|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 5:13:13 GMT 1
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 5:42:56 GMT 1
A few months after the Tea Party movement gained prominence in America, I said in this thread that the overwhelming majority of them were just the same old conservative hicks, who had found a cool banner in libertarianism under which they could express their aimless outrage at whatever they didn't like, and that they would move on in no time from whining about the taxes and welfare to "immigrant bashing and shit like that". Well, doesn't take a genius to predict that, but this caused me a demented laugh: I don't know how far out-there you must be to come up with the idea of sending dirty underwear to children as a protest. These people are almost amusingly childish, and childishness is pretty much the word that defines the whole Tea Party movement. |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 7:00:48 GMT 1
I think it's fair to acknowledge that NBC reversed their earlier decision to pull Ayman Mohyeldin. Official statement form NBC:
Rather standard non-explanation explanation, but surely this reversal has a lot do with the outrage expressed by many American journalists and viewers/readers.
This would've been unthinkable 10 years ago.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 20:00:49 GMT 1
This is an image that all news programs should be but are not showing:  Tel Aviv beach yesterday, one of my favorite places in the city. There is a seafood restaurant close to this part of the beach, and I suppose it was packed as usual. FYI, the distance between Gaza and Tel Aviv is only 72km (45 miles). So, now, what country is "under siege by terrorists", Mr. John Kerry? You hear the word "Israel" even if you are in the bathroom these days, but what's actually happening is a total media blackout on the very country. |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 20:33:30 GMT 1
Meanwhile, in Gaza:
He's a veteran AJA journalist, and certainly a been-there, seen-that type of a guy.
Yet he breaks down during the liveshot while trying to describe what happened today - at least 87 people have been killed, in one day. The IDF has been flattening apartments in Shaja'ia indiscriminately, not caring whether there are people inside or not.
With such a horrific pace of deaths (75-80% of which are civilians so far), this is not a "usual" assault on Gaza anymore. We may be looking at the repeat of Beirut 1982.
And pretty much all of us are indirect enablers of this senseless violence.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 20:50:54 GMT 1
Remember: When Assad in Syria did a similar thing, leveling a neighborhood as a "retaliation" to the rebels' attacks, the US and "West" demonized him as a Hitler reincarnated.
Netanyahu does it, and you hear them say that it's "self-defense" against "terrorists".
Absolutely sickening double standards. Shameful.
BTW, Netanyahu has just said on TV, talking to CNN-chief-anchor-cum-shill-for-Israel Wolf Blitzer, that Hamas wants to pile up "telegenically-dead Palestinians for their cause".
Just chew on these dreadful words - "telegenically-dead Palestinians".
Once again, counterproductive (to say the least) as outreach, red meat for the base. The only people who go "Yeah, exactly, Bibi!" are those who support Israel's conduct through thick and thin without anyone trying to convince them anyway. You know, people like, say, Bill & Hillary Clinton. Or most of Republican elites. They are the "base", and it's absolutely NOT expanding. He doesn't understand that he will gain no new friend by saying such a thing on TV. He's much more likely to lose some, the few of his current "friends" who actually don't have a reason to stick to him unconditionally.
Israel really has no bright future ahead. No wonder so many Israelis have emigrated to Europe and the US over the last several years.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 20, 2014 21:51:30 GMT 1
I'm in a diabolical mood, so will tell you The Truth.
Netanyahu has a point. Yup, I said it. Even someone as despicable as him can have a point every once in a while.
In this kind of urban guerrilla warfare, civilians die, lots of them. It's inevitable. I know there are sadistic racist IDF soldiers who enjoy killing Arabs, whether they are victims of the right-wing Israeli education who were taught to think of the Palestinians as the reincarnation of Nazis or genuine psychos that virtually any military force has and in fact needs, but that doesn't change the basic fact that civilian casualties are absolutely unavoidable. No "precision military technology" can quite enable you to tell a combatant from a civilian. That distinction soon gets blurred on the actual battle ground. The soldier at the spot can't tell, and amid the confusion, he starts seeing anyone moving as an enemy to shoot down. So, he does, killing a woman and two children as a result.
