ReynardFox comments

but not once in it do you mention that Israel is up against a terrorist led faction right next door.

facing down terrorists is never an excuse to sinking to their moral level. If Israel wishes to be seen as the bastion of democracy, freedom, and human rights it purports to be (and I would like to see it become), it cannot simply point at Hamas and go “well they did it first”. Part of being a pillar of righteousness is going high, even when going low appeals to that very human desire for retribution.

As for the ADL, they are welcome to call something they perceive to be offensive an insult. But it does not change the fact that what Israel hs done and continues to do fits the definition of a concentration camp - placing innocent people in a tightly controlled and concentrated area based solely on a perceived association with an “enemy group” in the name of “security”. Ergo, treating a group as guilty simply by association. Japanese Americans were placed in concentration camps and the justification was that America was facing an existential threat in the form of Imperial Japan and all members of the Japanese ethnicity were treated as potential fifth columnists simply because they were Japanese. They dressed blatant bigotry up as a necessary measure in the name of “public safety”. It was wrong then and it is wrong now.

the history of the violent actions of Palestinian Arabs and other Arabs against Israel since its inception.

The irony here is that you take the actions of Hamas and extrapolate it to include all Arabs, whereas I specifically distinguish between the Israeli government and the average Jewish person. And once again, the heinous actions of Hamas do not justify a tit-for-tat response. Unless you are okay with people holding the two groups as morally equivalent.

*I’d no longer criticize them.

I said "disgusting". The ADL said "disgraceful". You try to deny.

Not sure where you saw me denying the Holocaust. At no point did I deny the Holocaust. I pointed out the fact that concentration camps were not exclusive to Jews or the Holocaust. To act as if the mention of concentration camps is inherently anti-Semitic is to imply that such things are exclusive to Jews and Jews alone. Which is not true. Using the term “concentration camp” is no more anti-Semitic than is it is anti-Japanese or anti-Boer.

As I stated explicitly, my criticisms are leveled at the concrete, observable actions of the government of the nation of Israel. At no point do I state or imply that these actions are the actions of, or represent the feelings of, all Jews. The government of Israel and the Jewish people as a whole are not synonymous. The actions of the former do not represent the entirety of the latter. Israel is not, nor should it be, an exclusively Jewish state. It is not a theocracy. I made no statement implying that Jewish people as a group are inherently bad, only that the actions of the government of a nation are wrongheaded. This is no different that criticizing the use of concentration camps (yes, actual concentration camps not filled with Jews) by the Chinese government against the Uyghurs. I criticize the actions of the government, not all Chinese people as a whole. Though you’ll often see the CCP leveling the same “if you criticize our government, you must hate all Chinese people” accusation being leveled by them as well.

The long and the short of it is this: I’m not anti-Semitic. Far from it. And it’s easy to prove. If the government of Israel were to shift policies and begin treating Palestinians with the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings, I’d not long let criticize them. That’s because my criticisms are about actions and policies, not the ethnic makeup of the people carrying out those policies.

They don't explain why some are hanged and others used firing squad. Barbaric, regardless of the reason. They should still have to explain the method.

It says the two executed by firing squad were security force members. Execution by firing squad is usually the standard method for executing members of military forces, while hanging is usually used for civilian or common criminals. Throughout history, execution by firing squad was seen as sort of legitimizing a person's military status. There are numerous instances of people who perceive themselves are soldiers demanding to be executed by firing squad and those seeking to delegitimize their claims to being soldiers by executing them by hanging

*Don’t believe in the death penalty, but giving information so Israel can bomb, destroy, kill and maim Palestinians in the worlds largest concentration camp does deserve some kind of punishment.*

This disgusting anti-semite statement shows the reason why Israel has to use hardline security measures to protect itself.

There's nothing inherently anti-Semitic about claiming that Israel's policy of isolating and concentrating Palestinian people in areas that can be heavily patrolled and controlled. While some people see the word "concentration camp" and think it was something exclusive to the Holocaust, it isn't. The Jews of Europe were neither the first nor the only people subjected to being herded into concentration camps. An obvious non-Jewish group placed into concentration camps were Japanese-Americans during WWII and the first systematic use of concentration camps was actually by the British against Boer civilians during the Boer Wars.

"Concentration camp" is a neutral term that isn't exclusive to Jews or the Holocaust and its use can be justified in regards to Israel's handling of Palestinians. The term "ghetto" can also be applied to the Palestinians' situation without it being an anti-Semitic critique.

Contrary to what people might try to imply, criticism of Israel's policies is NOT the same as hatred directed indiscriminately against an entire ethno-religious group. The former is a perfectly valid and defensible critique of the actions of a specific government vis a vis the people under its control. The latter is undiscerning hatred against an entire group, underpinned by unfounded or false prejudices about the supposed 'inherent nature' of an entire group, rather than the concrete actions of a specific subset of said group.

I can’t possibly understand why US military recruitment is down.

Russia's open enemies praise the last leader of USSR. It speaks volumes.

Current leader of Russia disliked more than last leader of USSR, even by enemies. It speaks volumes.

I like the 2nd picture. Here are two men who deserve honor and respect. 

