Dunning1874 Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) Understandably this has gone under the radar a bit with everything being inflicted on Gaza and the West Bank, but Netanyahu is still finding time to be an evil fucker to the families of hostages as well. Edited October 20, 2023 by Dunning1874 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 5 hours ago, Thane of Cawdor said: I actually bought the book from which the excerpt below is taken, but can't find it now. I can't remember what comprised the "loose coalition" but it might have been an unholy alliance of the military-industrial complex, the Anti-Defamation League and Christian nutters. The Israel Lobby," by John J. Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago and Stephen M. Walt of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government, was one of the most controversial articles in recent memory. Originally published in the London Review of Books in March 2006, it provoked both howls of outrage and cheers of gratitude for challenging what had been a taboo issue in America: the impact of the Israel lobby on U.S. foreign policy. Now in a work of major importance, Mearsheimer and Walt deepen and expand their argument and confront recent developments in Lebanon and Iran. They describe the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the United States provides to Israel and argues that this support cannot be fully explained on either strategic or moral grounds. This exceptional relationship is due largely to the political influence of a loose coalition of individuals and organizations that actively work to shape U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Israel direction. Thanks for the recommendation. I went and read a condensed version of the book's argument: https://archive.ph/gTZth I wasn't convinced by it so I looked up criticism and found Chomsky's: https://chomsky.info/20060328/. For me, the Stephen Zunes quote that Chomsky cites best sums up why the argument is weak: Quote there are far more powerful interests that have a stake in what happens in the Persian Gulf region than does AIPAC [or the Lobby generally], such as the oil companies, the arms industry and other special interests whose lobbying influence and campaign contributions far surpass that of the much-vaunted Zionist lobby and its allied donors to congressional races On that note, I'll wheel out this Einstein quote again too: Quote One has to realise that the powerful industrial groups concerned in the manufacture of arms are doing their best in all countries to prevent the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and that rulers can achieve this great end (peace) only if they are sure of the vigorous support of the majority of their peoples. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 17 minutes ago, Dunning1874 said: Understandably this has gone under a radar a bit with everything being inflicted on Gaza and the West Bank, but Netanyahu is still finding time to be an evil fucker to the families of hostages as well. This is standard from Netanyahu's Likud these days - they make the Tories look honest. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFTD Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 Perhaps everyone can come together in agreement that Netanyahu is a shitstain in need of laundering. https://www.timesofisrael.com/netanyahus-said-to-bring-suitcases-of-laundry-when-staying-as-white-house-guests/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefybake Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/20/israeli-arabs-reprisals-online-solidarity-gaza So much for democracy in Israel. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loonytoons Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 1 minute ago, ForzaViola said: I thought Israel was a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Unfortunately it still is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 25 minutes ago, ForzaViola said: I thought Israel was a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Lebanon used to be, sharing power amongst at least 3 different faiths in a complex constitution, until every power in the region interfered and left it run by gangsters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 7 minutes ago, welshbairn said: Lebanon used to be, sharing power amongst at least 3 different faiths in a complex constitution, until every power in the region interfered and left it run by gangsters. Good for them for embracing the western model. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, ForzaViola said: I thought Israel was a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. We've got an unelected prime minister whos made free speech illegal, is trying to ship refugees off to fabricated towns in Africa, and whos trying to make it an illegal offence to fly a countries flag. I still dont know why so many people in the UK pretend we have a civilised democracy. Edited October 20, 2023 by RandomGuy. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 22 hours ago, Ziggy Sobotka said: Glad to see we're confronting the real, tough issues here and scolding people for saying Israel instead of the Israeli government. I see Aberdeen were supposed to be playing Dundee today. That's a lot of people. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freedom Farter Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 (edited) This is an exhilarating read: https://archive.ph/NbCwD Reminiscent of the film Taken. An extraordinary effort by a father to return his child to safety. Journalist Nir Gontarz whose son was at the rave which was attacked earlier this month. Gontarz mentions that Palestinian-Israeli Ahmad Tibi was the only politician to phone afterwards, emotionally congratulating him. When you read Tibi's Wikipedia entry you see his views are the standard Palestinian perspective, no punches pulled. That made me think how such contradictions are tolerated and understood in Israeli and Palestinian discourse, by the folk who actually live the gritty reality. That contrasts with how debate is kept as sterile and abstract as possible in UK and USA because what's being prioritised is how it makes people here feel. That point was really clear to me as I happened to read the above story straight after reading this from a London Tory in The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c094360e-6de5-11ee-b5d7-5487922f056f?shareToken=07dcdd1fff655a5d822cc96d9a7e4758 Look at her opening sentence: