..and perhaps I don’t get as much time surfing as I used to, but this made me laugh. If you don’t know the story behind the pictures…where have you been?

So…this little thing going on in the sand lot we call the Middle East. On the toilet you might find me, reading books and letting the tops of my legs numb through extended sessions sitting on the seat. Apparently it is also strange that I can be found there with no real reason. Perhaps it is sanctuary, but it is one of the few places I can go to chill out and catch up on the rest of the world. Oh, and I have a laptop now also, which makes you wonder where I am as I write this crap. See, crap breeds crap. Anyhow….I started reading this book on the history of Middle East war so I might try and understand a little more. Mate, it is a very indepth and complex subject, but interesting nonetheless. However, I got bored after a while and I am currently reading about Nazi Gold and the Holocaust. Anyway….the point is….what is this thing that is going on between Israel, Lebanon etc? Below is a brief overview which I pasted from BBC news. Shall we discuss this or not? Im trying to formulate some thoughts on the whole picture. I can talk enough about my opinions on the Gulf, but Im trying to work out who I blame for all of this and why certain people have such a vested interest in the money to be made from this conflict.

How did the current crisis start?

The Hezbollah raid into Israel, in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two were captured, was a stunning and provocative attack.

Lebanon has seen the first Israeli land incursion since 2000

Some have argued that Hezbollah wanted to test new Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is an unknown quantity as far as military crises go.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said that the soldiers were captured to pressure Israel to release the thousands of Palestinian prisoners in its jails.

The raid was clearly a gesture of solidarity towards the Palestinian militants in Gaza who have been holding an Israeli soldier since 25 June.

Hezbollah may also have had an eye on its own situation in Lebanon where there has been increasing pressure for it to disarm.

How has Israel reacted?

The result of the raid is that Israel is fighting on two fronts. Israeli officials have cast the Hezbollah raid as an act of war and responded with air strikes, shelling and a sea blockade, threatening operations that will “turn back the clock in Lebanon by 20 years”.

The immediate aim seems to be, as in Gaza, to build up massive pressure on the Lebanese government and the Lebanese population. Civilian casualties in Lebanon have been high and the damage to civilian infrastructure wide-ranging.

Thousands of foreigners have fled the country and there are increasing fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.

The Israeli strikes on targets other than Hezbollah installations are at least in part punitive – power installations, roads and the international airport have been hit.

What can the Lebanese government do about the situation?

Ordinary Lebanese civilians have been the main victims of the current crisis in terms of deaths and injuries.

Thousands have become internal refugees, seeking safety in areas that are not being bombed by Israel.

The country is dealing with a massive Israeli bombing campaign and a number of small land incursions. Since 2000, when Israel ended a 22-year occupation of the south, clashes on the border have been small affairs.

Israel has made it absolutely clear that it holds the Lebanese government responsible for the kidnapping of its soldiers by Hezbollah.

Many analysts see this as unfair.

Even though Hezbollah is operating from Lebanese territory and the militant group has two ministers in the Lebanese government, central government is almost powerless to influence the militant group.

It is the Hezbollah militia that is deployed in southern Lebanon, not the Lebanese army.

The group is also very popular in Lebanon and highly respected for its political activities, social services and its military record against Israel.

Most Lebanese may believe that Hezbollah’s capture of the two Israeli soldiers is deeply irresponsible. There is anger that the country is again being pitched towards war, but this is unlikely to translate into widespread anger towards Hezbollah.

Is there any way out of this crisis?

Israeli officials have insisted that there will be no direct negotiation with Hezbollah or Hamas over the return of its soldiers, and no Palestinian prisoner releases.

In the past, Israel has negotiated with Hezbollah and released hundreds of prisoners, but Israeli officials are now talking about a changed situation and new rules.

In both Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli military appears to be using the opportunity afforded by the crisis to damage Hezbollah and Hamas as military organisations. A few days into the crisis, Israel demanded the disarming of Hezbollah and deployment of the Lebanese army to the southern border with Israel as pre-conditions for a ceasefire.

All sides are for now taking hardline positions, but it’s difficult to see how the Israelis are going to get their soldiers back without some kind of ceasefire followed by negotiations that will almost certainly involve prisoner releases.

Will the conflict spread?

We’re not yet at the stage of a regional conflict.

Much will depend on whether Israel extends its military operations to take in Syria and Iran, Hezbollah’s sponsors and supporters. Officials have already laid much of the blame for the escalating crisis on Damascus and Tehran.

Iran and Syria are also the states that can influence Hezbollah more than anyone else.

Inevitably the role of the US, in restraining Israel and pushing the various parties towards some kind of ceasefire may at some later date be crucial.

The first signs of an international diplomatic intervention emerged when the UN’s Kofi Annan and British PM Tony Blair called for the deployment of an international force in Lebanon.

