#38

Would it be accurate to characterize you as Pro-Hamas?

How about pro-ISIS.

I don't even think the anti-zionists are pro-Hamas.

Not saying it's not complicated, it is. The majority of Palestinians support a two-state solution, while the majority of Israelis oppose it. But there is no State of Palestine. You have the Palestinian Authority, but their authority doesn't extend beyond the West Bank. Gaza is run by an internationally recognized terrorist organization devoted to the destruction of Israel...so who would one negotiate in order to formulate a two-state solution.

I think France has handled it pretty brilliantly. They elected to diplomatically recognize Palestine. Not as an affront to Israel, but as a first step in the elimination of Hamas as a relevant political entity. Let's see if it works. I don't think it will. Hamas is like ISIS. They care about themselves. Palestinians are just the ammunition they use in the fight.

"Like all things when the Middle East is involved, it's complicated."

You failed to mention the fact that the Arab states rejected the UN partition plan and attempted to destroy Israel. Convinced that without British support, Israel wouldn't stand a chance against the Arab armies. The Arabs convinced the so-called "Palestinians" to flee, with the understanding that Israel would be quickly defeated and the Jews driven into the sea Leaving the entire region to non-Jews. The Arabs lost. Those who fled went on to become refugees or inhabitants of unrolled territory. Those Arabs who didn't flee became Israeli citizens.

"Most likely MadBomber spamming the post button because he's so excited to troll."

Just curious, have you ever considered reaching out to Hamas and pitching yourself as the leader of a queer Islamist group?

You could go to the Levant, indulge your "from the river to the sea" fantasies, and maybe not get thrown from the roof at the end of the day.

#7

MAGAT filth. How dare you say such things...

"There's about twenty dead Palestinians for every dead Israeli, since 1948."

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

George S. Patton.

Of course there is no such thing as Palestine. The Arabs rejected the creation of Palestine in when? 1948, right?

"There's about twenty dead Palestinians for every dead Israeli, since 1948."

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

George S. Patton.

Of course there is no such thing as Palestine. The Arabs rejected the creation of Palestine in when? 1948, right?

"There's about twenty dead Palestinians for every dead Israeli, since 1948."

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

George S. Patton.

Of course there is no such thing as Palestine. The Arabs rejected the creation of Palestine in when? 1948, right?

"There's about twenty dead Palestinians for every dead Israeli, since 1948."

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his."

George S. Patton.

Of course there is no such thing as Palestine. The Arabs rejected the creation of Palestine in when? 1948, right?

"Is that likely to happen?"

I doubt it. Although I think most Repubs understand that by sticking with Trump, they are choosing to stay on a sinking ship.

"Just imagine how much more efficient the IDF will be using these robots for its hideous ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank. I can't even imagine it."

It goes both ways. Just imagine the devastation Hamas and Hezbollah could inflict on Israelis if they latched on to this technology.

Nuclear weapons were designed to solve an accuracy problem. In WWII, you would need to send hundreds of bombers, each containing 10-12 men, to hit a single target like a port or a railyard. 12% of them died in combat. Nukes allowed one bomber to achieve the same desired effect.

Accuracy is no longer a problem. A jet can take out a single room in a 20-story apartment building, easily. There is no nation that could defeat the US in unlimited combat. That's why other nations have nukes. And if we got rid of them, there are several nations that would then have incentive to hold the US hostage to their nuclear capability. Russia being the most prominent.

When Operation Epic Fu___ry kicked off, all of my travel back to the US was cancelled. Fine by me, it was just replaced with a bunch of trips around Northern Europe, which I prefer. Or that was the plan, anyway.

Europe has about 12 weeks of jet fuel left. Unless the Russians can step in and save the day, it's unlikely to be much air travel in Europe this summer. It's already gone up in price by 80%, and it's likely to go even higher. Iran has most of the cards at this point. I don't think they have any incentive to change their strategy at all. And I don't think the world blames them for this disaster. They blame the US.

One of my buddies booked a flight on Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Bodo, Norway. LH sent him an email notifying him the flight had been cancelled, and he had been re-booked from Munich to Bodo. Munich is a five-hour drive from where we live.

