Iraq Death Toll Keeps Mounting

21 June 2008

In Iraq, as of Friday, 20 of June, 2008, at least 4,102 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

While, the numbers of Iraqi dead further climbs above one million souls.

It is becoming more well known, that the Bush administration is not intent in helping the Iraqi people, but more towards there extermination; even if it is at the cost of every American, he can put within his military and send to Iraq or the cost to Americans at home economically.

Furthermore, this also goes towards the situation in Afghanistan, which is suffering under the same circumstance; the only difference is 451 U.S. military is dead.

Under the Pale Blue Sky

A Palestinian musician throws a tambourine in the air during a traditional wedding celebration at the beach in Rafah, Gaza Strip on 20 June 2008.

Families and young men with towels over their shoulders headed to the beaches of Gaza City where children flew kites in the stiff breeze and young men played volleyball under a pale blue sky.
A Palestinian groom (C) celebrates with wedding guests during a traditional wedding celebration at the beach in Rafah.
Palestinian newly-weds, flanked by traditional musicians, stand together at the beach in Rafah, Gaza Strip, during a traditional wedding celebration.

French President to visit Palestine

21 June 2007

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is to visit the Palestinian territories and Jewish sector on Sunday and meet Mahmoud Abbas’s organization and leaders in the Jewish sector there; without prior consent from the Palestine legal government.

Sarkozy is scheduled to meet Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem after meeting Jewish President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The visit to the Palestinian territories will be Sarkozy's first as president. He will be accompanied by his wife.

The French president is expected to invite Jewish and Abbas’s organization to participate in the Euro-Mediterranean summit to be held in Paris next month.

Sarkozy and Abbas are said to also inaugurate an illegal industrial zone in Bethlehem.

Apparently, Abbas is continuing his criminal business as usual, as well as certain criminal acts against Jewish citizens; which has caused them undue harm.

Bush on the American Oil Situation

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 21, 2008

Audio
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Americans are concerned about the high price of gasoline. Everyone who commutes to work, purchases food, ships a product, or takes a family vacation feels the burden of higher prices at the pump. And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response.

The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production. So my Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to open access to new oil exploration here in the United States. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. So this week, I asked Democratic congressional leaders to take the side of working families and small businesses and farmers and ranchers and move forward with four steps to expand American oil and gasoline production.

First, we should expand American oil production by increasing access to the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS. Experts believe that the OCS could produce enough oil to match America's current production for almost ten years. The problem is that Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s. So I've called on the House and Senate to lift this legislative ban and give states the option of opening up OCS resources off their shores while protecting the environment. There's also an executive prohibition on exploration in the OCS, which I will lift when Congress lifts the legislative ban.

Second, we should expand American oil production by tapping into the extraordinary potential of oil shale. Oil shale is a type of rock that can produce oil when exposed to heat and other processes. One major deposit in the Rocky Mountain West alone would equal current annual oil imports for more than a hundred years. Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress are standing in the way of further development. In last year's omnibus spending bill, Democratic leaders inserted a provision blocking oil shale leasing on Federal lands. That provision can be taken out as easily as it was slipped in -- and Congress should do so immediately.

Third, we should expand American oil production by permitting exploration in northern Alaska. Scientists have developed innovative techniques to reach this oil with virtually no impact on the land or local wildlife. With a drilling footprint that covers just a tiny fraction of this vast terrain, America could produce an estimated 10 billion barrels of oil. That is roughly the equivalent of two decades of imported oil from Saudi Arabia. I urge members of Congress to allow this remote region to bring enormous benefits to the American people.

Finally, we need to expand and enhance our refining capacity. It has been 30 years since a new refinery was built in our Nation, and lawsuits and red tape have made it extremely costly to expand or modify existing refineries. The result is that America now imports millions of barrels of fully refined gasoline from abroad. This imposes needless costs on American families and drivers. It deprives American workers of good jobs. And it needs to change.

I know Democratic leaders have opposed some of these policies in the past. Now that their opposition has helped drive gas prices to record levels, I ask them to reconsider their positions. If congressional leaders leave for the Fourth of July recess without taking action, they will need to explain why $4-a-gallon gasoline is not enough incentive for them to act.

This is a difficult time for many American families. Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can affect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they can go on vacation. With the four steps I've laid out, Congress now has a clear path to begin easing the strain high gas prices put on your family's pocketbook. These proposals will take years to have their full impact, so I urge Congress to take action as soon as possible. Together, we can meet the energy challenges we face -- and keep our economy the strongest, most vibrant, and most hopeful in the world.

Thank you for listening.

African-American Muslims

The Slavery Years
(1517-1865)

Introduction

It was a reminder of a remarkable book that I read several years ago called, “Roots,” by Alex Haley and the fact he wrote that his family when they where in Africa where Muslim and over time apparently in America, they eventually became Christian and myself being Muslim and having had some people try to force me to Christianity, of the possibility that the same happened in history, before me.

Islamphobia as it is coined since 9/11 was a situation that had it roots, long before and this is a historical fact with numerous writings and verbal narratives passed from generation to generation among families who have been subjected to this situation.

Below is a small portion of the early history of Islam in America and one large group of people (Estimated in 1860, as nearly 4 million) in American history subjected to these pressures through slavery. It has been questioned numerous times over the years, if the enforcement of Christianity in America is just another way to Americanize and destroy the beauty and identity of people; who have came from other parts of the globe.

Muslims have been part of the American landscape since pre-Columbus times. Indeed, early explorers used maps that were derived from the work of Muslims, with their advanced geographical and navigational information of the time.

