Blizzard's policy in one word - "Obey" Overly controlling nazi-regime ftl.
Do you ever post anything that isn't a melodramatic complaint? Just whining all the time is what babies do. You're not doing anything to convince us that you are correct, you're not stating anything which is backed up by credible facts, all you're doing is bitching and moaning about such and such, over and over.
Come up with a reasonably convincing argument as to why Blizzard should be boycotted and I'll listen. Make a thread listing all of your complaints, give me examples of their injustices and we can have a debate. Seriously.
Here's my (first) attempt at this. Screenshots are in an earlier post... I changed a few things, added a bit different terrain so that it looks like the grunge is overtaking the plating instead of vice-versa, added a few doodad decals, added a few lights. I didn't fix the symmetry however - it's not exact but it shouldn't be a problem.
Now that I'm aware that you want something symmetrical, I might try to do another one... cause I'll be honest, it's kind of fun. lol
lol that's not an unreasonable statement... few people would feel sympathy for someone who wanted to kill them.
StarCraft absolutely glamorizes war, as do the movies, the recruitment ads for the Canadian Forces, the Marines, the US Army, etc etc... but we're intelligent enough to know that there is very little glamor in war, right? I think we know where to draw the line between fiction (what we see in game) and reality (what we see when our friends bring home photos from their tours in Afghanistan, or Iraq).
So if you accept collateral damage, then you must accept that the combatants in Afghanistan have very few means to combat NATOs military supremacy, other than guerrilla tactics, yea? So things like sabotage, terrorism and fear mongering are tools to fight with. And if civilians die, that's collateral? Because they would be crushed if they went heads up against our hardware? What you're saying is, this is the war we're fighting, and that's the way they fight. So civilians are going to die on both sides... and that's acceptable to you?
Canadian intelligence authorities had initially determined in a post-interrogation report that Khadr had little knowledge of his father's alleged activities, since "he was out playing or simply not interested".This was contradicted by the stipulation of facts document signed by Khadr as part of his plea-agreement on October 26, 2010, which said that Khadr had "extensive firsthand knowledge" of his father's supportive role in Al Qaeda operations.
That's what you mean right? So, CSIS interviews him in 2003, he says he has no knowledge of his father's alleged crimes. Then after 7 years in a prison cell they interview him again and he changes his story. Hmm... Gimme a break. If you believe this kid wasn't under duress or given some sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario you're daft.
Also worth noting:
Quote:
Khadr pled guilty to the murder of Christopher Speer, and on October 29, 2010, despite the prosecution psychiatrist testifying that he showed no signs of remorse, Khadr apologized to the widow of Speer for the pain he had caused her. Khadr also said his eight years in prison had taught him "the beauty of life".
I'd like to point out as this will no doubt be mentioned - pleading guilty to get a reduced sentence is not the same as actually being guilty.
It's this "us vs. them" mentality that brings this shit on in the first place. On both sides. Where ever there is division, there's conflict.
@QMJ3: Go
It was, until the other guy kills a few thousand people first by plowing some planes into some buildings. Now all bets are off and its war, us vs them. Us being the world, them being assholes that plow planes into buildings to 'prove a point'.
My point was that you don't seem to see the double-standard which takes place that when America does it to other countries, again... how many Ground Zeroes have they inflicted upon other countries, nobody says shit. Just like when our soldiers accidentally kill their civilians its an "oops" moment, but if we catch one of their "combatants" allegedly attacking our soldiers, it's murder. Horseshit.
He's not part of people who do that, and I'm not actually sure his father ever had ties to al Qaeda either. His only connection would have been the fact that he was in Afghanistan. They're not all al Qaeda, you do understand that right? And it's still only alleged that Omar even threw the grenade!! There is evidence that he didn't! Doesn't that mean anything to you? If it doesn't, I have to pull the prejudice card.
Cmon Bump, you know this didn't start on 9/11. History didn't start on 9/11. Yes, al Qaeda flew planes into buildings... but you don't think America has ever sponsored terrorism? Psssh.
