Hi Fester,

"What you have in Gaza is a creed of hatred based solely on religion and citizenship. There is no place for that in a civilised world."
- Netanyahu can't make that argument without it immediately blowing up in his own face, true or not he's projecting what he's doing himself.

"(Hamas could end the conflict immediately by releasing the hostages and surrendering their arms, but they don't. Why? Because they won't give up their hatred.)"

Well they could.
But why would / should they?
Israel's been a horrible oppressor engaging in land theft, bulldozing homes, settlement building, long before Oct-7.
Why should they when they're being exterminated like vermin?
At least the world sees... can't do anything because of US vetos in UNSC.

Surprised Palestinians didn't dig other tunnels, right up to Netahyahus, Smotritch's and Ben G'Virs places.
Pop up in the middle of suburbia and take another 100 hostages.

Netanyahu doesn't care about them.
He needs to keep conflicts going to avoid prison, all these wars and plans are policy anyway.
He needed a reason to justify taking land so he has to enrage them Into doing something.
How many countries has he boasted of overthrowing and that he controls America.
Watch the recent Carlson take on things.

"It is a similar mindset of people who commented 'he got what was coming to him' of the Charlie Kirk shooting, as is feeling entitled to commit an act of malice, like turning off an escalator, for the sake of a differing opinion."
- People say lots of things, some don't care what others think and are hell bent on their cause and at war with those who oppose them.
There'd be climate warriors out there openly cheering if the CEO of a coal company and his family died in a fatal car accident.

"I've no problem with challenging views expressed, but attacking the person for the sake of having them is idiocy. I suspect that escalatorgate is an example of such idiocy."
I'm sorry if you feel I've attacked you or something.
If so it wasn't intended, sorry.

Why do you think Hamas took hostage, apart from attacking a military base?
The hostages were to trade for their own.
- Israel keeps thousands of them hostage without charge and subject to torture.
But Israel says no deal, we'll inflict collective punishment upon all of you, break every taboo, and there's no-one who is coming to save you.
...Kills everyone, starving women and kids coming for food, a problem they created deliberately so they could get people to snitch to find hostages. Kill the journalists and their families, bomb the internet cafe's, bomb the hospitals deprive everyone of food, water and medicine and put up loudspeakers reminding everyone that 'all this is Hamas fault'

Lol 1938 again "Come out Jews, The German people are your friend."

Rape the prisoners, kill the doctors, and paramedics, the babies.
Shoot kids balls off for sport.

- That's what you supporting Fester, no offense.

Thanks for the topic, Fester. Unfortunately the trolls and nutjobs have arrived.

ttbn,

When every critic gets written off as a “troll” or a “nutjob,” it stops being debate and starts looking cultish. That’s how cult dynamics work: the leader is always brilliant, setbacks are always sabotage, and anyone who points to contrary evidence must be cast out as the enemy.

It’s easier to call names than to explain why Trump’s bankruptcies make him a “hugely successful businessman,” or why a man who panics at a broken teleprompter supposedly “doesn’t need such devices.” If those claims had substance, they wouldn’t need the protection of insults.

Hi AC,

"I'm sorry if you feel I've attacked you or something.
If so it wasn't intended, sorry."

No, I often see you attacked on OLO, but you are always polite and respectful, as you are again in this thread. You uphold a good standard.

Netanyahu is certainly a man who raises passions, which is party why I chose the subject of an escalator failure. If the failure were due to sabotage, then it is part of the issue of people believing themselves entitled to harm others for the sake of a differing opinion.

ttbn,

We're all crazy nutjobs in someone's eyes. No escape for any of us. I see the expression of a wide range of opinion as an endorsement of free speech and democracy. A forum with all of of the same opinion would be dull, and one where some were fearful of expressing an opinion would be worse.

On the subject of the escalator, I noted that servicing technicians were promptly on the scene, so they would have determined if there was a mechanical failure or activation of the emergency stopping mechanism.

At this point, it appears the triggering of a safety mechanism was the cause of the stopping.

If this does indeed turn out to be the case, two points stand out.

Firstly, Trump’s own style of staging likely made the incident more probable. The UN explanation points to his videographer, who was filming backwards on the escalator to capture the “grand entrance.” Escalators are designed with safety cut-offs at the comb step precisely to stop if something presses too close. Add in the crowding of his entourage and the theatrics he insists on, and the chance of tripping the mechanism rises.

Secondly, the fact it ballooned into a conspiracy theory says more about Trump’s political baggage than about the UN. If this had happened to almost any other leader, it would barely have made the news. But with Trump, every hiccup gets recast as sabotage, because grievance is central to his political brand and his opponents are primed to amplify his stumbles.

It's a self-perpetuating cycle, and none of it bodes well for Trump.