The International Waters are not Free

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Tags: lies | Conrol of Oceans | danger | deceipt | International Seas | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Politics | regulation | socialism | SOVEREIGN TERRITORY | U.N.

Uh-Oh, Mel Gibson Redux? "Will Smith -- Hitler, Schmitler; He Wasn't That Bad"

Where are all of the Al Sharpton's, Jesse Jackson's, and talking heads when you need them?

Will Smith -- Hitler, Schmitler; He Wasn't That Bad

On the day before Christmas, a leading Jewish group is kvetching loudly about Will Smith's recent suggestion that Adolf Hitler wasn't all bad, calling it "ignorant, detestable, and offensive." Oy.

And it doesn't end there ...

The Jewish Defense League is calling on Barack Obama to repudiate Smith's comments, and wants theaters to pull Smith's new flick "I Am Legend" from their screens. Smith told a Scottish paper that Hitler "didn't wake up going, 'Let me do the most evil thing I can do today.' ... I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was 'good.'" What kind of meshuggeneh talk is that?!

Smith's words, say the JDL, "spit on the memory of every person murdered by the Nazis. His disgusting words stick a knife in the backs of every veteran who fought (and sometimes died) to save the world from the intentions of Adolf Hitler." Smith's rep could not be reached for comment.

[Ed.note] I have read that Mr. Smith has recently joined the Church of Scientology. Perhaps he needs to join another.

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Tags: Al Sharpton | anti-semitism | CHEAT | deceipt | Hitler | lie | nazis | People | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | stupid | Will Smith

US Readiness for Flu Outbreak "Spotty"- RapidRecon

Putting aside for a moment whether an outbreak of Pandemic avian flu (H5N1) is on the horizon or not, the recent outbreaks in China (where no concrete connections have yet been proven) and in Pakistan (where a small chain of human to human transmission has occurred according to the World Health Organization) raise the concern level.

Keiji Fukuda, coordinator of the WHO’s global influenza program, told Reuters this week that the Pakistan cases probably represent a mix of poultry-to-human infections and human-to-human transmission resulting from close contact when people cared for infected relatives. “We don’t have any indication of a broader health threat, other than poultry outbreaks” in the area, WHO spokesman John Rainford told CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy - University of Minnesota) news today. “Our risk assessment suggests no evidence of sustained transmission. All the close contacts and involved healthcare workers remain asymptomatic and have been released from close medical observation.”

At the same time, CIDRAP is also reporting that the origins of the more recent outbreak in Indonesia in which five members of one family have been infected are unknown (see also from CIDRAP: CIDRAP News story “Possible H5N1 family cluster probed in Pakistan” and CIDRAP News story “Reports suggest common source in family H5N1 cases”

Therefore, despite explanations, there is a possibility that in both Pakistan and China (and maybe Indonesia), we are seeing both human-to-human and bird-to-human transmission. The question of human-to-human transmission, and whether that jump can or will turn into a pandemic has to be considered. In fact, the World Health Organization, in its latest reports said that there is a possibility that the reported Bird Flu in Pakistan might be spreading both from person to person and from poultry to humans. Additionally, the U.S. State Department this week began a series of articles on the bird flu preparations in Vietnam

Vietnam’s Vaccination Effort Helps in Fight Against Avian Flu Vaccinating its highest-risk populations of chickens and ducks has been an expensive and logistically complex effort for Vietnam’s central government, but animal health officials say it has slowed deadly outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among birds in the Southeast Asian nation and, critically, among people. Also see: The State Department’s Bird Flu website is found here, Bird Flu (Avian Influenza) and National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

Why make this point (over and over again)? It’s all about preparedness. Based on a report from Trust for America’s Health (tagged as a “watchdog” group by some local media), “Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,” we remain unprepared. The report indicates that a “number of critical areas of the nation’s emergency health preparedness effort still require attention.” More on point:

Thirteen states don’t have adequate plans to distribute vaccines and antidotes in the event of a flu pandemic or a bioterrorism attack. Among the findings outlined in the report:

● Flu vaccination rates decreased among the elderly in 11 states during the past year.
● Six states cut their public health budgets between fiscal 2005 and fiscal 2006.
● Thirteen states do not have adequate plans to distribute emergency vaccines, antidotes, and medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile
● Twenty-one states do not have statutes that allow for adequate liability protection for healthcare volunteers during emergencies
● Twelve states do not have a disease surveillance system compatible with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Electronic Disease Surveillance System
● Seven states have not purchased any portion of their federally-subsidized or unsubsidized antivirals to use during a pandemic flu
● Seven states and D.C. lack sufficient capabilities to test for biological threats

“There is little doubt that emergency health preparedness is on the national radar,” Levi added. “But until all states are equally well prepared, our country is not as safe as it can and should be.”

All fifty U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) were graded based on publicly available data. The results? Thirty-five states and D.C. scored eight or higher on the scale of ten indicators. Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia scored the highest with 10 out of 10. Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Wyoming scored the lowest with six out of 10.

We are dealing with the potential onset of a naturally borne medical disaster. I believe that it is important to recognize that the question of the “jump” to human-to-human transmission is one that could be “only one mutation” (of the virus) away. This was discussed back in October in The “Next” Step in Bird Flu Mutations. While “some” people may argue that “human-to-human” transmission is not occuring (or at least not yet on a large scale), or even that if an outbreak of H5N1 occurs in the United States, it might not become a pandemic, I blieve that the saying that “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link” holds true here.

