I-69 Palestinian Case Against Israel - Did You Know?

Although I said that I was finished posting to this blog, I found this tribe post that I felt gave a basic but thorough view and understanding of the Middle east Conflict. Here is a link to the original site.... and a link to the post that I copied... Black (World) History


Palestinian Case Against Israel - Did You Know?

1 - THAT, when the Palestine Problem was created by Britain in 1917, more than 90% of the population of Palestine were Arabs, and that there were at that time no more than 56,000 Jews in Palestine?

2 - THAT, more than half of the Jews living in Palestine at that time were recent immigrants, who had come to Palestine in the preceding decades in order to escape persecution in Europe?... And that less than 5% of the population of Palestine were native Palestinian Jews?

3 - THAT, the Arabs of Palestine at that time owned 97.5% of the land, while Jews (native Palestinians and recent immigrants together) owned only 2.5% of the land?

4 - THAT, during the thirty years of British occupation and rule, the Zionists were able to purchase only 3.5% of the land of Palestine, in spite of the encouragement of the British Government?... And that much of this land was transferred to Zionist bodies by the British Government directly, and was not sold by Arab owners?

5 - THAT, therefore, when British passed the Palestine Problem to the United Nations in 1947, Zionists owned no more than 6% of the total land area of Palestine?

6 - THAT, notwithstanding these facts, the General Assembly of the United Nations recommended that a "Jewish State" be established in Palestine?... And that the Assembly granted that proposed "State" about 54% of the total area of the country?

7 - THAT, Israel immediately occupied (and still occupies) 80.48% of the total land area of Palestine?

8 - THAT, this territorial expansion took place, for the most part, before 15 May 1948: i.e., before the formal end of the British forces from Palestine, before the entry of Arab armies to protect Palestinian Arabs, and before the Arab-Israeli war?

9 - THAT, the 1947 recommendation of the General Assembly in favor of the creation of a "Jewish State" was outside the competence of the Assembly under the Charter of the United Nations?

10 - THAT, all attempts by the Arab States and other Asian countries to have the Assembly submit 3the question of constitutionality" of its recommendation to the International Court of Justice for an "advisory opinion" by the Court were rejected or ignored by the Assembly?

11 - THAT, when the Assembly began to experience "second thoughts" over the matter and convened for its second special session in 1948, it failed to reaffirm the 1947 recommendation for the partition of Palestine-thus destroying whatever dubious legality that recommendation for the establishment of a "Jewish State" had had?

12 - THAT, that original 1947 recommendation to create a "Jewish State" in Palestine was approved, at the first vote, only by European, American and Australian States...for every Asian State, and every African State (with the exception of the Union of South Africa) voted against it?...And that, when the vote was cast in plenary session on 29 November 1947, urgent American pressures (which a member of the Truman cabinet described as "bordering onto scandal") had succeeded in prevailing only upon one African country (Liberia), both of which had special vulnerability to American pressures, to abandon their declared opposition?...And that, in other words, the "Jewish State" was planted at the point-of-intersection of Asia and Africa without the free approval of any Middle Eastern, Asian or African country except that Union of South Africa, itself ruled by an alien minority?

13 - THAT, Israel remained, ever since its inception, a total stranger in the emerging world of Afro-Asia; and that Israel has been refused admission to any inter-state conference of Asian, African, Afro-Asian, or Non-Aligned States ever held?

14 - THAT, since the General Armistice Agreements were signed in 1949, Israel has maintained an aggressive policy of waging military attacks across the Armistice Demarcation Lines, repeatedly invading the territories of the neighboring Arab States...And that Israel has been duly rebuked, censured, or condemned for these military attacks by the Security Council of the General Assembly of the United Nations on eleven occasions-five times by the Security Council and six times by the General Assembly?

15 - THAT, no other country in the world, whether member of the United Nations or non-member, has been so frequently condemned by the United Nations?

16 - THAT, no Arab State has ever been condemned by any organ of the United Nations for military attacks upon Israel?

17 - THAT, besides expelling the bulk of the Arab inhabitants of Palestine, and besides constantly attacking the neighboring Arab States, Israel has also consistently harassed the United Nations observers and other personnel stationed along the Armistice Demarcation Lines: It has assassinated the first United Nations Mediator and his military aide; it has detained some truce observers; it has militarily occupied and illegally searched the Headquarters of United Nations personnel; and it has boycotted meetings of the Mixed Armistice Commissions?...

18 - THAT, Israel has additionally imposed a system of apartheid upon the Arabs who stayed in their homeland? More than 90% of these Arabs live in "security zones;" they alone live under martial law, restricting their freedom to travel from village to village or from town to town; their children are denied equal opportunities for education; and they are denied decent opportunities for work, and the right to receive "equal pay for equal work?"

19 - THAT, notwithstanding the foregoing facts, Israel has always been, and still is, widely portrayed in the Western press as the "bastion of democracy" and the "champion of peace" in the Middle East?

20 - THAT, the Western Powers have persisted in declaring their determination to ensure a so-called "arms balance" in the area, as between Israel, on the one hand, and the one-hundred million inhabitants of the thirteen Arab States, on the other hand?... And this unilateral Western doctrine of so-called "arms balance" is no more reasonable than the suggestion that, in the Cuba-U.S.A conflict, there should be "arms balance" as between Cuba and the United States... or that the whole Continent of Africa should not be allowed to acquire more arms than South Africa... or that Mainland China should not be permitted to have more arms than Taiwan... or that the military allowed to acquire more arms than South Africa... and that only thus can peace be safeguarded in the Western Hemisphere, in Africa, in Asia, or in Europe?...

21 - THAT, Israel allots 85% of the water resources in the occupied territories for Jews and the remaining 15% is divided among all Palestinians in the territories? For example in Hebron, 85% of the water is given to about 500 settlers, while 15% must be divided among Hebron's 120,000 Palestinians?

