dhimmi status just meant they would be protected and they had to pay a tax. The so called poll-tax was just a tax: it was the equivalent of the zakat that Muslims paid for the state. In turn, they were protected from outsiders...I believe it was the Byzantine Christains who greatly preferred their Muslims rulers to the unjust Christain ones they had before.
As for living humiliated and degreded, in Palestine, some of the most ardent Palestinians are Arab Christains, who oppose Israeli occupation arm in arm with their Muslim neighbors.
In Iraq, Muslims have been keeping up and protecting Jewish holy sites, which Jews were chased away from by Sadaam.
Bangladesh, while not completely free from communal violence, is home to a great many Hindus, Christains, Buddhists, and animists. While the situation is far from perfect (and nowhere is it perfect, not even in your US of A, where Sikhs get killed for 9/11).
Furthermore, under some Mogul rulers in India dhimmi status was afforded to Hindus as well. Akbar actually encouraged Hindus, Buddhists, as well as Muslims in his court.
In short, despite throwing some half learned Arabic around, you really don't know what you're talking about.
I'm a student of Japanese and Dashboard is very helpful.
Under Windows, to check Jim Breen's Biblical WWW Japanese dictionary I usually have to fire up Firefox (or make a new tab) browse to the site (either via the bookmark in my toolbar or through a google search on someone else's machine) and do my look up.
On my iBook, I call up dashboard with one button type or copy the text I want to look up from the new widget that hooks into Breen's dictionary.
Dashboard is about convience and little apps that you use often and for short periods of time.
Who cares? My favorite PS2 games in the last year have been Katamari Damashii, Phantom Brave, and Disgaea. I'm convinced the latter two could run on the PS1, sans voice acting, and Katamari doesn't push the PS2 particularly hard.
All this bullshit about what a machine's potential performance is is a waste of time. It's about the games, stupid. From what I've read, Nintendo's machine is going to be terribly underpowered compared to the PS3 and Xbox, but the games will probably be a blast to play.
I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion, but do you have kids of your own? Are they older than two or three i.e. at an age where these issues become more relevant?
To elaborate on the parent's point, sure, I learned about sex from friends, but that doesn't mean my parents had to have it in front of me...
The parent is right. Take Criterion, for example. They release some of the world's best films and while the discs are hideously expensive, they make sure to add content. Rashomon, for example, had the English versions of two stories Rashomon was based on, some interesting essays on the film, plus an informative commentary track. The Criterion Royal Tenanbaums DVD has a whole second disc of extras.
If I know a disc is going to come out through Criterion, I'll wait for it, even if I have to buy it used. They really know how to put out a good DVD release.
The same map in which the Koreas, Japan, China, and regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa make up East (not southeast) Asia. I'm quite aware that the "north" in North Korea is relative, but if you think North Korea is in southeast Asia, you're a fecking retard.
North Korea is not in southeast Asia. Northeast Asia is comprised of China, Japan, and the Koreas (plus places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa). I'm very much aware that north is a relative term, but my point was that Korea is still Northeast Asia.
I was like many of you: sick of Final Fantasy, after FFX (which, admittedly was better than what I consider the worst in the series, VIII). So much so that I decided not to pay attention to the hyped surrounding FFXII (as an MMO, XI didn't appeal to me anyway). I did, however, enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (my loss of interest in FF helped me find more tactical RPGS, a la FFTA, Disgaea, and others).
And then the info on FFXII started coming out. Set in the same world as FFTA it has moogles, airships, chocobos, swords - a lot of what has been lacking in the recent FF games.
Now, I'm not betting the farm on this game and I'm not buying it at release - there's too much room for the game to suck (plus S-E still needs to release games with the Japanese audio tracks over here). But I am paying attention.
I still have the hardcover collection of the Mario comics and I actually think they're funny. Certainly funnier when I was a kid, but it still has moments of coy lucidity. If one can find the hardcover cheap (it's not worth paying $100 on ebay for), it's worth looking into.
