Saturday, August 26, 2006

Workers from Eastern Europe.

There has been a lot in the media this week about migrants from Eastern Europe working in the UK so I will add my little bit to the debate.

It is sad what has happened to the labour market in the UK. We now have the highest unemployment levels for the last six years and migrants from Eastern Europe are adding to our unemployment figures. But that is not all, their arrival has led to a reduction in the real value of our wages as employers cash in on the extra supply of cheap labour. Employers just love the reduced rates they can get away with by paying these migrants low wages. This has had a depressing affect on loyal existing British workers who are facing competition from these migrants from Eastern Europe. It is not a level playing field as these migrant workers are not always setting up home in the UK like the British electorate are. Many foreign workers are clubbing together in cheap accomodation to spend the absolute minimum here and to take the maximum money back to their country of origin. They do not have homes and families to pay for in the UK, they can get their cash harvest and bank their money abroad. Why has our government let this happen? It is only the UK and Ireland who have allowed these East Europeans free access to their labour markets, other countries have not allowed these vast numbers of migrants to work.

British workers have been stabbed in the back on three sides. Our government, who we elected to represent us, have opened our borders to foreign workers leading to increased unemployment. Employers have rubbed their hands with glee at this unfair competition and reduced wage rates and rises. East Europeans have taken the jobs of people who would love to work but cannot compete with them on a level playing field.

The people who say it is a good thing that our country has attracted Eastern Europeans to work here, will not be so cocky when their jobs are taken away by lower paid workers from overseas.

In my own job we had a disgraceful 19p per hour pay rise this year. That is market forces for you, employers love it but they do not have to pay their employees bills. We have been sold down the river by our government and our employers. Shame on employers in our country who are taking on Eastern Europeans. I am absolutely disgusted with those employers who are actively recruiting workers from Eastern Europe, some are even traveling to Poland to recruit workers they could have hired at home.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Workplace blogging.

On Thursday 17th August 2006 I had to see my manager at work. He was not happy because a company who he trades with had found the blog I have written about my worklife. This company did not like my views on the company's operation, product, service or equipment used being available for the public to read on the internet. They did not like the criticism I had made and felt that this was not doing their public relations any good. I was told simply to remove the content of the blog from the internet and never to write about the company, it's operation, product, service or equipment again or be dismissed from working with them. I have never written anything on this blog that was commercially sensitive. This was a choice I had to make there and then.

It was a shame but I chose to delete the blog. I am happy with the job that I do at work and I can blog about a wide range of topics so I do not need to do a workplace blog. Many workers in the UK have been stopped blogging about their workplace. I am not alone and it is a big shame that employers have taken this attitude in this supposedly free country. This company is not a small firm, it has a large profile and is at the moment advertising on national television. It is however a bully and treats it's customers like sheep. This company is always asking for feedback from it's employees and customers. What this company clearly wants is to keep this feedback private. They very often berate staff about their work but do not let you read what complaints or information they have coming into their head office. Information is secret and is power to management as they keep their workforce in the dark.

I am glad that I made my workplace blog separate. It kept the content focused and now this showdown has happened I can continue with my private life and keep this blog running. Private life is important and I have always kept my private life apart from my work. The next day in The Independent was a story about a blogger who has been suspended from his work. I feel very sorry for Inigo Wilson being suspended from his job at Orange, the mobile phone company. The actions of Orange suspending him simply stinks, his private life and blog has nothing to do with Orange or mobile phones. What Inigo wrote in his blog was humour, a satirical piece about language and left leaning politics. Shame on Orange for suspending him over his article which led to a campaign by the forum members of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee . This group are now gloating at Inigo's suspension at work. Here is what Inigo had written that caused all this fuss...

Inigo Wilson: A Lefty Lexicon

Inigo Wilson manages community affairs for a large telecoms company. He lives with his wife and young daughter in Fulham. His favourite blogs are ‘the Belmont club’ and ConservativeHome. He is a regular reader of Commentary, National Review and The Spectator.

A few days ago in the Telegraph, journalist Simon Heffer expressed the hope that someone would, "write a book on the language of the Third Way, outlining the abuse of words - and with it the abuse of truth - that this administration has either implemented or condoned."

