Elfen High 2 (OOC 8, Closed, Will it Hurt?)

[Nude East Ireland]

Once more I stress - you should all be more like Kevin.

Why do you wish the world burn?

"Several massive autocracies have risen up across the world, all demanding nude women from each other."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Why do you wish the world burn?

To punish you.

I am the punishment.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Pakistan "coming of age" is a very interesting prospect - it was not so long ago that Pakistan was a half-formed idea, an accident that could so easily be erased. It now seems to be settling into the definite status that other "immortal" nations occupy.

To think that a century or two ago the borders which define our world were a collection of feuding villages is strange, to think that this process is still ongoing even stranger. We are a young world.

I read an article noting that the borders of the Middle East could change significantly in our lifetimes, due to the fact the recent ethnic and religious conflicts broiling up there again mean that there could be a border reshaping - but this time by the people who live there, rather than an Englishman who was never entirely sure what an Arab or a Kurd was.

I really do think that's necessary; as much as I would like everyone to sit down and agree to live for their country regardless of who they are, the borders we tacked onto them are not their countries.

That's what I think is truly wonderful about my own country, but expecting everywhere else to be like that is mad.

[Constaniana]

Azhoun is much better.

This is in my head now and I can never get it out.

You mad bastard, I will never forgive you.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I read an article noting that the borders of the Middle East could change significantly in our lifetimes, due to the fact the recent ethnic and religious conflicts broiling up there again mean that there could be a border reshaping - but this time by the people who live there, rather than an Englishman who was never entirely sure what an Arab or a Kurd was.

I really do think that's necessary; as much as I would like everyone to sit down and agree to live for their country regardless of who they are, the borders we tacked onto them are not their countries.

That's what I think is truly wonderful about my own country, but expecting everywhere else to be like that is mad.

I like the idea of diversity in a country to keep it from becoming too closed in, but it doesn't work everywhere.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Pakistan "coming of age" is a very interesting prospect - it was not so long ago that Pakistan was a half-formed idea, an accident that could so easily be erased. It now seems to be settling into the definite status that other "immortal" nations occupy.

To think that a century or two ago the borders which define our world were a collection of feuding villages is strange, to think that this process is still ongoing even stranger. We are a young world.

I read an article noting that the borders of the Middle East could change significantly in our lifetimes, due to the fact the recent ethnic and religious conflicts broiling up there again mean that there could be a border reshaping - but this time by the people who live there, rather than an Englishman who was never entirely sure what an Arab or a Kurd was.

http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/runner-u ... al-tyrant/

This is not the article, but it's a close English equal in a small area.

The possibility of good news in the Middle East is almost always dashed by the preponderance of bad actors. The roadblocks to a grand bargain—not the least of which is the surreptitious Saudi funding of al-Qaeda and Wahhabi extremists—­are prodigious. But the U.S. can help with clever diplomacy. John Kerry’s State Department has made a strong push for progress in the West Bank talks. The U.S. negotiating team recently added a significant player in David Makovsky, a regional expert who has drawn the most detailed and plausible maps for land swaps between the Israelis and Palestinians. There is speculation that the U.S. will put a comprehensive Middle East peace plan on the table in the summer of 2014, the first since Bill Clinton’s last-minute proposal at Taba in January 2001.

That would be a mistake. The U.S. has lost a great deal of stature because of Bush’s Iraq invasion and Obama’s vacillations. Its public actions in the region have seemed either clunking, neo­colonial interventions; naive fantasies about democracy in countries without a substantial middle class; or hollow, unplanned rhetoric and dithering. A better role for the U.S. would be to use its convening power to mediate a deal privately, to nudge the Saudis and the Gulf states toward real economic and security arrangements with the Israelis and to reassure Netanyahu that he is acting in the best long-term interests of his country.

Assad’s survival in 2013 may have opened the door to new diplomatic possibilities in 2014, but the Syrian dictator should not sit easy on his contaminated throne. There is no guarantee that the current Syria will be the country that ­emerges from this period of upheaval. Already, the Syrian Kurds have joined with their Iraqi cousins in a de facto alliance—­and the Iraqi Kurds are now selling oil directly to the Turks in defiance of the Shi‘ite government in Baghdad. The Sunnis of western Iraq and eastern Syria have found common cause as well. The straight-line borders, drawn in the sand by Europeans during World War I, may soon be revised by the people who actually live there. The likely consequence is another generation of turbulence, which will make the need for stable allies all the more important in the region.

[Nationstatelandsville]

I really do think that's necessary; as much as I would like everyone to sit down and agree to live for their country regardless of who they are, the borders we tacked onto them are not their countries.

That's what I think is truly wonderful about my own country, but expecting everywhere else to be like that is mad.

I like the idea of diversity in a country to keep it from becoming too closed in, but it doesn't work everywhere.

From the obviously very little I know of it, it seems India is taking on something of a similar philosophy as the United States - unwillingly, but that's to be expected.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I like the idea of diversity in a country to keep it from becoming too closed in, but it doesn't work everywhere.

From the obviously very little I know of it, it seems India is taking on something of a similar philosophy as the United States - unwillingly, but that's to be expected.

