What is Digg?Sponsored by Best Buy
The camera starts rolling on Best Buy holiday campaign. view!
www.youtube.com/bestbuy - A behind the scenes look at one employee's singing debut.
117 Comments
- tizle, on 04/22/2009, -8/+46The Pakistan government has harbored terrorists for the past 30 years and now, it is coming back to hurt them. Yet, they keep repeating those mistakes. This latest insurgency is a result of them bowing down to the Taliban a couple of months ago. Things will get worse before they get better. They should realize that if you keep a cobra as a pet, sooner or later, it's going to eat you.
- andyb747, on 04/22/2009, -3/+32I don't know where I got this from but here it is
YOU MIGHT BE A TALIBAN IF....
1. You refine heroin for a living, but you have a moral objection to beer.
2. You own a $3,000 machine gun and $5,000 rocket launcher, but you can't
afford shoes.
3. You have more wives than teeth.
4. You wipe your ass with your bare hand, but consider bacon "unclean."
5. You think vests come in two styles: bullet-proof and suicide.
6. You can't think of anyone you haven't declared Jihad against.
7. You consider television dangerous, but routinely carry explosives in your
clothing.
8. You were amazed to discover that cell phones have uses other than setting
off roadside bombs.
9. You have nothing against women and think every man should own at least
one.
10. You've always had a crush on your neighbor's goat. - Salstar, on 04/22/2009, -3/+23The north-western regions of Pakistan have always been a safe-haven for extreme Islamic fundamentalism. I travelled overland through this region in 1976 and into Afghanistan via the Khyber Pass. Rawalpindi and Peshawar were areas that I won't forget in a hurry. I have travelled the world extensively and have a great respect for many cultures and people, however, Pakistan is the one country in the world to which I have absolutely NO desire to return. Western Pakistan was an extremely unpleasant and scary place then and, obviously, nothing has changed. Pakistan is a country with a primitive, mysogynistic culture whereby women continue to be subjugated to the point of complete submission. Things will never improve as the type of extreme fundamentalism practised there has been endemic for generations. Pakistan is notorious for having one of the highest rates of "honour killings" of women in central Asia. The fact that they are reporting the Taliban's "entry" into these areas as something "new" is ridiculous - it is from these areas that the Taliban came into existence.
- TruckStuff, on 04/22/2009, -9/+27This is great news! Its proof that we can negotiate with terrorists and they are willing and able to abide by all the terms of our treaties.
Errr, wait.... - byronm, on 04/22/2009, -6/+20The only way to defeat "terrorism" (to vague of a word for my tastes) is through education. Doesn't matter what form of economics you buy into, what ideology you believe in or what faith you may or may not believe in but how humans when treated with dignity and respect and offered equal access to education can through deductive reasoning and critical thinking understand the world around them and be compassionate enough to not only respect our differences but enjoy them.
The bullet is nothing but a tool of oppression no matter whose hands it is in. - acknotSW, on 04/22/2009, -1/+10If the people in the bible belt wanted to force you to live according to their beliefs and would only accept your conversion or your death, I would say you don't have a great deal to discuss.
You are making the assumption that these people are rational and are willing to negotiate on various issues on which you disagree. A compromise like; "I'm not going to convert but I'll leave you alone and you agree not to kill me" isn't acceptable to Islamic extremists. - lindenwold, on 04/22/2009, -3/+12if someone leaves notes on your doorstep telling you they're going to break into your house one night and kill you, do you: (among other things)
a) get a gun and learn to protect yourself
b) get a book on negotiating skills and plan to sit down with them and chat when they come to kill you
if you're a (b) person, you're retarded. - inactive, on 04/22/2009, -3/+11Actually, the people who want to negotiate with "moderate Taliban" are the ones who are failing to understand who the Taliban is...
- FearlessFreep, on 04/22/2009, -4/+12". It suggest that the only method in dealing with people you fail to understand is to kill them"
For most people who disagree with you, a treaty or agreement can suffice. but just maybe for those for whom treaties mean nothing and who are trying to kill you, you might want a slightly harder line and a little less naivete - Treason, on 04/22/2009, -1/+8wut?
- Shayer, on 04/22/2009, -0/+7Firstly, calm down.
Calling me an idiot and attacking me instead of addressing my points or clarifying your position shows how little validity you have in your unusually comical rants.
