The Bailey Mail Feed

Israel to Free 200 Palestinian Prisoners

The Israeli Cabinet has voted to free 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian "president" Mahmoud Abbas, likely a final goodwill gesture before Olmert is replaced in September. Israel is thought to be holding between 8500 and 11000 Palestinian prisoners, at least 700 hundred of which are children. So how about a gesture of common decency: releasing all the Palestinian children, instead of this superficial gesture which is more to enhance Israel's international image than goodwill to the Palestinians.

Meanwhile the Gaza truce is holding in the main, but Israel still fails to seriously slacken the noose that strangles the life from the Palestinian population day by day. Sporadic rocket attacks, which Hamas say are Israeli fabrications to justify their failure to ease restrictions on movement from and to Gaza. Many people will disbelieve the Hamas claims, but they should bear in mind that all rocket attacks are usually admitted to by the responsible party.

So, Olmert will be gone soon, and has a 70 - 30 chance of being replaced by an even more hardliner. The only person who is likely to continue at least creating the impression that they want to give land in return for peace is the current foreign minister Tzipi Livni. The other two candidates for the job are the far right Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, neither of whom are advocates of any land-for-peace agreement.

Its all much of a muchness anyway, no matter who gets the job, they won't make the concessions needed to bring peace, and we are still left to wait for the demography time-bomb to kick Israel's leaders up the back-side, or for a shocking change of US policy towards Israel, whichever comes first.

Microsoft Show First Windows 7 Demo

Tue 27 May saw Microsoft unveiling Windows 7 in the first official demo of the software. Windows 7 is to feature multi-touch screen technology. As though following the Iphone, like Samsung, having also now brought out a touch-screen mobile phone.

I recently got an Iphone, and I'll be honest, I love it, but when I get a new phone it becomes my pride and joy, and for the first few months I shine and polish it, wash my hands before I touch it and many more extreme measures to keep it shiny. Then after a few weeks it goes back to normal and I use it like it's just a phone.

So, during my Iphone's honeymoon period, it has broken my heart having to dirty the screen. Each time I clean and polish the phone, and the screen, then five minutes later I have to use the phone, sliding my finger across the screen to unlock it, then pressing a few buttons by touching the screen and I'm back to square one -- like I said, it breaks my heart.

The biggest problem is that Apple have refused to allow the use of any kind of Pen or other input device that you could use to touch the screen, it must be your finger.

So I say to Microsoft, if you must use this new fangled technology, please release a pen or device so people don't need to dirty their pride and joy with their greasy paws. No offence intended, but it doesn't matter how fervently I wash my hands before touching my Iphone, it is still all smeared when I am finished, it's a nightmare.

Light at the end of the tunnel: apparently the touch technology is not to replace the mouse or keyboard, but is an alternative input device. Microsoft also hinted and features like digital ink in the new operating system and prominence of speech recognition technology, which gives way to hopes that indeed, the touch technology will involve a pen somewhere along the line -- here's hoping.

Anyway, I just got a new computer with Vista, so I won't be getting Windows 7 anytime soon. Please post your comments below on Microsoft's latest operating system.

Microsoft's Failed Yahoo Bid May Kill Their Search Aspirations

After their failed Yahoo bid, Microsoft is left pondering its next step. It is widely thought that Yahoo was Microsoft's only chance of competing with Google, now making mincemeat of Microsoft, both in market share of searches and online (Pay-per-click) advertising.

There is now talk of Yahoo partnering with Google which I think would be harmful for us as searchers, though perhaps only marginally more harmful than a Microsoft Yahoo takeover. The latter is still possible, analysts point to Oracle's failed bid for their rival BEA, which was upped into a successful bid some months later.

If Microsoft fails to obtain Yahoo, I don't think they have any hope of even becoming stiff competition to Google. If Yahoo partners with Google, Microsoft may just pack its bags and go back to making operating systems.

I'll be honest with you, I don't know why but I just don't like Windows products. I am a firm user of Windows and I probably always will be, but it is because of the bad press Windows has received, that I use it more through habit and fear of change, and it is the same bad press that prevents me from using any of their online endeavours, including Live Search, Hotmail, and Messenger � I just don't use Microsoft online.

Having said that, when everyone started using Google for searches, I had already fallen in love with Ask Jeeves, after seeing adverts for the SE on TV, it took me ages to convert to the search giant Google, but I am now a fully paid member of the Google fan-club.

If I'm honest I would rather see Microsoft takeover Yahoo, because to be honest I still think Google would win the battle of the search engines. As my job involves writing content for search engine optimisation, focussing on Google, I feel a Google-Yahoo merger may force me to go back to the drawing board, whereas a Microsoft-Yahoo takeover may affect me very little. But like everyone else, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Grand Theft Auto IV Continues the GTA Trends

Grand Theft Auto IV has not let its makers down, by continuing the series' trend of selling millions of copies in the first week. And also the other trend of reopening the debate over the handling of violent computer games. The Grand Theft Auto series is probably one of the most gratuitously violent games ever released, but Sydney's chief sensor for games, Bill Hastings was quick to point out that the violence is not necessary to proceed in the game, and that Grand Theft Auto players could simply drive around admiring the architecture.

