Michael Berg talks about the death of his son and al-Zarqawi
The U.S.-led coalition's No. 1 wanted man in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi -- who conducted a campaign of insurgency bombings, beheadings and killings of Americans and Iraqi civilians -- was killed in a U.S. airstrike.
A gruesome video was posted on Islamic Web sites in May, 2004, depicting a man believed to be al-Zarqawi beheading Nicholas Berg, an American businessman who was working in Iraq.
CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien talks to Nicholas Berg's father, Michael Berg, by phone from Wilmington, Delaware, for his reaction to the news.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Berg, thank you for talking with us again. It's nice to have an opportunity to talk to you. Of course, I'm curious to know your reaction, as it is now confirmed that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man who is widely credited and blamed for killing your son, Nicholas, is dead.
MICHAEL BERG: Well, my reaction is I'm sorry whenever any human being dies. Zarqawi is a human being. He has a family who are reacting just as my family reacted when Nick was killed, and I feel bad for that. (Watch Berg compare Zarqawi to President Bush -- 1:44)
I feel doubly bad, though, because Zarqawi is also a political figure, and his death will re-ignite yet another wave of revenge, and revenge is something that I do not follow, that I do want ask for, that I do not wish for against anybody. And it can't end the cycle. As long as people use violence to combat violence, we will always have violence.
O'BRIEN: I have to say, sir, I'm surprised. I know how devastated you and your family were, frankly, when Nick was killed in such a horrible, and brutal and public way.
BERG: Well, you shouldn't be surprised, because I have never indicated anything but forgiveness and peace in any interview on the air.
O'BRIEN: No, no. And we have spoken before, and I'm well aware of that. But at some point, one would think, is there a moment when you say, 'I'm glad he's dead, the man who killed my son'?
BERG: No. How can a human being be glad that another human being is dead?
O'BRIEN: There have been family members who have weighed in, victims, who've said that they don't think he's a martyr in heaven, that they think, frankly, he went straight to hell ...
You know, you talked about the fact that he's become a political figure. Are you concerned that he becomes a martyr and a hero and, in fact, invigorates the insurgency in Iraq?
BERG: Of course. When Nick was killed, I felt that I had nothing left to lose. I'm a pacifist, so I wasn't going out murdering people. But I am -- was not a risk-taking person, and yet now I've done things that have endangered me tremendously.
I've been shot at. I've been showed horrible pictures. I've been called all kinds of names and threatened by all kinds of people, and yet I feel that I have nothing left to lose, so I do those things.
Now, take someone who in 1991, who maybe had their family killed by an American bomb, their support system whisked away from them, someone who, instead of being 59, as I was when Nick died, was 5-years-old or 10-years-old. And then if I were that person, might I not learn how to fly a plane into a building or strap a bag of bombs to my back?
That's what is happening every time we kill an Iraqi, every time we kill anyone, we are creating a large number of people who are going to want vengeance. And, you know, when are we ever going to learn that that doesn't work?
O'BRIEN: There's an alternate reading, which would say at some point, Iraqis will say the insurgency is not OK -- that they'll be inspired by the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the sense of he was turned in, for example, we believe by his own No. 2, No. 3 leadership in his ranks.
And, that's actually them saying we do not want this kind of violence in our country. Experts whom we've spoken to this morning have said this is a critical moment where Iraqis need to figure out which direction the country is going to go. That would be an alternate reading to the scenario you're pointing to. (Watch how Iraqi leaders cheered after learning about al-Zarqawi's death -- 4:31)
BERG: Yes, well, I don't believe that scenario, because every time news of new atrocities committed by Americans in Iraq becomes public, more and more of the everyday Iraqi people who tried to hold out, who tried to be peaceful people lose it and join -- what we call the insurgency, and what I call the resistance, against the occupation of one sovereign nation.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that a struggle for democracy, you know...
BERG: Democracy? Come on, you can't really believe that that's a democracy there when the people who are running the elections are holding guns. That's not democracy.
O'BRIEN: There's a theory that as they try to form some kind of government, that it's going to be brutal, it's going to be bloody, there's going to be loss, and that's the history of many countries -- and that's just what a lot of people pay for what they believe will be better than what they had under Saddam Hussein.
BERG: Well, you know, I'm not saying Saddam Hussein was a good man, but he's no worse than George Bush. Saddam Hussein didn't pull the trigger, didn't commit the rapes. Neither did George Bush. But both men are responsible for them under their reigns of terror.
I don't buy that. Iraq did not have al Qaeda in it. Al Qaeda supposedly killed my son.
Under Saddam Hussein, no al Qaeda. Under George Bush, al Qaeda.
Under Saddam Hussein, relative stability. Under George Bush, instability.
Under Saddam Hussein, about 30,000 deaths a year. Under George Bush, about 60,000 deaths a year. I don't get it. Why is it better to have George Bush the king of Iraq rather than Saddam Hussein?
O'BRIEN: Michael Berg is the father of Nicholas Berg, the young man, the young businessman who was beheaded so brutally in Iraq back in May of 2004.
Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/08/berg.interview/
Friday, June 09, 2006
House Backs Telecom Bill Favoring Phone Companies
By STEPHEN LABATON
WASHINGTON, June 8 — The House of Representatives approved the most extensive telecommunications legislation in a decade on Thursday, largely ratifying the policy agenda of the nation's largest telephone companies.
The bill passed by a lopsided vote of 321 to 101.
Supporters of the legislation said it would promote competition and lower costs by enabling the telephone companies to offer bundled packages of video, telephone, broadband, wireless and mobile phone services in new markets. They said the legislation was an important antidote to rapidly rising cable television subscription rates.
But even as the House took up the measure on Thursday, the political action had already swung to the Senate, which has been peppered by lobbyists and executives from many major telecommunications companies in recent days as it prepares to draft its own version. The prospects there are uncertain.
The House bill, sponsored by Representative Joe L. Barton, the Texas Republican who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would make it much easier and cheaper for the phone companies to offer video services across the country by pre-empting the regulatory authority of municipal franchise officials. The telephone companies have been waging an expensive and protracted town-by-town war with their cable rivals, to offer video services.
The legislation would replace the regulatory role of more than 30,000 local franchising authorities with a national system supervised by the Federal Communications Commission. The current process has significantly slowed the ability of companies like Verizon and AT&T (formerly SBC Communications) to challenge the cable and satellite television companies with their own version of video services.
In a concession to the telephone and cable companies, the legislation does nothing to prevent the phone and cable providers from charging Internet content providers a premium for carrying services like video offerings that could rival those of the telecom companies.
Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and a group of other Democrats sought to amend the legislation to prohibit such practices and thereby, they said, ensure the Internet's vitality. Support for the provision, which backers call "Net neutrality," brought together such competitors as Google and Microsoft.
But the amendment failed by a vote of 269 to 152.
The largest telephone companies did not get everything they sought, however. The legislation threatens to delay any effort by the Federal Communications Commission to require Internet telephone providers to make the investments needed to connect customers to 911 services.
Still, the House bill reflected the considerable clout of the telephone industry in the House, and in particular its ties to the Republican leadership there. Rivals of the phone companies, particularly the cable industry, appear for now to have more important allies in the Senate. And the Senate's rules and customs, unlike those in the House, make it easier for a smaller number of lawmakers to influence and delay legislation.
In the meantime, the flurry of activity is proving to be lucrative on K Street, as every major lobbying firm has been enlisted and campaign coffers are filling with millions of dollars from the telephone, cable, software and high-tech industries trying to shape the legislation. In recent days the phone companies began to run attack ads on television and in local newspapers against Google over its "Net neutrality" stand.
The legislative calendar leaves little time for the two chambers of Congress to reach a final agreement on a telecommunications bill as ambitious as the one considered by the House. But some executives predicted a narrower one could stand a better chance of final passage.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday supporting the House legislation, saying it would "promote competition in both video and voice markets."
Representative Fred Upton, the Michigan Republican who heads a telecommunications and Internet subcommittee and is a co-sponsor of the measure, said it would bring "deregulatory parity" and that "for the consumers that have these services, it probably will mean a reduction of about $30 to $40 a month."
House Democrats raised several objections to the legislation. They said the new national franchise rules would sharply reduce the amount of money that cable companies now give towns and cities for public, educational and government programs. They said the failure to include build-out requirements for the telephone companies for their new video services would mean that people living in less affluent neighborhoods would be unlikely to see the benefits of any new competition for broadband and subscription television services.
But most of the criticism was over the bill's failure to include a provision that would prevent the cable and phone companies from charging the content providers for offering premium, or faster, Internet services.
The critics say that such a provision is vital to protect the free-wheeling architecture of the Internet. They also say it is necessary to prevent the telephone and cable companies, which are increasingly going into the content business, from favoring their own products over those of others. If the telephone companies can charge more to particular content providers, the critics say, the telephone and cable companies will ultimately offer broadband services that more closely resemble television services, with more limited choices than those now available on the Internet.
"The imposition of additional fees for Internet content providers would unduly burden Web-based small businesses and start-ups," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader. "They would also hamper communications by noncommercial users, those using religious speech, promoting civic involvement and exercising First Amendment freedoms."
The legislation gives the Federal Communications Commission the authority to enforce a year-old broadband policy statement that provides consumers access to the lawful Internet content of their choice. Those favoring the Markey amendment said that the commission's antidiscrimination principle was inadequate to ensure that content providers would not, in effect, be blocked if the telephone companies begin to require companies like Google and their smaller rivals to pay for premium services.
The phone companies and their Congressional allies say that such restrictions are both unnecessary and would discourage investment in upgrading networks. They also say that the legislation goes far enough to protect consumers. And they say that as there is increasing competition for broadband services, it would be impossible for a phone or cable company to be competitive by blocking or limiting Internet choices.
"A free and open Internet is crucial to formulating an effective policy," said Representative Clifford B. Stearns, a Florida Republican who is a co-sponsor of the bill. "For now, strict strong enforcement provisions that are in the bill are a tough deterrent to discrimination."
