DukeNukeEm Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I know nobody cares about wars between brown people and brown people, but this might be the end of the most prolific terrorist organization in the world. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/1...ender-sri-lanka Sri Lankan troops were today mopping up the remnants of the defeated Tamil Tigers, amid reports that some rebel fighters have been blowing themselves up rather than surrender. A large explosion in a bunker prompted speculation that Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the Tigers' leader, and other senior commanders may have killed themselves. The developments came a day after Sri Lanka's president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, announced the defeat of the Tamil rebels, and soldiers seized control of the entire coast for the first time in the 25-year war. The president is expected to formally announce the end of the war on national television on Tuesday. The army claimed it intercepted radio communications that revealed a mass suicide plan and yesterday military sources said a body believed to be Prabhakaran's was recovered. Its identity was being confirmed. However, there was no confirmation of his death from either side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 God rest their souls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 17, 2009 -> 10:07 PM) I know nobody cares about wars between brown people and brown people, but this might be the end of the most prolific terrorist organization in the world. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/1...ender-sri-lanka Way to paint everyone in here as inferior to you. Anyway, good that this is ending, at least for now. I still wouldn't say its over, but, hopefully it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:41 AM) Way to paint everyone in here as inferior to you. Anyway, good that this is ending, at least for now. I still wouldn't say its over, but, hopefully it is. I wish I had bookmarked it, but SS2k5 wrote a great post on just that topic albeit about Rwanda. We do tend to avoid brown on brown conflicts. Especially if they do not have any natural resources we need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (Texsox @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:46 AM) I wish I had bookmarked it, but SS2k5 wrote a great post on just that topic albeit about Rwanda. We do tend to avoid brown on brown conflicts. Especially if they do not have any natural resources we need. OK, let's not blend two very, very different things here (which is how so many arguments in here get out of hand)... As a governmental body in actions of foreign policy, yes, we tend to avoid conflicts where we are not protecting our own interests. This is a complex discussion all to itself. What Duke said was that no one CARED about brown on brown wars, which is painting everyone in the room in an unflattering and, in at least some cases, inaccurate light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (Texsox @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:46 AM) I wish I had bookmarked it, but SS2k5 wrote a great post on just that topic albeit about Rwanda. We do tend to avoid brown on brown conflicts. Especially if they do not have any natural resources we need. Thank you. The arrogance here pisses me off because I know in this very company we have all had some very excellent discussions about Africa specifically before. Of all places to make an ignorant statement like that, this is not one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I guess I took Duke's comments as more universal than specific to Soxtalk. As a group, we are probably more aware than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Sri Lanka is a s***ty situation because neither side is the "good guy." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 18, 2009 -> 07:49 AM) Thank you. The arrogance here pisses me off because I know in this very company we have all had some very excellent discussions about Africa specifically before. Of all places to make an ignorant statement like that, this is not one of them. But he's a poly-sci major! He's so much more enlightened than us drooling slobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCaucasian Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Ok, confession time... I had NO idea there was a war in Sri Lanka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ May 18, 2009 -> 08:17 AM) But he's a poly-sci major! He's so much more enlightened than us drooling slobs. Yea, right, just ask him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr_genius Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 DukeNukeEm is so .... non racist I'm sure his sociology professors are very proud of him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 OK enough. Let's actually talk about the topic now. It's tough to figure out who are the good guys here. It really is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeNukeEm Posted May 18, 2009 Author Share Posted May 18, 2009 GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? If there was did anybody even respond? You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 18, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? If there was did anybody even respond? You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. You might get a little more credit for your posits if you didn't use blanket statements quite so liberally. We have definitely discussed it in here, though not lately, that I recall. Keep in mind too, we also don't hear about long-term on-going conflicts elsewhere in the world. Many have gone on for decades. Its nothing new, so often, there is nothing new to report. In this case this is certainly an important moment though, no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 18, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? If there was did anybody even respond? You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. I heard about it on NPR probably a dozen times in the past two weeks, so there! Actually, bmags started a thread about Sri Lanka early this year. You participated in that thread. But I guess we don't