That possibility was suggested because of the realism of the game, which is also part of the reason why the game is rated 18. Hastings' comments were in a Sydney Herald article, which opened with how stores had called up the censors asking what they were to do in the face of so many parents coming into stores to buy Grand Theft Auto IV with their 14 year-old children by their side. They censor's advice was to hold firm, and not to sell if it was suspected the game was being purchased for under-18's.

The realism of Grand Theft Auto, specifically the life-like movements of the characters when they were being shot, blown-up or otherwise killed, was also mentioned in another light, with some gamers saying it was so realistic it was creepy, and others saying they played the game in a different way, focussing on hanging out, and making friends etc.

I've got to admit, I don't play Grand Theft Auto to hang out and make friends, that is what real life is for, playing Grand Theft Auto, well any computer game is my time for letting go and submerging myself in a the world of the game, and in Grand Theft Auto that means carrying out the tasks asked of you, which usually involves violence. Not that I don't enjoy emptying clips of an AK47 or M16, for a guy that is the crack. Things like that, for me, are what I would never do in real life, but it is an adrenaline rush to do it in Grand Theft Auto.

I haven't got my copy of Grand Theft Auto IV yet, but I have had every previous version, and you can bet your bottom dollar I will be getting GTA IV very soon.

Hamas Blocking and Stealing Fuel Supplies into Gaza is Wrong

Well, what am I supposed to say now? Hamas are now making the situation worse for their own people by stealing from the precious little fuel that is being supplied, and preventing other supplies from getting through.

I have always been a big supporter of Hamas but that is just wrong. The consensus is that Hamas think turning the travesty into a crisis will force the international community to act, but quite simply, it won't.

Anyone in the world that would act if they could is already calling it a crisis, and have been doing so since varying amounts of time after the siege began. The people who could act but won't, will never call it a crisis, and will continue to say Hamas must meet the three demands asked of it for the Gaza siege to be lifted, namely: recognise Israel, adhere to previous agreements, and cease all acts of violence.

But Israel don't have to meet, or even look like meeting any of the demands asked of them, like withdrawing and returning the land taken in 1967, and allowing for and assisting with the creation of a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and stop attacks and arrest raids on Palestinians, of which there was one just today (Apr 27).

Not only does Israel not need to meet any of those demands, but it has been given a rite of passage to break the 4th Geneva convention against the collective punishment of civilians for the actions of allied fighters, one of the most crucial international laws ever written, and which the Jewish Israeli government should respect as much as, if not more than any other.

Put simply, Hamas must meet three demands that had previously been asked in return for a Palestinian state and peace, just to stop Israel from breaking international law, without getting anything in return. When ex U.S. President Carter said the peace process had started going in reverse it was the biggest understatement ever.

So you can see why they would be getting desperate, but what is Hamas struggling for if not to make things better for its people, to make things worse, no matter what the reason, is, as far as I'm concerned completely wrong.

Relief as Mugabe Loses Zimbabwe Majority

The world breathed a sigh of relief today when it was revealed that Robert Mugabe's party had failed to hold its parliamentary majority after the partial recount, confirming speculation that the opposition Movement for Democratic Change had taken the majority of seats. Results remained unchanged in 18 of the 23 recounted seats, so, as Mugabe's Zanu-PF failed to win 9 of the seats, their majority was lost for the first time since 1980.

Unfortunately the results of the presidential election still have not been released, it is hoped that these will be revealed early next week. The seemingly fair result of the Parliamentary election will give hope however, that the Presidential election results, when they finally are revealed will be the way the people voted. Though in a place like Zimbabwe, with a leader like Mugabe you can never be sure whether he will allow a vote to go ahead that will depose him from power.

We can only hope that Zanu-PF will see that Zimbabwe sheds its Mugabe skin, because Africa is currently beginning to experience some good levels of economic growth on the back of massive growth in foreign direct investment from the world's two greatest emerging markets India and China, Zimbabwe's "troubles" are only serving to hinder it from realising its full potential.

Carter Meets Hamas: Much Ado about Nothing

Ex-U.S. President Jimmy Carter has caused quite a stir, in the press and in the U.S. and Israeli governments, when he met with Hamas leaders in Cairo, as part of his Middle East visit; his personal mission of peace.

Okay, well done for brokering the peace deal between Egypt and Israel, but you had some clout back then and Egypt actually posed a threat to Israel. Now you have no clout, and Hamas poses as much threat to Israel's existence as a grasshopper does to a Lion's; no threat at all.

