Source: http://www.paltelegraph.com/palestine/west-bank/10390-settlers-stone-elderly-palestinian-lady.html
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Monday, October 31, 2011
Settlers Stone Elderly Palestinian Lady
Death toll reaches 7 as Israeli bombing on Gaza continues
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Plans for prison at ?The Box? for Parliament by Nov 30
~ Detailed plans for youth detention facility ready ~
PHILIPSBURG--Justice Minister Roland Duncan is aiming to take his plans for a medium security prison and a youth detention centre to be located in what is popularly referred to as "The Box" to Parliament by the end of November.
The minister told The Daily Herald last night that the medium security prison would be primarily for younger offenders, while hardcore inmates would remain in the Pointe Blanche prison. The youth detention centre will be located at the front section of The Box, but will be separate from the medium security prison.
A major portion of the administration at the Pointe Blanche prison also will be relocated to The Box. An interrogation room and a family meeting room also will be included in the facility, which will be developed at an estimated cost of less than US $20,000.
Duncan said negotiations were being held for financing for the project via the developers and it was government's intention that it would own the building in 10-15 years.
He said that given the current shortage of prison cells, the intention was to start building the cells at the new facility as soon as approval for the project was given.
In an interview on Radio Soualiga 99.9FM earlier Sunday, Duncan said he had decided to have a detailed technical preparation beforehand because of the controversy over the creation of a detention facility at The Box and the terms of reference had been received two weeks ago.
This included a detailed preliminary sketch and the technical requirements needed to transform The Box into a prison facility. The relevant document deals with items such as the types of keys, locks, furniture and toilets needed at the facility.
Duncan said he also had received a detailed sketch for the new 15-bed youth detention centre to be located in The Box. He said that while there were some local private organisations catering in different ways to neglected, abandoned and rude youth, a detention centre such as the one being planned did not exist in St. Maarten.
"We have everything worked out technically ... and I will present that to the Council of Ministers and then it will be open for full scrutiny. I'm trying to do my homework correctly to make sure that we will answer questions correctly," he said.
"I intend to go to Parliament before the end of November. Between now and the 15th of November I intend to go to the Council of Ministers, because I'd like to sign before the end of the year if we are allowed to sign."
The youth detention centre will cater to the rehabilitation of troubled youths. In the past they would have been sent to Cura�ao. Duncan said while there was a previous report for a 31-bed youth detention facility for St. Maarten, the capacity could not be substantiated. Some 18 of the new recruits will be assigned to work at the youth detention centre.
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Lebanese economy slows down
Bank Audi says that the Lebanese economy has slowed since January.
?Lebanon?s economy reported this year a slowdown in activity, as mirrored by its various real sector indicators. Within this environment, the deceleration of capital inflows to the domestic economy somewhat weighed down on the growth of banking sector activity as reflected by its main driver, total customer deposits, which posted an increase of $5.7 billion during the first eight months of this year, compared to $7 billion during the same period of 2010,? the statement said.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/lebanese-economy-slows-down-398606
I Wish to Tell You about Gaza
'To those who were martyred for the land of sad oranges.'
By Lillian Rosengarten
Gaza life exists in a cage, an open air prison that has been kept mostly isolated from the world. Its citrus trees have been uprooted. Flowers are no longer exported. Nor are vegetables, fruit or olives, formerly a thriving export business.
Since 2000, the Israeli army destroyed 114,000 olive trees. The rest were destroyed during the 2008-9 war, much of it uprooted from white phosphorous and other chemicals. Farming is now difficult and in some areas impossible.
Much of Gaza looks like a war zone, bullets holes visible on the sides of buildings. Gaza is without proper sewage pumps, bombed as they are rebuilt. Mediterranean waters are infested with raw sewage, while a 3 mile limit, closely watched by the Israeli navy collectively destroys a once flourishing fishing industry, the waters now stagnant from sewage and overfishing.
It is the grimmest of war stories, unimaginable horror where tunnels, miles of mazes function to alleviate the suffering as goods are brought in from Egypt. Dangerous the tunnels for they are regularly bombed by rockets and missiles. Many of the young brave men who work in the tunnels to bring needed goods to Gaza take a daily chance on their lives. Articles to sustain life come through the tunnels. Diesel oil and gasoline are pumped through the tunnels at 1/3 the prices the Israelis charge. In addition, building materials, cement, medicines, bandages, first aid, even cars and washing machines find their way into Gaza. Articles sent through Ashdot, Israel, often must wait months before they are inspected and often never arrive in Gaza.
Electricity remains scarce and backed up generators used in hospitals can turn on 12 times a day. They consistently break down often during surgery. Repair of generators and equipment in general is a difficult problem since replacements take months to arrive from countries that have donated the generators. The same is true of new imaging equipment that stand idle when often the smallest repair is needed. Once something breaks down, one must wait often more than a year for replacements which come from participating NGO countries who support the Palestinians. Sadly (as far as I can learn) the US no longer contributes and congress recently defeated the use of funds for NGO agricultural development. This is a tragedy for the Palestinians in Gaza who feeds its own population.
Many who are ill are unable to receive advanced treatments. 40% of medications for necessary treatment are not available. Chemotherapy drugs do not exist for they are too expensive. Also missing are gloves, needles sutures, antibiotics and frequently the most basic necessities. Some wheelchairs are donated from participating countries. They are in working condition for the many young people who have had limbs blown off. I was told a wheelchair sent by Israel was not usable as many parts were missing. How can this be? Hospitals are bombed and rebuilt. Without the tunnels, there would be a total paralysis in rebuilding construction.
