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Morch

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Posts posted by Morch

  1. 6 hours ago, Neeranam said:

    While it is commendable to advocate for the principles of truth and justice in international affairs, the assertion that the international community should uphold these ideals without acknowledging the complexities and nuances of such conflicts oversimplifies the situation.

    Truth and justice can be elusive due to the multiplicity of narratives and perspectives involved. Both sides often present their versions of events, which may differ significantly. Therefore, achieving a consensus on what constitutes truth and justice becomes inherently challenging.

    The call to resist political agendas and cynical narratives must apply to all parties involved, not selectively. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both sides have been accused of propagating distorted narratives and using political agendas to advance their interests. Holding one side to a higher standard while ignoring the actions of the other undermines the credibility of efforts to promote truth and justice.

     

    Framing the issue solely as a matter of truth and justice overlooks the underlying structural injustices and power imbalances that perpetuate the conflict. The Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, settlement expansion, restrictions on movement and access, and disproportionate use of force are among the factors contributing to the ongoing cycle of violence and human rights violations. Addressing these root causes is essential for achieving a just and lasting resolution to the conflict.

     

    The assertion that the integrity of the international legal system is threatened by criticisms of Israel's actions overlooks the importance of accountability and adherence to international law. Holding states accountable for violations of human rights and humanitarian law is fundamental to the functioning of the international legal system and the promotion of justice worldwide.

     

     

     

    Source? Link?

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  2. 6 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

    You left out the part of the NATO agreement that states that if you do not pay your dues you are not a full fledged member... that is what this is about.

     

    As far as I understand there are dues, which go into a NATO fund, and then there's the annual budget expenditure. Two different issues. If I get it right, the problems are more to do with the latter, than the former.

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  3. 13 hours ago, peter zwart said:

    America, once a fantastic country. Now sunk to the laughingstock of the world with so-called leaders like Biden and Trump. And even worse, the average American who chooses one of the two camps and then ends up at each other's throats. They should form a unity and demand leaders who restore some dignity to the country.

     

    Do you have any (realistic) suggestions as to how this might be achieved? Promoted?

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  4. 2 hours ago, Eloquent pilgrim said:

    For anyone interested, some truth about the Palestinian leadership(s) ..... Below, I have pasted an open letter written by Bassem Eid who is a  Palestinian Human Rights Activist that lives in the West Bank. It was published in Newsweek on 28th January 2024

     

    “There's been a lot of criticism of Israel recently for purportedly rejecting a two-state solution for sharing the territory of what was once the British Palestine Mandate between two peoples. The truth is more complex. As a Palestinian who genuinely yearns for a two-state solution and an improvement in living conditions in the West Bank and Gaza, I believe this truth must be told: It is Israel—and the Zionist Jewish community preceding independence—that consistently offered compromise, dialogue, and a two-state solution. And it is Palestinian demagogues valuing personal power over the good of their people who have rejected these openhanded offers—in favour of endless strife and the desire that the Jewish community be completely destroyed.

     

    It is the Palestinian Arab nationalist movement that has betrayed the Palestinian people and consistently opposed peace. Unfortunately, the views of the antisemitic Palestinian political heads often overshadow the voices of real Palestinians who yearn for peace. Their voices only rarely are heard, as in a recent protest in Gaza in which women and children protested against Hamas, blaming the terrorist organisation for the tragedy of their lives and showcasing the divide between the people and their leaders.

     

    But it's not just Hamas. Palestinian leadership has sold out its people since the beginning of the last century—even as the Jews tried again and again to offer us a state.

    In 1922, the League of Nations unanimously voted to establish the Palestine Mandate as a Jewish National Home with a map depicting not only Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, but also what is now Jordan, which the British instead set up as a separate Arab monarchy, cutting off more than 75 percent of the original land grant. This vision was drastically diminished by the creation of Jordan, yet the Jewish community saw it as an opportunity for coexistence.

    The response? A series of Arab attacks terrorizing Jews in Palestine in the 1920s and 30s, which, right under the eyes of British rule, destroyed ancient Jewish communities in places like Hebron.

     

    When the British Peel Commission proposed a partition of Palestine in 1937, the Jewish leadership, in a spirit of compromise, accepted it, despite the small size of the proposed Jewish state. But in what would become a recurring theme, this gesture of peace was met with outright rejection from the Arab community. This wasn't just a refusal of terms; it was a refusal even to entertain the possibility of peaceful coexistence by Palestinian leaders like Haj Amin el-Husseini, who went on to serve as a Nazi collaborator in World War II, recruiting Balkan Muslims for the S.S.

     

    When the United Nations General Assembly voted to divide the Mandate into Jewish and Arab states in 1947, the Jewish community joyously accepted their proposal. Yet tragically, the Palestinian Arab leadership again rejected even a small Jewish state in the territory. They then invited the armies of seven neighbouring Arab countries to invade and destroy the newborn Jewish state in what became Israel's War of Independence.