A while before, during a meeting at the company where I work, I heard someone from personnel remark that we were facing "issues around our diversity target implementation plan". It struck me that if this curious Lefty-inspired patois can be used - with a straight face - in a large modern business then the trenches in the language sector of the 'culture wars' must be all but overrun.

And there is evidence to be found in official communications not only of the changed language but also the altered priorities it attempts to mask. You can find some particularly rich hunting grounds among the well-stocked leaflet displays of Metropolitan Police stations. No one yet has formally announced that the Met doesn’t 'do' ordinary crime, but each flyer makes it clear that if you are one of the large range of very modern sounding 'victim' types, then you are the priority for modern policing. See here for more of what's on offer.

Equally, almost anything from central Government or the 'education establishment' contain examples in abundance. We discover, to take an example at random, in the recent Home Office 'Respect Action Plan' that, "Key departments will work together to develop a cross-Government strategy to drive an improved service response to problem households. These departments, and their local service partners, have important roles to play in ensuring that mainstream adult and children’s services respond more quickly and effectively to these families and address gaps in provision." This means something like, "we must sound like we are doing things - but not too much because they probably vote for us".

Even the military have taken to expressions with rather diffuse meaning. 'Network-centric, effects-based warfare', for example, apparently means they put lap-tops in their tanks. It also probably also means that the MoD think we can be persuaded that, this way, we need less of them.

So why are our rulers and administrators resorting to this verbal equivalent of an artillery smoke barrage? The answer can be separated into the influences and motives that permeate New Labour.

The influences are largely consultants, academia and the 'rights industry'. Consultants infest modern government departments and quangos in large numbers and they use the same opaque, almost self-parodic jargon that they inflict on us in the private sector. Working for a quango a few years ago, I noticed that, perhaps due to a lack of confidence, state employees often tried to mimic 'consultantese', despite their understandably hesitant grasp of its original meaning.

There is also little doubt that academia has influenced - via the cod-philosophy of 'post-modernism' – the thought habits of many of the graduates exposed to this nonsense at university. Thus New Labour pioneered the view that the electorate can be persuaded by 'narratives' rather than, say, doing anything. Disappointingly, they so far seem to have been proved right.

Finally, there is the language of race and rights activists, part of the rainbow coalition of charities, pressure groups and human-rights lawyers. Between them, these contributors have built a whole new linguistic system to communicate with each other - and us.

As for the motive, well, if you want to hide some things and advance others while relatively undetected, then what better way to do it than by using language that has slipped the moorings of any tangible meaning. And every day is now 'a good day to bury bad news'.

If we want to limit the spread of this grating, euphemistic and deeply political language in our national life, the first thing to do is recognise it for what it is. So, in the list below, I've brought together some of my favourites - a compilation of 'key learnings' if you will - and tried to describe their usage and meaning as I've encountered them. Welcome to the 'Lefty lexicon'.

Leftylexicon_1 Term - followed by usage or meaning

A

Agenda - describes any collection of policies: 'equality agenda' for instance. Invariably needs to be ‘taken forward’.

Aggressive outreach - the process of actively soliciting trade for social workers. Generally employed when 'customers' fail to show required enthusiasm for services on offer.

B

Beacon of excellence - archaism: any organ of state that achieved - or 'delivered' - what it was supposed to.

Best practice - normally 'established' when a Lefty wants to saddle a process with more complexity. Replaces 'working it out yourself'.

C

Child-centred - education: "we can't be bothered to teach them… perhaps they’ll do it themselves".

Class - grouping people by the contents of their wallet rather than, say, how they think, feel or behave as individuals.

Consultation - a formal system for ignoring public views while patronising them at the same time. London's Congestion Charge for instance.

Community leader - someone plucked from obscurity to represent ‘the views of the community’ for the purposes of ‘consultation’. NB never elected to this position.

Critique - media, academia: same as 'rebuttal'. When a Lefty alleges that someone's writing is 'riddled with factual inaccuracies' then mysteriously fails to identify any.

D

Delivery - as in "delivered against targets". Means 'achieve'.