[Ed.note] With all the signs of war, pandemics of disease, destabilization, wealth transfer, poverty, inflation, eco-disaster, and a myriad of other problems that we face, it is all too easy to sit-back and watch it all unfold.

Take an activist stand--report it, analyze it, comment on it--here at Now Public. At least for starters; Act Locally, Think Globally.

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Tags: war | avian flu | CHEAT | CIDRAP | deceipt | infections | lie | Now Public | nuclear weapons | pandemic | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Politics | STEAL | WHO

DailyBriefings--Center for Threat Awareness

December 21, 2007 

1. China’s intelligence service gained access to a secret NSA listening post in Hawaii through a Chinese-language translation service.

2. Suicide bomber again targets Pakistani Interior Ministry, kills 50 at Eid prayers in mosque.

3. Belgium arrests 14 in plot to break al-Qaeda 9/11 plotter from prison, security stepped up.

4. Israeli officials say ‘Russia does not want a nuclear Iran,’ yet Russian-supplied nuclear fuel frees Iran to stockpile its own enriched uranium production.

BELGIUM
Fourteen arrested in Belgian terror plot to break AQ 9/11 plotter from prison - Telegraph
Belgium tightens security against possible attack: ministry - AFP

CHINA
China taps into U.S. spy operations - Washington Times
December 1: MI5 alert on China’s cyberspace spy threat - Times Online
US hits at Chinese oil deal with Iran - MSNBC
First Joint China-India Exercises Begin - Defense News

IRAN
Israeli officials: ‘Russia doesn’t want nuclear Iran’ - Jerusalem Post
Russia Delivers Fuel for Iranian Reactor - Moscow News
Iran: Russian fuel won’t stop Iran enrichment process - M&C
US: Iran could revive atom bomb bid due to IAEA inspection curbs - Reuters
Powers fail to reach deal on Iran sanctions - AFP

PAKISTAN
Suicide Bombing at Mosque again targets Interior Ministry, Kills Dozens - VOA
50 die in Pakistan suicide blast near home of former Interior Minister - Los Angeles Times
Backgrounder: Distinguishing Interior Ministry Forces from Pakistani Army - ThreatsWatch
Chronology: Attacks in Pakistan since July 2007 - Reuters

 

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Tags: China | Iran | Iraq | Iraq | Israel | israel | Pakistan | war | CHEAT | daily briefings | deceipt | deceive | ISLAMIC TERRORISM | Islamists | lie | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Politics | Spy | STEAL | terrorism | threats watch

Torture chamber found in Iraq

I fail to see how the United States is responsible for this gruesome atrocity. From Yahoo, via AP News:

BAGHDAD - Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords on the killing floor — the artifacts left a disturbing tale of brutalities inside a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq torture chamber. But there was yet another chilling fact outside the dirt-floor dungeon. Villagers say they knew about the torment but were too intimidated by extremists to tell authorities until now.

Stories such as these — claims of insurgent abuses and the silence of frightened Iraqis — have emerged with increasing frequency and clarity recently as U.S.-led forces push deeper into former extremist fiefdoms and forge alliances with tribes seeking to reclaim their regions.

The reports and tips now pouring in build a harrowing portrait of rule under al-Qaida and its backers: mass graves, ruthless punishments, self-styled Islamic courts ordering summary executions.

Such a lead brought soldiers earlier this month to the hidden room in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Thursday. Graffiti on the building proclaimed "Long Live the Islamic State" — a reference to the Islamic governance, or caliphate, sought in Iraq by Sunni extremist groups that include al-Qaida.

Scrawled in white paint above a bed in the torture area was a Quranic phrase in Arabic normally used to welcome a guest. But the context suggested only sadistic mockery: "Come in, you are safe."

The floor was littered with food wrappers, plastic soda bottles and electric cables that snaked to a metal bed frame, presumably where detainees were shocked, according to the U.S. account of the discovery during a Dec. 8-11 mission.

The rooms "had chains, a bed — an iron bed that was still connected to a battery — knives and swords that were still covered in blood," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top U.S. commander in northern Iraq.

Nearby were nine mass graves containing the remains of 26 people, he said.

Villagers knew about the torture site, but did not tell authorities as they were afraid of reprisals from the militants, a local policeman told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was still afraid of being targeted by extremists.

He said he thought the chamber had been used for a year.

It was not the first such torture chamber discovered in Iraq. But it serves as a reminder of the extremist grip in parts of Iraq despite growing optimism as violence continues to fall.

And Diyala province — where the grisly discovery was made — remains one of the most volatile regions as U.S. and Iraqi forces struggle to match the clear advances against extremists made in Baghdad and the western desert of Anbar.

The province is mixed between Sunnis and Shiites — often called a "little Iraq" and a remnant of Iraq before sectarian bloodletting partitioned many parts of the country along religious lines. Diyala's capital, Baqouba, also is the self-proclaimed seat of the insurgents' caliphate.

"I think that is why al-Qaida wants that province so very much, because it is 'a little Iraq,'" Hertling said. "It gives them access to Baghdad and it also ... is considered their caliphate capital."

American commanders say they are a long way from declaring victory in Diyala.

The weapons caches found during the Muqdadiyah raids included a surface-to-air missile launcher, sniper rifles, and 130 pounds of homemade explosives, Hertling said.