Obama disappointed me today, by criticising Carter for meeting with a terrorist group, repeating the necessary pro-Israeli line that any Presidential hopeful must follow. As I have written before I believe Obama's statements show a hidden pro-Palestinian stance, but to have any chance of getting elected he must play the game of I'm more pro-Israeli than you are.

I just hope that, should Obama get elected he uses his one chance in life to make a real difference in the world to do the right thing in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and by the right thing I mean: make sure the Palestinians get a state on at least what they had before the 1967 war.

I agree with everything that has been written about Carter's statements during his trip: yes, any deliberate killing of civilians is an act of terrorism, and yes, any peace negotiations must include Hamas, and yes, any peace negotiations must run alongside Israel stopping the building of its settlements, and pulling all Israeli citizens back behind the 1967 border, and resolving the issue of Palestinian refugees. But it's just not going to happen.

There is nothing in it for Israel. Israel is losing nothing from the status quo, in fact it is substantially gaining. Israel at war is the single biggest recipient of U.S. military aid, Israel at war can build a great big wall to defend its citizens, which incidentally runs meters into what should be Palestinian territory after a peace deal, i.e. well outside the 1967 border, Israel at war can starve an entire population and force them to live, not only in abject poverty but surrounded, at times and in places, by their own waste.

But it is not just the fact that Israel can do whatever it wants and call it self defence, it is the reason behind Israel's free reign; the biggest problem: the ongoing, unwavering and unquestioning support of Israel by successive U.S. administrations, especially the current Bush administration, and the fact that reliance on the substantial Jewish vote prevents any President or hopeful speaking or acting against Israel in any way.

Why shouldn't Israel take this opportunity, while they have an avid supporter in the White House to steal yet more Palestinian land by building settlements, why shouldn't Israel demolish Palestinian homes and continue unabated the Judaization of Jerusalem -- who's going to stop them.

For Israel, international support for shunning Hamas is like a get out of jail free card; if they are forced by Bush and Rice to reach an agreement with moderate Abbas, or at least to ramp up the efforts thereof, they know that Hamas will literally blow it out of the water.

In fact Palestinian mistrust of Abbas may assist Hamas in that aim. Whereas Israel being forced to include Hamas in talks, any resulting peace deal would almost certainly have wide support in the Palestinian population -- hence Israel will avoid it at all cost.

Zimbabwe Launches Recount in Parliamentary Election

Zimbabwe is to recount votes for 23 out of 110 seats in the parliamentary election, a move which has caused suspicions over just how impartial, the impartial elections commission is, especially after it was Mugabe's Zanu-PF who asked for the recount having lost their majority in the assembly.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change's secretary general Tendai Biti says the party will not accept the recount, as the "ballot boxes have been stuffed". "Those ballot boxes have become pregnant and reproduced," he added.

The Zimbabwean high court overturned the MDC's motion against the recount, saying their claims had no merit.

Meanwhile results of the Presidential election have still not been revealed, it is highly likely that the MDC have won the Presidential race, and Mugabe is holding them back till he can manoeuvre his party's majority back in the assembly by rigging the recount � that is assuming the true result of the Presidential election is ever revealed.

In other related news, Dockers in South Africa have refused to unload a Chinese cargo ship of arms and munitions destined for Zimbabwe. The cargo ship was forced to leave South African waters after South Africa's highest court ruled against allowing the arms to pass through their territory. There was complaints at the South African government not intervening in the dispute, but it is because of their need to maintain a good relationship with China that had the S.A. government's hands tied.

This is yet again an example of China's unscrupulous approach to maintaining growth in its economy, selling (almost giving probably) arms to a leader like Mugabe, and Ahmadinejad, to keep them sweet, to keep oil and other basic materials flowing into its machine of massive economic growth.

Computer Games Curriculum in Scotland

The Scottish government has introduced an official for schools to teach computer games design and development, as well as animation and computer generated film making. The skills are already being taught in Scottish schools but this is the first time an official curriculum on the skills they should learn has been put in place.

The move comes in response to falling numbers of university students enrolling in computer studies courses, which academics say is in response to the rise and fall of the dot com industry.

The Scottish government hopes to educate a generation of adaptable citizens, capable of putting Scotland at the forefront of the knowledge fuelled economies of the future. Scotland's computer game industry already employs 500 people and generates £20million for the economy.

Something must be Done to Stop the Gaza Siege

This is unbelievable, why is the world allowing Israel to create an outright humanitarian disaster, or at least, why is Israel still being treated like butter wouldn't melt.

They are to keep Gaza's main fuel depot closed for a "few days more." The measure was imposed because of a Palestinian attack that killed two Israeli civilians, and Israel has decided to use it as an excuse to intensify its collective punishment of the entire Gaza population.