Chile early 1970s? Guatemala in the early 1900s? Nicaragua early 1980s? Iran during its revolution in the late 1970s? Iran again during the Iran-Iraq war mid-1980s? The Israeli occupation of Palestine since conception? Vietnam? North Korea? Laos (the most heavily mined country in the world... part of that Cold War mentality)? Panama when they went after Noriega (they killed more civilians than military)? Most recently, the invasion of Iraq which was in violation of International Law (nearly 100,000 civilians killed by most accounts)? How many Ground Zeros has the US left in other countries?
And this is direct intervention with visible loss of life. This doesn't even consider their neo-liberal economic policies which enslave nations every day. I agree, it's a horrible, horrible thing that 3000 people were killed. And I will continue to condemn acts of blatant terrorism like suicide bombings or the targeting of civilians, that's outrageous... and its certainly not the way you win a war. However, America is by no means innocent in all this. They fucked Afghanistan in the first place when they gave the Russians their Vietnam.
I have family in Afghanistan right now, and I say the same things to them. I have a friend who came home because he was hit by a remote-detonated IED and a piece of shrapnel went through his leg. I don't feel any different. The mission in Afghanistan should have been over in 2003 at the Battle of Tora Bora. Now it's a clusterfuck and we're going to pull out and still say it was a success somehow (and the good people of Afghanistan should thank us for being so generous!) because that's what our governments do.
I like the 3rd one the most. I'm not such a fan of those huge "grid" areas though... personally I think that's a nasty texture unless its used in moderation. :)
Oh sorry rrowland I didn't know the maps had to be symmetrical. I didn't copy/paste anything, I just eyeballed it, so it's not perfect but next time I'm working on it I'll check the grids and try to make it a little closer.
See but you're looking at this on too big a scale. I'm not expecting that if Omar ever gets out of jail he'll be speaking at international conferences with speaker fees higher than your annual income... I'm saying it's possible that he can be reformed, maybe write a book about his imprisonment, and reach other young Muslims out there who may have grown up in a similar situation and the dangers of Jihadist ideology, etc etc. That isn't far fetched... there are countless examples of this kind of reform. And intelligence is not necessarily a measurement for what kind of impact you're able to make. As long as someone can identify with you or empathize with your situation (as we have clearly all been somewhat affected by his story), you have garnered influence.
And you can't judge him like that - "it doesn't point to him being a genius." Did you grow up in a strict Muslim family, from a country like Pakistan? Do you have any idea what it's like? Probably not. It has nothing to do with his level of intelligence, as you've said IQ tests are not necessarily an accurate measure, for example: you may be able to score higher on standardized tests in terms of math or competency in the English language, but I would bet money that he could school you in world geography, politics and the legal system. So who's smarter?
I think what s3rious was saying was that animals don't wage war the way humans wage war. And he's right. I understand what you were saying, animals fight all the time. But they don't wage war like we do. Most animals don't fight for resources, or for nationalism, or because of race/color/creed. And they are certainly much more primitive about it.
And I don't think Mozared is saying that he agrees with beating women or hanging gays, just that you can't tar everyone with the same brush. You can't judge citizens by their country's leadership. In many cases of Islamic republics, as I said, they were not democratically elected. And even in the ones that were revolutions or seemed to be populist movements, you have to consider them in their historical context. For example, the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah was largely a rejection of him representing Western interests (he was viewed as a US puppet)... so what seemed like a good idea at the time, evolved into a total rejection of Western values and the xenophobia of Shariah law. Similar situation with Afghanistan and the Taliban. They came about as a rejection of Communist leadership after the Russians were ousted by the mujahideen. The Taliban were originally well supported because they brought order and relative peace to a country that had known war for over a decade at this point... and then they evolved into a repressive kind of theocracy which got intertwined with al Qaeda and eventually (after the US-led invasion) the local warlords and druglords who were trying to protect their opium fields.
