Zionist *Nazi Hunters Still On Patrol

Ex-Nazi guard John Demjanjuk may be deported from U.S. soon

John Demjanjuk, accused of concealing his Nazi past, arriving at the federal building in Cleveland for an immigration hearing in 2005. (AP)

25 August 2007

By The Associated Press / Haaretz

After a 30-year international court fight to stay in the U.S., a man accused of concealing a past as a Nazi concentration camp guard could be out of options if a single pending ruling goes against him, his attorney said.

"If we lose it, we're sort of at the end of the road, and the Justice Department is going to try and deport him. That's my guess," said John Broadley, John Demjanjuk's lawyer.

Demjanjuk's case is the second longest Nazi prosecution in the Justice Department's records.

The department first brought charges seeking to revoke Demjanjuk's citizenship and deport him on Aug. 25, 1977. He is now 87.

In July, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals received final briefs on whether the nation's former chief immigration judge, Michael Creppy, had authority to rule in 2005 that Demjanjuk can be deported to the Ukraine, or as an alternative to Germany or Poland.

Broadley's argument is that Creppy was an administrator who should have appointed an immigration judge to hear Demjanjuk's case, rather than handle it himself. Broadley wants Demjanjuk's deportation order tossed out and a whole new hearing held.

The appeals court has not indicated when it will rule.

Creppy had refused to consider Demjanjuk's long-held argument that he was a prisoner of war forced into labor camps, and not a Nazi guard. Creppy relied on a U.S. district judge's decision in 2002 and affirmed on appeal in 2004 that Demjanjuk had been a Nazi guard at Sobibor and other Nazi death or labor camps.

Meanwhile, Demjanjuk and his wife live in a Cleveland suburb with a No Trespass sign in their front yard. Demjanjuk's family has guarded his privacy and consistently denied media attempts to interview him.

"It's very difficult to imagine the pressure and the energy needed to wage this struggle for all these many years, but he's never wavered," said Rev. John Nakonachny, pastor at St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, where Demjanjuk and his wife are parishioners.

Demjanjuk, who born in the Ukraine, was initially accused of having been the sadistic, murderous Nazi guard Ivan the Terrible, notorious for torturing doomed men, women and children as he forced them to gas chambers.

He was extradited to Israel in 1986, eventually convicted of crimes against humanity in a globally watched trial and sentenced to death by hanging. But Israel's Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 1993, largely on evidence from the former Soviet Union that another Ukrainian was the brutal Treblinka guard.

Demjanjuk's U.S. citizenship that was revoked in 1981, was restored in 1998 and revoked again in 2002.

"Getting Demjanjuk finally removed from the United States remains the government's intent," said Eli Rosenbaum, director of the Justice Department's Nazi-hunting Office of Special Investigations.

Rosenbaum refused to say what plans may have been made regarding Demjanjuk's deportation.

We can only send him to a country that will accept him, Rosenbaum said. I would point out, though, that when Demjanjuk was released from prison by the Israeli supreme court in 1993 and was understandably eager to leave Israel, the one country in the world that offered him a visa was the Ukraine.

*A Nazi hunter is a private individual or group who tracks down and gathers information on alleged former Nazis so that they can allegedly be punished for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Holocaust; they are usually tried and executed in Israel.

Above was the more Zionistic definition, then you have the views by others.

Which is, there is some people across the globe that feel that these Nazi hunters, have these alleged Nazi’s extradited to Israel for the intent not just for crimes against humanity; but to silence them against Zionistic crimes during wartime against the Jewish Community.

North Korea Says 600 Dead From Floods

This handout photo shows local residents repairing a road alongside a river destroyed by flood waters in Hamhung city in South Hamgyong province, 22 August 2007. North Korea has reported that at least 600 people are dead or missing following devastating floods that swept the country causing huge damage to all sectors of the economy.(AFP/KCNA via KNS/File)

25 August 2007

SEOUL, South Korea -Floods that swept across North Korea earlier this month killed at least 600 people, double the previously known toll, the country's official news agency said Saturday.

Citing North Korea's Central Statistics Bureau, the Korean Central News Agency reported at least 600 people were dead or missing and thousands were injured. The report was the first in North Korean media to specify a precise death toll from the disaster.

Earlier, international aid groups estimated about 300 were dead or missing.

KCNA said the heavy rains caused "huge material losses" to the country, "creating unprecedented difficulties in people's living and economic construction."

At least 100,000 people were left homeless and more than 8,000 public buildings were totally or partially destroyed, it said.

More than 1,000 factory or mining buildings were damaged or submerged by the torrential rains, and "lots" of arable land was washed away, the report said.

The rains also flooded four railroad tunnels and triggered landslides that buried at least 200 sections of track, it said. Thousands of sections of roads and bridges also were destroyed, KCNA said.

The week of severe rainstorms was the country's heaviest rainfall in 40 years.

Impoverished North Korea has been widely publicizing the damage while openly seeking outside help — an unusual move seen as a sign of desperation for a country often reluctant to acknowledge any internal problems.

Jo Yong Nam, head of North Korea's recovery efforts, said the flood damage, when calculated in financial terms, was 10 times worse than floods last year, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan reported Thursday.

On Friday, the United Nations said it will launch an appeal this coming week for between $15 million and $20 million to help about 400,000 North Koreans affected by the floods.

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Margareta Wahlstrom, the deputy emergency relief coordinator, said the appeal will only focus on immediate emergency needs — food, medical care, water and sanitation.

South Korea delivered the first part of a $7.5 million emergency aid package to North Korea on Thursday including instant noodles, drinking water, blankets and medicine.

UN force to remain in Lebanon

The 15,000-strong multinational force will continue to monitor southern Lebanon for the next year [AFP]

25 August 2007

The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the UN's peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, which was expanded after last year's war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The mission of the 15,000-strong United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) was extended to August 31, 2008 after resolution 1778 was unanimously passed on Friday.

The resolution commended Unifil, "whose deployment together with the Lebanese Armed Forces has helped to establish a new strategic environment in southern Lebanon."

The multinational force, first deployed in 1978, now monitors a buffer-zone keeping apart the Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters.

The peacekeeping force also aims to help Lebanon's army forces take control of southern Lebanon and ensure humanitarian aid reaches civilians.

Progress sought

The new resolution appealed "to all parties concerned to respect the cessation of hostilities" and the Blue Line, which demarcates the Lebanon-Israel border.

The council also called for more progress toward achieving a permanent ceasefire and a long term solution to the border problems along the Blue Line.

The resolution stressed "the need to address the causes of the conflict" along the border, including Hezbollah's continued hold on two Israeli soldiers who were captured during a cross-border raid in July 2006.

