Cosmic Joe Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 I cannot remember the last time I felt so down about the state of affairs on this planet. Head in the sand attitude towards climate change, which has finally impacted on Scotland this past week, and what is inevitably going to ratchet up in Gaza in the coming few weeks. We are supposed to be an intelligent species. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClydeTon Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 24 minutes ago, Cosmic Joe said: I cannot remember the last time I felt so down about the state of affairs on this planet. Head in the sand attitude towards climate change, which has finally impacted on Scotland this past week, and what is inevitably going to ratchet up in Gaza in the coming few weeks. We are supposed to be an intelligent species. We are the most intelligent. We are also the least intelligent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 21 minutes ago, Cosmic Joe said: I cannot remember the last time I felt so down about the state of affairs on this planet. Head in the sand attitude towards climate change, which has finally impacted on Scotland this past week, and what is inevitably going to ratchet up in Gaza in the coming few weeks. We are supposed to be an intelligent species. I was thinking along similar lines the other day. Of all the human beings I've ever crossed paths with in life, including many I disliked and some who I genuinely thought were very unpleasant people, I can't imagine any of them being capable of making the decision to drop explosives on other innocent human beings. It's like the people who lead us are a different species altogether, it's such an unhuman thing to do. I can imagine on the battlefield, if you see some of your mates being blown apart it may suddenly become easier to do the same to the other side. But to sit from afar and give orders to reduce residential areas to rubble must take something far beyond normal human psychopathy 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophia Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 15 minutes ago, Zetterlund said: to sit from afar and give orders to run amok like Thomas Hamilton slaughtering fellow human beings or reduce residential areas to rubble must take something far beyond normal human psychopathy I added the bit you forgot 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) On 21/10/2023 at 19:39, Granny Danger said: There’s nasty stuff happening all over the place as a result of the blowback; particularly in the USA. Major tech companies pulling out of a conference because the conference organiser had the temerity to criticise Israel’s actions, people having job offers withdrawn for the same reasons, students being threatened by their colleges for signing letters of support for Palestine. The pro-Zionist lobby is well organised and not afraid to use their influence across all sectors of society, though if you point this out you may be accused of indulging in antisemitic tropes. The Canarian sun must be addling your brain because you've just used the biggest antisemitic trope out there. Edited October 22, 2023 by DeeTillEhDeh 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefybake Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 33 minutes ago, Zetterlund said: I was thinking along similar lines the other day. Of all the human beings I've ever crossed paths with in life, including many I disliked and some who I genuinely thought were very unpleasant people, I can't imagine any of them being capable of making the decision to drop explosives on other innocent human beings. ....... ...........I can imagine on the battlefield, if you see some of your mates being blown apart it may suddenly become easier to do the same to the other side. But to sit from afar and give orders to reduce residential areas to rubble must take something far beyond normal human psychopathy For context, it's not very difficult to find Arabs being referred to as rodents in the Knesset, the parliament of Israel. Edited October 22, 2023 by beefybake 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 1 hour ago, welshbairn said: The continuing bombardment of Gaza and the West Bank will almost certainly put an end to any rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Morocco, some Gulf countries and possibly Turkey, which was probably the primary intention of Hamas. A lot of that rapprochement was to do with common enemy - especially Iran. If Hamas is still perceived as an Iranian proxy, these other countries will still side with Israel, albeit more quietly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTillEhDeh Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Zetterlund said: I was thinking along similar lines the other day. Of all the human beings I've ever crossed paths with in life, including many I disliked and some who I genuinely thought were very unpleasant people, I can't imagine any of them being capable of making the decision to drop explosives on other innocent human beings. It's like the people who lead us are a different species altogether, it's such an unhuman thing to do. I can imagine on the battlefield, if you see some of your mates being blown apart it may suddenly become easier to do the same to the other side. But to sit from afar and give orders to reduce residential areas to rubble must take something far beyond normal human psychopathy Given conscription to the IDF is mandatory in Israel (men must serve at least 32 months, women 24 months) then that mentality is quite possibly not as limited as you may think. Netanyahu served 6 years between 1967 and 1973 as a member of Sayeret Matkal - the Israeli equivalent of the SAS. He reached the rank of captain and served in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. It still doesnt excuse him for being an absolutely vile individual. Edited October 22, 2023 by DeeTillEhDeh 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomGuy. Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 1 hour ago, Cosmic Joe said: We are supposed to be an intelligent species. We're probably currently in the most peaceful, technologically progressive, period of human history. The speed at which technology is progressing is unreal, while a handful of wars at the same time is nothing. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Purely out of interest, what were the general public attitudes in the UK towards the carpet bombing of Dresden and other German cities? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackislekillie Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 8 minutes ago, Donathan said: Purely out of interest, what were the general public attitudes in the UK towards the carpet bombing of Dresden and other German cities? I'm sure if you could be bothered to do some research you would find out. It would be a more productive use of your time than trolling this thread. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshbairn Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Hamas doesn't have an airforce or air defence system, or tanks or artillery for that matter. Gaza is not a major transport hub for sending munitions and soldiers to another battlefront. Comparing Dresden to Gaza doesn't make any sense. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneteaminglasgow Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Dresden was also an obvious atrocity. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 16 minutes ago, Donathan said: Purely out of interest, what were the general public attitudes in the UK towards the carpet bombing of Dresden and other German cities? By that stage the UK public were totally fed up of Germany. It was incredibly obvious Germany had lost the war, a war they started with the deliberate intention of killing millions of people and yet they continued, even invading their former ally Hungary to round up 400,000 Jews and have them sent to the gas chambers. Slightly bigger scale to what is happening just now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny Danger Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 Since we’re making comparisons where do the denizens of P&B stand on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetterlund Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 35 minutes ago, orfc said: So you're saying all soldiers/sailors/airmen of the rank major or above I'll get downvoted again by the everyone's a Tory mob but if you want to know what unrestrained aerial bombing against a compact city of nearly 2 million looks like, read Operation Gomorrah https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Hamburg_in_World_War_II 37,000 dead, and nearly a million homeless in a week, with 80 year old technology. In some cases, the numbers of people who had perished in cellars converted into "air protection rooms" could only be estimated from the quantity of ash left on the floor. And we did it. My comments were about war generally and I wasn't trying to suggest any side is worse or better than the other. Our military adventures in Iraq & Libya are what converted me from complete political indifference into a seething antiwar mess. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donathan Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 My point about Dresden wasn’t to compare it to the current situation. I’m just saying that there’s a situation where people might be inclined to agree that carpet bombing a civilian populace can sometimes be justified. Regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is it not widely acknowledged that beating Japan conventionally would have taken 1-2 years and cost the Americans tens of thousands of soldiers? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClydeTon Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 39 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said: We're probably currently in the most peaceful, technologically progressive, period of human history. The speed at which technology is progressing is unreal, while a handful of wars at the same time is nothing. Wars may be rarer and smaller, but - particularly when European powes or America get involved - it's almost insanely more destructive. The main redeeming factor is that there hasn't been a major global/continental conflict in 80 years, which is probably the longest period in history without one, since global/continental wars became a thing. The rapid advancement of technology is something to truly behold, though, I do agree there. If only we'd use it to sort this climate mess out... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 17 minutes ago, welshbairn said: Hamas doesn't have an airforce or air defence system, or tanks or artillery for that matter. Gaza is not a major transport hub for sending munitions and soldiers to another battlefront. Comparing Dresden to Gaza doesn't make any sense. They are also duplicitous b*****ds that hide amongst the civilian population. Like any terrorist organisation, they don't make themselves easy to find or wear uniforms. Which makes the task of neutralising them all the harder. Especially without turning them into martyrs which is what they crave. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClydeTon Posted October 22, 2023 Share Posted October 22, 2023 5 minutes ago, Donathan said: Regarding Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is it not widely acknowledged that beating Japan conventionally would have taken 1-2 years and cost the Americans tens of thousands of soldiers? The Yanks would have just bombed the life out of Japan - in much the same way they tried in Germany with Hamburg, Dresden, etc. They'd have achieved the effect the A-Bombs had, just using a barrage of conventional bombs, and/or a (greater) firebombing campaign. It's widely belived that Truman dropped the bomb to stick the fear into both Japan and the Soviets, and to show America's newly discovered power. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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