My writing,

the window on my mind

it's from a distance.

In writing,

I achieve a regression

an objectivity

by viewing from afar.

the subjectivity of writing

may obscure the limits of objectivity

but in writing,

the I is lost.

the person I know

the only person I know

sits as a silent muse

the words observe this person.

To write this, I must be the observer

and the observed.

To be still, and see myself.

That is regression.

That is the beauty, the tool, of writing.

This person infuriates me. Sometime pleases me.

I concentrate on the problems, perhaps wrongly.

It's easy to be critical.

The words are not harsh, they are sympathetic for the most.

To praise this person, would be to make the relationship uncomfortable.

Perhaps untenable.

But what if,

During these episodes of regression,

You felt you no longer knew the truth about the person?

Perhaps simply, our own narratives override the truth of who we are.

Further regression, further distance, and then I see a person, i think it's myself,

as they are, I am, free from how i wish to see them, and just as they are.

http://www.ipernity.com/home/denlam

truly outstanding black and white photos with emotive portaits and evocative scenes.

me, posting a speech from a Tory (conservative) politician...but hats off to David Davis, who has at least made a stand against the latest in a long line of laws by the UK government that curtail civil-liberties, centuries old laws and freedoms. They have hijacked the threat of terrorism to give the executive powers which can be used in stopping civillians from exercising their basic rights, such as protesting, or not having their lives recorded in minute electronic detail. The current law which the government voted for was to increase the period of detaining people without charge to 42 days. 6 weeks without charge and due representation.

anyway, here is the speech i hope some MPs come forward over this issue finally...

"The name of my constituency is Haltemprice and Howden. The word Haltemprice is derived from the motto of a medieval priory, and in Old French it means "Noble Endeavour".

I had always viewed membership of this house as a noble endeavour, not least because we and our forebears have for centuries fiercely defended the fundamental freedoms of our citizens. Or we did, up until yesterday.

This Sunday is the anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, the document that guarantees the most fundamental of British freedoms, habeas corpus. The right not to be imprisoned for prolonged periods by the state without being told the charge against you.

But yesterday this house decided to allow the state to lock up potentially innocent people for six weeks without charge.

This counter-terrorism bill will in all likelihood be rejected by the House of Lords. What is their function, after all, if not to defend the Magna Carta?

But because the impetus behind it is political, the government will be tempted to use the Parliament Act to enforce its will and insist on its right to set aside a cornerstone of all our liberties.

It has no democratic mandate to do this, since 42 days was not a manifesto commitment. And its legal standing is dubious, to say the least. But purely for political reasons, this government will do it.

And because the generic security arguments relied upon are ones that will never go away, this government will be tempted again in the future to try for 56 days, 70 days, 90 days.

But in truth 42 days is just one albeit perhaps the most salient example of the insidious, surreptitious and relentless erosion of fundamental British freedoms under this Government.

We will have the most intrusive identity card system in the world. A CCTV camera for every 14 citizens.

And a DNA database bigger than that of any dictatorship with thousands of innocent children and a million innocent citizens on it.

We've witnessed a sustained assault on jury trials that bulwark against bad law and its arbitrary abuse by the state. Shortcuts with our justice system that have left it both less firm and less fair.

And the creation of a database state, opening up our private lives to the prying eyes of official snooper and exposing our personal data to careless civil servants and criminal hackers.

The state has security powers that clamp down on peaceful protest, and so-called hate laws that stifle legitimate debate whilst those inciting violence get off scot-free.

This cannot go on. It must be stopped.

And for that reason, today I feel that it is incumbent upon me to take a stand.

I will be resigning my membership of this house, and I intend to force a byelection in Haltemprice and Howden.

I will not fight it on the government's general record. There is little point in repeating Crewe and Nantwich.

I will not fight it on my personal record. I am just a piece in this chess game. I will fight this byelection against the slow strangulation of fundamental British freedoms by this government.

This may be the last speech I make to the house. Of course, that would be a cause of deep regret to me.

But at least my electorate, and the nation as a whole, would have had the opportunity to debate and consider one of the most fundamental issues of the day the ever intrusive power of the state into their daily lives, the loss of privacy, the loss of freedom and the steady attrition undermining the rule of law.

And if they do send me back here it will be with a single, simple message.

That the monstrosity of a law that we passed yesterday should not stand.

That the British people have grown tired of the inflated, arbitrary and arrogant power accumulated by this government. And that the slow but ceaseless encroachment of the state into their daily lives must come to an end."

www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/12/daviddavis.terrorism

do you ever get those moments, perhaps sitting in a coffee shop, or elsewhere, when you indulge in people watching and a number of thoughts suddenly arrive in your mind?

I do, and quite often they revolve around the same old themes. One such theme is a combination of many questions, almost naïve and childlike, about what I see happening around me, as the busy people of the urban world swarm like ants.

How did we get to this, do we want this, why and how does it sustain itself (the way of life...and sustainability of this way of life is not a long term option I would argue)?

The same question rumbles along – where are we going and will we ever stop?

Of course, this question is broad and encompasses too much to explain in one post. I'll concentrate on aspect, our aims for progress and the relationship with time, namely, unless you are dabbling in the higher levels of physics, you will consider that time is moving forward in one direction only. Time is essentially irreversible. All will become clear.

