Stewart is an entertainer; let's not forget that.

But he's damn funny and makes some good points.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/30/jon-stewart-middle-east-oprah_n_5632824.html
Jon Stewart Says The U.S. Is 'Like The Oprah Of Middle East Weapons Systems!'

Who's the real devil in this case?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

If 6 million of your people were systematically exterminated you would want to nip discrimination (in this case anti-semitism) in the bud too!

I think you prove PP's point.

The priority of the Jews should be to prevent the resurgance of anti-semetism-after the Holocaust I can't blame then. Should kids in Gaza die-no-but neither should millions of Jewish kids.

Can you explain how "millions of Jewish kids" are currently at risk? Because all current events point to being Gazan as being the biggest mortality risk.

No one thought millions of Jewish kids were at risk pre-holocaust but they were-and heavy anti-semitic sentiment is what started it all.

That's a what-if in the future, though. No immediate threat.

Prevention is the best medicine!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

If 6 million of your people were systematically exterminated you would want to nip discrimination (in this case anti-semitism) in the bud too!

I think you prove PP's point.

The priority of the Jews should be to prevent the resurgance of anti-semetism-after the Holocaust I can't blame then. Should kids in Gaza die-no-but neither should millions of Jewish kids.

Can you explain how "millions of Jewish kids" are currently at risk? Because all current events point to being Gazan as being the biggest mortality risk.

No one thought millions of Jewish kids were at risk pre-holocaust but they were-and heavy anti-semitic sentiment is what started it all.

That's a what-if in the future, though. No immediate threat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would add that I think Israel is failing "its people" and by that I mean both Israeli's and Jewish people all around the world in the tremendous antisemitism they are creating as a result of their barbaric actions.

It is immoral and incredibly irresponsible and it is the government of Israel that will have to ultimately bear responsibility for any backlash worldwide.

While the Israeli government will have to answer, I doubt in America that Jewish people will be fired from jobs, synagogues burnt to the ground, etc. I do anticipate and see the increase and so-called justification of anti-semitism has increased verbally in this area. I have seen and heard it. I have also witnessed up front tremendous support for Palestine which is welcomed.

This is what makes America great. The right to voice and be heard....as long as you keep your hands and anything else to yourself.

My assessment is that there's acute and increasing criticism of Israeli policy. I think many people have been unwilling to criticize Israel in the past for fear of being labelled anti-Semitic. I think for many people those days are over. Personally, I have not seen an increase in anti-Semitism around me, but maybe that's the company I keep. You mention that verbal anti-Semitism has increased in this area. Could you tell me what you've heard or offer a few examples?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

Would you say America, right or wrong, is looked at as a disgusting country by some outside regardless of the religious beliefs of its leaders, because America has displayed disregard for international or the laws of countries and engaging in murdering civilians in wars?

Narcissism aside, of course.

Also straight from the playbook. No one has clean hands, so shut up and let Israel engage in ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories?

Won't fly, sorry. The killing and mistreatment of Palestinians by Israel is unacceptable and Israel and any supporter of its policies fully deserve to be denounced in the strongest possible terms, whether they are Jews in Tel Aviv or Bethesda, or Christians in Oklahoma.

I try and be diplomatic in my posts and firmly believe that everyone, regardless of opinion, should be heard. But don't even try and twist my words to feed into what anger issues you have.

I NEVER said anything about letting Israel engage in ethnic cleansing. And far as me shutting up, I don't think so as you obviously don't carry any weight in my book.

Yes, I have "anger issues" over Israel's killing of innocent children and other civilians with our tax dollars. It makes me sick. Yet more civilians were killed today in Gaza by Israel, while they were waiting patiently for food and shelter.

I understand that's just another day in the park for you, unless someone halfway across the world from this carnage happens to say or do something that could be construed as anti-Semitic, and then we all ought to be on high alert. It's ridiculous. I hope you'll understand some day who and what really deserves the world's attention (hint: they are not Jewish people living comfortably in Israel).

