David G:

I am saddened to hear of all the suffering you have to put up with, living in a servile, imperial-leaning country with no national pride or maturity. Perhaps you should consider migrating to Iran, or possibly North Korea, I’m confident you’ll be much happier there. I’ll be looking forward to reading your posts once you settle in. Just take a little extra care in criticising the regime when you’re there, I hear they don’t take kindly to negative feedback.

Hi Avw

Yes the debate goes on. In December 2006 one of Israel's less talented PMs admitted Israel had the Bomb. In that same interview the Iranian threat was raised. All indicating how stale the Israel-Iran "I have the bomb, but you can't have it" debate is.

As http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3338783,00.html repots:

"'...Iran explicitly, openly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map."

[Olmert said] "Can you see that is the same level when you are aspiring to have a nuclear weapon as America, France, Israel and Russia?" he asked. Officials at the Prime Minister's Office later attempted to minimize the damage and rejected the claim that Olmert violated the ambiguousness policy by admitting that Israel possesses nuclear weapons."

In any case, with Pakistan already having built what it calls "the Islamic Bomb" for purchase, lease or rental, Iran should be happy with a nuclear time-share arrangement - like a condo on the Gold Coast.

And naturally Israel never indulges in "continuous (and increasing) meddling in its neighbours’ affairs".

I admit it, Tasmania is cold, full of (frequently anti-Semitic) Greenies and also anti-intellectual, anti-Greenie bogans.

This http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Steinberg#Freeland_League may interest you. That area of WA also interests the Chinese.

Cheers

Pete

Hi Pete

Very few countries in the world have not, at some point, been meddling in their neighbours’ affairs. By the same token, very few countries have repeatedly declared their intention to wipe out one of their neighbours.

I have heard about the idea of the Freeland League many years ago. It would have been interesting to see an alternative universe where such a plan got approved

Hi Avw

Yes, only democracies like Israel get permanently blamed for moving different ethnic groups out. Anti-Semites or anti-Israelis are dictators at heart.

Russia starved millions of Ukrainians and forcibly relocated millions of Muslims and 100,000s of Jews to Siberia-Mongolia during the Stalin years.

OLO has a hardcore of anti-Semitic punters who don't know if they're extreme Right or Extreme Left who live for their hatred of Israel and Jews.

I have my criticisms of Israel, especially Netanyahu, but it is mainly to make the country better than to eradicate it.

Pete