[quote]orion wrote:
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
I get the feeling Putin has a cooler head than Obama.
[/quote]
Cold as ice.
Then again, the environment he made his career in was a tad different than the Harvard Law Review. [/quote]
I don’t think spineless bullshit artists would cut it in Russian politics.
[quote]b89 wrote:
I don’t think spineless bullshit artists would cut it in Russian politics. [/quote]
Which is why most of them go into American politics.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]b89 wrote:
I don’t think spineless bullshit artists would cut it in Russian politics. [/quote]
Which is why most of them go into American politics. [/quote]
I busted out laughing thinking about Obama nervously sweating while trying to answer some questions about corruption if he’s in Russia, they’d think it’s so weird if he didn’t cut any corners to get ahead. They’d hear stuff like “Bribe? It wasn’t a bribe. Well, it depends on how you define bribe. Actually, you’ve to, uh, speak to… About it because I can’t recall ever meeting with that person.” and think “He’s full of it, I can’t trust him.”. Unfortunately we eat stuff like that up, over here it’d be “He seems like a nice guy. It’s definitely that low level assistant’s fault”.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
This is gold. [/quote]
Haha! That is good.
Now I get to see how many of my liberal facebook friends have a sense of humor.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
They could have just made meth and been rich![/quote]
Can you make meth out of fluoride? I’ll bet Walter White could. That would be great: no more meth mouth.
Seriously, though, the Syrian opposition doesn’t need to produce any methamphetamine to finance its operations: it’s getting plenty of funding from the sale of Afghan heroin, the production of which wouldn’t be possible without Uncle Sam. [/quote]
There is a certain wisdom to attaching legitimate dollar signs to opium that people don’t realize. Somebody mentioned that Asscrackistan has a lot of untapped mineral resources. I am sure that true, but compared the the cash from opium poppy, it’s peanuts. Why would you go there when you have a shit ton of opium that’s worth so much more?
It’s a legit medicine, it can be broken down in the many useful compounds without the need of synthesis that over looking that is foolish.
It’s the ‘no drugs at all costs’ attitude that has foregone many reasonable solutions to basic problems.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
I am baffled everyday by that same thing. 1.2 million children killed every year is a ‘reproductive right’. 20 killed by an armed maniac is a heartbreaking tragedy. [/quote]
“A single death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic.”[/quote]
So true.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
You know you’re fucked when you’re stuck trusting Assad and Putin. [/quote]
Yup.
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]DBCooper wrote:
It’s why I partially commend whichever Syrians used the chemical weapons.
[/quote]
Just Wow![/quote]
Naturally, you chop out the rest of the post that makes the real point I was getting at. I wouldn’t expect a war monger to do anything different.[/quote]
My point is pointing out your lousy at making points. Why write a page rife with hyperbole to make a sentiment that can be written in a single sentence? Your point gets lost when you say stupid shit.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
Hey, can we get Putin to be the American president? I mean, if we’re gonna have a Commie as a leader, might as well have a competent one. [/quote]
LOL! You have a point.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
For all of Putin’s vices…and you don’t get to be a top-ranking official in the KGB and the Communist Party without cultivating some vices…he is quite an effective leader. He also strikes me as a lot more intelligent and well-informed about history, strategy, and statecraft in general than the mockery of a president that this country is stuck with for the next couple years maybe. [/quote]
I give him intelligence. He made a complete ass of Obama. You notice, Putin never pulled shit like this with Bush.
Bush did a lot of things I did not like, but he was not near a stupid as people tried to make him out to be. He knew how to handle Putin and he handled him well. My understanding is that Putin actually respected Bush quite a bit, and they were better friends than people thought; which is weird in it’s own right.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
This is gold. [/quote]
Nice 
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
They could have just made meth and been rich![/quote]
Can you make meth out of fluoride? I’ll bet Walter White could. That would be great: no more meth mouth.
Seriously, though, the Syrian opposition doesn’t need to produce any methamphetamine to finance its operations: it’s getting plenty of funding from the sale of Afghan heroin, the production of which wouldn’t be possible without Uncle Sam. [/quote]
There is a certain wisdom to attaching legitimate dollar signs to opium that people don’t realize. Somebody mentioned that Asscrackistan has a lot of untapped mineral resources. I am sure that true, but compared the the cash from opium poppy, it’s peanuts. Why would you go there when you have a shit ton of opium that’s worth so much more?
It’s a legit medicine, it can be broken down in the many useful compounds without the need of synthesis that over looking that is foolish.
It’s the ‘no drugs at all costs’ attitude that has foregone many reasonable solutions to basic problems. [/quote]
What a lot of people also don’t realize is that in its pure form, opium is no more “dangerous” than say, hashish. Yes, you can overdose and die, but you’d have to eat a whole lot, and you’d pass out before you could smoke enough to kill you. Not nearly as easy to “abuse” as heroin, morphine, or even laudanum.
In the entire history of the Chinese opium trade, the most serious reported side effect of smoking opium was mild constipation.