The mantra of the modern Western world is about 'progress'. The rhetoric of politicians and businessman is that we must 'progress' and nothing must stand in the way of 'progress'. Of course a lot depends on what is progressing, and who considers it 'progress'. We could certainly say that some issues of rights and democracy have progressed over time in some areas, and regressed in others (namely the recent legislation 'needed' to fight 'terror'). Most of the time, it is to technology, markets, and the economy that we refer to when discussing progress. Wifi, ipods, 'choice' in education and hospitals, rising GDP, more holidays abroad, latte's on the go, enormous plasma television screens...all instances of what I would guess people would refer to as progress in the modern sense. Banks and oil companies reporting record profits (and asking for lower taxes and government handouts when they make a mistake....poor banks), new markets and 'democracy' in Iraq. All progress?

Natural resources being depleted, climate change, a retreat on basic human rights and international law, rising inequality for the highest and lowest deciles of global population and riots for food. Progress? These are the symptoms of the the 'progress' we have achieved. In our desire to sate hunger for consumption and material rewards, and we are all guilty to some extent, in chasing economic growth and embracing all technological development as good, we have contributed to a growing number of serious problems which threaten human life and ecosystem survival.

So, must we always 'progress'? Who is deciding what progress is? The economists say we must always make our economies grow, but why? When is enough enough? As we lurch forward in time, we will encounter points of no return, at least on the human timescale. What are we busily chasing? Where are we heading? Do we have any idea, or is it enough to just 'progress' and 'grow'? Would you run into a pitch-dark alley? No i guess. So what is the difference here?

It seems humans are rushing forward for something they don't even know about, and dare not question whether they want it or not. Is there not a way to decide, on the basis of the finite resources and environmental sinks the Earth has, and a global social contract, on a way of life that gives us what we need, for all, and allows the Earth to retain it's ecosystems and sustain natural resources for future generations? It seems obvious really. I guess some will see this as communism. Read into it what you will, I believe it is merely common sense. Why should a minority of the world take so much more of the world's resources for no more reason than accident of birth? With a rising population, eventually we might reach Malthusian concerns, but we have not reached that yet. Our problem is that the progress we need is not the progress we are chasing and embracing and legitimizing.

It is high time, we started working together in the face of reality, and determined what we can actually take each, and why we need it. Much of what we have in the West, I would contend, does not make us any happier. The opposite in many cases. Freedom of speech, movement (in environmentally friendly ways!), good health, good diet, participatory democratic systems (or whatever works best, or least worst), adequate shelter, education, and other basic materials: these are things I believe we need.

I recognise I am writing this on a computer, and maybe they will have their place for some functions in society, but we don't need them. We have create a world that justifies and demands them. Ditto for mobile phones, ipods, sports cars, TVs and so on. Living is the main thing, and living without oppression, environmental degradation, poverty and with sustainability.

I hope we change course soon, and work out what we need to do before it is too late. Time's arrow means our decisions are path dependent, let us not put the future generations on the wrong path with our actions now.

We sit in anonymity

Waiting for the day

Waiting for ourselves to catch up with

the Earth's steady rotation.

A cocktail of chemical fresh,

stirs in the slow moving air.

Magazine designed faces

pour over free media,

ipods jogging their loreal shiny hair.

This fractured slice of time,

the continuity of rotation and life,

is delivered as new and starts

with hope.

As the stories untold

rub shoulders

with us and

disembark,

the jostle of the urbane

reminds us that now

is part of always.

This is more an attempt at a discussion, but it is always interesting to find out who uses what and how they use it, and why they use it.

I'll start by saying i use a Nikon Coolpix E5700. It's an old digital 'prosumer' model (i bought it towards the end of its shelf life in 2005) with 5 MP sensor and 8x Zoom-Nikkor lens, with an 8.9-71.2mm (equivalent to 35-280mm in 35mm [135] format) focal range, and two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) lens elements. It is not an SLR but at the time this was the bridge between point and shoot and DSLR which a little raw. Talking of RAW this does shoot RAW and tiff as well as standard JPEG. I bought it on the strength of some very good reviews and it just feels so right to use. It has a sturdy magnesium body which i like and the buttons, whilst there are many and it takes a while to get used to them all, are well positioned which means the many options can be quickly used without going through fiddly menus. I love the wheel which allows me to move between 4 customised modes, which allows much quicker shooting between colour, video and black and white (although normally it stays on black and white!).

it took me two years before i felt i was using all the features i needed to, and using them well. I phased each feature in bit by bit so that i still enjoyed the photography, and as such I have felt that my photos and my technical side have been improving during this time. I have to say, the camera was money well spent, and although i would like a DSLR, i still love this camera and i am constantly surprised and just how well made it was and how well set up for photographers. The only downsides are battery life, focusing in low light, and the speed between shots (unless on dedicated high speed shooting).

for more info go here

pciture from digital photography review www.dpreview.com

Some aid is reaching Burma, but not the aid workers

A constitutional referendum is being held in Burma despite calls from the outside world for a postponement after last week's devastating cyclone.

Voting is under way in most of the country - but has been delayed in the worst-hit areas, including Rangoon.

The poll comes amid mounting international criticism of Burma's military rulers for their handling of the response to the crisis.

They say they will welcome overseas aid but not foreign relief workers.

The UN fears the death toll from the cyclone could reach 100,000.

The referendum has been postponed for two weeks in Rangoon, the country's main city, and the Irrawaddy delta, which took the full force of Cyclone Nargis.

The country's ruling generals say the referendum will pave the way for democratic elections in 2010, while the opposition says it is intended to tighten the generals' rule.

Why vote trumps storm for junta Burmese anger grows World wrestles with aid issue

Correspondents say many people in Burma are cynical about the vote.

"They take your name and ID number. Then they know if you give them a tick or a cross," an unnamed businessman told Reuters news agency.

