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....to make progress, Sharon's health decides to take a turn for the worst. Unfortunate, I tell ya'.

Scooter, you don't know what I'm referring to?

Not really, no.

This is the other "Sharon." You know, the one doesn't have "Stone" as a part of their name.

Arial Sharon, Israeli leader, has suffered serious bleeding strokes and is currently in an induced coma. It looks unlikely he will return to politics, and could force an election, and the Palestinians aren't unhappy about it - ergo politicians predict this could set back the "peace" process who knows how far.

Makes sense now. Thank IS.

C'mon, Scoots....you gotta stay on top of your current events a little more.

Originally posted by Imperial_Samura
Arial Sharon, Israeli leader, has suffered serious bleeding strokes and is currently in an induced coma. It looks unlikely he will return to politics, and could force an election, and the Palestinians aren't unhappy about it - ergo politicians predict this could set back the "peace" process who knows how far.

ironic since not so long ago palestinians refered to him as the 'butcher'.
strange days indeed

Originally posted by BobbyD
C'mon, Scoots....you gotta stay on top of your current events a little more.

Ihaven't been paying attention to them. *shrug* I'm more concerned with America, instead of other countries.

Originally posted by PVS
ironic since not so long ago palestinians refered to him as the 'butcher'.
strange days indeed

I'm pretty sure a good number still do. They had scenes on the news of people handing out sweets in celebration of his imminent death, or so they believe. Still, cooler heads and more moderate leaders seem concerned, at least with the current Palestinian authority anyway.

Originally posted by PVS
ironic since not so long ago palestinians refered to him as the 'butcher'.
strange days indeed

jaden patiently waits for someone to bring up the obvious saddam reference

oops...i did it myself

as bad as ariel sharon is...he's the only person on the political spectrum of israel and palestine who treads the middle ground with authority

without him i have no doubt the bejamin netanyahu will win in the next elections...he has already said he will give no leeway with regards to the palestinians...and the whole place will decend into chaos again

anyone think with him out of the picture more violence could erupt in that region?

indeed he was the one who wanted to give the Palestinians some of there land back. Other in his own Party disagreed with him?

Sadly A1, yes....do think it will become more violent.

However, you know this is actually the perfect time for the wooorrrld to intervene IF after the new Isreali prime minister is in office, the Palestinians revolt.

Originally posted by BobbyD
....to make progress, Sharon's health decides to take a turn for the worst. Unfortunate, I tell ya'. I don't get this..
Just when the world was what? Why is it unfortunate?

I always thought Sharon was a bastard..

Actually, I heard he found out about the woman that married the dolphin. He was cool with it, until he hear teh dolphin's name was Cindy. He thought something gay was going on in the promised land and fell over from a stroke.

That's so wrong, Cap'n.

Overlord, yes I suppose he may have been a bastard, but he was doing a pretty good job of keeping the peace in a very volatile region.

Originally posted by Capt_Fantastic
Actually, I heard he found out about the woman that married the dolphin. He was cool with it, until he hear teh dolphin's name was Cindy. He thought something gay was going on in the promised land and fell over from a stroke. Yeah, I can imagine him react that way being pwned like that.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4589802.stm

One wonders, where Israeli policy will go now?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4590580.stm

Originally posted by Sir Whirlysplat
One wonders, where Israeli policy will go now?

One wonders what Pat Robertson will say now.

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
One wonders what Pat Robertson will say now.

No I mean will Kadima tear itself apart? How will this affect Israeli policy etc.

Originally posted by Sir Whirlysplat
No I mean will Kadima tear itself apart? How will this affect Israeli policy etc.

And I mean, will Pat Robertson attribute the improvement in the condition of Ariel Sharon to the devil?

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
And I mean, will Pat Robertson attribute the improvement in the condition of Ariel Sharon to the devil?

Probably

Slight improvment? Hummm...so, he's not drooling blood anymore?

Look, this guy is done for. He might not die right off, but the man's career in politics is over. And it's no suprise. Have you seen him lately? He's about four feet tall and eight feet wide! The man's heart and brain have been timebombs for a while now. He doesn't even eat bacon, how'd he get that way?

yeah, to paraphrase jon stewart, it's not god, it's obesity and age.

Yep. Even if he doesn't expire there's about as much chance of him returning to politics as there is of George W. Bush winning a spelling Bee.

And what will happen if he can't return to politics? Well, I think his deputy is currently acting as stand in Prime Minister, and can do so for 100 days if Sharon remains incapacitated. Once those days are up, or Sharon dies his party can elect a new leader and this will lead to the process of forming a new governing coalition. Though this is kind of moot as Israel's election takes place towards the end of March - not a good thing for Sharon's party who are in trouble in the popularity stakes due to the direction he took the peace process in.

Now, an Israel without Sharon apparently raises questions about whether the US will remain as close to Israel, and will continue to invest as much influence and resources in it (as no following contended is really buddy/buddy with them or has the influence as Sharon did - meaning the US relationship with the eventual successor might be... tense.)

The things that Sharon's successor will have to decide the future of -
*The Peace Process
*Palestinian elections and whether they will be mainly symbolic or have real power and function and whether Arabs in East Jerusalem would even be able to vote.
*That great big wall meant to separate the Israelis from the Palestinians - will it be continued?
*And the fate of the 100+ potentially illegal Jewish settlements in and around the West Bank.

.... Well, I guess there are poisons that can simulate stroke symptoms (don't anyone ask me what they are though, because I have no idea) - though then again he was a sick old man, and has been for some time. Strokes can happen to healthy people.

And while Netanyahu is the obvious contender and antitheses of Sharon, there are others who might rise in the moment - like the acting prime minister or Tzipi Livni or Shaul Mofaz.

Still, funny Sharon should take ill and appear to soon be for the grave so relativly soons after the passing of the former Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat.

Originally posted by Sir Whirlysplat
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4589802.stm

One wonders, where Israeli policy will go now?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4590580.stm

Isreral is the centrepoint for problems in the Middle East.