Spiegel has a good piece of analysis of the Israeli action regarding the flotilla.Israel has always walked a narrow line on what is right and proper but seems to have exposed themselves unnecessarily on this occasion. It may just be that this time their "victims" have a well practised history of representing themselves as pure as driven snow or that a closely timed sequence of actions is just that bit too much for the International world to swallow.
They may have misjudged POTUS reaction at a time when America is looking to re-build fences in the Muslim world.
The only bit of good news for them was the successful halting of the much smaller sanction-busting ship. This was done with no violence on either side and is an example of how things might have played out on the bigger and earlier fleet. IDF showed us how to deal with hostages at Entebbe and their reactions to suicide bombers was adopted - maybe a little too emphatically - by our own Metropolitan police. The less than outright condemnation of what happened there might be regarded as a test of the legality of Israeli procedures. It was the manner in which these had been carried out that drew adverse criticism.
It must now be manifest that there be some sort of inquiry. Having found a way of drawing fire upon Israel, Hamas will not back off and Israel would condemn themselves if repeat flotillas were not intercepted.
Even before we got to the nitty gritty of evidence, there would be a massive hill to climb. Who would host it? The security at G20 ran near to a billion dollars and any flotilla tribunal will last much longer than that G20.Then would come discovery when the Gaza counsel will be looking to get the evidence seized by Israel on board the ship where violence took place. World wide search for witnesses and the recording of depositions could swallow up a further year with all the opportunity for Hamas to create fresh incidents to keep the pot boiling.
And who can give any assurance that Israel would attend? Any suggestion of a trial in their absence would undermine the whole process and devalue any finding. How on earth would the Inquiry team be nominated - with the almost universal condemnation of the operation in the face of little hard and proven evidence, how can bias be eliminated?
The technical areas alone would be horrendous. Even if the IDF were prepared to go into their procedures in open session, who is there to evaluate and make proficient comment on these matters. If one were to go for senior officers in the world of anti-terrorism, they would be conscious of aligning themselves with an already-convicted organisation. My money would go on someone of the likes of McNab or Ryan - senior NCOs who know what is what and have the status to be listened to. America has some extremely capable personnel in both the planning and operational arena but no chance of overcoming allegations of bias.
And the outcome of all this would be? The adherents of the Palestinian side are most unlikely to see anything in a fresh light. For Israel to accept fault would be for them to be barred from almost any counter-terrorism action "You were wrong with the flotilla in 2010 and you are wrong again" would be a ready made IED.
In practical terms, any Inquiry would merely be an opportunity for the venting of bile. The MSM is a better stage for that as we are now seeing.
Surely, a better use for all that money and energy would be to aim at a settlement of the Palestine/Israel dispute, There have been a number of agreements that came close to starting that process but all disintegrated with allegations of breaches and evasions of the agreed text. It might - just - be possible to have any resolutions negotiated in full view and exhaustive clauses, terms and conditions amplified such that sabotage was impossible. Neighbouring countries would have to commit - equally clearly and without escape - as to what they would, and, more importantly would not, do. On the face of it, a job for the UN. Equally clear, one beyond their ability. The Cyprus situation is far less serious than Palestine but all we see is a lot of blue berets apparently keeping the Greeks and Turks apart and no move towards resolving whatever it was that led them to armed confrontation in the first place.
Monday, 7 June 2010
His name not associated with Respect
There is a considerable amount of news in The News. Not much that is good and quite a bit that saddens, concerns and worries. Fitting well into this category is
Galloway has a bit of a chequered history when it comes to good works. He reacts quite fiercely to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. He does seem to have the facility for his works to appear a little bit at the edge. Then there was the oil benefits he may have gained when he was able to pronounce the word indefatigability in praise of a mass-murdering tyrant. He had a chance to fly his flag in politics but did not do enough to convince the electorate to nominate him as other than third rate. He has taken on the role as Relief Admiral and it will be interesting to see just what controversy will follow in the wake of his fleet of little ships; will he meet his Water loo or do a Done kirk?
"George Galloway, speaking to a crowd of around 20,000 protesting outside the Israeli embassy in London, revealed the latest plan to bring about the end of the siege on Gaza. Two simultaneous convoys – one by land the other by sea – will set forth on SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER bound for Gaza. Viva Palestina, the International Committee to break the Siege on Gaza and any allies who will join us will organize the two convoys.I hope the inclusion of 'target' and 'aim' are merely slips and not a signal of the agenda and intentions of the convoys. Convoy itself can be an emotive word when viewed in the context of '39-'45?