Reporting on the referendum from Hlegu, 48km (30 miles) north of Rangoon, the Associated Press says turnout has been very light.

One voter, retired soldier Nyo Aye, said he had voted Yes even though he had not read the constitution.

"The government would not do anything inappropriate or bad for the country," the 65-year-old said.

Incommunicado

The Burmese generals have been criticised for their handling of the crisis in which officially 23,335 people were killed and 37,019 are missing.

Groups involved in last year's pro-democracy protests accused the junta of concentrating on a "sham constitutional referendum" instead of "putting all resources toward saving the lives" of cyclone victims.

The UN has launched a $187m (£96m) appeal for aid.

from the bbc:

"Blair 'secretly advising Brown'

Tony Blair is giving advice to Prime Minister Gordon Brown and has told him how to win the next election, Cherie Blair has said.

Her disclosure is made in an interview with the Times newspaper to coincide with its serialisation of her autobiography, Speaking for Myself.

In one extract from the book, she reveals how her husband suffered a crisis of confidence over the Iraq war.

But she writes he decided to stay on as PM to fight for his domestic legacy."

I love these kind of headlines, i don't think it's too secret now, and I gues that was Cherie Blair's aim all the time, and it would appear the advice is not working too well right now...I suspect it is only a 'coincidence' that she is saying this now, and revealing her book now, along with the Labour government suffering terrible polls....as i said, probably coincidence...

As for Tony staying on to fight for his domestic legacy....I probably should say nothing about that.

hi all, please consider these words from AVAAZ on the situation in Burma,

best wishes

Jonathan

also please take a look at shi short video www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2008/may/09/cyclone.burma.aid

and www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/09/cyclonenargis.burma4

Dear friends,

Staggering new estimates suggest that 100,000 people may have died in Burma's terrible cyclone. Incredibly,

the corrupt and brutal Burmese government has stopped most international aid at the borders and is impeding

the relief effort.

In under 24 hours, Avaaz members have donated over 690,000 Euros (over US$1 million – more than many

governments!) to help Burma's monks provide the emergency relief, through their own networks and monasteries,

that the government will not. Scroll down to see the email sent yesterday with all the details of how we can help,

or click below to help us get over 1 million Euros (US$1.54m) today:

secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/15.php
_________________________________________________________

Dear friends,

In the wake of a massive cyclone, a shocking 100,000 Burmese may be dead. More are missing. A million

are homeless. But what's happening in Burma is not just a natural disaster--it's also a catastrophe of bad

leadership. Burma's brutal and corrupt military junta failed to warn the people, failed to evacuate any areas,

and suppressed freedom of communication so that Burmese people didn't know the storm was coming

when the rest of the world did. Now the government is failing to respond to the disaster and obstructing

international aid organizations.

Humanitarian relief is urgently needed, but Burma's government could easily delay, divert or misuse any aid.

Yesterday the International Burmese Monks Organization, including many leaders of the democracy protests

last fall, launched a new effort to provide relief through Burma's powerful grass roots network of monasteries--

the most trusted institutions in the country and currently the only source of housing and support in many

devastated communities. Click below to help the Burmese people with a donation and see a video appeal

to Avaaz from a leader of the monks:

secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/15.php

Giving to the monks is a smart, fast way to get aid directly to Burma's people. Governments and internationa

l aid organizations are important, but face challenges--they may not be allowed into Burma, or they may be

forced to provide aid according to the junta's rules. And most will have to spend large amounts of money

just setting up operations in the country. The monks are already on the front lines of the aid effort--housing,

feeding, and supporting the victims of the cyclone since the day it struck. The International Burmese Monks

Organization will send money directly to each monastery through their own networks, bypassing regime

controls.

Last year, more than 800,000 of us around the world stood with the Burmese people as they rose up

against the military dictatorship. The government lost no time then in dispatching its armies to ruthlessly

crush the non-violent democracy movement--but now, as tens of thousands die, the junta's response is

slow and threatens to divert precious aid into the corrupt regime's pockets.

The monks are unlikely to receive aid from governments or large humanitarian organizations, but they

have a stronger presence and trust among the Burmese people than both. If we all chip in a little bit,

we can help them to make a big difference. Click here to donate:

secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/15.php

With hope,

Ricken, Ben, Graziela, Paul, Iain, Veronique, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team

PS: Here are some links to more information:

For more information about Avaaz's work to support the Burmese people, click here:
www.avaaz.org/en/burma_report_back

For more information about the cyclone, the humanitarian crisis, and the political dimension, see these articles:

economictimes.indiatimes.com/PoliticsNation/IMD_issued_specific_and_precise_advisories_to_Myanmar_IMD/articleshow/3016493.cms
www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/05/08/myanmar/?iref=mpstoryview

www.irrawaddy.org/opinion_story.php?art_id=11836

www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/world/asia/07aid.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7385205.stm

Thinking.

It's what I do.

Thinkning about everything...

about thinking too little

about thinking too much.

Thinking about acting. Now...maybe soon..now...

Nothing. Paralysis. Why?

I ask why and return to thinking; and now and again everything about life...it makes me think, and think all about life.

Is it living to just be concerned about what really constitutes living?

Is it life when you are unsure what life means, where it cam from and where it is heading?

Now, for me, the freedom from this is to remember I am a journeyman, that life has no intrinsic meaning other than what I choose. If i choose.

I need to harness the inquisition, to help me, to help others if I can. Make the thinking useful.

