Re: BTW, anything you wrote, doesn't take away from my basic premise that economics really suck in the Arab world, and I believe is a major factor in ME friction. Israel's success (even at 11% unemployment) highlights the vast differences between modern economic policies in a country and the policies as practiced by the fundementalists.
LOL... Come now, Israel is item #1 on the US'scrounger list. You gobble up to half of all US foreign aid. You'd better cover your ass the day your American sugar daddy pulls the plug on your food-stamp allowances...
Hey, maybe that's why the rats are leaving the ship:
Message 17080645
Excerpt:
The idea of waking up every morning in a European city without feeling any obsessive addiction to the hourly news, the chance to live a tranquil daily routine, has in recent years held out much charm to twenty- and thirtysomethings. Many of them would like to try out such a lifestyle at least for a few years, studying for a degree or working. Dr. Gad Barzilai of the Department of Political Science at Tel Aviv University, says the phenomenon is known as "social protest by exit."
"It is an elitist statement reflecting a certain trend in Israeli society that includes a sense of alienation and a distrust of the ability of democratic institutions to produce a new political leadership. It is a phenomenon that should be a cause of great concern. I do not view the `New Israel' initiative - the group of Israelis who sought to leave and establish a community somewhere in the Diaspora - as an amusing trifle. For some time now there has been a noticeable brain drain from Israel but in recent months there is the added element of despair in the effectiveness of usual democratic processes to effect change."
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