Source: NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/washington/09telecom.html
Related: Democracry Now!
House Passes Controversial COPE Telecom Bill, Rejects Amendment to Protect Net Neutrality
WASHINGTON, June 8 — The House of Representatives approved the most extensive telecommunications legislation in a decade on Thursday, largely ratifying the policy agenda of the nation's largest telephone companies.
The bill passed by a lopsided vote of 321 to 101.
Supporters of the legislation said it would promote competition and lower costs by enabling the telephone companies to offer bundled packages of video, telephone, broadband, wireless and mobile phone services in new markets. They said the legislation was an important antidote to rapidly rising cable television subscription rates.
But even as the House took up the measure on Thursday, the political action had already swung to the Senate, which has been peppered by lobbyists and executives from many major telecommunications companies in recent days as it prepares to draft its own version. The prospects there are uncertain.
The House bill, sponsored by Representative Joe L. Barton, the Texas Republican who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee, would make it much easier and cheaper for the phone companies to offer video services across the country by pre-empting the regulatory authority of municipal franchise officials. The telephone companies have been waging an expensive and protracted town-by-town war with their cable rivals, to offer video services.
The legislation would replace the regulatory role of more than 30,000 local franchising authorities with a national system supervised by the Federal Communications Commission. The current process has significantly slowed the ability of companies like Verizon and AT&T (formerly SBC Communications) to challenge the cable and satellite television companies with their own version of video services.
In a concession to the telephone and cable companies, the legislation does nothing to prevent the phone and cable providers from charging Internet content providers a premium for carrying services like video offerings that could rival those of the telecom companies.
Representative Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and a group of other Democrats sought to amend the legislation to prohibit such practices and thereby, they said, ensure the Internet's vitality. Support for the provision, which backers call "Net neutrality," brought together such competitors as Google and Microsoft.
But the amendment failed by a vote of 269 to 152.
The largest telephone companies did not get everything they sought, however. The legislation threatens to delay any effort by the Federal Communications Commission to require Internet telephone providers to make the investments needed to connect customers to 911 services.
Still, the House bill reflected the considerable clout of the telephone industry in the House, and in particular its ties to the Republican leadership there. Rivals of the phone companies, particularly the cable industry, appear for now to have more important allies in the Senate. And the Senate's rules and customs, unlike those in the House, make it easier for a smaller number of lawmakers to influence and delay legislation.
In the meantime, the flurry of activity is proving to be lucrative on K Street, as every major lobbying firm has been enlisted and campaign coffers are filling with millions of dollars from the telephone, cable, software and high-tech industries trying to shape the legislation. In recent days the phone companies began to run attack ads on television and in local newspapers against Google over its "Net neutrality" stand.
The legislative calendar leaves little time for the two chambers of Congress to reach a final agreement on a telecommunications bill as ambitious as the one considered by the House. But some executives predicted a narrower one could stand a better chance of final passage.
The White House issued a statement on Thursday supporting the House legislation, saying it would "promote competition in both video and voice markets."
Representative Fred Upton, the Michigan Republican who heads a telecommunications and Internet subcommittee and is a co-sponsor of the measure, said it would bring "deregulatory parity" and that "for the consumers that have these services, it probably will mean a reduction of about $30 to $40 a month."
House Democrats raised several objections to the legislation. They said the new national franchise rules would sharply reduce the amount of money that cable companies now give towns and cities for public, educational and government programs. They said the failure to include build-out requirements for the telephone companies for their new video services would mean that people living in less affluent neighborhoods would be unlikely to see the benefits of any new competition for broadband and subscription television services.
But most of the criticism was over the bill's failure to include a provision that would prevent the cable and phone companies from charging the content providers for offering premium, or faster, Internet services.
The critics say that such a provision is vital to protect the free-wheeling architecture of the Internet. They also say it is necessary to prevent the telephone and cable companies, which are increasingly going into the content business, from favoring their own products over those of others. If the telephone companies can charge more to particular content providers, the critics say, the telephone and cable companies will ultimately offer broadband services that more closely resemble television services, with more limited choices than those now available on the Internet.
"The imposition of additional fees for Internet content providers would unduly burden Web-based small businesses and start-ups," said Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader. "They would also hamper communications by noncommercial users, those using religious speech, promoting civic involvement and exercising First Amendment freedoms."
The legislation gives the Federal Communications Commission the authority to enforce a year-old broadband policy statement that provides consumers access to the lawful Internet content of their choice. Those favoring the Markey amendment said that the commission's antidiscrimination principle was inadequate to ensure that content providers would not, in effect, be blocked if the telephone companies begin to require companies like Google and their smaller rivals to pay for premium services.
The phone companies and their Congressional allies say that such restrictions are both unnecessary and would discourage investment in upgrading networks. They also say that the legislation goes far enough to protect consumers. And they say that as there is increasing competition for broadband services, it would be impossible for a phone or cable company to be competitive by blocking or limiting Internet choices.
"A free and open Internet is crucial to formulating an effective policy," said Representative Clifford B. Stearns, a Florida Republican who is a co-sponsor of the bill. "For now, strict strong enforcement provisions that are in the bill are a tough deterrent to discrimination."
Source: NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/washington/09telecom.html
Related: Democracry Now!
House Passes Controversial COPE Telecom Bill, Rejects Amendment to Protect Net Neutrality
Friday, June 02, 2006
Pakistan to restore ten gurdwaras
SHAHEEDI DIWAS Z 7,000 PILGRIMS ALLOWED FOR 400TH MARTYRDOM OF GURU ARJAN DEV
‘Pak PM Sahaukat Aziz will release a postal stamp marking the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ on June 15’
Sanjeev Chopra
Patiala, June 2: Deciding to participate in a Sikh religious function for the first time ever by observing the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev later this month, the Pakistan government has said that it would restore ten closed gurdwaras in Pakistan. These include Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, where Guru Arjan Dev gave his ‘shaheedi’.
The restoration would be done through the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Disclosing this to chairman of the International Bhai Mardana Kirtan Darbar Society Harpal Singh Bhullar, PGPC president Bishan Singh said the Pakistan government would be releasing a postal stamp marking the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ of Guru Arjan Dev on June 15. Pakistan PM Sahaukat Aziz would release the stamp.
PGPC president Sham Singh said the Pakistan government has allowed as many as 7,000 pilgrims from India to participate in the function in Lahore for which Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has also been invited.
Incidentally, the Pakistan government had earlier allowed 10,000 pilgrims, but later reduced the number to 5,000, which now been increased to 7,000.
Bhullar said the president of the reception committee of the PGPC, Sham Singh, who is organising the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ with the help of the Pakistani government, disclosed that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would also host a reception on June 15 evening for a select pilgrims.
The ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ would be spread over ten days— from June 13 to 22— as against a weeklong function proposed earlier.
A seminar on Sikh history and historical sites would also be held in Lahore on June 14, where 300 pilgrims from the Bhai Mardana Society would participate, along with hundreds of other pilgrims.
Source: Express India
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=185869
‘Pak PM Sahaukat Aziz will release a postal stamp marking the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ on June 15’
Sanjeev Chopra
Patiala, June 2: Deciding to participate in a Sikh religious function for the first time ever by observing the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev later this month, the Pakistan government has said that it would restore ten closed gurdwaras in Pakistan. These include Gurdwara Dera Sahib in Lahore, where Guru Arjan Dev gave his ‘shaheedi’.
The restoration would be done through the Pakistan Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Disclosing this to chairman of the International Bhai Mardana Kirtan Darbar Society Harpal Singh Bhullar, PGPC president Bishan Singh said the Pakistan government would be releasing a postal stamp marking the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ of Guru Arjan Dev on June 15. Pakistan PM Sahaukat Aziz would release the stamp.
PGPC president Sham Singh said the Pakistan government has allowed as many as 7,000 pilgrims from India to participate in the function in Lahore for which Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has also been invited.
Incidentally, the Pakistan government had earlier allowed 10,000 pilgrims, but later reduced the number to 5,000, which now been increased to 7,000.
Bhullar said the president of the reception committee of the PGPC, Sham Singh, who is organising the ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ with the help of the Pakistani government, disclosed that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would also host a reception on June 15 evening for a select pilgrims.
The ‘Shaheedi Diwas’ would be spread over ten days— from June 13 to 22— as against a weeklong function proposed earlier.
A seminar on Sikh history and historical sites would also be held in Lahore on June 14, where 300 pilgrims from the Bhai Mardana Society would participate, along with hundreds of other pilgrims.
Source: Express India
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=185869
Israel building new illegal West Bank settlement
By LAURIE COPANS,
Associated Press Writer1 hour, 19 minutes ago
Associated Press Writer1 hour, 19 minutes ago
Israel has begun laying the foundations for a new Jewish settlement deep in the West Bank — breaking a promise to Washington while strengthening its hold on a stretch of desert it wants to keep as it draws its final borders.
The construction of Maskiot comes at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seeks U.S. backing for eventually annexing parts of the West Bank as part of a plan to set Israel's eastern border with or without Palestinian consent.
The Palestinians and Israel's settlement watchdog group Peace Now say the Maskiot construction amounts to a new attempt to push Israel's future border deeper into the West Bank. "It's about grabbing land," said Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now.
Otniel Schneller, an Olmert adviser, confirmed Israel is building in additional West Bank areas to ensure they are not included in the lands given to the Palestinians. He said Israel needs to keep the Jordan Valley, where Maskiot is located, as a security buffer against Islamic militants based in Iraq, Iran and elsewhere.
Olmert has said that if efforts to resume peace talks fail, as expected, he would annex large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank and draw Israel's final borders by 2008. A separation barrier Israel is building in the West Bank is to serve as the basis for the future border.
In order to ensure a Jewish majority in lands it controls, Israel plans to evacuate as many as 70,000 West Bank settlers, relocating them to the western side of the separation barrier. Israel depicts the move as a major concession, but Palestinians fear Jewish footholds like Maskiot will prevent them from being able to build a contiguous state on the evacuated lands.
