ISIS Provides Some Spice for the Middle East / Persia

[bilby]

am I mistaken in thinking Pakistan is also Persian?

Yes.

Pakistan is Indian; The nation was created by the British (along with East Pakistan, which today is called Bangladesh) as a safe haven for Muslims who were being persecuted by the Hindu majority in India.

About 90% of Pakistani Muslims are Sunnis; About 90% of Persian (Iranian) Muslims are Shia.

This was a standard operating procedure for the British as they dismantled their empire; Whenever possible they arbitrarily drew up borders for an ethnic or sectarian divide, with the idea that it would protect the minority population from being attacked by the majority once the British were no longer around to keep the peace lead to ethnic cleansing on both sides of the new border, ensuring that the former colony remained weak due to internal strife, and so would not become sufficiently powerful as to act against British interests.

India/Pakistan; Egypt/Palestine; Ireland/Northern Ireland; Australia/New Zealand - the pattern is clear.

 

[Patooka]

Fuck that. New Zealand had it coming - John Clarke notwithstanding.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

am I mistaken in thinking Pakistan is also Persian?

Yes.

Pakistan is Indian; The nation was created by the British (along with East Pakistan, which today is called Bangladesh) as a safe haven for Muslims who were being persecuted by the Hindu majority in India.

Hmm... to obfuscate or not obfuscate?

Doing a very lazy look on it, appears to be Indian with Persian influence.

 

[Gospel]

I was about to edit and make the distinction that I'm talking about modern times. They've always been at war over political, territorial, and cultural factors.

That's pretty much a moot distinction. Religions, particularly their modern expressions, are and have always been businesses. Businesses deal in money and wealth and the power it brings. Religions don't survive without money and never have. Competition for resources is what drives religious differences, same as any other business.

That's kind of odd. I thought a business' goal was to make a profit while a religion's goal is to propagate one. Religion uses money as a means to an end goal while to a business money is the end goal. If a business runs out of money they vanish off the face of the earth and eventually so will their product, when a religion runs out of money it means nothing if their ideas are intertwined with aspects of the community's morality, education, and governance.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

when a religion runs out of money it means nothing if their ideas are intertwined with aspects of the community's morality, education, and governance.

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor. That's what happens in the business world. A religion operates on the same supply and demand principles as does any other business. Can you think of any religions that don't need money to survive?

My parents generation was very religious. Lots of churches everywhere in our area. Those churches are mostly gone because they weren't making enough money to stay operating. There are a few of those large non-denominational churches around now that weren't around before.

 

[Elixir]

I remember visiting a once abandoned cathedral in upstate NY, that had been converted into multimedia artists’ workshops and a high end recording studio. Very impressive space. But still just a wee bit creepy. I guess you can take the religious out of the building but you can’t entirely remove the religion.

 

[Patooka]

I remember visiting a once abandoned cathedral in upstate NY, that had been converted into multimedia artists’ workshops and a high end recording studio. Very impressive space. But still just a wee bit creepy. I guess you can take the religious out of the building but you can’t entirely remove the religion.

Jewish comedian buys second church to bring more laughs to Pittsburgh

Steel City Arts Foundation founder Steve Hofstetter is increasing his Pittsburgh presence

jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

I remember visiting a once abandoned cathedral in upstate NY, that had been converted into multimedia artists’ workshops and a high end recording studio. Very impressive space. But still just a wee bit creepy. I guess you can take the religious out of the building but you can’t entirely remove the religion.

Jewish comedian buys second church to bring more laughs to Pittsburgh

Steel City Arts Foundation founder Steve Hofstetter is increasing his Pittsburgh presence

jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com

Good article.

I've been trying to connect things in Pittsburgh to Gospel's claim that the religious beliefs get absorbed into the culture. That doesn't happen, of course, as we all know. It's actually quite the reverse, religion always emerges from what's already there. It doesn't add anything, but rather just packages and monopolizes and markets some things. And that's all good so long as the money keeps flowing in. That's business.

 

[Bomb#20]

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor. That's what happens in the business world. A religion operates on the same supply and demand principles as does any other business. Can you think of any religions that don't need money to survive?

Religion is older than money. Lots of primitive tribes had religious beliefs but no money economy; some still do.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor. That's what happens in the business world. A religion operates on the same supply and demand principles as does any other business. Can you think of any religions that don't need money to survive?

