Afghan President Hamid Karzai has a slight lead over his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, with 10 percent of the votes counted in the Aug. 20 presidential election, the Independent Election Commission said.
Karzai has about 40 percent of the ballots counted so far, and Abdullah, his former foreign minister, has some 36 percent, the commission said at a press conference in Kabul today. If no candidate gets an outright majority of 50 percent or more, a runoff vote will be held.
...
Karzai won election in 2005 with 55 percent of ballots and has seen his popularity decline since then. Two opinion surveys conducted last month by U.S.-based research groups indicated he would get 40 to 44 percent of the vote.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2009 16:38 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] The head of an Islamic group in Nigeria raided by police last week has denied any links to the Boko Haram sect that started a deadly clash with the government in early August.
Police have said the crackdown on the group, which had formed a base by the name Darul Islam, and the subsequent arrest of more than 700 residents were a precautionary measure after the bloodbath in the north.
Although searches revealed no weapon caches, some 500 members, including the group's chief, remain in custody and other residents of the Darul Islam base --nearly 2,000 people-- have been relocated to a school and are under constant watch, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported.
According to IRIB, the detained head of Darul Islam group Bashir Abdullah told his voluntary lawyers that the group has no links to Boko Haram, and only wants to live under Islamic law.
He added that they had chosen the western state of Niger in order to be able to abide by Islamic laws.
State officials, however, maintained their stance on Monday, saying that dozens of its members had been deported to avert any repeat of violence.
Some 50 lawyers have so far volunteered to defend the detainees.
The conflict with Boko Haram, which the Abuja refers to as 'Nigerian Taliban,' spread to four states and left more than 800 people dead in the Muslim-majority north.
Clerics in the region censured the government for delay in dealing with the group, which they said they had warned was growing into a threat.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] A state prosecutor in Abu Dhabi claimed Monday that an American man on trial in the Emirates had ties to a group backed by al-Qaeda in Iraq.
The allegations were the first specific details made public against Naji Hamdan, who was arrested last year on terror-related charges and who had claimed he suffered beatings and other abuses from Emirates security agents.
The prosecutor told a judge that Hamdan -- a U.S. citizen of Lebanese origins -- had direct links to Ansar al-Sunnah, which is one the Sunni insurgent factions associated with al-Qaeda in Iraq. The prosecutor offered no further evidence, but said investigators have copies of Internet communications allegedly written by Hamdan.
The prosecutor's name was not released by the court, citing security risks.
Hamdan, 43, attended the court session but did not speak before the presiding judge, Mohammed Yousri. The next session in the trial is scheduled for Sept. 14.
The American Civil Liberties Union has accused U.S. authorities of pushing the case in the Emirates because they lack enough evidence for American courts. The ACLU had filed a request for U.S. courts to step in and order U.S. authorities to call off the case.
But U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled earlier this month that he doesn't have the authority to interfere in a foreign criminal prosecution.
In June, Hamdan denied the charges against him and said he signed a confession because he was tortured. UAE officials have never commented on the allegations.
The U.S. Embassy in the UAE has declined to comment on the case except to say that Hamdan has been given consular support.
Hamdan moved to the U.S. as a college student, became a citizen and ran a successful auto parts business in the Los Angeles area. He also was active in the Islamic community.
He said the FBI began questioning him about whether he had terrorist ties in 1999. He decided to move his family back to the Middle East in 2006 after living in the U.S. for 20 years.
He was arrested in August 2008 and claims he was subjected to beatings, threats to his family and verbal abuse. He wrote in a note that he believes an American was present for at least some of the questioning.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran called on Monday for a political solution to fighting in Yemen, days after a Yemeni government official implied Iranian involvement in a Shiite Muslim rebellion in the Arab country's north.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi also said that Iran saw the rebellion as an internal issue and that it had always respected Yemen's territorial integrity and sovereignty.
"We believe the issue ... is Yemen's internal issue and we think there should be a political solution. Bloodshed cannot help solve the problems there," Qashqavi told a news conference.
And they'll be happy to dictate help with the terms ...
" We believe the issue ... is Yemen's internal issue and we think there should be a political solution. Bloodshed cannot help solve the problems there "
Hassan Qashqavi, Iranian Foreign Ministry
On Sunday, government forces reported more than 100 rebels killed as battles intensified in northern Yemen two days after the government urged a ceasefire, although a rebel spokesman disputed the claim.
Yemeni forces have used air strikes, tanks and artillery in an offensive described by officials as an attempt to crush the revolt. The rebels are adherents of the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, a tribal minority in Yemen.
Last Tuesday, a Yemeni government spokesman said the rebels were receiving financial support from abroad, strongly implying Iranian involvement.
Qasqavi said: "We have always respected Yemen's territorial integrity and national sovereignty and we want to see peace, stability and calmness in that country."
He added, in comments translated by Iran's English-language Press TV: "What propaganda or media say, that's not true."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#2
"Bloodshed cannot help solve the problems there"
"Thats cause its Shiites rebelling in Yemen. When Sunnis rebel in Iranian Baluchistan, or Arabs in SW Iran, or Kurds in NW Iran, bloodshed is the ONLY way to solve the problem"
Posted by: liberal hawk ||
08/25/2009 10:52 Comments ||
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[Bangla Daily Star] A Dhaka court yesterday asked two Harkatul Jihad (Huji) operatives to explain by August 30 why their bails would not be cancelled in the August 21 grenade attack case.
Judge ANM Bashir Ullah of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after the prosecution submitted a petition for cancellation of the bail in the murder case.
The Huji men are Munshi Mohibullah, brother of Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan, and one of his accomplices Arif Hassan Sumon.