The Security Council appealed to Lebanon's government to continue efforts to assert its control over southern Lebanon in order to prevent weapons from being moved into the area.

Israel and the US allege that Hezbollah has continued to receive arms shipments from across the border with Syria, while Unifil says disarming various armed groups is not within its mandate.

Smuggling alleged

Alejandro Wolff, deputy US representative to the UN, said "there are unauthorised armed elements and weapons in southern Lebanon," citing a bomb attack against Unifil and a rocket attack on northern Israel last month as examples.

No claim of responsibility has been made for either incident, but Israeli security services believe Palestinian fighters in south Lebanon launched the rockets on northern Israel.

Despite the unanimous passage of the resolution, the UN's Russian delegate criticised Wolff for his comments on the alleged smuggling of arms into Lebanon from Syria, which has a good relationship with Moscow.

Such issues "do not relate to this text which we have just adopted," Igor Scherbak said.

Wolff later told reporters his point was relevant because smuggled arms were used against Unifil when they were attacked.

Source

Khalid Mash'al states that Corporal Shalit "is alive and in good health"

25 August 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Head of the Hamas politburo, Khalid Mash'al has revealed in an interview with CNN that captured Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, is alive and in good health.

The Hamas leader-in-exile said, from his office in Damascus, that the Hamas movement had made efforts to contact the soldier's family, in order to assure them that their son was physically well. His captors have given him new spectacles, it is reported.

The website of Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth, however, reported that Corporal Shalit, in a statement published on a Hamas website in June, had said that "his health was deteriorating and that he was in need of long-term hospitalization."

Hamas have handed the Israeli authorities a list of some 350 Palestinian prisoners that they want released, in exchange for the release of Corporal Shalit, who was taken from his military base during an operation in June 2006. Mash'al squarely blamed the Israeli authorities in their reluctance to release Palestinian prisoners for the ongoing captivity of Cpl Shalit.

Meeting Mohammed Jabir

His Early Life

Mohammed was born in 1978, in Al-Khalil city in the West Bank. He finished his studying in the city schools.

His brother, Ali , was sentenced for a life in the Zionist jails. His family was humble. He brought up between nine brothers. He was the youngest.

He didn’t manage to continue his study. He directed to work in the manufacture field.

He was engaged to a Palestinian girl from his area, but the whole matter didn’t go to the end; He was arrested.

The Arresting Day

It was a calm night, suddenly, the Zionist soldiers surrounded one of the apartments in Al-salam street. The Zionist forces used dogs, armed vehicles and snipers. The forces asked people to leave their homes. They started to check the identities. The Zionist forces smashed his house and stole his private properties.

His Journey of Suffering

He was arrested in May 27th 2002. They beat him severely. He was transformed to Al Masqubia jail. He exposed to sever torture during the investigation. He also transformed to Asqlan jail for more investigations.

He exposed to all kinds of torture; physical and mental torture by hanging and beating on the sensitive parts of his body. The last information about him was that he is in Nafha jail.

Sentence

The Zionist administrations prevented his relatives to visit him. They were able to see him just in the court. He was transformed to the investigation after his brother's jail.

Accusations

· Belonging to a resistance movement

· Resisting the Zionist occupation.

None of the accusations were proved.

And despite that, he was sentenced for a life. His parents hope to see him and his brother soon.

Drive-By Shooting Israeli Style

Al Quds Brigades leader and one other operative assassinated by Israeli forces in Jenin; four others injured

Funeral of Mustafa 'Ateeq (MaanImages)

25 August 207

Jenin- Ma'an- A leader of the Islamic Jihad-affiliated Al Quds Brigades, Alaa Salah Mohammad Surour, has been killed in Jenin, while four others were injured, when Israeli Special Forces launched a military operation in the city, early on Saturday morning.

One of those injured, Mustafa 'Ateeq, 23, also an Al Quds operative, has now died from his injuries sustained this morning. He received a gunshot to his neck.

Eyewitnesses reported that "the man and his comrades were in a car in the city center, when they stopped to drink coffee in one of the cafes. They did not leave their car, but stopped for a little while. In the meantime, a Volkswagen car suddenly arrived. Several Israeli soldiers jumped out and started shooting at the car and its immediate vicinity. Surour was killed instantly, and three of his comrades were injured, one of which seriously. Another citizen, named Ali Abu Rmaila was also seriously injured."

The witnesses added that Israeli units were identified in three cars, several military jeeps and armored vehicles, patrolling the streets of the city in the north of the West Bank.

The spokesman of the brigades told Ma'an via telephone that the "brigades will retaliate strongly, and that the reaction will come very soon." He concluded that "resistance is the only option to stand and face the occupation."

The spokesperson of the Israeli army stated that an Israeli soldier was injured during clashes with armed Palestinian fighters. He told press that the injured soldier was transferred to Barzalai hospital in Ashkelon for treatment.

Ideological Struggle that Our Nation Faces in the 21st Century?

For Immediate Release
August 25, 2007
Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week I traveled to Kansas City to address the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I spoke about the ideological struggle that our Nation faces in the 21st century, and the lessons we can draw from the advance of freedom in Asia in the 20th century. America's enduring presence and perseverance on that continent aided the rise of democracy, helped transform American enemies into American allies, and made our country safer.

Next week I will address the members of the American Legion at their annual convention in Reno. In that speech, I will focus on the Middle East and why the rise of a free and democratic Iraq is critical to the future of this vital region and to our Nation's security.

I will also provide an update on the developments we are seeing from our new strategy in Iraq. Every month since January, U.S. forces have killed or captured an average of more than 1,500 al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists. And in June our troops launched a surge of operations that is helping bring former Sunni insurgents into the fight against al Qaeda, clear the terrorists out of population centers, and give families in liberated Iraqi cities a safer and more normal life.

As security improves, more Iraqis are stepping forward to defend their democracy. Young Iraqi men are signing up for the army. Iraqi police are now patrolling the streets. Coalition and Iraqi forces have doubled the number of joint operations. As the Iraqi people feel more secure, they are also forming neighborhood watch groups. They're volunteering important information about the terrorists and extremists hiding in their midst. And the increase in tips helps account for the marked reduction in sectarian murders.

By driving out the terrorists from cities and neighborhoods, we're creating the conditions for reconciliation -- especially at the local level. In communities across Iraq, citizens are seeing their local and provincial governments return to operation. Despite continuing violence, leaders in places like Anbar, Najaf, and Ninewah are now working through local provincial councils to approve funds to finance the rebuilding of homes and neighborhoods, to fight corruption, and to create new jobs.

