It is the comment "the unquestioning support we give to Israel in the face of terrorist actions on their part" that I, along with most people who ,view the situation without blinders on and without bias, do not agree with. There is no question that the Israeli government's hands are not free of blood, but not true that there are hardly any elected officials in the US and elsewhere,including Israel do not say anything to address this issue. The suffering on both sides is real and heartwrenching to be sure.....but what is deliberately distorted by the media the arab states and others is the cause of this tragedy. That is, the foolishness and folly of the fanatical leadership of the arab states and terrorist "organizations". Beginning with Haj Amin al husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, (a nazi collaborator who spent WWII in Berlin), Egypts Gamal Abdel Nasser to yasser Arafat to Hamas today.....all of whom repeatedly chose war rather than any compromise or conciliation. The palestinian dispossession is a direct result of the past and current rejection by arabs of a Jewish state of any size on any part of the vst lands that they lay claim to as theirs and theirs exclusively. That was the cause of the war 60 years ago that in turn caused the refugee problem and it remains the cause of war today. Let me ask you something Travis. Let's suppose that you own a studio apartment in a building surrounded by 1000's of people who wanted nothing less than complete and utter destruction of your studio as well as complete annihilation of you, your entire family and all that you stood for (which is only to live in peace in harmony with your surroundings and your fellow human beings). You are a beacon of light in your community and maintain a vibrant and thriving home, one in which education, innovation and opportunity flourish, while those around you have fallen into disrepair, decay and neglect; even after given every opportunity and all that is needed for success and, in fact, had been flourishing in years past but the local drug lords have taken over. Your home thogh, went from being a virtual wasteland to the thriving haven that you have worked tirelessly to build and maintain. In addition, you daily withstand break-ins, unprovoked attacks and violence to your home, its inhabitants and your immediate surroundings. Would you not fight back occasionally and do everything that you could, including giving away property and possessions time and again to ensure your survival only to have your efforts thwarted at every turn, your motives questioned and met with scorn and disdain, ridicule and endless attacks only to be asked to try a little more and appease the very people who cause you harm?

"Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste."

"once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right"
"listen to the thunder shouting, "I AM, I AM, I AM"

;>} Have a grateful day ;>}

I don't think I'm biased on the issues, and don't like you assuming so because we differ in opinion. I think targeting civilians is terrorism. Israel has done this on many occasions. If you think that is not true, I would be tempted to say you are wearing blinders and you're bias. I am also tempted to call you bias because you say things like, "...all that you stood for (which is only to live in peace in harmony with your surroundings and your fellow human beings)." Israel's actions do not match up with this magnanimous statement. Not to mention that article you linked to seemed a little too excited to praise Israel as well. And the media...bias in the favor of Arabs? I don't what news you watch, but ever time I hear the mention of Palestine, the word terrorist is not far away.

It's true that some, though very, very few, politicians speak out against Israeli aggression. But, we never withhold any aid (they get more aid from us than anyone else) and we never take a firm stand internationally. And most who do speak out get labeled as Nazi, Jew hating, terrorist lovers.

I think both sides of the fight are wrong. I don't think the Israeli State has more of a claim to that land than the people who lived there before. I think that Jewish settlers used terror to help establish their state. I also think that the States and terrorist groups fighting Israel are wrong. Anyone who kills civilians intentionally or provokes fighting is wrong. No one is right (hard to call that stance bias) in this situation. Peace is the only answer.

The US has always played a large role in trying to settle things in the Middle East, but our unquestioning support of Israel has not helped the situation in many ways.

If you reply, please don't talk down to me if you want to talk about this. Don't assume I'm insincere or biased, because I'm not. I have a different opinion than you, so, please respect that.

Maybe biased was the wrong choice of words. How about misinformed, misguided or simply mistaken? Israel is a tiny democratic nation, surrounded by tens of millions of arabs who oppose its existence, with ABSOLUTELY every right to exist. Some of the undeniable reasons for its right to exist were mentioned in the USN&WR editorial that you claimed to have read. This is a country that has made amazing advances in medicine, agriculture,science, technology and its economy despite being under almost constant by people bent on destroying it. Have you ever been to Israel? Have you ever spoken to an Israeli? It is very obvious to me from your expressed opinions that you have not. Otherwise, your statement that "Israel's actions do not match up" with the "magnanimous statement" that "all Israel wants is to live in peace and harmony..." would reflect otherwise.

There is no doubt that the mainstream media is so focused on symmetry and "fairness" in telling the story of mideast conflict that it fails to point out that the context, most notably that for most Israeli leaders and citizens, from left to right,for some time have welcomed a palestinian state, while palestinian leaders across the board have been unwilling or unable to meet the minimum requirement for a peace deal: stopping the violence. Too rarely is a distinction made between palestinians, who target Israeli civilians on purpose, with Israel, whose soldiers inflict casualties on palestinian civilians as the unintentional result of firing on ilitants who purposefully place themselves in the midst of innocent civilians.