Maskiot would initially house 20 families, all former Gaza settlers forced out of their homes when Israel withdrew from the coastal strip last year. Israel has promised Washington it would not build new settlements in the West Bank.
The future residents of Maskiot say their homes are being financed by right-leaning Jewish donors and the Israeli government, and that they will be renting homes built by others.
Asked about Maskiot, Stewart Tuttle, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv, said such settlement activity violates U.S. policy. "As a general principle, the U.S. government is opposed to settlement expansion," Tuttle said. "Ceasing settlement expansion is one of Israel's commitments under the road map."
At Maskiot, bulldozers have cleared the top of a hill and work crews have laid foundations for four houses. New trees have been planted on the edges of the settlement.
The first 20 families, all from the former Gaza settlement outpost of Shirat Hayam, are expected to move there in coming weeks, said regional settler leader Dubi Tal.
The Kinarti family from Shirat Hayam has moved into a temporary concrete block home in Maskiot. A knock on the door produced a man with a large skullcap who refused to comment on the construction of his new home but said he's originally from Shirat Hayam.
Another future Maskiot resident, Yossi Hazut, said he was settling in the Jordan Valley to help determine the borders of the state of Israel.
"I don't think there is even one Israeli who thinks that the Jordan Valley is not important," said Hazut, who is living in a nearby community until his house is ready. "God willing, many of us from Shirat Hayam will live in Maskiot."
Schneller, an architect of Olmert's West Bank plan, said Israel could move the separation barrier deeper into the West Bank to include Maskiot on the Israeli side.
Israel's Defense Ministry, which oversees settlement activity, confirmed it decided before Israel's March election to approve the construction of Maskiot.
The defense minister, Amir Peretz, has not tried to derail these plans, defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the press. Peretz, leader of the Labor Party, is seen as a leading opponent of settlement expansion, but apparently wants to avoid stirring up too many conflicts in Olmert's coalition government.
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Israel will eventually have to decide whether it wants to build more settlements or reach a peace agreement. "Every settlement is meant to take Palestinian land and meant to undermine a two-state solution," he said.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_new_settlement
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
US probe finds Haditha victims were shot: report
1 hour, 49 minutes ago
U.S. military officials say the killing of 24 civilians in the Iraqi town of Haditha in November appears to have been an unprovoked attack by U.S. Marines, after an investigation found the victims died of gunshot wounds, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The findings of the investigation contradicted Marines' claims that the civilians were victims of a roadside bomb, the newspaper said.
The Times report, citing an unidentified senior military official in Iraq, said the investigation in February and March led by Col. Gregory Watt, an Army officer in Baghdad, uncovered death certificates showing the Iraqis were shot mostly in the head and chest.
The three-week probe was the first official investigation into the killings.
"There were enough inconsistencies that things didn't add up," the senior official was quoted as saying by the Times.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had been briefed on the conclusion of Watt's preliminary investigation, the newspaper said. The findings have not been made public.
In an interview with CNN, new Iraqi ambassador to the United States Samir al-Sumaidaie said there appeared to have been other killings of civilians by Marines in Haditha, where some of his family lives.
The ambassador said Marines shot and killed his cousin during a house-to-house search several months before the November incident.
"I believe he was killed intentionally. I believe that he was killed unnecessarily," al-Sumaidaie said.
He said three other unarmed youths were shot dead by Marines in a later incident in the area.
"They were in a car, they were unarmed, I believe, and they were shot."
Watt's investigation also reviewed cash payments totaling $38,000 made within weeks of the November shootings to families of victims, The New York Times said.
In an interview with the newspaper on Tuesday, Maj. Dana Hyatt said his superiors told him to compensate the relatives of 15 victims, but the other dead civilians had been determined to have committed hostile acts, leaving their families ineligible for compensation.
The U.S. military sometimes pays compensation to relatives of civilian victims.
Residents of Haditha, 200 km (125 miles) northwest of Baghdad in an area that has seen much activity by Sunni Arab insurgents, have told Reuters that U.S. Marines attacked houses after their patrol was hit by a roadside bomb.
On November 20, U.S. Marines spokesman Captain Jeffrey Pool issued a statement saying that, on the previous day, a roadside bomb had killed 15 civilians and a Marine. In a later gunbattle, U.S. and Iraqi troops had killed eight insurgents, he added.
U.S. military officials have since confirmed to Reuters that that version of the events of November 19 was wrong and that the 15 civilians were not killed by the blast but were shot dead.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060531/ts_nm/iraq_usa_haditha_dc...
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
U.S. policy was to shoot Korean refugees
By CHARLES J. HANLEY and MARTHA MENDOZA,
Associated Press WritersMon May 29, 2:44 PM ET
More than a half-century after hostilities ended in Korea, a document from the war's chaotic early days has come to light — a letter from the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, informing the State Department that American soldiers would shoot refugees approaching their lines.
The letter — dated the day of the Army's mass killing of South Korean refugees at No Gun Ri in 1950 — is the strongest indication yet that such a policy existed for all U.S. forces in Korea, and the first evidence that that policy was known to upper ranks of the U.S. government.
"If refugees do appear from north of US lines they will receive warning shots, and if they then persist in advancing they will be shot," wrote Ambassador John J. Muccio, in his message to Assistant Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
The letter reported on decisions made at a high-level meeting in South Korea on July 25, 1950, the night before the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment shot the refugees at No Gun Ri.
Estimates vary on the number of dead at No Gun Ri. American soldiers' estimates ranged from under 100 to "hundreds" dead; Korean survivors say about 400, mostly women and children, were killed at the village 100 miles southeast of Seoul, the South Korean capital. Hundreds more refugees were killed in later, similar episodes, survivors say.
The No Gun Ri killings were documented in a Pulitzer Prize-winning story by The Associated Press in 1999, which prompted a 16-month Pentagon inquiry.
The Pentagon concluded that the No Gun Ri shootings, which lasted three days, were "an unfortunate tragedy" — "not a deliberate killing." It suggested panicky soldiers, acting without orders, opened fire because they feared that an approaching line of families, baggage and farm animals concealed enemy troops.
But Muccio's letter indicates the actions of the 7th Cavalry were consistent with policy, adopted because of concern that North Koreans would infiltrate via refugee columns. And in subsequent months, U.S. commanders repeatedly ordered refugees shot, documents show.
The Muccio letter, declassified in 1982, is discussed in a new book by American historian Sahr Conway-Lanz, who discovered the document at the U.S. National Archives, where the AP also has obtained a copy.
Conway-Lanz, a former Harvard historian and now an archivist of the National Archives' Nixon collection, was awarded the Stuart L. Bernath Award of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations for the article on which the book is based.
"With this additional piece of evidence, the Pentagon report's interpretation (of No Gun Ri) becomes difficult to sustain," Conway-Lanz argues in his book, "Collateral Damage," published this spring by Routledge.
The Army report's own list of sources for the 1999-2001 investigation shows its researchers reviewed the microfilm containing the Muccio letter. But the 300-page report did not mention it.
Asked about this, Pentagon spokeswoman Betsy Weiner would say only that the Army inspector general's report was "an accurate and objective portrayal of the available facts based on 13 months of work."
Said Louis Caldera, who was Army secretary in 2001 and is now University of New Mexico president, "Millions of pages of files were reviewed and it is certainly possible they may have simply missed it."
Ex-journalist Don Oberdorfer, a historian of Korea who served on a team of outside experts who reviewed the investigation, said he did not recall seeing the Muccio message. "I don't know why, since the military claimed to have combed all records from any source."
Muccio noted in his 1950 letter that U.S. commanders feared disguised North Korean soldiers were infiltrating American lines via refugee columns.
As a result, those meeting on the night of July 25, 1950 — top staff officers of the U.S. 8th Army, Muccio's representative Harold J. Noble and South Korean officials — decided on a policy of air-dropping leaflets telling South Korean civilians not to head south toward U.S. defense lines, and of shooting them if they did approach U.S. lines despite warning shots, the ambassador wrote to Rusk.
Rusk, Muccio and Noble, who was embassy first secretary, are all dead. It is not known what action, if any, Rusk and others in Washington may have taken as a result of the letter.
Muccio told Rusk, who later served as U.S. secretary of state during the Vietnam War, that he was writing him "in view of the possibility of repercussions in the United States" from such deadly U.S. tactics.
But the No Gun Ri killings — as well as others in the ensuing months — remained hidden from history until the AP report of 1999, in which ex-soldiers who were at No Gun Ri corroborated the Korean survivors' accounts.
Survivors said U.S. soldiers first forced them from nearby villages on July 25, 1950, and then stopped them in front of U.S. lines the next day, when they were attacked without warning by aircraft as hundreds sat atop a railroad embankment. Troops of the 7th Cavalry followed with ground fire as survivors took shelter under a railroad bridge.
The late Army Col. Robert M. Carroll, a lieutenant at No Gun Ri, said he remembered the order radioed across the warfront on the morning of July 26 to stop refugees from crossing battle lines. "What do you do when you're told nobody comes through?" he said in a 1998 interview. "We had to shoot them to hold them back."
Other soldier witnesses attested to radioed orders to open fire at No Gun Ri.
Since that episode was confirmed in 1999, South Koreans have lodged complaints with the Seoul government about more than 60 other alleged large-scale killings of refugees by the U.S. military in the 1950-53 war.
The Army report of 2001 acknowledged investigators learned of other, unspecified civilian killings, but said these would not be investigated.
Meanwhile, AP research uncovered at least 19 declassified U.S. military documents showing commanders ordered or authorized such killings in 1950-51.
In a statement issued Monday in Seoul, a No Gun Ri survivors group called that episode "a clear war crime," demanded an apology and compensation from the U.S. government, and said the U.S. Congress and the United Nations should conduct investigations. The survivors also said they would file a lawsuit against the Pentagon for alleged manipulation of the earlier probe.
The Army's denial that the killings were ordered is a "deception of No Gun Ri victims and of U.S. citizens who value human rights," said spokesman Chung Koo-do.
Even if infiltrators are present, soldiers need to take "due precautions" to protect civilian lives, said Francois Bugnion, director for international law for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, global authority on the laws of war.
