Israel - Former President Spared Rape Charges

Once again, Israel lives up to it's description as "the most corrupt country in the West". The following is taken from Haaretz:

At least 20,000 protesters, outraged over the plea bargain that spared outgoing president Moshe Katsav rape charges and possible jail time, gathered in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night to demand that he stand trial.

Over the past year, Katsav had been accused of a range of sexual offenses, including rape. Under the plea bargain signed Thursday, the rape charges were dropped and a suspended sentence was agreed by the prosecution. The president will plead guilty to sexual harassment, forcible indecent assault and harassing a witness as part of the deal.

The rally was attended by Education Minister Yuli Tamir, MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz), MK Shelly Yachimovich (Labor) and former MK and member of Tel Aviv's municipal council Yael Dayan.

Dayan said that Katsav's plea deal turns the victims into criminals, and paid tribute to the women who went to the police with their accusations against the president.

"We must not incriminate the bravest of women, who deserve a medal for the courage to complain," she said.

"Now there is no law and no justice," Tamir told the rally. "These people [the protesters] came here out of pain, and out of desire to see a just trial in the State of Israel."

Ah, justice is alive and well in Israel. In other Israeli news:

.....prominent Israeli human rights group on Wednesday criticized an Israel Defense Forces probe that decided not to press charges in an errant artillery attack that killed 21 Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in November 2006.

The Military Advocate General announced late Tuesday that it was closing the case after its investigation determined the deaths were the result of a "rare and severe" technical malfunction.

In a statement, the human rights group B'Tselem questioned whether the inquiry met proper legal standards: an investigation which is independent, effective, open to review and timely.

The group also called on the IDF to take measures that would prevent similar incidents in the future, and urged it to compensate relatives of the dead.

The shelling was part of a large-scale IDF ground operation in northern Gaza against Palestinian rocket squads, and the civilian deaths provoked the wrath of international groups and human rights organizations. Since then, Israel has rarely used artillery against Gaza.

Fawzi Barhoum, spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza, said the results of the Israeli probe were not surprising.

"This decision is not strange, because every day and every minute dozens of innocent Palestinians are subject to this, either by shelling or by siege or by bullets," he said.

And, from B'Tselem:

Heart patient dies after not being allowed to cross checkpoint

On 14 February 2008, Fawaziyeh a-Dark suffered a heart attack. Soldiers at a flying checkpoint prevented the passage of the ambulance summoned for her. When her husband tried to take her by taxi, soldiers at another checkpoint blocked their passage. He was forced to take her home, by which time she died.

IAEA Report on Iran - Enrichment Programme 'Well Below Capacity'

Although you would barely know it from the reporting on the BBC. Although their report describes 'significant developments', it only gives a passing mention to the fact that the enrichment programme is well below capacity. According to the BBC:

The UN nuclear watchdog says Iran has agreed to a plan aimed at clearing up questions about its controversial nuclear activities.

The IAEA says the development is "significant", but adds that for the plan to work, it is essential to get full and active co-operation from Iran.

It also says Iran is continuing its enrichment programme, but at a slower pace than before, despite UN sanctions.

Western powers fear Iran could try to make nuclear arms, which Tehran denies.

Notice the fact that the reduction in enrichment is secondary to the fact that they are enriching and that this is contrary to UN sanctions. Their actual capacity seems barely important to the BBC, who concentrate on the agreement between the IAEA and Iran. Compare this to the coverage in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper:

Iran's uranium enrichment program is operating well below capacity and is far from producing nuclear fuel in significant amounts, according to a confidential United Nations nuclear watchdog report.

A senior Iranian nuclear official said the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report showed U.S. suspicions about Tehran's nuclear intentions were baseless.

Officials familiar with the report said the IAEA could open future inquiries into Iran's atomic activity if new suspicions arose, even after Tehran answers questions about the program under a transparency deal reached this month.

Western leaders suspect Iran wants to build atom bombs, not generate electricity, and were alarmed when Tehran said in April it had reached "industrial capacity" to enrich uranium.

But the IAEA report said Tehran remained far short of that threshold. Iran had just under 2,000 centrifuges divided into 12 cascades, or interlinked units, of 164 machines each refining uranium at its underground Natanz plant as of August 19, it said.

Not only does this undermine the case for war that is slowly being built up by the US, it also proves the extent to which the Iranian regime will over-exaggerate their capacity. Reports such as these are often overlooked as governments build the case for military action. It is clear that Iran is a long way from posing the threat that the Western powers allege, however, this does not mean that the propaganda campaign will cease. On the contrary, they will continue to present Iran as a country seeking nuclear armaments in attempt to threaten the world. This is, perhaps, the reason why Iran has requested that its understanding of the agreement with the IAEA be published on the IAEA website (which you can read here - pdf file).

Olmert in More Trouble....

Another day, another scandal enveloping Israel's incompetent Prime Minister. According to Haaretz, Israel's State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has called on the police to investigate Olmert on 'suspicion of illicitly arranging investment opportunities for friends while in a previous cabinet post'. In the report, Lindenstrauss claims that:

"Olmert did not refrain from dealing with issues involving his friend, former partner and current attorney, Uri Messer, who initiated the request for financial benefits from the state through the Industry Ministry's Investment Center."

She went on to add that:

"Olmert should have removed himself completely from dealing with the company's request, put forward by Messer, and in not doing so placed himself in a conflict of interest. Olmert's connections with Messer and his involvement in advancing the project... despite the conflict of interest in which he was immersed, raise suspicions about his ethics."

This is not the first time that Olmert has been dogged by scandal. Alongside his disastrous campaign in South Lebanon which achieved nothing other than the strengthening of Iran in the region, he has also been accused of improper practice over the sale of the state's controlling interest in Bank Leumi. Once more, the scandal involved a close personal associate of the Prime Minister (Frank Lowy). That scandal led to Israel's Accountant General to descibe Israel as being:

the most corrupt country in the Western world.

Isn't it about time that Olmert did at least one honorable thing in his political career, and resign with immediate effect?

Attack on Lebanon Pre-Planned

According to Olmert's testimony to the Winograd Commission. From The Guardian:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel began planning for war in Lebanon months before last summer's conflict against Hezbollah guerrillas, countering criticism that he was caught off guard and acted too hastily in launching the military operation, Israeli media reported.

Haaretz has more.