22 - THAT, The United States awards Israel $3 billion in aid each year, more than to any other country in the world: US aid to Israel exceeds the aid the US grants to the whole sub-Sahara Africa?

23 - THAT, GDP, per capita, and consumption per capita in the Occupied Territories have dropped about 15 percent in the West Bank and Gaza since 1993 - that's even with large foreign assistance pouring in, from Europe, mostly?

24 - THAT, Up until 1993, the U.S. and Israel permitted humanitarian aid to come into the territories. UN humanitarian aid was permitted into the West Bank and Gaza. In 1993, that was restricted?

25 - THAT, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has nuclear weapons?

26 - THAT, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and bars international inspections from its sites?

27 - THAT, Israel currently occupies territories of two sovereign nations (Lebanon and Syria) in defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions?

28 - THAT, High-ranking military officers in the Israeli Defense Forces have admitted publicly that unarmed prisoners of war were executed by the IDF?

29 - THAT, Israel refuses to prosecute its soldiers who have acknowledged executing prisoners of war?

30 - THAT, Israel routinely confiscates bank accounts, businesses, and land from Palestinians and refuses to pay compensation to those who suffer the confiscation?

31 - THAT, Israel stands in defiance of 69 United Nations Security Council Resolutions?

32 - THAT, Israel's current prime minister, Ariel Sharon, was found by an Israeli court to be "personally responsible" for the Sabra and Shatilla massacres in Lebanon in which thousands of unarmed Palestinian refugees were slaughtered in 1982?

33 - THAT, Today's Israel sits on the former sites of more than 400 destroyed Palestinian villages, and that the Israelis renamed almost every physical site in the country to cover up the traces?

34 - THAT, Ariel Sharon's coalition government includes a party -- Molodet -- which advocates expelling all [of the over two million] Palestinians from [their homes in] the occupied territories?

35 - THAT, Israel's illegal settlement-building in the Occupied Palestinian territories more than doubled in the eight years since the Oslo agreements?

36 - THAT, Illegal settlement building under Prime Minister Barak doubled compared to settlement building under Prime Minister Netanyahu?

37 - THAT, More illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories were built under Prime Minister Barak than at any other time in the history of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land?

38 - THAT, Despite a ban on torture by Israel's High Court of Justice, torture has continued by Shin Bet interrogators on Palestinian prisoners?

39 - THAT, Palestinian refugees make up the largest refugee population in the world?

40 - THAT, Israeli military checkpoints surround every Palestinian population center in violation of the Oslo Accords?

41 - THAT, The right of self-determination is guaranteed to every human being under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (December, 1948), yet Palestinians were/are expected to negotiate for this right under the Oslo Accords?

42 - THAT, Palestinians have the highest ratio of PhDs per capita in the world?


"Food fro thought"

I-68 New Year.. times are a changing.... No more new posts

Other than for my personal Blog “Saysame,” I will not be adding any more posts to any of my “other” Blogs. The original intent and purpose of those Blogs was to present and document the unloving denials present in our society and so show how the different religions, governments, organizations, customs and traditions are all related and how the truth is distorted, manipulated and controlled by denial, omission, or in stating part truths meant to confuse and deceive. In all our history, nothing has really changed except the form of the experiences and no real healing or true understanding can take place as long as these conditions, fueled by unlovingness and old imprints, programs and beliefs are present.

What is happening globally now is merely the lull before the storm, a momentary pause in the on-going and escalating hatred and violence, creating the illusion of a possible peace, but that is only a façade. Rest assured that each side with its religion, government and its social structure and order is silently preparing for either a new offensive or defensive maneuver. Nothing has changed except, as mentioned, the “form” of the experience and now a "new" element will be brought into the conflicts to create the appearance that this is a new and different problem and issue and so the cycle continues, going around and around as it also escalates.

The coming times and Earth changes will not be easy as it will bring a total breakdown of society as we presently know it. These changes will not be affecting some other person or people in another part of the world, but will be happening on our personal doorstep where it can’t be denied unless denial is still your intent.

In the next few years everyone will be facing their denials and will be making life and death choices that will have far reaching consequences; more than just our present physical survival, but the survival of our very Spiritual essence. For Humanity to survive, we need to change within, before we can change the without. We need to let go of all our old imprints, programs and beliefs that keep us in this never ending cycle of unlovingness, suffering and death created by denial, guilt and shame that we have been struggling to change and call life. We can’t change it. IT is what it is…. until IT wants to change. What we need to do is to let it go from within us and to allow it to find it’s right place. Those that desire and choose to continue to follow IT need to be allowed to do so to also find their right place.

John

I-67 Israeli army chief admits Lebanon war failures.. but states war isn't over

Israeli army chief admits war failures

Israel failed to achieve all its objectives in its summer war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, the Israeli army chief said Tuesday, but defied calls for his resignation. ..... Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz told reporters at a briefing that Israeli forces caused considerable damage to Hezbollah and killed "hundreds of terrorists" in the war, which ended inconclusively in a cease-fire after 34 days of fighting.

But Halutz, summing up internal army inquiries into the war, acknowledged the army did not achieve all its aims. "We were not successful in reducing the short-range rocket fire on Israel's north until the cease-fire," he said..... Hezbollah fired about 4,000 rockets at Israel during the fighting.

A government-appointed committee is investigating the war and its outcome, and has the power to call for Halutz's resignation...... Halutz said he wants to stay on and "correct what can be corrected." His resignation now, he said, would be tantamount to "running away."

I-66 Iran seeks condemnation of Israeli nukes

Iran seeks condemnation of Israeli nukes

UNITED NATIONS - Iran demanded Tuesday that the U.N. Security Council condemn what it said was Israel's clandestine development of nuclear weapons and "compel" it to place all its nuclear facilities under U.N. inspection.

If Israel refuses to comply, Iran said the council must take "resolute action" under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which authorizes a range of measures from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military action.

Iran insists its own nuclear program is a purely peaceful effort to develop energy, but the United States and many European nations believe Tehran's real aim in enriching uranium is to produce nuclear weapons. The Security Council is currently debating a resolution that would impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its enrichment program.

