Is Hamas a mosquito in the large picture?

[Mark]

From what I understand, Hamas won 74 of 132 seats in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election and is now the majority party of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They are now a legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. I would assume that what they want carries much weight in the region.

[Bertrand]

From what I understand, Hamas won 74 of 132 seats in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election and is now the majority party of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They are now a legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. I would assume that what they want carries much weight in the region.


Just let's pose the question... WHY?

WHY have we reached this point?

Who is the REAL obstacle for a settlement?

The world- all decent people - to stand for Israel's existence if they meet ALL U.N Resolutions and not selectively as the 2 state terrorists are the only ones preventing it from happening.

Any wonder the Mosquito is beginning to grow... and the trend is it will keep growing... and actually it is growing in MUCH FASTER PACE right now as the 1.5 billion Moslems watch the massacre by that insane crazed invasion that has destroyed Lebanon... and just for 2 soldiers? BS!

Peace depends on the power side.

You are not going to change reality just to satisfy the arrogant ambitions of the powerful side in this landscape.

[Gerry]

From what I understand, Hamas won 74 of 132 seats in the January 2006 Palestinian legislative election and is now the majority party of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They are now a legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. I would assume that what they want carries much weight in the region.


They DO, and that is why I immediately thought that, if one is truly interested in peace, this was BY FAR the very best scenario one could have hoped for. As an bonafide democratically ellected body it now, not only has to deal with Israel but also the world. It needs to gain some credibility as a government. They realized that , which is why they have honored the 18 months cease fire. But Israel is not willing to let HAMAS go as a villain and certainly not recognize it as a bonafide government, for that would take away much of their justification for the atrocities, which they've always blamed on HAMAS. So, without HAMAS where's the conflict??? In the meantime Israel has continued to shell Gaza, engaged in incursions killing women and children almost on a daily basis. So please explain the necessity. Please explain why it had to kidnap a duly elected government. Ever heard of such nerve? Where is the international community. Where is the U.N.? At the end of the day Israel will lose this fight, because it's no longer an issue of who has the greatest arsenal of weapons. Any resistance movement has legitimacy on its side against an aggressor/invader/oppressor, while the invade/oppressor has NONE. And for every resistence fighter Israel kills, 50 others will take his/her place. They learned that when Hezbollah kicked them out of Lebanon in 2000. This is backfiring causing the Jews around the Globe to condemn Israel (A Belgium Rabbi calls for Israel to be brought up on war crimes) and they see these atrocities as backfiring on all Jews accross the globe.

HAMAS is not seen as the villain here, Israel IS......HAMAS has legitimacy on its side whereas Israel has 65 U.N. Resolutions condemning it of aggression and violations of International law.

[Mark]

They DO, and that is why I immediately thought that, if one is truly interested in peace, this was BY FAR the very best scenario one could have hoped for. As an bonafide democratically ellected body it now, not only has to deal with Israel but also the world. It needs to gain some credibility as a government. They realized that , which is why they have honored the 18 months cease fire. But Israel is not willing to let HAMAS go as a villain and certainly not recognize it as a bonafide government, for that would take away much of their justification for the atrocities, which they've always blamed on HAMAS. So, without HAMAS where's the conflict??? In the meantime Israel has continued to shell Gaza, engaged in incursions killing women and children almost on a daily basis. So please explain the necessity. Please explain why it had to kidnap a duly elected government. Ever heard of such nerve? Where is the international community. Where is the U.N.? At the end of the day Israel will lose this fight, because it's no longer an issue of who has the greatest arsenal of weapons. Any resistance movement has legitimacy on its side against an aggressor/invader/oppressor, while the invade/oppressor has NONE. And for every resistence fighter Israel kills, 50 others will take his/her place. They learned that when Hezbollah kicked them out of Lebanon in 2000. This is backfiring causing the Jews around the Globe to condemn Israel (A Belgium Rabbi calls for Israel to be brought up on war crimes) and they see these atrocities as backfiring on all Jews accross the globe.

