Gaza And Hamas

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by boldruler

The Palestinians and Israelis both are extremely annoying. Our government should take care of its own before helping out these groups. I wouldn't trust either one of them with anything. They have been fighting forever and will continue to fight forever. I am tired of giving them my tax dollar to kill each other.

... But you still haven't given me any hard numbers on my earlier question?

And one can also argue that Switzerland does well because of the high tax rate its citizens pay. Which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. I love how many a wistful conservative-minded American will recall the 1950's as an idyllic time in the US... but fail to recall that the tax rate was also much more progressive-- up to 90 percent for the highest incomes, I believe. Which meant more money for education, GI bills, highways, etc. I don't think it's all due to chocolate (though lord knows I eat enough of it to support Switzerland all by myself)! Hee hee.

[GenuineRisk]

... and this has been a really interesting discussion, guys! This board is sooo much better than the ESPN one was... I get better racing education in the Paddock and more fun debates in the Off-Topic...

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

... But you still haven't given me any hard numbers on my earlier question?

And one can also argue that Switzerland does well because of the high tax rate its citizens pay. Which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. I love how many a wistful conservative-minded American will recall the 1950's as an idyllic time in the US... but fail to recall that the tax rate was also much more progressive-- up to 90 percent for the highest incomes, I believe. Which meant more money for education, GI bills, highways, etc. I don't think it's all due to chocolate (though lord knows I eat enough of it to support Switzerland all by myself)! Hee hee.

Screw Switzerland. Half the worlds criminals live there. That guy Marc Rich who ran off without paying his taxes gets haven there along with all the other oil/arms dealer criminals.

Originally Posted by Downthestretch55

Disagree!

So the British give over Palestine so there could be a Zionist state under UN protection in 1948. Hey! Palistinians, get out of here! It's ours now.

In the 5th Century AD ... Aquileia ... located where the east coast of the Italian peninsula meets the mainland ... was the second largest port in the Roman Empire ... second only to Ostia, the port of Rome.

But then the Huns came swooping out of the Asian steppes ... plundering, pillaging, and murdering everyone before them. The Aquileians fled in alarm out into the swamps ... the only place where the horses of the Huns couldn't follow them.

They were chased from their homes ... and isolated on mosquito-ridden islets in the middle of the swamps, marshes, and lagoons of the Adriatic Sea. They made the best of this dreadful situation ... turning to the sea for sustenance and economic opportunity.

But soon the world stood in awe of these isolated, battered refugees from Aquileia ... as they built their new home ... a city they called Venezia ... known to us as Venice.

If the Aquileians could build the Venetian Empire ... the most powerful and prosperous society of the late Middle Ages and the Rinascente ... and still the most beautiful city in the world ... after being chased into the malarial swamps of the Adriatic ... why can't the Palestinians build a successful society in their new homeland ... on a beautiful stretch of the sun-lapped shores of the Mediterranean?

Stop making excuses for these hate-filled, murderous people ... because ...

... because in doing so ... it only reveals your deep hatred of the Jewish people.

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

... But you still haven't given me any hard numbers on my earlier question?

And one can also argue that Switzerland does well because of the high tax rate its citizens pay. Which, by the way, is not necessarily a bad thing. I love how many a wistful conservative-minded American will recall the 1950's as an idyllic time in the US... but fail to recall that the tax rate was also much more progressive-- up to 90 percent for the highest incomes, I believe. Which meant more money for education, GI bills, highways, etc. I don't think it's all due to chocolate (though lord knows I eat enough of it to support Switzerland all by myself)! Hee hee.

You're completely misinformed about Switzerland.

The Wall Street Journal's Index of Economic Freedom ... the most authoritative voice on the subject ... has consistently rated Switzerland among the ten most free economies in the world ... out of 180 countries being rated.

Switzerland is a model of low-tax, low-regulation, free-market capitalism ... which accounts for it's substantial prosperity.

And honestly ... if you can be intellectually honest ... doesn't it amaze you that Switzerland is synonymous with chocolate ... a tropical product? Have you ever stopped to think of why that's possible ... and why people like the Palestinians don't attempt to replicate Switzerland's lawfulness, honesty, integrity, and tolerance?

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

In the 5th Century AD ... Aquileia ... located where the east coast of the Italian peninsula meets the mainland ... was the second largest port in the Roman Empire ... second only to Ostia, the port of Rome.

But then the Huns came swooping out of the Asian steppes ... plundering, pillaging, and murdering everyone before them. The Aquileians fled in alarm out into the swamps ... the only place where the horses of the Huns couldn't follow them.

