Here’s an idea…
How about Hezbollah just gives back the Israeli soldiers they're holding hostage? Do you think that might be a simple first step to getting Israel to lay off? Perhaps, once that's done, there can be an armistice where the Israelis will stop blowing up bridges and airports and the Hezbollah will stop firing their missiles. At least then we can maybe get things back to the uneasy peace that existed a month ago and we can get beck to addressing the issue of the Arab world preaching the obliteration of Israel.
While nations push for the total destruction of Israel, I find it hard to have much sympathy for them when they get bitten back. As Ron points out below, Israel have made concessions to work towards peace and all they get in return is attacks and threats.
I don't want to get into a point-by-point dissection of anyone's letter but do want to point out that Lebanese TV is obviously not going to give a balanced account of what's going on; that the Muslim world doesn't actually believe that an Arab life is equal to an Israeli or Caucasian life but, in fact, preaches that Israelis and westerners are infidels and worth much less; and, if Lebanon has no means or permission to defend herself then where did the rocket that killed or maimed 38 people in an Israeli railway repair shed come from?
What I think is really going on is that the Arab world is spoiling for a war and has carefully coordinated these kidnappings of Israeli soldiers, calculated to provoke Israel to attack so they can send footage to the rest of the world of all the casualties and make a case for how monstrous Israel is and gain some sort of justification to go to war. The dead Lebanese and Palestinians are simply unwitting martyrs for the cause of the destruction of Israel and acceptable casualties to the religious leaders of the Arab world. But I don't expect I'll be reading any letters from Alissar Helena El-murr denouncing the war waged on Israel when that happens.
[REDACTED]
It's more than a game
THE explosion of violence now shaking the Middle East may soon die down, but there will be no true peace until the fear, antagonism, resentment and misery are recognised and action taken to cope with their root causes. This will not happen as long as we - people of the rest of the world - take sides like barracking football fans.
The fear of the people of Israel, feeling that they are surrounded by hostility, is understandable, especially with their historical background of repression and atrocity at the hands of non-Jews, mostly Christians. Likewise, thousands of Palestinians have suffered for half a century after the forced establishment of Israel by Western powers with little regard for the people who had lived there for scores of generations. The US, Britain and others must accept substantial responsibility.
A lasting, wholesome peace will never be reached by military action or intimidation. However difficult it may be - and current events are making it more so - we must all aim at fairness to all those involved and seek compromise and agreement between the currently opposed peoples. They are all human beings who would prefer a calm and assured life for their families.
Robert Corcoran, Edithvale
The missing Mandela
NEARLY everybody in the world reveres Nelson Mandela for the way he brought peace to South Africa. He did this through suffering, forbearance and forgiveness. George Bush, Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat, and their successors, have brought suffering to the Middle East through their anger, arrogance and hubris.
If only these men would learn a lesson from Nelson Mandela, how much better the world would be. And so would their reputations.
Chris Burgess, St Kilda
Time to get tough
It is time to call a spade a spade, and haul Israel into the UN Security Council and make it accountable for this outrage in Lebanon.
No one begrudges Israel the right to pursue legitimate terrorist targets when provoked, but bombing a country's international airport and infrastructure, based on a tenuous view at best, that it supports terrorism, threatens to undermine the fragile democracy in Lebanon. This only encourages extremism and makes Lebanon vulnerable to political implosion that would catapult it back into the dark days of civil war.
The US and Britain also need to forgo, for once, their thinly disguised bias towards Israel and show some robust diplomatic backbone and use their clout to bring Israel to account. This they would do without hesitation with other nations such as Iran or Syria if they committed such a disproportionate military act.
Tim Hamilton, Coburg
Overkill
IF POLICE officers responded to a dangerous criminal gang holed up in a house by blowing up the entire street block, including numerous civilians who lived in the area, the police would, quite rightly, end up on homicide charges. When the Israeli Government reacts in a comparable way to attacks by some members of Hamas and Hezbollah, there should be no doubt about how wrong its conduct is.
Brent Howard, Rydalmere, NSW
The price of weakness
ISRAEL is unfortunately now paying the price for its past displays of weakness. It retreated from Lebanon six years ago and from Gaza last year. Rather than using these opportunities to build self sustaining societies, Israel's neighbours view these concessions as displays of weakness. They have therefore used the land handed back to them as bases to continue fighting.As Amin Saikal rightly points out (Opinion, 14/7), Israel's neighbours view themselves as the victims. Even when land is conceded to them, they still view themselves as the victim.
I despair for Israel. How is it supposed to deal with a neighbour that does not understand compromise and prefers victimhood and hence retaliation to building constructive societies?
Ron Holzer, East St Kilda
Can we all be heroes?
