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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Commentary

TitleDescriptionDate
Our relationship to Israel causes dead Americans and enormous expense in fighting Muslims Scheuer to CongressPhilip Weiss - Mondoweiss - Americans need to have a debate at last about whether supporting Israel is essential to US security, or having troops in Muslim countries is essential, or supporting Saudi Arabia is essential, Scheuer argues. If the people want to believe that, fine. But they should know that costs come with that.-rh 31/10/2013
Whos Afraid of Palestine?Akiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - One of the most interesting findings was a high likelihood of the natural formation of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation. Another central finding points to a change in the view of the status of Palestinian refugees the establishment of a nation-state would enable them to change their self-definition from exiles to members of the Palestinian nation living in the diaspora. The researchers found that contrary to the common understanding, which sees the refugee question as one of the main stumbling blocks for peace and reconciliation between the two peoples, the creation of a Palestinian state could actually resolve it.-rh 31/10/2013
A Lopsided U.S. Visa-WaiverYOUSEF MUNAYYER--As a naturalized U.S. citizen who has traveled extensively, particularly across borders where the very notion of citizenship can be a contentious political idea, I have a deep appreciation for my navy blue passport. dn30/10/2013
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Israel and the US: Drawing up lines of allegiance Mira Bar Hillel--Jewish Americans are being asked whether they feel more loyal to the US or Israel it`s hard to imagine the issue being raise at a more sensitive time. dn30/10/2013
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The structural roots of Israeli ApartheidNoura Erakat--Recent rulings by the Israeli high court have made a mockery of the concepts of equality, justice, and dignity for all. dn30/10/2013
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Israel and the Saudis, United in JealousyScott McConnell - The American Conservative - "So of course Kerry is having a difficult time. But this is to be expected. The stakes in the current Iran negotiation are enormous: if they succeed in blocking Irans quest for a nuclear bomb-making capacity while ending the diplomatic and economic blockade of the country, the impact will resonate throughout the region. Iran has modernized despite obstacles both self-imposed (by its own Islamic revolution) and imposed from without. It is entirely natural that Israel and Saudi Arabia should be jealous"28/10/2013
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Taking Apartheid Apart Uri Avnery - Gush Shalom - "Is Israel an apartheid state? This question is not going away. It raises its head every few months"28/10/2013
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Reclaiming Judaism from ZionismIlan Pappe - The Electronic Intifada - "It is possible, and indeed necessary, to reaffirm the pluralist non-Zionist ways of professing ones relationship with Judaism; in fact this is the only road open to us if we wish to seek an equitable and just solution in Palestine." 23/10/2013
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Netanyahu`s European Double StandardAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demands that Europe "be strict, be strong vis-a-vis Iran and its nuclear project, while his government continues to violate international law in the occupied territories." - id 23/10/2013
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Democracy in real dangerMoshe Ronen - Ynet - "The Knesset has members who are irritated by these principles. Equality between all citizens? Even the Arab ones? Even the women? And what if we enact a law which contradicts these principles? Who will get in our way? After all, we`ve been through primary elections, we are the sovereigns." - id 23/10/2013
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Lying by omission: The JNF`s role in setting Negev land policySeth Morrison - +972 "For many years the Jewish National Fund (KKL/JNF), the group known largely for planting trees in Israel, has denied any involvement in taking Bedouin land as part of its efforts to Judaize the Negev. Its website says, KKL-JNF develops land only in areas designated in the master plans as instructed by, and as requested by the ILA (Israel Land Authority), which are state lands or KKL-JNF lands. Putting it simply, they were just taking orders.The sad truth is that the KKL/JNF has lied by omission." ca 25/10/2013
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What Comes Next: The one state/two state debate is irrelevant as Israel and the US consolidate Greater IsraelNoam Chomsky - Mondoweiss "It makes sense, in my opinion, to contemplate a future binational secular democracy in the former Palestine, from the sea to the river. For what its worth, that is what I have advocated for 70 years. But I stress: advocated. Advocacy, as distinct from mere proposal, requires sketching a path from here to there." ca25/10/2013
