Cooler

I'm cooler and poorer. I got very hot though when I arrived to collect the car and was roped into heaving it off the quad ramp which had jammed. What the four year old was doing with the wrench I really do not want to know.

Language

I have a problem with languages. Deep down inside I'm no good at it. When I was younger, a month's stay in France provided me with a working knowledge of French, which has been a great help over the years.

What it did not do is give me enough knowledge to explain to a French electrician that, yes we really do need three phase 240Volts with 50 Amps per phase, no we are not making a joke and we did ask for this in writing some weeks ago. Yes, surprisingly enough , the lasers we use really, really need 30 liters per second of chilled water below 10 Deg C and yes , we understand it will bother the translators in the cubicles next door but it's only for 10 minutes at the start. And please, we would very much like a solid earth wire, now, with a chunky bit of metal, in the ground, that we can all see and admire. Please.

Likewise Hebrew. How on earth do I say "I can't show the heap via Performance manager on the laptop because installing the latest .NET runtime seems to have killed that drop down combo option and replaced it with 22 new .NET measurement stats which I have no idea what they do".

Or, "the database engine goes pear shape when the table size hits 128 MBytes, it's old and tired and you guys are the world's greatest optimists for trying to make a 24/7 app running on 10 year old technology"

Again, " it's an very old install builder, it was free when you got it and there's no support. It makes 16 bit executables and Microsoft bless them, killed 16 bit apps with service pack 2. Yes, I do know why they did that. No , I'm not going to customers sites and roll back SP2. Yes , I do know how to do that.

I managed the French. I can't do the Hebrew. I can't even do it in English. Send me a real geek. I need her.

Keeping cool

The air conditioning on the Expats car has died. Well, I'm constantly reminded that this was a luxury some years ago but for me, it's a near death experience. It's a three shirt day and I already have some liters of water in my underwear.

Lastly, what is it with young ex 3 year service IDF soldiers that leads them to believe that only Israel should have an army? I had this conversation yet again with the manager of the local electronics store. When I quizzed him about post wwII conflicts his eyes glazed over. As for late 20th Century and early 21st conflicts he had no idea at all. He thinks that the UK and the USA has no real need for an army.

This is a company commander in the paratroops. He is scary.

IRA says the armed campaign is over

This excellent news couldn’t have come at a better time. A few excerpts from the IRA statement:

"All Volunteers have been instructed to assist the development of purely political and democratic programmes through exclusively peaceful means."

"The outcome of our consultations show very strong support among IRA Volunteers for the Sinn Féin peace strategy."

"We believe there is now an alternative way to achieve this [our goal of a united Ireland] and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all Volunteers to show leadership, determination and courage."

"There is now an unprecedented opportunity to utilise the considerable energy and goodwill which there is for the peace process."

"This comprehensive series of unparalleled initiatives is our contribution to this and to the continued endeavours to bring about independence and unity for the people of Ireland."

A caveat: We mustn’t forget that this IRA is really the Provisional IRA, an offshoot formed in the late 1960s in response to the Official IRA’s lack of effective response to Catholic oppression in Northern Ireland. Hopefully now the political foundation is sufficiently strong to avoid a repeat of history by a splinter group such as the ‘Real IRA’ resuming violence.

Haaretz - Israel News - U.S.-Israel crisis deepens over defense exports

It seems that the US is still fairly annoyed with Israel about the servicing of some Harpy drones Israel sold to China some years ago. This is getting very silly.

It's fine for the US to supply a expected total of 1,500 M1A1 Abrams tanks to Egypt and provide F16s to Saudi Arabia though. No problems there.

Hanoi Jane takes on Iraq war with US bus tour

Ms Fonda is off to Iraq on a bus powered by vegetable oil. This is going to generate more heat than light.

Geoff Hoon - A Man for all Seasons.

Generally I have nothing against lawyers as such. They do perform a useful role in society or so I'm told. Geoff Hoon is/was a lawyer and as Defence Minister in the UK from 1999 to 2004 he was the man behind sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq. You may have noticed (OK, you didn't) that I was for sending troops to Afghanistan and against the Iraq war. My main reason for being against invading Iraq is that I saw no good reason to do it and that it would become a distraction from the 'War on Terror'.

So I was right. There was no Al-Qeuda in Iraq before March 2003 but there is now. There are no training camps for would be Jihadis in Afghanistan but there is plenty of hands on training in Fallujah and Baghdad for those that survive.

Back to Mr Hoon.

