By RALPH NADER-An Open Letter to W.

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Comments

  • True...but again, are there any Hezbo diplomats? Are there any Al-Quida representatives? Iran engages in diplomacy but are obviously not serious.

    I really do think diplomacy is the ideal way to go, and we should exhaust all possibilities.

    I also think we need to be serious. It's a joke to wave your finger at Iran for it's nuclear program without any enforcement. That's my problem with the UN. How many of their resolutions have been broken (even by Israel) but how many of them have been enforced? What is the point of these resolutions if there are no incentives or enforcement mechanisms?

    Has Iran attacked anyone? Until they actually do this, we can not just go around beating the war drums. We have to continue talks to encourage keeping the peace. As long as a group is made of humans, then progress can be made through communication.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Has Iran attacked anyone? Until they actually do this, we can not just go around beating the war drums. We have to continue talks to encourage keeping the peace. As long as a group is made of humans, then progress can be made through communication.

    It depends on what you mean by attacked? What should we do about Iran's nuclear program? Should we do anything? Are we justified in doing anything? Should Iran be held accountable for supplying the Hezbos? These are all serious threats to international security, in my mind. I have no faith in the UN. Again, look at the Israelis violations, and what have they done? Given the views of Iran's leader, I really don't think diplomacy will work - I think we have tried. They don't recognize Israel's right to exist, and to me, that is an unacceptable position that is non-negotiable.
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • It depends on what you mean by attacked? What should we do about Iran's nuclear program? Should we do anything? Are we justified in doing anything? Should Iran be held accountable for supplying the Hezbos? These are all serious threats to international security, in my mind. I have no faith in the UN. Again, look at the Israelis violations, and what have they done? Given the views of Iran's leader, I really don't think diplomacy will work - I think we have tried. They don't recognize Israel's right to exist, and to me, that is an unacceptable position that is non-negotiable.

    Well, we can't do too much considering we have a nuclear program, as well. I think they should all be outlawed for everyone.

    It doesn't matter what they think about Israel as long as they don't attack them. The US supplies Israel, Iran supplies Hezbollah....this shit never ends and only lines the pockets of the rich. There has to be another way and that way can be found through open talks instead of bombing season.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    Well, we can't do too much considering we have a nuclear program, as well. I think they should all be outlawed for everyone.

    It doesn't matter what they think about Israel as long as they don't attack them. The US supplies Israel, Iran supplies Hezbollah....this shit never ends and only lines the pockets of the rich. There has to be another way and that way can be found through open talks instead of bombing season.

    To quote your boy :) O'Reilly, "I'm a simple man." I like to boil these things down to the most basic questions. From what I can gather, Iran and the Hezbos do not want Israel to exist. I believe that Israel does have a right to exist. It's diffucult to engage in diplomacy with such diometric viewpoints.
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • To quote your boy :) O'Reilly, "I'm a simple man." I like to boil these things down to the most basic questions. From what I can gather, Iran and the Hezbos do not want Israel to exist. I believe that Israel does have a right to exist. It's diffucult to engage in diplomacy with such diometric viewpoints.

    How about lets simplify even further.

    Israel exists. Israel does wrong. Iran and Hezbollah exist. Iran and Hezbollah do wrong. They are equally wrong. They are both still here. So how can one be more wrong than the other? People can think whatever they want, it doesn't mean you get to drop bombs on them, especially when they have not attacked Israel. You don't justify the possible killings of thousands of people for a war based on trash talk and rantings. You can think I should die but that doesn't mean I should have the right to shoot you until you actually try to kill me.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • How about lets simplify even further.

    Israel exists. Israel does wrong. Iran and Hezbollah exist. Iran and Hezbollah do wrong. They are equally wrong. They are both still here. So how can one be more wrong than the other? People can think whatever they want, it doesn't mean you get to drop bombs on them, especially when they have not attacked Israel. You don't justify the possible killings of thousands of people for a war based on trash talk and rantings. You can think I should die but that doesn't mean I should have the right to shoot you until you actually try to kill me.

    This is a good post.
  • Purple HawkPurple Hawk Posts: 1,300
    How about lets simplify even further.

    Israel exists. Israel does wrong. Iran and Hezbollah exist. Iran and Hezbollah do wrong. They are equally wrong.

    Right, but the Israeli President does not publicly say that they do not recognize Iran's right to exist. Iran (at least Ahmadinejad) and the Hezbo's view of Israel is quite different. I'm not sure how you negotiate with someone who doesn't recognize your right to exist.
    And you ask me what I want this year
    And I try to make this kind and clear
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
    Cuz I don't need boxes wrapped in strings
    And desire and love and empty things
    Just a chance that maybe we'll find better days
  • NMyTreeNMyTree Posts: 2,374
    Has Iran attacked anyone? Until they actually do this, we can not just go around beating the war drums. We have to continue talks to encourage keeping the peace. As long as a group is made of humans, then progress can be made through communication.


