Is this prelude to World War 3?

[HKRockChick]

from an academic writing on the middle east in modern times:



"It has been our practice for some time now to speak of the group of countries to which we belong as the West, a term that is no longer a purely geographical expression, but also denotes a cultural, social, and, until recently, a political and military entity. What are the geographical boundaries of this entity--not merely of the Western alliance, which are fairly obvious, but of the larger entity whose will to survive the alliance expressed? The westernmost limit of the West is clear enough: the Pacific coast--and dependencies--of North America. The eastern limit is more problematic. Leaving aside the local American concept of the West, the West as a cultural or civilizational entity has generally been understood to cover both shores of the North Atlantic and to extend into Europe to a point that has been variously fixed, at various times and for various purposes, on the Channel, the Rhine, the Elbe, the Oder, the Vistula, the Bosphorus, and the Ural Mountains, the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.



The West is most easily defined in relation to the East, and of course there is more than one East. In the West, when we used to speak of East-West contrasts and conflicts, we usually meant the Cold War and its ramifications. In this sense, the East meant the Soviet or Communist blocs (the two were not identical); the West meant the Western alliance and its associates, sometimes loosely called the free world. It included, in this context, a string of more or less dictatorial regimes on several continents, but excluded Sweden, Switzerland, Ireland, and, of course, Finland.



The Shaping of the Modern Middle East

Book by Bernard Lewis; Oxford University Press, 1994, pp. 22-25

[NRKofOver]

In the socio-political sense, I think the 'West' has always meant something more than geography. IN today's conversations, I generally tie it in with industrially and technologically advanced nations.

My music for the disenchanted masses

[bbchris]

I just want to say that if someone says they are 'Christian' it doesn't necessarily mean they are true Christians.

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[HKRockChick]

for example, I'd prefer to say I'm a disenchanted mass...



OK, just kidding. Now I'm off to listen to NRK's music...

[HKRockChick]

your music page doesnt work...

[DreamTone7]

bbchris -



Thank you. There is much more to it than being a member of a church...which, BTW, is not really even a requirement.

[NRKofOver]

HK, the link hasn't worked for months and the EZ board Gods won't let me change it, .

My music for the disenchanted masses

[bbchris]

EZboard gods? Have you checked out your control panel NRK? It might not be on the page you think it is.

ANd stop tempting the poor girl - give her the link to your music!

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |

[NRKofOver]

Of course I've checked it Chris, . I change it all the time, and then when I post, the same old tired non functioning link appears. It's quite disheartening. As far as my music, I'd have to find some, I don't even know where we're at online anymore, haha!

My music for the disenchanted masses

[bbchris]

OK just checking!! Hey I know what you mean about music online!! hahahahahahhahaa

|Blah Blah|Thinking Out Loud|Jane Eliz||Talk Soup |