Here at home, it can be easy to overlook the bravery shown by Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians who are in the fight for freedom. But our troops on the ground see it every day. Last week, a team of American soldiers was meeting with an Iraqi citizens group near Baghdad. Suddenly, a suicide bomber came running around a corner and headed straight for our soldiers and the Iraqi civilians.

One Iraqi man saw what was happening and ran to intercept the bomber. As he pushed the terrorist away, the bomb detonated -- killing both men, but sparing four American soldiers and eight Iraqi civilians. Army Staff Sergeant Sean Kane is one of those who says he owes his life to this brave Iraqi. Sergeant Kane says, "He could have run behind us or away from us, but he made the decision to sacrifice himself to protect everyone." Sergeant Kane spoke to the Iraqi man's father, who said that even if his son had known the outcome beforehand, he "[would not] have acted differently."

The story does not end there. Later that same night, the citizens group contacted the local director of the National Police and told him the location of the al Qaeda cell believed to be responsible for the attack. The National Police immediately conducted a raid that resulted in four arrests.

We are still in the early stages of our new operations. But the success of the past couple of months have shown that conditions on the ground can change -- and they are changing. We cannot expect the new strategy we are carrying out to bring success overnight. But by standing with the Iraqi people as they build their democracy, we will deliver a devastating blow to al Qaeda, we will help provide new hope for millions of people throughout the Middle East, we will gain a friend and ally in the war on terror, and we will make the American people safer.

Thank you for listening.

Israeli’s Martyred 8 Palestinian's in less than 24 Hours

A Palestinian boy is seen through the glass of the damaged car of Islamic Jihad resistance fighter Ala Abu Srour, 30, killed by Israeli forces in Jenin, Saturday Aug. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

25 August 2007

Israeli forces opened fire at a car full of Palestinian men in this West Bank town early Saturday, killing one resistance fighter and wounding at least two others, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

The incident raised the death toll to eight Palestinians in less than 24 hours of clashes with Israel. Among the dead was an 11-year-old boy who was killed while visiting relatives in a West Bank village.

On Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

16 - 22 August 2007

Target of IOF Extra-judicial Execution in El-Bureij on 9 August 2007

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)


16 Palestinians, including 3 children, were killed by IOF in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

10 of the victims were extra-judicially executed by IOF.

18 Palestinians were wounded by IOF gunfire in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

IOF conducted 30 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank and two ones into the Gaza Strip.

IOF arrested 44 Palestinian civilians, including a child, in the West Bank.

IOF shelled fishing boats and arrested 8 Palestinian fishermen in Rafah.

IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

IOF have isolated the Gaza Strip from the outside world and a humanitarian crisis has emerged.

Summary

Government Apologizes to Iraqi Refugee for Wrongful Detention

Abdul Habeeb speaks to reporters at a news conference at the offices of the ACLU of Washington in Seattle on Thursday Aug. 23, 2007. Habeeb, 41, of suburban Kent, spent eight days in custody before officials realized their mistake. They dropped deportation proceedings against him the following month, but Habeeb sued in 2005, seeking an apology and financial compensation — both of which he received, according to a settlement agreement released Thursday. (AP Photo/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Gilbert W. Arias)

23 August 2007
By GENE JOHNSON
AP LEGAL AFFAIRS WRITER

SEATTLE -- The Justice Department has apologized and paid $250,000 to an Iraqi refugee wrongly detained in 2003 when he stepped off an Amtrak train in Montana to stretch his legs.

Abdul Habeeb, 41, of suburban Kent, spent eight days in custody before officials realized their mistake. They dropped deportation proceedings against him the following month, but Habeeb sued in 2005, seeking an apology and financial compensation - both of which he received, according to a settlement agreement released Thursday.

"You are an Iraqi who was admitted into the United States as a refugee," Acting U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan in Seattle wrote in a June 13 letter to Habeeb. "You did nothing wrong. The United States of America regrets the mistake."

"Apologies are issued by the federal government when we're wrong," Sullivan said Thursday. "Maybe we don't do it as often as we should, but in this case we were wrong, and I felt good about signing the letter."

Habeeb, an artist who says he was repeatedly jailed under Saddam Hussein's regime, came to the U.S. in 2002, settling in the Seattle area. He was on his way to take a job at an Islamic newspaper in Washington, D.C., when the train stopped in Havre, Mont., about 75 miles from Canada, on April 1, 2003.

As he wandered around the station and platform, he was confronted by border patrol agents who asked where he was from and demanded to see his documentation. Habeeb provided it, but when they asked him if he had undergone "special registration" - a post-Sept. 11 requirement that noncitizen males from about two dozen countries be fingerprinted and photographed - he told them he didn't know he had to.

In fact, he didn't have to. Political refugees were exempted from "special registration."

Nevertheless, the agents took him into custody. He was kept at the Hill County Jail in Montana for three nights, during which time he was subjected to a strip search and interrogated about whether he knew anyone who didn't like the U.S. He was then transferred to immigration detention in Seattle for four nights before he was given his suitcase back and told to go home, he said.

After his detention, the newspaper where he planned to work wouldn't have him, he said. He resumed working for a furniture maker in Seattle instead.

"I came with my dreams to America - about the freedom, about the life, about the art," he said at a news conference the American Civil Liberties Association held in downtown Seattle on Thursday. "I feel like today is my first day in America. I want to open my art gallery."

He also said that once he becomes a U.S. citizen he hopes to bring his wife and three boys to the U.S. from Baghdad.

Habeeb filed two lawsuits - one in federal district court at Great Falls, Mont., against the Customs and Border Protection agents, and one in Seattle against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

His case in Montana was dismissed by a U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon last year; as part of the agreement settling the two lawsuits, the Justice Department and the ACLU, which took up Habeeb's case, asked the Montana judge, Sam Haddon, to vacate his decision as erroneous. The judge did so last month.

"Mr. Habeeb came from a country where he never knew if the government was going to follow the rules," said one of his attorneys, Aaron Caplan. "He came to America to get away from that."

Zina Includes All Kinds of Evil

Zina includes all kinds of evil: lack of religious commitment, loss of piety, corruption of chivalry, lack of protective jealousy. You will not find any zaani who is pious, or fulfils covenants, or is sincere in speech, or maintains friendships, or has a proper sense of protective jealousy concerning his family.

Treachery, lying, betrayal, lack of modesty, lack of awareness that Allah is watching, failure to refrain from indulging in haraam, and loss of protective jealousy are all results of zina.

Another result of zina is the wrath of the Lord due to His sacred limits being transgressed and the sanctity of the family being violated. If a man were to do that to some king, he would punish him in the worst manner.

Another result is darkness of the face, and depression and self-hatred, which are obvious to all onlookers.

Another result is darkness of the heart and extinguishing of light from it, which leads to extinguishing of light in the face and darkness therein.