"You know, there's going to be continued spectacular attacks," he said. "Are we confident we can protect it? As soon as I say, 'Yeah, we're confident,' it's going to blow tomorrow."

It was not the first apparent torture site found after U.S. forces moved into former extremist strongholds.

In March, U.S. troops discovered a similar site in the village of Karmah just west of Baghdad that was used by Sunni insurgents for torture and summary executions. They rescued two Iraqi captives, who apparently had been spared immediate execution because the militants' video camera broke and they wanted to film the killing.

The captives told U.S. soldiers they had been sentenced to death by an insurgent court and had the choice of either beheading or a fatal gunshot.

Both Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia death squads regularly torture their captives before killing them — sometimes with power drills. Most of the hundreds of bodies that have turned up in Baghdad and other parts of Iraq show signs of torture.

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Tags: Iraq | Iraq | lies | Al-Qaeda | CHEAT | Cruelty | Culture | deceipt | Insurgents | Muslims | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Shiite | STEAL | Sunni | torture chambers

Support the Iraq Surge? Or Collapse our Position?

An opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal:

I recently spent a week touring Iraq, meeting with American servicemen and women and interacting with Iraqis. What I saw convinced me that the war has changed in both tone and substance since the president surged 30,000 troops into the country earlier this year.

A year ago, sectarian brutality and violence were out of control. Every month approximately 1,000 American servicemen and women were either killed or wounded as they fought to staunch a bloody civil war that to date has killed 60,000 Iraqi civilians.

But now the facts on the ground are entirely different. Sectarian killings, suicide truck bombings, and attacks on U.S. forces and the Iraqi Army and police are down by an order of magnitude. Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been tactically defeated in the streets of Baghdad and in the Sunni stronghold of Anbar Province. Roadside-bomb and rocket attacks (which can be deadly to our troops even when they are riding in armored vehicles) from Shiite militias are down markedly. Border crossings by suicide jihadists from Syria have plummeted. The intelligence picture has shifted from night to day as Iraqis by the thousands come forward to identify AQI and criminal Shiite extremists in their communities.

However, we must decide if this inflection point is real. Is it sustainable as we begin our inexorable drawdown and disengagement from the theater?

There are several profound changes taking place in Iraq. The Sunnis who dominated the country in the Baathist era have come to realize that al Qaeda was terrorizing their own community with a malignant and extremist form of Islam. The Sunnis also woke up to the fact that the Americans would eventually leave -- and they would be soon out in the cold with little participation in an Iraqi Army or police dominated by Shiites and Kurds.

The "tribal awakening" began a separate kind of surge , this one to put Sunnis into the police and the Army. In addition, the Coalition Forces created armed "concerned local citizen" groups that number some 60,000 to guard neighborhoods. These groups feed enormous amounts of real-time intelligence into the counterterrorism forces and provide security.

The Shiite militia forces of Moqtada al-Sadr have also been maneuvered into a ceasefire that is making peace possible in the major cities. This is a fate Mr. Sadr and his gunmen brought on themselves after carrying out attacks in the Holy City of Najaf, which was widely reported on TV throughout the Arab world. In addition, Coalition special forces are effectively targeting both Shiite terrorists and al Qaeda leaders with intelligence-driven raids.

Finally, the Iraqi Army is now coming online with disciplined and courageous units. They are successfully confronting the thugs and extremists who dominate the streets of Iraq. The police, previously a disaster, have been forcibly retrained, better equipped, and most of their senior leaders replaced. Although corruption, incompetence and inadequate equipment are prevalent, in many neighborhoods Iraqi Security Forces now control the streets.

Brilliant leadership by Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker , and a new counterinsurgency strategy combined with the uncommon valor and creativity of U.S. combat forces, have turned the situation around for now. In the coming months we will withdraw all five "surge brigades" and learn if the Iraqis can hold it together. The jury is out because of a weak and sectarian central government run by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a clumsy Iraqi constitution, and continuing centrifugal forces from a bitterly divided and fearful nation.

We need to press our advantage while it exists. The key to winning the war is to massively build Iraqi Security Forces with the equipment, training and leadership needed to maintain internal order and security as we withdraw. Without security for the population there will never be reconciliation in Iraq. In addition, we must recognize that economic recovery is a prerequisite to success. Congress must support programs to rebuild the electrical, oil, transportation and agricultural systems. Our new diplomatic outreach to Syria, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia must continue unabated.

We are running out of time. The American people have lost faith in this war. Some 34,000 of our sons and daughters have been killed or wounded as we've poured $400 billion into the mess. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has begun to heal fissures in the national security process. He is creating transparency with the media, offering respect to Congress, giving initiative to his field combat forces, and leveling with the international community and the American people.

It will probably be two years before we know whether this will work. But there is now a sense of momentum and advantage among our soldiers and our Iraqi allies on the streets of Iraq. And that counts for a lot.

Looks like a pivotal moment in history. We'll see what happens.

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Tags: Iraq | Iraq | war | Opinions | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | surge | SURRENDER

US Military Not Told of Turkey Bomb Plan

I'm not sure what to make of this. From Drudge, via MyWay:

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. military commanders in Iraq didn't know Turkey was sending warplanes to bomb in northern Iraq until the planes had already crossed the border, said defense and diplomatic officials, who were angered about being left in the dark.