The land convoy will leave from London and travel across Europe to Turkey, Syria and ultimately through the Rafah Gate into Gaza. Cooperation will be offered and sought with all relevant governments and agencies. It is expected the convoy will pick up vehicles and volunteers in each country through which it passes. The target is to enter Gaza with 500 vehicles.
The sea convoy will travel around the Mediterranean gathering ships, cargo, volunteers from each country. The target is to enter Gaza with 60 ships.
The aim will be to arrive on Gaza's frontiers at the same time. And to enter with the world's largest ever aid convoys. And to thereby render the siege null and void."
Galloway has a bit of a chequered history when it comes to good works. He reacts quite fiercely to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. He does seem to have the facility for his works to appear a little bit at the edge. Then there was the oil benefits he may have gained when he was able to pronounce the word indefatigability in praise of a mass-murdering tyrant. He had a chance to fly his flag in politics but did not do enough to convince the electorate to nominate him as other than third rate. He has taken on the role as Relief Admiral and it will be interesting to see just what controversy will follow in the wake of his fleet of little ships; will he meet his Water loo or do a Done kirk?
Robbing Peter and Paul - maybe even Mary.
The British way of life will have to change, David Cameron will warn today as he readies the country for the biggest cuts in government spending since the Second World War.
Using some of his strongest language yet, the Prime Minister will give warning that the cuts will affect every person in the country and the effects will last for decades to come.
Clegg, the Able to Dave's Cain has said that the cuts will only be implemented by public support - "The Liberal Democrat leader will use a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research to argue that a new government could be ''torn to pieces'' if it tries to ''ram through'' spending cuts without wider public consent.
According to advance extracts of the speech, he will argue that the scale of the cuts needed to tackle the deficit is so great, it will be essential to engage the public in the process. His agenda for electoral reform is obviously set to include turkeys voting for Christmas. This public involvement is a bit of a red herring. The PM will be advised by his Department for Two Faced Conduct that by voting Tory on something tucked away on page 32 of an incredibly boring Manifest that we have given carte blanch to pain and suffering.
I foresee that this makee-learnee Government will come to be seen as being to fiscal policy what BP is to the environment. We are looking to increase the take from taxes and to reduce the spend by Government. Business will b looking for concessions and pump-priming but the likelihood is that the State employees who process such matters will have gone in the name of efficiency. Increasing the unemployed total will kill tax income from them and load benefits - even if the system is improved. And who will organise the review and check the outcomes? "Sorry Minister - we made him redundant last month"
This "cuts will affect every person in the country" is another falsehood. We have about a million ghosts in the machine - people here totally without authority or reliable record. The scale of this problem was illustrated in a TV report last night on the work of the Border Agency and Immigration staff. The likelihood of detection is so high that quite impressive results come from hanging about outside rail stations. Anyone who gets the hots on seeing them is asked the brutally frank question "Are you entitled to be in this country?" It works. A raid on a farm found 17 illegals in a work force of twenty; a fair number cheerfully admitted they came into the UK seated on the rear axle of a HGV. We were informed that most of the 17 had been released from custody whilst their deportations were checked and organised. Guess what - they had disappeared back into the dark brown economy. An example where slavish acceptance of procedures designed for far more serious offences defeated good work by others. Money spent without good and positive results. Money wasted. This situation ascertained from a brief torch light shone into a dark corner and is not a Nation-wide procedure. I will only willingly accept my forthcoming burden when I see positive signs that everyone physically here pays for that privilege. Pigs are being fitted with flying helmets as I write.
Doubtless, that level of engagement will require additional staff over and above current levels. More people will be needed to check that I pay my share and am not drawing down from the bank account set up with a dodgy identity in Bahrain when I was rich(er). So - not so much a saving in Government salaries as a cost for re-location and training.
Regeneration of, and increasing the contribution of the private sector, will entail planning consents and controls. Whilst Prescott's vision of building multi-storey car parks in the middle of Emmerdale has been dropped, work spaces will ned to be built. But, what is that cloud on the horizon? "The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) notes that one of the biggest challenges for the planning system is how to cope with the big increase in the number of residential applications that are coming forward to meet the commitment to build 3 million new homes by 2020. Managing proposals to ensure that what gets built makes a positive contribution to the local area, in accordance with national policies, requires a big increase in the skills capacity of planning departments."
