Let's talk about Israel and Palestine...

[infinite monkey]

I wonder which of the Big boys is going to have a coronary first. Should I start a poll?

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by BigV

I didn't make reference to meeting Big Sarge in person as he did with me. That's what differentiates between figurative speech and literal speech. Reading comprehension BigV, you ain't got it and never did. That's why you so often blow things out of proportion. It'll always be the same old, same old from you. Someday you'll make some lucky woman a fine teenage daughter.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

I wonder which of the Big boys is going to have a coronary first. Should I start a poll?

Is this going to involve poll dancing?

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Oh hey, ha ha, remember back when I was merely asking for a better conversation? A more adult way to talk about this stuff? ha ha those good old days

Just another manic Monday.

[Big Sarge]

BigV - I guess I am death loving, because I have been wrapped up in a warrior ethos for too long. I am trying to improve myself by studying Buddhism and Vietnamese. The short answers I would have to give you are based upon dark humor that has long been used when discussing casualty to combatant ratios.

1. Kill them all and let God sort them out
2. To kill the big rats, you have to kill the little rats.

Sexobon - If I am banned, then I will be banned. If you wish to characterize me as unstable and a raging alcoholic, then you should be smart enough not to temp an extremely vindictive son of a bitch. Buddy-ro, I don't give a damn. If you wish combat, I plan on obliging your every wish in the only way I know how

[sexobon]

Elevate your game or you're just entertainment.

[Undertoad]

Your post of an angry, stupid person with a microphone does not explain why the "precision-guided" weapons of the Israelis are killing little kids.

Like I said: this is not an isolated statement.

This is the rallying cry of Islamists everywhere. It's a successful rallying cry because it is a belief. Their belief systems are different than ours.

From bin Laden: "This place may be bombed, and we will be killed. We love death. The US loves life."



To an Egyptian child preacher: "Oh Zionists, we love death, we long for martyrdom for sake of Allah."



To drone-killed American Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who (Wiki entry)

...posted an essay in Arabic entitled, "Why Muslims Love Death," on the Islam Today website, praising the Palestinian suicide bombers.

Why do (so many) Muslims love death? It's such a fundamentally different belief than ours that it's very difficult to accept. Don't take my word for it, check it out.

[Big Sarge]

I prayed on this. The only thing that came to me was an old song. Maybe we can all step back and learn.

[Undertoad]

Also BigSur - your western style of deep concern for the children is, I think, what galvanized Israel to crush Hamas this time around.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_ki...aeli_teenagers

I'm sure, in your humanity, you would feel the same urgency for action if it were your teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered.

[Big Sarge]

I admit I am a Zionist

[DanaC]

Wow, Sexobon, that was low, even for you.

[DanaC]

Dana - Hamas doesn't cut off your head, they shoot you. Remember we discussed the recent 18 executions. I cannot understand why you would support a country that practices female genital mutilation and other violence against women. The Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution report indicated that Palestinian women face many forms of violence, with 76.4% of Gazan women being subjected to emotional violence, 34.8% to physical violence, 14.9% to sexual violence, 78.9% to social violence and 88.3% to economic violence. I think we also need to review their LGBT record.

All of which appalls me. Israel shelling towerblocks and UN schools is not going to alleviate the suffering of those women.

The situation for women in many countries is appalling. FGM is practised in many parts of the world, amongst muslim and Christian communities. Domestic violence and rape are also endemic in many parts of the world. Approximately 2 women die every week, in my own country, at the hands of partners or former partners.

When Iraq was invading Kuwait, the west did not step back and say: ahh but the Kuwaitis treat their women like shit, so why should we care if someone invades them? And lest we forget our 'friends' the Saudis, who don't even let their women drive cars or leave the house without being shrouded scalp to toe and escorted by a male relative.

Hamas are not pleasant people - but nor are they all rampant islamists. They are a political organisation and the elected government of Gaza. Some of them are fundamentalists, some of them are secular Islam. They're a fairly broad church when it comes to religion. What unites them is their political objective, not the religious underpinnings.

I support the Palestinians' right to a functioning state of their own. Their right to self-determination. That doesn't mean I like everything about Palestinian culture. Any more than I like everything about India's culture, where women are treated like chattel in many areas of the country.

If we start basing our views of sovereignty and self-determination on how a country or culture treats its women then there will be very few places to defend.

These are separate issues.

[tw]

Originally Posted by sexobon

Is this going to involve poll dancing?

Why do people dance when voting at the polls?

[Big Sarge]

Dana - I see your point. Women are mistreated throughout most of the world. Can we at least agree that Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood?

Like I said before, I am a Zionist so I tend to look at Gaza with tinted glasses

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by tw

Why do people dance when voting at the polls?

Some people even dance when they're taking a break ... they call it breakdancing!