I am not ashamed to say that it makes me sick to my stomach. Does a Gazan baby in intensive care deserve to die because of power shortages, in retaliation for the death of an Israeli civilian? In the Zionist Israeli government of Jewish supremacist's, just how many Palestinian lives are worth one Israeli live?

The way I look at it is, in all the man-made humanitarian disasters there have been around the world, the leaders who cause them become international pariah's, under pressure from the entire international community to rectify the situation, all the while pouring humanitarian aid efforts into the affected areas. Yet Israel is slowly, surely and deliberately causing, what looks like becoming one of the worst humanitarian disasters in my lifetime, and they are still being treated as a great ally of democracy, freedom and peace -- whack!

What makes it worse, is not the fact that Israel is not punished for its openly contravening the Fourth Geneva Convention by collectively punishing an entire population for the actions of its armed resistance, but the fact that it controls everything that enters or leaves Gaza, meaning aid can't get in, and the sick can't get out. Israel is carrying out the slow and painful murder of an entire population, those that don't die from direct Israeli actions, the power shortages, or lack of property medical care, are being killed mentally by Israel taking away their will to live.

What's more, Israel is not naive to the fact that the situation is strengthening Palestinian armed resistance as is so commonly written, it is deliberately strengthening the resistance; provoking further attacks so they can continue doing what they like in "self defence".

The world at large has to end this and we have to do it now.

Middle East Conflict: No Middle Ground

The Israel-Palestine conflict is one of the greatest injustices in the history of mankind. Middle East Conflict: No middle ground is my outlet to release my true feelings on the matter, and hopefully achieve readership wide enough to educate some people of the up-coming generations who might be able to do something about it.

This was originally going to be the first part of a series covering all the apparently unsolvable issues in the conflict, but I was out walking and thinking, and now it is going to be an opinion piece, about Israel's government not wanting peace, what they do want, and their strategies for making sure they get it.

Download (right click, save target as) Middle East Conflict: No Middle Ground as a PDF ebook.

Mistaken Perceptions of Israel's Intentions:

In the Israel-Palestine conflict, Israel is perceived as the good guy, it is assumed the all Israel's violent acts are in self-defence and that all Israel wants is peace.

Meanwhile the Palestinians are seen as the bad guys, and while some, the so called moderates are portrayed in a better light, it is generally perceived that the Palestinian's main cause is to wipe Israel off the map.

All the above perceptions exist because that is the way Israel wants it, and Jewish lobby groups around the world make sure the view is carried around the world. This is an aim helped by the fact that every U.S. President must be pro-Israel to get ahead, and especially by the current truly pro-Israel President, who has become a squawking box for Israeli lies. Bush is not necessarily taken in by them, but pushes them because the mis-conceptions Israel wants to become reality about the Palestinians, tie in with the U.S' desire to maintain global fear of Islamic terrorism, allowing them to invade oil rich countries, like Iraq and Iran.

What Israel Really Wants:

To make sure the world continues to believe their main desire is for two states coexisting in peace.
To maintain the global perception that they are in genuine fear for the existence of Israel and any barbaric acts and contraventions of international law are acceptable in self defence.
All with the overall aim: to maintain Jewish predominance and supremacy in the territory currently belonging to them, and to take possession of further land including all of Jerusalem by any means necessary. Currently the favoured method is settlement building, and forced evictions with trumped up charges on incorrect building permits, as these methods attracts less international resentment.

On top of that there is the millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Israel in its constant state of attack, which Israel would surely lose a hefty chunk of should a peace deal be reached.

Israel's Methods for Achieving its Aims:

To ensure success in their aims Israel must keep provoking the Palestinians: by causing internal rivalry and violence, and if Palestinian violence towards Israel lulls, by launching (perfectly acceptable to the international community) arrest raids. Both of course, alongside constant provocations like the wall and the Gaza blockade, which also causes exacerbation and desperation within Palestinians, as well as removing their will to live, thus causing continual desperation fuelled violence and possibly even further suicide attacks.

Closing Statement:

So, as I have said before, and I will say again, until the world realises that it cannot be assumed that all Israel's intentions are completely honourable and based on a desire to find peace, and the Israeli engineered misconceptions stop being treated as fact by U.S. administrations, in short until the conflict stops being viewed in a pro-Israel light by U.S. administrations, there will be no peace, no middle ground.

Binge Drinking Educational Game a Bad Idea

The University of West Scotland have developed a computer game, where the player controls a teenager, with the objective of finding his severely intoxicated friends, before the slip into a coma and bring the dreaded game over screen.

The game is due to be rolled out to all schools in the UK. The most surprising thing is the fact that the target age group for the game is 11-15. Education boards have slammed the game, saying it is wrong to inflict children just out of primary school with the idea that their friends could die from drinking too much.