And all the while, remember, errors exist to blame others. We have heard Boy Dave (ed note - now he is PM, perhaps we should call him Boss Dave?)say he had no idea how bad was the economical situation that he inherited. This is of course par the course when it comes to new Governments. It does not say much for the abilities of his research staff that they could not do their sums or pay of the whistle-blowers but it means that much of the Manifesto is based upon false premise. These far reaching changes, every person, lasting decades stuff - are these plans based upon the wrong information or a situation that a less than efficient section has cobbled together from tea leaves and crystal balls in a very short period of time? Do the new cabinet meetings really look like this?
Using some of his strongest language yet, the Prime Minister will give warning that the cuts will affect every person in the country and the effects will last for decades to come.
Clegg, the Able to Dave's Cain has said that the cuts will only be implemented by public support - "The Liberal Democrat leader will use a speech to the Institute for Public Policy Research to argue that a new government could be ''torn to pieces'' if it tries to ''ram through'' spending cuts without wider public consent.
According to advance extracts of the speech, he will argue that the scale of the cuts needed to tackle the deficit is so great, it will be essential to engage the public in the process. His agenda for electoral reform is obviously set to include turkeys voting for Christmas. This public involvement is a bit of a red herring. The PM will be advised by his Department for Two Faced Conduct that by voting Tory on something tucked away on page 32 of an incredibly boring Manifest that we have given carte blanch to pain and suffering.
I foresee that this makee-learnee Government will come to be seen as being to fiscal policy what BP is to the environment. We are looking to increase the take from taxes and to reduce the spend by Government. Business will b looking for concessions and pump-priming but the likelihood is that the State employees who process such matters will have gone in the name of efficiency. Increasing the unemployed total will kill tax income from them and load benefits - even if the system is improved. And who will organise the review and check the outcomes? "Sorry Minister - we made him redundant last month"
This "cuts will affect every person in the country" is another falsehood. We have about a million ghosts in the machine - people here totally without authority or reliable record. The scale of this problem was illustrated in a TV report last night on the work of the Border Agency and Immigration staff. The likelihood of detection is so high that quite impressive results come from hanging about outside rail stations. Anyone who gets the hots on seeing them is asked the brutally frank question "Are you entitled to be in this country?" It works. A raid on a farm found 17 illegals in a work force of twenty; a fair number cheerfully admitted they came into the UK seated on the rear axle of a HGV. We were informed that most of the 17 had been released from custody whilst their deportations were checked and organised. Guess what - they had disappeared back into the dark brown economy. An example where slavish acceptance of procedures designed for far more serious offences defeated good work by others. Money spent without good and positive results. Money wasted. This situation ascertained from a brief torch light shone into a dark corner and is not a Nation-wide procedure. I will only willingly accept my forthcoming burden when I see positive signs that everyone physically here pays for that privilege. Pigs are being fitted with flying helmets as I write.
Doubtless, that level of engagement will require additional staff over and above current levels. More people will be needed to check that I pay my share and am not drawing down from the bank account set up with a dodgy identity in Bahrain when I was rich(er). So - not so much a saving in Government salaries as a cost for re-location and training.
Regeneration of, and increasing the contribution of the private sector, will entail planning consents and controls. Whilst Prescott's vision of building multi-storey car parks in the middle of Emmerdale has been dropped, work spaces will ned to be built. But, what is that cloud on the horizon? "The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) notes that one of the biggest challenges for the planning system is how to cope with the big increase in the number of residential applications that are coming forward to meet the commitment to build 3 million new homes by 2020. Managing proposals to ensure that what gets built makes a positive contribution to the local area, in accordance with national policies, requires a big increase in the skills capacity of planning departments."
And all the while, remember, errors exist to blame others. We have heard Boy Dave (ed note - now he is PM, perhaps we should call him Boss Dave?)say he had no idea how bad was the economical situation that he inherited. This is of course par the course when it comes to new Governments. It does not say much for the abilities of his research staff that they could not do their sums or pay of the whistle-blowers but it means that much of the Manifesto is based upon false premise. These far reaching changes, every person, lasting decades stuff - are these plans based upon the wrong information or a situation that a less than efficient section has cobbled together from tea leaves and crystal balls in a very short period of time? Do the new cabinet meetings really look like this?
Sunday, 6 June 2010
So, why the change?
Between 1952 and 68,I spent many years in Muslim countries; the Middle East and Malaya. They were years of peace and fond memories. I picked up the language quite easily through early days in Egypt where I spent hours gossiping with locals. A little hashish on the coals of the hubble-bubble went a long way.