But this may be some way off, if it gets off the ground at all.

It’s widely believed that the Washington has given the Israelis a window in which to continue its bombardment of Lebanon and degrade Hezbollah’s military capability.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice might be headed to the Middle East at the end of the week. Should this go ahead, it might signal that Washington is ready to put its weight behind attempts to achieve a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, questions surrounding the disarmament of Hezbollah, as demanded by the UN Security Council, have been pushed way into the background for now. As are Mr Olmert’s big plans for disengaging from parts of the West Bank.

Are war crimes being committed in the current conflict?

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has said that war crimes could have been committed in the current conflict.

She said international law stressed the need to protect civilians, and insisted that there was an obligation on all parties to respect the “principle of proportionality”.

She was even-handed and did not name particular leaders, but suggested that some leaders might be considered personally responsible for the alleged war crimes.

“Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians. Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable,” she said.

There’s been enough coverage for people to make up their own minds.. all in all I was impressed with it. Making poverty history will take some doing.. all of us know areas in our own countries that could do with debt relief and cash injections. My main concern is that money gets to the right people.. only last week I was watching a news report from one country where the leaders were driving around in flash cars while their people starved.. if only there was a better way of distributing money right to the place it’s needed. Tony Blair said something along the lines of only Africans can help Africa. Hes right. He also said “It isn’t the end of poverty in Africa — but it is the hope that it can be ended,” A lot of what Africa suffers from can be found elsewhere. Maybe in healing Africa we can also heal ourselves.. Suits did a good job on this one.

Edit. Off on holidays for 2 weeks.

Back in the world again. Having moved from bonny Scotland back to the shires of England (oxford to be precise), Besloop and I are preparing for Hooligan numero Three. He will be joining us in June and I can’t wait because Mrs Hooligan is eating me out of house and home. Other than that, our new house is too small and we have to move again in order to provide a room for our incoming package. But life is otherwise good. My two other little vandals love it here and are well impressed with the skate park, 2 swimming pools, bmx bumps and better playing area. Keeps them busy fo sure.
Hello to Gimpy by the way. Bad news on the accident, but continue with the strange ranting. I will also be adding some verbage as I think of it, especially with the coming sexlections where I can vote out Tony Blair and get a llama into the house of commons.

I get the feeling that Gulf War II is becoming more unpopular by the hour. Look for Tony Blair to start getting cuddly with Europe again. Governments could still topple; people are fed up of the ever increasing death toll in this region. And Im not sure killing the old guy in the wheelchair was a good idea either. Last thing you need is to bring your enemies together when your best weapon is always division…
WR

I cant believe it a speech from Tony Blair that I actually liked… Its the sort of thing I would have written.. lets hope he wrote it and not some crony. It actually made me stop work to listen to him and that has NEVER happened before. Has our Tony gone Human? He keeps this up I might be tempted to vote for him.. but only tempted… (This is the Sedgefiled speech Im referring to.) Two points though..

1. I am all in favour of pre-emptive measures when they are called for but…
2. I am still not sure Gulf War the Sequel was legal…

WR

I have come the the conclusion that in the UK government reports/enquiries/investigations are a wonderful way to make it look like you are busy. I have found that these reports etc only tell you what the government line was to begin with. They say in the press that Tony Blair escapes again and seem surprised that he just manages to squeeze through all these disasters. I do wish he’d move on to become European supreme controller oops president and leave us all to pick up the pieces of our shattered lives. I am not rascist at all but there is a limit to what our little country can stand. The UK is dropping to bits and that is mostly because there are too many people in this little island and too many people creaming money off the poor the old aged and the well behaved….

Oh for a new and unselfish government!!!

WR

There are only 2 political parties in the UK; the Labour Party run by Tony Blair, and The Conservative Party run by Iain Duncan Smith.

Let’s keep this to the point. The Labour Party is so popular because they legislate for the people. Unfortunately the people only want what’s best for themselves. The Conservatives are up against extinction because they are trying to hold on to any morals they have left. Morals are unpopular so they get laughed out of the House of Commons. You want sin legislated? Labour will do it. You want money for nothing? Have some. You want more police? Fine but we’ll muzzle them. This country is politically and morally falling apart. What’s worse is that we don’t see how far we have fallen.

Don’t even get me started on the European Constitution….

White Rose

I saw both Tony Blair and President Bush on hellivision today. President Bush has got the look of a man on a mission about him. PM Blair just looks plain tired. It seems that he finally gets to talk to the Americans in the near future about “things and stuff” (probably Iraq). The question is are the US asking for Mr Blair to help them or telling him?
Why is everything about politics these days concerned with the question “what’s in it for me?” Or has it always been this way? God save our little island….
White Rose