Politics & Stuff

[Kieran. 6,317]

After all the testimonies in Ferguson saying how the cop shot the unarmed, hands raised black youth and yet a jury finds no reason to charge the officer, one can only surmise that the KKK is alive and well in the Deep South, they just dont wear bedsheets and pointy hats anymore

I had no hope Wilson was going to be indicted. Wilson said Mike Brown almost beat him unconcious. Photos come out of Wilson's face an hour after the incident and there was a slight bruise on Wilson's cheek. A blatant lie.

Another lie was by the police department. They said, along with all animated reenactments of the incident shown on the media, Mike Brown was a few feet away from Wilson's car. Yesterday, they admit he was 150 FEET AWAY from the car. That is HALF A FOOTBALL FIELD. That is murder.

[Fernando 6,585]

After all the testimonies in Ferguson saying how the cop shot the unarmed, hands raised black youth and yet a jury finds no reason to charge the officer, one can only surmise that the KKK is alive and well in the Deep South, they just dont wear bedsheets and pointy hats anymore

Has the sentence being passed already?

News link to Jury saying he's not guilty?

That will bring some major riot, especially when the police department said they will put him back on duty.

[twobanger 13]

You hit a cop or don't listen to an order to get on the ground, you're going to get shot. What is allowable police use of force is so loose (reasonable officer standard (instead of the reasonable man standard) presumption of good faith, Graham vs Connor, Tennessee vs Garner etc) that it's no surprise, if fact anyone that has any knowledge of the law knew the officer was going to be no billed.

This is the case that should have gotten the attention this case has as it was also ruled to be justified with everything caught on video. There's just no Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to agitate and manufacture outrage for non blacks.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

After all the testimonies in Ferguson saying how the cop shot the unarmed, hands raised black youth and yet a jury finds no reason to charge the officer, one can only surmise that the KKK is alive and well in the Deep South, they just dont wear bedsheets and pointy hats anymore

Looks like electing a black president doesn't eliminate racism. Very worrying how much the militarized police have power there. Unfortunately there is very little that the protests can achieve under the circumstances.

Hey sorry girlfriend was down and didn't have time for long messages with her here.

I missed you, please don't leave me again

You know what my point is, but you have avoided it. Has or does Hezbollah condoned or actively participated in actions that we agreed to be the definition of terrorism? You often mis-direct to the U.S and Israel but the original point do you believe that Hezbollah's principles and actions to be acceptable?

I feel like I'm not getting my point across regarding this, so let me try to simplify it:

The definition you used for terrorism makes everyone involved in warfare, at least in the region, a terrorist which makes the label completely meaningless, because if everyone is a terrorist then the ethics of warfare in the world are no where near the standards you are putting up which would mean that the issue is not group-related but global.

Further more, the international use of term "terrorism" seems to be very different than what you suggest and rather completely and utterly political rather than ethical. Take Syria for example. The so called "moderate opposition" also kill civilians and behead people like ISIS and Al Nusra (granted not in as much force or numbers because they are obviously weaker) but they are not labeled as terrorists but instead are being strengthened by the US and the coalition to become as strong as ISIS like "Ahrar Al Sham". There are no ideological differences between ISIS and Ahrara Al Sham. The differences are all political.

Now, do I condemn everything that Hezbollah has done? I don't, there are attacks against civilians, especially when they first started, that I cannot accept. Do I think Hezbollah are 'bad'? No, the good they have done for this country and the region by far outweighs the bad and their existence is crucial for the existence of Lebanon.

I think you are mistaking me for someone who wholeheartedly agrees with American/UK/Soviet/Israeli subversive acts which I don't. The Vietnam War was a senseless waste of lives on boths sides. Black Sunday is a good book for the way the Americans abandoned South Vietnam if you're interested. That is a lot of specific incidents such as the Sabra and Shatila massacre which I hadn't heard of, so I'll have a look at that and as I've said before (and you've responded to below) I'd like to read more on the Lebanese Civil War/ Israeli interventions.

As for the above (not all as there is too many) incidents, do you believe they were done with the express intent of killing civilians or do you believe that their deaths wasn't part of their plan?

As you say, the laws on legitimate warfare are there so that individuals wherever they are do sleep easier if their government/country is in conflict can sleep easier knowing that they are not targeting civilians.

Do those that cause civilian deaths that could have been avoided be punished of course and there is ways of doing this, you may deny that it will ever happen but the framework is there.

However for Hamas/Hezbollah et al there is no framework. They target without specifics and have no authority to do so.