Another result is inevitable poverty. According to a report, Allah says: “I am Allah, Who destroys tyrants and make adulterers poor.”

Another result is loss of respect for the one who does it, so that he becomes insignificant before Allah and before His slaves.

Another result is that he loses the best of qualities, such as chastity, righteousness and good character, and he acquires the opposite, so that he becomes known as an immoral person, evildoer, adulterer and betrayer.

Another result is that he is no longer regarded as a believer, as it was narrated in al-Saheehayn that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The adulterer at the time when he is committing adultery is not a believer.” So he loses his faith in a general sense, although he does not lose it altogether. Ja’far ibn Muhammad was asked about this hadeeth and he draw a circle on the ground and said: This is the circle of faith. Then he drew another circle outside it and said: This is the circle of Islam. When a person commits zina he goes out of (the former) but he does not go out of (the latter).

Just because a man has a portion of faith, it does not mean that he can be called a believer, just as if a man has a portion of knowledge and fiqh, he cannot be called a scholar or faqeeh, or if he has a portion of courage or generosity he cannot be called courageous or generous. Similarly, he may have a portion of piety but he cannot be called pious, and so on. The correct view is to take this hadeeth as it appears to be and not try to interpret it otherwise. And Allah knows best.

Another result is that he exposes himself to becoming one of the inhabitants of the oven in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saw adulterers and adulteresses.

Another result is that he ceases to be tayyib (good), as Allah described those who are chaste, and instead becomes khabeeth (bad), as Allah describes those who commit zina, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Bad statements are for bad people (or bad women for bad men) and bad people for bad statements (or bad men for bad women). Good statements are for good people (or good women for good men) and good people for good statements (or good men for good women)” [al-Noor 24:26].

Allah has forbidden Paradise to everyone who is khabeeth (bad, evil); rather He has made it an abode for the good, and no one but good people will enter it. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Those whose lives the angels take while they are in a pious state (i.e. pure from all evil, and worshipping none but Allah Alone) saying (to them): Salaamun ‘Alaikum (peace be on you) enter you Paradise, because of that (the good) which you used to do (in the world)”[al-Nahl 16:32]

“and its keepers will say: Assalamu alakum(peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter here to abide therein”[al-Zumar 39:73]

They only deserve the greeting of the angels and admission to Paradise because of their goodness, but zina is one of the most evil of actions, and Allaah has made Hell the abode of evil and evil people. When the Day of Resurrection comes, He will separate evil from good, and He will put evil all together, then throw it and its people into Hell. No good person will enter Hell and no evil person will enter Paradise.

Another result is the sense of alienation which Allah casts into the heart of the zaani, and it is akin to the alienation that appears in his face. The chaste person has sweetness in his face and comfort in his heart, and the one who sits with him feels comfortable with him. But the zaani has alienation in his face and the one who sits with him feels uncomfortable with him.

Another result is lack of respect from his family, companions and others. He is the least significant of things in their eyes, unlike the chaste man, who is respected and liked.

Another result is that people regard him as treacherous, and no one will trust him with regard to his womenfolk or children.

Another result is the odour that emanates from him and is smelled by everyone who has a sound heart; it comes from his mouth and body.

Another result is anxiety, because adulterers get the opposite of what they seek. The one who seeks the pleasures and good things of life by doing that which Allah has forbidden will be punished with the opposite of what he sought, because that which is with Allah can only be attained by obeying Him. Allah never makes disobedience to Him the means of attaining goodness. If the evildoer understood what pleasure, joy, delight and good living there is in chastity, he would think that what he has missed out on of pleasure is many times greater than that which he has attained, let alone the ultimate achievement of attaining the reward and honour of Allah.

Another result is that he exposes himself to missing out on the enjoyment of al-hoor al-‘iyn in delightful abodes in the Paradise of ‘Adn (Garden of Eden). We have stated above that Allaah will punish the one who wears silk in this world by depriving him of wearing it on the Day of Resurrection, and He will punish the one who drinks wine in this world by depriving him of it on the Day of Resurrection. Similarly, in the case of the one who seeks haraam forms of pleasure in this world, for everything that he got in this world, if it was available in a permissible form, his share of it on the Day of Resurrection will be reduced, and whatever he got in haraam ways will be reduced on the Day of Resurrection.

Another result is that zina leads to severing of family ties, disobedience towards parents, haraam earnings, wronging people and loss of one’s wife and family, and it may led to shedding of blood that it is not permissible to shed, or seeking help by means of witchcraft and shirk, whether he realizes it or not. This sin can only be committed if it is accompanied by other sins, beforehand or alongside it, and it generates other sins that come after it. It is surrounded by a legion of sins that come before it and after it, and it is the action that brings the most evil in this world and in the Hereafter and prevents the most goodness in this world and in the Hereafter. Once a person falls into the trap of this sin, no advice will benefit him and no one can save him from it, and the blessings of Allaah will soon depart from him. Anyone who commits this sin may bid farewell to the blessings of Allah.

Allah says: “That is so because Allah will never change a grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their ownselves. And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower”[al-Anfaal 8:53]

“But when Allah wills a people’s punishment, there can be no turning back of it, and they will find besides Him no protector”[al-Ra’d 13:11]

End quote:

And Allah knows best.

Shyness and Modesty

Moon Over Bethlehem

Shyness and modesty of men is an excellent virtue, but the shyness and modesty of women is even more so.

Olmert Orders Ban on Mobile Phones During Israeli Cabinet Meetings

22 August 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an - The BBC has reported that Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has banned cabinet ministers from using mobile telephones during Cabinet meetings, in a bid to cut down on information leaked during supposedly confidential meetings.

In a memo, itself leaked to the press, Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel states that mobile telephones and other communications devices will be returned to ministers after the meeting.

The ban follows reports that an unnamed member of the Israeli Cabinet was speaking on their mobile telephone throughout a confidential security briefing given by Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin during last Sunday's meeting. The minister was allegedly scolded by Prime Minister Olmert, before a media blackout on Diskin's report was launched,to combat any potential leaked information.

The BBC further states, "Agency reports suggest it is not unknown for senior Israeli officials to call reporters and leave their mobile phone running during meetings, so journalists can hear what is going on."

Prison Officers Warn of Morale Crisis in UK Jails

24 August 2007

London-Prison officers Friday called for an urgent meeting with the government to address a "crisis of morale" in UK jails.

Prison Officers Association (POA) chairman Colin Moses warned that staff face an increased risk of violence as well as being overstretched and underpaid.

The call comes after two members of the gang, who murdered a police officer, were charged with stabbing an inmate at Frankland Prison in Durham, north-east England.

