Alex Steffen
August 4, 2008 11:19 AM
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/008313.html
For the last three decades, it's been more or less assumed that globalization was a force that moved in only one direction -- towards ever-greater integration.
And due to the logic of global trade, the assumption of ever greater integration led to the prediction that manufacturing would continue to move from countries with low labor costs to those with even lower labor costs and even looser laws, while supply chains would tend to grow ever-longer and more complex. The world would grow flatter.
So far, these predictions have held true, but will they always? For the first time in recent decades, it seems there are now real reasons to question the logic underlying the official future of ever-increasing global trade.
The biggest, of course, is the rapidly mounting cost of transportation. As oil prices rise, reports the New York Times, shipping costs are driving decisions to shorten supply chains:
When Tesla Motors, a pioneer in electric-powered cars, set out to make a luxury roadster for the American market, it had the global supply chain in mind. Tesla planned to manufacture 1,000-pound battery packs in Thailand, ship them to Britain for installation, then bring the mostly assembled cars back to the United States.
But when it began production this spring, the company decided to make the batteries and assemble the cars near its home base in California, cutting more than 5,000 miles from the shipping bill for each vehicle.
“It was kind of a no-brain decision for us,” said Darryl Siry, the company’s senior vice president of global sales, marketing and service. “A major reason was to avoid the transportation costs, which are terrible.”
But transportation costs are not the only reasons why globalization as we know it might be in for some rapid evolution. Consider:
*Far-flung supply chains may drop costs (even with higher oil prices), but the multiply climate change emissions. That already presents a marketing challenge as consumers grow more aware of their carbon footprints. And if political consensus emerges on pricing carbon (as seems likely), some of the price advantages of global complexity could vanish overnight.
*Manufacturers and others are already increasingly aware of, and worried about, supply chain diversity. When the entire supply of a critical part or material comes from a distant factory or mine, every company that depends on that part or material is at risk. Increasingly, companies are trying to find multiple sources (and alternative sources), preferably close to home.
*Some of the economic advantages of globalization have come from companies gaining the ability to skirt labor and environmental laws by doing business in countries with high levels of political corruption (corruption they have often helped create). But now, transparency activism has blown the cover of secrecy off these practices; now it is easier than ever to cause enormous brand damage simply by revealing an unsavory backstory.
*Much of the logic of globalization assumes a one-way flow of materials, mined and grown in the poorest countries, manufactured into consumer goods in China, Brazil or Mexico, sold on the shelves of megastores in Europe or North America, then shipped away to the landfill. But as we move into zero waste and closed-loop systems (where there is no "away"), reverse logistics start to become a real concern. Producers become responsible for their products, meaning that running their current supply chains in reverse doubles (at least) their already mounting transportation costs. This alone could drive more local manufacturing.
*Globalization suffers from some big disruptive vulnerabilities. An extreme act of terror, say a dirty bomb in a shipping container, could easily bring the whole system screeching to a halt. Ditto bird flu. Same with mass migrations triggered by environmental degradation and climate change in already desperately poor countries. Heck, even the right kind of invasive species scare could put a hiccup in the system, but some of these could stop trade altogether for quite some time.
Now, none of these mean that industrialization itself is likely to stop or even slow down (though the disruption of trade could mean that prices on some things we're used to thinking of as cheap, like clothes and minor electronics, grow suddenly more expensive). Especially in the developed world -- where we can draw on a huge basin of wealth and a huge capacity for innovation -- even a dramatic reversal in globalization would not fundamentally undermine our civilization (though it would certainly contribute to a number of real changes already underway, like greater urbanization, local food movements, cradle-to-cradle design and so on). We won't be headed back to de-industrialized farming any time soon.
But if the scenario of a reversal in globalization in fact comes to pass, there will be some economic upheaval, and that upheaval will create winners and losers -- an effect that will be magnified if economic chaos occurs at the same time that the impacts of climate change begin to be felt in earnest. Some regions will plan ahead and do well. Others will suffer.
What might regional or local economic policy in a time of de-globalization and climate impacts look like? What key industries or capacities should regions be looking to foster? What sorts of infrastructure development should they subsidize? What sort of agricultural capacities and ecosystem services should they aim most to preserve? If you were planning your region's economic future, what would you be looking to do?
One point is probably worth making in conclusion: because communications technologies are (comparatively speaking) dematerialized, a reversal in material trade patterns almost certainly would not also mean a reversal in intellectual trade patterns -- rising oil prices or climate change won't shut down the web or stop Bollywood from making movies or prevent innovators from licensing their ideas in other countries. In fact, it might be that expertise, innovation and culture will flow more freely in a world where goods flow more slowly. We might actually grow more interconnected in a world where supply chains shrank
10 August 2008
09 August 2008
The Guantanamo Cell Tour
Amnesty International brought a bright-orange, 1-ton chunk of activism to American shores.
It’s the Guantanamo Cell Tour – the centerpiece of our campaign to end the U.S. government's immoral, illegal and ineffective detention and interrogation program.
The Cell is proof that we’re not afraid to throw our weight around for justice and so far, we’re making a big impact.
Overwhelming momentum—across the political spectrum—is building to shut down Guantanamo:
Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, ''I'd like to see it shut down…I believe that from the standpoint of how it reflects on us that it's been pretty damaging."
Five former U.S. secretaries of state, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger, James Baker III, Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher—Republicans and Democrats—publicly called for Guantanamo to be closed. Kissinger called it a “blot on us.” (And you know if he said it, it must be really bad.)
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees have a Constitutional right to habeas corpus (the right to have the legality of their detention reviewed)--a ruling that has sent the Administration scurrying to shore up its illegal detention program.
And thousands of people have signed our global petition to end illegal U.S. detentions, www.TearItDown.org.
Now, we’re bringing the Cell Tour to Denver and then Minneapolis – Saint Paul to coincide with the Democratic National Convention (August 25 – 28) and the Republican National Convention (September 1 – 4).
National and local media have covered the tour, including Reuters, FOX, NPR, Miami Herald, Philadelphia Examiner, and even the Daily Show with John Stewart; here are just a few examples:
Activists Offer a Taste of Guantanamo Prison
By Paul Schwartzman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 26, 2008; Page B02
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062502061.html?tr=y&auid=3877007
To the long list of tourist attractions on the Mall -- the museums, monuments and vistas -- human rights advocates added their own Kodak moment yesterday: a replica of a Guantanamo prison cell.
Metal toilet included.
Up stepped Colby Cashion, 14, of Orlando, intent on absorbing the infamous Guantanamo experience, albeit one with the Washington Monument in the background.
The teenager lasted less than a minute in the 10-by-6-foot cell, with its eight-foot-high ceiling, sliver of a window, fluorescent light and thin pad for a mattress.
"It would stink to be in there all day," Colby said, while his grandmother, Faye Cashion, stood at the entrance, ignoring a stranger's chant of "Go in! Go in!"
She said she is not all that opposed to Guantanamo. "I'm kind of hardheaded. I think they ought to be there, some of them," she said before leading her grandson to their next stop, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Amnesty International USA, the human rights group, set up the cell to dramatize its opposition to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where since 2002 the United States has kept hundreds of prisoners, many of them terror suspects. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this month that Guantanamo prisoners have the right to go to federal court to challenge their detention.
Amnesty International has taken the cell on the road, displaying it in Miami, Philadelphia and Portland, Maine, to educate Americans about what it contends are human rights violations that the United States is committing at Guantanamo.
"How do you get through to jaded and cynical journalists and the public?" asked Larry Cox, the organization's executive director. "We can't take them to Guantanamo. So we're bringing Guantanamo to them."
The Mall might not be the ideal place for the cell, which will be on display through Sunday. When Cox convened a noontime rally, the number of Amnesty volunteers, reporters and photographers far outnumbered members of the public.
Not even the bright orange sign -- "Welcome to Guantanamo, your cell is waiting" -- created a buzz.
Dressed in orange prison jumpsuits, Amnesty International staff members such as Jason Disterhoft, 32, posed for photographs inside the cell, apparently not minding the temperature, which approached 90 degrees.
"This is all meant to illustrate conditions," he said.
Not everyone was impressed.
"It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be," said Scott Henry, 22, of Toledo. "That's as big as some dorm rooms at colleges."
His pal Zach Howard, 20, a California native who is spending the summer in Washington as an intern, nodded in agreement.
"Kind of what I expected," he said. "I shrug my shoulders."
Mark Sedlander, 27, a Georgetown University law student, said he wanted to see the cell to help educate himself about the issues surrounding Guantanamo.
He stepped inside, sat on the mattress, eyed the toilet seat and pronounced himself done.
"It's nice to go in, but it's nothing like what the guys are going through down there," Sedlander said. "What's really pressing are the legal reasons they're there. The lack of an appeals process. This is what we're putting people in."
Guantanamo, stateside
By Carol J. Williams
May 09, 2008
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/09/nation/na-gitmocell9?tr=y&auid=3877017
Life-size human silhouettes cut from orange cardboard direct passersby at busy Bayfront Park to the latest effort by human rights groups to get the Guantanamo prison for terrorism suspects shut down.
A replica of a maximum-security Camp 5 cell from the detention site at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay is at the center of an exhibit that opened Thursday in Miami and will tour major U.S. cities through summer.
Rights advocates from Amnesty International USA, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Bar Assn. appealed to Washington to end what they see as an international embarrassment and breach of law.
“The U.S. government has made it impossible for people to get to Guantanamo to see this, so we wanted to bring a bit of the reality to the public,” said Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “To stand inside this cell gives them some sense of the psychological hell of being held in a box for years and not knowing if you’ll ever get out.”
Organizers of the tour say that more than six years into the controversial detention and trial operations, Guantanamo has become a remote concept for most U.S. citizens.
“I’ve seen Guantanamo close up and personal … and that’s convinced me that there has never been a greater threat to the rule of law than what we have at Guantanamo now,” said Neal R. Sonnett, head of the American Bar Assn. task force on the treatment of enemy combatants and its observer at the Guantanamo war court.
The 7-by-10-foot cell painted orange and emblazoned with the words “Counter Terror With Justice” was built by Amnesty International of Australia for a campaign there two years ago to get Australian detainee David Hicks released from Guantanamo, said Amnesty’s Jumana Musa, also a tribunal observer.
The specifications for the cell – white-walled and containing only a benchlike bunk, steel sink and toilet – were once posted on the Defense Department’s website but have since been removed, she noted.
Hicks, one of the first terrorism suspects captured in Afghanistan and brought to Guantanamo, was released to the Australian government in spring 2007 after a plea bargain reduced the charges against him. He served a nine-month sentence in Adelaide, Australia, and was freed in December.
The touring exhibit is intended to draw attention to Guantanamo as the Pentagon prepares for the first U.S. war-crimes trial in 60 years at the end of this month. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who worked as Osama bin Laden’s $200-a-month driver in Afghanistan, faces charges of conspiracy and material support to terrorism. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison. Pentagon officials have said they plan to prosecute about 80 of the 270 men still at Guantanamo.
The first cells, chain-link pens topped with razor wire, were erected and filled in January 2002. Subsequent camps built at the base in southern Cuba have been concrete-and-steel facilities modeled on prisons in Michigan and Indiana.
As the cell exhibit was unveiled Thursday, people strolling the waterfront recreation area flanking the high-rises of downtown Miami wandered over for a peek. David Galarca, an 18-year-old from North Miami, said he didn’t know much about Guantanamo. The cell exhibit stirred his interest, he said. Then he wandered back to the waterfront with his friends.
“We are from Italy, and we – many Europeans – don’t understand why the United States is doing this,” said Cesare Longo, a Roman in Miami for his honeymoon. “The problem we have with Guantanamo is that the justice there isn’t the same as in the United States. They should make the same guarantees for the people they accuse of terrorist acts as they do for people in the United States.”
Some passersby shouted derisive comments and expletives at the exhibit and at the dozen or so demonstrators who showed up in orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by Guantanamo detainees in the first years the prison was in operation.
“What kind of due process did they get in 9/11, buddy?” a middle-aged man shouted at Sonnett as he cut across the grassy field behind the pavilion where the lawyer was speaking.
The human rights groups have planned a seven-hour concert at the Miami cell site Saturday, before the exhibit moves on to Philadelphia.
carol.williams@latimes.com
A night in Guantánamo
Staying in a replica cell, with no waterboarding included
By JEFF INGLIS | June 18, 2008 |
http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/63123-A-night-in-Guant%E1namo/?page=1&tr=y&auid=3877020#TOPCONTENT
First thing in the morning, a man stopped at my door, leaned in, looked me square in the eye, called me “a piece of shit,” and spat on my floor. I tried not to take it personally.
I was in a prison cell and wearing a day-glo-orange inmate’s jumpsuit, sitting on a thin mat, where I had sat and slept intermittently — and uncomfortably — through the preceding seven hours.
Amnesty International brought the cell to Portland’s Monument Square and arranged several days of events about the offshore prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, last week to draw attention to the 270 or so inmates still held there, and to highlight the support of some of Maine’s congressional delegation for suspending the legal rights of inmates there, most of whom have never been charged with any crime.
I’d volunteered to spend the night in the replica cell (which is modeled on the ones at Gitmo, which are very like the standard isolation units used in US “supermax” prisons) because we’ve all heard stories about unlivable conditions at Gitmo but can’t come close to imagining what it must be like to live for as long as seven years in a small box with little contact with the outside world, and even less hope of release. I hoped my few hours of simulated incarceration — even without the alleged abuse visited on Gitmo “detainees” by US service personnel — would help me appreciate the nightmare those prisoners endure.
When I first entered the cell, I sized things up. I could take three normal-size steps from side to side, four from the door to the bed; a “lap” around it involved 12 reasonably normal-sized steps. With my arms outstretched to the sides, I could touch the walls; reaching up, I could touch the ceiling with my stocking feet flat on the floor. Lying on the raised platform that served as my bed, my head touched one wall and my feet pressed against the other. The walls and ceiling were white; the toilet/sink fixture by the door was stainless steel; the floor was gray. There was one small window — easily covered by my forearm — by the bed and another in the door.
I was already in the jumpsuit, so I sat on the thin sleeping mat, got out my iPod, put in the earbuds, selected the “Gitmo” playlist, and turned the volume up. (The guards play a wide selection of American music — though mostly dark heavy stuff like Drowning Pool and Marilyn Manson — at high volume, at all hours, as a form of psychological torture for the prisoners.)
I read from the Koran, opening it at random and finding the 36th sûrah (chapter), entitled “Yâ Sîn,” or “O Man.” According to the annotation in my copy, that chapter is often recited by Muslims at times of adversity, to sustain their faith. At one point in the text, a group of believers approaches a city of non-believers to try to convert them: “(The people of the city) said: we augur ill of you. If ye desist not, we shall surely stone you, and grievous torture will befall you at our hands.” But, Allah explains through the prophet Mohammed, whatever suffering his followers must endure will be relieved if they stick to their faith, while those who did the torturing will be condemned to burn in hell. After a few readings, I found my hope rising and my discomfort decreasing, even though I am not a Muslim.
