Seastallion

Well 90% of South African citizens who were black had to live under apartheid, why does 20% sound far fetched? Have you actually ever been to Israel? It IS an apartheid nation. That is not distorted nor is it inflammatory. It is fact.

Nonsense repeatedly asserted is still nonsense.

From the New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/opinion/rula-jebreal-minority-life-in-israel.html?_r=0

Israel is discriminatory !

A law was passed by the Knesset that states that any community in Israel can refuse to accept new members to the community buying a house on the grounds of race and ethnicity. This was upheld by the Israeli supreme court in 2014. Funny old thing, Arab/Israeli citizens cannot buy new homes in most areas of Israel. In fact there are 50 openly discriminatory laws passed by the Knesset that quite clearly discriminate against all non Jewish Israeli citizens of which 20% are Arabs. Any Israeli can call for boycott on any Arab business in Israel, but no arab is permitted to call for a boycott of an Israeli Jewish business. It is as blatant as that. Read and learn.

Not the same thing as apartheid and you know it.

It's very much the same thing, and you know it.

“Let me say,” Ted Cruz replied. “I’m a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly. And Ben, you’re a terrible surgeon. Now that we’ve gotten the the Donald Trump portion out of the way.”

Nice one Ted.....for a change.

Israel and South Africa are very different historical situations.

Whites in South Africa were not INDIGENOUS people there.

JEWISH PEOPLE in Israel ARE indigenous.

Back to the MIDDLE EAST -- there are two different situations. Israeli citizen Arabs living in ISRAEL (clearly the TWENTY PERCENT I was referring to) definitely do not live under apartheid and anyone suggesting that is clearly either very misinformed or intentionally spreading propaganda lies.

If you're talking about Arabs in west bank/Gaza, then it gets more complicated what words you use. It's definitely a zone of conflict between two peoples (with no Jews in Gaza though of course). I agree there is a lot to criticize about Israeli policies in the west bank. But again, both sides need to up their game to seek peace.

I know some people want to use the word apartheid to describe the situation of Arabs in the west bank. I don't have a massive objection to that except that in the modern context the word suggests it is is the same historical situation as South Africa and that creates a false impression. So I don't use it. But personally will not spend much energy objecting to it.

Obviously the situation in the west bank is less than wonderful and the Arabs there feel put down both by Israel and their own incompetent so called governments. I hope there can be a solution that is OK for both peoples but knifing and car ramming isn't a good path to that.

A fairly reasonable post, aside from being a tad self-contradictory, and of course the oft-trotted out fallacy/diversion about the Israelis being indigenous to the area.

Yes, there are indeed some indigenous Jewish people, but the majority of Israeli Jews are not them. It's playing with words and deceitful to imply that the Israeli Jews are indigenous. They are no more indigenous to Palestine than Hawaiians are indigenous to Taiwan: There may have been a great great great xxx generations grandparent who was an indigenous Jew, but those Europeans can hardly claim being aboriginal.

A photo of the bomb.

Which does not appear to be what the female passenger on the motorbike was carrying (in the OP video).

World sympathy for the Palestinians flew out the window in the 1970s. Those blokes managed to turn-off, even their staunchest supporters (myself included), with all that airplane high-jacking crap, and their cocky, antagonistic attitudes. I've worked with Palestinians, in the U.S. corporate world. On the average, they (Palestinians) are truly an impossible bunch of people to get along with. The average Israeli, on the other hand, is a far more delightful person to inter-act with, by comparison.

You're living in the past. Since then the world has changed, and the palestians are now recognised by UN and many countries.

They were recognized when offered their own countryin 1948, which they refused. The Palestinians have been turning down peace deals and murdering innocent civilians for the last 70 years. Officially "recognizing" them is LONG way from taking their side.

There's a big difference between not accepting their own country and refusing to make way for forced evictions on your own land.

Israel has been murdering innocent Palestinians for the past 70 years, and on a much larger scale. On top of mass murder, there are the mass evictions from their homes.

I am glad you admit that the UN is not taking the Palestinian side. It's about time to stop that particular false claim that the UN favours Palestine.

I can't help but recall the story of the chap in Alaska or Canada who threw a stick of dynamite to blow a hole in the ice to go fishing. His dog thought he was playing fetch, and brought the lit dynamite back and dropped it under the chap's truck.

I can just imagine an enraged kangaroo with a pouch full of PE, running frantic and scared, right back to this terrorists car, or his uncle's kebab shop.

Is it normal to take a kangaroo to a Veterans Day parade?

Yes of course. It's like Teddy Bear's Picnic Day or "Bring Your Dog" day....most Aussies have a pet kangaroo, and on this day they can parade them.

Don't confuse with ANZAC day where Aussies with pet koalas bring their koalas to town.

He is not an aussie

What constitutes being an Aussie, and which criteria does he fail?

I will try and answer this one, though it is difficult.

It has to do with his eyes.

