Israel is fighting a war here, in which there can be no winner. It's amazing, the similarities between what's going on in the Middle East today, and what happened forty years ago in Viet Nam, with Hezbollah fighting with impeccable guerilla tactics, and Israeli forces unsure of who's the enemy, and who's merely a civilian.
Reports are coming in that while the attacks from Lebanon continue to affect northern Israeli towns and setlements, the counter-attack is haphazard at best, for the enemy wears no uniform, and blends in completely with those around. The best Israeli forces can do is return fire close to the source of a rocket attack, and that leads to civilian deaths.. collateral damage one might say.
But, this cannot be blamed on Israel alone.
Lebanese civilians, either through suasion or active support, are sheilding this terrorist group. It is established that there is not one Middle Eastern State that would want Israel to feel comfortable, to be left in peace to continue with it's own internal struggles and daily life.
Funding for the arsenal Hezbollah has amassed had to have come from somewhere, and all the traditional enemies of the State of Israel are suspect.. Egypt.. Sudan.. Saudi Arabia.. are all to some extent in support of those the US has branded 'terrorist', from the Taliban, al Q'aida, Hezbollah..
And yet the West continually increases the economic might of these countries, of this region, with it's 'addiction' to oil.
It might be said with some assurance, that 'we have seen the enemy, and it is us..' in this case.
The hard line would be to throw all support behind Israel, and cut all economic ties with the rest of the OPEC nations. Develop a working relationship with Vlad for Russian oil and gas, and cut the Middle East completely out of the equation. Allow Russia membership in the WTO, while working towards restricting the Wild West attitude in the former Soviet States, and align China towards the same resources.. those in the Baltic.
A concerted effort towards exclusion would perhaps move the Muslim States towards policing their own, and make no mistake, this is not a religious measure, but an economic one.
Muslims are not, on the whole, any more violent than any other faith. They simply have more belief in the afterlife for those who martyr themselves than we do, and thus place a lesser value on this life, or on the lives of any others.
Work on their purses, and their ideology will be pulled into some semblance of compliance.
Work on the destruction of their ideology, and we do no more than to incite more and more to give themselves into the hands of Allah (blessed be His name)..
We must remember, that we are a complacent society, spurred into action only by the worst scenario's.
They are far more volatile, and are dedicated to such an extreme as boggles our imaginations.

We are on the brink of a catastrophe in the Middle East, yet dare one say, those in the majority of the West and Europe, indeed those outside the immediate sphere of influence of the violence, couldn't care less.
It's just not a 'reality' to most.
Now those leave Lebanon by the thousands have a different perspective, as do those who live in Israel. They live, work, breathe in the palpable tension that pervades the area. They are on the front line.
But those who's knowledge of events in that area is supplied by news services, can feel secure they're not at risk, in a real sense. There's always the possibility of a suicide mission which could destroy part of one of our major cities, but even that to the majority, is only news.
What defines the common worldwide man on the street these days?
One might suggest it be nothing more than personal needs and desires.
We elect people is a flurry of excitement, expecting a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage, and then spend the time remaining in their terms deriding them for not providing these basics. We expect our leaders to be as pure as Caesars wife, and delight in their foibles when they are exposed to have no more than feet of clay, no more exceptional than any one of us might be in such a position of power.
Needs. That's what it all comes down to.
We need a government that makes no mistakes. That increases our economies and our standard of living with little or no input from the individual. We want it handed to us on a plate, for we no longer have the belief that we are capable of improving our lot by stint of individual effort.
We need religious leaders who tell us that our deities approve of bombing the daylights out of innocents, and who condemn those who share not our particular faith.
What makes a young man or woman give up a course of living that would see them graduate university, or having already done so and is now plying their trade, sharing their knowledge, strap on a semtex vest and kill for their 'faith'? Surely it can be attributed only to those who have taught them, and their own personal 'need' to be a part of something bigger than a high-definition television, a good salary, a comfortable life.
We cannot universally condemn those who commit atrocities in the name of their beleifs, for in doing so we would be condemning all our historical figures. Mankind has been led by the nose by their preachers for millennia, and that is a situation that doubtless be later described as part of the 'human condition'.
What we can universally condemn is the apathy of those who sit, and wait for others to find a solution, or even offer an alternative. And that, comes down to you, and I.
Needs.
When and if this sad community of this world gets off the couch, studies the issues, elects those who are not necissarily the most charismatic but who are certainly espousing actions which will give us direction again, we may see a renaissance of sorts.
When the wants of the individual are fewer, and the needs fewer still, then perhaps we will see a form of harmony. But it would take a massive uprising of those who have, like the one-ton man, lost the will and ability to move, to effect such a change.
We are heading for Armageddon, and unless we work towards a solution, most will see it only on the six o'clock news, and it will, sadly, be a great surprise.