Only the sickest who need advanced treatments, the most vulnerable patients have been sent to Israeli hospitals. The trip is long and arduous with many checkpoints. Some cannot survive. Children must go unaccompanied for parents are not given permission to accompany and comfort. Now patients are more readily sent via Rafah to Cairo for treatment, also an arduous undertaking but preferable since border restrictions create more of a possibility to arrive at an Egyptian hospital for treatment. It remains however still difficult and lengthy. I have seen the crowds wait for hours at the border to have their passports and documents approved, a tedious procedure even for those who are physically well.
Al-Shifa Hospital (translates as" Healing" in Arabic) is the largest and main referral hospital in the Gaza Strip. It has 700 beds and sees 1200 patients a day. The effect of the Israeli Siege on Health has been nothing less than devastating. I am exceedingly impressed with the commitment of the Hospital staff workers who care for the sick and wounded with limited equipment. Palestinian men and women work side by side.
I am impressed by the beauty of the Palestinians and their drive towards dignity and freedom. I am impressed by the parents of their sick children who tend them with love and much tragedy etched on their faces. So much of what I saw and heard in Gaza has left a deep black hole in my consciousness for I am aware that the crimes committed by the Zionists of Israel and completely complicit with the US are one of the greatest crimes against a population that fails to be seen as human beings. Instead Palestinians are demonized, dehumanized in an attempt to obliterate their history, their dignity and their right to exist in safety and peace. From my perspective, this is nothing short of the final chapter of the Holocaust, a tragedy from which there is no forgiveness .
I will continue to write about the land of sad oranges, the land where citrus plants have been pulled out of the earth and trees have been exported to Israel for their profit. Everything is for profit and greed while human beings cease to be human.
I wish to tell you about the depleted uranium and white phosphorus found after the war, three weeks of endless bombings night and day. I have seen teachers in the “Save Our Children” project work with 2 eight year old boys who to this day are not able to speak after operation Cast Lead. Still to this day one finds the continued use of chemicals in the soil and in the bodies of the children who are born prematurely with cancer and disfigurement. Yes and 33 additional toxic chemicals that change with each round of bombings have been isolated. In case you do not know this, over 55% of the population of Gaza are under 18. I shudder to think of what the continuous brutalization of this young generation will lead to in the coming years. Still the Palestinians with the help of the NGO's are trying to preserve the well being of the Palestinian children who are crowded in refugee camps and have the most beautiful faces. There must be hope as the children come up to me with peace signs and we chant Viva Palestina together.
My work has just begun. I too must hang on to hope. The world must listen and resist.
- Lillian Rosengarten, a refugee from Nazi Germany is a Buddhist practitioner, poet, writer and a pacifist. She contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact her at: truthpoem@gmail.com.
Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17201
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Ex-Kandy Mayor gets Presidential pardon
Former Kandy Mayor for Kandy Kesara Senanayake has been given a Presidential pardon setting off� a jail term imposed on him for misusing council money on the pretext of� attending a seminar, the Colombo Chief Magistrate Courts was informed today.
Mr. Senanayake was found guilty for misappropriation of� Rs 185,185 and was fined Rs. 100,000 and imposed a jail term of 12 months RI suspended for five years. In addition another Rs. 100,000 fine was imposed� after being found guilty of a second offence of gaining illegal benefits. A three month RI term was imposed in the event of the failure to pay� the second fine.�
The Courts was informed that the Presidential Secretariat has written to the Justice Ministry about the pardon given to him.
Action was filed under the Bribery and Corruption Act.
�
Mr Senanayaka on the prext of attending a seminar had gone on a shopping spree in Singapore.
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Residents urged to ?co-host? royal visit
PHILIPSBURG--Be co-hosts along with Governor Eugene Holiday and the Council of Ministers for the visit of Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess M�xima on Thursday, protocol expert Henrik de Groot advised residents. "Be an active co-host."
De Groot, who is advising government on protocol for the upcoming visit, told The Daily Herald in an interview at Holland House Beach Hotel that a visit such as this came only once every six or seven years and the country needed "to help the Governor and Prime Minister with making it a pleasant and charming visit for the royals."
The National Organising Committee for the Royal Visit and several other people involved with the visit have undergone training with De Groot in the past days.
A dry run for the arrival of the royal party at Princess Juliana International Airport and the resulting police-escorted motorcade were carried out on Friday. De Groot commended the people involved, especially the police who were able to control the traffic flow despite the congestion. Only one hiccup was encountered when a woman driving in a compact car ended up amidst the motorcade.
De Groot instructed officials on more subtle aspects of hosting the royal party, such as not to approach the monarch, the prince or princess with an outstretched hand and to wait to be addressed by them. Also officials, staff members and people who will meet the royal party during the visit must remember to address them as "Your Majesty" and not, for example, Princess M�xima.
For the public, De Groot advised that photography should be left to the press. "Everyone has a cell phone with a camera and would want a photo. It is better to give the Queen space to walk and talk to you. Don't stand with your camera two metres from her. Just enjoy your moment and forget about the photo."
Protocol also plays a huge role for those fortunate enough to score an invitation to the state dinner hosted by Governor Holiday. All guests will be introduced to the royal visitors via a receiving line on arrival. This, De Groot explained, will make it easier for the queen and the royal couple to circulate and have conversations during the buffet-style dinner.
