Shortsighted, and stupid.

These terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah are only providing services, schools, etc. to "buy their way in" with a local population, so that later they can exploit that population for their own gain, which is exactly what Hezbollah is now doing. They only build schools so that they can indoctrinate the young with their radical, violent beliefs.

The Lebanese are now paying the price for their unwise alliance.

Mike

Interesting...that is exactly the same model that Castro used in Cuba.

Some folks here love to talk up and praise Castro's "wonderful" educational system.

they, of course, fail to see that in Cuba education = indoctrination = exploitation.

Well said Mike...

Yep.

Unfortunately, the same rule applies to our public (meaning "government indoctrination") schools here in the US.

Mike

Rules of implication ane exceptions to the rule. It throws a lot of first time logic students for a loop. Consider the following truth table:

1 is true, 0 is false. Notice that P -> Q (P implies Q) is false only once, that is when P is true and Q is false. How is P -> Q true when both P and Q are false?

You think you're good at logic? Explain that one. ;)

You're right, I'm thrown for a loop.

If the logical operator is "AND" then only one statement can be true, the first.
If the logical operator is "OR" then 1&2&3 should be true.
Is the logical operator, "XOR"?

I haven't thought about formal logic in a loooong time.

First of all, I am not a born again Christian. If anything, I would consider myself an atheist... maybe even a pagan. I can count the times I've been to church on both hands. I'ved also been to synagogue a few times. When I say "Christian", I'm referring to Christian values, or more specifically, Judeo-Christian values... like the ten commandments, etc. I also associate western values like higher education and judicial liberty(in contrast to Islamic courts that will chop your balls and head off) with Judeo-Christian values.
If you think that makes me a born again Jesus freak.... whatever man. Label me whatever you like... but at least I am smart enough to see what's happening around me: A Islamic-supremist crusade against all types of freedom.... being completely fueled by Russia. If you need to catch up on your reading (I'm talking normal stuff here, not extremist books), I recommend:
-Diplomacy, by Henry Kissenger: Discusses the Balance of Power system and Raison D'etat.
-The Geopolitics of South Asia: From Early Empires to the Nuclear Age by Graham P. Chapman
-Islam Unveiled, by Robert Spencer

It would be from the standpoint that the enemy around them sees lack of response as a weakness. If I came and beat your kid up, you might call the cops and I get arrested. All without you lifting a finger to beat me and also get arrested for fighting. However, there are no cops there and failure to act is seens as a weakness. That is the basic difference. You are in awe at the Gee-Whiz tech of a missile being able to hit a picture on the wall of a building going thru an open window. I am impressed by a large kill number and ruthlessness. You cannot speak to me in your currency and expect me to trade.

It's really NAND so: not (P AND not Q)

In other words, it cannot be true that if P happens, then Q does not happen.

Thanks!

Some truth to that but once again you're assuming a lot from a safe distance.

Another way to look at it would be to wonder at the vacuum that existed and why. Certainly not every shortcoming in the Arab world can be blamed on Israel. But in Lebanon, ravaged by the Israeli military at various point over the last 20+ years, I'm sure there was a pressing need for all sorts of stuff that we take for granted. You can argue about justification for their actions all you want. You man with his house in rubble is going to focus his anger on the operator of the weapons that destroyed it.

Look at the photos in Lebanon today. What sort of pressing needs are people there going to struggle with in the near future and who are they going to blame for it?

The best piece I've read that says some of what I wish I'd said can be seen here.

Too bad folks in Lebanon repeatedly attacked Israel over that time peiod or Israel might have left them alone. As they have Egypt and Jordan, for example.

You know Bot, that's an excellent point. I wish I had thought of it myself.

So then the lesson to be learned here goes something like this: "Don't f**k with Israel and Israel won't f**k with you."

Do you think that the folks who see nothing but evil coming from Israel will get the point?

Nah, that would be too much to expect.

Precisely.

Mike