It is hard to have sympathy for the Tamils who have supported one of the worst terrorist organizations in the world. If killing yourself is being “gentle”, then I suppose the Tamil qualify for that characteristic. The British are reaping the bitter grains of their former empire.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2009/03/06/worsening_sri_lanka_violence_shakes_british_tamils/?page=full

Davel,
Perhaps you understand but just in case. These are not pictures of Tamil Tigers. These are civilian refugees. The kids certainly are not fighters. The question is why are civilian refugees behind barb wires. Kind of reminds me of Bosnia and the Jewish camps setup by Nazi’s (which were purpotedly for ‘protecting’ them remember). Personally I am against anyone targetting and killing civilians and that certainly includes any terrorist activity. What always amazes me is that the precise thing we abhor the terrorists for doing, we ignor when a government military does it. It is act that is abhorent not just the doer.

Umm, when did religion(s) evolve into “civil”?

“civil…. of, relating to, or involving the general public, their activities, needs, or ways, or civic affairs as distinguished FROM special (as military or religious) affairs…”

JeffM,
would you consider the holocaust a civil matter? Or the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia? This is a ethnic and religious minority that has been systematically kept out of all positions of power and whose people live in significantly worse situation compared to rest of population. Now their civilians are being killed and refugees are confined to camps surrounded by barbed wire. I would think this is a ethical and moral dilemma for us. Won’t you?

My wife is Sinhalese. I have spoken to her at length as well as Tamil and Sinhalese Sri Lankans. In addition, I have read every book I could find on the subject. While it is true that the Tamils were clearly discriminated against, I believe you have greatly oversimplified the situation. A simple Sinhalese bad - Tamil good model does not do justice to the very complex conflict.

Affirmative action in higher education and employment against the more successful Tamil people clearly fostered resentment. This should provide a lesson to those in the United States that continue to advocate special privileges based on race.

However, the Tamils clearly upped the stakes in the conflict. When you resort to terrorist activities, you invite very harsh retaliation. Similar to Hamas in Palestine, the Tamil Tigers hide in civilian populations. Essentially they are using their own people as human shields. It is hard to take the Tamil protests about concern for civilian casualties seriously when their own actions have led to the civilians being in harms way. The Tamil Tigers frequently employ suicide bombers in civilian areas. Regardless of the genesis of the original conflict, when you resort to terrorism against the civilian population you are inviting extremely harsh retaliation.

DavidH,
Thank you for your comments. I have gotten quite sick today and I am afraid a full response is not possible. You are right, there is some simplification in this argument. Personally I don’t have a problem the gov’t going after the tigers. But I wish we reach a day when militaries are brought on the carpet for civilian deaths. Children dying is terrible. Terrorists are terrible because they attack civilians. Shouldn’t the same standard apply to government military? And ‘refugees in camps behind barbed wires’ is the ultimate sign of severe discrimination. I come from Pakistan where we had the same problem in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh. Hundreds of thousands of civilians died. Pakistan still doesn’t accept responsibility. Turks killed huge numbers of Armenians and have never apologized. God will judge us and we should be concerned if we keep rationalizing these type of horrors. I just hope this doesn’t get out of control but it looks headed there.

KS>Kind of reminds me of Bosnia and the
KS>Jewish camps setup by Nazi’s (which

Oh, jewsus freaking christ! Here we go
using any pretext to promote the holohoax.

What? Do you get some sort of commission every
time another billion bucks a year is added to
what we flush down the “israel” rat-hole? What’s
your “cut”?

Naturally nowhere on your list is “it kind of
reminds me of how the kibbutzunist zionazi terrorist
bloodsuckers who taught all the other middle-eastern
terrorists that terrorism pays off in statehood
treat the children of the people whose stolen lands
they live in”.

NO! THAT WOULD BE WRONG.

KS>Personally I am against anyone
KS>targetting and killing civilians and that KS>certainly includes any terrorist activity.

But you just can’t twist your lips around the
acronym I”D”F, right? What? Are you afraid
the angry four-letter-word god of the
kibbutzunists is going to make your tongue
explode in fire in your mouth if you dare to
include them in the dishonor roll of evil’s
minions?

Listen. It’s terrible little children are dying
in Ceylon. It’s terrible people in Bangladesh are
dropping like flies from cancers induced from
arsenic they were exposed to from water out of
deep wells drilled for them by do-gooding nib-nosers
who wanted to save them all from the lesser evils
of parasites and dysentery.

