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At Large
Non Compos Mentis
Now that the new year is officially upon us, the time for reflection is over and it behooves us to look ahead. Normally, human nature bids us to do this with hope in our hearts, but to no one's surprise, 2009 finds us in a position where international events make it nearly impossible to do so. To put it mildly, the world has gone mad.
In a sane world, one faced with a religious cult that has been responsible for countless incidents of brutality and monstrous assaults on innocent life all over the world, we might see that world unite to rid itself of those responsible for these atrocities. As in WWII or the Gulf War, the civilized nations would put aside their differences and come together in the name of decency to defend the decent.
But in a mad, mad world, the perpetrators are lauded as "freedom fighters" and defended by "human rights" groups. Now, with renewed hostilities in the Gaza Strip, much of the world has incredibly decided that the fault lies with Israel, a people who in sixty short years have gone from earning the sympathy and respect of the world for enduring the Holocaust to being on the receiving end of its hatred and enmity.
In a world that claims to defend the lives of the innocent, any culture that encourages its women to become suicide bombers and straps bombs to its children and the mentally ill would justly earn the scorn and contempt of good men everywhere. Yet, in a crazed world, this behavior is incredibly excused by blaming it on the victims of such ungodly acts.
In a compassionate world, the use of schools, hospitals and places of worship as staging areas for terrorists would be decried as the barbaric and savage practice that it is. Every international agency and NGO would scream to high heavens about these heinous abuses of the "rules of war." But in a world gone mad, these tactics are defended as necessary to counteract the "disproportionate response" of the Israelis; as if the aim of legitimate warfare is not to gain such an advantage over one's enemies.
In a world still capable of informed judgment, the true message of Islamist extremists -- worldwide conquest through jihad -- would be trumpeted across the globe, and all nations would be aware of Hamas's own professed view of the "peace process":
There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are a waste of time and a farce. The Palestinian people is far too eminent to have its future, its rights and its destiny toyed with. As stated in the Hadith: "The hypocrites among them are not allowed to be superior to the believers among them, and they shall die in grief and distress."
Yet in a world devoid of wisdom, one that saw Yasser Arafat refuse to accept nearly all he asked for under the Clinton Administration, the myth that Palestinians will ever accept peaceful coexistence with Israel still persists.
In a wise world, one that purports to learn from its history, those sworn to genocide would be universally condemned across the political spectrum as were the Nazis. But in our world, those who seek another "final solution" are given a free pass while George W. Bush is condemned as "Hitler." Yes, in a mad, mad world, the executioners are invited in for tea while those who seek its salvation are reviled.
Indeed, if we still lived in a world where the recognition of objective truth still held sway with those in power, belief in a religion that preaches peace, brotherhood and forgiveness would be welcomed and nurtured, and considered what it truly is; a gift to humanity. Instead, it is increasingly belittled, persecuted and suppressed worldwide, while those who follow the dictates of "the sword" are lauded and protected.
Our world may yet awake and throw off the blinders that allow nefarious acts of terrorism to be perpetrated against it, or it may continue down the path of destruction paved with misguided notions of moral equivalency. One thing is certain, however: those who indiscriminately heave rockets into Israel and those who share their dream of a world without infidels harbor no such qualms; their aim is true.
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Jason| 1.7.09 @ 6:39AM
People generally seem to sympathize with thugs and underdogs.
http://www.rightklik.net/
Luonne Dumak| 1.7.09 @ 8:26AM
Most of the people have been to brain washed to think for their selves.
Melvin| 1.7.09 @ 8:30AM
The victimization mentality is a typical Liberal mindset regardless of where Liberals reside.
For reasons only known to Liberals they have a penchant for championing, murderous dictators, thugs, rapists, murders, crack dealers, child molesters, and various assorted perverts as victims of they're surroundings and or upbringing.
Saddam Hussein feeds thousands of hapless Iraqi citizens into commercial wood chippers, and major media celebrates his birthday as a newsworthy event.
Hammas fires rocket after rocket into Israel and hits a unoccupied Kindergarten school and Israel gets painted as the evil aggressor.
