Spike

Of course sports washing is real, how naive do you have to be to rubbish the concept of positive association and reinforcement? It's one of the most basic mind tricks.

@Dr. Gonzo

You say this full aware that whatever you transmit to Brian, would have him inside a pine box within the weekend.

Blue

More IASIP

The USA and the allies are one part of the play, There are more actors than just them, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, Qatar, and these conflicts have repercussions in Central Asia, Asia Minor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, this is more complex than simply American intervention, which was more of an incubator that fostered these conditions.

The only way Jihad can be defeated is if everyone awakens to Islam and submits to Allah’s will. Okay? Now do you prefer Ali or Abu Bakr?

The conflict will never be resolved until either Iran or Saudi Arabia collapses and a new government is installed. Then what happens? Does the attention shift to the next realm to destabilise?

It worked for the most part in east Germany up until the late 70s and 80s where they got a bit weird. East Germany wasn’t properly reintegrated and is still lagging behind the rest of the country. There is nuance to every situation and things can’t be reduced to ‘failure/success’, well what if something works for thirty years and fails for ten? Then it’s both right? I think among older people there is a sense of nostalgia for the DDR, despite its failings. West Germany thrived because it was also propped up by the USA and external funding, I don’t think the eastern bloc ever got that sort of funding from Russia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/central-european-history/article/abs/coldwar-economics-the-use-of-marshall-plan-counterpart-funds-in-germany-19481960/BEAEFCDA02A37D21E1556E3713BC2A46

Drinking alcohol is haram and pre-marital sex is a sin.

Stalin wasn't exactly Mr. Friend-to-the-Jewish-people, but to have him in the same sentence as Hitler is a conflation that shouldn't be made. His purges affected a great many people Jewish included but they weren't motivated by sheer Antisemitism like Hitler.

Of course it's a problem but it isn't on mass-media 24/7, so it isn't disseminated as quickly or effectively. The main problem is people's dualism, which is an easily consumable concept that people aren't even aware as having as core fundamental law to their perception of the world. It isn't good vs evil, both sides are doing the best they can to bleed the other to death, and people need to see the warmongering for what it is on both the Israeli and Palestinian viewpoints. The only thing we are guaranteed is that people that shouldn't have to die are going to die at the end of a weapon.

I'd say Hamas propaganda is considerably less of a problem than Israel propaganda; at least Hamas propaganda brings attention to the atrocities committed by the player in this game that holds all the cards, otherwise we'd just be in a state of continued Islamophobia of videos of men in scarves smashing babies skulls against walls, instead of men in scarves and people in mitznefets doing it as well

I don't think anyone has said anything in support of the Palestinian leadership in Gaza or the West Bank.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/21/middleeast/arab-israeli-citizens-cmd-intl/index.html