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Tom Friedman in the NYT has a column worth reading. His view is that Hamas was deliberately barbaric in its tactics to bait the Israelis into an overreaction of retribution. A brutal invasion of Gaza, he suggests, would inflame the whole ME, destroy the pending Saudi deal, maybe even the Abraham Accords, and spread the war even to Iran. The number of dead Palestinians won’t bother Hamas, he says, that’s part of the plan. But it will bother Arabs everywhere. Yahoo would be walking into a trap. That’s certainly plausible, but the pressure from Israelis for a frontal attack on Hamas might be overwhelming. Israelis are usually good thinkers, and would likely see the trap, but this is an incredibly emotional moment, and rational thinking doesn’t often coincide with raw anger. Who benefits most from a spreading ME war: Putin. And Ukraine becomes collateral damage.

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I really like Friedman and I follow his way of thinking. Like Lucian pointed out, those in Hamas, live amongst the Palestinians. They have shed their clothing and put on traditional clothes worn by the Palestinian people. only DNA from their burnt or discarded clothing, etc., would link them to the attack. I truly think the lengthy conversation Biden had with Bibi was one of caution. That they can show force on the outside perimeters of Gaza but be very careful strategically in smoking these murderers out. Hamas was trained by the Iranians who were trained by members of Isis and the Taliban. But remember when our Navy seals were able to locate Bin Laden? We and Mossad have spy capabilities that perhaps no one else has. At least, this is my hope.

I called the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco today to see if they can locate my cousins. I never got through to anyone, not one real person. I imagine they are overwhelmed. I will call again tomorrow and if nothing, I will contact my congressman.

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My thoughts and hopes for a safe outcome are with you, Marlene, as well as with all those whose families are in harms way. It angers me that this kind of brutality keeps continuing over the centuries.

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Thank you, Celeste.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEmI_FT4YHU

Bob Dylan

1.27M subscribers

2,370,566 views Mar 11, 2019 #BobDylan #SingerSongwriter #Folk

“Masters of War" by Bob Dylan

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Lyrics:

Come you masters of war

You that build the big guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'

But build to destroy

You play with my world

Like it's your little toy

You put a gun in my hand

And you hide from my eyes

And you turn and run farther

When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old

You lie and deceive

A world war can be won

You want me to believe

But I see through your eyes

And I see through your brain

Like I see through the water

That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers

For the others to fire

Then you sit back and watch

When the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion

While the young people's blood

Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear

That can ever be hurled

Fear to bring children

Into the world

For threatening my baby

Unborn and unnamed

You ain't worth the blood

That runs in your veins

How much do I know

To talk out of turn

You might say that I'm young

You might say I'm unlearned

But there's one thing I know

Though I'm younger than you

That even Jesus would never

Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question

Is your money that good?

Will it buy you forgiveness

Do you think that it could?

I think you will find

When your death takes its toll

All the money you made

Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die

And your death will come soon

I'll follow your casket

By the pale afternoon

And I'll watch while you're lowered

Down to your deathbed

And I'll stand over your grave

'Til I'm sure that you're dead

#BobDylan #Folk #SingerSongwriter

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I don't understand why the neighboring Muslim countries won't take in Palestinians.

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They don’t want refugees. They are having a hard time with their own inhabitants, or so they say. Would be a burden to them.

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I wish people would remember that we are our brothers keepers.

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Selective Bible wisdom, can I play?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_(Genesis) EXCERPT:

Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:18–20) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben,[13][14] who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself. Unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed him first.[c] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants.[d] Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph had died (Genesis 37:12–35).

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Anyone in the comments section can "play" as you put it snarkily. Less snark please.

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Wait, I was the one who posted "Your move," Kathryn replied "It's not a chess game," as if the vernacular phrase in this context was "turning it into some kind of (trivial) game," that said sure, "less snark"! I am not engaging with her or vice-versa.

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??? NOT AFTER THIS LEARNING OPPORTUNITY!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September EXCERPT:

Black September (Arabic: أيلول الأسود Aylūl al-ʾAswad), also known as the Jordanian Civil War,[9] was an armed conflict between Jordan, led by King Hussein, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), led by chairman Yasser Arafat. The main phase of the fighting took place between 16 and 27 September 1970, though certain aspects of the conflict continued until 17 July 1971.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel militarily occupied what had been the Jordanian-annexed West Bank. Following this development, the Palestinian fedayeen relocated to Jordan and stepped up their attacks on Israel and the newly Israeli-occupied territories. Tensions began when an Israeli reprisal operation took place in Jordan in 1968, developing into the full-scale Battle of Karameh. Within the Arab world, the perceived joint victory of Jordan and the Palestinians against Israeli troops led to a surge in support for the fedayeen in Jordan. Drawing in both new recruits and financial aid, the PLO's strength in Jordan grew rapidly, and by the beginning of 1970, groups within the PLO had begun calling for the overthrow of Jordan's Hashemite monarchy.

Acting as a state within a state, the fedayeen openly disregarded Jordanian laws and regulations. On two occasions, they attempted to assassinate Hussein, leading to violent confrontations with the Jordanian Armed Forces by June 1970. Hussein wanted to oust them from the country by force, but had been hesitant to strike; he feared that his enemies would leverage such an offensive by equating the Palestinian fighters with civilians. Continued PLO activities in Jordan culminated in the Dawson's Field hijackings of 6 September 1970, when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) seized three civilian passenger flights and forced their landing in the Jordanian city of Zarqa, where they took foreign nationals as hostages and later blew up the planes in front of journalists from around the world. Hussein saw this as the last straw, and ordered the Jordanian Army to take action.[10] *******

The past isn't gone, it isn't even past.

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Thank you for this post. If I had to research this, I wouldn't even know where to begin.

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