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Phoenix
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It seems events in the world are moving faster than anyone can keep up. On July 4, Independence Day for the United States, you have the US launching a space shuttle while North Korea launches missiles. When the West was about to push for sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, Hamas kidnaps an Israeli soldier, provoking Israel to launch air strikes, followed by Hizbullah launching attacks from Lebanon, and more tit-for-tat responses. Fingers are being pointed at Iran and Syria, and Iran is saying they'll consider any attacks against Syria an attack on Islam in general. Need I remind anyone that Iran also gets its missile technology from North Korea... Meanwhile Tokyo has threatened North Korea and there's a fleet of US Aegis missile destroyers and various other warships in the South China sea, while China and Russia oppose sanctions against North Korea, whom they are in bed with anyway...
To many, that this may escalate into a world war may be unthinkable, but the unthinkable has happened before. Twice before in the last century, wars started because some people tried to do nothing and let evil men have their way, and the entanglement of alliances and treaties led to increased escalation and involvement of more and more nations. As I watch these events unfold, I wonder, is history about to repeat itself? I know people will level accusations at just about everyone - some will blame Israel, some will blame the Arabs, some will blame the US, some will blame the UN... but I'm not interested in who's at fault here, only with what's going to happen next and how it's going to affect the people I know. I have friends who are in the military, I have friends who have young children. Many people I know and love are old, or sick and infirm, and struggle just to survive day by day as it is. Through this forum and over these last few years, I've gotten to know, even if just a little, people from all over the world I would not have known otherwise. I normally do not share my thoughts in this fashion, usually just trying to post bits and pieces of interesting stuff to get people to think, or to prove a point, but I feel this is different. A part of me wonders if this couldn't be the beginning of something awful for everyone I know.
I don't like to depress people, or spread news of doom and gloom. I deal with evil in my life to try to lessen the extent of evil's reach into the lives of those I care for. I want people to be happy, and free from care. I don't want to see my friends hurt, or scared, but I cannot turn a blind eye to these recent events. I'm hoping and praying that everyone looks with careful thought toward their own lives, and the lives of their loved ones should this grow into something far reaching. If there's anything important you've been putting off in your life, maybe now's a good time to do some of those things you never got around to doing. If you do nothing else, please pray for peace.
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  I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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Woodsman
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good god ya'l! what is it good for?
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Thomas Mink
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I want people to be happy, and free from care. Apathy is lethal! |
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shambler
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if this is the third world war, the forth will be fought with bows and arrows.
if anyone is about to fight it, that is.
its getting late.
to late to prey.
too late to prey on them.
we'll all blow away.
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Lopson
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Still Going In Circles
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The truth is, this won't end well. If such war starts, Europe will have many fronts, including itself.
Beware of the Shadow of the Beast King
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Footman
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Face in the Sand song lyrics Truer words have yet to be spoken. |
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Woodsman
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ha! Europe's only front will be to see meaningless resolutions passed in the U.N. "we would really really like you guys to stop fighting but we arent going to do anything if you dont".
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Tabun
Pixel Procrastinator
Team Member
Elite (3k+)
  
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Funny thing is: I saw 'latest post: by Woodsman' and I chucklingly predicted _exactly_ what he'd posted. You never let me down, you old drunkard :]
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| Tabun |
?Morituri Nolumus Mori? |
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Woodsman
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Too easy. Predictiong that i would complain about the europeans and the UN is like predicting is like predicting al bundy complaining about fat women at the shoe store.
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Lopson
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Still Going In Circles
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C'mon, lads, let's all sing for good'old gay Europe!
I can see my people die,
I can see my world die,
I can see my allies die,
I can see myself enjoying it.
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Phoenix
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Woodsman, try posting sober next time. You scare me when you start to type like Games Keeper. If you were sober when you posted that, then post drunk next time, or whatever it takes to fix your sentences.
