Anti-NSA protest and Petition Letter to Members of Congress

Stop Watching Us.

The revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance apparatus, if true, represent a stunning abuse of our basic rights. We demand the U.S. Congress reveal the full extent of the NSA’s spying programs.
—————————————————————-

Dear Members of Congress,

We write to express our concern about recent reports published in the Guardian and the Washington Post, and acknowledged by the Obama Administration, which reveal secret spying by the National Security Agency (NSA) on phone records and Internet activity of people in the United States.

The Washington Post and the Guardian recently published reports based on information provided by an intelligence contractor showing how the NSA and the FBI are gaining broad access to data collected by nine of the leading U.S. Internet companies and sharing this information with foreign governments. As reported, the U.S. government is extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track a person’s movements and contacts over time. As a result, the contents of communications of people both abroad and in the U.S. can be swept in without any suspicion of crime or association with a terrorist organization.

Leaked reports also published by the Guardian and confirmed by the Administration reveal that the NSA is also abusing a controversial section of the PATRIOT Act to collect the call records of millions of Verizon customers. The data collected by the NSA includes every call made, the time of the call, the duration of the call, and other “identifying information” for millions of Verizon customers, including entirely domestic calls, regardless of whether those customers have ever been suspected of a crime. The Wall Street Journal has reported that other major carriers, including AT&T and Sprint, are subject to similar secret orders.

This type of blanket data collection by the government strikes at bedrock American values of freedom and privacy. This dragnet surveillance violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protect citizens’ right to speak and associate anonymously, guard against unreasonable searches and seizures, and protect their right to privacy.

We are calling on Congress to take immediate action to halt this surveillance and provide a full public accounting of the NSA’s and the FBI’s data collection programs. We call on Congress to immediately and publicly:

1. Enact reform this Congress to Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the state secrets privilege, and the FISA Amendments Act to make clear that blanket surveillance of the Internet activity and phone records of any person residing in the U.S. is prohibited by law and that violations can be reviewed in adversarial proceedings before a public court;
2. Create a special committee to investigate, report, and reveal to the public the extent of this domestic spying. This committee should create specific recommendations for legal and regulatory reform to end unconstitutional surveillance;
3. Hold accountable those public officials who are found to be responsible for this unconstitutional surveillance.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

So far as I post this

Signatures so far

548,137 as of

11:52 am EST 4/7/13

Update

Signatures so far

552,250

9:19am EST 5/7/13

Go HERE to send your letter off to your Members of Congress.

Be sure to pass this on. The more who send off this letter the better.

There are also Protests across the US today, July 4 2013

There are a few others in other countries as well.

RESTORE THE FOURTH

For locations of Protests Go HERE

Be sure to pass this on to all Americans.

For Updates on the protests Go HERE

Haven’t found anything on the US main stream media yet, (not surprised) but did find these photos

A few pictures of the protests in the US

Update July 5 2013

More photos and information on the Rally’s

Internet activists rally against NSA with ‘Restore the Fourth’ movement

“Activists Protest Government Surveillance, NSA on July 4, 2013: Restore the Fourth Amendment”>Activists Protest Government Surveillance, NSA on July 4, 2013

Related

Anti-War Activists Targeted as ‘Domestic Terrorists’

Very few of the Main Stream media in the US have reported this Protest which took place in many places across the US.

Seems there was almost a total Black out of these protests.
ABC showed a small Segment.

Google Search
This is a sad day for the American people. A “Media Blackout”, does say a lot about, how the Citizens of the US are kept in the dark however.

A local news station reported on the protest in Minneapolis

Look for US media reports on this event. If you find very few, don’t be surprised. A Media Blackout is an indicator, of how the American public is manipulated and the truth is kept from them.Absolutely shameful.So what else is the US main stream media keeping from Americans?Then we have this loss of Freedom

Veterans on Trial for Peaceable Assembly at Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Update July 6 2013

More pictures and Video

‘1984 not instruction manual’: Thousands protest NSA spying across US

Once demonstrations wrapped up organizers posted a message on Reddit, saying “It’s isn’t over!” – calling for an as yet unspecified Step 2 of the protest. They said details will be made public on Monday.

Clapper lied to Congress

March 12, 2013- Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) asks questions in Senate Intelligence Committee on warrantless geolocation surveillance and National Security Agency tracking.

At the end of this video James Clapper states, they do not collect information/data on millions of Americans. That of course is blatant lie, as we now know. Making a statement as such, under oath is a crime.

If you lie to Congress, it is a felony and you can/should go to prison for it.

On March 12 when Sen Ron Wyden questioned Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who was testifying in the Senate under oath, the senator, like any good lawyer, knew exactly what he was asking and chose his words carefully.

“Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Wyden asked. He didn’t ask whether the NSA is reading our emails or listening to our phone calls. He used the all-inclusive “any type of data at all” and he was questioning the chief intelligence officer of the United States — and man who is perfectly aware of the breadth and nuance that attaches to the term “data.” Clapper doesn’t need a staff member to tutor him on the meaning of metadata — that is, to explain that this too is a form of data.

In a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, Clapper now claims that when he denied the NSA is collecting data on million of Americans, “my answer focused on the collection of the content of communications.”

He could have said: “I gave an answer to a question I hadn’t been asked.”

He now says: “My response was clearly erroneous — for which I apologize.”

To call it erroneous is to imply that he made a mistake rather than that he was intentionally deceptive. That admission would be a confession to breaking the law. At this point, Clapper seems to think he can brush aside accusations that he committed perjury.

Several senators are clearly unimpressed by Clapper’s explanation.

“It now appears clear that the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, lied under oath to Congress and the American people,” Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) tweeted.

“Perjury is a serious crime … [and] Clapper should resign immediately,” he said.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that Clapper had broken the law, comparing him to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, who has been charged with espionage.

“Mr. Clapper lied in Congress in defiance of the law in the name of security,” Paul said on CNN last month. “Mr. Snowden told the truth in the name of privacy. So, I think there will be a judgment, because both of them broke the law, and history will have to determine.”

Wyden, who knew about the NSA programs when he pressed Clapper on them, said that Clapper was preventing Congress from conducting oversight.

“This job cannot be done responsibly if Senators aren’t getting straight answers to direct questions,” Wyden said in a statement last month.

Source

Clapper is still coming up with new lies/excuses for his lies.

He also attempted to come up with and excuse as to why no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found in Iraq.

In 2003, Clapper, was head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ: WEAPONS SEARCH; Iraqis Removed Arms Material, U.S. Aide Says

By DOUGLAS JEHL
October 29, 2003

The director of a top American spy agency said Tuesday that he believed that material from Iraq’s illicit weapons program had been transported into Syria and perhaps other countries as part of an effort by the Iraqis to disperse and destroy evidence immediately before the recent war.

The official, James R. Clapper Jr., a retired lieutenant general, said satellite imagery showing a heavy flow of traffic from Iraq into Syria, just before the American invasion in March, led him to believe that illicit weapons material ”unquestionably” had been moved out of Iraq.

”I think people below the Saddam Hussein-and-his-sons level saw what was coming and decided the best thing to do was to destroy and disperse,” General Clapper, who leads the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, said at a breakfast with reporters.

