Middle East carrier subsidies
#121
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,898
Typhoon-
You don't have to defend Islam. The vast majority of Islamists are good people.
I'll ask you again. Would it be OK to have Obama, for example, declare himself King of the United States, and take away my rights as a US citizen, if he treated us US citizens "really nicely?" Would you think King Obama was a "good guy" if I spoke out against his kingship (is that a word?) and my family and I disappeared in the middle of the night and ended up in jail? What if he shut down this forum because there were too many complaints about his leadership? Do you consider people who aren't allowed to choose their leaders as oppressed? How about people who aren't allowed freedom of speech? The right to unionize? The right to create political parties? The right to vote? The right to worship any God they please? If that's not oppression, I'm not sure what is?
Typhoon, why did the UAE send "police officers" to Bahrain in 2011? What was it that the Emirates were so afraid of if they're "nice" to their citizens?
Did you know a woman has to ask the permission of a male guardian before she is allowed to remarry in the UAE? Women are severely punished for such crimes as adultery. Apparently under Sharia law, you can be stoned for such an offense!
These ME leaders brutually oppress their people, Typhoon. I realize you might be biased considering your employment history, and I realize the UAE might be more liberal than some of the other culprits, but just a little Google-ing would go a long way for you. The leadership are still tyrants. There are multiple, unrelated, apolitical sources that describe the "leadership styles" of the countries in question. They also provide examples of what happen to citizens who don't "tow the party line." Thank God I'm a US citizen and I wasn't born in the UAE. I'd already be dead.
But back to the thread topic.....why should US airline pilots have their careers put at risk by allowing these opaque, government subsidized airlines access to US and European markets just so a few despots can diversify their economy so they can continue to afford their lavish lifestyles when the oil dries up?
You don't have to defend Islam. The vast majority of Islamists are good people.
I'll ask you again. Would it be OK to have Obama, for example, declare himself King of the United States, and take away my rights as a US citizen, if he treated us US citizens "really nicely?" Would you think King Obama was a "good guy" if I spoke out against his kingship (is that a word?) and my family and I disappeared in the middle of the night and ended up in jail? What if he shut down this forum because there were too many complaints about his leadership? Do you consider people who aren't allowed to choose their leaders as oppressed? How about people who aren't allowed freedom of speech? The right to unionize? The right to create political parties? The right to vote? The right to worship any God they please? If that's not oppression, I'm not sure what is?
Typhoon, why did the UAE send "police officers" to Bahrain in 2011? What was it that the Emirates were so afraid of if they're "nice" to their citizens?
Did you know a woman has to ask the permission of a male guardian before she is allowed to remarry in the UAE? Women are severely punished for such crimes as adultery. Apparently under Sharia law, you can be stoned for such an offense!
These ME leaders brutually oppress their people, Typhoon. I realize you might be biased considering your employment history, and I realize the UAE might be more liberal than some of the other culprits, but just a little Google-ing would go a long way for you. The leadership are still tyrants. There are multiple, unrelated, apolitical sources that describe the "leadership styles" of the countries in question. They also provide examples of what happen to citizens who don't "tow the party line." Thank God I'm a US citizen and I wasn't born in the UAE. I'd already be dead.
But back to the thread topic.....why should US airline pilots have their careers put at risk by allowing these opaque, government subsidized airlines access to US and European markets just so a few despots can diversify their economy so they can continue to afford their lavish lifestyles when the oil dries up?
#122
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,898
Non-UAE citizens aka the expats hold more jobs than UAE citizens in the UAE. Many are from the US/Canada, South America, Europe, and are white Christians who live and work in the UAE by choice and have been doing so for years. They get paid enough that they willingly stay there. Those that want to leave are free to do so.
#123
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2005
Position: tri current
Posts: 1,485
I'll ask you again. Would it be OK to have Obama, for example, declare himself King of the United States, and take away my rights as a US citizen, if he treated us US citizens "really nicely?" Would you think King Obama was a "good guy" if I spoke out against his kingship (is that a word?) and my family and I disappeared in the middle of the night and ended up in jail? What if he shut down this forum because there were too many complaints about his leadership? Do you consider people who aren't allowed to choose their leaders as oppressed? How about people who aren't allowed freedom of speech? The right to unionize? The right to create political parties? The right to vote? The right to worship any God they please? If that's not oppression, I'm not sure what is?
I'll ask you again, have you ever visited any of the cities that you are discussing here? Have you dealt with the citizens on a daily basis? or do you just get your news from CNN and Fox?
why did the UAE send "police officers" to Bahrain in 2011? What was it that the Emirates were so afraid of if they're "nice" to their citizens?
Because there were Iranian infiltrators trying to stir up a Shia versus Sunni revolt to destabilize the country. Would you rather have had Bahrain go the way of Libya, Syria, and Egypt? That's been working out really well for those countries and their citizens so far, hasn't it?
but just a little Google-ing would go a long way for you. The leadership are still tyrants. There are multiple, unrelated, apolitical sources that describe the "leadership styles" of the countries in question. They also provide examples of what happen to citizens who don't "tow the party line." Thank God I'm a US citizen and I wasn't born in the UAE.
Americans, like yourself, who have not travelled extensively tend to be quite narrow in their view of how the world actually works. It takes quite a few years of living outside of the USA to break out of the sheltered concepts that we grew up with. Sure America is great, so is western Europe in large part. Sadly, the rest of the world is not that way. It is a really nasty world and 5/6th of the population has to deal with political, security, economic, religious, hunger, sanitation, etc, issues on a daily basis.