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Ex-Shabak Head: Conditions ripe for Palestinian Arab SpringHa`aretz - Former Shabak Hhead Yuval Diskin, sees in the current political spectrum no chance of the Israeli public accepting a peace agreement - and in his view "PM Netanyahu is scared, fickle and shirking responsibility.(...) In the West Bank, immense tension and frustration is escalating among Palestinians. They feel their land is being stolen, the state they aspire to achieve is growing distant, and they can no longer take comfort in the economy. Conditions for a Palestinian Arab Spring are ripe". ak 22/10/2013
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If Not Now, When?Roger Cohen - New York Times - For almost three months now Israelis and Palestinians have been negotiating peace in U.S.-brokered talks. They have been doing so in such quiet that the previous sentence may seem startling. Nobody is leaking. Because expectations are low, spoilers are quiescent. There is a feeling nobody opposed to a resolution need lift a finger because the talks will fail all on their own. This is good. Absent discretion, diplomacy dies.(...) Netanyahu has recently taken to quoting Hillel: If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But Netanyahus chosen quote ends with four words he has omitted: If not now, when? ak 22/10/2013
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Analysis || Should we worry about bill requiring Knesset supermajority to negotiate on Jerusalem?Aeyal Gross - Haaretz - Bill forbidding negotiation on Jerusalem`s future without a Knesset majority of at least 66% contravenes several Basic Laws and Israel`s democratic tradition21/10/2013
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Between `barbarism` and `exceeding authority`Yossi Gurvitz, Yesh Din - +972 - Israel lacks laws for trying soldiers for war crimes and when IDF soldiers commit them, the results are ludicrous charges, indictments and sentences21/10/2013
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In the Middle East, the prize of peace is now there for the takingHans Christof von Sponeck, Miguel d`Escoto Brockmann and Denis J Halliday--These events changed the course of history away from endless confrontation and the risk of global war. dn20/10/2013
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Keynote Address: Confronting the Myths regarding Peace, Justice, and Economic Investment in PalestineSam Bahour--video of his address dn20/10/2013
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Occupation by trickeryHaaretz Editorial--The government should reject a proposal meant to obscure what little transparency remains in the process of establishing settlements. dn20/10/2013
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Lessons in hatred: Israeli incitement is worse than that of PalestiniansGideon Levy--By excoriating `Palestinian incitement,` Israeli leadership sets new records of chutzpah: It`s own incitement is far, far worse.dn20/10/2013
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Overcoming past pains, West begins to imagine possible nuclear deal with IranBarak Ravid--This week, for first time, Iran and world powers spoke the same language, both figuratively and literally; Israel`s warnings, meanwhile, were seen as no more than a nuisance.dn20/10/2013
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Spasiba, Gideon Levy!Shmuel Amir - Hagada Hasmalit - The Israeli press hit bottom with its coverage of events in Syria. After the speeches of Obama and Kerry, when war appeared to be around the corner, its joy knew no bounds.19/10/2013
It`s time to put an end to Israel`s don`t ask-don`t tell nuclear policy Pam Bailey--The P5+1 countries are encouraged by the nuclear talks with Iran, but Israel remains a spoiler despite its own nukes. dn19/10/2013
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What, or Who, Killed Yasser Arafat?Shlomi Eldar - Al Monitor "Anyone who closely reads the findings of the partial opinion published in the British journal The Lancet, which were quoted at length in The Guardian, can understand another important element of the story. The Swiss scientists find it hard to prove that poisoning was the cause of Arafats death. They admit that Arafat had a growth in his stomach, and they do not talk about HIV. The word that repeats again and again in the report they published is possibility ca 18/10/2013
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Iran`s deputy FM to Israel Radio: Nuclear deal can `open new horizons` with all nationsILAN BEN ZION - The Times of Israel - Kutz told The Times of Israel by phone from Geneva that he was wearing an Israel Radio press badge when he interviewed the Iranian official, and that gthe nature of my questionsh made his identity as an Israeli journalist obvious to Araqchi. If so, Araqchifs readiness to answer questions from an Israeli journalist is highly unusual; Iranian officials routinely avoid all open contact with the Israeli media.-rh 17/10/2013
