After the first stroke why did Sharon's associates not INSIST that Sharon rest and take a vacation??? Sharon was overweight and ill. It is obvious that after Sharon already had the first stroke getting Sharon to the hospital as fast as possible by airlift and to the closest hospital could make the difference between life and death for Sharon. Sharon just yesterday was implicated in a big scandal. If Sharon dies, which people will benefit from his death? There must be justice!

This is stupid.

Why didn't the doctors keep him under watch? The blood thinner has been proven to many doctors to cause bleeding in patients. How about using Plavix? How about Aspirin? Any other drug would have been better, and the doctors must have known it. Read last month's JAMA about this very specific condition (PFO and blood thinners). Are these doctors STUPID? or is there something else going on?

A great deal is known, at least here in the USA, and particularly with the Boston Harvard Teaching Hospitals, regarding blood thinners. His initial small stroke was not caused by the problem that has visited him today, namely a bleed-out. He should have been closely monitored until his scheduled surgery if he had been placed on those types of medications. Unnecessary trauma...too bad, such a tragedy, personally, nationally, politically, internationally. Remind me never to get sick in Israel...

LInda, Dan, tjlb, You're very quick to judge the medical care that Sharon got---I take it you are doctors?? Linda, You're 'suspicious....investigate' crap reminds me of the conspiracy theory loving Palestinians........

Lets blame Sharons death on palestinians :-)

why not say flush out more settelers scum...

with his heart operation scheduled for thursday, why wasn't sharon in his jerusalem residence, which is much closer to hadassah hospital than his ranch? or why didn't his personal doctors take him to the nearest hospital instead of driving 100 kms to jerusalem? from what i saw on the news sharon actually had the stroke while on his way to the hospital. hmm...

gunships kill terrorists, not transport helicopters. we have enough of both to kill terrorists and transport sharon.

I understand they tried but they couldn't get it off the ground.

Helicopters are to busy killing terrorist

Dear Mr. Arafat, Your revenge is being taking by God's hand from those who planned killing you...it will be slow and painful. Rest in Peace

sharon could not fit on a chopper they had to use a tractor trailer truck:)

Simply Sharon is 77 years old -- 3 years above the average male Israelis'. Sidestep this paranoia for a moment please, who's up next?

Average Joes, that's what we all are. so why play in our masters hands? I tell ya, Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, French...or wherever you're from - unless you have millions in the bank, you're playing in your masters hands. Inshallah/Shalom/Peace/fuck all these imperialists.

much more to the point is why he was given blood thinners which are the cause of the problem right now. Medically it is well know that very few elderly people are affected by the small hole in the heart that he had. Now of course experts all over the world are saying 'we were amazed to hear that he was on unnecessary blood thinners!'. Pity they didn't speak up before ! Mike

At the risk of being called a moron (see talkback #5), I have to say that I was wondering about the choice of blood-thinner myself. And no, John, I am not a doctor, just a concerned Israeli who also happens to have a heart problem and so has discussed this sort of stuff with cardiologists. I know a couple of people here who've had mini-strokes (both fully recovered elderly people) who were prescribed daily aspirin.

Hey, AboArab, maybe you're on to something there! After all, the Palestinians love to blame us for everything. So why not? Oops, I forgot, we're not supposed to lower ourselves to that level...

Arafat rest in peace, why not in pieces? Like the hundreds of boys he fathered to become bomb strapping murderers. Arafat spent his last painful days unconsious in "exile" from "his land", remembered by the world as the terrorist he was. Ariel Sharon, should this be his time, will be buried in the capital he fought for (Jerusalem) as a hero and peace maker. It is with Ariel Sharon's courage and will that people like Yasser Arafat will never live or die in the Jewish capital of Jerusalem.

Linda, I don't thing that some of the rude comments made about your "concern" are warranted. On the other hand, you are an American. We are Israelis and there is a very big difference in the way we handle things here. Air lifting patients might be common place in the US but here they are very rare. Our paramedics are some of the most highly trained in the world. To be a paramedic here you have to pass a very difficult and rigorous course. They are authorised to carry out procedures that are normally only carried out by senior registered nurses in hospitals in other countries. So Linda, don't be so quick to criticize. We might be a little country but you know that we know how to handle emergencies. You, the "good friends of Israel", must also remember that Israel is a sovereign state and not part of the USA and we do things our way. We do not tell Americans what to do and they don't have the right to tell us what to do. Constructive criticism is always welcome. But making stupid allegations regarding a matter which is basically none of you business, is uncalled for.

I have to laugh at you Yanks. The country with the highest obesity rate in the world, the home od MacDonalds, Wendy's and everything fattening, and you have the nerve making comments anout our rolly polly PM. People in glass houses etc.....

To my point earlier, are there any doctors on TV commenting on what blood thinners he was given? Do we know for a fact that the doctors who prescribed Coumadin consulted his physician and expalined to Sharon the risks involved? Didn't someone else step in and explain why he shouldn't have been given Coumadin? There are a lot of questions about the medication Sharon was on. I think most doctors agree that his major stroke last night was caused by these blood thinners. But I am getting my news from the internet and not TV in Israel. So I appreciate anyone's comment filling in the blanks for me.

This is no easy decsion for the doctors. My mother, now taking aspirin, took Coumadin for years. It's d@mend if you do, d@mned if you don't. No blood thinner, and the heart can spin off a clot. Blood thinners can cause bleeding in the brain. I'm no armchair physican, and don't envy a doctor who has to make the call in these cases.

Bunnie loves the settlers. And I don't think it was her sons and daughters who had to risk their lives babysitting them. You know, she's the kind of American willing to fight 'til the last Israeli soldier.

Linda get off your none sense state of mind it is perfectly normal to NOT take a person via helicopter at this stage to hospital, since that pressure can immediately kill a person, and ambulance is more safe at that stage My very own husband over 20 years ago was not able to be moved via heli either, just because of this danger. The heli had to turn around and the ambulance had to take over and he was not even old, he was 43 only. You should just stop your silly behavior, since you really this time show ..... YOU have NO clue at all despite your constant thinking that you have all the answers, but you don't so take a rest with your conspiracy volumes

you have NO clue what you talk about any other person would have stayed in hospital. Since he is PM and has pressing issues as we know, he was acting to his liking out of duty There is NO better hospital than Hadassah http://www.hadassah.org.il/ Hadassah Hospital, which has the most advanced trauma center and surgery department there is, known world-wide. Inventions of certain treatment others have never even heard of.

THINGS DO NOT MAKE SENSE I AM SUSPICIOUS

Sharon's doctors advised Sharon to cut down on his work hours after the first stroke, yet Sharon worked as normal. LOVE PROTECTS! I don't understand why Sharon's associates did not insist that Sharon take a vacation and get lots of rest!