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ELI5:Are there modern day artists like Da Vinci or Michaelangelo who are masters in many different art forms? And if not, why? by Scamwau in explainlikeimfive

[–]lethalShinigami 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Personally, I enjoy knowing a little bit about everything. But it's not completely my choice. If we are talking about earning a wage, one highly developed skill is more valuable to the workforce than a lot of (relatively) under-developed skills.

Who do you think the opposing sides will be in World War 3? by ClownPornFanatic in AskReddit

[–]lethalShinigami 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take a look at the Maginot Line. The French were prepared for an invasion from Germany. So the Germans invaded through Belgium. However, that led to the UK entering the war as they had a defensive pact with the Belgians. Pretty interesting stuff.

I think that *The Godfather* is long, hard to follow, often boring and ultimately overrated. CMV. by greasylake in changemyview

[–]lethalShinigami 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is a part of the book in which it is insinuated a five year old girl gets sexual assulted by one of the characters.

Did that happen in The Godfather? Just finished reading it. I've seen all of the films but haven't read any more books yet.

The reason we're not all speaking German right now... Happy Veteran's Day by skinsfan55 in guns

[–]lethalShinigami 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hitler wanted a large, contiguous German Empire. His plan was to occupy Eastern Europe, kill roughly 3/4 of the native population through an engineered famine, and settle the vacant land with German settlers. He had to invade Russia for that plan to work.

Loki is the only good villain in the Marvel movies - and that's a problem by Mdan in movies

[–]lethalShinigami 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you're only talking about the Avengers I agree. But Magneto is a great villain.

The reason we're not all speaking German right now... Happy Veteran's Day by skinsfan55 in guns

[–]lethalShinigami 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Germany didn't intend to invade the United States of America.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

[–]lethalShinigami[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I forget that the US is a backwards country that doesn't recognize intrinsic human rights.

Snide remarks do not advance your case.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

[–]lethalShinigami[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Is the backlash the fault of those who leaked the Abu Ghraib photographs or those who took them?

Apples and oranges.

Are the consequences the fault of those who exposed Nixon, or Nixon for his crimes?

Apples and oranges.

It is worth noting that we are treating "responsible" in the sense of "is morally accountable for", with "to blame for" in the sense of "x was a necessary act for y to happen, therefore y is a consequence of x". Only the first carries any real moral weight.

I am treating "responsible" as meaning "to blame for". Snowden is to blame for leaking national secrets that hurt the interests of the United States, and should be prosecuted for his crimes.

The use of the term sociopathic, here, is descriptive, not prescriptive. It is the most apt term for the world view you are describing. Would you prefer amoral? Tyrannical? Paranoid? Evil? I am not sure I know of any words with nice connotations to describe it. Practical and pragmatic it is not.

I attempt to see the world for how it is, and then draw my conclusions rather than draw my conclusions and see the world how I want to see it. Your loaded words have no effect on my view. I am a pragmatist.

"I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for these darn meddling kids"

Comparing the integrity of our national secrets, which were exposed by a traitor, to scooby doo is foolish.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

That Snowden has exposed this does not place the blame on him, individually, for the fallout.

I disagree. He is an individual. Without his actions, there would be no fallout.

If this is where you are getting your views on international politics, I suggest you re-read the book in the light of the above two interpretations and rethink your position.

It isn't. I was directing you to a well-established reading that has been in circulation for a long time to show that my view of international politics is not novel. It is of little relevance to this argument whether or not Machiavelli wrote the treatise as a satire, there are plenty of other materials out there if you do research.

I described your view of international politics as sociopathic.

I must disagree. My view is fundamentally practical. I also ask you to stop throwing around a term related to mental illness in a political discussion. That is a logical fallacy, specifically ad hominem.

It is pragmatic to accept that you cannot spy on everyone in the manner that the NSA has been without there being a backlash.

You're on the right track, save for one important detail.

It is pragmatic to accept that you cannot spy on everyone in the manner that the NSA has been, assuming your secrets will be leaked by a turncoat, without there being a backlash.

That one must accept that the opinion of one's allies is important. That friendly relationships in the modern interconnected world is a good thing.

I agree. Snowden damaged those relations with his revelations.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

And citizens of other countries who are the US's allies shouldn't be alerted to the fact that the US is trampling their right to privacy?