The UN Security Council is about to sit, is what would appear to be a pro forma session.. The subject under discussion, of course, is the crisis in the Middle East, but as Condaleesa Rice has said, the meeting will be of little use unless there is a chance of 'lasting resolution' of the current problems.
Plain language: Israel can do as it wishes with the blessing of the US, as long as Hezbollah continues to exist.
This American 'war or terrorism' will allow itself and it's allies to carry out any and all actions necissary to crush this Muslim threat, and that will be made plain in this upcoming meeting.
As it stands, thousands of Britons are evacuating Beruit, which is, even to the blindest, an indication this offensive is not about to come to a quick end.
One must wonder when the stakes will rise, when dirty bombs will be set off, when escallation will reach a point of no return.
More as this develops.

Things continue to unfold as they should.
British and French nationals are being evacuated from Lebanon, as Israel, in the words of the Lebanese Prime Minister, 'continues this madness'.
On the other hand, one more dead in Haifa from a Hezbollah missile.
The G8 left much unsaid as it closed it's weekend meeting in St Petersburg, and Vlad still hasn't got his membership in the WTO, although that may well be in the works..
George is set to veto stem-cell research.. too much of a Franenstein scenario for his administration to deal with.. But then there's always the next..
One more serious issue to be mentioned today. The Labour Party has revealed it's more than £27 million in debt, following the last election. The Conservatives claim they've had a resergeance of donations since David Cameron took the reins, but still are some £17 million in the hole. There is something inherently wrong with a system that demands such capital outlay to buy votes. That demands television and radio and newpaper ads must remind those with the franchise who it is that represents their way of thought... but then if it weren't spashed on them, the great unwashed would be totally bewildered.. or so it seems..
A step away from the mundane for a moment, and a reflection on the passing of Mickey Spillane, the mystery writer.
Much maligned by his critics and peers.. he once observed that "Those big-shot writers could never dig the fact that there are more salted peanuts consumed than caviar..."
He was 88. A good life...

Civilians have started to die in Lebanon.. Israel has now bombed the Lebanese/Syrian crossing infrastructure.. and what started out as a rescue mission for 2, then 6 soldiers has escallated, in a matter of days, into a full-scale military operation bent on destroying Hezbollah.
There are Iranian officers on the ground in Lebanon, coordinating Hezollah missle strikes into Israel.. an Israeli gunboat has been blown out of the water by a surface-to-sea missile aimed by Hezbollah..
Damn, these folks know how to start a war.
And one fact one can depend on, is that nothing is a singular movement, a singular decision, bar those of Israel. This will soon be, one one level or many, a total Arab/Israeli confrontation, with the intent on the destruction of the State of Israel. It may be al Q'aida.. or Hezbollah.. or Taliban fighters who actually pull the triggers, but the organisation will be coordinated by Arab consensus.
One has to wonder, how important to Vlad is membership in the World Trade Organisation?
How important will it be, when China decides to push forward, that anything remains of the current infrastructure in the Middle East.
The West is driven hard by the potential losses in hard materiel, but even that can be recouped with a few government subsidies..
Kubrick might just have been mistaken in one aspect only. That of location.