There was a poll done recently that showed Dems winning elections under almost all circumstances. The exception was when a progressive Dem was paired against a moderate Republican.

"And do you really expect the truth from either side of the conflict at this point?

So... a little bit of back story. As a military dude, senior leaders come in with 100% credibility. But once you lose that credibility, it's gone forever.

Trump has no credibility. I assume that everything he says is --------. So yeah, in this moment, I view Iran as being a more credible source of information.

"Because Iran proved they can shut down the entire oil dependent world."

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but right now it is the US that is shutting down the entire oil-dependent world.

Iran has said the straits are open. It's the US that's maintaining a blockade.

$20 billion?

That's almost silly cheap.

Trump always talks about "deals" I think it is his favorite word.

If he could pull this off, he could honestly say he made at least one good "deal."

"Why does being transgender bother anyone?"

I don't think it does.

If a trans-person gets arrested for a crime, and their license is based on identity rather than biology, how do they get processed into jail? Does a man who identifies as a woman go into a woman's jail? And if so, is that fair to the biological women in that jail?

Would you hand-wringers be equally up in arms if a white supremacist had committed this crime and was facing a similar sentence?

Isn't there a ----- facing the same charges?

Should terrorist supporters get special treatment if they have Mohammed (PBUH) in their name?

"LOL Sure. A good idea actually. But we don't need to be exactly as or as good as Canada. We should obviously be better and learn from their mistakes. Right?"

In Germany, you can opt out of the public plan if you make more that 70k EUR per year or so and go with a private plan. You can utilize private hospitals, which provide. Better service. Much of Europe is like that.

What makes Bernie's plan different is that it would ban any healthcare services that competed with the government-provided services. He's literally bragged about that part of it. Which means that USans would have no healthcare options other than what the government. Was able to provide. So the entire US population would find themselves in a similar situation to where I was my last three years on active duty in the military.

"US servicemembers love socialism and universal healthcare."

Yeah ... not so much. My last three years on active duty were spent in Germany, where the government-provided healthcare was the only option. For dependents, it was nearly impossible to get an appointment. If a kid was sick or injured, you went directly to the ER. Even as an aviator, my wait time was three weeks on average, and we had a special clinic for flyers. Compare that to my first appointment after I retired and started on my Cigna Global plan. I can get most appointments in a day or two.

"Using Albania, long virtually the most closed State on the planet, as an example of Socialism is just lame. Meanwhile, the highest standards of living and Happiness Indices are in Dem Socialist Scandinavia and Northern Europe."

Yep. You're referring to capitalist countries. I'm sitting in Norway right now. About to go hiking.

"There's an irrational fear of socialism in America"

I don't know if it is necessarily irrational. I can tell you what my closest friend thinks, after having grown up in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.

He's not a fan.

You likely wouldn't be either if you had actually experienced socialism.

#5

It's working swimmingly for me. And for lots of other USans.

I have a Cigna Global plan. I can get healthcare in any country on the planet with little or no co-pay. Presumably, Cigna would cease to exist if Bernie were to be elected, along with every other non-USG insurance company. Which is fine, I suppose I would find an alternative based on Europe or somewhere else, but why? And let's assume that taxes go up to pay for this healthcare, how would that impact people like me with US plans who don't live in the US, or people who do live in the US but wind up need care while outside the country. Would I be paying for a healthcare plan that didn't even benefit me?

I'm probably the only person who has actually lived in a system where there was a US single-payer system. For US service members stationed in Europe, they are obligated to use US government-run healthcare providers. When I was on active duty, it was nearly impossible to get an appointment for dependents. If they needed care, you went to the ER. Even for me as an aviator, it was typically a 3-week wait for anything.

... Then I retired and picked up my Cigna plan. I called my chosen healthcare provider on a Monday to start working prescriptions. They asked me if Thursday of the same week was too long. I just laughed.

There are loads of Western European models that the US could choose to emulate. Most of them work pretty well. Why. ---- around with trying for force one plan down everyone's throat, even when most have far better options?