    Haha! You're kidding, right?

    Iran is and has been up to their necks in all of this, for a very long time.

    If you think Iran is not involved in the Palenstine and Lebanon conflicts, then, you're not paying much attention; or you're looking through some rather foggy glasses.
  • Right, but the Israeli President does not publicly say that they do not recognize Iran's right to exist. Iran (at least Ahmadinejad) and the Hezbo's view of Israel is quite different.

    So?
    I'm not sure how you negotiate with someone who doesn't recognize your right to exist.

    You don't. But the existential proposition is not "negotiate or kill".
  • Has Iran attacked anyone? Until they actually do this, we can not just go around beating the war drums. We have to continue talks to encourage keeping the peace. As long as a group is made of humans, then progress can be made through communication.

    What in god's name do we have to talk about?
  • NMyTreeNMyTree Posts: 2,374
    " defenseless Lebanon " ??????:rolleyes:


    Yeah, that's what they are. "Defenseless' and "innocent".

    A large portion of Lebanese civilians are allowing Hezbullah to occupy their communities, use their homes, their families and their very lives as decoys and shields. They use ambulances as transportation vehicles, and then they feign shock and outrage when their ambulances are targeted:rolleyes:

    They mingle in with Lebanese civilians and build bunkers, hidie-holes, weapons & ammunition depots. Then, they scream foul when Israel tries to use weapons.

    One thing I have to say about Hezbullah and Lebanon is this. Their strategy, propaganda and oscar award winning performances sure as hell baited a lot of fish.
  • NMyTreeNMyTree Posts: 2,374
    How about lets simplify even further.

    Israel exists. Israel does wrong. Iran and Hezbollah exist. Iran and Hezbollah do wrong. They are equally wrong. They are both still here. So how can one be more wrong than the other?

    That's a question I ask you.

    So why is you focus always on criticizing, blaming and condemning America, and America (and Israel) are always the evil thugs?

    People can think whatever they want, it doesn't mean you get to drop bombs on them, especially when they have not attacked Israel.

    Huh? They most certainly have been attacking Israel. They were doing that long before this current conflict exploded into what it became.
  • ruudruud Posts: 34
    hi
    did you all ever stop to ask your selves what is their motive?

    Hizballah, Israel, Iran, Syria

    Well we all know we got one package that is syria iran and hesbollah and NOT Lebanon as people are getting used to saying. And then we have israel AND america as people are used to forgetting.

    We got the worlds biggest power house, america, and their dogs, israel.
    Then we got the worlds most furtive of 'terrorist' organizations (israeli soldiers are terrorists too if you call hizballah that) hizballah, and their dogs syria iran or the other way around as you please.
    There is money, there is motive, there is history of battle and death in the name of God. Yes the leading cause of death, God, Glory, Money, and the power to say we did it for YOU the PEOPLE.
    My ass.

    What you forgot is to remember the core of this battle. Relgion and Money.
    money religion religion money all the same thing. As far as im concerned people took faith, or bush, iran syria israel and america, have taken faith and belief and the ' god given right' and sold it and bought and traded it with the devil to get what they want.

    This is an opinion but i believe its something you will countinue to ignore, whether you are a man woman of faith or not, it is not meant offensively, but simply to tell you whatever happened to personal and maybe your family faith? Why has it become shiite hizballah, druze junblat, sunni harriri, christian bush, jews israel, and the rest everywhere else in the middle.

    Are human beings so insecure that if a man/woman of a different faith was their leader they dont feel safe anymore?

    As soon the world will realize, every contradiction, every opinion, false statement, fact, your faith and beliefs all mean verry little when put up against something bigger than you. You may fight it, and you will probably die, but in the end its killing more than just you its killing all of us. ex/ those safe in their homes in america going to the seven eleven are fine with saying go on ahead and blow up iraq and israel and the arabs and whoever it is. but those of us under bombs under threat and constantly questioning the point of all this are not safe.
    We are not living, and as far as im concerened we are nearly dead already, to other we are anyway.

    its like fighting a war without death, its still a war but the effects will be felt after.
    ive had enough and had my share so have those in north israel and not ALL of them, and so have MOST lebanese and so on.

    mankind must find an end to war or war will find an end to mankind.

    dont think twice about it. its true

    bye and thanks for reading my Opinion (if you did)
    "If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace." John Lennon

    My god its been so long, never dreamed you'd return, but now here you are, and here i am.
  • audome25audome25 Posts: 163
    The Commonwealth Court opinion described the Nader-Camejo petitions as "the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated upon this court."



