APRIL 8th PREDICTION

[penfold]

yes- Penfold- my hero!!

I always liked this cartoon- it was innocent and nice and British, Like I was as a child really.

[rollinTHUNDER]

EU averts crisis as budget talks end in success

17.12.2005 - 04:39 CET | By EUobserver

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - "We have an agreement on the financial perspectives", UK prime minister Tony Blair announced at 03:00 in Brussels on Saturday (17 December) after two days of nervous negotiations.

The deal averts the threat of deep political rifts within the EU as well as delays over further enlargement, with Macedonia on Saturday gaining EU candidate status.

Under the compromise, EU spending in 2007-2013 will not rise above 1.045 percent (

Edited December 17, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

US, Europe step up planning on Iran

Dec 17, 2:54 PM (ET)

By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Faced with an increasingly hard line from Iran, the United States and Europe have stepped up planning for tougher diplomatic action should Tehran follow through on threats to resume critical nuclear activities, according to U.S. officials and European diplomats.

The U.S. and its European allies are seeking agreement among themselves on precisely when Iran's nuclear program will have progressed to the point that the matter should be taken to the U.N. Security Council and what kinds of sanctions might be pursued there, the officials and diplomats said.

Tehran insists it only aims to produce civilian nuclear energy. Allies say the program is to produce weapons.

Russia, which is building Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr in southern Iran, remains a serious impediment. The United States fears that weapons grade plutonium could be extracted from the Bushehr reactor once it goes on line.

The United States and major European nations -- Britain, France and Germany -- have long threatened to bring the issue to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

But negotiations appear at an impasse and new Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has alarmed the world with aggressive calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map."

"Increasingly, we feel the Iranians are just not interested in any sort of privately negotiated solution to this problem, that what they are interested in is a political confrontation over it," one European diplomat told Reuters.

Under the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which Iran signed, member states are guaranteed the right to develop a full nuclear fuel cycle but are banned from making weapons.

The Bush administration is under growing pressure from Congress and pro-Israel groups to soften its stance toward Tehran. They want the nuclear issue referred to the U.N. Security Council, where sanctions could be imposed.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Robert Joseph, who oversees nonproliferation issues, was in Europe this week for meetings that included discussions on Iran.

U.S. and European experts are to meet Iran next week to see if negotiations can resume, but the outlook is pessimistic.

"I think there are a lot of different pieces moving toward an interesting point on Iran, especially the nuclear piece," a U.S. official said.

A pro-Israel advocate said administration officials "are considering harder approaches. Things are moving on a faster track."

A second European diplomat said while there was a U.S. trend to "toughen the position" on Iran, some Europeans preferred to keeping trying to draw Russia into a unified position.

Efforts to halt Iran's nuclear program would suffer if the issue was moved to the Security Council and the council was too divided to take action, some analysts said.

U.S. officials say if the Security Council discussed Iran's nuclear program, sanctions would not be imposed immediately, while the council tried other diplomatic pressures.

WHERE IS THE 'RED LINE'?

Also under discussion is what the United States and other states would consider their "red line" -- the point at which Iran has crossed into a dangerous activity that cannot be tolerated.

"We cannot achieve anything until we are certain we see things the same way," the second European diplomat said.

Iran froze work at its Isfahan nuclear facility in late 2004 under a deal with Britain, France and Germany but resumed uranium conversion in August 2005.

Tehran has threatened to go further and begin uranium enrichment, the most sensitive part of the nuclear cycle. The United States, Britain, France and Germany generally agree any further steps would be unacceptable but Russia is more lenient, officials said.

http://reuters.myway.com/article/20051217/...RAN-USA-DC.html

Edited December 19, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

Hamas poll win would put EU aid at risk -Solana

Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:47 AM ET

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - The European Union, the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, could curb aid if Hamas Islamic militants win a parliamentary election next month, Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana said on Sunday.

Hamas, which is sworn to destroying Israel and has spearheaded a suicide bombing campaign, is putting up candidates for parliament for the first time on January 25. It is expected to do well against President Mahmoud Abbas's fractured Fatah.

"It is very difficult that parties that do not condemn violence ... without changing those positions can be partners for the future," Solana told reporters in Tel Aviv.

If Hamas won, he said, it would be "very difficult that help and the money that goes to ... the Palestinian Authority will continue to flow".

Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat called Solana's comments "unacceptable", saying: "This is a direct intervention in our internal affairs ... Mr Solana and others should respect the choice of the Palestinian people."

The EU allocated more than $340 million for the Palestinian Authority in 2005.