He said he was providing a personal assessment. But he said ”the obvious conclusion one draws” was that there ”may have been people leaving the scene, fleeing Iraq, and unquestionably, I am sure, material.” A spokesman for General Clapper’s agency, David Burpee, said he could not provide further evidence to support the general’s statement.

But other American intelligence officials said General Clapper’s theory was among those being pursued in Iraq by David Kay, a former United Nations weapons inspector who is leading the American effort to uncover the weapons cited by the Bush administration as the major reason for going to war against Iraq.

General Clapper’s comments came as the Central Intelligence Agency prepared to defend its prewar assertions that Iraq had chemical and biological weapons and that it sought to reconstitute its nuclear program. The director of central intelligence, George J. Tenet, has written a letter to the chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence saying the agency will be ready to provide an assessment by late November.

In the letter, the contents of which were described by several intelligence officials on Tuesday, Mr. Tenet proposed that a team headed by John McLaughlin, the deputy director of central intelligence, provide a briefing for the committee after Nov. 20, when the agency’s internal review is expected to be completed.

General Clapper’s agency is responsible for interpreting satellite photographs and other imagery. He declined to answer a question about whether he believed that illicit Iraqi weapons material might have been smuggled into any other country. Source

One may now think, he was anything, but truthful, in his assessment.

Something to ponder on for a while.

As we all well know, the war in Iraq was based on lies.

US Postal Service photographing 160 billion letters annually

Navada

It’s been a few hundred years since the Third Amendment was written to keep King George from quartering British troops in American homes, but a lawsuit just filed in Nevada suggests it’s as relevant as ever.

The framers of the Constitution ratified the Third Amendment to ensure citizens would never again have to accommodate soldiers, but a few centuries later it’s become more-or-less an antiquated law that’s rarely referenced in federal court. That changed recently when a family from Henderson, Nevada accused the local police department of constitutional violations after officers of the law allegedly took residence in two neighborhood homes.

According to a legal filing first obtained by Courthouse News Service, a handful of Henderson Police Department officers and the city itself are being sued for an array of charges — including Third Amendment violations — over an incident that mirrors the making of the American Revolution.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs say police officers demanded they be allowed to occupy two homes owned by their clients on the city’s Eveningside Avenue in 2011 in order to conduct an investigation involving a neighbor’s residence. When the owners refused to comply with the request, they were reportedly arrested for obstruction and brought to jail.

Police were investigating an incident at 363 Eveningside Avenue that July when Officer Christopher Worley called up the occupant of a neighboring property, Anthony Mitchell, and said he’d need to use his house in order to gain a ‘tactical advantage’ over the neighbor’s residence. Mitchell reportedly made it clear that he did not want to get involved in the probe and told Worley he would not be able to offer assistance. According to the lawsuit, Officer David Cawthorn, Sgt. Michael Waller and Worley all then “conspired among themselves to force Anthony Mitchell out of his residence and to occupy his home for their own use.”

“It was determined to move to 367 Eveningside and attempt to contact Mitchell. If Mitchell answered the door he would be asked to leave. If he refused to leave he would be arrested for Obstructing a Police Officer. If Mitchell refused to answer the door, force entry would be made and Mitchell would be arrested,” the report determined.

Moments later, the officers “arrayed themselves in front of plaintiff Anthony Mitchell’s house and prepared to execute their plan,” after which they “loudly commanded” they be let inside. Seconds later, Mitchell’s door was knocked down with a metal battering ram and the police entered his home.

“As plaintiff Anthony Mitchell stood in shock, the officers aimed their weapons at Anthony Mitchell and shouted obscenities at him and ordered him to lie down on the floor,” the suit alleges.

As the police moved into the home, Mitchell was reportedly called an “asshole” by the cops, ordered to crawl on the floor and then shot several times with non-lethal ‘pepperball rounds’ from close range. He was then arrested for obstructing an officer while the cops combed through his house without permission, but not before they also opened fire at the plaintiff’s dog, prompting it to howl “in fear and pain.”

At the same time, officers approached Anthony’s parents down the block at 362 Eveningside and asked father Michael Mitchell if he’d accompany them back to a local ‘command center’ to assist with negotiating the surrender of the neighbor suspected of domestic violence. When he got there, though, he became concerned that the cops had tricked him into leaving so they could try to gain access to yet another home. Michael Mitchell then tried to head back home, but when he left the command center he was arrested, handcuffed and placed in the back of a cop car.

Attorney for the family say there was no reasonable grounds to detain Michael Mitchell, nor probable cause to suspect him of committing any crime. That didn’t keep officers from holding both him and his son Anthony for nine hours, however, before they were ultimately released after posting bond.

All criminal counts against the Mitchells were later dismissed with prejudiced, but the family has now lobbed charges of their own. Their attorney is asking for a trial by jury to hear the case and ideally award his clients punitive damages for violations of the Third, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, assault and battery, conspiracy, defamation, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, negligence and emotional distress. Source

Recent

Syria: A few Insights

Iraq War Veterans “Last Words”

California man faces 13 years in jail for scribbling anti-bank messages in chalk

Occupy Wall Street Updates

Over 4,000 have been arrested to date.

Police brutality is growing.

Police Evicted from Occupy UC Davis after Pepper Spraying Peaceful Protesters

November 18 3011

If you haven’t seen this video yet from yesterday’s police action at Occupy UC Davis, you have to watch it, and watch it through the end. Honestly… it brought tears to my eyes. Tears of joy.

It starts with a group of students quietly and peaceful sitting on the ground and linking arms as they are viciously pepper sprayed by UC Davis police… officers whose job it is to protect them. You can’t see from this video, but reports and photos from the campus newspaper, the California Aggie, show that the students were sitting in a circle around a small group of tents at an encampment in the university quad.

The attack on the students is provoked by nothing except their refusal to obey police orders. The usual chaos ensues for a few minutes. Victims shriek in pain, while some in the crowd frantically search for water. Several of the protesters are cuffed and dragged away, rather than receiving the medical attention they need. It is outrageous. It is unforgivable. And then something amazing happens.

The remaining students, who far outnumber the contingent of police, slowly start to encircle the officers while chanting “Shame on you!” The chants get louder and more menacing as the crowd gets closer, herding the police into a defensive huddle. Officers raise their weapons toward the crowd, warning them to back off, but at this distance and in these numbers, their riot gear would offer them little protection should the crowd suddenly charge. Sensing their advantage, the students change their chant to the more defiant “Whose university? Our university!” Tensions rise. One twitchy trigger finger and anything could happen. Then a lone voice initiates the familiar call and response of the human mic:

Voice: “Mic check!”
Crowd: “Mic check!”

Voice: “We are willing…”
Crowd: “We are willing…”

Voice: “To give you a brief moment…”
Crowd: “To give you a brief moment…”

Voice: “Of peace…”
Crowd: “Of peace…”

Voice: “In order to take your weapons…”
Crowd: “In order to take your weapons…”

Voice: “And your friends…”
Crowd: “And your friends…”

Voice: “And go.”
Crowd: “And go.”

Voice: “Please do not return…”
Crowd: “Please do not return…”

Voice: “We are giving you a moment of peace.”
Crowd: “We are giving you a moment of peace.”

