Were those "children" eighteen and nineteen? What were they doing wrong?

 

Sharett's Diary, however, provides the entire documentation of how in 1954 Ben Gurion
developed the diabolic plans to "Christianize" Lebanon, i.e., to invent and create from
scratch the inter-Lebanese conflict, and of how a detailed blueprint for the partition and
subordination of that country to Israel was elaborated by Israel more than fifteen years
before the Palestinian presence became a political factor in Lebanon.

The use of terror and aggression to provoke or create the appearance of an Arab threat to
Israel's existence was summed up by the then "number two" of the Zionist state's hierarchy:



"I have been meditating on the long chain of false incidents and hostilities we
have invented, and on the many clashes we have provoked which cost us so much
blood, and on the violations of the law by our men-all of which brought grave
disasters and determined the whole course of events and contributed to the
security crisis".



A week earlier, Moshe Dayan, then Israel's chief of staff, explained why Israel needed to
reject Any border security arrangements offered by the neighboring Arab States, or by the
United Nations, as well as the formal security guarantees suggested by the United States.
Such guarantees, he predicted, might "tie Israel's hands." Presumably, that would render
unjustifiable or even impossible those attacks and incursions across the armistice lines
which through the mid- 1950s went under the euphemistic name of reprisal actions. These
actions, Dayan said,



"are our vital lymph. They .... help us maintain a high tension among our
population and in the army. . . in order to have young men go to the Negev we
have to cry out that it is in danger". (26 May 1955, 102 1)



The creation of a siege mentality in Israeli society was necessary to complement the
prefabricated myth of the Arab threat. The two elements were intended to feed each other.
Although Israeli society faced a serious risk of social and cultural disintegration under the
impact of a mass immigration of Asian and North African Jews into the pre-state's
ideologically homogeneous community, the purpose of the siege mentality was not so much
that of attaining a defensive cohesiveness in Israel's Jewish society. It was calculated
principally to "eliminate the moral brakes" required for a society to fully support a police
which constituted a complete reversal of the collective ethical code on which its formal
education was based and from which it was supposed to derive its vital strength. Of course,
this ethical code had not been respected in the past either. Aggression and terrorism had
been exercised by the Zionists before and during the 1947-48 war. The following testimony
of a soldier who participated in the occupation of the Palestinian village of Duelma in 1948
is only the most recently disclosed of a long chain of evidence:

Killed between 80 to 100 Arabs, women and children. To kill the children they
fractured their heads with sticks. There was not one house without corpses. The
men and women of the villages were pushed into houses without food or water.
Then the saboteurs came to dynamite the houses. One commander ordered a
soldier to bring two women into a house he was about to blow up. . . . Another
soldier prided himself upon having raped an Arab woman before shooting her to
death. Another Arab woman with her newborn baby was made to clean the place
for a couple of days, and then they shot her and the baby. Educated and
well-mannered commanders who were considered "good guys". . . became base
murderers, and this not in the storm of battle, but as a method of expulsion and
extermination. The fewer the Arabs who remain, the better, (quoted in Davar, 9
June 1979)

https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-iWpQLGz5TzZJDxxw/Israel's Sacred Terrorism_djvu.txt

 

Israeli leader to meet with Biden as tensions grow in Middle East
Naftali Bennett’s meeting with Joe Biden comes amid heightened tensions with Iran and fresh Israeli bombing in Gaza.


Bennett has spoken out against the possibility of a new nuclear accord between Iran and the world powers [File: Ronen Zvulun/AP Images]
25 Aug 2021
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s meeting with President Joe Biden comes as tensions rise with its regional arch enemy, Iran, and as Israel renews its bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip amid Palestinian protests.

Bennett, in his first state visit overseas since taking office, was scheduled on Wednesday to meet with senior administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and on Thursday with Biden.

In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office before his departure, Bennett said the top priority in his conversation with Biden would be Iran, “especially the leapfrogging in the past two to three years in the Iranian nuclear program”.

He said other issues would also be discussed, including the Israeli military’s qualitative edge, the coronavirus pandemic and economic matters.