This is nothing new. Iraq War was no different. It's always been like that, from the ancient times.
That's the nasty reality of urban warfare. And the whole thing is absolutely futile, because if you kill one enemy, his place will be soon filled by a kid who vows revenge. There is virtually an unlimited supply of combatants. They can't just "forget about it" the way the US did in Iraq. Gaza is a de fact concentration camp that they set up by themselves right next to Israel proper. It will always be there, and so will the Palestinian people. It's not a remote place the way Iraq was for the Americans. This vicious cycle will only end if the population there is nearly wiped out.
That's what I meant when I said that Israel would have to kill not just hundreds, or even thousands, but hundreds of thousands of civilians without a remorse, reducing Palestinians to a small group that they can "manage" like the Native Americans in the US, or stop this insanity and start thinking of an actual, serious peace process where they will be ready to make concessions. That's what I meant when I said Israel will not "win". It used to be possible to win this kind of a war when there was no live TV, no Twitter, no blogs, no youtube, no nothing, not even basic human fucking rights.
But not now, not today. It's impossible, maybe unless it's somewhere in sub-Saharan Central Africa. Their part of the world draws too much attention for them to commit horrible atrocities and get away with them. They should give up. They will never win this one, ever. They ought to know that, but never seem to stop it. And that's exactly why this "operation" looks like a meaningless, aimless display of Israeli sadism. They won't achieve anything by killing hundreds of civilians like this, and they know that. They ought to know that. They are doing this mostly for winning local political points.
There is no purpose or goal anymore. What's left there is senseless violence - lost lives in Gaza, lost souls in Israel.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 21, 2014 13:28:59 GMT 1
The problem of the antisemitic conspiracy theorists is that they absolutely overrate the intelligence of the people whom they despise.
What should be clear to everyone is that Israel is not run by bright people. Just look at the faces of today's ruling politicians in Israel. Do they look bright to you? They wouldn't be in this shitty situation if they were.
They certainly wouldn't have escalated the operation, named Operation Protective Edge (what a teenage-boy-dumb name), as recklessly as they did a couple of days ago, ending up killing so many civilians in one day, if they were. They got so carried away that they switched their "objective" from bullying Hamas and Gazans to actually destroying Hamas's military infrastructure.
Not the best idea in the world, especially since Hamas decided to fight back this time, unlike back in 2009.
Not only did Israel "win" truly bad publicity all around the world, but they are even struggling militarily. They are basically the same military that made an ass of themselves in South Lebanon in 2006. The same equipment, same strategy, same officers. As soon as they decided to ratchet it up, they lost more than a dozen of their soldiers pronto.
"Well, that's not a lot," you may say, especially compared to the over-500 deaths on the Gazan side, but like I said, Israel can't take too many casualties. They are of course not very squeamish over Palestinian casualties, but definitely are over theirs. Admittedly, 18 (official number) deaths aren't a lot even by their standards, but they lost that many very quickly. If they continue to ratchet up the scale of the operation, you will have to expect a lot more deaths on the IDF side.
It's not really about the numbers, though. Seven soldiers were killed instantly inside an M-13 armored personnel carrier by an RPG attack. The question is why so many soldiers were traveling in an M-13 like that. They did the same in Lebanon over and over again, losing so many of their soldiers even before they were given a chance to fight.
If they struggle this hard against a military force as weak as Hamas, even in an area with which they are not unfamiliar, they have to totally forget about the idea of defeating Hezbollah any time soon. Just not happening. They are acquiring the reputation of a big military who is only good at bullying civilians with all the shiny, expensive equipment and latest technology that they could buy. Kinda like the US military, to be frank.