It is known among many Islamic scholars that about 90 percent of the slaves brought from Africa were Muslims. The film Amistad recognized this fact, portraying Muslims aboard this slave vessel, trying to perform their prayers while chained together on deck as they crossed the Atlantic. Below are four examples of personal stories that have been passed down:

Omar Ibn Said (ca. 1770-1864) was born in the Muslim state of Futa Toro in Western Africa, in present-day Senegal. He was a Muslim scholar and trader who was captured and enslaved. He arrived in South Carolina in 1807, and was sold to James Owen of North Carolina.

Sali-Bul Ali was a slave on a plantation. His owner James Cooper wrote: "He is a strict Mahometan; abstains from spirituous liquors, and keeps various fasts, particularly that of the Ramadan..."

Lamen Kebe was a slave who used to be a school teacher in Africa. He shared information about the texts and teaching methods used in the Islamic schools of his country.

Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Sori spent 40 years in slavery before he returned to Africa to die. He wrote two autobiographies, and signed a charcoal sketch of himself by Henry Inman, which was featured on the cover of "Freedman's Journal" and is on display in the Library of Congress.

Many of the Muslim slaves were encouraged or forced to convert to Christianity.

Many of the first-generation slaves retained much of their Muslim identity, but in the slave conditions at the time, this identity was largely lost in some cases among their descendants.

Needless to say, those who where forced into this heinous situation in history, should always be remembered for there courage and in too many cases there martyrdom.

Even in the twenty-first century, the African-American community deserves human rights and the respect, they so rightly deserve; from the time they where first forced upon American soil and the countless others who have suffered the same or similar indignities.

Rio Ferdinand Sighting

English footballer Rio Ferdinand swims in the Mediterranean Sea at a private beach on 20 June 2008 in Tel Aviv.

Middle East "Quartet" to meet in Berlin on Tuesday

20 June 2008

The quartet of Middle East peace mediators will meet in Berlin on Tuesday for their first gathering since the Egyptian brokered cease-fire.

The quartet, which comprises the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, will meet on the sidelines of a German-hosted conference to allegedly support Palestinian "civil security and rule of law."

The United States still hopes to achieve their illegal alleged peace agreement by the end of the year with U.S.'s insulting accusations that Jewish Prime Minster Ehud Olmert’s government is weak and the divisions among Palestinians.

As part of its efforts, Washington has sought to strengthen the terrorist security forces under Mahmoud Abbas and his organization.

This is to further aid the coup with the intention to create harm to the Palestinian populace in the guise of peace negotiations between Olmert and Abbas; along with the continued insults towards the Palestine legal government (PLG).

The one thing that is always interesting, that the U.S. government would insult everyone at this time for a decomposing corpse of a peace deal, as well as trying to shore up there coup, for every time things do not go according to the current administration at times one will hear things such as this.

Personally, I have had to listen to it for over fifty years and everyone before me. While the Bush administration may be thinking they are going to create a feelings sore and get there bullying way, my mother always taught me, is to not listen to bully’s.

An Invitation to Happiness

Palestinians relax and enjoy a day at the beach, in Gaza city on 20 June 2008.

Dancing with Diamonds

A Palestinian rides there horse along the beach in Gaza city, on 20 June 2008; with the shimmering beauty of the ocean that dances with the sun’s rays as diamonds; behind the rider.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

Palestinian children sit on a camel, as others fly kites at the beach in Gaza city on 20 June 2008.

For a time when I was a child, I use to make a kite and this was done for a few years. It was not just the joy of making it and my mother helping get the tail just right; but the amazing things the kite would do as it glided here and there upon the wind.

Palestinians fly kites and relax at the beach in Gaza city.

Louisiana: National Guard to Remain in New Orleans

An Oregon National Guard patrol from C Company, 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry moves up Paris Avenue in north New Orleans, La., in order to verify that there are no people remaining there in need of help or evacuation and to chart the boundaries of the receding floodwaters on Sept. 15, 2005.

20 June 2008

New Orleans-At least 200 Louisiana National Guard troops will remain in New Orleans through 2008 for law enforcement duties as the police department tries to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.

Gov. Bobby Jindal said the current contingent of 360 guard members would be phased down through the rest of the year to augment the police department, which lost 500 officers after the storm. The department will continue a national recruiting drive to bolster the police force, which has about 1,470 officers, down from 1,668 before the storm.

Mr. Jindal, a Republican, said the state was paying about $1 million a month to keep the guard in New Orleans. Maj. Gen. Bennett C. Landreneau, head of the Louisiana National Guard, said some of the soldiers who had been stationed in the city had expressed an interest in joining the police department.

Peace less Protests

Jewish soldiers detain a foreign activist during a demonstration against the separation barrier in the village of Maasarah near the town of Bethlehem on 20 June 2008.

Numerous times with either false information or the intent to perform criminal activities by foreign activist is not acceptable in Palestine; furthermore, there is actually a law prohibiting such activities by these people.

The majority of the time, these are not peaceful protests and are bent to create a situation where one does not exist.

It should also be known, that many of these foreign activist are usually in support of terrorist activities, it has been reported.

House prepares to debate new surveillance law

U.S. President George W. Bush addresses his remarks to reporters Friday, 20 June 2008 at the White House, thanking members of the House and Senate for their bipartisan cooperation in reaching agreement on war funding and intelligence gathering legislation.

20 June 2008

By PAMELA HESS

President Bush praised Congress Friday for moving forward on a bill giving permitting government eavesdropping in the war on terrorism, saying "it will help our intelligence professionals learn enemies' plans for new attacks."

Speaking at the White House, Bush called on both the House and Senate to pass the compromise deal that key lawmakers confirmed Thursday and said he believes it is a vital tool for U.S. law enforcement.

As the House prepared to vote later Friday on that measure, Bush also said he was pleased that Congress was moving forward on "a responsible war funding bill" for Iraq that supports the troops in the field without requiring "artificial timetables" for their withdrawal.

Bush said the legislation updating and revising the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 will "allow our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad while protecting our liberties at home."