care about brown people. And then they came for me. Edited May 18, 2009 by StrangeSox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 (edited) You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. Your accusations that people dont care because they are "brown" are entirely inaccurate. And I dont really think you are an "elitist/stuck-up college kid". I think you are TRYING TO BE an "elitist/stuck-up college kid", the problem is you dont have the street cred to pull it off. Im not going to get into it, but acting like a know it all, doesnt mean you know it all. If you did, you wouldnt be in college getting an undergraduate degree. Edited May 18, 2009 by Soxbadger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiSox_Sonix Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 18, 2009 -> 02:05 PM) GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Meh, it was a civil war that had been going on for 25-30 years, people were aware it was going on, but when it's the same thing for years upon years upon years there often isn't much that is going to make the news, especially when it does not involve your country of residence. In fact, there have been articles recently on msnbc that i've read the past couple weeks. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? Yes, and the article posted was absolutely fascinating. If there was did anybody even respond? Yes You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. Well if you say so it must be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Middle Buffalo Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The only war I'm curently interested in involves Annie Duke and Joan Rivers - and both are quite pale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 18, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? If there was did anybody even respond? You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. If you really want the date that most of America hear about the Tamil Tigers, it was after December 26, 2004. A lot of the world got a geography and politics lesson because of the events of that day, but then again you were about 10 when that happened, so you might not remember it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ May 18, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) GMAFB, where did anyone in America hear about this conflict? It was probably the biggest victory in the entire Global War on Terror and barely anybody knew it ever happened. Was there even a post on ST regarding this war? If there was did anybody even respond? You can call me an elitist/stuck-up college kid/whatever but the very thing I'm accusing this board, and on a broader level the entire country, of couldn't be more true. -There is no 'y' in the word political. This is the first time I've really ever heard anyone lump this conflict into the war on terror. It's really just a sad situation. The Tigers are a horribly brutal bunch, but they seem to have come to singlehandedly represent the aspirations of the Tamil people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (KipWellsFan @ May 18, 2009 -> 03:18 PM) This is the first time I've really ever heard anyone lump this conflict into the war on terror. It's really just a sad situation. The Tigers are a horribly brutal bunch, but they seem to have come to singlehandedly represent the aspirations of the Tamil people. Sounds a lot like the crooks and terrorists who are "fighting for" the Palestinians, doesn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 These labels really serve almost no use. A bunch of men, and it always seems to be men, are bound together in a war against another group of men. We change the label based on their size and if we agree or disagree with their aims and methods. Well, wait, scratch the methods. If we publicly disagree with their methods, we seem to privately use them as outside sources. Are we terrorists? Damn right. You would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to not feel terror if the US comes after you with our military. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoSox05 Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I doubt this is over. The terrorist group may have been defeated, but the fact is that the Tamil people are still treated like s***. The Sri Lankan goverment has been just as brutal as the Tigers. Concentration camps and assassinated journalists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KipWellsFan Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 QUOTE (Texsox @ May 18, 2009 -> 03:29 PM) These labels really serve almost no use. A bunch of men, and it always seems to be men, are bound together in a war against another group of men. We change the label based on their size and if we agree or disagree with their aims and methods. Well, wait, scratch the methods. If we publicly disagree with their methods, we seem to privately use them as outside sources. Are we terrorists? Damn right. You would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to not feel terror if the US comes after you with our military. Mr. Prabhakaran had no real ideology. He read about Che Guevera but had little interest in socialism, even when the revolutionary ideology was sweeping rebel movements in Latin America and elsewhere in Asia. Mr. Swamy quoted him as once saying he had little interest in "isms" but for one: "I want all these caste differences to go." (Mr. Prabhakaran has been an unusual champion of gender equality, promoting women through the highest ranks of the Tigers and not differentiating between tasks given to male and female cadres.) Nor has Mr. Prabhakaran relied on charisma or great skill as an orator. Ms. Pratap said that when she first met him, her disappointment — the legendary guerrilla leader was short, a bit dumpy and looked like a middle-aged merchant — was so visible on her face that Mr. Prabhakaran laughed. But, she added this week, within moments, she knew he was extraordinary. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/sto.../International/ That's a great article by the way on the Tigers and their late leader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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