((peace vibes to the middle east))

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

little worried about this one.

[afro poppa]

yea me 2

((good peace vibes)))

[Birdy]

me three!

[edger]

So depressing...

((((peace, security, understanding)))

For what it's worth...

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

I realize that its been quite sometime since I have posted any sort of personal thought. Quite some time ago, I came to the realization that this is not the place where I should share my opinions on subjects because you should never share an opinion that is not respected. On this board, I am a relative stranger to the overwhelming majority; and nobody cares about what some dude thinks about this or that, especially when it conflicts with another more prominant character on board, and rightly so!!! I have never been one to have scrupples, and sometimes it takes me a while to realize obvious situations. Anyhow, tonight I am going to make an exception, for the simple reason of fact that I don't want to lose what I am thinking in my head at the moment. I want to share it, and to be honest, I am at home alone at the present time, and its too late to contact anyone else, so, whoever opens this thread will be in danger of listening to my pointless rant....

Ok, first, this is obviously related to the topic, I am a little concerned about the happenings in Lebanon, and Israel over the past few days, my main concern/fear is how far this conflict could escalate, and the obvious reprocutions that would follow.

About ten days ago I rented a couple of flicks from blockbuster.. Yes, I am a very big fan of NO MORE LATE FEWS---yeehaw.

I should mention that I am a big, big fan of foreign politics, especially the politics of the United States. I studied in depth, both American history and literature, and I have always had a keen interest in their politics.

Well, that evening I rented a couple of politically motivated flicks... One was "Syriana"--which is a great flick, rather enjoyed it... The second is a documentary called "Why We Fight". Which I have procrastinating watching until this evening. I find as a general rule of thumb, you need to be in the mood to watch a documentary and I would suggest that the news of the past couple of days put me in the right mood.

The film is good, there was no shocking discoveries made, I have heard most of this before as have most of you, i would predict. However, their were some interesting stories, and twists, and suggestions made that the U.S. is fighting for the wrong reasons.... It almost seems redundant, but, at the same time, I find that sometimes you need a reminder to what is going on out there. As mentioned in the movie, the people of the U.S. (and Canada) suffer from amnesia.

Anyways, the point of this story, has more to do with a matter of coincidence and how that has made me think... During the later stages of the film, during a moment that alludes to the Middle East, they play part of a song in the background, a song I am familiar with, because I have the CD. Its from Leftfield---Leftism, I can't remember the name of the song by heart, but, I am listening to the CD as I type, so, I might be able to provide that information later on.

Well, I have been a pretty lucky cat in my days. i had the wonderful opportunity to do some traveling in my past, and on one particular excursion, I ended up in Israel. When the song came on in the background, I recognized it and it immediately reminded me of a particular moment of my travels. I took a walk down to the beaches of Haifa on the Meditteranean, and I listened to this CD, and it invoked dreams, thoughts, visions in my head of conflict, and war. I remember watching a warplane fly overhead, and I thought about the conflicts of Israel's past, and the issues of that time....

Today, I watched on CNN, that rockets were launched at Haifa from Southern Lebanon, and I heard that Israel was warning that if such an attack was taken out, their would be major reprocutions...

I am under no illusion that this is nothing more than a coincidence, however, because I have a lively imagination, and I do tend to get a worry a little too much at times, this has hightened my concern. I don't want to alarm anyone else, and I don't want to consume myself with thoughts of happenings elsewhere that happen on a regular basis, I want to sleep well, I want to golf tomorrow, have a nice bbq with friends and hopefully have sex.

But, perhaps, taking aside a few minutes to contemplate what is going on, and to think of where things may be going, and to realize that when I was in Israel, I came into contact with nothing but good people. I didn't recognize differences, I had a wonderful experience, and i would hate to see such a wonderful place with two amazing cultures be separated, destroyed, maimed, marked, by terrible atrocities that incite actions of revenge against a neighbour. On the news tonight, a spokesperson for Arabic media, put things into perspective. Escalation of this conflict will only encite more hate, hurt, and fuel for future extremists on both sides. I wish somehow, (I need to interrupt and recognize the fact that I speak not only from the voice of ignorance, but of hypocricy as well, since I don't shy away from conflict when I shoul-- however...) that light can be shed on this situation, and a realization that tolerance, acceptance, and communication is a far more effective approach to co-existance.

that is all, good night, and Peace---out.

oh, the title of the song is "Inspection--check one"

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

I think you're right, that there are good, insightful people everywhere, and expect that most people in the region (as elsewhere in conflict) have that sort of understanding, that things could settle down if they were given a chance. What's going on these days is a bunch of bloody sabre rattling undertaken by people whose hope it is to stoke the paranoia, hatred, and resentment in ordinary people on each side, because they see ripe opportunities for escalation; I always see the challenge for everyone else lying in resisting that temptation.