It's to be 'war on every level' according to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah..
And 4 more Israeli soldiers have gone missing.. ostensibly into Lebanon..
and Meanwhile, back at the ranch on the eve of the G8 meetings, Vlad and George with their respective wives have a 'quiet, private, dinner'. It is to be a given that part of the private talks George and Vlad will have before the other leaders arrive, will mention George's hopes the Russian State will stay on track, leading to a 'democratic form' of government..
But if one could be a fly on the wall..
Bet there have been negotiations on oil exports from Russian resources to American storage tanks, and what price a barrel of Balkan Crude will cost..
There will doubtless be some time spent on what advantages there might be for the Russian economy if there were better relations between the two countries, a legacy which might be forged before George leaves the White House..
The issue of who backs who in the Middle East will certainly come to the attention of the two leaders.. should Israel be allowed to continue it's war on terror, and worm out Hezbollah from it's hidey-holes in Lebanon, and to what advantage it would be for the West to allow the Lebanese standard of living slip back more than twenty years..
Will it be to either's advantage to watch the Middle East dissolve into outright hostilities right across the board, while the US and Britain still maintain boots on the ground in Iraq..
Much to be talked over during the next few days with the leaders of the G8.. but it seems there were some details to be ironed out before the others arrived..
We will see, over these next few days, as this Summit continues, what becomes the most prominent problem discussed.
Energy?
Certainly, and on more levels than the obvious.

Now the fun's really under way..!
Israel's attacking 'Hezbollah' in Leabonon, which has Syrian backing.. and is continuing it's movement back into the Gaza.. as was undoubtedly the plan in the first place..
Georges dark-room boys must be just wringing their hands wirth delight..
Same applies in Tony's area of influence..
What this has demonstrated to even the most dense of us, is that one incident, two in this case, carried out by a tiny contingent of absolutely dedicated men and women, can move armies.
Two kidnappings, and a couple of strikes by missiles in the Northern Israeli port city of Haifa, has mobilised all the forces, ar a few of course, available to Israel.
If one was watching the wick that spark mentioned a week or so ago ignited, it would be about half-way down to the muzzle.
What a conflagration we could be facing. What a different way of life.

Three hours of debate in the Commons, ended with an agreement to call it a day early in ptotest over the current extradition treaty this country has with the United States.
To make it simple, if you're a British subject and the American Courts want you, they can have you. Reciprocity, though, is not the case.
Today investigators found the body of one of several men 'hounded by the FBI concerning this case.
The three men who were expected to be sent to the US to face charges concerning the Enron scandal are now in Houston, and may be there for some time to come. It could be two years before their case appears before a judge...
One wonder if we, the British, wanted an American citizen to face charges here. Would we see the same consideration, the same cooperation, from Washington..?
No doubt.. *chuckle*
We'll discuss this more.

North Korea has tested a couple of long-range missiles. One has an efective ragne that would alow it to deliver a payload as far as Japan, Afghanistan, India..
The second, which by the way failed to launch successfully, could have reached Europe, and Alaska..
George's reaction was nothing more than the affirmation that the Western mind should either be kept in the dark concerning the feelings of the North Korean man on the street, or, Gods forbid, our analysts are ignoring that they are not the same as us.
North Korea has a failing econonomy. Compared to the lifestyles we lead, they're poverty-striken. But they don't see it that wway..
They see themselves working for a future, not for themselves or their children, but for their grandchildren. They do not cosider what we would see as privation as something to be worried about. They eat. They work. THey sleep. And their kids go to school and learn.
One can only hope that George is putting his stupid-face, to reassure an at best, disinterested American public.
The alternative is, that George has no contingency plan for the North Koreans.. has nothing in the works to help allied nations, the likes of Japan, India, and to some extent Pakistan.
Say it ain't so, Joe..

It continues.
The division between the 'Christian West' and the 'Islamic East' has been prised just that further apart by that old nemesis, Osama. His broadcasts, repeated ad nausiam on Al Jazeera and other Arab -speaking news dispersers, have warned the world not to intervene in the Somalia issue.. to ignore Darfour, and leave the Islamic-lead government with a free hand.
Now it's not that we're not being fed the same tripe by our own politicians. Spinning a situation into an incident is the political way of life. Governments thrive, in fact would not survive, were there not another crisis to be faced, another 'cause' to be defended.
But Osama, and one must interject that one believes this man speaks for the same percentage of Islamic people as Jerry Adams used to for Republicans, is a danger. He can bring violence to my doorstep, to yours as well.
His rhetoric inflame the already unballanced to the point they will take their lives to take mine. This cannot be.
There will come a time when it will be recognized that the Middle East should have nothing to do with the West economically. When their commodity will have little or no value. If there is one adage in Arabic that states their ethos, it's trust nobody, and when negotiating, drag it out as long as possible.. and then a little longer.
Until we lose our dependance on fossil fuel, or are in a position to supply our needs domestically, we will be short a card in this Game. We can bring little pressure, true pressure to bear, on those we are dependant upon.
Iraq has it's government now. Let the 'War On Terror' continue, but without such demeaning detentions as those in Gitmo, and let it be fought from home.
It's time to let the Iraqi people deal with their own, however they will.
It's time for us to begin worrying about what's happening in the Gaza, and what could come from that.
Hammas has the clout.
Israel has the bomb.
Ahh. Happy Canada Day.

