SILENCE ABOUT ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS

UAE to have its first batch of women e-commerce specialists by 2003

Panel discussion on e-commerce opportunities for Emirati women

Dubai -December 23, 2002 The UAE is all set to witness the graduation of its first batch of women e-commerce students from Sharjah Women's College (SWC) by mid 2003. In a bid to promote their major branch of study, the level five women e-commerce students organized an exhibition at the college on December 22, 2002 which included a panel discussion and a web design competition for an online college shop where student teams could create a web store linked to the Sharjah Women's College portal. Eight groups of E-commerce and Business Information Technology students participated in a competition to have one of their web sites selected and launched on the day of the event.

Dubai e-Government, participated in the panel discussion to highlight existing opportunities for Emirati women in e-commerce, in order to underline the importance of information technology for business development and its potential to empower women. Emirati women are strengthening their emerging role in the professional and business sectors as they have started taking on additional responsibilities. E-Commerce will help the women to compete and win in an increasingly demanding marketplace because it means improved operations, decreased costs, increased sales and facilitated communication with customers, partners and employees,? said Salem Al Shair, Director e-Services, Dubai e-Government. ?In order to survive and compete on a global level, the women of the UAE need to leverage their qualifications in the important sector of e-commerce and take advantage of new business opportunities and markets.

Dubai e-Government has always supported and encouraged the role of Emirati women in the business arena and our participation in this panel discussion further highlights our commitment,? he added. The panel, addressed by the industry and government representatives discussed crucial issues regarding the opportunities that exist for Emirati women in e-commerce and the challenges faced by them. The panelists included Marwan Al Naqi, Community Outreach Officer, Government Sector, Dubai e-Government; Marwan Al Zarouni, Web Developer Team Leader, Emirates Internet Association; Rashid Al Leem, Director General of Hamriyah Free Zone; Khalid Al Kaf, General Manager for Network Service and Chairman of the e-commerce and e-business committee of Etisalat and Paul Kurucz, Curriculum Leader for e-commerce program at the HCT. ?The globalization of the economy has opened up an exciting range of opportunities in e-commerce that can be exploited by women even from the confines of their home. The government of Dubai has capitalized on this to offer UAE women several opportunities in the areas of business, training, and financing,? said Al Naqi.

We need to encourage the women to come forward to avail of these opportunities so that they can get the maximum benefit from their education. By addressing key issues such as the challenges women graduates face in today's e-commerce work environments, this panel aims to bring such concerns to the fore and work towards offering comprehensive solutions for them.? ?Dubai e-Government has set up several e-Services that enable e-commerce graduates to make full use of their potential. Women e-commerce graduates wishing to set up their own businesses do not need to go to a variety of government offices and stand in line for permits and licences. Most government websites can now be accessed through the Dubai e-Gov portal www.dubai.ae and the women can access and download information, download and fill forms and conduct payment transactions online without having to step out of their homes or interact with various officials,? said Al Naqi. In addition, Dubai e-Government also assists the women graduates to find placements within government organizations by applying through the centralized e-Job facility.

This enables the graduates to post their CVs online into a centralized database and also allows an applicant to view the vacancies that have been posted by all participating government departments. Six educational institutes also participated in the panel discussion including the Sharjah University, American University of Sharjah and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah. ?The global expansion of software and IT-enabled services has broadened the job prospects for women in this field making e-commerce a potential gold mine for women. The field is particularly ideal for Emirati women because they can make utilize their educational qualifications to the maximum without breaking any social barriers or offending cultural norms,? said Ged Ryan, Head of Career programs, Sharjah Women's College. ?The participation of Dubai e-Government in events such as this panel discussion plays an important role in encouraging Emirati women and supporting their efforts to become active players in the e-commerce world.?

The panel discussion will help our students get a good understanding of the practical aspect of e-commerce. We hope to get more support and collaborations with other organizations and propose recommendations on more activities aimed at e-commerce and opportunities for women in the field,he added. Dubai e-Government is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. It also has a vision to integrate individually automated government departments under the single umbrella of the e-government initiative, thus empowering employees across lines of businesses and levels of government, besides facilitating the lives of citizens and customers of the government. Dubai has taken a lead in the region in deploying e-government applications and is among the first few governments in the world to provide such integrated services to its citizens. The e-Government portal (www.dubai.ae) is a single contact point masking the complexity of the bureaucratic procedures, and guiding access to all services in the easiest possible way. In addition, the e-Government initiative seeks to improve and enhance procedures by maximising the benefit from technology, so that users from all walks of life will be able to utilize the portal for their specific needs with considerable ease .(keralamonitor.com)

SILENCE ABOUT ISRAEL'S NUCLEAR WEAPONS

by HASSAN TAHSIN

International politics has a number of contradictions. At present, we
see the United States leading the world against Iran, Iraq and North
Korea because they allegedly possess weapons of mass destruction. We
see the United States at the same time approving the idea of Israel
building a new nuclear reactor. The new reactor will chemically
process uranium and will obviously increase the size of the Israeli
[nuclear] arsenal.