The only reason that I can come up with for this convoluted rational by Liberals is, it gives Liberals a reason to exist, and thrive. But we must remember, Liberals don't have to take any responsibility for this way of thinking because after all.. it's not their fault, Liberals are just victims of society and a traumatic upbringing.
Barb| 1.7.09 @ 8:57AM
I seem to remember an article somewhere (can't remember anything about it but the main thrust..) that stated that liberals are indeed mentally ill.
It took a sane person to see that fact, but in the field of the mind, too many "experts" are afflicted with that very illness.
genghis| 1.7.09 @ 9:26AM
In the thirties and forties the world gave extermination of the Jews it's best shot. But, we're better armed now. Sorry.
Teleprompter Messiah| 1.7.09 @ 9:37AM
I agree that the unthinking "free thinkers" of the world have taken the position "Israel bad; Palestinians good". However, I am heartened by reading commentaries in the British and Australian press that squarely place the blame on the gunmen.
There would be peace in Israel and Gaza and the West Bank if the Palestinians were to lay down their arms. The insane belief that Israel will be destroyed and they will return to the "occupied" territories is just as insane as believing the ethnic Germans will be returned to their ancestral homes in East Prussia, Bohemia and Silesia. We have yet to see the ethnic Germans start a bloody campaign of terror against the Poles, Czechs and Russians to resist the "occupation". That is because the ethnic Germans realized that was the cost of losing the Second World War. Sixty plus years in a "refugee" camp means three generations living on a fatal illusion.
Greg| 1.7.09 @ 10:06AM
I remember well watching the Palestinians celebrating and dancing in the streets after 911. So I hope Israel bombs them back to the stoneage...isn't that where Islam is trying to go anyway...oh wait, for them the stoneage was what, two or three weeks ago?
Louis Jenkins| 1.7.09 @ 10:19AM
A neighbor keeps taking pot shots at your home. This goes on for a long time, and you finally become fed up with the situation. You return fire with overwhelming superiority and by the world's view you are the bad guy. Are you supposed to tolerate the intolerable and carry on as best you can? The Palestinians should remember a bit of down home humor, "Never kick a sleeping dog, you just might get bit." By the worlds view the kicker is justified, and the dog is the bad guy. Convoluted, twisted, and without reason. These are strange times.
Anthony| 1.7.09 @ 10:31AM
Greg raises an interesting time line on radical Islam. The theological perspective would be for Israel to bomb them back to Allah and the 57, err no, that's the ketchup, sorry, the 72 virgins that await them all. I hope radical Islam allows for its woman martyrs to partake in 72 male virgins, sans the burka. Of course, it would be juicy if God only allowed them to have men of Hebrew heritage, or, even worse, wussy liberal metrosexuals.
John Q Reb| 1.7.09 @ 12:42PM
Melvin,
The reason why the Left always excuses and usually champions murderous thugs and dictators (Stalin, Castro, Chavez, Hamas, et al) and reviles the Right is because the Left admires and worships pure power above all things. It will do anything, anything, to amass it and to keep it. The singleminded pursuit and exercise of power--naked force, whether political or military--deeply impresses the Left because that it what they most desire in their zeal to remake a recalcitrant, backward world. In the U.S., compare the Democrats' will to power with that of the Republicans. The latter are babes-in-the woods by comparison. The Left everywhere is implacable in its absolutist zeal, and sees the willingness of its adversaries to compromise as weakness and stupidity, to be exploited in expediting their demise. It why their creed is "no enemies to the left." The more ruthless, implacable and despicable the thug, the greater the Left's awe.
Marc Jeric| 1.7.09 @ 12:51PM
It's funny how that Gaza Strip and the West Bank are callled "occupied territories". Gaza was occupied illegally by Egypt, and the West Bank was occupied illegally by Jordan. When these illegal occupiers were chased away by the Israeli army - those territories became liberated, right?
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 1:11PM
You cannot simply write-off Palestinians who are fighting Israel as a "cult" bent on acts of brutality -- thereby conflating them with a group like Al Quaeda.