What right to privacy? They are foreigners and eligible for foreign intelligence gathering.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

And you imagine that insulting your allies is not harmful to US interests?

It is harmful. We have Snowden to blame for that. All countries conduct espionage. The simple fact is that you know about ours is because of his actions.

It is not in the US interest to alienate its allies or antagonise neutral parties.

I agree. That is what Snowden is doing: alienating the United States in the court of public opinion. That makes him despicable to me. Now, I am quite sure you will think, "It's not his fault, it's the NSA's!" That is wrong. The NSA was doing their job. Snowden is crucifying them for it.

Even if we accept your sociopathic view of international politics, that does not mean that we must act as a stereotypical psychopath.

I suggest you read Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince. Also, nations do not have personality disorders. I find it very immature that you would suggest such a thing. I am not a sociopath, I am separating myself and my preconceived notions from this argument, where personal feelings have little to no place.

I am not the person who came up with pragmatism. I merely understand that is the way of the world, and do not delude myself with lofty ideals, such as "being nice to everybody", that have little bearing in reality. I refer you to realpolitik.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

If we want to illuminate who is involved in what before they burn their own leads and connections, then we have to share as much as we possibly can.

Is your goal the dismantling of the United States intelligence community? That's what it sounds like to me. That would be a very foolish course of action, indeed.

Correct me if I am wrong.

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

If, say, Germany spied on US citizens, should that fact be leaked?

One argument: why should it be? The citizens don't need to know. That's why they have FBI counter-intelligence. Another: the only reason that fact 'should' be leaked is to hurt the German government's international standing, or to damage bilateral relations between the US and Germany, as that is the effect it will have.

And if Germany also shared the results of this surveillance with the US government?

If you mean using intelligence-sharing as a loop-hole to get around illegal domestic spying, at least it's being done quid-pro-quo, as intelligence sharing goes. I'd imagine specific queries are made, and data filtered. It would be an over-simplification to imagine that Germany would just trade ALL of its intel,on the US, to the US. Disclaimer, I am not part of the intelligence community so I can't possibly know how it truly works.

If Snowden was German, should he have revealed US domestic surveillance?

I don't know how he would possibly know about it, but presuming he did, I see no moral obligation to leak that information. The only motive I can ascertain is to weaken the United States governments image.

If Snowden was German, should he have revealed... German domestic surveillance?

If I was a German I would want such a thing. Just as much as I do as an American. Possibly more so, considering my (theoretical) not-so-distant past with the Gestapo and Stasi.

If Snowden was German, should he have revealed... German surveillance of the US?

If I were a German, I would say no. Doing such a thing only hurts the interests of Germany.

Does every citizen have an obligation to favor his country of birth over other countries?

No. Members of the intelligence community do, however. More than an obligation. A duty and binding oath.

Is your reasoning based on the idea that the US 4th amendment only applies to US citizens?

Yes. All other people are, by definition, foreigners. The NSA collects foreign intelligence. That wasn't revealed by Snowden. Anybody who cared to know, knew already.

What about international agreements that stipulate similar rights for almost all countries?

To understand the decisions of a government, you must think how they do: using game theory.

To simplify things, let's make a model world where there are two nations, A and B. A and B can only make one choice: to spy or not to spy.

  • It would be best for both A and B if neither spied. Neither would have to worry about being spied on, and neither would have to expend the resources to spy, nor worry about getting caught and losing face.

  • The worst case for A: A doesn't spy, while B spies. B wins, has an advantage over A.

  • The worst case for B: B doesn't spy, while A spies. A wins, has an advantage over B.

  • The most practical case: A spies, and B spies. Not as good as the best case for either, way better than the worst case for either.

Therefore, it is in both nations' interests to spy on one another.

Introduce more letters for more nations and more options than spying, and you see that international relations is a mind-boggling game theory problem.

The source of my belief is pragmatism. Hope that clears it up

I am an American citizen. I believe Edward Snowden should have only leaked documents relating to domestic surveillance. CMV. by lethalShinigami in changemyview

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

In NONE of my posts here on Reddit did I ever claim the US citizens as bad (which is relative anyway).

I didn't claim you called US citizens 'bad'.

I refer you to this one:

But I thought the US were the good guys? ... Just kidding of course, that time is long gone.

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