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Komnenos
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Topic: Post of the Month Competition Posted: 13-Jul-2006 at 04:49 |
By popular demand (that is, two people demanded it) AE is re-introducing his Post of the Month competition.
We should be looking for well written and argued contributions to historical topics (Sorry, Ponce and UvH) that deserve a special mentioning.
Furthermore, we will introduce the Itapevi Memorial Prize for the most absurd, pointless and unintelligible post of the month.
Please place your suggestions for posts made in July with link here in this thread.
Winners will be announced in AE Community Newsletter August.
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ulrich von hutten
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Posted: 14-Jul-2006 at 15:04 |
Komnenos wrote :We should be looking for well written and argued contributions to historical topics (Sorry, Ponce and UvH)
what does this mean ? komnenos, well known for your allways brilliant articles , you will see. after i'll win the " most of the ponth competion " the first time , i will come to the netherlands and will tattoo the german flag on your arrogant backside.....
Edited by Imperator Invictus - 10-Jan-2007 at 09:56
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Guests
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Posted: 14-Jul-2006 at 16:47 |
....I have had a look round some of the threads posted in July and i would like to nominate Constantine XI and his 'Gendering of Nations' topic...
..something i have not given much thought but because of this thread i now have!!!!
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cattus
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Posted: 14-Jul-2006 at 22:04 |
Originally posted by ulrich von hutten
what doesthis mean ? komnenos, well known foryor always brilliant articles , you will see. after i'll winthe " most of the ponth competion" the first time , i will come to the netherlands and will tattoo the german flag on your arrogant backside..... |
Now that the Itapevi Memorial Prize is out of the way, lets concentrate on the "Post of the Month".
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Paul
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Posted: 17-Jul-2006 at 11:10 |
Is this post of the month competition talking about, a single comment in a topic or a topic and all the posts in it?
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Komnenos
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Posted: 17-Jul-2006 at 12:51 |
Just one post, not a thread.
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Jay.
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Posted: 17-Jul-2006 at 18:55 |
Quote by Sparten in the Israel Vs. Lebanon thread:
Originally posted by Sparten
Its the Lebanese's fault at the end of the day. They committed the biggest crime in International affairs, that is to be weak.
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Samo Sloga Srbina Spasava
Only Unity Can Save the Serb
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Guests
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Posted: 17-Jul-2006 at 20:59 |
Originally posted by Komnenos
Just one post, not a thread. |
.....whoops.....got it wrong again......i should have read it more clearly....
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Omar al Hashim
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Posted: 02-Aug-2006 at 03:50 |
Excellent Idea. I've certainly read posts worthy of both prizes. I'll go an see if I can dig one up.
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Omar al Hashim
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Posted: 09-Aug-2006 at 21:06 |
I'll nominate these two posts on this thread: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13875&PN=1
Originally posted by Maharbbal
Personally history brought me two main things:
On causes and consequences: too many unpredictable effects for every action, too many reasons for each event. We all have limited rationality and only the dangerously stupid optimists actually take action.
There is a limited number of possibilities for human kind. Everywhere for the last 10,000 years the same questions have been asked again and again with only a relatively limited set of possible answers. For instance it is always amazing to realize how close to ours the situations the Ancient Egyptians had to face were.
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Originally posted by flyingzone
Originally posted by Genghis
Yes, I have, and that is why I do not discount cooperation, I help friends and family members, but I am under no illusion that that is a way to end all or even most conflict.
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Good. Then in principle, I agree with your interpretation of history. The only problem that I have with it is, as I have stated before, its unidimensionality. If history has shown us anything, it is that human beings and the circumstances created by them are very complex. Such complexity defies the strict adherence to or application of one and only one overarching principle. Superrationality, rationality, and irrationality all may have a role to play in decision-making, depending on the complex permutations of variables. Relying on one principle alone to deal with all the life circumstances is actually another form of idealism because you are essentially living in a world of fixed assumptions. Thinking beyond these assumptions is not a sign of idealism. It is in fact the ultimate form of pragmatism. The story of Ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, an extrordinarily smart guy with a unidimensional life philosophy based on his (erroneous) interpretation of Dawkin's "The Selfish Gene" demonstrates the insidious danger of extreme extrapolation of one single guiding principle when it comes to private and public decisions. As a result, he and his buddies singlehandedly turned Enron into a kleptocracy because they actually believed that unchecked selfishness was ultimately good even for the victims because it weeded out the losers and forced the survivors to become strong.
