Arab political culture, to take one example--despite some liberal voices, despite noble dissidents--tends to favor ascendancy through aggression, the politics of the "strong horse," and the application of "Hama rules"-- which all combine to produce a Middle East caught between prison and anarchy, between Sisi's Egypt and al-Assad's Syria. Our inability, however well-meaning, to discuss the role of honor-shame dynamics in the making of this political culture poses a dilemma: By keeping silent, we not only operate in denial, but we may actually strengthen these brutal values and weaken the very ones we treasure.
It's a good piece. (h/t Anthony )
Here's another perspective of Hamas:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/24/why_hamas_is_guilty_for_the_gaza_war.html
Description of Arab tribal culture
There is me.
And me against my brother.
Me and my brother against our father.
Our family against our our cousins.
Our tribe against the other tribe.
All of us against the outsider.
A very good article. The Palestinians are little more than a death-worshiping cult, a barbarian culture that is frankly unworthy of any kind of compassionate help. They have proven over, and over, and over, and over again that they do not want peace. They want every last Jew in Israel DEAD and will do everything in their power to make that sick, twisted dream a reality.
Israel should at this point give up any pretense of being nice to them and just obliterate them. Civilized men will mourn the necessity of the action, but not the result. Israel will be hated by the savages and elites of the world no matter what they do anyway, so they may as well just get the job done now and get it over with.
Besides, Israel will soon have their hands full with ISIS and won't want to be dividing their attention (thanks again Obama, for allowing Iraq to degenerate to this degree and not doing a damn thing about it, you preening useless shell of a man).
Talk of peace is posturing for the Arabs. Every time a deal is seen to be done more demands show up. For the Arabs victory is the only option and they fight like ladies so that isn't happening soon. They have no victories of which to brag, just schoolgirl like claims of mistreatment by the evil Jews. There is another term for mistreatment by Jews. Jewish victory.
The link gives me "Error establishing a database connection". Please post some details so it can be found by search. Thanks.
The World has become a pitiful mass of useless opinion. It is time to stop with the half-hearted attempts and totally destroy all terrorists and those that aid & enable. Stop with the endless political argument & get it done!
The Canadian Academia has a committed faction of Communism that seeks to create chaos in third world countries. Canada has played a key role as the "training center" for organized demonstrations including violence & anarchy.
as one who has spent a great deal of time studying and reading about islam, one cannot, today separate arab from islam. the infidel and Jew is of course a problem for all followers of islam. there are two states in islam, dar al harb and dar al islam, one is war and one is peace, but peace only after submission. now just try and embrace that culture.
I think we are grossly misjudging the muslims. There are about 1.3 Billion muslims and around 15 Million Jews. Using these demographics it is obvious that the Jews are overwhelming stronger than the muslims. We witnessed the military prowess of the muslims recently in Iraq where 11,000 ISIS fighters with AK47s caused 4 divisions of the Iraqi army with all kinds of weapons including tanks to RUN AWAY in Monty Python style.
Seems unfair to me.
"Talk of peace is posturing for the Arabs." To an Islamist peace, just like it meant to the Soviets and to leftists in general, is the peace that exists when they subjugate you.
I had posted this on the "watch for leftist heads to explode" thread, but I think it belongs here instead, as it refers to the special place that the Palestinians are stuck.
It's apparent that Hamas wants a genocide. Rather, that they want two genocides. Only by uniting the middle east (similar to ISIS on a grand scale) will there be a group strong enough to destroy Israel (genocide #2). Only when there is a strong uniting influence will the disparate Islamic leaders work closely together. I think that Hamas wants to provoke ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians. That's why they piss on peace treaties. That's part of why they don't care about hospitals and schools in the Gaza strip and the West Bank, that have the benefit of being places that civilized people won't shoot yet (that's right, there's no moral equivalence), plus the people that would use them have to die to bring about the ultimate victory, so why waste money that could otherwise go to bombs?
That's also why I think that the first Iranian nuclear bomb will likely go off in Gaza or near Jerusalem. To provoke the response that Israel will not give them with the explosive rain currently bouncing off the iron umbrella. If Israel responds to a nuclear strike against them in kind and Mecca, Medina, and Tehran become clouds then the more rabid among the terrorist membership will finally get their wish.
Sadly, if a culture hates others more than it loves its own children, is there anything that the civilized world can do to stop them other than set aside our own civilization and become the strong horse that they know they cannot stand against?
We've all had the experience of the person who, in reacting to some criticism, wonders " why would you say that" & commences to pseudopsychoanalyse the person.
During early Vietnam war protests, arrestees were remanded for psychological testing and subjected to searching questions about their relationships with their fathers.
And the Soviets sent dissidents to psychiatric prisons.
In this example the good professor is just doing his bit for the powerful side in the conflict. Palestinian rage couldn't possibly be a rational response to decades of suppression. No, it must be the sort of thing he studies in his professional career.
Why am I reminded of what Benedetto Croce called Martin Heidegger's "prostitution of philosophy"?
A discouraging word or two about this effort --
http://mondoweiss.net/2014/06/simplistic-according-richard.html
Look in a mirror?
Arab Christians don't fell humiliated by the existence of the state of Israel.
So, if Arab Muslims want to stop feeling humiliated. It's simple. Forsake Islam.
It's either that or go to pieces... via self-detonation or via the IDF.
"In this example the good professor is just doing his bit for the powerful side in the conflict. Palestinian rage couldn't possibly be a rational response to decades of suppression. No, it must be the sort of thing he studies in his professional career."
So who, exactly, is suppressing the Pali scum? Not Israel. There have been 4 generations of these monsters bred in the refugee camps and in Gaza because other Arab countries won't let them in and assimilate. Jordan took some in, and had to give them the boot because they tried to bring down the Jordanian government. (Black September, look it up.)
The Palis are basically goblins that have been deliberately bred into feral beasts by Arab states to be used as a weapon against Israel, and the Jews, whom they wish to eradicate.
Obama's reaction ? Ban US flights to Israel ( until the " dangerous " Ted Cruz forced him to back down ), and a guarantee of aid by John Kerry to the Palestinians. What's next? Disinvestment and boycott?
He should have followed GWB's lead, who let the Israelis defend themselves as they saw fit during the Second Intifada; without US harassment.
A slightly different take on the slow-motion war.
“Laboratory of the Extreme”: Spatial Warfare and the New Geography of Israel’s Occupation
reviewed by Steve Niva* 2010: Logos Vol.9, Issue 1
http://www.logosjournal.com/laboratory-of-the-extreme-spatial-warfare-and-the-new-geography-of-israels-occupation.php
"A slightly different take on the slow-motion war."
Naw, same old BS with a different heading....no..the word "occupation" is the dead giveaway. Referring to "illegal settlements" likewise....
Israel can no more illegally occupy Israel, than England can England or Finnland can Finnland.
The so-called Pali's should return to Eygpt, Syria and Jordan from whence they came....but Eygpt, Syria and Jordan won't let them because they don't want them.