The myth that US foreign policy has EVER been about "promoting democracy" should be laughed out of the room. There are more instances of the US pomoting dictatorships.

Posted at September 23, 2008 5:43 PM in response to The Limits of Establishing Democracies

What do mean "no one can imagine" such a thing happening?

Have you read Dershowitz's book, in which he argues that ethnic cleansing is really not such a bad thing, and it should be viewed as a case of "equal opportunity" for Jews?

Yes, sorry to burst your bubble, there are plently of people in Israel who believe that Jews are inherently superior people entitled to "Breathing Room".

Posted at September 9, 2008 11:51 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

Ah, the racism inherent in the pro-Israelis comes out with that claim of yours doesn't it? "The Arabs" versus "The Jews" -- good old tribalism at its best. The Palestinians are "Arabs" -- and since we know all "Arabs" are alike, we can kill them at will to make up for some past supposed harm to "us"

And that, my friends, is the REAL reason Israel has no peace. It is built on racism, on stolen, blood soaked land. Every grain of soil, every drop of water, every breath of air in Israel belons to PALESTINE. ONE PALESTINE.

Posted at September 9, 2008 11:48 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

Yes but the Mongols and the Nazis didn't claim to be a "Light Unto the Nations" when THEY committed genocide.

Posted at September 9, 2008 11:45 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

How would the westbank look if Israel didn't illegally occupy it and ethnically cleanse the Palestinians in the first place?

Posted at September 9, 2008 11:39 PM in response to Roadblocks to a Two-State Solution

Livni behind closed doors: Iran nukes pose little threat to Israel
Haaretz 10-25-2007

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said a few months ago in a series of closed discussions that in her opinion that Iranian nuclear weapons do not pose an existential threat to Israel, Haaretz magazine reveals in an article on Livni to be published Friday.

Livni also criticized the exaggerated use that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is making of the issue of the Iranian bomb, claiming that he is attempting to rally the public around him by playing on its most basic fears. Last week, former Mossad chief Ephraim Halevy said similar things about Iran...

We in the US are constantly told that Israel is the victim and underdog who only strikes out "preemotively", and perhaps this appeals to the conceit of the Israelis too, but the facts are different.

The "shifting mood" in Israel about bombing Iran is actually attributable to the fact that the "Iranian threat" was always deliberately hyped by the Israelis for their own domestic reasons and does not reflect any reality. Indeed, if anyone is legitimately feeling threatened, it is the Iranians, who have been explicitly threatened with nuclear first strikes by the US and who incidentally are the real victims of WMD use too.

Posted at September 9, 2008 11:34 PM in response to Israeli President's No to Bomb Iran

GENOCIDE:
"Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy a group includes the deliberate deprivation of resources needed for the group’s physical survival, such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter or medical services. Deprivation of the means to sustain life can be imposed through confiscation of harvests, blockade of foodstuffs, detention in camps, forcible relocation or expulsion into deserts."
http://www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm

And that pretty much accurately describes Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

Posted at September 9, 2008 5:19 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

GENOCIDE:
"Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy a group includes the deliberate deprivation of resources needed for the group’s physical survival, such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter or medical services. Deprivation of the means to sustain life can be imposed through confiscation of harvests, blockade of foodstuffs, detention in camps, forcible relocation or expulsion into deserts."
http://www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm

And that pretty much accurately describes Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

Posted at September 9, 2008 5:11 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

GOlda was claiming that since Palesinians didn't exist as a people then they had no claim to property in "Israel".

She was denying the existence of the Palestinians AS A PEOPLE in order to justify their ethnic cleansing and eradication and that, you freaking MORON, is GENOCIDE.

Here's the definition:

"Genocide means any of the following acts committed ***with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group***, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

Yes, Israel reguarly kills Palestinians

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

Yup, Israel does that too.

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

Oh yes, Definitely done by Israel. Just look at Gaza. The United Nations has called it the largest open air prison in the world.

So yes, Israel DOES engage in Genocide under international law. So bite me. you moron.

http://www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm

Posted at September 9, 2008 5:08 PM in response to Hebrew Republic: Are Two States Still Possible?

So far the only people creating "fear and panic" are the whackos who scaremonger about how "dirty bombs" are about to go off in our cities.

Posted at September 9, 2008 5:00 PM in response to Times Op-Ed: The Only Issue That Matters is Stopping Dirty Bomb Attack In NY or DC