He noted that the bill would protect telecommunications companies from lawsuits for cooperating for "past or future cooperation" with federal law enforcement authorities and will assist the intelligence community in determining the plans of terrorists by following "who they are talking to, what they are saying, what they are planning."

The update to the intelligence law was expected to pass the House, potentially ending the standoff between Democrats and Republicans about the rules for government wiretapping inside the United States. The Senate was expected to pass the bill with a large margin, perhaps as soon as next week.

Warrantless wiretapping, which went on for almost six years after the Sept. 11 attacks, was revealed publicly in late 2005 by The New York Times and then discontinued in January 2007. Some 40 lawsuits have been filed against the companies by groups and individuals who think the Bush administration illegally monitored their phone calls or e-mails.

The White House had threatened to veto any bill that did not shield the companies, which tapped lines at the behest of the president and attorney general but without permission from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the special panel established for that purpose under the 1978 law.

The compromise bill would have a federal district court review certifications from the attorney general saying the telecommunications companies received presidential orders telling them wiretaps were needed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack. If the paperwork were deemed in order, the judge would dismiss the lawsuit.

It would also require the inspectors general of the Justice Department, Pentagon and intelligence agencies to investigate the wiretapping program, with a report due in a year.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendment bill also would:

_Require FISA court permission to wiretap Americans who are overseas.

_Prohibit targeting a foreigner to secretly eavesdrop on an American's calls or e-mails without court approval.

_Allow the FISA court 30 days to review existing but expiring surveillance orders before renewing them.

_Allow eavesdropping in emergencies without court approval, provided the government files required papers within a week.

_Prohibit the government from invoking war powers or other authorities to supersede surveillance rules in the future.

Further Reading:

President Bush Discusses Legislative Developments

President Bush Discusses the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Funding For Troops

Introduction to Jazz

“Satchmo” Louis Armstrong with his famous trumpet sounds and he was also known as the man with the raspy singing voice. This man was able to make a trumpet do what ever he wished it too, I often waited as a child, to see if he could make it walk. He was an icon from New Orleans.

by HRM Deborah

The origins of Jazz came about when people from Africa were put aboard ships as forced labor to America, especially to work on Plantations to increase the American economy of the time.

Nevertheless, to express there hardships of being forced labor, came about by music and song, to help relieve the suffering.

As in some other parts of the world, certain forms of poetry, also came into being because of suffering and not allowed to express certain feeling in the usual manner.

The flavor of Jazz is considered, West African in nature with the later influence of European and French, especially in New Orleans which is by many considered the birth place of not just Jazz, but the blues.

While some consider this type of music strictly American, it in actually is not because of the West African origins, but became considered more so, because of the people that was brought to America as forced labor.

It has been said from the beginning, that if one truly doesn’t suffer on the inside and feel the pain, they actually can not play Jazz or the blues effectively.

Some of the greatest Jazz musicians that most people think of, had there beginnings on the streets of New Orleans or in the seedy dives down in the French quarter, because before the civil rights movement (began in 1955) they were not allowed to play in the better places in the cities and this included other cities like in New York City‘s Harlem district, where the Cotton Club came into being with such Jazz musicians as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, Cab Calloway played and was not always kind to the Black musicians which temporary caused its closing after a race riot in 1936.

There are numerous aspects that a person could write on the subject of Jazz, but a true lover of Jazz has respect for the history as well as the contributions that not just black people made to the America fabric through this form of music, but great respect for the black community as a whole.

Palestine Okra Harvesting

A Palestinian farmer works on her okra field near the border between the Jewish sector and the Gaza Strip on 19 June 2008.
Palestinian farmers work on their okra field.

Okra is the one vegetable that is very hard to pick, because as you see in the pictures you need long sleeves and gloves. Picking okra is as though you are picking something from a nettle bush; one can itch, suffer certain types of pain or gain a type of rash trying to pick this vegetable with bare arms and hands.

With okra, one usually picks it at a certain stage of development because it is still tender. If one picks okra after it gets rather large, it is tough and stringy.

There is many variety of dishes that has the ingredient of okra, along with several ways to prepare okra by itself, that is very delightful.

These farmers look as though they have a bumper crop this year, like so may other’s in Palestine has been overjoyed this year with such a good harvest.

Bush tells flood-weary Iowa citizens he's listening

U.S. President George W. Bush surveying some of the devastation of Katrina, in New Orleans in 2005. At the briefing in Cedar Rapids, Bush, his shirt sleeves rolled up, told local officials that he came "just to listen to what you've got on your mind."

19 June 2008

By BEN FELLER

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -President Bush, surveying the aftermath of devastating floods during a lightning-quick tour of the Midwest on Thursday, assured residents and rescuers alike that he is listening to their concerns and understands their exhaustion.

"Obviously, to the extent we can help immediately, we will help," said Bush, still mindful of criticism that the government reacted slowly to Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

"You'll come back better," the president said while being briefed by state and local officials at a cinderblock emergency operations center set up at a community college here, part of a three-hour tour. "Sometimes it's hard to see it."

Bush was in Europe when tornadoes hit and heavy rains sent rivers surging over their banks, killing at least 24 people, the majority in Iowa. Flooding forced tens of thousands across six states to flee their homes and washed out millions of acres of prime farm and grazing lands. He made a point to try to show his deep concern while overseas and traveled to Iowa just two days after returning.

"I really don't have much of an opinion of his coming," said Lashawn Baker, 33, whose family was just starting to clean her flooded home in a southwest Cedar Rapids neighborhood. "It took him a long time to get to New Orleans and he didn't help any of those people, so I don't think he's going to do anything to help Cedar Rapids now that he's here."

Remembering Hurricane Katrina

A clip of the tragedies from Hurricane Katrina.