Iran's U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif said in identical letters to the council and the secretary-general that the council's actions would show whether it was acting under the U.N. Charter or as "a tool" for a few permanent members who have encouraged Israel "to persist in its lawless behavior with impunity."

The reference appeared aimed at the United States, Israel's closest ally, which would almost certainly veto any council resolution on Israel's nuclear program.

I-65 Hamas in control of Gaza border crossing

Hamas in control of Gaza border crossing
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen allied with Hamas and Fatah clashed at a
West Bank mosque and in Gaza Strip streets on Friday, as violence spread to areas of the Palestinian territories normally untouched by factional strife. ADVERTISEMENT

Hamas accused a Fatah leader of orchestrating the previous day's attack on Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh — and a Hamas politician appeared to call for the Fatah strongman's assassination. Leaders of both groups have warned that the violence threatens to degenerate into civil war.

The clashes in Gaza City and the West Bank town of Ramallah marred celebrations Friday marking the 19th anniversary of Hamas' founding. However, the Islamic militant group pushed ahead with its rallies, and about 70,000 loyalists gathered at a stadium in Gaza City, cheering wildly, sobbing and firing in the air when Haniyeh arrived flanked by more than 50 armed bodyguards.

I-64 Iranian president says Israel's days are numbered

Iranian president says Israel's days are numbered
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday told delegates at an international conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days were numbered. ....

Ahmadinejad, who has sparked international outcry by referring to the killing of six million Jews in World War Two as a "myth" and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map," launched another verbal attack on the Jewish state.

"Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want," he said.

"Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out," he added.

I-63 Olmert affirms Israels possession of Nuclear weapons

Israel nuke comment sparks controversy

JERUSALEM - A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel's nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the Israeli leader, who came under criticism from across the political spectrum. In an interview with a German television station broadcast Monday, Olmert appeared to list Israel among the world's nuclear powers, violating the country's long-standing policy of not officially acknowledging that it has atomic weapons.

Asked by the interviewer about Iran's calls for the destruction of Israel, Olmert replied that Israel has never threatened to annihilate anyone.... "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said. "Can you say that this is the same level, when you are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?"

Israel, which foreign experts say has the sixth-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, has stuck to a policy of ambiguity on nuclear weapons for decades, refusing to confirm or deny whether it has them.

I-62 Is Israel behind the fighting between Hamas and Fatah???

Hamas gunmen open fire on Fatah protest Hamas gunmen open fire on Fatah protest KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen fired on demonstrators from the rival Fatah movement on Tuesday, wounding four people and intensifying fears of a new wave of Palestinian infighting following the deaths of three children in a drive-by shooting, officials said. ADVERTISEMENT

The demonstration was organized to protest the deaths of the children, whose car was riddled with bullets as they were driven to school Monday morning. Fatah officials have accused Hamas of being behind the shooting. The children's father is an intelligence officer who is considered an enemy of Hamas.

Saleh Hammad, a local Fatah leader, said the demonstration was peaceful, though he acknowledged that some children had provoked the Hamas militiamen by throwing rocks at them...... "Even if one or a few children lost their temper and stoned the members of the unit, this is not a reason to be fired at," he said...... Islami Shawan, a spokesman for the Hamas security unit in the area, denied his men had fired on protesters.

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My feeling behind all this "in fighting" is that Israel is behind it. What better way for Israeli/US to obtain their objectives than to create confusion and chaos in their enemies camp by having Israeli secret police pose as either Fatah or Hamas supporters. Divide and conquer is a system that works every time...

Saysame JR

I-61 Israel stands by denial and vague nuclear policy

Israel stands by vague nuclear policy JERUSALEM - Israel held firm Thursday to its policy of not admitting it possesses nuclear weapons, in the face of an acknowledgment from the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary that Israel has the bomb.....In his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Robert Gates explained Iran's motivation to acquire nuclear weapons.

"They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons — Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf," he told the Senate committee.

Although Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear weapons arsenal, it has stuck to its policy of ambiguity on the subject, insisting against all the evidence that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.

I-60 Israel accuses Hezbollah of using human shields when Israel bombed Lebanon...

Hezbollah accused of using human shields JERUSALEM - An Israeli think tank with ties to the military has compiled a dossier of video and testimony accusing Lebanese guerrillas of using civilians as human shields in their summer war with Israel.

Israeli aircraft and artillery killed more than 850 Lebanese, most of them civilians, during the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanon, a U.N. human rights agency and international rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes, although no formal charges have been filed.

Israel maintains its attacks against Hezbollah targets in populated areas did not violate international law. It says Hezbollah deliberately operated within civilian areas, raising the civilian death toll.

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Israel denials responsibility and tries to justify their military actions by blaming Lebanon and Hezbollah as the cause for Israeli War Crimes..

Saysame JR

I-59 Lebanon Protesters seek resignation of Prime Minister and US Puppet...

Protesters seek Lebanon PM resignation BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops..... The protest, which police estimated at 800,000, created a sea of Lebanese flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets. Hezbollah officials put the number at 1 million � one-fourth of Lebanon's population.

Launching a long-threatened campaign to force Lebanon's U.S.-backed government from office, Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies said the demonstration would be followed by a wave of open-ended protests. Hezbollah had threatened demonstrations unless it and its allies obtained a veto share of the Cabinet � a demand Saniora and Lebanon's anti-Syrian parties rejected. The protests now aim to generate enough popular pressure to paralyze the Saniora government and force it out.

I-58 the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire

Israel,Palestinians OK Gaza cease-fire JERUSALEM -
Israel and the Palestinians agreed to a cease-fire Saturday to end a five-month Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and the firing of rockets by Palestinian militants into the Jewish state — a major step toward possibly reviving long-stalled peace talks..... The cease-fire was to go into effect at 6 a.m. Sunday (11 p.m. Saturday EST), both sides said.

