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Post by missouriboy on Dec 8, 2015 4:41:26 GMT
I saw a Donald Trump interview where he stated that the terrorists' families must "suffer" or Jihad/martyrdom will continue. The interviewer was shocked at the idea of retaliation against the families. Collateral damage is unacceptable. Yet, WWII in the Pacific ended a few days after atomic bombs were dropped on the families in Japan. There hasn't been a problem since. Notice that the 9/11 incidents and the recent terrorist shootings have been directed at families, not military targets. At the end of the 19th century, Shinto was reconstructed under Emperor Meiji. Meiji was declared a direct descendant of the gods; therefore all subsequent emperors were also considered manifest gods. The Japanese believed this gave them the inherent power to rule not only Japan but all the world. With the rise of the Japanese empire in the 19th century, state Shinto came into effect, making Shinto the official religion of Japan, and making the emperor commander-in-chief of the military, with the power to appoint generals, admirals and prime ministers. Schoolchildren bowed every morning before a photograph of the emperor, and were taught that he and all emperors were descended from the gods. In the 1930s, the Japanese believed Emperor Hirohito to be a god, superior to all others and worthy of unquestioning obedience -- a toxic combination with World War II looming. people.opposingviews.com/religious-beliefs-japanese-military-9155.htmlDoes this sound familiar? After the Japanese surrender, we implemented steps to create a new Japan. Step one in the plan to reform Japan entailed the demobilization of Japan’s armed forces. Step two was the dismantling of Shintoism as the Japanese national religion. Hirohito was forced to renounce his divine status, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/macarthur-orders-end-of-shinto-as-japanese-state-religionJust as state shintoism in the form of the Emperor and an aggressive, racist military were the enemy in WWII, Islam in the form of Mohammad and his aggressive, racist adherents are the enemy now. Our President won't even say that the enemy is militant Islam. I say, drop the 'militant' (which is redundant) and you have the name of the true enemy. Someone must dismantle Islam. A somewhat larger task as it has metastasized in many locations.
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 8, 2015 4:56:22 GMT
I don't look for the 2nd amendment to go away any time soon. I agree, Mr. Sig. But if the gun control folks were intellectually honest, they would realize, admit and propose that the 2nd Amendment has to either be repealed, or Heller has to be overruled by the Supremes. Any other starting point for what progressives really want- the banning and then confiscation of at least hand guns and long guns that are clip fed--is unconstitutional. As a result, all the bleating after every mass murder is nothing but political theater to whip up the base. If they were serious about "gun control" they would come out and say we have to start the process of repealing the 2nd Amendment. They believe that behind closed doors, but never come out and say it because they know it leads to what could possibly be a second Civil War. Appomattox was half-time!
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Post by sigurdur on Dec 10, 2015 1:22:11 GMT
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Post by magellan on Dec 11, 2015 17:21:25 GMT
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 13, 2015 20:40:50 GMT
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
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Post by sigurdur on Dec 15, 2015 13:32:26 GMT
Too much of this happens.
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 15, 2015 14:50:22 GMT
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Post by nautonnier on Dec 15, 2015 18:25:09 GMT
This was posted earlier heavenawaits.wordpress.com/muslim-behavior-with-population-increase/Now in line of that set of statistics watch this: I find the attitude of the European politicians extremely unsettling. It reminds me of a very underestimated UK member of parliament, Enoch Powell "For these dangerous and divisive elements the legislation proposed in the Race Relations Bill is the very pabulum they need to flourish. Here is the means of showing that the immigrant communities can organise to consolidate their members, to agitate and campaign against their fellow citizens, and to overawe and dominate the rest with the legal weapons which the ignorant and the ill-informed have provided. As I look ahead, I am filled with foreboding; like the Roman, I seem to see "the River Tiber foaming with much blood." "It seems like Enoch Powell could well be proven right.
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Post by flearider on Dec 16, 2015 1:10:58 GMT
very very true ... spot the brit kid ?
