Comments by "nuqwestr" (@nuqwestr) on "Israel/Palestine: Asking The Questions No One Else Will - Norman Finkelstein" video.
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@tmapache "a lot more" is not very descriptive. I used US Govt published stats.
Your question about Iraq, now that does sound like sarcasm. I'm 69, Vietnam was part of my coming of political age. I protested, argued for 18 year olds to get the vote, and took in much of the anti-American rhetoric of my peers and the progressive left.
The rhetoric of the "Woke" left is off the rails. It blames White European Men, Capitalism, and even Science, for the coming Mass Extinction of the planet. They have flipped to an Armageddon narrative to condition people into compliance. Chomsky called it "Manufacturing Consent", it is now called "Nudge Theory", check out the "Behavioral Insights Team".
The US has never been very good at being the policeman for the world, even worse at covert intelligence work. What nation on the planet would be better at it?
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@Si_Mondo "ethics" is an abstraction of civilization. War is an abrogation of civilization. Both Marxism/Leninism and Fascism are related to Nietzsche's ideas of Beyond Good and Evil, they both claim classical liberalism is a failure, and ethics is for weaklings.
Judaism is the foundation of Western ethics, as found in the 10 commandments and the "Golden Rule", both Marxism and Fascism considered these ethical foundations to be a kind of "opiate" of the masses. (Read Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism 1932).
Attempting to frame war in ethical terms is necessary, but without consequences, it is only an academic exercise.
War is Hell. The US armed forces did not act "ethically" in WW2, neither did my classmates in Vietnam. The Japanese were not ethical, nor were the NVA/DRV. The US now allies with the Japanese and has trade relations with Vietnam. Peace is possible, even without calls to "ethical" behavior in war.
We need more grown-ups in the room, not throwback Yippies from the 1960s.
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Israel is a nation/state, just like Jordan, and can set their own immigration law. Jordan is a Palestinian state, do they have the right of return to Jordan?
Starting in 1948, nearly 1 million Jews came, not from Brooklyn, but from North Africa, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, even India and later Ethiopia. Israel welcomed Vietnamese refugees into Israel and naturalized them. 160,000 Arabs did not leave the new state of Israel and now number 1.8 million, 21% of the population. War has consequences, and the Arabs declared war on the new State, something they promised to do as early as 1921.
The Arab League has 22 States encompassing almost 450 Million people. Israel has less than 9 million, and less than 6 million of those are Jews. Why is statism okay for Arabs but no for Jews?
BTW, during the last days of the Ottoman Empire Jews were the majority population in East Jerusalem, and before Israel was made a state Jews were half the population of Haifa. They are as indigenous as any Arab, never left, and in fact, were conquered by Arabs 1400 years ago, not 3,000.
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@jasonmehlhorn4359 Marx and Friedrich Engels, his collaborator, contributed immensely to socialist theory through their works, most notably "The Communist Manifesto" and "Das Kapital."
Marx's contributions helped to shape and define modern socialist thought. Perhaps I would have better stated it as "modern socialism".
Norman has in many interviews called Chomsky his mentor, both believe Capitalism should be ended.
Chomsky is critical of capitalism, he advocates for alternative economic models based on principles of social justice. He has expressed support for libertarian socialism, cooperatives, and participatory economics as potential alternatives to capitalism.
Norman is framed in this belief, which informs his opinion on the current state of Israeli. Both Chomsky and Norman believe Israel is "Capitalism", and as such, perpetuates social injustice in the region. This is the Soviet narrative which was taken up by the PLO in the 1960s. It is a brand of Liberation Theology, a viralent form when combined with Islamist theology.
Israel is fighting this weird Chimera of Marxist dialectic fused with Islamic Jihad. A fusion wishing for one form of Armageddon or another.
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Anarcho/Syndicalist, claims Chomsky, and Norman claims "mentorship" with Chomsky:
Maoism and anarcho-syndicalism are both ideologies that fall under the broader umbrella of socialism, but they have significant differences in their principles, methods, and goals.
1. *Theory and Ideology:*
- *Maoism:* Maoism is a political and social theory derived from the teachings of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People's Republic of China. Maoism emphasizes revolutionary struggle and guerrilla warfare as means to achieve a communist society. It focuses on the mobilization of peasants and the rural poor, advocating for a protracted people's war against capitalist and imperialist forces.
- *Anarcho-Syndicalism:* Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism that emphasizes the organization of workers into decentralized labor unions as a means to overthrow the capitalist system and establish a stateless society. It rejects hierarchical structures, including the state and capitalism, and advocates for direct action, solidarity, and worker control of the means of production.
