All 3 entries tagged Israel

ICA news update

Firstly I should apologise for the blog not being updated in a little while, but I'm practically running it on my own at the moment…

Anyway, back to current affairs, and I have good news!
It seems that the stupid, ill conceived ID card scheme has gone under, which is to say (in government speak), will be re–evaluated after another report to take place after Easter 2007. This means that it is off the table probably forever but even if they ever do think about bringing it back then it will be held back until at least the time when we can elect a different government.
link

Secondly I have more good news!
“Lord” Levy, the Labour party's chief fund–raiser and close friend of Tony Blair has been arrested last night, he was then questioned and released on bail, and this morning is being questioned again by police. If Lord Levy has broken the law then I would feel confident in saying that Blair too has broken the law (and probably Brown); because they management system would have to be seriously messed up if the head(s) of an organisation did not know how the finances were organised. The corruption could run very deep, but I wouldn't expect the police to even question the PM…
link

Thirdly, I will briefly mention Israel (I've not devoted any time to this because I am far from an expert, and it has been covered in depth in many other places). Israel has said that the attack on their soldiers by the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorists constitutes an act of war. Israel has attacked an airport in Lebanon and is imposing an air and sea blockade. Israel is also stepping up pressure on Gaza. Fighting continues.
link

Fourthly, Iran has been referred back to the security council for possible punishment, but this would not include military action. “Ministers meeting in Paris said Tehran has not signalled it was seriously considering incentives designed to get it to abandon uranium enrichment”. The success of this referral will be dependant on Russia and China who have not been keen on imposing sanctions on Iran because it could harm them economically.
link

If you feel that I'm not reporting on something which you feel you could say something interesting about, or if you would like to contribute in more depth feel free to respond here to mention it, I'll try and get you added to be able to post here.

: 13 Jul 2006 12:09 |  Tags: ID Iran Israel Uk |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Palestine Referendum

Writing about web page http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/5067600.stm

The Palestinian authority could well be about to have a non–binding referendum on the subject of whether to recognize Israel. Hamas doesn't like this idea – because they like to be able to pretend that the idea of not accepting the right of Israel to exist is more important to the people than living a healthy and contented life. A two state solution is the only workable option in the circumstance from the point of view of the Palestinians. Hamas are acting like madmen and the whole of the area is suffering because of it.

Unfortunately the referendum is non–binding. There is no possible way that Palestine could hope to achieve the goals it has currently set for itself; Israel is bigger, has a far better army, and has better political allies. We can but hope that it gets through and it forces them to accept what they have to accept

: 10 Jun 2006 22:53 |  Tags: Israel Palestine |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Israeli scientists dicover ancient ecosystem

Writing about web page http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/NewsArticle.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-05-31T102559Z_01_L31581222_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-SCIENCE-ISRAEL-CAVE-DC.XML

A group of scientist in Israel have found an eco–system which dates back millions of years. Inside they have found 8 previously unknown species. It turns out the cave was sealed off completely from the outside world. It is certainly an interesting discovery… this could well be the closest thing we ever get to real dinosaurs in our lifetime (unless we get DNA out of amber or minerals – I've got some if anyone knows how to extract it…)

It is a bit of a worry that there might be bacteria in there which we have had no experience with so our immune system won't be able to handle it… just a thought. And the reverse is also true – these creatures might not last very long now.

: 31 May 2006 22:14 |  Tags: Environment Israel |  Comments (5) |  Close comments |  Report a problem