Israel at War

[ex-khobar Andy]

And when I go on YouTube in search of a little light entertainment, I get a Trump ad. God only knows why the YouTube algorithm thinks I want this. Anyway apparently I can get a free Trump 'gold coin' if I just fill out a questionnaire. I'd love to get one - it looks to me as if it is at least 6 grams (25c is 5.6 grams and it's bigger and gold weighs more than copper-nickel and if it's 9K gold that's $30/gram or about $150. Free! And I know people who will analyze it for me for free!

Apparently God needs Trump, according to this ad. I thought he was omnipotent but I've been wrong before.

[wesw]

andy!!!!

[Bicycle Bill]

And when I go on YouTube in search of a little light entertainment, I get a Trump ad. God only knows why the YouTube algorithm thinks I want this. Anyway apparently I can get a free Trump 'gold coin' if I just fill out a questionnaire. I'd love to get one - it looks to me as if it is at least 6 grams (25c is 5.6 grams and it's bigger and gold weighs more than copper-nickel and if it's 9K gold that's $30/gram or about $150. Free! And I know people who will analyze it for me for free!

Just hold it to a magnet.  The base metal it's made of will be attracted to the magnet (unless, like Dum'old Trump, you pour water on the magnet first).  If there's any 'real' gold there at all, it's in the micron-thin plating.

'Holding it to a magnet' is also good advice for silver bullion, since there's all these ads for bogus 'silver American Eagles' and other 'collectible/commemorative' challenge coins at ridiculously low prices.   And don't get me started on those ads for what are, purely and simply, Chinese-printed counterfeit US postage stamps.

Apparently God needs Trump, according to this ad. I thought he was omnipotent but I've been wrong before.

God needs Trump because Trump is evil — and without evil to compare it to, how can anyone or anything be good?

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

The Price of Netanyahu’s Ambition

[BoSoxGal]

Good piece here about a young Israeli IDF refusenik: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... -interview

[Big RR]

Nice article BSG; it brings back a lot of old memories.

[BoSoxGal]

More than one-third of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, poll shows

[Big RR]

It certainly made me understand better the anger and even hatred for America which some people in this world carry in them. But I would never be able to think that the atrocities of 9/11 were justified by the many terrible crimes of various American governments.

Justified? Absolutely not. But predictable and understandable; just like Timothy McVeigh or the Unabomber. Anger and hopelessness can push people to do a lot of horrible acts; sadly, I think it is the way we are wired. Can we get away from these cycles? I like to think we can, but I'm not hopeful we will.

[MajGenl.Meade]

More than one-third of Americans believe Israel is committing genocide, poll shows

More than 1/3 of Americans believe Donald Trump might be a better President than Joe Biden

[Bicycle Bill]

More than 1/3 of Americans believe Donald Trump might be a better President than Joe Biden

Which means that TWO-thirds of Americans believe that he wouldn't be.   There's hope...

-"BB"-

[Big RR]

Bill--isn't that the rule of thirds--1/3 think Trump would be better, 1/3 think he would be worse, and 1/3 think he would be about the same. Pretty common.

BSG--re genocide, I guess it depends on how you define the word. I think there are some in Israel and even more in the Israeli government who would want nothing better than to get rid of the Palestinians in the country; of these, most would want to just expel them to elsewhere. However, I have no doubt that some would rather kill them than have them remain, figuring, if you kill enough the rest will leave. I honestly think that is what Netanyahu is doing now--just causing enough pain so they will leave. Is this genocide or pragmatism? I think it qualifies as genocide, but I am willing to be convinced otherwise.

[Sue U]

It is not genocide, as Netanyahu and his co-conspirators are not trying to eliminate the Palestinian people as a whole (or at least that's not their stated intention). However, what is going on in Gaza clearly qualifies as war crimes and probably crimes against humanity.

[Big RR]

Sue--I understand your point, but then I would guess there is very little genocide; if I kill people B to get them out of my country, and it is not genocide, what is it? Not that I disagree, but there are very few plans to rid the earth of people B.

But genocide or war crimes/crimes against humanity, it's clearly wrong and indefensible; and I say this full well knowing the atrocities from Hamas that kicked off this current skirmish.

[Scooter]

Forced migration to clear an area of its inhabitants, as has been happening in Gaza through the Israeli military campaign, probably meets the definition of ethnic cleansing. I wouldn't call it genocide unless it involved some sort of systematic killing of a substantial portion of the populace.

[MajGenl.Meade]

More than 1/3 of Americans believe Donald Trump might be a better President than Joe Biden

Which means that TWO-thirds of Americans believe that he wouldn't be.   There's hope...

You rather miss the implication that one third of Americans (sic) are as thick as whale-shit, whether they are opining on Gaza or Drumpf

[Big RR]

Meade--you see the glass as 1/3 empty; I prefer to think of it as 2/3 full.

[liberty]

I think war crimes are happening in Gaza, but they’re being committed by Hamas. Should high ranking Hamas prisoners be charged as war criminals, like the Nazis were, after the war’s over? Hamas has a duty to protect the people of Gaza, but instead they shoot them, starve them, and use them as human shields.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Meade--you see the glass as 1/3 empty; I prefer to think of it as 2/3 full.

Good heavens, it's an epidemic!

[Burning Petard]

And I see the glass has a crack in it and it is all running out.

snailgate

[liberty]

Meade--you see the glass as 1/3 empty; I prefer to think of it as 2/3 full.

Good heavens, it's an epidemic!

Well, then what is the point? From where I’m sitting it appears that the discussion is about whether or not Israel is committing genocide or some other war crime. I say Israel is not committing a crime; the crime is being committed by Hamas. I say this because I’m not a hypocrite, if we were in the same situation we would do the same thing if we had any sense. You never allow your enemy to have an advantage. Wherever the IDF believes there are stockpiles of war materials they attack and whenever the army advances they try to minimize their casualties in both cases that’s going to lead to the death of civilians because that is the way Hamas wants it. They want to use the depth of Palestine men, women, and children as a propaganda weapon to defeat Israel. Hamas thought that Israel would invade Gaza with one hand tied behind their back, to use a metaphor, and they would kill hundreds of Israelis and drive them out and now they are outraged that the Israelis decided not to do that.

As I’ve said in the past I have sympathy for the Jews, but I have no dog in a fight if it comes down to a choice between Israel and my own country, I will choose my own country. That doesn’t make me anti-Semitic that just makes me pragmatic.