That is the typical attitude with these matters, the fact is that up and down the country there will be 11-15 year olds getting hammered, maybe not many 11 year olds, but definitely a good few 12-15 year olds. I know because I was one of them when I was that age.

On the other hand I don't think the game is a good idea either. It is likely to cause more teenagers to start drinking than it is to stop them; if the game is "cool" then binge drinking will be cool as a result. If not cool then funny, if the game is a laugh then drinking will be a laugh. At the very least it will publicise binge drinking to all 11 year olds up and down the country, it will put it into classrooms in small villages, in front of children who mightn't otherwise have been faced by binge drinking.

India Pledges Massive Investment in Africa

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pledged to invest $500 million in Africa, in a bid to re-established strong trade and cooperation ties, with India's desperation to find new sources of natural resources. The move is also in response to China recently muscling in on countries previously mainlining good relations with India.

Speaking at the first summit aimed at strengthening India/Africa ties Singh also said he would give greater access to exports from the world's poorest countries, many of which are in Africa.

Addressing the 14 African leaders at the summit, including, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi and South Africa's Thabo Mbeki, Singh said:

"No one understands better than India and Africa the imperative need for global institutions to reflect current realities and to build a more equitable global economy and polity."

Mbeki also made conciliatory statements about how the two countries had many challenges in common: "Our enemy is common. We both have poverty and underdevelopment."

The BBC's India correspondent said that India will offer increased aid and low-cost solutions to poverty, in return for greater access to Africa's natural resources. Though India Africa trade is now at $30 billion per year, it is only a fraction of China's.

India has a long history of assisting African countries, and this summit is about getting something back. A couple of years ago China held a similar summit, and though China's Africa trade is far larger, most analysts believe India has the edge, because of its expertise in the field of low cost technology, and it being a major supplier of generic pharmaceuticals.

It is nice to write about a country that is doing well financially helping to do something about the dire poverty that exists in Africa, even if it is with ulterior motives. There is far too much poverty, hunger, war, and violence in the world, schemes like this are a refreshing break from the norm.

Brown Meets South Africa Leader over Zimbabwe Election

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to hold private talks with South African president Thabo Mbeki, in the hopes that Mbeki will exert pressure on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to announce the results of the recent Presidential election. UK foreign minister David Milliband has said the United Nations is joined in its determination to have the results announced.

The western world is not only desperate for the results to be announced but desperate for the announcement to mean an end of Mugabe's dictatorship.

Mugabe became notorious around the world for his ejecting white farmers from their land, and stealing it back for the state, using any means necessary. His rule has become more violent has time has gone on, with protestors being badly beaten, and preventing the world press from entering the country to show the world the true extent of his brutality.

The international community is also desperate for the result to be announced; because they fear Mugabe is doctoring the results. And if the result brings about a run-off between Mugabe, and his leading rival Morgan Tsvangirai, there are calls to send in international observers to make sure the results are fair.

I will also be hoping that the result will say goodbye Mugabe, and I would bet that is what the people have voted for, whether it is what the result will say I don't know, and the international response if it doesn't is also unknown. Watch this space for further updates on the continued uncertainty over Zimbabwe's future.

U.S-Russia Relations: Are We Heading for World War III

As U.S. President Bush meets with President Putin in Russia in an attempt to repair relations between the two countries, after Bush's plans to put a radar guided missile system in two soviet satellite states has took us far too close to another cold-war scenario, I want to make my feelings on the matter clear.

The mainstream media, when it does mention the chances of a US attack on Iran, fails to mention the likelihood of China and Russia backing Iran directly. But as tensions continue to mount between Bush and Putin, on top of the struggle for control of the world's remaining resources turned violent by the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, I have become almost certain that, if the U.S. and/or Israel attack Iran, China and Russia are almost certain to take action in defence of Iran.

As all analysts state the Bush-Putin meeting will come nowhere close to resolving their differences I am going to go one step further and say these differences won't be resolved because Bush doesn't want them to be.

Bush is the biggest megalomaniac to ever inhabit the White House, his invasions of two countries, both of which he thought would be quick wars shows his overblown opinion of U.S. military strength. Plans for a Missile Shield are not to protect against Iran, as Bush claims but to ensure U.S. supremacy over Russia in preparation for the scrap over resources, a move he thought Russia wouldn't dare challenge, but instead it is a move Russia will go to any length to prevent.

Putin has recently said that not only is Russia maintaining its nuclear capability but further developing it, and also reiterated a threat that he would re-targeted Russia's nuclear arsenal on Europe for the first time since the Cold War.

Putin has also warned that any expansion of the North American Treaty Organisation will be seen as an act of aggression.

At the recent meeting Bush failed to secure NATO entry for Georgia and Ukraine, and said he will keep trying, I am not sure if their entry will receive Putin's stamp as an aggressive act, but the Missile Shield is firmly in there on the aggression stakes, mind you retargeting nuclear arsenals isn't exactly pacifism.

