I'm certainly not trying to get into a pissing contest so to speak, just trying to relate his experience to what an uniformed person would understand. That being said, the horrors of the gulag are nothing to be trifled with. To put it mildly, the soviets reached new lows (lows that the Nazis set), and one of the saddest things about it was that it all occurred before and after WWII. It's a shame the west didn't act when it could, but I don't blame them either.
I'd recommend you read his book (link here) and you'll see what I mean. Both systems were absolutely atrocious crimes against humanity.
Read up on your history before making assumptions
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618001905/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_aB8TBbCQ7Q6M1
Highly recommend reading "King Leopold's Ghost" to anyone interested in the history of Belgian colonialist atrocities in Africa. Warning: it makes for grim reading.
> If you can accept that Muslims are inherently violent, uncivilized, brain deficient, unintelligent, etc then
This is an extreme misrepresentation. His position is that many of the ideas of Islam (as well as those of most mainstream religions) are potentially or likely dangerous, such that they can lead good people to do bad things. What else explains the majority of suicide bombings (within the last few decades) being committed by jihadi groups?
edit:
>... Harris' inherent anti-theism.
Also, fun fact, did you know despite being an "anti-theist" (a label he would likely disagree with), he has spent much of his life studying Eastern religions directly? He's a proponent of many Eastern meditative practices, as well as a borderline Buddhist. He's also co-authored a book with a Muslim.
Arkadaslar kusura bakmayin ama bu postu upvote biraz ilginc.
OP'nin gosterdigi eser akademik bir calisma ve yazari da siyaset bilimci. Yale'de de calismis, cok unlu bir profesor. Kitapta kullandigi butun bilgiler de yine universitelerde uretilmis veya arsivlerden toplanmis bilgiler. Yani kaynak bilimsel bir kaynak.
Su anda mesela nukleer enerji veya gunes enerjisi kullaniyoruz, atomu parcaliyoruz falan ya, bu noktaya nasil geldik sizce? Universitelerde, akademik olarak ve bilimsel yolla uretilmis calismalarla degil mi? Birisi bir sey yaziyor, baskalari okuyor, bunun dogrulu kanitlaniyor ve bilimsel ilerleme yasaniyor.
Heh, bu adamin yazdigi da boyle bir sey iste. Tarihsel bilimsel surecin bir parcasi. Dalga gecebilecegimiz, ahahah sacmalik diyebilecegimiz bir sey degil. Karsisina kendi bilimsel makalelerimizle, arsivsel kanitlarimizla cikabilecegimiz bir sey.
Edit: /u/bokavitch'in de bahsettigi gibi buradaki bilgiler Death by Government isimli bir kitabin yazari olan profesorun resmi sitesinden alinmis durumda. Ancak bilgiler ilk olarak o kitapta basiliyor.
Kitabin amazon linki: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Government-R-J-Rummel/dp/1560009276 Ucretsiz indirip incelemek isterseniz de bu link var: https://libgen.pw/item/adv/5a1f054a3a044650f50e8e47
THIS
Source OP is ridiculing is the author’s personal website where just he republished statistics from this book online.
If OP even bothered to scroll to the bottom of the page to read the author’s acknowledgements he’d find “In particular I want to thank [...] Guenter Lewy, Heath Lowry”. The guy did his research and incorporated information from the same scholars that are constantly cited in the Turkish government’s official position.
The numbers could still be off, but that’s always the case, even for the best historians. Unless you have a specific argument about why his numbers are off then don’t criticize the source.
This is one of the dumbest posts I’ve seen on this topic. It boils down to OP saying the web design sucks so it’s not a legitimate source without actually doing the most basic work to investigate what the source actually is.
https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Telegram-Kissinger-Forgotten-Genocide/dp/0307744620
This is also an excellent read for anyone interested in this topic
Let's not forget all the Soviet soldiers summarily executed or sent to die in gulags for "political crimes," like being captured by the enemy, or retreating to save their own lives, or writing in private letters about the hardships of Soviet army life.
> it coudl be argued much of africa has a better life and opportunity under colonialism
Read King Leopold’s Ghost from cover to cover before you ever make this claim again.
King Leopold's Ghost is a powerful book on Beligian atrocities in the Congo during its colonial period. Highly recommended for understanding what's taking place there to this day.
I do not think there is any truth in his statement (only to his statement related to Mukti Bahani). His claim that Mukti Bahai were trained in USSR is not corroborated by any third party. If that was true, it would have been discovered by the CIA and it would have been used against Bangladesh by Nixon/Kissinger who hated India and BD. Even if that was not discovered at that time, it would have been used by BD and USSR and now Russia to promote the bilateral relationship between the two countries. But no one makes such claim.
On the claim that Kolkata consulate had AK47 for BD also does not hold water. TTBOMK, the AK47 used by BD was mostly Chinese and it was not a common weapon. If Mukti Bahani has an ample supply of weapons and the training as well as international support as claimed by him, Bangladesh would have become independent much earlier.
Some people from Pakistan and their supported in BD claim his statement as proof that the birth of Bangladesh was an international conspiracy against Pakistan. Its an attempt to change history with misinformation.
You may read the book Blood Telegram which covers these issues more broadly.
Civil War in the United States, slavery ended. A milita was a large part of this, no a militia alone did not do this but it seriously helped.