The royal party requested a buffet-style stand-up dinner to allow them to meet more people than a sit-down dinner would have made possible. The queen will be accompanied around the room by the Governor, the prince by the Prime Minister and the princess by First Lady Marie Louise Holiday.
As for the dinner dress code, the protocol expert, who once worked as the protocol director for the Dutch Minister of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations, said guests should keep it "pleasant, elegant and tasteful. Do not dress like a movie star." National costumes such as saris are acceptable for the governor's dinner.
The protocol training has been intense, with even the staff of the hotel where the royal party will be staying receiving instructions from De Groot. He urged everyone involved to act as normally as possible and to remember that protocol is intended to ensure that the visit is "smooth and memorable."
Talking about the press, De Groot said that while he understood that everyone wanted the best photo, journalists and photographers should display some decorum and show due respect to the royal party. "Remember, the queen is a head of state and should be treated as such."
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Ex-Kandy Mayor gets Presidential pardon
Former Kandy Mayor for Kandy Kesara Senanayake has been given a Presidential pardon setting off� a jail term imposed on him for misusing council money on the pretext of� attending a seminar, the Colombo Chief Magistrate Courts was informed today.
Mr. Senanayake was found guilty for misappropriation of� Rs 185,185 and was fined Rs. 100,000 and imposed a jail term of 12 months RI suspended for five years. In addition another Rs. 100,000 fine was imposed� after being found guilty of a second offence of gaining illegal benefits. A three month RI term was imposed in the event of the failure to pay� the second fine.�
The Courts was informed that the Presidential Secretariat has written to the Justice Ministry about the pardon given to him.
Action was filed under the Bribery and Corruption Act.
�
Mr Senanayaka on the prext of attending a seminar had gone on a shopping spree in Singapore.
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Brazil becomes sixth world economy, overtaking UK by the end of 2011
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Sometime Monday we?ll be seven billion people in the world, says UN division
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Dump truck topples over, driver not seriously hurt
The driver was carrying a load of sand up to a home construction site at the end of the road. While he was unloading the sand, the load shifted, causing the truck to tip over. Caught off guard, the man tumbled from the driver's side to the passenger side of the truck's cabin.
The man was not physically trapped and could have climbed out through the side window. However, because of his broken arm the Fire Department decided to remove the windshield.
An ambulance unit took the man to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for medical attention. In addition to the broken left arm, the man reported having some pain in his side.
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Man shot dead in Sucker Garden
Several police patrols, detectives, Ambulance Department and Forensic Department personnel responded to a call about the shooting incident.
The man, who was later identified by police as M.F.S. (37) of Cura�ao, was found in critical condition. Paramedics treated the victim on the scene before transporting him to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). However, he died soon after arriving at the hospital.
The crime scene, the parking area of an apartment building between El Capitan and Seaman's Club, was closed off for the Forensic Department to collect evidence.
The detectives are questioning witnesses and the investigation is ongoing
The shooter is still at large. Police reported that the incident was believed to be one-against-one, not involving a group. They could not confirm whether drugs were involved. One person of interest was taken into custody.
As the death of Michael Grainville has turned into a homicide investigation, the M.F.S. case makes 16 murder cases for the Dutch side of the island so far this year.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/21616-man-shot-dead-in-sucker-garden.html
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Qatar to invest US$40 billion on metro and railway projects
Qatar announced it will spend 150 billion riyals (over $40billion) on three metro and railway projects as part of an integrated Gulf plan, worth $200 billion.?The net cost for the three projects amounts to 150 billion riyals, which includes metro, railway projects, Wasel and Western Gulf projects? said Saad ElMhandi, CEO of Qatar?s railway company ?RAIL?.He added, ?The Wasel project is a light-passenger train which connects Wasel cities with each other. The Western Gulf project will link the Western Gulf city with Doha.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/qatar-invest-us40-billion-metro-and-railway-projects-398018
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Huawei to launch Industry?s First Multi-mode SON Solution
Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, has released the industry?s first multi-mode SON (self-organizing network) solution named SingleSON. The solution is capable of automatically managing multi-mode and multi-layer networks, to improve O&M (operation and maintenance) efficiency and ensure smooth evolution to future technologies.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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William comments on Frans? resignation
~ Says one of party's 6,700 voters left ~
PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) leader Member of Parliament (MP) William Marlin has equated the recent resignation of the party's deputy leader Frans Richardson to an individual voter leaving the party.
In his first public reaction since Richardson's resignation to become an independent MP, Marlin said he would steer clear of any accusations. He said the NA consisted of more than 6,700 voters and as far as he was concerned two persons had left: Richardson and the other independent MP Patrick Illidge, who had signed an agreement to support the governing coalition shortly after the September 2010 elections.
"If a candidate leaves, that is his or her good choice. Every political party has had people moving from one political party to another and probably that will continue to happen," Marlin told radio personality Lloyd Richardson on PJD2 1300am on Sunday.
Whether Richardson's departure will affect the NA, he said, will be measured when the electorate goes to the polls the next time. He said the public's general sentiment was that the "party will only get stronger."
In describing voters' sentiments, Marlin said supporters had been expressing their disappointment in voting for a candidate on the party slate and seeing the vote "go towards a regime that they have been opposing and fighting against."
He said this was the first time in St. Maarten's history that the electorate would have to wait four years for an election. He said Central Government Parliamentary elections had been held one year and Island Council elections the next year under the previous constitutional setup.
"In the last 10 years there had been four or five elections, so people and politicians have been used to a quick turnover. If you missed the boat in 1998 there was one in 1999 and this has had an impact on the things that you see taking place," he said.
