minty, I wish I had your self-assuredness about the wisdom to be gained by the potential senseless deaths of millions of people. But seriously I’m glad you don’t think it will come to that. I’m fairly certain you’re right. At least, I hope I am.
gobear, don’t you think it a bit freaky that one has to choose an ‘international’ channel to get news about the rest of the world? In my admittedly anecdotal, yet quite extensive, observation of the US media, I declare it second only to China in its parochial nature. And yes, I write that in the full knowledge of playing with gobear fire, but you do deserve it for being such an asshole about India and Pakistan’s poverty.
Take it from me, encouraging people to remove their ears out from between their butt cheeks on this question is a thankless job. I was speculating seven months ago that the Afghanistan war would lead to instability in Pakistan and a potential nuclear conflict. And guess what? I was more or less consistently flamed as a racist warmonger. And guess what’s more? It looks like I’m going to be proven right, God help us.
My choice of thread titles was less than opportune, I admit that, but I still think the US will soon be forced to choose between its two “allies” in this region, and the smartest bet will be to let India have at it–since they will win anyway, and we do have a common enemy in the Islamist terrorists based in Pakistan.
I just read the post you cited, Doghouse, and found it very perceptive. So what on earth would happen re. alliances in the event of an India/Pakistan war? China hates India (qv. Sino-Indian war) and Russia (pretty much everything, exemplified by support for the Vietnamese against China); Pakistan is currently an alleged US ally, but one doubts that will last, unless Musharraf cracks down bigtime on the Islamist terror groups - a task that is IMO impossible (could this herald a mass US withdrawal?); Putin is now casting the Russians’ stock with the West… God almighty, what a mess.
It’s called population control. One billion people. Aren’t they ashamed that they breed so much? One death, a tragedy. A million, a statistic.
And if you want real news, find something else rather than going to CNN which is only good for up to the minute reporting of news events. Everything else is filler easily acquired through local news outlets.
Well, I take it for what it is–I don’t get steamed about it. You might as well complain about People Magazine’s lack of coverage on arms control.
I find that the more perceptive journalism tends to cater to people who have money at stake in a given region–so I read the Wall Street Journal, the Asian Wall Street Journal, and the Economist. Business Week too, sometimes.
And to top it all off, this morning they said that that new animated movie about the horse - Spirit something or other - was a Disney show. And it’s not. Brother.
Precisely how am I an asshole about India and Pakistan’s poverty? It’s not my fuckin’ fault those countries are shitholes. I didn’t rob the treasury to funnel money to my cronies. I didn’t waste the nation’s treasury to build bombs instead of building the economy and ensuring the citizens’ needs are met. I sure as shit haven’t wasted the last half century quibbling about who owns Kashmir.
Suck my left nut, you malodorous, purulent, toffee-nosed git.
As for the media, read the Washington Post or the New York Times for good international coverage.
While I would normally agree with you that only fools would start a nuclear war, I believe in this case there is the possibility of an Evil Cartoon Character Mentality ™. It’s basically when someone realizes their going to lose and says in a grandiose fashion, “If I can’t have it, NO ONE CAN!!” then tries to destroy it.
And I would also point out that since you’ve been to both regions and have pointed that that IYHO they essentially don’t give a rat’s ass about their people, why would the leaders of Pakistan and India care if a few million people get nuked or not? They will probably have been escorted to a secret location far away from the blast radius.
IMHO, let them have at it. I don’t want the two countries to war, I REALLY don’t them to have at it nuclear style, but there’s no way in hell I’d want any American (Or European either) standing in the middle of a million pissed off Indians and Pakistanis saying, “Why can’t we all just get along?”
My main fear right now: India will invade, Pakistan will start losing, and the rest of the Middle East will rally to Pakistan’s side.
India vs The Middle East.
I don’t want to think about it, my sorry ass is stuck at work, I’m miserable enough as it is.
Will someone please explain to me why these two countries have their panties in a bunch over Kashmir? From what I understand the place is mostly sand and rock, with very few natural resources. I can’t imagine that either India or Pakistan needs more sand and rock. Supposedly, the place is breathtakingly beautiful in spots, but I can’t see that as a reason to go to war. I mean, can you imagine, for example, if Canada suddenly decided that it wanted to turn British Columbia into the world’s largest shopping mall that the US would say, “Hey, wait a minute! You can’t do that!” and invade? I mean, if I’m going to go to war with a country, I’m going to want to get something groovy out of it, you know, like Hawaii. Something better than what I already have, not more of the same rocks that I have now.
we should have IMMEDIATELY killed ANYBODY who tried to develop nuclear weapons.
I bet you that after a few years of THAT policy that countries would have had SIGNIFICANT trouble finding ANYBODY to work in their nuclear research programs.
Agreed. CBC might usually begin with an important national story, but it typically moves right along to international news. I’d say between 40-70% of an average broadcast is international news. It always freaks me out (this is another one of those “Americans-come-to-Canada-and-say-how-much-the-same-it-is-Canadians-go-to-the-States-and-say-how-different-it-is” things) to go to the States and get maybe one short report in a newscast about what country’s just blown up, if that.
This “merkin” thing - I had no idea it meant “pubic wig.” I have used it often as joke-thing on #straightdope having seen it elsewhere, assuming it was a funny-accent-pronunciation-spelling thing (like “strine” for “Australian”). No one has ever taken offence at this title that I am aware of.
And just to second jjimm on the international news channel thing - why should you have to turn to an international channel to get world issue news? When I watch the news, I want to know what is going on locally, regionally and internationally.
Besides which, there is a big difference between foreign news as something happening in a country overseas that is interesting and important to them but has little bearing on you, and world news in terms of some major fuck-off event that even if you bury your head in the sand is going to come and kick you in the ass.
You mean the International Herald Tribune? (There are a bunch of other Herald Tribunes out there - Sarasota, Hawaii, Batesville, etc, but the IHT is the only one widely known.) I always thought that was a foreign thing. I’ve never seen it in the US, only abroad. Anyhow, they’re basically a joint effort between the New York Times and The Washington Post. So it prints selected stories from those two papers, plus pulls news off the wires.
Political slant? I’d say “American intellectual newspaper liberal,” which basically translates to slightly left of center. By European standards, it’s centrist.
The International Herald Tribune survived the death of its parent, the New York Herald Tribune. The NYHT was a fine, serious paper. It was a worthy competitor to the NY Times. It folded in 1966.
I have little to add to it at this stage however, other to note that hostilities have noticably increased, with ultimatums issued. That seems to me to be a development every bit as (if not more) significant than the latest non-agreement in Israel.
And we’re talking, what, one and a half billion people here? The US and EU barely struggle above half a billion combined.
On the “merkin” front - I think someone needs a chill pill :D. Macro Man - “Merkin” is pretty widespread on the net to mean American - it comes from the way some citizens of your country say “American” (“A-mer-kin”), combined with the fact that, yes, amusingly “merkin” itself has another meaning.
But it’s one of those words that seems to have fallen into a use beyond the original joke - something quicker and easier to write than “US citizen” and more accurate than “American” in itself, 'cos it really means the former rather than the latter.