Americans have been providing Turkey with intelligence to go after Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq. And a "coordination center" has been set up in Ankara so Turks, Iraqis and Americans can share information, two officials said Tuesday.

But defense and diplomatic officials in Washington and Baghdad told The Associated Press that U.S. commanders in Iraq knew nothing about Sunday's attack until it was already under way.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record.

Their comments follow complaints by Iraqi leaders Monday that Turkey hadn't coordinated with Baghdad before sending bombers to strike targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

It was left to the Americans to inform Iraqi government officials of Sunday's incursion, one U.S. official said.

No problem occurred with a conflict in the air space, but might have as both military and commercial flights go through northern Iraq, the officials said.

U.S. diplomatic officials also expressed irritation that the Turks had not provided them or the Iraqis with advance notice of the operation and said they had made their displeasure clear.

One senior State Department official said the Turks informed the United States of the airstrikes through military channels in Ankara but not until after the first wave of planes was already in the air.

When questioned about the late notification, the Turks replied they were chasing PKK rebels and there had not been time, according to the official.

"They said it was hot pursuit," the official told the AP. "But our message to them was that they need to make sure we're aware of what they're doing and that we find out about it before the guns start firing."

"There are supposed to be coordinating mechanisms for this kind of thing with us and the Iraqis, and whatever happens in the heat of the moment, they have to tell us in a reasonable and timely manner," the official added. "We have told them it would be extremely helpful if they were more forthcoming on the notification."

Dozens of planes reportedly were involved in the incursion, which would be the largest aerial attack in years against the outlawed rebel separatist group. Other reports put the number of planes at a much smaller number.

It was unclear whether any U.S. radar or surveillance systems became aware of the first wave of planes before official notification reached Baghdad."

 

 

 

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Tags: Iraq | Iraq | Turkey | deceipt | Kurds | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | PKK | Politics | rebel | separatist | US Military

Trouble in Hillaryland

What seemed like a sure bet, doesn't appear so anymore. This is no longer speculation, that Senator Clinton's presidential campaign is in trouble--it is fact. From Newsweek of all places:

A senior Democratic senator fretted in a holiday receiving line that "this celebrity thing" could run away with the presidency. It's dawning on the Washington Establishment that their candidate could lose, swept away by a charismatic upstart and a talk show host. Word is even leaking out from Chappaqua and Harlem that the big gun is confiding to who knows whom that not all is not well in Hillaryland.

And whose fault is that? Hillary was doing pretty well on her own until Bill started whining about the boys ganging up on her and the media mistreating her. But that was nothing compared to his declaration that he was against the Iraq war from the beginning. That little bit of revisionist history landed like a live grenade in the middle of Hillary's campaign, exploding a year's worth of positioning to put the Iraq war vote behind her.

The key point the former president seems not to have fully absorbed is that the race is not about him, it's about her. Reporters have taken to counting the number of times he says "I" in his speeches, compared to his mentions of Hillary. He can't help himself. He's focused on his own legacy and standing, and it's hard for him to be in somebody else's shadow. "It makes you wonder what her presidency would be like. If he's second-guessing and undermining her campaign, what would he do to an administration?" says a veteran Democratic strategist who is in Hillary's camp.

Bill's grousing feeds the notion that Hillary, a candidate running on competence and experience, is not really up to the job—and that she'd need to bring him in to save the day. Democrats love Bill Clinton, but too much of him brings back memories, not all of them fond, during a campaign in which change has emerged as the dominant theme. Bill reportedly thinks the campaign needs to be more aggressive, that his wife's advisers were inclined to sit on their early lead—resulting in its vanishing, at least in New Hampshire. But they've also been clumsy in taking on Barak Obama, in my view—making another blunder this week that resulted in the resignation of Hillary's New Hampshire campaign chairman, Bill Shaheen, for dredging up Obama's admitted past drug use. In what looked like one of the oldest campaign tricks in the book, Hillary pollster Mark Penn managed to repeat the charge even as he disavowed its place in the campaign. "It's dangerous for her," says the Democratic strategist. "She has high negatives. She cuts someone else up; she cuts herself down."

There isn't any argument over Hillary's Achilles' heel: the perception that she lacks likability and warmth. The campaign put up two new ads in Iowa this week: a testimonial from Hillary's mother, 87-year-old Dorothy Rodham, who talks into the camera about how she'd want Hillary elected even if the candidate weren't her daughter, and an appearance by Chelsea Clinton in a campaign ad as a backdrop to her mother talking about values. Most voters have never even heard Chelsea speak, she's been so sheltered throughout the Clintons' time on the national stage. But in Iowa the former and possibly future First Daughter will soon be a familiar figure.

With three weeks to go before the Iowa caucus, John Edwards is the one who's smiling. After a stint as the angry man in the race, he's back to his sunny self, and with Hillary sniping at Obama and Obama jabbing back, the gates to victory could open for Edwards in Iowa. Short of winning herself, that's the next-best outcome for Hillary—or so the experts agreed at an election panel assembled Thursday morning by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Analyst Michael Barone assumes Edwards could be stopped in New Hampshire, where he is polling a distant third (and finished fourth in 2004), or in South Carolina, where he is receiving very little evident support from African-Americans, who make up half the Democratic primary electorate. Hillary could survive losses in Iowa and New Hampshire, said resident scholar Norm Ornstein, adding it would be "a triumph of hope over experience," a play on the campaign themes.