The case frustrates me because there's a ridiculous double-standard that isn't really registering. When they kill our soldiers, they're monsters and fanatics and terrorists. If our soldiers kill their combatants, or even their civilians, no one cares, or better yet, we applaud them for doing so... and they're lauded as heroes when they come home. Except all the soldiers come home with is nightmares. It's fucked.
Shouldn't the value of a life be the same no matter where you're from?
That's very Buddhist of you. But it's a bit hypocritical to say that you believe an ant is the same as a human and then argue that it's more humane to put him down immediately. Why does he have to be put down? First of all, he won't escape this without doing time, whether I agree or disagree. So let's be pragmatic, he's going to serve more time regardless, why not educate him while imprisoned? Give him access to a library? What harm could be done? You might say it will radicalize him more, but he'll eventually face a parole board and that's what they'll determine. If he's ready to reenter society or not.
I feel sympathy for Muslims at this time because their culture has been demonized since 9/11. The fear is ruining peoples morals... a billion and a half Muslims in the world can't all be bad people. I also feel a great deal of sympathy for people living in "extreme" Islamic republics. The regimes are often very harsh. Why shouldn't I feel sympathetic to that? They are not democratically elected, this is surely not what the people want, and any resistance is often culled by stonings, hangings, beheadings, etc. What you're implying is that they should be somehow grateful to be detained in Gitmo. If a life, is a life, is a life, as you say... then shouldn't we all be enjoying the same rights and freedoms, even when we've committed a crime? Obviously under the rule of law you forfeit your freedom if you commit a crime, but not your humanity. Criminals are still people, and our governments need to put far more emphasis on rehab... this is obvious if you look at the recidivism rates in both countries (Canada and America). Unfortunately there's a lot of money to be made in prisons... cheap labor.
Also keep in mind that al Qaeda and the Taliban are ideologically quite different. There were no suicide bombers in Afghanistan before al Qaeda. The Taliban had no goals for world domination or pan-Islamicism as al Qaeda does. They wanted to run their country (into the ground), but that's it.
You're still thinking that Omar Khadr went with his family as a 15 year old of his own volition, with the intent to wage jihad. Were you ever 15?? Did you ever go somewhere you didn't want to because of your parents? Do you understand the psychology of child soldiers at all? This case can't be treated as black and white even if he's guilty because of his age. That has to be considered! He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At 15 years old, that makes him a CHILD under Canadian law. Do you live in a Western country? Do you know what 15 year olds are like? How impressionable they are, how dumb they seem, etc etc?
EDIT: Anyway, I'm out for now. I don't want to "force" you to see my point of view. Consider my side of the argument, maybe read both sides of the case, read articles about the possibility of him not being guilty, if you are interested. PM me if you are I'll hook you up with links lol
You see nothing wrong with judging people based on the color of skin rather than on the merit of their character?
I apologize, in that context you're right, no it's not racist. Russell Williams could also be considered an animal and not because of the color of his skin. But I would say that ok, fine, if he's an animal, than so were the soldiers who were there to kill him. The one who shot him twice in the back, is most definitely an animal.
War is animalistic, and to quote Robert Fisk, it represents a total failure in the human spirit. I do know that nearly every form of life on the planet wars with each other. But with everything else we're capable of, you think it's not in our power to prevent wars? It absolutely is, there's just much more to gain in terms of resources, money in general, etc etc... it's individualist and selfish. And then the politicians invoke national pride, or equate Arabs with animals subliminally in their newscasts and advertisements to illicit an "us vs. them" mentality... who gains from war? I assume you're not an uppercrust type, Soul... do you get billion dollar weapons contracts? Do you see any of the profits from war? Do you get cheap labor for your company? No. If you're anything like me, which you probably have more in common with... we die in wars, people like us. And we kill other poor people, just like us. Farmers in Afghanistan or students-turn-jihadists in Iraq. It's bullshit.