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:Right now, they are putting kids bodies in ice cream coolers because they ran our of room .Some people call Hamas Terrorists and some call them Heroes. Some call Israel a terrorist state and some call it a legitimate state. Children are children, if you kill them intentionally and try to justify the reasons behind doing that, then everybody will call you a terrorist. Period.

I agree with every you say except for the implication of what is in bold. I am 100% certain that Israel is not killing kids intentionally. That kids are dying is a tragedy. But they are not being killed intentionally.

I think it is really important for those who support Israel but are still committed to being objective to come to terms with what Israel is doing. I have no evidence that the Israelis are intentionally seeking out children to kill. But, it is quite clear that Israel is making no real effort to avoid killing children and, indeed, is making targeting decisions knowing that children will be killed.

Just last night Israel bombed another UN school. We have become used to the routine now. Israel will say Hamas was storing weapons there, or launching weapons from there, that it was actually Hamas that bombed it, that it was Israel, but one of its weapons misfired. There will be a ton of excuses but none will explain why this is the seventh UN school to be bombed (schools not run by the UN have also been bombed). If these were truly accidents, Israel would have started implementing steps to avoid them. Instead, they keep happening. It really seems to me that the Israeli government is sending a message that killing children is not an obstacle, hoping that it will be one more way to put pressure on Palestinians to, in turn, put pressure on Hamas. But, is is far long past the time that we all accept these children are being killed as part of Israel's strategy, not by accident.

Anonymous wrote:

Muslima wrote:Right now, they are putting kids bodies in ice cream coolers because they ran our of room .Some people call Hamas Terrorists and some call them Heroes. Some call Israel a terrorist state and some call it a legitimate state. Children are children, if you kill them intentionally and try to justify the reasons behind doing that, then everybody will call you a terrorist. Period.

I agree with every you say except for the implication of what is in bold. I am 100% certain that Israel is not killing kids intentionally. That kids are dying is a tragedy. But they are not being killed intentionally.

If the militants did not use the area near the shelters as launch sites, if the militants did not use the shelters to store weapons (a war crime, by the way), then shelters would not be hit.

I am not on the ground, so I do not know what is actually happening, but consider the possibility that Hamas militants are firing from the vicinity of shelters...say 20m - 30 m away. Israel responds with artillery or mortars to the launch site. Unfortunately, there is something called Circular Error of probability (CEP). The CEP for the artillery is typically on the order of 10 m, according to http://aviationweek.com/awin/new-israeli-artillery-concepts-technology-combine-0 . With a CEP of 10, that means that there is a 50% chance that the munition will land within 10 m of the target. That is pretty good.

Now, if you launch 100 attacks, 1/2 will miss by more that 10 m, 1/4 or so by more than 20m. So of the 100 rounds, 25 will miss by more that 20 m, but in any direction. A shelter is 20 m from the target....assume the shelter is 20x20 m, and 20m is the closest point. In such a scenario, simulations I did indicate they would have about a 3.5% chance of hitting the shelter. In this scenario, they were not targeting the shelter. The problem is the children are caught in the crossfire, not that they are being intentionally targeted.

I respectfully disagree. With the use of drones, F-16s and an arsenal of modern weapon technology, Israel has the ability to target single individuals and therefore to avoid civilian casualties. But rather than avoid them, Israel has repeatedly targeted civilians as part of its military operations. Israel itself said it, they used the the Dahiya Doctrine which is central to these operations and refers to Israel's indiscriminate attacks on civilians. After they did it it in Lebanon in 2006. Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said that this would be applied elsewhere:

What happened in the Dahiya quarter of Beirut in 2006 will happen in every village from which Israel is fired on. […] We will apply disproportionate force on it and cause great damage and destruction there. From our standpoint, these are not civilian villages, they are military bases.

