dexterm

I think Netanyahu is guilty. He's been in power too long and power corrupts, thinks he is above the law. Let the evidence speak for itself.

Time for the peace process to find new leaders and a new direction.

But ironically, Netanyahu is the best friend Palestinians could have. He is sleep walking Israel into a one state solution with Trump cheerleading far more quickly than I ever hoped for. After a painful period of overt apartheid, eventually it will be one man one vote in a single state which will prove the end of the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism..good riddance to that.

30 minutes ago, ezzra said:

In the world history, there is no such thing as Palestinian people they were all Jordanian citizens until June 1967 Yasser Arraft was an Egyptian national..

Well, that's all mighty strange because 4 of Israel's Prime Ministers (Allon,Rabin,Sharon,Olmert) and the current President (Rivlin) all have Palestine written on their birth certificates.

The 6 others were born in Russia, Poland, or Ukraine.

And only one, Netanyahu, was born in Israel (after of course Zionists renamed Palestine). His father was Polish and his grandmother Lithuanian.
 

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

I suppose if someone is lobbing rockets into your civilian population, the tinted spectacles soon come off. You are kidding yourself if you think Arabs  are hospitably inclined towards Israel. If it didn't exist, they probably would have to invent it to direct attention away from their own incompetence.

I was working with three Arabs in 1967. Lazy pricks, they spent most of their time trying to figure out how to get someone else to do their work for them. They were absolutely convinced the Egyptian army was hammering on the gates of Jerusalem, when almost the entire Egyptian air force had been destroyed on the ground, and the army was getting the s##t kicked out of it in the Sinai. Still claiming Egypt had won months afterwards. I guess that informed my view Arabs are irrational. Reinforced by other experiences later on.

The only Iranian I have ever met was in Australia, an engineer who was petrified he would be deported back to Iran. Not a good advertisement for his home country.

Presumably you have good experiences in this field. I haven't. On the other hand, every Jew I have met has impressed me with their intelligence. Perhaps that's a curse in a world where envy is a dominant emotion. How else do you explain a failed painter and quondam agronomist presiding over the Holocaust?

You seem to have proven my point about viewing Middle Eastern politics through tinted spectacles.

Fortunately most countries' foreign policies aren't dictated by anecdotal personal casual encounters, but by what concrete measures will ensure permanent peace ..the only kind worth having.

The racist supremacist ideology of Zionism is not going to create permanent peace in the Middle East..just the opposite in fact..resentment and continued conflict. So  Iran is correct in pointing this out.

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

The Jewish people returning to their ancient homeland after thousands of years in the diaspora, subject to unending persecution, pogroms, and even a holocaust. A LIBERATION movement. Not exactly making the desert bloom but not far off. Creating one of the most advanced nations in the world, albeit very small. An oasis of democracy in a region of autocracy.

 

Something the people of Iran could use. 

The guy stepping off the plane at Ben Gurion airport who has never seen the place before may share the same religion as some people who used to live there 2,000 years ago, but he is not an indigenous inhabitant returning.

It is unjust that anyone who can claim to be Jewish (even by intermarriage and conversion; they could even be atheists!) has the right to automatic Israeli citizenship and an instant stolen Palestinian land package in the West Bank. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump could do so! But the Palestinian who actually owns the land, still has the title deeds and keys, must live in a refugee camp a 20 minute drive away from his ancestral home but is forbidden from ever visiting there. That is pure racism. That is the wrong that I object to.

It need not be this way. In a 50:50 Jewish non Jewish bicameral parliament in a single state, or some sort of confederation like the USA,UK,or EU, Israel could still be a haven for genuinely persecuted Jews along with a plethora of marriage,family reunion, study, retirement, work, investment, religious, cultural visas etc.

Because of apartheid 4.5 million people have their lives completely controlled by another group who have all the guns and power. But illegally occupied Palestinians have no vote in saying how they are governed.

Iran is brave enough to call Israel an apartheid country whose racist regime must end.