They were chased from their homes ... and isolated on mosquito-ridden islets in the middle of the swamps, marshes, and lagoons of the Adriatic Sea. They made the best of this dreadful situation ... turning to the sea for sustenance and economic opportunity.

But soon the world stood in awe of these isolated, battered refugees from Aquileia ... as they built their new home ... a city they called Venezia ... known to us as Venice.

If the Aquileians could build the Venetian Empire ... the most powerful and prosperous society of the late Middle Ages and the Rinascente ... and still the most beautiful city in the world ... after being chased into the malarial swamps of the Adriatic ... why can't the Palestinians build a successful society in their new homeland ... on a beautiful stretch of the sun-lapped shores of the Mediterranean?

Stop making excuses for these hate-filled, murderous people ... because ...

... because in doing so ... it only reveals your deep hatred of the Jewish people.

Man, you got me wrong.
I like Jewish people, some of my best friends.
btw...the reason that the Venetians became so successful was that they cut a deal to trade with the Muslims despite Constantine's edict.
We know how that worked out.
Greek fire and all...

I really hate no one.
Peace.

Switzerland is a home for criminals. More money is laudered there than anywhere in the world. Case closed.

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

You're completely misinformed about Switzerland.



Switzerland is a model of low-tax, low-regulation, free-market capitalism ... which accounts for it's substantial prosperity.

yes prosperity. Yassir Arafats billions are in some account in good ole Switzerland. Low-regulation you bet your bippy... Best place in the world to hide illegally made money.

I say let Israel do what the hell they want. If they want to bomb the hell out of those countries and create Lake Israel in doing so, more power to them!!!

A comment from a Palestinian:

Even after so many years of fighting, Mr. Areny said, Israel had again misunderstood the Palestinian mind.



Oh hell yes it is an incredibly simple thing to understand the Palestinian mind. The Palestinians elect a government that is bent on the destruction of Israel, and the Israelis dont understand the Palestinian mind... makes perfect sense.

"I don't like the government, but in these circumstances I will support it," said Mr. Areny, a member of Fatah, Hamas's rival. "I cannot stand with the Israelis against our people."



Your people supported Hamas for God's sake. Maybe Israel is trying to unite the Palestinian people under one banner so they CAN UNDERSTAND THEM. Maybe as cold blooded killers without this constant jibberish coming from forty different directions.

I am so glad I live in the US.

[SentToStud]

in 35 words or less...

Palestinians are pissed cause they feel they got screwed out of their land.

Israelis are pissed cause they think the Arabs want to push them into the sea.

They're both at least partly right.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

In the 5th Century AD ... Aquileia ... located where the east coast of the Italian peninsula meets the mainland ... was the second largest port in the Roman Empire ... second only to Ostia, the port of Rome.

But then the Huns came swooping out of the Asian steppes ... plundering, pillaging, and murdering everyone before them. The Aquileians fled in alarm out into the swamps ... the only place where the horses of the Huns couldn't follow them.

They were chased from their homes ... and isolated on mosquito-ridden islets in the middle of the swamps, marshes, and lagoons of the Adriatic Sea. They made the best of this dreadful situation ... turning to the sea for sustenance and economic opportunity.

But soon the world stood in awe of these isolated, battered refugees from Aquileia ... as they built their new home ... a city they called Venezia ... known to us as Venice.

If the Aquileians could build the Venetian Empire ... the most powerful and prosperous society of the late Middle Ages and the Rinascente ... and still the most beautiful city in the world ... after being chased into the malarial swamps of the Adriatic ... why can't the Palestinians build a successful society in their new homeland ... on a beautiful stretch of the sun-lapped shores of the Mediterranean?

Stop making excuses for these hate-filled, murderous people ... because ...

... because in doing so ... it only reveals your deep hatred of the Jewish people.

i wonder how much dialogue is stifled because people don't want to be accused of 'hating' someone they disagree with....how much of a free pass does israel get because of just what you finished your post with? no one wants to be accused of hating, so how much silence is there? israel should always be allowed to do whatever it wants, because any disagreement means only one thing?? anti-semitism? that's ridiculous. how britain, the us, or anyone else thought that giving the land to israel 50-some years ago would actually work is beyond me. how much of the extreme hate directed towards the U.S. by arab countries is due to our support of israel??? a ton of it.

[GenuineRisk]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

You're completely misinformed about Switzerland.