Hamas is riding high because of a split in Fatah and swept major cities in a council vote in the West Bank last week.

The United States and Israel are also worried at Hamas's taking part in the parliamentary election -- only the second such poll. Hamas did not run in the previous parliamentary vote in 1996 because it opposed the Palestinian Authority's interim peace accords with Israel.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Friday urging the exclusion of Hamas. It said Hamas participation could undermine the ability of the United States to provide assistance.

Hamas has ruled out disarmament, a process that is meant to start under a U.S.-backed peace road map, and wants to replace Israel with an Islamic state.

The faction has won growing support from Palestinians who see it as less tainted by corruption than Fatah and also benefit from its charity network. Fatah is trying to patch up a split between veteran leaders and a young guard.

Hamas has largely followed a 10-month-old truce, but exiled politburo head Khaled Meshaal reiterated in an interview with pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday that the group did not plan to renew it at the end of the year.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle....&archived=False

Edited December 19, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[penfold]

This thing with hamas is odd isnt it rollin?

With the war on terror and all

Mind you the government speaks to all the paramilitary groups in Ireland too so I guess we arent too picky about who we deal with.

By the way- I have been reading Daniel. I didnt realise he was in hios 80's when he went into the lions Den!

Wow

[rollinTHUNDER]

This thing with hamas is odd isnt it rollin?

With the war on terror and all

Mind you the government speaks to all the paramilitary groups in Ireland too so I guess we arent too picky about who we deal with.

I believe not too long ago, Solana got caught going against EU policy of not negotiating with terrorist groups or supporters, when he had some secret underground meetings with this group. Now he seems to be playing his cards in a way that could possibly turn the Palestinians against Hamas, by threatening to remove PA funding from the EU.

It seems odd too, that the EU would be backing the Palestinians. The UN map of this area is called Palestine, with no mention of Israel at all. And Palestine was also the name given to this region by the ancient Roman Empire. And we know Jesus will come again, but next time, He won't be in a manger.

Edited December 21, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

Merkel to present plan to save EU constitution

19.12.2005 - 09:36 CET | By Lisbeth Kirk

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, will propose to attach a declaration on the "social dimension of Europe" to the failed EU constitution, in a bid to save the charter.

According to German daily Handelsblatt the non-binding declaration should call upon the EU institutions to better consider the social implications of EU internal market legislation. But the text of the constitution should remain unchanged, according to sources in the European Peoples Party.

The declaration should help reassure French and Dutch voters, who rejected the treaty in referendums last spring, largely in protest against globalisation, enlargement and liberalisation of the service markets.

Germany takes over the rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2007 and could play a key-role in reviving the constitution, Elmar Brok, a prominent member of Ms Merkel

Edited December 21, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

Portugal backs bid to put EU constitution back on track

21.12.2005 - 09:54 CET | By Mark Beunderman

The Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates has said that Portugal will take up the challenge of reviving the EU constitution during its presidency in the second half of 2007, following announcements from Germany that it will do the same during its stint at the EU helm in the first half of that year.

"The project of the constitutional treaty was signed by the 25 member states and it would not be right [to forget it]", said Mr Socrates to his national parliament, according to AFP.

He added the government would propose a programme of action to revive the EU constitution in January.

The Portuguese move adds impetus to recent strong calls for a revival of the charter from Berlin, which will take up the EU presidency in January 2007.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has proposed to attach a declaration on the "social dimension of Europe" to the failed EU constitution, in a bid to save the charter and stimulate discussion on the topic.

Germany and Portugal are likely to draw up a common working programme for their 2007 presidencies, as the 2006 Austrian and Finnish presidencies have also done.

EU leaders agreed on a so-called reflection period on the EU constitution, after French and Dutch voters rejected the documents in referendums in May and June this year.

The reflection period will be evaluated at an EU summit in June 2006, and until that time, the incoming Austrian presidency has made clear it will not actively push for the adoption of the charter.

http://euobserver.com/9/20600

Edited December 21, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

Irish most happy, Brits most unhappy with EU

20.12.2005 - 18:21 CET | By Teresa K

Edited December 21, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER

[rollinTHUNDER]

First Galileo satellite lifts off

28.12.2005 - 09:51 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

The European Union's first satellite of the Galileo navigation program has been launched from Kazakhstan, a move considered as the start of Europe's space race with the US.

The 600 kg British built spacecraft, named "Giove A," took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on a Soyuz rocket early Wednesday morning (28 December).

The satellite is part of Galileo, the

Edited December 28, 2005 by rollinTHUNDER