The crowd then starts chanting “You can go! You can go!”, and after a few moments the police turn their backs to the crowd and do exactly that, wisely taking advantage of the offered truce, and eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd.

Two quick observations. First, anybody who defends the use of pepper spray in situations like this is not only defending police brutality, but clearly advocating for the incitement of violence. Everybody involved, the officers and the students, are fortunate that the crowd showed such admirable restraint.

Second, anybody who still dismisses civil disobedience of this sort—resisting the removal of illegal encampments—as either inappropriate or counterproductive to the message and aims of the Occupy movement, has their head stuck thoroughly up their ass. This is what democracy looks like. Source

Scott Olsen suffered a skull fracture during tear-gas filled clashes between police and demonstrators on Oct. 25. Dottie Guy of Iraq Veterans Against the War said Sunday that Olsen was released last week. She says he can now read and write, but still has trouble talking.

Scott Olsen, Iraq War Veteran Hurt In Occupy Oakland Protests

Police Brutality

Health Hazards of Pepper Spray

A protester is arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers after he attempted to join a group of Occupy LA demonstrators occupying a park in front of the Bank of America building, November 17, 2011 in downtown Los Angeles. Several dozen were arrested by the LAPD after marching through downtown. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

For more photo’s and information go to the link below. They have over 50 photo’s to date.

OWS protesters call police tactics “excessive”

Retired Captain Ray Lewis of the Philadelphia police has joined Occupy Wall Street and gives his perspective on the general police mentality.

OWS video: NYPD arrest Philly police retired captain Raymond Lewis

Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray
during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 at Westlake
Park in Seattle. Protesters gathered in the intersection of 5th Avenue and
Pine Street after marching from their camp at Seattle Central Community
College in support of Occupy Wall Street. Many refused to move from the
intersection after being ordered by police. Police then began spraying pepper
spray into the gathered crowd
hitting dozens of people. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
Dorli Rainey has a few things to say. Check link below

84-year-old: subdued with pepper spray, overwhelmed by attention

More Photo's HERE

Oakland Cops Beat Iraq war veteran Kayvan Sabehgi

Protester and three-tour American veteran Kayvan Sabehgi was beaten by Oakland police during the Occupy protest’s general strike on 2 November. Sabehgi, who was ‘completely peaceful’, according to witnesses, was left with a lacerated spleen. It is all too obvious the police attacked him. Sabehgi, 32, an Oakland resident and former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has since undergone surgery on his spleen. He says it took hours for him to be taken to hospital, despite complaining of severe pain.

End the wars, regulate the banks, rid the US of corruption,
 government corruption included.
Audit the Privately owned Federal Reserve and eliminate it.
Get a real Central Bank owned by the people of the US,
not a private Central Bank filled with Corruption.
 The US government must work for the people and not the corporations.
The citizens of the US are fed up with corruption.
Get rid of the corrupt Lobby groups. All of them.
Some include
Corporate Lobby groups.
Israeli Lobby groups.
Private Prison Lobby Groups.
Drug Lobby Groups for pharma companies.
Oil Lobby Groups
The list goes on and on.

It is also time for the mainstream media to start telling the truth.
No more lies on behalf of the Government.
No more lies for the corporations.
No more lies. Journalist must do their job not tow the lies.
Now if that happened that would be a miracle. 

The world is fed up with US corruption. It is destroying the World.
All Free Trade Agreements must be revisited.
They have caused much poverty World Wide.

 A few other Corrupt entities on the planet.

1. NATO
2. UN
3. World Bank
4. IMF
5. WTO

The list is longer, but these area few of the worst. They attempt to control the entire world, as well as the Governments of many  Countries. They are the real Dictators.

Around 1.5 million homeless as US enters 2011

December 30 2010

With the New Year just a day ahead, the United States has about 1.5 million people in need of shelter. How dire is the situation? We got some insight from Massachusetts social worker Jay S. Levy.