All these little in-jokes to the original trilogy really ruins the new trilogy for me. The relationships are incestous (not Luke/Leia tounge kiss incest): it seems like the same dozen or so people are doing everything in the galaxy: there is, for example, no reason for C3P0 to be in the new trilogy. Getting his memory erased at the end of Sith was a ridiculously contrived plot point. Ditto Jango/Boba Fett in the new trilogy.
The Falcon cameo is far less jarring (indeed, barely noticeable), but it has the same feeling; a feeling of forced, contrived little winks to old fans.
I agree: Yojimbo's a great film, but Seven Samurai was Kurosawa's classic. The film had everything, was perfect in almost every way possible. In my humble opinion, it even bests Ikiru, thanks to the incredible ensemble cast.
Directors, even ones with distinguished careers like Kurosawa are often known by one film. Sometimes this is by chance - it's the film the public simply remembers. But often that film encapsulates the director: his or her style, themes, and other aspects that exemplify that career. Seven Samurai is that film for Kurosawa.
Not to mention that film is Mifune Toshiro at what is his best. He too had a distinguished career, but this his him at his pinnacle at his absoulete best (I have to grudgingly admit even better than in Ingaki's Musashi trilogy).
These guys don't know films from their asses. Star Wars over Empire suggests that. But no Seven Samurai proves it.
The general public knows that some people download movies, just as they know some percentage of people driving their cars to see the movie at theaters were speeding.
Now he'll start spouting off crap like Microsoft buying Nintendo...or something.
X-Wing/TIE Fighter best SW games I've played
on
The Chewbacca Awards
·
· Score: 2, Informative
There should be a whole article on X-Wing and TIE Fighter. The only thing pulling me back into the Star Wars universe are those games - they were very engaging and really brought the player into the universe. And unlike most Star Wars games, they were good!
X-Wing Alliance was a pretty good entry in the series (and the last). I wish they would come out with a game for modern hardware, but it doesn't seem likely.
I have both Sony and Nintendo machines and speaking as (hopefully) an unbiased source, neither machine has games good enough for me to buy over. I've played around with the PSP and my brother owns a DS and while some of the games are interesting on both machines (Lumines is a fun game, WarioWare is ok on the DS) but there's a lot of crap and the ratio hasn't worked out correctly yet (Mario 64 is a good game but the control is so shitty that it's less fun on the DS, IMHO).
If you really need something now the GBA is a good choice, as its cheap (I still play my GBA as there are a ton of pretty decent games) or even a DS just to play GBA games. I'm going to Japan in August for a year and I think I'm going to buy a PSP there, but there's going to have to be some better games (I love strategy RPGs and there seem to be a few coming down the pipe sooner or later).
But now, I have no interest in buying a DS or a PSP.
I am from Bangladesh, one of the countries really affected by Arabs coming and buying young boys, and obviously you're not from the country.
I come from an upper middle class family. We are the exception, not the norm in our country. Most people are DESPERATELY poor. Poor enough to injure themselves or their children in order to collect more alms money (the logic being a blind or amputated beggar will get more money than a normal one).
Furthermore, the people who are involved in this kind of trade often go to places outside of the major cities like Dhaka and Chittagong and will promise families that their kids will have a better life in the Middle East, making money for their families. This is not uncommon; poor Bengalis often go to the Middle East to do the most menial labor (it's almost slavery) to send money back to their families. However, the boy traders are obviously lying and when they get their hands on the children they take them into the sexual abusive and physically abusive world of camel jockeying. Some of the children are too young to even remember what village they come from and can't be taken back home. I believe it was 60 Minutes that had a good feature on the problem a few months back.
Does that justify any of this? Of course not. But often the family is duped and you don't understand because you probably have not experience the desperate poverty these people live in.
Slashdot Mirror
I enjoyed every minute of Final Fantasy 6, Tactics, Tactics Advance, and Crystal Chronicles.
I don't argue with ACs, generally but:
dhimmi status just meant they would be protected and they had to pay a tax. The so called poll-tax was just a tax: it was the equivalent of the zakat that Muslims paid for the state. In turn, they were protected from outsiders...I believe it was the Byzantine Christains who greatly preferred their Muslims rulers to the unjust Christain ones they had before.