According to the BBC, the high-security jail, which houses some of the UK's most dangerous terrorist inmates, has seen several high-profile attacks in recent months.

"What's happening at Frankland is what we're seeing at establishments across the UK where staff are fully stretched due to lack of investment," Moses said..

He said that the jail is one of the UK's top facilities and if this is what happens in a successful prison, "imagine what happens in those that are more overcrowded and under-resourced."

The overcrowded problems come as Britain's jailed population has surpassed its capacity with a record of over 80,000 prisoners causing the government to use police cells and announce plans to reduce the number of convicted people being sent to jail.

Israel Kills 12 Gazans, Including Two Children, in 24 Hours

Palestinian children view a destroyed car belonging to Hamas after it was targeted in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip, 20 August 2007. An Israeli missile assassinated six Hamas gunmen and wounded another, Palestinian hospital staff said. (Hatem Omar/MaanImages)

22 August 2007

by Al Mezan

The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) has escalated its aggression in the Gaza Strip. Twelve Palestinians, including two minors, were killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours. In addition, the Israel's Naval Forces opened fire at fishermen and arrested eight of them in the town of Rafah today.

According to Al Mezan's field investigations, at approximately 5pm on Monday 20 August 2007, an Israeli air raid targeted a car near the entrance of a former national security site in middle Gaza, killing six.

At approximately 1:45pm on Tuesday 12 August 2007, an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a crowd about half a kilometer from the borderline east of al-Qarara area in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis. Three Palestinians were killed in this attack. They were identified as:

42-year-old Muhammad Abu Salem;
23-year-old Shadi Mustafa al-Saqqa; and
29-year-old Awad Ibrahim al-Masri.

They were killed from shrapnel to different parts of their bodies.

It was also reported that, at approximately 6pm on the same day, the IOF fired a ground-to-ground missile and killed two children near the Agricultural School in the town of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip. They were identified as:

11-year-old Fadi Mansour al-Kafarneh; and
12-year-old Abdul-Qadir Yousif Ashour.

In addition, 13-year-old Ahmed Said Al Baa' was moderately wounded by shrapnel to his left leg.

At approximately 7:55am on Wednesday 22 August 2007, the IOF fired a missile that landed in an open area, east of al-Sheikh Zayid town in Beit Lahia. Earlier at approximately 2am the IOF fired a missile at a crowd east of al-Shija'aiya neighborhood in the east of Gaza City, killing 22-year-old Yahia Omar Habib and critically injuring another person.

At approximately 9am today, the Israeli Naval Forces opened fire at fishing boats on Rafah beach and arrested eight fishermen, amongst them five minors. Al Mezan's fieldworker reported that their names were:

48-year-old Kamel Rajab Abu Odeh;
18-year-old Khalil Kamil Abu Odeh;
14-year-old Abdul-Rahman Muhammad al-Qun;
14-year-old Iyad Bassim Abu Slaymeh;
22-year-old Ahmad Muhammad al-Najjar;
16-year-old Muhammad Farahat Ashour;
17-year-old Yousif Abdullah al-Najjar; and
17-year-old Ali Hassan al-Najjar.

According to field investigations, an Israeli gunship opened fir at the fishermen's boats and caused damage to fifteen of them. Moreover, it fired an artillery shell that hit the house of a fisherman -- Abdul-Hadi al-Qun -- in the area. No injuries were reported.

Al Mezan Center strongly condemns the military escalation by the IOF, who have used indiscriminate, disproportionate force and conducted extra-judicial assassinations in Gaza. The Center condemns the killing and detention of children with the strongest words.

Since the start of August 2007, 22 Palestinians have been killed and 37 injured by IOF owing to the use of excessive and indiscriminate force in the Gaza Strip alone. Al Mezan asserts that these conducts represent grave breaches of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Regrettably, these conducts have continued under full silence from the part of the international community, which has failed to observe its legal and moral obligations towards Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Al Mezan therefore renews its calls upon the international community to intervene and bring to an end the human rights violations conducted by IOF, and to provide effective protection for the civilian population of the OPT.

Another Chapter of 'Mississippi Burning'?

Seale Gets 3 Life Terms for '64 Killings

A Madison County Sheriff's Department deputy, right, escorts reputed Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale to the federal courthouse, Friday, Aug. 24, 2007, in Jackson, Miss., for sentencing in the deadly abductions of two black teenagers in 1964. Seale, 72, faces up to life for the June 14 convictions on kidnapping and conspiracy charges. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

23 August 2007

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS

JACKSON, Miss. -James Ford Seale, a reputed Ku Klux Klansman, was sentenced Friday to three life terms in prison for his role in the 1964 abduction and murder of two black teenagers in southwest Mississippi.

Seale, 72, was convicted in June on federal charges of kidnapping and conspiracy in the deaths of Charles Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee, two 19-year-olds who disappeared from Franklin County on May 2, 1964.

The young men's bodies were found two months later in the Mississippi River.

Seale showed no emotion as U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate read his sentence.

Wingate told Seale the crimes committed 43 years ago were "horrific" and "justice itself is ageless." He denied a defense motion to allow Seale to be free on bond while his case is appealed.
Federal public defender Kathy Nester filed a notice of appeal.

"Mr. Seale maintains his innocence to this crime," Nester said.

During the hearing, one of Dee's sisters and Moore's brother talked about how the violent deaths affected them and their families.

"I don't have no hate in my heart but I'm happy for justice," said Dee's sister Thelma Collins of Springfield, La.

Thomas Moore read from a prepared statement directed at Seale.

"I hope you perhaps spend the rest of your natural life in prison thinking of what you did to Charles Moore and Henry Dee and how you ran for a long time but you got caught," he said. "I hope the spirit of Charles and Henry come to your cell every night and visit with you to teach you what it meant by love of your fellow man."

Both of them stood about 10 feet from Seale, but he never made eye contact with them.

When asked by Wingate if he had anything to day, Seale, who wore an orange jail jumpsuit and was shackled at his waist and ankles, stood, shook his head and said "No."

Wingate agreed to assign Seale to a prison where his health needs can be met. He has cancer, bone spurs and other health problems.


A 1964 Mississippi State Highway Patrol photo shows James Ford Seale following his arrest for the killings of two young black men. The charges later were dismissed.

The prosecution's star witness against Seale was Charles Marcus Edwards, a confessed Klansman who received immunity from prosecution for his admitted role in the abductions and his testimony.

He testified that Seale and other Klansmen abducted Dee and Moore near Meadville, forced them into the trunk of Seale's Volkswagen and drove them to a farm. The two were later tied up and driven across the Mississippi River into Louisiana.

Edwards said Seale told him that heavy weights were attached to the teenagers and they were then dumped alive into the river.