The truce announcement was a significant achievement for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he tries to put together a more moderate government to replace the one currently led by Islamic Hamas radicals. Abbas, a moderate from the
Fatah Party, hopes a deal with Hamas will persuade the West and Israel to lift crushing economic sanctions against the Palestinians.

I-57 Israel rejects Palestinian peace offer

Israel rejects Palestinian peace offer
JEBALIYA, Gaza Strip - The Palestinian prime minister said Friday that militants were prepared to stop firing rockets at Israel if it would halt all military action in Palestinian territories. Israel rejected the offer, saying it would respond positively only to a total truce.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza five months ago, in an unsuccessful attempt to curb militant rocket fire on Israeli border communities.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said armed factions had agreed Thursday to halt rocket fire in exchange for a complete cessation of Israeli military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

"The ball now is in the Israeli court," Haniyeh said. "It (Israel) must stop its aggression and escalation against the Palestinian people, then there will be no problem according to what the factions agreed in their last meeting."

I-56 Bush plays "the good guy" with the death of Christian and US supporter

Bush pledges to stand by Lebanon US President George W Bush has pledged to support Lebanon's independence from what he called the "encroachments of Iran and Syria", a US official said..... Mr Bush's promise came in a call to Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, following Tuesday's murder of leading anti-Syrian politician Pierre Gemayel.... Mr Gemayel, Lebanon's industry minister, was shot in broad daylight in his car in a Christian area of Beirut.

In his telephone call to Mr Siniora, Mr Bush reiterated the "unwavering commitment of the United States to help build Lebanese democracy and to support Lebanese independence from the encroachments of Iran and Syria," an official at the White House said.

Mr Bush has not specifically blamed Iran or Syria for Mr Gemayel's murder but he has called for a full investigation to identify "those people and those forces" behind the killing.

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True his character, Bush, who let Israel bomb Lebanon and kill thousands a few months ago and never said a word against Israel, but now offers to help find the assassins of a pro US Christian Lebanese official and that he now blames on Iran and Syria... He's just looking after his best interests in Lebannon and for any excuse to provoke and attack Syria and Iran.

Saysame JR

I-55 Israeli troops advance into Gaza towns

Israeli troops advance into Gaza towns
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - Israeli ground troops, tanks and armored vehicles advanced on two northern Gaza towns Wednesday in pursuit of Palestinian rocket squads, besieging a well-known Hamas lawmaker's house and engaging militants in ferocious clashes, Palestinian officials said.

Snipers positioned themselves on more than a dozen rooftops in Beit Hanoun and Jebaliya in northern Gaza as the ground troops fanned out, Palestinian security officials said. Three teenage Palestinian girls were wounded by Israeli gunfire outside a school in Beit Hanoun, hospital and security officials said.

Militants, led by gunmen from the ruling Hamas party's military wing, faced off against troops in both towns with land mines, antitank missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, security officials said. Hamas commanders instructed their gunmen not to travel in cars for fear they would draw Israeli airstrikes.

I-54 More Israeli Gestapo tactics...

Israeli offensive in Gaza City kills 2 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - The Israeli military launched a three-pronged offensive in the northern
Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing a top Hamas commander in its latest operation against Palestinian rocket squads. An elderly Palestinian woman died in a gunbattle between troops and militants.

Militants persisted with the rocket fire, launching five homemade projectiles, including three that landed in southern Israel. One critically wounded a man in the town of Sderot, a frequent target, striking the ground a half-mile from a convoy carrying the United Nations' top human rights official, who was touring the town.

The operation on Tuesday began at about 2 a.m. as an arrest raid in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, then fanned out to the outskirts of Jebaliya and Beit Lahiya, about 4 miles away..... Ground troops backed by helicopters, tanks and snipers surrounded the Zeitoun home of Ayman Hassanin, 26, a local leader in the military wing of the ruling Hamas group, witnesses said.

Gunmen streamed to the area as troops called on loudspeakers for Hassanin and his brother, Ibrahim, to surrender, said the militants' mother, who identified herself only as Umm Mahmoud. A fierce gunbattle erupted, and Ayman Hassanin, 26, was killed, Hamas said..... A 70-year-old woman was also killed in the battle, Palestinian medical officials said.

*** *** *** The army confirmed surrounding Hassanin's home to arrest him, saying troops opened fire only after militants fired guns and mortars at the soldiers first. *** *** ***

Troops entered the town of Jebaliya after dawn. Bulldozers plowed over farms, ripping up irrigation systems and destroying greenhouses and fields. A main electricity transformer, which provides about 60 percent of the power to the Zeitoun neighborhood, was also destroyed.... Four people, including at least one Hamas gunman, was wounded when a tank shell hit a group of fighters, witnesses said.

Israeli bulldozers demolished a factory between Jebaliya and Beit Lahiya in an area where rockets were launched Tuesday morning. Troops also razed land on the outskirts of Beit Lahiya and took up positions on high ground.... By late morning, the troops had left Zeitoun.

I-53 CIA issues report .... 'No proof' of Iran nuclear arms... White house denies report and calls it hostile

'No proof' of Iran nuclear arms The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has not found conclusive evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, a US magazine has reported.

Correspondents say the alleged document appears to challenge Washington's views regarding Iranian nuclear intentions..... The article says the White House was dismissive about the CIA report.

The CIA assessment, according to unnamed officials quoted in the article, casts doubt on how far Iran has actually progressed to making a nuclear weapon..... "The CIA found no conclusive evidence, as yet, of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program running parallel to the civilian operations that Iran has declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency," Mr Hersh wrote.

It says the agency based its conclusions on technical intelligence, such as satellite photography and measurements from sensors planted by US and Israeli agents..... The article says: "A current senior intelligence official confirmed the existence of the CIA analysis, and told me that the White House had been hostile to it."