Israeli Left Sociologist Rejects Two-State SolutionMazal Mualem - Al-Monitor - We think that we have two options: a two-state solution or a binational solution. This is a well-known sociological trick of deception, because there never are only two alternatives. Between the two paradigms of a nation of all its citizens and two states are many more options. People refuse to see this.``-rh 17/10/2013
Netanyahus Threats Ring Hollow Amid Iranian ProposalsMitchell Plitnick - Lobe Log - "Netanyahu is willfully distorting history." - id16/10/2013
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Netanyahu Stuck On Repeat on PalestineClovis Maksoud - Al-Monitor - "Netanyahus choice of words undermines any serious discussions, let alone negotiations, and proves that no outcome will lead to two states in historical Palestine." - id 16/10/2013
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We`ve learned nothing from Rabin murderYair Tzaban - Ynet - "During the event, the late prime minister said "Violence is undermining the very foundations of Israeli democracy." It is terrifying to think that this call is as relevant as ever, as though we`ve learned nothing since then." - id 16/10/2013
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Double standards exist even on hate in IsraelRAY HANANIA - Columns - "Rabbi Yosef frequently called Arabs vipers and evil. He denounced Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has supported peace based on compromise with Israel, asking God to strike these Ishmaelites and Palestinians with a plague, these evil haters of Israel. Yet, when an Arab makes such terrible comments, they are punished and judged harshly. But when Israelis say the same and worse, they are honored."16/10/2013
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A little girl and a little boy and 120 years of historyAdam Keller - Crazy Country - " To go through the Qalandiya checkpoint is as enjoyable as going through a meat grinder." - id 16/10/2013
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Red Rag: folly of the parents, the Liar, the Preacher, From Russia, with LoveGideon Spiro - How does Netanyahu know that Rouhani is a liar? From personal experience. For generations now all Israeli governments have been composed of liars on the nuclear issue. Starting with Ben-Gurion, who lied to President Kennedy with his fairy-tales about a textile plant in Dimona.15/10/2013
What does an IDF mock-up of an Arab village tell us about Israel?Daniel Tchetchik--Two British artists took a close look at the training facility called Chicago. dn12/10/2013
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Why is Mr. Netanyahu so distraught? Hamid Dabashi--As President Rouhani conducts a diplomatic charm offensive, Israel`s Prime Minister is left in a spin, writes scholar. dn12/10/2013
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Rethinking the Two-state SolutionNeve Gordon - Information Clearing House - The demographic reality calls upon J Street to choose between a strictly Jewish state and a democratic state. The question now is whether the new lobby will have the foresight and audacity to follow the footsteps of major Zionist intellectuals who supported a binational state like the great philosopher Martin Buber and the founder and first president of Hebrew University, Judah Magnes and take the road less traveled.-rh 9/10/2013
World Bank: Israeli control in West Bank costs Palestinians billionsGAVRIEL FISKE AND AP - The Times of Israel - World Bank report Monday accused Isael of squeezing the Palestinian economy out of billions of dollars by restricting access to Area C, which comprises some 61 percent of West Bank territory but is under full Israeli civil and security control.-rh 9/10/2013
Israeli Society Corrupted by OccupationAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - The Israeli democracy index published this week [Oct. 6] by the Israeli Democracy institute indicates that 29.2% of Israeli Jews prefer a state with a Jewish character over a state with a democratic character, as opposed to 17% in 2010. The index says 48.9% of Israeli Jews believe that Jews should have more rights than non-Jews.-rh 9/10/2013
Is Netanyahu Israels "Wolf In Wolfs Clothing"?Ludwig Watzal - Countercurrents - The Israeli leadership freaked out politically when noticing a rapprochement between Iran and the U. S. Netanyahu seems not to have understood the writing on the wall. The American people are fed up with spilling their boys blood for other countries interests. In case of Iran, 85 per cent of the American public favors diplomacy over war. It seems as if the belligerent American political class can only be stopped by massive public opinion, as the case of Syria has shown. Whether the Zionist lobby AIPAC can overturn antiwar opinion by financially supporting the U. S. midterm elections remains to be seen.-rh 9/10/2013