Disproportionate - foreign affairs: Describes any act by USA or Israel.

Delegitimise - what we do if we suggest that a favoured Lefty client group may contain members who are not wholly beyond criticism as individuals.

Diversity - creating a workforce based on how people look rather than on their skills or aptitude

E

Equal - as in ‘opportunities’: describes the desire to have a workforce resemble the population it comes from, rather than matched to the task in hand. See 'diversity'.

Egalitarian - “if I can’t have one, then neither can you”. Shared misery much better than unevenly scattered joy.

F

Fascism/Nazism - apparently the 'opposite' of Socialism - despite sharing party members, ideology and - in National Socialism - the name.

G

Gender issues - grouping people by their sex rather than how they think, feel or behave as individuals.

‘Green’ issues - “if we can’t control the means of production then we’ll close it down”. NB. the US is the ‘biggest polluter in the world’ which is wholly unrelated to the fact it’s the world’s most productive economy.

H

Hate-crime - same as 'normal' crime as far as victims are concerned - but much more distressing for Lefties.

Hate-speech - "shut up!".

Human rights - using the legal system to pursue political ends.

I

Inclusive - Means 'drop entry standards until anyone can get in'.

Impartial - media, BBC: the balance achieved by attacking the Opposition for being Conservative and attacking the Government for being insufficiently Lefty.

In partnership with… - Government: "this way, none of us get the blame when nothing happens!".

Inappropriate - "I don't like this" - no explanation for what or whom must ever be given.

Intolerance - Intolerance can only committed against certain defined groups of people. These do not include, Americans, the middle class, white manual workers, rural people, business and Christians obviously.

Institutional racism - 'racism' in a workforce that is achieved unknowingly and in ways that cannot be specifically defined.

Islamophobic - anyone who objects to having their transport blown up on the way to work.

Israel - see 'disproportionate' and 'legitimate grievances'. Country the size of Wales, with 5m inhabitants, that is entirely responsible for any and all delinquent Islamist behaviour the world over.

Issues around… - "I may be out of my depth here".

J

Justice - Government: as in ‘social justice’. Means taking money earned by the general public to give to particular groups that Lefties approve of. Replaces market economics.

K

Key - Government: most things are ‘key’, in particular ‘drivers’, ‘learnings’, ‘deliverables’. In education, all school ‘stages’ are 'key'.

Legitimate grievances - foreign affairs: why we're all to blame for deranged Islamists murdering people in the developed world.

Liaise - the day-to-day process of Lefty Government. Replaces 'work'.

Learnings - means 'lessons'.

M

Marx - a Victorian gentleman whose theories cannot be disproved by observation, experience or factual evidence. See 'religion' and 'post-modernism'.

Multi-cultural - All culture is valid - unless Western in some way. Usually to be 'celebrated' and always found to be 'vibrant'. See 'diversity'.

N

Nazi - informal: describes non-Lefty views and useful to link with people Lefties don’t like. Thus Germany’s Nazi period is the only noteworthy formative experience of Pope Benedict.

NGO - Non Governmental Organisation – the repository of all moral authority in Lefty World and whose words and motives may never be questioned.

O

Organised labour - what Lefties used to be interested in.

P

Palestinians - archetype 'victims' no matter how many teenagers they murder in bars and fast food outlets. Never responsible for anything they do – or done in their name - because of 'root causes' or ‘legitimate grievances’.

Post-modern - modern French 'philosophical': literature claiming that no account of events can be trusted. 'Texts' must be 'deconstructed' for their hidden meanings - except those by post-modernists, to be taken at face value.

Progressive - describes ideas generally thought up around 40 years ago – that still don't work.

Q

al Qaeda - Muslim 'militants' who for some reason or other continue to kill far more Muslims than people of any other faith.

R

Race issues - grouping people by their skin colour as opposed to how they think, feel or behave as individuals.

Racist - means "shut up!" - and is much, much worse than being violent, thoughtless or unkind. In fact, easily the worst crime ever conceived of.

Relevant - education: something badly written, with references to sex and full of swear-words. Always better than literature by 'dead white people'.

