Wondering what the new Syrian government will be like...

[Moses]

24 minutes ago, unicorn said:

I guess the Russian press hasn't been privy to see the billion-dollar palace he lived in

You forgot to add "and served by Western banks" for profit, since these billions for sure aren't in cash and nobody can pay in dollars of euro without to process such operation via Western bank...

[Moses]

And I am also surprised at how brainwashed you are: it never even occurs to you to discuss the palaces of the emirs and kings of the absolute monarchies of the Middle East, although their despotism is stronger than Assad's - at least Assad had elections.

But the emirs show sufficient loyalty and that is why they are in your society columns, while Assad did not show loyalty and that is why he is in military reports.

Although in essence, Assad's regime is much more democratic than the absolute despotisms of the Middle East.

[Moses]

Even from the point of view of gay rights - in Syria under Assad, homosexuality was criminalized, but punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison.

And in the monarchies of the Middle East, homosexuality is punishable by death, just like in poorly educated Afghanistan. And the loyalty of democracies to these regimes is simply due to energy dependence, and therefore no one pays attention to gay rights in these countries.

It turns out that if the country is loyal and supplies oil, then everything is fine with the regime. We will receive their leaders on red carpets, shake hands, hug and admire the golden toilets in palaces. And if it is not loyal, then every loudspeaker will throw mud at them, although there is no difference between the first and the second.

[unicorn]

3 hours ago, Moses said:

... it never even occurs to you to discuss the palaces of the emirs and kings of the absolute monarchies of the Middle East, although their despotism is stronger than Assad's - at least Assad had elections...

As usual, your post is so full of shit it's unbelievable. First of all, as you well know, the reason that many Emirs and Kings in the Middle East are so wealthy is due to their oil and/or natural gas reserves, not due to payments from Putin. Although their ostentatious wealth is indeed absurd, these kingdoms do share the wealth with their subjects. My husband and I went to Qatar a year ago, and no Qatari citizen even has to work. They get free health care, housing, food, and even luxury cars. It's quite amazing to see all of these Maseratis being driven around.

And, even more obviously, these kings and emirs don't murder their men, women, and children with lethal gases and torture (well, except Khashoggi, whose murder caused a rift in US-Saudi relations, but Putin applauded) . While US relations with most of these monarchies is cordial, if sometimes a bit cool, the only kingdom which is truly pro-Western, pro-US, is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It's very questionable whether Saudi Arabia is more closely aligned with Russia or the West. How you can write such preposterous posts, apparently without any sense of self-shame, is beyond comprehension.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50223602

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35005825

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/16/syria-stories-behind-photos-killed-detainees

 

[unicorn]

Even more gruesome photos are here, but I will only post the link to avoid Vinapu's sensibilities:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/aa-reveals-new-set-of-photos-documenting-syria-war-crimes/157423

[Moses]

33 minutes ago, unicorn said:

Even more gruesome photos are here, but I will only post the link to avoid Vinapu's sensibilities:

Dear, you know, if your president cares about poverty and tortures in Syria, when 40 millions Americans using food stamps, when veterans begging on streets and (hello Steeeveee) opioid crisis in country, may be then he should leave oval cabinet and became president of Syria? Just for to be more close to problems. M?

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

Even more gruesome photos are here, but I will only post the link to avoid Vinapu's sensibilities:

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/aa-reveals-new-set-of-photos-documenting-syria-war-crimes/157423

you already crossed the line with photo above

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

 My husband and I went to Qatar a year ago, and no Qatari citizen even has to work. They get free health care, housing, food, and even luxury cars.

citizens in Gulf countries bar Saudi Arabia are tiny fraction  of all residents. You may recall outrage  over  treatmemnts  of construction workers  when building Qatar 2022 stadiums 

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

While US relations with most of these monarchies is cordial,

yes , its fantastic to see how all of the sudden our Western concern about worker's , gay , religious and women rights , freedom of speech , free elections  and all other worthy causes all of the sudden stops at borders  with those oil rich countries. That is shit I found unbelievable yet very real and smelling double standards. 

[Moses]

5 hours ago, vinapu said:

and smelling double standards

[unicorn]

15 hours ago, vinapu said:

you already crossed the line with photo above

Well, then I guess you can't watch BBC, because that's where that photo came from. 

[unicorn]

15 hours ago, vinapu said:

citizens in Gulf countries bar Saudi Arabia are tiny fraction  of all residents. You may recall outrage  over  treatmemnts  of construction workers  when building Qatar 2022 stadiums 

Yes, almost anyone working in Qatar is a foreigner. We obviously had the chance to speak with quite a few of them, since all of our guides, drivers, shopkeepers, hotel workers, etc., were foreigners (from Pakistan, Egypt, or even non-Muslim countries such as India). They were all super-thrilled at the chance to work in Qatar. They marveled at how much better life is in Qatar, for them and for their families. Having been to Egypt and India (not Pakistan, nor do I want to), I can attest to that. 

