Hamas strike on Israel - mod warning in OP updated 19/10/23

Are you becoming an avid fan of Israel then?

"The far left is not equally dangerous to the far right. It isn't even remotely close. I'm not on the far left by the way."

The tens of millions of people killed by Communist regimes in Russia, Cambodia, North Korea, China and Ukraine etc would suggest otherwise. Any fundamentalist belief system that seeks to impose those beliefs through violence and coercion is equally dangerous. In the last few hundred years those belief systems have included Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, National Socialism (right wing totalitarianism) and Communism (left wing totalitarianism). By any measure Communism wins the contest for the highest body count with somewhere between 100 and 150 million deaths caused in the last century.

The fundamentalists in Israel are indeed as bad as the fundamentalists in Gaza. Both believe that they have a mandate from heaven (from their respective makey-up invisible friends) to exterminate the other. Both of their holy books give licence to commit mass murder. The civil institutions in Israel and a slight minority of the electorate are the only thing holding back the nutters there. Unfortunately what is happening in Gaza is on a smaller scale to what has happened in Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Ethiopia in recent years so it's not unique to this conflict. That's not to say that there isn't a sizable minority in Israel who would like to see the ethnic cleansing of both Gaza and the West Bank. I don't think that's in dispute. I strongly suspect that Netanyahu is part of that group. I think he's a vile human being.

If Hamas give up all the hostages a ceasefire becomes only a matter of short time.

They will not allow that to happen.

The BBC, Channel 4, the Guardian and the Financial Times are all left wing. I don't read the Tabloids but I presume that they are maintaining their usual right wing stance with a strong whiff of xenophobia, racism and imperialism.

CNN are left wing. Fox is a joke. I honestly thought it was a comedy skit show the first time I saw it. The New York Times is generally strongly left wing but would have strong pro-Jewish leanings.

The Irish media is very left wing.

No, I know the story and understood it etc. I just don't see how it furthers your contention.

You appear to take your entire worldview from online right wing American sources.

What leads you to form that opinion?

Is it my criticism of Israel and intense dislike of their Prime Minister?

Is it my opinion that what's going on in the West Bank is ethnic cleansing?

Is it my dislike of and contempt for religion?

Is it by opinion that the current military campaign by Israel in Gaza will damage Israel's long term security and weaken it politically?

Is it my dislike of Fox?

...or does stating the fact that the vile and evil ideology of Communism has killed well over 100,000,000 people and my view that Hamas are an evil terrorist organisation who would actually commit genocide in a heartbeat if they got the chance make me a supporter of online right wing American sources?

Yes, it doesn't make any sense. But that is what you said. I'm merely applying the same logic

You put forward that Padraig Pearse calling for Ireland to be free was not genocidal because he didn't live in a Sharia state. Surely it follows then that a person standing outside the GPO and calling for Palestine to be free is similarly not in a Sharia state and therefore similarly not genocidal? Or is the being in a Sharia state actually irrelevant? If so, then why did you try to use it?

I don't think either is genocidal. Both are merely expressions of desire that respective peoples are free from oppression.

That "narrative" as you call it is the very real concern of one of the released hostages. You are just as bad as Netanyahu

"One woman, who said that she and her husband had been separated days before she was returned to Israel, challenged Netanyahu over reports that Israel is considering using seawater to flood the network of tunnels where Hamas leaders – and the remaining hostages – are believed to be sheltering.

“He was taken to the tunnels, and you talk about flooding the tunnels with seawater. You prioritise politics over the hostages,” the woman said, according to Haaretz."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/05/angry-relatives-of-hamas-captives-and-ex-hostages-confront-netanyahu

The world is sick when you have people who respond to a statement like:

with the retort:

It is mental that we cannot criticize the systematic murder and destruction of a captive population by another state without that being equated with being a rape denier. Zionist 101 playbook. But, on the positive side, at least they appear to have moved on from the default response of "anti semite" or "holocaust denier"

If you are determined to find sickness you will find it easily. You could go back and read what they actually wrote. They said a lot more than that despite your cherry picking attempt at misrepresentation.

