If Sasha Baron Cohen was involved in the production of their publicity, then I think more people would be on Israel's side
almost universal rule that when the title of an article is a yes or no question, the answer is no
So there are some very key differences between the Russians in Ukraine and the Israelis in Palestine. The former entered with a soft hand understanding that its target was a brother who needed help to rid him of a mental disease. The Russians initially fought with as little force as they could have done so while still fighting; they share the same blood with Ukrainians and did not want to kill if they did not have to. This obviously evolves as they find out that they need to be more forceful but that is the overarching essense of Russia's entry into Ukraine. The Israeli behavior in Gaza is one of clear genocidal intent; the people there are not the kin of Israeli's, rather Israel would be happy if they all died and Jews could occupy the territory in its entirety. The Israelis want to do as much damage to those people as possible without being openly declared a genocide and losing all international support. Ukraine would have been finished in a week if Russia entered with its bombers and missiles targetting all powerplants, water refineries, heavily populated areas and sent in all their most vicious weapons with several million conscripts to overrun the country killing anything that moves. This is not Russia; Russia fought Ukraine like a father restraining a demonically-possessed child and he's bleeding for it.You're right that I should have considered seige's statement in the context of the whole conflict and not just the latest flare-up, that is my fault.
What I was trying to do was express a general frustration with what I see as pretty extreme hypocrisy on this forum when it comes to violence against civilians. (Not to mention no small amount of antisemitism since Oct 7, see the comment before last). I remember when Russia invaded Ukraine. I was a lurker at the time. There was an enormous sense of glee on this forum for the destruction that followed, and consistent denial of the crimes that Russia committed against Ukrainian civilians, either in its indiscriminate bombing practices or in more on-the-ground massacres and war-crimes in Bukha and elsewhere. They accused Ukraine of bombing its own people and blaming it on Russia. Time has since passed and such denial has become rare, but what replaced it was an indifference to the human cost and general sense that whatever Russia was doing was worth it to protect itself, regardless of the civilian suffering it wrought.
This is repeated in discussions on options for PLA strike strategies in westpac. It is not uncommon to see advocacy for intensive bombardment of dual-use infrastructure in Japan and even Taiwan; especially Taiwan. This includes things like electric grides, telecom networks, food stockpiles, and water distribution. Are the commentators here ignorant as to what this would mean for civilians in Taiwan? Would they be willing to personally endure the hell that followed for the sake of reunification? They are either unaware of simply indifferent.
That brings us to the most recent spate of conflict in Israel. This was sparked when Hamas operatives snuck across the boarder and massacred about 1200 civilians in their homes and in a music festival. Women were on video being raped and murdered. Entire families including children were killed, and hundreds were captured. Again, the reaction here was one of general glee. People called the victims settlers and mocked their suffering, calling for their mass murder or expulsion "back to Europe", regardless of the fact that 60% of them descended from MENA Jews fleeing ethnic cleansing, and refuse to even acknowledge this undisputed historical fact. Then the predictably terrible retaliation follows in Gaza, and there is an outpouring of sympathy, suddenly human life matters and individuals should not be punished for the actions of their forefathers. Many of the people displaying this sympathy are ones who mocked or otherwise dismissed the suffering of dead Ukrainian and Israeli civilians.
And nobody calls out or even acknowledges this. It's the same behavior Americans display and are hated for; only caring about life when it benefits them geopolitically, and showing a total disregard for it otherwise. And the worst part is that Israel/Palestine does not even implicate China in any meaningful way, it just wants to buy oil from Arab countries and agrotech from Israel, it has no political stake in this. But many forum-goers make up a stake to accommodate their own biases.
Juan Guaido: *Readies declaration* *Breathing intensifies*
After watching football yesterday, I realized something.
The United States will attack someone in the Middle East again. They will do it.
However, they do not want to appear to be belligerent. Therefore, they have to paint China as being equally as belligerent.
That is why the Philippines make these resupply runs every two days. That makes no sense. That is a propaganda show they were told to do.
And as we have seen in other media, official outlets, and social media, (last few days), there is a push to paint China as belligerent, when nothing really has happened, other than that BRI Forum, which really is the most important thing to happen in regards to China the last few months.
So I think the chances of more direct American military action in the Middle East is rather high, and I fully expect it.
As for the propaganda, none of this is going to work.
One side brings the world together to make more deals. The other side drops bombs, sometimes on those same countries that came to China for the BRI Forum.
People are stupid, but not that stupid.
The United States is not in a good place right now.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Bhutanese Foreign Minister Tandi Dorji in Beijing on Monday, who was in China for China-Bhutan boundary talks.
Wang said that China and Bhutan enjoy a profound traditional friendship. The conclusion of boundary negotiations and the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Bhutan fully serve the long-term and fundamental interests of the Bhutanese state and nation. China is willing to work with Bhutan to meet each other halfway, seize the historical opportunity, complete this important process as soon as possible, and develop China-Bhutan friendly relations in legal form, he noted.
is more than 600 kilometers long. Disputed areas are mainly located on the western and northern parts of the border, covering about 5,000 square kilometers, according to analysts.
Boundary negotiations started in 1984 and lasted for nearly 40 years before the two signed a memorandum of understanding on a Three-Step Roadmap in 2021.
Tandi on Monday said that the relationship between Bhutan and China has traditionally been friendly, and thanked China for its strong support and assistance to his country. Bhutan firmly adheres to the one-China principle and is willing to work together with China to strive for an early resolution of the border issue and promote the political process of establishing diplomatic relations.
China needs to formalize borders with Bhutan, built more infrastructure with Bhutan then help them kick the Indians out.However, to India’s relief, the 25th Round of China-Bhutan Boundary Talk has still not taken place despite intentions expressed at the 12th EGM held three months back on May 23 in Thimphu. These talks, of great interest to India, have not taken place since 2016.