I was one of the many survivors of Hurricane Katina, in New Orleans and it still brings tears thinking that about 18,000 people who died; as well as the continuing devastation to such a beautiful historic city. My heart goes out, to the people suffering the flooding in Iowa.- HRM Deborah

Cedar Rapids was submerged in a dirty lake when the Cedar River crested almost 20 feet above flood stage. Now, with the floodwaters having receded, trash was everywhere and businesses and families were trying to determine what could be salvaged.

In Iowa City, a college town about 30 miles to the southeast, the damage was more limited when the Iowa River topped its banks.

But in Missouri and Illinois along the Mississippi River, the danger was still present — not past.

The river tore through a levee late Wednesday at Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis. Another levee still protected most of the town of 720 residents, but residents were urged to evacuate.

Another levee in Lincoln County, Mo., broke Thursday afternoon, threatening the tiny river town of Foley. Officials said nearly all the houses in the town of 200 residents could be flooded.

In the 150-resident village of Hamburg, Ill., also north of St. Louis, there was no levee to hold back the Mississippi, and Mayor Jim Fortner said about 50 prisoners were helping dozens of volunteers hastily add 2 to 3 feet to a half-mile wall of sandbags. The river, expected to continue rising, already had swamped the town's busiest street and significantly damaged seven homes.

"We have the resources and materials, but we need more people," Fortner said.

Another levee break earlier this week at Meyer, Ill., meanwhile, meant lower river levels for some towns downriver — Quincy, Ill., and Canton and Hannibal in Missouri — but only temporarily. The river was expected to rise again in all places on Friday.

The flooding wasn't expected to be quite as bad in St. Louis, but it was forcing the relocation of several upcoming festivals.

U.S. President Bush gestures during a statement to media during a tour of the Midwest flood damage on Thursday, 19 June 2008 in Iowa City, Iowa. From left is Bush, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa., Iowa City mayor Regenia Bailey, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Mari Culver, and Iowa Gov. Chet Culver.

At the briefing in Cedar Rapids, Bush, his shirt sleeves rolled up, told local officials that he came "just to listen to what you've got on your mind."

Noting that several hundred federal emergency workers were fanning across Iowa, he added: "That ought to help the people in the smaller communities know that somebody is there to listen to them."

Looking across the room full of local officials and military personnel, who have taken part in grueling search-and-rescue efforts, he said: "You're exhausted and I understand that."

Bush went from there on a helicopter tour that revealed an area that, though mud-caked, was beginning to return to normal. The president then visited Iowa City to the south, chatting with employees of a riverside company used as a staging area for volunteers, propping up spirits at a Red Cross emergency shelter and walking to the water's edge in a flooded-out neighborhood.

His shirt drenched in sweat, Bush said he brought a lot of federal officials along on his trip to make sure that they coordinate with their local counterparts now as well as when rebuilding begins.

"I really did want again to congratulate the local folks for showing great compassion, working hard, hugging people and giving people hope," he said.

The sluggish federal response when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005 was judged woefully inadequate and brought heavy criticism of Bush and FEMA. It also brought sensitivity on the part of federal officials each time disaster has struck since to show that things were working better.

FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison accompanied Bush to Iowa on Air Force One and praised the "great coordination" between federal, state and local leaders.

Paulison said one thing FEMA was doing differently was working better with other partners — the Army Corps of Engineers and even Wal-Mart — to distribute supplies. The agency also was placing stocks of sandbags and other supplies in states or towns where flooding hadn't hit yet or material had not been requested, just to be ready, he said.

A housing task force was being formed in every state to meet the next big challenge.

David Garratt, FEMA's acting head of disaster assistance, said during a conference call from Washington that the administration didn't believe there would be a large need for temporary housing and that what need there was would likely be handled "through existing rental resources."

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumed Republican nominee for president, also visited Iowa on Thursday in a tour separate from Bush's. His opponent, Democratic Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, helped fill sandbags over the weekend in Quincy, Ill.

_______

Uncut: Flood Waters Surge Through Iowa Town; Massive Midwest Flooding

Far beyond flooding, water rushes through Cedar Rapids Iowa. Reports say that 400 city blocks are underwater. Cedar River crested at a record-breaking 32 feet, 12 feet over the previous record set in 1979. A 100 ft breach in a levee in Des Moines occurred on 14 June 2008. The National Guard has been called out to help with a mandatory evacuation and have abandoned trying to reinforce a back up Berm. The area is now unprotected.

Abbas Impersonating a Government Official

Mahmoud Abbas (R) at the presidential palace in Sanaa on 19 June 2008. Abbas wrapped up a regional tour focused on the peace negotiations with Jewish people and prospects for reconciliation with the Palestine legal government (PLG) with a meeting in Yemen today.

by HRM Deborah

Mahmoud Abbas numerous times, for example in the picture above, is in the act of the crime of impersonating a government official.

Back in the time of Yasser Arafat, whose sole intention with the aid of the United States government was to be put in place to create a coup, against the legal government of Palestine.

This organization’s sole intention is not to bring peace to either the Jewish people or the Arab Palestinian people, but a collaborating organization bent on keeping an open door situation so the United States can further their foreign policies in the Middle East which is detrimental not only to the Middle East region, but to the whole of Palestine.

Mahmoud Abbas, after he murdered Yasser Arafat and took his place with the intention of furthering these goals and continues the coup against the legal government of Palestine, also within this capacity Abbas has committed numerous international as well as domestic crimes, while impersonating a government and this includes his organization.

It also should be understood, that Abbas’s organization has never believed in the well being of the Jewish people nor the Arab Palestinians, that are not Canaanite in there historical background.

Palestine has had one legal government and this government has been apart of the fabric of Palestine since 9,000 B.C., which happens to be the oldest monarchy in the history of the world and the only Caliph government in the Middle East to always have a Queen in the capacity of head of government; from only one family.

