Chit Chat

By Ted Belman

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April 16, 2020 | 7,781 Comments »

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  1. @Felix
    Yes, these are the pave stones which have built the road to October 7, where US policy has plied from Israel every consideration for her own survival in preference for the demands of her American masters. Yet, unlike Ukraine, which at this point has little choice in deviating from her subjugation to American policy, Israel has every opportunity to just say NO, to tell America to take her smart bombs, her pro-Iranian policies, and her unAmerican guidelines on how Israel alone should conduct wars and just GO HOME before Israel places herself in the hopeless position of having acted in accordance with the anti-Israel US policy and losing all hope of success or survival as a reward for ding so.

  2. Peloni I have to just add to your great point about Shireen Abu Akleh and present Luria the close similarity of everything about that case WHICH YOU HAVE DETAILED to that of the Mohammed el Dura, which always needs to be drawn in together in every discussion – all going down a road to end on October 7

  3. Peloni great biy of writing in all, your second take giving a more precise position.

    I was little interested in Luria because I was uninformed. But suddenly has become more than interesting.

    Ketzel gets everything wrong

    American expats, know your limits! Live wherever you want, but respect the culture, don’t interfere.

    He was not a casual dweller nor a tourist

    The people who were gathering around this Maidan Square were very mixed. The workers largely uninvolved but watching warily WITH NO LEADERSHIP IN SIGHT. But in this critical cockpit into the fore, in plain view, emerged Fascism. Banderism

    Follow the events.

    This latter was the creation of the coup. The qualitative change in THE NATURE OF THE STATE from democratic to Fascist

    AND SO IT HAS REMAINED

    That’s the context of this ongoing drama in Ukraine and our world

    Implications:

    America has a duty to investigate everything about the death of Gonzalo Lira and to ask the Ukrainian Government for a full report. And the American Ambassador should be onto this.

    This applies to all American parties.

    It’s a huge issue because it tells everything about their attitude to their views as to the rights of American citizens.

    As we go further it will also investigate the position of America towards the Nazis. Particularly on how America took the Nazi Bandera under its wing post 1945

  4. @ketzel2

    you have to understand that in wartime in a developing country, someone spouting Russian propaganda from within Ukraine won’t do well.

    Actually, as much as I disliked Lira, and I disliked him a good bit, Lira was a journalist. He was murdered for his public commentary regarding an American vassal posing as an ally, and his govt abandoned him to his death without the slightest effort to see to his safety. Indeed, I do believe that the death of Lira stands as a contrasting comparison to even Russia’s treatment of Kara-Murza or Navalny, both of whom are still alive after being in a Russian prison for far longer periods than it took for Lira to perish for his invectives against Ukraine and its current dictator.

    What made this matter altogether worse is that the Ukrainians demostrated that they felt completely at ease with murdering this American alternative journalist even while their regime is entirely dependent upon American fiscal and military support. You suggest that Lira should have left Ukraine before he got himself killed because he

    abused the hospitality of a people who weren’t in a position to indulge him.

    In truth, this is the perfect example of Ukraine’s lack of respect for democracy and democratic norms. Do recall that Lira wasn’t caught in the back ally by the National Corp’s brut squad. Rather he was in the hands of the Ukrainian state when he met his fate. His commentary may have repulsed everyone he met, but this was hardly a basis for the Ukrainian state adding him to the list of Peacemaker finalists who have been rewarded with an early death. In fact, while I am hardly surprised that Ukraine’s govt murdered Lira as quickly as they did, I am altogether repulsed by the impunity with which they did so, and I would think that this would be something which all people, those who support either side in this war, might agree upon and voice serious objections.

  5. I found Lira to be a thoroughly dislikable individual with an annoyingly smug, obnoxious manner. It took little time for his vile antisemitic views to be made clear, the second short interview I saw with him, actually, which was related to the Pal reporter Shireen Abu Akleh being shot during an Israeli raid in Jenine (more on this below)

    This being said, Lira, an American citizen was almost certainly murdered by the Ukrainian govt, even while the US govt was actually funding the daily operations of this same Ukrainain govt. Despite the incestuously intimate rapport shared between the US and Ukrainian govts, there was never a single request, much less demand, for Lira’s release, and now that Lira has been said to have ‘died’, there is not the slightest call for an investigation regarding the manner or the cause of his death.