Religion -

* Christianity: irrational, dangerous belief that material things may not be the principal motive behind human behaviour.
* Judaism: most Israelis are Jewish, so probably 'intolerant'.
* Islam: always needs to be 'understood'.

Root causes - foreign affairs: Usually need to be 'examined'. Belief in 'root causes' reflects dogged Lefty habit of trying to see contemporary religious issues through the prism of ‘class analysis’.

S

Skills-based - education: "teach the little ba**ards Microsoft Word or something. They don't actually need to know anything…".

Social exclusion - where bad people, behaving badly, somehow became our fault.

South Africa - a national showcase for Lefty policies with a one-party state, some of the worst crime levels in the world, tragic AIDS mortality and declining economy.

Stereotype - any attempt to describe the general characteristics of a group favoured by Lefties.

Stigmatise - what we do to anti-social people if we ask them to stop.

Subsidised art - art no one would buy.

T

Take forward - use instead of 'do'.

Terrorist - no such thing. Only people suffering from ‘root causes’ and ‘legitimate grievances’.

Transgressive - term of approval for anything 'challenging established values' - but generally puerile, annoying and dumb.

U

Unilateral - media, BBC: used to describe any act by the United States in furtherance of its national interest.

United Nations - the NGO of NGOs. All foreign policy has to be 'in partnership with the UN and our European Allies', unless bombing Serbia - which requires neither.

V

Victim - see ‘Terrorist’, ‘Palestinians’, ‘gender issues’, ‘race issues’ and ‘social exclusion’.

W

Workers - notional ‘class’ of people that Lefties once claimed to represent. Now replaced by college lecturers, human rights lawyers, pressure group employees, civil servants with 'liaise' in their job title - and other people you would probably not want over for supper.

The editors of the Conservative Home website have made a statement about Inigo's suspension by Orange and how it affects free speech in our country.

I hope that free speech is not going away in our country and the public does not bow down to these bully employers. I had to make a simple choice of keeping my job or writing my opinions. If I did not like my job I would have resigned but that would have been fruitless. You can never beat the big boys, employers stick together and share information off the record. Future employment in the same industry could have been very difficult to obtain plus the material for my workplace blog would have been denied to me! My decision was easy to make and many workers in the UK have had to make the same choice as me. Still, this company has lost all it's feedback from me, forever. Do I want an Orange mobile phone? No way, big boy!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

A new blogger.

There is a new blogger on the internet, Mahmoud Ahmandinejad - does that name ring a bell? Of course it does, he is the President of Iran. When watching television with Gail I am rather slow to recognise celebrities but whenever Mahmoud comes up I recognise him straight away! You might think I write long postings on my blogs but this is the guy who sent George Bush the famous 8 page letter. His blog will probally be as verbose although he does say...

"I will continue this topic later on as it took long in the beginning. From now onwards, I will try to make it shorter and simpler.

With hope in God, I intend to wholeheartedly complete my talk in future with allotted fifteen minutes."

Remember, you have to click 3rd from the right icon to read his blog in English.

Monday, August 14, 2006

UN Resolution 1701.

Today at 06.00 BST UN Resolution 1701 came into force in the war that raged between Israel and Lebanon.

I hope that the situation in Lebanon improves from now on. Life has been a struggle for the people of Lebanon and I have been deeply moved by what I have read in the newspapers and on the internet. The newspapers focus on the leaders but the citizens have a lot to say and share with the world at large. Their frustrations at how long the world has taken to wake up to the ongoing crisis in Lebanon and the extremely slow progress in getting an UN Resolution for a ceasefire clearly shows in their blogs.

Glass Garden writes on Friday 4th August in her blog...

