What the Heck?! Thread (Closed)

[Blackstone]

Fair enough and I agree with you guys conceptually. The tricky thing is in reality all the general terms "reasonably absorb", "need", "assimilate/integrate", and "special" all have to be specifically defined and any specification comes with strings attached.

So what? People don't have the right to migrate to wherever they please, it's the other way around. Bad things happen to nations that don't secure their borders.

 

[PanAsian]

So what? People don't have the right to migrate to wherever they please, it's the other way around. Bad things happen to nations that don't secure their borders.

Hey I agree, I'm just saying that the devil is in the details and details are required in real life.

 

[kwaigonegin]

Prayers on loudspeakers? What about all those street corner preachers that also use loudspeakers, and use them all day long?

Banning bacon from public schools? Why would that be less acceptable than banning, say, peanut butter?

Blocking off city blocks for prayer? How about blocking off streets for protests, marathons, or mass yoga?

There are a lot of unreasonable things happening in society everyday, by every sort of organization or individual. Why highlight only those from a particular culture?

Seriously? you are comparing peanut butter to bacon or other pork products? one is medical allergy and potentially life threatening the other is social/religious BIG difference. As for marathons, sport events etc that's open to EVERYONE, not to mention it's a citywide event sanction by bunch of agencies both G and NGOs etc. it's also not dictated by any single group religious or otherwise.

I highlight those of a particular culture for the simple reason that that particular culture is on the forefront of news today. If it were Buddhists, Rastafarians etc who are making headlines then I would obviously highlight those however it isn't.

Common dude!

 

[Jeff Head]

This thread, and SD is NOT about anti-US, anti-West, Anti-American conspiracy theories or leftists rhetoric.

No more than it is about anti-Chinese, anti-Russian, conspiracies and rhetoric.

AntiPrime and PanAsian, dispense with such posts...they will lead to suspensions and ultimately to banning. Consider this a warning.

That type of politics and rhetoric is not welcome here.

I suggest you all dispense with this entire line of discussion. Other forums specialize in that and all of the free for all and chaos, and bad feeling that go with it. Not SD.

DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION.

 

[solarz]

Seriously? you are comparing peanut butter to bacon or other pork products? one is medical allergy and potentially life threatening the other is social/religious BIG difference. As for marathons, sport events etc that's open to EVERYONE, not to mention it's a citywide event sanction by bunch of agencies both G and NGOs etc. it's also not dictated by any single group religious or otherwise.

I highlight those of a particular culture for the simple reason that that particular culture is on the forefront of news today. If it were Buddhists, Rastafarians etc who are making headlines then I would obviously highlight those however it isn't.

Common dude!

Peanut butter wasn't banned back when I was in school and I don't recall hearing about kids dying from it.

I'm also pretty sure Muslims would say their prayers are open to everyone.

Look, we can debate the particularities all we want, but under a law-based society, everyone should be equal under the law. If a group can apply to close off city blocks to hold protests and whatever, why should not a Muslim group be allowed to apply to close off city blocks to hold prayers? Picking which laws to uphold based on whether the subject is agreeable to us is the very definition of discrimination.

 

[kwaigonegin]

Peanut butter wasn't banned back when I was in school and I don't recall hearing about kids dying from it.

I'm also pretty sure Muslims would say their prayers are open to everyone.

Look, we can debate the particularities all we want, but under a law-based society, everyone should be equal under the law. If a group can apply to close off city blocks to hold protests and whatever, why should not a Muslim group be allowed to apply to close off city blocks to hold prayers? Picking which laws to uphold based on whether the subject is agreeable to us is the very definition of discrimination.

Except it isn't law based. A few groups are exercising their demands to fit a small subset of the population and demanding the larger native majority to kow tow to such demands which is alien to the native group. If you still can't tell the difference than there is really no further point of discussion.

As Jeff said there is no point continuing on this discussion. It's pointless in this forum and we just have to agree to disagree. Thanks.

 

[solarz]

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A mural hanging in York University’s student centre that some deem anti-Semitic has prompted media mogul Paul Bronfman to pull his support from the university.

In a story posted on the pro-Israel

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on Sunday, Bronfman was quoted promising to pull William F. White, the media equipment company he heads, out of the university if the painting is not taken down.