    The trend continued with the Oslo Accords of 1993, in which Israeli leaders generously allowed a genocidal terrorist group called the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), run by the mastermind mass murderer Yasser Arafat, to take control over most of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The year 2000 was a critical juncture. At the Camp David Summit, Israel extended an unprecedented offer of Palestinian statehood. They were once again met with Palestinian leadership's refusal—and the eruption of the bloody Second Intifada, a wave of suicide bombings that killed almost a thousand Israeli civilians.

     

    The betrayal shattered any illusion of a commitment to a peaceful resolution from the Palestinian side.

    Then came 2008, at the Annapolis Conference, where Israel once again reached out with a proposal for an independent Palestinian state. The refusal of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to accept this offer was not just disappointing; it was infuriating. Today, Abbas, who came to power in 2004, is serving the nineteenth year of his four-year presidential term, having suspended both elections and the constitution in the Palestinian territories.

    Meanwhile, the Gaza Strip is ruled by the vile Hamas, the ISIS of Palestine, which, on October 7, 2023, invaded the communities of Southern Israel, murdering 1,200 souls in a single day of nightmares and taking more than 240 captives to Gaza. Alongside these murders were unspeakable acts of sexual assault and continuous abuses of hostages until today, a grim reminder of the human cost of this conflict.

     

     

    The sworn objective of Hamas's founding charter is not coexistence but the obliteration of Israel. Khaled Meshaal, former head of Hamas and still one of its most senior leaders, clarified just this month Hamas's position on the idea of a two-state solution: "We reject this notion, because it means you would get a promise for a [Palestinian] state, yet you are required to recognise the legitimacy of the other state, which is the Zionist entity... We will not give up on our right to Palestine in its entirety, from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea." He insisted on his belief that Oct. 7 only "enhanced this conviction."

    The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict regarding a two-state solution reveals a harsh reality: Israel has consistently made genuine efforts toward peace, only to be met with rejection, treachery, and blood-curdling violence by the Palestinian side. This pattern of refusal, particularly epitomized by groups like Hamas, has been the real obstacle to peace.

     

    It's time to acknowledge this truth bluntly. Those who claim to desire peace must confront and challenge the rejectionist elements within Palestinian society, including Hamas. We need to get rid of the Palestinian establishment who have ruled for 15 years without actually representing the Palestinian people. Only then can we hope to forge a path toward a peaceful, two-state future”

     

     

     

     

     

    Here's a link to the column:

     

    My Fellow Palestinians: It's Time to Get Rid of Our Leaders and Accept Israel's Offers for Peace | Opinion

    https://www.newsweek.com/my-fellow-palestinians-its-time-get-rid-our-leaders-accept-israels-offers-peace-opinion-1864654

     

    And more about the man:

     

    Bassem Eid

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassem_Eid

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  5. 2 hours ago, WDSmart said:

    Yes, I do understand and see the entire picture. You don't, and that, and at least the following four reasons, is why you believe I am supportive of Hamas.
    1. The first and most potent is that you are so biased in favor of the Zionist and/or Israeli positions that you judge any post that questions or challenges that perspective is supportive of Hamas and/or Palestinian positions.

    2. The second is that there is no need for me to post supportively of the Zionist and/or Israeli positions since you and several others constantly deluge this Topic with those. Most of my posts do try to reveal the other perspective to try to make sure everyone sees both sides.

    3. The third is I am not supportive of the Zionist position, which is focused on gaining control of all of the land in question by any means necessary. I am supportive of the more moderate Israeli positions, like wanting the hostages returned unharmed and wanting assurance that there will never be another Oct 7th-like attack, but without relying on the carnage caused by the continuing Zionist-led attacks on Gaza.
    4. The fourth is I am not supportive of the Hamas position, which is also focused on gaining control of all of the land in question by any means necessary. I am supportive of the more moderate Palestinian position, which is focused on reaching some agreement with the Israelis on how both of them can live on this same land in peace, which most likely implies some kind of two-state solution.

     

    You can make false claims all you like. Most of my comments regarding Israel illegal settlement effort in the West Bank, are negative (notice that 'illegal' there? It's a clue). Most of my comments on Netanyahu and the current Israeli government? Negative as well. Similarly, no gung-ho comments regarding the fighting in the Gaza Strip, nor reveling in the deaths of Palestinian civilians. And, of course - nothing along the lines of your 'control all the land' on going nonsense.

     

    So once more, you simply demonstrated a disconnect between what is and what's your 'opinion'.

     

    You continue to exhibit willful ignorance and wrong use regarding relevant concepts, labels, ideologies and so on. You do so without actually bothering to substantiate any of this, again insisting that your ignorant 'opinion' trumps facts. This is most apparent when it comes to your various uses of 'Zionist' - in contexts and meanings which are way off mark.

