Thousands rally against Israel in Istanbul

Discussion in 'Latest US & World News' started by Jazz, Jul 30, 2017.

  1. Pisa

    Pisa Well-Known Member

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    You just described a hive, not a community of human beings.

    Americans are a great nation because of their individual freedoms. A state system which controls every details of its citizens' lives is doomed to fail. Support for private initiative and a thriving middle class are the primary ingredients for a healthy, powerful society.

    You mistake freedom of opinion - the reason people join NGOs in the first place - for state sponsored brainwashing.

    I know enough about human nature and the limits of the knowledge we can have about each other and about our environment to reject any theory about some powerful group of humans lording over the rest of the planet from some shadowy cozy spot in the US or Lizard Planet. Conspiracy theories imply that humans are able to have complete knowledge, which is physically and mentally impossible. In other words, conspiracy theorists argue that a group of human beings have god-like attributes. As you know I'm an atheist. I can't believe that human beings have god-like attributes, because I don't believe there are any entities with god-like attributes. I reject the notion of god itself, let alone the accompanying attributes.

    That's not to say there aren't any conspiracies out there. But any conspiracy involving large groups of people over a long period of time spanning large portions of the globe is doomed to fail.
     
  2. Pisa

    Pisa Well-Known Member

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    Oh, I didn't mean an opportunist in terms of power and control. I meant that he'll change his tune according to the geopolitical and economic factors, choosing whatever he'll find more advantageous for himself and for his country (yes, I can't stand him, but there's no denying his love for Turkey), even if he has to make ideological flip-flops.

    I don't see opportunism in small quantities as a bad thing, by the way. It helps us exploit situations to our benefit. Even Erdogan's opportunism can be exploited, which is what Russians and Iranians are trying to do right now.

    There's no such thing as "greater good". Miserable people won't make a stable, healthy society.

    I'm aware of possible totalitarian features in democracies. I owe much of my knowledge to the current president of my country, a staunch defender of democracy. What you don't understand is the difference between being able to act within the democratic system to change its totalitarian features, or whatever one doesn't like, and the helplessness of having to put up with totalitarian features in a dictatorship.

    Discipline the society...don't get me started on that monstrosity...pffttâ„¢

    The right way to mold a society is education, not discipline.

    Not sure about "European powers getting weaker and weaker every year", but their dependence on Middle Eastern oil and Russian gas is certainly worrying.

    I can't argue for or against the rest of your post, because I have no other sources for this information. I'll make time to read Barry Rubin's books on the Middle East. I'll start with Political Parties in Turkey and Turkish Economic Crisis.
     

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