“The upshot is that if that poster is not going by the end of day today then William F. White is out of York,” he said. “York is going to lose thousands of dollars of television production equipment used for emerging student filmmakers, access to technical people who do education and student training and student seminars, workshops and open houses at William F. White Center that help them develop the hard skills needed to fill industry infrastructure positions like gaffer or grip: they will no longer be invited. York University will be persona non grata at William F. White International until they take that poster down.”

The mural depicts a man with rocks in his hands looking at a bulldozer near a building. On his back is a Palestinian flag and a map of Israel without borders. Below that are the words Justice and Peace.

“If a mural condoning violence against any other nation was hung on campus, it would rightfully be condemned.Only when it pertains to Jews do we see this disturbing double standard.” – Danielle Shachar

In

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, one psychology student active in Israel advocacy says walking past the mural makes her feel unsafe.

“If a mural condoning violence against any other nation was hung on campus, it would rightfully be condemned,” Danielle Shachar said. “Only when it pertains to Jews do we see this disturbing double standard.”

According to the article, there have been been a number of anti-Israel protests and hateful graffiti appearing on campus. Shachar describes the campus as “a breeding ground for violence, hate and discrimination against Israel and its student supporters.”

In a statement from York University, Joanne Rider said the artwork displayed in the Student Centre is overseen by a separate Board of Directors and is a separate legal entity from the University.

“We consulted widely with experts who told us that we are not in a legal position to compel the Student Centre leadership to remove the artwork,” she said, adding that the school encourages freedom of expression.

“Freedom of expression is one of York’s guiding principles. Members of the York community have the right to express their views and to test and challenge ideas, provided they do so within the law and in a peaceful and non-threatening manner. We are an inclusive university and we care about how our students feel.”

She also said she is disappointed with Bronfman’s decision to pull his company’s support of the school.

“We deeply regret Mr. Bronfman’s decision and would like to thank him for his support,” she says in the release. “Our Arts, Media, Performance and Design students have benefited from the experiential learning activities made possible by his generosity.”

Imagine what the public reaction would have been if a Muslim businessman demanded a university to take down a pro-Israeli mural.

 

[siegecrossbow]

The issue on immigration is not so much about diversity or multiculturalism per se but rather about integration and assimilation into the 'native' culture.

I'm probably speaking for millions of other Americans but I don't really care if you come here and worship your own god/s and build temples/mosque etc or dress in your native attire all day long. As a matter a fact I think those are or can be positives.

What I DO care about however is as part as part of your 'culture' you demand and expect changes to the fundementals of existing laws and culture to cater to your very specific needs.
I don't care if you build a mosque but I do care if your masjid blast azan prayers on loud speakers twice a day.
I don't care if you don't eat pork, I do care if you DEMAND bacon is banish from public schools.
I don't care if you pray 5 times a day.. more power to you actually however I do care if you block off city blocks so 500 people can pray en masse in the middle of a public street.
I don't care if you think you God/s is superior than mine but I do care if you think you are somehow superior to me due to that because you aren't.

Basically what I'm trying to say is you ain't special so stop acting like you are. I've met some genuinely 'special' people in my life and one thing they ALL have in common is not a SINGLE one of them thought they are... and that's part of what made them special to begin with.

In short, don't impose your values on others when you are graciously allowed to retain your own!

 

[Blackstone]

Remember when Shinzo Abe was hailed as Japan's economic savior? Well, they don't seem so smart these days, as Abe's bad economic chickens are coming home to roost, and more are on their way.

China has graft-based corruption, but Japan has institutional corruption, and the latter is harder to root out than the former. From that perspective, it was always questionable if Abe could enact necessary reforms, to pave the path for "Abenomics."

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(he will), but will it do any good?

There are many reasons for Governor Kuroda to act, perhaps as soon as Friday: persistent deflation, negligible global growth, jittery stock investors, antsy politicians who need placating. Here’s why he shouldn’t: Japan’s weak-yen experiment is backfiring.

This contrarian take on the Bank of Japan’s two-day meeting beginning tomorrow would seem to ignore the good that’s come from the yen’s 30% drop since 2012. That includes record corporate profits, a

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and, until recently, a buoyant stock market. But these benefits aren’t enriching a broad spectrum of Japanese. Companies aren’t sharing the spoils with workers, while inflation expectations remain, in Governor Kuroda’s words, “somewhat weak.”