The only time that crosses the line are those rare instances in which passports are taken from workers. If that happens, then I agree that this crosses the line into abuse. Otherwise, foreigners are free to leave. 

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, unicorn said:

Well, then I guess you can't watch BBC, because that's where that photo came from. 

I don't watch TV from Mar 23 , 1997

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, unicorn said:

They were all super-thrilled at the chance to work in Qatar. They marveled at how much better life is in Qatar, for them and for their families. Having been to Egypt and India (not Pakistan, nor do I want to), I can attest to that. 

No doubt they are sincere with their thrill but bar is pretty,  if not outright,  very low specially for those coming from provinces.

Whenever I hear statements  like that I recall visit to some Nepali village in mid 80ties. Village was in mountains and quite spread out. Local people were extremely happy and proud  that finally they had water supply piped in to a point in middle of the village. Before that nearest supply was over the hill, at least 1 hour one way. And I still see me friend seeing and hearing that broke in inconsolable cry.   

5 hours ago, unicorn said:

The only time that crosses the line are those rare instances in which passports are taken from workers. If that happens, then I agree that this crosses the line into abuse. Otherwise, foreigners are free to leave. 

it may depend on country in the region  but those instances are not necessarily that rare and not confined to Middle East. 

Locking passports occasionally happens even inside of EU, I recall scandal involved Polish workers in Italy  few years ago.

It happened to massage boy I met in Pattaya during his stint in Abu Dhabi.

[unicorn]

35 minutes ago, vinapu said:

Locking passports occasionally happens even inside of EU, I recall scandal involved Polish workers in Italy  few years ago...

The Polish are part of the EU and do not in any case need passports to travel between Poland and Italy (nor even to carry one--ID cards are sufficient). I think you're hearing some tall stories, unless you're actually thinking about a polish worker who isn't from Poland... 😉

[vinapu]

5 minutes ago, unicorn said:

The Polish are part of the EU and do not in any case need passports to travel between Poland and Italy (nor even to carry one--ID cards are sufficient). I think you're hearing some tall stories, unless you're actually thinking about a polish worker who isn't from Poland... 😉

 

 

how to say it politely? Perhaps "There are  things I tend to be better informed about" for some reason.

Is not about semantics between passport or National ID , both  can be withdrawn by sinister employer and locked as much as passport. And all of the sudden one is nobody.

[unicorn]

55 minutes ago, vinapu said:

how to say it politely? Perhaps "There are  things I tend to be better informed about" for some reason.

Is not about semantics between passport or National ID , both  can be withdrawn by sinister employer and locked as much as passport. And all of the sudden one is nobody.

Polite but arrogant, perhaps? Both countries are in the Schengen area. If someone illegally takes either a passport or ID card of a Pole, he can easily return to Poland without any identification, and report his ID being stolen for a replacement. (He could probably even report the theft to Italian authorities). Pakistani workers in Gulf states are another matter. The Schengen area is in blue (purple being added on January 1st, 2025):

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

 he can easily return to Poland without any identification

 

by swimming across or  using stolen kayak ? 

if you are Polish or Romanian girl from God forsaken village  promised job in restaurant and end locked up on brothel in Sardinia certainly your options of escape are innumerable.  

[unicorn]

3 hours ago, vinapu said:

by swimming across or  using stolen kayak ? 

if you are Polish or Romanian girl from God forsaken village  promised job in restaurant and end locked up on brothel in Sardinia certainly your options of escape are innumerable.  

Have you been drinking? The map I showed you showed the Schengen zone in blue, but it doesn't represent water. First you were talking about Polish workers, and now you're talking about brothels? Obviously, if you lock someone up, then that's kidnapping and false imprisonment, and identification won't help you, but that's not at all analogous to the UAE worker form Pakistan whose passport may have been confiscated. 

[10tazione]

9 hours ago, unicorn said:

If someone illegally takes either a passport or ID card of a Pole, he can easily return to Poland without any identification,

Schengen doesnt mean you are not required to carry an ID when travelling in Europe ... you need a portion of luck, especially when you have an "eastern look", Italy is not free from prejudice.

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, unicorn said:

 Obviously, if you lock someone up, then that's kidnapping and false imprisonment,

knowing that is no doubt great consolation for person in question as everybody and his brother knows that being shot from legal gun is  much better than from illegal one  

[vinapu]

5 hours ago, unicorn said:

but that's not at all analogous to the UAE worker form Pakistan whose passport may have been confiscated. 

becausre he is Pakistani so he should be happy UAE are letting him to breathe their air ?