It will be very interesting to witness history in the making over the next few months--everything is at stake for our country, world peace and/or war.

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Tags: Iowa | Obama | Bill Clinton | CHEAT | deceive | Hillary Clinton | lie | nominee | Peregrine Financial Group | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Politics | presidential race | trouble | upset

Lovers turn to text message to say it's over

I don't think I am that old, to think that this is not the right way to end a relationship. From Reuters, via Yahoo News:

LONDON (Reuters) - U R dumped -- one in seven say they have suffered the same fate as Britney Spears' ex-husband and been told it's all over via text message or email, a survey said on Friday.

While hiding behind technology might appear a cowardly way of splitting up, it contrasts with the four percent who simply drop all communication with their lovers without notice.

"Most of us send emails and texts everyday, so it comes as no surprise they are now being used to ditch someone -- however distasteful this is," said Rob Barnes from moneysupermarket.com, which carried out the survey.

"The results show one per cent of the population would use a social networking site to dump a partner. It would be interesting to see how this changes as sites such as Facebook and MySpace become more apparent in our everyday lives."

One of the most high-profile victims of dumping by text was Kevin Federline, who reportedly received news that pop singer Spears was filing for divorce while being filmed for a television show.

The survey said 15 percent of the 2,194 people questioned had been dumped by text or email, although a quarter of those in the most tech-savvy 18 to 24-year-old age group would choose the traditional method -- a letter.

[Ed.Note]What a way to go!

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Tags: Culture | dumped | Text Messages

Teen caller tricks White House

You gotta laugh at this one. From Reuters:

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - A teen-ager says he convinced the White House he was Iceland's president and managed to schedule a call with George W. Bush but was found out before he got to talk to the U.S. president.

"My call was transferred around a few times until I got hold of Bush's secretary and managed to book a call meeting with Bush the following Monday evening," Vifill Atlason, 16, told Reuters.

The teen-ager posed as Icelandic President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson when he made the call on Dec 1.

Icelandic police turned up at his door two days later -- the day of the planned call -- and took him in for questioning.

"They told me the CIA had called the National Commissioner of the Icelandic police and asked if the police could try and find out where I received that phone number from," said Atlason.

The teen-ager said he was unable to recall where he discovered the telephone number for the White House.

"I know I've had it on my phone card for at least 4 years now and that an Icelandic friend gave it to me, but I don't remember who," he said.

At a White House news conference Monday, Bush spokeswoman Dana Perino said her understanding was that Atlason had called a public line "that anybody can call," according to a transcript.

Local police confirmed the National Security Unit at the national police headquarters had asked them to bring Atlason in.

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Tags: Iceland | deceived | Olafur Ragnar Grim | People | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | President of George Bush | teen | TRICKS

Sudan, Arab Militias, and China "Strangle" the U.N. Peacekeeping Mandate

by Mia Farrow:

United Nations Resolution 1769 entered the world with promise. The infant resolution was destined to accomplish great things: It authorized the deployment of 26,000 peacekeepers to protect millions of imperiled people in the anguished Darfur region of Sudan.

It was ushered through with no shortage of midwives. Even China, Sudan's closest business partner and ally on the Security Council, signed onto the resolution under intense international pressure. Thus, when it was adopted on July 31, 2007, there was new hope for Darfur's desperate people, and the aid workers struggling to sustain them.

But despite those hopes, violence continues to escalate in Darfur.

The United Nations documents that hundreds of people have been killed in about 20 land and air attacks carried out by the government of Sudan and its affiliated militia in the past six months. Humanitarian workers have also been victimized.

This week, Oxfam's director in Sudan, Alun MacDonald said, "Our staff are being targeted on a daily basis. They are being shot, robbed, beaten and abducted." The security situation, he insisted, "is the worse since the entire conflict began." Seven aid workers were killed in October, according to Mr. Macdonald. "These aren't conditions we can keep working in."

Where has Resolution 1769 been amid all this? Slowly suffocating at the hands of a regime that will stop at nothing to ensure its demise.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has blocked the peacekeepers with every conceivable obstacle. Last week, he rejected the offers of Nepal, Norway, Sweden, India and Thailand to contribute troops. "Even if there is a shortage of troops from the African continent," he said, "we are not going to accept those people."

Resolution 1769 says the force "should have a predominantly African character and the troops should, as far as possible, be sourced from African countries." But predominantly African in character is not the same as exclusively African.

Deadlines for assembling the force have come and gone, thwarted by Mr. Bashir's regime. Khartoum has not given the U.N. mission the land or water access to base and sustain its troops. It places restraints on U.N. helicopter flights. It denies landing rights to transport aircraft. It refuses to allow night flights essential for civilian protection and medical evacuations. It refuses to allow off-loading of equipment in Port Sudan. And it demands advance notice of U.N. troop movements, as well as the right to shut down all communications.

This week, U.N. Director of Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno informed the Security Council that Khartoum's demands "would make it impossible for the mission to operate." Mr. Guéhenno raises the grim question, "Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself, and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations, and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?"

As Resolution 1769 lies dying, the world seems content to look on in silence. The diplomatic pressure needed to end Mr. Bashir's pattern of obstruction is nowhere to be found.