Not a great report card for history’s most aggressive monetary-policy experiment. And yet, corporate Japan, the politicians who enable it and investors at large want more of the same. Here’s why it won’t work: executives have quietly mastered the art of producing profit growth from stagnant sales by slashing costs, much to the BOJ’s detriment.

Such cost-cutting campaigns are de rigueur in the West, but they’re complicating

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via the corporate sector. The simplest description of Abenomics is this: In exchange for the weak yen, Tokyo expects executives to raise wages and invest to boost gross domestic product and end deflation. Forget talk about structural reform and deregulation, Abenomics is an old-school devalue-your-way to riches scheme.

But executives are calling Abe’s bluff. Since Abe’s key reforms haven’t materialized, CEOs are cutting costs, particularly wages, instead of deploying profits. Margins at Japan’s 5,000 biggest firms are at their highest level since 1973, says Richard Katz, publisher of

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. On the one hand, companies are squeezing suppliers –- mostly small-to-midsize ones -– forcing them in turn to also cut labor costs. On the other, these savings reduce the need to invest in new plants, equipment or staff.

The tactic of choice is making full-time workers part-timers. Executives can pay them less, offer fewer benefits and training and easily scrap work contracts –- a fate disproportionately befalling women. That’s why today’s

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“boosts corporate profits, but doesn’t lead to better growth for the economy as a whole,” Katz says. “One person’s costs is another person’s revenue.”

Japan Inc.’s new profit model risks hollowing out the

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. Abe’s big mistake, of course, was betting it all on BOJ easing. If Abe had implemented supply-side changes like loosening labor markets, cutting regulations and supporting entrepreneurship, living standards might not be sliding with the yen. This leaves Kuroda with quite a dilemma this week: disappoint markets with no additional stimulus and take the blame for slowing growth or step further down a road that’s leading the economy astray in the long run.

ABE MUST ACT FAST TO CHANGE THE INCENTIVE STRUCTURE. At the moment, he’s trying to reinvigorate a corporate system that existed 30 years ago, not in 2016. Back then, Japan could use the yen to manage the competitive forces shaking up industry. Globalization slowly, but surely chipped away at Tokyo’s ability to control the game. All Abenomics is doing is filling corporate coffers with cash executives lack confidence to deploy.

The weak yen, simply put, is deadening the animal spirits Abe hoped to conjure. Take Sony, which 15 years on still hasn’t come out with plausible answer to Apple’s iPod, never mind the iPhone or iPad. And yet, Sony is rolling in profits. Not because it shocked the world with a new game-change gadget, but exchange rates. There’s now less urgency for CEO Kazuo Hirai to rediscover Sony’s creative mojo. Similar complacency risks abound (Sharp, anyone?) at a time when Japan Inc. needs to increase productivity and innovation.

In retrospect, Japan might be doing better if Abe stuck with a stronger yen. It would’ve forced executives to take a page from German peers who use unfavorable exchange rates as a catalyst to restructure. It also would’ve given acquisitive Japanese CEOs greater global purchasing power to tap faster-growing markets abroad.

Still, the odds favor Kuroda adding fresh liquidity this week, partly thanks to China’s troubles. In Davos last weekend, he turned heads by suggesting China impose capital controls to defend the yuan. For years now, the world called on Beijing to give markets a bigger say in the currency’s value. Now, though, a weaker yuan is boosting the yen. “The BOJ,” says Martin Malone of brokerage Mint Partners, “needs to counter China’s most recent policy easing by a further expansion in the monetary base.”

But another BOJ blast won’t change corporate mindsets in Abe’s direction. All signs are that wage negotiations that begin Jan. 25 between executives and unions will be disappointing. “Large employers,” says Tobias Harris of Teneo Intelligence, “are significantly more pessimistic heading into wage negotiations than in 2015.” And last year’s wage gains, let’s face, were pretty forgettable.

That has Abe calling for “equal pay for equal work” as companies race to shift as many work contracts as possible to part-time status. But Abe’s reliance on monetary policy over reform is the very thing driving executives to pay a little as possible. The irony is that Abenomics did spark a change in corporate mindsets -- just one at cross-purposes with its goal. So sure, the BOJ can ease again –- and it probably will. But what will it really change?

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[plawolf]

That picture is offensive propaganda at best and downright racist at worst.