Letters - Opinion - theage.com.au
Stop upsetting a hero's wife and kids
IN RESPONSE to comments made by Karla McKinlay (Letters, 3/5) about Private Jacob Kovco, I would like to say: Back off and wait for the outcome of the investigation into his death. People like you are distressing his widow Shelly and the two kids. Jake is a hero: he died doing a job for his country. Also, he is a hero because Tyrie, his son, said so. I say so and so do all his mates in 3 RAR. If anyone wishes to dispute it, I'm sure his mates would discuss it with them. So would I.
When this is over, I hope that all the knockers will apologise. If you really want to do something, help the kids by making a donation and lobbying the politicians so this does not happen again and our soldiers are treated with dignity when they die. Why do I care? Well, I am Shelly's father, and am proud of her and Jake — because he is a hero.
David Small, Sale
Y'know, the federal government just keeps making this case worse. If they hadn't lied in the first instance about what had happened and then if they hadn't fucked up the transport of the body back to Australia, this would all be fading quickly in the memory of Australians. But because they did both those things, answers are now sought and the minister for defence states that the official enquiry will take six months to complete. That's six months for speculation and theories of what actually happened to fester. Surely, the minister hopes that everyone will have forgotten by that time and they'll be able to dump the findings on a busy Friday coming up to the AFL grand final or something.
What has been ascertained is that there are strict procedures for the removal of ordinance from weapons before military personnel enter barracks that would prevent a loaded weapon casually laying around, waiting to be knocked and go off. Something else of note is that if a member of the military commits suicide, the widow is not eligible for payment of a pension.
So if the case is that Jake Kovco committed suicide, this is bad press for the govt, given that it's an indication that our military personnel are in such a bad state that they are driven to suicide by Howard's decision to lead this country into a spurious war. And, if the widow and young child are left without any financial support from the govt because of standing regulations, Howard is seen as heartless in the face of a tragic situation. Maybe that's what they figure is going to be the result of the enquiry and so they're trying to pre-empt the discontent about the situation later by giving the full military funeral this week.
But back to David Small's letter:
Sure, Jake Kovco is a hero because, these days, the word really doesn't have any value. Howard tells us that Don Bradman was a hero - no he wasn't. He had a particular talent for aiming a bit of wood at a bit of cork wrapped in leather and running quickly in 22 yard bursts. He calls the casualties of the Bali bombing heroes. No they weren't, they were victims. Possibly victims who wouldn't have been attacked if this country hadn't been led into an illegal military action by John Howard. I could go on but I shan't.
Jake Kovco wasn't a hero. Even if he didn't die at his own hand. He chose to play the percentages on joining the army - he may have seen it as a good chance that he wouldn't be sent to Iraq. He may have expected there was a good chance he wouldn't see any real action. He may have expected there was a good chance he wouldn't be injured or killed - and, unfortunately for him, landed on the wrong side of the percentages. But that's the gamble you take when you sign up. For years, the Australian army wasn't involved in any serious conflicts and being a career soldier was a pretty good wicket.
Sure, David is going to be emotional at this point. He's been closely involved with the man they just buried. He can say anything he wants about Jake to try to quell the pain. But I'm not sure that it's constructive for anyone to be making veiled threats. "If
anyone wishes to dispute it, I'm sure his mates would discuss it
with them. So would I.", seems to have the same tone to it as, "I'll see you behind the shelter shed after school with my burly gang of mates... You're SO dead."
If the minister doesn’t deny the use of RU486, we’re all gonna be muslims, people!
MP raises Islamisation fear in RU486 debate
Federal Liberal MP Danna Vale says she is supporting a Coalition-backed amendment to a bill on the abortion drug RU486 because she is concerned Australia will become dominated by Muslims.
The amendment proposed by five female Coalition backbenchers would still see the Health Minister decide on applications for RU486, after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had first ruled on its safety.
Parliament would have the final say.
"I've actually read in the Daily Telegraph where a certain imam from the Lakemba mosque actually said that Australia is going to be a Muslim nation in 50 years' time," she said.
"I didn't believe him at the time but when you actually look at the birthrates and you look at the fact that we are aborting ourselves almost out of existence."
Mrs Vale says apart from the morals of the issue, she is concerned about what she says are the implications for Australia's future.
"The ramifications it actually has for the community and the nation we'll become in the future is not for the decision of the TGA," she said.
Mrs Vale's concerns are not shared by the other sponsors of the amendment, including Jackie Kelly.
"I think Danna's on her own on that one," she said.
The bill will be debated in the House of Representatives this week.
You must be fucking kidding!
Translation: "It seems that our scaremongering about the explosion in abortions that will ensue as soon as these irresponsible godless bitches can get their greedy little hands on the magic pill. Holy FUCK! Maybe they'll believe that we're going to have a nation of terrorists if we pass the bill. Yeah! That'll work. We'll just leave it to the racist redneck fucks to get public opinion back on our side and we'll be able to beat that evil bill."
Actually!
MP raises Islamisation fear in RU486 debate
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