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Im sorry too - I didnt mean to come across all school marmish but a lot of these threads have been pulled already and Im not sure why so am trying to tow the line as I think this is an important one - as I also thought the others important too - I have no idea why they were stopped....... but they were.

And the actual production contra usage for the country:

http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=il

That's crude oil, guys, keep that in mind. It shows the very increase of energy needs as well as the lost production.

Together with loosing a deal with piping gas from Egypt, that gas filed got to be a crucial thing.

Great work Watson

please allow me to pass a very warm greeting to yourself , just like the one i sent to Mr. Solitaire and My sister LinarL and Mr. Steeveyv , for being that supportive , we know very well that still there are some people who are not brain-washed by the snakey zionist brobaganda , we know that millions are protesting around the world against the crimes in Gaza , and many of them are in UK , we thank you for this and we stand for yourselves ,

peace

Hi Trish,

I thought this was goin to be another slanging match until I saw the author.........

Well done on your research Trish.........really interesting stuff.

As my Father says..............99% of questions asked beginning with why ? end up being answered with one word...........money.

Love it..........pls keep up the good work.



BTW are you this controlling in bed

Thanks Vinny and as far as the bed thing goes, well, its been so long Ive forgotten

Yes, your Dad's right, it usually comes down to money and power too - there are elections in Israel in about three weeks and it could be the ruling party at the moment is on an all out offensive to influence the outcome of that - i really dont know.......

Well you certainly have me interested in this facet of it and I am off to do a bit of research on it............

Good to see you Trish and ta again

Trish, absolutely brilliant thread.

Most interesting, and thought provoking..

aww, thanks Petal

Im just watching the news and the Israelis have hit the UN building in Gaza and they used the white phospherous bombs too - Ban Ki Moon is said to be furious....

Im so worried that all this may escalate out of control.....

What can I say Nora....... I hope all this ends as soon as humanly possible

I have been taking an interest in the gas saga for some time and there is no doubt that once again money and power are at the root of this.

Interesting to note that observers stated some months ago that there would be a major outbreak of war at the before the end of Bush's reign of terror!

I do not like what is unfolding at all, Lets hope that somehow the voice of reason will prevail.

Good thread Trish

"Gaza is dying -- the battle has moved deep into its cities, jam-packed with 1.5 million civilians lacking food, medicine or water. President Bush undermined Thursday's United Nations ceasefire resolution and over 1000 people are now dead. The borders remain closed -- journalists can't get in, and desperate civilians can't get out."

Paul Hilder, Avaaz.org

Thanks Patrick - I signed the Avaaz petition the other day

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace/?cl=166626698&v=2647

Its really scary the way way they are keeping the journalists out. I cant ever remember hearing anything like that in any other conflict.

I cant either - i wonder why..........


Is Gaza a testing ground for experimental weapons?

Posted: 14 Jan 2009 03:29 PM PST

by Jonathan Cook in Nazareth

Concerns about Israel’s use of non-conventional and experimental weapons in the Gaza Strip are growing, with evasive comments from spokesmen and reluctance to allow independent journalists inside the tiny enclave only fuelling speculation.

The most prominent controversy is over the use of shells containing white phosphorus, which causes horrific burns when it comes into contact with skin. Under international law, phosphorus is allowed as a smokescreen to protect soldiers but treated as a chemical weapon when used against civilians.

The Israeli army maintains that it is using only weapons authorised in international law, though human rights groups have severely criticised Israel for firing phosphorus shells over densely populated areas of Gaza.

But there might be other unconventional weapons Israel is using out of sight of the watching world.

One such munition may be Dime, or dense inert metal explosive, a weapon recently developed by the US army to create a powerful and lethal blast over a small area.

The munition is supposed to still be in the development stage and is not yet regulated. There are fears, however, that Israel may have received a green light from the US military to treat Gaza as a testing ground.

“We have seen Gaza used as a laboratory for testing what I call weapons from hell,” said David Halpin, a retired British surgeon and trauma specialist who has visited Gaza on several occasions to investigate unusual injuries suffered by Gazans.

contd.