I would also like to point out just one recent case of naive reporting in the media, one that is indicative of the intellectual laziness in the mainstream media. Recently, when some media reported on Jimmy carter's recent meetings with hamas militants, the references to hamas' opposition to Israel's "occupation", never pointed out that this particular militant group was not referring to the 1967 borders but to 1948- meaning no Jewish presence on "palestinian lands". This unwillingness to recognize Israel and/or compromise on the part of palestinians/terroristsis the problem.

"Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste."

"once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right"
"listen to the thunder shouting, "I AM, I AM, I AM"

;>} Have a grateful day ;>}

The problem is that I'm not "misinformed, misguided, or simply mistaken". I could say the same thing about you (but I don't) based on the facts. You refuse to recognize that Israel has committed indefensible acts, which it has. It has killed civilians time after time to the point that no one can deny their disregard for Palestinian civilians.

Have you ever been to Palestine? Have you ever talked to a Palestinian? It is very obvious to me from your expressed opinions that you have not.

As I stated in the last TWO posts, I don't think Israel is the great Satan. I don't think anyone who attacks Israel has any right to do so. I think Israel has created has many barriers to peace as anyone else. They have taken more land and let Israeli's settle that land, they have killed civilians.

Whether or not Israel has the right to exist is beside the point now. The Palestinian people have no legitimate representative in the conflict. Even when they elect one, no else accepts them as legitimate. BOTH ISRAEL AND THE GROUPS THAT FIGHT AGAINST ISRAEL should stop the violence. Israel's violent attacks are not confined to stopping mortar fire and attacks against them.

I am more than willing to admit the blame of all parties involved in this conflict. However, you unwillingness to admit any fault on the part of Israel is no longer tolerable. you are obviously biased to the point that discussion on the subject is pointless. You think what you think, no matter how irrational, and nothing will change that because you are unwilling or unable to think outside your preconceptions. You seemed reasonable, at first, but now I see that you are unwilling to discuss the issue or even concede the most obvious truths. If you reply to this, I hope you really rethink your uncompromising position in relation to mine, which is more than willing to admit the wrongs of both sides involved in this conflict.

never been to palestine.....spoken with on numerous occasions and have acquaintances who are Palestinian. They'd all have to say that, for the most part, they agree with me. They live in the U.S. too but go to their home often and speak with the people, who, for the most part, agree with what I am trying to explain to/show to you. You refuse to listen....I'm done here....out.

"Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste."

"once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right"
"listen to the thunder shouting, "I AM, I AM, I AM"

;>} Have a grateful day ;>}

First, I never said that I believe feel that Israel is "the great satan" as you claim. I'm not sure where you got that. I can agree and admit that no one is blameless in the conflict. However,Israel has shown time and again to be more than willing to follow through on its promises and has given land time and again and made its citizens relocate from areas that they made to flourish only to have these areas fall back into disrepair and despair. It is clear, if you'd care to look at the situation without any preconceived notions or prejudices you may harbor, where the majority, not the totality, of the problem and blame lies. The leadership of the palestinians and other terroristic states in the area has shown itself to be less than trustworthy time and again.

"Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste."

"once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right"
"listen to the thunder shouting, "I AM, I AM, I AM"

;>} Have a grateful day ;>}

It's true that some, though very, very few, politicians speak out against Israeli aggression. But, we never withhold any aid (they get more aid from us than anyone else) and we never take a firm stand internationally. And most who do speak out get labeled as Nazi, Jew hating, terrorist lovers.

Spare us the tired old noise about US to Israel/Isreal's foreign aid because it's an argument from the a couple of decades ago, not anything recent. It's right now 50% less than in 1994, under 3billion a year. India and Pakistan receive almost as much foreign aid as Israel.

By the way, have you heard of the country called "Iraq" which gets more foreign aid than all the rest of the countries? Yep, even more than Israel. Far, far more.

Despite your unwillingness to accept this as a "current event" it's still true. Besides, $2.6 billion is a lot to a country with such a robust economy. I also think you're only referring to aid from USAID. We aid Israel in more ways than direct payments.

Spare me the apples and oranges comparison of a country we destroyed and now occupy to an ally. I think it's old news to anyone with a brain why more money, that really can't be considered aid since we created the need for it in the first place, is going to Iraq than anywhere else. So, that's for pointing that out captain obvious.

Also, I don't know where you get those numbers for India and Pakistan. They are pretty far behind Israel the last I saw (maybe I haven’t seen the new numbers). Maybe you are being generous with that word "almost".

I hope my spelling is up to par this time, or it might discredit my ability to speak on the subject at all.

Have you made it past your 19th birthday yet?

________

"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

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