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Prayers...

Russia has its hands full with Ukraine. I donā€™t think theyā€™ll have the equipment to fight on two fronts. And if someone can knock out the Iranian drone manufacturer then Iran is no longer useful to Putin.
Where is Charles Kuralt when you need him?
 
They lit houses on fire to get people out into the streets (or so the reports say) then started shooting. The only way to defend that is to not let them across or come out of your burning house shooting. I agree with Nole2U this was a huge intel blunder or so it seems.
I am going to be a Karen right now....

This is exactly the problem. Just like the media, plant a seed of doubt. Why even say this? Are the burnt bodies shown on social medica not enough to convince you it happened? The stories from survivors who watched this happen to their neighbors not enough? Your antisemitism is showing.
 
I am going to be a Karen right now....

This is exactly the problem. Just like the media, plant a seed of doubt. Why even say this? Are the burnt bodies shown on social medica not enough to convince you it happened? The stories from survivors who watched this happen to their neighbors not enough? Your antisemitism is showing.
Yes because the media is never manipulated in the year 2023. Must be anti semitism.
 
I am going to be a Karen right now....

This is exactly the problem. Just like the media, plant a seed of doubt. Why even say this? Are the burnt bodies shown on social medica not enough to convince you it happened? The stories from survivors who watched this happen to their neighbors not enough? Your antisemitism is showing.
Sorry, that's not what I was trying to say. The media is putting that message out there to downplay what happened. I've seen the pictures. So please stop with the labels it gets old.

But I will add this. The media especially in this case is very good at altering images and videos to claim whatever they want. And worse yet is viewing these images on social media as you really don't know the source. Look at what a few of our elected leaders tweeted that turned out to be from 10 years ago. So yes there can be altered images on social media and there can be erroneous reports In this case it seems the fake stuff is coming from the pro Hamas side trying to downplay what actually happened.
 
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WSJ:
Palestinian Lives Matter, Except to Hamas
Responsibility for civilian casualties in Gaza lies with the jihadists

As Israel prepares for its likely ground invasion to pursue Hamas in Gaza, the world is warning about civilian casualties. The moral point to keep in mind as the fighting gets intense is that the responsibility for those casualties will lie with Hamas.

Israel has an obligation to do what it can to protect civilians, and it is doing so. It has warned Gazans to move to the south of the territory as it prepares its campaign. It is using precision-guided bombs when it can to target Hamas combatants rather than civilians. No one has a bigger strategic stake in reducing civilian Palestinian casualties than Israel given the propaganda fodder they provide its enemies.

Contrast that with Hamas, which gave no warning to the Israeli and foreign civilians it slaughtered on Oct. 7. Killing civilians was the explicit goal. Hamas has ordered Gazans not to flee, and its leaders hide weapons in hospitals, schools and mosques.

Israel built bomb shelters for its citizens. Hamas built a network of tunnels for its combatants but keeps its civilians above ground, where they can be used as human shields or casualties showcased on TV. Itā€™s not too much to say that Hamas wants Palestinian casualties to stir an uprising on the West Bank and turn world opinion against the Jewish state.

Yet the United Nations and others criticize Israel more than they do Hamas. U.N. Secretary-General AntĆ³nio Guterres has denounced Israelā€™s evacuation order but he says little about Hamasā€™s human blockade.


The world is also largely silent about Egyptā€™s refusal to let civilians escape through its Rafah crossing with Gaza. If Egypt fears Hamas terrorists escaping with civilians, it could still let women and children flee. Other Arab nations could also take in Palestinians until the war is over, but none have volunteered.

One accusation is that Israelā€™s bombing of Gaza is a form of unjust ā€œcollective punishmentā€ against Palestinians. But Hamas runs the government in Gaza, which it has ruled since its election in 2006 and its forcible ouster of its Palestinian rivals in 2007. Governments that launch wars from their territory invite attacks on that territory.

Blaming Israel for these civilian casualties amounts to denying the Jewish state its right to self-defense. It means that Hamas can launch attacks on Israel with the goal of slaughtering women and children, but Israel canā€™t attack Hamas in Gaza because civilians might be unintentional casualties. It means Hamas would retain a terrorist sanctuary from which it can attack Israel whenever it has the means and opportunity.

No other country on earth would agree to the terms of defensive engagement that much of the world wants to impose on Israel. If Mexico launched an assault on El Paso from Ciudad JuƔrez, the U.S. would send in the military to find the killers and destroy their sanctuaries.

Israel has shown forbearance against Gaza in the past, targeting Hamas fighters and infrastructure. But Hamas was left in power in Gaza to rearm and plot its murderous assault on innocents this month. Israel now says its goal is to destroy Hamas, and doing so will save as many Palestinian lives in the future as it will Israelis.

 
WSJ:
Muslim Americans Against Hamas
Equivocation and anti-Semitism serve only to feed suspicion of our community.

As a child in Afghanistan, my father watched his female cousin get hacked to death in a so-called honor killing. He came to America so his daughters could grow up without such threats, and he raised us to abhor senseless violence.

I was 18 and living in Chicago on Sept. 11, 2001, a day that revealed that the extremism my father fled could reach the U.S. When ISIS burst onto the scene several years later, committing atrocities in the name of my faith, I felt compelled to counter its message and help Muslim Americans show that we are very much a part of American society.