Regarding the EU, if you believe prophecy, then the EU will broker a temporary peace. Fighting over Jerusalem will lead to a 7 year peace treaty. According to the prophet Daniel, 9:27, "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week", the Hebrew translated as 'week' is literal for a period of 7 years. This figure is identified as the Antichrist elsewhere in the bible, but we know he's from Rome because in 9:26 "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary". The city and sanctuary were destroyed by Titus and Vespacian, Roman generals, in 70 AD, and the "prince that shall come" is identified as coming from the Roman empire. The EU is referred to as the revival of the Roman empire, Rome being the "legs of iron", with two centers of power - the city of Rome, and the city of Constantinople, revived Rome being the "toes of iron mixed with clay" identified by Daniel in Nebuchudnezzar's dream about the statue. So yes, Europe will eventually get involved if the prophetic scenario is getting ready to play out. How soon I cannot say.
Now whether you believe prophecy or not, and whether or not this is the time spoken of by Daniel, this fighting between Israel and its neighbors is not to be taken lightly. It will affect the whole world in ways most people can't forsee. All roads lead to Jerusalem, and if this fighting goes beyond Lebanon into Syria and Iran, the whole Islamic beast that resides in that region could awaken to war. That means poverty for millions. Oil is already spiraling even higher on the markets, and this continues to strain the poor. Like it or not, oil drives the machine that is the world economy. If the oil stops flowing because of conflict, every major consumer of oil will take an interest in the region. This includes the EU, and China, and Russia, as well as the United States. World economies will crash if oil becomes unobtainable. Can you fathom what that would mean for you, your families - everyone? I pray this does not happen, but you know it damned well could.
What most people are failing to grasp is that coexistence with Israel is not an option to the hardline Islamists. Iran's president already said Israel should be wiped from the map. Hezbullah and Hamas both have this as their goal in their charter. They want war! Olmert, Israel's Prime Minister, has stated the only acceptible terms for a cease fire is the return of the abducted soldiers, the permanent disarming of hezbullah, and the deployment of legitimate Lebanese army soldiers along the Lebanese border. Hezbullah will never disarm, and Lebanon's army is no match for those Iranian and Syrian-backed forces. They're better armed, better organized, and better equipped. Syria's involvement is without question because it was a Syrian-made rocket that hit Haifa. If Olmert does not budge, and Hezbullah does not give in, that means the fighting will continue and only get worse. They knew exactly what they were doing with those kidnappings, because if Israel negotiated it would lead to MORE kidnappings and negotiations - release of prisoners, more land grabs, cuts to bleed your enemy to death with. Whether slowly through terrorist acts, or quickly through all-out war, they picked a fight deliberately for this end and this end alone - to fulfill Psalm 83:4 "They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance."
The world can call for a "measured response" all it wants, but Olmert knows Hezbullah wants nothing short of annihilation for his country and his people. There can be no "measured response" to people who want to kill you. People in this century aren't used to the old ways of waging war. They're used to peace treaties, and resolutions, and mediation. You can't bargain with people who are unwilling to coexist. Lay blame wherever you like, but the truth of the situation is, Israel will either fight to the death, or die itself, unless some "miraculous" figure manages to broker a temporary peace. Otherwise there's no middle ground.
It saddens me that so many don't seem to grasp the seriousness of this situation, or if they do, they're not making it very well known. I seek to warn people not to be a doomsayer or a prophet, but only as a friend so they may take heed of how this may affect their own lives. All I ask is that people pay attention to what happens there so that if trouble spreads through the world, they are not caught unaware.
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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Lopson
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Still Going In Circles
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I've been saying, for the past couple of years, that once the oil price reaches 100$, there will be a crash. And believe me, that if a crash does occur, the countries will do ANYTHING to recover from the crash, even if they have to go to war in order to boost the industry.
I've been quite fatalist regarding this situation in the Middle East, and it became clear to me, from the moment that that Iranian bastard became President of Iran, that he was going to be one of the most important elements for the startup of WWIII.
Hopefully, nothing bad happens to Israel, 'cause if it does, they will use atomic bombs. Not only that, we will loose one of the greatest nations in the world and the best and one of the only resistance against those islamic fools.