HAMAS is not seen as the villain here, Israel IS......HAMAS has legitimacy on its side whereas Israel has 65 U.N. Resolutions condemning it of aggression and violations of International law.

Maybe Hamas (the political arm) needs to change it's name (like Sinn Fein is to the IRA). I too believed that Hamas winning so many seats was a good thing. Not only did it force the world to deal with them, but it also forces Hamas to deal with the world. It forced them to moderate, in my opinion. Now, Hamas has to try to act like a legitimate government and come out of the shadows.

[Gerry]

Maybe Hamas (the political arm) needs to change it's name (like Sinn Fein is to the IRA). I too believed that Hamas winning so many seats was a good thing. Not only did it force the world to deal with them, but it also forces Hamas to deal with the world. It forced them to moderate, in my opinion. Now, Hamas has to try to act like a legitimate government and come out of the shadows.

Exactly....but what it has also done is shown Israel's true collors in kidnapping their elected officials. Ever seen a country do that? UNbelievable. And they continue the killings in GAZA, the incursions the slaughter of young children, the kidnapping of civilians (doctor and his brother) .....Everything continues as usual and they scream at HAMAS who has honored their ceasefire, AND has acknowledged Israeli existence......I knew they would. It was only a question of time. Of course Israel would prefer a villain rather than a peaceful HAMAS whom they blame for all their atrocities.

Sickening.

[Mark]

From Yahoo story:

"Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas-linked militants tunneled into Israel from Gaza and attacked an army post June 25, killing two soldiers and capturing a third. Israel has demanded the release of the soldier and an end to the firing of homemade rockets at Israel by Gaza militants."

[Gerry]

From Yahoo story:

"Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas-linked militants tunneled into Israel from Gaza and attacked an army post June 25, killing two soldiers and capturing a third. Israel has demanded the release of the soldier and an end to the firing of homemade rockets at Israel by Gaza militants."

There is a war going on remember in which Israel is the aggressor and illegal occupier of Palestinian land.......So the sequence is less important than the main issue here which is that Israel is illegally occupying someone elses land. It's stands accusing of 65 violations of U.N. Resolutions condemning its actions and that doesn't mention all the resolutions American vetoed. So Israel doesn't have a very strong case against HAMAS nor Hezbollah, no matter how hard it screams or how well its propaganda machines seems to be working here in the U.S. . Israel did not leave Gaza for instance as it claimed and we were fed sorry tales on national telelvision when we saw settlers leave their beautiful western homes with their green manicured lawns.

1. The sequence of events is not as described above. Israel engaged in the illegal kidnapping of two civilians, a doctor and his brother. Not to mention the constant shelling and killing of innocent children, which is not reported here. That in turn caused the Palestinians to kill and kidnap two Israelis
2. The Israeli response was whole scale bombings.
3. Palestinians are under occupation and live under horrendous circumstances that one wouldn't wish on a dog. . While Israel is violating international law being in Gaza and the West Bank, the Palestinians are WELL within their right to resist and part of that resistance is kidnapping of soldiers and killing soldiers. That is well within the internationally accepted norms of warfare You do know that the number of Palestinians killed is about triple the numbver of Israelis. The key towards peace always rest in the hand of the invader/occupier/oppressor, never its victim.

[Gerry]

BTW how are you doing?? They uped my meds as well, too high a TSH.
have bone density tests done though. The stuff depletes bone mass.

[Mark]

BTW how are you doing?? They uped my meds as well, too high a TSH.
have bone density tests done though. The stuff depletes bone mass.

Thank you for asking. My last check-up was in April and may Endocrinologist from MD Anderson (Cancer center in Houston, Texas) "fired" me because I was doing so well. We had a good laugh, but he said I was clean as a whistle and he needed to help others who were having problems. I have two close acquaintances who have goiters, but neither were diagnosed with cancer. They've been coming to me for moral support and I was so pleased that they are cancer-free.

