Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Gaza, In Numbers


10 comments:

  1. Bob, are you trying to imply something by this post? Should I be upset that while 172 Arabs have allegedly (you know as well as I do how biased the press is; that bias does not have any arbitrary limit) been killed in reprisals, "only" zero Jews have by the rockets that spawned them (Jews have indeed been injured)? Is it okay for Arabs to lob rockets without risk of consequences? Should Israel just bend over and take it like a man (or some such metaphor)?

    What if Mexicans were lobbing rockets that could reach the Bay Area? Would that be okay?

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    Replies
    1. If the Americans hadn't stolen the land, why would them bomb them?

      Israel is a terrorist vassal state of the US Empire. If the US quit supporting them they would have to play nice or GTFO.

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    2. Be better if they could reach Seattle...

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    3. This is what I hear when people make this argument: "What was Germany supposed to do when desperate Polish dissidents lobbed grenades at their Warsaw headquarters? Just sit there and take it?"

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    4. Or rather: "What was Darth Vader supposed to do when the rebel ships shot at the Death Star? Just sit there and take it?"

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    5. Awesome, M Taylor!

      The people that defend Israel are just parroting bullshit.

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  2. Let me phrase this another way. Why the obsessive focus on Israel? By the standards of modern warfare, regardless of how supposedly disproportionate the deaths on both sides are (and once again, the media, at best, parrots propaganda, at worst, it takes outright sides), this conflict should barely register.

    What should worry you, what worries me, are conflicts in the Ukraine, Iraq/Syria/Jordan/Iraq, other Middle East regions. Not only are some of these also in my neighborhood, so to speak, but the death counts are far higher, whether reported on or not, and the brutality is undeniably far, far greater. The potential of these conflicts to spread is also far greater.

    I say this, even having heard and responded to rocket alerts personally (as well as their explosions, sometimes fairly close by).

    This doesn't even include other areas of potential or actual conflict like many countries in Africa, China, Iran, and so forth.

    That anyone in the West chooses to fixate on what by any standard is a minor conflict, a footnote even, in current events, shows more about the priorities of those doing the fixating than the actual scale of the conflict or the potential repercussions to the world at large.

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  3. http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Rocket-hits-Ashdod-gas-station-362369

    Someone was injured in the above strike, which destroyed the station. "Luckily," no one died.

    http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/246812/photos-miracle-in-rishon-ltzion-rocket-lands-inches-from-gas-tanks-doest-explode.html

    Regarding the above, we Jews cannot help when we benefit from miracles.

    Because, an attack is an attack. It doesn't matter how "lucky" we are that the deaths (and even injuries) have been too minimal for those that are just so bothered by the disparity. If you have a problem with that, I would say you are truly sick.

    I also think it's a perfectly valid question about Mexico. It is a neighboring state. It even has hostile intent in encouraging the mass migration of its own citizens and those of countries south of it to the US. From what I read, its military routinely violates US borders and has been known to fire on US forces too. The only thing really missing is direct attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

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  4. If you count Latino gang activity, with the violence and savagery they resort to, you could consider this civilian attacks, since these people are exports of Mexico. There is even a recidivist Aztlan movement. It is also still not clear, at least the government is not telling us, who perpetrated the recent attack on a major electricity substation recently.

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  5. As an aside, the Arab situation is far more complex than most people bother to consider.

    As one example, take the nearby (to me) settlement of Nachalin. My understanding, from a friend who does business with an Arab who lives there, is that just that one settlement is composed of three different tribes or clans (or whatever). They don't intermarry. The Arab my friend befriended is in a clan that traces its lineage back to Mecca at the time Islam came about. They are clearly not native, even if they have been here a while. As a group, they are peaceably inclined towards Israel.

    I don't necessarily agree of everything the government here does. Far from it, on this and many other pressing issues. There are better alternatives. But you know what, this isn't your fight, and your lives aren't on the line. You're all entitled to your opinions, but I'm glad they're just that.

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