Neat article with a bunch of different unsolved mysteries.

http://iamcynical.com/?p=14

I'd copy and paste but it's pretty long.

http://www.persiansarenotarabs.com/

I'm just sayin'

It is entirely true.

about the Middle East.

What Every American Should Know About the Middle East

By Daniel Miessler on March 30th, 2008: Tagged as America | Civilization | Education | Politics

Most in the United States don't know much about the Middle East or the people that live there. This lack of knowledge hurts our ability to understand world events and, consequently, our ability to hold intelligent opinions about those events.
For example, frighteningly few know the difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims, and most think the words "Arab" and "Muslim" are pretty much interchangeable. They aren't. So here's a very brief primer aimed at raising the level of knowledge about the region to an absolute minimum.

Basics

1. Arabs are part of an ethnic group, not a religion. Arabs were around long before Islam, and there have been (and still are) Arab Christians and Arab Jews. In general, you're an Arab if you 1) are of Arab descent (blood), or 2) speak the main Arab language (Arabic).
2. Not all Arabs are Muslim. There are significant populations of Arab Christians throughout the world, including in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Northern Africa and Palestine/Israel.
3. Islam is a religion. A Muslim (roughly pronounced MOOSE-lihm) is someone who follows the religion. So you wouldn't say someone follows Muslim or is an Islam, just as you wouldn't say someone follows Christian or is a Christianity.
4. Shia Muslims are similar to Roman Catholics in Christianity. They have a strong clerical presence via Imams and promote the idea of going through them to practice the religion correctly. Sunni Muslims are more like Protestant Christians. They don't really focus on Imams and believe in maintaining a more direct line to God than the Shia.
5. People from Iran are also known as Persians, and they are not Arabs.
6. Arabs are Semites. We've all heard the term anti-Semitism being used - often to describe Arabs. While antisemitism does specifically indicate hatred for Jews, the word "Semite" comes from the Bible and referred originally to anyone who spoke one of the Semitic Languages.
7. According to the Bible, Jews and Arabs are related [Genesis 25]. Jews descended from Abraham's son Isaac, and Arabs descended from Abraham's son Ishmael. So not only are both groups Semitic, but they're also family.
8. Sunni Muslims make up most of the Muslim world (roughly 90%). 1
9. The country with the world's largest Muslim population is Indonesia. 2
10. The rift between the Shia and Sunni started right after Muhammad's death and originally reduced to a power struggle regarding who was going to become the authoritative group for continuing the faith.

The Shia believed Muhammad's second cousin Ali should have taken over (the family/cleric model). The Sunni believed that the best person for the job should be chosen by the followers (the merit model) and that's how the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, was appointed.

Although the conflict began as a political struggle it now mostly considered a religious and class conflict, with political conflict emanating from those rifts.

Sunni vs. Shia | Arab vs. Non-Arab

Here's how the various Middle Eastern countries break down in terms of Sunni vs. Shia and whether or not they are predominantly Arab. Keep in mind that these are generalizations; significant diversity exists in many of the countries listed.

* Iraq Mostly Shia (roughly 60%), but under Saddam the Shia were oppressed and the Sunni were in power despite being only 20% of the population. Arab.
* Iran Shia. NOT Arab.
* Palestine Sunni. Arab.
* Egypt Sunni. Arab.
* Saudi Arabia Sunni. Arab.
* Syria Sunni. Arab.
* Jordan Sunni. Arab.
* Gulf States Sunni. Arab.

Conclusion

What's depressing is the fact that this only took me 30 minutes to write, and you 2 minutes to read. Yet most people in the United States, including those in the media, the house of representatives, and probably even the Pentagon, lack even this cursory level of knowledge about the region.:
References

1The CIA World Fact Book | Field Listing - Religions
2The CIA World Fact Book | Field Listing - Indonesia
Wikipedia | Sunni Muslims
Wikipedia | Shia Muslims
Wikipedia | Arabs

It may not hurt to mention that AQ is Sunni.

I tend to agree with everything said so far in this thread. I have seen a few stories over the last couple of months and it just seems to be pretty common now. I think the last one was about a tiger who got out of a cage because a teenager was sitting on the railing taunting it. The tiger used the kid's legs as a ladder climbed out killed two of the three and injured the other. The tiger was put to sleep or killed you know whatever your terminology is.

At 4/28/08 03:01 PM, Mechabloby wrote: What about cannibals?

Kept from their ability to harm people like we do man-eating animals who haven't escaped yet.