Marlin said his loyalty had been and always would be with the people of St. Maarten. "If I take a position and take a stand I will go on a podium and I will tell people."
He said he had kept his word each time he had had an opportunity to serve in public office, and had improved the road network and built homes and schools, among other improvements.
"That is where my heart and my commitment have always been and that is where I will continue to focus," he said.
He said it was no coincidence that the party's logo had multiple colours and its slogan was "Working together for St. Maarten."
"There is no self interest for me. It is the interest of St. Maarten that will continue to prevail at all times. ... Politics is not only decided by who is on a list, All kind of dynamics play a role. ... Unfortunately in St. Maarten we still have a culture where people complain about an issue and when election comes around we don't equate the governing and the governing process," he said.
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Saudi unemployment expected to grow
?The excessive dependence on foreign labor led to an increase in unemployed Saudis?, said Dr. John Sfakianakis, general manager and chief economist at the Saudi-French Bank , in an exclusive interview with Al-Riyadh Economic on the ineffectiveness of ?Saudization? addressing unequal employment opportunities available to citizens and foreigners.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/saudi-unemployment-expected-grow-395778
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GE signs MoU with King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Underlining its commitment to promote Saudi Arabian talent, GE has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), to extend educational scholarships to 30 students of the university over the next three years ? a first of its kind initiative by the company across the world.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/pr/ge-signs-mou-king-fahd-university-petroleum-minerals-399153
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Blue Coat adds video intelligence to reporter product to provide better understanding of web video usage
Blue Coat Systems, a leading provider of Web security and WAN optimization solutions, today announced that its Blue Coat Reporter now provides intelligence about the usage of Web video on corporate networks. Version 9.3 of Blue Coat Reporter features a new tabular view of video usage information, providing an at-a-glance view of how employees or others on the network are using Web video.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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Tunisia?s exports on the rise
An official Tunisian report states that Tunisia?s exports increased by 9.3% in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year, to reach 18.777 million dinars ($12.940 million). Imports went up by 4.9% to reach 24.685 million dinars.
This report, released by the National Statistics Institute on the growth of foreign trade, said that the rate of coverage of imports and exports is estimated at 76.1%, posting a 3.1% increase, compared to 2010 when coverage was of 73%.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/tunisia%E2%80%99s-exports-rise-396008
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Falcon Private Bank receives "Most Improved Leadership Team" Award
Falcon Private Bank is the winner of the prestigious Global Private Banking Award 2011 for ?Most Improved Leadership Team in Global Private Banking?.
Heiner Weber, Head of Geneva Branch, picked up the prize during the award ceremony which took place in Geneva on October, 27. The Global Private Banking Awards are presented by the renowned Financial Times publications ?The Banker? and ?Professional Wealth Management?.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
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China sets out terms for supporting the Euro bail package
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Nayef declared new Saudi CP
Saudi Arabia's powerful interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz late Thursday was named crown prince after the death of his brother Sultan. According to AFP, 78 year old Nayef is seen as more conservative than his half brother King Abdullah, 87. Nayef also suffers from health problems.
According to experts on the Saudi monarchy, Nayef was treated abroad in April for cancer. The new crown prince is also known for his close relations with the kingdom's religious establishment and is believed to oppose reforms that could liberalize the Saudi society.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/news/nayef-declared-new-saudi-cp-398910
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Iraq War Declared Over, but War Party Persists
By Ramzy Baroud
In a White House Statement on October 21, US President Barack Obama pledged that his country would finally withdraw forces from Iraq.
“After nearly nine years, America's war in Iraq will be over,” he said.
Providing some context to Obama’s announcement, a CBSNews.com report published on the same day stated, “The war in Iraq has meant the death of more than 4,400 U.S. troops and come at a cost of more than $700 billion.”
The US media is now failing to process any facts aside from the losses suffered by the US, who wrought war and destruction on a country in urgent need of peace and humanitarian assistance. For over a decade prior to the war, Iraq was reeling under US-led UN sanctions, which left the country’s infrastructure in a state of near collapse.
In her introduction to Ramsey Clark’s important book, The Impact of Sanctions on Iraq: The Children Are Dying, Sara Flounders wrote, “Sanctions are a weapon of mass destruction. Since sanctions were imposed on Iraq, half a million children under the age of five have died of malnutrition and preventable diseases. Sanctions impose artificial famine. A third of Iraq's surviving children today have stunted growth and nutritional deficiencies that will deform their shortened lives.”
In 1999, I was one of those who directly witnessed the impact of the sanctions on Iraqi children. I came back from the country with heaps of photos and memories that haunt me to this day. Oddly, enough, it was not sanctions as “a weapon of mass destruction” that inspired action to end the siege, but alleged Iraqi WMDs that invited another disaster to an already devastated nation.
It might take us years to truly understand the magnitude of what has since transpired in Iraq. Death and destruction have hovered over the country, killing and wounding hundreds of thousands, sending millions into exile and millions more have been classified by UN agencies as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP). It was a horror show that cannot be captured with the language of reason, but every moment of it was experienced by millions of ordinary people, punished severely for a crime they never committed.
The last US forces will depart the country by January 1 “with their heads held high, proud of their success,” according to Obama. This is the very president who, in a speech in Cairo on June 4, 2009, stated that “unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice.” What is there to be proud of in a devastating war of choice, Mr. President?