I agree with you about the apathy of most North Americans (Westerners in general), they don't care for the most part. And that's part of why I think radical Muslims or whoever else hate us. Because all they see are their people dying in Palestine, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and they watch news broadcasts of us enjoying Starbucks on the corner, or our general level of affluence, without a care in the world. It must be frustrating.
I have sympathy for him because he's about a year and 10 days younger than me. If you followed the story in total, both sides of the account, this kid has been tortured to illicit confessions, he was shot twice, held without charge in Gitmo for 8 years, denied basic rights that prisoners in every other US prison receive and there's evidence that he's not even guilty!! Since my 15th birthday I learned to drive, completed two different post-secondary degrees, I bought a car and a house, I have a girlfriend, I traveled half the world... and in all that time, he's been on lockdown. For something he may not have done.
What Soul Carverr said, you can change their team color to a different color at anytime through triggers if you wanted everything to be uniform in cinematics. I haven't played with triggers in a long time though so I don't remember how. :/
Thanks! I'm still playing around with it, waiting for feedback from rrowland also, but while I'm working on it I'll try some different terrain and see how it looks. You're probably right.
I have to ask Mozared, are you basing this on any kind of psychiatric experience? Cause you seem to be making these assumptions like you know what the outcome would be. How can you know what chance this kid has at a different life? How could you guess the "percentage" of success? How can you possibly know? You're only guessing.
I have probably no more experience treating people than you do, but I could guess that because he was a child when he was taken to Afghanistan, it wasn't necessarily what he wanted to do... only what was pressured on him by his family. I would guess that if he were treated humanely and shown that he could have a different life when he reenters society, if the opportunity were available, he would take it. I would guess that like many people leaving Afghanistan and for that matter, any of the Communist countries between 1945 and 1990 that he would find our way of life is not necessarily the best, but it's not bad either.
But neither of us know. Besides that, you realize killing prisoners is often much, much more expensive than letting them serve a life-term because of the number of appeals, investigations, re-examinations of all the facts, etc that are likely to happen? If he's does end up doing life, why not at least try to prepare him to re-enter society, so that he won't be a menace when he comes out, and maybe he can have a better quality of life?
I'm not sure if his father ever taught him to kill people... where is that coming from? And you realize this is the second time in this thread someone is comparing him to an animal? You realize this is a form of racism, yea? You're dehumanizing him. He is the same as you, only he grew up in different circumstances. He is not a mindless killing machine, at the time, was a 15 year old boy who was taken to Afghanistan by his family. It is alleged that he threw the grenade, but there is certainly other evidence that he is not guilty.
Rape is not part of war. That is why it is condemned by every country in the UN when it happens. ie: the situation in the DRC. Is that being shaken off as just "part of war"? No. People are opposed to it. There is absolutely no reason why the two have to go hand-in-hand. Murder in war is redundant. There is no such thing, unless you're killing civilians, that's partly why this trial is ridiculous. A soldier died in combat, that is not murder.
War, particularly this one is not "small scale." Neither of these wars have been small scale. We just happen to have a bigger stick than either the Iraqis or the Afghans. Look at the number of deaths (both civilian and combatant) on the other side. In Iraq, it's nearly 100,000. In Afghanistan I'm not certain but I know its in the tens of thousands. Look at the number of troops deployed in each country. Not small scale at all. You're probably comparing them to the benchmark of World War 2, which was much larger in scale than any other war before or since... so every war after that is relatively smaller in terms of casualties, troop deployment, etc. The point is that "Nuclear deterents" have nothing to do with this. We have better hardware and training than both countries we've invaded.
I would argue a larger factor in these issues becoming mainstream or a "big deal" is the dawn of the information age. Normal people (civilians at home) didn't know about it, or could at least avoid seeing it, until now.
Your example of China is kinda moot... how are you comparing the barbarism at any point in Chinese Imperial history (until relatively recent history) to the treatment of this 15 year old boy?