2. *Role of the State:*
- *Maoism:* Maoism typically advocates for a transitional socialist state, led by a vanguard party representing the interests of the proletariat. This state is seen as necessary to carry out the revolutionary transformation of society and defend against counter-revolutionary forces.
- *Anarcho-Syndicalism:* Anarcho-syndicalists reject the idea of a transitional state, viewing all forms of government as inherently oppressive. Instead, they aim for the immediate abolition of the state and the establishment of decentralized, self-managed communities and workplaces.
3. *Economic Organization:*
- *Maoism:* Maoism traditionally advocates for a centrally planned economy, with the state controlling the means of production and distribution. However, Maoists have also experimented with more decentralized economic models, such as agricultural communes during Mao Zedong's rule in China.
- *Anarcho-Syndicalism:* Anarcho-syndicalists envision a decentralized economic system based on worker-owned and -managed enterprises organized into federations of labor unions. Production and distribution would be coordinated through voluntary associations and mutual aid, without the need for central planning or market mechanisms.
4. *Approach to Revolution:*
- *Maoism:* Maoism emphasizes the need for a disciplined revolutionary party to lead the struggle against capitalism and imperialism. It sees armed conflict and mass mobilization as essential tactics for achieving revolutionary change.
- *Anarcho-Syndicalism:* Anarcho-syndicalists believe in direct action, such as strikes, boycotts, and sabotage, as the primary means of challenging the power of capital and the state. They emphasize building grassroots solidarity and worker empowerment to create a revolutionary counter-power from below.
While both Maoism and anarcho-syndicalism share a commitment to socialism and the overthrow of capitalism, they diverge significantly in their strategies, organizational models, and visions of a post-revolutionary society." ChatGPT 3.5
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@Ondolite LOL, Kisin knows more than the average Westerner, to be sure, but that's not much.
Here's what I know. The early 20th Century Pan-Arabists did not want a Zionist nation/state in the region. They were okay with Western European Jewish money, just not Western European Jews. They said as much in a report to Churchill in 1921.
There are less than 6 million Jews in Israel, and about 450 million Arabs in the 22 nation Arab League. Oppressor? Victim?
Read the report to Churchill in 1921. It's full of hate and threats of violence if a majority Jewish state is created in the region, however small. That's as true today as it was over 100 years ago. It's the Arabs who have been suing for ethnic cleansing, just as they are doing now in the Sudan.
"Report on the State of Palestine presented to the Right Honourable Mr. Winston Churchill P.C., M.P. by the Executive Committee of the Third Arab Palestine Congress. Jerusalem, March 28, 1921." - Library of Congress
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@AutobahnBuilder ChatGPT definition of the origin and meaning of "Based"
Lil B, also known as "The BasedGod," is a rapper, songwriter, and internet personality who popularized the term "based." He often uses it in his music and social media presence. The exact meaning of "based" can be somewhat subjective and has evolved over time, but generally, Lil B has explained it as being true to oneself, expressing positivity, and being confident in one's individuality.
The term "based" is thought to have originated from the word "basehead," a slang term for someone addicted to crack cocaine. However, Lil B transformed its meaning into something positive and empowering. He has said that "based" means being yourself, not caring what others think, and staying true to your beliefs and values. It's about embracing who you are and spreading love and positivity.
Since Lil B popularized the term, it has gained widespread usage, especially in internet culture and among younger generations, to describe someone or something as authentic, genuine, or unapologetically unique.
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@henrydobson9419 Are you saying the primary intended use, by both the United States and Israel is to kill children in their beds?
The goal is defense of the free world, a responsibility the US took on, reluctantly, after WW2. It's performance has been a mixed bag, some failure, some success. Israel is a success. It's a liberal democracy in a neighborhood with few liberal friends. The US indeed uses Israel as a proxy for war, as it did in the 1970s with the F4s sold to Israel that engaged Soviet MIGs in 1973.
The US is about to ship offensive weapons to the Ukraine as Russian drones bomb areas where children are going to school 18 feet underground, with more than a million Children displaced outside the border of their homes, and 10s of thousands kidnapped by Russia and forced into adoption in Russian homes. In the Sudan, non-Arab children are dying everyday from violence and malnutrition. The world is a tough place to be a kid, and why I'd rather America had the premier MIC than any other nation/state in the world today.
Down the street from me last week, at University of California @ Irvine, a professor was arrested for refusing a legal demand to leave the property; he was wearing the Red Scarf of the Communist "Young Pioneers". America has a viral infection on its campuses, the takeover by anti-American, anti-Capitalist ideologues who teach hate against classical liberal values. These protest will get Donald Trump elected, just as the protests in the 1960s and early 1970s got Nixon elected. The Marxist Dialectic equals chaos, always has.
