The U.S.Israel coalitions have been at odds with the Iranian government over Iran’s nuclear program. Diplomatic efforts have soured over the U.S. Israeli belief that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran contends that the nuclear program is to make energy and resents any interference from countries deemed hostile to their cause. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad states that he is willing to talk about the program to anyone except Israel who has keeps “bombs over our head”.

Iran has won support among many Muslim Leaders for his uranium enrichment program. Members whom Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke with included prime ministers from Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey, Malaysia, Egypt and Bangladesh.

Although the meeting held on the island of Bali was to discuss ways to boost economic and political cooperation, alleviate poverty, restructure debt the discussion quickly swayed to Iran’s stand off with Israel and the U.S. “Our people need to do more to help one another,” and that Islamic countries should work together to increase the development of renewable and alternative energy resources stated Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhovono

To add to the complicated conflict an anonymous UN inspector pushed his political agenda by indicating that traces of highly enriched uranium of bomb making quality were found at a research center that works with the military. The statement was quickly rebuffed by an agent from the International Atomic Energy Association who clearly indicated that no such “high grade” uranium was found. He also went on to state that the uranium that was found was well below bomb making quality.

The European Union posted on their websites that their ministers were prepared to support Iran’s nuclear energy program if international concerns could be resolved. Such a decision would further leave the U.S. and Israel at odds with the rest of the world.

Since the years of sanctions on Iraq, and the subsequent invasion that went against the grain of the international community, the U.S. and its close ally Israel have been further alienated from having a dominate opinion in international affairs. Due to the miss information handed to the public through traditional media sources such as CNN (hence the recent growth in alternative news sources) American’s have been in great support of Israel. In blind furry politicians make decisions to support their ally without consideration to the validity, political fall-out or long term ramifications of doing so. Honesty, integrity and forethought should be considered before making international policy.

Someone had perhaps rightly said that serious threat to India comes from within the country itself rather than from outside. Although the above observation was made in a different context, the hulla baloo created recently by the left and, of all major political parties, the BJP over the US-India nuclear deal at it’s final stage, goes on to prove that the above “proverbial” statement is very very true.

It is interesting to know that the much-publicized Indo-American nuclear deal has not been struck over night. It has a three-year-old history. The deal has already been discussed, seriously been examined by the experts and ultimately approved by the cabinet too. The left as well as the right[BJP] both had maintained golden silence over the issue all these years. Now, when the time came to put the final seal on the deal to make it “operational”, the left all of a sudden rose up from the deep slumber, as it were, and threatened to pull out of the Manmohan led coalition government at the center, if the government did not scrap the deal. Not to be cowed down, the prime minister hit back declaring that the deal was as good as final and there is no question of re-negotiating it. Mr. Singh was so disturbed that went on to challenge the left saying that they may quit the government if they show desire.

Sensing an opportunity to topple the government, the BJP soon jumped into the fray and egged the left on to withdraw the support to the government over the nuclear deal. BJP went on provoking the left saying, “it was time for the communist to ‘bite’ and not to bark” alone. Expectedly the left did not take the bait from the BJP. Senior CPM leader Jyoti Basu soon gave a hint that the government will not be toppled, as he ruled any mid-term poll. This perhaps settled the issue for the BJP since that point it had stopped being very critical of the deal. BJP is known for it’s pronounced pro-American tilt. Deviating suddenly from it’s age-old policy only to teach the congress party a lesson has not done any good to it’s “nationalist” image. An over helming number among the followers of the party if believed to be in favour of the deed. So is the case with the followers of the left too.

The deal, as has been certified by the experts, dose not compromise on the nation’s sovereign power. There may be some merit in the left’s concern that some of the clauses in the deal are ambiguous which may not be in India’s favous. But the point is that what these people oppose to the deal, were doing all these years? The deal was presented thread bare before the critics both in India and America for there scrutiny. If there were any objections those should have been put up immediately. Instead of doing that, they left waited perhaps for instructions from china – it’s friend, philosopher and guide. It is perhaps china and it’s nuclear ally Pakistan who feel most uncomfortable as India strikes a deal with Washington in the nuclear area. China already wants to dominate Asia and is eager to perform the big-brother role in the sub-continent. It is never pleased with India’s emergence as a “super-power”. Two counter India’s growth it started assisting Pakistan in acquisition of nuclear weapons ever since India tested its first bomb in 1974 at Pokhran. China and Pakistan have signed a nuclear co-operation treaty. China had clandestinely smuggled nuclear devices to Pakistan even after joining the non-proliferation treaty. It has already earned Pakistan to the hilt with nuclear warheads caring missiles. Arming India’s greatest enemies with arms and ammunitions that can play havoc with lives and properties clearly shows the intention of India’s northern neighbors. But that perhaps dose not bother India’s left brethren.

