Understanding Pakistan
POSTED BY: kpo
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 1, 2026 17:13
VIEWED: 4092
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Blaming Pakistan for exploiting our stupidity is a lot like blaming a lynching on the rope.
-Frem
I do not serve the Blind God.
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KPO -
I'm for projecting freedom more than American power. We can't and shouldn't try to be everywhere, but the idea that all men are created equal seems to me a noble and basic concept. ( and yes, by 'men', I mean all PEOPLE )
You want to waste time in understanding folks who continue to live with values from before the dark ages, cutting off the noses and ears of women for some nonsensical perceived crime they committed against their families' honor... by all means, study away. 
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You want to waste time in understanding folks who continue to live with values from before the dark ages
...there are no words...
...which won't stop me from trying...
Wulf, they're HUMAN BEINGS! They feel the same things you do, they suffer the same things you do, they want the same things you do. The less we learn about the outside world and other cultures, the more MISTAKES we make, don't you get it? It's a good part of the reason we're in the pickle we're in; it's a good part of the reason we have such a shitty foreign policy; it's a good part of the reason we're failing in Afghanistan it's a good part of the reason we went blithely into Iraq: IGNORANCE!
The parochial attitude of Americans who grow up and never learn about other societies gauls me no end, just makes me want to scream. It's a global village, like it or not, and refusing to even try to understand other cultures just makes it all worse. The more ignorant you remain of the world, the worse YOU help make it for everyone. And you dare to talk about taking personal responsibility!
I can't believe it...what an attitude...
In this respect, sorry, but WaterSprite Nix canNOT forgive you for your deliberate ignorance.
(By the way, they don't cut the noses and ears off women.)
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off 
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Quote:
Originally posted by Niki2:
Wulf, they're HUMAN BEINGS!
(By the way, they don't cut the noses and ears off women.)
I'm not Wulf
And yes, they do.
The Taliban, the tribal views that did this to the young woman in the photo.... they don't exactly recognized state borders. The monsters who did this very well could have come from Pakistan or Afghanistan.
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Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
I'm for projecting freedom more than American power. We can't and shouldn't try to be everywhere, but the idea that all men are created equal seems to me a noble and basic concept. ( and yes, by 'men', I mean all PEOPLE )
You want to waste time in understanding folks who continue to live with values from before the dark ages, cutting off the noses and ears of women for some nonsensical perceived crime they committed against their families' honor... by all means, study away.
When the Independents fought for the Rim against the Alliance, they represented worlds where life was brutal and harsh, where sometimes religious theocracy forced women into marriage with men and allowed the men to kill their wives if they were displeased. But the Independents fought for the Rim anyway, driven by the desire to believe what they want to believe, live how they want to live, and sometimes, to choose to be imperfect.
When someone is wrong, when their acts are cruel and brutal, call them on it, show them, help their victims, and if they violated an agreement or law with knowing intent, do not tolerate it. Enforce your laws and values, and don't allow the strong to abuse the weak. But force them to change? Take away choice, and someone will cease to do evil, and also cease to be capable of moral and independent thought. No better than a clockwork orange.
The Pashtun of Afghanistan and Pakistan practice Sharia Law, but I'm not aware the whole of Pakistan does.
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Seems to me, that after the Independents lost the war, the Alliance left well enough alone, and those religious theocracies were kept in tact, wife killin' and arranged marriages, alike.
So much for castin' the light of civilization on the border planets.
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Oops, sorry, I get you two confused...not sure why...in this case, I probably thought it was Wulf because he doesn't seem to want to learn about others, but obviously it holds just as well for you.
You're talking of the Taliban; I was talking of the PEOPLE of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the HISTORY of those places, the CULTURE. The Taliban doesn't represent them. The Taliban doesn't interpret Sharia law accurately. Yes, they are thugs andfanatics, but that doesn't change the need to understand them as best we can.
Understanding them is just as important as comprehending anyone else. It's as important that we know our enemies at least as much as we grasp our allies, and we have a tendency to do neither in this country. I think it has to do with our isolationism, but it's wrong.
There's so much more to be said about this, but I'll quit before I start ranting. Just to say it's mentalities such as yours and Dumbya's, who don't care enough to learn, who are responsible for an awful lot of wrong moves on our country's part.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off
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Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:
Seems to me, that after the Independents lost the war, the Alliance left well enough alone, and those religious theocracies were kept in tact, wife killin' and arranged marriages, alike.
So much for castin' the light of civilization on the border planets.
Well, there's two possibilities I can think of. One is that the Alliance didn't care to try, which is false, we know they wanted to fix bad behaviour like this because of Miranda.
Two is that Miranda was the only way they could think of to fix it, and we all saw how that worked out. Once that failed, they were at a loss, and except for a force of Tohoku class cruisers they kept in place to keep the peace, they withdrew to the core to lick their wounds and fester resentment at the ungrateful rim. Even medical shipments to places like Paradiso, hit hard by Bowdens, are fairly rare, mostly because there's still lots of people in parliament who don't want to help those dirty rimmer Independents.
^Paraphrased from the Serenity RPG manual.
In any case, the fix might be worse than letting people find their way on their own. That's all I'm saying.
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Real tough to learn about folks who end up shootin' ya to death....
10 Christian aid workers killed in Afghanistan mountains
Quote:
Posted on Aug 9, 2010 | by Staff
KABUL, Afghanistan (BP)--Ten workers affiliated with a Christian aid group were murdered in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan after providing eye care to people in a remote area of the country.
International Assistance Mission, an openly Christian charity, has operated in Afghanistan for 44 years, negotiating with the Soviets, the mujahedeen government and then the Taliban for permission to continue its work assisting people in need of care.
But on Aug. 5, only one member of a team survived an ambush by several men wielding guns. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the deaths of six Americans, one German, one Briton and two Afghans, though police have not ruled out an attack by thieves.
A spokesman for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board confirmed that no IMB personnel were involved.
The team, which included a 12th member, an Afghan, who earlier left the group to return home on his own, had set out for the remote Parun Valley of Nurestan province in three Land Rovers and then left their vehicles to trek 100 miles through the Hindu Kush mountains, The Washington Post reported.
Once they had completed their work, they were traveling back through snow and rain when they were attacked. The survivor, a driver named Saifullah, said the gunmen lined up the team members and began to execute them. Saifullah's life was spared after he shouted allegiance to Allah, The Post said.
"We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban's transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan."
The Taliban said the medical team was handing out Bibles written in Dari, but Dirk Frans, executive director of the aid organization, denied the claim.
"We're not here to proselytize, hand out Bibles or whatever," Frans said. "Our witness is in doing this work under extreme conditions, for people who otherwise have no chance for getting anything."
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Understandable sentiment. Violence and hatred directed towards ones own people can seem incomprehensible, and I can figure how it might not be something you WANT to comprehend.
Still might be something you would NEED to comprehend, if you want to figure out a way to stop this sort of tragedy from happening.
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