I use http://www.presstv.com among others and also people who are in Gaza right now

Anonymous wrote:I would love to see the humanization of Palestine. But humans do not use there children as tactical weapons in a fight.


http://www.quora.com/Why-would-the-IDF-arrest-Palestinian-teens-playing-soccer/answers/5937254?srid=t6d&share=1

Where is your evidence that his parents sent him? From the article you shared :

The family of the teenager said he was gullible and easily manipulated.

"He doesn't know anything, and he has the intelligence of a 12-year-old," said his brother, Hosni.

Maybe you should wonder what makes someone so desperate that they think their only way out is to blow themselves up. For over two generations the Palestinians have been humiliated and in many cases hunted down and killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers operating within Israeli law or on the edge of it. You would not survive a week in Gaza. But because every day, someone points this out to me. I will tell you what i think about suicide bombing.


I am totally against suicide bomber. Those who claim to follow the final divine scripture and call themselves muslims, must live up to highest moral standards, not to evil choices, and respect human life regardless of the label that it carries. The Divine demands from the follower of His message to work for peace and justice through peaceful means, not through violence or anger. The Divine demands that His followers should never lower their moral standards to the standard of the people who fight them. The Quran does not give us permission to do these things, it doesn't, and I know that there are people going around making a name for themselves, going around telling the youth this and abusing their weakness. It violates every tenet of Islam. As a Muslim, as a human begin, I am filled with horror at images of men, women and children torn to shreds by the madness of people who turn themselves into incendiary devices. And I am filled with outrage and fury at the diabolic forces that seek to present this monstrous, murderous, terrorist activity as somehow sanctioned by my faith.

Muslims always took great pride in the fact that they acted honorably, even in war. They looked with contempt upon the warriors of Europe, who slaughtered civilians mercilessly during the Crusades. When the Muslim leader Saladin defeated the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem and retook the holy city, he spared its Christian populace and pointedly said: "We will not do to you what you did to us."

In Dying to Win, Robert Pape, a scholar at the University of Chicago, analyzes the history and motivation of suicide bombers. Many people who read the book will be surprised to learn that suicide bombing was a tactic that was first used regularly by Hindu terrorists known as the Tamil Tigers.According to Pape, Gandhi's murder marks the first use of the "suicide vest" which has become the tool of suicide bombers throughout the world today

One of the greatest tragedies of modern Islam is that Muslim extremists began to adopt this horrific tactic of suicide bombing over the past two decades. Palestinian militants, arguing that they had no other effective way to combat Israeli oppression, began to employ these tactics, and the image of the "Muslim suicide bomber" began to take hold in the media.

I remember at the time most Muslims I spoke with expressed disgust at these horrific acts, but some added the caveat -- "What else can these poor people do? They have no tanks or jets to take on Israeli tanks and jets. This is their only way to fight."

My response then and now is that Islam is a religion that has established rules of war for a reason. Human conflict is perhaps inevitable, but unless there is a sense of morality among warriors, even among the warriors of the oppressed, human beings will descend into monstrosity. The nobility of a cause is forever tainted when dipped in the blood of innocents. The argument that Israeli military activities kill countless Palestinian civilians is not an argument that is supported by the noble spirit of Islam. As Saladin pointed out, the Muslims would not inflict on the Christians the atrocities that the Crusaders had inflicted on their victims. So next time, you want to talk about suicide bombing, know one thing, I am against it and that doesn't change how i feel about Palestine and its children. IT saddens me to know that somewhere, someone is so desperate that they would choose to kill themselves, that they would think that this is their only option. One day Palestine will be free, that's my hope and we are not giving up.

Anonymous wrote:Nice of you to only quote Hamas, but the rockets continued by Hamas broke the ceasefire as did an attack of IDF soldiers. Hamas broke tjus ceasefire, as it broke the previous 3 ceasefires

Israel bombed the “Al-Salam” area in Gaza 8 minutes into the Ceasefire, 8 freaking minutes. Hamas made it very clear that they would retaliate

It was just too beautiful to be true. They broke the cease fire !! I am beyond heartbroken and don't even know where to turn

Civilians are being massacred in Rafah, the majority are women and children that had taken advantage of the 72 hour truce to finally go outside and people who were trying to rejoin their families in Rafah. For sure the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier will be used as an excuse for breaking the ceasefire. The resistance has killed and kidnapped Israeli soldiers only because they have invaded their land and massacred innocent civilians. The kidnapping took place before the ceasefire. Why accept the truce if they intended a massacre operation?This massacre had been planned, they wanted it to happen during the ceasefire, it is then even more barbarian.
They are sending a message of terror to the Gaza people and an insolent message to the International Community "We rule the world, we do what we want when we want and if we wish to carry out a genocide there is nobody on this Earth who can prevent it."