After reviewing the 1950 letter, Bugnion said the standard on war crimes is clear.
"In the case of a deliberate attack directed against civilians identified as such, then this would amount to a violation of the law of armed conflict," he said.
Gary Solis, a West Point expert on war crimes, said the policy described by Muccio clearly "deviates from typical wartime procedures. It's an obvious violation of the bedrock core principle of the law of armed conflict — distinction."
Solis said soldiers always have the right to defend themselves. But "noncombatants are not to be purposely targeted."
But William Eckhardt, lead Army prosecutor in the My Lai atrocities case in Vietnam, sensed "angst, great angst" in the letter because officials worried about what might happen. "If a mob doesn't stop when they're coming at you, you fire over their heads and if they still don't stop you fire at them. Standard procedure," he said.
In South Korea, Yi Mahn-yol, head of the National Institute of Korean History and a member of a government panel on No Gun Ri, said the Muccio letter sheds an entirely new light on a case that "so far has been presented as an accidental incident that didn't involve the command system."
___
AP Investigative Researcher Randy Herschaft in New York and AP Writer Jae-soon Chang in Seoul contributed to this report.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_re_as/no_gun_ri_letter...
Monday, May 29, 2006
John Allen Muhammad jury to weigh conspiracy theory
By STEPHEN MANNING,
Associated Press WriterMon May 29, 5:26 PM ET
Early in his closing argument, John Allen Muhammad laid out the heart of his defense against six murder charges for the 2002 sniper shootings in the Washington area: He and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo were framed.
"My case is based on one thing. It is very simple. They lied on two innocent men," Muhammad said Friday, before launching into a rambling speech in which he claimed that government agencies conspired to falsely imprison him and that most of the evidence against him was planted.
As jurors begin their deliberations Tuesday in Muhammad's second trial for the sniper attacks, they will have to weigh Muhammad's conspiracy theory — for which he offered little proof and no motive — against the four weeks of testimony and evidence presented by prosecutors.
Witnesses reported seeing Muhammad and his car near shooting scenes. Forensic experts said his DNA was on evidence that included the rifle found in the car when he and Malvo were arrested. Ballistics experts matched the .223-caliber bullets used in the murders to the rifle.
Jurors also heard dramatic testimony from Malvo, whom Muhammad still referred to as "my son" even though his former protege took the stand to say Muhammad planned and carried out most of the shootings.
Muhammad defended himself, showing that he has learned a lot about lawyering from his time in courts here and in Virginia. He appeared comfortable with courtroom procedure. He cross-examined prosecution witnesses, seizing on inconsistencies as he looked for holes to suggest he was set up.
Prosecutors urged jurors not to be fooled by Muhammad's courtroom demeanor. It was just a facade, an act to cover his murderous plans, Assistant State's Attorney Vivek Chopra said in his closing argument.
"Scrub away that veneer that covers this man and see him for what he is," Chopra said, labeling Muhammad "a heartless, soulless, manipulating murderer."
Ten people were killed and three were wounded during the three weeks of shootings in October 2002. Victims were shot at gas stations and in parking lots, and a 13-year-old boy was struck by a bullet outside a school. People were afraid to pump gas, go out in public or send their children to school.
A Virginia jury convicted Muhammad of one shooting in Manassas, Va., and Malvo was given a life term for another Virginia shooting. Maryland prosecutors say their case is insurance in case Muhammad's Virginia conviction is overturned.
Muhammad and Malvo also are suspected in shootings in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana and Washington state.
The most riveting witness was Malvo, who testified for two days last week. Malvo called Muhammad "a coward" as he confronted his former father figure, detailing each shooting and describing how Muhammad planned them. Muhammad was the shooter in five of the six Montgomery murders, he said.
Malvo detailed Muhammad's more sinister plans, saying he was about to launch "phase two" when the pair were arrested. Children were to be the principal target of that second phase.
Muhammad challenged Malvo's credibility, pointing out that Malvo first told investigators he was the shooter in each incident, then changed his story later. He suggested Malvo was prone to exaggeration, and noted Malvo had used an insanity defense in his first trial.
Muhammad pleaded with jurors Friday not to believe the case against him.
"These cases are not based on logic," he said, his voice rising. "I call these cases the cow jumping over the moon."
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060529/ap_on_re_us/sniper_tria...
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Gujarat 'bans' new Bollywood film
Cinema owners in Gujarat have refused to show Bollywood actor Aamir Khan's latest film, fearing protests about Khan's criticism of a big dam project.
Fanaa, a film about a romance between a blind girl and a tour guide opened across India on Friday.
The youth arm of the state's ruling party, the BJP, has led protests and asked Khan to withdraw his comments.
Khan had called on the government to adequately compensate people displaced by construction of the Narmada dam.
He has refused to withdraw his comments.
The latest protests against the dam followed a decision to raise its height from 110 to 112 metres.
Aamir Khan added his voice to calls for a halt to construction after Indian environmentalist Medha Patkar launched a hunger strike in April.
Court ruling
The Save Narmada Movement says the state government has failed to provide adequate rehabilitation of the 35,000 people whose villages will be submerged when the dam is constructed.
They asked the courts to halt construction, but earlier this month India's Supreme Court refused to stop the heightening of the dam.
The Sardar Sarovar dam project was initiated by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, in the 1950s. But it has run into long delays, legal disputes and protests.
Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5022892.stm
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Iraq Veteran Speaks Out On War Crimes
Testimony from a former U.S. Army Ranger
Jessie Macbeth, a Former Army Ranger and Iraq War Veteran Tells All
This 20 minute interview will change how you view the U.S. occupation of Iraq forever. I cannot possibly recommend this more highly. An Iraq war veteran tells of atrocities he and other fellow-soldiers committed reguarly while in Iraq. I have never seen this level of honesty from a U.S. soldier who directly participated in the slaughtering of Iraqis.
Excerpts:
"When we were doing the night raids in the houses, we would pull people out and have them all on their knees and zip-tied. We would ask the man of the house questions. If he didn't answer the way we liked, we would shoot his youngest kid in the head. We would keep going, this was our interrogation. He could be innocent. He could be just an average Joe trying to support his family. If he didn't give us a satisfactory answer, we'd start killing off his family until he told us something. If he didn't know anything, I guess he was SOL."
and
"For not speaking out, I feel like I'm betraying my battle-buddies that died."
Produced by Pepperspray Productions
Jessie Macbeth, a Former Army Ranger and Iraq War Veteran Tells All
This 20 minute interview will change how you view the U.S. occupation of Iraq forever. I cannot possibly recommend this more highly. An Iraq war veteran tells of atrocities he and other fellow-soldiers committed reguarly while in Iraq. I have never seen this level of honesty from a U.S. soldier who directly participated in the slaughtering of Iraqis.
Excerpts:
"When we were doing the night raids in the houses, we would pull people out and have them all on their knees and zip-tied. We would ask the man of the house questions. If he didn't answer the way we liked, we would shoot his youngest kid in the head. We would keep going, this was our interrogation. He could be innocent. He could be just an average Joe trying to support his family. If he didn't give us a satisfactory answer, we'd start killing off his family until he told us something. If he didn't know anything, I guess he was SOL."
and
"For not speaking out, I feel like I'm betraying my battle-buddies that died."
Produced by Pepperspray Productions
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Videos
"Defense Department Releases September 11 Pentagon Video to Judicial Watch
Department of Defense Responds to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act Request and Related Lawsuit
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that Department of Defense released a videotape to Judicial Watch at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon that shows American Airlines Flight 77 striking the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Department of Defense released the videotape in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act request and related lawsuit.
"This is in response to your December 14, 2004 Freedom of Information Act Request, FOIA appeal of March 27, 2005, and complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia," wrote William Kammer, Chief of the Department of Defense, Office of Freedom of Information. "Now that the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui is over, we are able to complete your request and provide the video."
Judicial Watch originally filed a Freedom of Information Act request on December 15, 2004, seeking all records pertaining to September 11, 2001 camera recordings of the Pentagon attack from the Sheraton National Hotel, the Nexcomm/Citgo gas station, Pentagon security cameras and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The Department of Defense admitted in a January 26, 2005 letter that it possessed a videotape responsive to Judicial Watch's request. However, the Pentagon refused to release the videotape because it was, "part of an ongoing investigation involving Zacarias Moussaoui." Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on February 22, 2006 arguing that there was "no legal basis" for the Defense Department's refusal to release the tape.
"We fought hard to obtain this video because we felt that it was very important to complete the public record with respect to the terrorist attacks of September 11," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
"Finally, we hope that this video will put to rest the conspiracy theories involving American Airlines Flight 77. As always, our prayers remain with all those who suffered as a result of those murderous attacks."
A copy of the video is available on Judicial Watch's Internet site, www.judicialwatch.org.
Judicial Watch a non-partisan, educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Judicial Watch is dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a return to ethics and morality in our nation's public life."
Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video 1 of 2
Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video 2 of 2
Department of Defense Responds to Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act Request and Related Lawsuit
(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that Department of Defense released a videotape to Judicial Watch at 1:00 p.m. this afternoon that shows American Airlines Flight 77 striking the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The Department of Defense released the videotape in response to a Judicial Watch Freedom of Information Act request and related lawsuit.
"This is in response to your December 14, 2004 Freedom of Information Act Request, FOIA appeal of March 27, 2005, and complaint filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia," wrote William Kammer, Chief of the Department of Defense, Office of Freedom of Information. "Now that the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui is over, we are able to complete your request and provide the video."
Judicial Watch originally filed a Freedom of Information Act request on December 15, 2004, seeking all records pertaining to September 11, 2001 camera recordings of the Pentagon attack from the Sheraton National Hotel, the Nexcomm/Citgo gas station, Pentagon security cameras and the Virginia Department of Transportation. The Department of Defense admitted in a January 26, 2005 letter that it possessed a videotape responsive to Judicial Watch's request. However, the Pentagon refused to release the videotape because it was, "part of an ongoing investigation involving Zacarias Moussaoui." Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on February 22, 2006 arguing that there was "no legal basis" for the Defense Department's refusal to release the tape.