The White House is not going to dignify the work of an author who has viciously degraded our troops... Dana Perino... White House spokeswoman

I-52 Olmert - Liberman - to take back Gaza, Israeli official says

Take back Gaza, Israeli official says RAMALLAH, West Bank - Israel should ignore moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, wipe out the Hamas leadership and walk away from the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan, Israel's new deputy prime minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said Saturday.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert forged an alliance with Lieberman, one of Israel's most divisive politicians, last month to shore up his shaky coalition. The appointment of Lieberman as minister of strategic affairs raised concern that Olmert's government, weakened by the summer's war in Lebanon, would freeze all peace efforts.

"We have a reliable partner there which is Jordan," he said. "We have to coordinate with Jordan. We have to say that Abbas is simply not relevant, we have to ignore him ... He has no authority, no power."

Israel also needs to get tougher with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, particularly their leaders, Lieberman said. "I see the entire leadership of Hamas and Jihad walking around freely, and it's continuing to incite," he told the radio. "They ... have to disappear, to go to paradise, all of them, and there can't be any compromise."

UPDATES '06 Nov 18
Israeli official: Kill Hamas leaders JERUSALEM -
Israel's deputy prime minister on Saturday said Israel should assassinate Hamas' leadership, ignore the moderate Palestinian president and walk away from international peace efforts, the latest in a string of hard-line positions voiced by the newest member of the Cabinet..... The comments by Avigdor Lieberman came as the rival Palestinian factions, Hamas and Fatah, continued talks on forming a unity government. President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah hopes the coalition deal will enable him to revive peace efforts with Israel.

I-51 Israel dismisses new peace plan... Doesn't want outside interference with its agenda...

Israel dismisses new peace plan Israel has dismissed a Middle East peace plan put forward by Spain, France and Italy..... The plan calls for a ceasefire and increased international intervention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

An Israeli official said parts of the plan were being discussed, but it was not being taken seriously as it was not co-ordinated with the EU or Israel.... The Spanish prime minister proposed the plan, saying the situation required urgent action by the outside world..... "We cannot remain impassive in the face of the horror that continues to unfold before our eyes," Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said. ..... "Violence has reached a level of deterioration that requires determined, urgent action by the international community."

Israel has long opposed greater international intervention and does not favour an international peace conference...... "Israel believes that it is right to conduct direct negotiations with all sides of the conflict," Amira Oron, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said.

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U.N. calls on Israel to end operation UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. General Assembly called for an end to Israeli military operations in the
Gaza Strip on Friday, overwhelmingly passing a resolution in an emergency special session the Israeli ambassador blasted as a "farce" and a "circus." .... The Arab League had asked for the session after the United States vetoed a similar, but watered-down U.N. Security Council draft resolution against Israel's actions last weekend — its second veto on the matter this year.

There are no vetoes in the 192-member General Assembly and the chamber's resolutions are nonbinding, considered more a reflection of international opinion...... The resolution passed Friday by a vote of 156 to 7, with six abstentions. The U.S., Israel and Australia voted against the document, while all the
European Union members supported it after last-minute changes were made to soften the tone.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said it was ironic the assembly held a special session on the Palestinian question a day after one of its committees passed a resolution stressing the need to avoid politically motivated and biased human rights resolutions..... "We believe that the United Nations is ill-served when its members seek to transform the organization into a forum that is little more than a self-serving and polemical attack against Israel or the United States," he said in the session...... The resolution "deeply deplores" the Israeli offensive, launched after the June capture of an Israel soldier, and calls on Israel to immediately halt its operation and pull its troops out of the Gaza Strip.

I-50 Israel vows to respond to Palestinian homemade rocket attack

JERUSALEM - Israel promised a punishing response to a deadly Palestinian rocket attack Wednesday near the home of the country's defense minister..... The rocket — one of at least eight that struck Israel during the day — killed a 57-year-old woman walking to the grocery store in the Israeli town of Sderot near the Gaza border and raised the specter of a large-scale offensive against militant rocket squads.

Militants affiliated with the Palestinians' ruling Hamas group and Islamic Jihad both claimed responsibility for the fatal Sderot attack, calling it retaliation for 19 civilians killed by Israeli shelling last week in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.

"The terror organizations will pay a heavy price," he said.... Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is at a meeting of Jewish leaders in Los Angeles, talked to Peretz and generals before the meeting, said his spokeswoman Miri Eisin..... "The operations in Gaza will continue without letup," Olmert told reporters.

I-49 New Palestine Hamas-Fatah unity government won't recognize Israel....

Hamas says new government won't recognize Israel GAZA (Reuters) - The ruling Islamic group Hamas said on Tuesday a planned Palestinian unity government would not recognize
Israel or accept a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict as demanded by Israel and the United States...... The stance could undercut Palestinian efforts to ease an eight-month-old Western economic boycott by forming a unity cabinet more acceptable to the West..... The unity government between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction "will not recognize Israel and will not include accepting the two-state solution."

The United States and its partners in the Quartet of Middle East mediators imposed the boycott to pressure Hamas, which took control of the Authority in March, to recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept existing peace deals.... The United States and Israel have demanded that the new government adopt a platform that meets the Quartet's conditions. The Quartet is composed of the United States, the EU, Russia and the United Nations....

The United States and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist organization and have cut off direct aid to its administration..... As a result, the Palestinian government has largely been unable to pay its 165,000 workers since April.

A U.S.-educated Palestinian academic is the top candidate to replace Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as part of the proposed unity government.

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The Palestine people and government have no voice and no choice...or rather, they have a voice.. BUT no one is listening.... They are being forced to abide by the unconditional demands of (Israel) United States, the EU, Russia and the United Nations... That's impossible.. they can't possibly meet all the demands and make Israel happy because if one person acts out of line.. then Israel blames the whole nation... Palestine is fighting for it's life.. and all the others involved are either ignorant or pretending to be ignorant and are part of the conspiracy of annihilating the Palestinians.

Saysame JR

I-48 Israel watches as US and UK now seek help from so-called terrorist Iran and Syria to help stablize Iraq..