Before the U.S. House of Representatives on January 18, 2007, now Republican candidate for president, Ron Paul fittingly remarked, “Clichés about supporting the troops are designed to distract us from failed policies, policies promoted by powerful special interests that benefit from war. Anything to steer the discussion away from the real reasons (for) the war in Iraq will not end anytime soon.”
But it is ending, simply because it was militarily unwinnable, financially unsustainable and politically indefensible. “Supporting the troops,” however, will continue to serve as an escape route for those who still refuse to discuss the Iraq war from a moral and legal viewpoint. For them, it is essential that the cover-up persists, so as not to deny the US the opportunity to instigate other wars of choice whenever suitable.
In a press briefing shortly following Obama's end of war announcement, Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, remarked on whether the war was worth it. He answered, “history is going to have to judge.”
But Iraqis don’t need to wait for US history books to demonstrate to them the depth of their tragedy. The Lancet survey had already determined that between March 2003 and June 2006, 601,027 Iraqis died violent deaths. Opinion Research Business survey said that 1,033,000 died as a result of the conflict from March 2003 to August 2007. In one single revelation, WikiLeaks stated that “its release of nearly 400,000 classified U.S. files on the Iraq war showed 15,000 more Iraqi civilians died than previously thought” (Reuters, October 24, 2010).
Equally important is the fact that the violent mentality that insists on war – as opposed to diplomacy – to further US interests is still deeply rooted among US elites. Reporting from Washington, Jim Lobe wrote, “Key neo-conservatives and other right-wing hawks who championed the 2003 United States invasion of Iraq are calling for military strikes against Iran in retaliation for its purported murder-for-hire plot against the Saudi ambassador here” (Asia Times, October 19).
Blogging for Foreign Policy website on October 21, Dalia Dassa Kaye wrote, “The martial rhetoric from inveterate hawks was predictable. But even President Obama suggested that the United States would not take any ‘options off the table,’ a phrase that is understood to leave open military options.”
The rhetoric buildup for another conflict received a big boost during US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta’s first visit to Iraq since taking office on July 1. He said then that his country “will act ‘unilaterally’ to confront what he said were Iranian threats to US interests in Iraq.” The US was “very concerned about Iran and the weapons they are providing to extremists here in Iraq,” he said, as reported by Al Jazeera (July 11).
It will not be easy to reconcile Panetta’s comments with Obama’s end of war announcement which states that “Iraqis have taken full responsibility for their country's security” and that the relationship between the US and Iraq will be that “between sovereign nations, an equal partnership based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”
There are no signs of the neoconservatives altering their views. The appetite for conflict also seems well and alive among Washington’s influential elites, who still brazenly propagate that the US war brought good to Iraqi society, despite all evidence to the contrary.
The official website for the US Forces in Iraq, USF-Iraq.com, is adorned by the following statement under the banner, The New Face of Iraq: “The nation of Iraq has undergone sweeping political, economical and social changes since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime. Elected officials are now in power, overseeing the continued development of security, infrastructure, education, security and finance.”
With that apparent ‘success’ in mind, the neocons can always advocate another military intervention or full scale invasion, whenever possible and affordable.
“The tide of war is receding,” said Obama. One has serious doubts.
- Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net) is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story (Pluto Press, London), available on Amazon.com.
Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17202
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Group knife fight in Middle Region
The five taken to the Medical Centre included an older man who reportedly had attempted to separate the two warring groups, but had received a cut on his neck in the process, and four younger men.
A first response backup unit, three patrol cars and two ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
Three of those involved were treated at SMMC for wounds sustained to the arms, back and lower abdomen. Two were carried in on stretchers.
At least one person who it is believed had been involved in the fight had been taken into police custody up to press time.
There was no clear indication up to press time as to why the fight had occurred. However, police spokesman Inspector Ricardo Henson said possibly two knives had been used.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/21288-group-knife-fight-in-middle-region.html
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
US Congress for Black Ops against Iran
By Ismail Salami – Tehran
The US secret agenda for tightening its vice-like grip on the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken on an apparently new form after the anti-Iran alleged assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, raised many eyebrows among experts and analysts around the world.
With a strong penchant for pushing for tougher action on Iran, the Obama administration has already imposed a series of sanctions against the Islamic Republic. However, a Republican-controlled congressional committee has recently heard testimony demanding an extensive range of covert operations against the country.
The operations, which range from cyber attacks to political assassinations, are speculated to be conducted under the feeble excuse that Iran was the alleged architect of an assassination plot against the Saudi envoy to the United States. By political assassination, the US congressmen unconsciously mean the liquidation of the Iranian nuclear scientists, an act they actually started long ago.
Retired Army Gen. John Keane told a hearing of two key subcommittees of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday, "We've got to put our hand around their throat now. Why don't we kill them? We kill other people who kill others."
Also, Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) poured some pearls of wisdom over others and called for "sober, reasoned discussion."
"Iran's leaders must be held accountable for their action," she said, "but we cannot take any reckless actions which may lead to opening another front in the 'War on Terror,' which the American people do not want and cannot afford."
Naturally, the US government, in essence, cannot afford to wage another war at least in view of the economic woes it has wrought upon the American citizens, regardless of other influencing factors.
The stone that started rolling fell into the hands of New York Congressman Peter King who made an extremely bizarre comment. He suggested that the US should kick out Iranian officials at the UN in New York and in Washington and accused them of being spies, ignorant of the fact that the UN is considered an independent international body and that the US has no authority to 'kick out' diplomats accredited there en masse.