"We fought hard to obtain this video because we felt that it was very important to complete the public record with respect to the terrorist attacks of September 11," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
"Finally, we hope that this video will put to rest the conspiracy theories involving American Airlines Flight 77. As always, our prayers remain with all those who suffered as a result of those murderous attacks."
A copy of the video is available on Judicial Watch's Internet site, www.judicialwatch.org.
Judicial Watch a non-partisan, educational foundation organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Judicial Watch is dedicated to fighting government and judicial corruption and promoting a return to ethics and morality in our nation's public life."
Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video 1 of 2
Judicial Watch September 11 Pentagon Video 2 of 2
Sunday, May 14, 2006
1984 is finally here
President Bush says Americans' privacy is secure despite a massive data mining operation |
| First published: Sunday, May 14, 2006 |
| Ever since last December, when news reports began to indicate that the government's domestic spying program might be more extensive than originally thought, there was good reason for Americans to fear that their privacy, and basic liberties, were at risk. Now those fears have been justified after an article in Thursday's USA Today described just how extensive the spying is. According to the report, the National Security Agency is attempting to track every phone call made within the U.S. to detect patterns that could suggest terrorist activity. Unlike the NSA's other controversial, and likely illegal spying program -- that is, the warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens' international phone calls and e-mails -- the surveillance is limited to collecting numbers and storing them in a data base. The agency isn't listening in on the contents of the phone calls it is tracking, and only numbers are collected, not names or addresses, although they could easily be retrieved. Nonetheless, the scope of the surveillance is breathtaking, and the willingness of the country's major phone companies -- only Qwest had the courage and principle to refuse to turn over records -- is frightening. It means Americans' phone records can be traced without their knowledge or consent, even though they are not suspected of any wrongdoing, let alone any connection to terrorists. But Mr. Bush, in responding to the latest revelations, assured Americans that their privacy is "fiercely protected in all our activities. Our efforts are focused on al-Qaida and their known associates." That is becoming harder to believe as more information comes out. As an angry Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., put it, "Are you telling me that tens of millions of Americans are involved with al-Qaida?" Mr. Bush's denials are all too typical of a White House that continues to tell the public it can be trusted to use surveillance powers appropriately. In truth, the more citizens learn about the spying, the less reason they have to trust government. That's largely because the full truth about these programs hasn't been told. Instead, it unfolds day to day, month to month. The obvious question that raises is: What else is the government hiding? There's no question that government has an obligation to spy on suspected terrorists who may be operating within the U.S., or contacting U.S. citizens from abroad. But the surveillance must be within the law. That means going to a secret court to obtain warrants before wiretapping phone calls or intercepting e-mails. And it means respecting the privacy of innocent Americans at all times. Regrettably, the Bush administration has been flouting the rules for some time, and Congress has been too meek to challenge it. Perhaps now, with the latest revelations, Congress will find the spine to stand up for basic liberties. |
Source: Albany Times Union
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=...5/14/2006
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Israel Firm Cuts Palestinian Gas Supplies
By ALI DARAGHMEH and JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writers 7 minutes ago
Palestinian gas stations began shutting down and motorists lined up at pumps after an Israeli fuel company cut off deliveries Wednesday, deepening the humanitarian crisis that has followed Hamas' rise to power.
An end to fuel supplies for the West Bank and Gaza could cripple hospitals, halt food deliveries and keep people home from work — a devastating scenario for an economy already ravaged by Israeli and international sanctions.
Dor Energy, the Israeli company that has been the sole fuel provider to the Palestinians since interim peace agreements were signed in the mid-1990s, cited growing debts for its decision, Palestinian officials said. Dor officials declined comment, but the company had threatened to cut off supplies twice before this year — only to be paid at the last minute by the Palestinians.
Asaf Shariv, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel would "absolutely not" bail out the Palestinians. Shariv said that since the Palestinian government resells gasoline to consumers, there is no reason for it not to have money to pay its debts.
But Palestinian officials said their cash-strapped government is one of the biggest users of gasoline and unable to pay the bill.
Mujahid Salame, head of the Palestinian petrol authority, predicted fuel supplies would run out in many areas by Thursday. "If this happens, there will be a humanitarian crisis," he said.
In Gaza City motorists formed long lines at filling stations, expecting a fuel crunch.
"I bought more than I need because I want to guarantee that I can reach work again," said Osama Shaban, 33, a construction engineer who drives 10 miles to work each day.
Though station owners said they still had several days of reserves, some limited motorists' purchases to conserve supplies.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a top Health Ministry official in Gaza, warned that the area's hospitals, already suffering from a shortage of medicines, would cease to function without fuel.
He said ambulances would stop running, employees would not be able to get to work and gas generators — used to compensate for ongoing electric outages — would be hobbled.
"It's going to be a disaster for us in the medical profession," he said, speaking at a Gaza City gas station where he helped fill the gas tanks of several ambulances.
In the West Bank, the situation was more dire. Many stations said they were out of fuel, in some cases laying their dry nozzles on the ground.
"The only thing I've been doing for the past day is telling drivers that I don't have any gas," said Awad Dabous, who works at a gas station in the West Bank town of Jenin. A sign at the station said simply: "Sorry, no gas."
In Nablus, a line of taxi drivers said they stopped working because they had no fuel. One driver, Mahmoud Tourabi, said he would try to drive to a nearby Jewish settlement in hopes of filling his tank.
"They may kill me there, so I will be the martyr of the gas," he quipped.
The fuel crunch is the latest sign of trouble for the Palestinian economy, which has been hit hard by a cutoff in Western aid. The donors halted the money flow in response to Hamas' victory in legislative elections, demanding the group renounce violence and recognize Israel. The U.S. and European Union, the two biggest donors, consider Hamas a terrorist group.
Hamas has rejected the demands, despite a financial crisis that has left it unable to pay the salaries of thousands of government workers for two months.
Instead, it has raised some $70 million from Iran and Arab donors. Under U.S. pressure, banks have refused to transfer the funds to Hamas, and the money remains stuck in an account in Egypt.
Compounding Hamas' woes, Israel has cut off about $55 million in monthly transfers of tax money it collects for the Palestinians. Israel has placed the money in escrow.
Israel dipped into this money last month to pay Palestinian bills to government-owned companies, such as the Israeli electric monopoly. The Palestinians rely on Israel for many key supplies, including fuel, electricity and water
Palestinian officials and the World Bank say a humanitarian disaster is looming. Palestinians have been taking out loans, cutting back and selling valuables to scrape by. But officials say the situation can't continue much longer.
Fearing catastrophe, the Quartet of Mideast peace makers — the U.S., EU, United Nations and Russia — agreed Tuesday to restore some humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, as long as the money is not handled by Hamas. But it remains unclear when the money will start flowing, how much will be sent and who will administer the money.
In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said more work was needed before the new mechanism would start to channel funds to the Palestinians. She said there is no timeline, only that "we want this to move as soon as possible."
Hamas said it welcomed any aid, but expressed regrets that the Quartet attached strings. Israeli officials said they had no objections to humanitarian aid reaching Palestinians, provided it is kept out of the hands of Hamas.
Olmert has said he would be willing to negotiate with Hamas if the group accepts the international community's demands to end its violent campaign against the Jewish state. With Hamas refusing to budge, however, Olmert says he is prepared to draw Israel's borders on his own.
Justice Minister Haim Ramon on Wednesday gave Hamas until the end of the year to prove it is willing to negotiate a peace deal.
"If it becomes clear by the end of the year that we really have no partner, and the international community is also convinced of this, then we will take our fate into our own hands and not leave our fate in the hands of our enemies," he told Israel's Army radio.
Ramon, a close associate of Olmert, was the first Israeli official to set a deadline for Hamas.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060510/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians...
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
India struggles with discrimination
Posted 5/7/2006 11:11 PM ET
By Ken Moritsugu, Special for USA TODAY
NEW DELHI — Born into the lowest caste in Indian society, Pradeep Kumar Jatav holds a coveted job as a university lecturer.
Despite a strong academic record, the 31-year-old graduate student said he wouldn't have gotten the post without government-mandated quotas. "People don't want that you sit with them," he said. "At the moment they know your caste, they create barriers."
India still struggles with vestiges of an ancient and discriminatory caste system, even as it emerges as a potential 21st-century economic power.
The system, which dates back more than 2,000 years, divides the population into higher castes, which include priests and warriors, and lower castes, such as laborers. At the bottom sit the "untouchables," known as Dalits.
A recent government push to expand college admission and job quotas — an Indian form of affirmative action for the lower castes — has run into stiff opposition. Students have taken to the streets of New Delhi several times to protest the plan.
The clash pits the winners in India's ongoing economic boom against those who have been left behind.
While a burgeoning middle class snaps up automobiles and the latest appliances, 327 million Indians — about 30% of the population — still live in poverty on less than $1 a day, according to the Asian Development Bank.
Some low-caste families have risen to the middle class, thanks in part to quotas, but most remain poor, said Nandu Ram, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and author of several books on India's lowest castes.
India sets aside 22.5% of its government jobs for the lowest castes, and an additional 27% for what are called the other "backward" castes, the next step up in the caste system.
'Divide in society' evident
The debate over quotas was intensified by the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which was elected in 2004 on a promise of spreading the fruits of economic growth to the poor.
Singh wants to introduce job quotas at private companies and expand quotas for college admission.
The uproar over quotas is "the sharpest expression of the divide in society between the classes," human rights lawyer Colin Gonsalves said.
Students worry that higher quotas will make the competition for limited slots even tougher.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, for example, has only 50 slots a year for graduate students, 11 of which are reserved for the lowest castes.
Donning white lab coats, undergraduates who expect to be competing for those spots marched in New Delhi last week to protest any quota increase.
Gonsalves remained unmoved. "These are elitist institutions," he said of the universities, "that need to be beaten on the head."