62x56 is the playable map size. What you see there is all that was intended to be seen, the actual map is something like 128x128. So everything in the screenshots is game. :)
0
+ this is entirely within their rights to do so.
Do you ever post anything that isn't a melodramatic complaint? Just whining all the time is what babies do. You're not doing anything to convince us that you are correct, you're not stating anything which is backed up by credible facts, all you're doing is bitching and moaning about such and such, over and over.
Come up with a reasonably convincing argument as to why Blizzard should be boycotted and I'll listen. Make a thread listing all of your complaints, give me examples of their injustices and we can have a debate. Seriously.
0
Here's my (first) attempt at this. Screenshots are in an earlier post... I changed a few things, added a bit different terrain so that it looks like the grunge is overtaking the plating instead of vice-versa, added a few doodad decals, added a few lights. I didn't fix the symmetry however - it's not exact but it shouldn't be a problem.
Now that I'm aware that you want something symmetrical, I might try to do another one... cause I'll be honest, it's kind of fun. lol
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@Hookah604: Go
Wow, that looks awesome. Very original.
Although I have to say, without playing it and judging solely by the videos, that looks very complicated. lol Is it easy to pick up and play?
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@SouLCarveRR: Go
lol that's not an unreasonable statement... few people would feel sympathy for someone who wanted to kill them.
StarCraft absolutely glamorizes war, as do the movies, the recruitment ads for the Canadian Forces, the Marines, the US Army, etc etc... but we're intelligent enough to know that there is very little glamor in war, right? I think we know where to draw the line between fiction (what we see in game) and reality (what we see when our friends bring home photos from their tours in Afghanistan, or Iraq).
So if you accept collateral damage, then you must accept that the combatants in Afghanistan have very few means to combat NATOs military supremacy, other than guerrilla tactics, yea? So things like sabotage, terrorism and fear mongering are tools to fight with. And if civilians die, that's collateral? Because they would be crushed if they went heads up against our hardware? What you're saying is, this is the war we're fighting, and that's the way they fight. So civilians are going to die on both sides... and that's acceptable to you?
Ok.
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@BumpInTheNight: Go
That's what you mean right? So, CSIS interviews him in 2003, he says he has no knowledge of his father's alleged crimes. Then after 7 years in a prison cell they interview him again and he changes his story. Hmm... Gimme a break. If you believe this kid wasn't under duress or given some sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario you're daft.
Also worth noting:
I'd like to point out as this will no doubt be mentioned - pleading guilty to get a reduced sentence is not the same as actually being guilty.
It's this "us vs. them" mentality that brings this shit on in the first place. On both sides. Where ever there is division, there's conflict.
0
@BumpInTheNight: Go
I'm not changing the subject:
My point was that you don't seem to see the double-standard which takes place that when America does it to other countries, again... how many Ground Zeroes have they inflicted upon other countries, nobody says shit. Just like when our soldiers accidentally kill their civilians its an "oops" moment, but if we catch one of their "combatants" allegedly attacking our soldiers, it's murder. Horseshit.
He's not part of people who do that, and I'm not actually sure his father ever had ties to al Qaeda either. His only connection would have been the fact that he was in Afghanistan. They're not all al Qaeda, you do understand that right? And it's still only alleged that Omar even threw the grenade!! There is evidence that he didn't! Doesn't that mean anything to you? If it doesn't, I have to pull the prejudice card.
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@BumpInTheNight: Go
Cmon Bump, you know this didn't start on 9/11. History didn't start on 9/11. Yes, al Qaeda flew planes into buildings... but you don't think America has ever sponsored terrorism? Psssh.
Chile early 1970s? Guatemala in the early 1900s? Nicaragua early 1980s? Iran during its revolution in the late 1970s? Iran again during the Iran-Iraq war mid-1980s? The Israeli occupation of Palestine since conception? Vietnam? North Korea? Laos (the most heavily mined country in the world... part of that Cold War mentality)? Panama when they went after Noriega (they killed more civilians than military)? Most recently, the invasion of Iraq which was in violation of International Law (nearly 100,000 civilians killed by most accounts)? How many Ground Zeros has the US left in other countries?