The Taliban and Al Qaeda, while having similar ideologies and are not the same. The fact that you just went on a tirade about Al Qaeda taking over Pakistan (what the hell) and using it interchangeably with the Taliban means you have absolutely no idea on what you are talking about.
No one is disputing the origins or the role the US had in creating the Taliban. The CIA funding the Taliban via the Pakistani ISI in the past may be true and well documented but the U.S abandoned them after the end of the Soviet era. The Taliban of today receives no funding whatsoever from any U.S sources.
Also, Pakistan is not and has never been considered part of the middle east. Where are you getting your information from?
None of what you wrote makes sense. Instead of having overly simplistic views such as ‘OH THE USA CREATED ALQAEDA ITS ALL THEIR FAULT AND NOW WANTS TO TAKE OVER PAKISTANS OIL (again, what the hell)” it would be better for you to learn the complexity of these situations.
America is responsible for all the evils in this world, they want instability in Pakistan for the oil (I still have to laugh at this one), Pakistan is in the middle east, and randomly whining out of nowhere about draconian laws, RFID implants and DNA database in the states, it’s clear I’m engaging in conversation with an uneducated far-left loony. - KnightMareInc, on 04/22/2009, -2/+8the Pakistani gov is so weak, they didnt have much of a choice other than buying their time and agreeing to a truce.
- byronm, on 04/22/2009, -2/+8wow.. People digg down education and offer no formal response, no opposing views or no factual evidence to the contrary.
Just goes to show how blind and stupid both sides are to these issues. - chrism123, on 04/22/2009, -4/+10I hate it when cobras eat people
- 23cranberries, on 04/22/2009, -1/+6Somewhere someone in Pakistan's shady counter-intelligence system is going "Oh *****!".
Somewhere someone in the Indian intelligence system is doing the I-told-you-so dance. - inactive, on 04/22/2009, -4/+9So Obama's idea to go in to Pakistan and bomb these ***** was the right idea, then? I'm sure now the Right Wing Diggers will get behind him on that, yes?
;) - frcc, on 04/22/2009, -8/+13If you bomb people long enough with US drones they'll eventually move into neighboring areas where you aren't bombing.
- Shayer, on 04/22/2009, -1/+6This topic is about Pakistan and the Taliban and not about the War in Iraq, the Patriot act or such things, nor is it about the evils of our governments so your rant is completely unnecessary and irrelevant here.
Swat Valley is completely lost to Pakistani control and under the Taliban's brand of Sharia law, other parts of Pakistan are starting to follow in that direction, there's an average of 2 suicide bombings weekly and these militants aim is to completely bring Pakistan under their version of Sharia Law. This isn't fear mongering, this is fact. Where you're getting the Iraq war and our own freedoms being lost from this narrative, I have absolutely no idea. - akeldama, on 04/22/2009, -0/+5@mickstephenson - 15 men armed with AK47s want you, your wife and kids, and you think you could negotiate with them? I'd say you don't have anything to bargain with and would die at their hands.
Of course, if they are breaking into my home, I know the layout of my house much better than they do, and we'd find out just how many of them could make it up the stairs alive. - tizle, on 04/22/2009, -1/+5The Pakistan government should never have made concessions for the Taleban. Now, these people have set up bases in the Swat valley and are getting stronger. Pakistan has a proper army and could have done something about it. So in that way, it is the Pakistani governments fault. Unfortunately, if they did that, they would lose the support of hardcore Islamists in Pakistan and the government could fall. So they picked being in power over the safety of the Swat valley. Even though Pakistan is technically a democracy, a lot of their decisions and policy is based on Islam which has unfortunately been hijacked by fundamentalists.
- inactive, on 04/22/2009, -2/+6This right winger does.
One of the two or three things he's done I agree with.
Although I'm still a little skeptical given that he thinks there are moderate Taliban out there. - ASfinkterSezWut, on 04/22/2009, -2/+6If you have lived in this area of the world as I have, you would quickly realize that education does NOT conquer religion - it may defeat poverty if the right economic systems are in place to support development, but it does not overcome religion.
- Gemfinder, on 04/22/2009, -0/+3My gaming group used to have a word for that mode of argument. We called it "philodorking."
Okay, yes, Bin Ladin built roads for the Afghani people, and the Taliban shut down opium production,
They also had their goons patrolling the streets of their cities, beating up women, children and old men for reasons in flagrant misproportion to their offenses, by anyone's standards. Even other Muslims thought the Taliban were — are — a crowd of knuckle-dragging thugs.