While Abbas and his organization would have the global community believe he is or is associated with government, the Queen of Palestine has been in full control of leadership to the whole of Palestine, even to this very moment, without exception.

Numerous government’s appreciate the Queen of Palestine and her leadership, as well as recognize her as the sole leadership of Palestine and have thanked her many times for her help and guidance not just within the capacity of her country, but in numerous situations with the benefit to help many in the global community; even while being subjected with the clouded ideal’s that the propaganda media along other aspects by U.S. President George W. Bush would have the global community believe otherwise, while working with Mahmoud Abbas in the coup.

Iran, Group 5+1 packages have common grounds, ambassador

19 June 2008

Moscow-Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Gholamreza Ansari said on Thursday that there are common grounds between the Iranian package and that of Group 5+1 presented by the European Union foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana.

Making the remark in a meeting with a number of Russian experts of the Orient Studies Institute of Russia, Ansari explained the package diplomacy underway between Iran and the Western governments saying that the diplomacy has been successful in light of the common grounds the packages from the two parties envisaged for settlement of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

Iran expects 5+1 to respond to the Iranian package of proposals for resolving regional and international issues, then, Tehran would reply to the European package, he noted.

Pointing to the recent threats of certain American and British officials against Iran, he said that such stance will bring about firm response and determination of the Iranian nation to deal with the US pressures more than ever.

"Iranians never retreat from their principles even when the US and the Western governments exerted pressures on Iran and threatened the Islamic country over the 30 years," he added.

"Iran abide by all its commitments on peaceful nuclear activities," he said, noting that the recent documents on the nature of Iran's nuclear program are counterfeit and artificial although Tehran responded to the question of western powers.

He further said that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified that Iran's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, and that there is no sign of diversion in the peaceful trend.

Asked about suspension of Iran-US talks on the Iraqi security, he replied that the US and President Bush unfortunately misused Iranians' efforts for restoring tranquility in Iraq to put an end to bloodshed and Iran is critical of the US military operations to crack down on the Iraqi people, particularly the Shia population.

He criticized the US administration for attributing the current tranquility in Iraq to its own military operations against the Iraqi people and said that Tehran evaluate the situation improper for continuing Iran-US talks on Iraq's security.

He further ruled out Bush's remarks on Iran's role in Iraq, Afghanistan and the region, adding that if Tehran had refrained from cooperating with other sides for restoring security and stability to the countries, the US would have endured more dilemmas.

FBI holds 300 for mortgage fraud

One law enforcement official said the frauds had cost victims $1bn.

19 June 2008

U.S.-The FBI says it has arrested about 300 property market players as part of its crackdown on mortgage fraud.

The arrests include estate agents and loan originators, who help homebuyers to take out loans.

Reported mortgage fraud has soared in the past year, with the most common type being mis-statement of assets.

Earlier in the day, two former Bear Stearns managers in New York were arrested following the collapse of a fund linked to sub-prime mortgages.

Further Reading:

Housing crisis brings Wall St arrests, veto threat

Stu Bykofsky: They've volunteered to rebuild New Orleans

19 June 2008

By Stu Bykofsky

NEW ORLEANS - I helped a presidential candidate fix up a home at Roman and Piety streets in the Upper Ninth Ward on Tuesday.

Not Obama, not McCain, not Clinton, not even Kucinich, for crying out loud. He is Daniel Kingery, who took a break from campaigning in Pennsylvania to offer his strong arms and carpentry skills to hang drywall in a home that had been flooded in August 2005.

That was when the Katrina-whipped Gulf of Mexico pushed water over the ugly-as-its-name Industrial Canal into neighborhoods of modest wood-frame homes,

A 46-year-old pony-tailed, burly, bearded blond, Kingery did most of the work, and most of the sweating, in the sweltering house that earlier was gutted by volunteers. I did most of the questioning and he did most of the answering as he measured, cut and power-drilled drywall into place on exposed wooden studs.

Kingery apologized for talking a lot, but excused himself with a smile by saying, "I am a presidential candidate."

Kingery has no money, he has no organization - he doesn't even have a name for his party because, he explains, that would politicize him, and the way politics is played today is one of the things wrong with America.

First he left his home in Willcox, Ariz., to campaign for president. Then he left the campaign trail to volunteer with Common Ground Relief, which has been fighting the Battle of New Orleans since it was founded by three volunteers, with $50, after Katrina.

They got to the devastated Lower Ninth Ward with food, water and clothing faster than any governmental agency, and then quickly opened a clinic in another stricken neighborhood, Algiers.

I understand why Common Ground must have appealed to Kingery, whose sweat soaked through his T-shirt as he worked in the dark house. Common Ground's Web site talks about "collectives" and "solidarity," which marks it as Marxist. Or Socialist. Or whatever.

When I called from Philadelphia to make arrangements for a visit, Common Ground media-relations man Sakura Kone helped get me get squared away, which led to a chat. Kone argued that reparations for slavery should be paid to African-Americans, and then we waltzed about whether English should be America's "official" language.

That debate aside, Common Ground volunteers have been here busting their butts for three years to help the poor and working class in predominantly African-American communities of the Crescent City. During its peak, from the summer of 2006 through April 2007, Common Ground had 500 volunteers on the ground. They have my respect, if not my agreement with all their ideas.

Volunteers who stay for days or weeks sleep in bunk beds in a chock-a-block Lower Ninth Ward Common Ground headquarters that has computers, but no air conditioners. It's a matter of priorities.

And since Common Ground can feed a volunteer for $20 a week, you know they're not eating at Ruth's Chris or the Commander's Palace.

Kingery stands out among the other volunteers as a weathered oak does among pine saplings. Shortly after the sun rose over Lake Borgne on Tuesday morning, some 30 volunteers gathered for that day's work assignments. Grass-cutting, construction and wetlands restoration were up for grabs. I went with the construction crew.