Al Quaeda adheres to a bizarre, medieval idea of uniting Islamic countries throughout the Middle and Far East.
Palestinians fighting Israeli troops and firing rockets are resisting an occupation. That is just the simple fact of the matter.
Does this mean they are justified in firing rockets at civilians?
Absolutely not. They are not justified in doing this. However, we need to set aside emotional and inflammatory rhetoric like Ms Fabrizio's and try to understand the actual situation.
Palestinians are the last people on earth enlightened westerners are free to hate without guilt. Often the word "Palestinian" is simply substituted for the word "terrorist."
This is not just. The Palestinians have a legitimate grievance, as most people recognize. They were displaced 60 years ago. (Not two thousand years ago.) Millions of Palestinians have been in camps for three, or even four generations with no prospect of meaningful work or liberty.
It is certainly true: if the Palestinian leadership were better, the Palestinians would be better off, and disasters like this might not be happening.
But at some point you have to be willing to do a little thinking about this matter.
Ask yourself: under what conditions do great political leaders arise? Rarely in conditions of scarcity and brutal oppression. Gandhi was an Oxford trained lawyer; Thomas Jefferson was an aristocrat who didn't need to work a day in his life. There aren't many Palestinians with anything like these experiences.
Again -- we must find a way to discuss this issue that recognizes the grievances of the Palestinians, the reality of their terrible suffering, while at the same time not excusing those among them who turn to terrorism. That takes effort, and more than just doing your best Sean Hannity imitation, as above.
Bob| 1.7.09 @ 1:16PM
Lisa, while I violently agree with you on a world gone mad, I see this issue more in secular terms. Everyone on this board wants to make issues religious in nature -- many time, in reality, they are not. The vast majority of Muslims are peace loving people and just wish to be left alone to practice what they believe. Obviously, some of them are jihadists.
I think what most people object to is bullying. Nobody like bullies. This has nothing to do with religion. It doesn't even matter who is "right", bullies are bad. We, and Israel by extension, are seen as bullies because of our military might the pre-emptive war doctrines.
A study of historical military methods provides some insight. Historically, when sophisticated weapons were not available, military leaders used large groups of people to be sacrificed in order to deplete the enemy and/or create diversions. When guerrilla techniques started as early as the Revolutionary war in the colonies, the object was to kill many with one. If you don't have sophisticated weapons, then the weapon of choice is human sacrifice.
Your perspective, then is limited to putting blinders on and just looking at military strategy as it exists in a highly weaponized country and then applying it to other countries who are less so.
I don't defend the actions of Palestinians at all, but I do understand them from a military perspective. There is also an arrogance attached to putting your belief system over the beliefs of others.
I would do just as Israel is doing to get rid of Hamas because you can't argue with military need and religious beliefs. That's also why I find that within the Republican party, social conservatives are a problem because you can't argue with God.
We will never be able to negotiate with people of differing belief systems by using a "Christian" approach or ideology. You must negotiate on fact based or pragmatic grounds where a common understanding can be reached.
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 2:50PM
Greg and Anthony --
Your remarks show considerable ignorance of the Middle East and a callousness that is the primary symptom of moral insanity.
You should learn to think and not expect every issue to be reducable to peurile "good v. evil" categories. That's just for starters.
john | 1.7.09 @ 4:03PM
reverse the roles and see if the "victims" receive the level of support and indulgence now given to the israelis
what a marvelous con job
a lesson from the colonial period in north america-
kill, don't displace the natives. they only then multiply.
Todd| 1.7.09 @ 4:53PM
There is really no difference between Al Quaeda and Hamas in ideology Jeremiah. They are both dedicated to jihad and fundamentalist Islam. To say the Palestinian's who put Hamas in power are innocent is laughable, would you say the same about the Germans after they put Hitler in power? You subscribe to the liberal victim mindset and if you knew something about real history, you would discover that the Palestinian homeland is a myth to stoke up resentment against the Jews. And what is the occupation you are referring to Jeremiah? I believe they gave them the West Bank and Gaza only to get rockets in return. This article is directly aimed at the mindset of people like you that are unable to distinguish good and evil and think all cultures are equivalent.