With a group of fellow Muslims, I established the Muslim American Leadership Alliance in 2015 to celebrate Muslim American heritage and promote individual freedom and diversity. Our first project was recording the personal narratives of Muslim Americans in partnership with the Library of Congress. We have since sponsored scholarships for academic studies, organized interfaith events on shared traditions, and launched a Muslim American Heritage celebration supported by acclaimed leaders such as designer Naeem Khan.

These efforts were designed to celebrate our communityā€™s advancement in the U.S. For years weā€™ve been successful. Last week, however, our progress came to a standstill as Muslim leaders failed to respond adequately to Hamasā€™s massacre in Israel.

President Biden said in an Oct. 10 speech that there are moments in life when ā€œpure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.ā€ Hamasā€™s attack, he said, was ā€œa moment for the United States to come together to grieve with those who are mourning.ā€ American Muslims should have followed the presidentā€™s lead by denouncing the terror groupā€™s attacks as an affront to the sanctity of human life according to our faith. With a few notable exceptions, prominent Muslims chose instead to make excuses and equivocate.

The U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations refused to condemn Hamas. The only two Muslim women in Congress, Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, were so equivocal about Hamas and hostile toward Israel that the White House press secretary felt compelled to call their comments ā€œrepugnant.ā€ Ivy League academics fueled the fire, as demonstrators celebrated the massacre.


My organization typically doesnā€™t weigh in on headlines but felt it was necessary this time around. When we posted on Instagram expressing solidarity with our Jewish and Israeli friends, the post received few likes, and most people who commented on it expressed solidarity with Palestinians rather than Jews.

A few things led Muslims to fail in this critical moment. The first was an irrational ideological fixation on Zionism, which has no effect on most Muslims. The second was an activist-fueled dehumanization of Israelis.

Americans are horrified by Hamas and see many Muslims respond either by saying nothing or by blaming Jews for the rape, beheading and kidnapping of their people. In a single weekend, extremists have taken our identity hostage, tarnished our reputations and endangered our families.

Suspicion of Muslims has returned, with terrible consequences. On Oct. 14, a Chicago landlord stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death in what the local sheriffā€™s office has said was an anti-Muslim attack. Muslims have worked for years to combat Islamophobia.

To my Jewish friends, I am sorry. My organization remains committed to protecting you and your heritageā€”without compromise. To my fellow Muslims, we bear the cost of remaining silent. It will take years to restore our good name. Itā€™s time to get to work to build peace.

Ms. Khan is a co-founder of the Muslim American Leadership Alliance.

 
Isis killed and mutilated Muslim, Jew and Christian!

Evil knows no bounds, I would say that All extreme groups donā€™t care about collateral damage to anyone who is not onboard with their evil ways

It all goes back to Good vs evil, since ā€œthe Fallā€!
 
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Isis killed and mutilated Muslim, Jew and Christian!

Evil knows no bounds, I would say that All extreme groups donā€™t care about collateral damage to anyone who is not onboard with their evil ways

It all goes back to Good vs evil, since ā€œthe Fallā€!
The problem is the good and evil part depends on your perspective or beliefs. We think (me included) the terror groups are wrong and should be exterminated others think differently which is why they have followers. We even have elected leaders siding with Hamas and other groups, college kids protesting Israel's retaliation. Its a very sad state of affairs. Killing innocent people in the name of anything is wrong period.
 
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The problem is the good and evil part depends on your perspective or beliefs. We think (me included) the terror groups are wrong and should be exterminated others think differently which is why they have followers. We even have elected leaders siding with Hamas and other groups, college kids protesting Israel's retaliation. Its a very sad state of affairs. Killing innocent people in the name of anything is wrong period.

Agreed!

And I understand different beliefs

And we all have the right to look at things as we choose

Mine of course is a biblical faith based view!
 
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Agreed!

And I understand different beliefs

And we all have the right to look at things as we choose

Mine of course is a biblical faith based view!
That's kind of my point. In many cases their beliefs are faith based as well its just a different version.
 
World opinion is painted by the media. Now the media can no longer defend poor Palestine and Hamas.
I think itā€™s important to separate governments and political actors from average people going about their lives. Just because I might disagree with what the powers on both sides might do (and I do), it doesnā€™t mean I donā€™t empathize with non-combatants caught in the middle.
 
Imagine if we all abided by the ā€œ Ten Commandments ā€œ!
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Livin' for today
Ah
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin' life in peace
You
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one
 
Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us, only sky
Imagine all the people
Livin' for today
Ah
Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin' life in peace
You
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world
You
You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one


That's the opposite. :)
 
You could also throw in the Beatitudes. And if that doesnā€™t work we can take Daltonā€™s advice from Road Houseā€¦ā€Be nice.ā€
 
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I think itā€™s important to separate governments and political actors from average people going about their lives. Just because I might disagree with what the powers on both sides might do (and I do), it doesnā€™t mean I donā€™t empathize with non-combatants caught in the middle.
True, but public opinion does drive what governments and political actors do. Its much easier to go into a conflict with public support. The problem today is the public is easily swayed by comments or images on social media when in reality they have no clue what's really happening.
 
From Aljazeera

"
  • On June 5, 1967, Israel occupied the rest of historic Palestine, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Six-Day War against a coalition of Arab armies.
  • For some Palestinians, this led to a second forced displacement, or Naksa, which means ā€œsetbackā€ in Arabic."
You can't start a war and then bitc* or expect anybody to have sympathy when you lose land.
 
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