I also read — for the first of three times that night — a book of poems written by Guantánamo inmates, seeking a sense of what they feel and think. Despite great discomfort, hardship, and fear, some inmates are able to transcend themselves and their situation and find hope, and dreams, and a sort of freedom.
It’s really far worse
My night was only a tiny taste of what the detainees held at Guantánamo experience. The most obvious difference, of course, was that I spent just over seven hours in a replica of a cell sitting in downtown Portland. Many of the inmates have spent more like seven years in real cells in a remote base in Cuba. By comparison, my imprisonment was soft time.
A Portland police officer sat in his patrol car outside, mostly to protect the cell itself and its accompanying gear (a generator, electronic equipment, parts of a disassembled information booth), but I took comfort in his presence, knowing that if any harm befell me, aid would be nearby. The Gitmo detainees have their own uniformed, armed guards, but they are as likely to be their tormentors as their rescuers.
It was mostly dark in my cell, though a few streetlights shined in. Some detainees’ lawyers claim their clients are suffering permanent psychological damage because the lights in their cells have been kept on 24 hours a day for years.
I was warm and not hungry, equipped with a sleeping bag and fortified with a good meal at home before going into the cell; the inmates get blankets if they’re lucky and regularly complain about both the quantity and the quality of food served at Gitmo.
I could control the volume on my iPod (and I confess to skipping a couple songs); the detainees can neither control the volume nor prevent a guard from playing one song over and over for hours on end, as happened on at least one occasion with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” from their 1991 eponymous album.
But the biggest difference, the one that really made it possible for me (a somewhat sane person who functions fairly well in this weird world) to handle my time inside, was this: I knew when I would eventually leave. The men held in Guantánamo don’t. Even those who have been declared not dangerous, not worth holding, whose arrests and incarceration are acknowledged mistakes, are held for months before being finally released. One man, Maher Rafat al-Quwari, has been cleared for release since February 2007, but as a Palestinian with no passport or other national paperwork, he has nowhere to go, so he stays in 23-hour-a-day solitary confinement.
Without a future
I thought about what it would take to close the prison. Calls for just that have come from such high Bush administration officials as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and even the president himself, as well as both major-party presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama. And yet it remains open, stalled at best by the practical difficulties of moving terrorism suspects into other prisons, or, at worst, held up by people who may not mean what they say.
Maine’s DC delegation is split on the issue: Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic representative Mike Michaud voted for the Military Commissions Act of 2006. [Please see clarification, below.] It recreated a kangaroo-court show-trial system for “trying” detainees in front of military judges (after a nearly identical arrangement created by the Pentagon was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 2006), and granted the US government the power to indefinitely imprison anyone — even US citizens — without charging them with a crime, and without ever bringing them before an independent civilian judge. Democratic representative Tom Allen opposed it; Republican senator Olympia Snowe didn’t vote, but later voted to overturn some of its harsher provisions.
And then there was that passerby who spit into my cell. I wondered if his attitude, amplified by the isolation of being stationed at a remote military base, and inflated by being allowed to carry large automatic weapons, might turn him into a rage-filled guard who just might do some of the things prisoners have described.
I wanted to judge him, to accuse him of insensitivity, of sympathizing with those who abuse and torture inmates. But I know as little about that man as we Americans do about the people held at Guantánamo Bay. I don’t know his name, and can tell you only the very basic outline of what he did. Without talking to him, without finding out why he did it, or where inside him that feeling came from, I cannot honestly “convict” him of anything more serious than common rudeness.
He walks free, though, so I’m less worried about him. The men in Guantánamo do not. Whatever they may be suspected of, why they were arrested, has never been made public, nor have the results of any subsequent investigations. Little wonder, then, that they have not been convicted of anything either. Justice has been slow in coming, and for some, may never arrive — at least four of them have committed suicide since the camp opened, and at least 40 of them have attempted it, often repeatedly.
Five others, among the most high-profile ones, appear to be seeking death another way. The morning I left the cell, they went in front of a military judge, in a proceeding that was widely criticized by lawyers and other observers for its departure from common legal standards (such as preventing co-defendants from talking to each other). After they were told what charges were being laid against them for their alleged involvement in the attacks of September 11, 2001, some of them said they wanted to be “martyred,” apparently asking for the death penalty. But like their fellow inmates, they wait.
I did, too. As people walked by throughout the night, some looked in, a few asked me what I was doing; others didn’t seem to notice the cell was even there, much less occupied. It was impossible to know what they thought.
I thought of the young men, some as young as 14, kidnapped from the streets of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, and sold to US troops as alleged terrorists for thousands of dollars in reward money, who now sit, as I did, in small cells awaiting the next dawn. And when I became cold, tired, and cramped, I reminded myself that they are enduring worse and suffering more. Their fortitude was a thin, cold comfort, but it gave me strength.
Visions from inside
Inmates’ smuggled words show pain, frustration
I discovered during my time in the cell that it is possible to look for so long at one spot — on the floor, the wall, the ceiling — that the spot actually disappears from view. With enough uninterrupted time — or enough detachment from the brutality of the “real world” — it must be possible to make everything you can see just disappear.
What appears in its place? We know some answers, courtesy of the men held at Guantánamo. They have, with the help of their lawyers, published fragments of poetry shedding light on their thoughts, dreams, and visions.
Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak, published last year by the University of Iowa Press, includes 22 poems that made it past the US military’s censors. The one that struck me most deeply, in the middle of the night as I read the poems aloud to myself, was “O Prison Darkness,” by an author identified only by his first name, Abdulaziz. It ends with these lines.
Even though the bands tighten and seem unbreakable,
They will shatter.
Those who persist will attain their goal;
Those who keep knocking shall gain entry.
O crisis, intensify!
The morning is about to break forth.
Playlist
These were some of the songs I listened to while in the cell. My selections were based on reporting by Spin, Mother Jones, the BBC, the New York Times, Time, Transcultural Music Review, and FBI documents, all of which listed songs or bands played by soldiers at Guantánamo, usually at very high volumes, as a way to break down detainees’ psychological defenses.
“Soldier Like Me (Return of the Soulja),” 2Pac & Eminem, Loyal to the Game, 2004
“Don’t Get Mad, Get Even,” Aerosmith, Pump, 1989
“Dirrty,” Christina Aguilera featuring Redman, Stripped, 2002
“One Eight Seven,” Dr. Dre, Chronicles — Death Row Classics, 2006
“Step Up,” Drowning Pool, Desensitized, 2004
“Bodies,” Drowning Pool, Sinner, 2001
“If I Had,” Eminem, The Slim Shady LP, 1999
“Take a Look Around,” Limp Bizkit, Greatest Hits, 2005
“This Is the New S**t,” Marilyn Manson, Lest We Forget — The Best of Marilyn Manson, 2004
“The Burn,” Matchbox Twenty, Mad Season, 2000
“For Crying Out Loud,” Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell, 1977
“Whiplash (Live),” Metallica, Kill ‘Em All, 2008
“Meow Mix” radio commercial
“Killing in the Name,” Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine, 1992
“Naked in the Rain,” Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, 2006
“Sometimes,” Britney Spears, . . . Baby One More Time, 1999
“How Mountain Girls Can Love,” Stanley Brothers, 16 Greatest Hits, 2004
“Walking Man,” James Taylor, Greatest Hits, 1974
“The Star Spangled Banner,” United We Stand, Songs for America, 2001
Jeff Inglis can be reached atjinglis@phx.com.
Clarification: The original version of this story did not fully explain the positions Maine Democratic US Representative Mike Michaud took on the Military Commissions Act of 2006. He voted in favor of the bill as it was introduced in the US House of Representatives, but in a subsequent vote changed his mind and opposed it.
07 August 2008
Split verdict in first Guantanamo war - crimes trial
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 6, 2008
Filed at 6:30 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Guantanamo-Bin-Ladens-Driver.html
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver by a U.S. military court after a 10-day trial provides an indication of what to expect as dozens more Guantanamo prisoners go to court: shifting charges, secret testimony -- and quick verdicts.
Salim Hamdan held his head in his hands and appeared to weep Wednesday as the six-member military jury declared the Yemeni guilty of aiding terrorism, which could bring a maximum life sentence. But in a split decision, the jury in America's first war-crimes trial since the aftermath of World War II cleared Hamdan of two charges of conspiracy.
Deputy White House spokesman Tony Fratto applauded what he called ''a fair trial'' and said prosecutors will now proceed with other war crimes trials at the isolated U.S. military base in southeast Cuba. Prosecutors intend to try about 80 Guantanamo detainees for war crimes, including 19 already charged.
But defense lawyers said their clients' rights were denied by an unfair process, hastily patched together after the Supreme Court rulings that previous tribunal systems violated U.S. and international law.
Under the military commission, Hamdan did not have all the rights normally accorded either by U.S. civilian or military courts. The judge allowed secret testimony and hearsay evidence. Hamdan was not judged by a jury of his peers and he received no Miranda warning about his rights.
Hamdan's attorneys said interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.
All that is in contrast to the courts-martial used to prosecute American troops in Iraq and Vietnam, which accorded defendants more rights.
''This outcome was pre-determined -- not by the court, but by the government -- well before the trial even began,'' said Sahr MuhammedAlly of Human Rights First, who has observed hearings in the hilltop courtroom.
The five-man, one-woman jury convicted Hamdan on five counts of supporting terrorism, accepting the prosecution argument that Hamdan aided terrorism by becoming a member of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and serving as bin Laden's armed bodyguard and driver while knowing that the al-Qaida leader was plotting attacks against the U.S.
But he was found not guilty on three other counts alleging he knew that his work would be used for terrorism and that he provided surface-to-air missiles to al-Qaida.
He also was cleared of two charges of conspiracy alleging he was part of the al-Qaida effort to attack the United States -- the most serious charges, according to deputy chief defense counsel Michael Berrigan.
Berrigan noted the conspiracy charges were the only ones Hamdan originally faced when his case prompted the Supreme Court to halt the tribunals. Prosecutors added the new charges after the Bush administration rewrote the rules.
''The travesty of this is that Mr. Hamdan should have been acquitted of all charges,'' he said.
The verdict will be appealed automatically to a special military appeals court in Washington. Hamdan can then appeal to U.S. civilian courts as well.
The jury reconvened for a sentencing hearing in which psychologist Emily Keram testified that Hamdan was orphaned by the age of 10, has only a fourth-grade education and worked for bin Laden because he felt it was the only way to support his family.
She said Hamdan, who is about 37, wept when prosecutors showed video of airplanes crashing into the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
''He told me it was hard on his soul,'' Keram testified at the hearing, which was to continue Thursday.
The military judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, gave Hamdan five years of credit toward his sentence for the time he has served at Guantanamo Bay since the Pentagon decided to charge him.
The Pentagon describes the Hamdan proceedings as the first ''contested'' U.S. military war crimes trial since World War II. In March 2007, Australian David Hicks reached a plea agreement that sent him home to serve a nine-month prison sentence in what the military considers the first trial.
The U.S. now holds about 265 prisoners at Guantanamo. The U.S. has been struggling to persuade other countries to take in the detainees it doesn't plan to prosecute, including many already cleared for release and dozens who officials consider too dangerous to let loose, even if they don't want to put them on trial.
Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said the split verdict proved the trial was fair.
''The fact that the jury did not find Hamdan guilty of all of the charges brought against him demonstrates that the jury weighed the evidence carefully,'' McCain said.
His Democratic rival, Barack Obama, also praised the military officers involved but said the process has ''dangerous flaws'' and that such trials belong in traditional military or civilian courts.
Hamdan was captured at a roadblock in southern Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to Guantanamo Bay in May 2002.
The military accused him of transporting missiles for al-Qaida and helping bin Laden escape U.S. retribution following the Sept. 11 attacks by serving as his driver. Defense attorneys said he was merely a low-level bin Laden employee, a minor member of a motor pool who earned about $200 a month.
Army Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a former Guantanamo official who has since become critical of the legal process, mocked the choice of Hamdan for the tribunal's first trial.
''We can only trust that the next subjects ... will include cooks, tailors, and cobblers without whose support terrorist leaders would be left unfed, unclothed, and unshod, and therefore rendered incapable of planning or executing their attacks,'' Abraham said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Published: August 6, 2008
Filed at 6:30 p.m. ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Guantanamo-Bin-Ladens-Driver.html
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver by a U.S. military court after a 10-day trial provides an indication of what to expect as dozens more Guantanamo prisoners go to court: shifting charges, secret testimony -- and quick verdicts.
Salim Hamdan held his head in his hands and appeared to weep Wednesday as the six-member military jury declared the Yemeni guilty of aiding terrorism, which could bring a maximum life sentence. But in a split decision, the jury in America's first war-crimes trial since the aftermath of World War II cleared Hamdan of two charges of conspiracy.
Deputy White House spokesman Tony Fratto applauded what he called ''a fair trial'' and said prosecutors will now proceed with other war crimes trials at the isolated U.S. military base in southeast Cuba. Prosecutors intend to try about 80 Guantanamo detainees for war crimes, including 19 already charged.
But defense lawyers said their clients' rights were denied by an unfair process, hastily patched together after the Supreme Court rulings that previous tribunal systems violated U.S. and international law.
Under the military commission, Hamdan did not have all the rights normally accorded either by U.S. civilian or military courts. The judge allowed secret testimony and hearsay evidence. Hamdan was not judged by a jury of his peers and he received no Miranda warning about his rights.
Hamdan's attorneys said interrogations at the center of the government's case were tainted by coercive tactics, including sleep deprivation and solitary confinement.
All that is in contrast to the courts-martial used to prosecute American troops in Iraq and Vietnam, which accorded defendants more rights.
''This outcome was pre-determined -- not by the court, but by the government -- well before the trial even began,'' said Sahr MuhammedAlly of Human Rights First, who has observed hearings in the hilltop courtroom.
The five-man, one-woman jury convicted Hamdan on five counts of supporting terrorism, accepting the prosecution argument that Hamdan aided terrorism by becoming a member of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and serving as bin Laden's armed bodyguard and driver while knowing that the al-Qaida leader was plotting attacks against the U.S.
But he was found not guilty on three other counts alleging he knew that his work would be used for terrorism and that he provided surface-to-air missiles to al-Qaida.
He also was cleared of two charges of conspiracy alleging he was part of the al-Qaida effort to attack the United States -- the most serious charges, according to deputy chief defense counsel Michael Berrigan.
Berrigan noted the conspiracy charges were the only ones Hamdan originally faced when his case prompted the Supreme Court to halt the tribunals. Prosecutors added the new charges after the Bush administration rewrote the rules.
''The travesty of this is that Mr. Hamdan should have been acquitted of all charges,'' he said.
The verdict will be appealed automatically to a special military appeals court in Washington. Hamdan can then appeal to U.S. civilian courts as well.
The jury reconvened for a sentencing hearing in which psychologist Emily Keram testified that Hamdan was orphaned by the age of 10, has only a fourth-grade education and worked for bin Laden because he felt it was the only way to support his family.
She said Hamdan, who is about 37, wept when prosecutors showed video of airplanes crashing into the twin towers on Sept. 11, 2001.
''He told me it was hard on his soul,'' Keram testified at the hearing, which was to continue Thursday.
