Comments on: Zen Meditation

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 21:49:39 +0000

The EU has accomplished what Julius Caesar, Hadrian, Trajan, Alaric, Atilla, Pepin, Tariq ibn Ziyad, Charlemagne, Otto, Bozo, William the Conqueror, Henry II, Brabarosa, Phillip August, various Vikings, Edward the Black Prince, various Henrys, Frederick II, Sulieman the Magnificent, Elizabeth I, Gustavus Adolphus, Louis XIII, Louis XIV, Napolean, Bismark, Peter the Great, Elizabeth the Great, Catherine the Great, Cosmo the Great, Stalin, Lenin and Hitler could not do.

If it falls apart, there will be no shortage in the next 2000 years of belicose men and women who will want the glory of putting it back together.

By: John Jay

John Jay — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:47:41 +0000

“Ironically, when the despotic Shah tried to drag the
Iranian ppl into modernity, they were not ready. Now that the Iranian ppl, at least the young, are ready, their depotic clerical government never will be.”

The young urbanites are ready for modernity and democracy. Looking back at the USSR in 1988, people said that Russia was ready, too, based on the aspirations of my fellow Gen-Xers in cities like Moscow and Petersburg. Hell, even I thought so at the time.

Unfortunately, the older generation and all ages in the less developed countryside was still, as a Russian friend of my put it, in a slave mentality. And still is. Hence you see the slow slide back into totalitarianism. I predict you will see the same phenomenon if a revolution ever ousts the mullahs in Iran.

A very much concur with Shannon’s statements about tribalism in Japan and Germany. Russia is a multi-ethnic state, and you can be whatever ethnicity you want – as long as you speak Russian.

By: Shannon Love

Shannon Love — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:03:04 +0000

I think it’s the tribal nature of Germany and Japan that give people pause. Germany and Japan are true nation (ethnic) states. Unlike America or even the general Anglo-sphere, there primary identities are cultural, not political. Political ideologies might shift dramatically from generation to generation but Germany remains german and Japan remains japanese.

Tribalism limits international cooperation. In the end, people from such countries will cling to the tribe and its good. That makes the long term prospects of such countries wielding nukes or future types of WMDs, very daunting.

By: zenpundit

zenpundit — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 03:57:01 +0000

Hi Joseph,

The Shah was a physical coward and a megalomaniac but his extreme vanity and timidity acted as a brake on his cruelty, his “White Revolution” modernizations weren’t all bad either. Khomeini was a strong man and lacked the moderating influences of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s character flaws.

By: James C. Bennett

James C. Bennett — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:14:38 +0000

If North Korea keeps its nukes, Japan will have them — two years, five years, whatever. And if Japan gets them, South Korea and Taiwan won’t be far behind.

By: joseph hill

joseph hill — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:01:34 +0000

I was around during the Shah’s rule and believe me he was a terrible human being, a dictator. Iran changed one bad rule for another. As for nukes: Japan kn ows enough about that stuff so that their interest s in energy not war; Germany too is a democracy. Iran? they continue to announce their intention to destroy Israel, so who can trust them with nukes?

By: zenpundit

zenpundit — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 20:27:01 +0000

Thanks John!

Ironically, when the despotic Shah tried to drag the
Iranian ppl into modernity, they were not ready. Now that the Iranian ppl, at least the young, are ready, their depotic clerical government never will be.