It has been my experience that Aussies judge other Aussies as Aussies according to the vibe that they put out and this guy does not put out that vibe.

As a form of explanation I would like to say, for example, that you could meet 2 guys , just for arguments sake, from Pakistan or Mexico or wherever, and you can tell just from what the put out if they hold themselves as Australian or not, or, if they just got off the boat so to speak.

I know that this is lame but an Aussie would understand it, I think.

I am an Aussie.

By your yardstick, there would be some 5th generation Anglo Saxons that don't give off the vibe. Nerdy bookworms, perhaps, some schizophrenics perhaps. Etc.

When I heard that Colbert had Rumpsfeld on I was deeply apprehensive. Why would he have that moron on his show. I'm glad he asked a few harder questions for him but he should have come right and out and told him he really f ed things up for the world and left it at that. Rump, Cheney and the other dick Nixon. the worse of the worse. Bush was just an idiot.

He did actually start off with a jibe when he talked about there being yet another Donald (Trump) who can never admit when he was wrong.

Netanyahu: "By criticising our continued illegal expansion, and you bolster terrorism".

Mr Ban: "I deplore terrorism".

Pussyfooting around it again Mr Ban.

Tell it like it is" What a load of "we are victims" trash you talk Mr Netanyahu! Stop committing international crimes and you will stop receiving criticism!"

He is not an aussie

What constitutes being an Aussie, and which criteria does he fail?

This says it all, could have used Gandhi as an example too.

Off topic deflection. The OP subject concerns Ban Ki Moon's comment on the 50 year Israeli occupation of the West Bank, not Tibet nor 1940s India.

Rubbish! Peaceful resistance to perceived injustice was advocated by the Dali Lama and Gandhi, this challenges Ban Ki Moons assertion that terrorism is somehow natural. The UN has ceased any pretense of impartiality long ago and their attitude makes peace even further away because there is no incentive for Palestinian leaders to stop incitement, whilst Israelis will dig their heels in. Hertzog just conceded there are no current prospects for a two state solution, effectively aligning his attitude with that of Netanyahu.

An oddly warped point of view.

Mr Ban did not say that terrorism was natural, he said it was human nature to react to oppression. To try to conflate that with not advocating peaceful resistance is pointless, and provides no evidence whatsoever to back your silly claim that the UN is biased.

Why do the oppressed people need to be incentivised to stop their form of reaction? Surely, SURELY, it is the oppressor, the aggressor, the invader, the criminal, that needs to be reigned in first.

Again the wife beater analogy works with your worldview on the conflict: Tell that woman to stop screaming and I'll stop beating her, maybe.

well dogs can be very annoying

Make sure if you live in a high rise apartment in Thailand that your room is tidy and no pets before inviting guests.

It was the guest who brought the dog, and against the wishes of the host.

I'm glad I wasn't there. Ms Yollada might have flown out the window as well.

Yeah! If ever there was a candidate for a 'suicide'....

Yeah, it would be a shitting, yapping chihuahua. They are a disgrace to the species of dogs.

The most notorious example of fear tactics by a government has got to be The Patriot Act and the issues used to push it into law.

Ha! Rummy says that the fact that Iraq had used chemical weapons and had ignored several UN resolutions that the invasion was justified.

It will be interesting to see what defence is raised in the future of another rogue state that continually ignores and defies UN resolutions (and has used chemical weapons).

Nonetheless...if Rumsfeld says the US is not responsible for daesh, then the truth must be the opposite.

Could these dolls be a modern version of Guman Thong?

They are but without the actual fetus. A baby spirit adopts the doll and inhabits it, supposedly.

How and why do people allow their brains to turn to mush?

Well, from the OP and the office at the top of the hierarchy, "It is an act that at its core is designed to ease the fears of the Buddhist faithful and give them greater peace-of-mind."

Which says, in other words, the ceremony is for the ignorant masses. It's nothing but a placebo. There is no magic in it.

To make money from this crime, it would have to be done on quite a large scale involving machinery for mixing and bagging.

It's also most likely that the mixing and bagging was done in Thailand.

It shouldn't be too hard to track down.

You have issues with Israeli government policy in the west bank. So do I and I'm sure so do many Israelis. But it's a far cry from that to the Israel demonization rhetoric "apartheid regime" "racist" "worse than Nazis" "colonialist" we've all heard 1000s of times that only serves to foment more hatred.

I'll stick to supremacist & Apartheid as the former use the latter. There is much hatred on both sides and using correct terms on TV will hardly make a difference.

No surprise. So what do you call the "No Jews" intention of the Palestinian leadership? You're obviously not interested in an actual conversion. Only the usual propaganda to try to sell others on the obsessive demonization ideology. Ignore list time.

Having a sensible conversation with an avowed Zionist is next to impossible. Good - I hope you do ignore me as then my posts won't be subject to your propaganda.