The grisly grenade attack was on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004 that left 23 people including AL leader Ivy Rahman dead and 300 others injured.
The next day, two cases were filed--one for murder and the other for blasting grenades on the rally.
Earlier on August 12 judge Masdar Hossain of the Speedy Trial Tribunal-1 granted bails to them on grounds that they didn't have direct involvement.
Moving the petition filed on Sunday, Chief Prosecution Counsel advocate Syed Rezaur Rahman told the court yesterday that the members were directly involved and they had confessed to magistrates.
The judge fixed August 30 for next hearing.
During the hearing on the petition the accused were present in the court with their lawyers.
Second Additional Metropolitan Sessions Judge Fozila Begum had fixed the same date for hearing on the petitions for cancellation of the bails in the case under the Explosive Substances Act.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Gordon Brown is under growing pressure to speak out about the release of the Lockerbie bomber as Scotland's Justice Minister fights for his political life. Wotcher, Gordon?
There is mounting anger both at home and in the U.S. at the Prime Minister's silence over the decision to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi. "Well, naturally I'm... ummm... errr..."
The Tories accused Mr Brown of adopting a 'cowardly silence' and the Liberal Democrats said it was 'absurd and damaging' not to speak up. American consumers are now being urged to boycott British and Scottish exports and holiday in Ireland instead of the UK. Don't worry about it, Gordon. A month or two and they'll have forgotten...
Buckingham Palace this afternoon confirmed that Prince Andrew has cancelled a trip to Libya he had scheduled for early next month. The Duke of York was due to represent Britain at celebrations marking 40 years of Colonel Gaddafi's rule but has now withdrawn from the event in light of the Lockerbie row. 40 years of Qadaffy. Now that's something to celebrate.
And security sources fear counter-terrorism co-operation with the U.S. could be at risk after the head of the FBI said Megrahi's release was a 'mockery of justice'. The 'special relationship' is also under fresh strain over new allegations linking UK trade interests with freeing Megrahi. It's kinda hard to trust folk who'll sell you out at a moment's notice, especially to somebody like Muammar.
Opposition MPs have demanded records of all meetings between ministers and the Libyan regime to see if the claims have any foundation. Like the one Gordon referred to in his "dear Muammar" letter?
Megrahi was sent home to Libya last week, where he was given a hero's welcome, after being released on compassionate grounds because he has terminal cancer. But despite the controversy, Mr Brown has yet to make any public comment about the move which has led to warnings of 'payback time' from the U.S. He's wondering what else is gonna fall into the public record...
In a bid to quell the row, Downing Street today insisted Mr Brown had already made his feelings plain and expressed his dismay at Libya's reaction to Megrahi's release. 'He found the scenes at Tripoli airport thoroughly distasteful and fully supports what the Foreign Secretary and Alistair Darling have said, and will continue to work with the Libyans to ensure that those things are not repeated,' his official spokesman said.
This article starring:
Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Tony Blair now looks like the model of bedrock principles. Nice going Gordo, feckless POS
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2009 0:09 Comments ||
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#2
Anyone else but Obambi in the White House and I would worry about "payback time". Instead, he'll probably just apologize for...something.
The Libyan authorities broke their promise not to hold celebrations for the return of the Lockerbie bomber, the Scottish Justice Secretary said today. Whoa. Lied to you, did they? That's never happened before, has it? What will they buy next, charity from a banker?
Kenny MacAskill was speaking at the start of an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, which was recalled for MSPs to debate his decision last Thursday to release Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. "Hoot, laddie! Yon horrrse is gone! Shouldna wee be lockin' the barrrn?"
America has responded with outrage to the release and to the scenes of jubilation that ensued in the Libyan capital when al-Megrahi arrived back in his homeland. Relatives of some of the 189 US victims said that the hero's welcome given to al-Megrahi, who is suffering from prostate cancer, had caused them renewed pain and there were calls from the US for a boycott of Scottish goods in retaliation. "Roger! We're boycotting Scottish goods! Wal-Mart will no longer carry cabers!"
"Yes, Mr. Walton!" EXPERT VIEW
In words which may come back to haunt him, MacAskill said he released al-Megrahi 'without reference to political, diplomatic or economic considerations'. "In fact, I didna think at all!"
"It is a matter of great regret that Mr al-Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner," said Mr MacAskill. "It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie. "Not to mention m' political carrreerrr!"
"Assurances had been given by the Libyan Government that any return would be dealt with in a low-key and sensitive fashion. Advance notice of my decisions was given to the UK and US Governments so that they could seek similar assurances. "However my decision was made following due process and according to the law of Scotland. I stand by the law and values of Scotland." Mel Gibson would be turning over in his grave if he was dead.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"However my decision was made following due process and according to the law of Scotland. I stand by the law and values of Scotland."
I think this was a misattributed Arlen Specter speech
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2009 0:10 Comments ||
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#2
"It is a matter of great regret that Mr al-Megrahi was received in such an inappropriate manner," said Mr MacAskill. "It showed no compassion or sensitivity to the families of the 270 victims of Lockerbie.
Whaddaya know. Maybe they had none to begin with? Or are we going to witness the masses rising up to lynch the few extremists among them?
[OK, cue the crickets!]
[Also: My apologies to Al Sharpton for using his reserved word]
[Kyodo: Korea] North Korea has proposed holding a summit with South Korea, a Seoul daily reported Monday. The proposal was made when a group of senior North Korean envoys met President Lee Myung Bak on Sunday, the Chosun Ilbo cited an anonymous South Korean official as saying.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Ma'an - Despite Israel's explosive reaction to its first story that alleged soldiers had "harvested" organs from Palestinian detainees, a leading Swedish tabloid ran a second article in its Sunday edition.