Jay S. Levy’s recently published book Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing (Loving Healing Press, 2010) is about homelessness and the issues related to outreach counseling, case management, and advocacy for long-term and episodically homeless individuals. Jay’s book presents real-life narratives of homeless people with whom the author worked to help them with housing, care, and treatment. The book discusses several key points involved in successful transition of people from homelessness to housing, and afterward. Jay has spent the last 20 years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He is currently employed by Massachusetts’ Eliot CHS-Homeless Services as the Western and Central MA Regional Manager for the statewide SAMHSA-PATH Program. In the following conversation, Jay talks about the fundamental facts and findings on homelessness, drawing on his personal experience of working for and with the homeless. Ernest: Hello Jay! It’s the first time for me to talk to an expert about homelessness. Now the general view of a homeless person is one who lives in the open and can’t financially afford living in a house. Is that correct? Jay: Firstly, thanks for the opportunity to discuss the important issue of homelessness. This is a very broad issue and the word homeless can encompass many things. It refers to individuals as well as to families. People are considered homeless if they are residing at a shelter, or outside, or in a vehicle, or any place that is normally not meant for human habitation. Some definitions of homelessness include the large numbers of people doubled up or couch surfing… adults or families who have no home of their own, but are dependent upon others for shelter. The HUD definition of homelessness does not include this large number of doubled up persons and is more restricted to counting people who are living outside or residing in homeless shelters. As you’ve mentioned, there is almost always a financial issue that intersects with any homeless situation, but the reasons and causes of homelessness are numerous. Ernest: So, as we speak here, how many people are homeless in America? Jay: There are various estimates and counts that are different due to either the definition of homelessness or the methodology used. Every year, HUD authorizes a point in time count that is done by the various continuums of care (regional networks) across the nation. The 2009 count reports over 643,000 persons, which is composed of approximately 63% individuals and 37% families and children. It is a one-night snapshot of homelessness, so the number is far less than reflected in the yearly count (HUD AHAR, 2010) that estimates over 1.5 million people seeking shelter. This includes the vast majority of short-term homeless folks that use the shelter on a temporary basis, while in between jobs and relationships, or for some other reason lack access to income or affordable housing. Also, it should be noted that the vast majority of adults that comprise homeless families are women, while homeless single adults are predominantly men. When you factor in the unsheltered population throughout an entire year or other definitions of homelessness, the estimates range from 2.3 to 3.5 million people who are homeless annually (Burt and Aron). A researcher by the name of Dennis Culhane has shared some important data that indicates that over a one year period, approximately 80% of individuals experiencing homelessness are in shelters on a short-term basis due to temporary setbacks resulting from job loss and lack of access to housing. In fact, our observations (among outreach workers) have confirmed that the vast majority of homeless persons very quickly cycle in and out of homelessness. That being said, jobs have really dried up and the economic tailspin has led to greater than nine percent unemployment. This has already negatively impacted family homelessness where the numbers have steadily risen over the past couple of years and there is concern that a similar trend may be now occurring with individuals. Ernest: What are some other reasons besides financial fragility that render people homeless in America? Jay: There are many things that are considered contributing factors that go beyond income and affordable housing issues. What we find among homeless individuals is a range of functioning levels, as well as chronic medical, substance abuse, and mental health issues are all part of the picture in conjunction with poverty and lack of affordable housing. Trauma and homelessness are clearly interlocked. What one experiences in order to become homeless can be emotionally devastating. The lasting effects may or may not warrant the DSM diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but its impact remains profound and enduring. Sub-groups among the long-term homeless have experienced trauma at different levels. In fact, it is not unusual to meet homeless persons who have experienced layered trauma from an array of traumatic events. Veterans account for at least 13% of homeless individuals in America (HUD AHAR, 2010, p. 16) and many have experienced combat trauma. While less frequent, it is not unusual to meet homeless men and women, with foster care histories, who report profound physical and/or sexual trauma during their childhoods. Further, there are others who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI). An impact brain injury can cause major functional impairment, as well as significant psychological difficulty from the traumatic event that caused it. In addition, the high occurrence of substance abuse among homeless individuals (HUD AHAR, 2010, p. 22) and the associated lack of judgment and unstable relationships can result in the increased likelihood of witnessing or directly experiencing personal violence. This is especially true when you consider the unsafe living conditions that homeless persons often endure. The numbers of people who are homeless and have experienced trauma are significant, and so it is vital that a trauma-informed approach is adopted and consistently utilized. Finally, it should be noted that one of the main causes of homelessness is institutional discharges. Whether it be from foster care, the hospitals (mental health & medical), or the jails, people are discharged on a daily basis into homelessness without access to affordable housing and without adequate follow up plans. The long-term homeless are comprised of unaccompanied adults and couples who have been homeless for a year or more, as well as folks who have experienced multiple episodes of homelessness. Many of these people suffer from chronic medical issues, mental illness, and addictions, as well as from not having a home. We call this group the chronically homeless and this is where my expertise and interest converges. A significant percentage of this group consists of highly vulnerable people and unfortunately, every year many of them die from untreated illness and/or exposure to the elements. Our mission is to reach out to long-term homeless individuals and to build pathways to housing and needed treatment. My book tells the stories of different people experiencing long-term homelessness and gives an intricate view of the challenges inherent to building these pathways. In many instances, the outreach worker and client go on a figurative and literal journey in pursuit of housing, stability, and a better quality of life. That’s why my book is entitled “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing”. I want to get beyond the numbers and tell people’s stories in an effort to provide a better connection between policy, programs, clinical approaches, and what people are really experiencing on the ground. Ernest: I assume the homeless are more vulnerable to accidents and diseases. What kinds of threats/misfortunes are these homeless people generally prone to, as tells your experience? Jay: The world of a person experiencing homelessness is fraught with challenges to one’s safety and it is not unusual to witness or experience violence. Many homeless individuals avoid the shelters due to fear for their own safety or concerns around their belongings being stolen. However, there is a catch 22 because if you stay outside in areas that either get exceedingly cold or hot, you are at risk for issues ranging from dehydration and heat stroke to frostbite and hypothermia. Many of the homeless we meet suffer from chronic untreated medical conditions. A national survey of homeless providers and their clients (Burt, et al. 1999, p. xix) found that 46% of these clients report chronic health conditions such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, etc. These health issues, as well as chronic mental illness and addiction, are only exacerbated by unsafe, substandard living conditions that lack basic access to food, clean clothes, sanitary bathroom facilities, and a secure place to sleep. Additional research (Hwang et al., 1998; Hwang, 2000) shows that adults who are homeless and unsheltered for at least 6 months are at high risk of death if they fit one or more of the following criteria: age above 60, three or more visits to the emergency room during the prior 3 months, triple diagnosed (major mental illness, substance abuse, medical illness), history of frostbite and/or hypothermia or immersion foot, other medical conditionscirrhosis, heart failure, renal failure. When one considers the impact of unstable and chaotic environments on health issues, it’s hard to fathom why healthcare professionals and residential programs serving at-risk homeless individuals have often prioritized compliance with treatment above housing placement. It is clear that successful treatment is often dependent upon living conditions that promote, rather than diminish, health and safety. This is one of the main reasons why housing first initiatives and harm reduction approaches are vital to successfully addressing long term homelessness. Ernest: Okay Jay, tell us a little about the resources and services available to a person experiencing homelessness? Jay: I have found that many people with in the homeless community are very savvy as to where to find needed resources and services. The outreach worker is well served to use this naturally evolving community resource base, in addition to surfing the Internet or abiding by local service directories. That being said… one of the more important tasks of outreach work is to help people to become acquainted and eligible for the array of basic services and resources that are available, as well as serve as a guide through the bureaucratic maze that one inevitably encounters. It is critical that homeless persons are able to access what they need in order to survive and move beyond homelessness. Most major urban centers such as Washington DC, New York City, and Boston provide access to meal programs, shelters, Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), Social Security offices, and housing authorities, as well as other homeless providers. However, smaller urban centers and rural areas often lack needed resources, making it difficult to find basic things… like food and shelter! In addition, public transportation is often not available to help people reach more resource and service rich areas. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the more exciting developments has been the promulgation of Housing First alternatives. A housing first approach recognizes that the critical intervention is to house people as rapidly as possible, while simultaneously offering support services, but not require treatment as a prerequisite to getting housed. This approach has shown some initial success by demonstrating housing retention and reducing the financial costs associated with homelessness (Stefancic and Tsemberis, 2007). Out in Western MA, where I work, and many other places, such as Denver, NYC, and Boston, we have begun providing affordable housing alternatives with support services that long-term homeless persons can easily access as long as they’re agreeable to taking on the challenges of paying rent, getting along with neighbors, and taking care of their apartment. There is some compelling evidence that housing First Programs have not only reduced financial costs and the numbers of unsheltered long-term homeless individuals, but it has also saved people’s lives. Many of the people who are among the long-term homeless are untreated while suffering from major mental illnesses, addictions, and chronic medical issues. They often lack the necessary insight and judgment to accept needed treatment services unless they are first housed and then provided with the opportunity to gradually build trusting relationships with service providers. Housing First can and does eventually lead to treatment, while keeping people safe from the elements. It is the ultimate harm reduction program! Ernest: And what are some of the major roles that government and non government entities can serve in helping the homeless in America? Jay: Considering the reported difficulties of accessing resources and services and the dizzying effects of needless bureaucracy, it is important to utilize what we have in the most efficient manner possible. Currently, Ten and Five Year Plans have been developed and implemented in an effort to end chronic homelessness, and thereby reduce social and financial costs (All Roads Lead Home, 2008; The Commonwealth of MA, 2003; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2000). Ultimately, these plans are based on collaborative efforts between concerned individuals, advocacy groups, local city and town employees, politicians, policy makers, non-profit service providers, charities, businesses, etc. These collaborative networks are being established to address fundamental issues such as developing affordable housing with support services, promoting better access to community-based resources and services, and implementing strategies of prevention in order to reduce future homelessness. Advocates and policy makers now understand that addressing access, resource and prevention issues are paramount, if we are to be successful in turning long-term homelessness into a rare or unusual phenomenon. This has culminated in the Obama Administration’s recent unveiling of the first National Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (US Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2010). This plan declares support for housing first initiatives and continued interagency collaboration in an effort to make significant inroads with both families and individuals. While this is good news from the standpoint of new cooperative networks and more efficient use of resources, this does not directly address macroeconomic issues that impact unemployment, underemployment, and the lack of affordable housing. Ernest: Tell me Jay, what can the layman do to help the homeless? Jay: There are a number of things that can be done. Many positive things can happen when there is a sense of caring and human contact. Get to know the names of some of the homeless persons that you frequently meet in your daily travels or in your neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to ask if they are getting any help or if there are any basic things that they need. If you are wary of donating money directly to a person experiencing homelessness, consider giving them need items such as food, clothes, or even information regarding a nearby resource center. Many organizations working for the homeless accept financial donations. If you know of any homeless services and resources, it’s a pretty sure bet that these organizations are financially strained. Consider donating, but doing so toward funding a specific cause such as providing rental assistance and supporting transitions to housing. Many other places like the Salvation Army or community resource centers accept donations of food, household items, and clothes. Another nice way to contribute is by way of volunteer service. Currently, my daughter volunteers her time at a Survival Center that provides clothing, serves hot meals, and has a food pantry that serves our local community, which includes the homeless. Meal programs are often in need of volunteers to help prepare and serve meals to people who are struggling to make ends meet. Ernest: For all interested readers, would you tell us who and/or where to reach for help in case some homeless person/family is noticed in search of help? Jay: The key is to find out what are the homeless resources and services in your area. Every state has PATH programs that are funded by both state and federal dollars. PATH stands for Projects for Assistance in Transitions from Homelessness. The people in charge of these programs are very informed regarding homeless resources and services. Most states have funded various non-profits, so you want to locate the right service provider for your region. This can be done by going to the following website: http://pathprogram.samhsa.gov/Channel/Default.aspx. Once you get to the PATH-SAMHSA website, just click on the “Grantees” tab and then you can do a search for the homeless service organization that serves your particular state and region. I work for Eliot CHS-Homeless Services and we are the sole PATH Provider serving Massachusetts. I am the regional manager for both Central and Western Massachusetts and have counterparts that manage the North East and South East regions of our state. Our program is listed on the PATH website and if someone were to call, we could direct them to critical resources and services. Other places to look for help include the local Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), where people can access Food Stamps, Emergency Assistance funds, and health insurance. Local DTA caseworkers normally have access to information on family and individual shelters and meal programs across the region that they cover. If that fails, an Internet search under homeless shelters and/or meal programs for your particular area will most likely yield results. Finally, check your local phone directory under Social & Human Services, or inquire with your local church or synagogue. Places of faith are often quite involved with supporting community meal programs and other charitable efforts toward helping those who are most in need. Directing a homeless family or person to local resources and services can be the first critical step toward attaining critical assistance ranging from shelters and meals to healthcare and housing. Ernest: Many thanks Jay for sharing your precious knowledge and taking time for this talk! Jay: I appreciate you taking the time to interviewing me, and providing a forum for talking about these important issues. If anyone would like more information on my book including some recent reviews, please check out my website. Thanks! Source