Quote I breakfasted in a rage. This fucking breakfast rager was angry at the BBC for supposedly not complying with her preferred narrative, for causing her the terrible angst of having to momentarily question her worldview. In her article she salutes the OSINT wankers of Twitter for riding to her rescue. They managed to shift focus from the human suffering onto the precisely geolocated crater scarring of their bawbags. The likes of her have nothing whatsoever to do with events in Israel and the Palestinian territories yet they spend all their time attempting to censor the voices of those who do. They're angry not at any injustices but at their worldview and identity no longer being coddled and exclusively catered to. It's reality's fault they now have to eat their breakfast in a bad mood. Edited October 21, 2023 by Freedom Farter 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 I see Israelis settlers* in the West Bank are continuing they’re campaign of terror ** against Palestinians with the apparent acquiescence of the IDF. * illegal settlements, the illegality of which is ignored. ** does that make them ‘terrorists’? I’m sure Sunak and Starmer will be issuing a statement condemning this. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67173344 According to the UN's humanitarian office, the week that followed Hamas's murderous attack was the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since it began reporting fatalities in 2005, with at least 75 Palestinians killed by the Israeli military or settlers, and incidents of settler violence up from an average of three a day to eight. In one raid on a Palestinian refugee camp, and a rare air strike in the region, on Thursday 12th, Israeli forces killed at least 12 people, Palestinian officials said, and Israeli police said one officer was killed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHF-23 Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Sorry to get into long corbynism but I always wonder if events 2015-19 drove some of these people insane, or gave them an excuse to act insane in order to be as publicly awful as they like. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpetmonster Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 3 minutes ago, ForzaViola said: I thought the blue octopus thing was related to autism. Of course I googled it and discovered it was indeed a lot to do with autism. The link to anti-semitism is comically tenuous (it's basically a 1930s cartoony bit of German propaganda). I'm sure if these nutters tried hard enough they could find almost any part of any X/Insta/whatever post which supports Palestinians as carrying some sort of anti-semitic trope. Weetman is a pathological ‘look at me’ artist, even by social media standards. Claims she has about 14 degrees but if she was as clever as she thinks she is she might *just* about be able to outwit Neil from *The Inbetweeners* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Foot Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 1 hour ago, GHF-23 said: Sorry to get into long corbynism but I always wonder if events 2015-19 drove some of these people insane, or gave them an excuse to act insane in order to be as publicly awful as they like. Greta couldn’t have understood the tenuous, obscure historical connection to the Nazi kraken symbology, could she? Could she? Spoiler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coprolite Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Freedom Farter said: This is an exhilarating read: https://archive.ph/NbCwD Reminiscent of the film Taken. An extraordinary effort by a father to return his child to safety. Journalist Nir Gontarz whose son was at the rave which was attacked earlier this month. Gontarz mentions that Palestinian-Israeli Ahmad Tibi was the only politician to phone afterwards, emotionally congratulating him. When you read Tibi's Wikipedia entry you see his views are the standard Palestinian perspective, no punches pulled. That made me think how such contradictions are tolerated and understood in Israeli and Palestinian discourse, by the folk who actually live the gritty reality. That contrasts with how debate is kept as sterile and abstract as possible in UK and USA because what's being prioritised is how it makes people here feel. That point was really clear to me as I happened to read the above story straight after reading this from a London Tory in The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c094360e-6de5-11ee-b5d7-5487922f056f?shareToken=07dcdd1fff655a5d822cc96d9a7e4758 Look at her opening sentence: This fucking breakfast rager was angry at the BBC for supposedly not complying with her preferred narrative, for causing her the terrible angst of having to momentarily question her worldview. In her article she salutes the OSINT wankers of Twitter for riding to her rescue. They managed to shift focus from the human suffering onto the precisely geolocated crater scarring of their bawbags. The likes of her have nothing whatsoever to do with events in Israel and the Palestinian territories yet they spend all their time attempting to censor the voices of those who do. They're angry not at any injustices but at their worldview and identity no longer being coddled and exclusively catered to. It's reality's fault they now have to eat their breakfast in a bad mood. I'm fuming that "breakfast" is a verb now. "i broke fast in a rage" is far more aesthetically pleasing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 14 minutes ago, coprolite said: I'm fuming that "breakfast" is a verb now. "i broke fast in a rage" is far more aesthetically pleasing. So is lunch. Not dinner though; no one has ever dinnered. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wee-Bey Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Reckon all climate change protest will be considered antisemitic by the end of next week. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvio Tattiescone Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 14 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: So is lunch. Not dinner though; no one has ever dinnered. Batman? 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefybake Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 36 minutes ago, Granny Danger said: So is lunch. Not dinner though; no one has ever dinnered. BATMAAAAN. Dinnah, dinnah, dinnah....... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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