From Informed Comment blog in the USA:
Israel’s Mega-Fire and Climate Change’s Drying Mediterranean
Posted on December 4, 2010 by Juan
You can’t relate a one-off event like Israel’s massive forest fire near Haifa to climate change, which has to be measured over a long series. But what is true is that more and more such disasters will be faced by those regions of the earth that become dessicated — as a result of changes in weather patterns caused by the rise of carbon particles per million in the atmosphere from 280 in the 18th century to 389 today.
Climate scientists have demonstrated a clear drying trend in the Mediterranean and other sub-tropical regions.
It is ironic that so much blood has been shed on who will possess that forest near Haifa, and Mother Nature just reminded us whose it really is: Hers.
Not long ago, the Israeli government sacked a climate change denialist top bureaucrat. It is to be hoped that the tragedy near Haifa will be an encouragement not just in Israel, but everywhere, to completely end the noxious influence of those anti-science denialists.
The Nazi threat and climate-change denial: here.
Saturday evening, December 4, 2010 — Forty-eight hours after the terrible fire broke out, racists can no longer stop their frustration at not getting what they wanted – a pretext for an all-out assault against the Arab population in Israel (including the Druze) : here.
Shas spiritual rabbi implies fire raging in northern Israel result of ‘desecration of Shabbat’. Haredi newspapers say disaster ‘a warning sign’, call for personal and public self-scrutiny: here.
The fire in the Mount Carmel region is continuing to rage for the fourth straight day. The blaze’s strongest points are Mount Shokef and the Hai Bar nature reserve area: here.
A team of 21 Palestinian firefighters from the West Bank helped to douse Israel’s deadly forest fire at the weekend: here.
The Carmel fire destroyed another layer of the myth that the State of the Jews is a military-technological superpower that should not be trifled with. By Akiva Eldar: here.
At least 42 people have died in fires that swept through the forests on Mount Carmel near Haifa, Israel’s third largest city, ravaging an area of more than 30 square kilometres: here.
Prof. James Hansen battling the specially interested cynics on climate change: here.
Evidence of intensifying climate change grows: here.
Climate denialism in Britain: here.
Conservative White Males More Likely To Deny Climate Change, Report Finds: here.
Our scientist finds apps, websites and books that can change a climate skeptic’s mind: here.
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
Palestinians help to tame huge Israeli inferno
(AFP) – 6 hours ago
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Palestinian civil defence forces have joined the huge international operation to tame the massive blaze ravaging northern Israel, the president’s office said on Saturday.
“The three units of the Palestinian civil defence were sent to assist in extinguishing the fires in the Carmel,” said a statement from the office of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.
The massive fire, which broke out on Thursday morning, has so far killed 41 people and is still raging out of control, prompting an urgent appeal for international help from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Offers of help poured in, including from the Palestinians, with Netanyahu personally calling Abbas to thank him, the statement said.
“President Mahmud Abbas on Saturday received a telephone call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing his gratitude for the help of Palestinian firefighters in putting out the fires raging since the day before yesterday in the Carmel mountains,” it said.
Peace talks between Abbas and Netanyahu broke down at the end of September with the resumption of Israeli settlement building, and it was not clear whether the two men had spoken since then.
Copyright © 2010 AFP
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Uri Avnery
A General Overhaul
The flames shed light on only one accidental part ? the fire-fighting services ? but there is no doubt that a similar situation exists in almost all other departments of the government, from the defense ministry to the education system. Until now, we surmised. Now we know for sure. What was revealed this week for all to see was a shocking landscape of incompetence and inability, irresponsibility and ass-covering, lack of planning and lack of foresight, lack of ?staff work? and lack of coordination between the various government offices.
full text: http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1292075842/
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