Bush maintains tough line on Iran The US and UK governments have indicated there will be no softening of their stances on Iran and Syria despite calls for their help to stabilise Iraq...... President Bush said Iran must halt its nuclear activities and Syria stay out of Lebanon before talks could begin.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair urged Tehran to "stop supporting terrorism" in the region or face isolation..... Engaging Iraq's neighbours is one of the proposals being considered as part of a re-think of US strategy in Iraq..... In a major foreign policy speech in London, Mr Blair put the blame for the violence in Iraq squarely on outside forces.

He accused Tehran of exploiting "pressure points in the region" - Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinians - to thwart international efforts to rein in its nuclear programme...... "We offer Iran a clear strategic choice. They help the Middle East peace process, not hinder it. They stop supporting terrorism in Lebanon or Iraq. They abide by, not flout, their international obligations...... "In that case, a new partnership is possible. Or alternatively, they face the consequence of not doing so: isolation," Mr Blair said.

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Iraq: What Iran and Syria want Washington may need the two regional allies to help stabilise Iraq in order to pull its own troops back from an increasingly unpopular commitment there.

But given its fraught relations with Tehran and Damascus, Washington is only likely to secure active Iranian and Syrian co-operation by paying a high price diplomatically from two countries known for their hard bargaining.
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Israel, US have 'complete understanding' on Iran: Olmert WASHINGTON (AFP) - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that
Israel and the United States had "complete understanding" on
Iran, as President George W. Bush threatened to isolate Tehran unless it suspends its nuclear programme...... Bush said that if Iran continues with its programme, which the United States and Israel believe is aimed at developing an atomic bomb despite Iran's denials, "there has to be a consequence for their intransigence.".... "And a good place to start is working together to isolate the country," he said, branding a nuclear-armed Iran as an "incredibly destabilizing, and obviously very threatening to our strong ally," Israel.

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In the preceeding post, Bush and blair are looking to Iran and Syria for help to stabilize Iraq and now he calls Iran "incredibly destabilizing".... Dah! So what logic is there is having talks with Iran over Iraq if Iran is seen as a problem in Iraq??? More word games and political BS....

Saysame JR

UPDATES: '06 Nov 14 Iran will talk if U.S. 'behaves'

I-47 U.S. vetoes condemnation of Gaza strikes... Israel free do do as it pleases...

U.S. vetoes condemnation of Gaza strikes UNITED NATIONS - The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution Saturday that sought to condemn an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip and demand Israeli troops pull out of the territory...... U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said the Arab-backed draft resolution was "biased against Israel and politically motivated."

The draft received 10 votes in favor and four abstentions, along with the U.S. vote against. Britain, Denmark, Japan and Slovakia all abstained. The U.S. is one of five permanent members of the council that has the power to veto resolutions.

It was the second U.S. veto this year of a Security Council draft resolution concerning Israeli military operations in Gaza. The U.S. blocked action on a document this summer after Israel launched its offensive in response to the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked Palestinian militants..... In Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the draft resolution was one-sided. "It's good that it wasn't accepted by the Security Council," he said.

The Palestinians' Hamas-led government, however, was furious at the U.S. veto..... "This decision by the U.S. government gives unlimited cover to commit more massacres of innocent Palestinians," spokesman Ghazi Hamad said. "This is a shame on the American administration, which says it is trying to promote human rights and democracy in the Middle East."

UPDATES:
US vetoes motion on Gaza attack

'06 N0ov 12 Arabs 'to break Hamas aid freeze' Arab foreign ministers considering a response to Israel's Gaza offensive say they have decided to break a freeze on aid to the Palestinian government.

The ministers met hours after the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli actions in Gaza..... Arab League chief Amr Moussa said the veto was incomprehensible..... The Arab ministers, meeting in Cairo, said they would somehow get funds to the Palestinians despite a Western-led ban imposed when Hamas was elected.

The US and the European Union regard Hamas as a terrorist organisation. *****(even though it was freely and democratically elected)*****

I-46 Israeli: Now talking of a pre-emptive military strike on Iran

'06 Nov 10 Israeli: Strike on Iran a possibility JERUSALEM - The deputy defense minister suggested Friday that Israel might be forced to launch a military strike against Iran's disputed nuclear program — the clearest statement yet of such a possibility from a high-ranking official.

"I am not advocating an Israeli pre-emptive military action against Iran and I am aware of its possible repercussions," Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a former general, said in comments published Friday in The Jerusalem Post. "I consider it a last resort. But even the last resort is sometimes the only resort."

Olmert, who was arriving in Washington on Sunday, said he was confident in the U.S. handling of the international standoff over Iran's nuclear program. The Bush administration and other nations say is a cover for developing atomic weapons, but Tehran says the program is peaceful.

"I have enormous respect for President Bush. He is absolutely committed," Olmert said in an interview on NBC's "Today" show. "I know that America will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons because this is a danger to the whole Western world."

The United States and its European allies have proposed a raft of sanctions to try to curb the country's nuclear development. Olmert to focus on Iran in visit to U.S.

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International polictcs now come into play now that Bush has lost party control of the US government and Irag is on the chopping block as far as the US withdrawing troops.... That now means that Israel will have to create the necessary conflict with Iran in order for the US to once again get involved in saving the Jews and the world from terrorism... and to extend it's empire and control of Irans oil...

Saysame JR

UPDATES: '06 Nov 12 Israeli PM brings Iran agenda to U.S.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert began a five-day trip to the United States on Sunday, armed with an agenda focusing on the Iranian nuclear threat and Israel's relations with the Palestinians..... On the flight over, Olmert repeated his view that Iran will not scale back its nuclear ambitions unless it fears the consequences of its intransigence, a spokeswoman said.

"They (the Iranians) have to be afraid of the consequences if there isn't a compromise," spokeswoman Miri Eisin cited Olmert as telling journalists on the flight to Washington.....