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards" Soren Kierkegaard

The burden of the world falls on the shoulders of the selfless. Without conditionality, without demands, millions of these miracles pass between us. Soaking up the tears of the world without bitterness. Receiving the punches of the angry, with not a resort to violence. It is not about hope. These people can exist without the fragility of hope. A natural logic.

They simply cannot see how we could be any other way. How they could not act as they do? Theirs is a unbreakable conviction in what they have witnessed to be right and necessary. It does not require motivation, nor to be delivered through religion and social constructs. They feel the most basic love for the world in all its isolated and fragile beauty.

Find these people. See them. Talk to them. The answers to every human problem, lies with humans. Not with science or a god.

The sefless are the light amongst the dark and should not have to suffer for no more than being a part of nature that we humans tried to leave behind. Their inspiration lies in being. We should watch. No more shouting. No more competition. No more subjugation. We all are, with nature, one. Every part of nature is a part of us. We arose from the violent ball of gass and particles that cooled into rock and the elements and atmosphere we see today. We are no more special than anythign we see around us. Sun, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, meteorites. They are the additions to this one system that evolved. The matter was all already here. We are then literally part of this earth, we just came along a different path from some objects to where we are today. A path informed by millions of years of nature's experiments in chemistry and biology. It's beautiful to realise that the sun gave life to what the earth built, and we are just a fascinating ensemble of the universe's componenets.

If we end human problems - we end problems. Nature has no problems, it just is. If we are nature again, the concept vanishes.

This requires acceptance, but releases us. Life is a means of reproducing nature. Humans are ending the life of the planet. If we lose the self, a self defined relative to others, maybe the selfless will no longer carry the weight they never deserved.

With no one beside you there’s no one to apply the brakes

When life without physical contact, emotional support,

Becomes untenable

When pressure drives you into a pretend world

Full of pleasurable (?) distractions

That take you away from what you are

Who you have to be

What it is that threatens you.

A fine balance.

That between accepting worries

And dispelling them to prevent stagnation and inaction

To prevent dwelling on life’s darkness and what you don’t possess

Is anything worth it?

You decide

In those moments of contemplative pause

Memories stir and awaken with every smell,

Every sight

Every lingering touch

As the mind seeks to return to a time when it was behind walls

When the world was outside

And it was on the inside.

Safe

Each memory now becomes painful

I can’t go back there

Once passed it can never be recreated

The time, the feeling, the innocence

Is it only to continue functioning that I convince myself that I am in a better place now?

That being aware, with the aid of intellectual x-ray,

I can now see through, inside and behind everything.

Expose all that I see.

The eyes can lie

Flatter

But if you question your eyes,

You see more than you are supposed to

Yet,

What is it worth?

To see through everything

It’s too dark for me

I hoped for more

We tell ourselves there is more

Life is but a track on which are wagons listlessly bump and grind and slide along

Towards the end of the line

You can only go where the track takes you

Only see what it permits you to see

Somehow I feel I have become decoupled

Left the train

The happy

Ignorant

Naïve

Train

That whistles along through stations with attractive advertising

Adding more passengers to it’s burgeoning, creaking,

Well painted, but pallid coaches.

At the junction

The one I arrived at

Soon after decoupling

Depression

Takes me through too many tunnels

On entering each tunnel

The eyes

Adjust

The dark tunnels

Contain so much

There’s a firm overseeing beauty in its structure

Hidden behind the detritus

It will remain there long after the cold winds blow the rest away

These tunnels are punctuated

By searing sunlight

That dazzles me

I know that which it illuminates

Is a pristine and pure beauty

Devoid of humans

Time prevents my eyes from adjusting in time to recognise and understand this place

As another tunnel is forced upon me

Once more I am forced to find beauty amidst the darkness.

Hope is one equation

That appears to have no solution

No place

Whilst undeniably occupying a position

Core

I dare not observe hope

It may collapse it

To deny it

Collapses life

Where now?

I feel the best I had to offer,

And life in return,

Is behind me and sealed into time

I feel

My mind is not as sharp

My body not as agile

My confidence intertwined with the sands of time

Each grain drops painfully away from me

Out of reach

Unstoppable

Merciless

Certain

Certain to end

I’ve screwed up

Forgoing the eloquent representation

Of my situation

I have lost

And I am so

Wander alone?

Further and further with no questioning from outside

Then how will I know if it’s worth wandering

It’s amazing how no voice behind, beside

Leads us into such uncertainty

Am I being me?

Am I being true?

No is going to tell me.

I have wandered alone so, too long

Away

How can I find my way back if

I am lost

I wish for company

For trust and love

For lust

For someone I can care

For some belonging

How many people have drifted passed me

How many have I let go

How many

Will I never know?

I’m too scared to admit

I’m scared life will be over soon

And I will be alone

And still trapped in a tunnel

Lying amongst the rubbish of life

Dreaming of the gentle sun

Smiling upon nature’s incredible,

Suffering

Beauty.

At least soon,

I will rejoin nature

My carbon donor card ready at my side

My collected thoughts returned to the world from which I borrowed them

The last, lingering thought,

I’m sure

Will be

Sorry to the world

For I could have done more for you

And then one last tunnel

Pure black,

Deathly cold

Which renders all what you saw outside meaningless and inconsequential.

this beautiful photo is from Charon (many thanks)

• David Leigh and Rob Evans
• The Guardian,
• Saturday April 12 2008
• Article history

Following the uproar over its halted Saudi investigation, the Serious Fraud Office is expected to decide whether to bring fresh corruption charges against arms manufacturer BAE within six weeks, over a second arms deal, this time with Tanzania.

A minister from the east African state has denied that more than $1m (£507,500) in his offshore accounts came from BAE.