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
For all of Putin’s vices…and you don’t get to be a top-ranking official in the KGB and the Communist Party without cultivating some vices…he is quite an effective leader. He also strikes me as a lot more intelligent and well-informed about history, strategy, and statecraft in general than the mockery of a president that this country is stuck with for the next couple years maybe. [/quote]
I give him intelligence. He made a complete ass of Obama. You notice, Putin never pulled shit like this with Bush.
Bush did a lot of things I did not like, but he was not near a stupid as people tried to make him out to be. He knew how to handle Putin and he handled him well. My understanding is that Putin actually respected Bush quite a bit, and they were better friends than people thought; which is weird in it’s own right. [/quote]
Russia’s economy was getting stronger during the Bush years and Putin was making a push to be viewed as an international power again. There’s a good chance Russia just honestly didn’t have the pull to be able to project power like Russia has been recently. With Snowden and Syria it’s showing you that Russia is being respected more on the international level.
[quote]b89 wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
For all of Putin’s vices…and you don’t get to be a top-ranking official in the KGB and the Communist Party without cultivating some vices…he is quite an effective leader. He also strikes me as a lot more intelligent and well-informed about history, strategy, and statecraft in general than the mockery of a president that this country is stuck with for the next couple years maybe. [/quote]
I give him intelligence. He made a complete ass of Obama. You notice, Putin never pulled shit like this with Bush.
Bush did a lot of things I did not like, but he was not near a stupid as people tried to make him out to be. He knew how to handle Putin and he handled him well. My understanding is that Putin actually respected Bush quite a bit, and they were better friends than people thought; which is weird in it’s own right. [/quote]
Russia’s economy was getting stronger during the Bush years and Putin was making a push to be viewed as an international power again. There’s a good chance Russia just honestly didn’t have the pull to be able to project power like Russia has been recently. With Snowden and Syria it’s showing you that Russia is being respected more on the international level.
[/quote]
When you have an assload of natural resources and precious metals, it helps you with your cool factor.
[quote]MaximusB wrote:
This is gold. [/quote]
Speaking of gold, I hope they start ramping up the bombing talk again because that Gold position I bought is getting trounced.
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
For all of Putin’s vices…and you don’t get to be a top-ranking official in the KGB and the Communist Party without cultivating some vices…he is quite an effective leader. He also strikes me as a lot more intelligent and well-informed about history, strategy, and statecraft in general than the mockery of a president that this country is stuck with for the next couple years maybe. [/quote]
I give him intelligence. He made a complete ass of Obama. You notice, Putin never pulled shit like this with Bush.
Bush did a lot of things I did not like, but he was not near a stupid as people tried to make him out to be. He knew how to handle Putin and he handled him well. My understanding is that Putin actually respected Bush quite a bit, and they were better friends than people thought; which is weird in it’s own right. [/quote]
There’s no doubt Bush has a very high people IQ. He knows how to read people and relate to them. I’m not sure if it was a tool that just came naturally to him or he made a conscious effort to use it for his political objectives but it was his most powerful tool as president.
[quote]Varqanir wrote:
[quote]Quasi-Tech wrote:
Can someone share what is gold? I can’t see videos.
Also, apparently Snowden was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize… can anyone confirm?[/quote]
Don’t you have a smartphone you can watch videos on? Or a laptop you can use at Starbucks? Or an Internet connection at home?
As I recall Japan has free Wi-Fi in numerous coffee shops.
You always seem to be on T-Nation at work. How do your employers feel about this!
“Shigoto da yo! Shikkari hatarake yo!”
I could explain the video, but it wouldn’t be nearly as funny. Find a way to watch it. It’s hilarious. [/quote]
To answer your questions.
Yes I have a smartphone, signal is crappy out here where the office is. I have wireless at home, but when I go home I tend to other things that are more important than a Youtube video or T-Nation conversation.
I visit this website at work when I’ve completely my tasks and am waiting for more work to do. I’m sure for the Japanese the idea of net surfing while at work is rather strange, but I don’t have another solution when I have nothing in que and need to keep myself engaged. I’m already taking on whatever extra work I can get my hands on. And apparently I work too fast.
Has the point been broached that Obama has a hard on to bomb the chemical weapons because some of them came from us?
If this has already been said, my apologies.
I made a passing joke that when they turn over the chemical weapons to the UN, one the side will be stamped “made in the USA,” but I think that’s all the further it went.
More than likely if its Assad’s chemical weapons, it will be from Russia. Our chemical weapons sold in that region are in the hands of the Al Qaeda rebels… get it right damnit!!!
[quote]UtahLama wrote:
Has the point been broached that Obama has a hard on to bomb the chemical weapons because some of them came from us?
[/quote]
Sort of, but not in so many words. It was mentioned earlier that we had supplied Saddam with quite a few chemical weapons during the Iran-Iraq war, and it stands to reason that a lot of those were shuttle off to Syria when Saddam was no longer our buddy. I then remarked that it would be ironic, and a little embarrassing, if Assad were to turn his stockpile over to international authorities, and every third shell and gas canister were were marked MADE IN USA.