Stopping opium makes up for a reign of terror that'd put Robespierre to shame — how, exactly? ***** that. Opium has medicinal properties. Given that set of choices, I'd rather see fields of poppies.
Remember that Hitler was a part-time vegetarian, invented the Autobahn and encouraged his people to get out and exercise regularly. - sb66, on 04/22/2009, -3/+7The Taliban expanding its power in nuclear armed Pakistan is very dangerous and could quickly become america's most important national security issue.
- DaigojiGai, on 04/22/2009, -3/+7Byronm - the people that dugg down your comment are the same ignorant tools that supported a misguided war in Iraq that have nothing to do with 9/11 - dismiss Islam and group islamists with everyone else, and thinks that our American might can change over 2000 years of history with more violence.
I mean damn, time for another approach. - poidh, on 04/22/2009, -4/+8Oh, so *that's* the reason. It isn't at all because it is their religious duty to bring as much territory as possible under shariah law.
- altgeeky1, on 04/22/2009, -1/+4By nature these people are tribal isolationist. It's not like we don't know what that means... keep out, and don't try to embrace and extend their culture.
It's hard to believe that Europe was once the same way, but when various powers pushed their empires (political or commercial) into the more rural, wild northern territory.. they generally faced conflict. It takes a long time for isolated cultures to adapt to change, and the harder you push the harder they resist.
Throwing free weapons at our weak "allies" ALWAYS backfires... the allies lose, and those weapons fall into the wrong hands. Blowback once again.
Instead of spending billions arming Pakistan's largely illiterate Army, we should have spent something on civilian products, like I don't know.. education. Such "welfare" might counter the fact that a majority of people who lean to read and write did so at extremist madrassa schools.
These people don't really want us installing puppet dictatorship, whether it's in Islamabad or in Riyadh. And they no more appreciate having a puppet dictatorship over them than YOU would. - inactive, on 04/22/2009, -1/+4Force, no matter how concealed, begets resistance.
- inactive, on 04/22/2009, -0/+3I disagree with you in that I certainly see a place for bullets in the fight against terrorism, but you've got a point. Extremism is best fought not directly, but indirectly by controlling its spread. You can't tell terrorists to put down their guns and walk away, but if you cut off their sources of new recruits (the oppressed, the destitute, the uneducated who have no other chance at their lives amounting to anything), well pretty soon the movement will die.
- poidh, on 04/22/2009, -1/+4Good lord.
@frcc
"The US can only expand its territory and control of natural resources " - has nothing to do with the Taliban tightening their grip on the Northwest of Pakistan.
@altgeeky1
It's all our fault. If only we would be wishy washy, then everything would be alright.
Good lord. - tizle, on 04/22/2009, -1/+4I mean pythons. But you get the idea. :)
- inactive, on 04/22/2009, -3/+6I think the Pakistanis giving up territory to them helped their cause more than anything the US did.
- Kelto1, on 04/22/2009, -0/+3Shayer, this "far left loony" read all of what you said and sees your point. well done.
- WiseGuy1020, on 04/22/2009, -2/+5"innocent cities that had nothing to with the war"
"The city of Nagasaki had been one of the largest sea ports in southern Japan and was of great wartime importance because of its wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war materials."
"During World War II, the Second Army and Chugoku Regional Army were headquartered in Hiroshima, and the Army Marine Headquarters was located at Ujina port. The city also had large depots of military supplies, and was a key center for shipping." --- both taken from Wikipedia
Sounds like valid military targets to me. Not to mention that it prevented an invasion that would have killed many times more people, not just allied soldiers but Japanese civilians as well. So dropping those bombs saved many more lives than they killed. - banderwocky, on 04/23/2009, -0/+2Oooo I think I'm gonna have to report this for racism.
- Hetman, on 04/22/2009, -4/+6AK 47 and Rocket launchers are like super cheap in those countries. It is probably cheaper to buy an ak47 than a pair of shoes. After the collapse of the USSR and the total deregulation of every military manufacturer and supplier through out the USSR, Africa, The middle east, and even most of Europe was flooded by cheap weapons. It was like an NRA members wet dream.
- sangjmoon, on 04/22/2009, -6/+8Obama continues the failed policies of the past of lobbing missiles and bombs from afar. All that has done is strengthen the hold of the radicals in the region.