The truth is that there was more planning for the aftermath in Iraq than any other operation I can think of," he says. So what went wrong? "What we didn't do, I accept, was properly anticipate the level of violence people were prepared to use to oppose the creation of a democratic society

Oh really?

Israel "behind Sharm el- Sheikh bombings"

The Arab world and Muslims in general continue to point the finger anywhere except where it belongs. It reminds me of the bombings in Saudi Arabia in the 90's that were presistently pinned on Brits supposedly engaged in the illegal alcohol trade. The persons concerned claim that they were tortured into confessing.

I was very upset to hear that the man shot in London by the police had nothing to do with the bombings. I shall express my condolences to our local Brasilian contigent.

Heat and Dehli

Daughter number one is in Delhi or rather off to some valley to look at the buuterflies. She's been visiting Israelis in the local prison and taking them fruit and cigarettes. I am proud of her. It reminds me of an Israeli we knew in the UK who spent four years inside for being very silly. I often wonder where he is now.

Pears, heat and margaritas

I eat a fruit salad made with pears from the garden , trying hard to escape the heat. I won't be at my nephew's wedding tomorrow which is sad. I did go to an Israeli wedding yesterday though. A huge outdoor bash with margaritas, sushi (don't touch the sushi in Israel), and various pre dinner delicasies cooked on the fly.

Israel has come on a long way in the last twenty years.

Director Polanski wins libel case

Or pint-sized Jewish paedophile holocaust survivor sticks two fingers up (or gives the finger if you prefer) to a homophobic anti-semitic pillar of the US WASP establishment.

More London bombs

Lunchtime explosions on 3 underground trains Shep Bush, Warren Street and Oval; and a bus in Hackney. News still sketchy but it seems at least on the bus and Oval no one is hurt.

Team investigates Active Denial System for security applications

Phasers on stun!

Spam king surrenders his ignoble crown

I can't believe it. Scott Richter - the self-styled Spam King is off the ROKSO register. He's gone straight and hasn't spammed for six months or so. Perhaps being sued by Microsoft had something to do with it.

Ken Livingstone - Plonker of the Week.

Ken Livingstone , Mayor of London has been speaking in his usual forthright manner. She Who Must be Fanned Cool at Nights was incensed this morning and I dug out this quote:

"The Likud and Hamas members are two sides of the same coin. They need each other in order to attract support,"

Ahh. That's clear then.

I see he manages to blame Israel for the 67 and 73 war as well.

“I believe the taking of a human life is wrong,” said the mayor, “in particular when you think of the invasion of Lebanon, the illegal invasion of Egypt and Jordan in the Six-Day War, all these exercises of going into Palestinian refugee camps and destroying homes simply because a bomber came from that area.”

That's from YNetnews.
What a plonker.

On a separate but related issue, my work colleague who tried to get to Gush Katif yesterday compared what happened there to a pogrom. My Russian work colleague asked politely if there were any Cossacks around.

Speed scameras standstill

The British government appears to have postponed making public yet another potentially damaging publication. This time it is an ‘independent’ review into the effectiveness of speed cameras.

The Department for Transport says that no new speed cameras will be installed until the report surfaces. This is following DfT statistics showing that the growth of speed cameras had been "strongly curtailed" in 2004. The number of fixed and mobile sites between 2002 and 2003 grew by 33% but grew less than 1% for 2003 to 2004.

It is perfectly obvious by now that the scammeras are primarily about raising revenue not improving road safety per se (see blog posts passim) and the balance has shifted to a political liability rather than a political asset.

According to Safe Speed: "Speed cameras are a dangerous distraction to drivers, police and local authorities alike. In almost every case there's something else that's more important to road safety than strict speed limit compliance." Intimating a correlation between road deaths and speed cameras is also statistically suspect.

This good news coincides with a new NOP survey for the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) revealing that 88% of motorists want speed cameras to carry signs showing a road's speed limit. And 82% also want vehicle-activated signs placed ahead of cameras to provide an early reminder of the speed limit. The IAM points out that the more than £20 million a year the Treasury pockets from speed camera fines could be better used to employ over 600 extra traffic constables, who can exercise more of the discretion that motorists want.


The AA which seems to be returning more by the day to its early 20th century origins as a body to protest against speed traps has recently published its new road atlas which includes the location of all fixed speed cameras.

Meanwhile in the Ukraine, traffic police using speed cameras to exploit - eg blackmail - motorists has caused President Viktor Yushchenko to call for the abolition of the state traffic patrol and sacking of all regional police chiefs. He has said that such anti-motorist tactics have discredited the state traffic police. "I warned the ministers, three times, that if traffic cops kept hiding in the bushes with speed cameras, there will be no State Road Patrol Service in this country," Yushchenko said. The 23,000 member traffic police ranked as the most corrupt of state agencies in a recent poll. Earlier this year, neighbouring Georgia fired its entire traffic police force because of similar corruption.