Bennett has spoken out against the possibility of a new nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, and says that any agreement must also put the brakes on Iran’s regional aggression.

Recent months have seen a string of attacks on Israeli-connected shipping, believed to have been carried out by Iran.






Earlier this week, Bennett told his Cabinet that he would tell the American president “that now is the time to halt the Iranians, to stop this thing” and not re-enter “a nuclear deal that has already expired and is not relevant, even to those who thought it was once relevant”.

Friction between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers has been building in the three months since an 11-day relentless Israeli offensive killed 265 people in Gaza, and 13 in Israel.

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas – the group that governs the enclave – to reach an arrangement for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip have broken down in the past week.

Hamas has launched incendiary balloons into Israel and staged demonstrations on the border.

Palestinians say the balloons aim to pressure Israel to ease restrictions on Gaza and allow aid to reach the territory.

Confronting Gaza protesters along the fence on Saturday, Israeli troops shot and wounded 41 Palestinians, critically injuring two, medics said.

Palestinian gunfire seriously wounded an Israeli soldier, the military said.

“There’s a new government in the US and a new government in Israel, and I bring with me from Jerusalem a new spirit of cooperation, and this rests on the special and long relationship between the two countries,” Bennett said before takeoff.

Bennett took office two months ago after cobbling together a ruling coalition of eight disparate political parties – ranging from Jewish ultra-nationalists to a small Islamist faction – removing longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu from office following the country’s fourth consecutive parliamentary election in two years.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021...nnett-joe-biden-middle-east-iran-gaza-bombing

 

Sorry, Israel. Biden’s America no longer has your back
Biden dismantles Abraham Accords and returns to Obama policies of funding terrorists, pursuing negotiantions with Iran



When former President Trump brokered normalization agreements between four Arab states and Israel last year, it was a historic achievement. Even then presidential candidate Joe Biden said “It is good to see others in the Middle East recognizing Israel and even welcoming it as a partner,” adding “a Biden-Harris administration will build on these steps.”

Instead, President Biden has turned his back on our greatest ally in the region, Israel, is dismantling the Abraham Accords piece by piece, and has returned to the Obama-era policies of funding terrorists. All to achieve a nuclear agreement with Iran.

No longer are Israel’s enemies America’s enemies.

'

The Abraham Accords were the first step forward at achieving peace in the Middle East since Israel signed a treaty with Jordan in 1994. The Trump administration was able to negotiate the deal by removing the corrupt and indignant Palestinian Authority from the process. Four Arab states were then able to create an alliance with Israel to combat their common foe in the region, Iran.

It was the Trump administration’s goal to bring more Arab states into the agreement, such as Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, as to further isolate the Palestinian Authority and place pressure on them to return to the negotiating table with Israel in good faith.



The Trump administration shuttered the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) office in Washington, D.C., cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority, moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, all in an attempt to coerce Palestinian cooperation in Middle East peace talks.

To ensure there was no “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel, the U.S. withdrew from Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal and ordered a lethal strike against Qasem Soleimani.

Unfortunately, we’ll never know if Mr. Trump’s realpolitik strategy would’ve worked, as the Biden administration has completely abandoned it. Their ideological priority in the region is to renew the Iranian nuclear deal, and they find the founding principles of Abraham Accords a nuisance.

In Mr. Biden’s first days in office he pledged to restore U.S. taxpayer funding to the Palestinian Authority, which uses the money to pay terrorist salaries and advance war crime allegations against Israel in the International Criminal Court, to the tune of $250 million.

Israel in the form of new rocket attacks.

“We’re going to be working in partnership with the United Nations and the Palestinian Authority to kind of channel aid there in a manner that does its best to go to the people of Gaza,” a State Department official said, according to a transcript.

“As we’ve seen in life, as we all know in life, there are no guarantees, but we’re going to do everything that we can to ensure that this assistance reaches the people who need it the most,” the official added.