"Well, here's where Skilling went wrong. Genes may be selfish. But people have evolved to be social. And these days, the Darwinian view includes an understanding that cooperation and even altruism are part of our genetic heritage. It's true that you can get ahead in the short-term by being a nasty piece of work. Skilling, for instance, once got stuck in a traffic jam leaving the Enron company parking lot. So he pulled into the opposite lane, and as he whipped past, he flipped the bird at his own employees. But groups have a knack for punishing nakedly selfish or antisocial behavior. So most of us figure out pretty fast that we are more likely to survive and succeed over the long term when we learn to control our raging egos and play along with the group.
And what about the ones who never figure that out? Sooner or later, they get a short, sharp lesson in natural selection: What happened at Enron is a perfect Darwinian demonstration that people who display raw selfishness and a blatant disregard for social responsibility eventually destroy not just their companies, but themselves." http://www.apeinthecorneroffice.com/forum.htm#Selfish_Genes_Dont_Mean_Selfish_Behavior
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flyingzone
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Posted: 09-Aug-2006 at 21:32 |
Thanks Omar. But I don't want to take all the credit for that post. I agree with Genghis that that thread started by you is actually one of the most thought-provoking ones I've seen recently.
That thread should actually be nominated to be "the best thread of the month" and I hope it will receive more attention (which it deserves).
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Komnenos
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Posted: 10-Aug-2006 at 07:39 |
Both your suggestions have been duly noted, and I can only agree.
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Omar al Hashim
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Posted: 12-Aug-2006 at 06:31 |
Thanks Flyingzone .
I'm going to nominate another great one I just saw:
http://www.allempires.com/forum/new_reply_form.asp?M=Q&PID=256217&PN=35&TR=697
EDIT- The formatting is of course, suffing up.
Originally posted by Cezar
Originally posted by Komnenos
Originally posted by Omar al Hashim
EDIT: That really is an excellent picture Afghanan
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It is indeed.
It demonstrates the hate on both sides, so deeply entrenched that it will take a miracle to solve the situation.
That this poor 6 (?) year old boy, who has been brainwashed by his
elders to throw stones at Israeli tanks and thus endanger his life,
will ever be prepared to live in peace with his Jewish neighbours, will
necessitate a complete rethinking, on both sides of course.
But it's not impossible, South-Africa has shown that it can be achieved.
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Not a miracle, just need the people to became reasonable. Israelis
should think of becoming a multiethnic nation. It is possible, it
happened in other parts of the world. Of course there will still be
terrorist attacks and crazy individuals that would ask for revenge,
wipping out the "lesser beings", etc., etc.
That kid, is he responsible or are those who raised him
irresponsible? Should I've been brought up by my folks hating the
magyars? Then what, gathering a mob of morons and starting a slaughter
in Miercurea Ciuc just because magyars are there, settled on "Romanian
land"?
People keep talking about their leaders making the wrong decisions but they certainly seem to enjoy following the same leaders.