My work brought me into contact with police officers and the Masonic-style of police relations helped there. In '66, I was in Bahrain and circumstances brought me into contact with Sheikh Isa, the then Ruler and I counted him as a friend. So, "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch," obviously applied to me. In Port Said, we had a problem with young officers getting into trouble with giving rubber cheques to the main nightclub and risking their commissions and I was given authority to act as intermediary in dealing with such problems. The sums charged were often, in night club style, inflated and I could haggle with the club management to get reductions so I had good knowledge of the venality of some Egyptians. I also stood over the bodies of soldiers killed by the extremists there so it was not all blind friendship. I even got along with the Libyan Secret Police - though without the hashish!
There must have been some maggot in the apple given to me by any number of Fatima Eves. As things are now - especially in all the buzzing following upon the flotilla - I find it hard to have either sympathy or respect for the majority Muslim view. I do not know why I have changed my point of view.
Shame really as I truly enjoyed the life I used to lead.
My work brought me into contact with police officers and the Masonic-style of police relations helped there. In '66, I was in Bahrain and circumstances brought me into contact with Sheikh Isa, the then Ruler and I counted him as a friend. So, "If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch," obviously applied to me. In Port Said, we had a problem with young officers getting into trouble with giving rubber cheques to the main nightclub and risking their commissions and I was given authority to act as intermediary in dealing with such problems. The sums charged were often, in night club style, inflated and I could haggle with the club management to get reductions so I had good knowledge of the venality of some Egyptians. I also stood over the bodies of soldiers killed by the extremists there so it was not all blind friendship. I even got along with the Libyan Secret Police - though without the hashish!There must have been some maggot in the apple given to me by any number of Fatima Eves. As things are now - especially in all the buzzing following upon the flotilla - I find it hard to have either sympathy or respect for the majority Muslim view. I do not know why I have changed my point of view.
Shame really as I truly enjoyed the life I used to lead.
Depression revisited
I seem to have something that has driven me to YouTube stuff. This lady also came to me via Spotify (no - I am not on commission!) at the same time as Karen Elson. I listened and remembered the song but what I got from her rendition was sadness. And recognition. I heard the sirens call of depression.
The wonders of t'Net led me to a page telling more of her life. It is not pretty. "Ricky Martin, Cher), then hitting rock bottom & being diagnosed with depression, Myers is finally making an admirable comeback as an indie artist who with the help of the internet's Social Media Networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is using her music & public image as a platform for spreading information and raising awareness about a cause and pressingly urgent issue that is close to home for the singer: Depression." I suppose her LGBT connection is ironic (is that the word I want?) in light of my penultimate post earlier today. Mind you, she is not short of events that must have formed the adult in her.
The most dangerous constituent of depression is the concept that ones life is over. There is no escape or help in this world - maybe another one would be better? Well, that does not have to be the bogey man in the dark corner of our mind any more. This is aimed at all the depressives who may read me. If you are not depressive - pass it on to someone who is. There are a hell of us around and maybe, just maybe, this could help.
The wonders of t'Net led me to a page telling more of her life. It is not pretty. "Ricky Martin, Cher), then hitting rock bottom & being diagnosed with depression, Myers is finally making an admirable comeback as an indie artist who with the help of the internet's Social Media Networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is using her music & public image as a platform for spreading information and raising awareness about a cause and pressingly urgent issue that is close to home for the singer: Depression." I suppose her LGBT connection is ironic (is that the word I want?) in light of my penultimate post earlier today. Mind you, she is not short of events that must have formed the adult in her.
- Beyond the success Myers is now enjoying on the road back up on the charts, it is really the behind the scene story that merits a closer look at – her numerous personal as well as professional victories have undeniably positioned her as a powerful creative voice to be reckoned with:- She was abandoned by her mother at age four who dropped her off at an orphanage.- Her father wanting her to have a better life requested that she lived in a Caucasian foster home. Unfortunately for Billie she suffered through seven years of emotional abuse until her stepmother took her back to live with her and Billie’s real father.
- Battled all her life against racism as well as reverse discrimination constantly being rejected for being the product of mixed race (coming from an English mother and Jamaican father).
- Shot to international fame then brutally fell into anonymity. Hit rock-bottom financially, professionally and personally – had it all and lost it all!
- Nearly on the brink of suicide, bravely survived the harrowing web of depression;
- And now comes back to the music scene successfully battling against the Goliath of corporate record label moguls.
A true success story, Myers is undeniably emerging as one of the most inspirational music heroines and humanitarian of our times!
The most dangerous constituent of depression is the concept that ones life is over. There is no escape or help in this world - maybe another one would be better? Well, that does not have to be the bogey man in the dark corner of our mind any more. This is aimed at all the depressives who may read me. If you are not depressive - pass it on to someone who is. There are a hell of us around and maybe, just maybe, this could help.