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told CNN that the latest cease-fire attempt between Israel and Hamas made it clear that there was to be no military action whatsoever, and Israel violated it by attacking houses in Rafah. Hamas is still committed to the cease-fire, but will protect itself, he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/01/world/meast/mideast-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Anonymous wrote:Muslima, a number of us have asked you this but you keep skirting around these questions.

1) if Israel gives in to all of hamas's demands of lifting the blockade, free trade of whatever, etc, what assurances does Israel have that Hamas won't continue to shoot rockets at them? Won't continue creating these tunnels into Israel? I think that's a pretty basic question.

2). Why do you support Hamas and their tactics?

I have responded to both questions in my previous posts that I think are searchable on the site? But to give you a quick answer, one has to understand the Palestinian perspective on the Israeli colonization of Palestine that started in the late 19th century. I think three generations later, Palestinians understand that the Israelis are there to stay. I don't think there is any serious Palestinian leader, including in the Hamas, that really believes that it can make the Israelis go, or that even want the Israelis to go. It's a question of what kind of regime would reign between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean.

Why do I support Hamas? I have said many times that Hamas was created with the help of Israel and backed by Israel to make it the strong force that it is but when Hamas stopped service their purpose, they recognized it as a terrorist organization, the UN doesn't recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. And finally, Hamas is the government elected by Gaza in elections that Jimmy Carter (and many others) observed and said were completely fair and free. I am not a cheerleader for Hamas and do not SUPPORT everything that they do, but I recognize their right to resist occupation.

What is Israel’s end goal? What if Hamas dug tunnels beneath the entirety of the Gaza Strip—they clearly did not, but let us assume they did for the sake of argument. According to Israel’s logic, all of Gaza’s 1.8 million Palestinians are therefore human shields for being born Palestinian in Gaza. The solution is to destroy the 360-kilometer square strip of land and to expect a watching world to accept this catastrophic loss as incidental. This is possible only by framing and accepting the dehumanization of Palestinian life. Despite the absurdity of this proposal, it is precisely what Israeli society is urging its military leadership to do. Israel cannot bomb Palestinians into submission, and it certainly cannot bomb them into peace.

The main issue is that we need to secure the borders which requires that we allocate the resources, surveillance technology and manpower necessary to ensure that individuals crossing the borders are doing so legally. But, we also have to address our government's political and financial support of repressive regimes in Central America, and frankly, in Mexico too . There is definitely a legacy of drug and gang related violence, rampant domestic abuse, and unrelenting poverty in those countries. In the meantime though, what should happen to these children? It is inhumane to just let them outside to die. We should humanize the real-life individuals behind this polarizing political debate, the children don't deserve to starve because of their parents or our government's negligence....

Anonymous wrote:

takoma wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the priest is god's representative on earth because he's taken vows and received advanced theological training.

Only saints can intercede with god. Some people prefer to pray to a saint, who then takes the request to god. Other prefer to pray straight to god. There's no evidence to show if either system works better.

I hope this does not sound too snarky, but is there evidence to show that either system actually works? I don't mean to criticize prayer -- it certainly can make both the person doing the praying and the one being prayed for feel better, and it can't hurt. But the use of the word "evidence" piqued my curiosity. If the evidence is that someone prayed for somethig very unlikely and it came to pass, remember that there are unlikely things that have happened without people praying for them, and sometimes with people praying against them.

It seems to me that there should be some good reason for deciding to pray to a saint instead of to god. The main idea of prayer is to ask for something, so you'd figure that people who pray would want to choose the most effective method of getting what they want.

Im curious about this too. Is the belief that prayers are answered faster when you pray to a saint and they ask God in return?

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The Pope is considered the person who intercedes with God on behalf of mankind.

Catholic here. The above is not accurate, because it makes it sound like Catholics pray to the Pope, and that he in turn prays to God for them. As with other faiths, Catholics pray directly to God. The Pope is considered the spiritual leader of the church, going back to St. Peter. He is not a God or demi-god.

How about confessions? When you confess to the priest, does he intercede for you, if not, what's the idea behind it?

the priest is god's representative on earth because he's taken vows and received advanced theological training.

Only saints can intercede with god. Some people prefer to pray to a saint, who then takes the request to god. Other prefer to pray straight to god. There's no evidence to show if either system works better.

Who determines who the saints are? Were they all from Jesus' time or can you have new ones?

There are new saints all the time. To become a saint, first you have to die - then it has to be proven that someone who prayed to you had their prayers answered.(e.g. cancer was cured without medical intervention) They are nominated by the Cardinals and go through a vetting process before becoming saints. Once you're a saint, then lots of other people pray to you too.

That's an interesting concept. But how can you "prove" that the prayers got answered? Is this just for the Catholic Church and if so, does it get vetted at the Vatican? Because let's say someone in a remote village wants to nominate someone, how would the other Cardinals find out? My other question is, if there are new ones all the time, how do you keep up or know which one to pray to?

My friend lost over 10lbs by doing a 10 day Green smoothie challenge. I would think maybe long term, replace one or 2 of your meals by smoothies?