Seale was arrested on a state murder charge in 1964, but the charge was later dropped. Federal prosecutors say the state charges were dropped because local law enforcement officers in 1964 were in collusion with the Klan.

Further Reading:

FBI File

Eight Dead as Central US Reels Under Floods

A diver looks through the water as Oklahoma City emergency personnel look for a possible drowning victim at the Lake Overholser, in Oklahoma City, on Wednesday.

23 August 2007

Chicago: Rivers from Nebraska east to Ohio climbed out of their banks on Wednesday, swollen from thunderstorms that soaked the central United States for days and killed at least eight people.

The situation appeared to be worsening in Ohio where 21 counties battled high water, with officials declaring a state of emergency in nine of them in the north-central part of the state.

Showers and thunderstorms were forecast in that area and in general across the region for much of the week as a front stalled over the Midwest, setting up continued thunderstorms as cold air clashed with moisture-laden air from the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 100 people were being evacuated from Findlay, Ohio, with fire and rescue crews using boats to pull people from flooded homes and businesses, Ohio Emergency Management Agency spokesman Tom Hunter said.

No injuries

Cars were submerged and blocks of streets were under water in several towns, and hundreds of residents had been moved to shelters in nearby counties. No injuries have so far been reported, Hunter said.

Cars are shown stranded on a bridge by flood waters on Wednesday in Findlay, Ohio.

"This is the worst flooding many of these communities have seen in 30 or 40 years and many, many people will have to rebuild homes and lives. Our hearts go out to the families," he said.

In Iowa, Governor Chet Culver issued disaster declarations for five counties mostly in the northwest part of the state, allowing state resources to be deployed to local communities. "Some locations are even measuring rain by the foot," the National Weather Service in Des Moines said on Wednesday as it issued a flood warning for parts of Iowa. Areas of southeastern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin were among the hardest hit. Minnesota counted seven dead in storms that began last weekend, with more rain there overnight. Wisconsin issued additional flood warnings. One person was killed in Iowa.

Parts of Oklahoma and Texas were cleaning up from unrelated flooding that killed more than two dozen people over the weekend after the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin moved through the area.

Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry on Wednesday asked the White House to declare three counties in his state disaster areas.

When Will Americans Have Had Enough?

23 August 2007

Introduction

by Housewife4Palestine

American’s are always quick to say Muslim’s do not like them because of their freedoms. Like us as Muslim’s live in a giant mode of oppression; which is far from the case.

The one’s most to shout this, are the ones that are Islamophobic’s or pro-Bush in their rhetoric.

Below is a video, showing American freedom or better yet, how much in falsified fear has gotten them; which is less freedom by the day.

I to wonder, when the American people, will have had enough and do what is right not just for their sake, but the globe as well.

For as long as the American public stays silent, the more their troubles will increase; to the point they have no freedom’s left to even remember their was any to begin with.

America once was a beautiful country, now it is just disintegrating into sad sociological despair.

Latest Fatah Poll Attempts to Sway

Editorial

24 August 2007

by Housewife4Palestine

Jerusalem Media and Communications Center (JMCC) came out with their latest Fatah poll. Yes, I said Fatah, this is who the JMCC is in their new wave of drawing at straws to try an gain their falling popularity in Palestine.

They came out with what they call their latest poll, saying it was random, when it was more obvious a Fatah loaded memorandum, towards bolstering them as well as Mahmoud Abbas; against Ismail Haniyeh and Hamas.

If these people had attempted to do an honest poll they would have found that the majority of Palestinian’s find Abbas more in tune to a rattlesnake on hot payment trying to cross the road with his continued collaboration of the West. If you think, I am being unkind towards Abbas, I have heard much worse.

The majority of Palestinian’s as well as growing consensus in the Middle East, is a growing animosity not just towards Israel, but all who would kiss Israel’s backside. For the Zionist and their allies have climbed out so far on a limb against the whole of the Islamic world to a point of no return and I am sure they are just waiting for the saw; to cut the limb off.

As for Fatah coming up, with this latest propaganda poll, it is nothing more then a smoke screen of desperation because they know it is time to pack their bag’s and leave town.

As for Abbas thinking he has no place to go, I am sure Olmert has a spare room; he could give him.

But as Abbas’s lack of popularity is coming more in the forefront, I am sure even Olmert and the West will find him more of a liability then an asset.

As the majority of the Palestinian has, with any collaborator who would put any Palestinian in harms way.

As for Haniyeh, he has proved time and again he can not be bought or swayed by Israel and their allies. What he has always appeared to be is an honest man, who wishes nothing but real justice for the Palestinian people. Otherwise, to do just what is right to the best of his abilities and no one could ask for anything more.

As for bringing up about the Western-backed government of Salam Fayyad, being accepted by the majority of the Palestinian people, that is nothing but a Fatah farce and no one is laughing.

Parking a Car in Palestine

And you think, you have parking problems?

Bush Drops a V-Bomb

War Analogy Strikes Nerve in Vietnam

US President George W. Bush addresses the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. Bush on Wednesday warned that a hasty withdrawal from Iraq would trigger a bloodbath like the one in Southeast Asia after the US defeat and retreat from Vietnam.(AFP/Jim Watson)


23 August 2007

Audio

By BEN STOCKING

HANOI, Vietnam -President Bush touched a nerve among Vietnamese when he invoked the Vietnam War in a speech warning that death and chaos will envelop Iraq if U.S. troops leave too quickly.

People in Vietnam, where opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq is strong, said Thursday that Bush drew the wrong conclusions from the long, bloody Southeast Asian conflict.

"Doesn't he realize that if the U.S. had stayed in Vietnam longer, they would have killed more people?" said Vu Huy Trieu of Hanoi, a veteran of the communist forces that fought American troops in Vietnam. "Nobody regrets that the Vietnam War wasn't prolonged except Bush."

He said U.S. troops could never have prevailed here. "Does he think the U.S. could have won if they had stayed longer? No way," Trieu said.

Vietnam's official government spokesman offered a more measured response when asked at a regular media briefing to comment on Bush's speech to American veterans Wednesday.

"With regard to the American war in Vietnam, everyone knows that we fought to defend our country and that this was a righteous war of the Vietnamese people," Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung said. "And we all know that the war caused tremendous suffering and losses to the Vietnamese people."

Dung said Vietnam hopes that the Iraq conflict will be resolved "very soon, in an orderly way, and that the Iraqi people will do their best to rebuild their country."

Although Vietnam opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Dung stressed that ties between Hanoi and Washington have been growing closer since the former foes normalized relations in 1995, two decades after the war's end.

In his remarks to U.S. veterans, Bush said a hasty retreat from Iraq would lead to terrible violence.

