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I'm jealous. Looks like they're having a mighty good time. Such freedom to be a man I'll probably never know. It's sad to think that the time for people to trul

I'm jealous. Looks like they're having a mighty good time. Such freedom to be a man I'll probably never know. It's sad to think that the time for people to truly rebel is quickly running out.

CamperBob2 14y ago
You were modded down (Score: -1, Bloodlust or whatever), but you still have a good point: if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. We are going to be in a lot of trouble if a major Western power ever goes ape the way Germany did only one lifetime ago.
- alexjeffrey 14y ago
  To append a relevant quote from Einstein "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
- unimpressive 14y ago
  >if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. What's the gap between most dictatorships and most western governments look like anyway? Is it mainly Nuclear arms?
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    The traffic signals in one intersection a block away from my house include six cameras. I don't know what they're all for... but I'm guessing that it would be a bad idea for me to trundle my homebrew trebuchet up to that intersection and start chucking grenades around.
    - swombat 14y ago
      I would imagine that in an insurrection situation, disabling the camera network would be one of the first actions of a rebel army.
    - pekk 14y ago
      When you are discussing "chucking grenades around" in your own neighborhood, it seems that cameras are the least of the worries for peaceful, law-abiding civilians in your area (not to mention police who are just doing their jobs). Why it is publicly acceptable to talk like Timothy McVey?
      - CamperBob2 14y ago
        Abstract thinking isn't your strong suit, I take it.
  - edraferi 14y ago
    A lot of it comes down to institutional strength. There's probably some good academic models for this, but I'd say: 1) Institutional cohesion and alignment with population. Many dictators have ethnically homogenous security services - their clan, tribe, whatever. People are loyal to the ethnicity, not the country or institution. That's how you get a nations military killing it's own people. In democratic western countries, the military is much more reflective of the overall population, which puts a check on that. 2) Training. Just because Syria has "jets" doesn't mean they're well-maintained, flown by skilled pilots and employed with excellent tactics. It's very expensive and time consuming to apply the tools of modern war. NATO nations spend a ton of money training their troops to improve effectiveness. Really, I think the first one is most important. Theoretically you don't get violent uprisings in western nations because democratic governments are more responsive to needs and social composition of the population.
- ctdonath 14y ago
  if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. Likewise, if the Syrian uprising were as technologically well-equipped as a large fraction of Americans, the uprising would have been a very short one. Every year we field some 18,000,000 well-equipped civilian snipers in a live-fire live-target exercise aka "Operation Deer Season". This may explain why the US government is keen on disarming citizens of "assault weapons", even though such items are demonstrably less of a societal problem than stairs or swimming pools.
- pekk 14y ago
  Between this and your other posts, you seem awfully interested in agitating against Western governments.
  - CamperBob2 14y ago
    What would be an example? I'm more of an advocate of individual liberty than I am an agitator against any particular organizations. Bad things happen when governments, even Western ones, have too much power over individuals, just as bad things happen when individuals gain too much power over their neighbors.
lucb1e 14y ago
I'm not so certain they're having a "mighty good time". More like "let's hope we'll survive tomorrow".
patrickk 14y ago
You sound like this guy: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/arab-spring-break-20120913 http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/arab-spring-break-201209...
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
ctdonath 14y ago
Get the book The World's Most Dangerous Places by Robert Young Pelton. It's basically a tourist guide to where you want to go and most people shouldn't.
- doctorstupid 14y ago
  Thanks, I'm checking it out.

I'm jealous. Looks like they're having a mighty good time. Such freedom to be a man I'll probably never know. It's sad to think that the time for people to truly rebel is quickly running out.

CamperBob2 14y ago

You were modded down (Score: -1, Bloodlust or whatever), but you still have a good point: if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. We are going to be in a lot of trouble if a major Western power ever goes ape the way Germany did only one lifetime ago.

alexjeffrey 14y ago
To append a relevant quote from Einstein "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
unimpressive 14y ago
>if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. What's the gap between most dictatorships and most western governments look like anyway? Is it mainly Nuclear arms?
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  The traffic signals in one intersection a block away from my house include six cameras. I don't know what they're all for... but I'm guessing that it would be a bad idea for me to trundle my homebrew trebuchet up to that intersection and start chucking grenades around.
  - swombat 14y ago
    I would imagine that in an insurrection situation, disabling the camera network would be one of the first actions of a rebel army.
  - pekk 14y ago
    When you are discussing "chucking grenades around" in your own neighborhood, it seems that cameras are the least of the worries for peaceful, law-abiding civilians in your area (not to mention police who are just doing their jobs). Why it is publicly acceptable to talk like Timothy McVey?
    - CamperBob2 14y ago
      Abstract thinking isn't your strong suit, I take it.
- edraferi 14y ago
  A lot of it comes down to institutional strength. There's probably some good academic models for this, but I'd say: 1) Institutional cohesion and alignment with population. Many dictators have ethnically homogenous security services - their clan, tribe, whatever. People are loyal to the ethnicity, not the country or institution. That's how you get a nations military killing it's own people. In democratic western countries, the military is much more reflective of the overall population, which puts a check on that. 2) Training. Just because Syria has "jets" doesn't mean they're well-maintained, flown by skilled pilots and employed with excellent tactics. It's very expensive and time consuming to apply the tools of modern war. NATO nations spend a ton of money training their troops to improve effectiveness. Really, I think the first one is most important. Theoretically you don't get violent uprisings in western nations because democratic governments are more responsive to needs and social composition of the population.
ctdonath 14y ago
if the Syrian regime were as technologically well-equipped as most Western governments, this uprising would have been a very short one. Likewise, if the Syrian uprising were as technologically well-equipped as a large fraction of Americans, the uprising would have been a very short one. Every year we field some 18,000,000 well-equipped civilian snipers in a live-fire live-target exercise aka "Operation Deer Season". This may explain why the US government is keen on disarming citizens of "assault weapons", even though such items are demonstrably less of a societal problem than stairs or swimming pools.
pekk 14y ago
Between this and your other posts, you seem awfully interested in agitating against Western governments.
- CamperBob2 14y ago
  What would be an example? I'm more of an advocate of individual liberty than I am an agitator against any particular organizations. Bad things happen when governments, even Western ones, have too much power over individuals, just as bad things happen when individuals gain too much power over their neighbors.

lucb1e 14y ago

I'm not so certain they're having a "mighty good time". More like "let's hope we'll survive tomorrow".

patrickk 14y ago

You sound like this guy: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/arab-spring-break-20120913 http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/arab-spring-break-201209...

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]

ctdonath 14y ago

Get the book The World's Most Dangerous Places by Robert Young Pelton. It's basically a tourist guide to where you want to go and most people shouldn't.

doctorstupid 14y ago
Thanks, I'm checking it out.