Flashack
Spotify delivered this singer to me last night. Since then, this vid has been running through my monitor many many times. Even the sound on minimise whilst I do other things is great.
I was a fan of the weird and wonderful Dory Previn and Karen is a flashback to those collections of sounds that seemed not to lead anywhere but were so very pleasing in themselves.
Offered for your delectation as a break from all the nonsense in the world right now. There is more on Spotify - damned fine resource by the way. I have two playlists that I got for free; don't know how much my 16 days of iTunes cost me!
Would you want yor daughter to ....
Much twittering in the dove kots and fashionable quarters of Radio 4 about the saga of the Greencoat Boy pub which barred the Labour LGBT group from a planned evening of admiring tattoos, butch tashes and general oohing and aahing after a meeting. This, of course, was quite illegal and will be a re-run of the Two Boys I A Bed thing about the bed and breakfast.
Just reading so far, my thoughts about the general practice of same-sex sodomy may be plain. Not as prejudicial as they may appear prima-facie. I realise that there are people who are wired that way and there is no 3rd Reich solution to that. My past profession brought me into contact with many, who at that time and place risked criminal records and detention where their lives would have been very hard to bear. I do not have a prejudice. All I have is a wish - is desire a stronger word than wish? - that they stay away from me and mine. I practice a form of reverse apartheid and it works.
Reverse apartheid is where I accept that I cannot keep a certain class or type of personality away from me. The law forbids it. So, I aim to keep myself away from them.
There are gay bars all over the world. They were established to meet a need and I am sure they get their share of the Pink Pound. As Rick said, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world ..." the Gay community is now demanding that they can - in my mind - intrude into a retreat I would like to think of as mine. There is, obviously, no way to escape them. If I choose not to sleep with a woman who smells of chip fat, that is quite OK. At least, last time I had occasion to check; my local chippy is run by very matronly women.
And, anyway, how did we get into this state of affairs? I have absolutely no recollection of any such recognition getting into any manifesto. What debate was there in the House of Horrors at Westminster? It seems it was some crap that crept in from that powerhouse of action that is the UN. To me, the fact that "As of December 2008, homosexuality is illegal in 77 countries and punishable by death in seven" is not an over-powering mandate for change. Are we all to become civicus-UNamicous? All jolly types together in a mish mosh of race and beliefs? Dream on. I think I have a human right to be able to cut myself off from some part of the world and live a semblance of peace and quiet whilst sipping on a gin and tonic, lots of ice, no lemon. We do not know how many closet-inhabitants voted for the introduction of the claimed human rights-based legislation but it seems that there was no one who cared enough about my human rights ideas and beliefs.
The LGBT community now face far more prejudice that they used to have. I remember the good old days.
Just reading so far, my thoughts about the general practice of same-sex sodomy may be plain. Not as prejudicial as they may appear prima-facie. I realise that there are people who are wired that way and there is no 3rd Reich solution to that. My past profession brought me into contact with many, who at that time and place risked criminal records and detention where their lives would have been very hard to bear. I do not have a prejudice. All I have is a wish - is desire a stronger word than wish? - that they stay away from me and mine. I practice a form of reverse apartheid and it works.
Reverse apartheid is where I accept that I cannot keep a certain class or type of personality away from me. The law forbids it. So, I aim to keep myself away from them.
There are gay bars all over the world. They were established to meet a need and I am sure they get their share of the Pink Pound. As Rick said, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world ..." the Gay community is now demanding that they can - in my mind - intrude into a retreat I would like to think of as mine. There is, obviously, no way to escape them. If I choose not to sleep with a woman who smells of chip fat, that is quite OK. At least, last time I had occasion to check; my local chippy is run by very matronly women.
And, anyway, how did we get into this state of affairs? I have absolutely no recollection of any such recognition getting into any manifesto. What debate was there in the House of Horrors at Westminster? It seems it was some crap that crept in from that powerhouse of action that is the UN. To me, the fact that "As of December 2008, homosexuality is illegal in 77 countries and punishable by death in seven" is not an over-powering mandate for change. Are we all to become civicus-UNamicous? All jolly types together in a mish mosh of race and beliefs? Dream on. I think I have a human right to be able to cut myself off from some part of the world and live a semblance of peace and quiet whilst sipping on a gin and tonic, lots of ice, no lemon. We do not know how many closet-inhabitants voted for the introduction of the claimed human rights-based legislation but it seems that there was no one who cared enough about my human rights ideas and beliefs.
The LGBT community now face far more prejudice that they used to have. I remember the good old days.
