41–50 of 86 posts
It’s absurd that a British citizen, or a citizen of any democratic county, is living and studying in a repressive, corrupt and violent regime like the United Arab Emirates. These countries and their kleptocratic Sheikhs throw wealth derived from oil and blood at western universities, and bribe their officials into setting up “campuses” in their states. Then they get upset when arriving students don’t conform to the a…
It’s absurd that a British citizen, or a citizen of any democratic county, is living and studying in a repressive, corrupt and violent regime like the United Arab Emirates. These countries and their kleptocratic Sheikhs throw wealth derived from oil and blood at western universities, and bribe their officials into setting up “campuses” in their states. Then they get upset when arriving students don’t conform to the a…
> The Cold War is over. Yet somehow western democracies are still clinging on to alliances with barbarous regimes like Saudi Arabia and UAE. That's because those in power are the moderate ones, who are able to keep the most extreme elements of Islamic fundamentalism at bay. You want to topple Saudi Arabia and UAE? Great, now it's run by ISIS. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser evil.
I don't know why anyone would visit a country with such insane laws, it's just too dangerous. Sure they seem to have a lot of interesting stuff going on and to see, but a big fat NOPE after you read anything about their rules and how they treat people!
Look at Japan: 23-day police custody period. After that there’s a 99.99% confession rate. Carlos Ghosn, president of Nissan, seems to have just discovered it: He will be interrogated for 12 days. I would never go to such countries.
That's because prosecutors in Japan and other countries generally go after "sure" cases.
Canada has a 97% conviction. US has a 93% conviction rate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conviction_rate
> Carlos Ghosn, president of Nissan, seems to have just discovered it: He will be interrogated for 12 days. I would never go to such countries.
At least he'll get court case rather than disappearing in a japanese embassy.
Japan has its problem but it's absurd to compare it to the horrors in the middle east.
Anyhow, one day later my phone is ringing with some strange number calling. It was a manager from the first hotel saying that I used counterfited euro bills in their hotel. My heart sank reeeally hard in an instant. He said he is sure because only I exchanged euros before they went to the bank to store the money or whatever. The bank informed them that they are fake bills and by the law he said they need to say who used them. BUT, that was my lucky day and the manager said that they did not report me and will not if I repay them with real money. I imidately agreed and asked them for a way to pay with a CC because I was in another part of the emirate, they agreed and that was settled, I overpeyed a bit because he probably saved me.
After that I ran to my room and took out all the bills I got from the iPhone sale and me and my wife needed almost an hour to figgure out that they are really fake, by looking over the internet and checking what is usually harder to fake. Tell tell sign was the 3d lines/bumps on parts of the bill. Everything else looked perfectly well!!! Now, I was confused why the money changer at the airport did not bust me right away so I went to a mall and exhanged another bill (which was real, not counterfited) and they just took it without checking. Few days later when leaving the country I was very scared on the boreder/aurport police check point but everything went well. Uff. I was so close to having a horror story myself... I immidiately reported to the police in my country what has happened.
Before this I never ever had such experience and always naively trusted random people when I bought and sold things on the internet. Now I know better. Was so close to be really screwed by some random guy because of some small amount of money.
It’s absurd that a British citizen, or a citizen of any democratic county, is living and studying in a repressive, corrupt and violent regime like the United Arab Emirates. These countries and their kleptocratic Sheikhs throw wealth derived from oil and blood at western universities, and bribe their officials into setting up “campuses” in their states. Then they get upset when arriving students don’t conform to the a…
Why are you acting like these western democracies aren't just as barbarous and cruel?
It’s absurd that a British citizen, or a citizen of any democratic county, is living and studying in a repressive, corrupt and violent regime like the United Arab Emirates. These countries and their kleptocratic Sheikhs throw wealth derived from oil and blood at western universities, and bribe their officials into setting up “campuses” in their states. Then they get upset when arriving students don’t conform to the a…
Why are you acting like these western democracies aren't just as barbarous and cruel?
You have tons of appeals in US, UK and other Western countries and judges are (at least in USA) super educated and independent. You can be SCREWED if you're poor, the state is hellbent of jailing you and no one takes up your cause but odds of something like the above happening in US or UK are close to zero.
Federal judges, at least in USA, love to keep their independence and to hold the state's feet at the fire. They are a third and SEPARATE branch, in 99% of cases taking a pay reduction to serve.
It’s absurd that a British citizen, or a citizen of any democratic county, is living and studying in a repressive, corrupt and violent regime like the United Arab Emirates. These countries and their kleptocratic Sheikhs throw wealth derived from oil and blood at western universities, and bribe their officials into setting up “campuses” in their states. Then they get upset when arriving students don’t conform to the a…
> The Cold War is over. Yet somehow western democracies are still clinging on to alliances with barbarous regimes like Saudi Arabia and UAE. That's because those in power are the moderate ones, who are able to keep the most extreme elements of Islamic fundamentalism at bay. You want to topple Saudi Arabia and UAE? Great, now it's run by ISIS. Sometimes you have to choose the lesser evil.
I don't know why anyone would visit a country with such insane laws, it's just too dangerous. Sure they seem to have a lot of interesting stuff going on and to see, but a big fat NOPE after you read anything about their rules and how they treat people!
Look at Japan: 23-day police custody period. After that there’s a 99.99% confession rate. Carlos Ghosn, president of Nissan, seems to have just discovered it: He will be interrogated for 12 days. I would never go to such countries.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why are you acting like these western democracies aren't just as barbarous and cruel?
I agree that there are very unpleasant aspects of western democracies. But to say that, for example, the UK is as cruel and barbaric as Saudi Arabia is overheated rhetoric.