Investigators involved in a three-year inquiry after the controversial deal to sell Tanzania a £28m radar system identified the money in Jersey accounts controlled by the poverty-striken country's infrastructure minister, Andrew Chenge.

Tanzania's anti-corruption bureau, which has been working with authorities in the UK, Switzerland and Jersey, wants to establish if the money is linked to multi-million pound secret commission payments made by BAE.

Chenge does not dispute the money in his Jersey accounts. But he told the Guardian: "The obvious inference [of the investigations] is that I have received for my benefit 'corrupt payments' from BAE. This is untrue."

He said he was only involved in minor aspects of the radar deal, which was promoted by other ministries and approved by the Tanzanian cabinet. His bank records, he said, would show investigators that "there is no connection to the BAE Tanzanian radar deal".

His US lawyer from Cleveland, Ohio, J Lewis Madorsky, added: "While the matters in question took place a number of years ago, we can state ... that any and all allegations of illegality, impropriety, misconduct and unethical behaviour made against our client are categorically and vigorously denied".

Investigators say Chenge could be a valuable witness. The target of their investigation is not him but BAE. The arms company made the commission payments to a local agent in Tanzania to promote the £28m radar sale, through an elaborate chain of offshore companies and a Swiss bank.

The agent has now left the country and is wanted by Interpol.

These developments come at a key moment in the BAE saga. A landmark high court ruling on Thursday said that the decision to drop the SFO's Saudi inquiry was wrong.

In a huge embarrassment for the British and Saudi governments, the court rejected the claims that the inquiry had to be closed down for reasons of national security and because lives would be at risk.

And it took the extraordinary step of naming Prince Bandar, the crown prince's son, as the man behind what it said could be characterised as an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

Former prime minister Tony Blair caused uproar by personally forcing a halt to investigations into the Saudi deal. The Guardian subsequently disclosed that £1bn had been paid into accounts controlled by Prince Bandar during the deal. Bandar says the payments were not improper.

Inspectors from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) grilled British officials in London last week about their failure to get results from any of their BAE investigations. Britain signed up to an international treaty to outlaw bribery, but there have never been any prosecutions.

The Tanzania deal, although smaller in cash terms than the Saudi deals, is equally controversial: Tanzania is one of the world's poorest countries, and the UK government is paying more than £100m this year to help the heavily-indebted country's budget.

It was Blair again who forced the radar deal through the British cabinet, despite protests from the then international development secretary, Clare Short. She said the sale, for which Tanzania had to borrow yet more from a commercial bank, was corrupt and "stank".

A lengthy SFO investigation in the UK subsequently discovered that 31% of the deal's contract price had been diverted via Switzerland.

BAE transferred the money to a subsidiary, Red Diamond Trading, registered anonymously in the British Virgin Islands.

Red Diamond then moved the cash to a Swiss account in the name of a Panama company, Envers Trading Corporation. This entity had two Panamanian nominee directors. But it was secretly controlled by a Tanzanian middleman, Shailesh Vithlani, according to Dar es Salaam court papers.

Investigators are now checking whether Vithlani arranged to pass any money in turn to Tanzanian politicians and officials.

Sources said the bank in Jersey had promptly frozen transactions and filed a suspicious activity report when the Tanzanian inquiries began.

Vithlani, who is of Indian extraction but holds a British passport, is listed as wanted by Interpol.

He has been charged by the Tanzanian anti-corruption bureau with lying to investigators, but has left the country. His whereabouts are unknown.

According to the charges, Vithlani falsely denied he was the owner of the Panama company, and falsely claimed he had only handled a separate commission of 1% on the deal.

The SFO's new director, Richard Alderman, former head of UK tax investigations, is due to take over this month. The SFO refused to comment yesterday.

BAE, which has previously denied wrongdoing, also declined to comment, or to explain its chain of offshore payments, other than to say "BAE Systems continues to fully co-operate with the SFO investigation".

The company has recently launched an extensive public relations campaign and last week unveiled a report commissioned from a commercial consultancy, Oxford Economics, which claimed BAE was of key value to the UK economy

here is a text version without editing as the pdf is not available to all on this website. please contact me at jpward1981@hotmail.com to obtain a copy if you wish.

Urban Environmental Profile of the Gaza

Strip:

An Executive Summary

By: Jonathan Ward and Iwona Roman

March 26, 2008

“Sustainable interventions, like long term socio-economic growth in the occupied Palestinian territory, will require the fulfilment of the conditions laid down some time ago by the World Bank: unfettered movement of persons and goods to and from the outside world, including a freely operating harbour and airport, a link between Gaza and the West Bank, and resumption of access for Palestinians to the labour market in Israel.”

-Statement from the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, sourced from PMC 2005).

Illustration 1: Location of Gaza. Source CIA 2008

Introduction

An Urban Environmental Profile (UEP) is a means to clarify environmental issues affecting cities, outline key actors, identify priorities for mitigation efforts, and provide recommendations for future action (von Einsedel, nd). Even though this profile is unlikely to incite political action or affect policy, the analysis of an Urban Environmental Profile should mobilize political actors to act on behalf of their urban environmental challenges. This UEP will attempt to demonstrate not only the interconnectedness between environmental indicators and collective well-being of the urban populations, but further highlight the state of the environment as vital to secure the future of the region.

There is great difficulty in planning or even monitoring an urban environment in an insecure and isolated region such as the Gaza Strip. However, the authors believe that by concentrating on the Gaza Strip’s urban environmental challenges, and in particular on sustainable use of resources, not only an improved urban environment can be created, but also solutions for peace can be found based on common environmental interests .