China alone holds diplomatic and economic leverage over Khartoum. It is support from China's leaders that allows Sudan's president to smugly thumb his nose at the world. And yet there has been no outpouring of diplomatic pressure on China to use its influence to end Khartoum's obduracy.

Similarly, the basic logistical support needed to move the force forward is lacking. The commander of the proposed mission, Gen. Martin Luther Agwai, is pleading for a mere 24 helicopters "essential" for security and protection operations, but no nation has offered a single chopper. Zero.

This week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Security Council members and all countries for help. "While helicopters alone cannot ensure the success of the mission," he said, "their absence may well doom it to failure." Mr. Ban has personally contacted every country with the potential to contribute a helicopter, to no avail.

"We are at the critical moment for Darfur," Mr. Ban said. "Member states have spoken clearly about what must be done. It is time for them to walk their talk."

And so a promising young resolution continues its death throes. World powers are standing by mutely watching Mr. Bashir strangle the infant U.N. resolution, with China at his side.

Ms. Farrow, an actor, has visited the Darfur region seven times.

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Tags: China's Complicity | Life | People | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch | Sudanese Government. Genocide | U.N. Peacekeepers | violence

Questions of intelligence

Via the Boston Globe:

FOR 15 YEARS in my various government and parliament duties for the State of Israel, I have been closely tracking Iran's nuclear program. I do so because I consider it a threat to the international community and an existential threat to my country.

Frankly, the headlines about the recent National Intelligence estimate on Iran - "Iran Halted Nuclear Arms Effort in 2003" - stunned me. After a thorough reading of the published parts of the NIE, I pose three questions to its authors, whom I don't know but I do respect.

You wrote, "Iran resumed its declared centrifuge enrichment activities in January 2006, despite the continued halt in the nuclear weapon program. Iran made a significant progress in 2007 installing centrifuges in Natanz. . ." And, "Iranian entities are continuing to develop a range of technical capabilities that could be applied to producing a nuclear weapon, if a decision is made to do so."

If uranium enrichment and development of those technologies continues, what exactly was halted in the fall of 2003?

Two ingredients are mainly required for a nuclear bomb: fissile material and a special explosion device.

The production of the fissile material requires large, easily detectable industrial facilities like the one in Natanz. To develop and produce the weapon device, however, only a small plant is enough, a plant whose size and contours are similar to any innocent laboratory. That is what is called "the weapon group." Only the absolute dismantling of the "weapon group" can be considered as "halting nuclear weapons program." Can you say with confidence that such a laboratory does not exist anywhere in Iran? Is your coverage of Iran so total and intrusive as to justify such a conclusion?

The report said, "We assess with high confidence that Iran has the scientific, technical and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons if it decides to do so." But, you also write that ". . .We don't know whether [Iran] currently intends to develop nuclear weapons." And, "We do not have sufficient intelligence to judge confidently whether Teheran is willing to maintain the halt."

If you don't have enough knowledge about the regime's intention, and that is understandable, how do you know, or will you know, that such a decision has not been taken or implemented?

You wrote, "A growing amount of intelligence indicates Iran was engaged in covert uranium enrichment activity, but we judge that the efforts probably were halted in response to the fall 2003 halt, and that these efforts probably had not been restarted through at least mid-2007."

You say "probably." But your judgment that Teheran had not "restarted its nuclear weapon program as of mid-2007" can be based only on the assumption that nowhere in Iran is there an active covert nuclear program. Are you sure?

According to the NIE, "sometime during the 2010-2015 time frame" Iran would have enough enriched uranium for a weapon. The ballistic missiles that can deliver such a weapon to Israel, as well as Gulf and European countries, are already operational.

We can't wait for answers to my questions. This National Intelligence Estimate, about which there are legitimate questions, may well reduce the likelihood that additional and tougher international sanctions will be imposed on Iran. We would then have to rely on ourselves.

Well, since Iran has proven to be such a "trustworthy" ally of our soldiers in Iraq, we should just believe whatever the Persians tell us, huh?

From CNN:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military Sunday presented evidence it says shows an elite Iranian force under the command of Iran's supreme leader is behind bombings that have killed at least 170 U.S. troops in Iraq.

U.S. officials have made general statements in the past year about Iranian involvement in Iraq, but haven't provided many details.

The charges came at a Baghdad briefing by a senior defense official, a senior defense analyst and an explosives expert, all of whom asked to remain unnamed.

The officials focused on EFPs, or explosively formed penetrators, as evidence that Iran is involved in arming Iraqi insurgents. EFPs can punch through heavily armored vehicles.(Watch U.S. officials outline their case against Iran

The U.S. military officials said EFPs are manufactured in such a specific way that they can be traced to Iran.

Also, the U.S. military says 81 mm mortar shells used in deadly attacks in Iraq can also be directly traced to Iran.

The U.S. military said the munitions are being provided to Shiite groups in Iraq by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds force, which answers directly to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The military officials said a senior operations officer for the Quds force was among several Iranian officers arrested in Irbil, Iraq, in the past few weeks.

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Tags: Covert Nuclear Program | deceipt | destruction | EFP's | enemy | intelligence officials | iran | Iranian-made IED''s | israel | lies | Life | nie | perfidy | pfgbest. pfgbestwatch

Illegal migrants drown off Turkey

People are desperate, around the world, for a better life. And frequently in that pursuit, they lose their lives. From AP via the San Jose Mercury News:

ANKARA, Turkey—A boat carrying illegal migrants sank off Turkey's Aegean coast and at least 43 died, an official said Monday.