    Lira was an alternative media journalist, and yet the US remained completely silent as his name was placed on a the notorious Ukrainian Peacemaker assassination list, just as they remain completely silent today after Lira was quietly murdered without the slightest retort emanating from the US.

    Yet, when Shireen Abu Akleh, an American-Pal reporter was shot by her own pals in the PA during an Israeli raid in Jenine, the US literally raised a federal case in regards to their unfounded claims that she was ‘killed’ by Israel. The feckless Bennett govt caved to US demands (on this too) and accepted responsibility for something which was clearly not Israel’s fault given that any credible evidence indicting Israel was withheld.

    The distinction which exists between how the US reacted to the accidental death of Akleh, and the disappearance/murder of Lira, demonstrates the selective application of ‘justice’ weaponized by the US State Dept against Israel and away from Ukraine. As I noted, I disliked Lira very much, but his death at the hands of the Ukrainians was nothing new for Ukraine, as the murder and call for murder of journalists goes back to the post Maidan coup.

    His death is a indictment against both the US State Dept as well as the current Ukrainian regime, which is notably controlled by the State Dept. I won’t miss Lira, his antisemitic venom, nor his annoying persona, but I do regret that his murder will be added to the list of journalists murdered by Ukraine with little remark and no investigation, even as billions more US tax dollars go to support the reign of terror used to silence dissent in Ukraine.

  6. @Felix, an honest person can have no exact position on Ukraine, due to the lack of good information. My position is that the war was unnecessary and could have been resolved years ago through diplomacy, but the powers that be obviously want a forever war. Trump would have prevented war and when he is president, he will be able to end the war.

    If there is no peace for a while, I hope Ukraine repels the invaders. Putin said openly that there is no Ukrainian people, they belong to Russia. This has shocked me from the beginning. Regardless of the naughty behavior of NATO and the US government, when a leader says a people belong to another people, this is evidence of genocidal intent.

    As I have said repeatedly to the point of boredom, my brief experience as a tourist prevents me from believing Ukrainians are raving antisemites. Tell that to Israeli Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai, who gave a concert in Kyiv right before I arrived there. Somehow I doubt if all Ukrainians were Banderites, the posters for that concert would have been left up and not defaced, as they would have been in Paris or New York.

    That is my position on Ukraine. My maternal grandfather was born in Kyiv, and no doubt if he and my other grandparents had remained in Eastern Europe, we know what would have happened to them. But the Ukrainians of today are not their grandparents.

    I’ve been all over Eastern Europe, those places are shitholes compared to the West, but they have improved greatly, and I regret the tragic destruction of the wonderful food and fashion culture young Ukrainians created there. I’m not a political science type, but eyewitness accounts are not to be dismissed.

    As for Gonzalo Lira, he was his own worst enemy, and he should have left earlier and not played games. He was smart and entertaining, but not innocent. Let’s say, he was guilty but punished too harshly. I wish he had been able to escape, but he was no martyr, just someone who abused the hospitality of a people who weren’t in a position to indulge him.

  7. Speaking of Gonzalo Lira…I followed him for a while and wanted to be a fan, but it was impossible. When I watched some of his old vids when he was Coach Red Pill, he made so many degenerate comments about women and Jews, I had to give up on him.

    When I later checked in on him, he had apparently devolved further into a Russian operative.

    I think it’s sad he died in a Ukrainian prison, and was no doubt mistreated…but you have to understand, to borrow a useful Arab expression, you have to understand that in wartime in a developing country, someone spouting Russian propaganda from within Ukraine won’t do well.

    He was such a clueless, arrogant piece of work, aside from his antisemitic and anti Israel b.s., he thought he could get away with interfering with Ukraine while living in Ukraine, during a war! A narcissist, in other words. A healthy person would have realised he was in over his head and left long before he tried to.

    American expats, know your limits! Live wherever you want, but respect the culture, don’t interfere.

  8. There is an indication that Caroline Glick may yet enter Israeli politics. If true, I will applaud it for her insights are sorely needed.