The military judge, Navy Capt. Keith Allred, gave Hamdan five years of credit toward his sentence for the time he has served at Guantanamo Bay since the Pentagon decided to charge him.
The Pentagon describes the Hamdan proceedings as the first ''contested'' U.S. military war crimes trial since World War II. In March 2007, Australian David Hicks reached a plea agreement that sent him home to serve a nine-month prison sentence in what the military considers the first trial.
The U.S. now holds about 265 prisoners at Guantanamo. The U.S. has been struggling to persuade other countries to take in the detainees it doesn't plan to prosecute, including many already cleared for release and dozens who officials consider too dangerous to let loose, even if they don't want to put them on trial.
Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said the split verdict proved the trial was fair.
''The fact that the jury did not find Hamdan guilty of all of the charges brought against him demonstrates that the jury weighed the evidence carefully,'' McCain said.
His Democratic rival, Barack Obama, also praised the military officers involved but said the process has ''dangerous flaws'' and that such trials belong in traditional military or civilian courts.
Hamdan was captured at a roadblock in southern Afghanistan in November 2001 and taken to Guantanamo Bay in May 2002.
The military accused him of transporting missiles for al-Qaida and helping bin Laden escape U.S. retribution following the Sept. 11 attacks by serving as his driver. Defense attorneys said he was merely a low-level bin Laden employee, a minor member of a motor pool who earned about $200 a month.
Army Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, a former Guantanamo official who has since become critical of the legal process, mocked the choice of Hamdan for the tribunal's first trial.
''We can only trust that the next subjects ... will include cooks, tailors, and cobblers without whose support terrorist leaders would be left unfed, unclothed, and unshod, and therefore rendered incapable of planning or executing their attacks,'' Abraham said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Bush: China must ensure freedoms
President rebukes Beijing's on human-rights, praises its market reform
The Associated Press
updated 1:56 p.m. ET, Wed., Aug. 6, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand - With all eyes on Beijing, President Bush bluntly told China that America stands in "firm opposition" to the way the communist government represses its own people, a rebuke delivered from the heart of Asia on the cusp of the Olympic Games.
Bush balanced his chiding with praise for China's market reforms and hope that it will embrace freedom, reflecting the delicate balance that Bush seeks to strike with the potent U.S. rival.
"We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labor rights not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential," Bush said in perhaps his last major Asia address.
"And we press for openness and justice not to impose our beliefs, but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs," the president said.
Three-country tour
Bush's brought his message to Thailand, a turbulent democracy. The marquee speech of his three-country trip hailed deepening ties between the U.S. and Asia. He pledged that whoever follows him in the White House will inherit an alliance that is now stronger than ever.
The president planned to quickly pivot from his speech to a full day of outreach toward the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, who live under military rule across the border.
Yet heading eagerly to the Beijing Olympics himself as a sports fan, Bush faced pressures all around: a desire not to embarrass China in its moment of glory, a call for strong words by those dismayed by China's repression, and a determination to remind the world that he has been pushing China to allow greater freedom during his presidency.
The White House released Bush's prepared remarks about 18 hours in advance, which had the buffer effect of putting a news cycle between his speech and his arrival in Beijing on Thursday.
But his message will surely be noted in China, which has already knocked Bush for intruding in its affairs by hosting Chinese dissidents at the White House ahead of the games.
"The leadership in Beijing will almost certainly find his comments irritating or objectionable," said Sophie Richardson, the Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "But they will clearly understand that the United States will not impose any real consequences if they do not make progress on human rights."
Seeking an event scrubbed free of protest, China has rounded up opponents and slapped restrictions on journalists, betraying promises made when China landed the hosting rights.
"America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates, and religious activists," Bush said. He tempered his remarks by saying China has the right to choose its own course.
"America and our partners are realistic, and we are prepared for any possibility," Bush said. "I am optimistic about China's future. Young people who grow up with the freedom to trade goods will ultimately demand the freedom to trade ideas."
The president added: "Change in China will arrive on its own terms and in keeping with its own history and traditions. Yet change will arrive."
Bush says he built a relationship with China's leaders that has built up honesty and candor and allowed him to have more influence. He cited examples of significant alliance over Taiwan, North Korea's nuclear program and shared economic concerns. He has also been adamant that the Olympics is not a time to pursue the U.S. political agenda.
Given his setting, Bush devoted a surprisingly small portion of his speech to Myanmar.
'End to tyranny'
One of the world's poorest countries, Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, when the latest junta came to power after brutally crushing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. Mass street demonstrations, led by Buddhist monks, were again put down last September.
"Together, we seek an end to tyranny in Burma," Bush said. "This noble cause has many devoted champions, and I happen to be married to one of them."
First lady Laura Bush is an outspoken advocate for Myanmar, drawing attention to a southeast Asian nation unfamiliar to many Americans. On Thursday in Thailand she will visit a border refugee camp in Mae La, home to thousands of people who fled Myanmar's violence.
After his speech, Bush will visit Mercy Centre, which is based in Bangkok's largest slum and provides help to children living with HIV or AIDS.
Bush will also get an update on the recovery from the cyclone that devastated Myanmar's heartland and killed more than 80,000 people in May; have lunch with Burma activists; and do an interview with local radio journalists in hopes of influencing events across the border.
Allies in war
Bush heralds Thailand's democracy as alive and well, but it is deeply embattled.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's 6-month-old coalition government came to power in elections, but only after a bloodless coup against predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra.
Samak faces daily demonstrations demanding his resignation. He is accused of blocking corruption charges against Thaksin and trying to amend the constitution to cling onto power.
Though Samak regards himself as a friend of Myanmar's generals, Bush heaped praise on his Thai hosts when he arrived, calling them close allies in the war on terror.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26049628/
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The Associated Press
updated 1:56 p.m. ET, Wed., Aug. 6, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand - With all eyes on Beijing, President Bush bluntly told China that America stands in "firm opposition" to the way the communist government represses its own people, a rebuke delivered from the heart of Asia on the cusp of the Olympic Games.
Bush balanced his chiding with praise for China's market reforms and hope that it will embrace freedom, reflecting the delicate balance that Bush seeks to strike with the potent U.S. rival.
"We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labor rights not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential," Bush said in perhaps his last major Asia address.
"And we press for openness and justice not to impose our beliefs, but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs," the president said.
Three-country tour
Bush's brought his message to Thailand, a turbulent democracy. The marquee speech of his three-country trip hailed deepening ties between the U.S. and Asia. He pledged that whoever follows him in the White House will inherit an alliance that is now stronger than ever.
The president planned to quickly pivot from his speech to a full day of outreach toward the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma, who live under military rule across the border.
Yet heading eagerly to the Beijing Olympics himself as a sports fan, Bush faced pressures all around: a desire not to embarrass China in its moment of glory, a call for strong words by those dismayed by China's repression, and a determination to remind the world that he has been pushing China to allow greater freedom during his presidency.
The White House released Bush's prepared remarks about 18 hours in advance, which had the buffer effect of putting a news cycle between his speech and his arrival in Beijing on Thursday.
But his message will surely be noted in China, which has already knocked Bush for intruding in its affairs by hosting Chinese dissidents at the White House ahead of the games.
"The leadership in Beijing will almost certainly find his comments irritating or objectionable," said Sophie Richardson, the Asia advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "But they will clearly understand that the United States will not impose any real consequences if they do not make progress on human rights."
Seeking an event scrubbed free of protest, China has rounded up opponents and slapped restrictions on journalists, betraying promises made when China landed the hosting rights.
"America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates, and religious activists," Bush said. He tempered his remarks by saying China has the right to choose its own course.
"America and our partners are realistic, and we are prepared for any possibility," Bush said. "I am optimistic about China's future. Young people who grow up with the freedom to trade goods will ultimately demand the freedom to trade ideas."
The president added: "Change in China will arrive on its own terms and in keeping with its own history and traditions. Yet change will arrive."
Bush says he built a relationship with China's leaders that has built up honesty and candor and allowed him to have more influence. He cited examples of significant alliance over Taiwan, North Korea's nuclear program and shared economic concerns. He has also been adamant that the Olympics is not a time to pursue the U.S. political agenda.
Given his setting, Bush devoted a surprisingly small portion of his speech to Myanmar.
'End to tyranny'
One of the world's poorest countries, Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, when the latest junta came to power after brutally crushing a pro-democracy uprising in 1988. Mass street demonstrations, led by Buddhist monks, were again put down last September.
"Together, we seek an end to tyranny in Burma," Bush said. "This noble cause has many devoted champions, and I happen to be married to one of them."
First lady Laura Bush is an outspoken advocate for Myanmar, drawing attention to a southeast Asian nation unfamiliar to many Americans. On Thursday in Thailand she will visit a border refugee camp in Mae La, home to thousands of people who fled Myanmar's violence.
After his speech, Bush will visit Mercy Centre, which is based in Bangkok's largest slum and provides help to children living with HIV or AIDS.
Bush will also get an update on the recovery from the cyclone that devastated Myanmar's heartland and killed more than 80,000 people in May; have lunch with Burma activists; and do an interview with local radio journalists in hopes of influencing events across the border.
Allies in war
Bush heralds Thailand's democracy as alive and well, but it is deeply embattled.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's 6-month-old coalition government came to power in elections, but only after a bloodless coup against predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra.
Samak faces daily demonstrations demanding his resignation. He is accused of blocking corruption charges against Thaksin and trying to amend the constitution to cling onto power.
Though Samak regards himself as a friend of Myanmar's generals, Bush heaped praise on his Thai hosts when he arrived, calling them close allies in the war on terror.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26049628/
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U.S.: Scientist was anthrax killer
Disclosure is part of the release of documents ordered by judge
The Associated Press
updated 5:35 p.m. ET, Wed., Aug. 6, 2008
WASHINGTON - Army scientist Bruce Ivins "was the only person responsible" for anthrax attacks in 2001 that killed five and rattled the nation, the Justice Department said Wednesday, backing the claim with dozens of documents all pointing to his guilt.
Documents made public alleged that Ivins, who committed suicide last week, had sole custody of highly purified anthrax spores with "certain genetic mutations identical" to the poison used in the attacks. Investigators also said they had traced back to his lab the type of envelopes used to send the deadly spores through the mails.
Ivins killed himself last week as investigators closed in, and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said, "We regret that we will not have the opportunity to present evidence to the jury."
"A plan to kill'
The prosecutor's news conference capped a fast-paced series of events in which the government partially lifted its veil of secrecy in the case that followed closely after the airliner terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The newly released records depict the scientist as deeply troubled, bordering on desperation as he confronted the possibility of being charged.
"He said he was not going to face the death penalty, but instead had a plan to kill co-workers and other individuals who had wronged him," according to one affidavit.
The affidavits also said Ivins submitted false anthrax samples to the FBI, was unable to give investigators "an adequate explanation for his late laboratory work hours around the time of" the attacks and sought to frame unnamed co-workers.
He was also said to have received immunizations against anthrax and yellow fever in early September 2001, several weeks before the first anthrax-laced envelope was received in the mail.
The documents were released as the FBI held a private briefing for families of the victims of the episode, and officials said the agency was preparing to close the case.
"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department.
Documents disclosed
Noting that Ivins would have been entitled to a presumption of innocence, Taylor nevertheless said prosecutors were confident "we could prove his guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt."
Ivins' attorney, Paul Kemp, has repeatedly asserted his late client's innocence.
The events in Washington unfolded as a memorial service was held for Ivins at Fort Detrick, the secret government installation in Frederick, Md., where he worked. Reporters were barred.
More than 200 pages of documents were made public by the FBI, virtually all of them describing the government's attempts to link Ivins to the crimes.
"It is a very compelling case," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who attended a briefing for lawmakers and staff.
Tracing the source
The government material describes at length painstaking scientific efforts to trace the source of the anthrax that was used in the attacks.
It says that in his lab, Ivins had custody of a flask of anthrax termed "the genetic parent" to the powder involved — a source that investigators say was used to grow spores for the attacks on "at least two separate occasions."
Anthrax culled from the letters was quickly discovered to be the so-called Ames strain of bacteria, but with genetic mutations that made it distinct. Scientists developed more sophisticated tests for four of those mutations, and concluded that all the samples that matched came from a single batch, code-named RMR-1029, stored at Fort Detrick.
Ivins "has been the sole custodian of RMR-1029 since it was first grown in 1997," said one affidavit.
Powder from anthrax-laden letters sent to the New York Post and Tom Brokaw of NBC contained a bacterial contaminant not found in the anthrax-containing envelopes mailed to Sens. Patrick Leahy or Tom Daschle, the affidavit said.
Investigators concluded that "the contaminant must have been introduced during the production of the Post and Brokaw spores," the affidavit said.
Search and seizure
The documents disclosed that authorities searched Ivins' home on Nov. 2, 2007, taking 22 swabs of vacuum filters and radiators and seizing dozens of items. Among them were video cassettes, family photos, information about guns and a copy of "The Plague" by Albert Camus.
Investigators also reported seizing three cardboard boxes labeled "Paul Kemp ... attorney client privilege."
Ivins' cars and his safe deposit box also were searched as investigators closed in on the respected government scientist who had been troubled by mental health problems for years.
According to an affidavit filed by Charles B. Wickersham, a postal inspector, the scientist told an unnamed co-worker "that he had `incredible paranoid, delusional thoughts at times' and 'feared that he might not be able to control his behavior."'
A mental health worker who was involved in treating Ivins disclosed last week that she was so concerned about his behavior that she recently sought a court order to keep him away from her.
Allegations that Ivins sought to mislead investigators ran through the material made public.
One FBI document said Ivins "repeatedly named other researchers as possible mailers and claimed that the anthrax used in the attacks resembled that of another researcher" at the same facility.
The name of the other researcher was not disclosed.
Stephen A. Hatfill's career as a bioscientist was ruined after then-Attorney General John Ashcroft named him a "person of interest" in the probe. The government recently paid $6 million to settle a lawsuit by Hatfill, who worked in the same lab.
The documents made public painted a picture of Ivins seeking to mislead investigators beginning in 2002, when he allegedly submitted the wrong samples to FBI investigators.
It wasn't until more than two years later, in March 2005, that he was confronted with the alleged switch, according to U.S. Postal Inspector Thomas Dellafera, who added that Ivins insisted he had not sought to deceive.
The documents, which were expected to shed light on many of the mysteries surrounding the case, were released following an order from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. Among them were more than a dozen search warrants issued as the government closed in on Ivins in an investigation into the terrifying mail poisonings a few weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Lamberth ordered the release after consultation with Amy Jeffress, a national security prosecutor at the Department of Justice.
The investigation dates to 2001, when anthrax-laced mail turned up in two Senate offices as well as news media offices and elsewhere. At the time, the events were widely viewed as the work of terrorists, and delivery of mail was crippled when anthrax spores were discovered in mailing equipment that had processed the contaminated envelopes.
The FBI's investigation had dragged on for years, tarnishing the reputation of the agency in the process.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26054859/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2008 MSNBC.com
The Associated Press
updated 5:35 p.m. ET, Wed., Aug. 6, 2008
WASHINGTON - Army scientist Bruce Ivins "was the only person responsible" for anthrax attacks in 2001 that killed five and rattled the nation, the Justice Department said Wednesday, backing the claim with dozens of documents all pointing to his guilt.