The Indo-American nuclear deal, if it goes into effect, promises to do a world of good to the nations interest. As soon as the deal is final, the three-decade-old technology sanctions would be lifted. These sanctions were imposed on India in 1974 when its first atom bomb was tested. When the sanctions are lifted the trade in nuclear technology and materials will be boosted. Besides, the deal will allow India to achieve its target of 20,000 MW of power by 2020 AD. To achieve greater growth rate the country badly needs power at a cheaper rate and the nuclear energy is the cheaper alternative to oil and gas. The country has to part with a huge sum in importing expensive gas and oil. Clearing the deal will also make India a “friend” to the nuclear suppliers group and consequently boost up India’s industry and trade. This will also help India fulfill its dream of becoming an economic super power. On the other hand, if the deal falls though china will be immensely pleased, but India will not only be deprived of all the benefits listed above, but it’s international goodwill and credibility will be severely damaged and no country will in future believe in our commitments.

Meanwhile Mr. Manmohan Singh may also be aware of the fact that in the end all the threats spelt out by the left might prove to be empty ones because in the case the present government falls, it will be the BJP which stands to gain most in the by-election and the left will certainly not venture to do anything which will have even the remotest chance to benefit the BJP in any way! So the Manmohan Singh can stay in peace and go ahead with his program to put the final seal on the deal.

Like it or not office bullying does go on and it can be very draining for anyone who is being bullied and life can seem very hard. But what on earth do you do if the person bullying you is your boss? How can you stop them from bullying you, after all they are more senior within the company?

Well, the first thing that you should do is talk to someone. If your company has a union representative then talk to him or her. If you have a Human Resources Officer, talk to them. If all else fails then talk to other colleagues: remember that if you are being bullied, then they may also be experiencing it and someone needs to speak up.

Keep a note of all incidents that you think constitute bullying. Then arrange to see your manager. Due to the fact that this is likely to be very difficult for you it may help to ask a friend or colleague or someone you trust in the company to attend this meeting with you for some moral support.

Outline to your boss what effect his or her behaviour has had on you and ask them to refrain from bullying you.

If this is all too difficult, then you could write an email or a letter to your boss, outlining the effects of their bullying and you also need to tell them either in the meeting, or in the email, that if they do not stop bullying you, you will be taking this further through the internal grievance procedure, or, if you feel that you have no other option but to leave, due to the bullying, that you will be seeking legal advice.

Usually bullying stops after this. But if it does not, then sign up with a recruitment agency, get another job lined up, hand in your notice and cite your boss’s bullying as the reason for you leaving. Then seek expert legal advice as to how to progress this.

Ok, so after we all left school, we move into the workplace and feel relieved that we have left childish things behind us. No more childish games being played, no more bullying, no more nasty little comments made or having to fit in with the ‘In’ crowd. That’s how it works isn’t it?

Well sadly, the answer to that question is a resounding No. Unfortunately bullying takes place in every part of Society and that includes the office. Bullies often prey on people they think won’t answer back or who don’t have the confidence to fight back. They are a bit like birds of prey who pounce on those who are less able to put up a good defence.

Try to avoid getting caught up in office politics or becoming too friendly with the management team: if you are seen as ‘sucking up to the boss’ or participating in gossip and backstabbing, then you can leave yourself vulnerable to being preyed on by a bully. But if you do get ‘picked on’ then you need to take action.

Indeed, the best way that you can ‘deal’ with the office bully is to make sure that you stand up to them right from the start. If they make a small, even insignificant comment, which you think is made to make a point, ask them what they mean by it. If they make comments about the way that you dress, your appearance or even your work, ask them what they mean by that, is there a problem? Do they want to sit down with you and perhaps a member of the management team, to see if you can sort it out?

If you don’t have the confidence to do this, then tell someone straight away if you feel you are getting picked on. If you just put up with it, this will be like oxygen to the bully and they will grow ever more daring. And your confidence will continue to be sucked out of you, until you end up suffering from stress and feeling burnt out. Getting to this stage is bad news, because it means that your chances of getting into another good job are remote and whilst recruitment agencies are very good, they cannot work wonders, so don’t let the bullies get to you in the first place.

Office politics can seem like a harmless activity. After all, isn’t there something fun about standing by the water dispenser having a good old gossip with a colleague? Well, it can seem tempting, but the reality is that it can often turn from harmless comments into full scale bullying. And remember that other people may be talking about you in your absence, so office politics can often be something that is not pleasant and can cause many people to feel stressed at work. Or people find that it gets so bad that they have to leave their jobs in a hurry, desperately taking the first opportunity that a recruitment agency finds for them.

So how do you avoid office politics? Well the best way to avoid getting drawn into office politics is to refuse to be drawn into any politics or back stabbing that is going on. Don’t join in with any comments or impart any confidences that have been told to you. When colleagues try to drag you in and ask for your comment on something, simply smile and say something non-committal and non-judgemental. Eventually they should get the message that you just aren’t into the kind of gossiping and games that they are into.

The office is basically like a smaller version of the outside world so you have good people, bad people, nosy people and in short, all kinds of people who have been thrown together for work. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be bosom buddies with everyone, you can still get on with people, but you don’t have to be the person that the whole office revolves around. Keeping your distance, whilst still being professional, warm and friendly, just not into gossip or talking about colleagues and other staff behind their backs, will help you to avoid the pitfalls that can occur when people engage in office politics without thinking of the consequences.