Almost all of the incidents I've mentioned above have been directly aimed at civilians and none have been punished. The Israeli army even has military strategy where they aim to maximize destruction and civilian death; they call it the "Dahiya Doctrine": http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-22683261 Do I know what was going through McCain's head? No. Do I think he went on a official capacity? It doesn't seem that way. Personally I think he went there to talk to Salim Idris and to he thought was against Assad, not to promote ISIS or a conspiracy. It would fit with what we know of him and his subsequent actions. Would I deal with the North Storm Brigade. No.

Apart from Baghdadi, the rest of the ones I've mentioned were confirmed by the opposition websites and social media accounts. Of course you won't find them in major western news outlets. Those are the "wrong kind of facts".

I honestly doubt McCain knew who he was meeting with or he would not have allowed the pictures to be taken. But that's besides the point because real cooperation and planning doesn't happen at the level of senators, that visit was clearly meant as a publicity stunt. However, it does show the kind of people and groups that the US was backing and arming. Because, let's be real, McCain didn't just meet some random people, the meeting was obviously set up by the agents in the US government/army who do organize with these groups. Which was the original point I made: The US backing and arming and funding the extremist groups in Syria just like they did in Libya and Afghanistan and even Egypt.

You may call these meaningless technicalities but these are what separates Nations (Lebanon and Israel) from groups. You haven't found a declaration of war between Israel and Lebanon because there wasn't one. Lebanon is a special case as you well mention as it imploded as a state in the 70s and 80s and is still recovering. Before the civil war there was no restrictions on what you can and couldn't not do militarily and you had tanks and aircraft much superior to the former French Colonial forces. Hezbollah more than likely still have superior firepower than the Lebanese state still.

Of course Hezbollah has more weapons than the Lebanese army. Our army has nothing! I know it's hard to understand for someone who doesn't know Lebanon, but "official" and reality are two VERY different things. It would take decades of arming and training, even without a 'ban', for our army to even stand a chance against the IOF. That is why Hezbollah, as the current main component of the resistance, is needed, because they are the only thing stopping an Israeli invasion and occupation anytime they like.

EDIT: Forgot to answer this but aside from the fact that the Lebanese army is not equipped to face the IOF, the main reason why there was never a declaration of war is because Lebanon has never officially considered Israel as a state. According to our constitution, it is a Zionist entity occupying Palestine, never a state. Having an official declaration of war against Israel would be admitting to its right to exist which Lebanon has never done.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

This is a very good article by Ben White about proposed "Jewish state only" law in Israel right now is no new news: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/blogs/politics/15457-jewish-state-law-furore-misses-the-point-israel-already-discriminates

[Kieran. 6,317]

You hit a cop or don't listen to an order to get on the ground, you're going to get shot. What is allowable police use of force is so loose (reasonable officer standard (instead of the reasonable man standard) presumption of good faith, Graham vs Connor, Tennessee vs Garner etc) that it's no surprise, if fact anyone that has any knowledge of the law knew the officer was going to be no billed.

This is the case that should have gotten the attention this case has as it was also ruled to be justified with everything caught on video. There's just no Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson to agitate and manufacture outrage for non blacks.

You do realize that black people have endured centuries of oppression, especially in the Americas, solely based on their race? So it's not about agitating and manufacturing outrage, it's pent up rage from all of the injustices they have endured. And you're a fucking fool if you can't see that.

[iseah100 5,612]

You do realize that black people have endured centuries of oppression, especially in the Americas, solely based on their race? So it's not about agitating and manufacturing outrage, it's pent up rage from all of the injustices they have endured. And you're a fucking fool if you can't see that.

Not just blacks, but minorities in general. Brown wasn't innocent, he tried to rob a store, but that doesn't give a police officer the right to shoot him. This can be about race, but more importantly it's another case of a cop getting away with murder. It happens way too often. Rioting gets shit done, maybe people will pay attention after these Ferguson riots.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Not just blacks, but minorities in general. Brown wasn't innocent, he tried to rob a store, but that doesn't give a police officer the right to shoot him. This can be about race, but more importantly it's another case of a cop getting away with murder. It happens way too often. Rioting gets shit done, maybe people will pay attention after these Ferguson riots.

Agreed, sure Brown robbed the store but Wilson actually had NO knowledge of him stealing the blunt wraps so as far as I'm concerned it's irrelevant.

We have to destroy the “good kid” narrative. Mike Brown deserved to live even if he wasn’t going to college, if he was aggressive and loud rather than shy, if he had a criminal record. Mike Brown deserved to live, not because he was some sort of exemplary fluke in the Black community, he deserved to live because he was a human being.

18 year olds make mistakes, I made a ton of them. This was a trained officer, if he feared for his life so bad, could have taken the young man down several different ways rather than shooting him multiple times in the head and the chest.

The fact that Wilson made about TEN TIMES his yearly salary through donations for murdering Mike Brown really makes my blood boil.

Sorry this was a bit of a rant, not necessarily directed at you Iseah.