Nearly all the volunteers were college students or recent grads, from California to New Jersey. Most were white, joined by a dozen African-Americans of all ages from the Shiloh Old Sight Baptist Church in Stafford, Va.

Eneisha Berryman, 17, is with the church group and couldn't be more different from Kingery. She's young, black and not running for president.

The Baptist group - all are friends or relatives - appointed her to speak for them.

"We wanted to help, not just donate things, but work and see a difference," she says outside the house she would soon enter to learn about cutting drywall - and about stifling heat.

"We felt the need was more than back home, to help the people who lost everything," she says. They arrived Monday and will leave later today, no doubt feeling good and closer to God.

Kingery came down on May 13. "I was planning on being gone at the end of last month," he says, bending to pick some dead skin off shins turned fire-engine red by too much sun. He's not sure exactly when he'll leave New Orleans, but he has a presidential debate in Swarthmore July 3 that he says he will not miss.

His experience as a volunteer here has been "a little mixed," he says, with what he calls a surprising lack of communication and cooperation among volunteer groups. In a sad commentary, no one is surprised by fumbling by governmental agencies. Like afternoon thunderstorms here, it's expected.

"In other countries, governments step in to help," but that didn't happen here, says Kingery.

Maybe he'll change that if elected president.

Kingery took time off his presidential campaign to be here. Thom Pepper, 51, Common Ground's operations director, took a year off from his real-world job, selling real estate in Miami.

Like the 40 other organizers, he doesn't draw a salary. No one at Common Ground does. As we talk, an orange tabby named Fidel circles our legs.

Although he seems laid back and smiles, I sense Pepper's core is molten.

"It's a nightmare," he says. "The city's done very little, a lot of money has been spent," but full recovery is somewhere over the rainbow.

"The mayor and the city council have done a poor job," he says. Many of the volunteers buy into the conspiracy theory that the city doesn't want the Lower Ninth Ward to come back.

Some others say that the Lower Ninth shouldn't be rebuilt because it is too vulnerable to another flood. Some say that it is too valuable - and wouldn't a golf course go nicely there? Some say the city's leaders are racist. Some say they are classist.

Pepper says that 90 of the 150 former homeowners in the area surrounding Common Ground's headquarters have been located "and about half want to come back." They should be allowed to, because "this is their home," he says. Common Ground's home is at www.commongroundrelief.org. It could use donations of time, talent, materiel and money. The Battle of New Orleans is far from over. *

Giving Aid to Peace

Palestinian workers prepare goods for transport into Gaza as an army jeep passes by 19 June 2008 the Sufa crossing from the southern part of the Jewish sector into the Gaza Strip.

As the Egyptian-proposed ceasefire came into effect at 0600, between Mahmoud Abbas’s organization and the rest of Palestine; the United Nations, the Palestinian legal government (PLG), the Jewish people, as well as many in the global community, would not aid terrorism; while supplies where coming into the terrorists areas, certain supplies where being limited with the hope of a peaceful solution to the terrorism problem.

Palestinian workers load trucks goods with for transport into Gaza.

Jewish security stand by as a Palestinian truck loaded with hospital supplies heads for Gaza. They must be having a nice visit.

Palestinian workers load trucks with United Nations provided goods for transport into Gaza.

Palestinian workers load trucks with United nations provided goods for transport into Gaza.

A Palestinian worker loads a truck with United nations provided goods for transport into Gaza.

A Palestinian truck is loaded with hospital supplies before heading for Gaza.

Palestinian workers load trucks with supplies for transport into Gaza.

Cole seeks apology by United States to Native Americans

18 June 2008

By John Bresnahan

Rep. Tom Cole, a Chickasaw Indian, is pushing for an apology from Congress to Native Americans on behalf of the United States for centuries of mistreatment.

Cole offered his proposed apology as an amendment to H.R. 1328, the "Indian Health Care Improvement Act Amendments of 2007." That multi-billion dollar proposal, introduced by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and 57 other members, has not been scheduled for a vote yet.

I will reprint the entire amendment here because it's a fascinating, and noteworthy, proposal. I will point out that Cole specifically states that nothing in the amendment authorizes reparations to Native Americans from the U.S. government.

This is the full text of Cole's amendment:

TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. APOLOGY TO NATIVE PEOPLES OF UNITED STATES.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

(1) the ancestors of today's Native Peoples inhabited the land of the present-day United States since time immemorial and for thousands of years before the arrival of people of European descent;

(2) for millennia, Native Peoples have honored, protected, and stewarded this land we cherish;

(3) Native Peoples are spiritual people with a deep and abiding belief in the Creator, and for millennia Native Peoples have maintained a powerful spiritual connection to this land, as evidenced by their customs and legends;

(4) the arrival of Europeans in North America opened a new chapter in the history of Native Peoples;

(5) while establishment of permanent European settlements in North America did stir conflict with nearby Indian tribes, peaceful and mutually beneficial interactions also took place;

(6) the foundational English settlements in Jamestown, Virginia, and Plymouth, Massachusetts, owed their survival in large measure to the compassion and aid of Native Peoples in the vicinities of the settlements;

(7) in the infancy of the United States, the founders of the Republic expressed their desire for a just relationship with the Indian tribes, as evidenced by the Northwest Ordinance enacted by Congress in 1787, which begins with the phrase, ``The utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians'';

(8) Indian tribes provided great assistance to the fledgling Republic as it strengthened and grew, including invaluable help to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their epic journey from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Coast;

(9) Native Peoples and non-Native settlers engaged in numerous armed conflicts in which unfortunately, both took innocent lives, including those of women and children;

(10) the Federal Government violated many of the treaties ratified by Congress and other diplomatic agreements with Indian tribes;

(11) the United States forced Indian tribes and their citizens to move away from their traditional homelands and onto federally established and controlled reservations, in accordance with such Acts as the Act of May 28, 1830 (4 Stat. 411, chapter 148) (commonly known as the ``Indian Removal Act'');

