sigma

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  1. some progress seems to be happening .... guardian
  2. the spainsh managers/fans behaviour has been completly out of order, but is'nt worse the fact that the governing bodies act with banal gestures? why have they not stepped in and made this a serious issue, i can only wonder what the world cup will bring .. not on the pitch but off it, with these neo nazis. i know this is not popular with you sports fans but i really would stop a match and ban for a few matches teams and supporters with this behaviour. i am shocked but not surprised spain should remember it's moor heritage :mad: after all they would still be eating dinner in the dark and driving horsecarts (as my spainsh friend says)
  3. sheherazade i though it was interesting, not as good as michael winterbottoms other flim "in this world" about human traffic, but a good start to flims bring the storys of people held at camp x ray
  4. Israel adviser switches to top FO job · QC told Sharon to shun UN inquiry into Jenin battle · Palestine support group will protest to Straw The British Foreign Office has appointed a controversial Israeli government adviser to one of its most sensitive posts as head of the legal department. Advice from Daniel Bethlehem QC in 2002 to the then Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, led Israel to block a UN inquiry into the battle of Jenin. The Israeli refusal to cooperate was widely condemned at the time by various human rights organisations. Mr Bethlehem, who was Israel's external legal adviser, also took the lead for the Israeli government at the International court of justice in The Hague in 2004 to defend the barrier being built along the West Bank. Israel lost the case. The Foreign Office said: "Our view is Mr Bethlehem has had a distinguished career in international law, including acting on behalf of the UK government in a number of international proceedings. He has also acted for or against a number of other states. His experience in this area equips him strongly for this job." The legal team 45-year-old Mr Bethlehem will head challenged the legitimacy of pre-emptive action in the run-up to the Iraq war, and the deputy head of the team, Elizabeth Wilmshurst, resigned just before the invasion. He will have to advise Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, on a host of issues ranging from Guantánamo Bay to the legality of any pre-emptive strike against Iran. Betty Hunter, spokeswoman for the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said yesterday the group would write to Mr Straw. "We are appalled that the Foreign Office is employing someone who has a very distinct bias." The job was advertised last October. On his appointment, the Foreign Office published a lengthy CV listing 27 international disputes in which he has been involved but omitting Jenin. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary general, ordered an inquiry into Jenin after the Palestinians claimed there had been human rights abuses on a grand scale. The Israeli government insisted that the heavy casualties - on both sides - had been the result of the ferocity of the Palestinian defence of the town. Mr Sharon initially agreed to cooperate with the UN inquiry. But days later the Israeli government changed its mind after advice from Mr Bethlehem. Mr Bethlehem, a specialist in international law at Cambridge University, warned in a memo for the Israeli government that if the inquiry's findings "uphold the allegations against Israel - even on a poor reasoning - this will fundamentally alter the dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian leadership and may make it impossible for Israel to resist calls for an international force, the immediate establishment of a Palestinian state and the prosecution of individuals said to have committed the alleged acts." In the memo, a copy of which was leaked to the Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Mr Bethlehem said the seriousness of the inquiry should not be minimised and that "for all practical purposes, Israel is faced with a war crimes investigation". The question mark over his involvement in Jenin was raised with the Guardian by a British lawyer, who requested anonymity. Another lawyer, Philippe Sands QC, who knows Mr Bethlehem well, said: "He is a first-class international lawyer and an individual of impeccable integrity. Some may say he has a conservative disposition but he is independent and very much his own man." A pointer to Mr Bethlehem's view on attacking Iran can be found in his evidence last year to the Commons foreign affairs committee. Although an Israeli pre-emptive strike on an Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981 was judged to be illegal, a good case could have been made for it both then and now, he said. Backstory Israel launched a huge offensive into the West Bank in spring 2002 after a wave of Palestinian suicide bombings. The attack on Jenin began on April 3 and there were heavy casualties on both sides. The Palestinians claimed there had been widescale human rights abuses, denied by Israel. The UN launched an inquiry and Israel initially agreed to cooperate. After a few days, Israel made a surprise, and at the time mysterious, turnaround, saying it had decided to withdraw its cooperation. The inquiry team interviewed Palestinians but was denied access to Israelis. The inquiry, in its final report, concluded there had been no massacre by Israel. the guardian
  5. Pro-Palestinian and British Muslim groups yesterday vowed to stage protests against Arsenal after the Premiership football club signed a deal with the Israeli tourism ministry, which will see the images of players used to promote the country as an ideal place to holiday. The £350,000 deal gives Arsenal strong ties with both sides of the centuries-old Arab-Israeli conflict. Arsenal's new stadium will carry the name of the Emirates airline, owned by the United Arab Emirates government, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel. The latest deal will lead to Israel being advertised as Arsenal's preferred travel destination within the Emirates stadium. Messages promoting Israel as a relaxing, sun-kissed destination will also be screened in the stadium on digital perimeter boards and on a phalanx of LCD displays visible to fans, and on Arsenal's website and publications. As the English Premiership is screened around the world, television audiences in scores of countries will see Arsenal and tourism in Israel linked together. Arsenal will move from its old home of Highbury later this year, to the 60,000-capacity Emirates stadium. Israel's economy has suffered as a result of the Palestinian intifada which began in September 2000. The upsurge in violence has made tourists nervous about holidaying there. Israel's ministry of tourism said: "This is designed to broaden the country's appeal as a tourism destination beyond traditional markets." The country's tourist office in London said 2 million people holidayed in Israel last year, an increase of 40% on the previous year, and officials wanted to push that figure to 3 million, to reach the level of tourism before the intifada began. Last year 160,000 Britons visited Israel, up 8% on the previous year. Betty Hunter, general secretary of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, said: "We are appalled. What's involved is an attempt to normalise Israel in the eyes of the British public, when Palestinian footballers can't even get to World Cup qualifying matches. Five were refused permission by the Israelis to go to a qualifying match." Ihtisham Hibatullah, of the Muslim Association of Britain, said: "British Muslims will be angry and saddened by this deal. We show solidarity with Palestinian people who are oppressed and under occupation, and one of our football clubs should not be supporting an apartheid regime." A spokeswoman for Emirates airline said the deal with the Israeli government tourism department was not a matter for them. "It is a commercial deal between them and Arsenal. Arsenal does not have to get Emirates approval for any deal like that. It's up to Arsenal who they have as sponsors." But a Gulf newspaper quoted an airline spokesman based in Dubai as saying the deal was "unfortunate and we are obviously not happy". the guardian
  6. driving heh... made my blood presure go up so much ...i made a technical fault please check manchester evening news article- 31 points and still on the road
  7. well if you live in the uk you will :rolleyes: about this web page for all others not in the uk here is the break down: in the uk drivers have only 12 points per licence and most charges (speeding, insurance etc) take 3-9 points from your licence each 3 points, (3) points is the basic amount given and lasts 3 yrs (but if more than 3 points given at the same time, they run concurrently) once you reach 12 points you are banned for min 6 mths. so to recap: if you get caught by speed cameras (a MAJOR problem here, it's like the truman show for cars) more than 4 times in 3yrs .you lose your driving L!!! so this guy is a joker :eek: i want his lawyers number, email....
  8. sigma

