Politics

[Foxi]

It’s unbelievable. Some actually seem to blame Israel for the conflict. Israel has the right to do whatever is necessary to get their hostages home and secure their country. Our response to a similar situation on our shores would be dramatic. On a per capita basis, what Israel has endured dwarfs 911.

despite all the terrible grief that the people of GAZA are also suffering.
In 2006, Hamas was elected to parliament by a majority, and they set out to destroy Israel.
Is that still possible?
What can you expect from your neighbor?
Should it allow itself to be slaughtered so that its election program can be fulfilled?

The wave of - left-wing intellectual - anti-Semitism is also making waves in Germany/Europe; it always has.

 

[Tanks]

...

The wave of - left-wing intellectual - anti-Semitism is also making waves in Germany/Europe; it always has.

The Venn diagram of extreme left and the extreme right seems to be anti-Semitism.

 

[Saul]

After what we have heard and seen from the radical left in this country over the last 4 years shouldn't be a surprise to anyone... The demonization of Israel and the Jewish people is just the latest of many examples of how radical left ideology is destroying this country from within with the help of the MSM and complacent democrats...

Antisemitism is nothing new, but many people, myself included, were surprised by just how virulent and pervasive it had become in progressive politics.

The common thread between all of these things is social media.

 

[WAB]

Antisemitism is nothing new, but many people, myself included, were surprised by just how virulent and pervasive it had become in progressive politics.

The common thread between all of these things is social media.

A close friend survived the holocaust, escaping Tarnow and hiding in the family factory, thus avoiding Auschwitz. As we have talked, it is evident that this resurgence of antisemitism is physically painful for him.

I truly thought that this was behind us.

 

[mdwest]

In 2006, Hamas was elected to parliament by a majority, and they set out to destroy Israel.

I dont find that Hamas was elected or that they had an agenda to destroy Israel from the beginning surprising or even interesting.. Politics, once you get down to the root of things, is almost always deeply tied to money....

The Iranians funneled a ton of money into Gaza... Hamas looked like a beacon of hope and a positive future in 2007...

Its pretty easy to get elected when every street corner has a big flashing sign telling you everything positive about a candidate and their party (theryre going to give you free stuff! theyre going to get you better jobs and better pay! etc..etc..).. while not telling you any of the negative (theyre going to ensure that your children and grandchildren die horrible deaths! theyre not going to keep any of their promises about jobs and you wont be getting any free stuff!).... and then rival candidates, without the financial backing of Iran, are barely even known to be running for office...

The sad truth is... once regimes like this take power, it takes decades before they fall... Saddam ruled Iraq for 44 years.. it took a foreign power coalition to remove him... and despite the majority of the Iraqi people NOT benefitting from his rule, the majority continued to support him for most of his reign... Gaddafi ruled for 42 years.. it took a revolution/civil war, backed by foreign powers to remove him.. despite the majority of the people not benefitting from his rule for decades.. he remained supported by the majority in one form or fashion for most of his rule.. The Ayatollahs are clearly not popular with a large segment of the Iranian people... but they have been ruling in Iran since 1979...

Sadly.. its not a whole lot different here....

Look at whats going on in the US right now.... consider the promises being made... the rhetoric being thrown around.. etc... even with us having greater access to information and facts than ever before in the history of man... the EASY path is just to listen to what some candidate or party is saying and accept it.. than to go figure out what is real.. and how they intend on delivering (or not delivering) on those promises..

and 18 months from now.. we're all going to be sitting around wondering.. "what the hell happened???? how did we get here???" and act like we're powerless to do anything about it...

 

[Brent in Az]

Newsmax is going public.

Another media outlet that will be assimilated into the mainstream media cesspool.

 

[PARA45]

It’s disgusting to watch, and sad that nothing is being done.

 

[mdwest]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/dramatic-new-footage-shows-troops-rescuing-three-hostages-from-gaza-home/

Best footage Ive seen so far on the recent Yamam hostage rescue.... I'll give it to the IDF, IBP, and Shin Bet... they are all very good at what they do... and are highly effective..

Ive only personally known a couple of shin bet guys.. and have briefly met a handful of Israel SOF guys over the years (not close to any of them)... but to their credit, every single one of them were highly professional, and very effective at the skills I witnessed being demonstrated.. zero clowns were observed..

 

[John Wasmuth]

Holy moly!! Guilty on all three counts!!!!

 

[Tanks]

Wait for the sentencing...

My bet will be probation, community service, and maybe a fine at the worst...

First, he should have taken the plea deal and get the slap on the wrist. Secondly, probation is probably the right sentence as he has no prior record and obviously sober at the moment.

One can't complain about Hunter getting probation while at the same time saying Trump should not be sentenced to jail in similar (first time felon) circumstances. BTW, I am not saying the crimes were similar (actual for Hunter vs made up for Trump) just considering the sentencing after the verdict.

I would expect Biden to pardon him after the election, especially if he loses to Trump.

 

[John Wasmuth]

I’m thinking probation and a fine. No criminal history, not a violent crime.

 

[Brent in Az]

The degenerate crackhead will serve no time.