While the U.S. has led international efforts to curb the Iranian unclear program, Israelis are concerned that American policy might soften following the Democratic victory in elections last week...... The fear is that with American public opinion turning against the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Bush would be less likely to take decisive military or diplomatic action against Iran.

UPDATES:
'06 Nov 12 Ahmadinejad blasts U.N. Security Council
'06 Nov 12 Iran plans to counter any Israeli attack
'06 Nov 14 Iran says nuke program is near complete

I-45 Hamas leader calls off Israel cease-fire

Hamas leader calls off Israel cease-fire BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - Hamas' exiled leader on Wednesday called off a cease-fire with Israel and militants threatened to attack Americans after 18 members of a family, including eight children, were killed in an Israeli artillery barrage on a densely populated Gaza neighborhood.

It was the highest number of Palestinian civilians killed in a single strike since fighting erupted six years ago, and undermined Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's attempts to form a more moderate government and renew a peace process with Israel.

Abbas condemned the "terrible, despicable crime," and the international community criticized the deaths. Israel, promising a swift inquiry, expressed regret for harming civilians.

"Shells were fired directly onto the people who were rushing out of the house," said Akram al-Athamna, a relative of the victims. "There was blood everywhere.".... The family is prominent in Beit Hanoun and includes several doctors and professionals. Family members said they had fled during the Israeli offensive, returning home after Tuesday's pullout....... Bits of dismembered bodies were plastered to walls of the damaged buildings and lying on the ground. A woman's head scarf, children's boots and slippers, and a pair of jeans — all burnt — were strewn outside.

Gaza town stunned by shelling

Palestinians ask revenge for Gaza deaths

Gaza hit was 'technical failure' Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said an army artillery barrage that killed 18 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip was the result of a "technical failure".

"I'm very uncomfortable with this event. I'm very distressed, Mr Olmert was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency...... "I checked it and I verified it. This is not the policy," he said.... But military operations against suspected Palestinian militants would continue, he added, admitting that further mistakes "may happen".

I-44 Israeli attacks on Palestinine... one too many...

Hamas chief: Truce with Israel is over

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip - Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal says that a truce with
Israel is finished and is appealing to all Palestinian factions to resume attacks. Israeli tank shells ripped through a residential neighborhood in the northern
Gaza Strip early Wednesday, killing at least 18 members of an extended family, including eight children, and wounding dozens of others, Palestinian health officials said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed regret over the deaths and, along with Defense Minister Amir Peretz, offered "urgent humanitarian aid" to the Palestinian Authority and immediate medical treatment to the wounded.

Russia and the European Union condemned the attack.

I-43 Israeli PM Olmert..... Gaza offensive will continue (until no one is left to resist)

Israeli PM: Gaza offensive will continue JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert pledged Sunday to press ahead with Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip until the army significantly decreases Palestinian rocket fire on Israel...... In new fighting, Israeli troops killed two Palestinians, including a Hamas gunman, raising the death toll to 46 Palestinians in the 5-day-old operation in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. One Israeli soldier has been killed.

"This operation has one goal: to decrease the Qassam (rocket) fire at southern Israeli towns and to halt the terror attacks that are trying to get organized and get out to Israel," Olmert said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.

Meanwhile, a far right politician who recently joined Olmert's government called for near-total separation of Jews and Arabs in the Holy Land, saying there was no hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

I-42 Soldiers kill unarmed Palestinian woman.. wound ten others...

Israeli troops kill Palestinian woman Israeli soldiers trying to pressure the gunmen to surrender also threw stun and smoke grenades, and knocked down an outer wall of the mosque with a bulldozer, causing the ceiling to collapse..... By midmorning Friday, veiled women protesters had gathered outside the mosque, where troops were positioned in tanks and armored personnel carriers. The army said the gunmen in the mosque took advantage of the demonstration to escape because there were not enough soldiers to block the protesters from approaching the building, and troops did not want to shoot into the crowd.

Israeli forces fired at a group of women who streamed to the scene to serve as human shields, killing one and wounding 10, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.... The dead woman was one of several hundred who had heeded a call by Hamas militants to ring the mosque in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. Their presence allowed the gunmen inside to escape, some reportedly wearing robes supplied by the women, ending their 19-hour standoff with soldiers parked outside in tanks and armored personnel carriers.

The army said it targeted Beit Hanoun because it was a major staging ground for rocket attacks. But Israeli officials have said the takeover of the town did not signal the start of a wider-scale military offensive in Gaza....

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And the Israeli acts of HATED continue to escalate... If the Israeli Military is not speaking for the Israeli people... then where are the Israeli people that are opposed to the actions of the military and why are they not speaking out to stop it?

For by your silenece and denial in expressing any opposition.. you are in agreement... and are also... a "doer of evil"...

Saysame JR

Updates: Palestinian women help free gunmen

I-41 Israel - Iran conflict.... Israel has and will use.... Nuclear weapons

NOTE DATE of POST: 2006 Jan 22

Israel Threatens Iran Over Nuclear Research Israel was taking advantage Sunday of the growing international pressure on arch enemy Iran to dangle the threat of pre-emptive action to stop Iran's nuclear program in its tracks.....

Army chief of staff Dan Halutz became the latest senior defense official to fire a warning shot across Tehran's bows by telling a security conference that Israel would not be "helpless" in the face of Tehran if it acquired nuclear weapons.....

His comments followed a pledge by Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz that Israel, widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, would not tolerate a "a nuclear option" for Iran while reaffirming his commitment to diplomacy over the escalating crisis.

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I was going through my journals and found an article that I was going to do for a newspaper in the Maritimes on the above topic but didn't submit it.... I found the above date and then did a net search and found the above site.... I also found this site and I felt I needed to include a link to it.. LOTS of related info... Petrodollars and Nuclear Weapons Proliferation: 2006 Feb 10 Understanding the Planned Assault on Iran

I-40 Israel... itching for a fight.... yet deny being aggressive

Israeli planes stage mock raids BEIRUT, Lebanon - Israeli fighter jets staged mock raids over Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut and two southern towns on Tuesday in the heaviest show of air power over Lebanon since an August cease-fire ended the war between Israel and the guerrillas.....The Israeli military refused to confirm that its planes had flown over Beirut or other areas, saying it does not release details of military operations.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said in Paris, "We call on Israel to put an end to these overflights and we call on all partners to refrain from any act that could maintain or increase tension."