The Swedish daily Aftonbladet made similarly bizarre accusations in its follow-up story, quoting family members who claimed a 19-year-old Palestinian's organs were removed from his body following the teen's death in 1992.
Relatives of the Palestinian, identified as Bilal Ahmad Ghanem from the northern West Bank, said the body was returned days after his shooting death with a scar running from his neck down to his abdomen. Bilal's mother speculated that the scar was evidence of foul play.
"It was the middle of the night. The soldiers caused an electrical power outage in the entire village. Bilal was returned in a black bag; he had no teeth. The body was stitched from the neck all the way down to the abdomen," the mother said, according to the paper.
Family members also said the military demanded they pay 5,000 Israeli shekels (about 1,300 US dollars) for the boy's body, and that it was eventually returned about a week later.
While the first article was not taken particularly seriously, the Israeli government and many leading officials condemned the report as a "blood libel" against Jews, in general, rather than the soldiers accused in the report. Israel's foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, declared that the article reminded him of Sweden's neutrality in World War II, and its alleged indifference to the Jewish Holocaust.
"It's a shame that the Swedish Foreign Ministry fails to intervene in a case of blood libels against Jews. This is reminiscent of Sweden's stand during World War II, when it failed to intervene as well," Lieberman said, according to the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
"The Swedish government crossed a red line when it did not condemn the article," added Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "We do not want the Swedish government to apologize, we want it to issue a condemnation."
Other Israeli ministers expressed their outrage, including Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who said Swedish officials refusing to condemn the article "may not be welcome in the State of Israel," according to The Jerusalem Post.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai said he would prevent the tabloid's reporters from receiving work permits in Israel, while Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog urged Israeli officials to take legal action against the paper, the Post reported.
In Sweden, representatives of the country's pro-Israel groups urged Israeli officials to calm down.
"The calls from the Israeli government to the Swedish government to distance itself from or to comment on the article, for me are difficult to believe and don't help the relations," said Gunnar Hokmark, president of the Swedish-Israel Friendship Association.
Hokmark added in an interview with the Post, "Making the article a conflict between the two governments, as I see Lieberman doing, to me is unwise. And I'm saying this as a strong friend of Israel."
Meanwhile, Aftonbladet's chief editor, Jan Helin, rejected Israeli claims that he or his paper were motivated by a hatred of Jews, rather than the specific allegations made in the report.
"I'm not a Nazi. I'm not anti-Semitic," wrote Helin in an op-ed published on Sunday. "I'm a responsible editor who gave the green light to an article because it raises a few questions."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Looks like they figured out that you can't buy this kind of publicity.
Well, even beyond any rampant PC doxa, the local lefties do their part, at least (asking for autonomous zones for Youths, outside of the reach of the Racist™ Powers-that-be!
Stuff that won't get reported on the evening news. The relevant excerpt:
Detainee reporting has helped thwart a number of al-Qaeda plots to attack targets in the West and elsewhere. Not only have detainees reported on potential targets and techniques that al-Qaeda operational planners have considered but arrests also have disrupted attack plans in progress," the report said.
It describes how interrogations of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed yielded information about al-Qaeda's attempts to obtain anthrax and crash commercial airplanes into London's Heathrow Airport. It says that other detainees, when confronted with information learned from Mohammed, revealed more about the plots and members of al-Qaeda.
One of the documents on Mohammed titled "Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Preeminent Source on al-Qaeda," noted that he was the most valuable source of information on the terror network. The report notes that the planner of 9/11 was forced to rethink second-wave attacks he envisioned after 9/11 because of increased security efforts in the United States. "KSM stated that he had planned a second wave of hijacking attacks even before September 2001 but shifted his aim from the United States to the United Kingdom because of the United States post-11 September security posture and the British government's strong support for Washington's global war on terror," the report noted.
The CIA report states that Mohammed "dramatically expanded our universe of knowledge on al-Qaeda plots Â… [and] leads that assisted directly in the capture of other terrorists including Jemaah Islamiyah leader Hambali."
The report on detainee information says that information learned from interrogations of al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah revealed plots against "targets abroad and in the United States – including the White House and other U.S. symbols."
Zubaydah was the first senior member of the group to be captured in March of 2002.
The report describes gaining "invaluable insights" into "al-Qaeda's current organization, the personalities of its key members, and al-Qaeda's decision-making process. His reporting has contributed to our understanding of the enemy, how al-Qaeda members interact with each other, how they are organized, and what their personal networks are like."
The report describes how intelligence from detainees revealed al-Qaeda's inner workings, including its hierarchy and financing. "Detainees have been particularly useful in sorting out the large volumes of documents and computer data seized in raids," one section said. It later describes how one tip from an interrogation was able to pry open other sources to reveal more information.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2009 08:48 ||
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#1
I think this will be another blow out. This whole CIA "scandal" is a Johnny Cochrane "look at the monkey" defense ala South Park. Stay focused on healthcare reform. The CIA knows how to look after it's own.
[Geo News] UN team investigating the assassination of former prime minister Ms. Benazir Bhutto visited Benazir Shaheed Hospital Rawalpindi and checked the record relating to the first medical aid given to Ms. Bhutto on December 27, 2007. In this regard the UN team received briefing from Prof. & Surgeon of the hospital Dr. Musaddiq. The team also visited the space in the hospital where Ms. Benazir Bhutto was provided the medical treatment. During briefing all the hospital staff was present that provided medical aid to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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A local court has declared defunct outfit Lashkar-e-Islam (LI)'s chief Mangal Bagh as proclaimed offender in three terrorism cases and issued perpetual arrest warrant against him.
