I am sorry for the earlier triplicate post of 13 CIA due to technical problem with google post, i am sure those with google experience would know that it happens. I am sure many of you will enjoy the triplicate - the silent majority - the only ones to scream are the minority of dissidents, as usual - Laughs ===== A little comment on the one below. Its a "coded message" to the nerds not to be left behind. Guys you get to live only once ... Laughing out loud ... dont hold me responsible for any consequences ... I am only joking ... ===== Ex-minister is convicted in Israel Pressure of scandals could lead Olmert to shuffle cabinet By Greg Myre Published: January 31, 2007
JERUSALEM: An Israeli court Wednesday convicted the former justice minister, Haim Ramon, of sexual misconduct for forcibly kissing a young female soldier in a highly publicized case that has added to the scandal surrounding the country's leadership. Ramon's conviction in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court also prompted speculation that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert might soon shuffle his cabinet. Ramon resigned after he was indicted in August and his duties were taken over by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on an interim basis. With Ramon's conviction, Olmert may seek broader changes in an attempt to re-energize a government dragged down by scandal and criticism of its handling of last summer's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ruling comes a week after the Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, suspended himself for three months while prosecutors considered possible charges of rape and sexual assault. The Justice Ministry said such charges were likely, but prosecutors have not made a final decision. In Israel's macho culture, the prosecution of prominent figures for sexual misconduct traditionally has been rare, but it has become more common in recent years. Today in Africa & Middle East Battle shows strength of splintering militias Ex-minister is convicted in Israel Security and waste swallow U.S. aid to the Iraqis <A HREF="http://ad.fr.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/34eb/3/0/%2a/n %3B20438110%3B0-0%3B0%3B4984133%3B6734-190/90%3B12112130/12130026/1%3B %3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com/products/timesselect/iht/ overview.html?excamp=ts:iht_more" TARGET="_blank"><IMG SRC="http://m.fr.2mdn.net/518758/backup_iht_170x60.gif"; WIDTH="170" HEIGHT="60" ALT="Click here..." BORDER="0"></a> Ramon, 56, was charged with kissing a 21-year-old soldier at a government office on July 12, the day the war began between Israel and Hezbollah. Ramon said the woman flirted with him during an office gathering, and asked to have her picture taken with him. In court, Ramon's lawyers showed a photograph of the two hugging each other as they posed for the camera. In his testimony, Ramon also acknowledged the kiss, but said it was consensual. But the soldier said that Ramon kissed her against her will, and the three-judge panel concurred. "This was not a kiss of affection," said Judge Hayuta Kochan, who read the unanimous verdict. "This has all the elements of sexual crime." Cameramen and photographers swarmed around Ramon as he left the courthouse without commenting. Ramon, who is divorced, was accompanied by his girlfriend. He is to be sentenced in about three weeks, and could face jail time. Ramon has been a legislator for more than two decades and was a leading figure in the center-left Labor Party. When a former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, abandoned his conservative Likud party and created the centrist Kadima party at the end of 2005, Ramon was among the Labor legislators who defected to join Kadima. Sharon suffered a stroke in January of last year, but the new party captured the Israeli parliamentary elections last March. Ramon was once considered a confidant and important ally of Olmert. In another development Wednesday, Olmert has asked security officials to examine the possibility of rerouting part of Israel's West Bank separation barrier to include two additional Jewish settlements, his office said. Under the current route, the two settlements, Nili and Naaleh, are outside the barrier. Haaretz reported Wednesday that Olmert had already approved the change. But Olmert's office said the prime minister had only asked for a review, and on his own could not overturn the cabinet's decision on the barrier's route. If the route is ultimately changed, about 20,000 additional Palestinians would find themselves on the western, or Israeli, side of the barrier, according to the Haaretz report. Israel says the barrier is to protect against suicide bombings and other attacks. But much of the international community opposes the barrier, and the International Court of Justice, in a nonbinding ruling in 2004, said the parts built in the West Bank violated international law. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
![http://m.fr.2mdn.net/518758/backup_iht_170x60.gif"](http://m.fr.2mdn.net/518758/backup_iht_170x60.gif"){kind=link}