The anti-quota camp accuses the government of advocating quotas to seek votes from the lower castes. The backward castes make up about two-thirds of the population.
A better solution would be to ensure that the lower castes have better access to education, quota opponents say, something they blame the government for failing to provide. "The government can't provide primary and secondary education," said Peeyush Kumar, 20, a student who has protested the quotas. "That's why they are imposing this (quota), to increase the number of votes they are going to receive."
Business and academic leaders also warn that quotas could erode India's competitive advantages in a global economy.
"The only way we can compete with global players is by hiring best-in-class people from India and the rest of the world," said Azim Premji, chairman of software outsourcing giant Wipro. "We are an organization that requires selecting people on merit."
Freedom from humiliation
Blatant caste discrimination is on the wane in big cities but persists in rural communities, where Dalits must live apart from others and take water from separate taps.
In extreme cases, Dalits who violate caste codes are beaten and their houses destroyed.
Some offending women have been stripped naked and paraded around as a humiliating lesson to others, according to the New Delhi-based National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights.
As a young village schoolteacher, Hansraj Dugal would bring sweets to share with his colleagues at tea time. They remained uneaten. Not one of the other teachers would "pollute" themselves by touching the sweets of an untouchable, he said.
That kind of treatment drove Dugal, 45, to leave the village for the relative anonymity of New Delhi.
He changed the last name of his children to try to conceal their low-caste background.
Proudly describing their school honors, he hopes they can get through life without the benefit of quotas.
"I want to save my children from such discrimination," Dugal said.
Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-07-caste-barriers_x.htm?csp=34
Razing of Mosque in India Brings Violence, Court Ban
NEW DELHI, May 4 — The Supreme Court ordered Gujarat on Thursday to stop demolishing buildings that the state says were constructed illegally. Six people died and dozens were injured this week during protests against the demolition of a Muslim shrine in Gujarat.
More than a thousand Indian Army troops were dispatched to Gujarat on Wednesday to contain further Hindu-Muslim violence.
The riots were set off by the demolition of the Syed Rashiduddin shrine in Vadodara, part of the state's effort to tear down buildings that it said had been built illegally. Several other houses of worship, including about a dozen small roadside Hindu temples, have also been torn down. But the demolition of the Muslim shrine — a larger and older structure used by Chishti, a mystical Sufi sect, which stood in the middle of a road — has become a touchstone of tension.
The court order was in response to a petition by the central government, which cited the violence and said the demolitions had been authorized without proper review.
Vadodara, also known as Baroda, remained under a curfew and was largely calm on Thursday. But Reuters quoted police officials as saying that three factories had been set on fire, and that mobs had pelted each other with stones. Army troops fanned out across the city, along with the local police.
Of the six people who died in three days of rioting, four were Muslims and two Hindu. One of the dead was Mohammed Rafik Vohra, the owner of a transport company, who was pulled out of his car by a Hindu mob and stabbed to death on Tuesday night, his brother, Mahmood, said.
The latest violence recalled Gujarat's ugly past and drew fresh scrutiny of its chief minister, Narendra Modi, of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Four years ago, also during Mr. Modi's tenure in Gujarat, a prosperous and highly industrialized state, a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims set off reprisal attacks that left more than 1,100 dead, most of them Muslims.
Those on the train had been returning from a mission to build a temple in Ayodhya, on the site of a mosque whose destruction by fervent Hindus in 1992 set off riots that killed more than a thousand.
The police were accused of doing little to contain the anti-Muslim violence four years ago, and even less to see that wrongdoers were punished.
"The Gujarat government must be vigilant against extremist violence against helpless civilians," Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Instead of allowing this violence to deepen religious hatred, the authorities should launch an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation to ensure that those responsible are prosecuted and punished."
Several Muslim residents of Vadodara said this week's violence, and the delayed and biased response by the police, left them unconvinced that they would be protected.
M. I. Pathan, 60, a retired Gujarat policeman and a Muslim, said he called the police control room repeatedly on Tuesday night as a mob encircled his neighborhood looting houses and beating up anyone in sight. The police never came.
"We were really scared and praying for our lives," Mr. Pathan said in a telephone interview. "At one stage an operator in the police control room said: 'We do not have any police. You bring police from Pakistan.' I asked for his name but he did not tell me."
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/world/asia/05india.html
Monday, May 08, 2006
A Timeline of Relations Between Iran, U.S.
By The Associated Press
Mon May 8, 4:39 PM ET
Under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who came to power in 1941, Iran was a close ally of the United States. Since the shah was toppled in the 1979 Iranian revolution, the two countries have been bitter enemies. Following is a chronology of their relations:
• April 1951: Mohammed Mossadegh is elected prime minister and nationalizes oil interests. In June 1953, the Eisenhower administration approves a British proposal for a joint Anglo-American operation, code-named Operation Ajax, to overthrow Mossadegh. His toppling becomes a long-standing source of resentment among Iranians toward the U.S.
• 1970: Iran signs the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
• February 1979: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini leads a revolution that ousts the shah and creates the Islamic Republic of Iran. In October, President Jimmy Carter allows the exiled shah into the U.S. for medical treatment.
• Nov. 4, 1979: Iranian students occupy the U.S. embassy. Fifty-two American hostages are held for 444 days in response to Carter's refusal to send the shah back to Iran for trial.
• April 24, 1980: An attempt by U.S. commandos to free hostages ends in failure when helicopter crashes into C-130 transport plane in Iranian desert, killing eight American servicemen.
• July 27, 1980: The shah dies of cancer in Egypt.
• January 1981: Iran releases the American hostages.
• 1986: United States sells arms to Iran in secret deal aimed at helping win release of American hostages held by Shiite militias in Lebanon.
• July 3, 1988: The USS Vincennes in the Gulf mistakenly shoots down an Iranian commercial jet, killing 290 passengers and crew.
• June 3, 1989: Ayatollah Khomeini dies just four months after issuing a fatwa, or religious ruling, ordering Muslims to kill British author Salman Rushdie because of his book The Satanic Verses, judged blasphemous to Islam.
• 1995: U.S. imposes oil and trade sanctions on Iran, saying it sponsors terrorism, is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons and is hostile to the Mideast peace process.
• May 1997: Pro-reform cleric Mohammad Khatami wins presidential elections on platform of easing social restrictions and improving ties with West, including United States. Khatami is re-elected in June 2001 but faces mounting pressure from conservatives.
• January 2002: In his State of the Union address, President Bush describes Iran, Iraq and North Korea as "the axis of evil."
• September 2004: Secretary of State Colin Powell says Iran's nuclear program is a growing threat and calls for international sanctions.
• June 2005: Hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is elected president, sealing downfall of reform movement, vows to continue nuclear program, insisting it is peaceful.
• April 2006: Iran announces it has successfully enriched uranium on small scale.
• May 2006: Britain and France, backed by United States, propose Security Council resolution demanding Iran abandon uranium enrichment or face the threat of unspecified further measures, a possible reference to sanctions.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2630&ncid=2630&e=12&u=/ap/20060508/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_us_key_moments_1
Oil falls over $1 on Iran letter to Bush
Mon May 8, 9:38 AM ET
Oil fell over $1 on Monday on hopes tension over Iran's nuclear ambition will ease after Tehran made an unprecedented move to contact Washington.
U.S. light crude for June delivery was down $1.10 to $69.10 a barrel by 1330 GMT. London Brent crude fell $1.06 to $69.89 a barrel.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to President Bush, Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said.
"In this letter, he has given an analysis of the current world situation, of the root of existing problems and of new ways of getting out of the current vulnerable situation in the world," he said.
The letter is the first publicly announced personal communication from an Iranian Premier to a U.S. President since ties between the two countries were broken after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The United States has led international action against Iran's nuclear plan, which it says is aimed at building atomic weapons.
Iran says it needs nuclear fuel for civilian use. It has reacted defiantly to the possibility of any U.N. resolution demanding it halt its nuclear program. At the weekend, it reissued a threat to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Analysts were cautious over impact of the letter.
"The news from Iran is certainly bearish, at least immediately anyway. But the extent of how bearish it is going to be depends on the content of the letter, which no one knows as yet," said Tetsu Emori, the chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures.
The price of oil has risen over $8 to date this year as investors worry the Iran dispute may eventually lead to disruption to oil output from OPEC's second largest producer.
But the oil price has fallen $5 from record highs touched two weeks ago after concerns about U.S. gasoline supplies eased last week when motor fuel inventories rose.
BULLISH OUTLOOK
International Energy Agency director Claude Mandil said on Monday he expected oil prices to stay high for at least two to three years because of high global demand and tight supply.
"They (oil companies) have not invested enough for the last 20 years," Mandil said.
"This is a cyclical business. We had low prices in the 1990s, which was unfortunate for investment in future production. We now have accelerating investment, but that will not (see) results overnight," he told reporters in Australia.
Venezuela -- the world's fifth-largest oil exporter -- said it was seeking to boost royalties and income tax on four heavy oil projects that process some 620,000 barrels per day in the Orinoco Belt.
The announcement came less than a week after Bolivia rattled markets by sending troops into oil and gas fields in a surprise nationalization of the country's energy sector.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060508/bs_nm/markets_oil_dc
Oil fell over $1 on Monday on hopes tension over Iran's nuclear ambition will ease after Tehran made an unprecedented move to contact Washington.
U.S. light crude for June delivery was down $1.10 to $69.10 a barrel by 1330 GMT. London Brent crude fell $1.06 to $69.89 a barrel.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to President Bush, Iranian government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham said.
"In this letter, he has given an analysis of the current world situation, of the root of existing problems and of new ways of getting out of the current vulnerable situation in the world," he said.
The letter is the first publicly announced personal communication from an Iranian Premier to a U.S. President since ties between the two countries were broken after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The United States has led international action against Iran's nuclear plan, which it says is aimed at building atomic weapons.
Iran says it needs nuclear fuel for civilian use. It has reacted defiantly to the possibility of any U.N. resolution demanding it halt its nuclear program. At the weekend, it reissued a threat to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Analysts were cautious over impact of the letter.