Marx predicted a transition phase where there would be a dictatorship of the proletariat. The post-Stalin Marxists like Marcuse predicted that transitional dictatorship would actually be women and other marginalized groups in the West. That's the real battlefront here in America, and to some degree, because of the weird allegiance between the neo-Marxists and Islamists, Israel, too.
There are 22 Arab states in a League which emcompasses almost half a billion people. Israel is less than 9 million, with almost 2 million of those Arab citizens. Why is statism evil for Jews by not Arabs?
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@henrydobson9419 Iran would be fighting with Sunni tribes regardless of Israel. Tribal warfare is endemic, look at the recent carnage in Syria, 500,000 civilians dead, or the ethnic cleansing of non-Arabs in the Sudan, or civil war in Yemen.
The Hashemites controlled the Hejaz until the war with Ibn Saud in the 1930s. Both Churchill and TE Lawrence were correct about the place.
Israel is a pimple they cannot pop, to that I agree, but it is not the central issue, which is the incursion of Western Liberal Values into the region. Worth the fight.
9/11 was Wahhabi inspired, enemy of Iran. Motivated by what happened in Afghanistan, not so much Israel.
Again, why is it okay for there to be Pan-Arab statism but not Jewish statism in the region? The 1st and 2nd Temples are material fact, Jews there first, never left.
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@henrydobson9419 The "proxy" was cold-war in origin, as I mentioned, Egypt turned to the Soviets and flew MIGs in the 1973 war against US F4s. Lot's of good intel from that.
See below, the internal conflicts in these failed states dwarf the conflict with Israel. Check out Black September in Jordan and the recent trial is Swiss court of Bashar Assad's uncle, Rifaat al-Assad.
Defections in Soviet MIGs
On 15–17 August 1968, the pilots of nine Syrian MiG-17s and three MiG-21s defected to Jordan after failing in a coup attempt
On June 14, 1976, A Palestinian pilot in the Syrian Air Force, Flight Lieutenant Mahmoud Musleh Yasin, defected to Iraq with his MiG-23 Flogger.
On July 27, 1976, Syrian pilot Captain Ahmed Abdul Qadar Al-Termanini, the "October war" hero, defected to Iraq with his MiG-21 fighter jet.
On October 11, 1989, Syrian pilot Abdel Bassem landed his MiG-23ML in Israel.
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@brandonborgerding182 "more sustainable"? Not sure what that means. The current GDP of Israel is quite impressive. The amount of direct aid from the US is not substantial, and an equal measure goes to Egypt, Jordan, and many other countries around the world. If the 22 Arab League states, numbering 450 million in population, were to make peace with Israel, recognize its nation/state borders, there would be little need for the US to aid any of the countries in the region, which is really tantamount to a bribe. Syria is still in civil war, Yemen, too, and Turkey, the UAE and Iran are financing genocide against non-Arabs in Sudan. The planet remains a dangerous place, my American tax dollars are being spent in defense of my self--interest, so okay by me.
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@afRolowkey "Taxation without Representation", not about being taxed, but about not being an equal member of the community. I learned that in 4th grade in 1964 and never forgot it.
Franklin and Washington were VERY different people. Franklin was over 6 feet tall, a body builder, a womanizer, and most likely an agnostic. He invented two genius devices, one of which saved 100,000s of lives in Europe, the "Lightening Rod", and a energy conserving stove, still in use, called appropriately, the Franklin Stove. He did not patent either device, he was already rich, and gave these inventions freely to the world. Franklin is on the same level as Newton, Einstein and Di Vinci. One of he great minds of the last 500 years.
Washington was not particularly well educated, he failed at a number of early attempts to make a life, but developed a mature ethical and moral stand in the world. He could have been KING of America, he was offered that, or President for LIFE, but turned it down, walking away from power after two terms. Really, first time a revolutionary leader ever voluntarily gave up power, setting a strong moral and ethical precedent for the world.
These are the more seminal things to know about those two men.
BTW, the majority of slaves in the Washington family were not his, but his wife's through her first marriage, You can fact check that.
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@Metonymy1979 Despite legal protections provided by the Weimar Constitution, discrimination against Jews was evident in various aspects of public life. For example:
Economic Discrimination: Jews faced discrimination in employment, education, and access to certain professions. Many businesses openly displayed signs indicating they didn't serve Jews, and Jews often encountered barriers to advancement in their careers due to anti-Semitic hiring practices.
Social Exclusion: Jews were often excluded from certain social clubs, organizations, and events. Social discrimination was pervasive, with Jews facing ostracism and exclusion from mainstream society.
Violence and Harassment: Jews were targeted in acts of violence, vandalism, and harassment by anti-Semitic groups. Synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, and homes were sometimes attacked, and Jews faced physical threats and intimidation.
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