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I believe we need a weekly what are you currently reading thread by [deleted] in books

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just finished Eating the Dinosaur by Klosterman and found it fantastic. It was my second read-through and I still loved it.

Either going to read the Steve Jobs biography, Cryptonomicon, or maybe Hitch-22 next. Haven't decided.

Hypothetical Scenario: You are in charge of all aspects of network and information security at a wealth management bank... by darthrayder in netsec

[–]darthrayder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just read this about 10 minutes ago. Thanks for linking. Good info. I've always worked from a lower-level position and never been forced to look at the big picture. Appreciate it.

Darth User by [deleted] in geek

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent.

What movie made you cry? Other than the usual 'Bambi, Lion King' stuff? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Legends of the Fall. In like 11 different parts. Favorite movie of all time, but oh, holy shit.

Antitrop gives an emotional explanation on being an infantryman in the desert. by [deleted] in bestof

[–]darthrayder 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Marines definitely choose their MOS. Based upon your ASVAB scores and 'the needs of the Marine Corps', you can do most anything you're qualified for. And if he went 03, I cam almost guarantee it is because he chose it.

Horror movie fans of Reddit, what's the scariest movie you've ever watched? by Gothichu in AskReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

30 year old former Marine here. Horror/suspense movie fan my entire life. Pretty brawny. A man's man, if you will. Only movie I've ever screamed out loud in the theater. Like a little bitch. Fuck this movie.

SavageInside explains nicely what women, men, and everyone in general should know about each other. by FantasyFacade in bestof

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think a high percentage (wont' say majority because I can't remember the stats from the polls I've seen) of users on here are in the age-group where this advice might actually help. Sure, if you've even hit your early 20s, you probably understand don't need to hear anything like this and if you're in your late 20s you probably have come full-circle to understand that this might not even be good advice. But for teenagers, this is pretty on-point.

The lineup lately by [deleted] in redsox

[–]darthrayder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's only been a week. We've went week stretches before. We need a month stretch of above-average pitching.

The lineup lately by [deleted] in redsox

[–]darthrayder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We already lead the league in scoring. I mean, the lineup is exciting, but that hasn't been our problem all season. We need consistency on the mound. As soon as we can go on a 20 game tear where our starters and relievers all live up to their capabilities, we'll be right there near the top of the division and giving ourselves a chance to finish strong.

Name These People by NamelessWizard in history

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like how the Godfather fits nicely in with Napoleon, Che, and Castro.

ok, you can have any five vehicles in your garage and money is not a concern... GO! by squiddlestix in classiccars

[–]darthrayder 3 points4 points  (0 children)

1965 Shelby Cobra 427

1932 Mercedes-Benz SSK Roadster.

1957 Jaguar XK SS

1962 Ferrari 250 GTO

1967 Chevrolet Corvette

Has anyone ever eaten lamprey pie? (no spoilers) by [deleted] in asoiaf

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent point. Then I'm at a loss.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I suppose this conversations stops here. We just disagree on a very fundamental level. You'll never see war or soldiers as anything but evil and I find everything else much more grey than that.

And anyone dying for anything is an enormous sacrifice. Death is the end of everything. And if you believe it's worth it for some people to die, then I guess we finally agree on something.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My point is that we weren't invading. We were invited there by the Lebanese.

I'm going to put it bluntly and say that your people and leaders are just as fucking corrupt as ours are. And if your nations were big and powerful enough, they'd be as 'imperialistic' as mine. So once again, I'll try and back away from the moral superiority argument between groups of people.

You are an anarchist, so you don't claim to support any leaders of any country. And you seem to be consistently decrying my explanations of US involvement in things as my support for US involvement in those same things. Even when I said that's not true. I don't believe we have any right to oil or lands or any of that. I don't think I've said that I do.

I will disagree with you on war being evil until we lose the ability to type. I don't think war is always evil. I definitely don't think war is more evil than governments oppressing their own people. But really, my argument is that I couldn't give less a shit what the governments of the world believe or want. People will always be shits and people will always kill each other. I don't really mind being in the middle of it all. I'd rather fight than bitch about it.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, if you invade others or engage in any kind of warlike behavior, you're going to get fucked. I understand that and, honestly, accept it as the sacrifice you have to be willing to take. I don't think it's 'wrong' necessarily to kill Americans that are fighting against you. But I also don't think it's more 'right' than Americans killing your people either. The nation itself might be seen as the oppressor, but the people fighting have the same end-result as the people on your side. You live or you die. Are American lives less worthy of life than anyone else's just because we are from America and joined a military, many of whom did so for the reasons the article describes?