Forced democracy or democracy attempts by populaces that are not ready for it are proving to be far worse than other alternatives.
But back to the thread topic.....why should US airline pilots have their careers put at risk by allowing these opaque, government subsidized airlines access to US and European markets just so a few despots can diversify their economy so they can continue to afford their lavish lifestyles when the oil dries up?
You're fighting the wrong battle and that is the reason for my posts.
Typhoonpilot
#124
Runs with scissors
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Position: Going to hell in a bucket, but enjoying the ride .
Posts: 7,722
Oh, and BTW, all the hundreds of thousands of people WORKING for the US Carriers are all paying INCOME TAX, some of which pays those 535 wh0res in Washington DC, who are supposed to "Represent" us.
#125
And YOU might want to research how much $$$ of every ticket sold, on every US Carrier is actually a TAX.
Oh, and BTW, all the hundreds of thousands of people WORKING for the US Carriers are all paying INCOME TAX, some of which pays those 535 wh0res in Washington DC, who are supposed to "Represent" us.
Oh, and BTW, all the hundreds of thousands of people WORKING for the US Carriers are all paying INCOME TAX, some of which pays those 535 wh0res in Washington DC, who are supposed to "Represent" us.
Pax tax and personal income tax are not relevant to this thread
Last edited by Worldguy; 03-11-2015 at 04:43 PM. Reason: Thread is about subsidies
#127
#128
Straight QOL, homie
Joined APC: Feb 2012
Position: Record-Shattering Profit Facilitator
Posts: 4,202
It's apparent some guys working over there are ok giving up their liberties, and turning their backs on American values and culture. They've been bought with the Emir's gold. Good for them.
I just hope they don't ever need anything from me.
I just hope they don't ever need anything from me.
#129
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: May 2009
Posts: 474
What are you talking about? Brutal dictators of the UAE and Qatar? These places are full of expats! If it was really that bad there would be a mass exodus of expats. There are plenty of things that are allowed in the UAE and many things you just have to be smart about. Life isn't that bad for an expat.
The real dictators that you meant in your post would be Saudi Arabia. They are the brutal ones, more strict than Iraq's Hussein or Libya's Qaddafi. They have just as harsh a form of sharia law and sharia punishment as ISIS does. For every one beheading carried out by ISIS, Saudi beheads 10. Even today in Saudi Arabia, women can't drive, have to walk behind their man/men, and can't own/run their own business. This remains the only country in the world where such things happen today. Saudi is the #1 human rights violator in the Middle East (excluding ISIS which is a terrorist group, not yet a full country). Yet Saudi is our #1 ally after Israel in the Middle East. Proof yet again any wars in the name of human rights or dictator removal are just a farce. We are BFF with Saudi for two reasons: military bases and oil.
The real dictators that you meant in your post would be Saudi Arabia. They are the brutal ones, more strict than Iraq's Hussein or Libya's Qaddafi. They have just as harsh a form of sharia law and sharia punishment as ISIS does. For every one beheading carried out by ISIS, Saudi beheads 10. Even today in Saudi Arabia, women can't drive, have to walk behind their man/men, and can't own/run their own business. This remains the only country in the world where such things happen today. Saudi is the #1 human rights violator in the Middle East (excluding ISIS which is a terrorist group, not yet a full country). Yet Saudi is our #1 ally after Israel in the Middle East. Proof yet again any wars in the name of human rights or dictator removal are just a farce. We are BFF with Saudi for two reasons: military bases and oil.
The Saudi monarchy are tyrants, too. Yes, we're only "friends" with them because they have oil. I guess if you want to put all the Middle East despots on a scale, you can rank the Saudi monarchy at the top. Just because the Saudis are at the top of your scale doesn't mean that the monarchies at the bottom of the ME scale aren't brutal dictators as well.
#130
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: May 2009
Posts: 474
Westerners who visit Pyongyang (North Korea) and who deal with North Korean citizens are treated pretty well, too. I've never been to Pyongyang. I only know what I read, Google, and see on TV. When one sees interviews of North Korean citizens on Western TV, for example, the North Korean citizens will tell you how happy they are and how wonderful their leadership is with a big, fat smile on their faces. And I read that the North Korean citizens who live in Pyongyang are treated very well- 3 squares a day, modern amenities, jobs, entertainment (parades!), etc. So I guess if I didn't "Google" and went by what those Western Pyongyang visitors say, and what the country's own citizens say, I'd think being a North Korean ain't that bad!
Because there were Iranian infiltrators trying to stir up a Shia versus Sunni revolt to destabilize the country. Would you rather have had Bahrain go the way of Libya, Syria, and Egypt? That's been working out really well for those countries and their citizens so far, hasn't it?
Americans, like yourself, who have not travelled extensively tend to be quite narrow in their view of how the world actually works. It takes quite a few years of living outside of the USA to break out of the sheltered concepts that we grew up with. Sure America is great, so is western Europe in large part. Sadly, the rest of the world is not that way. It is a really nasty world and 5/6th of the population has to deal with political, security, economic, religious, hunger, sanitation, etc, issues on a daily basis.
I do agree with you that most Americans who haven't traveled outside the US do have quite sheltered views. How many times have we heard, "What if you get sick in (insert country here)?" and we have to tell that (disbelieving) person that I might very well get better medical care in China (for example) than I may get in the US? I don't hold my views of the UAE because I've lived a sheltered life.
Nah, I'm fighting the right battle.
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