Just for the record, this is published again out of sequence. Today is Friday, the 30th of June.

For those abroad, it might be remarked that there were by-elections in a couple of seats vacated by a couple of recent deaths..
The Tory's took Westminster, but had a massive inroad in the previous majority, from over 13 thousand to about 630..
It's a message to the Labour Party.. a serious one.
It will be of some interest to see exactly what happens at the White House now, after the Supreme Court ruled Gitmom illegal.. it's a note George would like to mute..
And would you look at those Chinese! They've completed what might be the greatest engineering feat in history, although it remains to be seen whether or not it will stand, literally.An 11 hundred km, that's about 710 miles worth, of high-altitude railway, linking The very heartland of China with Lhasa, in Tibet. Positively amazing, and yet it's not mentioned in many Western papers.. or on any Western newscasts..
Quite a feat, and well done you Chinese...

Interesting.
The BBC itself has started an 'Editors Blog', one which has in today's, and will in the future, give the faithful reader an insight into the minds that make the decisions as to what we will hear, or watch on television.
This is a phenomina, this blogging..
Some of us have been using it for years to explain that which we do on a daily basis, that is analise, and prognosticate on generalities or specifics we have noticed throughout the news of the world. Some of us have been using it as an emotional release, an unburdening, a mental enema so to speak. Some have used this medium as a platform, to preach their own particular tenets and beliefs.
But, and this is imperative, it all depends on who, and how many, read these daily or weekly or sporadic entries. Figures show these personal slices of daily life are becoming more and more popular.. one woman who found herelf unemployed and living in a car, parking it in and about London, had thousands of people a day logging on to appreciate her particular view on this world. She used public libraries to access the net, and was as faithful as possible in making her cry for help a daily message. One says 'a cry for help', yet others would say this particular journal was more a perspective shared by more than any of us could have possibly imagined..
We are in a different world, wherein each of us has a voice. Would more used it, and even more ingested that which is written.

Now, David Cameron has raised some eyebrows both in his Party, and in the Opposition benches, by presenting a plan for a British Bill Of Rights, similar to that enjoyed by the citizens of the United States. This poses a problem, for there already exists a European Bill of Human Rights, and having one of our own might well lead to conflict between Brussels and Westminster.
Good on him.
Every country should devise it's own definition of what a citizen is entitled to, each according to their particular resources and their particular preferred form of government.
Not to say we all want to be Americans, far from it. But, Rights, legal Rights, should be defined clearly by each separate government in this world of ours.
And it should be the business of each of those governments to come to their own decisions as to the limits and boundaries of it's citizens.
Examine the US. While they are allowed jurisprudence, they allow such institutions as Guantanimo Bay, in the 'interests of national security'. They allow departments the likes of the Homeland Security to do as they will in essence. They allow the confiscation of property, without proof of complicity in any crime, simply on suspicion. Now these extreme measures do not have any effect on most of the populace, but it certainly has on some.
Yet there is a 'Bill Of Human Rights' which dates back to 1778.
One would hope David Camerons plans will be somewhat less draconian, but what they hey, we live in a 'democracy'. We trust our politicians.
Sometimes it would be pleasant to see things the same way politicians usually do, but it's regretfull there's not room enough for both our collective heads up their collective backsides.

