Right on Michael.

Your grasp of historical fact is awsome. Merkel should join with other European nations to ban Iran. That person who is Iran's dictator, along with the Ayatollah (assahola) are crazy. Maybe if they ban the Iranians from soccer, the people may begin to work to overthrow the religious crazies. (& while we are at it, why don't we begin to overthrow our homegrown crazies here?)

Your personal comments make some sense but dont get so arrogant by infering that Palestinians are somehow worthless since they did not produce the finest artists (in your opinion). Your skew of world history is somewhat biassed so I wont waste time since we will not get anywhere so I will only address the Iranian issue. As you lived in the Soviet Union in 1980, the world pondered the same situation as the Soviet Union was hosting the winter olympics. Since you were behind the Iron Curtain and was not aware of every position in the world, let me remind you. The USSR was committing atrocities in Aghganistan with the invasion. Soviet troops used mustard gas in some towns. In any event, the USA was boycotting the Olympics. However, some opinions (world governments and USA athletes) spoke that politics should not be mixed with sports. For example, the USA could play Iran (the 2 biggest enemies) in the World Cup. Most Arab countries state that they will not compete against Israeli athletes in the Olympics. In my opinion, those countries should be banned from the Olympics. That should be the one time when humanity can show those idiotic governments that they can respect eachother. Sporting events should not be mixed with politics. However, it is sick to think the world traveled to Nazi Germany to compete in Olympic games. I am totally against the Iranian government, but am smart enough to know this rambling from their goverment is to create a nationalistic wave of support. So, you ask a good question but I am not sure I agree 100% with your opinion. Of course Israel has a right to exist and Jews roamed Israel for many years before Palestine. However, it is wise to be objective that the atrocities of those damn Nazis created this middle east crisis we have today. The destruction of Israel should never happen, but the Palestinians are human too and got royally screwed no doubt. Imagine today if Spain came back to claim Florida and kicked the Americans out. I know you are smarter than what you write. You have an objectivity for gay porn and I have faith that objetivity will come through on world history too :)

I disagree with you luke!
sorry but lucas's point of view is my point of view to!and
it has nothing to do with the fact i am french!

Michael -

Once again bravely & well said. Iran is simply the biggest threat to global balance today and unfortunately some non-political atheletes should be forced to stay home during the world cup. That's just the way it works, there is no realistic scenario where the citienzry does not pay for the actions of thier leaders, whether they agree with them or not.

And as for the Palestinians, when was the last time we saw a major university or cultural center built with the billions in aid sent to them by the international community? When was the last time they used thier collective energies to support another country during a time of crisis (i.e. earthquakes & tsunamis)?

As for Israel, they have the right to exist, just like any other ethnic group. Luke, it was the actions of Nazi Germany that perhaps did put in place the consensus of the UN to declare the Nation of Israel, both physcally and socially - but that was a responsible action accelerated by genocidal policies. And as for peace, Israel has given up miles of land taken in wars after they were attacked. The Spanish/Florida example cited is not even a close analogy, sorry Luke.

Yassar Arafat's family is soaking in the spoils of International Aid programs in swollen Swiss bank accounts while thier people don't even have basic medical care. In my opinion, the Arab world has done little to help thier Palestinian brethern except use them primarily as a wedge against the West.

So Michael, keep stating you opinions and braving the status quo, you have a very unique platform to do so and I encourage your readers to have the same open mind they expect from others. To the members of the Iranian Football team - sorry guys, you're best match is most likely with your leaders not with another World Cup team.

The comment by Luke gives evidence of how the world community is buying Arab lies at its own grave peril.

Michael asked for names of 19th-century Palestinian Arab figures. He asked for figures including people from the arts and also from the field of soap sales.

But Luke accuses him of arrogance for saying that Palestinian Arabs did not produce the finest artists.

Michael said no such thing. And Luke hits-and-runs away from the point with his accusation.

The point, to be clear, is this: the Arab world invented the Palestinian Arab identity out of a vacuum for use as a weapon in its war to establish a global caliphate, imposing Sharia law universally.

If Luke wanted to counter what Michael had said, he should have actually named Palestinian Arab writers, artists, statesmen and soap salesman from the 19th Century. But he can't, because, it seems, there were none. There was, as far as my research reveals, no Palestinian Arab national identity in the 19th century. I am completely open to proof to the contrary; where is it?

