Aardvark

Smidgey,

Most murderers don't go through life planning to kill people. I don't think I'll ever murder, but I remember being so upset that I had taken the safety catch off my SLP to waste a work colleague who so deserved it, and does to this day. My common sense took over from my natural inclination, but I am sure not everyone is lucky enough to regain control.

The answer to your question, that is not rhetorical, is that any of us can kill another person in the 'right' circumstances, the boundary is a lot closer than we think sometimes. The people who ran the concentration camps were otherwise unremarkable people who were in a situation that few of us would relish. Imagine as an 18 year old having to do what was done, knowing that if you objected it could be you or your family next. Yes, you can kill, hopefully life will never put you in the position that you make the decision (beware about falling in and out of love, source of loads of killings).

__________________
When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

Olympic Flame

Daily Mail again.

david H

Why are you prejudiced against it?

__________________
"You think you are combatting prejudice but you are at war with nature". Edmund Burke.

http://www.buchanan.org/pa-98-1127.html

Olympic Flame

The reason why some on the Right criticise Soviet communism is more of their free-market agenda or hawkish attitude towards Russia/China.

They talk about Britain's broken families and failing moral standard which, ironically, has quite alot to do with the corporate supported popular culture that celebrates sex, violence and conspicious consumption in an atmosphere without government intervention or censorship.

Of course there are some good and objective writers as well but the style mentioned above is not hard to notice.

Aardvark

OF, Are there any objective writers in Russia (just accidentally killed the leading opposition writer in Ingushetia) or China? I suspect not.

__________________
When in Woking do as the Wokes do.

"I do not wish to form my opinions by thoughtlessly quoting others; I wish others to support their opinions by sensibly quoting me." Paul Wesson (Aardvark) 13th April 2008

Olympic Flame

I dont know if they are objective because I have not read their work. From what I know there were alleged killing of journalist and opposition party members by political opponents or simply the government. Overall I would say Russia in the post-Soviet era has been quite a violent place with a high level of homicide rate so it is hard to tell. China's story is somehow different. With better social stability, political participation increased over the years but not to the extent of democratisation in Russia. There were alleged jailing of journalist and political dissidents through ambiguous legal acts associated with terms such as sedition, subversion and incitement. A lot of them end up granted "medical paroles" in China or foreign countries shortly after the beginning of their sentence and most never came back.

Overall such cases are very rare and they do not represent a complete picture of the situation of evolving political order in developing countries.