Archive through September 10, 2024
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Non-Game Discussions: Real-World Military:
Archive through September 10, 2024
Mike
I 100% agree with the above.
The only think that I would add, is that 'care' does need to be taken - as its not JUST the Israeli's and West Bank 'State' that wants Jerusalem (Christians for example).
It's a shame in 1948 the UN didn't make Jerusalem into a seperate independent State (Vatican, Monaco or perhaps something like the original Hong Kong or Macao on a 150 year lease....) - yes lots and lots of issues (and the UK wanted out....), but allowing all faiths equal represetation there but zero ownership, might have helped?
The only other thing to add would be both 'states' would need to be supported - and perhaps a UN Tax on Iran and Saudi Arabia (to cover both nations 'mischief') and 'a single offer' to allow them to rebuld and if they play fair, to turn the States into a true nation for their people - yes, wishful thinkinbg but Poor people have less to lose than Rich people.
But as you have said - any misbeahaving will not be accepted (A huge $$$$$ Carrot - and a very small, but very sharp stick). Romans did that very well in Carthage.
Mike G, if they should recognize Gaza and the West Bank as two sovereign nations, they need to cede control over those borders to the Palestinians.
Won't happen.
The fundamental issue underlying all of this is that if one takes human rights as they are commonly understood, it is not possible to guarantee the human rights of all concerned.
The reason is that if one guarantees human rights (as they are commonly understood) of Palestinians, then groups of them will perpetrate massacres such as Oct. 7 against Israelis. Furthermore, groups of them will perpetrate massacres against other Palestinians (try being Gay in Gaza).
Therefore, it is not possible to guarantee human rights for both sides. For that matter, it is not possible to guarantee human rights for everyone on the Palestinian side, even if one were willing to sacrifice Israelis.
Some people seem to try to work from a point of view that everyone's human rights should be guaranteed. But that isn't possible.
"It's a shame in 1948 the UN didn't make Jerusalem into a seperate independent State (Vatican, Monaco or perhaps something like the original Hong Kong or Macao on a 150 year lease....) - yes lots and lots of issues (and the UK wanted out....), but allowing all faiths equal represetation there but zero ownership, might have helped?"
They did, a year earlier in 1947. UN Resolution 181 established Jerusalem as an international city under international governance.
The Arabs, Palestinians, and Israelis all objected to the idea (each wanting various terms that all amounted to putting Jerusalem under their control as a protectorate), and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War scuttled the entire concept.
Paul, when anyone is suspended, they are NOT authorized to post any response to the suspension. Do that again and you are banned from this topic forever. You have been warned.
More pro-terrorist posts and you will be banned from this topic forever.
More anti-Israel fantasies and you will be banned from this topic forever.
Respond to this post in any way and you will be banned from this topic forever.
Zero tolerance for your past behavior.
Maybe the Israeli-Palestine subject should be added to the list of forbidden topics? It only sows discord wherever it is discussed (recently in the forum for the Swedish Green Party, which I am a member of).
Too important to overall US policy.
Yes, indeed. Still, after the ban on politics and religion, I think that is the only subject left that cause trouble here on the BBS?
There were others.
By all accounts, Iran will launch a major missile/drone attack on Israel sometime this month. And the UN will come up with another phony baloney reason to condemn Israel for something. And some European country that knows better will embargo weapons from going to Israel for a while.
Meanwhile next month...
There are video clips now being posted to you tube about “flame thrower equipped drones.”
Partially click bait, but there is an element of truth to it.
Thermite.
Claims to be a specially designed war drone, but on review it turns out that they are using thermite grenades. Solid chemical incendiary demolition packages originally developed back in the 1960’s. The original use was intended to melt thru the engine blocks of vehicles to prevent the enemy use of abandoned equipment in the event of a retreat where such things could not be retrieved.
The Ukrainians have gotten so effective at using drones, the Russians are using dense wooded areas as shelter from drones unable to operate effectively under the tree line.
Thermite charges burn at such a high temperature, that it can ignite fires in heavily wooded areas.