2 hours ago, Lacessit said:

From Day One of the partitioning of Palestine, the Arabs have vowed to wipe out Israel. It's convenient, because it draws attention away from their own failings.

Looking at the Nobel Prizes in the sciences, such as physics, chemistry and medicine, less than 15 million Jews have generated over 200 Nobel Prize winners. In contrast, there are 422 million Arabs, or 1.8 billion Muslim adherents who have managed to produce just two Nobel Prize winners in those fields. More in the BS areas, Arafat with a Nobel Peace Prize, yeah right.

Looking at those numbers, I'd say the main tumor in the Middle East is Arab ignorance and bloody-mindedness. To me, Jews have far more value to humanity.

 

You dont award the right to steal someone else's land by the number of Nobel prize winners.

Besides you conveniently ignore the Arab World's contribution to modern science.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/feb/01/islamic-science

Yeah, but apart from algebra, algorithms, astronomy, trigonometry and chemistry as well as major advances in medicine, astronomy, engineering and agriculture..what have the Arabs ever done for us?

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

Where is the UN condemnation for one member state declaring the wish to exterminate another member state.

 

Why are Russia and China so quiet in condemning this vile religious fanatic's outburts?

 

Why is Islam so cosey with dictatorial political doctrines such as communism and in the past National Socialism and Fascism?

 

The Middle East has been carved up by Empires and Great Powers for centuries. But some want to pretend history is different. 

They wish to destroy the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism not the Jewish people, and so do I. At the moment Israel is an apartheid country, which restricts immigration to one race/religion only, does its best to ethnically cleanse non Jewish residents who have been there for millenia, and makes one group dominant over another based purely on race. That's got to end. South Africa was still a country after apartheid.

17 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So if Israel is a tumor what is Iran? 

 

A skin tag? 

A hemorrhoid? 

A booger? 

 

 

Zionism is the tumor, not the Jewish people.
The racist supremacist ideology,Zionism, is the force that eats up healthy Palestinian land, destroys by ethnic cleansing most of the residents, and dominates any that remain by refusing to allow them to function properly.
Tumor is the perfect analogy.

Childish behavior. When will we get a US President who dignifies the office?

Iran has no quarrel with Israeli or worldwide Jewry. It wants to see the destruction of the racist supremacist ideology of Zionism, and so do I.

If USA, UK and EU hypocritically send arms to prop up the apartheid Zionist regime in Israel, then Iran has the justifiable right to support any groups or countries who fight against the racist regime. 

If western countries didn't just mouth platitudes about freedom and democracy, there would be no need for Iranian support of opposition to Israel.

5 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Islam ,the religion of peace.????

Yes I agree. Islam compares pretty well with the numbers killed by good Christian folk.

World War I ... 15-65 million
World War II ... 40-75 million
The Holocaust ... 11 million

2 hours ago, RickBradford said:

It's called defending your national sovereignty and independence. 

 

If you start kowtowing to soulless bullies just because they have an economic lever against you, then your subservience becomes locked in.

 

Standing up to this unpleasant regime is the only way for free people to proceed.

OK, if these principles are so important to Australia and are not ones concocted in cahoots with Trump, why doesn't Australia go the whole hog and sanction all trade with the devil regime China? That'll defend Aussie national sovereignty and independence!

Looks like China has now agreed to follow the EU initiated resolution and submit to an investigation, which is what Australia should have waited to support (perhaps having made noises behind the scenes...that's what diplomacy is) before it went off so gung-ho shooting itself in the foot.

There's a smart way and a dumb way of achieving your goals without self harm.

1 hour ago, animalmagic said:

Thank you.  I fully understand your concerns but appeasing bullies never seems to work out for the best; ask Neville Chamberlain.  I know many Aussies and they all seem far too outspoken to accept falling in line.

The world is very angry about many things in terms of notification and timings and it would seem appropriate to find out the truth as soon as possible.

Aussie beef and wine are very good and I am sure they will find other markets that wish to deal with them on a fair basis.

