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Eat Sand? Oil? For years I had been trying to figure out why GB is such a great financial center of the world. What is it they produce? Rolls Royce, Jags and biscuits does not an economy make. Sure they made a bunch of money off the colonies and selling opium to China, but they blew most of it during WW2.
Then I was watching CNBC Europe a few years ago and it became clear that London was the banker for the Arabs.
Long before the oil is gone, the Arab wealth will no longer be dependent on oil.
Eat Sand? Oil? For years I had been trying to figure out why GB is such a great financial center of the world. What is it they produce? Rolls Royce, Jags and biscuits does not an economy make. Sure they made a bunch of money off the colonies and selling opium to China, but they blew most of it during WW2.
Then I was watching CNBC Europe a few years ago and it became clear that London was the banker for the Arabs.
Long before the oil is gone, the Arab wealth will no longer be dependent on oil.
I have no doubts that long after Sandra has grown old and whithered away there will still be clerics in Mosques espousing how one day, Islam will rule the world. In fact, I bet that 1000 years from now in some backwater sand dune of a village there will be some cleric preaching to a group of goat herders about the second coming of Islamic glory. Which will probably take place on or near the second coming of Jesus Christ. I am not holding my breath in the meantime.
One critical difference I see is that of wealth distribution. In the Arab world we see this concentrated in the hands of a few families and groups, where as in the UK, it is quite a bit more distributed. In addition to purely wealth, there is also the distribution of education that is one of the critical aspects of keeping fundamentalist Islam in the dark ages.
While some select few will remain wealthy after the Middle East oil ceases to be the single factor that thrust conflict between east and west, the great and vast majority of Muslims in the region will be faced trying to survive, let alone be a dominant force around the globe.
The Arab world will struggle to overcome the racist stereotype that they are uneducated sheep herders incapable of dominating the world AGAIN.
Yes, and struggle they will. Until they actual do however, it may take a little bit of time. Again, I am guessing about the time just after the second coming of Jesus Christ, or the rise of Micronesia to a global force.
If we go back far enough we can't point to the Egyptian empire, the Aztec empire, Rome, the Ottomans, Persians, etc... all just as plausible of returning to their former glory and this is assuming that an Islamic people once dominated the world in the first place.
Yes, and struggle they will. Until they actual do however, it may take a little bit of time. Again, I am guessing about the time just after the second coming of Jesus Christ, or the rise of Micronesia to a global force.
If we go back far enough we can't point to the Egyptian empire, the Aztec empire, Rome, the Ottomans, Persians, etc... all just as plausible of returning to their former glory and this is assuming that an Islamic people once dominated the world in the first place.
Again you are missing the point. To clarify, I never said an Islamic people dominated the world. I said it was the Ottoman Empire. If you doubt that the Ottoman Empire existed or cannot make the distinction, then WE have a bigger problem.
Let me use your Sandra Bullock example since that is familiar to you. Let's say getting her to marry you is the objective. No chance right? Second coming blah blah blah.
Let's say getting the world under the Arab domination is the objective. No chance right? Second coming blah blah blah.
Let's say instead of you, there is a stalker who is convinced that he can and is entitled to have Sandra Bullock and do with her as he pleases. Let's say he is will to be very patient and employ any tactic to have her including mass murder, deceit, bribery, media manipulation and is well funded and widely supported for his efforts. Better yet, he is not even viewed as a threat by Sandra Bullock's people.
I remember having a conversation with a bunch of Anglo attorneys back in 1991 about how the West needed to be careful about a threat from China. Their response was "what are they going to do Come after us with shovels?" Here we are nearly 20 years later.
Last edited by Bob The Builder; 05-21-2008 at 01:50 AM..
Let's say instead of you, there is a stalker who is convinced that he can and is entitled to have Sandra Bullock and do with her as he pleases. Let's say he is will to be very patient and employ any tactic to have her including mass murder, deceit, bribery, media manipulation and is well funded and widely supported for his efforts. Better yet, he is not even viewed as a threat by Sandra Bullock's people.
I think that i the end the shia and the sunni will resume their conquest of each other that has gone on for centuries. The only thnk that has given them any unity is Isreal. They really could careless about teh palestians but have used them to fight isreal. Obviously they could now make evry palestian of middle income if they wanted. They want them to keep struggling while they profit;besides they don't want to share the wealth and hte peole like the palestians might turn on them next.
Again you are missing the point. To clarify, I never said an Islamic people dominated the world. I said it was the Ottoman Empire. If you doubt that the Ottoman Empire existed or cannot make the distinction, then WE have a bigger problem.