And this is direct intervention with visible loss of life. This doesn't even consider their neo-liberal economic policies which enslave nations every day. I agree, it's a horrible, horrible thing that 3000 people were killed. And I will continue to condemn acts of blatant terrorism like suicide bombings or the targeting of civilians, that's outrageous... and its certainly not the way you win a war. However, America is by no means innocent in all this. They fucked Afghanistan in the first place when they gave the Russians their Vietnam.
I have family in Afghanistan right now, and I say the same things to them. I have a friend who came home because he was hit by a remote-detonated IED and a piece of shrapnel went through his leg. I don't feel any different. The mission in Afghanistan should have been over in 2003 at the Battle of Tora Bora. Now it's a clusterfuck and we're going to pull out and still say it was a success somehow (and the good people of Afghanistan should thank us for being so generous!) because that's what our governments do.
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@thommiej: Go
I like the 3rd one the most. I'm not such a fan of those huge "grid" areas though... personally I think that's a nasty texture unless its used in moderation. :)
@rrowland: Go
Oh sorry rrowland I didn't know the maps had to be symmetrical. I didn't copy/paste anything, I just eyeballed it, so it's not perfect but next time I'm working on it I'll check the grids and try to make it a little closer.
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@Mozared: Go
See but you're looking at this on too big a scale. I'm not expecting that if Omar ever gets out of jail he'll be speaking at international conferences with speaker fees higher than your annual income... I'm saying it's possible that he can be reformed, maybe write a book about his imprisonment, and reach other young Muslims out there who may have grown up in a similar situation and the dangers of Jihadist ideology, etc etc. That isn't far fetched... there are countless examples of this kind of reform. And intelligence is not necessarily a measurement for what kind of impact you're able to make. As long as someone can identify with you or empathize with your situation (as we have clearly all been somewhat affected by his story), you have garnered influence.
And you can't judge him like that - "it doesn't point to him being a genius." Did you grow up in a strict Muslim family, from a country like Pakistan? Do you have any idea what it's like? Probably not. It has nothing to do with his level of intelligence, as you've said IQ tests are not necessarily an accurate measure, for example: you may be able to score higher on standardized tests in terms of math or competency in the English language, but I would bet money that he could school you in world geography, politics and the legal system. So who's smarter?
@SouLCarveRR: Go
I think what s3rious was saying was that animals don't wage war the way humans wage war. And he's right. I understand what you were saying, animals fight all the time. But they don't wage war like we do. Most animals don't fight for resources, or for nationalism, or because of race/color/creed. And they are certainly much more primitive about it.
And I don't think Mozared is saying that he agrees with beating women or hanging gays, just that you can't tar everyone with the same brush. You can't judge citizens by their country's leadership. In many cases of Islamic republics, as I said, they were not democratically elected. And even in the ones that were revolutions or seemed to be populist movements, you have to consider them in their historical context. For example, the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah was largely a rejection of him representing Western interests (he was viewed as a US puppet)... so what seemed like a good idea at the time, evolved into a total rejection of Western values and the xenophobia of Shariah law. Similar situation with Afghanistan and the Taliban. They came about as a rejection of Communist leadership after the Russians were ousted by the mujahideen. The Taliban were originally well supported because they brought order and relative peace to a country that had known war for over a decade at this point... and then they evolved into a repressive kind of theocracy which got intertwined with al Qaeda and eventually (after the US-led invasion) the local warlords and druglords who were trying to protect their opium fields.
The case frustrates me because there's a ridiculous double-standard that isn't really registering. When they kill our soldiers, they're monsters and fanatics and terrorists. If our soldiers kill their combatants, or even their civilians, no one cares, or better yet, we applaud them for doing so... and they're lauded as heroes when they come home. Except all the soldiers come home with is nightmares. It's fucked.