Pressure is building on Hammas.. and in far more many ways than one..
Israeli forces have destroyed the Gaza's only electrical plant. They have destroyed several key bridges in an attempt to stop the Palistinians from moving their Israeli prisoner. Israeli fighter planes have even buzzed the summer home of the Sudan's President, which, not surprisingly, has annoyed the Sudanese..
This has all the makings of yet another all-out conflict in the Middle East. One finds it somewhat surprising there has been little in the way of response from Egypt, but that, one suspects, would not be far off..
A non sequitur here. With the impending end of George's tenure at the White House, Republicans will soon be looking for a replacement. It might be considered that Condaleesa Rice might be ripe to be the first woman in the role, as well as the first of black heritage. Such a move would be disasterous. Even if she was to run as the candidate for Vice-President, it would leave what might be considered an unstable person one step away from total control.
While it might seem to be a move that would draw votes to a flagging Republican Party, it would, in terms of political machination, be a terrible mistake.
The US has enough problems at home to deal with, and what it needs at this point, be it from the Republicans or the Democrats, is a leader who will maintain marginal presence in areas of global conflict, but who will concentrate on domestic issues.
We will have to wait and see. Those who truely have their hands on the strings of the marionettes will make their purpose known at their leasure, and we plebians will have no other choice but to wait, and see.

Tank Gunner Gilad Shalid.
Not exactly a kitchen-table name, but one that could well go down in history along with Eduard Princip, as causing a major confrontation, one which could have world-wide implications.
The Israeli's have begun a full-scale assault, with bombers, tanks, and ground forces into the Gaza strip to try and gain the release of this man. He was taken prisoner a couple of days ago, when Hammas operatives tunneled into Israel, killing two Israeli soldiers and absconding with Shalid. Hammas wants the release of Palistinian women and children being detained by the Israeli's, for whatever reason they may have provided.
Iraeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says there will be no releasing of anyone..

This entry should be dated Monday, the 26th of June.. It has been published out of sequence.
An interesting comment today from the former Home Secretary, Charles Clarke..
He told reporters Tony had made a bad decision in sacking him, and that his successor, John Reid, is wrong in saying the Home Office is "not fir for Purpose", while warning him not to jump on any media bandwagons.
Now the interesting point. Mr. Clarke says he will not take responsibility for all subsequent Home Office crises.
What crises might Mr. Clarke be alluding to, and what information has he that has not yet been made public?
Now this might be thought to be the rantings of a politician out of favour, about to be out of a job entirely. But one must pause, for unless Clarke has gone stark raving bonkers, he would not issue a statement that casts such a shadow on Tony, on current government policy, or on what be going on behind the scenes of the elaborate political play the public is meant to watch.
One would suggest there is much being with-held, and there are still many 'dark actors' in this scenario.
Mr Clarke also appeared scathing about Mr Reid's decision to consider introducing a Megan's Law system for dealing with sex offenders in the UK, following the News of the World campaign.
He said if that decision had been influenced by the paper's campaign "then I would criticise it".
"I don't think that's the right thing to do ... The home secretary of the day should not simply be running on the band wagon of some particular media campaign."
He also says he regrets Mr Reid's decision to delay his carefully structured plans for police mergers.
"I think it's wrong to delay it. I think we've got a timetable which was the right thing to do and I don't agree with his decision in that area."
It's always interesting, the pieces of the puzzle that are revealed by a politician who's been gut-punched, and discarded. Especially when it happens here, in the West.
We might expect such from a Balkan State, or the Middle East, but in Britain/USA/Canada?
Doesn't happen often.. and it should be taken note of.

An interesting note here.
The virtually jobless Deputy Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was the man chosen to re-afirm Britains maintenance of it's nuclear capabilities. There will be vast sums spent on refurbishing and modernising the British Trident submarine fleet.. it being our main platrorm for nuclear strikes..
Seems we, along with all the other nuclear powers, want to keep just a couple in working condition.
One can never tell..
It is odd though, that Gordon was chosen to deliver the message. He is an out and out Europhile, and the Unions position on nuclear arms is that they should be universally disarmed..
Kind of rules him out as any sort of serious candidacy for occupancy of No.10, or No.11, should the Labour Party manage to get past the Mulroney-jawed David Cameron.
Tempus fugit..

Ahh.. Tony's transition is not turning out as smoothly as he might have wished. Not at all.
First, we have Police panic reactions to the terrorist threat.. two men arrested, one of them shot, and both subsequently released without charge. Now there's a case for the Courts..
Secondly, still with prisons, the news that 53 lifeers have been released within six years or beginning their terms, prompting Tony to re-examine the legislation on sentencing..
No 10 says a review is under way, but Mr Blair was urged to stop tinkering by the ex-chief inspector of prisons. Lord Ramsbotham, giving the opinion of the House of Lords, said the prime minister should stop making changes to the legal system, saying they caused more problems than they solved.
"I just wish he'd shut up, frankly," he told BBC Two's Daily Politics show.
Meanwhile, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer has defended judges, saying they should not be the "whipping boys" for a flawed system. Typical.
Thirdly, he has lost the confidence of the man on the street, with the Tory's leading in the polls for the first time in more than a decade..
Not good.
And then there's the issue of who will take the reins of the Labour Party once Tony abdicates, and abdicate he will.
This promises to be interesting, with George and Tony on their way out, and no real contenders to replace them.
One can be sure they're smiling in Tehran, Beijing, and Pyongyang..