 

[mdwest]

I would expect Biden to pardon him after the election, especially if he loses to Trump.

Biden said publicly he wouldnt pardon hunter if found guilty.... BUT... that doesnt mean he didnt lie... clearly Joe Biden is a habitual liar.. and doesnt even try to hide it most of the time...

but... my guess is he would simply commute the sentence... whatever it is.. hunter remains a felon.. but.. who cares.. its not like anyone left or right thinks hunter is a good person, cares about how he might have voted, etc.. and once the big guy no longer holds office, no one on the planet is going to employ him for any meaningful amount of money.. he isnt going to need a security clearance.. etc.. (all the things a felony might inhibit)..

if anything, daddy Joe will use this as an opportunity to "prove" that he is honest and just.... "hey, jack! my own son did wrong.. and Im letting him suffer the consequences" (although we all know there will likely be no real consequences at all...)...

 

[Red Leg]

The trial that could be a political problem is the tax case. If it stays as scheduled, and the defense is trying very hard to postpone it, a lot of collective Biden family financial laundry will be laid bare right before the election.

 

[mdwest]

The trial that could be a political problem is the tax case. If it stays as scheduled, and the defense is trying very hard to postpone it, a lot of collective Biden family financial laundry will be laid bare right before the election.

and now he faces that tax case as a convicted federal felon.. not just some poor guy being politically prosecuted because his daddy is POTUS..

 

[Foxi]

I dont find that Hamas was elected or that they had an agenda to destroy Israel from the beginning surprising or even interesting.. Politics, once you get down to the root of things, is almost always deeply tied to money....

Hamas declared its goal of destroying Israel in its founding charter of 1988, a document that clearly states that Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state on the entire territory of present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. This has been a central component of Hamas' ideology since its foundation.

 

[mdwest]

Hamas declared its goal of destroying Israel in its founding charter of 1988, a document that clearly states that Hamas seeks the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state on the entire territory of present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories. This has been a central component of Hamas' ideology since its foundation.

We agree... thats pretty much the desire of all organizations that seek to establish an islamic state..

what Im saying is.. rewind back to 2007 when Hamas first too power.. what has changed in almost 20 years? what was new in 2007 other than an organization called "Hamas" was now going to be in charge?... since 1947 pretty much every ruling palestinian organization called for the same thing to one degree or another... Hamas saying is no different than the PLO saying it in their charter documents.. or Fatah making the same statement in 1950.. etc..etc..

What was new was Irans decision to flood a ton of money into Hamas rather than other options/parties...

if youre a palestinian.. and a political party is calling for the destruction of Israel.. this really is nothing new or unique.. you have an expectation that this is going to be part of the partys platform..

Which leads to my comment that it is neither surprising or interesting that Hamas got elected with a desire to destroy israel embedded into their fabric..

what is surprising and interesting to me is how long these organizations continue to govern/rule...

the people of Gaza clearly have not prospered under Hamas.. nor have they seen the destruction of Israel.. etc..etc.. and yet...they continue to allow Hamas to rule...

I dont believe an election could displace Hamas... that part of the world has proven over and over again for most of the modern era that once someone/something rises to power, it required violent overthrow by either a military coup, a revolution, a civil war, etc for change to happen...

the fact that that has not happened by now.. is telling...

 

[Brent in Az]

Biden speaking at a gun control meeting, while his son was just convicted on gun charges.
Buckets full of irony & hypocrisy.

 

[Tanks]

...

Which leads to my comment that it is neither surprising or interesting that Hamas got elected with a desire to destroy israel embedded into their fabric..

what is surprising and interesting to me is how long these organizations continue to govern/rule...

the people of Gaza clearly have not prospered under Hamas.. nor have they seen the destruction of Israel.. etc..etc.. and yet...they continue to allow Hamas to rule...

...

No elections have been held since 2006 when Hamas was elected. To be honest, I think they would still be elected running on Israeli hatred.

 

[mdwest]

we're saying the same thing...

I dont believe an election could/would displace them...

the only thing that will see the end of Hamas will be the Palestinian people deciding they no longer want Hamas to be in power.. which will require internal violence..

the Israelis will clearly continue to push in the current war until Hamas military capability is set back another decade or two (death of most military aged men willing at the moment to participate in actions against Israel).. but unless they are truly willing to commit genocide (I dont believe they are).. the remaining Palestinians will remain a threat (and just need to be rearmed, retrained, etc.. by Iran)..

I wouldnt expect the next organization to govern the Palestinian people to have any different position on Israel if/when Hamas is displaced.. it will largely just be a horse of a different color..

they just might have a different priority for a while (rebuild Palestine? maybe actually figure out a way to build a reasonable economy? align themselves with someone / something other than the Iranians? (Saudis or Qataris?).. etc..etc..)...

While the estimated 37K palestinians killed so far is obviously a significant number of dead people... it really doesnt even begin to scratch the surface of fixing the problem(s) of the Gaza Strip, which has a population of more than 2M.. the overwhelming majority of people in that tiny space that hate Israel and are willing to do whatever it takes to destroy it are still very much alive... and will remain so after Israel decides its done enough for now..