Thousands of troops brace for banned settler protest

It's very quiet here where I work. That's where they've all gone. Except for the boss of course. He's busy in Tel Aviv meeting investors.

Senior police officers admit long-term failure to infiltrate Islamist extremists

“Britain's most senior police officers believe that it will 'take decades' to successfully tackle British Islamist terror networks because of a failure to penetrate extremists in the Muslim community.

Senior police sources have said that the current state of knowledge about Islamic terrorism is comparable to that gathered on the IRA in the early Seventies, when it struck almost with impunity.”

“One senior anti-terrorist officer who spoke to The Observer said that by the Nineties the IRA was 'completely penetrated', which helped to force it to the negotiating table. 'That wasn't the case in the Seventies. We had very little idea about what they were going to do,' he added.

'Just as it did with the IRA, building up an effective intelligence network [on Islamist terrorism] is going to take many years, perhaps decades.'”

An interesting comparison with the (largely) successful civilising of the IRA. Logically a first step would be for modern British muslims to come forward to work with the security services to infiltrate and neutralise the terrorists. But the key difference is that the IRA is a political organisation with the aim of a united Ireland. Although members happen to be Catholic, they are modern in the sense that they were not fighting and killing themselves to bring about a medieval theocracy.

However these islamist terrorists do not have modern political ambitions which can ever be addressed through negotiation or political processes. These barbarians are not happy living amongst us in a civilised country in a civilised part of the world. They are killing themselves to enter paradise and get their virgins in order to bring about the end of modern civilisation and a return to some sort of dystopic primitive society. Think Taliban. Think rural Pakistan. Think Saudis under the skin of their oil-bought riches. It's ironic that these idiots are using modern society and digital communications to destroy same. A more multi-pronged approach is needed if we are to succeed in putting these people out of business for good even in 'decades', for which the modern muslim communities must do much more than they are doing at present.

1000s of troops brace for banned settler protest

In case you're wondering, anti disengagement protesters are getting a bit feisty with the IDF and the police. Hamas and the PA are annoyed with each other and Islamic Jihad and Hamas have been having a serious go at Israelis. There's quite a lot else going on but my head starts to hurt when I think about it all.

I've heard a lot of programmes on the Beeb about the London bombers and why. Some of the participants from the Muslim community were very sensible and offered a number of ways to improve community life. A few including one from an Islam group that wishes to bring the whole world to Islam said the West must examine it's own conscience before blaming the bombers. More tosh.

Hope that's cleared things up for you.

No 10 blocks envoy's book on Iraq

Sir Jeremy Greenstock wrote a book? On Iraq?

In an extract seen by The Observer, Greenstock describes the American decision to go to war as 'politically illegitimate' and says that UN negotiations 'never rose over the level of awkward diversion for the US administration'. Although he admits that 'honourable decisions' were made to remove the threat of Saddam, the opportunities of the post-conflict period were 'dissipated in poor policy analysis and narrow-minded execution'.

I conjugate:

I brief
You leak
He is charged under Section 3 of the Official Secrets Act
They are asked ' to remove objectionable passages.'

Little point now as I expect to see the entire manuscript available for download on a warez site near you today. i.p addresses to follow.

Blue on Blue

I found out the reason that some people have a single dark blue ribbon while some, like me, have a pair of ribbons, one blue and one white. It's because the 'Left' couldn't agree on a common colour so we have both. I've seen one car with one orange, one dark blue and one blue/white pair all tied together. Might be expressing a range of family feelings.

Israel is now receiving all kinds of ordanance courtesy of Hamas and friends. One of the silliest comments (out of quite a lot) I read today in the paper was 'Well, after the pullout, we won't need Qassam's so we're using them up'. What tosh. The PA and Hamas continue to snip at each other with the IDF massing outside Gaza ready to join in. Balagan.

A Day Out

Mrs E is much better and proved it by arranging yet another adventure in places most Israelis haven't heard of alone visited. Still, we had a nice lunch with some Bedioun which was not the intent but welcome anyway. Having to ask a passing bulldozer to arrange an exit for our car was different as well.