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 16, 2015 14:26:23 GMT
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Post by walnut on Dec 16, 2015 15:22:35 GMT
The rate of inflation in the 70's was terrible and wrecked the predictable curve, but other than that the cost of basic grocery items has been pretty stable. I don't know what the future holds, after all this money printing. The modern abundance of food is helping offset now. But I get your point on silver, it has been truly constant aside from this recent bubble. www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873707.htmlI think that relative to the prevailing wealth of the times, buying power has actually gotten better over the years. Middle class people don't have to spend a huge fraction of their total income on groceries. It is a relatively smaller fraction than in earlier times.
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Post by walnut on Dec 16, 2015 15:55:29 GMT
Speaking of, I know where there is a potential silver mine, virgin ground... a couple of years ago I found a spot in Oklahoma using 100 year old geological records. According to an assay done way back then these nuggets are mostly copper but over 10% silver. They set off a metal detector easily and even conduct electricity with my volt meter. The assay report said "very high silver values". The place looks to be an ancient crater vent folded up into slightly less ancient paleo sandstone. Its in the middle of nowhere on private property.
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 16, 2015 16:05:28 GMT
very very true ... spot the brit kid ? How's that inclusiveness working out for you? That's not meant to be a sarcastic question. As an American I'm curious, because we supposedly take pride in our nation's ability to assimilate multiple cultures into one national identity. During our first 150 years it worked reasonably well (with some exceptions) ... but that might be because the overwhelming majority of immigrants were really just variations of the same macro-culture, i.e. European. Even the current Hispanic wave has many European elements in religion, etc. Asian migrants have also assimilated, but perhaps in slightly more insular communities. Our current demographics show US as: white non-hispanic 63%, hispanic 17%, black 13.2% and asian 6%. Our Muslim population is estimated at 2%. There is a fair amount of mixtures in these numbers. According to Wikipedia, your 2011 census shows that the UK 'is whiter' than US: 87% vs 63% but you have 3 to 4 times as many Muslims as we do. Your South Asian population was reported at about 6.2%. So, this American is interested in how Brits and other Europeans see these issues in regards to cultural and national identity. I argue that we have never really faced a large wave of immigrants from a totally different, aggressive, non-European macro-culture. Yes, I'm being politically incorrect and talking about Muslims. If we want to see what we might experience if we allow greater Islamic-nation immigration, we have an interesting experiment going on in Europe. I would point out that 'our Muslims' tend to be wealthier on average, for whatever difference that makes.
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 16, 2015 16:25:26 GMT
So if I buy an ounce of silver today I can be assurred in 50 years it will be worth the same? I assume the same in terms of trading value. I think his argument is that the value of items such as precious metals and land serve as an insurance policy against the possibility of a radical depreciation of the fiat currency. So, if your weekly groceries cost 5 ounces of silver (in todays fiat currency value), then the same 5 ounces would buy a weeks worth of groceries if the fiat currency value declined by 50%. Or so goes the argument. We buy insurance for everything else.
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Post by missouriboy on Dec 16, 2015 16:39:03 GMT
The rate of inflation in the 70's was terrible and wrecked the predictable curve, but other than that the cost of basic grocery items has been pretty stable. I don't know what the future holds, after all this money printing. The modern abundance of food is helping offset now. But I get your point on silver, it has been truly constant aside from this recent bubble. www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0873707.htmlI think that relative to the prevailing wealth of the times, buying power has actually gotten better over the years. Middle class people don't have to spend a huge fraction of their total income on groceries. It is a relatively smaller fraction than in earlier times. Interesting grocery price bubble in 1920. Buying power for the average American family did increase dramatically over the last 60 years of the twentieth century. It may be declining again for a large section of the American population over the last decade. My relatives grew up on farms in the early 1900s. By today's standards they were poor ... but they owned their own land (free and clear) and that together with their hard work and inventiveness saved their bacon (pun intended) during the depression and was the basis of their wealth in future generations.
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