As for living humiliated and degreded, in Palestine, some of the most ardent Palestinians are Arab Christains, who oppose Israeli occupation arm in arm with their Muslim neighbors.
In Iraq, Muslims have been keeping up and protecting Jewish holy sites, which Jews were chased away from by Sadaam.
Bangladesh, while not completely free from communal violence, is home to a great many Hindus, Christains, Buddhists, and animists. While the situation is far from perfect (and nowhere is it perfect, not even in your US of A, where Sikhs get killed for 9/11).
Furthermore, under some Mogul rulers in India dhimmi status was afforded to Hindus as well. Akbar actually encouraged Hindus, Buddhists, as well as Muslims in his court.
In short, despite throwing some half learned Arabic around, you really don't know what you're talking about.
Then the tearing down of Babri mosque by Hindu fundamentalists was also terrorism.
Despite the poster's insinuations otherwise, terrorism isn't limited to Islam nor are all Muslim terrorists.
If it is open, I have to open a new tab, because I'm doing something with it. Usually it's not hence the (fire up Firefox or make a new tab).
I'm a student of Japanese and Dashboard is very helpful.
Under Windows, to check Jim Breen's Biblical WWW Japanese dictionary I usually have to fire up Firefox (or make a new tab) browse to the site (either via the bookmark in my toolbar or through a google search on someone else's machine) and do my look up.
On my iBook, I call up dashboard with one button type or copy the text I want to look up from the new widget that hooks into Breen's dictionary.
Dashboard is about convience and little apps that you use often and for short periods of time.
Who cares? My favorite PS2 games in the last year have been Katamari Damashii, Phantom Brave, and Disgaea. I'm convinced the latter two could run on the PS1, sans voice acting, and Katamari doesn't push the PS2 particularly hard.
All this bullshit about what a machine's potential performance is is a waste of time. It's about the games, stupid. From what I've read, Nintendo's machine is going to be terribly underpowered compared to the PS3 and Xbox, but the games will probably be a blast to play.
I'm not trying to invalidate your opinion, but do you have kids of your own? Are they older than two or three i.e. at an age where these issues become more relevant?
To elaborate on the parent's point, sure, I learned about sex from friends, but that doesn't mean my parents had to have it in front of me...
. there were also lots of arabic rooms that the Al Queada may have been hanging out in, I can't really be sure because most were in arabic font
God bless you sir, for being American.
The parent is right. Take Criterion, for example. They release some of the world's best films and while the discs are hideously expensive, they make sure to add content. Rashomon, for example, had the English versions of two stories Rashomon was based on, some interesting essays on the film, plus an informative commentary track. The Criterion Royal Tenanbaums DVD has a whole second disc of extras.
If I know a disc is going to come out through Criterion, I'll wait for it, even if I have to buy it used. They really know how to put out a good DVD release.
I've jacked off to Rogue in her undies many times, so I ought to know a thing or two about objectifying comic book women.
Wow. Just wow.
Me fail English? That's unpropable!
The same map in which the Koreas, Japan, China, and regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa make up East (not southeast) Asia. I'm quite aware that the "north" in North Korea is relative, but if you think North Korea is in southeast Asia, you're a fecking retard.
North Korea is not in southeast Asia. Northeast Asia is comprised of China, Japan, and the Koreas (plus places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa). I'm very much aware that north is a relative term, but my point was that Korea is still Northeast Asia.
Insane fascist dictators in southeast Asia?
I agree with your post, but are you referring to North Korea/Kim Jong-il? I'm no geography buff, but I could swear North Korea was, well, north.
I was like many of you: sick of Final Fantasy, after FFX (which, admittedly was better than what I consider the worst in the series, VIII). So much so that I decided not to pay attention to the hyped surrounding FFXII (as an MMO, XI didn't appeal to me anyway). I did, however, enjoy Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (my loss of interest in FF helped me find more tactical RPGS, a la FFTA, Disgaea, and others).
And then the info on FFXII started coming out. Set in the same world as FFTA it has moogles, airships, chocobos, swords - a lot of what has been lacking in the recent FF games.
Now, I'm not betting the farm on this game and I'm not buying it at release - there's too much room for the game to suck (plus S-E still needs to release games with the Japanese audio tracks over here). But I am paying attention.