  9. In a significant escalation,on Jan 17, the IDF has conducted extensive attacks against Hezbollah in one of the villages of southern Lebanon, targeting their military infrastructure with airstrikes and artillery. This strategic move aims to neutralize threats from a key Hezbollah base west of Kriyan Shemona and Menara in the Upper Galilee, known for their relentless rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

    Simultaneously, Hamas escalated hostilities by firing 50 rockets from central Gaza towards Israel’s South. According to experts, now is the most critical situation in the current conflict.

  10. Hi, Sebastien.

    Thank you for the link — I have seen it before. Interesting find.

    Actually, I wasn’t providing evidence of the age of Turkey, which technically dates back only to the 1920s. The date of 10,000 BC came from radiocarbon dating of the rough-stone wall that surrounded the T-pillars, evidence that the latter were constructed earlier..

    The only dated references in the Bible are from after 4000 BC, with the genealogies in Genesis — the same place that describes the site of Gobekli Tepe as having been near the approximate location of the Garden of Eden, It was also next to the site of Haran, Abraham’s homeland. You recognize Abraham, of course, as having been the ancestor of the Jews.

  11. @Michael I was responding to your post about how old Turkey is. Look at the date. Both posts are from January 14, two days ago. Your Homo Sapiens post is from yesterday, January 15. I have no problem with it. It is true that many of the historical events in the Tanakh and other early Jewish writings have been verified through archaelogy.

    For example, the discovery of Joshua’s altar on Mount Ebal and, more recently, a Hebrew amulet found at the site.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpL9TXFJKKM

  12. Sebastien,

    @Michael That’s nice. How is that good for the Jews?

    It escaped my notice, that you were directing a question at me. I immediately thought it was rhetorical.

    “How is it good for the Jews? that one of the most amazing archaelogical discoveries is unfolding in their ancestral homeland? I don’t know — unless you think ignorance is bliss, I thought it might be interesting, if not “good”. I thought it was interesting — that’s good enough for me.

  13. I want to thank all members who sent their best wishes for my birthday which I’d announced on these pages on the 14th as having occured just over a week before..
    You yourselves know who you were. Very many……………………………..

    Again, thank you all indeed.

  14. Hi, Felix. At last, we’ve found a common interest!

    His argumentation is connected to the question…did homo sapiens come from one locus, or emerged from many kind of spontaneously

    Anatomical homo sapiens came out of Africa around 130,000 to 65,000 years ago. Besides our modern line, there were “cousin” branches, such as the Neanderthals and Denisovians. Long before the beginning of the Neolithic, around 10,000 BCE, these lines had either died out or admixed with modern humans.

    The civilizations described in the video are from the early part of the Neolithic, in the 10,000 to 4,000 BCE range. This period ends with two major events:

    1. the appearance of writing, and thus of historical records, and

    2. the beginning of the Bible genealogical narrative (Adam and Eve). Interestuingly, the site of Gobekli Tepe is in the same area as Haran (the home of Abraham’s kinsmen), Ebla (which had a “King Ebrum”, corresponding to Eber, the ancestor of the Hebrews), and the site of Urfa, once thought to be the ancient “Ur of the Chaldees”. Eastern Turkey is also the source of four main rivers: Tigris, Euphrates, Oxus and Araxes (cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pishon) mentioned in the Bible as flowing out of the “Garden of Eden”.

    The Bible mentions ancient legends, people and other beings, which may refer to the builders of Gobekli Tepe and others. Whoever they were, the only thing remaining of them a few centuries later was apparently the “T-columns” and related artifacts. The builders of the decidedly low-tech stone walls which seem to have been made to protect the megaliths, partially obscured the carvings on the latter — indicating that these later people did not know the meaning of the artwork.

    I just happened upon the presenter.

  15. Michael

    they lathe-worked obsidian and granite artifacts of great delicacy (1.5 mm thick)

    His argumentation is connected to the question…did homo sapiens come from one locus, or emerged from many kind of spontaneously

    He also answers a question no the lathe could not be wooden, to get to such delicacy with a brittle substance it had to have a very rigid structure

    Little doubt about veracity of this.

    Adds to our present.

    Do you follow this presenter? Sadly I was uninformed.

