Forum for discussing local and world politics and issues. All views are welcomed. Let your opinions be heard on current news and politics.
All standard guidelines apply to this board, No Flaming, No Taunting, No Foul Language,No sexual innuendos,etc..
As politics can be a volatile subject, please consider how you would feel if your comment were directed toward yourself.
Any post deemed to be in violation of guidelines will be deleted or edited without warning or notification. Any continued misbehavior will result in a ban or hidden status, so please play nice!!!
*"Moderators are here for a reason. If a moderator (or Global Moderator or Fencer) requests that a discussion on a certain subject to cease - for whatever reason - please respect these wishes. Failure to do so may result in being hidden, or banned."
Tuesday: I got a link off anglestar profile & it takes you any where.I was at wallmart on it today its a great link & alot of place's take pay pal.I'll look for it there Thanks:)))
All post must now be approved until AD decides to change it back. This board is for political discussion and debate. IT IS NOT A BOARD TO CARRY OUT FEUDS This has been going on for a couple of days with multiple people, If you cannot discuss or debate a topic without getting personal, I'd suggest you take it off your favorite list and not visit here Also, not every statement that people make are personal jabs, if you're that over sensitive to remarks (from other cultures) maybe this isn't the board for you. Remember that people from all over the world visit here and what is rude in one place may not be in another or vice a versa and if we went pc to everybody's sensitivities, all post would probably have to be deleted
Thanks Vikings. Wow. It's been a day. Normally I'm not on as much during the day (sometimes not at all) and that's why I put the board on approval. I'm keeping it that way for a bit. Then when I change it back, I'm kicking it up a notch with respect to on topic posts.
I will begin by first apologizing to the group for setting a very bad tone in the beginning of this board. I should have known better. I used the excuse that politics is an emotional topic (and it is) and that a bit of fur flying isn't bad (it isn't good either) and so the decorum was set. My bad.
Since I can't read minds, I can't assume the worst about posts. If they look like they might be directed at someone on BK, then it just might get deleted. The only safe post is one that truly sticks to the issue. There are many ways of doing this and I'm not saying we all have to be 100% polite. Speak your mind etc but stick to the issues. A tactful approach is a good idea.
Czuch: "it is entirely possible to have a problem that isnt created by my government as a rouse to take away my liberty"
Sure it is, and I'm sure that happens. But think about what that means. If your government will use an unforseen accident as an excuse to take your liberties, then the threshold has already been crossed. It will also, if necessary, create "accidents" to take your liberty away.
Again, I don't think you deny that SOME governments throughout history have acted this way. There is Hitler's "Reichstag fire," started by the Nazis & blamed on the Communists, and used as an excuse to shut down civil liberties in Germany.
The bias seems to be that, while other nations might do these things, the U.S. government wouldn't. I have called this thinking "naive," not as an insult, but because it is contrary to the evidence. I have also called it "understandable," not to be condescending, but to express the fact that I realize this idea is very hard to comes to grips with for many of us.
Czuch: "Yes! and the culprits have names as well..... Nancy and Harry and Bam and the whole liberal collectivism movement"
I can understand your aversion to collectivism. The example of the former U.S.S.R. is both terrible & terrifying. But there is also the danger we face from the opposite extreme, i.e., the rise of fascism.
Some recognize the dangers of communism, but not those of fascism. Some the dangers of fascism but not communism. But they both meet in the middle of the political spectrum, as I stated previously. They both strip liberties and are totalitarian regimes.
Yeah, since the ceasefire in January, there have been 100 rocket attacks by Hamas onto civilian targets. That's 2 per day. And what is the world doing about this? They are raising money to give to Hamas for rebuilding. Really. And all that money will go to rebuilding Gaza. Not on your life. Expect to see more of the same. Gaza sends rockets, the US (along with Britain) sends Gaza money, and Israel will once again be alone against the world.