To be fair, though, even the brightest military officers in the world wouldn't be able to save Israel from this quagmire, as the best weapons in the world couldn't save the US in Iraq. I've been repeating this over and over again, but they are in a "war" that they couldn't win no matter what. They could kill hundreds and hundreds of Hamas, and what would await them at the end of the tunnel would still be a big fucking L sign. Or UUD at best - Utterly Useless Draw. When a military "win" means a political/PR loss, you are simply stuck. That's the bottom line.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 22, 2014 17:53:26 GMT 1
Here's a small clip to show what happens somewhere in Israel almost every day. I think this is one of the more peaceful ones, actually. If you felt a little uneasy about their liberal use of words like "whore" and "death" in their chants, well, everything is probably much more in-your-face over there than in your country. If you watch a political debate on Israeli TV, you would be surprised. They are literally at each other's throat. Not like those American "debate" programs, where they sorta kinda engage in "heated" discussions wearing "D" or "R". You know that they will go down to Tribeca and enjoy nice Italian cuisine together afterwards. You know that basically the whole thing is fake, just for a show. Not in Israel. It's a lot more serious over there. That country gets "united" only during the wars/conflicts. So, in a way, they need a war sometimes. The problem, though, is that they have been kinda more "united" recently than before, more to the right. That's the concern. Anyway, these protests/counter-protests get a lot more violent once the football hooligans, such as Beitar Jerusalem ultras "La Familia" (of which the kids who tortured and burned a Palestinian kid alive to death several days ago were members), are involved. I'm talking about dudes like this:  You see the punk wearing "Good Night Left Side" T-shirt? Reportedly he's a leader of "Maccabi Fanatics" (Maccabi Tel Aviv ultras). I suppose Europeans are more familiar with that symbol/phrase. Like this:  That's French far-right thugs beating up a poor dude. Or like this:  A wonderful German neo-Nazi rocking the coolness. It's a favorite particularly of Polish football ultras, like this:  Lechia Gdansk ultras are hardly the only ones in the country who love the phrase. You see it in many other Polish stadiums. Even a couple of Hungarian Jobbik-supporter chicks with Hello Kitty:   It's a neo-Nazi response to the "Good Night White Pride" logo/phrase created by militant anti-fascist artists from the hard-left hardcore/oi! punk scene, the neo-Nazi kids' sworn enemies. What's pathetic about it is that it's EXACTLY the same design.  They just replaced "White Pride" with "Left Side", meaning "leftists", and started donning it. They simply copied it, from their enemies. So much for white "pride". Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, so, a Jewish Israeli kid wearing a neo-Nazi symbol. That's how far we've come. |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 22, 2014 19:35:13 GMT 1
Israel has a clear connection with the US. It's a country that, practically speaking, couldn't exist without the US support. Many Israelis have relatives who are American citizens, and the Jewish guests from abroad are overwhelmingly American too.
But the culture over there is a lot more European than it is American. You can watch a lot of American TV shows, but that doesn't mean they admire the American culture. Many do, of course, but the so-called "trend setters," like the hipsters in Tel Aviv, tend to look to the non-American first-world, largely Europe, for "cool" stuff. They often even look down on the American culture, calling it "a little lame", "too simple", "too macho" etc. "Appreciate their support, but meh" is the attitude.
That's why the #1 destination for the kids over there is Berlin, and that's certainly ironic given the history.
I always find it funny that the Israel supporters in the US tend to think that Israel is a very American place, and that all Israelis admire the American culture. They even think that Israelis play baseball or something. The first cultural shock that a typical Jewish kid from America gets when they visit the country is the music coming out of the radio in the taxi. "Why the hell is this country full of Euro-trash music?" is the phrase that you often hear from them. Trance in particular is still everywhere over there, assaulting your ears, which is unthinkable in the US.
I sometimes talked to old Jewish ladies in South Florida who tended to steadfastly support whatever Israel did, while pretending to know nothing about that part of the world, playing the part of a benign, insular, ignorant Japanese boy who wants to learn more about the world. "I even think that they should become American. Israel should be a new US state, even. I'm sure they would love it. They all want to be American anyway" - they would say things like that.
Ah, I don't know about that, ma'am.
I would do my best not to let my tongue slip. It was hard to keep my mouth shut.