Ehhhh I think a whole lot of Central American civilians would disagree. Ultimately, Gorbachev did his damnedest to keep the USSR alive, but at least he was smart enough to see the writing on the wall. For all his warts, he was actually willing to work with the West in a way his predecessors (and successors) weren’t, and that’s worthy of commendation. Would that Russia had leaders like him now; if they had, then maybe Ukrainians wouldn’t be stacking up Russian boys like cordwood.

Why does China allow these people to visit just for internal political points at the risk of WW3?

Because the only thing riskier than letting them visit would be trying to stop them. What are they gonna do? Shoot down the airliner?

Be nice for the government to hand out stipends to the single parent families living under the poverty line and can't get any additional assistance and work in low paying jobs.

Damn that’s terrible. Have they considered having their homes destroyed and fleeing Japan with little more than what they can carry, to a country where they no no one nor the language? After all, people seem to think the Ukrainians are getting a pretty good deal. Why not emulate them?

Give it another few weeks. Maybe once he gets sentenced or if he gets sentenced it could make headlines again

Hmm? What’s that? Sounds like the noise of goalposts being moved.

Really? Lebanon made him mad? Thought it was pretty mild place, half and half churchgoers and mosque goers.

Right now, Lebanon is a country in crisis. The presence of Christians doesn’t really indicate the place is somehow more stable than elsewhere in the Middle East (contrary what people might imply). Lebanon is also something of a home base for Hezbollah.

I mean, the UK loves exits. So I don’t see the issue with Scotxit. The majority of Scots wanted to remain in the EU, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a nice chunk of people who voted against independence the first time would have had a change of heart.

Ah yes. Because I want the community that brought us SafeMoon to be in charge of safeguarding our democracy.

Correct me if I’m wrong.

You’re correct. What’s more, in what has become know as the Kyūjō Incident, senior military officials launched a coup d’etat. They attempted to assassinate the Prime Minister, place the Emperor under house arrest, and destroy the record of the Emperor’s surrender before it could be broadcast. They were willing to turn on their own “god” in order to keep the war going, even after two atomic bombs were dropped. Sorta puts paid to the notion that Japan was ready to give up even prior to the atomic bombings.

If you want to know more about the Kyūjō Incident, I highly recommend the film “The Emperor in August”.

While I’m certain that the Iranians aren’t exactly shedding a whole lot of tears, the likelihood that this was directed by Tehran is pretty slim. A lot has been made over the fatwa that was issued against Rushdie, but many may not know the fatwa was actually rescinded back in the 90s. Also, publicly stabbing a well known author in the middle of an interview does them absolutely no favors with regards to restarting stalled nuclear talks. If anything, this attack does more harm than good to Iran’s prospects. This whole thing has all the hallmarks of a clumsily planned lone wolf attack.

I never said healing and forgetting are the same thing though did i !

Don't twist my words into something i didn't say and try to portray yourself as being wise.

Your original post was

Have they healed already ?

I sincerely doubt that .

These atrocities are too cruel and unnecessary to be just forgotten.

You made a statement that you "sincerely doubt" that people have healed, then immediately followed it up by pointing out that the atrocities were too cruel and unnecessary to be forgotten. The implication being that, since the atrocities were too cruel to be forgotten, then there is no way there could possibly be healing. You connected healing with forgetting, not OssanAmerica. The implication of your statement was "The only way people could have 'healed already', is if they've forgotten the atrocities. And since the atrocities are too heinous to be forgotten, there is no way healing could possibly have occurred."

Ultimately, I think it's a good thing that these people be able to recognize their roots and take some pride in their heritage. Remember, these are descendants of Japanese civilians, not soldiers.

Or maybe it does? A division of Hezbollah they call the Business Affairs Component engages in global drug smuggling, money laundering and purchasing arms for use in Syria. Members have been arrested in the US for laundering the proceeds of drug sales and international arms trafficking. Al Qaeda likewise traffics in drugs to raise funds for their jihad. 

The Italian mafia also smuggles arms for Daesh.

Like I said, doesn’t exist.

Better check the toilets.

However, it could also be the KKK or some racist nut job or . . . the Islamic Mafia?

Who’s the more likely culprits? White supremacists/Christian fundamentalist, groups that have carried out attacks against Muslims in the past? Or the “Islamic Mafia”, a thing that doesn’t exist.

Categorizing indigenous populations as native isn't correct.

indigenous

adjective

originating in and characteristic of a particular region or country; native

Indigenous and native are synonyms. They mean the same thing. “Aborigines” and “aboriginal” would refer to the indigenous or native population of Australia (and, coincidentally, the non-Sinicized native inhabitants of Taiwan) in the way “Native Americans” and “First Nation” refer to the indigenous or native peoples of the US and Canada respectively

so Japan is going to be halal country...?

A Muslim woman tried Ed to create a halal version of a famous Japanese food so that Muslims can enjoy Japanese cuisine.

Personally, good on this woman for trying to broaden the audience for Japanese cuisine.

Non sense.

If you drink, anyone can sustain any temperature.

If you feel getting too hot, then pause. As any other job or physical activities...