A local court issued Mangal Bagh's perpetual arrest warrant after the city police told the court that they could not arrest him as he was far from their reach.
The LI chief was booked in three terrorism cases in the city's Mattani and Badhaber police stations. Badhaber Police Station had booked him in killing of 12 people in Sheikhan area and abduction of a doctor from its limits. Mattani Police Station had booked him in beheading of a police sub-inspector Tariq.
The police some three days back had recorded their statements in the court saying that despite hectic efforts, they were unable to arrest the LI chief and to produce him before the court.
After the police statement, the court declared the LI chief as proclaimed offender and issued perpetual arrest warrant against him.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is committed to helping the fight in Afghanistan and consider US President Barack Obama the group's "No 1 enemy", but this does not mean an end to attacks in Pakistan, said a top commander amid uncertainty over whether a new leader has been appointed to head the movement.
Waliur Rehman made the comments in an interview on Sunday with The Associated Press at a time of intense speculation over the next leader of the group. Wali said on Saturday that Baitullah had given him full control over the network and that a new leader "would be chosen within five days". He made no reference to Hakimullah Mehsud, whose aides said separately later on Saturday that he had been chosen as new leader during a meeting on Friday.
Wali's comments cast doubt on whether Hakimullah's appointment had been agreed by all top Taliban members, and could indicate splits over succession within the movement.
Rehman met the AP in a forest near Makeen village in the heart of the semiautonomous lands close to the Afghan border where Al Qaeda and the Taliban hold sway. Looking healthy and dressed in clean, ironed clothes, he was accompanied by five armed guards. "We are with Afghan Taliban. We will keep on helping them until America and its allies are expelled," he said, adding that this did not mean an end to attacks in Pakistan. "American President Obama and his allies are our enemy No 1," he said. "We will sacrifices our bodies, hearts and money to fight them."
Like most other members of the TTP, he insisted Baitullah was alive but sick. Two close aides to another commander, Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, told The Associated Press on Saturday a 42-member Taliban council had appointed Hakimullah their new leader in a unanimous decision on Friday. "Now all these talks of differences should end," said one of the aides, Bakht Zada.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: TTP
#1
ION WALLY WAFF > MEMRI > PAKISTAN TALIBAN COMMANDER [Rehman]: WE HAVE "THOUSANDS OF SUICIDE BOMBERS WHOM CAN STRIKE AT WASHINGTON DC, PARIS, LONDON, AND KABUL".
Also, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > NATO'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET IN AFGHANISTAN. Approxi 80% of Afghanis is controlled by various Islamist Milit Groups broadly incorrectly labeled as "the Taliban"; + NATO is unable to destroy the Afghan drug trade andor Poppy Crop. ARTIC > IOW, wid 80% of the country in thier control, NEITHER THE TALIBAN PER SE, NOR ANY MILTERR GROUPS, NEED GO ANYWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE OF AFGHANISTAN???
#2
ION WALLY WAFF > MEMRI > PAKISTAN TALIBAN COMMANDER [Rehman]: WE HAVE "THOUSANDS OF SUICIDE BOMBERS WHOM CAN STRIKE AT WASHINGTON DC, PARIS, LONDON, AND KABUL".
Also, PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > NATO'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET IN AFGHANISTAN. Approxi 80% of Afghanis is controlled by various Islamist Milit Groups broadly incorrectly labeled as "the Taliban"; + NATO is unable to destroy the Afghan drug trade andor Poppy Crop. ARTIC > IOW, wid 80% of the country in thier control, NEITHER THE TALIBAN PER SE, NOR ANY MILTERR GROUPS, NEED GO ANYWHERE ELSE OUTSIDE OF AFGHANISTAN???
BAGHDAD - A few days ago, Capt. Nathan Williams asked the Iraqi battalion commander in charge of a northern Baghdad district whether he needed help with a planned security operation. The response, judging by the silence and body language, was clear: a polite "Thanks, but no thanks."
The U.S. Army officer from Raleigh, North Carolina says he took no offense and wasn't surprised.
Not once since Williams and his infantry company pulled out of the Hurriyah district in north Baghdad nearly three months ago has the Iraqi commander, Maj. Hussein Adhab Salman, or any of his officers, accepted the many offers of help from Williams and his troops or asked for their assistance.
"We worked ourselves out of a job," said Williams, referring to the sharp drop in violence over the past two years. "This is what the end of a counterinsurgency looks like."
Williams' company, part of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment based in Fort Riley, Kansas, quit Hurriyah a month ahead of the June 30 deadline set by the U.S.-Iraqi security pact for American forces to leave the cities. It is now stationed at a large U.S. base on Baghdad's western outskirts.
Lately, a spate of deadly bombings in the capital -- at least 101 people died in a wave of attacks Wednesday -- has raised fears that six years after the U.S.-led invasion, the Iraqis are still not ready to take over security.
But Hurriyah, mostly blue-collar Shiite, remains largely peaceful, and Sunnis who fled when sectarian violence was at its worst in 2006 and 2007 are slowly moving back. Behind Hurriyah's six-foot-high blast walls, outdoor markets teem with shoppers, and cafes and eateries are doing good business. Public parks are packed and Salman says efforts by Shiite militiamen to woo Hurriyah people to their anti-American cause have failed.
"The people now fully realize that they are evil," said Salman.
Before the Americans left Hurriyah, its inhabitants saw Williams as mayor, peacekeeper, military commander, financier, public works supremo and job creator.
Now, he half-jokes to a visitor, "My schedule is wide open."
Years after the US attacks on Iraq, people in the Persian Gulf state are suffering form the consequences of radioactive contamination caused by the use of depleted uranium.
Not this again ...