[iseah100 5,612]

Agreed, sure Brown robbed the store but Wilson actually had NO knowledge of him stealing the blunt wraps so as far as I'm concerned it's irrelevant.

We have to destroy the “good kid” narrative. Mike Brown deserved to live even if he wasn’t going to college, if he was aggressive and loud rather than shy, if he had a criminal record. Mike Brown deserved to live, not because he was some sort of exemplary fluke in the Black community, he deserved to live because he was a human being.

18 year olds make mistakes, I made a ton of them. This was a trained officer, if he feared for his life so bad, could have taken the young man down several different ways rather than shooting him multiple times in the head and the chest.

The fact that Wilson made about TEN TIMES his yearly salary through donations for murdering Mike Brown really makes my blood boil.

Sorry this was a bit of a rant, not necessarily directed at you Iseah.

Absolutely, I agree with everything you're saying.

The cop likened himself to a 5 year old when Brown was "hitting" him. Saying Brown was so much stronger. This is a grown, trained man who was 6'4 220lbs. Mike Brown weoghed roughly 50lbs more than him, but C'mon, a 5 year old? Really?

Also, I saw this disgusting picture on Instagram today.

Because, you know, he was a murderer. He doesn't have rights cause of that picture.

[twobanger 13]

You do realize that black people have endured centuries of oppression, especially in the Americas, solely based on their race? So it's not about agitating and manufacturing outrage, it's pent up rage from all of the injustices they have endured. And you're a fucking fool if you can't see that.

Bullshit. Sharpton and Jesse make a living out of keeping race relations in the gutter, on exploiting hurting families, in fanning the flames instead of putting them out. If they spent half the energy they do on that on pushing education and work, maybe they could help instead of make things worse.

It's the racist bigotry of low expectations that would let you think they can't help but act on pent up rage, that they can't control themselves. The truth is that none of those looting and burning give a flip about Mike Brown. It's an excuse to steal and commit mayhem.

[Paul1970 250]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR465HoCWFQ

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Chomsky on Obama and Martin Luther King:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3YeIqpDVwI

Bullshit. Sharpton and Jesse make a living out of keeping race relations in the gutter, on exploiting hurting families, in fanning the flames instead of putting them out. If they spent half the energy they do on that on pushing education and work, maybe they could help instead of make things worse.

It's the racist bigotry of low expectations that would let you think they can't help but act on pent up rage, that they can't control themselves. The truth is that none of those looting and burning give a flip about Mike Brown. It's an excuse to steal and commit mayhem.

That may be true, but racism in the US is still a huge issue that is often entangled with class issues and you still have a LONG way to go towards equality. That is simply undeniable. Forget Mike Brown, look at how the police have treated the citizens of Ferguson since the incident. The majority white police of the mainly black town are using military equipment (which according to the army itself they have absolutely no need of) to cover up the obvious murder of a black teen by a white cop. If that is not racism then I don't know what is.

Of course there are a lot who are taking advantage of this to loot and commit crime, but that does not in any way change any of the facts above no matter how much the police and media try.

And calming things down is not necessarily making them better. That only ensures that the situation continues as it was before all this happened. No one has ever won their civil rights by calming things down. You need rage and often even violence if you want to change the situation which no doubt needs changing.

[cosmicway 1,333]

The Americans are not bigoted people, much more enlightened than most Europeans.

My aunts were Greek American.

But of course there are some hotheads that are really mean.
In the case of Brown the fuzz was attacked but he had no business to carry a firearm with his person. A taser or a truncheon could have been used. When you shoot somebody under any circumstances there are bound to be implications.

[Stingray 9,441]

The Americans are not bigoted people, much more enlightened than most Europeans.

My aunts were Greek American.

But of course there are some hotheads that are really mean.

In the case of Brown the fuzz was attacked but he had no business to carry a firearm with his person. A taser or a truncheon could have been used. When you shoot somebody under any circumstances there are bound to be implications.

The anti evolution, climate denying, media and corporate fueled, science and history illiterate populace in the US (which I can attest to has a larger public than in Europe - after teaching both uni in the US as here in Belgium) disagrees :-)

That post did make me laugh though. Nice cliché anyway.

[cosmicway 1,333]

The anti evolution, climate denying, media and corporate fueled, science and history illiterate populace in the US (which I can attest to has a larger public than in Europe - after teaching both uni in the US as here in Belgium) disagrees :-)

That post did make me laugh though. Nice cliché anyway.

No because although I have come across certain wild characters the Americans are in general more friendly people, more clever and more accomodating. The litmus test is if you like people who are of different political alliance, because if we are of the same stable -say both dems- there is nothing to say. The middle American then although he may have the opposite views from you, he nevertheless respects you.