The Middle-East / Radical Islam

[scarletregina]

Ugh, that girl. A few days ago I scanned her Twitter feed. It made my brain hurt.

[Space Tycoon]

[Space Tycoon]

Israel launches deadliest single attack, as UN calls for Gaza ceasefire

[scarletregina]

Things are getting so ugly at this point. Pretty soon other middle eastern countries are going to become heavily involved and that entire region will be even more fucked than it already is.

(but of course, the lead news story on networks is still Lebron James, because that's what really matters.)

[Space Tycoon]

And the World Cup, don't forget that.

[Dalty]

That's an excellent picture and should be required to be posted widely as a lesson and warning.

[scarletregina]

Oh for fuck's sake.

The Times of Israel published an article titled "When Genocide is Permissible."

[Mal Shot First]

Is The Times of Israel otherwise a reputable publication? The quality of writing in this article indicates to me that it's probably not. In addition, the author seen in the photo next to the article looks like he's barely out of college - I don't think I'd ask for his opinion on anything.

It's clear that he conflates Hamas with Palestine. This conflation is at the basis of his argument, which is otherwise already pretty flimsy. To call his writing polemical would be giving it too much credit.

[scarletregina]

I'm also sure that it doesn't represent the majority opinion in Israel. I have no idea how reputable the Times of Israel is, but I'm sure they've lost any good rep they may have had.

[Space Tycoon]

Ha'aretz is pretty good.

[Space Tycoon]

Shit, why hasn't this problem gone away yet?!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

I don't know. I closed my eyes and wished it away. I figured that would do it.

[Space Tycoon]

I can't close my eyes and make it go away.

[Dalty]

We could start by getting a bit of the same judgement on both sides. Yes, Israel's response is disproportionate (unless you believe they are in a war) but it is Hamas that keeps breaking the ceasefires and using human shields. They are also much improved in the propaganda department recently.

[Dalty]

And IS are distracting everyone, don't forget that!!

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Why isn't this thread titled "The Middle East, Ladies and Gentlemen!"?

[Dalty]

Fair point, it's a freakin' basket case.

Hardcore religion, ladies and gentlemen!

[Space Tycoon]

Well, when you have almost 2 million people stuffed into what amounts to a giant internment camp, you can't really expect moderate opinions and a laid-back attitude to be the order of the day.

[Dalty]

Israel has claimed support for the two state solution. Hamas has claimed support for the complete and total destruction of Israel. I think the see-saw is weighted heavily on one end.

[Mal Shot First]

Israel has claimed support for the two state solution.

Yeah, but as of when has the Israeli government supported this solution? And how seriously?

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Do they consider this two-state solution final?

[Mal Shot First]

Israel's two-state solution calls for a Greater Israel and a Lesser Israel.

[The Swollen Goiter of God]

Which one is Blut, and which one is Boden?

[Dalty]

The question usually sticks on the 'pre-67 borders' issue and the disarming of Hamas.

[Mal Shot First]

Israel's claim that they're in support of a two-state solution is undermined, in my opinion, by their settlement policies in the region, which don't quite seem to indicate that they're willing to share.

I'm not in any way defending the actions of Hamas, but as Spacey said above, the Palestinians have lived in what is essentially an internment camp for decades, now, and I can understand how being presented repeatedly with Israel's seemingly halfhearted attempts at peace negotiations gets tiresome after a while.