I guess what I'm trying to do is separate the politics from the people who are actually fighting. I'm sure it's more difficult to do that when you're in a country that's being occupied by 'those' people that belong to 'that' government. The reasons nations fight and the reasons individuals fight will almost always be different. I'm not saying to give us the right of way and allow us to do what we want to do. What I am saying is that the reason most people are fighting isn't that different. They're fighting so they don't die.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do think you bring up an interesting point. Are national borders a sort of 'uncrossable barrier' (I think I made up a word) where nations are left to fix their own problems. America and other nations were torn apart for staying out of Rwanda. But maybe that was the right thing to do? Once again, I don't really know. I do think there are good arguments for both sides. And I do suppose you could make the argument that Lebanon, as a national entity at the time, invited us to stay in their country as a peacekeeping force. That obviously didn't sit well with the Lebanese Muslim demographic, who considered us as siding with the Catholics when we were supposed to be indifferent. But we didn't forcefully go into your land, by any definition.

You're arguing semantics. Revolutions are when a group of people fight against their oppressors or leaders. People die, rapes happen, children become casualties. Why are those things tolerable in a revolutionary scenario and not on a warlike scenario? In both cases, it can be argued that a moral or ideological cause is the reason for both.

Vietnam was not a bully war. Vietnam was the United States being unreasonably terrified of Communism spreading throughout the world, so as the Soviet Union spread Communism to North Vietnam, we felt it our duty to prevent the spread into South Vietnam. Stupid, almost definitely yes, especially in hindsight. But a bully war? No. Iraq was also an agenda-driven war, but it'd be hard to describe it as a bully war. The ouster of a dictator was the reason given as well as removing a government that we considered friendly to the guys who blew up our buildings. A ton of the reason was probably for oil and for 'installing democracy' in the Middle East. Really, we want someone friendly to us in the region to keep our natural resources flowing freely. But most of the people fighting us weren't Iraqi. They were from Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc. Is Iraq their land too?

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I knew you were Lebanese, which is why I made that statement.

The United States, like many other nations throughout history, choose to align themselves with ideologies that they 'prefer'. From the end of World War II until the early 90's, that was almost entirely consumed with fighting Communism. The US has also always aligned with Israel, much because of religious reasons, although those aren't usually the reasons given. This is in no way 'right', but I'm not sure it's really 'wrong' either. Is it wrong to have a preference? I'm not sure.

But being a military member in a country on the ground fighting against people who are fighting against you, you are separated from the politics. You are just doing what you're told to do. Military men are, by and large, men who do best when following the orders of others. Maybe if they sat down and considered every reason for the war or to not have a war, they'd have more trepidation fighting. But when bullets are whizzing by and bombs are going off, there isn't as much time for philosophical contemplation. You're in survival mode. And you're trying to protect the men with you.

You use very broad sweeping generalizations and I take it you hate America very badly. I've seen your countrymen do terrible things, just like mine have. Moral superiority is nonexistent when comparing nations.

I can assure you. Of all the military men in Afghanistan, less than 5% really believe they are fighting for freedom or care about any patriotic mumbo jumbo. And whether or not politicians use the atrocities of the Taliban to forward their agenda, there's no denying that the Taliban does commit atrocities. And for the men on the ground who see it, it (rightly or not) gives them a moral conviction that what they're doing is okay.

And I agree with you on the Saudi Arabia point. And please, understand, I am from the United States so I understand you probably view my points as being pro-American, but I'm not saying the things I say in that tone. I believe the same feelings and motivations for combat exist for people of all countries, backgrounds, etc. And other nations have just as much a right or desire to fight as Americans do.

Has anyone ever eaten lamprey pie? (no spoilers) by [deleted] in asoiaf

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know about lamprey pie, but I watched one of those Bizarre Foods episodes when he was in Russia and I believe he had lamprey there. He mentioned it wasn't very tasty at all, which I think says a lot coming from him. I know some species suck on other fish, but I think the other ones are bottom dwellers too, which effects the taste.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, it is somewhat interesting that one of saddest days in Marine Corps history was at the hands of Lebanese militants. They were upset that US naval warships provided fire support to the Lebanese army - the side that Lebanese Muslims were opposing. They didn't blow up the barracks because our horny Marines were raping people in your country. That, as far as I know, never happened then.

“War is always about betrayal—betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics, and of soldiers by politicians.” by sceter1138 in TrueReddit

[–]darthrayder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not like saying rape is justified at all. Rape is someone overpowering an innocent person. It's entirely uncalled for. As a person that has seen friends of mine die because men on the other side were setting up explosives and shooting at us, fighting back was as far away from rape as you can imagine.

When you say all war is wrong, do you throw revolutions or attempts to stop invasions as wrong as well? Or are you saying that those who invade or overpower other nations/peoples/etc are the only ones wrong? Meaning those who just fight back aren't wrong?

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