- eh123, on 04/22/2009, -1/+3You comments indicate that you are hopelessly naive. You can't reason with unreasonable people. Sometimes force is the only option.
- SteelSpine, on 04/22/2009, -5/+7Im so glad i live in a more civilized part of the world. What a disaster man & religion has created in that region
- Bovorik, on 04/22/2009, -2/+4You ever tried having a constructive conversation with a completely unreasonable person?
- Feenix566, on 04/22/2009, -1/+3The United States sends billions in aid to the Pakistani government. If the Taliban and/or other fundamentalist extremists get control of the country, they'll be in control of billions of dollars of military hardware financed by American tax payers.
- sqeezedinmiddle, on 04/22/2009, -1/+3some people here say that deplomatic talks are just a waste..its not because in a democratic country, its better to have people support behind any war [for that matter the world]. So, if you show your poeple that enuff effort was made in talks but no improvement, then it makes a legitimate reason to goto war. you don't want to do what bush did...
on a side note, i am from south east and i know these guys who are talking about islamic rule and all that are bunch of wussies. they want power and some form of benefits. they know US will have no problems paying them in dollars to cease the movement. - Piha, on 04/23/2009, -0/+1"the Japanese went after our military specifically"
"A fire balloon or balloon bomb (Japanese 風船爆弾 fūsen bakudan, lit. "balloon bomb") was an experimental weapon launched by Japan during World War II. A hydrogen balloon with a load varying from a 12 kg (26 lb) incendiary to one 15 kg (33 lb) antipersonnel bomb and four 5 kg (11 lb) incendiary devices attached, they were designed as a cheap weapon intended to make use of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean and wreak havoc on Canadian and American cities, forests, and farmland.
Between November 1944 and April 1945 Japan launched over 9,000 fire balloons. About 300 balloon bombs were found or observed in North America, causing six deaths and a small amount of damage.
It remains likely that more balloon bombs lie unexploded in the forests, deserts, lakes and mountains of North America
"
Just because they were quite ineffective doesn't matter, the intent was there. You can't call this 'specifically going after military forces'. - altgeeky1, on 04/22/2009, -0/+1When they become zealots, they are usually lost.
People who burn with revenge can't surrender or make peace.
And some of them are certifiably insane.. if they weren't terrorists with a cause, they'd be serial killers or something.
But these people can't have a movement without a base, and education is the way to do that. Success here will have the tribal culture make way for regional and national culture... and who knows, maybe someday a secular state. - andyb747, on 04/22/2009, -5/+6"primitive middle eastern peoples"
until they get a hold of a nuke and figure out how to detonate it - WiseGuy1020, on 04/22/2009, -2/+3We would not have had to if Pakistan could maintain control of their own ***** country.
- Gemfinder, on 04/22/2009, -0/+1The other hole in iEternal's argument is that the United States had *nothing* to do with the formation and rise of the Taliban. Most of their leadership, funds, arms and materiel came from Pakistan's ISI.
Do your own ***** research, iEternal. Here's a tip: look for information sources that insert the occasional paragraph break and aren't printed in white-letters-on-a-black-field format. If the source draws a cite to Freemasonry and the American dollar in any way, close the tab.
@Shayer: Not all on the far left are loonies. - bazigar, on 04/22/2009, -3/+4You reap what you sow.
- inactive, on 04/23/2009, -0/+1Who made talibans? RAW, Mossad, CIA, FBI, MI6, and you call it. So, you people think you can sink Pakistan with your dirty efforts. I tell you we will fight to the last drop of our blood to save Pakistan. Pakistan is here to stay. Israel, India and America will go to hell.
- booshpilot, on 04/23/2009, -0/+1Hey byronm,
Don't you mean Re-Education? Because that's what you're trying to do with your missionary work. Are you going to educate them by telling the Taliban that their Sharia Law is wrong? Are you going to re-educate them by telling them they shouldn't have taken a bite from the apple from the tree of knowledge?
Why don't you study up on your enemies because they sure have studied up on us. The Taliban want to re-educate you and me and the rest of the world. They believe we are the ones in need of their interpretation of religion. Why don't you and everyone who agrees with you go to the region and try educating them without getting your head cut off. Everyone else will be waiting for the video of your beheading to be posted on Youtube! -
Show 51 - 100 of 125 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is