Religion is older than money. Lots of primitive tribes had religious beliefs but no money economy; some still do.

Do you think you are interpreting "money" too narrowly? Tribes in the Amazon go out and gather food. They take days to do this and then return to their villages or clans and distribute the food. In my interpretation they are sharing the wealth, sharing the money.

 

[Tigers!]

Fuck that. New Zealand had it coming - John Clarke notwithstanding.

NZ can still join with great Commonwealth of Australia. We still need more sheep.

 

[Derec]

This was a standard operating procedure for the British as they dismantled their empire; Whenever possible they arbitrarily drew up borders for an ethnic or sectarian divide, with the idea that it would protect the minority population from being attacked by the majority once the British were no longer around to keep the peace lead to ethnic cleansing on both sides of the new border, ensuring that the former colony remained weak due to internal strife, and so would not become sufficiently powerful as to act against British interests.

India/Pakistan; Egypt/Palestine; Ireland/Northern Ireland; Australia/New Zealand - the pattern is clear.

Yeah, those sneaky British arbitrarily dug up the Tasman Sea.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

a memorial service in Iran. Which has led to Iran and Pakistan returning military strikes on militant positions. Pakistan is notorious for its rivalry with Iran... I mean India. Which makes this tit for tat expected... unusual.

With Pakistan typically sabre ratting towards India, no one knows what the Muslim majority is in Pakistan because it was Hindu v Muslim. But now with Iran and Pakistan looking at each other, it is making people wonder... why type of Muslims live in Pakistan, Shia or the other kind? Turns out, it is the other kind relative to Iran. And if there is one thing Muslims hate more than anything, it is the other kind of Muslim, for some reason. It is worse than Michigan and OSU fans.

This turn of events adds an unexpected twist in the Middle East / Persian region, where it was generally a them vs us conflict, turning into a them vs us vs the other us.

Pakistan can't use Afghanistan as a distraction for it's fundie elements anymore, now they need a new enemy.

 

[bilby]

Yeah, those sneaky British arbitrarily dug up the Tasman Sea.

It wasn't arbitrary; They needed a way to divide the fish from the fush.

 

[Tigers!]

Yeah, those sneaky British arbitrarily dug up the Tasman Sea.

It wasn't arbitrary; They needed a way to divide the fish from the fush.

Don't forget the six from the sex and the dreaded pun from pin

 

[Gospel]

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor.

Businesses that go out of business aren't usually absorbed by their competitor.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor.

Businesses that go out of business aren't usually absorbed by their competitor.

Since when? It always happens, unless the product is obsolete, i.e. no demand.

 

[Gospel]

In other words the religion has just been absorbed by a competitor.

Businesses that go out of business aren't usually absorbed by their competitor.

Since when? It always happens, unless the product is obsolete, i.e. no demand.

So, if I understand correctly, you're suggesting that when their religious institutions (or churches) face financial issues, the followers don't abandon their beliefs; instead, they simply transition to another church that resonates with their existing beliefs? It seems like you're concurring with my view that the financial collapse of religious organizations doesn't eradicate their beliefs, as these ideologies continue to persist among the people who have been influenced by them.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

So, if I understand correctly, you're suggesting that when their religious institutions (or churches) face financial issues, the followers don't abandon their beliefs; instead, they simply transition to another church that resonates with their existing beliefs?

I said they get absorbed by the competition. You don't think churches compete for customers just like any other business? Where did I ever say they abandon their beliefs?

It seems like you're concurring with my view that the financial collapse of religious organizations doesn't eradicate their beliefs, as these ideologies continue to persist among the people who have been influenced by them.

Business is business. If there's a demand someone is gonna business up a supply. You can think the money exchange in religious business is different than the money exchange in any other business and that's fine with me. Why do you think that? The saying goes that whoring is the world's oldest profession but the business that is religion is likely a lot older considering how superstitious and credulous people are. People don't disappear so naturally those people ideas and inclinations don't disappear either.

Not sure what you mean when you say their ideologies get "absorbed" into the culture. They're already part of the culture. When my parents' church went belly-up they went to another church. Oh, I'm sorry, their parish was "consolidated." Not enough money being made to justify keeping open all those branch offices. You must not be familiar with the catholic business model, which is the same business model for every religion I've ever heard of.