  16. Amazing evidence of high civilization in 10,000 BC Turkey

    https://rumble.com/v46t1pc-gobekli-tepe-nemrut-and-machined-artifacts-of-turkey-livestream-sat-jan-13-.html

    That was PRE-POTTERY Neolithic — the people didn’t even have clay pots or ceramics, yet they lathe-worked obsidian and granite artifacts of great delicacy (1.5 mm thick). The time period was as distant in the past from the Bible’s Adam and Eve, as the latter event is from today. There is also evidence of trade, over hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles.

  17. “67% of Arab world: October 7 was ‘legitimate resistance’ against Israel
    The 8000 respondents, from 16 different countries, answered questions on what they thought about Hamas, their opinion on Iran and Western countries, and what actions were needed by Arab states.”
    By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
    JANUARY 13, 2024

    “The survey results clarified that 19% answered that the attack was legitimate but “flawed,” 3% said it was legitimate but “involved heinous or criminal acts” and only 5% called the attack “illegitimate.”

    ‘…The survey results clarified that 19% answered that the attack was legitimate but “flawed,” 3% said it was legitimate but “involved heinous or criminal acts” and only 5% called the attack “illegitimate.”

    https://www.jpost.com/arab-israeli-conflict/article-782004

    My comment: Well, all I can say is, Thank God for the lack of democracy in the Abraham Accord States.

    “Sire, the people are revolting.”
    “You can say that again; they stink on ice.”

    Mel Brooks – “History of the World Part I” “The French Revolution”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0iAcQVIokg

  18. FELIX-

    When you mentioned Christie, please recall what I said about him. And it happened yesterday.

    ( can tell your future,
    I also cure boils, warts, acid stomach and more)

  19. Raphael,

    Currently, we have ‘messy, chaotic, totalitarianism’.

    Are you speaking tongue-in-cheek? Xi was dead serious.

  20. Last night, Netanyahu said:

    “I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,

    “Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law. The IDF is doing its utmost to minimize civilian casualties, while Hamas is doing its utmost to maximize them by using Palestinian civilians as human shields,”

    “Our goal is to rid Gaza of Hamas terrorists and free our hostages. Once this is achieved Gaza can be demilitarized and deradicalized, thereby creating a possibility for a better future for Israel and Palestinians alike,”

  21. Dany Danon tweeted:

    The news about Israel’s intention to change the method of warfare and switch to targeted operations – their meaning is clear: this way we will not defeat Hamas, we will not return the abductees and we will not be able to guarantee the residents of Sderot, Netivot and Ofat that they will be able to return home safely.
    Relinquishing Israeli control over the Rafah crossing means continuing the ongoing supply of missiles and bombs to Hamas.

    It’s not too late to act differently.
    It’s not too late to defeat the enemy >>

  22. Ben Gvir on X:

    Immediately after the massacre on the 7th of October, I instructed the Israel Police to prevent demonstrations of solidarity with the Nazis from Hamas. Unfortunately, the State Attorney’s Office forced the Israel Police to agree to these demonstrations. This morning the High Court made an outrageous decision to deny me the authority to withhold support for the enemy in time of war. This is serious moral confusion and cannot be grasped. How can such a decision be made that allows the enemy to demonstrate against our soldiers while we are burying the best of our fighting sons every day?

  23. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/the-courts/netanyahu-taps-aharon-barak-to-represent-israel-in-icj-genocide-case/2024/01/08/

    This is the ultimate example of appointing a fox to guard the chicken coup. There is absolutely nothing in Barak’s background to suggest that he will energetically represent Israel before this UN investigating committee, supposedly investigating the accusation of “genocide” brought by several Arab states and the “State iof Palestine” (meaning the Ramallah regime, which Israel persists in referring to as the “Palesinian Authority,” although Ramallah has rejected this name). Probablt Barak will agree with the substance of the genocide accusation, although perhaps quibbling a bit over the use of the word “genocide” and other “details ” of the investigation.

  24. “American political scientist Norman Finkelstein said on October 7, the day of the Hamas attack: “For the past 20 years the people of Gaza, half of whom are children, have been immured in a concentration camp.”[2] Later, in a November 23, 2023 interview, Finkelstein called the Hamas attackers “concentration camp inmates… who burst the gates of Gaza.”[3]”

    “…All of these claims are totally false.