Court denial of Israeli nationality reinforces discriminationBen White - Middle East Monitor - "the distinction between citizenship and nationality, taken with the state`s being identified with only one of the national groups, will continue to obscure the possibility of having real democracy in Israel". While true, this lack of genuine democracy does not primarily affect Jews who wish to change their ethnicity on an ID card, but rather millions of Palestinians who are second-class citizens - or, excluded altogether from their homeland.-rh 9/10/2013
Binyamin Netanyahu: occupation is not cause of conflictHarriet Sherwood - Guardian - "Hardline speech fuels suspicion PM is unwilling to agree to dismantle settlements and withdraw from West Bank." - id 9/10/2013
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A dangerous illusionGideon Levy--The illusion that Israeli settlers can live peacefully in the land of apartheid was shattered with the murder of Seraiah `Yaya` Ofer. dn13/10/2013
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Stop the expulsionsHaaretz Editorial--Only the High Court has the power to bring an end to Israel`s intentional and methodical policy of expelling Palestinians and Bedouin from the southern Hebron Hills to ensure the area`s annexation. dn13/10/2013
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Precise missiles, cyber-attacks, mass border invasions: Israel`s next warAmos Harel--A speech delivered this week by Chief of Staff Benny Gantz provides a window into the IDF in 2025; the question of war is when, not if. dn 13/10/2013
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Netanyahu Takes a Lonely Stance Denouncing IranJODI RUDOREN--JERUSALEM Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the son of a historian, often complains to his inner circle that people have a historical memory that goes back to breakfast. dn13/10/2013
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The USA`s moral warShmuel Amir - Hagada Hasmalit - Ari Shavit has outdone them all in sucking up to the West, or more precisely, the US (Haaretz 29 August 2013). Like all any demagogue worthy of the name, he is quick to evoke the Holocaust. He compares the victims of gas in Syria to the six million Jews killed by the Nazis, no less.13/10/2013
Israels politics of deflectionRichard Falk - Al Ahram Weekly "Undoubtedly the most disturbing behaviour by Israel and its supporters in deflecting attention from substance in the conflict and the abuses of the occupation is to dismiss criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism or to defame the critic as an anti-Semite. This is pernicious for two reasons: first, because it exerts a huge influence since anti-Semitism has been so totally discredited, even criminalised, in the aftermath of World War II that featured the exposure and repudiation of the Holocaust."ca11/10/2013
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Muslims must be more supportive of Christian ArabsRAY HANANIA - Saudi Gazette Newspaper = "In the end, fanaticism and extremism frighten Christian Arabs more than a secular dictator, and even more than Israel." - id 6/10/2013
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About ambiguity and hypocrisyAdam Keller - Crazy Country - "...the main argument for the State of Israel to demand a preferential treatment and the exclusive right to hold nuclear weapons in the Middle East is based on its being "The Only Democracy in the Region", a supposedly respectable and responsible member of the family of Western democracies . With every year that the Israeli occupation of millions of Palestinians continues to deepen, this argument sounds ever more hollow." - id 6/10/2013
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When Israel Stepped Back From the BrinkAVNER COHEN - NYT "Although the Azaryahu interview leaves many questions unanswered, it challenges the popular and misguided narrative that the Israeli government, influenced by Mr. Dayans gloom, was on the verge of using nuclear weapons in October 1973. Moreover, Mr. Azaryahus testimony reveals that Israels leadership, with the notable exception of Mr. Dayan, recognized the danger of the nuclear brink and wisely refused to approach it. In that meeting, Israels leaders, especially Ms. Meir, demonstrated remarkable restraint at a time when the countrys survival hung in the balance." ca4/10/2013
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20 years of Oslo: Maybe the best thing to happen to PalestiniansSuhail Khalilieh - Ma`an News "...the major sentiment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories and the diaspora, and passionate advocates of the Palestinian cause, is that the Oslo Accords were the biggest Palestinian mistake, error of judgement, and a disastrous move...nowadays the Palestinians are well recognized as a people seeking their freedom from Israeli occupation. And we now have stages, platforms, podiums opened up to us all over the world, almost all of which were not available to us before. Regardless of the occupation, Palestinians today have diplomatic representation almost all over the world, and dozens of diplomatic representatives within Palestinian controlled Area A.International organizations have numerous branches operating in Area A, in cooperation with PA ministries, and Palestine has an operational monetary authority and 17 different banks with 230 branches and 11 micro-finance institutions operating just in Area A." ca 4/10/2013
