[ExI] Israel/Germany/Japan, as compared to France

[Fred C. Moulton]

On Sun, 2009-04-05 at 21:20 -0700, John Grigg wrote:
> I think to gain perspective we need to see how various nations deal
> with their challenges...

The questions you raise are likely not going to get answered here.  The
questions are best answered in multiple book length discussions and not
in an email list.  Be very careful of everything you read on this list
or anywhere else. 

It is important to remember that persons in any country or any religion
are not a monolithic whole so we need to be careful to avoid over
generalization.
 
About France:
For those really interested in France a good place to start is with the
French invasion of the Algerian region of Africa and French colonialism
in general.  Then look at the social situation in France particularly in
the suburbs with largely non-European populations.  Looking at this will
lead to an examination of economic considerations particularly the role
of Unions, employment laws and customs, the lack of mobility in job
market and similar factors.  The extent to which racism plays a role has
been mentioned in the news and should also be something to be
investigated.

Now at this point there likely some fool with fingers poised over their
keyboard ready to make some implication about "how some people blame
everything on racism" so I will state that "I do not blame everything on
racism".  I should not even have to add this disclaimer but considering
some of the rhetorical crap that has recently appeared I am just being
safe.

About Japan:
Japan is very complex issue. However I was pleased to see the progress
in Japan in robotics.  In 2006 I saw a live demonstration of the Asimo
and was impressed, not overwhelmed but impressed.  Now the news of the
HRP-4C robot shows that progress is being made:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/16/japans-hrp-4c-fashion-model-robot-unveiled-already-harassed/
Take a look. 
     1. 
About Israel
I doubt you will get any good discussion of this topic here.  So if you
are really interested I suggest looking at variety of sources both
historical and contemporary.  And do not just rely on sources from the
USA.  For example look at http://english.aljazeera.net/ and compare it
to other news outlets such as news outlets in Europe.  And part of the
answer depends on what you mean by Israel since Israel is occupying
areas where it controls the border and thus there are reports of
supplies having cost and availability problems due to the border
controls.  In many respects Israel and the occupied territories are in a
similar situation as South Africa under apartheid.

>   And should the Jewish Israeli majority really be concerned about
> their growing Arab population?  

I suggest you look at all of the people in Israel and all of the
territory occupied and all of the people exiled in refuge camps and then
consider that if you treat a bunch of people as if they were second
class for year after year they might become resentful.  The conduct of
some of the IDF in Gaza recently is an example.

You may want to look at a variety of sites on some of this background
for example Amnesty International if you read Hebrew you can go here:
http://www.amnesty.org.il/
Can not read Hebrew (neither can I) so try:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/israel-and-occupied-territories
And then compare what you read there with other sources.

Fred

> John
> 
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