The Gaza Strip has endured occupation by different regimes and been the site of conflict (through both internal and external disputes) for over a century. The UNEP stated that 'the years of conflict have presented huge challenges to the Palestinians efforts to manage in a sound manner the environment and natural resources', a situation, which ultimately lead to the current 'alarming environmental situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories' (UNEP 2003, p. 6).

Most recently, in an effort to isolate the democratically elected Hamas party, actions such as withholding investments by the international community and illegal withholding of tax revenues by Israel (WASH 2006) have been counter-productive for the peace building process, and generally, for economic development. The result is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip characterized by an explosion of poverty, food dependency, unemployment, access to basic and medical services, deterioration of environmental indicators and basic health (Amnesty et al., 2007).

It is worth mentioning that the human deprivation and constant struggle to survive has de facto increased popular support of Hamas in Palestine. Hamas is seen as a national liberation movement mobilizing people to resist the Israeli occupiers and protecting Palestinian rights (AWID 2008). Despite the popular support of Hamas in Palestine, the situation in the Gaza Strip is worse now than it was in 1967, when the Israeli military first took control of every aspect of Palestinian life.

Main Urban Environmental Issue: Water

The most pressing issue for the Urban Environment in the Gaza Strip, outside of the all too evident security situation, is the management, distribution, and sustainability of the water supply. Water resources have been a source of conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian people since the creation of Israel in 1948. Its relative water scarcity, much of it due to Israeli control of 82% of the shared coastal aquifer, has led to an intensification of difficult conditions for Palestinian people in fulfilling basic everyday needs, such as the maintenance of good sanitation standards and personal well-being.

The current crisis in water quantity and quality in the Gaza Strip is in need of immediate remedies and support of all parties. This situation carries serious long-term implications if the system and current practices continue ‘business-as-usual’. The approach to environmental problems and water management in Israel, which was and continues to be the de facto ruler of the Gaza region, has been described as 'schizophrenic' (Newman, 2004, p.2). Water has been 'a source of geopolitical contention' between Israel and Palestine for decades now (Shapland (1997) in Newman, 2004, p.13), a situation, which seriously undermines water availability in the Gaza Strip. This state of affairs is likely to continue until a peaceful resolution to the political and security crisis is found.

One idea, which has been suggested to the authors by Robert Johnson, a Middle East Conflict and Security Specialist, is to utilise a form of lateral thinking and employ the ideals non-violent, non-cooperation as a step towards economic empowerment. It is important to point out that this idea was particularly suitable to the water issues. The Gaza Strip being a downstream user and thus dependant on Israel for water quality and quantity is not subject to trans-boundary co-operation or management, despite the Oslo II accord (discussed in the profile). In the current political climate, no amount of agency and institutional expediency will allow effective sustainable management of the water resources in the Gaza Strip’s urban environmental situation. The solution therefore, may involve the Palestinian Authority, Palestinian Water Authority and the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) finding financial support to purchase shares in the main Israeli water company, Mekerot, which has control of the upstream coastal aquifer. This would not only allow some direct control, but would ensure the overall water management of the coastal aquifer and it’s water distribution is meeting international standards and is fair in meeting user obligations under the company charter. Placing resources under shared ownership, and establishing economic imperatives, as opposed to political or ideological ones, could ensure greater stability in the Gaza Strip’s region.

The existing CMWU body is semi-public and so the transition to a privately owned company under civilian control would not be complex. There is a concern that with the sole source of funding coming through user fees, insufficient funds will be collected to continue operation of the water system. This may lead to the collapse of the CMWU.

The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility structure is currently dictated by the World Bank, which emphasises markets and privatisation. It would be more realistic to establish a working and reliable system with a group of international donors with a plan to incorporate user fees in the long run. Investments are needed to ensure water efficiency and to reduce the waste of water through agriculture. The Palestinian Water Authority proposes the use of desalination plants, with currently six operating in the Gaza Strip in addition to other small-scale private plants. Experts are concerned however, about the viability and environmental impacts arising from desalination (Baalousha, 2006). One of the options, could entail a 'joint pumping plan [which] would involve Israel increasing its pumping in order to reduce the flow of saline water from the Israeli area to the Gaza Strip at the same time that the Palestinians would limit and even reduce pumping within the Gaza Strip' (Weinthal et al., 2005). This way, the 'saline ground water pumped by Israel will be desalinized along the border and then transported to the Gaza Strip' (Weinthal et al., 2005).

Expansion of water resources does not seem like a viable option in the current situation. However, Weinthal et al., suggests an interesting solution, albeit politically controversial. The authors propose the diversion of water from the Nile River in Egypt through El Arish to the Gaza Strip, but warn that 'while Egypt might agree to transfer water to the Gaza Strip, it is physically dependent upon the upstream users in the Nile Basin' (Weinthal et al., 2005). This solution could solve the Gaza Strip’s water crisis; however, in the opinion of the authors, the current political climate would not allow the implementation of such a project.

Urban Environment and Health

The provision of healthcare continues to be problematic, with emergencies particularly affected by the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that patient permits to leave Gaza have decreased from 89.3% in January 2007 to 64.3% in December 2007 (Amnesty et al. 2008). Health indicators continue to deteriorate, especially sanitation, water provision and basic nutrition. The most essential recommendation in the current circumstances is to lift the sanctions and punitive border controls, which restrict supplies and movement of key health provisions, fuel and food. It is important to mention here, albeit not surprisingly, that there has been a 100% increase in the number of Palestinian people attending mental health clinics, the majority of which are children (AFSC 2004, WHO 2005). About 50% of children report experiencing ‘conflict-related violence’ or have seen one of the family members directly affected by violent acts (WHO, 2005).