Documents made public alleged that Ivins, who committed suicide last week, had sole custody of highly purified anthrax spores with "certain genetic mutations identical" to the poison used in the attacks. Investigators also said they had traced back to his lab the type of envelopes used to send the deadly spores through the mails.
Ivins killed himself last week as investigators closed in, and U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said, "We regret that we will not have the opportunity to present evidence to the jury."
"A plan to kill'
The prosecutor's news conference capped a fast-paced series of events in which the government partially lifted its veil of secrecy in the case that followed closely after the airliner terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The newly released records depict the scientist as deeply troubled, bordering on desperation as he confronted the possibility of being charged.
"He said he was not going to face the death penalty, but instead had a plan to kill co-workers and other individuals who had wronged him," according to one affidavit.
The affidavits also said Ivins submitted false anthrax samples to the FBI, was unable to give investigators "an adequate explanation for his late laboratory work hours around the time of" the attacks and sought to frame unnamed co-workers.
He was also said to have received immunizations against anthrax and yellow fever in early September 2001, several weeks before the first anthrax-laced envelope was received in the mail.
The documents were released as the FBI held a private briefing for families of the victims of the episode, and officials said the agency was preparing to close the case.
"We are confident that Dr. Ivins was the only person responsible for these attacks," Taylor told a news conference at the Justice Department.
Documents disclosed
Noting that Ivins would have been entitled to a presumption of innocence, Taylor nevertheless said prosecutors were confident "we could prove his guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt."
Ivins' attorney, Paul Kemp, has repeatedly asserted his late client's innocence.
The events in Washington unfolded as a memorial service was held for Ivins at Fort Detrick, the secret government installation in Frederick, Md., where he worked. Reporters were barred.
More than 200 pages of documents were made public by the FBI, virtually all of them describing the government's attempts to link Ivins to the crimes.
"It is a very compelling case," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who attended a briefing for lawmakers and staff.
Tracing the source
The government material describes at length painstaking scientific efforts to trace the source of the anthrax that was used in the attacks.
It says that in his lab, Ivins had custody of a flask of anthrax termed "the genetic parent" to the powder involved — a source that investigators say was used to grow spores for the attacks on "at least two separate occasions."
Anthrax culled from the letters was quickly discovered to be the so-called Ames strain of bacteria, but with genetic mutations that made it distinct. Scientists developed more sophisticated tests for four of those mutations, and concluded that all the samples that matched came from a single batch, code-named RMR-1029, stored at Fort Detrick.
Ivins "has been the sole custodian of RMR-1029 since it was first grown in 1997," said one affidavit.
Powder from anthrax-laden letters sent to the New York Post and Tom Brokaw of NBC contained a bacterial contaminant not found in the anthrax-containing envelopes mailed to Sens. Patrick Leahy or Tom Daschle, the affidavit said.
Investigators concluded that "the contaminant must have been introduced during the production of the Post and Brokaw spores," the affidavit said.
Search and seizure
The documents disclosed that authorities searched Ivins' home on Nov. 2, 2007, taking 22 swabs of vacuum filters and radiators and seizing dozens of items. Among them were video cassettes, family photos, information about guns and a copy of "The Plague" by Albert Camus.
Investigators also reported seizing three cardboard boxes labeled "Paul Kemp ... attorney client privilege."
Ivins' cars and his safe deposit box also were searched as investigators closed in on the respected government scientist who had been troubled by mental health problems for years.
According to an affidavit filed by Charles B. Wickersham, a postal inspector, the scientist told an unnamed co-worker "that he had `incredible paranoid, delusional thoughts at times' and 'feared that he might not be able to control his behavior."'
A mental health worker who was involved in treating Ivins disclosed last week that she was so concerned about his behavior that she recently sought a court order to keep him away from her.
Allegations that Ivins sought to mislead investigators ran through the material made public.
One FBI document said Ivins "repeatedly named other researchers as possible mailers and claimed that the anthrax used in the attacks resembled that of another researcher" at the same facility.
The name of the other researcher was not disclosed.
Stephen A. Hatfill's career as a bioscientist was ruined after then-Attorney General John Ashcroft named him a "person of interest" in the probe. The government recently paid $6 million to settle a lawsuit by Hatfill, who worked in the same lab.
The documents made public painted a picture of Ivins seeking to mislead investigators beginning in 2002, when he allegedly submitted the wrong samples to FBI investigators.
It wasn't until more than two years later, in March 2005, that he was confronted with the alleged switch, according to U.S. Postal Inspector Thomas Dellafera, who added that Ivins insisted he had not sought to deceive.
The documents, which were expected to shed light on many of the mysteries surrounding the case, were released following an order from U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth. Among them were more than a dozen search warrants issued as the government closed in on Ivins in an investigation into the terrifying mail poisonings a few weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
Lamberth ordered the release after consultation with Amy Jeffress, a national security prosecutor at the Department of Justice.
The investigation dates to 2001, when anthrax-laced mail turned up in two Senate offices as well as news media offices and elsewhere. At the time, the events were widely viewed as the work of terrorists, and delivery of mail was crippled when anthrax spores were discovered in mailing equipment that had processed the contaminated envelopes.
The FBI's investigation had dragged on for years, tarnishing the reputation of the agency in the process.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26054859/
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31 July 2008
SOAP OPERA UPENDS TRADITIONAL ARAB GENDER ROLES
Posted: Thursday, July 31, 2008 9:48 AM
Filed Under: Cairo, Egypt
By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/31/1236952.aspx
CAIRO, Egypt – A relative newcomer to Arab TV, the Turkish soap opera "Noor" has helped narrow the gender gap between men and women across the Middle East.
Women see the lead female character – the independent, aspiring fashion designer Noor -- as a role model. Meantime, her husband on the show -- the blue-eyed former model and athlete Mohannad -- has become the region’s first pin-up boy.
The nightly soap opera has mainly female viewers glued to their TV sets not only because Mohannad is a cuter version of Justin Timberlake, but because he offers something many lack in their lives: romance, tenderness and a supportive partner to his independent wife. Mohannad has become the standard against which many Arab men are being judged, much to their chagrin.
Too much to live up to
According to Arab newspapers, marriages in Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia have dissolved because wives insisted on putting Mohannad's picture on their mobile phone display, or on their bedroom wall. In Bahrain, a woman allegedly begged her husband to have plastic surgery to look like the actor. Another recent divorcee allegedly told her husband "I want to sleep with Mohannad one night and then die."
In Saudi Arabia, where about one in seven people tunes in each night, men circulated the rumor that Kivanc Tatlitug, the actor who plays Mohannad, is gay, which left female viewers distraught until the rumor was dispelled.
Saudi society abounds with Mohannad jokes such as this one: A Saudi woman was touring Turkey with her husband and son when her husband went missing. As she described him to the police, her son shouted, "But that's not what Daddy looks like." "Be quiet," she whispers, "They might just give me Mohannad."
"Mohannad" and "Noor" are now the hottest babies' names in Saudi – even though the religious establishment has condemned the show. A top Saudi cleric forbade viewers from watching the "malicious" soap operas that "corrupt and spread vice" and has also declared that any TV station airing them is against God. This has put Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC), which airs the show three times a day, at loggerheads with Saudi religious leaders.
Saudi clerics may have an uphill battle: The Turkish serial has so wooed Saudis with its scenic backdrops of the Bosporus, and green, clean vistas of Istanbul that Turkish tourism officials say it has caused Saudi tourism to the country to more than double.
The series has not only made Saudi women aware of the failings of their partners, but the advantages engendered by a more liberal, tolerant Islamic society such as Turkey.
"It is eye opening for Saudi women. They haven't seen such a sensitive, passionate, giving personality," explained Dr. Fawzaya Abu Khalid, a writer and women's activist based in Riyadh.
For many women, the show has opened a whole new world and a lot of men aren’t happy about it. "Men feel threatened. It is the first time women have a role model for male beauty and passion and can compare him with their husbands," said Abu Khalid. "It is the first time they found out their husbands are not nice, that they are not being treated the way they should be, and that there is an option outside."
Glued to TV across the region
Filled with scheming relatives, corny romantic scenes, melodramatic acting and amateurish effects, the sequence bombed in its native Turkey, but found new life among Arab women of all ages from Riyadh to the West Bank, when MBC began airing a dubbed Arabic version four months ago.
Reem, a young Saudi businesswoman who prefers to use her first name only, was introduced to the show by her nieces, ages seven and eight. Reem explained the show’s allure. "Romance is not here, living in a dry desert. Saudi women are missing something in their lives, in the treatment in the family, the wife with her husband and the husband with his wife. What I see from my female customers is that they are attracted by the love and romance and the way the man is treating the woman."
And in east Jerusalem, every night at 10 p.m., the streets are suddenly empty – everyone is glued to the TV watching "Noor" there, too.
Bakiza, the matriarch of a large household in Jerusalem’s Old City, surrounds herself every night with her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. They each take something different from the show. "I admire the story of Mohannad and Noor because of what it shows about how a family should be," said Bakiza. "The grandfather, Fikhry, is the one who takes care of the whole family, decides everything, and solves all the problems. Everyone respects him."
Malouk, a 15-year-old niece of Bakiza, has her own reason for watching the show. "I can only watch it because of Mohannad. He is handsome, romantic, and takes care of his wife. In fact, he is better than his wife."
The popularity of the series goes beyond the family room. It is also a business success story in the local communities. Restaurants, coffee shops, and clothing stores, proudly display posters of the couple in their windows to attract business. In Ramallah, nargila cafes (where water pipes are smoked), have their TV sets tuned for the channel of the series, to keep the customers there.
Even small children are onto the show and are making purchases based on the series’ merchandising. Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Old City, says, "I was surprised how children from 6 to 15 years old, are buying from me only the potato chips with their pictures on it!" said Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Jerusalem’s Old City.
A positive role model for women
To some young women, the aspiring fashion designer Noor, provides a positive female role model and encourages them to raise the bar not only on future spouses but on themselves.
In Cairo, Na'ama Hegazy, a single 25-year-old, watches "Noor" three times a day and says it has influenced the way she sees her future.
"I want a romantic [man] who treats me like how Mohannad treats his wife. Every day he brings her flowers and tells her romantic words," said Hegazy. "The life will be very good when a husband treats his wife [like that]."
But Hegazy also wants to emulate Noor who is a both a good wife and mother, and a self-reliant professional. "When she has troubles with Mohannad, she wants to him to leave her alone. She wants to work and doesn't want anything from him. This means any woman who falls out with her husband can work and depend on herself."
NBC News’ Lawahez Jabari contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
Filed Under: Cairo, Egypt
By Charlene Gubash, NBC News Producer
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/31/1236952.aspx
CAIRO, Egypt – A relative newcomer to Arab TV, the Turkish soap opera "Noor" has helped narrow the gender gap between men and women across the Middle East.
Women see the lead female character – the independent, aspiring fashion designer Noor -- as a role model. Meantime, her husband on the show -- the blue-eyed former model and athlete Mohannad -- has become the region’s first pin-up boy.
The nightly soap opera has mainly female viewers glued to their TV sets not only because Mohannad is a cuter version of Justin Timberlake, but because he offers something many lack in their lives: romance, tenderness and a supportive partner to his independent wife. Mohannad has become the standard against which many Arab men are being judged, much to their chagrin.
Too much to live up to
According to Arab newspapers, marriages in Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia have dissolved because wives insisted on putting Mohannad's picture on their mobile phone display, or on their bedroom wall. In Bahrain, a woman allegedly begged her husband to have plastic surgery to look like the actor. Another recent divorcee allegedly told her husband "I want to sleep with Mohannad one night and then die."
In Saudi Arabia, where about one in seven people tunes in each night, men circulated the rumor that Kivanc Tatlitug, the actor who plays Mohannad, is gay, which left female viewers distraught until the rumor was dispelled.
Saudi society abounds with Mohannad jokes such as this one: A Saudi woman was touring Turkey with her husband and son when her husband went missing. As she described him to the police, her son shouted, "But that's not what Daddy looks like." "Be quiet," she whispers, "They might just give me Mohannad."
"Mohannad" and "Noor" are now the hottest babies' names in Saudi – even though the religious establishment has condemned the show. A top Saudi cleric forbade viewers from watching the "malicious" soap operas that "corrupt and spread vice" and has also declared that any TV station airing them is against God. This has put Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Company (MBC), which airs the show three times a day, at loggerheads with Saudi religious leaders.
Saudi clerics may have an uphill battle: The Turkish serial has so wooed Saudis with its scenic backdrops of the Bosporus, and green, clean vistas of Istanbul that Turkish tourism officials say it has caused Saudi tourism to the country to more than double.
The series has not only made Saudi women aware of the failings of their partners, but the advantages engendered by a more liberal, tolerant Islamic society such as Turkey.
"It is eye opening for Saudi women. They haven't seen such a sensitive, passionate, giving personality," explained Dr. Fawzaya Abu Khalid, a writer and women's activist based in Riyadh.
For many women, the show has opened a whole new world and a lot of men aren’t happy about it. "Men feel threatened. It is the first time women have a role model for male beauty and passion and can compare him with their husbands," said Abu Khalid. "It is the first time they found out their husbands are not nice, that they are not being treated the way they should be, and that there is an option outside."
Glued to TV across the region
Filled with scheming relatives, corny romantic scenes, melodramatic acting and amateurish effects, the sequence bombed in its native Turkey, but found new life among Arab women of all ages from Riyadh to the West Bank, when MBC began airing a dubbed Arabic version four months ago.
Reem, a young Saudi businesswoman who prefers to use her first name only, was introduced to the show by her nieces, ages seven and eight. Reem explained the show’s allure. "Romance is not here, living in a dry desert. Saudi women are missing something in their lives, in the treatment in the family, the wife with her husband and the husband with his wife. What I see from my female customers is that they are attracted by the love and romance and the way the man is treating the woman."
And in east Jerusalem, every night at 10 p.m., the streets are suddenly empty – everyone is glued to the TV watching "Noor" there, too.
Bakiza, the matriarch of a large household in Jerusalem’s Old City, surrounds herself every night with her children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. They each take something different from the show. "I admire the story of Mohannad and Noor because of what it shows about how a family should be," said Bakiza. "The grandfather, Fikhry, is the one who takes care of the whole family, decides everything, and solves all the problems. Everyone respects him."
Malouk, a 15-year-old niece of Bakiza, has her own reason for watching the show. "I can only watch it because of Mohannad. He is handsome, romantic, and takes care of his wife. In fact, he is better than his wife."
The popularity of the series goes beyond the family room. It is also a business success story in the local communities. Restaurants, coffee shops, and clothing stores, proudly display posters of the couple in their windows to attract business. In Ramallah, nargila cafes (where water pipes are smoked), have their TV sets tuned for the channel of the series, to keep the customers there.
Even small children are onto the show and are making purchases based on the series’ merchandising. Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Old City, says, "I was surprised how children from 6 to 15 years old, are buying from me only the potato chips with their pictures on it!" said Haitham al-Halak, 45, a grocer in the Jerusalem’s Old City.