Now back to the issue of torture, but this time let the focus be on the average Western family, rather than those barbarian states who've been typically branded as uncivilised by we in the superior West.
Lets take the average household in say, Glasgow.
One in lets say Easterhouse, or the Gorbells.
Not recognized by most of those reading this, but they're areas in which the police will not travel alone. In fact, they'll not likely to answer a household complaint without at least 4 or 5 officers, for fear of local reaction.
In these Estates, as they're known over here, child/wife/husband beatings are daily occurrances.
Having said that, the same could be said of any neighbourhood anywhere in this civilised West of ours.
It happened in chat today (and it might be well mentioned that betimes internet chat can be a source of some observational gems..) that it was said 'humans are unique in being capable of seeing undesirable behavior by members of their own species, and may be equally unique in ignoring it...'
We tend to look away from that which we find distasteful, unless it's a behavioral trait of another race, or committed by citizens of another country. We wrap ourselves in a woolen blanket of ignorance and avoidance, while proclaiming our enlightenment and compassion.
Tripe.
It is impossible these days, unless one is completely isolated, to witness in one's own backyard, mistreatment, disinterest, and sickness. It is impossible unless of course, it is more convenient to ignore a situation,and hope, or pray if that's one's preference, that there's a light at the end of the tunnel, an overwhelming force which will make everything just hunky-dory.
That force is within ourselves, and as long as we delude ourselves about that which is common in our own neighbourhood, we will never be able to change that which is commonplace in 'the Third World'
We have no moral high ground.
We are as guilty as anyone, and that means,anyone else.

The etymology of the common word torture goes back to the Latin 'torture', to twist. Thus we have words the likes of torsion, tortuous (as in a torturous effort), and many more which would indicate an extreme physical effort.
Yet it also has another application, that being applied to the human mind itself. Manipulation of peoples thoughts and beliefs can be as difficult to endure as anything which might be done to their physical bodies, and can be far more difficult to redress.
Husbands and wives torture each other universally. Children torture each other almost ritualistically on playgrounds and schoolyards. Those in authority torture their subordinates for the sake of the mere ability to do so. And this, again, is not a practice confined to those countries usually associated with physical abuse, but is present in all.
This is the problem one faces when addressing the atrocity of torture. It is all pervasive, and is indeed a part of our basic animal nature.
It has been said that 'misery loves company', and perhaps the inflicting of such pain is a facet of our intrinsic nature, and in some, leads to an escallation in which physical pain is natural, for either those who are disturbed or for their victims.
We must examine ourselves, and our own proclivity towards sharing anguish, and if we can control such instinctual behavior in our own actions, we may diminish, to some small extent, torture in general.
However, as long as we blindly allow others to make decisions for us under the guise of government or religious leaders, we will continue to allow, if not support, this abhorrent behavior. and vicariously share the blame for whatever might be done in the name of 'security'.
You are responsible for the torture of innocents, as am I.
As long as their are children left in uncaring hands, or prisoners held by suspect governments, or penitents allowing themselves to undergo 'spiritual purification', you and I must accept responsibility.
We know of the problem. We have yet to determine a solution.
But sadly, we, to a large part, have abrogated our accountability, and, in the words of George Bush Sr. and 'The Dude', this will not stand.

