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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (836132)	2/14/2015 1:48:04 AM
From: SilentZ	2 Recommendations Recommended By bentway Tenchusatsu Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1575611

>I don't know if SilentZ would agree, but I think it's possible we could see the dissolution of the state of Israel in our lifetimes. Doubtful, but if it happens, it'll be their own fault. I got a call from a Jewish friend who reflexively defends Israel, to the point that he will shoot down criticism of Israel by accusing the critic of anti-Semitism; and the first thing he said was, "If Netanyahu speaks in front of Congress and the Israeli electorate still re-elects him, we have to make Israel pay. Take away all that foreign aid money. They need to know we call the shots. They can't disrespect our President and violate the way we handle foreign policy." I was in a meeting with a number of Jewish leaders recently who also never have a bad word to say about Israel, but were trying to figure out how to "keep Israel a democratic, pluralistic state." They're very concerned that with the rise of the Orthodox to positions of influence, Israel is becoming less tolerant of Arabs and other racial minorities, as well as some non-religious Jews. Additionally, the social safety net is being shredded there and income inequality is wild... half the wealth of this country is controlled by about 15 people, several of whom don't even live there. Not a recipe for good things. However, if I were betting, I would wager that things look more or less the same there in 20 years as they do today. They're really not that much different now than 20 years ago, despite a lot happening. It'll be interesting to see what goes down in the upcoming election; an Israeli friend remarked to me this week that in most elections, Israeli votes are much more about the domestic economy than anything we see from here, including the peace process (which now feels much more like a stalemate than a process -- Netanyahu really does not want a Palestinian state, and Abbas isn't helping his own cause). I have to admit, I don't follow things over there in the news as much as I used to. But I now have a lot of relationships with people who have real influence over there and I do hear things. However, I don't feel like I have a horse in the race. It's too damned complicated and we have too many things to worry about in America, as well as more urgent business in other places overseas. I'd rather see us curing disease in Africa than meddling in the Middle East; it's much more cut and dry. Back to lurking; I'll try to respond if you want, but I've been extremely busy lately (in a good way), plus a little less interested in politics than usual. -Z