Shouldn't the value of a life be the same no matter where you're from?
0
@SouLCarveRR: Go
That's very Buddhist of you. But it's a bit hypocritical to say that you believe an ant is the same as a human and then argue that it's more humane to put him down immediately. Why does he have to be put down? First of all, he won't escape this without doing time, whether I agree or disagree. So let's be pragmatic, he's going to serve more time regardless, why not educate him while imprisoned? Give him access to a library? What harm could be done? You might say it will radicalize him more, but he'll eventually face a parole board and that's what they'll determine. If he's ready to reenter society or not.
I feel sympathy for Muslims at this time because their culture has been demonized since 9/11. The fear is ruining peoples morals... a billion and a half Muslims in the world can't all be bad people. I also feel a great deal of sympathy for people living in "extreme" Islamic republics. The regimes are often very harsh. Why shouldn't I feel sympathetic to that? They are not democratically elected, this is surely not what the people want, and any resistance is often culled by stonings, hangings, beheadings, etc. What you're implying is that they should be somehow grateful to be detained in Gitmo. If a life, is a life, is a life, as you say... then shouldn't we all be enjoying the same rights and freedoms, even when we've committed a crime? Obviously under the rule of law you forfeit your freedom if you commit a crime, but not your humanity. Criminals are still people, and our governments need to put far more emphasis on rehab... this is obvious if you look at the recidivism rates in both countries (Canada and America). Unfortunately there's a lot of money to be made in prisons... cheap labor.
Also keep in mind that al Qaeda and the Taliban are ideologically quite different. There were no suicide bombers in Afghanistan before al Qaeda. The Taliban had no goals for world domination or pan-Islamicism as al Qaeda does. They wanted to run their country (into the ground), but that's it.
You're still thinking that Omar Khadr went with his family as a 15 year old of his own volition, with the intent to wage jihad. Were you ever 15?? Did you ever go somewhere you didn't want to because of your parents? Do you understand the psychology of child soldiers at all? This case can't be treated as black and white even if he's guilty because of his age. That has to be considered! He was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. At 15 years old, that makes him a CHILD under Canadian law. Do you live in a Western country? Do you know what 15 year olds are like? How impressionable they are, how dumb they seem, etc etc?
EDIT: Anyway, I'm out for now. I don't want to "force" you to see my point of view. Consider my side of the argument, maybe read both sides of the case, read articles about the possibility of him not being guilty, if you are interested. PM me if you are I'll hook you up with links lol
0
@SouLCarveRR: Go
You see nothing wrong with judging people based on the color of skin rather than on the merit of their character?
I apologize, in that context you're right, no it's not racist. Russell Williams could also be considered an animal and not because of the color of his skin. But I would say that ok, fine, if he's an animal, than so were the soldiers who were there to kill him. The one who shot him twice in the back, is most definitely an animal.
War is animalistic, and to quote Robert Fisk, it represents a total failure in the human spirit. I do know that nearly every form of life on the planet wars with each other. But with everything else we're capable of, you think it's not in our power to prevent wars? It absolutely is, there's just much more to gain in terms of resources, money in general, etc etc... it's individualist and selfish. And then the politicians invoke national pride, or equate Arabs with animals subliminally in their newscasts and advertisements to illicit an "us vs. them" mentality... who gains from war? I assume you're not an uppercrust type, Soul... do you get billion dollar weapons contracts? Do you see any of the profits from war? Do you get cheap labor for your company? No. If you're anything like me, which you probably have more in common with... we die in wars, people like us. And we kill other poor people, just like us. Farmers in Afghanistan or students-turn-jihadists in Iraq. It's bullshit.
I agree with you about the apathy of most North Americans (Westerners in general), they don't care for the most part. And that's part of why I think radical Muslims or whoever else hate us. Because all they see are their people dying in Palestine, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and they watch news broadcasts of us enjoying Starbucks on the corner, or our general level of affluence, without a care in the world. It must be frustrating.