Iraq's Environment Minister, Narmin Othman Hasan, said Monday that depleted Uranium (DU) weapons used by US-led troops against Iraq during the1991 Persian Gulf War and the 2003 invasion still blight the country.
Othman Hasan said the use of super-tough weapons by the US-led forces had a devastating impact on the nation and has become a serious environmental challenge since they have contaminated several parts of the country.
Hasan needs to be taken aside and given a basic education as to why it's called depleted uranium ...
Armor-piercing shells made of depleted uranium were first used in warfare by US-led troops during the1991 Persian Gulf War and then during the 2003 invasion, turning many parts of Iraq to radioactive toxic wastelands.
Depleted uranium --a radioactive metal twice as dense as lead-- has been blamed for a number of health problems, from cancer to birth defects. DU remains radioactive for about 4.5 billion years.
Except of course that it isn't radioactive ...
According to the Iraqi minister only a fraction of tanks and other wartime vehicles contaminated with depleted uranium -- which are radiating nuclear energy-- have been successfully treated and disposed of.
Following the 2003 US-led invasion, over 140,000 cases of cancer has been reported in Iraq, which are believed to be caused by toxic weaponry used by the occupying troops. It is reported that 2,000 tons of (DU) expenditure were used during the invasion of Iraq.
Several idiotic Human rights groups have called the US use of the toxic weapons against the people of Iraq as crimes against humanity since they are causing grievous harm and suffering to civilians in contaminated areas.
They have also accused the US-led troops of covering up and denying the damaging health effects of the DU's and blamed them for refusing to release information on the amounts, types and locations of these weapons in Iraq.
Iraq's Environment Minister also warned about the danger posed by the tens of millions of landmines strewn across the country. "For one person we have one mine planted. We have 25 million mines in Iraq -- one quarter of the world's mines," she said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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But it doesn't become pure lead for a gazillion years.
Source: Press TV. Isn't that the Iranian mouthpiece?
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/25/2009 6:05 Comments ||
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#3
We have 25 million mines in Iraq
And who planted them? The Allied troops tended to be mobile - you don't want to plant mines when you are moving around, cuz you might forget where you put them.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/25/2009 7:28 Comments ||
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#4
Though depleted Uranium is not significantly radioactive, it is a heavy metal, and as such I would suspect it had some unhealthful effects. Doctor Pink Salmon - any comments on those potential effects?
#6
As a heavy metal, it is toxic -- similar to though less toxic than lead. Appreciable exposures do cause kidney failure.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/25/2009 8:06 Comments ||
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#7
Let's see. The US has 1.5M cancers each year or 0.50%/year. If Iraq had 140,000 over 6 years, that's 0.01%/year. So either the Iranians are lying their asses off again or DU is very, very good for you.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2009 8:16 Comments ||
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#8
Although punching a hole in a body has the same effect with either element.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
08/25/2009 8:17 Comments ||
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#10
0.01%/year
Sorry, typo. That's 0.10%/year.
Posted by: ed ||
08/25/2009 8:19 Comments ||
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#11
Uranium is radioactive, albeit weakly. Here is an article from the World health Organization on depleted Uranium. If even WHO is not alarmed, why should anyone else be?
#13
I was in Basrah last year doing Civil Affairs work. Once the Iraqi Army cleared out a neighborhood, we'd follow in behind and spread some bucks around for removing debris, hauling away burned-out cars, etc. (Lest you think this a horrible waste, remember that the fewer wrecks in the road, the fewer places to hide IEDs).
We developed a good working relationship with the IA brigade commander and several local business leaders. One day we sit down and ask them about their priorities now that the Shia militias were gone. One of them trots out the "Your depleted uranium has caused many birth defects. You must give us money." So I ask them to bring me some of the kids who are suffering so that I can see. The gentlemen just smiled at me and changed the topic to what we could do about improving the sewer system.
In short, the Iraqis themselves probably don't believe this crap, but they know they have a decent shot of getting $$$ from some gullible graduate of the American public education system.
#17
Quick summary, Mizzou-
Uranium can occur in different isotopes (same number of protons, so all are Uranium, but different number of neutrons, so different atomic weights - 'isotopes'). U238 is the more common and more stable isotope, U235 is scarcer and much more unstable. Unstable is just what you want if you are trying to make a nuclear reaction, so we work very hard to separate the U235 from the original mixture of Uranium - that is, we 'enrich' it. What is left behind after we collect the U235 is U238 - Uranium 'depleted' of its reactive isotope. It won't make a nuclear reaction, it won't emit significant radiation, it's just a not-particularly-useful heavy metal.
It does have one notable use - for armor-penetrating ammo. It is very dense, so when you get it moving really fast it packs a real whallop.
As far as your observation that lead is the end product - well, yeah, it is an end product of the chain of radioactive decays, but not of U238, because it doesn't really decay.
Once got to rub an Abrams tank in a carrier vessel in the Baltic Sea; apparently their shields are also made of DU. No wonder it gets about 50 gallons to the mile.
#20
Glenmore, thanks for allowing me to be pedantic, but U238 is reactive but to only very energetic neutrons. When an H-bomb explodes (US and Russian anyway), there is a casing of U238 surrounding the trigger and TN device to focus gammas on the TN pencil. The fission trigger emits high energy neutrons and they will cause the casing to detonate. Thus in US and Russian H-bombs there are three distinct spikes (fission-fusion-fission) that can be detected by high speed sensors.
[/pedantic mode]
TeeHee!
#21
And to continue, in commercial nuclear reactors, U-238 absorbs neutrons and eventually turns into Plutonium 239. In the later stages of core life, a very large percentage of the fission occuring is from Pu-239.
U-238 would also be used in breeder reactors, if we had such things in this country.