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Friday, 4 June 2010
Mad Mad World my Masters
I have reported my battles with the Black Dog of depression. This has been a long campaign; there have been truces and cease fire agreements, some wins and a few really serious wins for the dark canine where it was only my Samaritan training that kept me from self harm.
A little while back, whilst in almost headlong retreat, I set about some self-analysis. By dint of some serious journal writing, I identified that which seemed to open the kennel door. Without too much salacious detail, it was founded on a relationship dating back to 1950 when I was just 17. I never achieved a resolution and found myself asking all the What If and Where Now questions. Whilst I had the skill to trace people, I held off as I feared that any reunion could be dangerous to my life as it is now.
I thus learned to avoid too much introspection - peeking through semi-closed eyes from behind the sofa as this is OK in brief spells. But the World seems keen to introduce things that I suspect could be as harmful as 1950 revisited. Where is the Good News? No sooner was I coming to terms with a Crossbow Cannibal than we have the Cumbria Catastrophe. Tsunami led to earthquakes led to Ash Clouds. 9/11 led us to Afghanistan and 7/7. Blair transmogrified into Brown to be replaced by yet another bucket of Bollocks that is Coalition. And then the flotilla sailed in. Elsewhere one Korean country seems determined to do a practical test of its nuclear assets whilst the other Land of Morning Calm has its belligerence endorsed by America looking for a proxy warrior nation.
Minor nuisances skirmished in and around the major annoyances. What is it with the newspaper fascination for stings and outings? Why bother with £500,000 demands when people such as Blair charge very large sums for a couple of days a year as 'adviser' or special representative? And just what is it about Britain having Talent? I avoid it but the adverts show we are invaded by alien performances of body poppers, street dancers and Michael Jackson-inspired wannabees. I have the image of US has Talent drowning under a flood of Morris Men and Clog Dancers. Why the hell has Simon Cowell not been assassinated?
I once got quite close to a Jewish woman. She worked then for a UN quango thing but I had photographs of this bronzed Amazon tilling the earth with little more than a pointed stick. Her deliciously long and tanned legs ended with heavy boots. Over one shoulder a bag with seeds. Over the other, the strap of a sub-machine gun. Our first night of nakedness led to my finding a tattooed number on her arm; she never expanded why she survived longer than the ink drying took. She died in a traffic accident but we were together long enough for me to understand the scale and nature of dissent with Palestine.
I am able to see where the situation has got with the latter-day confrontations and have sympathy for the Palestinians. My depression risk here lies in the fact that there is no solution in sight. The stage is now occupied by political extremists who pose and strut but with absolutely no agenda that might bring peace to a troubled land. Why has mankind that can set foot on the moon failed to achieve a meaningful solution? The sort of money that, say, Saudi Arabia spends on supporting what to us are terrorists aiming to destroy would do much to ameliorate the life choices of some bare-footed, naked-arsed kid in Gaza. Exactly the same sort of kid that the money spent disintegrates in Kabul. The religion in those parts has some wonderful aspirations but is fragmented in impact by inter-nicene activity.
Money. Large sums donated to charities both long-term and for special disasters. World aid from the richer nations to 3rd world dwellers. But so little is achieved if one is an onlooker. People still in tents in tsunami-country. Women and kids walking miles with jugs of water balanced on their heads. Malaria and disease associated with bad or non-existent sanitation. Warfare where press-gangs target sub-teenage warriors. The ways that women are abused and humiliated. The richer nations have standing armies that could do so much but are employed slaughtering each other. Say five men dig a well a day - how many wells do we get from a battalion in six months? A deep trench latrine - four men and one day so set up 250 men for that same time span. Simples as my genus Suricata friend would say. Injections - my local GP clears a community hall of 500 people in an afternoon.We have tempted the medics that could do this in another country to come here and sew up drunks on a Saturday night.
It is not just that we seemingly lack the nous to get these things sorted - we are deficient in the will so to do. The United Nations is everything but United. The EU spends our money deciding such things as the appropriate colour for Health and Safety signs at a pedestrian crossing. African nations have multi-Nation Organisation - I rest my case.
As a kid from between 7 and 10 years old I was exposed to attacks from a Christian fundamentalist Aunt. I suspect she was concerned lest I had inherited the strange powers of her spiritualist mother. Whilst my parents were beating the Asperger devil out of me, she sought to fill me with religious knowledge and attitudes. I rebelled and she never did discover if I had 666 under the hair on my head. What I do know is that I cannot foresee any level of her influence that would have retained my belief in any form of God. I have no idea whether such an entity exists - I just question what She is doing. I know of the theory that things are sent to try us and it fits where applied to individuals. But, why try whole regions of the world. Legions of individuals. It just does not make sense. To me anyway.