Impact of Military Incursions

Military incursions from the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have affected and continue to affect the status of urban environment and infrastructure in a profound and damaging manner. The legitimacy of these actions is highly disputed. A UNDP report reveals that between June 26 and August 28, 2006, the Israeli military operations targeted important Palestinian municipal infrastructures (UNDP, 2006). Infrastructure such as bridges, water and wastewater lines, roads; energy utilities including electricity lines and power stations; agriculture including water wells, greenhouses, animals and crops; housing and public buildings (such as clinics and hospitals), and finally industry, is frequently destroyed. Due to Israel’s intrusion into the daily urban operations of the Gaza Strip, the infrastructure development trend tends to transition backwards not forward. Military offensives slow down economic progress and significantly downgrade infrastructures.

Economy and Governance

The Gaza Strip does not follow the Urban Environmental Transition Theory (UETT). Due to occupation and continuous military offensives, the Gaza Strip’s development is erratic. Some areas of the city are developed well for the level of GDP, such as the water distribution infrastructure (supplies 91% of the population), however due to lack of resources and military incursions, some infrastructure and services cannot be utilised. Economic development is regressive in the Gaza Strip, a trend, which has accelerated since the year 2000.

It is likely, considering the poor state of economic development and conflict hit infrastructure that the majority of Palestinian peri-urban agriculture is behind global standards for efficiency and sustainability, despite the involvement of NGOs in the region. The rationale behind this statement is that development in the economic sphere, as opposed to the environment and sustainability, currently occupies a much higher position on the governmental agenda (whether de facto or otherwise, and local or regional). Whilst conflict increases food pressure, current farming methods exacerbate the existing environmental challenges. A move to agricultural systems such as Permaculture, which is suited to urban areas and increases efficiency of resource use, would be highly recommended.

Governance routes to an improved urban environment in Gaza

The state of the environment in the Gaza Strip since occupation in 1967 ' has proved that the public can do nothing without official help or support' (Al-agha 1997, p.73). Al-agha believes that the key to environmental management policy in Gaza is the relationship between citizens and the authorities. In the light of weak institutions and ineffective monitoring (often due to lack of resources), Al-agha suggests citizens monitoring and identification of 'environmental changes and damage'. Such reports would be related to the authorities, allowing urban environmental issues 'to be solved and/or managed by the authorities and the public together' (Al-agha 1997, p.73). This stakeholder-participation technique could improve general environmental awareness as well as overcome institutional and resource deficiencies. It perhaps needs reiterating that 'disasters will continue unless a modern and effective system of environmental protection in the Gaza Strip is established' (Al-agha 1997, p.73).

Illustration 2: Government Effectiveness in the Gaza Strip. World Bank 2007.

Illustration 2 demonstrates the extreme ineffectiveness of governance and government in the Gaza Strip in the past decade. In addition, lack of rights to self-governance has prevented any ‘bottom-up’ development planning. It is important to note, that in the current isolation of the Gaza Strip, any organization working to develop or improve infrastructure conditions is only able to do so within the limited scope of available resources. Internal political infighting between the party of Hamas and Fatah, have been an additional challenge to the positive development of the Gaza Strip. The World Bank figures (World Bank, 2007) on governance for the Gaza Strip show a depressing trend in sustaining weak governance, poor accountability and high levels of corruption. To improve all aspects of urban governance, funding agencies should promote transparency, community accountability, and participation in the democratic process. These efforts will be paramount in affecting ‘bottom-up’ change within the current political climate.

In the Gaza Strip, the erratic education efforts due to conflict, and a dire state of environmental affairs, urgently call for public awareness initiatives in normative environmental values and environment education. It is imperative to instil an environmentally aware culture (Al-Agha 1997, p.76). The impact of the security situation on this predominantly young society, may lead to a situation where inherited societal values prioritise conflict over immediate and local socio-environmental concerns. Schemes run by Palestine Save the Children Foundation (PSCF, 2008) seek to tackle problems with 'water, solid waste and sewage works’ by educating women and children. Implementation and support for these kinds of projects is required and needs large-scale implementation

Concluding Remarks

As long as the Israeli authorities withhold tax revenues from Gaza exports and the international community refuse to acknowledge, or establish dialogue with, the elected Hamas government, funding will continue to remain an issue in the region. The election of Hamas has dealt a crippling blow to the economy as aid organisations and countries withdrew essential funding from an already weak budgetary affair.

In order to improve the current environmental situation, the primary issue remains establishing sovereignty for the Gaza Strip. In addition, freedom of movement and the enforcement of international laws (including existing UN resolutions) should be applied with urgency. Leading aid agencies describe the situation as a 'Humanitarian Implosion', which will continue to deteriorate until such recommendations are followed. It is clear that the poor and the environment carry the burden of the conflict in this urban region. There is a real danger of security eclipsing environmental priorities on the domestic agenda as the cycles of violence continue. The environmental crisis may overshadow any current efforts to remedy the humanitarian crisis through political means alone.

In the eyes of the Palestinian Authority “the fragility of the general economic situation and the Palestinian authority inability to provide the necessary funds for performing its daily activities and implementing different development plans and programs put the international support for Palestinian economy and development plans on top of all Palestinian priorities for a long period to come” (PNA 2008).