I am genuinely worried. As the Iran nuclear crisis hanging over Israel continues to damage Jewish migration to the fatherland, and the Arab/Jew ratio continues to increase the chances of Israel losing its Jewish predominance, it becomes almost certain that Israel will launch a first-strike against the Iran nuclear program, and they are most likely to do it before Bush leaves office.

If Israel does attack first, they will probably use tactical-nuclear "Bunker Busting" bombs, to ensure destruction of Iran's nuclear facilities, which are deep-underground. The U.S. will be informed of Israel's desperation to launch the attack, and in all likelihood they won't stop them, worst case scenario they will help them, absolute worst-case scenario, Russia and China launch a counter attack and World War III erupts.

I will catch flak here for what can be called blatant speculation, but no one can say what I have laid out above is impossible, and like I said; I am genuinely worried.

Gadgets, Google and Child-Proofing the Computer

Gadgets: Sony Announce Smallest ever Camcorder

Sony releases smallest ever camcorder and at the same time proves that size doesn't matter and small is beautiful.

The tiny 33 x 119 x 63.5mm, 283g camera is capable of taking 4mp, 1080p video and has many of the bells and whistles found on Sony's premier camcorders, including:

A ClearVid CMOS Sensor with 'Exmor' (whatever the hell that is, sounds expensive anyway), Intelligent face detection and autofocus in still and video modes, and sound is recorded in 5.1 channel digital surround sound, from an auto-zoom mic than homes in on the foreground subjects.

The camcorder is expected to be launched in the UK around May and at a price tag of around £500-£600.

Hydrogen Power Aircraft Could Mean Greener Skies

A new hydrogen power air-craft has been successfully tested in the skies above Spain by air-industry giant Boeing. The small single propeller manned aircraft, which flew three successful take-offs, flights and landings, is being heralded as a massive step towards green air-travel, because hydrogen and water are the only two exhaust products, neither of which are as harmful to the environment as current airplane exhaust fumes.

The two-seater light air-craft is powered by futuristic fuel-cells that create electricity by combining oxygen and hydrogen. The fuel-cell technology was developed by UK company Intelligent Energy, and I for one am glad there are company's out there trying to do something about global-warming, and find new sources of fuel for when the oil inevitably runs out, as oppose to many others spending billions to secure their place near the top of the food chain for the oil that's left.

Computers are Good For Kids - Supervision Necessary

Computers often catch bad publicity, for exposing children to an unsafe environment filled with Pedophiles and pornographic images. I won't deny that both elements exist on the web, one to what extent I don't know, and the other certainly in abundance; Angelina Jolie naked adverts everywhere, and on sites with no adult warning. But computers have so many benefits for Children that it is impossible to suggest we should ban them.

The government's plans just shows how inadequately prepared and ill-informed they are to put protection in place for children's safe browsing.

Making registered sex-offenders provide police with their email address so they can be banned from sites frequented by children, is the stupidest idea I have ever heard, people can create a new email address in a matter of minutes online, so this would not keep one pervert away from our children in their social-networking environments -- it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic. You could suggest using IP addresses instead, but even then they are often dynamic (generated on connection and always different), and in any case are provided by the Internet Service Providers, so if they changed their ISP they would be back online.

The only real way to ensure our children are safe online, is to keep their computer in the living room, where you can take a peek over their shoulder from time to time, might seem a bit of an invasion of privacy but not as bad as the invasion of privacies those who we seek to protect them from have in mind. In such an environment a computer would be a lot safer, and now for the benefits a computer should be used for.

A computer puts the world at a child's fingertips; there is nothing they cannot research in minutes using their favorite search engine Google. With computers now commonplace in the school and the home, the computer in the living room with a no BEBO till you've done your homework ban should certainly take GCSE pass rates to an all-time high.

Liam Bailey Middle East Conflict E-Book

This is more of an announcement than an article. I am writing to apologise to regular readers of my Middle East articles, and to offer an explanation. The delay is because my next writings on the Middle East Conflict, specifically the Israel-Palestine conflict, will be an electronic book (E-Book) titled: The Middle East Conflict: No Middle Ground Part I. Each part in the series will cover a different aspect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that makes it so intractable, and the final part will focus on my predictions on whether or not the conflict will ever be resolved.

I have been meaning to write such a book for a long time, and while I wanted to focus on making regular posts to The Bailey Mail, I want to write a book more. There will be one article, between each part of the E-Book series, and when all parts have been released, there will be a special edition E-book containing all the parts. The E-book will be released in PDF format, and will be available for a nominal £1.50 fee.