I would recommend this book . It is free if you have a Kindle and has 40 Green Smoothie Recipes For Weight Loss and Detox .

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CXTMZWC/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_at_ws_us?ie=UTF8

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:I am sorry but the premise of your statement is wrong. How many Palestinians do you think practice honor killing? How many Americans kill their children? There are more Americans killing their children than there are Palestinians doing honor killing.I guess according to your logic, Americans do not respect the lives of their children so why do we expect them to respect the lives of other people? ughhhhh

Here in America, we prosecute people for murdering their children. It is not government-sanctioned.

Yes, we do and we let a lot of them walk free.... But I don't think you want to compare America's judicial system to that of a country that is occupied, stateless and has been in war for over 6 decades. And even if every single Palestinian believed and practiced honor killing, what would be your point? That they deserve to be bombed and killed? Why don't we start executing all people who are suicidal since they don't value life.....

That is no excuse for honor killings, sorry, especially when it is condoned within the religion and by government. Suicide affects the one who commits suicide. Suicide bombers, on the other hand, deliberately kill others -and are honored for it. In the US! Mass murderers are roundly condemned, not glorified.

Saying Israel does not respect the lives of people when those people don't respect the lives of their own, is hypocrisy of the highest order.

Choose your argument. Which one is it? Honor killing? Suicide bombing? and they are not condoned by the religion, get your facts right. And even if every single person in Gaza was blowing himself/herself up, it wouldn't absolve Israel, so that is irrelevant.

So, SO easy. Are you woefully I'll-informed or deliberately misleading?

http://www.feminist.com/violence/spot/honor.html

Israel is correct to defend herself from people who have shown they don't respect life, of their own people, or of Jews. If Palestinians want to blow themselves up, have at it. Killing innocents through suicide -their own or otherwise - is reprehensible.

I don't know what that link about Jordan is for, but thank you for sharing. We will still fight to free Palestine and one day Gaza and its people will be free ~

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:I am sorry but the premise of your statement is wrong. How many Palestinians do you think practice honor killing? How many Americans kill their children? There are more Americans killing their children than there are Palestinians doing honor killing.I guess according to your logic, Americans do not respect the lives of their children so why do we expect them to respect the lives of other people? ughhhhh

Here in America, we prosecute people for murdering their children. It is not government-sanctioned.

Yes, we do and we let a lot of them walk free.... But I don't think you want to compare America's judicial system to that of a country that is occupied, stateless and has been in war for over 6 decades. And even if every single Palestinian believed and practiced honor killing, what would be your point? That they deserve to be bombed and killed? Why don't we start executing all people who are suicidal since they don't value life.....

That is no excuse for honor killings, sorry, especially when it is condoned within the religion and by government. Suicide affects the one who commits suicide. Suicide bombers, on the other hand, deliberately kill others -and are honored for it. In the US! Mass murderers are roundly condemned, not glorified.

Saying Israel does not respect the lives of people when those people don't respect the lives of their own, is hypocrisy of the highest order.

Choose your argument. Which one is it? Honor killing? Suicide bombing? and they are not condoned by the religion, get your facts right. And even if every single person in Gaza was blowing himself/herself up, it wouldn't absolve Israel, so that is irrelevant.

Right??? Must be true because Israel said so....

I love both Edible Arrangements & Islamic Relief. Just donated to Islamic Relief's Gaza fund a few days ago and I will keep donating and volunteering for them. They are actually based in VA and the current CEO Anwar Khan, is an advisor to the State Department as was its former CEO Abed Ayoub

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Israeli officer: "Anything that moves in the zone, even a three-year old, needs to be killed."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/nov/24/israel

And he was reprimanded for doing so.

Reprimanded for MURDER?

What would you do to a soldier who shoots YOUR child? Reprimand him?

And he wasn't. All charges were dropped and he was promoted to colonel.

Unfortunately, this is not the only case of such abuses by the IDF and the punishment never fits the crime. This creates experiences that scar these kids for life. For years credible reports of human rights abuses against children living under Israeli military occupation have emerged but they almost never get prosecuted.

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:I am sorry but the premise of your statement is wrong. How many Palestinians do you think practice honor killing? How many Americans kill their children? There are more Americans killing their children than there are Palestinians doing honor killing.I guess according to your logic, Americans do not respect the lives of their children so why do we expect them to respect the lives of other people? ughhhhh

Here in America, we prosecute people for murdering their children. It is not government-sanctioned.

Yes, we do and we let a lot of them walk free.... But I don't think you want to compare America's judicial system to that of a country that is occupied, stateless and has been in war for over 6 decades. And even if every single Palestinian believed and practiced honor killing, what would be your point? That they deserve to be bombed and killed? Why don't we start executing all people who are suicidal since they don't value life.....

This is better than nothing, unfortunately the "ceasefire" doesn't include Shuj'aya, Beit Hanoun, Khezaa; east of Gaza.