I was recently diagnosed with thin melanoma. I've had part of my side removed (just the skin - it looks like I've been in a knife fight) and supposedly, all is well (if you know anything about melanoma, I have a Breslow measure of .55 mm and a Clark level of II). I'm going to an Oncologist just to be safe on the 16th of this month.

Interestingly, my Endocrinologist mentioned that the when the Gene BRAP mutates, it can cause one of four cancers: thyroid, melenoma, ovarian and colon. There may be more, but it is an interesting link. I spent five years as a summer life-guard long ago, so I cooked myself pretty well when I was young and invincible.

It's all nipping at my heels, but I live on...

[Jay_Esbe]

Maybe Hamas (the political arm) needs to change it's name (like Sinn Fein is to the IRA). I too believed that Hamas winning so many seats was a good thing. Not only did it force the world to deal with them, but it also forces Hamas to deal with the world. It forced them to moderate, in my opinion. Now, Hamas has to try to act like a legitimate government and come out of the shadows.

Is Israel not commited to DESTROYING HAMAS?

How then are they to "come out of the shadows" as you put it?

You need to ask an important question: WHY was HAMAS elected by the Palestinians? Why did they decide finally to choose representitives who would FIGHT for them rather than continue the path of Arafat? Why after 60 years of suffering the most unimaginable horrors and degredation at the hands of the Israelis, did they choose this?

People have asked why the Jews of NAZI Germany acted like sheep lead to the slaughter. People have asked why they did not "fight back". Well, some of them did. Of course they did not prevail. But had the oppression of Warsaw's ghettos lasted for 60 years instead of 6 or 7, would the Jews that were left not have finally stopped cowering and chosen to fight, assuming there were any left?

Like the situation within NAZI Germany, virtually NOTHING you see or hear on American television regarding this situation has been true; a crime against humanity of unimaginable magnitude has been hidden from your view by a media which is owned by the corporatists supporting the empire. Like the German people who did ask questions and want legitimate answers, you have to cross oceans to get an unbiased report of what's taking place. You will find the unvarnished reality in the news papers of virtually every country except Australia. "The whole world" is not "wrong", we are. You live in the belly of the beast.

[Mark]

Is Israel not commited to DESTROYING HAMAS?

How then are they to "come out of the shadows" as you put it?

You need to ask an important question: WHY was HAMAS elected by the Palestinians? Why did they decide finally to choose representitives who would FIGHT for them rather than continue the path of Arafat? Why after 60 years of suffering the most unimaginable horrors and degredation at the hands of the Israelis, did they choose this?

People have asked why the Jews of NAZI Germany acted like sheep lead to the slaughter. People have asked why they did not "fight back". Well, some of them did. Of course they did not prevail. But had the oppression of Warsaw's ghettos lasted for 60 years instead of 6 or 7, would the Jews that were left not have finally stopped cowering and chosen to fight, assuming there were any left?

Like the situation within NAZI Germany, virtually NOTHING you see or hear on American television regarding this situation has been true; a crime against humanity of unimaginable magnitude has been hidden from your view by a media which is owned by the corporatists supporting the empire. Like the German people who did ask questions and want legitimate answers, you have to cross oceans to get an unbiased report of what's taking place. You will find the unvarnished reality in the news papers of virtually every country except Australia. "The whole world" is not "wrong", we are. You live in the belly of the beast.

I would say yes, Israel is committed to destroying Hamas.

I think the Pals elected Hamas for two reasons: corruption of the other party and Hamas' ability to help make life better for the Pal on the street.

I'm not sure how easy it was for the Jews to fight back at gun-point. Why didn't they become suicide bombers? Was it a cultural thing or did they just not know the extent of the gassing?

I understand that Israel was granted their land in 1948 by raw power. I do not consider the declaration of statehood to be legitimate, but it is 60 years later and I don't know how far back in time we can go to truly unwind an injustice of this magnatude. I'm looking for Israel to retreat to the 1967 borders. I will look for politicians who support that view.