(12) many Native Peoples suffered and perished--

(A) during the execution of the official Federal Government policy of forced removal, including the infamous Trail of Tears and Long Walk;

(B) during bloody armed confrontations and massacres, such as the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890; and

(C) on numerous Indian reservations;

13) the Federal Government condemned the traditions, beliefs, and customs of Native Peoples and endeavored to assimilate them by such policies as the redistribution of land under the Act of February 8, 1887 (25 U.S.C. 331; 24 Stat. 388, chapter 119) (commonly known as the ``General Allotment Act''), and the forcible removal of Native children from their families to faraway boarding schools where their Native practices and languages were degraded and forbidden;

(14) officials of the Federal Government and private United States citizens harmed Native Peoples by the unlawful acquisition of recognized tribal land and the theft of tribal resources and assets from recognized tribal land;

(15) the policies of the Federal Government toward Indian tribes and the breaking of covenants with Indian tribes have contributed to the severe social ills and economic troubles in many Native communities today;

(16) despite the wrongs committed against Native Peoples by the United States, Native Peoples have remained committed to the protection of this great land, as evidenced by the fact that, on a per capita basis, more Native Peoples have served in the United States Armed Forces and placed themselves in harm's way in defense of the United States in every major military conflict than any other ethnic group;

(17) Indian tribes have actively influenced the public life of the United States by continued cooperation with Congress and the Department of the Interior, through the involvement of Native individuals in official Federal Government positions, and by leadership of their own sovereign Indian tribes;

(18) Indian tribes are resilient and determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their unique cultural identities;

(19) the National Museum of the American Indian was established within the Smithsonian Institution as a living memorial to Native Peoples and their traditions; and

(20) Native Peoples are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, and among those are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

(b) Acknowledgment and Apology.--The United States, acting through Congress--

(1) recognizes the special legal and political relationship Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share;

(2) commends and honors Native Peoples for the thousands of years that they have stewarded and protected this land;

(3) recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes;

(4) apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on Native Peoples by citizens of the United States;

(5) expresses its regret for the ramifications of former wrongs and its commitment to build on the positive relationships of the past and present to move toward a brighter future where all the people of this land live reconciled as brothers and sisters, and harmoniously steward and protect this land together;

(6) urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in the history of the United States in order to bring healing to this land; and

(7) commends the State governments that have begun reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian tribes located in their boundaries and encourages all State governments similarly to work toward reconciling relationships with Indian tribes within their boundaries.

(c) Disclaimer.--Nothing in this section--

(1) authorizes or supports any claim against the United States; or

(2) serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.

Colors Of Islam

Everyone in the world should love each other, do good towards each other; for the sake of Allah and righteousness.

For this is one of the focal points of Islam, is to always give love and do good towards all people on the earth.

This is why many feel that Islam is not just the fastest growing religion in the world, but also the second largest; because everyone is welcome, but those who are not Muslim, is to be showed also with love and given kindness.

Nasheed by Dawud Wharnsby Ali

A Brighter Day

A Palestinian worker fills up a fuel truck in Gaza city on 19 June 2008. It should be further known that Palestine has not had a fuel shortage, for several months now.

Furthermore, as for the truce that went into effect today, was between Mahmoud Abbas’s terrorist organization deciding to have a peace truce, not just with the Jewish people, but with the Palestine legal government (PLG), was reported.

As usual in the media propaganda, they would have one believe an entirely different story.

Palestinian policemen play tennis at their headquarters on 19 June 2008 in Gaza city. While others are still patrolling the streets of Palestine, for the protection of citizens from crime.
Jewish soldiers play volleyball alongside their Merkeva tank at a forward post close to the border with the Gaza Strip near Kibbutz Ein Hashloshah.
Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) fighters return from their positions on the border between the Gaza Strip and the Jewish sector on 19 June 2008, as the peace truce has gone into effect.

Feeding the World

This is a law by Allah, which is the chain on how everyone is to be saved from starvation; this did not just include produce and meat, but everything that was necessary to fend off anyone from not having a full stomach.

For example, if a farmer had a good harvest of corn, let’s say, he goes to the market to sell, so his family does not go hungry. Then he feeds those who are poor in his country, which has no money; then what is left, is put for the global situation so no one will be hungry anywhere else.

What is interesting about this law, as far as I know, it can be found not just in Islam, but also Judaism.

President Bush vetoes farm bill, again

18 June 2008

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON- President Bush on Wednesday vetoed a $290 billion farm bill for a second time, sending it back to Congress after a printing error threatened the delivery of U.S. food aid abroad.

Most of the bill was enacted in May, when both the House and Senate easily overrode Bush’s first veto of the legislation. But 34 pages of the bill that would extend foreign aid programs were mistakenly missing from the parchment copy Congress sent the White House, so that section has not yet become law.

To ensure the aid continues amid a global hunger crisis - and to prevent future legal challenges - Congress and Bush are again passing, vetoing and enacting the entire bill to provide farm subsidies, food stamps and other nutrition programs over the next five years.

The mistake has delayed shipments of food to Ethiopia, Myanmar and Somalia, said Stephen Driesler, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s deputy assistant administrator for legislative and public affairs.

“We have orders ready to go,” Driesler said Wednesday.

Both chambers should easily come up with the two-thirds majority needed to override the second veto. The Senate passed the bill 77-15, and the House passed it 306-110.

Both the House and Senate were expected to take up the veto override Wednesday.

Bush contends the legislation, which extends agriculture and nutrition programs, is too expensive and too generous with subsidies for farmers who are enjoying record-high prices and incomes. He opposed the legislation from the start and began threatening to veto it last July.

