Village Idiot

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Posts by Village Idiot

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  23

  Gave my first hour talk sunday before last

  by Perry in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i started going door to door at age 5 and was giving no.

  2 talks by age 7. during the 8 years i was an active adult jw i was never a ms or elder (although i was a regular pioneer once).

  so, i never qualified to give an hour talk.

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  Village Idiot

  You had me going there for a moment Perry. I thought, based on your title, that you were still in and giving talks at the Kingdom Hall.
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  @Simon:

  "The problem is what else they would take care of with those resources." 

  I acknowledge the difficulties. I'm sure the Kurds will keep to themselves. The Sunnis might be deterred from avenging themselves because they're outnumbered 2 to 1 by the Shias.

  The problem I foresee is what would happen in mixed neighborhoods where Shias and Sunnis live in proximity to each other. Flight is the response that's been happening at the present moment. Baghdad used to be a mixed city but currently Shias are leaving it to get away from the Sunnis.

  Nothing is going to be 100% effective but I'm reminded of the saying: "...insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result". Something new has to be tried. If it fails we did our best. That is how history would judge us.
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  @LUHE:

  "Wasn't it the strategy of the USA to make local Sunni turn against Al Qaeda?"

  It was actually their decision based on their experience of an oppressive group. It took a while to simmer but it eventually happened. The US would never have succeeded with the Sunnis on their own. 

  As for their sustenance, it is mostly based on oil wells that can be protected by "boots on the ground". They're estimated to be making 1 to 3 million a day from those oil fields. 

  Cutting of their access to those oil fields would choke off their means of continuing a war. 
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

   @LoveUniHateExams:

  "I can see one major problem: I'm not sure if the Sunnis would be that enthusiastic about wiping out ISIS."

  LUHE, the Sunnis turned on Al-Qaeda during the Bush war. They referred to it as the Great Awakening. They realized that it was not in their best interest to be under their dominion. ISIS is worse than Al-Qaeda.

  If Sunnis are offered their nation they will jettison whatever remnant of ISIS were to remain.
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  @insidetheKH:

  "Islam will implode and not survive this century"

  That reminds me of the Watchtower article that said this world would not survive by the end of (last) century.

  You underestimate the power of religion. 
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  @Jonathan Drake:

  As an atheist I wish that authoritarian religions - conservative Judaism, conservative Christianity and Islam - did not exist but imposing that by warfare as you suggest will only make them stronger. And where are we going to get the resources to deal with 1.5 billion people spread out over 49 countries (and that's where they're the majority)? 
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  @Las Malvinas son Argentinas:

  Las Malvinas, the British and French were arbitrary, the US, or whoever is there, does not have to be. My solution takes into account what the British erroneously did.
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  I believe that the other three groups would take care of ISIS if they had the resources, the Kurds in particular, then the Shias. However, if you allow the Sunnis and Shias to live together nothing will ever be solved. 

  Giving them sovereign territory should dampen their desire for war against each other, which they are practicing now, but if they want to fight by mere virtue of their existence let them. One thing's for sure, they would not mess with the Kurds.

  As far as theocracy is concerned all those nations range from almost secular to virulently theocratic e.g. Wahhabist Saudi Arabia. Eliminating such a concept is ideal but real world politic won't allow it in the foreseeable future.

  Edited to remove a sentence. 
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  24

  The Iraqi Problem - an Overview and Solution

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  much has been said about muslims and iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context.

  context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts.

  islam and the conflict in iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.. islam was founded around 622 c.e.

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  Village Idiot

  Much has been said about Muslims and Iraq but little historical information has been given to understand the context. Context is important in understanding anything especially with regards to conflicts. Islam and the conflict in Iraq requires knowledge of at least four different parties with a general understanding of their ideology.

  Islam was founded around 622 C.E. by Muhammad who claimed that he was a prophet sent by God (Allah).

  Fast forward to his death. Muhammad left no male children to succeed him, only daughters. His followers wanted a successor to take up the position of their prophet but two groups disagreed as to how it should be done.

  Shias believed that Muhammad's son in law was chosen by Allah as his successor. Sunnis believed that his successor should be elected by tribal leaders.