There is hope for modern Islam…

I was tremendously gratified to hear a number of British muslims (individuals and faith leaders) unreservedly condemn the London terrorist attacks and use terms such as ‘not in my name’ or ‘this is not islam’. Some have gone even further and condemned generally all terrorist and suicide bomb actions. Next we need them to overtly condemn all Palestinian terrorists and call for a peaceful Israeli-Palestinian solution. There can be no exceptions. It is not acceptable to condemn attacks in London whist condoning or ‘understanding’ attacks in Israel.

And, as Tony Blair pointed out, British muslims need now to do more to root out the criminals and barbarians in their midst including informing police of any British citizen they know who is of this ilk and sending back to where they came from the imported Pakistani extremist preachers who overtly promote violence.

Firefox update completes busy patching day

Microsoft was also pushing patches overnight. Whilst I have no objection in principle, I forgot to switch off the 'install always' option consequently 3 days of gathering test data came to an end. Never mind the power failures, exploding power supplies and dying monitors.

Three killed in Netanya suicide

Bad bad news yet again. Just as bad as the news from London. That the bombers were British Muslims is a heavy blow.

Back on track

No way can any terrorists divert little Englanders from their petty bureaucracy….

Foetus threatened with Asbo

The good burghers of Burton-on-Trent can sleep sounder in their beds today after the local council threatened to slap an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (Asbo) on an unborn baby.

UK tabloid the Mirror reports that mum-to-be Julie Brown received notification that unless her ne'er-do-well foetus stopped annoying neighbours by driving his scooter around the area, dire consequences would surely follow.

An exasperated Brown, 35, said: "It must be the first time an unborn child has been threatened with an Asbo before it's had a chance to do anything bad. I was angry because nobody came and checked and the letter was sent despite the fact we don't have a son yet, let alone one who causes trouble riding around on a scooter."

A council official admitted: "The letter appears to be an unfortunate mistake and we will be sending a written apology to the couple."

… or driving their 4x4s poorly.

SUV drivers are bigger risk

Drivers of 4x4s are more likely to have convictions for dangerous driving, speeding and driving without due care than other motorists. They are also more likely to be at fault in an accident, according to a survey by Admiral, the insurance company.

Admiral looked at the driving records of 38,000 4x4 owners and compared them with those of other motorists on its database of more than 1m policy holders. The results are likely to be seized on by the anti-4x4 brigade to justify their view that SUV drivers are the least considerate.

Beleaguered 4x4 drivers were found by the survey to be 27% more likely to be the ones at fault in an accident and 15% more likely to be convicted of driving without due care and attention. Convictions for speeding and dangerous driving were 11% more common among 4x4 owners.

I wonder if this is a similar false security phenomenon to the stats which showed bicyclists wearing helmets are involved in more accidents per head than those not wearing helmets?

Howard praises 'calm and resolute' Blair

Tony seems to be having a better war than in the past. I doubt it will last though. On multicultural London and a comparison to 1945, I do remember my Mother telling me of when she got back to London in early 1945 and was trying to get to a restuarant she knew with friends. She was overwhelmed with the number of Poles, Americans, Canadian, Africans, Indians, Hungarians and a variety of others. One day I'll tell the story of her time in Berlin after the war and the 'borrowed staff car' for a weekend in Paris. Also why she had great affection for the Jewish Brigade.

We are not afraid

This site is the best 'respond to trauma by uploading witty images' since that 'I'm sorry (I didn't vote for Bush)' site. There are now over 1000 postings including this fab one from Lula below.

Many dead in Iraq suicide blast

The dead and wounded in London should be in our thoughts. The people of Irag deserve no less.

Blair: London bombings are linked to conflict in the Mideast

Now before you all get huffy about Blair blaming Israel for the London bombings, the Middle East includes:

Middle East countries

Iraq.
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
UAE
Yemen
PA places

May or may not include Maghreb countries.

The day after

Today: quiet determination to get on with our lives whilst remembering the now more than 50 dead. Drivers making eye contact. People talking to each other and asking if all is well with friends and colleagues. I made it a point to drive the long way to my meetings in and around W1 and WC1 show that I will not yield the freedom of the streets of London to those who wish to end modern civilisation.

London Pride

What a day. As of now there are 37 dead and hundreds injured, some critically. My heart goes out to them and their loved ones. The emerging evidence is that it was indeed a well-planned and funded terrorist attack of the barbaric islamist persuasion. The irony is that two of the attacks, in Aldgate and Edgware Road, are where many of London’s muslims live and work.

I am so proud of my adopted home and my fellow Londoners for walking tall and trying to get on with our lives as normally as possible unbowed by these fuckheads.

This poem was read out on air on BBC London this afternoon and widely circulated.. It may be twee but it sums up how many of us feel.