Just wait until the Sierra Club and Green Peace find out about this!
As a thought experiment, what would it take to overrun Kallingrad in a high speed manor?
I assume that the place is mapped out, with Barracks, Armories, such well known.
Ukraine hit Moscow with a large drone strike (144 drones in total) this morning. At least 20 of the drones were shot down by Russian air defenses, but there are buildings on fire and reported fatalities. Three of Moscow's four airports were closed for more than six hours.
Two and a half years ago, when Russia started this war, this would have been unimaginable. But here it is. The mouse has officially roared.
Oh, and in the "Leopards Eating Face of Person Who Voted for the Leopards Eating Faces Party" department, we have this gem:
"There is no way that nighttime strikes on residential neighborhoods can be associated with military action," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov... who has been just fine and dandy with Russia carrying out nighttime strikes on Ukrainian residential neighborhoods for the past two and a half years.
Yeah, and I have to wonder if the apartment building hits could have been Russian shoot-downs of drones that were aimed at actual targets.
Could some apartment building hits have been collateral damaged caused by Russian AA?
Israel aircraft struck a Hamas command post today, killing three very senior terrorists and a dozen lesser terrorists. The IDF arranged to get civilians out of the area which did not prevent Hamas from falsely claiming that 40 women and children were killed.
Steve Cole/ Jean Sexton;
How does one selectively block one topic, or get banned from it?
The line in the sand Steve drew on Monday, September 09, 2024 - 05:12 pm just shows that you are adhering to a complete double standard with no capacity for anything good (or neutral for that matter) said about the Palestinians, nor any criticism levelled against anything Israeli. SVC NOTES THAT THIS STATEMENT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ADB POLICY OR THE INDIVIDUAL BEING CENSORED.
For the record: I am anti-Hamas, pro-Palestinian people. I am anti-Knesset (at least until the madmen are removed from office), pro-Hebrew people.
Ban me from this topic or *the entire board* as you will. I know that the vaunted 1st Amendment does not apply here, and you have every right to censor your own private forum.
Aside from walking away from this entire board and F&E/ SFB as a customer as well, the only option is to block me from this topic. I'm done with people putting their heads in the sand and refusing to see that the Israelis are NOT saints. Refusing to acknowledge it, or trying to justify any of their actions that are contrary to International Law is morally wrong.
I'm of the growing opinion that Russia's nuclear stockpile is largely non-functional. Why? A few reasons.
The tritium core for Russian nuclear warheads is good for about a decade before it has to be replaced. But of the two Russian facilities that could produce those cores, one has been shut down for decades, and the other is running at such a low level that it could not come close to meeting even a small portion of the required replenishment cycle for Russia's stockpile.
Meanwhile, Putin has drawn half a dozen or more "red lines" beyond which a nuclear response was threatened, and Ukraine and the West have called every one of those bluffs without a mushroom cloud to be seen.
And that brings us to today...when Ukraine managed a massive drone attack on Moscow and Russia did not reduce Kyiv to a glowing crater. As Ukraine isn't a NATO member and has no treaty with any nuclear power that would grant a retaliatory nuclear strike if nuclear arms were used against Kyiv, there's frankly no reason for Moscow not to do so...if their weapons still worked.
I suspect that Russia's nuclear arsenal fell victim to the same thing its military vehicles did: gross theft at every level that diverted nearly all funds for maintenance elsewhere. We saw it at the start of the war in Ukraine, when Russian front-line vehicles were seen with lubricant streaming down from their hubs because the seals had long-since rotted out.
Jessica, thanks for the info.
Besides the Tritium shortage, here are some other reasons I think; Soviet doctrine of nukes was based on the all our war with NATO. A win or die situation. Now, despite that militaries plan for everything, I suspect the Ukraine war was something unexpected. Who would have thought there would be a stand off with a country a quarter of their size? Not we and certainly not the Russians. Thus they have no plans for nukes or experience from exercises to fall back on.