    GERMAN

    fatman looking for french speakers myself...but have good friends that would be willing to help. :cool:
  9. sigma

    MUNICH debate

    miskiin-macruut- aqiyaar salaan and thanks for your reply Just imagine if any other non-Western agency behaved like this. for sure they would be bombed into the next century, but it beacuse of the guilt of world war 2 i think that allows others to turn a blind eye. what about israels nuclear capablity? they have been many security council resoultions against israel but no action...sheer lip service. I wish Muslim nations would stop being suspicious to one another and create an equal agency that challenges Mossad. if we could just realise that the greed and corruption is whats keeping us down and ours eyes off the true issues
  10. yeniceri The AP and UPI reported that the French Government announced after the London bombings that it has raised its terror alert level from Run to Hide. The only two higher levels in France are Surrender and Collaborate. The rise in the alert level was precipitated by a recent fire which destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively disabling their military. rudy funny
  11. Do you think Mossad’s response to the massacre at Munich was an appropriate one? I believe there is no difference between the Black September group and Israel’s covert agency. I understand there are many issues involved. For instances: • The issue of sovereignty as well as the rights of states to protect its own citizens • How extrajudicial killings conflict with democratic principles • State-sponsored terrorism From a realist perspective this happens all the time and in many forms; from information gathering to covert elimination programs. The recent capture of British agents in Russia, the practice of out-sourcing torture, and Guantanamo are all but a few examples that illustrate this kind of environment.
  12. foxy ...yep that old woman is too much what about 3 non blondes? i cringe a lot when watching this ..but some parts are hilarious