Re: Do you condemn Hamas?

Bill has a bit of a problem with anyone who disagrees with him. He wants them all either jailed or executed. How typically neo-Liberal!

Hamas is definitely disagreeable. Cursitor Doom seems to think that there's something "neo-Liberal" about not liking murderous terrorists.

We know he like preposterous conspiracy theories. Presumably he's got one about the murderous antics of Hamas.

I suppose there can be different opinions on the virtues of gang raping, hostage taking, and killing chidren.

Actually, Hamas makes sense. They send Jews to hell because they are heretics, and send Muslims to heaven to be blessed martyrs. So for Hamas, killing is always win-win.

North Korea, Russia, and China are looking on with envious eyes as to how much firepower the US can help Israel put onto civilian targets, they're like "Hey! that was supposed to be our job!"

They're taking notes on the "advanced tactics" being used in Gaza such as "Today's neighborhood is grid square E4, take a squad in there, kick down the doors of every home and office and shoot anything that moves."

For all the trillions of taxpayer dollars that have been poured into the "science" of "modern warfare" it should come as no surprise that counter-insurgency tactics haven't fundamentally changed a bit since My Lai in 1968. Money well-spent...

Well, it does kind of nullify America's moral authority! Perhaps you can tell us why the US supplies all these armaments to Israel effectively for free? I mean, supplying them at cost would be bad enough, given the purposes to which they're being put.

Wow, John. I never expected to see the day when you'd defend Bill Sloman! :-D He'll be glad to know he's finally made a friend here. ;-)

The Muslims don't describe Jew as heretics (which is pretty much a term used only by Christians to describe other Christians). Jews and Christian are seen as also people of the book - if not quite of the same book as Muslims - and don't get persecuted by Muslims on theological grounds.

Hamas doesn't make any kind of sense, any more than Donald Trump does. Like him, they are performance artists who will do pretty much anything to get the attention they crave.

It's not exactly a defense, and I doubt if it is motivated by any kind of fellow-feeling

That's actually wrong, but Cursitor Doom won't have known enough about the subject to have noticed.

America had moral authority? It probably peaked about 1865, if it did...

Geopolitical reasons, oil security, historical hedge against the Soviets, religious reasons, some combination.

It isn't entirely out of the goodness of our own hearts, that's for sure. But they're a heavily nuclear-armed nation that could wipe out every major city in the Arab world in an afternoon.

If Israel still feels routinely insecure despite this ability I'm unconvinced how much one more F-16 or 500 more tons of smart bombs is going to help make a fundamental difference in that.

I can understand why Iran isn't interested in a conflict right now they're probably all hands on deck trying to get their first atomic bomb test scheduled. Maybe the government of Israel just figures they'll fight a three-front war to nip that problem in the bud. I expect the US will be on the hook for the ammo for that one, too.

It'll be interesting to see how many gruesome little wars the US can provide the gear for simultaneously while its 900 year old leaders regularly mumble some variant of "well, you see all those foreigners hate us for our freedom" but when the foreigners keep finding "Made in USA" on the bomb fragments in what used to be their house..

But for better or worse if Trump's supporters violently butchered 1300 people in the US (not a difficult event to imagine...) every Democrat would be demanding an immediate cease fire and asking for unity and sending thoughts and prayers, not dispatching the strike fighters out to level the Mar-a-Lago Club and half of Palm Beach along with it.

The right's politicians have spent 30 years playing to Republicans most vicious and violent revenge fantasies while the Dems always tell me why I can't have what I want because it might anger the wingnuts (they always are.) the Dems could learn a bit about how to run a campaign from them.

On 6/7/24 16:49, john larkin wrote: [...]

Some kind of sense, given that there is neither heaven, nor hell. Religion, islam in particular, is only pernicious brainwashing. There is no afterlife. There is only this life. Don't waste it.

Jeroen Belleman

Just by accident, he's sort of right once in a while.

Tribal ranting is always easier than thinking.

Until you understand the origin of the universe and the nature of consciousness, you can't know.

Religion is human's reason to have morality. Morality leads to enlightment and a kind, just, productive society. Where else would morality and justice come from?

One interpretation of religion is our collective feelings about proper behavior to others. Obviously, there are different religions with, possibly, genetic components.

In my personal experience, religious people are nicer than atheists.

Better cooks too.

Like a busted clock you mean? Yeah, I guess...

Because the world needs more modern democracies.

His motivations are emotional, not logical. I see that a lot, smart people doing very stupid things because their hormones dominate their neurons.

Gosh, what a jerk.