It was much akin to former Secretary of State John Kerry admitting in 2016 some of the money Iran received in U.S. sanctions relief would be funneled to groups considered terrorists, but there wasn’t anything the U.S. could do to prevent it. An Iranian deal had to be made.

Sorry, Israel. The U.S. no longer has your back.

The four other Arab nations in the Abraham Accords, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco, are also beginning to realize their treaty may not come to fruition as the Biden administration continues to pursue negotiations with their No. 1 enemy Iran.

Part of the deal Mr. Trump struck with the U.A.E to entice them to normalize relations with Israel was a $23 billion sale of F-35s, America’s most advanced jet fighters. A week into the Biden administration, his State Department said it was “placing a hold” on the sale pending its review and on Wednesday it was reported China’s People’s Liberation Army landed two planes in the U.A.E and “unloaded crates of undermined material,” according to the Wall Street Journal.

It’s understandable the U.A.E maybe looking to hedge against the U.S., as the Biden administration moves forward in its courting of Iran and the sale of its F-35s comes into question.

President Biden lied to the American people when he said his administration would build off the Abraham Accords and continue to be a strong ally to Israel. In his reckless pursuance of a deal with Iran, he’s putting the security of the Middle East in jeopardy and undoing historic advancements made in the region.

 

You seem to hate Biden more than you like Israel. I like them both.

 

My dislike for biden has absolutely nothing to do with Israel.

I support Israel, biden does not.....

 

Israel bombs Hamas sites in Gaza after protests
Palestinians say they are resuming the demonstrations to press Israel to ease restrictions on the enclave.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021...mas-sites-in-gaza-over-fire-balloons-military

 

If the Palestinians want to stop Gaza from being bombed they should stop endangering the Israelis.

 

Israel what's a fleet of the F15X the latest version the US themselves have not taken delivery of yet.
The US government is giving the money So US taxpayers are funding them so the IDF will have better aircraft than the USAF. Meanwhile the the US navy is cutting the number of fighter aircraft per squadron because they can not afford to buy more

 

Well, not sure what your source is for your load of propaganda, but here's a different take on why Israel might want the F 15X.

No, Israel's Interest In Buying New F-15s Isn't A Referendum On The F-35 (thedrive.com)

And you might also want to read the follow up article about why Israel is so happy to get the out of date F 15D that US squadrons are retiring.

 

This what I thought Canada should do. Chose an aircraft better suited for them other than the F-35.

 

Israel not wanting the F35 is definitely a indictment of the aircraft.
Australia bought them just to please but know they shouldn’t have.

 

Well, if one read the article one would learn that while the F 35 has a lot going for it, the F 15, in particular the F 15D meets the mission requirements better for Israel. That is in no way an indictment of the F 35.
Don't know about Australia. Or Canada. Other, you know, than he's seen this photo of the Canadian air force ................



The F35 is a high maintenance, restricted role aircraft that is sinfully expensive.
But, if the goal is to violate very secure air space undetected, it's just the ticket.

 

West Bank anger boils as Jenin becomes hotbed of resistance
Palestinian security forces are afraid to go into Jenin refugee camp and have been unable to control it as disillusionment intensifies.


By Al Jazeera Staff
1 Sep 2021
Jenin refugee camp, occupied West Bank – Palestinian armed groups are increasingly becoming more visible as frustration with the Israeli military, violent settlers, and the Palestinian leadership – whose authority continues to wane – intensifies.

Israel Defence Minister Benny Gantz met with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah on Sunday night in the first top-level meeting between the two sides in10 years.

us’
One of the main issues discussed was security coordination in light of the deteriorating safety situation in the occupied West Bank where PA and Israeli security forces are facing an increase in resistance from armed Palestinian groups, with a burgeoning number of firefights taking place as Palestinian disillusionment with the peace process reaches a nadir.

Israel is already concerned about its border with Gaza heating up after Hamas and other resistance groups said they planned to increase confrontations in the form of launching incendiary and explosive balloons into Israel until the 14-year siege of the coastal territory eases completely.