Overwhelmed with a sense of false eagerness, he renewed the anti-Iran alleged assassination ploy and said excitedly, "So you have the assassination of a foreign ambassador, you have the willingness to kill hundreds of Americans -- this is an act of war," King said, "I don't think we can just do business as usual or even carry out sanctions as usual."
The volley of vitriolic words against Iran which issued from Mr. King reeks of blind enmity long egged on by other hawks in Washington.
In point of fact, the anti-Iran moves practically started in 2007 when US Congress agreed to George W. Bush, the then US president, to fund a major increase in covert operations against Iran. According to the intelligence officials who spoke to the Blotter on ABCNews.com, the CIA was then given a presidential approval to commence its covert 'black' operations inside Iran. To that effect, over four hundred million dollars were allocated in a Presidential Finding signed by George W. Bush. The ultimate goal of the finding was to cripple Iran's religious government and the operations involved throwing support behind minority Ahwazi Arab and Baluchis and other opposition groups as well as amassing intelligence about Iran's nuclear sites.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject, the intelligence officials confirmed that Bush had signed a "nonlethal presidential finding", giving the CIA carte blanche to engage in any sabotaging activities including a coordinated campaign of propaganda, disinformation and manipulation of Iran's currency and international financial transactions in order to destabilize and eventually achieve regime change in Iran.
"I can't confirm or deny whether such a program exists or whether the president signed it, but it would be consistent with an overall American approach trying to find ways to put pressure on the regime," said Bruce Riedel, a retired CIA senior official, an expert on Iran and the Middle East (ABCNEWS.com May 22, 2007).
In June 2007, The New Yorker magazine also ran a similar story by Seymour Hersh, confirming that the finding had been signed by Bush and intended to destabilize the Islamic government.
"The Finding was focused on undermining Iran's nuclear ambitions and trying to undermine the government through regime change," the article cited a person familiar with its contents as saying, and involved "working with opposition groups and passing money."
From an intelligence point of view, the fact that the US government is resorting to covert black operations against Iran rules out the possibility of a military strike against the country.
According to reports, US ambassadors in Islamabad have repeatedly asked for opening a consulate in the province of Baluchistan, a suspicious demand from the US. In 2011, the call was renewed by US ambassador Cameron Munter to Islamabad. Persistence in this demand is to be taken seriously. Baluchistan is strategically important as it is a harbor for the anti-Iran terrorist group, Jundullah, in the first place and a separatist Pakistani province in the second place.
In fact, Washington greatly favors the establishment of a 'Greater Baluchistan' which would integrate the Baluch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran. Military expert Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters suggests that Pakistan should be broken up, leading to the formation of a separate country: 'Greater Baluchistan' or 'Free Baluchistan' (June 2006, The Armed Forces Journal). As a result, this would incorporate the Baluch provinces of Pakistan and Iran into a single political entity which can be tailored to suit the interests of Washington.
So it seems that the US harbors two main ulterior motives if this demand is answered. First, it can fulfill its dream of establishing the Greater Baluchistan, consolidate firm presence in this separatist part of Pakistan and secondly, it will be in a position to avail itself of this influence to carry out its sabotaging activities within Iran.
Earlier in 2007, the Blotter on ABCNews.com revealed the role of the US government in backing the terrorist Iranian group, which is responsible for a number of gruesome assassinations of the Iranian civilians on the Iran-Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The terrorist group spares no efforts in sowing the seed of terror in the southern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan and their lust for murder and cruelty knows no remission. The victims the group has so far claimed include many women and children who have become the direct target of their killing. In July 2010, the group mounted a pair of suicide attacks on a major Shi'ite mosque in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Iran's Sistan-Balochistan Province, killing dozens of worshippers and wounding over 100 people.
Although US officials deny any 'direct funding' of the terrorist group, they acknowledge that they are in contact with the leader of the group on a regular basis. A similar terroristic attack was launched by the same group on a mosque in Zahedan in May 2009, which led to the martyrdom of many worshippers.
Sadly enough, Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) implicitly supports the group and reportedly shelters some of its high-profile members in coordination with the CIA.
Isn't it paradoxical that Jundullah, a terrorist group and an offshoot of al-Qaeda, is directly funded by the US government which keeps bandying about its so-called 'war on terror' in the world?
This is enough to cause the US to hang its head low in shame and humility.
- Dr. Ismail Salami is an Iranian author and political analyst. A prolific writer, he has written numerous books and articles on the Middle East. His articles have been translated into a number of languages. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17205
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Christian Lloyd?s killer sent to jail for 24 years
PHILIPSBURG--Almost 21 months after the January 23, 2010, killing of model trainer Christian Lloyd, Anthony R. Spencer (41) was found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty years on Wednesday.
Judge Monique Keppels told Spencer during Wednesday's sitting of the Court of First Instance that she considered murder proven, because no traces of destruction or a struggle had been found in Lloyd's home on Watermelon Road in St. Peters. Furthermore, police investigations had established that Lloyd had been killed "execution style" by a gunshot from probably a .38 calibre revolver that was put at his temple.
The Court further found it "legally and convincingly proven" that Spencer was responsible for the murder, because traces of his DNA had been found on a roll and a piece of duct tape that had been found under Lloyd's body. Lloyd was found dead in his bed, lying in a pool of blood.
The court also established that Spencer had been in the possession of a cell phone that belonged to the victim.
Two witnesses had informed the police separately that Spencer had told them he was responsible for Lloyd's murder. "Tony literally told me, 'You remember that murder that went on in St. Peters, the gay guy? We did it,'" the court quoted one of the witnesses as stating to the police.
