<i>I think it rather more pragmatic to get on their good side (however unreliable their good side might be), rather than on the good side of a few million Zionists.</i> Has there been any evidence that "getting on the good side" of the Muslim world has ever resulted in reciprocal gratitude in the other direction? Best success so far is Turkey, but that's because they internally secularized themselves after being comprehensively defeated in WW I.
"One more white supremacist does not support Israel. Big fucking deal." I'll clue you in on something. The far right are just about the ONLY folks supporting Israel. Don't confuse the far right with white supremacists and racists. Besides the moderate right also supports Israel, so does the "liberal" right. Your beloved leftist Democrats are going to sell out Israel in a NY second. I am not aware of any mainstream democrat (I am sure you can come up with two or three examples though) who does not support Israel. Of course there are left wing whackos (i.e. A.N.S.W.E.R) just like there are right wing whackos (white supremacists etc) but their influence in both parties is virtually non-existent. Going forward I am much more concerned with people like you who are quite capable of making a u-turn on this or any other issue as soon as new marching orders arrive. he makes factual points. Israel would wither and die without U.S. support. That's not a factual point, that's a mere speculation and probably a wrong one too. Do you think Israel does not have enough nuclear and conventional military power to defend herself, do you really think that 2.5 billion dollars of the US aid are so vital for a 130 billion dollar economy? And there is no bilateral "an attack on one is an attack on both" agreement between the US and Israel either so Israel's enemies have nothing to worry about. Without the military might of the U.S. looming in the foreground, Israel would last another......well she would have ALREADY been history. Again that's not accurate, the US aid was extremely important before, certainly more important than it is now, but it was not crucial. Moreover on more than one occassion the US meddled in Israeli wars, if this country did not stop Israel in 1967 they'd now be speaking Hebrew in Kairo. Read some history books.
Triple D, serious question: Regarding the war coverage on cable tv, which network do you honestly believe is more Fair & Balanced towards Israel: CNN or Fox News?
Marginally Fox News, but to my surprise it was not nearly as fair and not nearly as balanced towards Israel as it usually is towards bush. O'Reilly (and someone else) sucked big time against a smart, well-spoken, pro-Israel but "cease-fire now" guest and could not come up with a serious well thought-out rebuttal. I didn't see any anti-israel, pro-palestinian bias on CNN either, "Israel has a right to defend itself" seems to be the common theme on all networks.
Just wondering, as I haven't watched CNN since the late '90's. You know I'm no fan of the O'Reilly/Hannity types either, but on this one particular issue- those are the guys faithfully representing Israel's side of it. Does CNN call a terrorist a terrorist like Fox does? One last thought: I'd say Olmert is passing his first big tests with flying colors. I was fearful Sharon's departure would leave a bit of a leadership void- but Olmert now appears to be capable of handling the role.
I really did not pay close attention to this but I am pretty sure they do, they are not BBC. They may be spending a little more time than Fox talking about civilian victims (and covering Haifa victims quite extensively too) but other than that they've been pretty good providing sufficient air time to Israeli politicians and spokesmen, calling a spade a spade, talking a lot about kidnapped israeli soldiers and constant Katyusha rocket attacks against Israel etc. Heck, Air America appears to be pro-Israel (although it's clearly not their favorite topic), the Arab Leaque condemns Hezbollah, G8 countries including France and Russia come out with a statement supporting Israeli position. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Rabbi Michael Lerner | End the Suffering in the Middle East "The people of the Middle East are suffering again as militarists on all sides, and cheerleading journalists, send forth missiles, bombs and endless words of self-justification for yet another pointless round of violence between Israel and her neighbors," writes Rabbi Michael Lerner. This most recent episode of irrationality "evokes tears of sadness, incredulity at the lack of empathy on all sides, anger at how little anyone seems to have learned from the past, and moments of despair as we once again see the religious and democratic ideals subordinated to the cynical realism of militarism." http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/jul/16/blogging_from_israel_2nd_installment
Sweet. Mu'min Rajab Rajab Abu Hafs Published on Hamas website in February 2006 "In the name of Allah, we will destroy you, blow you up, take revenge against you, purify the land of you, pigs that have defiled our country... This operation is revenge against the sons of monkeys and pigs..." "I dedicate this wedding [i.e. death for Allah] to all of those who have chosen Allah as their goal, the Quran as their constitution and the Prophet [Muhammad] as their role model. Jihad is the only way to liberate Palestine - all of Palestine - from the impurity of the Jews... "My dear mother, you who have cared for me, today I sacrifice my life to be your intercessor [on Judgment Day]. O my love and soul, wipe your tears, don't be saddened. In the name of Allah, I've achieve all that I've aspired. Don't let me see you sad on my wedding day with the Maidens of Paradise. So be happy and not sad, because in the name of Allah, after death is merciful Allah's paradise."