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Post by frankiegth on Jan 4, 2009 20:18:22 GMT
Not a FA cup fourth round tie but will be on your telly for a while yet.
Can't see an end to this conflict in sight in my remaining lifetime and for several after.
At the risk of causing offence my sympathy's lie with the displaced Palistinians. People kicked out of their homeland will always take umbridge with the occupires, much like the catholics in N.Ireland which should still be part of the state of eire and although it's all calm now it will only be a matter of time before it's ugly head is raised again. The English can't oppress all the "British isles" for ever. The Scotts are getting ever closer to devolution as are the Welsh, and that's the way it should be. Not that I have anything against GB.
Please don't anyone say it's religious in the midle east it's about land. Land is what most if not all wars are fought over and religion is used as a convienient scapegoat.
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Post by amberaleman on Jan 4, 2009 23:01:33 GMT
Please don't anyone say it's religious in the midle east it's about land. Land is what most if not all wars are fought over and religion is used as a convienient scapegoat. The problem is that both parties believe they have a God-given right to the land. It's virtually impossible to shift religious convictions, which is why the conflict continues. If it was just about land, it would be a bit easier to resolve. In order for there to be peace in the Middle East, two things have to happen. 1. The Palestinians must recognise Israel's right to exist. 2. The Israelis must withdraw from the West Bank. I can't see either of these things coming to pass in the foreseeable future. In the meantime Israel's massive military superiority (financed by the USA) means they can continue to smash up Gaza and anywhere else close to their borders where exiled and hostile Palestinians are gathered. This just stirs up the hornets' nest even more, with the Palestinians striking back in any way they can (rocket attacks, suicide bombs). And so the cycle of violence goes on.  |
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Post by Sultan of Cannock- SRFC on Jan 5, 2009 19:36:45 GMT
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. True that in the last 50+ years Jews have come from all over the world to Palestine, displacing the Muslim Palestinians there, but for many hundreds of years before that the boot was on the other foot as Islam spread into the region, first with the Caliphate (fought by Christendom in the Crusades then smashed by Genghis Khan) and later by the Ottoman Turkish Empire (ended by World War 1). Hence the sad tale of the "Wandering Jews", displaced from their homeland by Islam and persecuted by Chritians as "Christ Killers" After WW2 and the holocaust, the Jewish people took the opportunity to head back to Judea and recreate a state of Israel and revisited the injustices meted out to their ancestors on what were, at that time, the largely blameless Palestinians living there. We have been close to a settlement before, remember 1993 when Arafat and Rabin shook hands on a peace deal that should have been sealed by 1999? When that deal collapsed, the Palestinians had achieved 94% of the territorial concessions they wanted from Israel. The smart thing to do would have been to take that and work on the other 6% with goodwill, but Mr Arafat, never a man to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, bottled it and the war got going again, despite Israel pulling all of it's settlers out of Gaza. Much as i feel for the ordinary Palestinians in their plight, the fact is that their Hamas Government is not interested in looking after it's people by building roads, hospitals and schools, etc, but only in hiding rocket launchers in their towns and mosques in order to attack Israel, in the knowledge that eventually Israel will over react, thus creating more fighters for Hamas. Notice that Hamas did not call for a "Day of Rage" until one of it's important leaders was killed, this after 400 civilians were already reported dead. I don't know where it goes from here until both sides can learn that we are where we are, Israel will not magically disappear and eventually everyone has to learn to trust each other and co-exist in that area. Many voices have been raised all over the world about this but one that has been noticeably quiet is the "Special Envoy" appointed to mediate in this area. Isn't Holy Tony supposed to be sorting this out? Where IS the blessed Blair?  |
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Post by ambersalamander on Jan 5, 2009 20:15:38 GMT
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. except for Aldersh*t fans  |
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