Bob

I don't really care one bit about the civilians of most other countries, especially countries and societies and cultures that are largely our enemies. They should only be protected insofar as it doesn't significantly hinder military objectives. When soldiers start coming back in body bags en masse because of leftist politics that place the lives of these "civilians" on pedestals of infinite value, I want to throw up. To me, the life of one Canadian soldier is worth more than the lives of everyone in Afghanistan. Now you know my point of departure when engaging in this subject matter. They don't give a damn about me or mine, so you think I'm going to waste one iota of concern on some Muhammad or Fatima in Kabul? Please. On a somewhat related note, read this - Edward Luttwak - Give War a Chance.

Fascism believes in mega-government control over all aspects of society - both business/economics and social/cultural behaviours. That is in-line with leftism, NOT those on the right. As we can see, you also subscribe to this lie about fascism being a "far-right" or "extreme right" ideology when in fact fascism is identical to communism aside from not being internationally-driven and allowing a symbolic form of private ownership of property, albeit under strict government regulation. Nazism, as an example, is extreme leftism. Hitler was not right-wing by any means. Same for Mussolini.

Actually, many scholars do agree with me. More precisely, I am not advancing an original idea, here. What I just said has been well-known by many for a long time.

Ron Paul was wrong to phrase things as he did. He seems to really believe that somehow the USA should extricate itself from the Middle East and allow the chips to fall where they may. Does he not realize how important that region is with respect to oil? Oil is still the lifeblood of every modern economy, and the Middle East is still, unfortunately, the home of about half (or more?) of the world's crude oil production. His assertions that somehow these Arabs/Muslims have legitimate grievances with the USA clearly implies blame on American foreign policy for the dysfunction of the Middle East. It's as if it's America's fault that they are so sick, twisted, and barbaric. It is an inferior and savage society/culture on its own, full stop. America didn't make these people the way they are. Arab/Muslim society is broken and very diseased, and these problems are certainly not caused by American foreign policy. He is massively ignorant of that side of the world. Good for the audience for jeering at his idiocy. I would agree that American foreign policy is highly flawed, but for different reasons. America isn't aggressive enough in its prosecution of war, a sick consequence of leftist politics that value the lives of "civilians" more than they deserve. Moreover, America is engaging in "nation building", literally paying, training, arming, and assisting the enemy. Every time I here about America building roads and schools and giving billions of dollars in "development aid" I want to vomit. Destroy the enemy and get out. Let them clean themselves up, it's their fault anyways. Basically, America gets bogged down via leftist politics. Again.

Consider yourself fortunate that I even indulge you with a reply once in awhile. I certainly don't have the patience to refute your assertions and follow you down your road of nonsense. You have nothing to contribute on these issues besides commentary predicated on a flawed perspective of all parties of this conflict being of equal guilt. Although sometimes you're courageous enough to take a position and lay more blame on and criticism towards Israel. Bravo.

I love how bud throws around terms like "illegal" as if anyone in here gives a damn. The politics of the UN and its subsidiaries are meaningless. They have no credibility and and no authority to determine the "legality" of anything.

Not that it matters, but most Jews in Israel are not from Europe. It's an irrelevant point, and a transparent racist attack from you. If all Jews were from Utah in recent history it wouldn't make a lick of a difference. We are the indigenous people of this land, dispossessed for a long time, but thankfully now we have reclaimed what is exclusively ours. You're ignoring the basic philosophy here. Nobody has any of these "rights" that you proclaim as an irrelevant third-party grandstanding from your keyboard. Neither you nor the UN have any authority whatsoever to force the obligations of preserving these "basic rights" onto us. With every right comes an obligation, and third-parties such as yourself or the UN are in no position to dictate to involved stakeholders their responsibility for carrying out the obligations necessary for protecting these "basic rights". This is a multi-party conflict, and only one side has agreed to the "rules" laid out in Geneva Conventions. You cannot have an arrangement where only one side is playing by the rules. Considering that the Arabs/Muslims do no adhere to the Geneva Conventions (or most "rights" laid out in the UNDHR), they cannot expect to be protected the provisions therein when they are captured. Treaties and agreements are a two-way street. The Geneva Conventions are only relevant insofar as Israel adheres to them. It's a one-sided agreement, with terrorists sitting in Israeli jails given options to earn university degrees while the "Palestinians" torture and murder anyone they can get their hands on. Gilad Shalit being the prime contemporary example.

What fantasy world are you living in? When did the violence ever subside? They're still regularly engaging in terrorism. You're making things up again. How far back do you think I have to go to find anti-Israel/anti-Semitic terrorism inside Israel or abroad? An hour? A day? Please, this lie about the "Palestinians" mobilizing towards "peaceful protests" is ridiculous. It's not happening, so stop pretending that it is.

I choose not to reply to most of what you say, because it's tiresome and nonsensical. Essentially, your position boils down to this - if people start acting up like bears, then we should leave. In other words, if we live in the midst of barbarians, why are we choosing to live here? That perspective is beyond stupid, and unworthy of serious consideration or response. Basically, you're giving the power to the animals to determine how affairs will pan out. No thanks, but we'll define our own destiny on our own terms.

We're dealing with well-trained leftist, who despise certain ambiguously defined groups such as "middle-class white men". Don't forget, we're responsible for all social ills and must be made to pay penance.