Cue Yoda...

[Boochawan]

((((dialogue))))

[MarcO]

I realize that its been quite sometime since I have posted any sort of personal thought. Quite some time ago, I came to the realization that this is not the place where I should share my opinions on subjects because you should never share an opinion that is not respected. On this board, I am a relative stranger to the overwhelming majority; and nobody cares about what some dude thinks about this or that, especially when it conflicts with another more prominant character on board, and rightly so!!! I have never been one to have scrupples, and sometimes it takes me a while to realize obvious situations. Anyhow, tonight I am going to make an exception, for the simple reason of fact that I don't want to lose what I am thinking in my head at the moment. I want to share it, and to be honest, I am at home alone at the present time, and its too late to contact anyone else, so, whoever opens this thread will be in danger of listening to my pointless rant....

Ok, first, this is obviously related to the topic, I am a little concerned about the happenings in Lebanon, and Israel over the past few days, my main concern/fear is how far this conflict could escalate, and the obvious reprocutions that would follow.

About ten days ago I rented a couple of flicks from blockbuster.. Yes, I am a very big fan of NO MORE LATE FEWS---yeehaw.

I should mention that I am a big, big fan of foreign politics, especially the politics of the United States. I studied in depth, both American history and literature, and I have always had a keen interest in their politics.

Well, that evening I rented a couple of politically motivated flicks... One was "Syriana"--which is a great flick, rather enjoyed it... The second is a documentary called "Why We Fight". Which I have procrastinating watching until this evening. I find as a general rule of thumb, you need to be in the mood to watch a documentary and I would suggest that the news of the past couple of days put me in the right mood.

The film is good, there was no shocking discoveries made, I have heard most of this before as have most of you, i would predict. However, their were some interesting stories, and twists, and suggestions made that the U.S. is fighting for the wrong reasons.... It almost seems redundant, but, at the same time, I find that sometimes you need a reminder to what is going on out there. As mentioned in the movie, the people of the U.S. (and Canada) suffer from amnesia.

Anyways, the point of this story, has more to do with a matter of coincidence and how that has made me think... During the later stages of the film, during a moment that alludes to the Middle East, they play part of a song in the background, a song I am familiar with, because I have the CD. Its from Leftfield---Leftism, I can't remember the name of the song by heart, but, I am listening to the CD as I type, so, I might be able to provide that information later on.

Well, I have been a pretty lucky cat in my days. i had the wonderful opportunity to do some traveling in my past, and on one particular excursion, I ended up in Israel. When the song came on in the background, I recognized it and it immediately reminded me of a particular moment of my travels. I took a walk down to the beaches of Haifa on the Meditteranean, and I listened to this CD, and it invoked dreams, thoughts, visions in my head of conflict, and war. I remember watching a warplane fly overhead, and I thought about the conflicts of Israel's past, and the issues of that time....

Today, I watched on CNN, that rockets were launched at Haifa from Southern Lebanon, and I heard that Israel was warning that if such an attack was taken out, their would be major reprocutions...

I am under no illusion that this is nothing more than a coincidence, however, because I have a lively imagination, and I do tend to get a worry a little too much at times, this has hightened my concern. I don't want to alarm anyone else, and I don't want to consume myself with thoughts of happenings elsewhere that happen on a regular basis, I want to sleep well, I want to golf tomorrow, have a nice bbq with friends and hopefully have sex.

But, perhaps, taking aside a few minutes to contemplate what is going on, and to think of where things may be going, and to realize that when I was in Israel, I came into contact with nothing but good people. I didn't recognize differences, I had a wonderful experience, and i would hate to see such a wonderful place with two amazing cultures be separated, destroyed, maimed, marked, by terrible atrocities that incite actions of revenge against a neighbour. On the news tonight, a spokesperson for Arabic media, put things into perspective. Escalation of this conflict will only encite more hate, hurt, and fuel for future extremists on both sides. I wish somehow, (I need to interrupt and recognize the fact that I speak not only from the voice of ignorance, but of hypocricy as well, since I don't shy away from conflict when I shoul-- however...) that light can be shed on this situation, and a realization that tolerance, acceptance, and communication is a far more effective approach to co-existance.

that is all, good night, and Peace---out.

oh, the title of the song is "Inspection--check one"

yes, I agree. Blockbuster's no-late fee policy is good and war is bad.