In 2011 2.3 million people are in prison

In 2009:  People

• On Probation 4,203,967
• On Parole 819,308
• In Jail  760,400
• In Prison 1,524,513

Grand Total  7,225,80

The total numbers are higher now.  Profiteers are making a fortune on prisoners.

The Prison Industry in the United States Costs Taxpayers Billions

Related

World Wide Occupy Wall Street Protests

‘US plans to suppress OWS protesters’

November 18 2011

The US government is making ‘coordinated efforts’ aimed at suppressing the ‘Occupy’ movement that has spread across the country, an American journalist says.

“The fact that all the mayors seem to be reading from a script when they explain why they are cracking down, it’s almost ludicrous how they use the same excuses, the same wording, and the same techniques,” author and investigative journalist, David Lindorff said during an interview with Press TV’s US Desk.

According to Lindorff, Oakland’s mayor Jean Quan, has admitted to having a conference call with 18 other mayors, while in Washington.

Lindorff added that he is almost certain the call was organized by the US government, most likely “by someone like Janet Napolitano from the Homeland Security.”

The investigative journalist further criticized the unnecessary violent response peaceful protesters were receiving from riot police, questioning their claims of concerns “about sanitation and safety.”

The Occupy movement owes its name to ‘Occupy Wall Street’ (OWS), which emerged on September 17, when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York’s financial district to protest social inequality and top-level corruption in the country.

Despite police hindrance and mass arrests, the Occupy movement has now spread to major US cities.

The movement has also inspired similar pushes across the world, including in Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal.  Source

This is a must watch Video.

Speakers are Dan Glazebrook, Lizzie Phelan, Harpal Brar

OCCUPY-movement

Tons of information HERE Ne sure to check it out.

Stay Right Here

The link below has numerous updates and information on the Occupy movement in Canada

Updates in Canada

 Recent

Israel: Segregation of Children in Extremist religious schools, Lost rights of Women

US wants to Censor the Internet

Over 7,000 prisoners are held in Libya

New leaders in Greece, Italy are BANKERS

US is lobbying nations to bring Cluster Bombs back “NO” would be my Answer

Canada: Stop Harper’s cruel crime bill

ICC to Probe NATO, NTC War Crimes in Libya War

The Libya American’s never saw on Television

You know I have to wonder if Americans know anything about Libya at all. There are many from other countries that don’t seem to know much about it either I am afraid.

Comments on different news sites tell me  how mislead many are. One of the most predominant comments is now Libya will come out of the Dark Ages.

Well I am not sure what dark ages they are talking about as Libya was quite advanced.

NATO has blown them back to the dark ages,

So take a tour of Libya with me and see how things were before US/NATO intervention and tell me if they lived in the Dark Ages.

Videos of how Libya was before the invasion are below. Definitely they did not live in the dark ages.

Before we start the tour there are a few things you need to know however.

1. There is no electricity bill in Libya; electricity is free for all its citizens.
2. There is no interest on loans, banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens at zero percent interest by law.
3. Having a home considered a human right in Libya.
4. All newlyweds in Libya receive $60,000 dinar (U.S.$50,000) by the government to buy their first apartment so to help start up the family.
5. Education and medical treatments are free in Libya. Before Gaddafi only 25 percent of Libyans were literate. Today, the figure is 83 percent.
6. Should Libyans want to take up farming career, they would receive farming land, a farming house, equipments, seeds and livestock to kickstart their farms are all for free.
7. If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need, the government funds them to go abroad, for it is not only paid for, but they get a U.S.$2,300/month for accommodation and car allowance.
8. If a Libyan buys a car, the government subsidizes 50 percent of the price.
9. The price of petrol in Libya is $0.14 per liter.
10. Libya has no external debt and its reserves amounting to $150 billion are now frozen globally.
11. If a Libyan is unable to get employment after graduation the state would pay the average salary of the profession, as if he or she is employed, until employment is found.
12. A portion of every Libyan oil sale is credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.
13. A mother who gives birth to a child receive U.S.$5,000.
14. 40 loaves of bread in Libya costs $0.15.
15. 25 percent of Libyans have a university degree.
16. Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Manmade River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.
17 Women’s Rights: Under Gaddafi, gender discrimination was officially banned and the literacy rate for women climbed to 83 per cent. The rights of Black’s were also improved.

To add to problems now facing those in Libya are the tons of DU dropped on them by US/NATO forces.