That is such blatantly disingenuous misrepresentation of what someone said. The "What a disgusting piece of rape denial and apology there. Bravo" was in response to this:

"I find the idea of Hamas fighting Israeli soldiers with guns etc - 400 soldiers killed - in a hostile environment over a short period and then sneaking off for a quick rape hard to understand. I guess details would help. How many women were raped and by how many men? Is it possible for example there were 10 or 20 rapists and the rest were non rapist soldiers?"

You really have no business pulling **** like that.

Mark Regev’s interview on RTE Drivetime on Monday was Nazi Germany level propaganda. From Sarah McInerney’s voice throughout the interview it was clear she was fully aware she was talking to a monster and was personally reviled by Regev, and who could blame her.

Regev: “We are doing Palestinians in Gaza a favour.”

---

Sarah McInerney: “You’ve locked them in an area where they can’t get out, you’ve denied them of food, water, shelter, you’ve bombed their hospitals, you’ve destroyed over 50% of their homes, you’ve killed their family members, you’ve killed their children. I don’t understand how you genuinely believe the people of Gaza would be grateful to Israel for what you’re doing.”

Regev: “100 per cent, I have no doubt.”

https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22329167/ 1

I'm not shouting anyone down? Just pointing out rape apologists and those who misrepresent that as something else. Plus, I don't think posts on a pretty obscure Irish message board have the power to stop or allow anything but carry on...

"The reason I said you appear to take your worldview entirely from right wing American sources is you spout the exact inane cliches preached by online right wing American sources."

You'll have to enlighten me on that one.

"If want to go down the stupid road you appear to want to go down, capitalism has killed a hell of a lot more than 100 million people. Capitalism killed a million people in this country alone in four years."

Nonsense. That was colonialism and it was almost 200 years ago. Capitalism isn't an ideology, it's an economic model. Communism is a social and political ideology. The two aren't comparable. The murders and famines caused by Communism in the last century are well documented.

"Nobody with a functioning brain cell considers the likes of Richard Boyd Barrett or Paul Murphy or Gino Kenny to present 1% of the threat of the far right pose both in this country or internationally."

Paul Murphy is a self declared Trotskyite and describes himself as far left. Richard Boyd Barrett wants to remove the right to private ownership of property. In order for their ideology to be imposed there would have to be massive restrictions on person freedoms and civil liberties. It would cause economic collapse and starvation, just as it has in every other country it's been tried in. So yes, that's dangerous, to say the least. Any system of government which seeks to impose an ideology that doesn't put the rights and freedoms of the individual at its core is dangerous. Both the far left and the far right aare equally dangerous.

"Nobody outside of a few loonies wants communism ever again."

I agree. thankfully. Just like the far right nutters.

"Whereas far right nationalism - fascism in other words - is a deeply seductive ideology for hundreds of millions worldwide, maybe into the billions."

The failure of the centre (where I am) is very disturbing and has allowed the far left and far right to grow. The failure of the employees of the State to carry out their duty to provide public services in a manner which is efficient and value for money is at the heart of that.

"The world's most influential information entity is in the hands of a fascist anti-Semite, who is an ally of Israel, of Russia, and of the American right wing."

Jasus, who's that?

"The logical endpoint of the far right's worldview is genocide."

The logical endpoint of any form of totalitarianism is genocide.

"That's what we're seeing right now in Gaza. Genocide is determined by intent, and Israel has displayed more than enough intent, shouted more than enough dehumanisation of Palestinians from the rooftops, and wreaked more than enough indiscriminate terror, to class this as genocide."

If all it required was intent then the IRA were guilty of it (Brit's out!) and Hamas are certainly guilty of it. Israel has the ability to commit genocide. Hamas does not. That matters. I don't see Israel doing anything of the sort. Ethnic cleansing, now that's a different matter...