“I fear the thinking in Israel is that it is in its interests to create as much mutilation as possible to terrorise the civilian population in the hope they will turn against Hamas.”

Gaza’s doctors, including one of the few foreigners there, Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian specialist in emergency medicine working at Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, report that many of the injuries they see are consistent with the use of Dime.

Wounds from the weapon are said to be distinctive. Those exposed to the blast have severed or melted limbs, or internal ruptures, especially to soft tissue such as the abdomen, that often lead to death.

There is said to be no shrapnel apart from a fine “dusting” of minute metal particles on damaged organs visible when autopsies are carried out. Survivors of a Dime blast are at increased risk of developing cancer, according to research carried out in the United States.

Traditional munitions, by contrast, cause large wounds wherever shrapnel penetrates the body.

“The power of the explosion dissipates very quickly and the strength does not travel long, maybe 10 metres, but those humans who are hit by this explosion, this pressure wave, are cut in pieces,” Dr Gilbert said in a recent interview.

This is not the first time concerns about Israel’s use of Dime have surfaced in Gaza. Doctors there reported strange injuries they could not treat, and from which patients died unexpectedly days later, during a prolonged wave of Israeli air strikes in 2006.

A subsequent Italian investigation found Israel was using a prototype weapon similar to Dime. Samples from victims in Gaza showed concentrations of unusual metals in their bodies.

Yitzhak Ben-Israel, the former head of the Israeli military’s weapons development programme, appeared familiar with the weapon, telling Italian TV that the short radius of the explosion helped avoid injuries to bystanders, allowing “the striking of very small targets”.

Israeli denials about using weapons banned by international law would not cover Dime because it is not yet officially licensed.

It will be difficult to investigate claims that non-conventional weapons have been used in Gaza until a ceasefire is agreed, but previous inquiries have shown that Israel resorts to such munitions.

The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has recorded numerous occasions when the Israeli army has fired flechette shells, both in Lebanon and Gaza. The shell releases thousands of tiny metal darts that cause horrible injuries to anyone out in the open.

A Reuters cameraman, Fadel Shana, filmed the firing of such a shell from an Israeli tank in Gaza in April, moments before its flechettes killed him.

Miri Weingarten, a spokeswoman for Physicians for Human Rights, said they were watching out for use of a new flechette-type weapon the Israeli army has developed called kalanit (anemone). An anti-personnel munition, the shell sends out hundreds of small discs.

contd.

Israel appears to have used a range of controversial weapons during its attack on Lebanon in 2006. After initial denials, an Israeli government minister admitted that the army had fired phosphorus shells, and the Israeli media widely reported millions of cluster bombs being dropped over south Lebanon.

There are also suspicions that Israel may have used uranium-based warheads. A subsequent inquiry by a British newspaper found elevated levels of radiation at two Israeli missile craters.

Sarit Michaeli, a spokeswoman for B’Tselem, said her organisation had not yet been able to confirm which weapons were being used in Gaza in the current attacks. She added, however, that Israel’s denials about using non-conventional munitions should not be relied on.

“It is true, as the army spokespeople say, that weapons such as phosphorus and flechette shells are not expressly prohibited. But our view is that such weapons, which do not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, cannot be used legally in a densely populated area like Gaza.”

Reports this month revealed that the United States has been organising massive shipments of arms to Israel, though a Pentagon spokesman denied they were for use in Gaza.

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest book is “Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair” (Zed Books).

http://atlanticfreepress.com/oped/7451-is-gaza-a-testing-ground-for-experimental-weapons-.html

In the past week nearly 5,000 members of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) have downloaded special “megaphone” software that alerts them to anti-Israeli chatrooms or internet polls to enable them to post contrary viewpoints.

Doron Barkat, 29, in Jerusalem, spends long nights trawling the web to try to swing the debate Israel’s way. “When I see internet polls for or against Israel I send out a mailing list to vote for Israel,” he said. “It can be that after 15 minutes there will be 400 votes for Israel. It’s very satisfying.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article693911.ece

Times online

YES ! and with the help of MS it goes even further