    In the case of Netanyahu, it was an attempt to justify his decade-long policy of funneling the Qatari billions to Hamas, a policy that enabled this jihadi organization to build its military empire and carry out its October 7 attack.”

    https://www.memri.org/reports/face-suffocating-occupation-humanitarian-disaster-concentration-camp-and-prison-camp-pre-war

  25. @ Michael S

    The Chinese have a joke about “suffering” harmonization. Even so, which would you prefer? messy, chaotic freedom? or blissful, nailed-in-place harmony?

    I would prefer freedom, if we had it. Currently, we have ‘messy, chaotic, totalitarianism’.

  26. MK Danny Danon told Gallant, “I hear reports that you have decided to give up on controlling the Philadelphi Corridor, in complete contradiction to what the Prime Minister said clearly and unambiguously.”

    Danon added, “We all understand that it is impossible to defeat Hamas as long as the main smuggling route, Philadelphi, is left open. Israel must align on this issue and make it clear – the complete demilitarization of the Strip includes Israeli control over the Philadelphi Corridor.”

  27. Communist China Shames U.S. for Holding an Election

    Frances Martel8 Jan 2024

    The Chinese government’s Global Times propaganda newspaper declared the 2024 U.S. presidential election a failure Sunday, condemning America’s “low-quality democracy” for bringing “chaos” to the world.

    The Global Times is an English-language publication that serves as a mouthpiece for the Chinese government. It regularly publishes propaganda pieces condemning elections and free societies as “chaotic” and touting totalitarian communism as a preferable alternative as it allegedly offers “harmony” to its subjects.

    https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2024/01/08/low-quality-democracy-communist-china-shames-holding-election/

    The Chinese have a joke about “suffering” harmonization. Even so, which would you prefer? messy, chaotic freedom? or blissful, nailed-in-place harmony?

  28. I’m not hearing much discussion about the Russians in Syria, or the “Hooties” in Yemen. Is the “understanding” between the Russians and Israel holding? Will the Hooties become such a problem that major military intervention is required? If the US wants to have a nice little war somewhere, that would be the perfect place. Forget Europe and China (for now). The area around the Arabian peninsula (Persian Gulf and Red Sea) is where our attentions should be focused.

  29. A new poll conducted by Lazar Research showed that a majority of Israelis (68%) support a military operation to remove Hezbollah from the Israel-Lebanon border.

    The poll, conducted for Maariv, also showed that just 16% support the current acceptance of the situation, and while the other 18% have no opinion on the matter.

    The highest support for a military operation is among those who voted for the current coalition parties (78%), but support is high among opposition voters as well (64%).

  30. The United Nations has estimated that at least 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced by the war.

    Let’s hope..
    My information is that there are only 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza.

  31. Trump releases documentation of ‘Election Fraud in 2020 President Election Swing States’

    by WorldTribune Staff, January 3, 2024

    The Trump campaign team has released what it says is documentation of election fraud in 2020 in the swing states of Georgia, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Michigan.

    Former President Donald Trump said in a statement announcing the release of the document: “I am pleased to share a Report that is fully verified, most of the information was gotten from Government Sources, Tapes, and other Public Records, and compiled by the most highly qualified Election Experts in the Country. These numbers are determinative and, in all cases, are hundreds of thousands of Votes per Swing State more than I needed to WIN that State. If the Republican Senate does not step forward and address this ATROCITY, it will happen again, and be virtually impossible for Republicans to WIN ELECTIONS in the future.

    “Remember, I was not campaigning — The 2020 Election was LONG OVER. What I was doing is bringing to light the fact that the Election was, without question, Rigged and Stolen. As President, and Commander-in-Chief, it was my duty to do so! If I did not do this, I would have been in violation of my Oath of Office, and the Take Care Clause, which requires the President to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Therefore I am entitled to Total Immunity, because that is exactly what I was doing, Taking Care of our Country, and Guarding it from Rigged and Stolen Elections. Democrats are willing to play a far different game. They are willing to Cheat at levels never seen before…

    https://www.worldtribune.com/trump-releases-documentation-of-election-fraud-in-2020-president-election-swing-states/

    The real “insurrection” happened on 3, 4, and 5 November, 2020