This article hits it right on the head, only a world gone mad would see Israel as the bad guys. It has become very obvious to anyone who will see that the two state solution is a sham, only the destruction of Israel will satisfy these hate filled Islamic zealots yet the liberal media still condemns Israel for their "aggression". There is no good or evil in the worlds of people like Jeremiah, only victims of grievances whether real or imagined.
Bob| 1.7.09 @ 5:56PM
Todd, in an area like Gaza where literacy rates are low, Israel constantly bombs selected targets and controls the air, and Hama spent years building schools (albeit jihadist) and facilities for the people, it should not be surprising that they would vote for the only people who gave them something.
That said, I agree that only the complete destruction of Hamas and Hezbollah will make Israel safe because like social conservatives, you can't argue with God. Fortunately for Republicans, social conservatives don't believe in jihad except through the Supreme Court, amendments to the Constitution, and local laws.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 6:14PM
my parents until the day they dies were bleeding hearts for the poor 'pressed people far far away. Homeless gay whales and Palestinians. Native Americans drinking fire water. The poor things. sob sob
boo hoo.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 6:20PM
Boy last night was fun, Ron Paul groupies were flaming and trolling to the max.
Ron Paul
Alan Keyes
Pat Buchanan
David Duke
you know, fun guys, the sort my parents had over to dinner. Guess who's coming to dinner?
"Let's see, dad, is he a mau mau, a NAMBLA member, or is he just foaming at the mouth from too much fire water?"
Bill O'Reilly| 1.7.09 @ 6:51PM
If firefighters fight fire and crimefighters fight crime, what do freedom fighters fight?
Todd| 1.7.09 @ 6:56PM
There you go again Bob with your hatred towards social conservatives. You don't have to lecture me about areas like Gaza, I know their culture sucks and they are jealous of the prosperity of the Jews as opposed to their backwardness that produces nothing of worth. There will always be liberal apologists like Jeremiah that claim that they are freedom fighters and watching the BBC and denouncing Israel for fighting for the safety of their people from the savages that border them.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 7:04PM
lessee, my folks had a palestinian over to dinner in 1968; now, what was he wearing on his head even during the meal? No one could figure it out.
It looked sort of like a diaper.
Mike| 1.7.09 @ 7:19PM
Jeremiah: Can you explain why the balance of the Arab world has bottled the Palestinians up rather than integrating them in to their societies? You can't because it defies the historical pattern. You can't because the fact is, having a huge buffer of "expendable" people give the balance of the Arab countries an easy way to fight a proxy war without endangering themselves. There's a lot of plain facts in the "emotional and inflammatory rhetoric" you so casually dismiss. As long as folks in the West are apologists for Palestinian terror, whether home-grown or growing out of other Arab interests; no solution will be possible.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 7:28PM
you got it. all the hate is externalized away from the big guys onto Israel.
pobably the last thing they want is for Israel to actually be pushed into the sea-- then its game over. oh isnt politics sweet.
Anthony| 1.7.09 @ 8:02PM
Thank you Jeremiah for your typical leftist nuianced pap, that appears to speak from the mountain top of knowledge and enlightenment, but is, in reality, nothing more than your ego exercising your inflated sense of moral superiority. Sorry, I've delt with too many like you, and I'm not the least bit impressed. And if indeed Greg and I failed to see your nuianced perspective, that's because you failed to articulate one. All you did was criticize, but offered nothing of substance. It's what elitists from the left usually do. You dare talk about moral insanity; I'll tell you what's moral insanity, it's you leftists and your cowardly moral equilivence, that can not, and will not, face the reality of real evil. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson: You can't handle reality.
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 8:07PM
Todd --
It is false that the Palestinians who are fighting in Gaza and attacking Israel are the same as Al Quaeda.
The two (or more) groups have drastically different aims, goals, values, and even tactics.
Conflating them is something ignorant Americans do, and they are alone in the world in doing this. It is not moral clarity or hard-headed realism to mix these two groups up: it's ignorance and foolishness.