The world is in general agreement with the United States about the
necessity of eliminating weapons of mass destruction. The existence
of these weapons, which includes nuclear warheads, threatens the
entire world. It is not enough to disarm the so-called "axis of
evil." All weapons of mass destruction must be eliminated, including
those of the superpower permanent members of the UN Security Council
[U.S., UK, France, Russia and China].

The idea of disarming is a political and military one developed in
the 20th century. Its main goal was to reduce [nuclear, biological
and chemical] arms, step by step, until they reached a level at which
[these] arms were eliminated. This is a good theory but it is far
from practical reality. With the establishment of the United Nations
after World War II, it was stipulated that the Security Council had
the task of preparing plans and programs aimed at regulating
armaments and their reduction in accordance with certain steps.

If we look at Israel and its weapons of mass destruction, we join
many countries and governments which have wondered why Israel is
always an exception to rules that are scrupulously applied to other
countries. It is certain today that Israel possesses [over 400
nuclear, thermonuclear, plutonium, uranium, fission, fusion, laser,
neutron, hydrogen and atomic weapons of all sizes.] This is confirmed
by published American satellite pictures and scientific reports.
These same reports also indicate that Israel is about to produce
[another] neutron bomb.

Israel also has nuclear bombs which are designed for use from
airplanes. They can be used in battle without fears of side effects.
Israel also has spy satellites which can identify targets on the
ground very easily. In cooperation with the former racist government
in South Africa, Israel conducted nuclear [weapons] tests in 1979 in
the South Pacific. Further information about Israeli weapons is not
available though it is known that some were used for the attempted
assassination in Jordan of Khalid Meshaal, the Hamas member.

Closing the world's eyes to Israel's nuclear arsenal and weapons of
mass destruction can only lead to suspicion and rejection. Since
Israel was the first country in the [Middle-Eastern] region to
possess these weapons, it should be the first to get rid of them.
This is especially true in light of the fact that Arab countries have
agreed to make the region empty of weapons of mass destruction,
including nuclear ones.

The United States is the present 'leader' and it has embarked on a
campaign to eliminate weapons of mass destruction around the world.
If this is carried out [and the U.S. destroys all Israeli nuclear,
biological and chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction
of Israel], then the United States will have done something that will
be remembered in history and which will also increase its political
importance.

In the future, the United States will need no help in collecting an
international coalition because the whole world will support its aims
[of eliminating all Israeli nuclear, biological and chemical arms and
other weapons of mass destruction of Israel.] People around the world
dream of peace and believe in it, and they believe that they can live
in peace together without any war. Unfortunately, this is not
consistent with the ambitions of politicians [in the USA, UK and
Israel].

ESTIMATES OF THE ISRAELI NUCLEAR ARSENAL

1967: 2-13 nuclear bombs of Israel.
1969: 5-6 nuclear bombs of 19 kilotons yield each.
1973: 13 nuclear bombs. 20 nuclear missiles. Israel has developed
a "suitcase nuclear bomb."
1974: 3 nuclear capable artillery battalions each with 12 175mm tubes
and a total of 108 nuclear warheads. 10 nuclear bombs.
1976: 10-20 nuclear weapons.
1980: 200 nuclear bombs.
1984: 12-31 atomic bombs, 31 plutonium bombs and 10 uranium bombs.
1985: At least 100 nuclear bombs.
1986: 100-200 fission bombs and a number of fusion bombs.
1991: 50-60 to 200-300 nuclear bombs.
1992: 200 nuclear bombs.
1994: 64-112 nuclear bombs (5 kg/warhead). 50 nuclear tipped Jericho
missiles, 200 total.
1995: 66-116 nuclear bombs (5 kg/warhead). 70-80 nuclear weapons. "A
complete repertoire" (neutron bombs, nuclear mines, suitcase bombs,
submarine borne).
1996: 60-80 plutonium weapons -- maybe 100 assembles, ER variants,
variable yields. Possibly 200-300 nuclear weapons. 50-90 plutonium
weapons, could well have over 135. 50-100 Jericho I and 30-50 Jericho
II missiles.
1997: 400 deliverable thermonuclear and nuclear weapons of Israel.

Source: The Third Temple's Holy Of Holies: Israel's Nuclear Weapons.
By Warner D. Farr, LTC, U.S. Army. The CounterProliferation Papers -
Future Warfare Series No. 2 - Counterproliferation Paper No. 2 - USAF
CounterProliferation Center - Air War College - Air University -
Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 36112-6427, U.S.A. September 1999.