The Wall Street Journal's Index of Economic Freedom ... the most authoritative voice on the subject ... has consistently rated Switzerland among the ten most free economies in the world ... out of 180 countries being rated.

Switzerland is a model of low-tax, low-regulation, free-market capitalism ... which accounts for it's substantial prosperity.

And honestly ... if you can be intellectually honest ... doesn't it amaze you that Switzerland is synonymous with chocolate ... a tropical product? Have you ever stopped to think of why that's possible ... and why people like the Palestinians don't attempt to replicate Switzerland's lawfulness, honesty, integrity, and tolerance?

You're right and I'm wrong on the tax thing. And props to them for taxing investment income at the same rate as earned icome!

But honestly, I associate them more with watches than chocolate.

Originally Posted by Danzig188

i wonder how much dialogue is stifled because people don't how britain, the us, or anyone else thought that giving the land to israel 50-some years ago would actually work is beyond me. how much of the extreme hate directed towards the U.S. by arab countries is due to our support of israel??? a ton of it.

The land wasn't "given" to Israel ... the land WAS Israel.

And speaking of occupation ... don't Arabs belong in Arabia ... and aren't all the Arabs in north Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia there because they conquered those lands with bloody swords?

When are the Arabs going to return to their homeland in Arabia ... and end the occupation of all the lands they brutally conquered?

Originally Posted by GenuineRisk

You're right and I'm wrong on the tax thing. And props to them for taxing investment income at the same rate as earned income!

But honestly, I associate them more with watches than chocolate.

Well stated ... but ...

... if the question were ... "Name a country associated with chocolate?" ... what would the survey say?

Switzerland, Holland, and Belgium ... all northern European countries ... nowhere near the tropics where cocoa is grown ... would probably lead the list. Isn't that remarkable?

Now let's see the Palestinians create their own "chocolate" ... from their beautiful land on the Mediterranean shore. But first they have to stop killing each other ... and hating everyone else.

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

The land wasn't "given" to Israel ... the land WAS Israel.

And speaking of occupation ... don't Arabs belong in Arabia ... and aren't all the Arabs in north Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia there because they conquered those lands with bloody swords?

When are the Arabs going to return to their homeland in Arabia ... and end the occupation of all the lands they brutally conquered?

Bold Brooklynite,
I don't mean to cause continued controversy. And I really don't have anything against Jewish people.
I simply ask if your claim that the land was "given" to Israel is based on Genesis 35:10-12?
DTS

Originally Posted by Downthestretch55

Bold Brooklynite,
I don't mean to cause continued controversy. And I really don't have anything against Jewish people.
I simply ask if your claim that the land was "given" to Israel is based on Genesis 35:10-12?
DTS

You misread what I wrote ...

... I said the land wasn't "given" to Israel ... the land was Israel ... meaning that this group of Canaanites were the first civilized people to inhabit that particular stretch of land ... they didn't conquer it by killing and forcing other civilizations off it.

The Arabs who occupy north Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia today are there because they killed and conquered previous civilizations who lived in those places. The Arabs have a homeland in Arabia ... and that's where they belong.

[Downthestretch55]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

You misread what I wrote ...

... I said the land wasn't "given" to Israel ... the land was Israel ... meaning that this group of Canaanites were the first civilized people to inhabit that particular stretch of land ... they didn't conquer it by killing and forcing other civilizations off it.

The Arabs who occupy north Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia today are there because they killed and conquered previous civilizations who lived in those places. The Arabs have a homeland in Arabia ... and that's where they belong.

BB,
Thanks for the clarification. I guess I misread.
Jacob's name was changed from "Grabber" to Israel, "One who prevails with God".
My guess is that legitimizes everything.
I'll ask Pope Urban II, Richard II, and Saladin what they think when I meet up with them in my afterlife. "Who do you think really owns it?"
I'm a bit partial to the Hittites and the Hivites...maybe we should give it back to them, as the present owners have made a mess of it. Just my humble opinion.
DTS

[Downthestretch55]

Worth reading.......

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0702-23.htm

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Bold Brooklynite

The land wasn't "given" to Israel ... the land WAS Israel.

And speaking of occupation ... don't Arabs belong in Arabia ... and aren't all the Arabs in north Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia there because they conquered those lands with bloody swords?

When are the Arabs going to return to their homeland in Arabia ... and end the occupation of all the lands they brutally conquered?

i thought britain controlled the area, and gave it to the israelites for their homeland? i'm talking the actual act back fifty some years ago, not ancient history and such.