Wall Street Journal Comes to London

In a move a James Bond meglo-foe would be proud of, Rupert Murdoch is to start publishing the Wall Street Journal in London, in what can only be seen as a direct attempt to further damage other publications, like Pearson's Financial Times. I for one neither have any doubt nor am afraid to say that Rupert Murdoch's ultimate goal in life is to control the world of Main Stream media.

It goes on sale from April 16 from 250 newsagents in the heart of London's financial district, in Canary Wharf "The City" The West End, Heathrow Airport and other UK airports

The Wall Street Journal will cost £2.50, which is a pound more than the Financial Times, but a realistic price based on other non-UK publications being sold in the UK. Rupert Murdoch having anything to do with the WSJ has been enough for me to stop reading it, and Financial Times now have my readership.

Israeli Moves To Provoke Fresh Palestinian Violence

Despite the fact that there have been very few (if any) Palestinian rockets landing in Israeli territory over the past few days, four Israeli tanks rolled into central Gaza in a pre-dawn raid and killed two Hamas members. This on top of new Israeli plans to build yet more settler homes in East Jerusalem, which has, is and will prompt massive anger within Palestinians, Muslims, Arabs, liberals and anyone else with a thread of decency around the world.

If the Israelis can't even adhere to an informal agreement to stop violence if the Palestinians stopped the rockets, what chance do we have that they will adhere to a larger agreement to return the land, especially as they continue to annex yet more and more Palestinian land. Over 40 years ago, Israel annexed land with its military, and ever since it has been annexing land by building Jewish homes and structures on it, in the hope that after what the Nazis did the world will never have the stomach to expel Jews from their homes, whether they sit land the world says should be give back to Palestine or not.

Violent Computer Games to Blame for Youth Violence?

The release of Manhunt 2, which is by all accounts a brutal game starring an escaped mental patient and centred on sadistic and violent murders has reopened the debate over the effect violent games have on children. I have decided to put in my tuppence worth. More violent acts, assaults, shootings, murders, and stabbings are carried out by this generation of youths than any generation before. No one can honestly deny that computer games play a part, but it is more to do with the gang and violent culture of American gun-toting home-boy gangsters and gang bangers, portrayed and popularised so well, by today's big rap stars.

I have a license to talk because I myself was one of the infected. A big fan of Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Tupac, two rappers introduced to me by a friend, and whom I hated to begin with, but it grew on me when I started to see some of the movies about the culture and learn some of the lingo. Pretty soon I was getting into trouble with "the law" walking around with a soft-air replica Glock 17 pistol tucked into my waist, as were all my friends (homies). If I was in a position to get a real gun I would no doubt have done so.

And before those who blame the parents say that my mum and dad shouldn't have got me the soft-air gun they didn't, I got it myself by means I won't go into

Luckily my parents moved us from the town to the country and my ways changed before too long as I went back into my happy hardcore and dance music again. But before my days as a "gangsta" I had never been into getting into trouble with the law, and it just shows how easily these influences, when shared with a group of lead to emulation of criminal behaviour and violence.

Iraq Battles Give Bush Fresh Supply of Motives to Attack Iran

The situation is worsening in Iraq. Nouri Al Maliki has already put the deadline back for the Medhi Army militia men to give up their guns, and when the additional ten days is up I foresee a long battle for control of southern Iraq and Shia areas throughout the country.

It's one of the most obviously empty threats I have ever seen, issuing a deadline when you have already got your troops fighting the battle is pointless, because all you can do when the deadline passes is keep fighting. So there is no incentive for the Medhi army to meet the deadline, unless in the next ten days the Iraqi army -- helped directly today for the first time in this battle by British troops -- start to take a major advantage, which is unfortunately, highly unlikely.

Even more unfortunate, is how much closer these battles take us to war between Iran and the U.S. Of course because the Medhi army is Shia it must be funded and supported by Iran. And the longer these battles continue the more motives the U.S. will be able to rack up for going to war with Iran.

Whether or not the U.S. will attack Iran is a lot harder to predict than some think, if you look at it with an open mind there are too many contradictory arguments to make head nor tail of. However, if I was pressed I would say (touch wood) that we might just see Bush out of office without an offensive against Iran. At which point most people who hope to avoid war will breathe a sigh of relief -- unless of course McCain is elected and we could be in for another four years of hoping for the best.

One thing is certain, with the current Shia uprising in Iraq unlikely to end quickly, if the Bush administration is planning to attack before they leave the White House -- due to the abundance of motives on top of their constant scaremongering of an Iranian A-Bomb -- then an attack there will be.

Tech News Roundup March 29

One of coolest Gadgets this Year to Date

California based Dash Navigation are releasing one of the coolest gadgets of this year so far. Their new GPs system not only tells its owner directions, but using information on traffic speeds collected from other users GPS will update the best route according to congestion -- cool. Well, a cool concept anyway, the downside is that it is heavily reliant on its own success, if there aren't enough users in your locale, then you are left with little more than a standard GPS system.

