Sharon beats Labor, secures third term as PM

[occuserpens]

This scenario means that nothing, zero, zilch nada changes after all: same alliance between rightist labs, far-rigthist Arik-Likudoid and religious hyper-rightists.

Yossi Verterr. Poll: Sharon beats Labor, secures third term as PM http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/648262.html
Were the elections to the 17th Knesset to be held now, Ariel Sharon would win a third term in office as prime minister and could set up a center-left coalition with Labor, Shinui and Meretz-Yahad that would have 66 seats.
These are the findings of the Haaretz-Dialog survey, conducted by Prof. Camil Fuchs Monday night among a representative sample of 600 Israelis from all sectors of the population.
Sharon would also be able to set up a coalition with Labor and the ultra-Orthodox that would have 71 seats in the Knesset.

[eyl]

1. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with the article?

Because it doesn't mention alliances with the right (with the limited exception of the ultra-Orthodox parties) - instead, it discusses possible alliances with the left. I should also note that an alliance with the right would be better served by Sharon's staying in the Likud; nor would I describe him as "far right".

[pelsar]

2. eyl..

what now?....talk about a mess:

left run by a limited experienced leader whose experience is limited to the histradut and labor unions, shutting down the country

Sharon...a big unknown, who knows what hes got planned

Likud...going to the right with a failed PM or worse, landau..of greater israel fame

shinui?....what will be left of them

[occuserpens]

3. Ramon to quit Labor, join Sharon

This looks like a good thing. The more rightist labs will go to Arik-Likudoid, the better.

GIL HOFFMAN. Ramon to quit Labor, join Sharon

[occuserpens]

4. More news

Juan Cole. Sharon's Critique of the Authoritarian Likud Party


GU. Netanyahu: Sharon is a 'dictator' ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

[pelsar]

5. what a joke...

that article by juan...

but the Likudniks have an obsession that their party be completely above criticism...guess he doesnt listen to much israeli TV or radio....or doesnt want to as it would make his little rant sound more like the ravings of one disconnected from reality.

[occuserpens]

6. Monbiot on links between American and Israeli religious right

Basically, this article confirms that there are close links between American and Israeli religious right. In fact, these links are not limited to TX and all this is well known quite for some time. Thanks anyway, GU.

GU. George Monbiot. Their beliefs are bonkers, but they are at the heart of power

To understand what is happening in the Middle East, you must first understand what is happening in Texas. To understand what is happening there, you should read the resolutions passed at the state's Republican party conventions last month. Take a look, for example, at the decisions made in Harris County, which covers much of Houston.
The motion they adopted stated that Israel has an undivided claim to Jerusalem and the West Bank, that Arab states should be "pressured" to absorb refugees from Palestine, and that Israel should do whatever it wishes in seeking to eliminate terrorism. Good to see that the extremists didn't prevail then.

But why should all this be of such pressing interest to the people of a state which is seldom celebrated for its fascination with foreign affairs? The explanation is slowly becoming familiar to us, but we still have some difficulty in taking it seriously.

The true believers are now seeking to bring all this about. This means staging confrontations at the old temple site (in 2000, three US Christians were deported for trying to blow up the mosques there), sponsoring Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, demanding ever more US support for Israel, and seeking to provoke a final battle with the Muslim world/Axis of Evil/United Nations/ European Union/France or whoever the legions of the antichrist turn out to be.
For 85% of the US electorate, the Middle East is a foreign issue, and therefore of secondary interest when they enter the polling booth. For 15% of the electorate, the Middle East is not just a domestic matter, it's a personal one: if the president fails to start a conflagration there, his core voters don't get to sit at the right hand of God. Bush, in other words, stands to lose fewer votes by encouraging Israeli aggression than he stands to lose by restraining it. He would be mad to listen to these people. He would also be mad not to.

[Coastie for Truth]

7. Please explain your logic

You have said "this article confirms that there are close links between American and Israeli religious right" while the Monbiot article says

"In the United States, several million people have succumbed to an extraordinary delusion. In the 19th century, two immigrant preachers cobbled together a series of unrelated passages from the Bible to create what appears to be a consistent narrative: Jesus will return to Earth when certain preconditions have been met. The first of these was the establishment of a state of Israel. The next involves Israel's occupation of the rest of its "biblical lands" (most of the Middle East), and the rebuilding of the Third Temple on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosques. The legions of the antichrist will then be deployed against Israel, and their war will lead to a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon. The Jews will either burn or convert to Christianity, and the Messiah will return to Earth."

which is a wee bit illogical.

Moreover, according to some historians, this belief in Rapture was what motivated Marx's understanding of religion, summed up in a passage from the Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right:

"Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."

[occuserpens]

8. Please, check the updated post above

Proper abstracting needs certain skills ;-)

[occuserpens]

9. Just curious

Netanyahu has the whole hasbara machine ready to promote his views. Why GU needs to repeat this?

1. JPost. GIL HOFFMAN. Netanyahu: Sharon is a dictator: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1132475595690&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasbara

[newyorican]

10. Vote Sharon!

Your middle of the Road Candidate