The act of invading Ukraine cost Russia dearly. Sweden and Finland are now members of Nato. Business production and exports are severely hurt by the war. Nukes would practically mean a united congress writing a blank check for Ukraine to win the war vs Russia, and no targets would be off limits.
Europe would be shocked out of it's wits. Right now everyone is building up their defenses. A nuke would make them realize that time is past; Poland would probably send troops to defend Ukraine. (Maybe they will go take Kaliningrad.) The Germans would make another turn about and realize they must fight.
China would face a "are you with us or them?" situation. They would surely take the prudent course of action and cut ties to Russia.
Russia may not be winning right know, but they are not losing either. Nukes is an escalation they can't afford.
Edit. (Oh, yeah: just my 2 C)
Mike: you are just wrong. We do NOT have a double standard. We have TRUTH. Israel tries to avoid civilian casualties; Hamas tries to cause them.
We allow honest criticism of the Israeli military and government (and I have done more of that than anyone) but we don't tolerate making up lies about either side. There is a world of difference between the Guardian saying (paraphrasing from memory) "IDF troops in the West Bank deliberately and savagely murdered two young Palestinian boys for no reason" and the truth (one of the boys attacked the Israelis and was shot after repeated warnings not to throw the bomb he was holding; and the other was unfortunately down range of the Israeli defensive fire). Your description of ADB policy here is simply not consistent with what I posted.
You are fine, Mike, I don't have any record of you saying anything outside the lines. And again, there is NO double standard here. There is TRUTH. Tell the truth and no matter how ugly it is, you're good. Make up nonsense or repeat the lies of Hamas, and it will get deleted. For me to drop the hammer takes years of deliberate misbehavior which you haven't even started.
Mike
I am likely going to be ate by Gatters.
I hate people hiding behind what they think is there 1st amendment rights. They use it to slander and attack other people. For a reason to get what a MINORTY of people want.
This country was founded with the fundamental right to believe and worship the religion of your choice. With out persecution from the state and others.
My Wife is JEWISH. She hates what is going on over there. She hates the settlers attacking and pushing for land and control. We have talked about it. She also is disgusted with all of the HATE being put forth.
I am so disgusted with the INTITLED brats going to expensive collages and screaming death to JEWS.
Then You want to come on the one place. That I can get on and read unbiased reports on the •••• that is going on and post •••• HAMMAS terrorist propaganda. Then try and hide behind the 1st amendment.
Gregory, I deleted a part of your post that I am sure you regretted making.
I like the ever present quote on top of the Guardians comments section:
Comment is free… but facts are sacred
CP Scott, 1921 Guardian editor
Truth is a consensus thing, anecdotes warped by bias and fallible memories. Then we got d/a/m/n agenda.
That's why I prefer facts, and why I asked Jeff to cite his sources.
BTW, being right doesn't make one popular either.
I apologize in advance for saying this, but with respect, things are not adding up. 
It has long been recognized that Hamas regularly uses innocent civilians as "Human Shields," but it appears that the IDF was able to remove these innocent civilians from right outside/above a Hamas command post before conducting an air strike to destroy it, killing three senior terrorists and some dozen other fighters.
Some forty "Human Sheilds" were safely relocated WITHOUT alerting the senior terrorists? "Human Sheilds" who've been programmed to hate the IDF more than anyone/anything else? Hate them enough to undoubtedly scream bloody murder if they were to see any of them approaching, and certainly filled with enough fear and hatred to NEVER go quietly with someone like that.
Maybe I'm wrong about it, but it also seems reasonable that senior terrorists are survivors who have managed to stay alive for long periods in a field where few survive for ANY length of time. I'd expect they'd be too paranoid to NOT notice "Unusual activity" in their vicinity.
Despite this, the IDF was apparently able to spirit these "Human Sheilds" away and evacuate their own personnel AND keep the terrorists in the dark for long enough to get the precision bombers in?
Again, I apologize if anyone is bothered by this skepticism, but that just sounds like so much hooey to me. Yeah, maybe it DID happen, but it just sounds impossible.