ME and Ophelia

Saturday, July 15, 2006

 
HMS ILLUSTRIOUS AND HMS BULWARK
"Make ready" for operations off Lebanon

My 18 year old niece is in the Royal Navy, serving aboard HMS Illustrious.

HMS Illustrious

BBC report 15 July 2006:

Defence Secretary Des Browne has given orders for HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark to "make ready" for operations off Lebanon.

The pair will depart as soon as necessary, possibly within 24 hours.

No order for evacuating UK citizens has yet been given, but ministers and defence staff are considering a plan to evacuate those trapped in Lebanon.

It comes as Israel has stepped up its strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah militants seized two Israeli soldiers.

'Contingency planning'

HMS Illustrious is currently in Gibraltar and HMS Bulwark is close to Barcelona in Spain.

The decision whether to proceed with an evacuation plan has not yet been taken and no orders have been given.

Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett said British nationals in Lebanon should make sure the embassy knows of them, to stay put, keep a low profile and take embassy advice as it becomes available.

A Foreign Office spokesman added: "We are also advising British nationals to get ready for departure at short notice if the situation changes including by having travel documents in order."

But a British student in Lebanon, Natalya Adams, told BBC Radio Five Live she was having trouble getting help from the British embassy, unlike American students who had been send texts from their embassy.

"We've not heard anything and the only news I'm getting is from my mum... bugging them from London," she said.

"She's able to get through to the London number and she's the one who's giving me the information on what the British embassy are saying."

Meetings on the evacuation plan are taking place at the Ministry of Defence.

An MoD spokeswoman said the two ships had been given "no specific tasking", but added: "As you would expect we are monitoring the situation closely and are engaging in prudent contingency planning."

"As part of this HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark will shortly head towards the region," she said.

'Planes and bombs'

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said the offensive against Lebanese targets will continue until Hezbollah releases the soldiers and stops firing rockets at Israel.

British student Karen Wild from Sheffield, who is in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, told BBC News 24 that she did "not feel safe".

She said she had been able to speak to the British embassy in Beirut who had told her to "stay put, stay inside" for the time being.

"It is quite unnerving when you hear the planes and bombs coming," said the student of Arabic.

Ms Wild said fellow Canadian, Spanish and Italian students had been evacuated in the past few days.

There are several thousand Britons in Beirut. One who has got out of the city is student Angela Quatermaine, from Oxford.

She told the BBC: "The Lebanese have been so kind and friendly... they have been wonderful getting us out of Beirut."

Referring to the news that the two Royal Navy vessels were on standby, she said: "I don't know how they are going to get here as the port has been bombed... we'll believe it when we see it."

Marines aboard

BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood has said that 24 hours to get ready for sailing would be considered a "short turnaround" for the two ships.

He said that damage to the airport and port in Beirut meant it would be "difficult to get in".

"Any evacuation would be carried out in concert with other countries, led by the US," he added.

Mr Wood said HMS Bullwark had a contingent of 500 marines, which could be used to make beaches safe in the event of any evacuation.

HMS Illustrious has helicopters and fighter bombers on board, which again could be used to aid any evacuation.

British and dual nationality citizens contacting the Foreign Office in London should call 0207 008 1500.
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July 15 2006 PA report at Guardian - Royal Navy sails to crisis area - Earlier, Prime Minister Tony Blair called for "calm" following the air strikes in Lebanon by Israel in retaliation for the kidnap of two of its soldiers.

Speaking at a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr Blair said the most important thing was to support the United Nations' mission to "try and get some restraint" into the situation.

He said: "The only way we are going to get this situation resolved is if we support the UN mission, get some calm into the situation and then as soon as possible - and I want to emphasise how important I think this is for world security - get back in to the road map towards a two-state solution that offers the only chance for stability and peace in the future."

# posted by Ingrid J. Jones @ 7/15/2006 0 comments

Monday, June 05, 2006

 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
From an American blogger

Here is a copy of a blog entry by Casey the Great, a 21 year old male living in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, June 05, 2006. I am filing it here as an example of an interesting way to present facts to people who do not like to spend time reading heavily worded material relating to complex matters and issues.

Stole This From a Friend of Mine... Food for thought

NOW IF ONLY THE MAIN PRESS WOULD PICK THIS UP

Possibly John Glenn's Finest Moment

Regardless of your political views, this certainly gives us all food for thought.

Sen. Glenn was so quick on his feet. When you speak from the heart and with passion, you never know what comes out.

SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID: Things that make you think a little.......

1. There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq during the month of January.....

In the fair city of Detroit there were 35 murders in the month of January.

That's just one American City, about as deadly as the entire war torn country of Iraq.

2. When some claim President Bush shouldn't have started this war, state the following;

FDR...led us into World War II. Germany never attacked us: Japan did.

From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost, an average of 112,500 per year.

Truman...finished that war and started one in Korea,

North Korea never attacked us.

From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost, an average of 18,334 per year.

John F. Kennedy....started the Vietnam conflict in 1962.

Vietnam never attacked us.

Johnson...turned Vietnam into a quagmire.

From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost, an average of 5,800 per year.

Clinton...went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent,

Bosnia never attacked us.

He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three times by Sudan and did nothing.

Osama has attacked us on multiple occasions.

3. In the two years since terrorists attacked us President Bush has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya , Iran and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

The Democrats are complaining about how long the war is taking, but...It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno to take the Branch Davidian compound.

That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence of chemical weapons in Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find the Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick killing a woman.

Wait, there's more......................

Some people still don't understand why military personnel do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty Impressive impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed services do.

What they do for a living.

This is a typical, though sad, example of what some who have never served think of our military.

JOHN GLENN ON THE SENATE FLOOR Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13

Senator Howard Metzenbaum to Senator Glenn: "How can you run for Senate when you've never held a real job?"

Senator Glenn: "I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps.

I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by antiaircraft fire on 12 different occasions.

I was in the space program. It wasn't my checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the daily cash receipts to the bank.

I ask you to go with me ... as I went the other day... to a veteran's hospital and look those men - with their mangled bodies - in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!

You go with me to the Space Program at NASA and go, as I have gone, to the widows and orphans of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... and you look those kids in the eye and tell them that their Dads didn't hold a job.

You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch those waving flags. You stand there, and you think about this nation, and you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?

I'll tell you, Howard Metzenbaum; you should be on your knees every day of your life thanking God that there were some men - SOME MEN - who held REAL jobs. And they required a dedication to a purpose - and a love of country and a dedication to duty that was more important than life itself. And their self-sacrifice is what made this country possible.

I HAVE held a job, Howard! What about you?"

For those who don't remember - During W.W.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney representing the Communist Party in the USA.

If you can read this, thank a teacher....

If you are reading it in English, thank a Veteran.