#24
AlmostAnonymous5839: but U238 is reactive but to only very energetic neutrons. When an H-bomb explodes (US and Russian anyway), there is a casing of U238 surrounding the trigger and TN device to focus gammas on the TN pencil. The fission trigger emits high energy neutrons and they will cause the casing to detonate.
Well, if you're going to post nuclear pr0n, then ...
" I wish that our brothers in the Dawa party would be among us today and God willing, efforts will continue to include everyone, with Dawa at the top of the list "
Iraqi Vice President and ISCI member Adel Abdul-Mehdi
[Al Arabiya Latest] Iraq's leading Shiite coalition, the biggest group in parliament, announced a new alliance on Monday for January's general election, while Abdel Aziz al-Hakim's son announced that the country's Shiite leader has been admitted to a Tehran hospital.
The grouping includes members of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC), supporters of radical anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, as well as a large number of independent candidates.
The new Iraqi National Alliance will replace the United Iraqi Alliance, which was created for the 2005 election and which once consisted of all Shiite parties.
No reason was given publicly for the exclusion of Maliki's Dawa party but the increasingly assertive prime minister had demanded a greater say in the alliance and also insisted the coalition be broadened to include more Sunnis and Kurds. "I wish that our brothers in the Dawa party would be among us today and God willing, efforts will continue to include everyone, with Dawa at the top of the list," Iraqi Vice President and ISCI member Adel Abdul-Mehdi told reporters.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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The family and relatives of Bilal Ahmed Ghanem, the Palestinian at the center of the organ-theft story in the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet, said on Monday that they didn't know if the accusations were true or not.
No kidding? You mean a Swedish newspaper made it up out of whole cloth? And that some Fatah goons helped out? Maybe even the UNRWA lent a hand? I would have never guessed!
The family lives in the tiny village of Imatin in the northern West Bank. Ghanem, 19, was killed by IDF soldiers during the first intifada on May 13, 1992. He was a Fatah activist who was wanted by the IDF for his involvement in violence.
His mother, Sadeeka, said he was shot by an IDF sniper as he walked out of his home. "The bullets hit him directly in the heart," she said.
Ghanem's younger brother, Jalal, said he could not confirm the allegations made by the Swedish newspaper that his brother's organs had been stolen. "I don't know if this is true," he said. "We don't have any evidence to support this."
Jalal said his brother was evacuated by the IDF in a helicopter and delivered to the family only a few days later.
The mother denied that she had told any foreign journalist that her son's organs had been stolen. However, she said that now she does not rule out the possibility that Israel was harvesting organs of Palestinians.
"Please don't kill me and harvest my organs!"
Jalal and two cousins who claimed that they saw the body said the young man's teeth were missing. They also said they saw stitches that ran from the chest down to the bottom of the stomach.
"Obviously, they performed some kind of an autopsy on the body," the brother said. "When the army handed us the body, we were ordered to bury him quickly and in the middle of the night."
Jalal said that he and other villagers recall that a Swedish photographer was in the village during the funeral and that he managed to take a number of pictures of the body before the funeral. "That was the only time we saw this photographer," he recounted.
Ibrahim Ghanem, a relative of Bilal, said that the family never told the Swedish photographer that Israel had stolen organs from the dead man's body. "Maybe the journalist reached that conclusion on the basis of the stitches he saw on the body," he said. "But as far as the family is concerned, we don't know if organs were removed from the body because we never performed our own autopsy. All we know is that Bilal's teeth were missing."
Jalal and other members of the family said that "rumors" about Israel killing Palestinians to steal their organs have been circulating for a long time.
"I can't tell you if these rumors are true or not," the brother said. "But in light of the investigative report in the Swedish newspaper, we are demanding an international commission of inquiry into the case."
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
"The bullets hit him directly in the heart," she said.
To harvest organs, you have to have someone in a coma basically. The organs don't work if the person is dead, you have to get them while he's still breathing (or being ventilated).
Just a little fact-checking there, common knowledge.
#2
gromky, when you are libeling the Jews, you never let facts get in the way of a good story.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
08/25/2009 7:23 Comments ||
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#3
"I can't tell you if these rumors are true or not," the brother said. "But in light of the investigative report in the Swedish newspaper, we are demanding an biased international commission of inquiry into the case."
Posted by: Oscar ||
08/25/2009 8:31 Comments ||
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#4
Obviously the Israelis are transplanting teeth.
Ma'an -- Fatah leader Hussam Khader called for what he termed a three-month "truce" with Hamas on Monday in an effort to reunite the rival parties.
In a statement Khader said he welcomed President Mahmoud Abbas' decision to release 200 Hamas members from prison as a "positive step," urging the release of all political prisoners in the West Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza.
The former lawmaker also welcomed Hamas' decision to release 50 Fatah members from jails in Gaza as a step that could advance negotiations between the two parties.
Khader's statement said that Abbas proved he is a president "for all Palestinians."
An advocate for reform within his own party, Khader is from Balata Refugee Camp in the West Bank city of Nablus. He was released from an Israeli prison in August 2008.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Aw, *bleep* the truce. Let's get it over with. You can call it "Beyond GazaDome: Two parties enter, one party leaves". Winner gets the residuals and points plus a chance to go head to head with the IDF.
Ma'an -- Responding to multiple reports on Sunday that the de facto government was cracking down on dress in Gaza's schools, Hamas on Monday denied making any recent policy changes on uniforms or expulsions.
A spokesman for the Hamas-run Education Ministry in Gaza, Khaled Radi, reiterated that his office had not received instructions from the de facto government imposing conservative dress codes on schoolgirls.
