe (in response to the "Great Satan" comment)
Two more things I'd like to clarify
a. For people late to the conversation I uh... don't *actually* support Berlusconi. I just used his picture because it was pretty metal and he's hilarious.
b. I mixed up Mr. Garret with Mr. Mackey and therefore fail in my South Park reference
By the way the Italian criminal justice system is possibly the biggest joke in the world. You can be retried for the same crime after being found "not guilty" and convictions get overturned on a regular basis. They seem to be well behind any other Western democracy in this area, and that includes Greece (which also has a shambolic criminal justice system).
Its sad to hear this issue discussed in the US media. It would be almost preferable if our government did not get involved in any way. The only real success from it was under Carter of all people.