There was no DU before to make people sick, so now there will be numerous health problems never before seen in Libya.

1. Libya is Africa’s largest exporter of oil, 1.7 million tons a day,
which quickly was reduced to 300-400,000 ton due to US-NATO bombing.
Libya exports 80% of its oil: 80% of that to several EU lands (32%
Italy, 14% Germany, 10% France); 10% China; 5% USA.

2. Gaddafi has been preparing to launch a gold dinar for oil trade with
all of Africa’s 200 million people and other countries interested.
French President Nickola Sarkozi called this, “a threat for financial
security of mankind”. Much of France’s wealth—more than any other
colonial-imperialist power—comes from exploiting Africa.

3. Central Bank of Libya is 100% owned by state (since 1956) and is thus outside of multinational corporation control (BIS-Banking International Settlement rules for private interests). The state can finance its own projects and do so without interest rates

4. Gaddafi-Central Bank used $33 billion, without interest rates, to
build the Great Man-Made River of 3,750 kilometers with three parallel pipelines running oil, gas and water supplying 70% of the people (4.5 of its 6 million) with clean drinking and irrigation water.

5. The Central Bank also financed Africa’s first communication satellite with $300 million of the $377 cost. It started up for all Africa, December 26, 2007, thus saving the 45-African nations an annual fee of $500 million pocketed by Europe for use of its satellites and this means much less cost for telephones and other communication systems.

Some of the numbers above vary a bit from web site to web site but all are relatively close.

Great Man made River Project Libya Absolutely Amazing

The Great Man-Made River is a network of pipes that supplies water from the Sahara Desert in Libya, from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System fossil aquifer. Some sources cite it as the largest engineering project ever undertaken.

The Guinness World Records 2008 book has acknowledged this as the world’s largest irrigation project.

According to its website, it is the largest underground network of pipes and aqueducts in the world. It consists of more than 1300 wells, most more than 500 m deep, and supplies 6,500,000 m³ of freshwater per day to the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Sirt and elsewhere. Muammar al-Gaddafi has described it as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.

Great Man Made River Project Libya

Libya – Great Man Made River Project

Libya Telecom and Technology (LTT)

Libyan Farm–This is about half an hour driving from Tripoli,

Libya Footage

Libya footage II

Libya footage II.V

Libya Footage III

Photos around Tripoli, Libya

1. “Severan Arch, Leptis Magna”
2. “All roads lead to …”
3. “Detail of Severan Arch, Leptis Magna”
4. “Oration, Leptis Magna”
5. “Arches, Leptis Magna”
6. “Carved marble Leptis Magna”
7. “Detail on marble column, Leptis Magna”
8. “Doorways, Leptis Magna”
9. “Forest of columns Leptis Magna”
10. “Front terrace Villa Silin”
11. “Gargoyles on arches, Leptis Magna”
12. “Granite columns Leptis Magna”
13. “Leptis Magna”
14. “Majestic columns, Leptis Magna”
15. “Grave, Leptis Magna”
16. “Check the surf, Villa Silin”
17. “Market Leptis Magna”
18. “Market place Leptis Magna”
19. “Modern meets ancient”
20. “Tumbling into the ocean, Leptis Magna”
21. “Statues”
22. “The Latrines”
23. “View to the ocean Leptis Magna”
24. “Gum tree, Leptis Magna”

Photos from Libya

The Green Mountain of Libya

Libya as you never seen it

Libya Tourist Attractions

Libya’s beautiful beaches

Tripoli, Libya

Visit to Tripoli/Libya  A walk about.

Libya 2009

Pro Gaddafi Rally in Benghaziin May 2011

Massive Anti-NATO-Rebel Demonstrations in Tripoli, July 1, 2011 1.5 million people were at this rally.

Translation of Gaddafi speech today, translation by Karim Budabuss:

The leader is talking now. He is saying that this is a historical day, and he is challenging Sarkozy, Cameron and Obama to switch on their TVs and watch the crowds and he is saying that they will find out that they are delusional because they entered a war which they never win, he also says if you continue targeting our houses we can do the same coz Europe is not far away but he said lets not do this and watch the crowds , kids and women.

They are not here because i ordered them to, it is they are free will. in this war you are not facing me you are facing these crowds. I am nothing, if you want peace with Libyans, it is up to the crowds.

If you want any thing , negotiate with the crowds. The regime is not Gaddafi regime, it is a Libyan regime . Even if many got scared, defected and escaped, the Libyans will remain, and each coward will be replaced with a hero.

Is it a democracy to bomb the civilans, we don’t want a democracy which comes with bombs. The socialist Jamahyria will win, the real democracy which serves the people. I advice you to stop bombing, and stop becoming mercenaries for some rebels.

The Libyans said their words, they marched, their tribes made it clear that the future is for Libyans, the oil is for Libya, Libya is ours. You are delusional, a group of traitors convinced you that Libya is easy to get, you hired mercenaries , propaganda, psychological war all that didn’t allow you to make any progress on the ground.

Turn on ur TVs and watch the longest Libyan flag 4.5 km, I didn’t make this flag, people donated to make this flag. Those rebels are no different from who betrayed Libyan during the Italian invasion.

Libyan people go in millions without weapons to liberate the regions under rebel control. You Libyan people are the only one who can finish this war with a victory. If they want to negotiate we welcome that, otherwise we are continuing and they are definitely losing no matter how many weapons they drop with parachute to the rebels.

We will not betrayed our history nor our children and their future. The glory is for you brave Libyans, the struggle will continue. (end of speech)

The Real Reason Why Gadaffi Was Killed & Why We’re In Libya

They also want the oil and water from Libya as well. The want to privatize everything they can so their companies make profits.

The US and EU hate not having their profiteers in a country and the IMF and World Bank also want their piece of the pie as well. They in essence steal everything from countries they can.  They could care less about the people.

Cost of war to Libyans about $200 Billion

Over 800 Bodies Dumped in Libyan Cemetary by Rebels

Criminal State – A Closer Look at Israel’s Role in Terrorism/NATO and US supporting the Rebels who are actually terrorist on the US/NATO Terrorist list. I thought the war was against terrorist not to help them. I guess they have been helping the Terrorists all along. Anything to keep the wars going for the profiteers.

Racist murders in Libya at the hands of rebel forces

There is also some Video of Canadians who went to Libya on vacation on the link below.

Libya war lies worse than Iraq

UN chief Ban alarmed over rising civilian toll in Libya

John Bolton Admits All Of These Wars Are For Oil

NATO’s 26,000 sorties, including 9,600 strike missions, destroyed, water, schools, hospitals, food, and many other necessities needed by civilians.  They also killed many civilians. These are War Crimes.

Revulsion, Resistance & Angry words from Tripoli University

By Franklin Lamb

Tripoli University – October 25, 2011 – — The people I had hoped most to be able to find on returning to Libya were eight students from Fatah University (now renamed Tripoli University) who became my friends during three months in Libya this summer. They had all been strongly opposed to what NATO was doing to their country (NATO bombs destroyed some classrooms at the University during final exams in late May) and I was very keen to sit with them again if possible since the August 23rd fall of Tripoli when most of them scattered given the uncertainties of what would happen and we lost contact.