An interesting article talking about how man-eating animals don't deserve death. Not your typical argument from that position either.

http://www.edgeoftheinternet.com/?p=41

I use hostgator.com for my site and have no problems at all with their service.

Getting back into producing but right now I'm stuck with playing around in FL until I get everything set back up. Main purpose of this post is that I'm finally starting to find my style and I was wondering if you guys could give your opinion on an example of it. It can heard at this link.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/11222814c2c4 dd39/

I did not want to read this entire thread so if someone posted what I do I apologize.

My argument: To anyone who claims it is to much to be coincedence that we happen to be perfect or that the conditions on Earth happen to be perfect to support life I offer you this- If we evolved to live here and survive in the conditions on Earth then of course our bodies would be perfect to live here. Really a lame argument to claim the to convinient shit.

As for people who believe in God but claim that something is impossible: How can you believe in a fairy tale yet argue impossiblities?

My opinion on religion ( Chirstianity tobe more specific)- All religions throughout history have been for the purpose of explaining things that could not be explained, as explanations were found each religion died. Christianity in particular was used as a means of gaining power. If you do research religions are and always have been in a cycle, one religion takes it place as the dominate one until it becomes completely illogical and is proven false by science, when this happens another religion is born and becomes dominate, it happened like 1500-2000 years ago when Christiantiy became the dominate religion and I promise you it will happen again, I do not see how anyone can place faith in religion after looking at the facts, the only explanation in my eyes is that they are weak individuals who need a promise of something better to get them through life, faith is false hope.

As for how we were created- Do not really have a set opinion or beliefe on this one, I do not think there are enough facts currently to support any 1 theory, I will just wait and hope an answer is found in my lifetime, if not then I guess I shall never know.

Please read the entire article before making comments or asking questions, I only say this because it honestly takes reading the entire article to get a full understanding of it, I promise all questions are answered by the last word of page 7.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Yates/steven.htm

At 12/9/04 08:36 AM, -Mary- wrote:

At 12/9/04 08:33 AM, BlindPatriot wrote: is there anyway I can get a mod to move it to politics section ot should I just let this die and create a new one there?

Why? This is more philosophical than political. Especially since it's a bunch of garbage.

Anyone can take any two objects or theories and compare them to make them seem like mirror images of each other. All you have to do is try.

they aren't really that at all though, it just uses matrix as a reference to get you in the right mindframe, if you can write a 7 page essay on something like that with enough actual fact to back it up then go for it. I personally don't think it could all be coincedence.

At 12/9/04 08:30 AM, JafitMan wrote:

At 12/9/04 08:21 AM, BlindPatriot wrote: all I ask is that you not comment about something of which you have knowledge, in this case the article you refuse to read.

Fair enough, while this thread sinks through lack of interest, you can find another forum and try again.

is there anyway I can get a mod to move it to politics section ot should I just let this die and create a new one there?

At 12/9/04 08:18 AM, JafitMan wrote:

At 12/9/04 08:01 AM, BlindPatriot wrote: it is not about the matrix... as I said if you read it all questions will be answered,

Ah, but you see, I don't want to read it. It starts off with the matrix, so my attention is drawn away because i'm sick to death of it, along with the fact that I'm not in the mood.

and you not caring is explained completely in it, you are described in this article as is most of the population of the untied states, and it tells why you are that way and made you that way and why,

And there's another flaw, since I'm not a US citizen and I still don't care.

it is VERY interesting if you take the time to read it, its only 7 pages not like a fucking novel.

I don't need to read 7 pages of some guy drawing tenuous similarities between the matrix and america's ignorance of virtually everyone else in the world, most of the world has already figured that out for themselves long before that stupid article was written.

And the other site if ull of little kids who cant think of anything more important to them than the current hip song on the radio.

Nobody says 'hip' anymore. Again, try the politics forum rather than general, you'd have better luck there.

it applies to the entire world only the USA more so. As for not wanting to read about comparisons to the matrix that is not what it is, you assuming to know what is contained before reading is not very open minded imo :/ do what you please all I ask is that you not comment about something of which you have knowledge, in this case the article you refuse to read.

At 12/9/04 08:10 AM, Aapo_Joki wrote: It seems pretty interesting, I read the first two pages and I'll read the rest later when I have time. I have to say, I've always known something like this is going on, but it has been hard to name something specific.

