Keith,

The International Committee of the Red Cross is conducting an enquiry into the cause, date and time of death of the decedents in Kfar Qana. As Israel has already taken responsibility for it, this inquiry cannot be aimed at proving Israeli involvement, so who is left?

In larger news, the French appear to have effectively shafted Israel completely, the only good result of whcih is that they can now disarm Hizbollah, and that should be good for a giggle.

Finally, Israel is stuck with the unpalatable truth, that it is impossible to fight Hizbollah and mantain world opinion, and comply with International Law. That being said, bad laws were made to be broken, and if International opinion is predicated upon Hizbollah victories, one must accept that.

When the French fail to disarm Hizbollah, and they attack Israel again, I see absolutely no need to make any attempt to comply with International Law, or with basic principles that allow them to win. They will not win round 3, as Israel must accept what caused this problem, RESTRAINT. It Will Not Happen AGAIN...

Inshallah

2bob

fleurette

We are coming to understand each other. Mostly I agree with what you have to say.

But on the question of Jews discriminating against each other and against Muslims that is unfortunately the case everywhere. Don't expect a better standard from Israel than you would from UK or Australia. Australia for example has treated the aborigines badly. But in recent times we have never done anything like South African apartheid.

The point is that South Africa applied something well beyond normal human intolerence. You can't stop predjudice with regulation or make people love each other. But you can make legislation giving them equality in principal under the law. Australian society recognises community hatreds (vis Cronulla) and at least at an official level tries to do something, not always successful. Israel sets out to do the same.

I doubt that either myself as a Jew or yourself as a Lebanese could hope to join the Melbourne Club which is a backbone of the conservative parties. Life is far from perfect.

The Ethiopian Jews and the Arabs are allowed eqality under the law. No society has found it possible to do better. We in Australia thought we had succeeded but then Cronulla happened and I was shocked into reality. But you would not say that we have apartheid here.

Regarding the Ethiopians this was the subject of a film made in Israel and freely distributed which examined that very issue.

Coach asks, " What is the (real) source of Islamic Jewdophobia?"

Here's a suggestion.

Islamic Jewdophobia might have something to do with America's tacit approval of dropping good, Christian bombs, from American-made planes, flown by righteous Israeli pilots defending the Jewish homeland and its "chosen people", onto predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods. In each case their targets are already military and economic basket cases, legacy of generations of western interference.

The driver of this policy, George Bush, domestic popularity about 35%, is considered a complete loon by about half the planet. Condi Rice - intellect a mile wide and an inch thick - characterises the massacre taking place as the "birth pangs of democracy". It is not only the "Israeli treatement of Palestinians [that] is sub-human".

Fleurette,

You've made a salient point about the conflict being not religious but political. Indeed the root of the problem and its ongoing nature is definitely political, but here and everywhere else it is interpreted as religious by protagonists and defenders alike.

That's simply the nature of faith. Believing it to be true makes it so.

Ranganathan is trying to connect bible (or religious belief of history) with current facts... a big ask. What matters is what the people now believe that drives their action. But first a parable in question if I may...

When fires are being caused by 'people' for pleasure and benefit to our homes and lands we live off, what would you call those whom only look at one fire in one home and surrounding land to concern themselves and to act...

Of course, first sentence relates to people whose essential nature is evil and which cannot change and defined here by "unbalanced self interest causing harm, misfortune and destruction (to others)'...now look around us and its effects everywhere, earth, quality of life, our sense of happiness, our children right to grow happy, secure and become an adult of their own choosing, all being affected, damaged and destroyed... and so by that definition evil is alive and well...

The second part is to those of us whom suffer from the pleasure and benefit of 'evil do'ers'... I would personally call myself stupid with a desire to suffer...

The point is 'unbalanced self interest' is driving the deaths in Middle East, when the people can chose to act in 'balanced self interest'... so what is stopping it...hmmm

Sam
Ps~and what should we do, keeping in mind the end result of evil is destruction...ie logical reasoning says when all is destroyed then evil itself has only itself to destroy

If IVAN MILAT had claimed to be 'Gods Messenger' would it have lessened his culpability ? Would he be less of a serial murderer if he claimed to be 'Gods final Prophet' and began making claims to that effect around the Goulbourn area ?

What if he mutilated his victims PRIOR to killing them (slowly), and claimed it was 'Allah's law' ?

Would we be more or less likely to accept Ivan Milats claims to divine messengerhood if he surrounded himself with females, one as young as 6 whom he married, copulating with her at 9 ?

The problem in the middle east, is that one faction (Hezbollah/Iran/Syria) has accepted a man worse than Ivan Millat as a prophet, and has built its society around the ravings of that man.
Namely "Mohamed".

When he mutilated the bodies of the camel thieves BEFORE they died, (hacking off their feet and hands, gouging out their eyes) he was performing actions which today are referred to as "The best example of mankind" (because they are included in his life, which is the basis/role model for Islamic manhood.)

So Zarqawi was 'a good muslim warrior' or.. 'distorting true Islam' ?

It should not surprise us therefore, that such a society is characterized by hate, violence and lust for power.

What DOES surprise me, is that very few of us have taken the trouble to scope out these ugly facts at the root of the Islamic problem, and recognize 'Satan' when they see him.

You cannot understand Islamic behavior today, apart from Islams founders behavior 'then'.

In my view, ultimately the only solution humanly speaking would be to purge the whole of south Lebanon of all Muslims who are unwilling to swear alliegance and 'peace' (videotaped -under pain of immediate execution) for a 1000 yrs. Then repopulate the place with those more compatable to Israel's security.
Defeat
Deport
Disperse
Absorb.