Israel and Hezbollah edge closer to all-out war

[BritDownUnder]

One has to wonder what might explode next? Laptops or GPS devices perhaps.

The civilisation (and I am being very generous to them there) that brought us exploding people on Metro systems and in public places seems to have had a taste of its own medicine. The uncertainty of not knowing if your latest gizmo will blow up in your face must be quite worrying.

You really have to wonder what China has put in some of their manufactured goods that may cause a nasty surprise in the future.

[adam2]

I also have no sympathy for hezbolla and related or allied groups, if suffering from exploding portable electronics "a taste of their own medicine"

The situation does seem to be worsening almost daily, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3wy8kpy3eo

I remain surprised by the low oil price, only just over $70 at present. Any escalation into a wider regional war would significantly affect oil and natural gas supplies. Yet the markets seem unconcerned by events.

[BritDownUnder]

Weak oil demand in China is the main reason. Due to weak demand for stuff in the West. The deaths in Lebanon seem to be disproportionate to Israeli deaths. All I can say is that I hope no Lebanese Christians or indeed Israeli Christians were harmed in this madness.

I would still be interested in how the supply chain was intercepted. Must have been false companies and fake online marketplace sellers.

[Mark]

All I can say is that I hope no Lebanese Christians or indeed Israeli Christians were harmed in this madness.

All Muslims & Jews = bad, so we don't care if they die ?
All Christians = good, so none should die ?

I feel this is a very simplistic view of the world...
Perhaps you need to look in the history books at some of the crimes committed in the name of Christianity...?

[UndercoverElephant]

All I can say is that I hope no Lebanese Christians or indeed Israeli Christians were harmed in this madness.

All Muslims & Jews = bad, so we don't care if they die ?
All Christians = good, so none should die ?

I feel this is a very simplistic view of the world...
Perhaps you need to look in the history books at some of the crimes committed in the name of Christianity...?

I think he likes Jews, but I could be wrong.

[BritDownUnder]

All I can say is that I hope no Lebanese Christians or indeed Israeli Christians were harmed in this madness.

All Muslims & Jews = bad, so we don't care if they die ?
All Christians = good, so none should die ?

I feel this is a very simplistic view of the world...
Perhaps you need to look in the history books at some of the crimes committed in the name of Christianity...?

I think he likes Jews, but I could be wrong.

The Christians in Israel and Lebanon are not really responsible for this state of affairs and therefore don't deserve to get harmed in the matter. Christians in the US (and historically the UK) are absolutely partly responsible. So your formulae above are kind of right for this political conflict, Yes. I can confidently say that the Middle East would be a lot more peaceful if there was only Christians there.
I once read a book on what would have happened if the Muslim religion had never arose and it seemed to conclude that the Roman/Greek versus Persian struggle would still be going on to this day.

Supposedly the only Jew in the British cabinet of 1916 was the sole dissenting voice against the Balfour declaration.

[UndercoverElephant]

All Muslims & Jews = bad, so we don't care if they die ?
All Christians = good, so none should die ?

I feel this is a very simplistic view of the world...
Perhaps you need to look in the history books at some of the crimes committed in the name of Christianity...?

I think he likes Jews, but I could be wrong.

The Christians in Israel and Lebanon are not really responsible for this state of affairs and therefore don't deserve to get harmed in the matter. Christians in the US (and historically the UK) are absolutely partly responsible. So your formulae above are kind of right for this political conflict, Yes. I can confidently say that the Middle East would be a lot more peaceful if there was only Christians there.
I once read a book on what would have happened if the Muslim religion had never arose and it seemed to conclude that the Roman/Greek versus Persian struggle would still be going on to this day.

As I understand it Alexander conclusively defeated the Persians. That area was subsequently Hellenised and Romanised.

[BritDownUnder]

I think he likes Jews, but I could be wrong.

The Christians in Israel and Lebanon are not really responsible for this state of affairs and therefore don't deserve to get harmed in the matter. Christians in the US (and historically the UK) are absolutely partly responsible. So your formulae above are kind of right for this political conflict, Yes. I can confidently say that the Middle East would be a lot more peaceful if there was only Christians there.
I once read a book on what would have happened if the Muslim religion had never arose and it seemed to conclude that the Roman/Greek versus Persian struggle would still be going on to this day.

As I understand it Alexander conclusively defeated the Persians. That area was subsequently Hellenised and Romanised.

Yes in the Levant - not in the areas away from the coast though one of Alexander's generals did found a dynasty in Persia - Seleucus I believe. However there were continuous Roman-Persian wars all the way until 628 AD when shortly after the Arabs took over.

I was watching a YouTube doco on the Battle of Dara yesterday and how the Romans and Persians used local proxies to fight their battles. One might argue that the conflict today is still that of Persia (now Iran) and the Romans (now America) still fighting with proxies (Israel and Hezbollah) to gain control of the area. An Iranian pointed out to me a map of the Achaemenid Empire and you can see what the Iranians are thinking about as modern Iran is a bit smaller than the ancient Persian Empire and everyone likes to dream of days gone by.



And some Map Porn (their name not mine) from Reddit.

[adam2]

overnight reports suggest that Israel are prosecuting the war with increasing vigour and may be winning.https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgn5xkp3rko

[BritDownUnder]

Some say the Hezbollah leader is dead. He has been dead in a moral or ethical sense for a while.

Looks like the years since 2006 were not wasted by Israel, while Hezbollah built bunkers and rocket launching tunnels Israel was performing espionage and cultivating agents and informers in Lebanon.

I don't know the future but I think it will be bloody.

[adam2]

Death of hezbollah leader now confirmed. Details from news media of your choice.
That should take some of the fight out of hezbollah They will of course have a new leader, but the death of the long standing leader is a significant setback. Comparable to the death of hitler, which event arguably shortened the war a bit.

[UndercoverElephant]

Lots of bullshit being peddled at the moment about how the West is powerless to stop Israel. Where is Israel is getting all those weapons from? The West could put massive pressure on Israel. An arms embargo brings them straight to the negotiating table. No western politician has the guts to tell the truth about this.

[Ralphw2]

Israel has got the best military spy network in the world. If we piss them off and they leave 5 eyes agreement, the West would see a dramatic increase in successful extremist or terrorist Muslim attacks.

That is why they get away with mass murder

[Forever_Winter]

Israel has got the best military spy network in the world. If we piss them off and they leave 5 eyes agreement, the West would see a dramatic increase in successful extremist or terrorist Muslim attacks.

That is why they get away with mass murder

They have no choice. I don't agree with everything Israel does, but they our cop on the Islamic beat. I applaud their response to the Islamic threat.

[Forever_Winter]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/ ... test-news/

Looks like Israel are going for gold