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Today is a national holiday here in Taiwan. It is Peace Memorial Day which reflects upon a bloody suppression instigated by the KMT more than 60 years ago.
And while you can hear the occasional loud speaker commemorating it in the background, most of the political class is focused on the diplomatic snub a Taiwanese delegation experienced yesterday.
After being sent to Seoul to observe the inaugural ceremony for the new Korean president, the Taiwanese representatives were asked not to attend due to pressure from the Chinese delegation which threatened to boycott the event.
As I mentioned earlier this month, despite the harsh rhetoric and diplomatic threats expounded on by either party, any military confrontation between the PRC and RoC seems unlikely for the near-future. And while it is improbable that the South Korean State department will ever change its stance, this May they too will have a chance to reflect upon the anniversary of a government-sanctioned violent repression.
In the spirit of the day and towards a peaceful coexistence you may be interested in: How to Deal with a Threatening Island. It stands in stark contrast to contemporary anti-trade agitprop like this.
Speaking of China: I like comparisons. It is kind of funny to compare things. Take Israel and compare it with the People’s Republic of China. Some folks on this site are absolutly obsessed with Israel, but China, eh who cares?
China’s population is 1.3 BILLION people.
Israel’s population is just over 7 million.
China has a land area of almost 10 million sq. kilometers.
An area larger slightly larger than the United States.
Israel has a land area of about 20 thousand sq. kilometers
An area slightly smaller than the State of New Jersey.
And yet some people on this site are fanatical in their hatred towards Israel. I never hear them say anything about Human Rights abuse in China. You have over a billion people in China that don’t have the most basic human rights but yet somehow, only when Israel does something wrong do people scream and yell. You have a free and democratic nation like Taiwan that is not even recognized by the UN but the Chinese get to see high atop their perch on the UN Sec. Counsel. Something is just not right about that.
Oh, one more comparison. The land area of the State of Israel is less than one half of ONE PERCENT of the land area of the Arab Muslim countries that surround her. But I guess one half of one percent is asking too much.
Tim R,
China does not have its hand in my (taxpayer) pocket. Israel got this country to pay for the Russian Jews to come to Israel, pay for their housing on stolen Palestinian land, and someday we will pay dearly to get the “settlers” off of that land. We have given (not sold) Israel the 4th largest military establishment in the world. We gave them the cluster bombs that were dropped on Lebanese civilians. We declared war upon Iraq because Israel was upset that Saddam was aiding the victimized Palestinians. We are being pulled into a war with Iran because Israel also hates Iran. Our association with Israel helped get us 9-11.
China (with the exception of B. Clinton) doesn’t openly buy my legislators. The Israeli Lobby blatantly buys our Congress and even our Presidential candidates (I watched Obama show off his new dog collar the other night).
There is one similarity though, both China and Israel own our ass. At least China gave us a bunch of toys and gadgets in trade. All we will ever get from Israel is more mooching.
Yes Tim, I hate Israel - for what I consider to be real good reasons.
I can choose not to support China by not buying Chinese-made goods (hdifficult, but possible). Because my tax dollars, taken at the threat of death if I do not hand them over (a possible consequence for not pay taxes) support the state of Israel, I cannot choose NOT to support Israel. There is a difference.
Once again, Tim takes great pains to present an argument that is painfully full of non sequiturs, straw men, and red herrings. I’ll ignore the bulk of them and just answer his last comparison:
“The land area of the State of Israel is less than one half of ONE PERCENT of the land area of the Arab Muslim countries that surround her. But I guess one half of one percent is asking too much.”
Let’s consider the area in which you live Tim. Place your home within an area that is “less than one half of ONE PERCENT of the land area of the” United States. Now let’s give the land back to aboriginal people. We could more accurately reflect the reality of what happened by ensuring that the aboriginese in question are descendants of people who never lived there in the first place, but we can give your house to descendants of people who may have lived in the general vicinity of your house. You can stay there if you wish, keeping in mind that these people are free to beat you, harass you, and run you out of town as they wish. Ditto for your entire family.
I’ve got another suggestion though. Your flippant comparison suggests that this “one half of ONE PERCENT of the land area of the Arab Muslim countries that surround her” is nothing more than a generic plot of land, chosen at random. Ok. Let’s make peace and give the Israelis one half of ONE PERCENT of land elsewhere. At the Arabs’ choosing as it happens, since they’re the ones who’re being strong-armed into this monumental act of charity. Keep in mind now that their new home won’t include Jeruselem or the infrastructure the Israelis have taken great pains to put in place or any number of the little conveniences that may happen to be in that plot of land.
No Swami, the “one half of one percent” of land that I mentioned was certainly not chosen at random. It is land that was settled by Jews over 3,300 years ago and land that has had a deep historical connection to the Jewish people ever since. But as I said, the Arabs have over 20 countries and the Jews have one country, an area much less than one half of one percent of the land that the Arab Muslims have–but as you and your friends can attest, that is way too much. I think you and your friends will only be happy when there is a full ethnic cleansing and the land is “Judenrein” completly free of all Jews. Then the Arab Muslims will be happy. Well, not completly happy, that won’t happen until you and I and all of the other infidels convert, marry up to four wives, and become good little Muslims.
“It is land that was settled by Jews over 3,300 years ago and land that has had a deep historical connection to the Jewish people ever since.”
Your home “was settled by [aborininal Americans] over 3,300 years ago [in] land that has had a deep historical connection to the [native American] people ever since.”
“But as I said, the Arabs have over 20 countries and the Jews have one country, an area much less than one half of one percent of the land that the Arab Muslims have…”
Ok. Since YOU have such a vested interest in relocating these European descendants, how about we nix the idea of moving native Americans into your home and instead we move the Jews there? Oh, never mind: YOU don’t want them either.