According to the National Lawyers Guild, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel directly targeted civilians or recklessly caused civilian deaths during Operation Cast Lead. Far from avoiding the deaths of civilians, Israel effectively considers them legitimate targets.

Even assuming that Israel's claims were plausible, humanitarian law obligates Israel to avoid civilian casualties that "would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated." A belligerent force must verify whether civilian or civilian infrastructure qualifies as a military objective. In the case of doubt, "whether an object which is normally dedicated to civilian purposes, such as a place of worship, a house or other dwelling or a school, is being used to make an effective contribution to military action, it shall be presumed not to be so used."

In the over thee weeks of its military operation, Israel has demolished over 4000 homes, at least a dozen with families inside; destroyed five hospitals and six clinics; partially damaged sixty-four mosques and two churches; partially to completely destroyed eight government ministries; injured another 9,080 , including 2,744 children, 1,750 women and 343 elderly; and killed over 1700 Palestinians. At plain sight, these numbers indicate Israel's egregious violations of humanitarian law, ones that amount to war crimes. Israel can not continue to bomb areas knowing that children and women will be killed and said it wasn't intentional. Human beings should never be considered collateral damage, it is deliberate, it is cold and it is intentional!

Anonymous wrote:I would add that I think Israel is failing "its people" and by that I mean both Israeli's and Jewish people all around the world in the tremendous antisemitism they are creating as a result of their barbaric actions.

It is immoral and incredibly irresponsible and it is the government of Israel that will have to ultimately bear responsibility for any backlash worldwide.

While the Israeli government will have to answer, I doubt in America that Jewish people will be fired from jobs, synagogues burnt to the ground, etc. I do anticipate and see the increase and so-called justification of anti-semitism has increased verbally in this area. I have seen and heard it. I have also witnessed up front tremendous support for Palestine which is welcomed.

This is what makes America great. The right to voice and be heard....as long as you keep your hands and anything else to yourself.

Anonymous wrote:I would add that I think Israel is failing "its people" and by that I mean both Israeli's and Jewish people all around the world in the tremendous antisemitism they are creating as a result of their barbaric actions.

It is immoral and incredibly irresponsible and it is the government of Israel that will have to ultimately bear responsibility for any backlash worldwide.

Israel deserves responsibility for increasing anti-Israeli feelings. It is not responsible for anti-Semitism What you are saying is the equivalent to saying Iran or ISIS are responsible for anti-Muslim beliefs. In both cases, ignorance is to blame.

I would add that I think Israel is failing "its people" and by that I mean both Israeli's and Jewish people all around the world in the tremendous antisemitism they are creating as a result of their barbaric actions.

It is immoral and incredibly irresponsible and it is the government of Israel that will have to ultimately bear responsibility for any backlash worldwide.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

Would you say America, right or wrong, is looked at as a disgusting country by some outside regardless of the religious beliefs of its leaders, because America has displayed disregard for international or the laws of countries and engaging in murdering civilians in wars?

Narcissism aside, of course.

Also straight from the playbook. No one has clean hands, so shut up and let Israel engage in ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories?

Won't fly, sorry. The killing and mistreatment of Palestinians by Israel is unacceptable and Israel and any supporter of its policies fully deserve to be denounced in the strongest possible terms, whether they are Jews in Tel Aviv or Bethesda, or Christians in Oklahoma.

I try and be diplomatic in my posts and firmly believe that everyone, regardless of opinion, should be heard. But don't even try and twist my words to feed into what anger issues you have.

I NEVER said anything about letting Israel engage in ethnic cleansing. And far as me shutting up, I don't think so as you obviously don't carry any weight in my book.

And I'll tell you something else, you can denounce verbally all the Christians in Oklahoma or Jews in Bethesda that you want. But the minute you cross the line and your verbal goes to physical, all bets are off. Count on it.