You will be subject to the propaganda, regardless...even more so, because a drama queen someone sticking his fingers in his ears and continuing to bleat his rhetoric will never even consider any valid arguments against his personal one.

You have issues with Israeli government policy in the west bank. So do I and I'm sure so do many Israelis. But it's a far cry from that to the Israel demonization rhetoric "apartheid regime" "racist" "worse than Nazis" "colonialist" we've all heard 1000s of times that only serves to foment more hatred.

You know, a message to those who insist on hurling endless toxic Israel demonization rhetoric with no consideration of the POV of Israel, you might be surprised how REASONABLE a large portion of people who support the existence and defense of Israel really are. For example, on "occupation" of the west bank, a very significant percentage of both Israeli and global Jews oppose that and favor good faith efforts on BOTH sides to find a solution. But demonizing Israel, demonizing Jews, demonizing Zionism, is not going to get anywhere, in fact the opposite, it drives people MORE to the right.

If Israel is a democracy (as you claim) and if so many Israelis don't agree with the settlements, then why is the Israeli government still actively promoting settlements?

If Israel is a democracy, then the electorate is to blame for Israel government decisions.

Your silly claim that criticising Israel's horrendous approach drives people further to the right is the same as a wife beater saying criticising him drives him to more violence against his innocent wife.

It may be true that it does drive him to that, but it's an atrocious attitude by the wife-beater, and NO EXCUSE whatsoever to increase the violence!

{snipped due to constraints}

By who exactly? Netanyahu stated in a recent speech that he wished European nations would treat Israel as the Arab states now do. In case it escaped you Israel has made peace with much of the Arab world, formal recognition of this is of course tricky but Sudan just announced they were considering commencing diplomatic relations with Israel. It will be ironic that the BDS movement and western leftists will soon be exposed as the bigoted hypocrites that they are.

Peace with 2 of Israel's neighbours came after billions of dollars were promised and paid by the US. Recognition will never come until Israel's Apartheid regime actually wants to resolve the Palestinian problem.

There are solutions on the table but actually getting negotiations started is only one of the problems.

Oh and how would Israel deal with Sudan's leadership in the extremely unlikely case that Sudan went against the Arab League? Still I suppose Netanyahu would find common ground with Omar Al-Bashir's genocidial tendencies but probably not with seeing his country actually allowing the breakaway South Sudan.

You lost me at calling Israel an apartheid regime. There is no conversation possible when people use such distorted inflammatory rhetoric. I guess it's a real surprise to the 20 percent of Israeli citizens that are Arab that they live under apartheid.

If Palestinians, at the point of a gun, are subjected to an entirely different "justice" system than Jews living in the same neighbourhood...is that not apartheid?

That news story is a lie.

The majority of Palestinians want the Jews out of all of Israel.

The settlements in the west bank aren't helpful, but leaving them won't bring peace any more than leaving Gaza brought peace. The Hamas government in Gaza is more honest about this, their charter has clear genocidal intentions towards Jews. No they don't have the capability for that. That's the idea ... don't let them ever get that capability.

Go to any Israel demonization protest anywhere these days and what chant will you hear:

Free Palestine, from the river to the sea.

They know what they're chanting. That's a chant of pro genocide towards Jews, of the end the end of Israel, an Israel with no Jews.

While Israel does include 20 percent Arab citizens, Palestinian leaders have been very clear about their intentions for their state: NO JEWS.

So river to the sea, that's genocide.

It's impossible to separate the Israel demonization movement from racist hatred of Jews ... they are joined at the hip.

Which story is a lie? The OP? Whatever, it's quite a claim, and one that you back only with opinion.

The majority of Palestinians want an end to the occupation of their land and cessation of continued land theft. THAT is inarguable.

Leaving Gaza didn't bring peace because Israel didn't stop occupying it!!! By legal definition, it maintained it's occupation by it's blockade. Stop with the strawman silliness and the ingenuous deflection.

"River to the sea" I believe is a quote from the Likud charter, referring to the Jordan River ..... which is not quite as drastic as the original Zionist "river" being the Euphrates!!!

OF COURSE it's possible to separate racism from Israel criticism! What a hateful and odious accusation! You are implying that I, and many members here are racist. Quit with that nastiness, please. You have been warned before.

If it happens in Russia they were called as Fighters for Freedom

If it happened in Russia, they all would have been dead 3 weeks ago, along with who knows how many bystanders.

Congratulations to the US police for showing restraint and patience, which was, incidentally, the recommended course of action since these nutjobs were stuck in the middle of nowhere...and from the OP ("arrested on the road") the plan worked....the nutjobs were cold and hungry and were leaving.

Bilateral ties ?

LoS certainly likes to hang out with the big movers and shakers or is it a case of anyone who wants to be a ' friend ' will do as they need all they can get.

China is already making overtures to Iran.....why wouldn't Thailand? Rice for petrol sounds good to me.

Hopefully the price of almonds and dates will come down.