The Deluge of Absurdity, Ignorance, and Bad Posts

[Vosem]

An Empire is a country which has an Emperor. Ergo, the only country which can make a halfway reasonable claim today to being an empire is Japan.

You're obviously the expert on Japanese culture here, not me...can you explain why that is absurd and ignorant? I'm not calling you out; this is a topic you know far more about than I do and I'm legitimately curious.

[Vosem]

An Empire is a country which has an Emperor. Ergo, the only country which can make a halfway reasonable claim today to being an empire is Japan.

You're obviously the expert on Japanese culture here, not me...can you explain why that is absurd and ignorant? I'm not calling you out; this is a topic you know far more about than I do and I'm legitimately curious.

The sociological/political-science definition of an 'empire' in this context involves what's called a metropole exerting influence over what are called peripheries. It's a state that's to some extent set up like the heterogeneous realms ruled by the Western emperors of old, defined by that rather than by the presence of someone with that particular title. Previously most countries with empires were very interested in accruing an Emperor, because orders of precedence put them above kings and queens; this isn't as important as it used to be, and nothing theoretically prevents a republic from exercising its sovereignty in this way. Not only does Japan not really have peripheries anymore (unless you count Okinawa or Hokkaido), plenty of other countries do. Additionally, the 天皇 has his title translated as 'Emperor' and he does in fact outrank other heads of state in certain arcane ceremonial orders, but the terms derive from entirely different conceptions of sovereignty. 'Emperor' in the West implies, well, more or less what I just described. 天皇 implies a sacramental monarchy. Not mutually exclusive, obviously, but far from the same thing.

Thanks -- it seems we're arguing more over the definition of 'empire' than anything to do with Japanese culture specifically, but I appreciate the explanation

[Vosem]

Think about what that led to... W was elected, but was ultimately disowned by the party and dragged his family name through the mud, and opened the door to a Dem Senate and President Obama. Do you think Jeb Bush regrets the purges of voters, ramming through the count, etc? If W had lost honestly and narrowly, could Jeb have become president in 2004 or 2008?

[Vosem]

And making a million dollars an hour shouldn't seem strange or repugnant -- it's what every person should strive for. I'm disappointed that for somebody out there it does.

Good lord.

Someone likes hyperinflation?

Strive for ≠ achieve

[Vosem]

I think the time for me to move to England is rapidly drawing near.

Moving to England over privacy issues.

[Vosem]

I'd certainly rather live in Greece than Arizona..,

[Vosem]

I'm pretty sure that for white upper middle-class people (the main demographic on this forum), Greece is a pretty nice place to live in.

But Franzl's post was on a thread about working conditions in Greece, so he seemed to be implying that the Greek economy/working conditions in Greece/and such was more desirable than Arizona's (which is pretty absurd). Obviously preferring Greek weather to Arizona's is fine (stating the reverse might just be eligible for inclusion in this thread ), but that wasn't the context of the post.

[Vosem]

I'm pretty sure that for white upper middle-class people (the main demographic on this forum), Greece is a pretty nice place to live in.

But Franzl's post was on a thread about working conditions in Greece, so he seemed to be implying that the Greek economy/working conditions in Greece/and such was more desirable than Arizona's (which is pretty absurd). Obviously preferring Greek weather to Arizona's is fine (stating the reverse might just be eligible for inclusion in this thread ), but that wasn't the context of the post.

When did I say or imply anything about economics? Merely that I prefer Greece to Arizona and would feel more comfortable there.

Well, that's what the thread was about; any comment in it was in the context of the economic situation in Greece.

You preferring Greece over Arizona still strikes me as a very odd position -- Germans aren't exactly in vogue there, first of all, and second of all you (I think) don't speak Greek but do speak English. But to each his own.