I have sympathy for him because he's about a year and 10 days younger than me. If you followed the story in total, both sides of the account, this kid has been tortured to illicit confessions, he was shot twice, held without charge in Gitmo for 8 years, denied basic rights that prisoners in every other US prison receive and there's evidence that he's not even guilty!! Since my 15th birthday I learned to drive, completed two different post-secondary degrees, I bought a car and a house, I have a girlfriend, I traveled half the world... and in all that time, he's been on lockdown. For something he may not have done.
How can you not feel sympathy?
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@Sc2fangamer: Go
What Soul Carverr said, you can change their team color to a different color at anytime through triggers if you wanted everything to be uniform in cinematics. I haven't played with triggers in a long time though so I don't remember how. :/
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@crazyfingers619: Go
Thanks! I'm still playing around with it, waiting for feedback from rrowland also, but while I'm working on it I'll try some different terrain and see how it looks. You're probably right.
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@Mozared: Go
I have to ask Mozared, are you basing this on any kind of psychiatric experience? Cause you seem to be making these assumptions like you know what the outcome would be. How can you know what chance this kid has at a different life? How could you guess the "percentage" of success? How can you possibly know? You're only guessing.
I have probably no more experience treating people than you do, but I could guess that because he was a child when he was taken to Afghanistan, it wasn't necessarily what he wanted to do... only what was pressured on him by his family. I would guess that if he were treated humanely and shown that he could have a different life when he reenters society, if the opportunity were available, he would take it. I would guess that like many people leaving Afghanistan and for that matter, any of the Communist countries between 1945 and 1990 that he would find our way of life is not necessarily the best, but it's not bad either.
But neither of us know. Besides that, you realize killing prisoners is often much, much more expensive than letting them serve a life-term because of the number of appeals, investigations, re-examinations of all the facts, etc that are likely to happen? If he's does end up doing life, why not at least try to prepare him to re-enter society, so that he won't be a menace when he comes out, and maybe he can have a better quality of life?
@SouLCarveRR: Go
I'm not sure if his father ever taught him to kill people... where is that coming from? And you realize this is the second time in this thread someone is comparing him to an animal? You realize this is a form of racism, yea? You're dehumanizing him. He is the same as you, only he grew up in different circumstances. He is not a mindless killing machine, at the time, was a 15 year old boy who was taken to Afghanistan by his family. It is alleged that he threw the grenade, but there is certainly other evidence that he is not guilty.
Rape is not part of war. That is why it is condemned by every country in the UN when it happens. ie: the situation in the DRC. Is that being shaken off as just "part of war"? No. People are opposed to it. There is absolutely no reason why the two have to go hand-in-hand. Murder in war is redundant. There is no such thing, unless you're killing civilians, that's partly why this trial is ridiculous. A soldier died in combat, that is not murder.
War, particularly this one is not "small scale." Neither of these wars have been small scale. We just happen to have a bigger stick than either the Iraqis or the Afghans. Look at the number of deaths (both civilian and combatant) on the other side. In Iraq, it's nearly 100,000. In Afghanistan I'm not certain but I know its in the tens of thousands. Look at the number of troops deployed in each country. Not small scale at all. You're probably comparing them to the benchmark of World War 2, which was much larger in scale than any other war before or since... so every war after that is relatively smaller in terms of casualties, troop deployment, etc. The point is that "Nuclear deterents" have nothing to do with this. We have better hardware and training than both countries we've invaded.
I would argue a larger factor in these issues becoming mainstream or a "big deal" is the dawn of the information age. Normal people (civilians at home) didn't know about it, or could at least avoid seeing it, until now.
Your example of China is kinda moot... how are you comparing the barbarism at any point in Chinese Imperial history (until relatively recent history) to the treatment of this 15 year old boy?
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@thommiej: Go
62x56 is the playable map size. What you see there is all that was intended to be seen, the actual map is something like 128x128. So everything in the screenshots is game. :)