  So a fight ensued between the two and continued throughout the following centuries up to this day.

  Iraq is made up of Sunnis who are 37% of the population and Shias 60%. Under Saddam Hussein the Sunni minority dominated the Shia majority. After the war started by George Bush the Shia majority came to power and started persecuting the Sunnis. Both have been persecuting each other throughout Iraq's history.

  Kurds, who are mostly Sunni, are a separate ethnic group who cover portions of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. They have been fighting for independence in all those countries except for Iran.

  Now for the origins of ISIS who is a horse of a different color. Their history is important to understand how and why this situation has unfolded.

  Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab was the ideo/theological ancestor of ISIS, Al Queda,  the Taliban, Boko Haram and ISIS.

  Wahhab was an 18th century Islamic scholar who believed that the majority of Muslims were apostates and therefore not true Muslims. The movement that he founded is known by outsiders as Wahhabism but they use the term Salafi. Wahhab's major peeve was that Muslims were practicing idolatry. His concept of idolatry was far more strict than most Fundamentalists. It included the Muslim practice of having shrines, monuments and tombs of various saints and martyrs and the pilgrimage of those who revered them.

  Wahhabism is also much stricter in the rest of its practice than the majority of Muslims.

  Wahhab went to make a deal with the Saudi sheikhs who ruled what today is Saudi Arabia. His deal was to offer political legitimacy to their rule in exchange for Wahabbist domination of religious affairs. That deal has remained in effect for 300 years to this day. Even though they make up no more than 20% of Saudi Arabia's population they effectively rule it even to the point where a government official was removed after giving a mild criticism of the sect.

  Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia is the main source of money, fighters and suicide bombers around the Muslim world. They are said to make up about half of ISIS's fighters. These individuals are the product of an education starting in grade school where America, Israel and others are constantly demonized. They are the most fanatical of all Muslims.

  So ISIS invades Iraq and what do they do? They impose their own rules which includes women wearing the Burkha - completely covering their bodies and the Niqab - a veil covering their face except for the eyes. This is not normal for most Muslim women who customarily wear a scarf on their heads.

  They destroy sacred monuments ("idols") particularly those of Shias. I remember watching on video the detonation of explosive charges on "The tower of Jonah" (Yes, the Old Testament prophet) which was sacred to Christians and Muslims. It was a tall tower similar to the Washington monument. There one moment, gone the next.

  I have seen videos of suicide bombers inside of mosques (presumably Shia mosques). A group of worshippers standing one moment, a flash the next, people lying on the floor right after that. 

  I can go on and on but the point is that they are not regular Muslims.

  Now what?

  Any solution needs to take into account the Shia/Sunni division which simply means that you will never be able to form a nation that forces the two to live together. You have to take into account the Kurds fight for independence which is not tied in to religion. You need to take into account the fact that ISIS was able to spread rapidly because the demoralized Sunnis had been persecuted by the Shias for years including death squads where Shias drill into the heads of Sunnis.

  In my opinion one needs to create three separate nations where everyone should be happified [sic!] to have their own sovereign state. Anyways the boundaries that exist now are artificial boundaries that are the product of British Imperialism which had no concern for creating peaceful separation of all warring parties.

  This requires boots on the ground for a temporary period of time, preferably no more than a year or two. The Kurds will be happy and become an example to the other two groups. And more importance, Wahhabism in any form will not have fertile ground in which to reproduce.

  Demonizing all Muslims will only drive them, the young in particular, into ISIS hands. One needs to handle the situation with 'soft power'. Blasting away will only strengthen ISIS even if 90% of them would be initially killed. That is what happened to the Taliban. Initially destroyed at first but resurrected and more powerful today (people tend to resent you when you blow up wedding parties with drones.).

  So what do you think? 
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  56

  2014 increase in Memorial Partakers to 14,121

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have updated the article at memorial partakers with the figures released for 2014. no surprises here, it has risen yet again, this time by 6% over last year, and is now 14,121.. .

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  Village Idiot

  Seeing that the Watchtower alters its embarrassing statements it makes me wonder why they simply don't fake the numbers to anything that would be consistent with their doctrines.