The formation of the United States also in large part was due to a militia.
The russian revolution as well.
Additionally most of those homicides are from illegally gotten handguns, and gang violence.
>your own crime statistics prove that
millions of fatal incidents are stopped each year with firearms, by our own statistics.
​
Again, read this:
Communism the theory, and communism in real practice, are very very different. I base my idea of communism on what always happens in practice, as do most scholars and historians.
The defining work on the topic would be Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - The Gulag Archipelago
That's the condensed version, the full 3 volume version is even better. This is what living under communism is actually like, and an analysis as to why it is that way.
Since the USSR we still don't have a counter case where am attempt has caused anything but poverty and misery. Without freedom and a profit motive, society cannot function. Look also to the original settlers of America, who tried a form of socialism and almost all starved.
Or read a book. Shit, if you even read your own comment it shows that Belgium only sent troops to protect the white civilians. If you actually read that thread you'd see that the other UN members were opposed to providing support to the Belgian-backed secessionists and eventually even intervened to block and engage them. The only reason the US ended up involved on the behalf of the secessionists was because after they didn't want to back up the rebel factions those factions sought and received aid from the Communist bloc.
Though you did remind me that if we get any Free French forces for the Paris Liberation phase, we should probably get some Senegalese representation.
In this case, America was definitely bad. Not just bad, truly evil. Just read The Blood Telegram. It will send you shivers down your spine and make you hate Ameria's foreign policy forever.
Reading the Blood Telegram was eye opening.
That book was based mostly on declassified US sources and Indian sources. Hopefully this book has more Pakistani sources to flesh out the story.
I recently read King Leopold's Ghost per a recommendation in one of the "audiobooks similar to HH episodes" threads:
https://www.amazon.com/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Heroism-Colonial/dp/0618001905
It definitely explores the history in a way that is reminiscent of a HH episode.
That said I would also like to hear Dan's take.
No. I was just jest-fully alluding to my cynicism regarding the nature of government (that it is corrupt). Read Death by Government for details: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Government-Genocide-Murder-Since/dp/1560009276/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?crid=9Y9JFY2PJEWD&keywords=death+by+government+by+r.j.+rummel&qid=1649466790&sprefix=death+by+gov%2Caps%2C155&sr=8-1
Read King Leopold’s Ghost. It’s horrifying and very well done.
King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618001905/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_YKPBDYMEWV8HBP12BTMC
Yes, you are right. In the context of our current economic model, it does that. But why is all this happening? What is the motive behind all of the things that are banned and don't work? MONEY, our economic model. If you remove the reason people do these bad things, you remove almost all these problems. Anyway there is too much to explain, and truly I don't have the time and space here on Reddit.
If you really want to understand how things work and what can be don to change things read this.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Human-Rights-Movement-Reinventing/dp/1942952651
The setting - the Congo (country and river), and the occasional rogue soldier, stationed during Leopold's reign, in isolated areas upriver during the rubber boom.
I'd advise King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618001905, it explains Leopold's history in the Congo in very vivid detail.
Omg, this book is devastating…
>shows greater development, growth and prosperity than its liberal counterparts
I do not feel these are the appropriate measures of a successful society and are exactly what has caused the quite possibly irreversible destruction of our environment, massive inequality, and incomprehensible waste of resources in the name of profit and protecting private business interests via a socialized military.
A better measurement would be based on:
I would suggest reading The New Human Rights Movement: Reinventing the Economy to End Oppression
From Wikipedia:
> They also burned recalcitrant villages, and above all, cut off the hands of Congolese natives, including children. The human hands were collected as trophies on the orders of their officers to show that bullets had not been wasted. Officers were concerned that their subordinates might waste their ammunition on hunting animals for sport, so they required soldiers to submit one hand for every bullet spent.[53] These mutilations also served to further terrorize the Congolese into submission. This was all contrary to the promises of uplift made at the Berlin Conference which had recognized the Congo Free State.
The Congo Free State was a vanity project of Leopold II of Belgium. The book King Leopold's Ghost is a fascinating and depressing read.
Joseph Conrad's book Heart of Darkness is believed to have been inspired by what happened there. The movie Apocalypse Now is a modern interpretation of Heart of Darkness.
For those who want to know how the sausage was really made, The number one ranked book in Amazon under Belgian history that goes into the grisly details :
https://www.amazon.com/King-Leopolds-Ghost-Heroism-Colonial/dp/0618001905/ref=nodl_
Quite a riveting read.
Likely as well. For 14 bucks its right here. Best 14 bucks youll ever spend:
>I will never be persuaded that is not a ridiculous position.
Good to hear you have an open mind.
>I am still curious as to whether you are an employee or an employer though.
Employee. I've also been self employed, and I have a sibling who has has many employees. And it is clear you only asked this in order to reinforce your belief.
>And you never provided a link to anything either.
Appologies, wrong conversation. The Venus Project is a great place to start. I would also recommend reading The New Human Rights Movement.
Not once in your life it has occurred to you that you are wrong and leftist propaganda is incorrect.
Based on your username involving code I strongly advise you to check this out.
I'm truly, honestly and without question curious about your findings there.
I’d highly recommend reading about the Gulags before you actually go and create such false equivalencies between them and the US responding to the worst pandemic in a century. If you need a recommendation on Soviet Gulag History please start with The Gulag Archipelago