The outposts which Mr Sharon said would be removed are mainly sparselypopulated hilltop settlements put up without the approval of the Israeli government.
Factor in concerns for the massive fishing industry and the environment, and the fact that the neighboring coast is populated and consists of stretches of marshland that will be difficult to clean (as opposed to the sparselypopulated rocky coasts of Alaska) and the ramifications expand dramatically.
But what about the case of women in rural North Dakota, or another sparselypopulated area, where a single pharmacy might be the only option for 25 or 50 miles?
It also generally runs well in the more sparselypopulated upstate counties, though voters there tend to be anti-gun control and often socially conservative.
It is a beautiful display of a small school basketball program and a sparselypopulated city feeding off of each other in what should be a major win for both entities.
From its perspective, the policies may even be regarded as a success because the migration of Han Chinese into the sparselypopulated regions enhances government control over the longer term, regardless of the friction it may create.