References

AFSC (American Friends Service Committee), 2004.Occupation Realities -AFSC Middle East Resource Series Middle East Task Force, Spring 2004. Accessed 25/03/2008 <http://www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/learn/factsheet-healthcare.pdf>

Al-Agha, M. R., 1997. Environmental Management in the Gaza Strip. Environ Impact Assess Rev, 17, 65-76.

Amnesty International, Christian Aid, CAFOD, CARE International, Medecins du Monde UK, Oxfam International, Save the Children UK, Trocaire, 2008. The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion. Accessed 25/03/2008

<http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/downloads/oxfam_gaza_lowres.pdf>.

AWID (The Association for Women's Rights in Development), 2008. In private correspondence to author.

Baalousha, H. 2006. Desalination status in the Gaza Strip and its environmental impact. Desalination, Volume 196, Issues 1-3, 5 September 2006, Pages 1-12.

CIA, 2008. Gaza Strip – The World Factbook. United States Government. Accessed 02/03/2008 <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html>

Isseroff, A, n.d. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 The UN Partition Plan for Palestine November 29, 1947. Online article at mideastweb, accessed 23/03/2008 <http://www.mideastweb.org/181.htm>.

Newman, D., 2004. “In the Name of Security: In the Name of Peace” - Environmental Schizophrenia and the Security Discourse in Israel / Palestine. Third AFES-PRESS GMOSS Workshop on: Reconceptualising Security in an Era of Globalisation. At the: Fifth pan-European Conference - Standing Group on International Relations (SGIR) (Constructing World Orders). Netherlands Congress Centre, The Hague SEPTEMBER 9-11, 2004.

PMC 2005. UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning Abu Zayd’s Statement to Hosts and Donors: 14 to 17 Nov 2005. Accessed 27/03/2008 <http://www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=2&id=1174>.

PNA (Palestinian National Authority), 2008. Palestinian National Authority – Ministry of Planning (MoP). Accessed 10/03/2008 <http://www.mop.gov.ps/en/about/>.

PSCF, 2008.Palestine save the children foundation – Recent projects. Accessed 27/03/2008 <http://www.pscf.ps/e_projects.htm>.

UNDP 2006. Assessment of Damages Caused by the Israeli Defense Forces Operations

in the Gaza Strip 26.06.2006—28.08.2006. Accessed 24/03/2008 <http://www.undp.ps/en/newsroom/publications/pdf/other/Damages%20in%20Gazafinal.pdf>.

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 2003. Desk Study on the Environment in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Accessed 02/03/2008 <http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/INF-31-WebOPT.pdf>.

von Einsedel, N., nd. Rapid Urban Environmental Assessment: The Urban Management Programme (UMP) Approach. Accessed 20/03/2008 <http://www.gdrc.org/uem/uem-rapidassess.html>.

WASH 2006. Water For Life – The Dilemma for Development Under Occupation. Accessed 25/03/2008 <http://www.phg.org/wash-mp/index.asp?i=39>.

Weinthal, E., Vengosh, A., Marei, A., Gutierrez, A., and Kloppmann, W., 2005. The Water Crisis in the Gaza Strip: Prospects for Resolution. Ground Water, 43 (5) , 653–660 doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2005.00064.x

WHO, 2005. Health Action in Crises - Occupied Palestinian territory. Accessed 25/03/2008 from <http://www.who.int/hac/crises/international/wbgs/oPt_Jul06.pdf>.

World Bank, 2007. Governance Matters 2007 - Country Data Report for WEST BANK/GAZA, 1996-2006. Accessed 27/03/2008 <http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi2007/pdf/c238.pdf>.

I have uploaded some recent work, which I believe covers an extremely urgent and demanding issue; that of the state of the environment in the Gaza Strip.

if you would like a copy of the full urban environmental profile please contact me. it was written for my Masters course with a colleague Iwona Roman and covers that state of the environment in urban Gaza, with analysis of the key players and processes involved and some suggested solutions or areas to highlight for attention.

the executive summary can be found here www.ipernity.com/doc/jonward/1714447

I don't know if this will be of any interest to anyone here, but I am just happy that some of the work i was working on with colleagues in my old university before i left England has finally got published! I hope it starts a debate on real mechanisms for the statistical link between proximity of power  lines and occurrences of cancer and other health effects. I hope that the broader low frequency electromagnetic health field starts to examine more of the hypotheses in greater detail, looking at the linkages between circadian rhythms, pineal gland, melatonin, light, radical pairs and the presence of magnetic and/or electric fields. we'll see.....it's complicated.

www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1600-079X.2008.00594.x

Abstract: Recent epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of leukemia in adults and children near overhead high voltage powerlines at distances beyond the measured range of the direct electric and magnetic fields. Corona ions are emitted by powerlines, forming a plume that is carried away from the line by the wind. The plume generates highly variable disturbances in the atmospheric electric field of tens to a few hundred V/m on time scales from seconds to minutes. Such disturbances can be seen up to several hundred meters from powerlines. It is hypothesized that these random disturbances result in the disruption of nocturnal melatonin synthesis and related circadian rhythms, in turn leading to increased risk of a number of adverse health effects including leukemia. In support of the hypothesis, it is noted that melatonin is highly protective of oxidative damage to the human hemopoietic system. A review of electric field studies provides evidence that (i) diurnal variation in the natural atmospheric electric field may itself act as a weak Zeitgeber; (ii) melatonin disruption by electric fields occurs in rats; (iii) in humans, disturbances in circadian rhythms have been observed with artificial fields as low at 2.5 V/m. Specific suggestions are made to test the aspects of the hypothesis.

• Denis L. Henshaw,
• Jonathan P. Ward and
• James C. Matthews