The operation also came a few hours before Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah was scheduled to appear on a Lebanese television channel.... Nasrallah has been in hiding since the Israeli offensive began in July, appearing in public only once, on Sept. 22, to give a speech at a Hezbollah "victory rally." Israeli officials have threatened to assassinate him.

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It's the old double standard GOLDEN RULE again.. "do as I say, don't do as I do", as Israel sees nothing wrong with its official decree to assassinate another countries political leader.. yet would deem the same action against them as a act of terrorism...

France rebukes Israel over jets

I-39 Olmert forms new government.... Israel expands offensive in Gaza

An Israeli armoured personnel carrier, right, followed by an army bulldozer.... Israel may expand offensive in Gaza

JERUSALEM - Israel plans to expand its military offensive in the Gaza Strip and will decide soon on the what kind of operation it will conduct, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday...... Olmert said, "There is no doubt that we have to take steps to reduce the ability of the Palestinians to fire rockets at Israel and smuggle in weapons," but no decision has been made on exactly what to do, according to a participant in the meeting.

UPDATE: PM: Israel will stop Palestinian arms JERUSALEM - Israel will take action to stop Palestinian arms smuggling and rocket fire in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday, but he could not point to specific solutions..... Olmert also said any new offensive would not result in Israel's retaking Gaza, which it left a year ago after a 38-year occupation....

Olmert was speaking at a special Cabinet session to vote approval of the addition of an ultra-hawkish party to his ruling coalition, a step seen as virtually ruling out any Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives in the near future. Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu Party, has advocated bombing Palestinian population centers and redrawing Israel's borders to exclude its Arab citizens. He becomes a deputy prime minister.

I-38 Olmert ... Neck out of noose.... Back in POWER

Israeli Labor votes to stay in gov't
Talks on new Israeli government
JERUSALEM - Israel's dovish Labor Party bent its ideology Sunday and voted to stay in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government, despite his intention to add an ultra-hawkish party to his ruling coalition.

The vote clears the way for Olmert to bring hard-liner Avigdor Lieberman and his party into the government, giving the premier a large cushion of parliamentary support with the approach of crucial votes, including the state budget. In the past, Lieberman has called for bombing Iran, Egypt and Palestinian population centers, as well as drawing Israel's borders to exclude most of its Arab citizens.

I-37 US putting the ((((squeeze))) on Iran...

US demands UN sanctions on Iran US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Iran rejects Western allegations that its nuclear programme has a military aspect, and maintains it is enriching uranium only to generate electricity..... China's UN delegate Li Junhua said it was premature to say that the Security Council was in a position to impose sanctions.

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The now the news.... behind the news... Besides the US doing Israels bidding... the US is also after Irans oil supply... and has been slowing squeezing the life out of Iran... Oil rich... yet shackled by the sanctions imposed on it by the US..

Saysame JR

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Iran has the world's second biggest proven oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and the second biggest gas reserves after Russia.

Iran's geo-strategic position and its already-existing network of pipelines also make it a key actor in the energy world...... Iran is currently Opec's second largest producer..... But international and domestic factors have hampered optimal use by Iran of its energy resources since the 1979 revolution that toppled the Shah.

Iran supplies about 5% of the world's oil supply. In February 2006 an oil ministry official put crude production at 3.5-4m bpd, a figure which could be increased by 1m bpd "although it calls for major investments.....

Iran's oil and gas sector suffers from under-investment as a result of US sanctions, which have been in force for more than two decades.

The sanctions have not only kept US companies out of Iran but have also served as a disincentive to other countries' firms and multinationals because of the threat of secondary sanctions (approved by the US Congress in 1996).

I-36 Rice presses for Hezbollah's disarmament....

Rice presses for Hezbollah's disarmament

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stepped up international pressure on Hezbollah to disarm, saying the guerrilla group must surrender its weapons if it wants to remain part of Lebanon's political process.... Rice, in an interview with the privately owned Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. aired Friday, urged Hezbollah to lay down its arms according to the Aug. 14 cease-fire that ended its 34-day war with Israel, and choose between being a militant group and a legitimate political organization....

"If Hezbollah wants to be in politics... Hezbollah should be disarmed. You cannot have one foot in terror and the use of violence and the other foot in politics. It just doesn't work that way," Rice said.

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A good example of what I call one sided diplomacy... If giving up arms is the road to peace... then that must also include Israel... If Rice asked Israel to dis-arm... what kind of comment do you think she would get??? Of course if Hezbollah bought Rices story... Isreal could then do very much as it pleased... like they are doing with Palestine... Israel didn't win the war in Lebanon... but if Hezoballah dis-armed... then Israel could attack Lebanon again and this time they would win.. Good plan Rice.. but only if Hezoballah is as stupid as you are.... Dah????

Says a me JR

I-35 Israel flexing muscles at German Naval Patrol but denies doing so

Israel, Germany at odds over Lebanon air incident
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel denied a German newspaper report on Wednesday that two of its air force planes had fired twice as they flew over a German navy ship patrolling the Lebanon coast as part of an international peacekeeper force.

The German daily Der Tagesspiegel quoted a German junior defense minister as telling a parliamentary committee two Israeli F-16 fighters had flown low over the ship, firing twice...... The jets also activated infra-red countermeasures to ward off any rocket attack, the paper quoted him as saying, in an advance release from Thursday's edition...... "There was no such incident," an Israeli military spokeswoman said.

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In doing a Google image search for a picture of the Israel F16, I came upon this interesting site... Things that make you go Hummmmmmmmm? Another piece of the puzzle?

Saysame JR

Updates: Israel denies German ship clash