Of course the Ottoman empire existed, so did the Aztec's, the Persians, Rome, and so forth. At the time of their empires, their world was a much smaller place, while for instance Rome seemed to encompass the world to the people living in that time, the world then didn't include all the rest of the geography that actually does exist. What differentiates the Aztecs from the Ottomans or modern Islam desires for global domination or even global influence. They may desire it, but to want or desire something is quite a different story than actually achieving it.
Quote:
Let me use your Sandra Bullock example since that is familiar to you. Let's say getting her to marry you is the objective. No chance right? Second coming blah blah blah.
Let's say getting the world under the Arab domination is the objective. No chance right? Second coming blah blah blah.
Let's say instead of you, there is a stalker who is convinced that he can and is entitled to have Sandra Bullock and do with her as he pleases. Let's say he is will to be very patient and employ any tactic to have her including mass murder, deceit, bribery, media manipulation and is well funded and widely supported for his efforts. Better yet, he is not even viewed as a threat by Sandra Bullock's people.
I'm not sure if you have something personal against Sandra Bullock or why you insist on focusing on her but my mention of her was a humorous analogy to show that the chance of Islam becoming a world power is even more slim than my getting to marry her. Trying to compare a stalker of a Hollywood celebrity to the patience and nefarious intentions of the Islamic world is something I find rather ludicrous, although I have no doubt you will find a willing audience that will enjoy such a distinction.
Quote:
I remember having a conversation with a bunch of Anglo attorneys back in 1991 about how the West needed to be careful about a threat from China. Their response was "what are they going to do Come after us with shovels?" Here we are nearly 20 years later.
Well if we wish to compare China, its people, culture, economic abilities to that of the Islamic world, then lets.
China as far back as WWII and even prior had things like industry, a military and navy that had planes, battle ships, as well as a strong industrial capacity. In addition China has a wide variety of natural resources, a favorable environment for food production and its most notable resource, vast amounts of cheap labor. This labor pool has been one of the key assets to China ascension into the realm of a global power. In my opinion it is also a liability as such large populations are also subject to catastrophic events that more easily impact the entire society on a wide scale. Additionally, China's growth and power is dependent upon energy to fuel its cheap labor pool and provide for its society, a weakness we share with it.
On the other hand, during the same time China was cruising the seas with battle ships, the vast bulk of the Arab world was on horseback using flintlock weapons. Outside of their oil resources, the Arab world has few other resources the world needs and its growing population is highly dependent upon a single resource that is in demand today but will not last. When their primary asset is gone so will their ascension to anything greater.
The Arab world is divided into those who wish to return to AD 1000 and live in mud brick huts, praying that the old ways will never be forgotten, no matter how many of their fellow Muslims they have to slaughter to maintain this.
On the other hand there is that segment of the Arab world that is far more moderate, progressive, and secular that wishes to move into the 21st century and be seen like the rest of the modern world. Examples like Dubai, Beruit, Cairo, Istanbul, etc... The fact that radicalize and fundamentalist Islam has declared war on even these secular non-fundamentalist aspects of their own society will continue to prevent a greater expansion of the over all of the Islamic world.
Now those in the Islamic world that have collected the vast wealth from the worlds most valuable asset, its oil, we have to ask how will they distribute this wealth to their society in order to progress the entire society? Even with these vasts sums of money, there has to be something else to invest in that will continue to bring income once the oil is gone. What will this source of income be? Will it remain concentrated into the hands of a few wealthy families?
Ultimately, the Arab world as a whole is quite frankly light years behind the modernized world. While there may be blips of progress the society in its entirety wants to regress, not progress. Those that want to progress are greatly hindered by those that don't. They have to catch up to the western world before they can surpass it and in order to just catch up they will have to expend their only resource to do so.
The desire to be or do something is a far different world that fulfilling the desire. Not to mention that the Islamic world is also a victim of a geological twist of fate that once used will be gone forever, along with their influence in the greater world.
TN says it's ludicrous. I tried to dumb it down using an example HE brought up. I suppose I did not dumb it down enough. I thought it was pretty simple.
Their Oil is being converted to other assets. Somehow, some people think it is just being spent on fancy cars and flashy clothes. Instead it is invested and buying up our ports, marquee properties and technology. If one cannot understand that, it is hopeless. I think the difficulty in seeing this stems from narcissism and arrogance.
Last edited by Bob The Builder; 05-21-2008 at 12:27 PM..
TN says it's ludicrous. I tried to dumb it down using an example HE brought up. I suppose I did not dumb it down enough.
Yes, a most excellent, sophisticated, and eloquent rebuttal.
Guess I just return to eatin my possum belly and collards and turn on some Hee haw. yuk yuk
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yuk yuk