The 50-foot boat sank in rough weather late Saturday off the coast of Seferihisar, a town south of the city of Izmir, said Gov. Orhan Sefik Guldibi. Six migrants were rescued and hospitalized, mostly for shock.

Citing survivors, the Coast Guard said a total of 85 people were on board.

Dogan news agency said earlier that 51 people had died, but a local official disputed that report. Ercan Dogu, an official from the Izmir governor's office, said a miscommunication between police and paramilitary police had resulted in conflicting fatality reports.

Dogu said a final count late Monday afternoon showed 43 dead, including two women.

"We are trying to keep our hopes alive but the possibility of more survivors is diminishing," Guldibi said.

"Boats and helicopters are searching for more migrants in the sea," Guldibi said. "Because of the strong wind, we think the bodies should be closer to the coast than where this boat sank. But they are searching far off the coast as well."

The survivors, who stayed afloat by wearing inflated inner tubes around their waists, swam to shore late Sunday and shouted for help, according to Guldibi. Residents heard their shouts and called the police.

The migrants were mostly Palestinians, Somalis and Iraqis, Guldibi said.

The passengers met up in Izmir Saturday

evening and were taken to the coast from where they boarded the boat in the dark. The vessel capsized around two hours after setting sail, Guldibi said.

Strong winds and rough seas hampered rescue work, private NTV television reported. Rescuers were also searching areas close to the Greek island of Chios for bodies, the report said.

Thousands of immigrants from Asia and Africa enter Turkey illegally on their way to European Union countries in search of jobs and a better life. Smugglers often take the migrants from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands on fragile and overcrowded boats, and accidents are common.

The EU, which Turkey wants to join, wants the country to crack down on illegal immigration.

EU-member Greece, which has an 8,000-mile coastline dotted with thousands of islands, has accused Turkish authorities of not doing enough to halt the flow of illegal migrants.

Turkey has increased patrols along its Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, but boats still get through.

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Tags: Turkey | EU | Greek Islands | Illegal migrants drown off Aegean coast | Overcrowded Boats | People

Healthy Ways to Use the TV and Computer

As a former competitive swimmer and surfer, I learn tremendous health information from the amazing professionals at Iowa Avenue:

In general, we have become a group of people who watch too much television, “Surf the Internet,” play videogames or, just “chill” with our friends.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing; but if it becomes too much, your personal physical fitness suffers, and that’s not a good thing.

On average, Americans watch between 3-5 hours of TV per day. The video and gaming industries are reaching untold masses of youth and other people—distracting them from other activities—especially physical fitness.

That perpetuates a sedentary lifestyle. Being sedentary tends to perpetuate. You go to work, or school, you want to check your email, watch the latest “hot show” or play that newest video game. But, guess what:

Inactivity breeds more inactivity.

I enjoy watching TV, but I don’t watch it too often. I love Project Runway and Top Chef; I watch some news, and once in a while, a movie. I reserve time in my schedule for my favorite programs, so it’s a time for me to relax.

Do you use TV viewing as a time to relax? Or do you use it as a time to eat? Have you substituted more sustained or regular physical, interpersonal, or productive activity in lieu of the time spent on all of these wonderful new fun gadgets?

Let’s face it—they are addictive and necessary in today’s faced paced environment. It’s probably not realistic to not check your email or use your TV or Computer on a daily basis. And if you did, how long might that last?

Food for thought.

On that point, if you are watching too much TV, or spending an inordinate amount of time on the PC or Internet, chances are, you are not getting enough exercise, or keeping other lifestyle options open for yourself.

Let’s tackle these one at a time.

Many people like to eat or “munch” while sitting at the PC or watching television. This is definitely a huge problem for people trying to lose weight, because most of the time that type of eating is based on “boredom” rather than hunger need.

Usually, the typical TV/Internet/Video Game diet consists of junk food-- potato chips, corn chips, high fat popcorn, cookies, or candy. Perhaps even Pizza and beer!

Might I suggest a few other alternatives?

1. Try low fat popcorn. It’s just as good as the high fat ones, but obviously much less fat and calories.

2. If you want eat during these activities, try a healthy snack. How about some baby carrots or some fruit? How about nothing until you sit down for a meal?

I know the idea of eating a healthy snack has been incessantly drummed into our collective ears, over and over and over, but we still fail to heed the advice and certainly don’t act upon it……………….:(

3. While watching TV, try to start a hobby, like knitting, crocheting, etc. You’d be surprised how much “work” you can get done on a project while watching TV. Before I started Iowa Avenue, I completed entire sweaters while watching TV.

4. Why not write a blog post for Iowa Avenue? It’s not too hard to watch TV and write, although, sometimes you might lose your concentration on one or the other, usually the TV. Hey, it’s just a suggestion………………..:)

5. Do some stretches. Small movements, while sitting in your chair, or stretching out on the floor can have long term effects. This community wiki site says it better than I could, so just substitute TV for “Computer”:

How to Exercise While Watching TV

For more suggestions, try this link:

How to Exercise While Sitting at Your Computer

6. Of course there is one more suggestion, don't eat anything at all.

Now, you have a few tools in your arsenal for better TV, computer use, and potentially “video gaming” viewing.

What are you “weighting” for?