Radi said the reports on Sunday likely originated from an incident in which a school headmistress punished a handful of students for not dressing conservatively enough. He said the headmistresses of several schools had been contacted to confirm that their decisions did not come from the ministry.
The conflicting reports led Ma'an to visit a number of schools in Gaza City to find out what was really going on.
One girl at Bashir Ar-Rayyis school said on the first day of this semester she was punished along with a friend because the two were wearing jeans. They were told to return to class the next day wearing jilbab (traditional Islamic sleeved dress) or they would be expelled. She said school administrators gave similar instructions to any girls caught wearing jeans.
Elsewhere notices were posted on school walls in western Gaza City, reading, "Announcement for all girls regarding dress codes for the new school year. The uniform should be as follows: Navy blue jilbab with white headscarf and black or white shoes."
"We request that all girls follow these instructions," the signs read.
The owners of several Gaza City boutiques told Ma'an that had stopped selling jeans to schoolgirls after they heard rumors about the government's new dress code.
At Ahmad Shawqi School in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, several students said they were sent back home to change out of jeans and put on new uniforms. The girls were threatened with expulsion if they failed to cooperate, they said.
"I used to study at a private school, and when I went to a government school for registration, the headmaster asked to see me and check up on my clothing and make sure it met all their standards," one student explained. "He told me if I didn't wear jilbab, I'd be expelled."
Then at Al-Jalil school a handful of students, wearing jeans and showing their hair, said they rebelled against the decision from day one, insisting authorities had no right to determine what they could wear, and that no one was punished.
Meanwhile, Ma'an learned that Christian girls studying at government schools had been included in the apparently new wave of conservative dress requirements. Some said they were also forced to cover their hair, which if true would be an unprecedented requirement for Gaza's Christian minority.
On the other hand, Muslim girls who study at the Christian Holy Family Schools in Gaza were banned from wearing the headscarf, which is donned by many Muslim women in the ultraconservative Strip. Each day those who choose to wear the scarf remove it before going to class and put it back on before leaving.
But the latest allegations against the Islamic movement on Monday echoed a decision by the Hamas-run judiciary in Gaza to force so-called modest dress on female lawyers in July, a move that infuriated Palestinian human rights organizations and affected lawyers. The decree would require that female lawyers wear traditional robes and veils covering their hair while in Gaza's courtrooms.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called that decision "illegal and unjustified" at the time, but had no immediate reaction to Monday's allegations on forced dress for the coastal strip's schoolgirls.
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08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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Indonesian police said Tuesday they were seeking a second man suspected of arranging funds for twin suicide bombings against hotels in Jakarta last month.
Indonesian national Muhamad Jibril Abdurahman, alias Muhamad Ricky Ardan bin Mohammad Iqbal, was linked to the network that carried out the attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels that killed nine people, police said. "He's suspected of having a role in the overseas funding. The police are not yet able to reveal in detail the source of the financing," national police spokesman Nanan Soekarna told a press conference. "He's linked to the group behind the Marriott and Ritz bombings."
Muhamad Jibril's addition to the wanted list brings to six the number of suspects being sought by police in connection to the July 17 attacks, including Malaysian alleged mastermind Noordin Mohammed Top. He is an accomplice of detained Saudi national Al Khalil Ali, who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of channeling funds from abroad to pay for the attacks, the spokesman said.
Five other alleged members of the cell have been killed, including the two suicide bombers and the operational planner, police said. Another five have been arrested but one, an Indonesian called Iwan, was subsequently released.
The head of an influential committee in Iran's parliament said he believes the nominee for defence minister will be approved despite accusations he was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
The backing of the foreign policy and national security committee raises the likelihood that Gen. Ahmad Vahidi will be confirmed as defence chief in a vote in the full legislature, which is expected to be held on Sept. 1.
His nomination last week by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad angered Argentina, which accuses him of playing a key role in the Buenos Aires bombing. The United States, which has sought to reach out to Iran under President Barack Obama, has also said Vahidi's presence in the Cabinet would be disturbing.
The chairman of the parliamentary committee, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, said the allegations "will not have any negative impact on the assessment" of the nominee, who is currently a deputy defence minister. "Rather, it may increase his vote" in parliament, he said.
Boroujerdi rejected accusations that Vahidi was involved in the bombing.
Vahidi is one of five prominent Iranians sought by Argentina in the bombing, which killed 85 people. He was the commander of a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard known as the Quds Force at the time of the attack. The force is responsible for the Guard's foreign operations.
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08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya Latest] Iran's judiciary on Monday named as the Islamic Republic's top prosecutor the cleric who was sacked as intelligence minister by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the manager of a Tehran cemetery denied carrying out secret burials for vote protesters.
Ahmadinejad fired Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei last month, a move Iranian media linked to disagreement over the conservative president's choice of a new first vice president.
Ahmadinejad was re-elected for a second four-year term in a disputed June presidential election, which plunged Iran into its deepest internal crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution and exposed deep divisions within its ruling elite.
Some of Ahmadinejad's conservative backers have abandoned him since the vote, even though he enjoys the backing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's highest authority.
Pro-reform opposition leaders say the presidential vote was rigged and see Ahmadinejad's next government as illegitimate. The authorities reject such charges.
The official IRNA news agency said Mohseni-Ejei was picked as new general prosecutor in a meeting between new judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani and Supreme Court judges. He replaces Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi.
State television said Larijani had confirmed Mohseni-Ejei's appointment.
Secret burials denied
Meanwhile, the manager of a Tehran cemetery denied it carried out secret burials of people who died in post-election unrest, as alleged by some reformist media, the Mehr news agency said on Monday.