With the backing and encouragement of Washington, Israel’s about-turn – after previously ignoring the PA, undermining it and refusing to pass on the taxes Israel collected on its behalf – comes as the two political entities realise they face a common enemy in the form of increasingly confident groups of Palestinian gunmen aligned to various political factions in the West Bank who are unafraid to challenge them militarily.

PA security forces are afraid to go into Jenin refugee camp and have been unable to control the camp.

Israeli special forces raided it several weeks ago and arrested a wanted Palestinian but in a subsequent gunfight between resistance fighters and the soldiers four Palestinians were shot dead.






‘Shot in the back of the head’
Saleh Ammar, 19, was one of four Palestinians who died after being shot by Israeli soldiers who said they came under attack.

However, his father Ahmed Ammar disputed the Israeli version of events, saying the four were ambushed as they came onto the streets to see the disturbance.


“Saleh was shot in the back of his head and died shortly afterwards,” Ahmed Ammar told Al Jazeera.


“Our neighbour was being arrested and there were armed soldiers on top of a surrounding building who opened fire on the young men as soon as they saw them, and only then did our guys shoot back,” he added.

Irrespective of whose version of events is correct, Jenin refugee camp is a hotbed of resistance activity and awash with weapons.

On a previous occasion Al Jazeera witnessed dozens of gunmen from several different political factions firing into the night air with automatic weapons as they promised to take revenge for the deaths of their comrades.

An Israeli raid in June led to another gunfight with Israeli soldiers, killing several members of the PA’s military intelligence unit that they said they mistook for shooters from the camp.

During the second Palestinian Intifada, the camp was almost completely razed in 2002 with 23 Israeli soldiers killed and dozens of Palestinian fighters also dying during clashes after a number of suicide bombers originating from the camp attacked the Israelis.


‘We are all united’
The PA has also struggled to subdue the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, with numerous clashes between PA security forces and members of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades taking place in the camp.

Last week the latest gun battle erupted after Israeli soldiers invaded the camp.

During the raid Imad Khaled Saleh Hashash, 15, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers who said he had a rock in his hand while his family said he was attempting to film the invasion with his mobile phone.

Two days-ago PA security forces engaged in an exchange of gunfire with shooters in Qabatiya town in the northern West Bank.

However, the PA is not only facing resistance from gunmen associated with opposition factions but also from groups affiliated with Fatah, the faction that dominates the PA.

“The resistance fighters in our camp are from Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups – we are all united,” Saleh’s mother Najah told Al Jazeera.

While grieving the death of their son and angry at the circumstances in which he died, which they consider “an execution”, Saleh’s parents are proud of him and believe in the camp’s fight for justice.

“We are all Palestinian and it doesn’t matter how many times the Israelis raid the camp or how many of us they kill we will fight back,” added Ahmed Ammar.


‘Public rage’
The Israeli military is also battling to control a united uprising from across the Palestinian political spectrum in the town of Beita, near Nablus, where Palestinian protests against Israel’s expropriation of Palestinian land has resulted in daily clashes, arrests and the death of seven Palestinians as they defiantly carry out a campaign of civil disobedience.

“We have been protesting for over three months and we will continue to fight for the return of our land until the last man,” villager Muhammad Khabeisa, who lost agricultural land to the illegal settlement of Evyatar told Al Jazeera.

Concerned with the growing militarism, Israeli media outlet Walla! News reported a top Israeli military official in the occupied West Bank warned if Palestinian Authority security forces were unable to deal with the situation the army would be forced to launch a large-scale operation in the region.

Israeli political analyst Yohanan Tzoreff, from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, warned the security situation in the West Bank was deteriorating.

“Mass demonstrations, harsh criticism, and conflicts with the Palestinian security apparatuses – the status of the PA continues to weaken, and this affects the security situation in the West Bank,” said Tzoreff.

“Public rage is ongoing, expressions of distrust in the PA agencies resound, allegations of PA corruption accompanied by sarcasm have intensified, and violent clashes between clans have multiplied, while the PA security forces are afraid to intervene.

“Security control in Jenin has been weakened, and the activity of ‘armed local gangs’ has recently made it necessary for the IDF [Israeli army] to take action in the area in order to prevent ‘terrorist attacks’,” said Tzoreff.