I suppose that the sheer multiplicity of depression-inducing situations and events has one thing going for it - just so many that no one item predominates to act as a focus for the rest. That is what I shall have to tell myself.
How was it for you then?
A respected friend and I have been discussing the lack of comments on my work. Why so few?
I initially responded by saying that I wrote for myself and had little concern at what happened to my work once it was out of the birth canal. He then proved that I had written where I requested input and that the claimed indifference was a front to cover what might be rejection. Not everyone who takes the trouble to create feedback uses the comment facility; I get Blog-related messages on Twitter, Facebook and by email.
Whilst we were going backwards and forwards I had a comment clearance alarm on something I had written in 1998 which proved I know not what other than the fact that there were some readers out there. I did once have my Blogger guru @gemmak500 insert a hit counter on the template. This recorded a fair number of visitors from a number of locations but the comment count was low.
So, good people (or maybe, good person), here is a one time offer. Free and guaranteed genuine. Can you suggest a reason for the low Comment count? Does it matter to you as a reader? Should I court Comments by adopting any of the Make Your Blog Read tactics that exist? Make your views known - either in the Comment box or, if that is too cumbersome, by email to kepirouge&btinternet.com You know to swap the & for @ which is there to hold off spammers.
Appreciated. If sufficient response, I sort out some sort of matrix - might help others who blog in apparent silence.
Tuesday, 1 June 2010
Eyeless in Gaza
So, the UN has made an inquiry into the boarding of the flotilla,
An Abbas aide, Nimr Hammad, termed the rocket fire into Israel reckless. "The one responsible for the massacre is Hamas," he said. "Hamas should not have given the Israelis a pretext." Bassam Abu-Sumayyah, a columnist for the daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, accused Hamas of megalomania and said it had acted without even a little bit of political and security sense. It had behaved like a superpower.
The UN recommendation by the Secretary-General on the "need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calling for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards" shows what a raddled old prostitute that organisation has become. Does it have so little faith in its own status that it cannot organise such a inquiry itself?
An ex-UN big gun found reasons for what happened ""Former British ambassador to the UN Sir Jeremy Greenstock said there had been "immediate international rage" following the "unnecessary loss of life".
He said that Israel had to make sure weapons were not getting into Gaza "so some kind of defence is necessary but this was clearly not very well handled".
Sir Jeremy added: "It's past time by some years for serious international action to end the blockade and the virtual starvation of Gaza. This is not going to work as a way of dealing with the Palestinian territories over the long term."
Given the scale of Israeli actions prior to the flotilla sailing, it is hard to see what more they might have done when facing violence upon landing. The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organisers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organisers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod.
What does not seem to be getting much publicity is the claim by Israel's Ambassador to Britain that five other vessels in the flotilla were boarded without incident. The forcible action was all on one vessel. The injured and deceased are predominantly Turkish; the main agitator behind the flotilla being established. It was a repeat of a previous attempt to use the flotilla as a publicity generating device. "
Israel is criticised for an aggressive attitude and using more force than was necessary. But then, they always do. Always that is since being subjected to sudden and unannounced attacks by Arab nations. They are a small country and any well executed attack would be all over and done with before any international rescue could be set afoot. Israel is still technically at war with a number of Muslim countries since 1967 whose aim is the extinction of Israel.
I think few of us here in UK appreciate the part that Zionism plays in what goes on in Palestine and Israel. My own understanding - gained whilst employed by a Arab company - is that the bogey-man in Muslim eyes is the Zionist. Not all Israelis are part of that movement but get caught up in their politics and actions.
It may well be that the whole flotilla action is a storm in a teacup. The latest stage in something occurring in 'a strange land far away' Already, in the Twitter listing of what is hot and what is not, the flotilla question has been overtaken by Britain Got Talent and may well drop off the listing altogether. Maybe, the Gaza publicity campaign could end up as a winner. Remember this bit of history from our own past which has many similarities? "
It worked for Gandhi.
"The Security Council takes note of the statement of the UN Secretary-General on the need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calls for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.1860 reads "SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE, DURABLE, FULLY RESPECTED CEASEFIRE IN GAZA LEADING TO FULL WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI FORCES" There are very many more calls as to what has to happen; indeed, anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the history of Israel/Palestine would recognise that these were never going to happen. Full implementation is cloud-cuckoo land. Hamas knows no limits to its actions and does nothing to support any Resolution. THE bitter Israel-Hamas conflict has touched off Arab-Arab conflicts almost as bitter. Responsibility for the war in Gaza, and for the Palestinian fatalities there, was placed squarely on Hamas by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. "We called the leaders of Hamas and told them, 'Please, do not end the truce', he said. Hamas ended a six-month truce with Israel two weeks before the Israeli attack.
