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Iraq Progress: Peace Wall Being Taken Down

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:34:36 GMT

clipped by: BitDrifter
clipper's remarks: More great news for Iraqis and the United States.

The Sunni leader stood on the base of the crane next to his Shia counterpart, and inveighed against sectarianism.

"Iraq is one family," he said - to cheers from the crowd. "We are united now, Sunni, Shia, Christian, Turkmen and Kurd. One Iraq."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

People are profoundly relieved fighting has stopped here.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Over in west Baghdad, Ameriya district was occupied by al-Qaeda for months.

Now, there are checkpoints jointly operated by the Iraqi army and by the local Awakening movement.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Life is returning to normal in Ameriya for Mohammed, who can now enjoy a walk with his daughter, Reen.

He said life under the al-Qaeda occupation was terrible.

"They wouldn't even let us smoke, and we couldn't buy bananas because they said they looked rude."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

The Americans are in the background in Ameriya now.

Bush Favors Bankers Over Soldiers

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:05:12 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

It was a weird week to be in the United States. On Tuesday, secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson told us that “this is all about the American taxpayer – that’s all we care about.” But when I flipped the page on my morning paper, I came across the latest gloomy statistic which Americans should care more about. “As of Wednesday evening, 4,162 U.S. service members and 11 Defence Department civilians had been identified as having died in the Iraq war.” By grotesque mischance, $700bn – the cost of George Bush’s Wall Street rescue cash – is about the same figure as the same President has squandered on his preposterous war in Iraq, the war we have now apparently “won” thanks to the “surge” – for which, read “escalation” – in Baghdad. The fact that the fall in casualties coincides with the near-completion of the Shia ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims is not part of the story.

Tags: duh w, war, debt, death, greed the american way

Iraq government to pay Sunni groups

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:50:23 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: english.aljazeera.net

The Iraqi government is to take responsibility for paying members of the country's Awakening councils, Sunni groups who had allied with US forces to fight al-Qaeda.

The government of Nuri al-Maliki, which is dominated by Shia religious parties, is to begin paying 54,000 Awakening members from Tuesday.

The Awakening groups have been instrumetal in combating al-Qaeda in Iraq [AFP]

The Awakening groups emerged in 2005 when Sunni tribesmen, who had previously fought the US military and Iraqi government forces, allied with US forces, accepting arms, money and training.

There are about 100,000 Awakening fighters in Iraq and analysts say they are one of the main reasons for the recent marked reduction in violence in the country.

Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraq's national security adviser, told the AFP new agency that "the GoI (government of Iraq) will pay the first salary on the 31st October 2008".

The monthly bill of Baghdad's 54,000 Sahwas is around $15 million.

Tags: tax, dollars, at, work

U.S. and Iraqi forces step up against Iranian forces in Iraq

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:42:56 GMT

clipped by: willhelm

Clip Source: www.longwarjournal.org

US forces detained five members of the Hezbollah Brigades in Baghdad on Saturday as part of a renewed push to blunt the return of Iranian-backed Shia terror groups reentering Iraq. The Iraqi and US military have stepped up operations against the Special Groups over the past two weeks. Iraqi and US forces killed two Special Groups fighters and captured 107 since Sept. 16.

The latest series of raids in Baghdad netted five members of the Hezbollah Brigades in New Baghdad, a former stronghold of Muqtada al Sadr's Mahdi Army. The Hezbollah Brigades is an Iranian-backed terror group that has been behind multiple roadside bombings and rocket attacks against US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad. The group films these attacks and posts them on the internet. More than 30 Hezbollah Brigades operatives have been captured over the past two months. The group is estimated at having several hundred members.

Watch Eagle Eye Online Free

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:08:04 GMT

clipped by: akon187
clipper's remarks: Watch Eagle Eye online for free or download Eagle Eye movie here

Clip Source: www.onlinemovielinks.net

Eagle Eye (2008)

Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) returns home after the mysterious death of his successful twin brother. He and a single mother, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), find out that they have been framed as terrorists, and they are threatened into becoming members of a cell tasked to assassinate a politician.