Palestinian political analysts concurred as to the fragile situation in the West Bank.

Writing in Quds News online, Hassan Lafi said Jenin, specifically the refugee camp, was a top priority and strategic target for the Israeli military as it battles to control the alley camps.

According to Lafi, there was an Israeli realisation that any delay in dealing with Jenin meant that it could turn into an inspiring model for the entire West Bank.

Analyst Omar Ja’ara added the occupied West Bank had become a real front similar to Gaza and the Israel was aware of the imminent danger from there.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/1/west-bank-anger-boils-as-jenin-becomes-hotbed-of-resistance

 

Don’t want to sell Israel, Canada or anyone else a F22 but try hard to sell the F-35 nobody wants.
Canada had to stop building Fighter Interceptors because the US couldn’t deal with being second best.
Should have bought some Canadian water bombers too. You’re going to need them.

BigSuzyB, Monday at 3:13 PM​

Well now that's a load of bullshit.
a) The F22 was initially developed for export. The problem was, the United States unreasonably asked countries interested in buying the F22 to chip in for part of the development costs, which none of them ever did. So the US said Fuck em, cheap bastards, and banned export of the plane the US developed by itself. The F35 was jointly developed with several countries, so those countries can get the F35.
b) Canada had to stop building fighter interceptors because they didn't have the money needed. Shooter assumes you're talking about the Avro Arrow? The plane build in the 1950's? The plane that proved too spendy for thrifty Canadians who felt that what the hell, let America shoulder the cost of intercepting russian bombers, we got better things to do with our money? That fighter interceptor?
c) We got plenty of our own water bombers, thanks. It would seem, Canada might need to keep them for themselves.

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Oh, and, uh, OOPS!!

<iframe width="738" height="381" src="" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Israeli president and Jordanian king hold secret talks
The meeting between Isaac Herzog and King Abdullah II in Amman is sign of improving relations between the two states.


Israeli President Isaac Herzog has revealed he met King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman, an unannounced meeting held against the backdrop of improving diplomatic ties between the two countries.

“Last week I met and had a very long conversation with the king of Jordan, I was in his palace, an entire evening. It was an excellent meeting,” Herzog said in clips from an interview broadcast on Saturday on Israeli television.

The entire interview will be shown on Sunday, the eve of the Jewish new year which begins on Monday evening.

“Jordan is a very important country. I have immense respect for King Abdullah, a great leader and a highly significant regional actor,” Herzog said in a statement issued by his office

The meeting took place at King Abdullah’s palace, with the two leaders discussing a series of political and economic issues including energy and sustainability, according to the statement.

It spoke of a “warm meeting, held at the king’s invitation”, during which the two discussed “deep strategic issues”.

“Among the things we discussed were the core issues in the dialogue between our states, including an agreement to import agricultural produce during the shemitah (agricultural sabbatical) year, energy issues, sustainability, and solutions to the climate crisis that we can advance together,” the statement said.

Mending strained relations
Jordan and Egypt are the only two countries bordering Israel to have signed peace treaties with it.

Israel-Jordan relations deteriorated under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, whom critics accused of neglecting the Hashemite kingdom in favour of agreeing to normalise ties last year with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Diplomatic relations have also been strained over tensions at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, and Israel’s expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

However, shortly after he took office in June, new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Amman for talks with King Abdullah. In the week following, Jordan and Israel signed two breakthrough water and trade deals.

The two countries agreed that Israel would sell 50 million cubic metres of water a year to Jordan, in addition to the 55 million cubic metres it already provides free of charge.

Under this agreement, Jordan is allowed to increase its exports to Palestinians in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Earlier this week, Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the first high-level meeting between the two sides in years.

Gantz said the Israeli government is interested in bolstering Abbas in his rivalry against Gaza’s ruling Hamas group, including plans to loan $150m to the cash-strapped autonomy government in the West Bank.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/4/israeli-president-and-jordan-king-hold-secret-talks

 

Go for it Israel. But go it alone.

