Hello Bob,   
      
    LL>> Every square inch of habitable lands have been contested by   
    LL>> man.  Not just land in Africa and the Middle East.  Even   
    LL>> inhabitable lands have been contested.  For a recent   
    LL>> example, the Falkland Islands.  Nobody really cared about   
    LL>> the few sheepherders who were living on the main islands.   
    LL>> That war was really about oil.   
      
   BK>No, it really wasn't. They can't find any significant oil in   
   BK>that area last I heard.   
      
   The area encompassed the entire South Atlantic, not just the small   
   islands themselves.  Oil companies have long been aware of the oil   
   deposits, but the cost of drilling was too prohibitive to make it   
   economically viable.  But today's technologies do make it profitable.   
      
   BK>It was about the Argentine Generals took over the government and   
   BK>it was going very badly. So they decided to distract the people   
   BK>and become popular by taking the islands away from the mighty   
   BK>British.   
      
   A war is one way of getting a people for forget about economic   
   troubles.  The generals probably thought they could get a negotiated   
   settlement with the UK, and probably would have had Maggie Thatcher   
   not been the PM.  Do note that the US remained "neutral" throughout   
   the conflict, although the Argentines tried mightily to get US   
   President Ronald Reagan to invoke the Monroe Doctrine on their   
   behalf.   
      
   BK>Unfortunately for the generals, when you lose the war your   
   BK>popularity tends to drop precipitously.   
      
   It was the women.  Women who had lost their sons.  And daughters.   
   And those women blamed the generals.  The women blamed the generals   
   for having lost their sons and daughters.  And you know as well as   
   I do that women are always right.   
      
    LL>> The United Nations voted to create *two* Palestinian states   
    LL>> - one for the Jews, and one for the Arabs.  Both sides   
      
   BK>Which they never had the authority to do in the first place.   
      
   What authority did the Turks have to occupy Palestine?  What authority   
   did the British have to occupy Palestine?  What authority does any   
   foreign power have to occupy Palestine?  Palestine is for Palestinians.   
   Regardless of what religion those Palestinians might be.   
      
    LL>> rejected the plan, but the Jews gladly took what they could   
    LL>> get.  Go ahead.  Look at the original maps.  The first war   
    LL>> between the Arabs and the Jews was fought on Arab lands.   
    LL>> The second war between the Arabs and the Jews was fought on   
    LL>> Arab lands.  Every war fought between the Arabs and the   
    LL>> Jews has been fought on Arab lands.   
      
   BK>I hadn't thought of that aspect of it. Hmmm...   
      
   Start thinking, man!    I slap your bloody noggin' again   
   if I have to!  Does that look like the land of milk and honey to   
   you?  Where 72 virgins are waiting for martyrs to join them?  If   
   not, you know there is only one way to get there...   
      
   --Lee   
      
   --- MesNews/1.06.00.00-gb   
    * Origin: news://felten.yi.org (2:203/2)