    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060824/ap_on_el_pr/nader_challenge
  • NMyTreeNMyTree Posts: 2,374
    ruud wrote:
    hi
    did you all ever stop to ask your selves what is their motive?

    Hizballah, Israel, Iran, Syria

    Well we all know we got one package that is syria iran and hesbollah and NOT Lebanon as people are getting used to saying. And then we have israel AND america as people are used to forgetting.

    We got the worlds biggest power house, america, and their dogs, israel.
    Then we got the worlds most furtive of 'terrorist' organizations (israeli soldiers are terrorists too if you call hizballah that) hizballah, and their dogs syria iran or the other way around as you please.
    There is money, there is motive, there is history of battle and death in the name of God. Yes the leading cause of death, God, Glory, Money, and the power to say we did it for YOU the PEOPLE.
    My ass.

    What you forgot is to remember the core of this battle. Relgion and Money.
    money religion religion money all the same thing. As far as im concerned people took faith, or bush, iran syria israel and america, have taken faith and belief and the ' god given right' and sold it and bought and traded it with the devil to get what they want.

    This is an opinion but i believe its something you will countinue to ignore, whether you are a man woman of faith or not, it is not meant offensively, but simply to tell you whatever happened to personal and maybe your family faith? Why has it become shiite hizballah, druze junblat, sunni harriri, christian bush, jews israel, and the rest everywhere else in the middle.

    Are human beings so insecure that if a man/woman of a different faith was their leader they dont feel safe anymore?

    As soon the world will realize, every contradiction, every opinion, false statement, fact, your faith and beliefs all mean verry little when put up against something bigger than you. You may fight it, and you will probably die, but in the end its killing more than just you its killing all of us. ex/ those safe in their homes in america going to the seven eleven are fine with saying go on ahead and blow up iraq and israel and the arabs and whoever it is. but those of us under bombs under threat and constantly questioning the point of all this are not safe.
    We are not living, and as far as im concerened we are nearly dead already, to other we are anyway.

    its like fighting a war without death, its still a war but the effects will be felt after.
    ive had enough and had my share so have those in north israel and not ALL of them, and so have MOST lebanese and so on.

    mankind must find an end to war or war will find an end to mankind.

    dont think twice about it. its true

    bye and thanks for reading my Opinion (if you did)

    Good post.
  • MrBrianMrBrian Posts: 2,672
    ruud wrote:
    hi
    did you all ever stop to ask your selves what is their motive?

    Hizballah, Israel, Iran, Syria

    Well we all know we got one package that is syria iran and hesbollah and NOT Lebanon as people are getting used to saying. And then we have israel AND america as people are used to forgetting.

    We got the worlds biggest power house, america, and their dogs, israel.
    Then we got the worlds most furtive of 'terrorist' organizations (israeli soldiers are terrorists too if you call hizballah that) hizballah, and their dogs syria iran or the other way around as you please.
    There is money, there is motive, there is history of battle and death in the name of God. Yes the leading cause of death, God, Glory, Money, and the power to say we did it for YOU the PEOPLE.
    My ass.

    What you forgot is to remember the core of this battle. Relgion and Money.
    money religion religion money all the same thing. As far as im concerned people took faith, or bush, iran syria israel and america, have taken faith and belief and the ' god given right' and sold it and bought and traded it with the devil to get what they want.

    This is an opinion but i believe its something you will countinue to ignore, whether you are a man woman of faith or not, it is not meant offensively, but simply to tell you whatever happened to personal and maybe your family faith? Why has it become shiite hizballah, druze junblat, sunni harriri, christian bush, jews israel, and the rest everywhere else in the middle.

    Are human beings so insecure that if a man/woman of a different faith was their leader they dont feel safe anymore?

    As soon the world will realize, every contradiction, every opinion, false statement, fact, your faith and beliefs all mean verry little when put up against something bigger than you. You may fight it, and you will probably die, but in the end its killing more than just you its killing all of us. ex/ those safe in their homes in america going to the seven eleven are fine with saying go on ahead and blow up iraq and israel and the arabs and whoever it is. but those of us under bombs under threat and constantly questioning the point of all this are not safe.
    We are not living, and as far as im concerened we are nearly dead already, to other we are anyway.

    its like fighting a war without death, its still a war but the effects will be felt after.
    ive had enough and had my share so have those in north israel and not ALL of them, and so have MOST lebanese and so on.

    mankind must find an end to war or war will find an end to mankind.

    dont think twice about it. its true

    bye and thanks for reading my Opinion (if you did)

    very nice, let's now take away religion, money, greed and human nature.