Israel’s military chief says ‘accelerating’ Iran strike plans
Chief of General Staff Aviv Kohavi’s comments follow a series of warnings from high-level Israeli officials over Tehran’s nuclear programme.


Aviv Kohavi also said efforts were under way throughout the Middle East to check Iran's allies 'with an emphasis on Syria' [File: Corinna Kern/Reuters]
7 Sep 2021
Military plans dealing with Iran’s nuclear programme have been “greatly accelerated”, Israel’s military chief warned, as questions on the ability to revive a landmark accord limiting Tehran’s weapons development continue to grow.

Preparations for possible action against Iran are being intensified, Chief of General Staff Aviv Kohavi said in an interview published on Monday, adding “a significant chunk of the boost to the defence budget, as was recently agreed, was intended for this purpose”.

“It’s a very complicated job with much more intelligence, much more operational capabilities, much more armaments. We’re working on all these things,” Kohavi told Walla news.

He also said efforts were under way throughout the Middle East to check Iran’s allies.

The main objective is “minimising Iranian presence in the Middle East with an emphasis on Syria … But these operations take place throughout the Middle East. They’re also against Hamas, against Hezbollah”, said Kohavi.

‘Enhance regional security’
US defence chief Lloyd Austin, speaking in Qatar on Tuesday, said Iranian military activity in the Middle East continued to ramp up tensions.

“Iran’s support for terrorism and its willingness to supply increasingly lethal weapons to non-state groups undermines the regional stability that we all seek,” said Austin.

“So we’re committed to working together to enhance regional security and regional defences against de-stabilizing actions – including Iran’s nuclear aspirations.”

The dispute over the 2015 international nuclear agreement with Iran remains one of the primary reasons for the high tensions in the region.

Since April, the other parties to the nuclear deal – China, Germany, France, Britain and Russia – have attempted to get the United States and Iran to return to the historic accord after Washington withdrew in 2018.

Iran has long claimed its nuclear programme is peaceful, noting it has worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency on its activities.

Goal-oriented negotiations’
Tehran has pledged its moves away from the 2015 deal would be reversed if the US returned to the agreement and lifted crippling sanctions that have devastated Iran’s economy.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday Iran was ready to hold talks with world powers to revive the nuclear deal – but not under Western “pressure”.

“Talks are on the agenda … We are seeking goal-oriented negotiations … so sanctions on the Iranian people are lifted,” Raisi said.

Meanwhile, Israel’s defence chief Benny Gantz recently urged the international community to develop a “Plan B” to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons – which he alleged Tehran was only two months away from acquiring.

“Iran has the intention to destroy Israel and is working on developing the means to do so,” said Gantz. “Israel has the means to act and will not hesitate to do so. I do not rule out the possibility that Israel will have to take action in the future in order to prevent a nuclear Iran.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/7/israels-military-chief-says-accelerating-iran-strike-plans

 

Israel will never be alone as long as America stands by her, and we should.

 

Israel has a communist leader now I’ll bet they miss ole yahoo now

 

Truthful 1, have you ever known a card carrying member of the American Communist Party? I have known several. They were nice people. We disagreed about many topics, but we disagreed agreeably - a practice alien to XNXX forum wars.

Once I took a fascinating seminar on Das Kapital, given by a brilliant member of the CPUSA. He earned a good living as a physicist. While leading the seminar he was translating a book from Russian to Swedish on behalf of the Soviet government.

I already owned all three copies of Das Kapital. They had been printed in Moscow by Progress Publishers. I owned most of the other books on the reading list also. This included an anthology of some of Marx's other writing, again published by Progress Publishers, Moscow. My father was an economist. When I showed Dad the reading list he said, "That man knows a lot about economics."

There are hardly any Communists left any more. Instead there are a growing number of democratic socialists and social democrats that conservatives call "Communist" in order to deprecate them.

By the way, the seminar did not turn me into a Marxist. I read a social thinker for insight, rather than doctrine. I believe Karl Marx had two valid insights, and that he was mistaken about everything else.