Palestinians fight for land. Some want to destroy Israel, others do not. Some probably don't even really know what they want and simply act out of blind rage. It's a complicated situation, but that doesn't give you or anyone else leave to simplify it through falsehood or inaccurate statements.
Mike --
The Palestinians are treated dreadfully by the surrounding Arab states. Jordan, Egypt, and Syria are especially blameworthy when it comes to this situation. Again, I'll say the same thing I said to Todd: the situation is complicate; it is not amenable to sweeping generalizations of bone-headed reductions.
You need to try to learn more about the Middle East.
I'd strongly recommend you balance your diet of Fox News and right wing radio with some other sources.
Just read something about what life is like for average Palestinians in Gaza -- most of whom have nothing whatsoever to do with this fighting. Learn about the millions of people who have been packed into camps for decades with no hope of political representation, work, or normal life. Then try to understand the actions of those who turn to violence. Learning about something doesn't mean you condone it. It just makes you sound like less of a jackass when you comment about it.
Those 700 or so Palestinians that have been killed were human beings. The vast majority of them have been civilians scrambling for cover in a conflict they are powerless to stop.
I understand that it is difficult to learn more about a tragic conflict like this: the more you learn, the more you feel a mixture of powerlessness and responsibility. This is generally a recipe for frustration and anxiety, but if you want to understand and have a meaningful, reasonable opinion, its the price you pay. There endeth the sermon.
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 8:13PM
Anthony --
It costs you nothing to point at a television screen and call people of whom you know nothing "evil."
It just helps you turn a terrible, tragic, very nearly intractable conflict into a comic book with villains and heroes. It's stupid, and I'll have none of it.
Go ahead and call me a leftist, and elitist, or someone who finds my country "so imperfect" I'll "pal around with terrorists." I don't care what you say, nor will I be silenced by your bathos, your bigotry, or your completely ill-informed moralizing.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 8:13PM
We do want to be objective (giggle gurgle gork) so we should read articles from Palestinian activists;
but when the author's name is Rasheed Abdul al Haq, and the photo shows his dark eyes scowling into the magazine photographer's camera then you might wonder if you want to go on past the first paragraph.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 8:43PM
Jeremiah is correct were being too manichean too comic book concerning this important "issue".
We ought to all be like my parents... they were so guilt-stricken that when they saw an injured Palestinian child on their giant sized Magnavox TV screen they gave up eating at restaurants for almost a week-- it was the very very very least they could do.
We must all be not only understanding and objective (heave snorkle gurk) but to make a sacrifice is also quite important. Ecumenicism is only compassion tolerance understanding love and forgiveness; ecumenicism also concerns self sacrifice.
DaveS| 1.7.09 @ 9:28PM
The problem is Iran; the answer is BenNet. Just going to the table on Thursday signals the beginning of the end for the PM and Livni. This is shaping up as Lebanon 2006/07 all over again. If you cannot subdue that puny acreage, you don't deserve the acreage you have.
DaveS| 1.7.09 @ 9:47PM
Place in chronological order (oldest first) of the appearance of these: 1) First celebration of Kwaanza, 2) First recognized modern use (academic or political) of the term 'Palestinian,' and 3) creation of the modern sate of Israel. Answer supplied in about two hours.
Anthony| 1.7.09 @ 10:11PM
Jeremiah; What's that you say? You'll not be silenced by my bathos. Well, I guess we know who got a thesaurus for a stocking stuffer this Christmas. I don't consider people who hide amoung woman and children and use schools as munition dumps to be comic book villians. Unfortunately, they are all too real. Nor am I so morally obtuse that I don't recognize evil when I see it. You need to do some reading. I'd start with Reinhold Niebuhr. You can use a good dose of moral clarity.
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 10:41PM
am starting to feel a twinge of guilt. its just damn good a black man is going to president the tuesday after next-- then its HIS WAR!
Alan Brooks| 1.7.09 @ 10:47PM
look Jeremiah just needs to stop taking this all so seriously...
loosen up... let it all hang out.