By the way, how did it make you feel when Howard Dean called that Iraqi an anti-semite?

[Gerry]

Thank you for asking. My last check-up was in April and may Endocrinologist from MD Anderson (Cancer center in Houston, Texas) "fired" me because I was doing so well. We had a good laugh, but he said I was clean as a whistle and he needed to help others who were having problems. I have two close acquaintances who have goiters, but neither were diagnosed with cancer. They've been coming to me for moral support and I was so pleased that they are cancer-free.

I was recently diagnosed with thin melanoma. I've had part of my side removed (just the skin - it looks like I've been in a knife fight) and supposedly, all is well (if you know anything about melanoma, I have a Breslow measure of .55 mm and a Clark level of II). I'm going to an Oncologist just to be safe on the 16th of this month.

Interestingly, my Endocrinologist mentioned that the when the Gene BRAP mutates, it can cause one of four cancers: thyroid, melenoma, ovarian and colon. There may be more, but it is an interesting link. I spent five years as a summer life-guard long ago, so I cooked myself pretty well when I was young and invincible.


Good. Thanks for the update. Just keep an eye on the bone density. Synthroid is bone depleting especially at the doses we take. I'm not familioar with Breslow but do have a problem with polyps in the colon. So I need to have another test done soon.,

[Jay_Esbe]

I would say yes, Israel is committed to destroying Hamas.

I think the Pals elected Hamas for two reasons: corruption of the other party and Hamas' ability to help make life better for the Pal on the street.

I'm not sure how easy it was for the Jews to fight back at gun-point. Why didn't they become suicide bombers? Was it a cultural thing or did they just not know the extent of the gassing?

I can only speculate here, but I'm guessing it was a combination of factors:

#1 they did not have access to the materials because their Ghettos were INSIDE the country they were being exterminated in, and there were not surrounding nations getting them materials with which to do this.

#2. I do not believe they were aware of the exent of the genocide or the certainty of their fate; I believe they probably held false hope.



I understand that Israel was granted their land in 1948 by raw power. I do not consider the declaration of statehood to be legitimate, but it is 60 years later and I don't know how far back in time we can go to truly unwind an injustice of this magnatude. I'm looking for Israel to retreat to the 1967 borders. I will look for politicians who support that view.

Try on another pair of shoes for a minute: Someone has broken into your home, tortured and killed your family, and has held you at gun point for God knows how long; would you support your own government agreeing to give the criminal 2/3rds of your house and letting you keep a third, as a "Just" settlement? Personally, I'd only consider the death of my tormentor a just settlement.

By the way, how did it make you feel when Howard Dean called that Iraqi an anti-semite?

Howard Dean, a man I once supported to be President like no one I have ever backed before, has been a profound disappointment to me for quite some time. The entire situation regarding the response to the New Iraqi President by both sides, has utterly sickened me; the Republicans simply whistle and pretend that they don't have a problem with his words in overt hypocrisy, while at the same time they're supporting the genocide of Muslims by Bush/Israel. The God-forsaken, WORTHLESS Democrats race as fast as they can onto the Pro-Israel bandwagon for political gain at the expense of every principle of social justice and human decency there is.

My conclusion in all of this after the 410 to 8 vote supporting Israel's mass murder, is that the American people are in a situation no different that the people of Nazi Germany were in after their goverment went fascist; the government of the Unites States is absolutely evil, and the ONLY difference between the two parties, is that one ACTED to murder, while the other held their coats and cried crocodile tears. The situation is heart wrenching and sickening, and truth be told, were the United States finally attacked militarilly by a major player and then occupied, I believe MOST Americans would respond the way the people of Germany did; it might be the only situation currently taking place, where foreign occupiers would actually be greeted as "Liberators". Of course this is purely hypothetical, and in fact, the only nation likely to do this, is as evil as the United States is; China.

Mark, we are SCREWED. I have NO FAITH in the democrats. I will not support one of my democraticSenators (Maria Cantwell), she is an arch Zionist and unapologetic war supporter.
I have no representitive, and neither do the overwhelming majority of Americans.