Mac the First to Crack in Security Trials

In an annual event where hackers are challenged to hack some of the most up to date laptops for $10,000 and the laptop they crack, the Macbook air was the first to be compromised, in just two minutes. The Macbook Air withstood a full-day of standard hacking attempts, as did all three other laptops on trial, but on the second day, when hackers were allowed to send malicious links, the Macbook Air was cracked in around 2 mins. The purpose of the event is to bring to light vulnerabilities in today's computers and operating systems in a controlled environment, and then provide the manufacturers in question the data, with which to issue security fixes.

Space Station Freighter to Practice docking

The Jules Verne space freighter, one of Europe's inclusions to the Space Station is about to start practicing docking with the station. It will make two approaches and retreats before performing its first ever full docking operation.

Sudan Maybe Poised to Attack Chad

The land-mark accord reached between Chad and Sudan just two weeks ago is disintegrating, as both governments accuse each other of launching new raids into their respective territories, via their various proxies.

Ambassador Abd-al-Mahmud Abd-al-Halimthe, Sudan's Permanent Envoy to the UN, told his government's news agency:

"[Chad has] carried out major operations and logistic arrangements and facilitated the entry of rebels from inside Chadian territory to carry out sabotage acts and destabilise security in [Sudan's] Darfur region,"

According to the article, the Ambassador has informed the UN of Chad's violations. A pro-Sudanese website speculated that Chad is poised to launch a major offensive into Sudan, which would see thousands more civilians die in the now notorious Darfur region.

Ahmad Allam-Mi, Chad's foreign Minister staunchly denied the Sudanese claims to Diplomats at a meeting in Chad's capital N'djamena, a government source told IRIN on condition of anonymity. The source also said that Allam-Mi presented the diplomats with "irrefutable proof of the intentions of Sudan to attack".

It is quite possible that Allam-Mi did present diplomats with proof that Sudan intends to attack. According to a western Diplomat who attended the N'djamena meeting and also spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity, "It [Chad] has been weakened [by recent rebel attacks] and to invade Sudan now would not just be stupid, it would be suicidal."

The Diplomat also said he was not so sure of Sudan's intentions regarding attacking Chad. But if Sudan's government has been behind the recent rebel attacks on Chad, which it almost definitely has, then the weakening effect the attacks have had will quite possibly be seen by Sudan's militant government as a chance to good to miss.

British Airways Open BA-Only Terminal 5 at Heathrow

British Airways is moving into its controversial Terminal 5 overnight 26/27 Mar 2008. The new terminal was controversial because of its size, and protests by eco-groups. Now that it is built and in operation, it will remove some of the congestion that Heathrow airport is best known for, running some 27 million passengers per year over its 40 million per year capacity. The new terminal's capacity is 30 million passengers per year which doesn't give them much expansion room, but there you go.

The new terminal is for British Airways only, and BA hope that the new terminal will be handling 90pct of its passengers by October next year. Willie Walsh, BA's chief executive said in a statement that the transfer operation, ahead of tomorrow's opening, would be a historic move:

"Everyone knows the exceptional congestion that Heathrow endures as the world's busiest international airport. But we are relocating to a completely new terminal without requiring any kind of shutdown by the airport authorities."

The first flight from Hong Kong is scheduled to land at 4:50am 27 Mar, and the first departure will leave at 6:20 that evening.

Hilary Clinton's Embellishment Will Destroy her Image

I can't imagine anything more embarrassing than what Hilary Clinton has been making the headlines for. She said Monday that she landed in Bosnia in 1996 under sniper fire, the claim has made Clinton a figure of American ridicule as the real footage of her arrival shows something far less dramatic. The story had become something of a Chinese whisper, getting more and more dramatic and further from the truth each time she told it, which is a lot because of her image-building as a suitable commander in chief, who will be ready from day one.

On Dec 29 she said she had "landed in one of those corkscrew landings and ran out because they said there might be sniper fire", by February 29 the greeting ceremony "had to be moved inside because of sniper fire," and Monday March 25 she just went too far:

I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."

What actually happened was the then First Lady and her daughter Chelsea, were met from their C-17 transport plane by a smiling 8 year old, Emina Bicakcic, who said: "There is peace now because Mr Clinton signed it. All this peace. I love it."

I mean we've all done it, well I know I have; embellished a story for maximum effect, which means I also know how utterly embarrassing it is when an eye-witness tells the true story, and it becomes all to apparent exactly why you weren't completely honest.

Clinton's response to the "blip" was to issue a press-release of Barack Obama's clangers, like saying last Autumn that 10,000 people died in a Kansas Tornado, when in fact 10 people were killed, but none of them were so apparent as being obvious embellishments to boost his image. I feel sorry for Clinton, not a great deal though, I mean how stupid can you get; did she forget TV cameras existed back then?