If therr is a temperature limit, one can be sure you will go for strikes, additional demands, suing every day, etc.

You adapt to nature, global warming or not.

This has very “If global sea level rise is going to put your house underwater, just sell your house” energy.

you can see from the pictures, but if you see the video the explosion after the first shot is from the left back of where Abe was, it was not in front in fact he didn't realize immediately while talking, if the assassin was in front of him he could have seen him immediately

so or the doctors are lying or what we saw in the videos is not how Abe really died...

The first shot was fired from behind and missed, only superficially grazing Abe’s neck. Then, in all likelihood, Abe turned towards the source of the bang (like we all would naturally do), which would then have him facing his assassin, who fired the second shot into his chest.

I was thinking the same. Some says that there was no time SS could do something. IMO they failed ugly. After the first shot they should immediately take the Abe off the stage down and protect. However, they turned back and watched for the person who shot. Fail!!!

Having seen the videos, there’s some issues with this idea. First, the time between the first and second shots was less than 2 seconds. Hardly enough time for the security officers to usher Abe away before the fatal shot struck him.

Second, the “gunshots” don’t actually sound all that much like gunshots. It’s somewhere between a small explosion and a car backfiring. Either way, not immediately identifiable as gunfire. That’s because the “gun” used was, in reality, a pair of open-ended, electrically-fired pipe bombs. Given the inaccuracy of the weapon (he missed the first shot), the shooter was likely directly next to Abe, meaning there was no time to react.

The pertinent question isn’t “Why didn’t security move Abe away after the first shot?”. It’s “How did this guy, carrying a pretty large weapon, get that close unnoticed?”

From photos taken at the scene, the gun in question was a double-barreled improvised weapon, commonly called a zip gun. One of the photos shows what appears to be a 9-volt battery, so it was likely fired by means of an electrical switch. The piezoelectric lighters from barbecue grills are popular ignition sources for potato guns here in the US, so it’s possible that was the trigger. That also means it almost certainly DIDN’T fire actual bullets or shotgun shells, since those need to be fired by mechanically striking the primer.

He probably gathered black powder from legal sources, such as model rockets or fireworks and then loaded the barrels with whatever would fit, like ball bearings or fishing weights.

The bleating of an old goat that knows its days are numbered.

I’ve asked it before and I’ll ask it again: what is Russia actually gonna do?

Every supposed red line they’ve drawn has been waltzed over like it wasn’t even there. Arming the Ukrainian? Giving them advanced ATGMs and artillery? More NATO members on their doorstep? Yada yada yada. Every one of these things, they’ve threaten the “wrath of god” over and, lo, I haven’t seen much smiting going on. Unless maybe you count all those flipping tank turrets

Nuclear war? I mean, they can’t even handle what they consider a wayward province. And they think a nuclear war is going to end better for them? Its national suicide, that’s not really up for debate. The BEST case scenario is that Russia manages to survive losing a nuclear war in one form or another and rebuilds. Worst case scenario is everything west of the Urals dies.

To act as if this is anything but the desperate bluster of a sagging old KGB orc, who is learning the hard way that he and his nation have fallen devastatingly short of what his own propaganda had led him to believe, would be folly.

Expect more. There is a massive flow of weapons, hand held missiles and things like body armor flooding out of Ukraine into EU. I don’t use the dark web, but I have seen a lot of screenshots of sales. English operator manuals.

My source is “trust me, I saw it”.

Maybe Erdogan was paid handsomely. I don’t believe he will just roll over, unless his country was threatened with expulsion from NATO.

A bit too late on this one, considering Erdogan rolled over so fast, we could hook him up to the grid and use him to generate power.

One step closer to official WW3.

Considering how poorly things are going for Russkies in their little “special operation” against a single, far smaller neighbor, I doubt it would be much of a war. I mean, unless this is all some kind of plot by Putin to use NATO weaponry to demilitarize his own country, one popped turret at a time, in which case, war with NATO would probably be better for him by just cutting out the Ukrainian middleman.

Whaaaaat? You’re telling me a fake currency made up by libertarian tech bros with more dollar than sense, backed by nothing, and regulated by no one has crashed and burned??

Say it ain’t so, Joe!

Watching the crypto scene as someone with a functioning brain has been the most hilarious hobby I’ve found. I still get chuckles every time I think about Seth Green in a desperate hostage negotiation over an ugly monkey .jpeg.

@Lord Dartmouth

There is no problem. The majority of Scots do not want independence. They voted to stay British 8 years ago and will do so again in about 20 years' time. 

Then it must grieve you to know that one of the major reasons cited by people who voted against independence was that Scotland would have to reapply to join the EU. They voted to stay not because they had love for the UK, but because doing so would mean they could remain in the EU.

It’ll be interesting to see how many people who once voted to stay will now be voting to leave.

And hey, if the nationalists don’t get the results they want, they can just unilaterally alter the deal without it any consideration for the other side. We can call it the Boris Strategy.

You heard it here, folks. You have a constitutional right to carry guns in public places. Public places like, say, the public sidewalks in front of Supreme Court justices' homes.