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Subject: 
Re: A question of remembrance...
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.off-topic.debate
Date: 
Tue, 8 May 2001 12:08:46 GMT
Viewed: 
1219 times
  
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Scott Arthur writes:
In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Larry Pieniazek writes:

Put it this way, when was the last time you were personally threatened by
the Lichtenstein Army?

It does not have one. They rely on the Swiss for defence.

Got me... I did not know that. Pick some other tiny country as the root of
the example then... one that does have a tiny army.

How about if we use the Grand Duchy of Fenwick, because that's obviously
fictional. This is a fictional example, intended to be somewhat humourous,
not intended as an advocacy, and not directed at you anyway.

Now if Lichtenstein turns into a pocket dicatorship
that kind of stinks for the Lichtensteiners but it won't last. Bill Gates
could afford to do something about it if he so chose... Hence the thinking
that many small powerless states are good.

Big business would only do such a thing if there was $$ involved fom them.
Individuals would only do such as thing if there was kudos involved.

You don't know what motivates businesses

I do.

OR people in general,

For people "in general" I do.

just
yourself, so you can't say that for sure. I don't think Hemingway went to
Spain because "there were kudos involved" I think he went because he thought
standing up against Franco was a needful thing to do.


Well, what were his motives?


I would
rather these sorts of interventions were based on what is right or wrong…

By whose metric?

That is the important question. Many things are clearly "wrong" : mass
murder etc. But at the other edge of the scale it is harder to tell... but
perhaps the need for help is less acute?


The UN just voted the US off the Human Rights Commision while retaining
Libya, Cuba, Vietnam and a bunch of other dictatorships.

That is news to me.

Proving once again
that majority rule can produce screwy results.

Only when the majority is against you. The USA has, I am pretty sure, broken
international law in undertaking acts agaist each the the nations you
mention. I am sure they question the US version of majority rule given the
last election.

So if you're going to count
on a transnational organization to determine right or wrong you are not
going to get good answers. And if it's up to individual nations, how is that
different than now?

I suppose I trust corrupt government more that corrupt companies. The
former, under the system of government I prefer has some accountability. The
latter, under your preferred system, has none... other than "the market".

Interestingly, there is a move in the UK to have the market change a
multinationals actions:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1318000/1318360.stm

Scott A


++Lar



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: A question of remembrance...
 
(...) Heh...:-) I think you don't know much about what could be the cost of a corrupt government to you, perhaps you never have to live with one, generations long. Selçuk (...) (23 years ago, 9-May-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: A question of remembrance...
 
(...) Got me... I did not know that. Pick some other tiny country as the root of the example then... one that does have a tiny army. How about if we use the Grand Duchy of Fenwick, because that's obviously fictional. This is a fictional example, (...) (23 years ago, 8-May-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)

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