Status: Active & Working

Genre:Action/Adventure

Tags: watch eagle eye online, download eagle eye

Watch Eagle Eye Online Free

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:00:46 GMT

clipped by: akon187
clipper's remarks: Watch Eagle Eye Online Free

Clip Source: www.onlinemovielinks.net

Watch Eagle Eye (2008)

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Eagle Eye (2008)

Genre:Action/Adventure
Status: Active & Working
Jerry Shaw (Shia LaBeouf) returns home after the mysterious death of his successful twin brother. He and a single mother, Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan), find out that they have been framed as terrorists, and they are threatened into becoming members of a cell tasked to assassinate a politician.

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Tags: watch eagle eye online, download eagle eye

Will it be a Palin Presidency?

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:16:51 GMT

clipped by: egoldstein
clipper's remarks: Would Palin be to McCain what Cheney is to Bush? An interesting question/observation by Frank Rich in today's NY Times.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The question today: What kind of president would Sarah Palin be?

It’s an urgent matter, because if we’ve learned anything from the G.O.P. convention and its aftermath, it’s that the 2008 edition of John McCain is too weak to serve as America’s chief executive.

No longer able to remember his principles any better than he can distinguish between Sunnis and Shia, McCain stands revealed as a guy who can be easily rolled by anyone who sells him a plan for “victory,” whether in Iraq or in Michigan. A McCain victory on Election Day will usher in a Palin presidency, with McCain serving as a transitional front man, an even weaker Bush to her Cheney.

Tags: sarah palin, mccain, politics, election

Ethnic cleansing of Baghdad

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:30:49 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Note the decrease of yellow (mixed) areas between the two maps. This ethnic cleansing - people fleeing their homes into other neighborhoods - is part of the decrease in violence that happened during the surge, and it is unresolved.

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

the Washington Post published the maps below, comparing the sectarian make-up of Baghdad’s neighborhoods in April 2006 and November 2007, and revealing the transformation of the city resulting from sectarian cleansing:

Joe Christoff of the Government Accountability Office, who stated in congressional testimony in October 2007 that sectarian cleansing was “an important consideration in even assessing the overall security situation in Iraq”:

We look at the attack data going down, but it’s not taking into consideration that there might be fewer attacks because you have ethnically cleansed neighborhoods, particularly in the Baghdad area. […]

It’s produced 2.2. million refugees that have left, it’s produced two million internally displaced persons within the country as well.

Tags: sunni, shia, baghdad, surge

All good questions for Palin

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:15:38 GMT

clipped by: lp97702
clipper's remarks: As long as we focus on the wrong stuff, her personal life, we won't get to see what she doesn't (can't) know.

Clip Source: www.bloglines.com

Moroccan author and blogger Laila Lalami calls the situation a "train wreck," urging us to question Sarah Palin's foreign policies rather than focus on her family:

...It's obvious she's been selected more for her life story than for her meager domestic credentials. For God's sake, her state has fewer people than Brooklyn. As for her foreign policy knowledge, I'd like to see someone ask her about the nuclear non-proliferation treaties or the difference between a Sunni and a Shia or where the Green Line falls or how she plans to handle relations with Pakistan. But I won't bet on it. I suspect we'll keep hearing about the pregnant girl and the hockey player boyfriend instead.

Tags: palin

Shia

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:33:20 GMT

clipped by: Raimunda
clipper's remarks: Hawt

Clip Source: www.themoviebox.net

What counts as 'success' in Iraq?

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:54:00 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Cont....

This was widely predicted before the war was started, and it is now apparent. All of Iraq's leaders, including the president, a Kurd, are friendly with Iran and regard it as an important ally. In Bush circles, this new prominence for Iran is never linked to the war, as if occurring by itself.

Clip Source: www.boston.com

A VOLUBLE attempt to describe the Iraq war as a success is widely apparent, and will increase as the Republican National Convention nears. John McCain is staking his campaign on this assertion. There is little doubt that the level of violence in Iraq has subsided noticeably in the last 12 months. But is this "victory"?

Two notions are in play. First is whether what exists now, or will in the near term, is a favorable and sustainable outcome and is due particularly to the "surge" of US troops since early 2007. Second is whether the price of this outcome is acceptable.

On the first matter, the reductions in violence are mainly due to the withdrawal of Moqtada al-Sadr's militia and the cooperation of many Sunni tribes in ridding Iraq of foreign extremists.

No one knows how sustainable these gains might be. Will Sadr reenter the fray once US troops are drawn down? Will Sunnis return to resistance if Shia political dominance continues?

One outcome that seems irreversible is the primacy of Iran.