The bombing started at precisely 12:55 am. The IAF started pounding Lebanon's southern suburbs again with incredible zeal, generously showering the area with bombs. One loud blast after the next echoing in the night. Violently jolted awake again. This has got to be one of the ugliest feelings ever. Let's see if I can describe it; your body reacts first, before your eyes are open and you're fully awake, your stomach is already in a knot, your entire body is tense, your heart is beating as if you'd been running uphill for half an hour and your mind is still in a haze. When the war began I found it easy to regain my calm, taking deep breaths, switching the television on and watching live coverage of the raids. I convinced myself that it would only be a matter of days before someone steps in and puts an end to this. I had faith in the UN, in the international community, I thought the security council would be just. But no. It has been 24 days now, in a week it will be a month and still no end in sight. Its becoming harder to be logical, to detach, to control anxiety and the resulting physical responses. I am driven into states of unbelievable anger, so intense at times it makes me want to vomit. I got up, watched coverage on TV, checked alerts and headlines online and decided to go back to bed. I can sleep through the blasts, its just noise, they're far enough, I said to myself. Right. I did doze off a few times, out of sheer exhaustion until some time in the morning when a very loud explosion shook the doors in my apartment.

Ur Shalim does not spare the comment or the photos on the 9th August 2006...

Update: 36 were buried yesterday. 5 missing presumed dead. 60 injured.

Kadmous makes a joke but that is the reality.

hopeful beirut writes on Thursday 10th August 2006...

Today, I have aged.

I'm 23 going on 50.

I'm old and tired and my body aches...

It doesn't respond well to being huddled in the corner of the bathroom, crying. My stomach is queasy, and I resist the urge to vomit every 5 minutes. I take a look at the bathroom walls, absorbing every detail when a scary question comes to mind: what would be the quickest way to evacuate the house? What items would I need to take along?

That question shook me to the very core, and the tears that had been building up since the beginning of this hell exploded. It was as if the dam had broken and I could hold them back no more. Huddled in my corner, heaving and sighing, I started making mental notes: the most important item was my grandfather's medicine... more tears welled up... his cane too... God, would he make it out of the house on time, if we had to leave?

I dry my tears.
I promised myself I would never again succomb to this helplessness. Its just that the longer this goes on, the more time we'll need to recover, and more of my dreams will have to be postponed.

I feel older, much older.
More cynical too.

Grasping on to my humanity, I vow I will go down kicking.
I'm not ready to blow out those candles just yet.

Anecdotes for a Banana Republic writes on Sunday 13th August 2006...

There’s talk of a ceasefire that will take effect in 10 hours and 12 minutes. In the meantime, I hear a drone creeping up on us, as all other sounds of generators and the odd nocturnal motorcyclist grow dim, and you have ears only for him —-the unmanned aviator. You are being stalked by an airborne, robotic peeping Tom. What if he develops feelings for a pretty girl and no longer wants to level homes? I’m waiting for Spielberg to produce that heart-wrenching film.

They drop lots of pamphlets and flyers from the sky, but never customer satisfaction forms. “On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate the value/futility/sleep deprivation/cunningness/brutality of our latest bombing raid? What is your opinion of the price to quality ratio, in human and financial terms? When dining on shrapnel and cluster bombs, how can we improve the experience for you? Thanks for your time. Please leave us your name and address so we can memorize the coordinates and serve you better in the future. We are an equal opportunity bomber. Signed: The State of Israel”. The signing off as “The State of Israel” is very telling— it’s the you-don’t-recognize-us fixation, as if non-recognition entails not believing rather than not accepting. Here’s the empiric proof that we exist, motherfuckers. Bang, bang, boom.

beirut update is upbeat in her post yesterday...

Sunday, August 13, 2006
on the eve of ceasefire
this morning, i woke up with a smile on my face. my husband had jumped on top of me, kissing me all over my face, saying that the war was going to end.. that the UN voted... that things were going to get better now. i had only fallen asleep two hours earlier, but jumped out of bed with a kind of energy i hadn't had in over a month. it was a good morning.

everything changes this weekend.

I look for the word for Hezbollah but the website is offline, when it will go back online I do not know.

I hope for everyone's sake things get better in Lebanon, soon - very soon.

For the record here is the text of UN Resolution 1701...

Text of the UN Resolution 1701 reads...