I quite agree with you re not appeasing bullies. But in this instance Australia is the one who provoked the bully. When there was a much smarter way of achieving one's objective.

I notice Australia is now begging China to reverse the tariffs it has imposed. (appeasement??).

The bankrupt barley farmers and vignerons will have plenty of time to read the report their PM has stuck his neck out for ... probably in about 18/24 months time! And they may have the company of unemployed miners by then too.

Don't get me wrong. I hate the Chinese record on human, animal and environmental rights, but Australia could have gone about this issue in a more diplomatic way.

I think China has upped the ante simply to embarrass Trump deservedly.

They are more or less saying, "You withhold $400m to score some domestic political points and allow a private citizen Bill Gates to cover your shortfall, well up yours, toothless tiger."

1 hour ago, animalmagic said:

The time to investigate the source of the breakout is always as soon as possible, it is much more effective at preventing future outbreaks or second waves.  From coverage so far many medical experts and Govts are extremely worried about the predicted second wave.   Investigation when the evidence is still there and people's memories are clearer always gives a better picture, and hopefully equips all parties to take more effective preventative action.  Actions to destroy forensic evidence and gag witnesses is highly suspicious.

There is no justification for trade wars in this case as the two are, and should be, completely unconnected.  For China to threaten damage to farming and mining industries as a result of any country wanting to be better prepared for future waves of the pandemic is vindictive and possibly the actions of a guilty party.

Knowing what happened and being prepared for the second wave is the best way to protect already fragile economies both now and in the future.

You may well be right re swift gathering of evidence.

I just can't understand why Australia is going out on such a huge limb leading the charge, when its economic recovery from covid depends on China. IMO it's a futile exercise in self harm. Nor does it make diplomatic sense if you want to get things done in China.

In many cultures people dont like losing face. Try tooting your car horn in many Western countries even for safety's sake and when trying to be helpful and you will probably get the finger if not worse.

So when Trump says it's not my fault, it's China's, then Australia pipes up "Yeah let's have an independent inquiry [hint: because we dont trust China]", China loses face and picks its easier target - Australia.

Australia could simply have fallen in line behind the EU  and other countries that can afford to take on China, by quietly voting in favor of a UN resolution.

It's not cowardice, it's common sense and may actually achieve the desired objective...finding out how this virus happened.

Why is Australia playing at being the USA's deputy sheriff by shooting itself in the foot? Why can't Trump lead this charge to deflect from his own incompetence? He loves trade wars with China.

Whatever the Aussie government may say about wanting to see independent transparency blah blah blah why this mad rush and high moral ground to attribute blame? Why can't a full inquiry wait until the world is on top of this pandemic and a vaccine discovered? 

So let's say a report lands on the Australian Prime Minister's desk 3 months, 6 months, 12 months' time after he has devastated Australia's farming and mining industries by provoking a trade war with China. What's he going to do with the report...use it as a door stop? 

I also would like to know the train of events that caused this pandemic, but top priority for now I would have thought is to stay safe and defeat the virus, and thus get the world economy up and running asap. Let the postmortems come later.

24 minutes ago, twocatsmac said:

China acted swiftly to protect their own interests without seriously alerting the rest of us. 

The best conspiracy theory I’ve heard is this; What if the Chinese death rate is lower than they’ve claimed, even half of published figures? and what that then reveals.

Are you confident in this conspiracy theory or do you just think it may have happened.
Just like Trump you create a straw man theory then treat it as fact, in order to distract, and probably for the same motives as Trump.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he was confident the coronavirus may have originated in a Chinese virology lab

..so which is Donald "confident" or "may have" ? He's just muddying the waters with doublespeak to deflect from his own incompetent reaction to the virus. He was sitting on his hands throughout the whole of February. "It's a hoax"  “You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down to close to zero" and predicted “packed churches” on Easter Sunday. And that's before he got into his snake oil phase: useless wonder drugs and disinfectant cures.