A positive role model for women
To some young women, the aspiring fashion designer Noor, provides a positive female role model and encourages them to raise the bar not only on future spouses but on themselves.
In Cairo, Na'ama Hegazy, a single 25-year-old, watches "Noor" three times a day and says it has influenced the way she sees her future.
"I want a romantic [man] who treats me like how Mohannad treats his wife. Every day he brings her flowers and tells her romantic words," said Hegazy. "The life will be very good when a husband treats his wife [like that]."
But Hegazy also wants to emulate Noor who is a both a good wife and mother, and a self-reliant professional. "When she has troubles with Mohannad, she wants to him to leave her alone. She wants to work and doesn't want anything from him. This means any woman who falls out with her husband can work and depend on herself."
NBC News’ Lawahez Jabari contributed to this report from Jerusalem.
28 July 2008
Female suicide bombers kill 57, wound dozens
Attackers target Shiite pilgrimate in Baghdad, Kurdish rally in Kirkuk
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25880699/
Associated Press
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Mon., July. 28, 2008
BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.
Three female suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the middle of pilgrims in Baghdad, moments after a roadside bomb attack, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, Iraqi officials said.
In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, 25 people were killed and 185 wounded when a blast tore through a crowd of Kurds protesting a draft provincial elections law, officials said.
Local police said remains recovered from the scene showed the attacker was a woman. The U.S. military confirmed a suicide bombing but said there was no indication the attacker was a woman.
Blow to confidence
The bombings were a devastating blow to the Iraqi public's growing confidence of recent security gains that have seen violence in Iraq drop to its lowest levels in more than four years.
A senior U.S. military official blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks in Baghdad. The attacks come ahead of U.S. and Iraqi military operations in early August aimed at routing out insurgents from rural hideouts in northern Iraq and solidify recent security gains in urban areas.
"At about 8 a.m. three female suicide bombers detonated themselves among pilgrims heading to Kazimiyah," the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said in a statement posted on his Web site.
The pilgrims are marking the death of an eighth-century saint. The attacks took place in the mainly Shiite Karradah district, which is several miles away from the destination of the pilgrimage in Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. Most of the dead were women and children, police and health officials said.
"I heard women and children crying and shouting and I saw burned women as dead bodies lied in pools of blood on the street," Mustapha Abdullah, a 32-year-old man who was injured in the stomach and legs, said from the hospital where he was being treated.
It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006.
Power-sharing tension
In Kirkuk, the suicide bomber targeted Kurdish demonstrators who were protesting a provincial elections measure blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in the disputed city of Kirkuk, an oil-rich area.
Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, a Kirkuk police spokesman, said police found a car bomb nearby and detonated it safely.
After the suicide explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said no one was hurt in the attack and that the party offices were placed under police protection.
Suicide bombings are increasingly carried out by women, who are more easily able to hide explosives under their all-encompassing black Islamic robes, or abayas, and often are not searched at checkpoints.
Women searching women
But security forces have deployed about 200 women this week to search female pilgrims near Kazimiyah, where the Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried in a golden domed shrine.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
In 2005, at least 1,000 people also were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber in Baghdad during the Kazimiyah pilgrimage.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb attack on Monday killed four civilians near Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25880699/
Associated Press
updated 11:19 a.m. ET, Mon., July. 28, 2008
BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers struck a Shiite pilgrimage in Baghdad and a Kurdish protest rally in northern Iraq on Monday, killing at least 57 people and wounding nearly 300, police said.
Three female suicide bombers blew their explosive vests in the middle of pilgrims in Baghdad, moments after a roadside bomb attack, killing at least 32 people and wounding 102, Iraqi officials said.
In the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk, 25 people were killed and 185 wounded when a blast tore through a crowd of Kurds protesting a draft provincial elections law, officials said.
Local police said remains recovered from the scene showed the attacker was a woman. The U.S. military confirmed a suicide bombing but said there was no indication the attacker was a woman.
Blow to confidence
The bombings were a devastating blow to the Iraqi public's growing confidence of recent security gains that have seen violence in Iraq drop to its lowest levels in more than four years.
A senior U.S. military official blamed al-Qaida in Iraq for the attacks in Baghdad. The attacks come ahead of U.S. and Iraqi military operations in early August aimed at routing out insurgents from rural hideouts in northern Iraq and solidify recent security gains in urban areas.
"At about 8 a.m. three female suicide bombers detonated themselves among pilgrims heading to Kazimiyah," the main Iraqi military spokesman in Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said in a statement posted on his Web site.
The pilgrims are marking the death of an eighth-century saint. The attacks took place in the mainly Shiite Karradah district, which is several miles away from the destination of the pilgrimage in Kazimiyah in northern Baghdad. Most of the dead were women and children, police and health officials said.
"I heard women and children crying and shouting and I saw burned women as dead bodies lied in pools of blood on the street," Mustapha Abdullah, a 32-year-old man who was injured in the stomach and legs, said from the hospital where he was being treated.
It was the deadliest attack in Baghdad since June 17, when a truck bombing killed 63 people in Hurriyah, a neighborhood that saw some of the worst Shiite-Sunni slaughter in 2006.
Power-sharing tension
In Kirkuk, the suicide bomber targeted Kurdish demonstrators who were protesting a provincial elections measure blocked in parliament because of disagreement over a power-sharing formula in the disputed city of Kirkuk, an oil-rich area.
Maj. Gen. Jamal Tahir, a Kirkuk police spokesman, said police found a car bomb nearby and detonated it safely.
After the suicide explosion, dozens of angry Kurds opened fire on the offices of a Turkomen political party, which opposes Kurdish claims on Kirkuk.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said no one was hurt in the attack and that the party offices were placed under police protection.
Suicide bombings are increasingly carried out by women, who are more easily able to hide explosives under their all-encompassing black Islamic robes, or abayas, and often are not searched at checkpoints.
Women searching women
But security forces have deployed about 200 women this week to search female pilgrims near Kazimiyah, where the Shiite saint Imam Moussa al-Kadhim is buried in a golden domed shrine.
Since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein, who was a Sunni, Shiite political parties have encouraged huge turnouts at religious festivals to display the majority sect's power in Iraq. Sunni religious extremists have often targeted the gatherings to foment sectarian war, but that has not stopped the Shiites.
In 2005, at least 1,000 people also were killed in a bridge stampede caused by rumors of a suicide bomber in Baghdad during the Kazimiyah pilgrimage.
Elsewhere, a roadside bomb attack on Monday killed four civilians near Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, police said.
26 July 2008
Saving Pompeii From the Ravages of Time and Tourists
July 26, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/design/26ruin.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
POMPEII, Italy — Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient city of Pompeii.
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shuffling thongs and sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
This month the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Mr. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration.
The hope is that many houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
“Pompeii is a calling card of Italy for foreigners, and it’s important that their impression be positive,” said Italy’s culture minister, Sandro Bondi. He directed Mr. Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses” like unlicensed tour guides and the souvenir vendors who aggressively approach tourists.
Mr. Bondi also said that Mr. Profili would explore “new forms of innovative management” in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government red tape is blamed for some of the inefficiencies at Pompeii. “If I have to fix a broken wall,” said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, “I first have to put out a tender for an architect to evaluate the damage.
“Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
“If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive.”
“Is there an emergency? I don’t know, I’ve always been very clear about the problems at Pompeii,” Mr. Guzzo added. “The situation here is so immense that ordinary means haven’t been able to control it.”
The 109-acre ruins, about an eighth the size of Central Park (50 more acres or so are underground), are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat strikes that can leave visitors standing outside locked gates. Local criminal organizations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for operating public concessions at the site.
Still, Mr. Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however, that this improvement was “a drop in the bucket.”
Some experts say Mr. Profili will not have an easy time of it. “I truly hope that he’s able to do everything he wants to, but at Pompeii no one wants to change anything,” said Luigi Crimaco, an archaeologist.
Mr. Crimaco should know. For about two and a half years ending in 2006, he was part of a three-man team responsible for managing Pompeii. He said he had often been hamstrung by restrictive laws leaving him little leeway to address problems.
“The preservation of cultural heritage means ensuring that they survive forever,” Mr. Crimaco said. “To protect Pompeii, it’s necessary to invest and bring in people and outside capital able to inject vitality into the ancient city.”
Ticket-sale proceeds and financing from the European Union and local governments have not met Pompeii’s bottomless financial needs. “Modern cities are constantly plagued by unforeseen expenses,” said Giuseppe Proietti, the culture ministry’s secretary general. “Just put that in the context of an enormous ancient site exposed to the elements.”
That chronic shortfall has brought suggestions that investors should operate Pompeii. The ruins should “be put in a condition where people can best appreciate their beauty, because that’s money to the area,” said Antonio Irlando, an architect and the president of a local conservation group that meticulously monitors Pompeii’s cracking walls, falling stones, abandoned work sites and flaking intonaco, the thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. “This is an area with high unemployment and that shouldn’t be the case, because it has an immense patrimony.”
Claudio Velardi, culture and tourism chief for the Campania region, which includes Pompeii, has suggested an “American style” sponsorship of the site, in which a business would reap image benefits if not a tangible financial return.
But around the globe there is always considerable unease with the notion of the privatization of cultural heritage. “Pompeii is a government responsibility; it’s a World Heritage site, and they don’t want it to become too much of a Disneyland,” said Steven J. R. Ellis of the University of Cincinnati, a director of a research project at Porta Stabia, one of Pompeii’s ancient gates.
“The concern is that private investment will swing interests into making money at Pompeii rather than its cultural upkeep and the assurance that funds are given over to conservation,” Dr. Ellis said.
Despite the deterioration and the bad publicity, the ruins still inspire awe.
“It’s wonderful,” said Maria Nappi, a tourist from Connecticut who was visiting with her family. She said the site gave her a “wonderful sense of life back then, and their art and love of beauty.”
As for the crumbling state of the ruins, she said it “was just Mother Nature taking over,” adding, “It doesn’t matter if it’s here, or France, or the United States.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/arts/design/26ruin.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO
POMPEII, Italy — Citing threats to public security and to the site itself, the Italian government has for the first time declared a yearlong state of emergency for the ancient city of Pompeii.
Nearly 2,000 years after Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii under pumice and steaming volcanic ash, some 2.6 million tourists tramp annually through this archaeological site, which is on Unesco’s World Heritage list.
Frescoes in the ancient Roman city, one of Italy’s most popular attractions, fade under the blistering sun or are chipped at by souvenir hunters. Mosaics endure the brunt of tens of thousands of shuffling thongs and sneakers. Teetering columns and walls are propped up by wooden and steel scaffolding. Rusty padlocks deny access to recently restored houses, and custodians seem to be few and far between.
This month the government drafted a retired lawman, Renato Profili, the former prefect of Naples, to map out a strategy to combat neglect and degradation at the site. Mr. Profili has been given special powers for one year so he can bypass the Italian bureaucracy and speedily bolster security and stop the disintegration.
The hope is that many houses and villas now closed to the public and exposed to looting and vandalism will soon be opened and protected.
“Pompeii is a calling card of Italy for foreigners, and it’s important that their impression be positive,” said Italy’s culture minister, Sandro Bondi. He directed Mr. Profili to crack down on “blatant abuses” like unlicensed tour guides and the souvenir vendors who aggressively approach tourists.
Mr. Bondi also said that Mr. Profili would explore “new forms of innovative management” in which private sponsors might be recruited to finance improvements.
Government red tape is blamed for some of the inefficiencies at Pompeii. “If I have to fix a broken wall,” said Pietro Giovanni Guzzo, the superintendent of the ruins, “I first have to put out a tender for an architect to evaluate the damage.
“Then I have to put out a tender for a company to fix the wall. Then I have to see if I have enough money in my budget to pay for the repair, and then finally the work begins.
“If he can bypass all that, it would be very positive.”
“Is there an emergency? I don’t know, I’ve always been very clear about the problems at Pompeii,” Mr. Guzzo added. “The situation here is so immense that ordinary means haven’t been able to control it.”
The 109-acre ruins, about an eighth the size of Central Park (50 more acres or so are underground), are severely understaffed. Workers are prone to wildcat strikes that can leave visitors standing outside locked gates. Local criminal organizations must constantly be kept at bay when bids are solicited for maintenance work or for operating public concessions at the site.
Still, Mr. Guzzo said he had made some progress since he assumed his post in 1995. Visitors now have access to 35 percent of the ruins, compared with 14 percent when he first arrived. He admitted, however, that this improvement was “a drop in the bucket.”
Some experts say Mr. Profili will not have an easy time of it. “I truly hope that he’s able to do everything he wants to, but at Pompeii no one wants to change anything,” said Luigi Crimaco, an archaeologist.
Mr. Crimaco should know. For about two and a half years ending in 2006, he was part of a three-man team responsible for managing Pompeii. He said he had often been hamstrung by restrictive laws leaving him little leeway to address problems.
“The preservation of cultural heritage means ensuring that they survive forever,” Mr. Crimaco said. “To protect Pompeii, it’s necessary to invest and bring in people and outside capital able to inject vitality into the ancient city.”
Ticket-sale proceeds and financing from the European Union and local governments have not met Pompeii’s bottomless financial needs. “Modern cities are constantly plagued by unforeseen expenses,” said Giuseppe Proietti, the culture ministry’s secretary general. “Just put that in the context of an enormous ancient site exposed to the elements.”
That chronic shortfall has brought suggestions that investors should operate Pompeii. The ruins should “be put in a condition where people can best appreciate their beauty, because that’s money to the area,” said Antonio Irlando, an architect and the president of a local conservation group that meticulously monitors Pompeii’s cracking walls, falling stones, abandoned work sites and flaking intonaco, the thin layer of plaster on which a fresco is painted. “This is an area with high unemployment and that shouldn’t be the case, because it has an immense patrimony.”
Claudio Velardi, culture and tourism chief for the Campania region, which includes Pompeii, has suggested an “American style” sponsorship of the site, in which a business would reap image benefits if not a tangible financial return.
But around the globe there is always considerable unease with the notion of the privatization of cultural heritage. “Pompeii is a government responsibility; it’s a World Heritage site, and they don’t want it to become too much of a Disneyland,” said Steven J. R. Ellis of the University of Cincinnati, a director of a research project at Porta Stabia, one of Pompeii’s ancient gates.
“The concern is that private investment will swing interests into making money at Pompeii rather than its cultural upkeep and the assurance that funds are given over to conservation,” Dr. Ellis said.
Despite the deterioration and the bad publicity, the ruins still inspire awe.
“It’s wonderful,” said Maria Nappi, a tourist from Connecticut who was visiting with her family. She said the site gave her a “wonderful sense of life back then, and their art and love of beauty.”
As for the crumbling state of the ruins, she said it “was just Mother Nature taking over,” adding, “It doesn’t matter if it’s here, or France, or the United States.”
15 July 2008
Getting tourists to Afghanistan's 'Grand Canyon'
By Alastair Leithead,
BBC News, Band-e Amir
2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
It takes eight bone-shaking hours on a dirt track road to reach Afghanistan's first national park from the capital, but the beauty and serenity is worth crossing the world for.
Imagine the Grand Canyon flooded with deep sapphire lakes, bluer than the cloudless sky, with sheer golden cliffs plunging into turquoise shallows.