Haha! Exactly. My "rights" have been trampled as a "middle-class white man".

The gap between the rich and the poor isn't a problem, and it certainly shouldn't be some governmental policy to increase "equality" of wealth through coercion (although the leftists will disagree with this point, seeing "equality" as some fort of glorious objective to work towards).

Just in case it hasn't been said, yet - the lie of fascism being on the far-end of the right side of the political spectrum needs to be undone. Fascism is essentially a leftist ideology, and it has a lot more in common with ordinary run-of-the-mill leftists that it does with those of us on the right. Fascism is almost virtually indistinguishable from communism, aside from capital being privately-owned (although completely regulated by the government, essentially resulting in the major parallels with communism), and that fascism is nationally-oriented whereas communism has an international focus. Totalitarian systems are leftist systems.

Bears can be managed. Most importantly, this is our home, and clearly worth fighting for.

Have you folks not watched Ezra's "interview" with the HRT? It is fan-effin'-tastic. He rips this bureaucrat apparatchik to shreds. This is the first video:

You often type a lot, but say nothing.

As I've already explained, the UN didn't create Israel - the Jewish people did. As far as the ICJ? Who cares? It's not a real "court", it's just a bunch of politicians and academics who play dress-up and pretend to be lawyers and judges. I've already explained how the very concept of "rights" granted by the Geneva Conventions makes no sense in this conflict, as one party hasn't agreed to play by these "rules". You cannot force compliance among a multi-party conflict on one party. Nobody has the right to force obligations (because all "rights" come with obligations to be upheld by certain people and institutions) to protect certain groups of people who have chosen not to uphold the agreement on their side of the water. People like you think you can stand on your soapbox and declare "rights" for certain people, while third-parties are the ones who are burdened by the obligations of enforcing those rights. This is obviously a much broader issue than simply examining the irrelevance of the Geneva Conventions in the context of Israel's conflict with the Arabs/Muslims, it applies to many so-called "rights". A long list of fake "rights" can be found in the UNDHR.

Did the UN's "recognition" build Israel into what it is today? Israel's existence transcends the UN. UN "recognition" certainly didn't drain the swamps, build the farms, lay down the roads, establish the schools, universities, and hospitals, support the "illegal immigration" of Jews into the pre-Israel British Mandate for Palestine, and defend Jews from Arab/Muslim violence for decades before the U was even established. "Recognition" from the UN, although no completely meaningless, certainly didn't build Israel. Most important, Israel's existence doesn't hinge on the UN's "recognition". Yes, it's better to have the "recognition" than not, but it is certainly not the top priority. People like you seem to think document or a speech at your sacred cow known as the UN somehow create things. Words and documents don't build countries - people do.

There is no perfect solution to Israel's security problems because you cannot reform a society/culture. These Arabs/Muslims are who they are, they want what they want, and they do what they do. As long as they live in our midst and around us, we will always need vigilance to protect ourselves. Again, there is no solution to this problem, only management of it and reduction of the harm it causes us. Lastly, you're insinuating that "Palestinian" terrorism is a product of the "occupation", when even a cursory examination of the history of this region illustrates plenty of anti-Jewish hatred predating 1967 by almost a century. The aftermath of the Six-Day War simply provided these Arabs/Muslims with another grievance upon which to build heir animosity.

I must have forgotten, it was a long time ago. Anyways, your position is essentially - Israel's self-defense is unjust. I cannot fathom how someone can suggest that a blockade to reduce the smuggling of arms into Gaza is somehow "unjust". Apparently allowing "Palestinians" to legally import their favourite brands of chocolate supersedes Israel's right to reduce the amount of arms that get into Gaza that are used to murder Jews and other Israelis.

Nothing belongs to them, anyways. Moreover, the infrastructure was built by, and continues to be maintained and expanded by, Israel. Also, they have much lower "needs" for water given their virtually non-existent industry. There is no such thing as "Palestinian water".

The UN has no authority to dictate how Israel conducts its affairs. End of story.

As has already been said, the UN "fact finding mission" already determined that blockade on Gaza is "legal". Of course, whatever the UN or any of its subsidiaries determines is 100% irrelevant. Israel can and should do whatever it must in order to protect herself. As far as the Geneva Conventions, they are irrelevant as well, as no "Palestinian" political group or government has agreed to adhere to the principles and be subject to enforcement. You cannot force the Geneva Conventions onto only one party of a multiparty conflict. The same thing applies to the terrorist vermin caught in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places - they (Al Qaeda, the Taliban, etc) never agreed to adhere to "international law", so they certainly have no "rights" to be protected by the provisions of, say, the Geneva Conventions when they are captured.

There is no such thing even remotely resembling democracy among the "Palestinians". Fatah is already years past the conclusion of its original mandate, and the "elections" are highly questionable. Most importantly, political opponents murders and intimidate one another. This assertion that they have a "multiparty system" like ours is a just another example of your complete obliviousness of how things actually over here. Lastly, when an anti-democratic party like Hamas has such support among these Arabs, you know there's a problem. Democracy is a lot more than "one vote, one time".

Their "issue" with the Israeli government is that it continues to exist and defend its identity as the Jewish state. That's all. Just a minor detail.