[Mark]

Good. Thanks for the update. Just keep an eye on the bone density. Synthroid is bone depleting especially at the doses we take. I'm not familioar with Breslow but do have a problem with polyps in the colon. So I need to have another test done soon.,

My synthroid dosage is 224. I think they are going to drop it when I need a new prescription because it has completely supressed the TSH...

[Gerry]

Someone said that about 90% of Americans do not trust their own government, That translates in 10% being represented and 90% bein unrepresented.

Hmm. What does that tell you folks,

[Mark]

I can only speculate here, but I'm guessing it was a combination of factors:

#1 they did not have access to the materials because their Ghettos were INSIDE the country they were being exterminated in, and there were not surrounding nations getting them materials with which to do this.

#2. I do not believe they were aware of the exent of the genocide or the certainty of their fate; I believe they probably held false hope.

This makes sense to me.


Try on another pair of shoes for a minute: Someone has broken into your home, tortured and killed your family, and has held you at gun point for God knows how long; would you support your own government agreeing to give the criminal 2/3rds of your house and letting you keep a third, as a "Just" settlement? Personally, I'd only consider the death of my tormentor a just settlement.

While I understand your analogy, I think it would be an impossibility to retreat to the May 13, 1948 world map. It seems the only choice is the 1967 borders.


Howard Dean, a man I once supported to be President like no one I have ever backed before, has been a profound disappointment to me for quite some time. The entire situation regarding the response to the New Iraqi President by both sides, has utterly sickened me; the Republicans simply whistle and pretend that they don't have a problem with his words in overt hypocrisy, while at the same time they're supporting the genocide of Muslims by Bush/Israel. The God-forsaken, WORTHLESS Democrats race as fast as they can onto the Pro-Israel bandwagon for political gain at the expense of every principle of social justice and human decency there is.

My conclusion in all of this after the 410 to 8 vote supporting Israel's mass murder, is that the American people are in a situation no different that the people of Nazi Germany were in after their goverment went fascist; the government of the Unites States is absolutely evil, and the ONLY difference between the two parties, is that one ACTED to murder, while the other held their coats and cried crocodile tears. The situation is heart wrenching and sickening, and truth be told, were the United States finally attacked militarilly by a major player and then occupied, I believe MOST Americans would respond the way the people of Germany did; it might be the only situation currently taking place, where foreign occupiers would actually be greeted as "Liberators". Of course this is purely hypothetical, and in fact, the only nation likely to do this, is as evil as the United States is; China.

Mark, we are SCREWED. I have NO FAITH in the democrats. I will not support one of my democraticSenators (Maria Cantwell), she is an arch Zionist and unapologetic war supporter.
I have no representitive, and neither do the overwhelming majority of Americans.

When I heard Dean's quote you were the first person I thought of. I voted for Nader and I'll probably write him in again...

Don't tell me he supports Israel too?

[Gerry]

My synthroid dosage is 224. I think they are going to drop it when I need a new prescription because it has completely supressed the TSH...
I'm currently on 200 which seems to do the trick.

[Mark]

I'm currently on 200 which seems to do the trick.

I believe that is exactly what they will prescribe for me...

[Gerry]

I believe that is exactly what they will prescribe for me...

LOL :-)

[Jay_Esbe]

My synthroid dosage is 224. I think they are going to drop it when I need a new prescription because it has completely supressed the TSH...

I'm very sorry to hear that you've been sick Mark, get well soon.

[Bertrand]

Mark, I wish you speedy recovery from your unhealthy condition. Get well soon.

Peace.

[Mark]

Jay & Bertrand,

Thanks for the good wishes. I'm in good health as we speak, but I keep having to dodge some cancer bullets for some reason. The moral of the story is to pay attention to your body and get regular check-ups. I'm only 48 and have been diagnosed with cancer twice, yet both times, it was early and curable, without chemo treatments. So, don't be macho and listen to your mother!!!!