Thanks to Ahmad who was waiting for me we re-united quickly. Some excerpts and impressions from yesterday’s all night gathering with Ahmad, Amal, Hind, Suha, Mohammad and Rana:

“I know Sanad al-Ureibi”, Ahmad said disgustedly about the 22 year old who is claiming he fired two bullets at close range into Muammar Gadhafi on October 22nd.

Amal, Ahmad’s fiancée interrupted him: “We are very angry but not really surprised by what Sanad did. He’s a stupid guy and I am sure someone whispered in his ear that he would become famous and rich if he did NATO’s dirty job by killing Colonel Gadhafi. NATO did more than 1000 bombing attacks “to protect Libyan civilians” but killed thousands of us instead. For sure NATO and their puppets want as many of our leader’s dead as possible in order to avoid years of a court trial that would expose NATO’s many crimes and those of certain western leaders.”

Ahmad: “Sanad told my cousin the day after he assassinated Colonel Gadhafi that he is promised protection and that the TNC will not arrest him despite their, for western ears only, announcement of a planned “investigation” of how Muammar and Mutassim died. Everyone in Libya knows that the investigation of the assassination of the rebel military commander Abdel Fattah Younes last July has gone nowhere because the Islamist faction who committed the Younes murder is close to Jalil.”

Ahmad continued, “Like some of his friends, Sanad did fight for a while with the rebels and he sometimes changed units because it was fun and now he plans to form a gang to protect rich Libyans and foreigners as they continue to arrive here to help, as they claim, to rebuild our destroyed country and make democracy. Now we all so exhausted from all the needless killing I am not sure what kind of democracy we will have or even want. American democracy? It’s very great? Sometimes it seems you have more problems than we do. At least we have free education, free medical care, and homes and are not living on the streets without jobs.

Mohammad joined in: “One Israeli-American Company has offered Sanad and other young men who refuse to give up their guns a job recruiting former fighters for proper training as Libyan police. There are some Blackwater (XE) people here are also trying to do business with NATO agents for private police forces around Libya. Anyone who thinks NATO is going to leave us in peace is mistaken. More of them arrive every day.”

Hind, who has not wavered since last summer in her opposition to what she calls “NATO’s team” also voiced strong offense and condemnation of certain pro-rebel Sheiks who have declared that Gadhafi was not a Muslim. “Everyone knows he was a devout Muslim. His last Will stated, “I do swear that there is no other God but Allah and that Mohammad is God’s Prophet, peace be upon him. I pledge that I will die as Muslim.”

Hind added, “Please tell me who are these TNC Sheiks to say who is are and who is not a Muslim. In Islam it’s between each of us and Allah and nobody else’s business. If these Sheiks were better Muslims they would have opposed what has been done to his body and that of his son and friend in Sirte and Misrata. It is haram. I am very angry and disgusted.”

Suha complained about “the views of NTC leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil toward women and that with the already announced repeal of the marriage law, Libyan women have lost the right to keep the family home if they divorce. It is a disaster for Libyan women. Under Gadhafi leadership women in Libya had more rights than in any other country in the Middle East.”

Ahmad explained: “ I am ashamed of what some Muslims are doing. Our religion does not allow for this mutilation and the freak show the TNC put on in that refrigerator. I was in Misrata with friends to pay our respects and was surprised how many others were doing the same as our group and for the same reasons. When the bodies were first exhibited curious people came and some said bad insults. But by the next day the atmosphere has completely changed. People came to honor Colonel Gadhafi for his courage in dying for what he believed was best for Libya and that was to keep Libya free from colonialism. I don’t believe the media is accurately reporting this. Our leader died a hero like Omar Muktar in my opinion and history will prove this someday.”

Again, his fiancée Amal interrupted Ahmad, “As Colonel Gadhafi revealed in his Will, NATO made him several offers if he would abandon his country to them. Foolish and criminal NATO established our leader forever as a great resister to colonialism and a patriot for Libya, for all of Africa and for the Middle East. I believe that Colonel Gadhafi died a far more honorable death than the leaders of NATO will. He has more dignity in death than Hilary Clinton and her absence of dignity shown by her stupid comments about his death.”

Amal then said, “I became ill when I left him. His skin was almost black and his body was rotting quickly with fluids leaking on the floor. They must give him immediately to his family and ask Allah to forgive themselves for their haram. One of the guards told me Colonel Gadhafi was sodomized with a rifle by NTC fighters. He showed the video on his mobile but I would not look. ”

Suha spoke: “We also visited the Mahari Hotel in Sirte where we saw more than 50 bodies of Gadaffi supporters. Some had their hands behind them bound by plastic handcuffs and were executed at close range. Others had been taken from hospital beds and murdered. This crime is just one more example of the lies of the NTC and NATO. NATO forces commanded and controlled their rebels and knew what they have been doing. NATO is responsible for destroying much of our country and for what will surely happen in the coming days.”

I first met Ahmad what now seems like a couple of years ago, but in actuality it was only last June. We sat at an outdoor cafe on Green Square (now renamed Martyrs’ Square) and talked about NATO’s obvious plans for Libya. Since August 23rd and the precipitous collapse of the loyalist resistance in Tripoli, which Ahmad had been organizing some of the neighborhoods to participate in, he has been on the lam as friends got word to him that NTC death squads were on his trail even staking out the Radisson Hotel lobby where he used to meet with journalists and western friends. Ahmad blames the lack of a real defense of Tripoli, that took us all by surprise, as “our incompetence and some high ranking traitors” for the non-implementation of plans to defend Tripoli from NATO’s rebels.

His first words after we hugged were: “Now the real resistance will begin! The Libyan people are now even surer than they were during this summer that the NTC sold our country to the NATO colonial countries. As NATO continues to hunt down Saif al Islam, many around our country are making Saif the new leader of the resistance to colonialism in Libya and in Africa. I personally pledge my support for him and pray that Allah will protect him. Watch what the Gadhafi tribe and my Waffala tribe do together in the coming weeks—but also starting today. Maybe NATO can be said in some ways to have won round one. But let’s see what happens in the many rounds to come.” Source

Hillary Clinton knew of Qaddafi ‘White Flag’ truce:
US drone fired at Qaddafi convoy after negotiated truceWashington, DC

October 27 2011

Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi was traveling under a negotiated “White Flag” truce last Thursday in an agreement to leave Libya. More claims from sources inside Misrata, Libya that the Libyan National Transitional Council did in fact agree to allow Qaddafi and his convoy safe passage out of Libya. Source

Another tour of a Country the US demonizes. They don’t live in the Dark ages either.

The Iran you will never see on American Television

UN Member States Must Demand Action Against NATO War Crimes

Why: War in Iraq and Afghanistan

War “Pollution” Equals Millions of Deaths

A Few of the World’s most polluted places

• Pictures

  • (Afghanistan ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
  • (Libya 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words
  • A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States’ Aerial Bombing of Afghanistan
  • Abu Ghraib Prisoners
  • Afghanistan and Iraq Military Casualties
  • Devastation in Iraq
  • Gaza : A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
  • Images if Iraq Democracy
  • Images of Iraq Falluja massacres Made by USA
  • Images of Iraq War Crimes
  • Iraq Freedom!!!
  • Iraq USA did it in Najaf, Baghdad, Kufa 08/2004
  • Iraq War Images
  • Iraq: USA Terror On Al Falluja ( 7 days = 850 killed more than 1500 wounded )
  • Massacre of Gaza and Lebanon
  • US Air strike on Iraqi civilians Tall Afar, Falluja, Samarra, Baghdad

US, NATO and Rebel war crimes in Libya

Was Gaddafi really that bad?