Tags: iraq, iran, war, surge, news, reality

The surge is working? An insider returns home

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 06:10:35 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "A Guardian journalist returns home to Iraq to find that far from what we hear in the US, the surge has produced nothing approaching normalcy or peace, but rather ghettos seething with violence, with nothing but makeshift walls dividing the increasingly hostile warring factions"

Clip Source: www.crooksandliars.com

The surge is working? Hardly.

A Guardian journalist returns home to Iraq to find that far from what we hear in the US, the surge has produced nothing approaching normalcy or peace, but rather ghettos seething with violence, with nothing but makeshift walls dividing the increasingly hostile warring factions.

“US claims that the military surge is bringing stability to Iraq. By traveling through the heart of Baghdad its easy to see by enclosing the Sunni and Shia populations behind 12ft walls, the surge has left the city more divided and desperate than ever.

Check out parts 2 & 3 of this amazing report. It’s undoubtedly the most realistic and candid view of Iraq you will ever see:

Baghdad, 5 years on (part 2 of 3): killing fields

Baghdad 5 years on (part 3): Iraq’s lost generation

[Video]

Tags: war, iraq

Syrian general's killing severs Hezbollah links

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:37:37 GMT

clipped by: RecordSage
clipper's remarks: The wonders of a stray bullet...

Clip Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Syrian general's killing severs Hezbollah links

Bashar al-Assad’s regime is considering moving into the arms of the West as peace talks with Israel, using Turkish mediation, continue

The mysterious killing last week of a top Syrian general and key aide to Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has sparked intense speculation about internal feuding within the regime’s intelligence apparatus.

Syria is at a critical juncture as it pursues indirect peace talks with Israel and a closer relationship with the West, while attempting to maintain its long-standing regional alliances with Iran and the militant Shia Hezbollah of Lebanon.

After Mr Assad became president in 2000, General Suleiman ran his intelligence affairs, and is reported to have handled the transfer of weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Tags: syria, hezbollah

Horrors! Olympics: Controversy In Iran Over Female Flag Carrier

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:36:04 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Whoever is responsible for this unforgivable act, he should know that this gesture constitutes an obstacle for the 'appearance' of Mahdi," said Elmalhoda.

He was referring to the mainly Shia Islam belief that imam Mohammed al-Mahdi will appear to fight a final apocalyptic battle over the forces of evil.

Followers believe he was born in the year 868 and has been in hiding ever since awaiting a decision from god to reappear.

from Adnkronos International, August 8:

Clip Source: www.jihadwatch.org

Tehran, 8 August (AKI) - Iranian religious figures have criticised that Olympic female rower Homa Hosseini was chosen as the flagbearer of Iran, calling the move a 'heresy'.

"To make a woman march with the flag of the Islamic Republic in Beijing, is pure heresy and shows total disobedience of the laws mandated by our spiritual guides," said Seyye Ahmad Elmalhoda, leader of Friday prayers in Iran's holy city of Mashad.

Hosseini, 19, grew up in Iran's Kermanshah province in western Iran, she is one of three Iranian female competitors at the Olympic Games and Iran's first ever female rower. The other two female competitors are Najmeh Abtin (archery) and Sara Khosjamal (Tae Kwon Do).

"To make this woman march means to openly declare war to our religious values.

Tags: tehran cleric, olympic female flagbearer, mahdi

Kosovo lives: Between two worlds

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 06:42:25 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: An interesting story of an English teacher....it is very difficult for outsiders to fathom what (caste/religion notwithstanding) people in the region have been through...

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Kosovo lives: Between two worlds

Meti began teaching English part-time in 1992 and went full-time in 1998

In the fourth of five pieces by BBC journalists examining life in Kosovo today, Patrick Jackson meets an Albanian English teacher whose ancestors taught the values of Sufism.

Mehmed Sezai Shehu, or Meti as he likes to be known, seems barely able to cross a street without running into an acquaintance in the Kosovan capital.

His English is flawless, local knowledge near faultless but having him guide you around Pristina can take awfully long.

Against the clock

Pristina today is very much a young person's city

Meti launched his own language school this January, putting secondary-school pupils and post-grad students alike through the TOEFL English test.

Another time

Dervish pilgrims from outside Kosovo come to the Pristina tekke

Here lies Meti's paternal grandfather, after whom he was named.

Muhedin's friends come every Sunday

The great healer

Time heals all wounds

Tags: kosovo, albania, dervish, muslim, shia, sunni, teacher, english