Hanaguma

If you want to know why Gaza is so poor, in spite if massive infusions of aid money, look no further than Hamas. They have built a tunnel system that some say is 500km in length under and around Gaza. It honeycombs the area beneath the city. One of the recently released hostages described it as like a spider's web. This is the key to wiping out Hamas. Smoke them out of their tunnels and destroy the facilities.

It is so nice to see many members of what Salman Rushdie calls the "but brigade" posting here. "of course the Hamas attacks were wrong but....", "sure Israel can defend itself but..." There is no place for that here. There is no moral equivalence between a professional military defending its people and a group of barbaric thugs trying to KILL their own people. We can endlessly debate the politics. We cannot debate debauchery and acts that would make Genghis Khan blush. October 7 was not a political statement, it was an attempt to kick-start a genocide.

Show me the cheering crowds of Israelis as dead Palestinians are paraded through the streets of Tel Aviv and I will begin to listen to you.

What kind of depravity does it take to strip a dead young woman and parade her lifeless body around in a truck? Or to join the cheering crowd and spit on her as they drive by? Or to offer her body the final desecration before discarding it? Makes me wonder how many truly "innocent" civilians there actually are in Gaza.

Thankfully she had already passed away before the Hamas demons BEHEADED her and desecrated her body. I would call them animals, but that is an insult to the animals of the world. They are worse. Think about it for a minute. What kind of person would take the dead body of a murder victim, parade it around in their car, let their 'friends' abuse it, and then finally behead it? There can be no reasoning with people like this.

Well, there are 55 Muslim countries with more than a billion people, so what is wrong with one small Jewish country with one percent of that number? "Not about land" means that there is no solution that would involve Israel giving some land to the Palestinians. The only solution as far as Hamas is concerned is that all Jews are killed. The ever popular "two state solution" is not possible.

You could not be more wrong. The root cause is deep and vile hatred. Hatred of Jews who dare to form their country in the center of Muslim lands. The depraved attack and atrocities of October 7 were not a political act. They were simple savagery. If Hamas wanted to target the IDF, they could have easily done so. But instead, the cowards chose to rape and murder and desecrate civilians. I guess the Jews could all just leave, and go to another Jewish country...... oh wait. Nevermind.

Why doesn't Hamas, the defacto government of Gaza, do anything to help these people I wonder. Perhaps release some of the stolen relief supplies they are storing in their underground bunkers, give some fuel that they use for terror rockets, release their kidnapped hostages in return for increased deliveries of relief aid? Nah. That isn't the Hamas way. They thrive on chaos, evil, and death. Whether it is their own people or their enemy who suffer.

Yeah, stupid foolish Jews, defending their country from repeated invasions. Why didn't they just let themselves be slaughtered like the Koran says? I think the Palestinians/Hamas would have a greater case to be made for "fighting back" if they actually fought back against the IDF. Instead, they very carefully avoid the Israeli military and instead deliberately slaughter the innocent. OTOH, IF the IDF wanted to slaughter Palestinians, they would have done so by now. The fact that casualties are so light is a testament to their professionalism and humanity. In one sense you are right though- the Palestinians ARE trapped. None of their fellow 22 Arabic countries want even a single Palestinian as a refugee, to welcome them as brothers, give them a chance at a better life. Arab countries make up 98% of the land area of the Middle East, yet cannot spare even an acre for the Palestinians. They (the Palestinians) are far more useful as they are.

Sounds like you were on a pretty sweet expat package to get the Roppongi special. Staying at one of the serviced apartments like Asahi Homes perhaps? My only forays to that area are to hit Tony Roma's for some ribs when I was in town for a conference. Never lived in Tokyo myself, it is a bit far from the better half's hometown. Out in the countryside the rest of the time... Flying over Japan must have been a dream. The variety of scenery in such a small area would have been non-stop breathtaking. Yeah, the fancy fruit in a box is still a big deal here, especially around New Year's. Even better/worse is the auction for the first bluefin tuna of the year at Tsukiji fish market. This year went for 36 million yen (what, about 9 million baht) for a 212 kilo fish. When I first came here, back in the days before the internet, I was seriously paranoid about the prices from what I read in the papers back home. Twenty five dollar coffee etc. Happily things were a bit different in reality.

That's right. Except for the TWENTY FIVE world heritage sites. And the stunning mountains. And the outdoor natural hotsprings. And the distinct urban vibes of Tokyo and Osaka. And the impressive train system. And the fresh, tasty, seafood. And the variety of scenery from tropical beaches to oceanside cliffs to majestic forests. And the .... Yeah. F all to see or do.

