AN HOUR OF…..THE GO-BETWEENS (2)
2 hours ago
Friday, 1 October 2010
Settlement freeze? It was barely a slowdown
The official statistics supplied by the Central Bureau of Statistics describe the story behind the 10-month construction moratorium in the West Bank. The story can be called many things but "freeze" is certainly not one of them. What took place in the past few months is, in the best case scenario, not more than a negligible decrease in the number of housing units that were built in settlements.
The data that appeared in the bureau's tables clearly show that. At the end of 2009, the number of housing units that were actively being built on all the settlements together amounted to 2,955. Three months later, at the end of March 2010, the number stood at 2,517. We are therefore talking about a drop of a little more than 400 housing units - some 16 percent of Israeli construction in the West Bank over that period.
The sounds of lamentation and wailing coming from the settler functionaries, for whom moaning is a profession, shouldn't surprise anyone. After all, they did not cease to whine even when Ehud Barak, "the leader of the peace camp," built 4,700 housing units for them in 2000, the only entire year he held the position of prime minister.
But the truth is that the settlers know better than anyone else that not only did construction in settlements continue over the last 10 months, and vigorously, but also that a relatively large part of the houses were built on settlements that lie east of the separation fence, such as Bracha, Itamar, Eli, Shilo, Maaleh Mikhmas, Maon, Carmel, Beit Haggai, Kiryat Arba, Mitzpeh Yeriho and others.
The real story behind the PR stunt known as the freeze took place in fact in the months prior to that, during which the settlers, with the assistance of the government, prepared well for the months of hibernation foisted upon them. In the half year that preceded the declaration of the freeze, which started at the end of November 2009, dozens of new building sites sprang up, especially in isolated and more extreme settlements east of the fence.
This piece of information is also well documented in the bureau's numbers. In the first half of 2009, they started to build 669 housing units in the settlements, and then, as the months wore on, the pace of construction increased. Thus in the second half of 2009, no fewer than 1,204 housing units were built - an increase of some 90 percent in construction starts as compared with the first half of the year...
Continue reading
Dror Etkes @'Haaretz'
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Hollywood legend Tony Curtis dies aged 85
Tony Curtis, the 1950s Hollywood heartthrob who won acclaim as a sleazy press agent in Sweet Smell of Success and earned stardom as a skirt-wearing saxophone player in Some Like It Hot, has died aged 85, Sky News reported.
Curtis appeared in 90 movies and was nominated once for an Academy Award, for Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones (1958). Curtis impressed critics in the film about a prison escape, playing a convict shackled to a black inmate (Sidney Poitier) he despises until they forge a bond fleeing through the US South.
A year later, Curtis co-starred with Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, the Billy Wilder comedy about two musicians who hide from the Chicago mob by donning dresses and joining an all-female band. In 2000, the American Film Institute called it the funniest US movie ever made...
Continue reading
Afghan opium production 'halved'
Opium production in Afghanistan has almost halved in the past year, a United Nations report says.
The sharp drop is largely due to a plant infection which has drastically reduced yields, says the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
But it warns that production is unlikely to stay low, with rising prices tempting farmers to cultivate more opium poppies.
Afghanistan produces 90% of the world's opium, the main ingredient in heroin.
The UNODC's 2010 Afghan Opium Survey showed production in 2010 was at its lowest level since 2003, estimated at 3,600 tonnes - a 48% decrease from 6,900 tonnes in 2009.
"This is good news but there is no room for false optimism; the market may again become lucrative for poppy-crop growers so we have to monitor the situation closely," said Yury Fedotov, executive director of UNODC.
But with opium prices rising again after years of steady decline, the UNODC has warned that production is unlikely to stay low.
The total area of the country used for poppy cultivation remains unchanged despite government eradication programmes, and Mr Fedotov has called for a comprehensive strategy to counter the opium threat.
Most of the poppies are grown in the restive southern and western provinces, the report says, underscoring the link between the insurgency and the opium trade.
Last year Helmand accounted for nearly 60% of the country's total production of the drug, the UNODC said.
What a fugn moron!
Right Of Center Media Leave James O’Keefe Stranded Over Latest Stunt
The Script!!!
...and on page 3 you will see he has no taste in music either LOL!
New report warns iconic Kimberley tourism brand at risk from industrialisation
A new study by the Curtin University Sustainable Tourism Centre identifies plans for a massive polluting LNG industrial site near Broome as a serious threat to the Kimberley’s unique and globally-recognised tourism ‘brand’.The report entitled “Kimberley Whale Coast Tourism: A review of opportunities and threats” by Dr Michael Hughes and colleagues from Curtin University was commissioned by The Wilderness Society and launched on 31 August, 2010 in Kings Park, Perth.
Some key findings:
- The Kimberley tourism ‘brand’ is based on the unique natural and cultural values of the region, including its wildlife and vast, unspoiled coast and landscapes;
- Tourism is more valuable to the regional economy than resource projects which return less to the local economy, employ fewer local people and have relatively short lifespans;
- When iconic brands are damaged – as occurred in the 1970’s with the location of an oil refinery on the Shetland Islands – it takes a lot of time, money and effort to rebuild
- Currently around 10 tour operators, including Aboriginal run businesses, offer whale-watching experiences out of Broome & the Dampier Peninisula – the site of the proposed LNG hub and port.
- There appears to be a substantial imbalance between government support for tourism, including Indigenous tourism enterprises, and the far greater level of funding for resource extraction projects.
- The government needs to recognise the findings of the study which highlight the fact that Broome and surrounding communities do not need large scale industrial projects to secure their economic future.
Environment groups believe Kimberley tourism needs better management and requires much more Indigenous involvement. This can be achieved through expanded Indigenous Rangers programs, creation of new Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) and the introduction of a comprehensive licensing and permit system for tourism operators and tourists accessing remote land and sea country.
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