    Yes, then it would be a world at peace.

    But as it stand's today, these things exist and will not be going anywhere, It's easy to take the middle ground, but those are fence sitters and at the end of the day you have a right path and a wrong path, the truth and the lie. Find the truth and go with it.

    Example, why did america invade Iraq? greed? yep, money? yep, religion? yep, lies? yep. Now we know all of this, but some people will still argue about the war being just, those people, they are the dangers. After all, the people have the power.
  • MrBrianMrBrian Posts: 2,672
    NMyTree wrote:
    That's a question I ask you.

    So why is you focus always on criticizing, blaming and condemning America, and America (and Israel) are always the evil thugs?




    Huh? They most certainly have been attacking Israel. They were doing that long before this current conflict exploded into what it became.

    1. yes, should I make a list of all their thuggish doings?

    2. why were they "attacking" israel?
  • rebornFixerrebornFixer Posts: 4,901
    because he is addressing the problem at it's source. working backwards never does much.

    You can place the source whereever you'd like ... But the reality is that this problem no longer has one source, if it truly ever did. His question was valid. Would Lebanon have been bombed if Hezbollah had stayed put?
  • MrBrianMrBrian Posts: 2,672
    Would Lebanon have been bombed if Hezbollah had stayed put?

    errrr, yeah.

    I mean, look at israel, why does it go around the world spying on countries? why does it grab more and more land? why did it bomb civilians and blame it on egypt? yes, israel is the cause.
  • rebornFixerrebornFixer Posts: 4,901
    MrBrian wrote:
    errrr, yeah.

    I mean, look at israel, why does it go around the world spying on countries? why does it grab more and more land? why did it bomb civilians and blame it on egypt? yes, israel is the cause.

    Because other countries are hostile towards it and have been since its inception. Its just way too much to expect people in the Middle East to accept a few Jews, apparently. Only Muslims are allowed to live in deserts. Sure, if Israel had never existed, then none of this would have happened. Instead, everyone in the Middle East could remain nice and pure and Muslim, what a wonderful world that would be.

    By the way, I am trying to sound a bit goofy on purpose, to make a point that I've made many times before. How can one country be the only cause here? More fundamentally, how could any political issue be that simple? I don't get it.
  • MrBrianMrBrian Posts: 2,672
    Because other countries are hostile towards it and have been since its inception. Its just way too much to expect people in the Middle East to accept a few Jews, apparently. Only Muslims are allowed to live in deserts. Sure, if Israel had never existed, then none of this would have happened. Instead, everyone in the Middle East could remain nice and pure and Muslim, what a wonderful world that would be.

    By the way, I am trying to sound a bit goofy on purpose, to make a point that I've made many times before. How can one country be the only cause here? More fundamentally, how could any political issue be that simple? I don't get it.

    Do many of these countries not have a good reason to be hostile towards israel? I mean if a killer moves into your area, would invite him over for a pizza? Also keep in mind that jews were coming into palestine and the arabs for the most let them in. It was only when they then stole the land and pushed out the natives did the more modern issue of it start.

    Also much of the troubles in the arab world are due to america, they do support some of those evil dictators and take down the guys they don't like.

    And of course the arabs should also blame themselves for some of the troubles they face. That's obvious.
  • rebornFixerrebornFixer Posts: 4,901
    MrBrian wrote:
    Do many of these countries not have a good reason to be hostile towards israel? I mean if a killer moves into your area, would invite him over for a pizza? Also keep in mind that jews were coming into palestine and the arabs for the most let them in. It was only when they then stole the land and pushed out the natives did the more modern issue of it start.

    Also much of the troubles in the arab world are due to america, they do support some of those evil dictators and take down the guys they don't like.

    And of course the arabs should also blame themselves for some of the troubles they face. That's obvious.

    The "pushed out the natives" issue wasn't that simple, though. The Arab states did not really want the Palestinians either ... Look at what happened in Jordan. This wasn't simply a matter of Syria and Egypt and Iraq sticking up for the little guy. I guess you can argue that the displacement caused the problem, but you have to wonder exactly how it would spark so many wars. Evidentally the Arab world wanted a fight.
  • MrBrianMrBrian Posts: 2,672
    The "pushed out the natives" issue wasn't that simple, though. The Arab states did not really want the Palestinians either ... Look at what happened in Jordan. This wasn't simply a matter of Syria and Egypt and Iraq sticking up for the little guy. I guess you can argue that the displacement caused the problem, but you have to wonder exactly how it would spark so many wars. Evidentally the Arab world wanted a fight.

    well yeah, I don't really disagree with you. I have some more things to add to it, but remind me later dude, I gotta run right now.
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