Awol Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 7 minutes ago, astondalston said: Mainly Muscat, Sohar and Salalah but Duqm will become more regular. Getting around then! Sundowners at the Crown Plaza in Muscat takes some beating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 Hegemons gonna hegemon I guess: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanoiVillan Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 'A sovereign Iraq' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 7 hours ago, bannedfromHandV said: It’s all gods work isn’t it out there? Inshallah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted January 11, 2020 VT Supporter Share Posted January 11, 2020 10 hours ago, Awol said: I lived there from 2010-17. The new Sultan is as continuity candidate as you could get - and a massive Anglophile. The speed with which they’ve handled the transition this morning is remarkable. No opportunity for neighbours to try and get involved in mischief making. Serious people in a dangerous region. This makes me very happy. I worked there for for a few weeks and really enjoyed it. The Sultan really looked after his people and even had women in the parliament! We met many women around the main mosque area who were educated, articulate and enjoyed meeting Westerners. (Contrary to much of the region.) I even saw women swimming in the ocean in full burkhas which for some reason was the funniest thing I'd ever seen. Some of the young ladies covered from head to foot were also very alluring - culture is a remarkable thing! I believe their more reasonable and relaxed laws are because they discovered later than the majority of the Arab States. Is this the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 A number of Iranian’s don’t seem too happy about being lied to by their government over the initial plane crash cover up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 32 minutes ago, TheAuthority said: I believe their more reasonable and relaxed laws are because they discovered later than the majority of the Arab States. Is this the case? No, they were one of the first Arab people’s to convert to Islam, after the Yemenis. They’re more liberal because of their geography and history as maritime traders. Their empire ran from Bahrain in the north, down the coasts of what’s now UAE, Iran, Pakistan and the East African coast from Somalia to Mozambique. Facing out to the world, not in towards the deserts gave them a different perspective culturally which they’ve carried forward. Southern Yemen is the same but they went to India and Southeast Asia. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 When you’re too afraid to poke the Americans... poke the Brits with a flagrant breach of international law. It’s a step up from oil tankers, almost like they want UK to pull out of the nuclear deal. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 17 minutes ago, Awol said: When you’re too afraid to poke the Americans... poke the Brits with a flagrant breach of international law. It’s a step up from oil tankers, almost like they want UK to pull out of the nuclear deal. Like when that plane from that country carrying that country's leader no less, that was allegedly holding that evil traitor guy was forced down a few years back. Just for inspection though, so what am I complaining about. That drew a new line in the sand, just as the killing of the general has. There is no such thing as international law, only what one can enforce and principles are only useful enforcement mechanisms when respected by all sides. And regarding this incident, few facts are available about the actions of this MI6 agent... oh, so sorry, I mean Diplomat was detained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, villakram said: Like when that plane from that country carrying that country's leader no less, that was allegedly holding that evil traitor guy was forced down a few years back. Just for inspection though, so what am I complaining about. That drew a new line in the sand, just as the killing of the general has. There is no such thing as international law, only what one can enforce and principles are only useful enforcement mechanisms when respected by all sides. And regarding this incident, few facts are available about the actions of this MI6 agent... oh, so sorry, I mean Diplomat was detained. I’m deeply shocked that you would be defending the Iranian regime. Stunned, in fact. Now about that airliner.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 It’s important we are all herded into supporting the goodies against the baddies with no reference to context. It’s fascinating how many experts there are out there. Experts with no desire to take context or the longer view in to consideration. Half the **** world is turning in to mini Mark Francois’. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowychap Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 32 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: mini Mark Francois Just how small would they have to be? 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnkarl Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 8 hours ago, chrisp65 said: It’s important we are all herded into supporting the goodies against the baddies with no reference to context. It’s fascinating how many experts there are out there. Experts with no desire to take context or the longer view in to consideration. Half the **** world is turning in to mini Mark Francois’. The context in this sense being that Iran has been funding terror, hijacking boats, bombing their neighbours and more recently shot down an airliner from a neutral non-NATO country. If people aren't allowed to call a spade for a spade in regards to Iran because it isn't deemed politically correct then the same term should be applied to whoever is judging them. Trump, however stupid he is, could have responded and bombed Iran like Obama did Libya. Iran is showing it's idiocy by shooting demonstrators tonight who are having torrid lives because of a medieval dictator, yet it has a lot of people publicly defending their "#"% regime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villakram Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 18 hours ago, Awol said: I’m deeply shocked that you would be defending the Iranian regime. Stunned, in fact. Now about that airliner.. Attacking UK victimhood over the detention of a diplomat is hardly supporting the Iranian government. Ignoring that point and instead heading straight to ad hominem... My point was about international law, and we had/have shat all over that at least as much as anyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awol Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 1 hour ago, villakram said: Attacking UK victimhood over the detention of a diplomat is hardly supporting the Iranian government. Ignoring that point and instead heading straight to ad hominem... My point was about international law, and we had/have shat all over that at least as much as anyone else. More a matter of the Vienna Convention than victimhood, and you didn’t make a point I could identify other than to imply the UK ambassador was working for MI6, or Mossad or MEK etc. Balad airbase north of Baghdad was rocketed a few hours ago. 4 Iraqi casualties but didn’t hit any of the Americans based there. Hopefully it will pass without direct retaliation from the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Awol said: More a matter of the Vienna Convention than victimhood, and you didn’t make a point I could identify other than to imply the UK ambassador was working for MI6, or Mossad or MEK etc. Is it the case that the ambassador's actions in joining or encouraging the protests were in contravention of the Vienna Convention? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Well, right or wrong, spying or observing, that takes some balls to go out for a bit of a walk outside the embassy wall right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterms Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 3 minutes ago, chrisp65 said: Well, right or wrong, spying or observing, that takes some balls to go out for a bit of a walk outside the embassy wall right now. Yes, but the question of fact remains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisp65 Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Oh yeah, the whole thing is crooked, I’m not trying to mask any wrong doing on the part of ‘the west’ we are beyond complicit in the generations of misery we’ve fully contributed to. Our only saving grace is we can now try to cast ourselves as the good guys, having helped create even worse guys. But all the same, popping out to mix with some crowds. That must be an experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts