Hanaguma

What oppression would that be in Gaza? The Jews left in 2005. The bottom line is that the Palestinians backed the wrong horse since 1948. Lost successive wars also by backing the losing side (Arab League etc). So they are now screwed. Better that they come to terms with it and make peace with the victor. Numerous deals were offered, but all rejected. They need to give up the idea of returning to their previous land, because it is a non-starter. It would be a simple start to say, "OK, we give up on the idea of killing all of you". Then some serious negotiations could take place. But until that point, they are doomed.

Encroach? Hardly. Israel was invaded constantly. They took territory to stay safe. You forget that five countries invaded Israel in 1948 and tried to wage a war of genocide? Of course the losers lost territory. That is the way of the world. Lose a war, lose land. Germany lost a lot of land after WW2, but you dont see ex residents of Prussia sitting around complaining.

Nope. Other countries did the same thing, with the same results.

Can't argue with that. Trump shutting the country down was lunacy, exacerbated by printing trillions of dollars to burn in response to the Wu Flu. Biden continued the same idiocy, fuelling inflation with too many dollars and not enough to spend them on.

According to Wikipedia, average 6.6 hours of sunshine a day in December/January, average of 4 inches of rain per month. Or 10 centimetres.

All celcius of course. Don't want to confuse my European friends! Hardly 'winter' as most of us understand the term.

According to our friend Wikipedia, January is the coldest month in Gaza City- average high of 18 degrees, low of 10. This is winter?

Winter?!? The temperature is 20 degrees celsius or higher every day for the next 10 days. Not the definition of 'winter', at least where I come from...

At least he picked a decent looking woman as his VP!

True. Once you have the turtle's head you have run out of options (and time). Emergency measures needed.

True that. A neat double-double to add to his legendary status. As I recall, also cadged money from his father under the guise of going for rehab (some $30,000), only to blow it all on eastern European escorts in a weekend of debauchery.

You forgot "genocide" to complete the three necessary shibboleths for this discussion. Otherwise, there is no apartheid in Gaza, no ethnic cleansing, and no occupation (ended in 2005). After WW2, the Allies did a massive de-Nazification program on Germany, to cure them of 13 years of Hitler's propaganda and lies. And the German people certainly could have felt hostile to the Allies for devastating their country as well. But they were able to shake it off and rejoin the community of nations. It will take the same effort on Gaza to help them recover from Hamas.

The obvious answer is that, in order for Palestine to be free, the Jews have to go. Either murdered (most likely option) or forcibly exiled. Which makes the "river to the sea" nonsense so reprehensible. Two state solution might be viable in 10 or 20 years, once Hamas is gone and Gazans can be de-programmed from the antisemitic filth they have been force fed for the past decade.

Gotta say that the libertarian part of me has a sneaky admiration for Hunter. He has hit the "Libertarian Trifecta" of drugs, hookers, and tax evasion! Not to mention the nearly $700,000 on hookers alone... the man is a satyr.

Oh, you will. No need to be so melodramatic. Look at it this way: if it is Biden or Trump, at least neither of them can be re-elected in 4 years. I am not a fan of my country's PM by any means, but that is just politics. The country is still my home and native land.

Jesus Christ. I knew it was bad, but.... God, how can anyone support Hamas, even tangentially, after reading this article? But they will. Remarkable the silence of world womens organizations on this. The use of rape as a weapon of terror. Plus the glee of the Hamas cowards as they did their atrocities, and the glee of ordinary Gazans when the cowards returned home with their 'prizes'. There is no political solution. Only prompt and utter destruction of Hamas.

I picked the ones that people care about the most. No agenda here, I would prefer if Trump did not run for president at all.

Yeah, if only those stupid voters would wake up and understand how grateful they should be /s The most basic and simple question voters think about is this: "Are you better off now than when the President took office" And the answer is clear. Gas was $2.50 under Trump, $3.50 under Biden. Inflation sub 2% under Trump, 8% under Biden. Mortgage sub 3% under Trump, over 7% under Biden. Now you can argue those numbers all day, but they are visceral and dominate voters' minds.

I'm gonna have to go ahead and agree with you here. The debate between Newsom and DeSantis last week, for better or worse, was at least moderatly substantive. And the participants were at least energetic and sentient. The higher-ups of BOTH parties should make an agreement that the two grumpy old men will not get their nominations. Then run an actual primary campaign on both sides. The country would only benefit.

As I said before, Putin runs a country with a tiny economy and is bankrupting it. Europe could easily put him in check if they wanted to. But they don't. The Europeans have gotten lazy, and gotten used to having their big brother across the Atlantic do all the heavy lifting. Both in Europe and around the world. They have underspent on defence, and then balked when called out about it. Well, now they can pay the price. Time to take the bull by the t1ts and stir themselves into some semblance of strength. For North America, China is by far the greater threat, and Asia the more important area of interest. Russia has almost zero ability to project power very far beyond their land borders- certainly not like China can.

Curious- what atrocities are being committed by the IDF? I havent heard too many tales of the gang rape of young Gazan girls by the IDF, nor the torture of children and elderly.

Like I said, European nations can easily take care of each other. If Finland wants protection, they could form an alliance with Germany or France or the UK. All those countries have economies that dwarf Russia. NATO served its purpose and needs to be put out to pasture. A Europe based organization is by far a better fit for the region.

In other words, no they were not conquered. Plus they are all virtual border regions of Russia, so hardly projection of power. I don't see the big threat at all. Nothing that Europe cannot or should not handle if they had the gumption.

WHoah! Did Russia conquer all those countries?

An ogre with a broken leg and asthma is not the threat that he was when young and strong. And Russia is a shadow of the Soviet Union. Their ability to project power is virtually nil. Like I said, if all of Europe can't muster up the energy to fight off a country with 10% of the EU's GDP, then maybe they deserve to be conquered. But they certainly don't need to be defended by anyone other than themselves.