The battle for public opinion has already been fought. Hezbollah lost its legitimacy long ago, the Israeli government is rapidly losing theirs.

And yet more dogma from religious nuts. Contributors who cite bible passages to buttress their argument should be thumped on the head with it. Naively I believed it taught tolerance but there's none, because there is no real faith. Half-baked arguments in favour of continued violence for the sake of violence - how twisted is that? One day the killing will stop and the talking begin; most of the world is wondering, why not today?

In a war characterised by bad faith as much as bad politics there is no time for objectivity, no place for a dispassionate view. An excess of resolve but never a resolution. Few of us have suffered generations of trauma, urged towards extremism by the relentless agression of their neighbour, an enemy invariably portrayed as religious zealots. So why all the hate speech here?

Political and religious leaders are often aware of the nexus between faith and motivation, how it can be used towards good or bad ends. Australia is among a dwindling number of places where tolerance between faiths remains strong. We're not perfect but we're civil, and I think that's a good thing. But clearly there are those all too ready to stir the pot. This, from our resident preacher -

"...the founder of Islam, his being a murderer, torturer, adulterer, child molester, and war criminal...War comes from Hezbollah which comes from Islam, which comes from Mohammed who came from SATAN in my view...CURSED is any religion which opposes Israel (Gen 12:3)"

Enlightening, huh? I don't want a godless society. I just wish he'd pull his head in occasionally, because all you show here is his ugly side.

It amazes me no-one has pointed this out before, but there are plenty of places hate mail is accepted and O.L.O. isn't one of them. I can't stop anyone quoting the bible and posting incendiary rants, but I can certainly thump them on the head with it. I think we all should.

Strewth.

You ask me to explain the Israeli kids writing messages on artillery shells bound for places like Qana.

Well thats a bit difficult. After all these kids speak a language called Hebrew and that has its own unique alphabet. And although they were quite young the photo showed them writing in English. A foreign language with a totally different alphabet.

Another mystery. The clever Israeli rocket which bored a hole in the roof of an ambulence and exploded inside killing the ocupants but not even shattering the windows.

I thought long and hard about this. It must be that the Israelis are super intelligent.

Or ......... perhaps the photos are fake. But who would do a thing like that? And the press would not have such a bias against Israel that they would show false pictures.

No there is another explanation – God is on the side of the Israelites once more and is producing miracles to save them.

Now that is really something. And I thought I was a rationalist.

BOAZ_D comes out with, ".... but I would like to be Immigration Minister for Australia. I'd like some input on education also.... to bring some history into the syllabus. "

Well BOAZ_D can butt out of any idea of being involved with immigration but what of history? Well from what he parrots it seems he learns very little from history other than, to copy and repeat and return with more hate filled atrocities, which strikes me as the exact opposite reason to study history.

Well perhaps BOAZ_D can focus for a moment on this little piece of recent history and make some reasonable responses to the OLO forum.

1 "On June 9, Israeli gunboats opened fire on beach-goers in Gaza, killing eight, including most of an entire family. The lone survivor of the Ghalia family, 10-year-old Huda, screaming in existential agony as she rolls around on the bloodstained sand and pounds it with her little fists, is bound to go down in history as an emblematic image of the Palestinian struggle for statehood – and for the full humanity of an entire people." Please comment, BOAZ_D, on what type of mindset would purpetrate this heinous act knowing that for nearly 18 months the Palestinians in Gaza had been making no trouble for Israel? Exactly what was going through the minds of these "brave" Israeli soldiers to accurately target an innocent party of people, mainly children, on a beach?

2 Next, BOAZ_D, please explain the mindset of the State of Israel when it held a bogus investigation that produced a complete and outright denial suggesting that this evil act was a gigantic hoax to frame the IDF? It beggars belief that it is possible to dismiss the evidence provided and then to turn it around as some manufactured hoax. What type of sickos behave like this and remember this is the official word from the State of Israel, its leaders and representative of its people?

There is also a 3 and a 4 but no room this time.

logic, I'd suggest you need to try a little harder (or possibly use a little logic). You sarcastically ask if the press have "such a bias against Israel that they would show false pictures." A 10-second Google search turned up this article for me (published a week ago) http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1153291980307&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull . So, you think the photos are fake, but the Jerusalem Post says they're genuine?

Paranoia knows no bounds.

We have to realise the followers of gods only support is through lies, then they use lies to cover their lies. When you believe something is good, yet all its expression is evil, your living a lie. Consequently, you have to create more lies to support your fallibility. Trying to change those following god into responsible honest people, hasn't worked any time in history, why should you expect it to happen now.

Each faction is right, just ask them, but none of them are truthful. Its not even interesting to see the outcome of this god fuelled barbarity, just the horror of the mentally deficient trying to prove to each other, with increasing violence that they're right, no matter the cost.

Those so fervent in their support of this debauchery, show the depth of their cowardice. Its only the dregs of life who sit in the background screaming support for murder, or what they declare in their insanity, justified collateral damage. All Israel has achieved since it murdered its way into the ME, is war. Not peace, just constant war and no end in site. Israel spend 15 years in Lebanon and didn't get rid of hezbollah, so how can they do it in 4 weeks. Tney can't. they just want to clear the place out and continue with the only way of life they know, war.

Come one you great believers in god, why aren't you going to support your faith in person. All this mouthing of just shows how inadequate and cowardly you all are.

OK Johnj

But newspaper articles are not always correct.

Here is a Lebanese article blaming Hezbollah for the Qana atrocity. it is not complimantary to your side.

http://www.libanoscopie.com/fulldoc.asp?doccode=994&cat=2

It acuses Hezbollah of deliberately placing disabled children inside the building to gain international attention.

And what is your explanation for such young children writing in a foreign language in a foreign script?

And how do you explain the miracle of the ambulance?