High above the Band-e Amir valley in Bamiyan province the Hindu Kush mountains glow an almost-pink, framing the beautiful long pools that overflow into gushing waterfalls.
It's a paradise, an oasis, in central Afghanistan - a bubble of security and peace in a country which is more used to war and instability.
'Better security'
Some tourists do make the tortuous journey and on Fridays the pedalo man with his brightly coloured swan-shaped boats usually has a very busy day.
Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict
Governor Habiba Serobi
Afghans travel out to Band-e Amir for picnics, a favourite family pastime at weekends and take a refreshing dip. The boats are a good way of seeing the sights for $8 an hour.
"Any improvements would help attract more visitors here," said Ismael Alaa, poring over the book where he notes down which boats have been hired.
"But particularly, we need better roads to bring in people and supplies - and better security, even though it's not bad here."
There are a few accommodation tents and trinket stores plonked near the car park - just a few tables set up to serve the tourist trade.
One or two places will even slaughter a lamb for lunch if they think the group is big enough to make it worth their while.
Attaqulla cooked our kebabs on a narrow metal barbecue, but his full time job is with the local department of tourism.
He explained the attraction of the new national park: "It's not an artificial lake, it's natural and really deep.
"Because of the way it's been formed, almost like it's been blocked at one end, people look at it as a miracle and come from all over the country to see it.
"But local people from Bamiyan believe the third caliph of Islam came here once, so they treat it as a religious site and come to pray at the shrine."
Standing high on the edge of the canyon the views are truly breathtaking, but the one thing missing is people.
There are very few visitors to the area, not least because of the roads, but also because of the deteriorating security situation in the surrounding provinces.
It's one of the most peaceful parts of Afghanistan, but the Governor, Habiba Serobi, the only female governor in the country, believes if more money isn't put into the area then the situation could worsen.
'Destroyed'
"Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict - that's where the international community puts more money," she said.
"They don't care about Bamiyan if it is safe and secure, but the danger is people will be angry and disappointed with the central government and the international community.
"So in the future the distance between the government and the people will be bigger and it will be a cause of problems."
There is a small military presence of troops from New Zealand in the province and there are some developments - a new town hall has just been finished and work has started on building new roads in the city.
But there is a lot of poverty and near to the mountain where the famous Buddhas once stood before they were destroyed by the Taleban in 2001, families are living in caves.
This beautiful and peaceful part of a violent country has huge potential to make Afghanistan a lot of money, but only when the majority of foreign visitors here aren't carrying guns and fighting an insurgency.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7506146.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
BBC News, Band-e Amir
2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
It takes eight bone-shaking hours on a dirt track road to reach Afghanistan's first national park from the capital, but the beauty and serenity is worth crossing the world for.
Imagine the Grand Canyon flooded with deep sapphire lakes, bluer than the cloudless sky, with sheer golden cliffs plunging into turquoise shallows.
High above the Band-e Amir valley in Bamiyan province the Hindu Kush mountains glow an almost-pink, framing the beautiful long pools that overflow into gushing waterfalls.
It's a paradise, an oasis, in central Afghanistan - a bubble of security and peace in a country which is more used to war and instability.
'Better security'
Some tourists do make the tortuous journey and on Fridays the pedalo man with his brightly coloured swan-shaped boats usually has a very busy day.
Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict
Governor Habiba Serobi
Afghans travel out to Band-e Amir for picnics, a favourite family pastime at weekends and take a refreshing dip. The boats are a good way of seeing the sights for $8 an hour.
"Any improvements would help attract more visitors here," said Ismael Alaa, poring over the book where he notes down which boats have been hired.
"But particularly, we need better roads to bring in people and supplies - and better security, even though it's not bad here."
There are a few accommodation tents and trinket stores plonked near the car park - just a few tables set up to serve the tourist trade.
One or two places will even slaughter a lamb for lunch if they think the group is big enough to make it worth their while.
Attaqulla cooked our kebabs on a narrow metal barbecue, but his full time job is with the local department of tourism.
He explained the attraction of the new national park: "It's not an artificial lake, it's natural and really deep.
"Because of the way it's been formed, almost like it's been blocked at one end, people look at it as a miracle and come from all over the country to see it.
"But local people from Bamiyan believe the third caliph of Islam came here once, so they treat it as a religious site and come to pray at the shrine."
Standing high on the edge of the canyon the views are truly breathtaking, but the one thing missing is people.
There are very few visitors to the area, not least because of the roads, but also because of the deteriorating security situation in the surrounding provinces.
It's one of the most peaceful parts of Afghanistan, but the Governor, Habiba Serobi, the only female governor in the country, believes if more money isn't put into the area then the situation could worsen.
'Destroyed'
"Unfortunately the aid is always going to the more difficult areas where there are problems and conflict - that's where the international community puts more money," she said.
"They don't care about Bamiyan if it is safe and secure, but the danger is people will be angry and disappointed with the central government and the international community.
"So in the future the distance between the government and the people will be bigger and it will be a cause of problems."
There is a small military presence of troops from New Zealand in the province and there are some developments - a new town hall has just been finished and work has started on building new roads in the city.
But there is a lot of poverty and near to the mountain where the famous Buddhas once stood before they were destroyed by the Taleban in 2001, families are living in caves.
This beautiful and peaceful part of a violent country has huge potential to make Afghanistan a lot of money, but only when the majority of foreign visitors here aren't carrying guns and fighting an insurgency.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/south_asia/7506146.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 08:57:47 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
First Guantanamo video released
Go to link at the bottom of the page to see the video...
2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
The video was filmed secretly through an air duct
A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.
It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in 2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces, Canadian media have said.
The Canadian citizen is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is seen in a distressed state and complaining about the medical care.
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr's lawyers following a Supreme Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is facing.
'Help me'
Mr Khadr, the only Westerner still held at the jail, was 15 when he was captured by US forces during a gun battle at a suspected al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
During the 10-minute video of his questioning in Guantanamo a year later, he can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: "Help me."
I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth
Dennis Edney
Lawyer for Omar Khadr
At one point he lifts his orange shirt to show the foreign ministry official and agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) wounds on his back and stomach which he says he sustained in Afghanistan.
"I'm not a doctor, but I think you're getting good medical care," one of the officials responds.
Khadr says: "No I'm not. You're not here... I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!" in reference to how his vision and physical health were affected.
"No, you still have your eyes and your feet are still at the end of your legs, you know," a man says.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Mr Khadr tells the officials several times: "You don't care about me."
In an accompanying classified document describing the interrogation, Mr Khadr also says he was tortured while being held at the US military detention centre at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
One of Mr Khadr's lawyers, Dennis Edney, said they hoped the video would cause an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand the US not prosecute their client.
"I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth," Mr Edney told the Toronto Star.
"Canadians should demand to know why they've been lied to."
Mr Harper reiterated last week that he would not interfere in Mr Khadr's military tribunal, due to begin at Guantanamo on 8 October.
Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7507216.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
The video was filmed secretly through an air duct
A videotape of a detainee being questioned at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay has been released for the first time.
It shows 16-year-old Omar Khadr being asked by Canadian officials in 2003 about events leading up to his capture by US forces, Canadian media have said.
The Canadian citizen is accused of throwing a grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan in 2002.
He is seen in a distressed state and complaining about the medical care.
The footage was made public by Mr Khadr's lawyers following a Supreme Court ruling in May that the Canadian authorities had to hand over key evidence against him to allow a full defence of the charges he is facing.
'Help me'
Mr Khadr, the only Westerner still held at the jail, was 15 when he was captured by US forces during a gun battle at a suspected al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan.
During the 10-minute video of his questioning in Guantanamo a year later, he can be seen crying, his face buried in his hands, and pulling at his hair. He can be heard repeatedly chanting: "Help me."
I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth
Dennis Edney
Lawyer for Omar Khadr
At one point he lifts his orange shirt to show the foreign ministry official and agents from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) wounds on his back and stomach which he says he sustained in Afghanistan.
"I'm not a doctor, but I think you're getting good medical care," one of the officials responds.
Khadr says: "No I'm not. You're not here... I lost my eyes. I lost my feet. Everything!" in reference to how his vision and physical health were affected.
"No, you still have your eyes and your feet are still at the end of your legs, you know," a man says.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Mr Khadr tells the officials several times: "You don't care about me."
In an accompanying classified document describing the interrogation, Mr Khadr also says he was tortured while being held at the US military detention centre at Bagram air base in Afghanistan.
One of Mr Khadr's lawyers, Dennis Edney, said they hoped the video would cause an outcry in Canada and pressure Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand the US not prosecute their client.
"I hope Canadians will be outraged to see the callous and disgraceful treatment of a Canadian youth," Mr Edney told the Toronto Star.
"Canadians should demand to know why they've been lied to."
Mr Harper reiterated last week that he would not interfere in Mr Khadr's military tribunal, due to begin at Guantanamo on 8 October.
Mr Khadr, now 21, faces multiple terrorism-related charges, the most serious of which is murder. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7507216.stm
Published: 2008/07/15 13:16:05 GMT
© BBC MMVIII
14 July 2008
Sudanese president charged with genocide
Ilhamdi'allah!!! Something may finally happen!
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/14/darfur.charges/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The five charges against al-Bashir include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in the war-torn region with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Nic Robertson in the Dutch city of The Hague, the prosecutor said he had a responsibility to bring charges against al-Bashir.
"The (U.N.) Security Council referred the case to me and requested me to investigate," Moreno-Ocampo said. Read a transcript of the interview
"After three years I have strong evidence that al-Bashir is committing a genocide. I cannot be blackmailed, I cannot yield. Silence never helped the victims. Silence helped the perpetrators. The prosecutor should not be silent."
The judges must now decide whether to issue the warrant, and it is widely expected that they will; the judges have approved all 11 of Moreno-Ocampo's previous submissions to the court.
If issued, the warrant would make al-Bashir the first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for genocide. Watch as ICC prosecutor targets al-Bashir »
In his request, Moreno-Ocampo says there are reasonable grounds to believe that al-Bashir bears criminal responsibility for five counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity, and two counts of war crimes.
The alleged crimes stem from a brutal counter-insurgency campaign the Sudanese government conducted after rebels began an uprising in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003. The United States and much of the world has already characterized the campaign as genocide.
The authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength.
About 300,000 people have died in Darfur, the United Nations estimates, and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes. Watch a tour of Darfur's deserted Northern Corridor »
Moreno-Ocampo says al-Bashir targeted three ethnic groups living in the region -- including the Fur group, for whom Darfur is named -- solely on account of their ethnicity.
Al-Bashir bears responsibility, Moreno-Ocampo says, because he sat at the apex of the government.
"For such crimes to be committed over a period of five years and throughout Darfur, al-Bashir had to mobilize and keep mobilized the whole state apparatus; he had to control and direct perpetrators; and he had to rely on a genocidal plan," Moreno-Ocampo wrote as background for arrest warrant request.
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations has already condemned the charges. Watch how some are concerned by the move
"It is a criminal move that should be resisted by all," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said Friday amid reports that the charges were imminent. "We will resist it by all possible legal means."
Mohamad accused Moreno-Ocampo of "playing with fire."
In Khartoum, a crowd of about 2,000 people greeted al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup, when he arrived for an emergency meeting of his Cabinet Sunday to discuss the charges.
When he saw the crowd, al-Bashir climbed onto a pickup truck and pumped his fist in the air, whipping the group into a frenzy.
Some held signs saying, "You are joking... Ocamp-who?" and "Death to America."
A high-ranking ambassador at the presidential palace called the possible prosecution stupid and malicious, and warned that the Sudanese people would see it as proof of a larger conspiracy against the country. Watch why Sudan's leader has support in China »
In 2005, the Security Council cleared the way for possible war crimes prosecutions related to Darfur by the ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to handle prosecutions related to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is based on a treaty signed by 106 nations -- excluding Sudan.
In addition to Sudan, ICC prosecutors are investigating offenses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.
The attacks in Darfur over the past five years have followed a common pattern, Moreno-Ocampo's evidence says.
Members of Sudan's armed forces, often acting together with the militias and under al-Bashir's command, singled out villages and towns inhabited by tribal groups. Troops and militia members shot and killed civilians, and sometimes the Sudanese air force was called in to bomb villages and towns in support of the ground forces, the prosecutor's evidence says.
Residents who fled were often chased and attacked or left to fend for themselves in the wilderness, the evidence says.
The attacks, it says, undermined the ability of the targeted groups to survive in Darfur. The destruction of their homes scattered entire communities, and the pervasive rape and sexual violence against girls and women -- who are often targeted when they are out collecting firewood or water -- has torn families apart. Watch how UNICEF is trying to prevent rape in Darfur
"They are raping women, raping girls, raping in groups -- raping to destroy the communities," Moreno-Ocampo told CNN. "Rape is a tool in the genocide -- the most important tool today."
The chief U.N. humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, said Friday that aid workers were already preparing for the effects of an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, making sure staff members are safe.
Moreno-Ocampo said any attacks on peacekeepers would be another reason to bring al-Bashir to justice.
The ICC has already indicted two men for Darfur crimes -- Ahmad Harun, Sudan's former minister of the interior who is now in charge of humanitarian affairs for the Sudanese government and militia leader Ali Kushayb -- but neither has been brought to justice.
Once the ICC indicts someone, authorities in that person's native country -- or the country in which the indicted person is located -- have the power to detain the indicted person for trial at the Hague.
Kushayb and Harun both remain in Sudan where they enjoy the protection of al-Bashir, Moreno-Ocampo said. Since they have not been arrested, the prosecutor says, it is unlikely al-Bashir will be -- and he says it will probably take a U.N. Security Council resolution for al-Bashir to be brought to justice.
Senior Sudanese government leaders have previously told CNN that reports of atrocities in Darfur are exaggerated.
"Yes, there has been a war and some people have died, but it's not like what has been reflected in the media," Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said last month.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/14/darfur.charges/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
(CNN) -- The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has filed genocide charges against Sudan's president for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Monday urged a three-judge panel to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to prevent the deaths of about 2.5 million people forced from their homes in the war-torn region of Darfur and who are still under attack from government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The five charges against al-Bashir include masterminding attempts to wipe out African tribes in the war-torn region with a campaign of murder, rape and deportation.
In an exclusive interview with CNN's Nic Robertson in the Dutch city of The Hague, the prosecutor said he had a responsibility to bring charges against al-Bashir.
"The (U.N.) Security Council referred the case to me and requested me to investigate," Moreno-Ocampo said. Read a transcript of the interview
"After three years I have strong evidence that al-Bashir is committing a genocide. I cannot be blackmailed, I cannot yield. Silence never helped the victims. Silence helped the perpetrators. The prosecutor should not be silent."
The judges must now decide whether to issue the warrant, and it is widely expected that they will; the judges have approved all 11 of Moreno-Ocampo's previous submissions to the court.
If issued, the warrant would make al-Bashir the first sitting president to be indicted by the ICC for genocide. Watch as ICC prosecutor targets al-Bashir »
In his request, Moreno-Ocampo says there are reasonable grounds to believe that al-Bashir bears criminal responsibility for five counts of genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity, and two counts of war crimes.