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« Last Edit: 2006-07-19, 00:25 by [KruzadeR] »
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McDeth
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Hey Pho:
Ever hear of a biblical figure named Amalek? It appears our Isreali friends have taken that particular moral to heart.
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Beer? I'm down.
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Phoenix
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Amalek was the son of Eliphaz and the grandson of Esau, but I assume you're referring to this verse, 1 Samuel 15:3
"Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." If this is so, let me clarify something about the current situation. Israel is not waging a war of genocide. Hizbullah is. Hizbullah started this particular fight. Hizbullah is raining down rocket after rocket upon Israel. Hizbullah launched an unprovoked attack, and kidnapped two Israeli soldiers. Hizbullah sat in the Lebanese government for 6 years, while directing its forces to amass an arsenal along the south Lebanese border, the border that Israel withdrew its forces from in good faith after having occupied it for so long to prevent just this situation. Hizbullah takes its marching orders from Iran and Syria. Hizbullah's charter DEMANDS the destruction of Israel, and the extermination of the Jew - a goal that Iran's president has also publicly stated. Hizbullah is not a race, or a nation, it is a terrorist organization. Wiping out a terrorist organization is not genocide. What Israel did with Amalek in ancient times is incongruent with the current conflict. Israel has no choice but to destroy Hizbullah's arsenal, destroy their positions in south Lebanon, and continue their operations until the threat of rocket attacks is removed. The only way that is going to happen is if Syria and Iran back down, Hizbullah withdraws from the border, and an international peacekeeping force is sent in to secure South Lebanon from further Hizbullah influence, and the Lebanese government is propped up. This will require the complete expulsion of Hizbullah as a political AND paramilitary faction from Lebanon. Otherwise, the second option is for Israel to continue fighting until Hizbullah is completely and utterly defeated militarily. A cease fire now would only permit Hizbullah to rearm and continue this later. This is the same pattern we've seen Israel's enemies take with them time and time again - attack, suffer retaliation, call for peace, then rearm and reposition during the calm. Wash, rinse, repeat. Israel knows this cannot work, the entire world knows this cannot work. There can be no such thing as a "measured response" with someone who wants to murder every man, woman, and child in your land. You cannot coexist with them, you cannot make peace with them. You can only defeat them. If anyone's goal is genocide here, it is not Israel. If that were so, they'd deploy their nukes and just vaporize their neighbors instead of trying to coexist in spite of them for 58 years. Now, that being said, if you meant something else in regards to Amalek besides 1 Samuel 15:3, then please elaborate.[/color]
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I fly into the night, on wings of fire burning bright...
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McDeth
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Actually, my point was that Amalek used terrorist tactics against Jeruselem by sneaking into the back of town and killing the sick and crippled (basically the innocent) because he had a personal vendetta against the Jews. God pretty much told him the only way you are going to get rid of his kind is to wipe them completely off the face of the earth. King Solomon didn't do this. He keep their gold, their wives, etc. et.c and now here we are again, doing the same thing.
My point is, I hope this time they take care of the problem by completely wiping it out.
BTW, Amalek never represented a nation either. In my interpretation he resembles Hizbullah. I didn't say anything about genocide.
Anyway, here's a question. Where was it these bastards started stock piling weapons? Answer, Mosques and civilian homes.
If they can't keep their own places of worship sacred, why should we?
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« Last Edit: 2006-07-23, 20:08 by McDeth »
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Woodsman
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oh no what this situation calls for is diplomacy! Diplomacy can resolve any despute! may the UN lead us in a bright and glorious future!
Note the sarcasm.
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Lopson
Elite
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Still Going In Circles
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Lol, letters. Now I know how the UN spends their money: on stamps. Now that's some well-invested money, in the name of world-wide peace.
Note the sarcasm.
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Tabun
Pixel Procrastinator
Team Member
Elite (3k+)
Posts: 3330
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Not very constructive, nor very mature, too.
Note the lack of sarcasm.
;]
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| Tabun |
?Morituri Nolumus Mori? |
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