I still have the hardcover collection of the Mario comics and I actually think they're funny. Certainly funnier when I was a kid, but it still has moments of coy lucidity. If one can find the hardcover cheap (it's not worth paying $100 on ebay for), it's worth looking into.
All these little in-jokes to the original trilogy really ruins the new trilogy for me. The relationships are incestous (not Luke/Leia tounge kiss incest): it seems like the same dozen or so people are doing everything in the galaxy: there is, for example, no reason for C3P0 to be in the new trilogy. Getting his memory erased at the end of Sith was a ridiculously contrived plot point. Ditto Jango/Boba Fett in the new trilogy.
The Falcon cameo is far less jarring (indeed, barely noticeable), but it has the same feeling; a feeling of forced, contrived little winks to old fans.
A Bug's Life is also a remake of Seven Samurai, albiet with a much happier ending.
I agree: Yojimbo's a great film, but Seven Samurai was Kurosawa's classic. The film had everything, was perfect in almost every way possible. In my humble opinion, it even bests Ikiru, thanks to the incredible ensemble cast.
Directors, even ones with distinguished careers like Kurosawa are often known by one film. Sometimes this is by chance - it's the film the public simply remembers. But often that film encapsulates the director: his or her style, themes, and other aspects that exemplify that career. Seven Samurai is that film for Kurosawa.
Not to mention that film is Mifune Toshiro at what is his best. He too had a distinguished career, but this his him at his pinnacle at his absoulete best (I have to grudgingly admit even better than in Ingaki's Musashi trilogy).
These guys don't know films from their asses. Star Wars over Empire suggests that. But no Seven Samurai proves it.
The general public knows that some people download movies, just as they know some percentage of people driving their cars to see the movie at theaters were speeding.
Aha, I did both!
As opposed to Camino, Opera, Safari, lynx, or Shiira?
Oh crap, the fucker's been vindicated.
Now he'll start spouting off crap like Microsoft buying Nintendo...or something.
There should be a whole article on X-Wing and TIE Fighter. The only thing pulling me back into the Star Wars universe are those games - they were very engaging and really brought the player into the universe. And unlike most Star Wars games, they were good!
X-Wing Alliance was a pretty good entry in the series (and the last). I wish they would come out with a game for modern hardware, but it doesn't seem likely.
I have both Sony and Nintendo machines and speaking as (hopefully) an unbiased source, neither machine has games good enough for me to buy over. I've played around with the PSP and my brother owns a DS and while some of the games are interesting on both machines (Lumines is a fun game, WarioWare is ok on the DS) but there's a lot of crap and the ratio hasn't worked out correctly yet (Mario 64 is a good game but the control is so shitty that it's less fun on the DS, IMHO).
If you really need something now the GBA is a good choice, as its cheap (I still play my GBA as there are a ton of pretty decent games) or even a DS just to play GBA games. I'm going to Japan in August for a year and I think I'm going to buy a PSP there, but there's going to have to be some better games (I love strategy RPGs and there seem to be a few coming down the pipe sooner or later).
But now, I have no interest in buying a DS or a PSP.
I am from Bangladesh, one of the countries really affected by Arabs coming and buying young boys, and obviously you're not from the country.
I come from an upper middle class family. We are the exception, not the norm in our country. Most people are DESPERATELY poor. Poor enough to injure themselves or their children in order to collect more alms money (the logic being a blind or amputated beggar will get more money than a normal one).
Furthermore, the people who are involved in this kind of trade often go to places outside of the major cities like Dhaka and Chittagong and will promise families that their kids will have a better life in the Middle East, making money for their families. This is not uncommon; poor Bengalis often go to the Middle East to do the most menial labor (it's almost slavery) to send money back to their families. However, the boy traders are obviously lying and when they get their hands on the children they take them into the sexual abusive and physically abusive world of camel jockeying. Some of the children are too young to even remember what village they come from and can't be taken back home. I believe it was 60 Minutes that had a good feature on the problem a few months back.
Does that justify any of this? Of course not. But often the family is duped and you don't understand because you probably have not experience the desperate poverty these people live in.