And I found it very strange that they knew nothing about the place that they supported so much. "Israel" for them was and still is an imaginary land that exists in their fantasy, I guess.
|
|
|
|
Post by h on Jul 22, 2014 22:33:58 GMT 1
This is an image that all news programs should be but are not showing: Tel Aviv beach yesterday, one of my favorite places in the city. There is a seafood restaurant close to this part of the beach, and I suppose it was packed as usual. FYI, the distance between Gaza and Tel Aviv is only 72km (45 miles). So, now, what country is "under siege by terrorists", Mr. John Kerry? You hear the word "Israel" even if you are in the bathroom these days, but what's actually happening is a total media blackout on the very country. they are totally theatened of their lives right there.... |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 23, 2014 4:15:32 GMT 1
This is an image that all news programs should be but are not showing: Tel Aviv beach yesterday, one of my favorite places in the city. There is a seafood restaurant close to this part of the beach, and I suppose it was packed as usual. FYI, the distance between Gaza and Tel Aviv is only 72km (45 miles). So, now, what country is "under siege by terrorists", Mr. John Kerry? You hear the word "Israel" even if you are in the bathroom these days, but what's actually happening is a total media blackout on the very country. they are totally theatened of their lives right there.... Yeah, I'm probably too dumb and stupid to see the F-16 squadrons on the horizon, on their way to spray-shoot at the lovers and families there. But what can I say? I'm extremely near-sighted, man. Can't help it. |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 23, 2014 4:48:48 GMT 1
This is exactly the kind of bollocks that makes much of Zionism today look like pathological hysteria. Our future in Americawww.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/Our-future-in-America-368435This Zionist says that Jews have no future anywhere outside Israel, not even in America. So basically, he agrees with anti-Semites. He thinks all Jews must "come back" to Israel. No wonder the Christian fundamentalists - anti-Semites through and through in actuality - are the most vocal Israel supporters today. If you look objectively at how well Jews in general are doing in the US, Europe, South America etc., well, you can't help but conclude that the guy has a screw loose in his brain. And he does, indeed. But you can't just laugh at him. That sentiment is very, very strong among Zionists, even today, largely because that's one of the founding principles of Zionism. Theodor Herzl, the founder of Zionism, even said that Jews needed antisemitism so as to justify the nation building in Palestine. Now, back in the '20s, there were the social conditions that justified that line of thinking. There were rich Jewish people (like Herzl himself) back then too, but there were also ghettos, frequent pogroms, etc. The discrimination was more intense as Europe was not as secular as it is today. But those conditions are over. There are no Jewish ghettos anywhere. Jews are living in a golden age in the US, with so many influential people coming from the Jewish background. Of course, there are anti-Semites. They will never die out. But dare I say, so what? That kind of all-or-nothing bunker mentality only comes from hysteria. They are basically begging the rest of the world to reject Jews by over-dramatically burning the bridge by themselves like that. They deliberately alienate themselves from the "Gentile" world that way, trying to drag along the Jews outside Israel enjoying their lives just fine, on their self-serving messianic ride . Just like Theodor Herzl, they desperately need anti-Semites. They need them to justify their bollocks. They see antisemitism everywhere because that's what they need. Look at the way the author of the article totally conflates anti-Israeli-policies and antisemitism with no explanation. That's deliberate. Isn't it ironic that Jewish "leftists" would definitely feel a lot safer outside Israel now than inside it? |
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 23, 2014 5:15:12 GMT 1
BTW, if you are American and dismayed by your government's attitude toward Israel-Gaza, maybe you should look at your neighbors up north. Canadian PM Stephen Harper and his government makes Obama look like a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Oh wait, he actually is.
But seriously, Harper is worse. Much, much worse. Total shill for Israel.
Canadian voters basically flushed down the toilet the (supposed) reputation of the "conscience in North America" when they elected Harper. Americans don't have to take any shit from Canadians anymore.
|
|
|
|
Post by miscmisc on Jul 23, 2014 7:44:25 GMT 1
|
|
