Marilyn

While I in no way condone Leigh's train of thought (I actually hoped he may have disappeared during my absense)I cant see any merit in yours either.

Your statement to the effect that the US and Israel had been planning 'this' for month is particularly bemusing. Have we all forgotten it was Hizbollah with the implicit encouragement of Syria & Iran that attacked Israel, kidnapped its soldiers and rained down rockets on Israeli civlians? All that despite the fact Israel had left Lebanon and Hizbollah alone since 1999/2000.

Are you also going to tell me that 10-15 000 Iranian rockets found their way to Lebanon in the last 2 weeks? The fact is Iran has been arming Hizbollah since the year the Israelis pulled out of Lebanon and Lebanon declared 'peace'. Lebanon is allowing itself to be prostituted by Iran and Syria.

Lets forget everyone for one minute that we are talking about jews and arabs! Conspiracy theories and ethnic stereotypes have no use here. The bottom line is a state was attacked, that state has a right to defend itself. That the extremist militias are DELIBERATELY hiding amongst women and children is not Israel's fault. Hizbollan cannot any longer claim to be a poorly armed rabble of peasants (it never was anyway). It is armed by Iran. It should stop hiding amongst civilians and start fighting like an army.

I am not for any side in this ugly war but -and it is a big but- at least the Israelis get out and fight like men.
They do not act like Nancy boys hiding among defenceless women and children. How brave and manly is that?
One side are soldiers ,the other side are cowards.

One side gets billions from the US.

I think that the comparison of the current Israeli war machine to Nazi Germany is an excellent one.

People here have spoken of Hezbollah being Islamic extreemists - Are the Israeli's not simply Jewish extreemists? What is worse?

Ideologically the Israelis are no better than Hezbollah or Nazi Germany. The problem is they have the tanks, fighter-jets, money and seemingly un-questioning support of the US and therefore by default the rest of the developed world, in order to persue their crazy extreemism.

I find it amazing how every rememberance day we here in Australia go on and on about "lest we forget" and "lets never let this happen again" and now it is happening again and we are turning a blind eye... again.

Wake up Australia is anyone really buying the maddness that Israel and the US are pedaling? This is nothing more than Israel furthering its aims to decimate their neighbors and dominate the region.

It does raise the question: why is it that the Jewish race never seems to be able to get along with anyone else?...Ever. There seems to be the one common denominator here and it isn't any of the Arab states.

Leigh,
i find it perversely and amusingingly consistant with your warped and incoherent worldview that such an proudly unashamed Arab-hater and bigot such as yourself should profess themself "sickened" by the percieved prejudices of alleged "Israel-haters".
Leigh says:
"But of course, the Israel-haters don’t want to know about the truth."
and refers to..."the constant Arab ranting hatred against Israel"
Leigh,
Substitute 'Arab' for "Israel" in the first quoted sentence, "Leigh" for "Arab" and 'Arab' for "Israel" in the second...do you see yourself clearly yet?
You really dont see the inconsistancies or hypocrisy of your own attitudes at all do you?
I think the "sickness" you feel is a symptom of your own illness...Better get that looked at.

I agree with the author that there is a kind of attitude towards others that suggests racism. However, I think it goes deeper than that. It's like a disregard for other people because of their own lack of imagination and feelings of humanity. It is like a mass psychopathy has been engendered in people.

Why do some people see that human life is more important than the warmongering solutions or taking sides.

A Japanese survivor of Hiroshima when asked if he hated the Americans said: "You are not my enemy; war is our enemy." It is “our “enemy.

Compare this to the attitude below that seems representative of a lot of Westerners with little experience and a lack of imagination which in turn leads to a seeming indifference to the suffering of others.

Barbara Bush has supposedly said: " Why should we here about body bags...?
It's not relevant.
So why should I waste my time on something like that?"

Disregard for human life, like this, and the human consequence and reality of war goes beyond petty racist attitudes, it goes to a sickness in the minds of people or a loss of contact with what life is really about. If one has the inability to respect the lives of others on racial grounds, then eventually ones own people will feel that irrational hatred or/and indifference. Those who hold the value of human life in highest esteem will be the first to be treated inhumanly.

Israel is not seen as terrorist because it has nice, clean, streamlined fighter jets. The pilots are in less danger than an Australian taxi driver. These people kill civilians with little risk. But why does Israel accept this atrocity – racism.

This conflict is wrong and not enough, nay not any, effort was put into avoiding the loss of human life.