London Pride

You come to place your bags of hate
On bus and train, you made us late
Yet we’ll be back again tomorrow
We’ll carry on despite our sorrow

Your bags of hate caused some to die
Yet we stride out strong with heads held high
You’ll never win, we will not bow
You can’t defeat us, you don’t know how

This London which we love with pride
Is a town where scum like you can’t hide
Don’t worry we will hunt you down
Then Lock you up in name of Crown

We’re London and we’re many races
Just look you’ll see our stoic faces
We all condemn your heinous act
You will not win and that’s a fact

We’ll mourn our dead and shed a tear
But we will not bow to acts of fear
You’re out there somewhere all alone
There’s nowhere now you can call home

Olympics ours we’ve won the race
Your timing then a real disgrace
Our strength you’ll find remains unbowed
We’re London and we’re very proud.

Timeline of London blasts - Jul 7, 2005

Lots of explosions in London. Cause unknown. I know , I know Cathy is OK. She was chatting on Skype to She Indoors at around the same time. Anyway, she wouldn't be seen dead on the tube.

London under attack

In a tragic and shocking riposte to yesterday’s Olympic bid win, several buses and underground trains have been blown up with deaths and injuries. Public transport in London is at a standstill. I will try to contain my concern about the dangerous number of extremist islamists in London, many of which are British citizens as no one has yet claimed responsibility.

So, Mr Bremer, where did all the money go?

While I watch my applications misbehaving over the hours I read this. It makes very depressing reading. Oil for Food scandal. The Bremer Scandal coming to a screen near you.

Blue ribbons tomorrow

She Indoors is still recovering from her UK trip but getting better. I shall be handing out ribbons again tomorrow.

London gets it

Well done London on getting the 2012 Olympics. Excellent news with a sprinkle of piquant sauce that it's not Paris. Nothing to do with former Sports Minister Guy Drut and dozens of others in a party funding scandal from Chirac's time as Paris mayor. Oh no, not at all.

Israel to deploy huge force during Gaza evacuation

A lot of soldiers and police. Expect the news coverage to be intense.

Crusties on parade

It seems that the strategy of diffusing and distracting the angry violent brigade by providing lots of free music, free talk and the opportunity to march peacefully was not 100% successful. The usual look-at-me or I’ll throw this brick through your shop window tantrum stuff took place in Edinburgh yesterday with the chance of more today and tomorrow.

I’ve often wondered how these anti capitalist anarchists are able to support themselves and get around in a capitalist society and also have so much time to devote to their cause. Do they sell out by working for a wage somewhere with generous time off? (Where could the ones with filthy whiteperson dreadlocks work?) Are they entrepreneurs? Are they supported by well-off families, trust funds or dirty tricks war chests ? Do they live by more dubious means such as benefit fraud, thieving, or…? Note: tapping into the electricity supply by eg tampering with meters is theft.

I await eagerly the evolution of a new system where we are able to live the lives we wish without exploitation greed or harm. Dream on. Socialism and communism were dire failures largely because of the old adage about power and corruption, and greed; and did not support the positive human need for individual achievement. Next? Having to worry about money on a daily basis, not having any means of support other than working and not having any desire to engage in illegal activities does help to keep the mind focused.

Independence Day - The 4th of July -

Happy July 4th to all my left pondian readers.

Forget cameras - spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite -

Cathy will really not like this at all.

Disengagment

Support for the disengagement plan has risen again. From a June low of 53% is up to 62%. Worrying times.

A nation on the move: thousands prepare to march and dance

For what it matters, G8, the "Make Poverty History alliance " and Bob Geldorf doesn't register here. Yes, it was a limited straw poll but given Israel's efforts in the 50's and 60's to reach out to Africa, the response was not what I hoped for. The local demo to give out blue and white ribbons was chased off by the police. I have no idea why.

Colours and ribbons

My blue and white ribbon didn't last as expected. I went down to the local junction to get more only to find the police frowning on everyone who aspired to hand out any colour of ribbons. I've started to see plain dark blue ribbons on some cars. What does it mean I wonder?

There will be pictures.

Doggism muzzled at last

Battersea Dogs Home has just been renamed Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to more accurately reflect the diversity of its canine and feline residents – not just 500 dogs but also 150 cats.

In the category of ‘you couldn’t make it up’ , BDCH also has a home in Berkshire (left-pondians: pronounced ‘bark sheer’). Purrhaps in the interests of equality they should also open a centre in Catford.



This is Ziggy, BDCH resident who is looking for a new home.