     

    Considering you have not actually shown much knowledge about the factions involved, their policies, agenda, composition or leadership, your claims to 'support' this or that are meaningless.

     

    2 hours ago, WDSmart said:

    Thanks for your post.

    I'd only add to the final paragraph quoted above with the editions noted below:

    It's time to acknowledge this truth bluntly. Those who claim to desire peace must confront and challenge the rejectionist elements within Palestinian society, including Hamas, and within Israeli society, specifically the Zionists and the current government. We need to get rid of the Palestinian and Israeli establishment, who have ruled for 15 years without actually representing the Palestinian or the moderate Israeli people. Only then can we hope to forge a path toward a peaceful, two-state future.”

     

    There you go again, insisting on a framing Zionism as something which it ain't. Why is it that you feel the need to edit the author's words? Do you consider him less informed than yourself? Or do you feel it's your right to misconstrue his ideas to fit your agenda and warped thinking?

     

    About as bizarre and clueless as it gets.

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  6. 2 hours ago, mooping20Baht said:

    anything you don't like "is Hamas" ; meanwhile:

     


     

     

    oh right, UNRWA (without any evidence) is Hamas also, so nevermind, fake news

     

     

    During the fighting, UNRWA reports are mostly based on figures supplied by the Hamas controlled Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip. These figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, they do not make clear how many or which casualties were caused by Hamas (and other terrorist organizations). Similarly, UNRWA's statement fails to acknowledge Hamas use of attacked facilities etc.

     

    Obviously, links are beneath you.

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  7. 14 hours ago, Captain Monday said:

    Still no idea of what you were talking about. Could it be the sura I quoted which was deleted?

    And no it was not altered . I do not read The Noble Quran in original form, only translations, of which there are many.

     

    There is a religious element to this conflict.

     

    As a man of your intelligence you know that this surah was adopted, from a higher authority.

    Meaning it was cribbed from a book of the Torah

    All so-called religions are syncretic

     

    Other than you seemingly getting a bit obsessive with this....

     

    I have replied to a post you made. It is still up topic, not deleted.

    Referenced it twice now. Explained what was I was talking about.

     

    Maybe go for that 'dullards' again - apparently you are allowed to, whereas replying in kind is a 'flame'.

    A bit ironic, though.

     

     

     

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  8. 1 hour ago, WDSmart said:

    Yes, I understand. That's why, IMO, you can only see one side. I believe both Hamas and the IDF adjust the numbers to support their cause. Some of that might not be actual lies, but just estimates based of what they believe. For example, how can you really determine if an adult male Palestinian is a militant or civilian? If he has a weapon, the likelihood he is, but even then, he might just be carrying a weapon to protect himself and his family. And, if he doesn't have a weapon, maybe he discarded it to try to seem to be a civilian. If he's shot and killed, Hamas might count him as a civilian and IDF count him as a militant. Who knows? 

    I know you trust IDF and think everything Hamas says is lies, but I tend to believe the truth is always somewhere in the middle.  

     

    No, you don't. Your posts are generally supportive of Hamas and/or Palestinian positions.

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  9. 2 hours ago, Brickleberry said:

     

    This organization has been caught lying by Israeli media, and this is where virtually all of the evidence of rape has come from:
    https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-31/ty-article-magazine/.premium/death-and-donations-did-the-volunteer-group-handling-the-october-7-dead-exploit-its-role/0000018d-5a73-d997-adff-df7bdb670000

     

     

    So according to you, Mr. Rape Denier, the link is proof that Hamas did no wrong and that all them rapes were 'fake'.

    :coffee1:

     

     

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  10. 13 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

    Excellent news. I hope that man gets the boot, has his court case and serves time in jail.

     

    @thaibeachlovers

     

    It's 'news' only if you insist on not knowing stuff, ignoring events and so on.

    These protests have been going on since shortly after the new Israeli coalition government was formed.

    9 months or so, then a 'break' due to the war, now resuming.

    Poll figures consistently grim for current government as well.

     

    Don't let that deter you from making them wide brush comments about Israel, though.

  11. 1 hour ago, Neeranam said:

     

    Antisemitism refers to prejudice, discrimination, or hostility directed against Jewish people as an ethnic, religious, or racial group.

    Criticism of Israel can be disagreement with its government's policies, its treatment of Palestinians, its settlement expansion in the occupied territories, or its military actions. Many people, including Jews themselves, criticize certain Israeli policies without being motivated by antisemitism.

    Some here have a persecution complex, a psychological pathology or irrationality regarding these topics, and should not be taken seriously. 

     

     

     

     

    Some here keep copying stuff from the net and presenting it as their own words.

    Same people seem to suffer from a delusion that they are mental health experts, or that they have much insight on things discussed.

    Or maybe they are just trolling.

     

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