"One unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens whose agonies would add to our vocabulary new terms like 'boat people,' 're-education camps' and 'killing fields,'" Bush said.

Many people in Vietnam said Bush's comparison was ill-considered.

The only way to restore order in Iraq is for the United States to leave, said Trinh Xuan Thang, a university student.

"Bush sent troops to invade Iraq and created all the problems there," Thang said.

If the U.S. withdrew, he said, the violence might escalate in the short term but the situation would eventually stabilize.

"Let the Iraqis determine their fate by themselves," Thang said. "They don't need American troops there."

Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former chairwoman of the National Assembly's committee on foreign affairs, said Bush was unwise to stir up sensitive memories of the Vietnam War.

"The price we, the Vietnamese people on both sides, paid during the war was due to the fact that the Americans went into Vietnam in the first place," Ninh said.

Welcome to "Spider's Web" Museum

A family looks at helmets seized from Israelis in the 'Spider's Web' war museum held in the Dahieh district of south Beirut, Lebanon Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007. The museum, which opened July 26 as part of events organized by Hezbollah to mark the July-August war, exhibits all kinds of war booty including helmets, boots, ammunition and armored military vehicles seized from Israelis during the war as well as gruesome photos of Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli airstrikes. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

24 August 2007

A replica of a long-range missile greets visitors, and posters of Israel and the United States.

The exhibit has drawn condemnation from Israel.

The museum opened last month in the Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold pounded to rubble by missiles during the war that began July 12, 2006, and the exhibit runs until September 10, 2007.

Its name was inspired by a speech in which Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said Israel's military might was flimsy and weaker than a spider's web.

The idea is to "commemorate Hezbollah's historic, strategic and divine victory in an honest and artistic way," Ali Ahmed, a spokesman for Hezbollah's media activities unit.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the exhibit "glorifies hatred, extremism and violence, and should be condemned as such."

During the war, more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed in 34 days of Israeli airstrikes. Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets at Israel; the Israeli death toll was 119 Israeli soldiers and 39 civilians. Most experts agree that Israel failed to achieve its declared objectives of crushing Hezbollah and freeing its soldiers.

A replica of a Hezbollah Khaibar missile is at the museum entrance. Inside, Hezbollah guides walk visitors past mannequins depicting Hezbollah guerrillas and dead Israeli soldiers.

See here how Israel was defeated and humiliated by the resistance," said one guide, pointing out a large metal chunk from the wreckage of an Israeli Yasur CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter.

The guide, who goes by the name Abu Ali, carried a walkie-talkie as he eagerly lectured visitors. "What you see here constitutes only 1 percent of what we have," he said.

The museum displays a poster depicting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for saying during the war that the fighting was part of the "birth pangs of a new Middle East."

Another poster shows Israel's former chief of staff, Dan Halutz, quoting him as saying at the war's start: "We will eradicate Hezbollah within three days." Halutz resigned in January after widespread criticism of his performance.

The Israeli-made Merkava tank features prominently in the museum. One tank seized by the guerrillas is displayed in a huge crater, surrounded by mannequins of dead Israeli soldiers.

The exhibit ends with an audiovisual presentation featuring what are said to be the cries of dying and wounded Israeli soldiers, followed by Nasrallah saying: "The time of victories has started and the time for defeats is over."

That show left Roula Sabra, a 36-year-old mother of three, clapping tearfully.

"I've come to show my children what victory and dignity is," she said. "You feel such pride and security."

Israel proposes safe passage between West Bank and Gaza Strip to be included in territorial exchange

23 August 2007

Bethlehem – Ma'an – Israel has proposed that safe passage for Palestinians from the West Bank to the Gaza Strip would be included in a territorial exchange with the Palestinians, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported on Thursday.

The proposal has been mooted as part of the agreement of principles which is being drafted before the Middle East peace conference in the Autumn.

It is understood that Israel will have sovereignty over the route but the Palestinians will control it.

But the route will only come into being if the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, resumes control over the Gaza Strip, Ha'aretz said.

According to Ha'aretz the proposal would be beneficial to Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad - the promise of renewed links between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are likely to win them support in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

However, the agreement of principles will not demarcate the specific areas which are to be handed back to the Palestinians in exchange for the land taken by Israeli settlements.

Give Thanks to Allah

All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the Lord of the Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists).
( سورة الفاتحة , Al-Fatiha, 1:2)

Video by Zain Bhikha

Sabrina Returns Home

23 August 2007

by Housewife4Palestine

'In the grubby little zoo outside Gaza City, a man gave a thumbs up to a lion in a cage.

"Welcome back," he said, as his children beamed at the animal.

Sabrina had been snatched from her cage two years earlier.

But last month, Hamas forces freed Sabrina from a notorious criminal gang. To many Gazans, Sabrina's release is a vivid example of how security has improved since Hamas routed Fatah forces to take control of the Gaza Strip'.

It seems as Hamas is trying to bring more normality to Gaza and bring back a more resemblance of what life was like before Fatah’s lawlessness in the strip.

They have two major things to contend with though, to bring foreward a better functioning judicial system and economy. Even through the infiltrations still by Abbas's Fatah and the strangle hold that Israel keeps imposing on them.

I would seriously think these are major elements on their agenda, towards making Gaza a better, happier place to live; that it only takes a matter of time and patience.

Like the happiness on a child’s face, seeing Sabrina the lion returned to the zoo.

Malak Gheir Allah

“You Only Have Allah to Count On,”

23 August 2007

by Housewife4Palestine

This video, which was launched in Al-Basateen Shopping Center in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, choosing as its target audience young men and women. The producers chose to launch it in a place popular mall for the very reason that this is where young people often hang out.

I believe its intention was to target "moderate" Muslim's, but the message in the video seems to be to the contrary; unless it is a message geared towards being better Muslims.

For it is becoming a growing concern that “moderate” Muslim’s are seriously missing the intent of what it truly means to be a good Muslim. For it is showing more all the time, they are not following the true dictates of Islam, but more to a watered down or selective version which is not acceptable as far as Allah would be concerned or true Islam.

As for the video's content, it deals with a young man who does not perform his religious duties and when the world turns its back on him, he begins to rethink his life toward repentance.

