I'm not sure but I think when the state still owns major industries and controls the macro economy, its at least socialist. The bottom up capitalism that Deng started has certainly blown things wide open, but I don't know if I say its not communist when the Communist Party still runs things.
On NBC Nightly News they just did a story about how Jewish Settlers were using their children as human shields to hold off Israeli troops and police evicting them. They also showed how they dressed up their kids to look like concentration camp prisoners complete with the Star of David. When asked about using their children in this manner some of the settlers replied that it was good because it will make them tougher to fight off future attempts to evict settlers. Are these people psychotic?!! This is as crazy as the Palestinians who encourage their kids to throw rocks at Israeli troops. Both sides are nuts..
Many settlers are psychotic. They aren't really like the average Israeli living inside Israel proper. There are large numbers of them want to move out all Arabs, or kill them if need be in order to rid the land of them. They live with a different set of laws for them and a different set of laws for people who are Palestinian. Their existence has been subsidized heavily by the Israeli govt. Most of the Israeli terrorists have come from the settlements. These are generalizations, of course, and there are some settlers who aren't like that at all.
Well, as was predicted in this thread and many others, the Israeli government is moving to 'secure' other larger illegal, more important settlements in the West Bank, and in this case this single settlement cuts very deep into the West Bank. It's worth mentioning that the US is very much opposed to this move, as the article mentions. So as was said before, the Gaza pullout looks to be nothing more than an attempt to annex large blocs of the West Bank in exchange for tiny Gaza. All I can say is I hope we are not funding these activities with our tax money. http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/616334.html With pullout past, IDF moves to fence Ma'aleh Adumim By Meron Rapaport and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz Correspondents The Israel Defense Forces and the Civil Administration began issuing land expropriation orders this weekend for construction of the separation fence around Ma'aleh Adumim, after Attorney General Menachem Mazuz gave the bulk of the route a legal seal of approval. The United States strongly opposes construction of a fence around the large West Bank settlement, arguing that it would impede the establishment of a viable Palestinian state by making it hard to move between the northern and southern West Bank. Though the general fence route in this area was approved by the cabinet in February, ministers have not seen the detailed plans that the Civil Administration presented to local Palestinian mayors Tuesday. At the February meeting, the ministers were told that the exact route would depend on the Justice Ministry's approval. Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) complained Tuesday that the final route should have been shown to the cabinet before construction began. But Minister Haim Ramon, also of Labor, said that as long as the final route did not differ significantly from the route approved in February, he does not see a problem. According to the Justice Ministry, the portions of the route approved to date - some of which will be built on state land, and some on private Palestinian land - are not substantially different from the original. Mazuz has thus far approved the western and southern sections of the route and part of the eastern section; he is still examining the remainder. The planned route would put the easternmost point of the fence around Ma'aleh Adumim some 25 kilometers from the Green Line, or about half the width of the West Bank. Both the Palestinians and the international community say it would therefore prevent the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, as it would impede territorial contiguity between the southern and northern West Bank. As a result, diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that the expropriation orders issued this weekend "are being carefully examined by the most senior officials in the American administration," and the issue is likely to be raised at Wednesday's meeting between Finance Minister Ehud Olmert and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But Ramon, a leading supporter of the fence, rejected the accusation that it would impede Palestinian territorial contiguity. This issue could be resolved, he said, if Israel simply built a new road connecting Bethlehem to Ramallah, thereby ensuring that the West Bank would not be cut in two. Hind Khouri, the Palestinian Authority's minister for Jerusalem, said that in total, expropriation orders have been issued for 1,588 dunams in the area of Al-Azzariyeh, Abu Dis and Sawahra al-Sharkiyeh. Moreover, she said, the planned route would leave grazing grounds, olive groves and some 250 wells that serve the Palestinian population on the Israeli side of the fence. According to the cabinet's decision, the fence around Ma'aleh Adumim is slated to put some 67 square kilometers of the West Bank on the Israeli side. Salah Bader, head of the Palestinian liaison office for the Jerusalem area, said that the PA plans to appeal the route to the Israeli courts. "It will put us in prison," he said. "The distance between the existing wall west of Al-Azzariyeh, which separates it from Jerusalem, and the new fence to be built east of Al-Azzariyeh will not exceed two kilometers. There's more space than that in Ketziot Prison." Lawyer Danny Seidemann of the Ir Amim organization said that Israel was exploiting the withdrawal from Gaza to build the fence around Ma'aleh Adumim. A similar assessment was offered by attorney Mohammed Dahla, who has represented many Palestinians in petitions to the High Court of Justice against the fence. The Justice Ministry rejected this charge. Colonel (res.) Shaul Arieli, who drew the maps for the Geneva Initiative and has successfully persuaded the High Court to change the fence's route in several places, said the proposed route around Ma'aleh Adumim would cause tens of thousands of Palestinians in the area to relocate to Jerusalem.
There was another suicide bombming in Israel today following the killing of 5 Palestinians in an Israeli raid this past week. Sadly the more things change in the Middle East the more they stay the same. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8931552/
I think we should demand Canada turn over British Columbia and the Yukon to the US, as that area of land remaining a part of Canada obviously would impede American territorial contiguity. Also, the entire Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii should henceforth be considered US territory for the same reason.
Yeah and then we can build a big wall and watchtowers around Canada, divert all their drinking water to fill our bongs, permanently seal off their airspace, bulldozer their igloos, and all in all just plain ghettoize those damn hockey lovers for a good 35-45 yrs! I mean, we gotta do it in order to protect our Theocracy! We will simply be doing God's Will!!