[ollie]

I realize that its been quite sometime since I have posted any sort of personal thought. Quite some time ago, I came to the realization that this is not the place where I should share my opinions on subjects because you should never share an opinion that is not respected. On this board, I am a relative stranger to the overwhelming majority; and nobody cares about what some dude thinks about this or that, especially when it conflicts with another more prominant character on board, and rightly so!!! I have never been one to have scrupples, and sometimes it takes me a while to realize obvious situations. Anyhow, tonight I am going to make an exception, for the simple reason of fact that I don't want to lose what I am thinking in my head at the moment. I want to share it, and to be honest, I am at home alone at the present time, and its too late to contact anyone else, so, whoever opens this thread will be in danger of listening to my pointless rant....

FWIW, I appreciate what you bring to the board. Please don't let fear of disagreement stop you from posting.

[AdamH]

Regardless of where you stand politically on the middle east we can all agree this is a terrible thing to be happening.

It's Stanley Milgram's Experiment that I always come back to in violent and war-like situations when I'm wondering why people would follow along with something that just ain't right.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

It's Stanley Milgram's Experiment that I always come back to in violent and war-like situations when I'm wondering why people would follow along with something that just ain't right.

I totally agree. I think the number of people who start off deranged and setting out to do violence is relatively small; it's when they develop a system from it and then slot people in to do the work that things escalate geometrically.

As Julian Huxley once said, obedience is the weak link in the chain.

[Birdy]

dos, i hear what you're saying.

i kinda feel the same way you do about posting on the board, and the uneasiness of how what you think will be received. a lot of my thoughts have generally gone 'against the grain' around here and there's been times when i would question if it really was worth it all. but then i'd remind myself that without difference of opinion, or alternate viewpoints, the world would be awash. it would be an army of zombies always chanting the same message, without ever being given the opportunity to learn something new or to grow. so i post away. and although i don't think this board or anyone's viewpoints on this board have changed mine, i've definately learned a lot from being around here and that's what it really should all be about.

last night lebanon and india got bombed really, really badly and a lot of innocent people died. tensions are heightened in the scariest region of the world to the brink of world war, and this thread hasn't received enough views.

your message in your post is a damn good one. people, regardless of opinion, regardless of viewpoint, regardless of whatever, are ultimately people with souls, capable of compassion and capable of understanding. unfortunately a sea of politics and circumstance sometimes muddies up our capabilities and we get carried away. but ultimately, whether getting carried away takes us to our deathbeds or not, there will come a point where each and every one of us will come back to the basic understanding of human life and what our purpose on the earth truly is. we can only hope that moment comes before the last breath.

so basically how i live my life, or at least try to, is to be accepting of these differences that make us who we are, to show a little about myself and how i think, and look for others to do the same. to listen to someone else on a level playing field and work past any sort of differences, because no matter what the outcome is to be, one day, we all die and there's nothing you, nor i, nor gw, nor the palestinian army can do about it. war is, and always will be futile when you're eighty years old and dying.

so don't shy away from posting, dos. promote awareness, let others learn from you. i know we've disagreed in the past, but i've always enjoyed reading what you write. life is too short not to be heard.

ps. no more late fees is a LIE! i (unfortunately didn't read the fine print) owe blockbuster the complete cost of a movie as i didn't return it for almost two weeks..

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

And No.Dos, I do hope too that you won't be holding back any posts; I know I've always enjoyed reading them.

And what about those self-erasing dvd's the folks at Lacklustre video were threatening us with a while ago?

[ggrtrhhrtgg]

thanks, just sharing my thoughts on the fact that I think I speak my mind a little too much... however, i don't want to draw attention away from the middle east, that's my concern... hoping this weekend brings good thoughts, motions, and actions to a place that desperately needs it right now!

self erasing CDs??? man, that's a little harsh!

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

The language, for its part, shows no sign of going anywhere but down.

Hezbollah leader vows 'open war' on Israel

"You want an open war, we will go to the open war," he said, according to reports. "We are ready for it. War, war on every level."

Less than an hour before the audiotape aired, witnesses in Beirut reported at least four loud booms in the city's southern Haret Hreik neighbourhood, the site of Hezbollah's headquarters. It was not clear whether the missiles came from Israeli planes or warships.

The attack on the headquarters came amid reports an Israeli woman and a four-year-old girl were killed by a Hezbollah rocket in the northern Israeli town of Meron.

Etc.