The thing is that India doesn't really have any particular group being an obvious linguistic or ethnic minority, and we have minorities in every state (religious, linguistic, ethnic, etc).

Add that with a legacy of multiculturalism in various empires and it was somewhat inevitable.

Pakistan is trying to do this as well - ethnically though. It's doing alright in the ethnic diversity and peace area. It's religion where they have issues.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I read an article noting that the borders of the Middle East could change significantly in our lifetimes, due to the fact the recent ethnic and religious conflicts broiling up there again mean that there could be a border reshaping - but this time by the people who live there, rather than an Englishman who was never entirely sure what an Arab or a Kurd was.

http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/runner-u ... al-tyrant/

This is not the article, but it's a close English equal in a small area.

The possibility of good news in the Middle East is almost always dashed by the preponderance of bad actors. The roadblocks to a grand bargain—not the least of which is the surreptitious Saudi funding of al-Qaeda and Wahhabi extremists—­are prodigious. But the U.S. can help with clever diplomacy. John Kerry’s State Department has made a strong push for progress in the West Bank talks. The U.S. negotiating team recently added a significant player in David Makovsky, a regional expert who has drawn the most detailed and plausible maps for land swaps between the Israelis and Palestinians. There is speculation that the U.S. will put a comprehensive Middle East peace plan on the table in the summer of 2014, the first since Bill Clinton’s last-minute proposal at Taba in January 2001.

That would be a mistake. The U.S. has lost a great deal of stature because of Bush’s Iraq invasion and Obama’s vacillations. Its public actions in the region have seemed either clunking, neo­colonial interventions; naive fantasies about democracy in countries without a substantial middle class; or hollow, unplanned rhetoric and dithering. A better role for the U.S. would be to use its convening power to mediate a deal privately, to nudge the Saudis and the Gulf states toward real economic and security arrangements with the Israelis and to reassure Netanyahu that he is acting in the best long-term interests of his country.

Assad’s survival in 2013 may have opened the door to new diplomatic possibilities in 2014, but the Syrian dictator should not sit easy on his contaminated throne. There is no guarantee that the current Syria will be the country that ­emerges from this period of upheaval. Already, the Syrian Kurds have joined with their Iraqi cousins in a de facto alliance—­and the Iraqi Kurds are now selling oil directly to the Turks in defiance of the Shi‘ite government in Baghdad. The Sunnis of western Iraq and eastern Syria have found common cause as well. The straight-line borders, drawn in the sand by Europeans during World War I, may soon be revised by the people who actually live there. The likely consequence is another generation of turbulence, which will make the need for stable allies all the more important in the region.

The sort of (self-admitted) fantasy TIME mentions in the article of the Israelis becoming recognised by the Arab League and becoming full partners in the Middle East would totally fuck with so many people's viewpoints.

[Nationstatelandsville]

http://poy.time.com/2013/12/11/runner-u ... al-tyrant/

This is not the article, but it's a close English equal in a small area.

The sort of (self-admitted) fantasy TIME mentions in the article of the Israelis becoming recognised by the Arab League and becoming full partners in the Middle East would totally fuck with so many people's viewpoints.

Israel is seven kinds of fucked, and they seem to want to drag everyone else down with them.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

The sort of (self-admitted) fantasy TIME mentions in the article of the Israelis becoming recognised by the Arab League and becoming full partners in the Middle East would totally fuck with so many people's viewpoints.

Israel is seven kinds of fucked, and they seem to want to drag everyone else down with them.

To be honest, they're probably the best place to be in the region.

But there's a shitton of weird politics going on.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/10/25/19- ... =obnetwork

Obviously an attendant of Elfen High, except for the fact he's gotten to 19 with virginity intact.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Israel is seven kinds of fucked, and they seem to want to drag everyone else down with them.

To be honest, they're probably the best place to be in the region.

But there's a shitton of weird politics going on.

Well, when you shove a country in the middle of a bunch of others that hate each other, that happens.

I don't know if Israel was a good idea and don't really care; I just know where it's going is going to be very interesting indeed.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwNFcvjKg80

This reminds me of my school days.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Meep.

[Astrolinium]

Meep.

It's alive!

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Meep.

Holy shit, you're not dead.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Meep.

Holy shit, you're not dead.

No, and if you're serious, this would be the second time someone thought I was dead.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Holy shit, you're not dead.

No, and if you're serious, this would be the second time someone thought I was dead.

It is, however, the fifth time you've failed to be dead.

I need to get new assassins.

[Astrolinium]

Holy shit, you're not dead.

No, and if you're serious, this would be the second time someone thought I was dead.

Have you any interest in hobbits?

[Zarkenis Ultima]

No, and if you're serious, this would be the second time someone thought I was dead.

It is, however, the fifth time you've failed to be dead.

I need to get new assassins.

Blame the education system.

@Astro: Er, not particularly.

[Constaniana]

Meep.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Meep.

[Individuality-ness]

Zark! Did you get your computer fixed?

[Nationstatelandsville]

No, and if you're serious, this would be the second time someone thought I was dead.

Have you any interest in hobbits?

You have the instincts of a salesman, Astro; or perhaps a velociraptor.