John M| 1.7.09 @ 11:04PM
The basic theme of the article is that the left-wing perspective on the events related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as promulgated by a left-wing media is diametrically opposed to what would be conventionally thought of as normal reality. Can we conclude from this that liberalism is simply a mental disorder, bordering on insanity? From a conservative viewpoint, such a worldview as professed by liberals would certainly seem like madness. But I have to believe that there must be more to it than this. Perhaps there is a method to this madness that we do not as yet fully understand. It is increasingly apparent that the political left in the US and Europe has for reasons of its own decided to form some sort of accomodation with radical Islam. Militant groups like Hamas are portrayed as perpetual victims who can do no wrong, and whatever atrocities they commit are exonerated, although to do this it is necessary to falsify reality as the article points out. At the same time, the left has decided to become an enemy to Israel and has become increasingly anti-semitic, and so Israel can do nothing right, again requiring a falsification of reality The fact that Jews in general have always been the staunchest supporters of left-wing causes is irrelevant. But the socialist left and radical Islam would not seem to be natural allies, at least on the surface, and frankly I am at a loss in understanding how this has occurred, what are the motivating factors, and what the socialist left sees as the desireable end point.
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 11:12PM
John M
Setting aside your childish and lame speculations about whether liberalism is a mental illness, I think I can help you out:
If you actually listen to what many people all over the world -- including in the U.S. -- are saying, you'll hear something slightly different than this incoherent soup you comment on:
There is a great deal of sympathy for the Palestinian people, particularly among some liberals.
The word "Palestinian" does not stand for a political organization or revolutionary fighting force; it's an ethnic designation for millions of (mostly) Arab people who live in this region.
Many of those people were driven from their homes and communities 60 years ago, although many continue to live in Israel itself.
They have been abused and mistreated by the Israelis and by other Arab nations. They have legitimate grievances. At least 700 of them have been killed in recent fighting, most of whom played no role whatsoever in the rocket attacks.
The kill rates are averaging about 100 Palestinians per Israeli dead.
None of this is to excuse the rocket fire; nor is it to say that Israel does not have a right to defend itself.
However, many in our country are completely deaf to the suffering of Palestinians, and the prospect for peace in the Middle East -- and beyond -- is bleak until that suffering is addressed.
DaveS| 1.7.09 @ 11:12PM
Answer to the previous post's challenge: 3), 1), 2).
Jeremiah| 1.7.09 @ 11:13PM
I.e.: 100 Palestinians for each Israeli killed
Todd| 1.7.09 @ 11:40PM
Jeremiah,
It is hopeless to reason with you since your liberalism distorts any sense of moral clarity for you on this issue. Tell me how the ideology of Hamas and Al Quaeda is really any different at all? How are their values drastically different? Both preach destruction of the great satans being Israel and the US as well as armed jihad against all non-believers of their version of fundamentalist Islam. And if you pulled your head out of your butt, you would realize Hamas is a tool of Iran to attempt to spread the Islamic revolution. And it is bullcrap that the vast majority of the dead people there are innocent civilians but I guess you get your info from Al Jazerra. How the hell are they fighting for land you stupid jackass? You must have that confused with the destruction of Israel and to attempt to finish the job the Nazis couldn't.
You know anything about the 1967 War launched on Israel in an attempt to destroy them? You can try to blame the refugee camps on Israel but it is a direct result of their aggression on Israel. And why have not their Arab brothers help them out of those camps? Maybe because those corrupt Arab regimes like to have that issue to distract their populations on the ills of their society and feed their hatred towards the Jews. It really is not that complicated despite your confusion on the matter. I feel sorry for you actually, it must be very confusing and despairing thinking like you do.
And what does your great leader Obama have to say about the situation? Nothing apparently. Do you think all the fundamentalist Islamist love Obama? Actually, many of them consider him an infidel of the worst sort as he was born a Muslim from his father (that is not a lie, his father was a Muslim and in their culture that makes him one regardless of the mother) and now he is a Christian. Do you know what the punishment for that is countries like Saudi Arabia and the like? Death by beheading. All you who voted believing in his hope and change mantra are in for a rude surprise when you realize many will continue to hate us regardless and that these people cannot be reasoned with, only defeated.