As for Luke's claim that "Palestinians are human too and get royally screwed no doubt," he should not be framing that statement in a context appearing to blame Israelis for the "screwing" of Palestinian Arabs.

Not only do other Arab countries intentionally keep the so-called Palestinians poor because poor they are more useful as a political tool then they would be if they were prosperous, the Palestinian leaders themselves intentionally keep their people poor for that same reason.

Arafat had literally billions squirreled away, keeping his wife in high style in Paris but not improving the lot of the people he allegedly cared so much about. After his death, the billions went lost, but are probably in the hands of his widow and/or most inner circle.

Meanwhile, Israel would like open and friendly relations with all its neighbors but if they left their borders completely open to Palestinian Arabs they would face endless and daily terror attacks. Yet the Arabs manipulate world opinion, trying to paint the picture as though Israel were responsible for the economic conditions of the so-called Palestinians.

People who haven't understood the situation yet should ask themselves this: What would Israel possibly stand to gain by not allowing the Palestinians to prosper? By contrast, by keeping the Palestinians poor, the Arab countries have an anti-Israel tool, and the closer they come to wiping out Israel, the closer they are to their larger goal of establishing a global caliphate.

Don't forget that when Israel withdrew from Gaza and money was needed by the Gazan Arabs to keep running the greenhouses the Israelis had built in Gaza, it was American Jews, not Arabs, who gave the Gazans the money they needed. Those American Jews gave that money in the hopes that a prosperous people would decide to live at peace with its neighbors.

Luke, furthermore, quite idiotically repeats the argument made by Iran today; that the Nazis with their Holocaust caused the current Mid-East conflict. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Luke talks about "objectivity," but objectivity requires at minimum a solid grounding in known historical circumstances and an unswerving willingness to revise one's opinion in light of new information presented. Jews have been present in the Middle East since ancient times and the drive to re-establish Israel gained great momentum in the 19th century; given that, how did the Nazis create the current Mid-East conflict? And even if they had, how would the Arabs be justified in calling for the destruction of Israel?

A most important point to make is that the Mid-East conflict is not one of Palestinians against Israelis; it is Arabs against Israel. And their goal of eliminating Israel is one step towards their larger goal of establishing Islamic supremacy world wide. This is not something asserted out of the clear blue; the Islamists themselves state these as their goals, and the 9/11 attacks should be all the more evidence anybody needs to take them seriously.

One more word to Luke.

Were you on drugs when you made your above comment?

If so, the substance you took is obviously extremely dangerous; it seems to compromise the drug abuser's intellect.

I mean, really, just what were you smoking, snorting, and/or shooting that you think that the Russian Michael Lucas doesn't remember circumstances surrounding the Olympics when they were held in his country?

The very organization of your material looks like the product of a severely drug-addled mind, with my apologies to all the people who use drugs without losing their capacity to make sense. The structure of your first sentence is a disaster. People have been kept back a year after ninth grade for lesser offenses against the English language. Then you say that you will only address the Iranian question, but go on to talk about the Spanish and Florida. What is the connection between Iran, the Spanish and Florida? Ponce de Leon eating caviar while traveling on a flying carpet?

Hello
Just wanted to ask
did you go to college in Russia or America? If so did you graduate and what was your field of study?

I am completely against your point of view. It is the same case than Irak, of course Iran´s leader comments and acts are disgusting, but the way to change that is not excluding them from the rest of the world, it is just the opposite we should open them our doors in order to show them our values and destroy the propaganda of the iran´s regime, insolating that country will increase the manipulation of the population and in the end we wont avoid the military intervention with the horrible consequences that we have seen in Irak, and Afghanistan, also we must take care with the western media that is clearly in favor of an armed intervention in Iran, and manipulates as much as iran´s media. You must remeber that most of the middle east is already invaded by western forces, and this is also increasing terrorist activities as the only way to defend themselves.

regarding the Palestinians/Iranian issue: it would be worth while to remember that gays are still being excuted in those countries as well as all/most Arab-Muslim countries; Gentlemen - this is OUR community!

Re: Israel - they actually have an open door policy towards Gay-Palestinians who manage to escape from their families before they are killed; Gay-Palestinians are the ONLY Palestinians who at the moment are allowed to stay in Israel, legaly & under protection of the Israeli goverment.

Think about who is right and who is wrong, who is just - and who is not; I can't believe anyone with their right minds can support Muslim countries; sorry - but we have to acknowladge a big big problem in our free world...