The label reads 'Designed in California, made in China'..
The allegations are that i-Pod, in farming out it's manufacturing contracts, has now involved itself in what amounts to, in Western standards, slave labour. The reports continue to say that workers, for the most part women, are paid some $54American a month, but half of that goes towards their housing and meals. They apparently live in dormatories of about a hundred beds or so, and get most likely more to eat than they would were they still in their local villages.
Still, by Western standards, it's a cheap way to make an expensive item.
No argument there.
However, what must be taken into account is, that while these workers are being paid a pittance, again by our standards, it's more than they would make if there were no jobs available, and it's also giving the Chinese the technology to copy this American product, and offering them the chance to eventually flood the market with cheap copies.
China has the second most flourishing economy in the world, right behind India. They have the largest population of any country, and will without a doubt, overtake the West in a matter of decades.
If Western companies continue to use the cheap labour they can, at this time, find in the East, they'll be signing their own death warrants, because being far from stupid, those in the East are taking notes. These lessons they're learning will prove to be invaluable when they begin to dominate the world financial markets.

Now, we were talking about torture.
This practice has a long and continuous history in certain areas of the world, in fact in any country towards the eastern end of the Mediterranian and beyond. In those societies, it's not torture, but a means to an end, a certain means of getting to the truth of an issue.
This in itself is suspect, but more on that later.
However, we in the West are far from being as pure as Caesars wife when it comes to the use of suspect methods of interogation. The CIA, and one would suspect the Homeland Security Department are equally as guilty of using methods which amount to torture to further their own ends. Many a reputation has been ruined by Western security agencies in the pursuit of 'the Truth', and it's not likely they're about to stop when they have the old chestnut of 'national security' to fall back on.
But, let's look at those we normally associate with physical torture.
The Africans, the Middle Eastern States, the old 'Communist' regeme, the Chinese and the Japanese have all been charged with physical abuse to entice a suspect to recant, and implicate all those others involved in whatever plot they're accused of themselves.
Ah. We neglected to mention the Germans, and their methods during the Second World War.
Now wait here. We could list all the countries now extant, and all those which were but have now disappeared, and the same claim could be made. Torture has always been one of the preferred methods of extracting information, and will always be such.
It's deplorable in this day and age, that we should revert to such barbarous practices, but then again, we are limited by our humanity, or lack of it.
As long as there are secrets, there will be those who will steal them. And as long as there are those willing to steal, there will be a sadist or two within the ranks of the wronged who will be happily recruited to stick the bamboo sticks under the fingernails of suspects, and set them alight.
As long as there are factions who have raised themselves to power using brute force, there will be those same feral folk who will deter opposition by dramatically killing or maiming those who would disagree.
It's human nature, and that's the most damning statement that can possibly be made about our species.
We could spend hours documenting incidences of torture, past and present. The point is, that we must spend generations breeding this predeliction out of those among us.
Generations, and even then, there will be sociopaths who enjoy to inflict pain for whatever reason. And there will almost certainly be a government or two who will employ them for their particular skills.
We can report, and report, and report again on human indignities perpetrated by whichever government one might choose, but until we've achieved some degree of mutual goal, on a global scale, there are always going to be those at the receiving end of a lash.
More to follow.

Let's have a word or two about torture.
One hardly knows where to begin, what with all the different types which are perpetrated on a daily basis, from British homes to Middle Eastern jails.. but being there's a case in the news at this moment, concerning three Britons and a Canadian who were held in Saudi prisons for two and a half years based on confessions obtained by physical torture, that might be the logical place to start.
These men, whom the Saudi's claim were part of an 'alcohol turf war', claim they were forced into signing confessions following a series of treatments, which included beatings on their hands and feet, forcible feeding of mind-altering frugs, and being suspended by their arms. These claims have been verified by an independent investigation.
They were granted, back in 2004, the right to sue the Saudi Government for their treatment, but that has been recinded.
Saudi Arabia appealed to the Law Lords, arguing that its officials were protected by the 1978 State Immunity Act. This appeal argued that its officials were protected by the 1978 State Immunity Act, and demanded the British Government itself support the Saudi stance.
After the five Law Lords' ruling, a Department for Constitutional Affairs spokesman said the government "condemns torture in all its forms and works to eradicate it wherever it occurs".
"The intervention in this case is not about criminal responsibility for torture, nor about the UK government's attitude to torture.
"It concerns jurisdiction, and the way in which civil damages can be sought against a foreign state for acts allegedly committed in its own territory."
This is unsatisafactory.
To quote one of the victims, "It's all down to money and oil and planes. Don't upset the Saudis. That's the British government's view."
And that in itself, might well be the truth of the matter.
This, keeping in mind, is only one of many such cases, and we will examine this issue in greater depth.