Same here, I have often wondered just why is the world based off of money, why are the systems the way they are, and why did whoever decided it get to, this article complete put my thoughts into words and offered sources for proof. I love it.

At 12/9/04 08:05 AM, Matt-G wrote: Wow, an artical about the real matrix, every nerds dream.
Hope for the thousands of 13 year olds that call themselves Neo.

Well, I assume it's realted to the real matrix, I didn't read it.
When you post a link to an article you have to give a summary before anyone wastes their time.

the real matrix is only mentioned as a distant comparison, giving a summary would do the article injustice and would lead to people asking me questions instead o freading it, it is only 7 pages and it can't be more of a waste of time than reading threads about which popstar ate what for breakfast this morning (obviously an example but you get the point).

At 12/9/04 07:53 AM, JafitMan wrote:

At 12/9/04 07:47 AM, BlindPatriot wrote: I posted this here after having an unsuccesful attempt at another site, I came here in hopes of a mature crowd who would first read the entire article then form an opinion, then procede to comment.

Try the politics forum then, we generalites have too short an attention span, and I am frankly just fed up of the matrix and don't want to talk about it any more than I want to read through the whole of that article.

Why did you think it was unsuccessfull elsewhere? Maybe nobody actually cared. And why did you think you'd have better luck here, where the most discussed topics are on masturbation and incest?

it is not about the matrix... as I said if you read it all questions will be answered, and you not caring is explained completely in it, you are described in this article as is most of the population of the untied states, and it tells why you are that way and made you that way and why, it is VERY interesting if you take the time to read it, its only 7 pages not like a fucking novel.

And the other site if ull of little kids who cant think of anything more important to them than the current hip song on the radio.

I posted this here after having an unsuccesful attempt at another site, I came here in hopes of a mature crowd who would first read the entire article then form an opinion, then procede to comment, i ask that you not let me down. any questions you have I assure you are anwered by the last word of page 7, i urge you to give it a chance because if you use logic to think as I do I cannot see how this cannot seem a little to much to be just coincedence or fiction.

http://www.newswithviews.com/Yates/steven.htm

I wrote it, don't know why i quoted it.

It is just a essay type wiriting to organise some thoughts, and to speak of irony, the irony is that we live in a society that "Encourages" individuality but only without a set bounds, true gaining some knowledge does add stress and can lead to depression but the choice of wether or not someone choose depression over igrnorance should be up to no one other than the individual, I do not think everything said in this was completely accurate but I think I pretty nailed the way life currently is.

THINK

"Prepare to enter the realm of forbidden thought, where the patterns of thinking outside the norm are not only condoned but encouraged. I am speaking of the world of imagination, where if you don't stray from what is accepted you will only bite someone else's grim reality of how things are. If you accept without question what others tell you to believe, feel, and think then you have unduldged the self cloning patterns of society that have existed forever. Great things come through change, and change comes from those of us who have enough balls to think for ourselves. The drones of this world in their day to day suit, and tie lifestyle plague the realm of of imagination with their standards and guidelines, no-one is left to decide what is important to them or how they view things, perspective no longer means what it used to, "The way you see it." instead it is now a way of incriminating those who choose not to be sheep in the flock led by blind shepards. This collection of lemmings we call citizens need their eyes opened so they can see for themselves. People now say imagintation is make believe, fairy tale bullshit, when in actuality it is the only real thing left.All species survive primarily on their instincts and/or intelligence, which spawn thougts of creativity, and provide alterations to the everyday rut of a conscious life in the forsaken abyss of monotony, however we comdemn those who go by instinct, and not what they have been taught to believe. As a people we accept the fact that greatness can be accomplished, but not by us, we are led to believe that possibilities aren't possible for us, only for those of greater understanding in the area of creativity and talent. Self-esteem, and self-confidenceare almost non existent for the simple reason that this is what we have been taught,no-one is encouraged to stray from acceptance and refuse the cloak of comformity, we are not born as unique individuals allowed to choose the path for our feet to follow, we must "Walk where great men before us have walked," this idiotic notion has to be the direct result of immense pressure society puts on us to the best we can at fitting the mold sculpted long ago from fear, cowardliness, and a complete lack of assertiveness. Some would say "If it isn't broken don't fix it," well "If it isn't original it's stolen," and the lifestyle most live now is far from original. The thought process's, patterns, and outcomes are not near original or new, the ones who feed you the poison of the accepted way of life are criminals, but the injustice of infringing on someone else's freedom of self-identity is unfourtunately not a prosecutable one."