Time to back Israel
Re: "The bigger game: Israel and Saudi Arabia vs Iran", (Opinion, June 22).
Radical Islam has been waging a 100-year war against the West, but we have not acknowledged it.
For 400 years, the Middle East was part of the Ottoman Empire. Most of the population was Muslim. Infidels were dhimmi, to be humiliated and belittled. Turkey aligned with Germany in World War I. When they lost the war, they lost their empire.
Israel's creation was initiated at San Remo in 1920, as were Transjordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Syria's. The San Remo members were the victors of World War I. They implemented mandates to handle the remnants of the empire, until these states could be self-sufficient.
Today, Iran is the epicentre of Islamic expansion. Its treasury is bulging with the oil income it has amassed since America relaxed the sanctions imposed on it by the Trump administration. Iran and Qatar are financing Hamas, Hezbollah and other terror organisations. The Oct 7 attack on southern Israel could not have been carried out without Iran's financing, equipping and training.
Iran is also contributing to the "pro-Palestine" student protests and tent cities that pollute our universities.
Joe Biden cannot expect Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a ceasefire, except temporarily to allow the hostages to be freed. Ultimately, Hamas's war against Israel will end when Hamas surrenders.
Israel is the canary in the coal mine. It fights for our democracy.
Re: "We need answers", (PostBag, Aug 4) & "New overseas income rules", (Business, June 5).
I'm baffled by Grumpy's claim that Regulation 48 of the Revenue Code may allay fears about the new tax regime for resident expats.
This lengthy piece of legalese is about as clear as mud to anybody other than a seasoned tax accountant. If it rules on one of the major concerns about the new system, at least for Australians, which is whether lump sums and income streams from superannuation will be taxed when remitted to Thailand, I missed it.
Other nationalities must have similar questions about their own retirement funds, which may or may not be deemed to have been taxed at source. If I, as an Australian taxpayer, were to bring into Thailand this year the amount from superannuation that I did six years ago to buy land, house, car, etcetera, I would certainly be up for a considerable amount of tax if Thai authorities do not now exempt those funds from taxable income. This would clearly be a disincentive for retirees to choose Thailand as their new home.
Re: "Harris meets VP candidates", (World, Aug 4).
All that is in most papers at the moment are articles about sport, specifically the Olympics, and the election, currently Donald Trump's reactions to Kamala Harris candidacy.
Mr Trump has decided to avoid the ABC debate and wants to switch to a Fox News one. This doesn't seem all that different until you see it in terms of sporting parlance. He would be playing on his home ground, with his own umpires, his own rules and his own crowd.
Play fair, if you know how to.
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