About two-thirds of the farm law pays for domestic nutrition programs such as food stamps, which will see increases of around $1 billion a year. About $40 billion is for farm subsidies, and almost $30 billion will go to farmers to protect environmentally sensitive farmland.

Doctors Claim Torture of Detainees

18 June 2008

By PAMELA HESS

WASHINGTON- Medical examinations of former terrorism suspects held by the U.S. military at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, found evidence of torture and other abuse that resulted in serious injuries and mental disorders, according to a human rights group.

For the most extensive medical study of former U.S. detainees published so far, Physicians for Human Rights had doctors and mental health professionals examine 11 former prisoners. The group alleges finding evidence of U.S. torture and war crimes and accuses U.S. military health professionals of allowing the abuse of detainees, denying them medical care and providing confidential medical information to interrogators that they then exploited.

"Some of these men really are, several years later, very severely scarred," said Barry Rosenfeld, a psychology professor at Fordham University who conducted psychological tests on six of the 11 detainees covered by the study. "It's a testimony to how bad those conditions were and how personal the abuse was."

One Iraqi prisoner, identified only as Yasser, reported being subjected to electric shocks three times and being sodomized with a stick. His thumbs bore round scars consistent with shocking, according to the report obtained by The Associated Press. He would not allow a full rectal exam.

Another Iraqi, identified only as Rahman, reported he was humiliated by being forced to wear women's underwear, stripped naked and paraded in front of female guards, and was shown pictures of other naked detainees. The psychological exam found that Rahman suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and had sexual problems related to his humiliation, the report said.

The report came as the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed documents showing military lawyers warned the Pentagon that methods it was using post-9/11 violated military, U.S. and international law. Those objections were overruled by the top Pentagon lawyer.

President Bush said in 2004, when the prison abuse was revealed, that it was the work of "a few American troops who dishonored our country and disregarded our values." Bush and other U.S. officials have consistently denied that the U.S. tortures its detainees.

Physicians for Human Rights, an advocacy group based in Cambridge, Mass., that investigates abuse around the world and advocates for global health and human rights, did not identify the 11 former prisoners to protect their privacy. Seven were held in Abu Ghraib between late 2003 and summer of 2004, a period that coincides with the known abuse of prisoners at the hands of some of their American jailers. Four of the prisoners were held at Guantanamo beginning in 2002 for one to almost five years. All 11 were released without criminal charges.

Those examined alleged that they were tortured or abused, including sexually, and described being shocked with electrodes, beaten, shackled, stripped of their clothes, deprived of food and sleep, and spit and urinated on.

The abuse of some prisoners by their American captors is well documented by the government's own reports. Once-secret documents show that the Pentagon and Justice Department allowed, at least for a time, forced nakedness, isolation, sleep deprivation and humiliation at both Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and at Abu Ghraib.

Because the medical examiners did not have access to the 11 patients' medical histories prior to their imprisonment, it was not possible to know whether any of the prisoners' ailments, disabilities and scars pre-dated their confinement. The U.S. military says an al-Qaida training manual instructs members, if captured, to assert they were tortured during interrogation.

However, doctors and mental health professionals stated they could link the prisoners' claims of abuse while in U.S. detention to injuries documented by X-rays, medical exams and psychological tests.

"The level of the time, thoroughness and rigor of the exams left me personally without question about the credibility of the individuals," said Dr. Allen Keller, one of the doctors who conducted the exams, in an interview with the AP. "The findings on the physical and psychological exams were consistent with what they reported."

All 11 former detainees reported being subjected to:

_Stress positions, including being suspended for hours by the arms or tightly shackled for days.

_Prolonged isolation and hooding or blindfolding, a form of sensory deprivation.

_Extreme heat or cold. _Threats against themselves, their families or friends from interrogators or guards.

Ten said they were forced to be naked, some for days or weeks. Nine said they were subjected to prolonged sleep deprivation. At least six said they were threatened with military working dogs, often while naked. Four reported being sodomized, subjected to anal probing, or threatened with rape.

The patients underwent intensive, two-day long exams following standards and methods used worldwide to document torture.

"We found clear physical and psychological evidence of torture and abuse, often causing lasting suffering," he said.

Keller, who directs the Bellevue/New York University Program for Survivors of Torture, said the treatment the detainees reported were "eerily familiar" to stories from other torture survivors around the world. He said the sexual humiliation of the prisoners was often the most traumatic experience.

Most former detainees are out of reach of Western doctors because they are either in Iraq or have been returned to their home countries from Guantanamo.

On the Net:

The report: http://www.brokenlives.info

Afghanistan and Iraq drive up global refugee toll

School pupils look at a representation of a Darfur village supposedly destroyed during the war, in central London's Trafalgar Square, build by UNHCR as part of global commemorations of World Refugee Day.

17 June 2008

By Laura MacInnis

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan drove up the number of world refugees for a second straight year in 2007, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said there were 11.4 million refugees under its responsibility at the end of 2007, up from 9.9 million the year before.

"Much of the increase in refugees in 2007 was a result of the volatile situation in Iraq," the UNHCR said in a report, noting Iraqis and Afghans were nearly half the refugees under its care.

The number of people displaced by conflicts - including those uprooted in their own countries, who are not strictly defined as refugees - rose to 26 million from 24.4 million, the UNHCR said, citing 2007 figures from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

"We have now seen two years of increases, and that is a concern," said Antonio Guterres, head of the Geneva-based agency. Continued

Kristin Davis Visit's Palestine

U.S. actress Kristin Davis, of the TV series 'Sex and the City', is in Palestine to promote cosmetics on 18 June 2008 at the Dead Sea.

Personally, I have never cared for that particular TV program, because it tends to flaunt promiscuity, which I do not approve of.

As for Kristin Davis, I believe I have seen her in other things besides that program and she was a delight.

Furthermore, I do hope she is having a pleasant, productive visit to Palestine.