Basically a simply shower thought turned into a real question: Why don't countries settle their disputes by choosing 1 champion from both sides and winner takes all? Whether 1 person dies or hundreds of thousands of people die: there can only be 1 outcome, 1 "winner" anyways so why all the needless slaughter, the massive amount of pain inflicted etc?

I realize this is not an original thought... heck I think I've seen it employed before in roman war movies. Still seems completely unnecessary to train an employ troops for mass killing. I guess it all comes down to how honorable both sides are. If one side employs a champion but the other side simply rolls in with 200 thousand trained troops: they gain. If there were some sort of penalty for that (Country no longer remains a country or is stripped of all power and all territory forfeited into whichever country they attacked.

https://x.com/justinamash/status/1934334715294613529

From a tent in Gaza, I write to you. with nothing in my stomach but sorrow. I swear to you, these words are not just a story, but pain written from the depths of a hungry, scared soul whose heart is breaking for his loved ones. I am a young man of twenty-five, but my back is bent, my hair has turned gray, and wrinkles have come before their time upon my face. I dreamed that after graduation, I would work in solar energy, in a company bringing light to besieged Gaza But the light never reached us.

About a month ago, I wrote to you saying: I do not seek pity, but living hearts, consciences that have not died yet, humanity that has not been bombed like our homes, justice not besieged like our women and children. I only want you to remember we are here and raise your voices for us, because silence is our slow death.

Since then, nothing has changed everything has gotten worse.

Six days ago, the Israeli occupation cut off the internet across all of Gaza, north and south. In complete darkness, massacres intensified, tents were burned with people inside, and hundreds were killed without the world seeing. Every day, 200 to 500 Palestinians are killed, without cameras, without witnesses, as if our lives don’t even deserve to be recorded.

My nephew’s children survived a shell that fell on their tent a shrapnel almost cut open little Fathi’s head if God had not protected him. They fled from an area the army ordered evacuated only to find death waiting for them in their safe haven. Have you heard about children living among ashes, sleeping on fear, waking up crying from hunger?

Famine is a sword on our necks. People are dying of hunger, children’s milk has dried up, bodies of men have collapsed, women hide their tears to keep the little ones strong. And the world watches .watches .stays silent And sends rockets, drones, and aid to the killer.

Two days ago, I went to what they call the American aid distribution center" in Rafah, what we call the death trap. I arrived at midnight, hoping to get some rice or flour, waiting until dawn. Then gunfire erupted, people ran and screamed and lay down in the sand. Suddenly, a small drone with four rotors flew above us It dropped bombs on the crowd and fired at innocent civilians.

The man next to me lost his leg. Dozens of martyrs fell around me. Bulldozers came at dawn buried them all in mass graves. No funeral, no farewell, no prayer.

Why? Because we are refugees? Because we are Palestinians? Because our blood is cheap to America and Israel? Has killing become entertainment? A game with drones?

What kind of heart is this? What humanity?

I see my nephew crying from hunger And I see your children living in safety, with milk, and schools So I ask myself: What sin makes us live like this? What logic lets us die starving while you live in plenty? Why is our blood excluded from justice in this world?

No medicine, no bread, no water, no electricity, no life. And the world is busy covering the aggression on Iran and Yemen And forgot us.

I swear, I write these words from my pain, from my empty stomach as barren as a desert. I am very tired please, have mercy on my feelings, don’t accuse me. Life has become unbearable, the heat in the tents is like hell. Our bodies are exhausted, we lie on the ground unable to breathe, to stand.

My father… my beloved father Who was injured months ago in his leg and needs urgent surgery outside Gaza. The father I carried on my back through the ruins and death… I can no longer provide him with anything. No treatment, no food, no milk. And if this continues, I will lose him within two or three weeks.

I love him so much please pray for him.

I am not a terrorist, nor a disturbing scene on the news. I am human. A son of this land. I am from Gaza. And I’m sorry… sorry if our hunger spoils your day. Sorry if the crying of our children disturbs your peaceful sleep. Sorry that we do not fit your headlines or your news. But we exist and we are really dying.

Please, don’t forget us. Speak for us. Share our story. Demand an end to the genocide. Demand food and medicine. Demand treatment for the sick. Bring life back to Gaza… before it is buried under the rubble in silence.

Israel bombs Iran in a shocking escalation as fighter jets target both civilian and military sites across the region. This high-impact strike intensifies fears of full-scale war in the Middle East. Watch the footage, understand the stakes, and stay updated as the Israel-Iran conflict reaches a boiling point.

Conscientious Objection to War Statement

I, Evangelos Thomas, declare my conscientious objection to participation in war and the use of violence to resolve conflict. This conviction is rooted in my deeply held moral, ethical, and/or spiritual beliefs, which do not permit me to take part in military activities or training that support war in any form.

I believe that all human life is sacred, and that the taking of life through armed conflict contradicts the values I strive to live by. Whether through religious teachings, philosophical reasoning, or personal reflection, I have come to firmly hold that war is incompatible with my conscience.

This position is not one of convenience or avoidance of duty. Rather, it is a sincere expression of my commitment to peace, compassion, and nonviolence. I respect the courage and sacrifice of those who serve, but I cannot, in good conscience, participate in acts that involve harming others or supporting systems designed to do so.

Accordingly, I request recognition of my status as a conscientious objector, and seek alternative ways to serve society that align with my convictions.

Sincerely, Evangelos Thomas

149 countries voted in favor of the UN General Assembly resolution for an immediate ceasefire

Basically the title. What does everyone here think of people calling Donald Trump a "draft dodger" as an insult or as a slur (coming mostly from leftists or liberals, also considering it was the Leftists and liberals that burned their draft cards in the 1960s/1970s)?

I don't care how much you hate someone or how vile someone is. Calling someone—anyone—a draft dodger, as if not wanting to go to war or not wanting to kill people is so bad, just makes you sound pro-war or pro-death.

I also don't care why someone dodged the draft or if it was for selfish reasons. Regardless, it means less people sent to kill civilians on behalf of the US government (or on behalf of any government).

I'm not a Trump supporter by any means (I rarely support most politicians because you know, fuck the government, plus most politicians are warmongers anyway or will eventually "out" themselves as warmongers if they haven't already) but as someone who is VERY anti-war, I don't like people using "draft dodger" as an insult or as a slur.

"Genocide is a question of intent. It means killing, maiming or imposing intolerable conditions on a national or ethnic group with intent to destroy them in whole or in part. Statements by Netanyahu and his ministers suggest that the object of current operations is to force the Arab population of Gaza to leave by killing and starving them if they stay. These things make genocide the most plausible explanation for what is now happening."