The Usurper: Looking at the current situation since January 18, where at least two rockets a day have been launched into Israel from Gaza, and Israel has honored the cease fire, what other way is there to see it? The Arabs firing the rockets are the good guys? Sure.
Artful Dodger: I'll look into it later tonight, and see if I can find an alternate viewpoint with facts to substantiate it. Or else see things in a new light. January 18...that's my birthday. I'm officially old now.
Artful Dodger: That is true. Some are more related to facts than others. That's always our goal, isn't it? To align our viewpoints with facts? A high calling, not always easy.....
The Usurper: Facts and interpretations of the facts are two different things. Just so we're clear on those parameters. One thing that would have to be made clear to me, how anyone is justified in firing rockets into civilian targets simply for terrorist purposes. Nothing is gained for Hamas by the rocket attacks. They are meant to provoke Israel, knowing Israel will respond with a heavy hand. Then they can whine to the world about Israel's aggressive tactics. If I were Israel, I'd never have given back any territory after the 6 day war and Yom Kippur. The Arabs have promised to drive Israel into the sea and that is what they will continue to try to do. No matter how many consessions Israel makes, and they have made many, the Arabs will never rest until Israel no longer exists. This is a fact to which they themselves attest.
Artful Dodger: I agree with you that rocket attacks on civilian targets is as unwise as it is immoral. Both sides appear to be guilty of this...although Israel has a bigger punch and so does more damage. My opinion, in general, is that Israel is practicing apartheid in the Middle East. This is not to excuse other terrorist organizations (Israel's practices "state terrorism") from heinous acts.
"Global apartheid, stated briefly, is an international system of minority rule whose attributes include: differential access to basic human rights; wealth and power structured by race and place; structural racism, embedded in global economic processes, political institutions and cultural assumptions; and the international practice of double standards that assume inferior rights to be appropriate for certain "others," defined by location, origin, race or gender."
The Usurper:apartheid is a bit strong. If you were surrounded by your enemies, who attacked you on with the intentions of wiping you out, (6-Day; Yom Kippur) and from the moment of Israel's "rebirth," they have been attacked. And if those same enemies vowed to drive you into the sea, and if those same enemies had as their holy book words written in it to kill you where they find you, then you might see things as they do.
It's easy for you with your Western eyes to look at Israel as the agressor. But you don't understand the middle east mindset and particularly don't understand the enemies of Israel. Nothing will appease the Arabs except for the complete extermination of Israel. Israel is NOT seeking their extermination and history has shown that they have put forth multiple efforts at peace. It is always the Arabs that break the peace.
题目: Re: "But you don't understand the middle east mindset"
Artful Dodger: I believe your understanding of the Middle East mindset is more a caricature of reality, than the truth. Certainly there are some hard right Muslims, just as there are hard right Christians. I don't consider either attitude healthy or conducive to peace. But Islam is smeared in America. Its people are sorely misrepresented. I'd hate to be an American Islamist about now.
No people or religion can be judged by its extremist proponents or leaders, except that we use the same standard for all, and only to the extent that we are all responsible, at least partially, for allowing extremism to take root, whether in America, Israel, Gaza or anywhere else.
There are good Jews, good Christians, good Muslims, etc. Take the infamous "Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion," for instance. I think this document is "legitimate," in the sense that it partly describes the means & methods for the rise of world dictatorship. But I do not believe it is a Jewish document, but rather floats under a "false-flag," if you will, thus utilizing the age-old strategy of "divide and conquer." Even if it WERE a Jewish document, it would not be representative of the Jewish people as a whole, but only certain elite radicals. Some elite radicals are certainly Jewish, but some are also Anglo-Saxon & many other nationalities.