“…but as you and your friends can attest, that is way too much.”
Did *I* say that? No. That’s just a lazy straw man argument. *I* said if the Arabs are going to be forced to give their land to these people, let THEM decide what part of their land they want to give. I’d be willing to bet that the Arabs would have accepted them more freely (note I did NOT say “graciously” — who would? You’ve proven that you wouldn’t either) if the people were not “given” existing homeland to begin with and instead were installed in new settlements within the confines of the existing government with monetary subsidy by the UN. Instead, one of the most prime parcels of land was TAKEN, specifically partitioning the land between Jews and Arabs; what the hell does anyone expect the reaction to be but an onsuing battle between the two groups? Then the new Israelis took great pains to ensure a majority population through ethnic cleansing and have done so ever since. If they allow aboriginal people, the Palestinians, to remain in Israel and breed at current rates, the Israeli population will be exceeded by the Arab population and this so-called “democracy” will then be dominated by Arabs and the Israelis will be back where they started.
“I think you and your friends will only be happy when there is a full ethnic cleansing and the land is “Judenrein” completly free of all Jews.”
Refer to the lazy straw man statement above. I advocate nothing of the sort, though the exact opposite is being carried out right now with your apparent approval.
“Then the Arab Muslims will be happy.”
Muslims and Jews have had many periods in history where they’ve lived together in peace. In fact, Jews (and Christians) lived harmoneously in Muslim Spain, despite constant battle for the land. Then when it was taken by the Christians the Jews had a choice: convert to Christianity or leave. Where did the Jews go? To the Ottoman Empire. What was the dominant religion of the Ottomans?…
“Well, not completly happy, that won’t happen until you and I and all of the other infidels convert, marry up to four wives, and become good little Muslims.”
A featured article recently was about a soon to be published book about a survey of ONE BILLION Muslims. Outside of a very small fraction, the vast majority of Muslims have no design on our religious beliefs. Your statement just proves your religious bigotry and hatred, which is precisely what fuels your appalling views. Incidentally, while I don’t know any Muslims who have four wives, one can travel to Christian Utah and find many Christians who do.
Not that you care, but as an American, this battle is not mine, or at least it shouldn’t be. It’s a battle for real estate, confused by the injection of religious dogma, on another part of the planet that’s undergone virtually uncountable changes of hands over the centuries. I happen to see the unfairness from the Palestinian side because they’re the ones who’ve had their land taken from them most recently to relieve the Europeans of their guilt and because they’re the weaker party who’re being beaten into submission. You make these absurd claims that I and “my Muslim friends” WANT to ethnically cleanse the Jews when what’s going right now is the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The battle for this land has gone on for far too long and to think that we have the answers — or that we should suffer the consequences of those “answers” — is the utmost folly of our day.
The land area of the State of Israel is land stolen from the people of Palestine who have been forced to pay for the sins of the Europeans against the Jews in Europe.
Swami, why do you hold Israel to a higher standard than everyone else? Even if all of your arguements are true, and Israel has no valid claim on the land, they still have the law of conquest which has exisited for thousands of years.
Should the United States have to give back all land taken from Native American tribes? Should Australia have to give back all land taken from the Aboriginies? Should New Zealand have to give back all land taken from the Maori people? Should Mexico have to give back land to the descendents of the Aztecs? Why is Israel held to such an exceptionally high standard?
“Swami, why do you hold Israel to a higher standard than everyone else? ”
They are ethnically cleansing another people from their land — not just from Israel, but from what’s left of their own land via Israeli settlements. I also don’t approve of Kosovars ethnically cleansing Serbs from their land and our government’s support of that, but that isn’t the subject here so I haven’t previously brought that up. So no, I don’t hold Israel to a higher standard than everyone else.
“Even if all of your arguements are true, and Israel has no valid claim on the land, they still have the law of conquest which has exisited for thousands of years.”
To some degree — perhaps a large degree — I agree with you. However, that conquest is still obviously quite contested and is the source for the struggle that continues to rage. If my government wasn’t confiscating our money and giving it to the Israelis, those people probably would have worked out a peace long ago. Both sides get pretty weary of protracted battles and your mischaracterizations of the Arab people notwithstanding, they’re getting pretty tired of it too. This problem is much larger than we are and the solution is DIFFERENT than what we’ve been trying, yet we still use the same method that’s failed for decades. We obviously don’t have the answer or don’t like the answer so my suggestion is to get out. This isn’t just about Israel: I want us out of all foreign countries. Battles have raged for thousands of years and they’ve continued to rage despite Wilson’s war to end all wars and all the wars that haven’t ended since. It’s stupid to constantly insert ourselves in the middle of warring factions.
“Should the United States have to give back all land taken from Native American tribes? Should Australia have to give back all land taken from the Aboriginies? Should New Zealand have to give back all land taken from the Maori people? Should Mexico have to give back land to the descendents of the Aztecs? Why is Israel held to such an exceptionally high standard?’
Again, I never said Israel should have to give back “all land”. You’re using extremes of black and white when the answer is far closer toward a neutral color, and in my view we should take a more neutral stance as well.
This is about as good as it gets for the pro-Israel argument. They defeat themselves.
lol
Must… not… feed… the trolls…
I wonder if your handlers realize that they could save a few bucks an hour by replacing you with an automated web bot.
This particular post of yours is so singularly stupid that it doesn’t even merit a dignified response.
Matt,
LOL.
The Classy Freddie Blassie School of Politics lives on. This guy would be a great “heel” on pro wrestlilng. Definition as follows:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(professional_wrestling)
Note: “a heel must always believe that whatever they do is justified and that they are in the right”
This article has nothing to do with Israel.
Perhaps you should re-read it?