Pro-reform opposition website Norooznews reported on Saturday that more than 40 people were buried on July 12 and 15 in unidentified graves in block 302 of the Behesht Zahra cemetery in southern Tehran.
But Mahmoud Rezaiyan, managing director of the Behesht Zahra Organization, said that these reports were only "rumors."
"In recent days we have not received any unidentified body and we were not forced to issue burial permits either," Rezaiyan said.
"The report that there are mass graves is not true."
According to Norooznews, the graves were only marked by the burial permit numbers. It also added that bodies, which were frozen, were brought to the cemetery from an "industrial cold storage" in southwestern Tehran.
It said the secret burials were hurriedly done to avoid spreading of reports that bodies of dead protesters were being held in a cold storage after a frozen corpse was delivered to a family.
Officially about 30 people were killed in the violence that erupted after the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad. Opposition groups claim that 69 people died in the crackdown on protesters.
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08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] An Iranian opposition leader has revealed details about a prisoner raped by his jailers in the country's postelection crackdown.
Mahdi Karroubi says he will detail more cases if authorities continue to deny his allegations. Karroubi's claims that protesters arrested in the crackdown have been raped have raised a storm of criticism from pro-government conservatives.
Karroubi posted to his party's Web site a statement by an unidentified male prisoner describing his rape in prison. The victim says a doctor verified his claims.
Allegations of torture have become a major embarrassment for Iran's clerical leadership after the fierce crackdown that crushed pro-opposition protests following the disputed June 12 presidential election.
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08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] Months after Iran's controversial presidential election, officials at the military and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) say the security situation in the country calls for prompt punitive action against voices of dissent.
Following the official announcement of the poll results, Iran witnessed widespread demonstrations as supporters of defeated presidential candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi took to the streets to protest "fraud" in the June 12 election.
Nearly two months after the election, sporadic protests continue to take place -- mainly across the capital -- on various occasions.
Iranian authorities have since put hundreds of opposition activists and protestors in the dock, with many more implicating Mousavi and Karroubi as the driving force behind the recent turmoil which swept across the country.
Deputy Head of Iran's armed forces headquarters Brigadier General Seyyed Massoud Jazayeri said Monday that "Iran is not in a situation where it can afford to lose time for prosecuting rioters; the national security calls for swift retribution for rioters."
Iranian authorities have characterized the widespread post-vote unrest as a foreign-led attempt at a "velvet coup" seeking to topple the Islamic establishment.
The opposition, however, has denied having any links to foreign countries, adding that the outcry has been prompted by national doubts over the official result of the vote.
Jazayeri went on to claim that the alleged movement for a "soft overthrow" has managed to continue its existence in the country on a certain level.
"While basic layers of the 'soft coup' have been left untouched, we cannot be optimistic that the country will not face such threats and crises over again," the military official added.
Jazayeri said it was necessary that before such movements do refurbishments and renew their members, the country's judiciary and intelligence agency take crucial steps to quash their revolt.
Meanwhile, another senior military official Brigadier General Yadollah Javani, head of the IRGC's political bureau, said foreign countries know that the only way to overthrow a revolution staged by the people is to make use of the people.
He went on to accuse the opposition leaders, who claimed fraud in the election, of causing the unrest as well as killing civilians along with Basij forces.
"In this election, for the first time, certain candidates claimed fraud and by causing unrest killed and injured many including 8 members of the Basij," Javani claimed.
Another official at Iran's Naval Force accused the opposition of seeking to eliminate certain governmental bodies from the Islamic establishment.
"The velvet revolution sought to eliminate many fundamentals of the system such as the Velayat-e-Faqih and the Guardians Council," Commander of IRGC's naval forces Admiral Morteza Saffari said.
He went on further accusing the leaders of the alleged "velvet revolution" of working to facilitate the occupation of the country by foreigners.
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08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV Latest] As Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad awaits the Parliament approval of his new Cabinet, his chief of staff says the president enjoys a "historic" approval rate around the globe following his disputed re-election.
Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaei, whose nomination as the vice president sparked a nationwide controversy in Iran, said on Monday that in the face of all developments following the June 12 election, President Ahmadinejad is more popular than ever, Parliament News reported.
"Right now, as Ahmadinejad enjoys a special and historic popularity," said Mashaei, whose daughter is married to Ahmadinejad's son, "The international community has realized that it has no choice but to cooperate with the Ahmadinejad administration instead of seeking to topple him."
The remarks come as the newly-introduced Cabinet awaits a Parliament approval, while criticism over his choice of nominees mounts among lawmakers and even Ahmadinejad's Principlist allies.
The Ahmadinejad administration, meanwhile, lacks the support of opposition as defeated presidential candidates, Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, continue to question the legitimacy of Ahmadinejad's government and his re-election.
The official result of the presidential election declared the incumbent as victor with a massive margin over his rivals.
"I cannot remember a head of a government so popular that would lead him to manage the country, create hope, and restore the Iranian nation's pride," Mashaei said.
Thanks to Ahmadinejad's efforts, "Iran is now ranked amongst the top 10 countries in the world," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I can think of another head of state who is managing his country, creating home, and restoring the Iranian nation's pride.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
08/25/2009 21:25 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Gordon Brown is under growing pressure to speak out about the release of the Lockerbie bomber as Scotland's Justice Minister fights for his political life.
A local court has declared defunct outfit Lashkar-e-Islam (LI)'s chief Mangal Bagh as proclaimed offender in three terrorism cases and issued perpetual arrest warrant against him. 
Years after the US attacks on Iraq, people in the Persian Gulf state are suffering form the consequences of radioactive contamination caused by the use of depleted uranium. 
The head of an influential committee in Iran's parliament said he believes the nominee for defence minister will be approved despite accusations he was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.