"The news from Iran is certainly bearish, at least immediately anyway. But the extent of how bearish it is going to be depends on the content of the letter, which no one knows as yet," said Tetsu Emori, the chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures.
The price of oil has risen over $8 to date this year as investors worry the Iran dispute may eventually lead to disruption to oil output from OPEC's second largest producer.
But the oil price has fallen $5 from record highs touched two weeks ago after concerns about U.S. gasoline supplies eased last week when motor fuel inventories rose.
BULLISH OUTLOOK
International Energy Agency director Claude Mandil said on Monday he expected oil prices to stay high for at least two to three years because of high global demand and tight supply.
"They (oil companies) have not invested enough for the last 20 years," Mandil said.
"This is a cyclical business. We had low prices in the 1990s, which was unfortunate for investment in future production. We now have accelerating investment, but that will not (see) results overnight," he told reporters in Australia.
Venezuela -- the world's fifth-largest oil exporter -- said it was seeking to boost royalties and income tax on four heavy oil projects that process some 620,000 barrels per day in the Orinoco Belt.
The announcement came less than a week after Bolivia rattled markets by sending troops into oil and gas fields in a surprise nationalization of the country's energy sector.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060508/bs_nm/markets_oil_dc
Fighting U.S. might with oil
5/6/2006 5:00:00 PM GMT
Despite numerous assurances by U.S. intelligence sources that Iran needs another 10 years before having nuclear weapons, media reports over the past couple of months all suggested that the U.S. is planning or actually finalizing plans to strike Iran.
On top of those reports was Seymour Hersh’s last month article on The New Yorker, in which he asserted that the U.S. government is planning to massively bomb Iran, as well as using nuclear bunker-busting bombs to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities and development sites.
An editorial published Saturday on Bloomberg’s website suggested that Iran could be readying plans to respond to a possible U.S. strike targeting its nuclear installations by using its strong position in world's oil markets.
“They will not allow us to limit the conflict to `tit for tat' -- us hitting their nuclear facilities, and they restricted to hitting deployed American military,'' Michael Eisenstadt, an Iran expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former Central Command analyst said in an interview.
In case the U.S. decides to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities to force it suspend its nuclear program, Tehran might consider choking off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, and thus trigger a market disruption that would force America to back off.
However the Iranians hope that current escalation over the Islamic republic’s nuclear activities doesn’t end up with nuclear confrontation, for the devastation such war could bring to both nations, the U.S., Iran, as well as neighbouring states.
It’s noteworthy that about one-fifth of the world's oil consumption, 17 mln barrels, is shipped through the strait every day.
But using the oil rich country’s influence over oil markets would be just a part of a broader retaliation plan that would also include attacks against U.S. military bases and interests in Iraq and worldwide, the analyst added.
In a written statement to the House Armed Services Committee on March 15, top U.S. commander in the Middle East, General John Abizaid warned against Iranian plans involving expanding naval bases along its shoreline.
He also warned that Iran possess ``large quantities'' of small, fast- attack ships, many armed with torpedoes and Chinese-made high- speed missiles capable of firing from 10,000 yards.
President Bush has repetitively claimed that his administration prefers to solve the Iranian crisis using diplomacy, while on the other hand, he, and many officials at his government, warned that the military option could be used to forcefully stop Iran from pursuing nuclear technology, although it’s a signatory of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
According to intelligence sources cited by many news reports, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency; the CIA, are examining the possible targets that would be hit in case of a military operation against Iran. Such targets would include the facility at Natanz and the facility for enriching uranium at Isfahan.
Earlier this month, John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told Congress that what he called “diplomatic efforts” had so far been frustrated by Iran's “clout as the world's fourth-largest oil supplier.”
"The Iranians have been very effective at deploying their oil and natural-gas resources to apply leverage against countries to protect themselves from precisely this kind of pressure, in the case of countries with large and growing energy demands like India, China and Japan,'' Bolton said.
Also Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, was recently quoted as saying that Tehran could be provoked to cut its oil exports as a result of the mounting pressure over its nuclear activities.
Amid nagging concern that Iran, a key exporter, could cut oil supplies because of international pressure, oil prices rose by 17% over the past two months, reaching $72, which reflects the potential impact disruption of Iran’s oil exports would have the next six to 18 months, said Jamal Qureshi, lead oil industry analyst for PFC Energy, a risk-analysis firm in Washington.
Even with that, a military conflict would shock the system so "you'd very likely get a quick spike that could very easily go to $100 a barrel,'' until the U.S. releases oil from its strategic reserve, Qureshi said in an interview.
”It could get messy real quick.''
Even if Iran can't block the strait, said Kenneth Katzman, a terrorism and Middle East analyst for the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, it "can create a sense of crisis to drive up the price of oil, and presumably'' the nations that consume all that oil "would pressure the U.S. to stand down or shrink from confrontation or end it quickly'.'
Iran supplies China with 4% of its oil; France, 7%; Korea, 9%; Japan, 10%; Italy, 11%; Belgium, 14%; Turkey, 22%; and Greece, 24%, according to Clifford Kupchan, a director of the Eurasia Group in Washington, a global risk-consulting group.
These figures "tell me that Iran for the foreseeable future will have considerable 'petro-influence' over prospective U.S. allies,'' Kupchan added.
Last week, Iran's deputy oil minister, M. H. Nejad Hosseinian, was quoted as saying that crude oil prices, currently about 40 per cent higher than a year ago, are expected to hit $100 a barrel this winter as demand outpaces supply.
But prices are still about 20 per cent below the records reached in 1981, when supplies became tight after a revolution in Iran and a war between Iraq and Iran.
Source: Al Jazeera Magazine
http://www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=11370
Thursday, May 04, 2006
50 Women Named Muslim Preachers in Morocco
2 hours, 37 minutes ago
RABAT, Morocco - Fifty women have graduated as Muslim preachers, part of a concerted effort by authorities in Morocco to promote moderate Islam in a country grappling with extremism.
Another 150 men graduated Wednesday as imams, or prayer leaders. The 50 female religious guides, or morchidat, won't lead prayers in mosques, which is reserved for men, but will be sent around the country to teach women — and, occasionally, men — about Islam.
While Moroccan officials said the appointment of female state preachers was a rare experiment in the Muslim world, others said it was unprecedented in Morocco and the majority of other Arab countries.
"Your duty ... is to prevent intrusion by foreign agents trying to violate our values and traditions," Ahmed Taoufiq, minister of Islamic Affairs, told the graduates Wednesday.
"You must be committed to the faith and politics of the state which the people have chosen. This choice includes the policies of the Amir al Moumenin (Commander of the Faithful) who runs deep in our veins," said Taoufiq, referring to the religious title of King Mohammed VI.
The training of the preachers is part of a campaign launched by the young king, a descendant of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, to strengthen state-controlled mosques while undermining radical clerics who preach Islamic extremism. He has vowed that no foreign religious doctrine would be tolerated in the North African kingdom, which is a close ally of the United States and a partner in its war against terrorism.
Moroccan officials say the May 16, 2003, suicide bombings in the commercial capital of Casablanca were inspired by radical Muslim clerics who preached violence to poor and disillusioned youths in slums of the big cities.
More than 2,000 people were arrested as a result of the bombings, including Mohammed Fazzazi, who is serving a 30-year-sentence for preaching violence. Two other well-known hard-line Islamic clerics, Abu Hafs and Hassan Kettani, were arrested before the bombings. They were convicted and sentenced to 30 and 20 years in prison respectively for being the ideologists of the Salafia Jihadia militants.
In an interview with a Moroccan weekly six months before the Casablanca blasts, Abu Hafs bragged that his mosque had been packed every Friday since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and that his taped sermons were widely sold. He said the Sept. 11 hijackers were heroes.
Since the Casablanca blasts, Moroccan authorities have been monitoring the country's mosques closely to ensure that they do not recruit insurgents. At least four were shut down following the Sept. 11 attacks. Authorities also try to control — although with little success — the sale of inflammatory books and videotapes.
Friday prayer sermons now must be approved by authorities. Underground mosques are believed to continue to exist, although to a much lesser degree than before the blasts.
The king's initiatives include the creation a year ago of the Mohammed VI Quran radio station that broadcasts religious programs, and the Assadisa Islamic satellite TV station.
The Council of Religious Scholars, established by the king two years ago, has been issuing religious edicts on the most pressing questions of the 21st century — and, surprisingly, they've been well-received by both young people and hardened Islamists.
Taoufiq said 2,000 of Morocco's more than 24,000 mosques will be equipped with TV sets in the comings weeks. Already, the ministry's Web site enables the faithful to chat with religious scholars at 1,000 key mosques in the country.
The pioneer group of morchidat, who finished a yearlong course in Islamic law, philosophy and the history of religions in early April, was trained to give basic religious instructions in mosques and provide support in prisons, hospitals and schools. Their salary is about $500 a month.
Applicants for the course must have a bachelor's degree and be under 45. Male applicants must know the Quran by heart, while female applicants should know at least half of it.
Although it is a first for Morocco — which like many other Muslim countries has shunned the rise of women to senior religious positions — Egypt and Iran have seen an increase in female scholars of Islam.
Even though there are no restrictions in Islam for women to become religious scholars, the male-dominated Muslim societies have generally disputed that women should have a senior position. Any woman wishing to be an imam can lead prayers only for a group of women, not for men.
Fatima Titi, 24, said she was very excited to become a religious guide.
"I am looking forward to portraying a good image of Islam, one that's forgiving and promotes peace," she said.
Source: AP via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060504/ap_on_re_af/morocco_moderate_preachers
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Publisher drops 'Opal Mehta' for plagiarism, ends book deal
The debut novel by a Harvard sophomore that faces allegations of plagiarism has been permanently withdrawn and her two-book deal cancelled.
 |
| Harvard sophomore and author Kaavya Viswanathan is facing new allegations that her book has passages that resemble the work of Salman Rushdie, Sophie Kinsella and Meg Cabot. (Chitose Suzuki/AP) |
Publisher Little, Brown and Company announced cancellation of the deal for Kaavya Viswanathan's How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life, and a promised second novel, Tuesday.
