manc_ill_kid

Thats either what Anakin tried to do in Star Wars or Saddam in Iraq, but I'm not going to rise to it :)

The Hezbollah rocket attacks were a mere buzz of a threat compared to the number of lives lost by car accidents. They weren't a credible threat to Israelis. Can you find some credible statics for how many Israeli's have been killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks in the past five years? And then compare that to the economic effects of every single fisherman in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Cyrus being out of a job for the next two to three years. Not to mention the deaths and cost of healthcare to everyone who gets sicks from the pollution.

Not strictly true, payments from America account for about 3.4% of Israeli GDP, they're quite a successful nation without America's help

In Lebanon didn't Muslims, Jews and Christians live together in peace?

Damn it, you always have a choice. To bomb or not to bomb. And this is one of the many things that happens if you pick wrong. I was about to rant about how I hope Israel are going to pay to clean up the mess. but then I realised, or I suddently lost the will. This is how humanity is going to die. Choking to death and blaming someone else. The people who ceasefire first and start clearing it up are the one's who win.

aw stop that, you're making me blush

No, Stalin, Lenin and Mao all died of old age in office, Pinoche lives in a posh house in England, and Castro and the Korean chap are still in power

This is why you're always losing you're arguments and it gets so angry. Don;t just say you can name many times its happened. Name a few right here, right now. I'll help you, Stalin, Lenin, Castro, Pinoche (the Chilian chap), Mao, the chap in North Korea. Evidence is so much more believeable when its presented than when its not.

He's got a point though, compare Thatcher, Reagan, Saddam, Stalin, Heath, Bush, Nixon

The perceived threat from Hezbollah to Israel and from global terrorism to the rest of the world is actually miniscule and not worth starting wars over. If Israel feels it has a right and I guess a duty to defend itself from Hezbollah, then the same right applied to them defending themselves against car related deaths. The Israel government has duty to protect their citizens from cars, but instead, they are piling far more money into attacking other nations. Assuming that the percentage of car related deaths is the same in Lebanon, with a population half the size, that'll be 225 deaths per year. Then the current conflict has killed 750 (approx), four times as many people have been killed by Israeli attacks than by cars. So I reckon Lebanon has a bigger right to self-defence and should be attacking Israel now. Terrorism has always been around, and its not going to go away any time soon, but in context cars are far greater threat.

oh, hang on, I've found it, well, half of it http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications/acci03/tablch.shtml stats from the Isreali Central Bureau of Statistics about 450 deaths due to car accidents per year Now looking for deaths due to Hezbollah rocket attacks You do realise if there are fewer deaths I'm going to demand that Israel declares war on the motor car and bombs all civilian locations that they operate from.

I read that more people in Israel die in car accidents than as a result of Hezbollah rockets, but I'm struggling to find any statistics on this. Any ideas?

We ought to continue to put Israel on trial AND Hezbollah. Neatly bearing in mind that Israel have killed ten times as many civilians than Hezbollah during the past four weeks.

I understand that before tis conflict Hezbollah had the support of between 20% and 30% of the Lebanese people. Ordering the army to attack them would be akin to starting a civil war. Hezbollah aren't the enemy of the Lebanese people. In many cases they provide healthcare and education where the Lebanese government is unable to. But I understand from BBC Radio4 this morning that the Lebanese government have passed a law now forbidding armed millitias in Lebanon, so the only people allowed to bear arms are the Lebanese army. In the longer term this could mean the end of the millitant wing of Hezbollah. But in the short term its an ironic slap in the face for America and their consitution that says everyone has the right to bear arms as part of a millitia. Aw man, I think I just misunderstood your message. I guess the Lebanese army aren't really up to much.

What the hell are you talking about? that was a link to an article that said that Reuters had suspended a dodgy photographer. The photographer they suspended was the one full of shit, not Reuters as a whole. It only serves to improve the integrity of Reuters as a news agency.

You're getting a medical condition confused with war, the two are subtly different. I appreciate its a metaphor, or maybe a similie. But I don't believe it for a second. If "the civilians are less important than hizbollah in the sense of international politics", then international politics is wrong. If Israel really didn't want to kill civilians they could stop bombing them now, right now. They do have a choice. Bomb or not bomb.

I do understand that a ceasefire is short term, and that a ceasefire wouldn't last. Maybe it would only last two weeks, then the fighting would start again. And when it starts again, I'll be screaming for another ceasefire. But at least for two weeks the killing would have stopped. Hezbollah would rebuild, but I don't care about them, I care about the civilians, the ones who've had their homes destroyed and familes killed. They need to rebuild. They need to bury their dead, and they need the rest of their lives. They're the important ones. Help them, and Hezbollah will wither. If you keep bombing the Lebanese nation Hezbollah will become stonger. Sit down and bargain All you, like grizzled old foxes We’ll wall you up in a splendid palace With food, wine, good beds and a good fire, Provided that you discuss, negotiate For our and your children’s lives May all the wisdom of the universe Converge to bless your minds And guide you in the maze But outside in the cold we will be waiting for you. The army of those who died in vain, We of The Marne, we of Montecassino, Treblinka, Dresden and Hiroshima And with us will be The leprous and the people with trachoma The disappeared ones of Buenos Aires Dead Cambodians and dying Ethiopians The Prague negotiators The bled dry of Calcutta The innocents slaughtered in Bologna Heaven help you if you come out disagreeing You’ll be clutched tight in our embrace, We are invincible because we are the conquered Invulnerable because already dead. We laugh at your missiles. Sit down and bargain Until your tongues are dry If the havoc and the shame continue We’ll drown you in our putrefaction 'Song of Those Who Died In Vain.' - Primo Levi

When did we forget our dreams? The infinite possibilities each day holds should stagger the mind. The sheer number of experiences we could have is uncountable, breathtaking, and I'm sitting here checking replies. We live trapped in loops, reliving a few days over and over and we envision only a handful of paths laid out ahead of us. We see the same things each day, we respond the same way, we think the same thoughts, each day a slight variation on the last, every moment smoothly following the gentle curves iof social norms. We act like if we just get through today, tomorrow our dreams will come back to us. And no, I don't have all the answers. I don't know how to jolt myself into seeing what each moment could become. But I do know one thing: The solution doesn't involve watering down every little idea and creative impulse for the sake of some day easing its fit into reality. It doesn't involve tempering my life to better fit someone's expectations. It doesn't involve constantly holding back for fear of shaking things up. This is very important so I want to say it as clearly as I can FUCK. THAT. SHIT. apologies to http://www.xkcd.com/

Ooh good call, Sheeba Farms are disputed territory that Lebanon, Israel and Syria all claim right to. But that is subtly different to areas of Lebanon and Israel that aren't as disputed. Its why all the borders turn into dotted lines round there

nope. Not easily. You're going to have to spend some money, not on a wee cheap adaptor but on some kind of convertery thing. I wouldn't bother even trying. If you really need to though, I'd recommend just getting a different laptop, one with hdmi out.

Are you insane, the Bush Administration can't plan anything. They've cocked up just about everything they've done, ever.

They could have Jerusalem as a multicultural theme park, thus devaluing all the religions that hold it so dearly. Everyone has to buy the same tickets to go in.