The alleged crimes stem from a brutal counter-insurgency campaign the Sudanese government conducted after rebels began an uprising in Sudan's western Darfur region in 2003. The United States and much of the world has already characterized the campaign as genocide.
The authorities armed and cooperated with Arab militias that went from village to village in Darfur, killing, torturing and raping residents there, according to the United Nations, western governments and human rights organizations. The militias targeted civilian members of tribes from which the rebels draw strength.
About 300,000 people have died in Darfur, the United Nations estimates, and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes. Watch a tour of Darfur's deserted Northern Corridor »
Moreno-Ocampo says al-Bashir targeted three ethnic groups living in the region -- including the Fur group, for whom Darfur is named -- solely on account of their ethnicity.
Al-Bashir bears responsibility, Moreno-Ocampo says, because he sat at the apex of the government.
"For such crimes to be committed over a period of five years and throughout Darfur, al-Bashir had to mobilize and keep mobilized the whole state apparatus; he had to control and direct perpetrators; and he had to rely on a genocidal plan," Moreno-Ocampo wrote as background for arrest warrant request.
Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations has already condemned the charges. Watch how some are concerned by the move
"It is a criminal move that should be resisted by all," Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad said Friday amid reports that the charges were imminent. "We will resist it by all possible legal means."
Mohamad accused Moreno-Ocampo of "playing with fire."
In Khartoum, a crowd of about 2,000 people greeted al-Bashir, who seized power in a 1989 coup, when he arrived for an emergency meeting of his Cabinet Sunday to discuss the charges.
When he saw the crowd, al-Bashir climbed onto a pickup truck and pumped his fist in the air, whipping the group into a frenzy.
Some held signs saying, "You are joking... Ocamp-who?" and "Death to America."
A high-ranking ambassador at the presidential palace called the possible prosecution stupid and malicious, and warned that the Sudanese people would see it as proof of a larger conspiracy against the country. Watch why Sudan's leader has support in China »
In 2005, the Security Council cleared the way for possible war crimes prosecutions related to Darfur by the ICC, a permanent tribunal set up to handle prosecutions related to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court is based on a treaty signed by 106 nations -- excluding Sudan.
In addition to Sudan, ICC prosecutors are investigating offenses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and the Central African Republic.
The attacks in Darfur over the past five years have followed a common pattern, Moreno-Ocampo's evidence says.
Members of Sudan's armed forces, often acting together with the militias and under al-Bashir's command, singled out villages and towns inhabited by tribal groups. Troops and militia members shot and killed civilians, and sometimes the Sudanese air force was called in to bomb villages and towns in support of the ground forces, the prosecutor's evidence says.
Residents who fled were often chased and attacked or left to fend for themselves in the wilderness, the evidence says.
The attacks, it says, undermined the ability of the targeted groups to survive in Darfur. The destruction of their homes scattered entire communities, and the pervasive rape and sexual violence against girls and women -- who are often targeted when they are out collecting firewood or water -- has torn families apart. Watch how UNICEF is trying to prevent rape in Darfur
"They are raping women, raping girls, raping in groups -- raping to destroy the communities," Moreno-Ocampo told CNN. "Rape is a tool in the genocide -- the most important tool today."
The chief U.N. humanitarian coordinator, John Holmes, said Friday that aid workers were already preparing for the effects of an arrest warrant against al-Bashir, making sure staff members are safe.
Moreno-Ocampo said any attacks on peacekeepers would be another reason to bring al-Bashir to justice.
The ICC has already indicted two men for Darfur crimes -- Ahmad Harun, Sudan's former minister of the interior who is now in charge of humanitarian affairs for the Sudanese government and militia leader Ali Kushayb -- but neither has been brought to justice.
Once the ICC indicts someone, authorities in that person's native country -- or the country in which the indicted person is located -- have the power to detain the indicted person for trial at the Hague.
Kushayb and Harun both remain in Sudan where they enjoy the protection of al-Bashir, Moreno-Ocampo said. Since they have not been arrested, the prosecutor says, it is unlikely al-Bashir will be -- and he says it will probably take a U.N. Security Council resolution for al-Bashir to be brought to justice.
Senior Sudanese government leaders have previously told CNN that reports of atrocities in Darfur are exaggerated.
"Yes, there has been a war and some people have died, but it's not like what has been reflected in the media," Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid said last month.
12 July 2008
Gay Old Time in Sharia Land
http://www.nypost.com/seven/07072007/gossip/pagesix/gay_old_time_in_sharia_land_pagesix_.htm
July 7, 2007 -- THE ayatollahs may not slap him with a fatwah as they did Salman Rushdie, but fundamentalist clerics are bound to be enraged at Michael Luongo over "Gay Travels in the Muslim World" (Harrington Park Press), his book celebrating homosexuality in the Middle East. Luongo who compiled chapters by 17 writers covering Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Bangladesh, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had the foreword written by Afdhere Jama, the founder of Huriyah, "the world's first magazine for queer Muslims," who, he claims, number 150 million.
"There is something intoxicatingly beautiful about an Arab man who paints his eyes with kohl," Jama states in the book.
Luongo writes about his quest to find some man-on-man action in Afghanistan. "I was painfully curious what a gay party would be like in Kabul, but at the same time, I wondered if I were being led into a trap. I wanted a scoop, but I didn't want to be a gay Daniel Pearl," he writes.
Ushered into a "special room for men," Luongo said he found they "were not men who sip cosmos and discuss 'Queer Eye,' there was no doubt about their masculinity."
He then has fantasies of being "passed around as a party favor at an Afghan orgy" before spending the night "caressing and holding hands" with a Muslim man who would now and then say, 'I wish you were a girl,' which I found oddly disconcerting, and made me wonder if all we were doing was displacement for affections he could not express otherwise."
The author adds: "The truth about many young Afghan men is that although they've lived through hardship, treat guns like fashion accessories, and murdered for their country to free it from the Taliban, strict Islamic rule means that they have never seen a woman naked."
He wonders whether strict Muslim laws restricting interaction between men and women make gay sex more prevalent there than in the West. "Is it that they were opportunistic, being with one another if they could not have a woman?" he wonders.
"My time in Kabul was perhaps the most oddly romantic time I had ever had with other men from being wooed with flowers to stories of wartime bravery."
Luongo told Page Six he's ready to take the heat. "In August and September I will have some events for the book - likely fatwah-inducing, a la Salman Rushdie," he said.
If this interests you, check out the author's website
July 7, 2007 -- THE ayatollahs may not slap him with a fatwah as they did Salman Rushdie, but fundamentalist clerics are bound to be enraged at Michael Luongo over "Gay Travels in the Muslim World" (Harrington Park Press), his book celebrating homosexuality in the Middle East. Luongo who compiled chapters by 17 writers covering Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Bangladesh, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had the foreword written by Afdhere Jama, the founder of Huriyah, "the world's first magazine for queer Muslims," who, he claims, number 150 million.
"There is something intoxicatingly beautiful about an Arab man who paints his eyes with kohl," Jama states in the book.
Luongo writes about his quest to find some man-on-man action in Afghanistan. "I was painfully curious what a gay party would be like in Kabul, but at the same time, I wondered if I were being led into a trap. I wanted a scoop, but I didn't want to be a gay Daniel Pearl," he writes.
Ushered into a "special room for men," Luongo said he found they "were not men who sip cosmos and discuss 'Queer Eye,' there was no doubt about their masculinity."
He then has fantasies of being "passed around as a party favor at an Afghan orgy" before spending the night "caressing and holding hands" with a Muslim man who would now and then say, 'I wish you were a girl,' which I found oddly disconcerting, and made me wonder if all we were doing was displacement for affections he could not express otherwise."
The author adds: "The truth about many young Afghan men is that although they've lived through hardship, treat guns like fashion accessories, and murdered for their country to free it from the Taliban, strict Islamic rule means that they have never seen a woman naked."
He wonders whether strict Muslim laws restricting interaction between men and women make gay sex more prevalent there than in the West. "Is it that they were opportunistic, being with one another if they could not have a woman?" he wonders.
"My time in Kabul was perhaps the most oddly romantic time I had ever had with other men from being wooed with flowers to stories of wartime bravery."
Luongo told Page Six he's ready to take the heat. "In August and September I will have some events for the book - likely fatwah-inducing, a la Salman Rushdie," he said.
If this interests you, check out the author's website
11 July 2008
Afghan official: U.S. strike hit wedding party
47 civilians killed, commission chief says; U.S. says probe still under way
The Associated Press
updated 9:38 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military airstrike this week killed 47 civilians traveling to a wedding, the head of an Afghan government commission investigating the incident said Friday.
The airstrike on Sunday in Deh Bala district of Nuristan province also wounded nine civilians, said Burhanullah Shinwari, the deputy chairman of the Senate, who led the delegation.
The U.S. military on Sunday denied that any civilians were killed in the incident. At the time Afghan officials said 27 civilians had been killed.
On Friday, U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said that "any loss of innocent life is tragic."
"I assure you that civilians are never targeted, and that our forces go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "This incident regarding the air strike on July 6th is still under investigation by coalition forces."
Shinwari said that 39 of those killed in the airstrike were women and children, including the bride.
Dispatched by Karzai
The group was targeted twice on Sunday, as they walked along with the bride from her village toward the groom's house in another village, Shinwari said.
The nine-man commission was dispatched by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident on Tuesday. They returned to Kabul on Thursday. The commission included officials from the Ministry of Defense, the country's intelligence agency and parliament.
Shinwari said the group gathered information from eyewitnesses and victim's relatives.
All those killed in Deh Bala incident were buried in one cemetery near the village where the attack happened, Shinwari said.
"They were all civilians, with no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban," Shinwari said.
The members of the commission gave $2,000 for every person killed and $1,000 for those wounded, he said.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has weakened the standing of the Western-backed Karzai in the eyes of the population.
More than 2,100 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year. More than 8,000 people died in attacks last year, according to the U.N., the most since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25635571/
The Associated Press
updated 9:38 a.m. ET, Fri., July. 11, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. military airstrike this week killed 47 civilians traveling to a wedding, the head of an Afghan government commission investigating the incident said Friday.
The airstrike on Sunday in Deh Bala district of Nuristan province also wounded nine civilians, said Burhanullah Shinwari, the deputy chairman of the Senate, who led the delegation.
The U.S. military on Sunday denied that any civilians were killed in the incident. At the time Afghan officials said 27 civilians had been killed.
On Friday, U.S. coalition spokesman 1st Lt. Nathan Perry said that "any loss of innocent life is tragic."
"I assure you that civilians are never targeted, and that our forces go to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties," he said. "This incident regarding the air strike on July 6th is still under investigation by coalition forces."
Shinwari said that 39 of those killed in the airstrike were women and children, including the bride.
Dispatched by Karzai
The group was targeted twice on Sunday, as they walked along with the bride from her village toward the groom's house in another village, Shinwari said.
The nine-man commission was dispatched by President Hamid Karzai to investigate the incident on Tuesday. They returned to Kabul on Thursday. The commission included officials from the Ministry of Defense, the country's intelligence agency and parliament.
Shinwari said the group gathered information from eyewitnesses and victim's relatives.
All those killed in Deh Bala incident were buried in one cemetery near the village where the attack happened, Shinwari said.
"They were all civilians, with no links to al-Qaida or the Taliban," Shinwari said.
The members of the commission gave $2,000 for every person killed and $1,000 for those wounded, he said.
The issue of civilian casualties has caused friction between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO troops, and has weakened the standing of the Western-backed Karzai in the eyes of the population.
More than 2,100 people — mostly militants — have been killed in insurgency-related violence in Afghanistan this year. More than 8,000 people died in attacks last year, according to the U.N., the most since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25635571/
10 July 2008
Report: 4 suspects held in U.S. consulate attack
3 police, 3 assailants killed in Istanbul shootout; al-Qaida link probed
The Associated Press
updated 8:35 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Turkey news agency reported Thursday.
The Dogan news agency quoted Interior Minister Besir Atalay as saying that four were in custody. The attack Wednesday resulted in the deaths of three policemen and three assailants.
One of the assailants escaped in a getaway car. It was not immediately clear if he was among the four detained Thursday.
Meantime, investigators are trying to determine whether of one of the gunmen in the attack was linked to al-Qaida terrorists.
Erkan Kargin, one of the three attackers killed by police, had traveled to Afghanistan, said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Police have said they suspect the armed men were linked to al-Qaida even though the assault did not match the terror group's usual hallmarks, such as coordinated attacks by suicide bombers that cause mass casualties.
"They chose one of the best protected buildings in Turkey, not because they wanted to blow it up, but because they knew it would attract world attention," said Ihsan Bal, head of terrorism studies at Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization.
All Turkish assailants
The bearded gunmen emerged from a car and shot a traffic officer dead, then swarmed the guard quarters at the entrance to the consulate, where two policemen were killed, according to security video. Officers fired back, killing three of the assailants — all Turks — as bystanders fled for cover.
Turkish authorities have been increasingly targeting suspected Islamic militants since al-Qaida-linked suicide bombers killed 58 people in 2003 by targeting two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.
Turkey also has been cracking down on both ultranationalists who have attacked Christians and on Kurdish rebels, two groups it deems a threat to the country's security.
"There is nothing more sensational than attacking the U.S. consulate for an Islamic militant," said Emin Demirel, a Turkish terrorism expert and author of "Al-Qaida Elements in Turkey." "However, this attack certainly lacks the sophisticated hallmarks of al-Qaida."
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Turkey's foreign ministry said security around all American diplomatic missions in Turkey had been increased.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25618927/
The Associated Press
updated 8:35 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
ISTANBUL, Turkey - Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, a Turkey news agency reported Thursday.
The Dogan news agency quoted Interior Minister Besir Atalay as saying that four were in custody. The attack Wednesday resulted in the deaths of three policemen and three assailants.
One of the assailants escaped in a getaway car. It was not immediately clear if he was among the four detained Thursday.
Meantime, investigators are trying to determine whether of one of the gunmen in the attack was linked to al-Qaida terrorists.
Erkan Kargin, one of the three attackers killed by police, had traveled to Afghanistan, said a government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Police have said they suspect the armed men were linked to al-Qaida even though the assault did not match the terror group's usual hallmarks, such as coordinated attacks by suicide bombers that cause mass casualties.
"They chose one of the best protected buildings in Turkey, not because they wanted to blow it up, but because they knew it would attract world attention," said Ihsan Bal, head of terrorism studies at Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization.
All Turkish assailants
The bearded gunmen emerged from a car and shot a traffic officer dead, then swarmed the guard quarters at the entrance to the consulate, where two policemen were killed, according to security video. Officers fired back, killing three of the assailants — all Turks — as bystanders fled for cover.
Turkish authorities have been increasingly targeting suspected Islamic militants since al-Qaida-linked suicide bombers killed 58 people in 2003 by targeting two synagogues, the British consulate and a British bank in Istanbul.
Turkey also has been cracking down on both ultranationalists who have attacked Christians and on Kurdish rebels, two groups it deems a threat to the country's security.
"There is nothing more sensational than attacking the U.S. consulate for an Islamic militant," said Emin Demirel, a Turkish terrorism expert and author of "Al-Qaida Elements in Turkey." "However, this attack certainly lacks the sophisticated hallmarks of al-Qaida."