Jeremiah| 1.8.09 @ 1:08AM
Todd --
Iran is meddling in the region! What a shock!
You need to understand that Iran is attempting to project its power in its own neighborhood; this is not exactly unusual behavior for any nation.
That said, Iran is not Al Quaeda, nor does it share Al Quaeda's aims or ideologies. Iran is not a terribly huge friend of the Palestinians, either.
In fact, no one is. The Arab states, the Israelis, the dolts who get all their news from Sean Hannity in this country -- you all feel very comfortable hating this group of people and you are absolutely smug in your belief that they have no reason to expect anything in this life but heartache and suffering.
I do not rejoice at any of this fighting; I am not at all in support of attacks on Israel.
I don't know why so many of you are gleeful at the prospect of innocent Arabs being slaughtered in this fighting. It's appalling, really -- your bigotry, your complete comfort with ignorance, the way you are proud to give opinions on things you know nothing about.
Jeremiah| 1.8.09 @ 1:14AM
Todd --
I'd bet you a hundred dollars that you could not find Gaza on a map of the Middle East.
At any rate, it wouldn't matter even if such a thing could be demonstrated. In order to be convinced -- convinced! -- that someone is a terrorist and an "evildoer" all you need to know is that their skin color is of a different pigment; or that they speak a different language; or have a funny sounding name; or that they are of a different religion.
What a joke.
Todd| 1.8.09 @ 8:53AM
Jeremiah,
Obviously Iran does not care one bit for the Palestinian's because Hamas only will bring death and destruction but that only goes to show the difference between Israel and Iran. Israel actually tries to avoid killing civilians while the aim of Hamas is to maximize the civilian casualties of their own people, how messed up is that? All for propaganda purposes because their dead civilians can be used to great effect on people like you when Israel resolves to protect their civilians from repeated ongoing rocket attacks.
You never answered my question on what land they are fighting for? That is because they are not fighting for land anymore and never were, just the destruction of the state of Israel, nothing less than that will satisfy them. If you have not noticed the Pro-Palestinian demonstrations taking place in our own country (take a look at youtube in Ft.Lauderdale or San Francisco), you will see what these people are after. They don't want peace Jeremiah, they want Israel destroyed. If there is to be any chance at peace in the region, Hamas must be destroyed and Iran's presence in the region must be eliminated. Tough talk will not get that done that is for damn sure.
Now you probably think in your mind I must be some kind of racist (that is your viewpoint to anyone that does not share your liberal ideas) and have never lived around foreign people before but you would be wrong. I grew up in Singapore and was living recently in Jakarta and I bet you could not find any of those cities on a map without some help. Jakarta is in Indonesia on the island of Java to give you some help finding it. I worked with many Muslims and formed friendships with many of them. So don't play the racist card you jerk, you are the joke. You really are a pathetic loser Jeremiah .
Jeremiah| 1.8.09 @ 9:44AM
What were you doing in Jakarta, "Todd"? That's a well-known stronghold of Al Quaeda.
Maybe you have some explaining to do about your loyalty...
Todd| 1.8.09 @ 10:22AM
Todd is my real name jackass and I was working for an Investment Firm. You don't know anything about Jakarta or terrorism for that matter. What exactly do you do "Jeremiah"? You certainly spend alot of time trolling around on this site.
Michele San Pietro| 1.8.09 @ 5:16PM
Yes, the world has gone mad. And mad people will soon run all over the world if normal people don't react and defeat them.
Marc Jeric| 1.9.09 @ 12:51AM
When the American Army entered Hitler's Germany in the vaning months of the WW2, did the "humanitarian" organizations request cease fire so they supply the German population and soldiers with food, fuel, medicines?
So, what is so different with the Hamas terrorists that we are forced to do so?
Marc Jeric| 1.9.09 @ 1:09AM
Another thing - why is everybody calling Gaza and West Bank (at least until recently) "occupied territories"? Those areas were occupied illegally by Egypt and Jordan respectively from 1949 till 1967 when the Israelis liberated those territories.