Not sure where you were staying, but that doesnt sound like my Japan... People rush around? That part is true. But driving manners tend to be pretty good, with the exception of not stopping at pedestrian crossings. Small bottle of water is 100-120 yen in a vending machine, 25-30 baht. A case of 35 bottles is about 1000 yen at Costco, so less than 10 baht each. Where do you buy your water?!? Foreigners excluded and unwelcome? Very rare, and generally in places you dont want to go anyway- cabaret/hostess bars (expensive and dull), red light district, etc. Never happened in normal izakaya (Japanese style pubs) or restaurants. Woman shamed for the rest of her days for dating a foreign man? Only in your fevered dreams. Nobody bats an eye at this. Where are you getting your information? Not a perfect place (nowhere is) but from where I sit, looking outside at the fall colours slowly turning, it is a pretty good base to explore the rest of Asia. Of course as a tourist or a resident things can be different.

Could you be a little less cryptic?

No problem, happy to tell ya! Been married for 30, I've had permanent residency for about 20 years. Raised a family, now easing towards retirement. Looking at a 50/50 split between here and somewhere tropical. If you work, it is not too hard to get a working visa, which even single people can parlay into permanent residence after about 10 years.

Cost of housing in major cities is criminal- try finding a house for under a million dollars, even a one bedroom apartment for $2,500 in Toronto. Inflation has made prices skyrocket, especially anything that involves service. Restaurants and even fast food? Ten bucks for a basic burger set. Twenty for a souvlaki lunch. And the weather DOES blow. Perhaps 4 months of the year are tolerable. Dreary winters with sunrise at 830am and sunset at 400pm, no thank you. Health care is in ruins, wait times for any procedure are measured in months. The only positive is that we can always go to the US if we want and can afford to pay for treatment.

As someone who lives in Japan now, and has lived here for more than 20 years, I am enjoying this discussion immensely. The level of inaccuracy and drek is making me smile. About health care, if you are on the national plan (called "kokumin kenko hoken") it is very cheap. A hospital visit, blood test work, and prescription cost me all of 400 baht (about 1600 yen). But the premiums for the plan can be a bit high. I pay about 160,000 baht a year for two people. Cost of living depends on a lot, especially location. I pay 21,000 baht a month to rent a 4 bedroom house, about 45 minutes from the downtown of a major city (not Tokyo). Gas for my car is about 36 baht a litre. You can eat out for cheap if you are smart, eat in for even less if you shop the sales. Highway tolls are insanely expensive, same for bullet train tickets. Sometimes cheaper to fly domestically. Beer at 7/11 is around 50-55 baht, wine and whisky are reasonably priced. Good beef can be pricy, same with fresh fruit and veggies. If you live near a Costco, it helps. Just done FA here, or you will FO. See the saga of Johnny Somali for details. Currently in detention facing 3 years for trespassing.

And to add another sad and ironic note to the story, the Sparetime bowling alley where he committed his first murders was a "gun free zone". They even had a sign in their window to that effect. Now, if I was a nutter who wanted to kill people, a place that is a self-declared gun free zone would be high on my list. Chances are that responsible gun owners would leave their guns at home or in the car, which means that I (the nutter) faced an unarmed and defenceless group of victims.

He might need a brain transplant though. That whole "didnt happen in a vacuum" nonsense showed clearly that he has no real understanding of what happened. There can be no justification for mass rape, murder of children, torture, and kidnapping. Never. IF Hamas were truly a "resistance movement", then they would target the IDF. The Israeli police. But no, instead they chose to target the most innocent and blameless and conveniently soft targets. That shows clearly the depth of their depravity and how any negotiation with them is impossible. There WILL be a ceasefire, once Hamas is eliminated.

Ask Hamas. They could stop the war tomorrow, simply by giving up the hostages and surrendering. But until that happens, every death in Gaza is on them. And they know it.

Yes, the number reported as provided by Hamas. In any case, would you prefer that Israel had simply replied in exact proportion? So, the IDF should have simply gone into Gaza, raped an equivalent number of Gazan women, slaughtered an equivalent number of children, taken an equivalent number of hostages, then called for a cease fire. Sound good to you?

Any evidence of any of the Hamas leaders serving honourably?

No evidence for 3000 dead children. Given the Hamas penchant for exaggeration, you can probably knock a zero off that and be more accurate. In any case, war is not a game of numbers. There is no "indiscriminate slaughter of civilians", unless you count the one done by Hamas 2 weeks ago. You really need to do a little research before embarrassing yourself even more

Netanyahu was a soldier once, served honourably in an elite unit, and was wounded in combat. You may want to pull your head in, my friend.

I have to laugh when I hear Hamas apologists whine about Israeli "carpet bombing" or "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza. They are deploying perhaps 20% of their air power at the moment, and being very selective about their targeting. They have more than 300 attack aircraft, plus at least 50 attack helicopters that could be deployed. They could unleash hell on Gaza, but don't. Remarkable restraint.

You could say the same for the Palestinians in 1948. They should have stayed and fought for what was theirs. Yet, like the Jews in Muslim lands, they didn't. So now what?