Spencer was arrested on February 26, 2010.
The victim and his killer knew each other and had been in contact with each other over the phone on January 22, 2010. Considering that there were no traces of burglary, it could be assumed that the victim had opened the door for his killer, the court stated.
In establishing the length of the prison term, the court held it against the defendant that he had not cooperated with police investigations and had been convicted in the United States in the past for other violent crimes.
Ever since his arrest and throughout his trial, Spencer denied he had anything to do with the killing. He admitted that he had known Lloyd from the Sucker Garden car rental agency where he was working. He also confessed to being among the last persons who had called Lloyd on his phone before he was murdered, seeking his assistance in renting a vehicle.
However, Spencer denied that he had ever been in Lloyd's home. Lloyd's cellular phone he had bought from somebody "on the street," Spencer said during the court hearing.
The Prosecutor's Office considered Lloyd's killing premeditated murder. Prosecutor Bart den Hartigh said it would merit a life sentence and had requested 24 years in prison during the September 21 court hearing.
Attorney-at-law Remco Stomp said his client was the scapegoat in a fishy case. "A cloud of mist is hanging over this case," according to Stomp, who said it was more likely that Lloyd had been the victim of a crime of passion committed during sex games than that he had been the victim of a robbery with murder.
According to the defence lawyer, too many questions in this case remained unanswered, which had led him to request that the court acquit his client.
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Gaddafi buried in desert as family plans to leave to S. Africa
Official from the Libyan Transitional National Council said that the body of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would be buried today (Tuesday) in a secret location in the Libyan Sahara desert. The official told Reuters by telephone, "The body will be buried today in a common funeral and the burial process will be attended by the elders. This will be an unannounced location in the desert."
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/news/gaddafi-be-buried-desert-family-plans-leave-s-africa-398396
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Nayef declared new Saudi CP
Saudi Arabia's powerful interior minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz late Thursday was named crown prince after the death of his brother Sultan. According to AFP, 78 year old Nayef is seen as more conservative than his half brother King Abdullah, 87. Nayef also suffers from health problems.
According to experts on the Saudi monarchy, Nayef was treated abroad in April for cancer. The new crown prince is also known for his close relations with the kingdom's religious establishment and is believed to oppose reforms that could liberalize the Saudi society.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/news/nayef-declared-new-saudi-cp-398910
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Argentina had no chance in the Malvinas war: it was fighting the ?Holy Alliance?
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First quarter 2011 indicators mixed
PHILIPSBURG--Economic indicators for the first quarter of 2011 (January to March) show an increase in turn-over-tax (ToT) receipts compared to the same period of 2010, but confirmed what has already been made clear in statistics from the Tourist Bureau, a decline in stay-over arrivals.
ToT, used as an economic activity indicator and not as revenue indicator, showed a positive change of 10 percent compared to the first quarter of 2010. The ToT figures were not adjusted to reflect the 5 percent increase, which was implemented in February 2011.
Overall government revenues on a cash basis expanded by approximately 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2011. However, revenues from hotel room taxes decreased by about 4 per cent, timeshare tax decreased by almost 18 percent and rental tax receipts contracted by 3.5 percent.
Receipts from direct taxes (wage-tax) decreased by 4 per cent during the first quarter. Positive increases were recorded in the vehicle tax bracket with a 6.4 per cent increase and in the bracket "other revenues" with 43 per cent. AVBZ premiums showed a decrease of approximately 12.5 per cent.
Quarterly figures on income and profit taxes are typically omitted from quarterly releases from government. This is due to the fact that on a quarter-on-quarter basis, significant fluctuations are observed in these taxes resulting from varying factors that are not necessarily the outcome of economic developments.
As previously reported, stay-over visitor arrivals from January to March 2011 declined by almost 3 per cent, with the most alarming indicator coming from the North American market which recorded a 7 per cent decrease in arrivals in the same period compared to 2010. As a result, the occupancy rate in the first quarter declined by 8 per cent. Cruise passenger arrivals went up 21 per cent and cruise vessel calls went up 19.8 percent in the first quarter.
In other sector indicators, during the first quarter of 2011 the utility sector, both electricity and water consumption, shows a decrease of 6.6 per cent and 5.5 per cent compared to 2010. In Banking, based on figures from the Central Bank of Cura�ao and St. Maarten, improvements were recorded in the first quarter. Resident loans grew slightly by 2 per cent while expansions in resident deposits grew 11 percent.
Source: http://www.thedailyherald.com/islands/1-islands-news/21903-first-quarter-2011-indicators-mixed.html
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Jumbo on the rampage
At least 15 vehicles and an equal number of buildings were damaged after a lone elephant went on the rampage at Thibbatuweva in Kekirawa earlier this morning, police and residents said.
They said the cow elephant ran amok at the main Kekirawa Town forcing people to flee for safety while it also created a traffic chaos.
The lone elephant had entered the town in the early hours of the morning from the nearby forest, and as dawn broke, the jumbo turned restless, eyewitnesses were quoted as telling police.
Wildlife officials along with the police are presently trying to capture or neutralise the elephant five hours after the rampage began.
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Jumbo on the rampage
At least 15 vehicles and an equal number of buildings were damaged after a lone elephant went on the rampage at Thibbatuweva in Kekirawa earlier this morning, police and residents said.
They said the cow elephant ran amok at the main Kekirawa Town forcing people to flee for safety while it also created a traffic chaos.
The lone elephant had entered the town in the early hours of the morning from the nearby forest, and as dawn broke, the jumbo turned restless, eyewitnesses were quoted as telling police.
