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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (30987)	10/5/2001 12:15:18 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

Can't catch the criminals if you don't profile.

To: E who wrote (30987)	10/5/2001 12:15:46 PM
From: E	Respond to of 82486

From Haaretz: Friday, October 05, 2001 Tishrei 18, 5762 Israel Time: 17:56 (GMT+2) Building points of friction Three new settlements are to be established on Sunday - two in the West Bank and one in the Katif Bloc in the Gaza Strip. These will not be the only new settlements set up in the past six months. An aerial survey conducted by the Peace Now movement shows that since June, at least 10 new settlements points have been built, joining the points established during the period February-May, when the defense minister undertook, at the time, to evacuate 15 of them. These points often earn the description of "outposts" or "settlement expansions," "extended neighborhoods" or "the realization of outline plans." For all intents and purposes, they are settlements, especially when the homes are hundreds of meters from the core community. There is also a problem with relating to these settlements as demographic necessities stemming from the natural growth process in the existing communities. Figures published during the course of the year indicate that the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are filled with enough empty houses to cater for natural growth for the next two years at least, if not for a lot longer. Why does the government choose to continue to establish more points of friction between Jews and Arabs in the territories? If this choice is a continuation of the policy of "the suitable Zionist response," from the days of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then why hide the existence of these settlements? Why cloak them with descriptions such as "expansion" or undertake to evacuate the "outposts?" And if we are talking about giving in to the will of the settlers due to the government's inability to decide on the evacuation of the settlements, then they are deserving of no state support. The result, in any event, is the same - Israeli citizens are willingly turning themselves into hostages in enemy territory and are demanding that the government not only protect them, but that it also come up with huge investments from ever-diminishing resources. What is even more serious is that continuing settlement construction is an indication of the intentions of the government so far as the future of the political process is concerned. Creating more facts on the ground will make it very difficult to prove that the efforts to renew negotiations are indeed being made on the backdrop of a true desire to reach a solution. And there can be no blaming the Palestinian Authority for everything when Israel, for its part, is also scattering mines along the path toward progress. In this context, one could quite easily be surprised by the lack of response from the foreign minister, who set his hand to the coalition agreement stipulating that no new settlements will be established, other than as a means to cater to the needs of the natural growth process. One can assume that Shimon Peres is not mislead by these settlements, that he does not see expansion where there is nothing to expand. The government of Israel - and in particular the Labor Party, the coalition partner that supports the peace process - is obliged to adhere to and uphold the decisions and agreements it has signed. It must cease the construction of new settlements, and it must remove those outposts it undertook to remove. The settlements are not a part of the equation in the war against terrorism, and they play no part in the defense of the state. Quite the contrary - in the period of war in which the country is currently caught up, the military need calls for shortening lines of defense, not extending them by setting up more and more superfluous settlement points that will require more military battalions for their protection. © Copyright 2001 Ha`aretz. All rights reserved haaretz.co.il

To: E who wrote (30987)	10/5/2001 3:26:21 PM
From: The Philosopher	Respond to of 82486

Not sure what there is to discuss, other than the reactions to profiling. We ALL profile. You do. I do. When I decide which lane in the WalMart to go through, I don't only look at the length of the line, I look at the checker and try to pick one who I think will be efficient and quick. Profiling on the basis of years of watching checkers, good and bad. When I go to a party with people I don't know, I profile, deciding that this person looks like an interesting person to start a conversation with, and that person doesn't. I could be wrong. I might miss a wonderful conversation. But I do it. I profile all day long. So, I suspect, do we all. So do the cops. So should they. BTW, my favorite line from his column was "those who make their livings by being in a uproar are." Love it!