Your Olympics 2016 Summary: Goodbye Chicago, Hello Rio

Olympic Video Shocker: “Ohmigod, The Foreigners Won!”

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So as we recover from the shock that the International Olympic Committee would not base the 2016 Games in USA! USA! USA! --- the CNN anchorman in our video of the announcement is still being revived --- let's wave good-bye to Chicago, most definitely not the IOC's "kind of town", and dance on the sand with Rio.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bIVjxis4W0[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3W6yf6c-FA[/youtube]

Palestinian Leaders Support Israel to Defer Vote on Goldstone Report

Israel-Palestine: Gazans in Poverty Triple

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On Thursday, Palestinian Authority agreed to delay until March a vote set for today at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. If the report had been endorsed by the Council, the UN Security Council would have been able to bring Israelis before the International Criminal Court at The Hague for prosecution of war crimes or crimes against humanity. Although support for the report was strong enough to get a general endorsement, six nations (US, Belgium, France, Italy, Norway, and Britain) could not find common ground on the text with the other 41 members.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN , Ibrahim Khraishi, told The Jerusalem Post that the Palestinian side was interested in a compromise rather than a quickly-passed resolution from the Council: "It will help us to explain to the Israelis that the international community is with the Palestinians to achieve their hopes and their dreams." There are reports President Obama personally told the Palestinians that the peace process would be affected adversely by a vote for the Goldstone Report.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:

I remind you that this very council has adopted more resolutions targeting Israel than resolutions targeting all other 180 countries in the world put together. If the council decides to endorse the Goldstone report it will deal a fatal blow to three major issues: Firstly, it will harm the war on terror, because it will legitimize terrorists who hide behind civilians and fire from their midst.

The second devastating blow will be to the UN's status and its prestige. It will take it back to its darkest days when absurd decisions were passed within its assembly and empty it of all meaning.

Thirdly, Israel will not be willing to take risks for peace if stripped of its right to self-defense.

Israel-Palestine: Gazans in Poverty Triple

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On Thursday, John Ging, the UN Relief and Works Agency's top official in Gaza, said that "the number of Gazans living in abject poverty has tripled this year to 300,000 - one in five residents". He called the rise in poverty a "predictable consequence" of the border blockade and added, "The suffering, the impoverishment, the misery of the people here in Gaza continues to rise because of a man-made crisis, a political failure."
Ging's statement casts light on "the West Bank success story" being trumpeted by Israel’s Ambassador to the US, Michael Oren:

Imagine an annual economic growth rate of 7%, declining unemployment, a thriving tourism industry, and a 24% hike in the average daily wage. Where in today’s gloomy global market could one find such gleaming forecasts? Singapore? Brazil? Guess again. The West Bank.

In contrast Gaza faced, as Richard Goldstone told CNN on Wednesday, and "the delibarete address of Israeli bombs on factories", "Some of the killing…was certainly intentional. There was no mistake in bombing factories. The Israeli intelligence has very precise information."

With the economic situation in Gaza worsening day by day, what kind of settlement can rest on an "economic breakthrough" within the boundaries of the West Bank?

Video: Another View on Iran's Nuclear Programme and Third-Party Enrichment

The Latest from Iran (2 October): Back to the Homefront
Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Big Win for Tehran at Geneva Talks
Latest Iran Video: Nuclear Official Jalili on CNN (1 October)
Iran’s Nuclear Programme: Obama Remarks on Geneva Talks
The Latest from Iran (1 October): From Geneva to “Unity”?

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In contrast to the general applause for the reported deal at Geneva, international lawyer Ardavan Amir Aslani, speaking with France 24, has questioned the significance of third-party enrichment of Iran's uranium. He claims that, with more than 10,000 centrifuges in Iran, any process rests upon local control. Therefore, Western powers are "engaging" to limit the possibility of a nuclear weapon, rather than a goal of zero-enrichment. He added that China and Russia will not change their positions and support harsher sanctions against Teheran.

For Aslani, the protocol of the talks is less important than "money diplomacy" kicks in. Western powers are encouraging Saudis to make a military deal with Russia, between $2 billion and $7 billion, for a defensive missile system, discouraging the Russians from selling the same system to Iranians.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXDTBEO7iRc[/youtube]

The 10:10 Climate Pledge

Our colleague Anna Hartnell writes with an important message regarding the 10:10 climate pledge. While this post is primarily concerned with events here in Birmingham, readers elsewhere should read to the bottom to find out what you can do where you are:

10:10 is one of the most promising and dynamic climate change campaigns to have appeared in the UK. The initiative is asking individuals, businesses and organizations to pledge to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, a figure that is in line with what scientists say is needed to put the world on the path to avert runaway climate change. The organizers of 10:10 have launched their campaign three months prior to the climate talks in Copenhagen, and aim to build national momentum that puts pressure on British politicians to take a leading role in the negotiations, with the hope of inspiring similar actions in other countries.

So far, over 10,000 people in the UK have signed up to 10:10, including the front benches of all three major political parties. The government have yet to get on board, though Prime Minister Gordon Brown has given the campaign his ‘full support.’ The University of Birmingham’s Student Guild has signed up to the 10:10 initiative, and a broad coalition of students and staff at Birmingham are now launching a campaign that asks the University to pledge to do the same. We are asking all University of Birmingham staff and students to join our call. You can find a link to our petition here.

If you would like to add your name you can:

• join the Facebook group

• send a text with your name and 10:10 to this number +447988056867 [UK only!]

• email E.bauer@guild.bham.ac.uk with your name and 10:10 as the subject

You can sign up to 10:10 to make an individual pledge.

And if you’re not based in the UK you can find details about 10:10 campaigning in your country here.