News Stories

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

my solution has always been

Irradiate the place and let the fanatics died of radiation poisoning if they want to live there.

You still have to relocate the ones than already live there and than will want to move.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

remember that Israel also provides Gaza with electricity, fuel, and other such needs regularly.
its absurd, but right now, Palestinians injured in Gaza by the IDF, are being evacuated to hospitals in Beer Sheva in Israel.
this is happening WHILE Beer Sheva is being attacked by Hamas rockets.

this entire conflict is out of wack.

I think everyone agrees with that. Its like watching a morbid game of soccer where everyone has a bat and a pistol with 1 bullet.

There are rules -- but its crazy shit. :P

[Ithekro]

One report says Hamas had attacked Jeruselem for the first time.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

I can assure you that no one wants any of the natural resources in Gaza.
not Israel, not Egypt, not Hamas, no one.
there aren't any.

and I've just returned from being stationed in Mishmar Hanegev (around 30 kilometers from Gaza) for the last 2 days.
on average, you have at least 1 rocket alert per hour.
i have no idea how people living in the south put up with it for so long.

I was talking about the region where Israel is situated not Gaza in particular (it is just too tiny). With natural resources I was refering to e.g. the water of the Jordan river.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

In 1964, Israel began operating a dam that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee, a major Jordan River water provider, to the National Water Carrier.

The loosers are Palestinians in the Westbank. Because unlike jewish settlements in the Westbank, the Palestinians rarely get access to the National Water Carrier.

However the state of Israel is not alone. Others use a similar practice.

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Also in 1964, Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk River, another main tributary of the Jordan River. Syria has also built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters.

If the goal was to keep the Palestinians in a state of poverty and dependency from Israel (and other nations), then I would say... mission accomplished.

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

One report says Hamas had attacked Jeruselem for the first time.

they did.
looks like i was wrong about the "no ground assault" thing after all, since the reserve call up just got bumped from 30K to 75K.

hope they don't call me again, i just got back home.

@Jinto.
I don't know much about that I'm afraid.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by bladeofdarkness

they did.
looks like i was wrong about the "no ground assault" thing after all, since the reserve call up just got bumped from 30K to 75K.

hope they don't call me again, i just got back home.

@Jinto.
I don't know much about that I'm afraid.

Quick, cross the border into Canada

[konart]

Brussels Bans Christmas Trees to Avert Muslim Offense...

Government officials in Brussels, Belgium banned Wednesday a popular Christmas tree exhibit out of concerns that the local Muslim population found it “offensive.”

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8da_1352628341

Journalists attacked for reporting on Christmas tree controversy

The on-going controversy over the Christmas tree and the housing association in Kokkedal, a town north of Copenhagen, took another turn this weekend, when two journalists from TV2 News escaped unharmed after their van was attacked by 25 masked individuals.

http://cphpost.dk/news/national/jour...ee-controversy


Europe and it's tolerance...

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Quick, cross the border into Canada

Mexico has a nicer weather and there is a quite big jew community in the center of the country, but there are many cities w/beaches where you can be incognito.

@konart I don't think that is tolerance, IMO that is the equivalent of bowing to a temper tantrum.

[Ithekro]

That was also 1964. Prior to the Six Days War and prior to the current political borders and exact situation. Though that was the year of the founding of the PLO, and one of there first acts was to bomb the National Water Carrier.

Remember that in 1964, the West Bank was under Jordan's authority and Gaza was under Egypt. That changed in 1967.

[Vexx]

@Konart: it was "more than a little dumb" for the building council to pay for one holiday and punt the other. The cost of celebrations should be borne by the celebrants. If bystanders want to play, then they can put up money as they like.

As for:
Brussels Bans Christmas Trees to Avert Muslim Offense...
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8da_1352628341

Two Muslims elected to the Brussels city council last month have vowed to turn Belgium into a Muslim state based on Sharia law, as previously reported.

See, I don't care what religion it is -- this attitude is crap. A multi-cultural society *must* remain secular at the core.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

A multi-cultural society *must* remain secular at the core.

IMO even an uni-cultural society *must* remain secular at the core to be "modern" or at the very least, semi-functional; at least hee in Mexico we have too much politics atm to even consider adding religion into the mix (and yes, we have some tiny muslim communities in the south).

[bladeofdarkness]

Originally Posted by Xellos-_^

Quick, cross the border into Canada

Nah...
If they DO call me (which i hope they wont), I'll probably bitch and moan and make all sorts of "fuck that" statements...and then go along like a good little bitch.

Its the sort of mentality you tend to develop after a while.
you complain, but you do it anyway because you have to.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by ogon_bat

IMO even an uni-cultural society *must* remain secular at the core to be "modern" or at the very least, semi-functional; at least hee in Mexico we have too much politics atm to even consider adding religion into the mix (and yes, we have some tiny muslim communities in the south).

I just get acidic when someone moves into an area and then whines that a local custom is "offensive" when no one is actually being physically harmed or restrained in some way. If we want to argue about who is paying for it, that's another matter.

Winter holiday trees were pagan a long time before they were co-opted as "Christmas trees". The "J-C-I" cults need to get over themselves ("old time religion" joke, carry on)

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I just get acidic when someone moves into an area and then whines that a local custom is "offensive" when no one is actually being physically harmed or restrained in some way. If we want to argue about who is paying for it, that's another matter.

Winter holiday trees were pagan a long time before they were co-opted as "Christmas trees". The "J-C-I" cults need to get over themselves ("old time religion" joke, carry on)

"When in Rome, Do As the Romans Do"

[Ithekro]

Amazing that such a simple thing has gone to the wayside for political correctness and cultural sensativity.

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by ogon_bat

"When in Rome, Do As the Romans Do"

Orgies nights on Friday at the Temple of Venus?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by ogon_bat

"When in Rome, Do As the Romans Do"

Exactly.


In other news: Okay, I'm a life long gamer (even before Pong and Spacewars, there were text adventures, I was hooked in 1975 playing "Star Trek" on a computer that used scrolling paper printouts to update the game status.) but this is an impressive factoid.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/...first-24-hours

Here's a big number for you today: $500 million.
That's how much the latest installment of the "Call Of Duty" video game, "Black Ops II," raked in the 24 hours following its release.
"With first day sales of over half a billion dollars worldwide, we believe Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth year in a row," Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, said in a statement. "Life-to-date sales for the Call of Duty franchise have exceeded worldwide theatrical box office receipts for Harry Potter and Star Wars, the two most successful movie franchises of all time."

[RRW]

TOKYO —
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of the Diet Friday for an election on Dec 16, in a political gamble widely expected to strip his center-left party of power.

Japan’s sixth new prime minister in as many years set the revolving door of premiership spinning despite resistance from his fragmenting party, but after having stared down his opponents over crucial legislation.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/p...tion-on-dec-16

[sneaker]

More Holocaust survivors to receive German compensation

Germany will increase pension benefits to Jewish Holocaust survivors and broaden the category of those eligible for compensation.

[Jinto]

Originally Posted by sneaker

More Holocaust survivors to receive German compensation

Now, to be honest. Of course this can be interpreted as a gesture of good will. But the thing that irks me about it, is that we start doing this precisely when a strong decline of Holocaust survivers is naturally happening.
If this was done way earlier it would have been an actual gesture of good will, but this is just public relations bullshit. I bet it does not even cost a cent more in the coming years.

For a country that likes to be the upholder of moral standards in world politics this is really cheesy. If I was a jew and a Holocaust survivor at that I would not give this gesture much credit.