I have a close friend who is a nazi. He read Mein Kampf, he sticks
to the racial doctrine, he hates all the "non-arians". Yet he didn't
commited a single crime. He knows I don't share his ideas, on the
contrary, but that doesn't make him getting at my guts. He is my
favourite partner when practicing kendo. So when I asked him why isn't
he becaming violent he said: "All that happened in the past showed
that violence is not a viable long term solution. You see, people know
I'm a nazi but they're not scared of me. Some of them are even tempted
to be like me. I'm civilized, I'm a good citizen, I show respect to
even those who are not sharing my opinions. I'm getting stronger by
doing this. I never start a fight, I let the others do it. I'm always
sticking on the "right side" as viewed by most of the people. So, I'm
always the good guy. See those tzigans over there? They speak loud,
they look dirty, people are afraid of them. If I get closer, the same
people will see me and who will they like? Look at me, I'm clean,
polite, people enjoy my company. Hiler was wrong, he wanted all to
happen to fast. USA is the real thing. There are no more native
americans. They're not gone, like the dinos, but they aren't far from
it. And the whole world think of the USA as "the leader of the free".
As long as you're the good guy you can exterminate the opposition. Just
don't rush."
Maybe I'm out of topic here but it sure looks to me that what is
happening in Lebannon is related somehow with this argument. Neither
side, being it jewish, christian, muslim or whatever, is gaining, for
the long term I mean. There is no simphathy for both Israel and their
enemy(es).
As Ponce said, it is impossible to be objective. Well, God, if it
exists, might be objective. People should just try to be reasonable and
act responsible. The former happens sometimes, as for the later...
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Edited by Omar al Hashim - 12-Aug-2006 at 06:33
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rider
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Posted: 18-Aug-2006 at 12:04 |
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ok ge
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Posted: 19-Aug-2006 at 17:57 |
The same post of Constantine of August 15th:
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D.J. Kaufman
Wisdom is the reward for a lifetime of listening ... when youd have preferred to talk.
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malizai_
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Posted: 20-Aug-2006 at 15:40 |
I have found it!!! the post of the month-->
For those who havent read it, do it now and u wont regret it.
By NickBG---->
Hillarious.
BTW, i have just read the post by Constantine and it is very good. But then we should expect that from him. We shoul give someone else a chance.
Edited by malizai_ - 20-Aug-2006 at 15:49
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Omar al Hashim
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Posted: 21-Aug-2006 at 06:41 |
BTW, i have just read the post by Constantine and it is very good. But then we should expect that from him. We shoul give someone else a chance. |
I'm thinking we could just appoint Constantine 'Best Poster' and then have the competition over the second best post.
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rider
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Posted: 22-Aug-2006 at 13:29 |
Originally posted by Komnenos
Originally posted by R_AK47
They did not concentrate exclussively on Palestine. Antioch, Edessa, Nicea, and many other cities captured during the first Crusade are not located in Palestine. Jerusalem, the ultimate final goal of most crusades, was in Palestine, but many other areas captured along the way were not. Then there are other crusades as well, such as the reconquest, which was obviously nowhere near Palestine. There were also crusader actions to recover Egypt as well. The crusaders saved Europe from islam. Christian lands had been under assault from islam for centuries. Europe was all that remained. Thanks to the heroic actions of the crusaders, who struck deep into islamic territory, the muslim advance was somewhat halted. |
Dear R-AK47, as a private member of AE, I will not engage in discussions with you any further. It is pointless. It is difficult to decide what mainly informs your "contributions", ignorance of history or Anti-Islamic bigotry, but both prevent any possibilty of meaningful debates.Comment my posts as much as you want, but don't expect any answers. |
This is an excellent post by our Administrator Komnenos.
Edited by rider - 22-Aug-2006 at 13:31
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NikeBG
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Posted: 22-Aug-2006 at 16:37 |
Originally posted by malizai_
I have found it!!! the post of the month-->
For those who havent read it, do it now and u wont regret it.
By NickBG---->
Hillarious.
BTW, i have just read the post by Constantine and it is very good. But then we should expect that from him. We shoul give someone else a chance. |
Haha! Thanks, Malizai, but those pearls are (fortunately) not my work, I'm simply a translator... And Constantine's posts are indeed much more impressive!
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malizai_
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Posted: 22-Aug-2006 at 18:43 |
I realized that, it was a post nonetheless and we would not have benefited unless u had made the effort. Nonetheless a very honourable second.
It was welcome amusement and lifted the spirits.
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