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J Street crowd applauds Palestinian right of returnLazar Berman - The Times of Israel - What do refugees want? he continued. They want four options. Some of them might want to stay where they are. Some of them might want to resettle somewhere else, in a third country. Some of them might want to choose to come back to the state of Palestine. And some of them might want to return to their original homes. But all of them- all of them- want one thing. Full recognition of the Nakba that has befallen our people. (sustained applause)-rh 2/10/2013
The Honor Games: Netanyahu vs. RouhaniAkiva Eldar - Al-Monitor - Murciano, who is completing his dissertation on the subject at the Free University in Berlin, noted that his research shows that the special relationship between Jerusalem and Tehran in the days of the shah was largely based on the prevailing belief of both nations that they are chosen people, superior to their neighboring Arab neighbors. To use the problematic metaphor coined by former Defense Minister Ehud Barak, both countries were perceived as a villa in a jungle.-rh 2/10/2013
Binyamin Netanyahu at the UN: this year, a voice in the wildernessAnshel Pfeffer - Guardian - "Netanyahu is the lone prophet, well aware that even his own defence chiefs and most Israelis disagree with his position on Iran. At the UN, he will stand alone, the friendless and isolated historian`s son, raging against the world`s complacency." - id 2/10/2013
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US cowardice will let Israels isolated right off the hookROBERT FISK - Independent - "And even if President Obama had the courage to say boo to a goose in his final term in office, you can be sure that Madame Clinton to quote Sir Thomas More doesnt have the spittle for it. For she wants to be the next appeaser-president." - id 2/10/2013
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Not giving diplomacy a chanceAriella Ringel-Hoffman - Ynet - "Instead of trying to force its opinion, Israel should have cautiously embraced change in Iranian rhetoric." id 2/10/2013
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If this isn`t apartheid, then what is it?Ran Greenstein - +972 - "We do not need to find identical practices to those prevailing in pre-1994 South Africa in order to determine whether apartheid exists elsewhere." - id 2/10/2013
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The lefts one-state colonialismYitzhak Laor - Haaretz - Is there an organization capable of uniting Palestinians and Jews, and whose institutions will build the "one state in the making"? And how is it that despite all the activities at the fence, Sheikh Jarrah and other places Israelis and Palestinians fought since 2000, no such political organization has arisen to inherit the platform of "two states?" (The only Arab-Jewish movement in the entire Middle East region is Hadash, and it actually supports the two-state solution.) bz1/10/2013
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If the State does not obey the law, why should we?Yishai Menuhin - walla.co.il - For 16 years the State has avoided evacuating Amona, despite countless court orders. And the response to the High Court of Justices ruling on the Infiltration Law has been similar. Yishai Menuhin wonders if the time has come to consider civil disobedience. 26/10/2013
Druze Israeli citizens serving Israel: part reconstruction, part invention Julie C.--First of all, I am a human being, then I am a woman, then I am a Palestinian. Period. dn26/10/2013
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The idiocy of the cultural boycott of IsraelRay Hanania - Saudi Gazette - "You cant beat Israel with hate. But you can achieve freedom through principle and justice and fairness. We need to send our message and communicate our rights to the Israelis as much as we need to support those Palestinians who suffer under Israels racist societal policies." - id 23/10/2013
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A state within a locked cage? No, thank you.Adam Keller - Crazy Country - ""`We are willing to give you a demilitarized state` said the Israelis in the latest round. `What is a demilitarized state?` asked the Palestinians. `A demilitarized state is a state where we control the air space, the sea traffic and the border crossings`, answered the Israelis." - id23/10/2013
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The Nakba in the New YorkerMarilyn Kleinberg Neimark - MuzzleWatch - Its a startling admission that strangely points to where hope, if there is to be any, will be found: in Israeli recognition of the Nakba and the demand that Israelis either embrace a history as ethnic cleansers or work toward a future in which Israel becomes a democracy of all its people. There is a choice there.-rh 23/10/2013
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