The U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Turkey's foreign ministry said security around all American diplomatic missions in Turkey had been increased.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25618927/
Report: Iran test-fires more missiles
Rice warns Tehran that U.S. will not renege on pledge to protect Israel
MSNBC News Services
updated 6:21 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the United States or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday.
The weapons have “special capabilities” and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness.
‘We will defend American interests’
The launches come hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.
“We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies,” Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.
“We take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that,” Rice said after meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.
Wednesday’s missile tests were conducted at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.
Iranian state TV and radio said that Thursday's missile tests took place during the night into Thursday.
“Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch of the Hout missile successfully took place,” state radio said without giving further details of the missiles.
Iranian satellite channel Press TV said Hout was a torpedo.
Oil prices jumped on news of Wednesday’s tests, rising $1.44 to $137.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25617591/
MSNBC News Services
updated 6:21 a.m. ET, Thurs., July. 10, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran test-fired more long-range missiles overnight in a second round of exercises meant to show that the country can defend itself against any attack by the United States or Israel, Iranian state television reported Thursday.
The weapons have “special capabilities” and included missiles launched from naval ships in the Persian Gulf, along with torpedoes and surface-to-surface missiles, the broadcast said. It did not elaborate.
A brief video clip showed two missiles being fired simultaneously in the darkness.
‘We will defend American interests’
The launches come hours after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned Iran that Washington will not back down in the face of threats against Israel.
“We are sending a message to Iran that we will defend American interests and the interests of our allies,” Rice said Thursday in Georgia at the close of a three-day Eastern European trip.
“We take very, very strongly our obligation to help our allies defend themselves and no one should be confused about that,” Rice said after meeting Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Among the missiles Iran said it tested Wednesday was a new version of the Shahab-3, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles and is armed with a 1-ton conventional warhead.
That would put Israel, Turkey, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan all within striking distance.
Wednesday’s missile tests were conducted at the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about 40 percent of the world’s oil passes. Iran has threatened to shut down traffic in the strait if attacked.
Iranian state TV and radio said that Thursday's missile tests took place during the night into Thursday.
“Deep in the Persian Gulf waters, the launch of different types of ground-to-sea, surface-to-surface, sea-to-air and the powerful launch of the Hout missile successfully took place,” state radio said without giving further details of the missiles.
Iranian satellite channel Press TV said Hout was a torpedo.
Oil prices jumped on news of Wednesday’s tests, rising $1.44 to $137.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25617591/
09 July 2008
Turkey consulate attack 'terrorism,' says U.S. envoy
Story Highlights
NEW: U.S. ambassador says shootout was 'obvious act of terrorism'
Turkey: Armed men have opened fire from a vehicle outside the U.S. consulate
CNN-Turk reports that at least six people were killed in the gun battle
People in the heavily fortified building were not hurt
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- The shootout outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul which left six people dead was an "obvious act of terrorism," the U.S. ambassador to Turkey says.
Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Ross Wilson said he had asked Turkey to implement additional security measures after gunmen Wednesday pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance.
"I'm not in a position to speculate on who this is or why they have carried out this action," Wilson said. "But any time there is an attack on diplomatic establishment... (it) is more or less by definition is an act of terrorism."
"Our countries will stand together to confront this as we have confronted some other problems in the past," he added. Watch emergency staff helping victim »
Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout near the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, the city's governor said.
Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. A U.S. consulate official said no American citizens or employees were hurt. Are you there? Send photos, videos
Gunmen pulled up in a white car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the outer entrance of the consulate, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene. Watch shootout victims being taken to hospital »
Police fired back, resulting in a three- to five-minute gun battle, Ivan Watson, a journalist with National Public Radio reporting from the scene, told CNN.
Guler said the dead included three police officers and three assailants. Authorities did not immediately know whether the attackers were affiliated with any organization, he said. Watch footage from the scene »
People waiting to obtain visas inside the heavily fortified building were not hurt. The outer entrance is more than 30m (100ft) from the main building which sits atop a hilltop.
At least three bodies remained on the ground as ambulances pulled up and police cordoned off the area with yellow tape and waved off onlookers.
The most recent attack on a foreign mission in Turkey was in November 2003 when a string of bombings in Istanbul targeted the British consulate, along with two synagogues and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people, including the British consul general, and wounded hundreds.
Turkey is a secular country that is predominantly Muslim. There has been a lot of tension in the country between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the state has been battling Kurdish separatists for many years.
CNN's Ben Blake and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/09/turkey.usconsulate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
NEW: U.S. ambassador says shootout was 'obvious act of terrorism'
Turkey: Armed men have opened fire from a vehicle outside the U.S. consulate
CNN-Turk reports that at least six people were killed in the gun battle
People in the heavily fortified building were not hurt
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- The shootout outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul which left six people dead was an "obvious act of terrorism," the U.S. ambassador to Turkey says.
Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Ross Wilson said he had asked Turkey to implement additional security measures after gunmen Wednesday pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance.
"I'm not in a position to speculate on who this is or why they have carried out this action," Wilson said. "But any time there is an attack on diplomatic establishment... (it) is more or less by definition is an act of terrorism."
"Our countries will stand together to confront this as we have confronted some other problems in the past," he added. Watch emergency staff helping victim »
Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout near the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, the city's governor said.
Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. A U.S. consulate official said no American citizens or employees were hurt. Are you there? Send photos, videos
Gunmen pulled up in a white car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the outer entrance of the consulate, Istanbul Gov. Muammer Guler told reporters at the scene. Watch shootout victims being taken to hospital »
Police fired back, resulting in a three- to five-minute gun battle, Ivan Watson, a journalist with National Public Radio reporting from the scene, told CNN.
Guler said the dead included three police officers and three assailants. Authorities did not immediately know whether the attackers were affiliated with any organization, he said. Watch footage from the scene »
People waiting to obtain visas inside the heavily fortified building were not hurt. The outer entrance is more than 30m (100ft) from the main building which sits atop a hilltop.
At least three bodies remained on the ground as ambulances pulled up and police cordoned off the area with yellow tape and waved off onlookers.
The most recent attack on a foreign mission in Turkey was in November 2003 when a string of bombings in Istanbul targeted the British consulate, along with two synagogues and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people, including the British consul general, and wounded hundreds.
Turkey is a secular country that is predominantly Muslim. There has been a lot of tension in the country between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the state has been battling Kurdish separatists for many years.
CNN's Ben Blake and Nicky Robertson contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/07/09/turkey.usconsulate/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
08 July 2008
Iran: Attack us and U.S. interests will 'burn'
BREAKING NEWS
updated 55 minutes ago
U.S., Czech Republic sign missile agreement
Countries agree defense shield will be based in the former Soviet territory
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The United States and the Czech Republic have signed an initial agreement to begin basing part of a U.S. missile shield in the former Soviet territory.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday in Prague that the shield is a good deal for the Czech Republic and for Poland, where the United States hopes to place another part of the system, though Warsaw hasn't yet agreed.
Rice said the next American president will have to decide whether and how to go forward with the missile defense system, but she made the case that the threat from Iran is growing and it is hard to imagine any administration giving up an effective deterrent.
Aide to top cleric warns that Tel Aviv, American ships will also be targeted
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25580681/
Reuters
updated 5:37 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 8, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards.
"The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned," Shirazi was quoted as saying.
Shirazi, a mid-level cleric, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards.
'Jihad and martyrdom'
"The Iranian nation will never accept bullying. The Iranian nation is a nation of believers which believes in jihad and martyrdom. No army in the world can confront it," he added.
In Jerusalem, Arye Mekel, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, declined to comment on Shirazi's remarks.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
The United States says it wants to resolve the dispute by diplomacy but has not ruled out military action.
Iran says its nuclear activities are only to produce energy for civil use, not to make bombs.
Meanwhile, Iran started war games on Monday and its president rejected a demand by major powers that it stop enriching uranium as "illegitimate".
Missile units of the elite Revolutionary Guards' naval and air forces began war games, Iranian news agencies said, hours after the U.S. Navy said it had begun exercises in the Gulf.
Speculation about an attack on the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter over its nuclear program rose after a report last month said Israel had practiced such a strike. Fears of military confrontation helped send world oil prices to record highs.
Covert weapons program?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium, work which Tehran says is aimed at generating power but which the West fears may be part of a covert nuclear weapons program.
It was Ahmadinejad's first comment on the dispute since Iran delivered its response on Friday to a package of incentives offered by world powers seeking to curb its nuclear activities. Details of the response were not made public.
"They offer to hold talks but at the same time they threaten us and say we should accept their illegitimate demand to halt (enrichment work)," Ahmadinejad told reporters in Malaysia, where he was attending a summit of eight developing countries.
"They want us to abandon our right (to nuclear technology)," the president said.
'New environment'
By contrast, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki spoke during the weekend of a "new environment" for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany demand that Iran suspend its enrichment work before formal talks can start on their revised package of incentives, which includes help to develop a civilian nuclear program.
Tehran has repeatedly refused to stop producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants, or, if refined much more, can provide material for nuclear weapons.
The offer of trade and other incentives proposed by the world powers was presented last month by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Iran has put forward its own bundle of proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and has said it was encouraged by common points between the two separate packages.
So far the Iranian government's formal response to the latest offer has not been made public and there have been mixed signals in statements by its senior officials.
updated 55 minutes ago
U.S., Czech Republic sign missile agreement
Countries agree defense shield will be based in the former Soviet territory
PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The United States and the Czech Republic have signed an initial agreement to begin basing part of a U.S. missile shield in the former Soviet territory.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday in Prague that the shield is a good deal for the Czech Republic and for Poland, where the United States hopes to place another part of the system, though Warsaw hasn't yet agreed.
Rice said the next American president will have to decide whether and how to go forward with the missile defense system, but she made the case that the threat from Iran is growing and it is hard to imagine any administration giving up an effective deterrent.
Aide to top cleric warns that Tel Aviv, American ships will also be targeted
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25580681/
Reuters
updated 5:37 a.m. ET, Tues., July. 8, 2008
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran will hit Tel Aviv, U.S. shipping in the Gulf and American interests around the world if it is attacked over its disputed nuclear activities, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"The first bullet fired by America at Iran will be followed by Iran burning down its vital interests around the globe," the students news agency ISNA quoted Ali Shirazi as saying in a speech to Revolutionary Guards.
"The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran's first targets and they will be burned," Shirazi was quoted as saying.
Shirazi, a mid-level cleric, is Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's representative to the Revolutionary Guards.
'Jihad and martyrdom'
"The Iranian nation will never accept bullying. The Iranian nation is a nation of believers which believes in jihad and martyrdom. No army in the world can confront it," he added.
In Jerusalem, Arye Mekel, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman, declined to comment on Shirazi's remarks.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear-armed power, has vowed to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb.
The United States says it wants to resolve the dispute by diplomacy but has not ruled out military action.
Iran says its nuclear activities are only to produce energy for civil use, not to make bombs.
Meanwhile, Iran started war games on Monday and its president rejected a demand by major powers that it stop enriching uranium as "illegitimate".
Missile units of the elite Revolutionary Guards' naval and air forces began war games, Iranian news agencies said, hours after the U.S. Navy said it had begun exercises in the Gulf.
Speculation about an attack on the world's fourth-biggest oil exporter over its nuclear program rose after a report last month said Israel had practiced such a strike. Fears of military confrontation helped send world oil prices to record highs.
Covert weapons program?
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday his country would not stop enriching uranium, work which Tehran says is aimed at generating power but which the West fears may be part of a covert nuclear weapons program.
It was Ahmadinejad's first comment on the dispute since Iran delivered its response on Friday to a package of incentives offered by world powers seeking to curb its nuclear activities. Details of the response were not made public.
"They offer to hold talks but at the same time they threaten us and say we should accept their illegitimate demand to halt (enrichment work)," Ahmadinejad told reporters in Malaysia, where he was attending a summit of eight developing countries.
"They want us to abandon our right (to nuclear technology)," the president said.
'New environment'
By contrast, Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki spoke during the weekend of a "new environment" for diplomacy over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany demand that Iran suspend its enrichment work before formal talks can start on their revised package of incentives, which includes help to develop a civilian nuclear program.
Tehran has repeatedly refused to stop producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel for power plants, or, if refined much more, can provide material for nuclear weapons.
The offer of trade and other incentives proposed by the world powers was presented last month by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Iran has put forward its own bundle of proposals aimed at resolving the dispute and has said it was encouraged by common points between the two separate packages.
So far the Iranian government's formal response to the latest offer has not been made public and there have been mixed signals in statements by its senior officials.
05 July 2008
How Soap is Made in Aleppo
This is a really interesting website!! Part of it is in English and the rest is in German. Learn how soap is made in Syria :o)
http://www.historische-aleppo-seife.de/engl_story.html
http://www.historische-aleppo-seife.de/engl_story.html
02 July 2008
Palestinian Bulldozer Driver Goes on Jerusalem Rampage
http://voanews.com/english/2008-07-02-voa7.cfm
By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
02 July 2008
At least three people were killed and about forty others injured - many severely when a Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem early Wednesday afternoon. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the bulldozer driver was killed by police who are describing the incident as a terrorist attack.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos and panic as the bulldozer plowed through cars, knocked over a bus and damaged buildings on a busy downtown street near the city's main bus station.
The driver of the bulldozer was shot by police. They say no motive is known in what police are describing as a terrorist attack.
"The employee of a contractor company working on the street here in Jerusalem directed his bulldozer in the direction of civilian vehicles - a bus and cars that are on the street all the time yelling Allah al-akbar, apparent to us based on things we have experienced in the past,' said Daniel Seaman, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "This is undeniably a terrorist attack."
Police say the attacker was a Palestinian who lived in East Jerusalem who held Jerusalem identity papers. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have access to Jewish West Jerusalem and carry out nearly all construction work in the city.
In March, another Palestinian from East Jerusalem attacked a Jewish seminary not far from where today's incident took place, killing eight students.
By Jim Teeple
Jerusalem
02 July 2008
At least three people were killed and about forty others injured - many severely when a Palestinian bulldozer driver went on a rampage in downtown Jerusalem early Wednesday afternoon. VOA's Jim Teeple reports the bulldozer driver was killed by police who are describing the incident as a terrorist attack.
Witnesses reported a scene of chaos and panic as the bulldozer plowed through cars, knocked over a bus and damaged buildings on a busy downtown street near the city's main bus station.
The driver of the bulldozer was shot by police. They say no motive is known in what police are describing as a terrorist attack.
"The employee of a contractor company working on the street here in Jerusalem directed his bulldozer in the direction of civilian vehicles - a bus and cars that are on the street all the time yelling Allah al-akbar, apparent to us based on things we have experienced in the past,' said Daniel Seaman, a spokesman for the Israeli government. "This is undeniably a terrorist attack."
Police say the attacker was a Palestinian who lived in East Jerusalem who held Jerusalem identity papers. Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem have access to Jewish West Jerusalem and carry out nearly all construction work in the city.
In March, another Palestinian from East Jerusalem attacked a Jewish seminary not far from where today's incident took place, killing eight students.
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