Muslima wrote:Right now, they are putting kids bodies in ice cream coolers because they ran our of room .Some people call Hamas Terrorists and some call them Heroes. Some call Israel a terrorist state and some call it a legitimate state. Children are children, if you kill them intentionally and try to justify the reasons behind doing that, then everybody will call you a terrorist. Period.

I agree with every you say except for the implication of what is in bold. I am 100% certain that Israel is not killing kids intentionally. That kids are dying is a tragedy. But they are not being killed intentionally.

If the militants did not use the area near the shelters as launch sites, if the militants did not use the shelters to store weapons (a war crime, by the way), then shelters would not be hit.

I am not on the ground, so I do not know what is actually happening, but consider the possibility that Hamas militants are firing from the vicinity of shelters...say 20m - 30 m away. Israel responds with artillery or mortars to the launch site. Unfortunately, there is something called Circular Error of probability (CEP). The CEP for the artillery is typically on the order of 10 m, according to http://aviationweek.com/awin/new-israeli-artillery-concepts-technology-combine-0 . With a CEP of 10, that means that there is a 50% chance that the munition will land within 10 m of the target. That is pretty good.

Now, if you launch 100 attacks, 1/2 will miss by more that 10 m, 1/4 or so by more than 20m. So of the 100 rounds, 25 will miss by more that 20 m, but in any direction. A shelter is 20 m from the target....assume the shelter is 20x20 m, and 20m is the closest point. In such a scenario, simulations I did indicate they would have about a 3.5% chance of hitting the shelter. In this scenario, they were not targeting the shelter. The problem is the children are caught in the crossfire, not that they are being intentionally targeted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

Would you say America, right or wrong, is looked at as a disgusting country by some outside regardless of the religious beliefs of its leaders, because America has displayed disregard for international or the laws of countries and engaging in murdering civilians in wars?

Narcissism aside, of course.

Also straight from the playbook. No one has clean hands, so shut up and let Israel engage in ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories?

Won't fly, sorry. The killing and mistreatment of Palestinians by Israel is unacceptable and Israel and any supporter of its policies fully deserve to be denounced in the strongest possible terms, whether they are Jews in Tel Aviv or Bethesda, or Christians in Oklahoma.

I try and be diplomatic in my posts and firmly believe that everyone, regardless of opinion, should be heard. But don't even try and twist my words to feed into what anger issues you have.

I NEVER said anything about letting Israel engage in ethnic cleansing. And far as me shutting up, I don't think so as you obviously don't carry any weight in my book.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

If 6 million of your people were systematically exterminated you would want to nip discrimination (in this case anti-semitism) in the bud too!

I think you prove PP's point.

The priority of the Jews should be to prevent the resurgance of anti-semetism-after the Holocaust I can't blame then. Should kids in Gaza die-no-but neither should millions of Jewish kids.

Can you explain how "millions of Jewish kids" are currently at risk? Because all current events point to being Gazan as being the biggest mortality risk.

No one thought millions of Jewish kids were at risk pre-holocaust but they were-and heavy anti-semitic sentiment is what started it all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning this into a discussion of anti-Semitism is a diversion straight from the Israeli playbook. Israel would be a disgusting country regardless of the religion of its leaders, because it disregards international law more than any other country and murders civilians.

The narcissism of those who want to suggest that our major concern right now should be to nip a resurgence of anti-Semitism is the bud have their priorities very misplaced. Save the dying kids in Gaza first.

Would you say America, right or wrong, is looked at as a disgusting country by some outside regardless of the religious beliefs of its leaders, because America has displayed disregard for international or the laws of countries and engaging in murdering civilians in wars?

Narcissism aside, of course.

Also straight from the playbook. No one has clean hands, so shut up and let Israel engage in ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories?

Won't fly, sorry. The killing and mistreatment of Palestinians by Israel is unacceptable and Israel and any supporter of its policies fully deserve to be denounced in the strongest possible terms, whether they are Jews in Tel Aviv or Bethesda, or Christians in Oklahoma.