Distorting the Truth

President George W. Bush shakes hands with Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander Gary Kurpius following the President's address Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007, to the Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Mo. White House photo by Chris Greenberg

Editorial

23 August 2007

PRESIDENT Bush yesterday told US war veterans that if American troops were withdrawn from Iraq “before the job is done”, the country would experience the same collapse that followed when Washington abandoned its military intervention in Vietnam. He warned that as in Vietnam, many hundreds of thousands would die in the “killing fields”

The historic reference is at best another display of Bush’s ignorance and at worst a deliberate attempt to distort the truth. There were reprisal killings and political re-education after the South of the country fell to the victorious North Vietnamese Communists but there was no mass slaughter. The “killing fields” were in Cambodia where Pol Pot’s regime tried to impose its insane brand of proletarian government by massacring intellectuals and the middle class. The Khymer Rouge had emerged from the destabilizing interference of both the North Vietnamese who used Cambodia to keep their troops in the South supplied, and by a massive US bombing campaign which sought — unsuccessfully — to interdict this flow. What Bush did not go on to say — presuming of course that he actually knew it — was that it was the Vietnamese who finally freed the Cambodians from the misery by invading the country, overthrowing the Khymer Rouge lunatics and withdrawing their forces when the UN had organized elections.

Bush might have better, therefore, said that the Vietnamese had behaved in Cambodia much as the Americans had in Iraq. The difference between the two interventions is that traumatized Cambodia slowly returned to peace and normality. Iraqis, however, are still being traumatized.

There are however some genuine parallels between the US experiences in Vietnam and Iraq but Bush was loath to point them out. Both interventions were misjudged and based on an unrealistic faith in the absolute supremacy of America’s military might. In both cases, Washington did not understand the political and social complexities. They could only think in black and white, which produced a copious flow of red blood, American as well as Vietnamese and Iraqi. In both interventions, the idea of “winning hearts and minds” only occurred long after it was realized that US troops were not welcomed as liberators and had behaved with a brutality that alienated what little welcome there was.

And most tellingly, both Vietnam and Iraq have ended in humiliation for Washington and an exposure of the falsity of the grounds on which they justified their invasions. The world was told that if the Communists were not stopped in Vietnam, all Southeast Asia would succumb to their rule in what was called “The Domino Theory.” No such geopolitical collapse happened in the region in the wake of Hanoi’s victory. Indeed 30 years on, Vietnam though still burdened by Communist bureaucracy is slowly emerging as a free market economy. There will assuredly be chaos when American troops quit Iraq but it will be caused in significant part by Washington’s ill-informed and crass interference.

14 U.S. Soldiers Killed in Chopper Crash

22 August 2007

Audio

By KIM GAMEL

BAGHDAD -Fourteen U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed during a nighttime mission in northern Iraq, but the military said it appeared the aircraft was lost by mechanical problems and not from hostile fire.

It was the Pentagon's worst single-day death toll in Iraq since January and indicated how forces are relying heavily on air power in offensives across northern regions after rooting out many militant strongholds in Baghdad and central regions.

The UH-60 helicopter went down before dawn in the Tamim province that surrounds Kirkuk, an oil-rich city 180 miles north of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Michael Donnelly, a military spokesman in northern Iraq.

He declined to be more specific about the location of the crash, but said the facts gathered indicated it was almost certainly due to a mechanical problem and not hostile fire. The final cause remained under investigation, however.

The Black Hawk was one of two helicopters and had just picked up troops after a mission when it crashed, Donnelly said. The four crew members and 10 passengers aboard were assigned to Task Force Lightning, but the military did not release further information about their identities pending notification of relatives.

In Washington, a defense official said the helicopter was from the 25th Infantry Division's combat aviation brigade, based in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

A U.S. soldier also was killed and three others were wounded Wednesday during fighting west of Baghdad, the military said separately.

The total of 15 was the largest single-day death count since 25 U.S. soldiers were killed around the country on Jan. 20, including 12 who died in a helicopter crash. The deadliest crash occurred Jan. 26, 2005 when a CH-53 Sea Stallion transport helicopter went down in a sandstorm in western Iraq, killing 31 U.S. troops.

The U.S. military relies heavily on helicopters to avoid the threat of ambushes and roadside bombs — the deadliest weapon in the militants' arsenal — and dozens have crashed in accidents or been shot down.

Wednesday's deaths raised to at least 3,722 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

The Sept. 15 deadline for the Iraq progress to Congress leaves Bush little time to show that the U.S. troop buildup is succeeding in providing the enhanced security the Iraqi leaders need to forge a unified way forward.

Zionist has four options for dealing with Hamas

18 August 2007

After the Zionist occupation forces and Abbas failed to broke Hamas. The Zionist forces claimed. In the Zionist website "Y net", that it has four alternatives. One possibility is to attempt to topple Hamas' government in Gaza through an ongoing economic and diplomatic boycott coupled with military pressure.

Another option is for Zionist to silently agree that Palestinian and international elements, for example the European Union, would engage in contacts with Hamas. Initially this would be done in order to reopen the crossings and ease the economic pressure on the Strip, and later in order to press Hamas to moderate(cooperate with the Zionists) its positions.

The Zionist sources said that the danger is that Hamas, once it extracts itself from the diplomatic isolation, would view it as a sign that its policy succeeded. It won't change its fundamental positions and continue to grow stronger militarily, but also elicit further concessions and use them in order to undermine Fatah's status in the West Bank as well.

A third possibility is an agreement with Hamas: Zionist will reconcile itself de facto to Hamas' control in Gaza, engage in direct dialogue with it through low-ranking officials and officers( refused by Hamas), and also allow Abbas to do that. In addition, Zionist will demand and get a long-term ceasefire that would promise several years of tranquility to Al Naqab areas.

The Zionists said that A wide-scale military operation that would see the Zionist occupation forces taking over some areas and creating a water obstacle that would clog the tunnels in the Philadelphi Route. At the end of the operation, the Strip would be handed over to the joint control of Abbas and a multinational force.

Barhoum warns of joint plot between Zionist and Fatah to assassinate Haniya

Fawzi Barhoum, the Hamas spokesman warned of a joint scheme between Zionist entity and the Fatah-affiliated mutiny trend to assassinate Ismail Haniya, the premier of the legitimate PA caretaker government.

In a press release, Fawzi Barhoum stated that there were many failed attempts by Fatah in the last months to assassinate Haniya and other Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip, attributing the assassination attempts to "the strong personality and popularity Haniya enjoys in addition to his success in grabbing the reins of the national unity government."

The spokesman explained that there is Zio-American conspiracy weaved in Washington to liquidate the Hamas leaders in order to pave the way for the return of Fatah to the Gaza Strip according to the Dayton plan.

The spokesman recalled previous failed attempts carried out by the mutiny trend in Fatah to assassinate Haniya such as the shooting at the headquarters of the cabinet in Gaza city from a adjacent place during a formal session, and the targeting of Haniya's house with an "RPG" shell in the last events of Gaza.

Hamas sources had unveiled a few days ago two videotapes including confessions by members of security apparatuses affiliated with Fatah who participated in a failed attempt to assassinate Haniya.