But you know what? AIPAC isn’t forcing me to pay
for the means to destroy those lives. No, they
force me to pay for the wanton murder torture and
dispossession of children, women, old people and
yes, even virile young firebrand males who will dare
to stand up on their hind legs and defend themselves, their people and their aspirations of being a nation every time I make over a certain modest amount of money in a year.

GUESS WHICH ONE I’M A LOT MORE UPSET ABOUT!

And you can’t even give them honorable mention in
your litany of injustices–putting the holohoaxing
assholes who just HAPPEN to be hated everywhere they
infest—a pure coincidence or evidence of some sort
of satanic plot worldwide against DOG’S CHOSEN xxx.

Hell, at least you could have included in your
litany of unjustly dead children scads of
them spotted randomly all around africa because the
frenchies and the spainies and the germies didn’t want those africans getting into the habit of looking to U.S. biotech solutions for their problems–like a blight on their favorite starchy root-crop staple. What about
that? That doesn’t count because they quietly starved to death while their larger and stronger parents hearts broke BECAUSE EURO-PEONS HATE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR SAVING THEIR STUPID WORTHLESS BUTTS TWO OR THREE TIMES?

But you didn’t even mention that. Funny how you don’t
ever mention any of these things which happen to also include slights or victimizations of the United States or impositions on our limitless beneficence.

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, isn’t it?

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

KS>What always amazes me is that the precise

What amazes me is the intensity of the desperation
with which “our” press will go to any lengths
to divert attention from the unjust killing and
literal cultural torture of large numbers of
people AT OUR EXPENSE.

You want to talk about religion and god? I’ll talk about it! If there was a god huge cracks would open
up in “israel” and large stretches of NYC and
their god would take a certain people to dwell with
him in his kingdom–in perdition.

I’m of the opinion it’s really too bad there
isn’t any such thing as “god”, or if there is
not in the sense most people think of it.

If god chose the kibbutzunists to teach the rest of god’s children he exists, that would be the best use to which they could be put–seeing the divine justice meted out as cracks would open up in the earth and suck them all down into hell with their master where they belong.

SNAFU,
You have gone on a tangent here. My Jewish friends should talk to you. They would ASSURE you I am not in favor of anymore military aid for Israel (or Egypt). The holocaust was a human tragedy from which we have not yet learn’t how to avoid such mass killings yet (East Bengal/Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iraq/Iran in ’80s and ’90s Rawanda, Bosnia, Sudan, Congo). There have been a lot of them in the last 50 years.

On a separate note, dysentry kills a lot of people in Bangladesh (and cripples many others) and the deep wells are needed to avoid Arsenic which is in surface and near surface water.

I am not convinced that describing these events as a division of ethnic and religious is accurate or useful. We have been doing this for a long time, and this distinction has not made a difference in it. You can add the economic and social disparity distinction to the unworking list as well.

I would suggest something else, beneath this, is at play. To make a difference in peace the conversation will shift to another view.

I will assert that each believes they are “right” and “just” in their view. Above all else. That within that view they are “right” and “justified” and they will subject themselves and others to the worse atrocities.

Giving up the view that “being right justifies” anything would be a break through.

This is the most difficult of transformations. We rely on righteousness as our power, at the expense of acknowleldging our real power as human beings as that of “being.”

Ghandi understood, as do others. “Be” an oppressive killing machine, and you will reap oppression and killing.

“Be” accepting and you will reap love.

Once again, do not take sides, do not chastise the meek, do not judge the strong, do not debate the right and wrong of it, act to stop the killing!

Khalid Shah, thank you for shining the light.

I believe Khalid you are close to the point. As Secretary Clinton makes her rounds of behalf of the US, she will along with President Obama put into practice what this country stand fors. Then we will see if this prison continues. As to Snafu, Freedom of the Press is real. Even he is allowed to dribble out of his position. However, anyone who knows you can attest that you are not supporter of the IDF or Israeli politics. Using this forum to start talking about one, then switching in the middle to talk about the other is the true disconnect. It like walking in the super market to buy eggs, asking the clerk where they are, and then when he tells you, blasting Jews and Israel in same conversation. The clerk going to scratch his head and walk away. I guess that what I am doing scratching my head and walking away. thanks Khalid