The Security Council,

Recalling all its previous resolutions on Lebanon, in particular resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982), 1559 (2004), 1655 (2006), 1680 (2006) and 1697 (2006), as well as the statements of its president on the situation in Lebanon, in particular the statements of 18 June, 2000, of 19 October, 2004, of 4 May 2005, of 23 January 2006 and of 30 July 2006;

Expressing its utmost concern at the continuing escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and in Israel since Hezbollah's attack on Israel on 12 July 2006, which has already caused hundreds of deaths and injuries on both sides, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons;

Emphasising the need for an end of violence, but at the same time emphasising the need to address urgently the causes that have given rise to the current crisis, including by the unconditional release of the abducted Israeli soldiers;

Mindful of the sensitivity of the issue of prisoners and encouraging the efforts aimed at urgently settling the issue of the Lebanese prisoners detained in Israel;

Welcoming the efforts of the Lebanese prime minister and the commitment of the government of Lebanon, in its seven-point plan, to extend its authority over its territory, through its own legitimate armed forces, such that there will be no weapons without the consent of the government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the government of Lebanon, welcoming also its commitment to a UN force that is supplemented and enhanced in numbers, equipment, mandate and scope of operation, and bearing in mind its request in this plan for an immediate withdrawal of the Israeli forces from southern Lebanon;

Determined to act for this withdrawal to happen at the earliest;

Taking due note of the proposals made in the seven-point plan regarding the Shebaa farms area;

Welcoming the unanimous decision by the government of Lebanon on 7 August 2006 to deploy a Lebanese armed force of 15,000 troops in south Lebanon as the Israeli army withdraws behind the Blue Line and to request the assistance of additional forces from Unifil as needed, to facilitate the entry of the Lebanese armed forces into the region and to restate its intention to strengthen the Lebanese armed forces with material as needed to enable it to perform its duties;

Aware of its responsibilities to help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict;

Determining that the situation in Lebanon constitutes a threat to international peace and security;

1. Calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations;

2. Upon full cessation of hostilities, calls upon the government of Lebanon and Unifil as authorised by paragraph 11 to deploy their forces together throughout the South and calls upon the government of Israel, as that deployment begins, to withdraw all of its forces from southern Lebanon in parallel;

3. Emphasises the importance of the extension of the control of the government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the government of Lebanon;

4. Reiterates its strong support for full respect for the Blue Line;

5. Also reiterates its strong support, as recalled in all its previous relevant resolutions, for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political independence of Lebanon within its internationally recognized borders, as contemplated by the Israeli-Lebanese General Armistice Agreement of 23 March 1949;

6. Calls on the international community to take immediate steps to extend its financial and humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese people, including through facilitating the safe return of displaced persons and, under the authority of the government of Lebanon, reopening airports and harbours, consistent with paragraphs 14 and 15, and calls on it also to consider further assistance in the future to contribute to the reconstruction and development of Lebanon;

7. Affirms that all parties are responsible for ensuring that no action is taken contrary to paragraph 1 that might adversely affect the search for a long-term solution, humanitarian access to civilian populations, including safe passage for humanitarian convoys, or the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons, and calls on all parties to comply with this responsibility and to cooperate with the Security Council;

8. Calls for Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution based on the following principles and elements:

* Full respect for the Blue Line by both parties;
* security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL as authorised in paragraph 11, deployed in this area;
* Full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and of resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), that require the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that, pursuant to the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 27, 2006, there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state;
* No foreign forces in Lebanon without the consent of its government;
* No sales or supply of arms and related materiel to Lebanon except as authorized by its government;
* Provision to the United Nations of all remaining maps of land mines in Lebanon in Israel's possession;

9. Invites the secretary general to support efforts to secure as soon as possible agreements in principle from the government of Lebanon and the government of Israel to the principles and elements for a long-term solution as set forth in paragraph 8, and expresses its intention to be actively involved;

10. Requests the secretary general to develop, in liaison with relevant international actors and the concerned parties, proposals to implement the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, and resolutions 1559 (2004) and 1680 (2006), including disarmament, and for delineation of the international borders of Lebanon, especially in those areas where the border is disputed or uncertain, including by dealing with the Shebaa farms area, and to present to the Security Council those proposals within 30 days;

