None of us are defending the actions of the individual Palestinian who did this. It's a tragedy for the family of that child. Let's get that straight.

Irwin, as with the various threads on Northern Ireland, etc, we can only express what we think. We're not there on the ground, so we don't know what you and your friends and family are going through. The likely reason we're silent is simply that it didn't appear on the news over here. We none of us read the newswires full-time, we're not professional journalists, so we're limited to access to the situation via intermediate sources - BBC, CNN, etc.

But I would advise you to regard the numbers of ppl killed. I was going to write "statistics", but that's wrong. None of them was just a "statistic", each was a person, with their own beliefs and as much right to live peacefully as you or I. And comparing the numbers of Palestinians killed by Israelis, the numbers who may yet die from deprivation of access to hospitals and medical attention in the blockades, versus the number of Israelis killed, you can't help but get the impression that it's totally one-sided. Let's be honest, firing live rounds against kids throwing stones is plain wrong. Disagree if you like, but if you do, please explain _why_ it's OK to use rifles against stones and bottles.

And all this courtesy of your new Prime Minister, Mr. Sharon. Cheers Ariel mate, hope you're real glad.

Grab.