The book was pulled from stores last week after Viswanathan apologized for unintentional similarities to the work of author Megan McCafferty. Little, Brown promised at that time that a revised version would be published.
However, the book was further tarnished this week by allegations it contained additional passages that mimic work by other authors.
"Little, Brown and Company will not be publishing a revised edition of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life by Kaavya Viswanathan, nor will we publish the second book under contract," Michael Pietsch, Little Brown's senior vice-president and publisher, said in a statement.
The New York Times, the Harvard Crimson and the weblog DesiJournal uncovered passages in Viwanathan's book that are similar to writing by Salman Rushdie (Haroun), Sophie Kinsella (Can You Keep a Secret?) and Meg Cabot (The Princess Diaries ).
When compared side-by-side, the newly discovered passages in Viswanathan's book are obviously similar in style, cadence and construction to those by the other authors.
For instance, in Rushdie's children's novel Haroun, the title character encounters posters bearing slogans such as "If from speed you get your thrill / take precaution – make your will."
In Viswanathan's book, her character Opal Mehta helps another student put up posters bearing slogans like "If from drink you get your thrill / take precaution – write your will."
However, rhyming signage like this is common along roadways in India, the Times acknowledged in its story published Monday.
Another example comes from Kinsella's Can You Keep a Secret. In one scene the main character, Emma, comes upon two friends "in a full-scale argument about animal rights," and one says, "The mink like being made into coats."
In Viswanathan's book, Opal encounters two girls having "a full-fledged debate over animal rights." One of them says: "The foxes want to be made into scarves."
Web community uncovered similar passages
The internet, e-mail, blogs and reader input have all contributed to and facilitated the intense scrutiny on Viswanathan's novel.
McCafferty has said that e-mails from fans first alerted her to the fact that multiple passages in Viswanathan's much-touted new book resembled those in her own titles Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings. A call from a reader tipped the Times off to the additional passages while bloggers have been poring through Viswanathan's novel and comparing notes online.
The Harvard Crimson, the university's daily newspaper, broke news of the similarities on April 23. By the end of the week, Viswanathan had issued a statement acknowledging she had mimicked portions of McCafferty's books but that it had been "unintentional."
Her publisher, Little, Brown, pulled her book from stores last week and the Los Angeles Times reported that Dreamworks has halted production on an upcoming film adaptation of the book.
Some questioned whether the new instances of similar phrasing and passages in Viswanathan's book were indicative of literary constructions and writing techniques common in the "chick lit" genre.
Questions have also been raised about the fact that Viswanathan, as part of her contract with Little, Brown, was working with 17th Street Productions (now Alloy Entertainment) to complete her novel. The company, which develops and produces books and other media properties for teens, is responsible for hit novels such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and the popular Gossip Girl and Sweet Valley High book series.
Source: CBC
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/05/02/opal-cancelled.html
Global Warming Weakens Trade Winds
Ker Than
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com2 hours, 50 minutes ago
The trade winds in the Pacific Ocean are weakening as a result of global warming, according to a new study that indicates changes to the region's biology are possible.
Using a combination of real-world observations and computer modeling, researchers conclude that a vast loop of circulating wind over the Pacific Ocean, known as the Walker circulation, has weakened by about 3.5 percent since the mid-1800s. The trade winds are the portion of the Walker circulation that blow across the ocean surface.
The researchers predict another 10 percent decrease by the end of the 21st century.
The effect, attributed at least in part to human-induced climate change, could disrupt food chains and reduce the biological productivity of the Pacific Ocean, scientists said.
The study was led by Gabriel Vecchi of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research and is detailed in the May 4 issue of the journal Nature.
Humans to blame
The researchers used records of sea-level atmospheric pressure readings from as far back as the mid-1800s to reconstruct the wind intensity of the Walker circulation over the past 150 years. A computer climate model replicated the effect seen in the historical record.
Some of the computer simulations included the effects of human greenhouse gas emissions; others included only natural factors known to affect climate such as volcanic eruptions and solar variations.
"We were able to ask 'What if humans hadn't done anything? Or what if volcanoes erupted? Or if the sun hadn't varied?'" Vecchi said. "Our only way to account for the observed changes is through the impact of human activity, and principally from greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning."
Earth's average temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past century and many scientists believe greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are to blame.
"This is evidence supporting global warming and also evidence of our ability to make reasonable predictions of at least the large scale changes that we should expect from global warming," Vecchi told LiveScience.
By extrapolating their data and combining it with results from other models, the researchers predict the Walker circulation could slow by an additional 10 percent by 2100.
Driving force
The trade winds blow from the east at an angle towards the equator and have been used by sailors for centuries seeking to sail west. Christopher Columbus relied on the Atlantic's trade winds to carry him to North America. The winds get their name from their reliability: To say that a "wind blows trade" is to say that it blows on track.
The overall Walker circulation is powered by warm, rising air in the west Pacific Ocean and sinking cool air in the eastern Pacific.
This looping conveyer belt of winds has far-reaching effects on climate around the globe. It steers ocean currents and nourishes marine life across the equatorial Pacific and off the coast of South America by driving the upwelling of nutrient-rich cold water from ocean depths to the surface.
The Walker circulation is also primarily responsible for transporting water vapor that evaporates from the ocean surface west, towards Indonesia; there, the moisture rises up into the atmosphere, condenses, and falls back to Earth as rain.
The effects of global warming
Several theories on the effects of global warming predict a weakening of the Walker circulation. Scientists think it works like this:
To remain energetically balanced, the rate at which the atmosphere absorbs water vapor must be balanced by the rate of rainfall. But as temperatures rise and more water evaporates from the ocean, water vapor in the lower atmosphere increases rapidly. Because of various physical processes, however, the rate of rainfall does not increase as fast.
Since the atmosphere is absorbing moisture faster than it can dump it, and because wind is the major transporter of moisture into the atmosphere, air circulation must slow down if the energy balance is to be maintained.
A drop in winds could reduce the strength of both surface and subsurface ocean currents and dampen cold water upwelling at the equator.
"This could have important effects on ocean ecosystems," Vecchi said. "The ocean currents driven by the trade winds supply vital nutrients to near-surface ocean ecosystems across the equatorial Pacific, which is a major fishing region."
VIDEO: The End of the Earth El Nino Now Blamed for Practically Everything Global Warming May Play Role in Hurricane Intensity Conflicting Claims on Global Warming and Why It's All Moot Natural Disasters: Top 10 U.S. Threats Visit LiveScience.com for more daily news, views and scientific inquiry with an original, provocative point of view. LiveScience reports amazing, real world breakthroughs, made simple and stimulating for people on the go. Check out our collection of Science, Animal and Dinosaur Image Galleries, Science Videos, Amazing Images, Interactive Features and Reader Favorites, Trivia and more. Get cool gadgets at the new LiveScience Store, sign up for our free daily email newsletter and check out our RSS feeds today!
Source: Space.com via Yahoo! News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060503/sc_space/globalwarming...RPUCUl
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
India sends more troops to hunt Kashmir killers
Tue May 2, 2006 7:30 AM BST
JAMMU, India (Reuters) - India rushed hundreds of extra troops to hunt for Islamist militants in the remote mountains of Kashmir on Tuesday, after 35 Hindus were killed over two days in one of the worst massacres in the region in years.
The troop deployment began as a general strike -- called to protest against the killings -- shut down the predominantly Hindu Jammu region of Indian Kashmir, where some half a million soldiers and policemen are deployed.
Suspected Islamist militants shot dead 22 Hindus in two villages in the mountains of Doda district, 170 km (106 miles) northeast of Jammu, Kashmir's winter capital, early on Monday.
On the same day, nine bullet-riddled bodies of Hindus were found in the neighbouring district of Udhampur. Four more bodies had been found in the same area on Sunday.
"We are definitely augmenting troop levels to prevent easier movement of militants in these areas," a senior police officer told Reuters.
New Delhi has been accused in the past of failing to protect Kashmir's Hindus, who are a minority in mainly Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state.
An Islamist revolt against Indian rule in the disputed region -- claimed both by India and Pakistan and ruled by them in parts -- has killed more than 45,000 people since 1989.
The attacks on Hindus in Doda and Udhampur came ahead of talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Kashmir's main political separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, due in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Schools, banks and offices in many areas in Doda and Udhampur districts were closed and traffic was largely limited to security vehicles and government cars.
Residents of Kashmir, a region that triggered two of three India-Pakistan wars, said they were weary of violence.
"We have seen so much bloodshed that some of have us have become insensitive. These killings should end," Thakur Dass, who was visiting a relative wounded in the Doda attack, told Reuters by telephone.
Indian officials say the overall level of separatist violence has come down in the revolt-torn region since India and Pakistan launched new moves to make peace three years ago.
But there has been a spike in militant attacks in recent weeks with the melting of winter snow, which makes movement of militants easier in the mountainous region.
Some Indian officials say the massacre could be a response to high voter turnout in by-elections last week in Doda, and could be aimed at souring the mood ahead of Wednesday's talks.
Pakistan condemned the killings.
"We condemn all acts of terrorism. We are against terrorism because we ourselves have been victim of terrorism," Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said.
Indian and Pakistani officials are due to hold two days of talks in New Delhi beginning Tuesday to discuss moves to boost links between the two sides of Kashmir administered by them.
Source: Reuters
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type_KASHMIR.xml
Monday, May 01, 2006
Israel kills woman in W Bank raid
Israeli soldiers have killed a Palestinian woman during a raid in the West Bank town of Tulkarm.
Eitas Zalat, 41, died and her two daughters were slightly wounded as Israeli troops opened fire during the arrest of an alleged militant.
An Israeli army spokesman said that "shooting broke out when a top official of Islamic Jihad" resisted arrest.
The spokesman said the army was very sorry "when innocent people are hurt", and promised a full investigation.
Several people were arrested during the Israeli military operation in the West Bank.
Source: BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4961706.stm
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