11. Decides, in order to supplement and enhance the force in numbers, equipment, mandate and scope of operations, to authorize an increase in the force strength of Unifil to a maximum of 15,000 troops, and that the force shall, in addition to carrying out its mandate under resolutions 425 and 426 (1978):

* a. Monitor the cessation of hostilities;

* b. Accompany and support the Lebanese armed forces as they deploy throughout the South, including along the Blue Line, as Israel withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon as provided in paragraph 2;

* c. Coordinate its activities related to paragraph 11 (b) with the government of Lebanon and the government of Israel;

* d. Extend its assistance to help ensure humanitarian access to civilian populations and the voluntary and safe return of displaced persons;

* e. Assist the Lebanese armed forces in taking steps towards the establishment of the area as referred to in paragraph 8;

* f. Assist the government of Lebanon, at its request, to implement paragraph 14;

12. Acting in support of a request from the government of Lebanon to deploy an international force to assist it to exercise its authority throughout the territory, authorizes Unifil to take all necessary action in areas of deployment of its forces and as it deems within its capabilities, to ensure that its area of operations is not utilised for hostile activities of any kind, to resist attempts by forceful means to prevent it from discharging its duties under the mandate of the Security Council, and to protect United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment, ensure the security and freedom of movement of United Nations personnel, humanitarian workers, and, without prejudice to the responsibility of the government of Lebanon, to protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence;

13. Requests the secretary general urgently to put in place measures to ensure Unifil is able to carry out the functions envisaged in this resolution, urges member states to consider making appropriate contributions to Unifil and to respond positively to requests for assistance from the Force, and expresses its strong appreciation to those who have contributed to Unifil in the past;

14. Calls upon the government of Lebanon to secure its borders and other entry points to prevent the entry in Lebanon without its consent of arms or related materiel and requests Unifil as authorised in paragraph 11 to assist the government of Lebanon at its request;

15. Decides further that all states shall take the necessary measures to prevent, by their nationals or from their territories or using their flag vessels or aircraft;

* a. the sale or supply to any entity or individual in Lebanon of arms and related materiel of all types, including weapons and ammunition, military vehicles and equipment, paramilitary equipment, and spare parts for the aforementioned, whether or not originating in their territories, and;

* b. the provision to any entity or individual in Lebanon of any technical training or assistance related to the provision, manufacture, maintenance or use of the items listed in subparagraph (a) above, except that these prohibitions shall not apply to arms, related material, training or assistance authorised by the government of Lebanon or by Unifil as authorised in paragraph 11;

16. Decides to extend the mandate of Unifil until 31 August 2007, and expresses its intention to consider in a later resolution further enhancements to the mandate and other steps to contribute to the implementation of a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution;

17. Requests the secretary general to report to the Council within one week on the implementation of this resolution and subsequently on a regular basis;

18. Stresses the importance of, and the need to achieve, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, based on all its relevant resolutions including its resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967 and 338 (1973) of 22 October 1973;

19. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Friday, August 04, 2006

The days roll on and still no peace.

The days roll on and still no peace in the Middle East. Israel is still attacking Lebanon and there is no end in sight. I read the Independent newspaper and watch Sky News on television. The reporting of the ongoing war in Lebanon is first rate but this conflict rolls on and on, longer than the football World Cup. People are becoming weary of the news reports and we are not getting any closer to a ceasefire. I and others in the UK can do nothing but watch the updates on television and read fresh stories in our newspapers. Where are our politicans in all this mess, they are on holiday. They are our elected representatives but parliament is in recess. I think parliament should be recalled and that Tony Blair is out of step with public opinion in the UK. It is only the UK, the US and Isreal who are dragging things out - the rest of the world knows how immoral Israel is acting when it is attacking Lebanon. Why are the UK politicans holding back - is it because the Jewish communties are funding both parties, I think it is. The Americans have always supported Israel, no matter what Israel does. We all know just how powerful the Jewish lobby is in American politics.

The United Nations Security Council should be able to bring about an immediate ceasefire but cannot do so when the UK, US and Israel are playing delaying tactics. I am sure America is doing this so that Israel can have as much time as she wants to crush Lebanon into dust if need be.

When will we see a ceasefire and the world talk common sense, maybe September.

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