"The Security Council stresses that the situation in Gaza is not sustainable. The Council re-emphasizes the importance of the full implementation of Resolutions 1850 and 1860."
An Abbas aide, Nimr Hammad, termed the rocket fire into Israel reckless. "The one responsible for the massacre is Hamas," he said. "Hamas should not have given the Israelis a pretext." Bassam Abu-Sumayyah, a columnist for the daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, accused Hamas of megalomania and said it had acted without even a little bit of political and security sense. It had behaved like a superpower.
The UN recommendation by the Secretary-General on the "need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calling for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards" shows what a raddled old prostitute that organisation has become. Does it have so little faith in its own status that it cannot organise such a inquiry itself?
An ex-UN big gun found reasons for what happened ""Former British ambassador to the UN Sir Jeremy Greenstock said there had been "immediate international rage" following the "unnecessary loss of life".
He said that Israel had to make sure weapons were not getting into Gaza "so some kind of defence is necessary but this was clearly not very well handled".
Sir Jeremy added: "It's past time by some years for serious international action to end the blockade and the virtual starvation of Gaza. This is not going to work as a way of dealing with the Palestinian territories over the long term."
Given the scale of Israeli actions prior to the flotilla sailing, it is hard to see what more they might have done when facing violence upon landing. The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organisers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organisers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod.
What does not seem to be getting much publicity is the claim by Israel's Ambassador to Britain that five other vessels in the flotilla were boarded without incident. The forcible action was all on one vessel. The injured and deceased are predominantly Turkish; the main agitator behind the flotilla being established. It was a repeat of a previous attempt to use the flotilla as a publicity generating device. "
It will be the ninth expedition to try to reach Gaza by sea. According to the Free Gaza movement, this time it will be bigger and better than ever. The last attempt to reach Gaza by sea was in June 2009 — then, Free Gaza ships were intercepted by the Israeli Navy off Gaza, and forced to proceed to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod, where the cargo was impounded (some of it was later transferred by land to Israeli crossings and sent into Gaza). The activists aboard were jailed before deportation"So, all were aware of what could happen and, in that respect, the latest operation was not such a piece of loose cannon work as has been alleged. It is for others to decide whether the past history, Turkish involvement and the politically aware and active passenger list led to hot-heads deciding not to go quietly this time.
Israel is criticised for an aggressive attitude and using more force than was necessary. But then, they always do. Always that is since being subjected to sudden and unannounced attacks by Arab nations. They are a small country and any well executed attack would be all over and done with before any international rescue could be set afoot. Israel is still technically at war with a number of Muslim countries since 1967 whose aim is the extinction of Israel.
I think few of us here in UK appreciate the part that Zionism plays in what goes on in Palestine and Israel. My own understanding - gained whilst employed by a Arab company - is that the bogey-man in Muslim eyes is the Zionist. Not all Israelis are part of that movement but get caught up in their politics and actions.
It may well be that the whole flotilla action is a storm in a teacup. The latest stage in something occurring in 'a strange land far away' Already, in the Twitter listing of what is hot and what is not, the flotilla question has been overtaken by Britain Got Talent and may well drop off the listing altogether. Maybe, the Gaza publicity campaign could end up as a winner. Remember this bit of history from our own past which has many similarities? "
Gandhi's men advanced in complete silence before stopping about one-hundred meters before the cordon. A selected team broke away from the main group, waded through the ditch and neared the barbed-wire fence. (...) Receiving the signal, a large group of local police officers suddenly moved towards the advancing protestors and subjected them to a hail of blows to the head delivered from steel-covered Lathis (truncheons). None of the protesters raised so much as an arm to protect themselves against the barrage of blows. They fell to the ground like pins in a bowling alley. From where I was standing I could hear the nauseating sound of truncheons impacting against unprotected skulls. The waiting main group moaned and drew breath sharply at each blow. Those being subjected to the onslaught fell to the ground quickly writhing unconsciously or with broken shoulders (...). The main group, which had been spared until now, began to march in a quiet and determined way forwards and were met with the same fate. They advanced in a uniform manner with heads raised - without encouragement through music or battle cries and without being given the opportunity to avoid serious injury or even death. The police attacked repeatedly and the second group were also beaten to the ground. There was no fight, no violence; the marchers simply advanced until they themselves were knocked down."
It worked for Gandhi.
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