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle

Who knew? You can write a story for Now Public, and keep active at the same time.

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Tags: 120calories | dieting | food density | healthylifestyle | iowa avenue | Life | sofwareapplication | starving | weight1minute

Vigilante Justice - Megan's Law listing may have led to Slaying

Interesting story about the Internet, Megan's Law, privacy, and Vigilante justice. Does the story from the LA Times, raise more questions than it answers?

Lake County prosecutors have investigated the possibility that information in the Internet database might have been the motive for the killing of a convicted sex offender.

LAKEPORT, CALIF. -- Convicted rapist Michael A. Dodele had been free just 35 days when sheriff's deputies found him dead last month in his aging, tan mobile home, his chest and left side punctured with stab wounds.

Officers quickly arrested Dodele's neighbor, 29-year-old construction worker Ivan Garcia Oliver, who made "incriminating comments, essentially admitting to his attacking Dodele," the Lake County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Prosecutors said they have investigated the possibility that the slaying of Dodele, 67, stemmed from his having been listed on the state's Megan's Law database of sex offenders. If so, his death may be the first in the state to result from such a listing, experts said.

Oliver pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, burglary and elder abuse when he was arraigned Nov. 30.

In a jailhouse interview Wednesday night, Oliver said he has a son who was molested in the past, and he took action to protect the child.

"Society may see the action I took as unacceptable in the eyes of 'normal' people," Oliver said. "I felt that by not taking evasive action as a father in the right direction, I might as well have taken my child to some swamp filled with alligators and had them tear him to pieces. It's no different."

Although Oliver did not say he killed Dodele, he said that "any father in my position, with moral, home, family values, wouldn't have done any different. At the end of the day, what are we as parents? Protectors, caregivers, nurturers."

In fact, Dodele was not a child molester. But a listing on the Megan's Law website could have left Oliver with the impression that he had abused children because of the way it was written.

Although Dodele's listing has been taken down since his death, a spokesman for the state attorney general said the site described the man's offenses as "rape by force" and "oral copulation with a person under 14 or by force."

"He was convicted of other bad things, but nothing involving a minor," said Richard F. Hinchcliff, chief deputy district attorney for Lake County. But "it would be easy to understand why someone might think so looking at the website."

Dodele's crimes involved sexual assaults on adult women, records show.

A neighbor at the Western Hills Resort & Trailer Park, a tattered collection of mobile homes and bungalows, said that two days before the killing, Oliver "told every house" in the park that he'd found Dodele listed on the website of convicted sexual offenders and was uncomfortable living near him.

[Ed.note] The Deputy District Attorney's comments are interesting. If something is perceived by law enforcement as not truthful, then it it the government's responsibility to reverse that reality. Even if the people affected are admitted sex offenders. Two wrongs never make a right.

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Tags: child abuse | Culture | lie | Megan's Law | murder | pfgbest | pfgbestwatch | sex offender | VIGILANTE | wrongheaded

Breaking News: UK PRIME MINISTER TELLS TROOPS: WAR IS OVER

From the Sun UK via the Drudge Report:

Gordon Brown yesterday delivered a stirring festive message to Our Boys in Iraq: “Happy Christmas – war is over.”

The PM was cheered as he praised UK troops and revealed combat operations in Basra will end “within two weeks”.

Iraqi forces will take over as the 4,500-strong British force switches from front-line duties to a training role.

By early next year, our contingent in Southern Iraq will be cut to 2,500 – and may be withdrawn completely in March.

The PM broke the good news in a flying visit to Iraq.

He landed at the Army’ s base at Basra airport in darkness in an RAF Hercules transporter plane.

Minutes later he spoke to Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki.

He then gave a rousing speech to 300 squaddies after shaking hands with them all.

To warm applause, he told them the region – the last under British control in Iraq – would be handed back to the Iraqis in a fortnight.

He said: “The Prime Minister of Iraq has asked me to pass on his thanks to you for helping to rebuild the democracy of Iraq.

“This is because of the operations over the last month that you have been involved in.

“The security situation has not only improved, but he is able to tell me he will now be recommending a move to a provisional Iraqi control within two weeks.

“Iraqis can take far more control of their country.”

Mr Brown quoted Sir Winston Churchill and Field Marshal Montgomery as he thanked Our Boys for their “courage and bravery”.

He said: “The British people are so grateful for all you do . . . we are incredibly proud of what you have done. The whole British people are proud of everything you achieved here “Thank you very much and Happy Christmas to you all.” 

Since Our Boys withdrew from Basra’s city centre and palace to the airport a few miles away back in September attacks on them have fallen by 90 per cent.

They have been helping to train 30,000 police and armed forces during rebuilding operations.

It is thought they will only be recalled to the front if there is a major post-handover incident coupled with a direct plea from Iraqi generals.

Several hundred may be stationed in neighbouring Kuwait early next year.

Before flying out, Mr Brown insisted five Brits kidnapped in Iraq’s capital Baghdad in May must be freed immediately.

The kidnappers warned last week the men will be killed unless troops are withdrawn, but Mr Brown said he would not be forced into changing his policies in the country.

He added: “The taking of hostages is completely unacceptable. We are demanding the immediate release.”

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Tags: Iraq | Iraq | war | Basra | controversy | England Withdraws from UK Troops | Gordon Brown | Life | pfgbest | pfgbestwatch