shiner

This conflict has nothing to do with Ossetia's independence. That's just a front. There are much deeper issues beneath it.

I wander how Tigran Martirosyan won 2 medals in weightlifting. Did he change his weight really quickly to compete in two different weight classes?

I don't think Islam is growing because they have so many rational converts. The main reson is the high reproduction rate. As far as the theology, I don't know much about it. But the more hard core Muslim a government is the more messed up the country gets.

Theoretically yes, but it would be very hard to imagine. As far as the threat part goes, I think Islam is a threat in the sense that it is a backwards religion that is growing in terms of followers.

Apparently the type of people who are close to the West.

They are showing Gevorg Davtyan the weightlifter on MSNBC.

Another problem is Russia can do this again and again. The Ukraine could be next.

I think ultimately Putin is on a mission to replace the Georgian government with someone who is friendly to Russia. Comparing Georgia's military to Russia's is like comparing an ant to an elephant. He probably won't be stopped.

It's interesting how so many Armenians think Putin is an angel who can't do wrong.

Let's start a software company

Thanks Sip! Good points!

In order to be a top notch programmer/software engineer obviously some math knowledge is needed (linear algebra, boolean algebra, etc). But how much time should be spent on math in general? For example is Calculus III and Statistics important enough or is time better spent in other areas? How about differential equations or combinatorics? I'm just asking because it's impossible to be an expert on everything, and in my opinion you really have to focus on what helps you most as opposed to deviating in many areas.

Hey Sip, Hope you're doing great also! You're right in the sense that with restaurants you do have more control over your product (ex. a unique recipe) as opposed to retail, etc. But even then there are many other factors as you mentioned. And I also think that in order to make something like that work it would be good to have some industry experience as opposed to diving right in head first.

When I was younger my dream was to have a little restaurant, but the problem is you put in a lot of hours, in many cases you fail, and even if you do succeed you're barely making a few thousand a month for which you work around the clock. The percentage of small businesses that really take off is very small. The large chains will kill you. The era of the mom-'n-pop store is not what it used to be. And if you fail chances are you lost all of your savings, and without any skill to fall back on life can be very hard.

The best majors moneywise are the ones that can be directly applied to industry (engineering, accounting, computer science, etc). If you go to law school undergraduate major does not really matter. But law school is an expense not only because you pay 3 years worth of tuition, but also because you are giving up money by not working during that time. And don't think that all lawyers are high profile attorney's either once they graduate. In the end do what you are more comfortable with, the money will come later, but of course nothing is guaranteed. Another option is to do engineering as an undergrad, then see how you feel, and then go to law school. This way you might even become a patent attorney (a high profile field).

We are entering a recession in the US. The solution is not to raise taxes, and start big government programs. Government spending should be limited to public roads, military, and a few other things. Market forces should be allowed to unfold, and people should be driven by incentive. Even if the government saves people from foreclosure on their homes, they are still poor. They will not spend anything in order to help the economy. Socialism is equality by dragging everybody down.

I'm going to Thailand next month. Has anyone been?

Michael Moore is a total moron who never paints an accurate picture of anything. Too bad he does not mention the higher taxes you pay to get this "free" healthcare, and the long lines you have to wait in to get treated sometimes as your condition gets worse.

I was thinking about this ignorance myself. It is truly amazing. I wonder if the politicians setting foreign policy are the same. It's hard to say. Accel, do you think the Aussies who never stepped out of Australia are better, generally speaking?

One stereotype that applies to all Armenians is "you think you are the best at everything". The original author attributed this to Beirutsis only but in my opinion it applies to all Armenians.

This is my own addition. You are hayastansi if: - you are a grown man who shaves at most once a week (I tend to do this myself even though I am not hayastansi). -you are male and you think russian women are truly something (I can partly relate to this) -you are on welfare while you own two businesses It seems hayastansis are the only Armenians I come into contact with these days so I don't have any additions for the other categories. Maybe you guys can help out. In the meantime I'm becoming an assimilated hayastanci

Like conquering Spain and Sicily, developing algebra and geometry, spreading their empire all the way up to India, spreading Chinese inventions like gunpowder and paper to others, preserving knowledge gained by the Greeks and Romans which was lost/forgotten by Europe after the collapse of the Roman empire, maybe even being more creative in the arts than the Europeans at that time, etc.

Thanks for your responses everybody! Siamanto I thought the Muslims were more developed than Europe, when Europe was going through the Middle (Dark) Ages but I could be wrong

I was wandering how a society develops from the very beginning of it's tribal origins. Once tribes got organized and in some cases joined etc., some were able to form more developed civilizations than others. But why did the Europeans sent explorers to the seas (eventually landing in America) instead of the Native Americans sending explorers to land and eventually colonize Europe? Why did the Anglos enslave Africans instead of the other way around? Why were the Chinese and some Muslims (who had more advanced civilizations than the Europens at one time) left way behind all of a sudden by the European Renaissance? I know that there are probably no clear answers cause there are so many different factors, but I was wandering if you guys heard any theories. And also to what extent does a nations historical development (and origins), determine its present day development?

I don't know all the details, but my gut feeling is that it's pretty much useless.