题目: Re: "But you don't understand the middle east mindset"
The Usurper:"I believe your understanding of the Middle East mindset is more a caricature of reality,"
You can't possibly know anything about my understanding about he Middle East from the little I've said let alone characterize it as a caricature. lol Neither you nor I fully understand the Middle East to make fully intelligent statements regarding the policies, politics or attitudes they hold. At best we both hold misguided to uninformed to semi-informed understandings. ;)
题目: Re: "But you don't understand the middle east mindset"
Artful Dodger: "Nothing will appease the Arabs except for the complete extermination of Israel."
I think this statement is a mischaracterization of most Islamic people. So I see that as a misunderstanding on your part. I agree there is plenty we both don't know.
题目: Re: "Nothing will appease the Arabs except for the complete extermination of Israel."
The Usurper:I don't think that's a fair comparison. We're talking about the whole of the Arab world and the collective attitude of the group. Which Arab nation openly and regularly supports Israel's right to exist? And which ones openly and regularly support Israel's ultimate defeat? Those that are silent can be placed in the latter category.
"And asked if he [Ahmadinejad] objected to the government of Israel or Jewish people, he said that "creating an objection against the Zionists doesn't mean that there are objections against the Jewish". He added that Jews lived in Iran and were represented in the country's parliament.[27]"
Iran is one of the most non-agressive nations in modern history. It hasn't attacked anyone. Not so the belligerent U.S.
题目: Re: "All Israel - But No Palestinian - Leaders Want to End the Conflict"
Artful Dodger: This article (in your link) is written by Barry Rubens, a professor in Herzliya, Israel. He is American in nationality & Jewish in ancestry. Some might consider those affiliations cause for bias, and his sweeping statements therefore to be taken with a grain of salt.
题目: Re: "All Israel - But No Palestinian - Leaders Want to End the Conflict"
The Usurper:Not so. It's a logical fallacy to "take with a grain of salt" historical facts simply because they are reported by someone who shares ancestry with the land he is reporting on. You can't just wipe them out because the person reporting is Jewish. His Jewishness doesn't preclude truth telling.
题目: Re: "Nothing will appease the Arabs except for the complete extermination of Israel."
Artful Dodger: There is a lot of dubious translation in your posted quote, as is well-documented. Suffice to say, Ahmadinejad does not like the Zionist regime & properly recognizes it as an enemy. He does not advocate the genocide of the Jewish people. And the fact remains, that Iran has no official policy of military aggression towards Israel or anyone else. The only war they've fought in recent memory is a defensive war against the American-backed invasion of Iran by Iraq under Saddam Hussein.
题目: Re: "All Israel - But No Palestinian - Leaders Want to End the Conflict"
The Usurper:What you can do is show where the Palestinians have put forth real and consistent effort at peace. Rather than try to refute everything I offer, show some positive proof. And BTW, wikipedia isn't a reliable source. Even I can contribute to articles there. It's not a scholarly deposit of information. It's a collection of information from anyone who cares to add to the lot. Sure there are safeguards, but it's the internet and I went to the link and was able to edit some of the information. So how reliable is that source?
题目: Re: "His Jewishness doesn't preclude truth telling."
Artful Dodger: It certainly doesn't. But it does raise the odds that he is playing funny with the "facts." It is logical to take this into consideration.
Artful Dodger: I've known for some time about the mistranslation. During the current debate, I googled & found the Wikipedia article, so that's what I posted.
题目: Re: "His Jewishness doesn't preclude truth telling."
The Usurper:It is logical to keep it in mind but it doesn't necessarily "raise the odds" as his information can easily be checked out. If what you say is true, then no news source is trustworthy as all of us, no matter what we claim to the contrary, have a bias. I am biased toward the conservative view. But if I report on something the Democrats said or did, the fact that I favor conservatism doesn't preclude my truth telling with regard to my reporting. You commit a logical fallacy when you paint the report because of the source. The source MAY be relevant to the criticism, but it doesn't simply follow that since the reporter is close to the story then the story must be taken with a grain of salt.
The Usurper:I'll look at it. But I'll also offer some other quotes that are similar to Iran's leader and so actually support my position and put yours in question.