Wildlife officials along with the police are presently trying to capture or neutralise the elephant five hours after the rampage began.
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Official Hypocrisy: Prisoner Hamouri is also French Citizen
By Richard Lightbown
A further example of the blatant hypocrisy of European politicians towards Middle East realities is detailed on the French website for solidarity with French-Palestinian Salah Hamouri. This 26-year-old son of an East Jerusalem restaurateur and a French teacher holds a French passport, like Gilad Shalit, and speaks fluent French.
As a 16-year-old boy Salah was arrested on 30 September 2001 just before the start of school term, and kept in isolation for two months in Jerusalem’s Moskobieh interrogation centre. He was then tried in a military court and sentenced to five months imprisonment for pasting “anti-Israeli propaganda” in the school grounds. This detention was served in the juvenile section of HaSharon prison in Israel.
Following his release the following January Salah returned to school and went on to study sociology at Bethlehem University in 2003. At the end of February 2004 he was at a party in Bethlehem which was raided by Israeli security and was held in administrative detention for four months.
Salah was arrested a third time at Ramallah on 13 March 2005 and detained in solitary confinement at Moskobieh while he was interrogated. One month into this confinement it was reported in the press that he had been accused with two others of plotting an attack on Rabbi Ovadia Yossef, the spiritual leader of the extreme right Shas party. The evidence against him was that he had been in a car which had driven past the home of the rabbi. At the same time he was falsely linked to a youth movement associated with the PFLP. Salah has always denied the charges against him.
While hearings were repeatedly postponed for lack of testimony or evidence he remained in prison for three years. Finally on 17 April 2008 he was convicted by a military tribunal at Ofer settlement and with a plea bargain compromise, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy and membership of the PFLP youth wing. His renowned advocate, Lea Tsemel, had advised that refusal to accept this compromise would result in even greater punishment. The written judgement set his release for 28 November 2011.
In May 2011 the Knesset passed the infamous “Shalit Law” which imposed harsher conditions on Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails in an attempt to blackmail the release of Gilad Shalit. These changes included the arbitrary option to recalculate prison sentences by civil years rather than administrative years. (Israeli administrative years of 345 days are 20 days shorter.) For Salah Hamouri this meant an additional 140 days imprisonment applied retrospectively and without appeal, and contrary to the release date appearing on the written judgement.
The Coordinator of the National Committee of Support for Salah Hamouri, Jean-Claude Lefort sent a letter to the French Consul-General at Haifa protesting this change of sentence, but received no reply. On 9 October a prison visitor was informed that Salah had been transferred to another prison where he was in solitary confinement. All visits were suspended until 5 November in response to the strike by Palestinian prisoners seeking to reclaim their rights. The Hamouri family was not informed of the prison transfer.
On the 13 October the Deputy and former Mayor of Ivry-sur-Seine, Pierre Gosnat, emailed France’s Minister of State Alain Juppé, to express concerns about the minister’s silence regarding Salah’s detention and urging the minister to show the same initiative he had used in the Shalit case.
The following day Mahmoud Abbas expressed similar hopes when he met with President Nicolas Sarkozy. (M. Sarkozy began campaigning for the release of the Sgt Shalit in February 2008 at a dinner given by CRIF, the Representative Council of French Israelis, where he declared “I see Gilad Shalit as a Frenchman, and that touching Gilad Shalit is attacking France”. This statement followed lobbying from French advocates recruited by the Shalit family.)
Also on 14 October a French Foreign Ministry spokesman, referring to the second release of Palestinian prisoners expressed the hope that Salah would soon be freed. Concerns that this meant that France was campaigning for his release in the prisoner exchange were confirmed by M. Sarkozy on 18 October. Speaking on Radio J, the local radio for the Jewish community in Paris and Lyon, and referring to Salah’s release in the prisoner exchange the president said “we have strongly requested this”. M. Sarkozy did not refer to Salah’s family before making his pronouncements.
The exchange prisoners’ release is set for 18 December, which is three weeks after the date for Salah’s release set by the written statement of the military tribunal. Not only does this extend his sentence while denying another prisoner the right to freedom under the exchange deal, it also raises the spectre that Salah could be deported at the end of his confinement.
Further consternation was raised in France on 19 October when Minister of Defence Gérard Longuet declared in a live interview on France Inter that he knew nothing about this case. Jean-Claude Lefort reacted to this statement saying “This is absolutely staggering, incredible! Either he is absolutely incompetent or he is making a pretence. Every senior politician (before being a minister, he was a senator) must have heard of our countryman Salah Hamouri who has been imprisoned for more than six years in Israeli jails. And since the support committee has protested to parliamentarians in all positions, I do not think that M. Longuet can distance himself from this knowledge.”
This widespread disregard by French authorities toward their responsibilities to a French citizen calls to mind the similar indifference of U.S. politicians to the death of the young American, Furkan Dogan, and illustrates the extent to which racism exists within western political circles.
(For more information visit: www.salah-hamouri.fr)
- Richard Lightbown is a writer and researcher. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com.
Source: http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=17204
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Egyptian insurance and pension funds missing
The former Egyptian finance minister, Yussuf Butrus Ghali, has been charged with misusing LE198 billion, taken from insurance and pension funds, while Nabil Abdelghani Amine estimates the missing money to be around LE436 billion, when calculating accumulating interests.
� 2011 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Source: http://www.albawaba.com/business/egyptian-insurance-and-pension-funds-missing-397174
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