A little late to start telling people this now isn’t it.

Well I suppose better late then never.

What a shame they didn’t report this months ago.

October 31 2011 at 03:31pm
By Edwin Mast-Ingle

---

The US and its European allies have won another battle in the war with China for the heart, soul and riches of Africa with the ousting of Gaddafi in Libya, leaving the country completely vulnerable to exploitation immediately and for as long as its oil reserves last.

Brilliant spin-doctoring has obscured the US’s three-fold purpose in Libya – to access the foreign funds estimated at more than $200 billion to avoid further crises in international monetary structures; control the oil, which is the richest in Africa, easily accessible by Europe and comprising 2 percent of the world’s supply; and to ensure an ongoing low-key war among the 41 tribes that will provide a lucrative market for arms manufacturers that head up a long list seen plying their trade in Iraq.

Key to this are the oil reserves, which are the largest in Africa and eighth on the world stakes, with 46.4 billion barrels as of 2010.

Oil production was 1.7 million barrels a day, giving Libya 77 years of reserves at current production rates if no new reserves are found.

The “chosen” successor for Gaddafi is Abdelhakim Belhadj, former head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which was listed as a terrorist organisation after the 9/11 attacks.

He was detained at a secret prison by the CIA in 2004 before he was returned to Libya.

The spin-doctoring for the world at large has also succeeded in obliterating any good that may have come out of the country as far as Africa is concerned.

According to a Reuters report on November 24, 2010, Libya was pouring aid and investment into Africa, including:

l An offer of $97bn in the continent to free it from Western influence on condition that the states rid themselves of corruption and nepotism.

l $65bn into sovereign wealth funds, including one designed to make investments in Africa.

l LAP Green Networks, a cellphone operator says it has commercial operations in Niger, Ivory Coast, Uganda and Rwanda and is planning to launch operations in Chad, Sierra Leone, Togo and southern Sudan.

l LAP is also the main shareholder in Afriqiyah Airways. Its name is the Arabic for Africa and it says its mission is to link African states to each other. It operates routes poorly served by major airlines. Destinations include Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Bangui in Central African Republic and Douala in Cameroon.

l Libya is one of the biggest contributors to the budget of the AU, the 53-country body which is supposed to function along the lines of the EU. A senior Libyan diplomat said Libya was one of five countries – with Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa – which cover 75 percent of the union’s budget.

l Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi announced the creation of a $100 million investment fund for Niger as part of a strengthening of bilateral ties. Under earlier agreements, Tripoli is contributing e100m to build a Trans-Sahara highway in the north of Niger, according to sources close to Niger’s foreign ministry.

l Mauritania has debts to Libya of about $200m. During discussions on debt relief in May, the Libyan central bank announced Libya would provide $50m in grants to build a hospital and a university.

The list goes on to cover countries such as the Congo, Gambia and others undisclosed for sensitive or political reasons.

Recently, however, the Obama administration offered millions of dollars in new aid to Libya as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton encouraged the country’s unsteady new leadership to commit to a democratic future free of retribution, according to John Pilger, an Australian writing in the Tehran News.

“On October 14, President Barack Obama announced he was sending US Special Forces troops to Uganda to join the civil war there. In the next few months, US troops will be sent to South Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic. They will only ‘engage’ for ‘self-defence’, says Obama, satirically. With Libya secured, an American invasion of the African continent is under way.

“In Africa,” says Obama, “the ‘humanitarian mission’ is to assist the government of Uganda defeat the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which ‘has murdered, raped and kidnapped’ tens of thousands of men, women and children in central Africa.”

“This is an accurate description of the LRA,” Pilger says, “evoking multiple atrocities administered by the US, such as the bloodbath in the 1960s following the CIA-arranged murder of Patrice Lumumba, the Congolese independence leader and first legally elected prime minister, and the CIA coup that installed Mobutu Sese Seko, regarded as Africa’s most venal tyrant.”

(Note by the author: As a journalist I was in the Congo at the time. What remains untold is that the UN was called in – not to bring about peace, but to protect the Union Meniere copper mines at the time associated with the brother-in-law of Dag Hammarskjold, the then UN head. Hammarskjold died in a plane crash in the then Northern Rhodesia. I was first on the scene, by complete coincidence, to find the plane riddled with bullet holes – a fact never disclosed.)

The future for Libya is now in the hands of Obama, the US and EU. It now remains to be seen if they will honour the investments and pledges Libya has made to Africa or simply loot the whole lot themselves. It also remains to be seen how the reinvented terrorist Abdelhakim Belhadj compares to Gaddafi and after Sudan whether Nigeria or South Africa will be the US’s next target.

Consider the following achievements attributed to Gaddafi:

l In Libya electricity is free for all its citizens.

l Banks in Libya are state-owned and loans given to all its citizens are at zeropercent interest by law.

l Homes are considered a human right in Libya. Gaddafi vowed his parents would not get a house until everyone in Libya had one. His father died while he, his wife and his mother were still living in a tent.

l All newlyweds in Libya receive 60 000 dinar ($50 000) from the government to buy their first flat, to help start a family.

l Education and medical treatment are free in Libya. Before Gaddafi, only 25 percent of Libyans were literate. Today, the figure is 83 percent.

l Should Libyans want to take up farming, they receive land, a farm house, equipment, seeds and livestock – all for free.

l If Libyans cannot find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government funds them to go abroad for it, not only free, but they get $2 300 a month, accommodation and car allowance.

l The Libyan government subsidises 50 percent of the price of a car.

l The price of petrol in Libya was until recently $0.14 a litre.

l Libya has no external debt and its reserves are $150bn, now frozen globally.

l If a Libyan can’t get employment after graduation, the state paid the average salary of the profession as if he or she were employed until they got a job.

l A portion of Libyan oil sales is credited directly to the bank accounts of all Libyan citizens.

l A mother who gives birth to a child receives $5 000.

l Forty loaves of bread in Libya costs $0.15.

l Twenty-five percent of Libyans have a university degree.

l Gaddafi undertook the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the Great Man-Made River project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country.

Source

Libya’s Islamist stripes are no surprise

October 31 20111

As shop owners like to say, if you break it, you own it – or, rather, you’re stuck with it. So it is with Libya.

For at least six months, the country was bombed on a near-daily basis after the Western powers, under the impetuous guidance of France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, decided to side with a group of rebels from Benghazi who wanted to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi’s regime but couldn’t manage to do it themselves.

What began under a United Nations Security Council mandate as a series of air strikes exclusively aimed at protecting the rebels from Col. Gadhafi’s wrath soon evolved into a full-fledged regime-change operation marked by blatant attempts to assassinate the Gadhafi family. The Western coalition, including Canada, foolishly intervened in a civil war pitting the eastern part of the country against other regions without even considering, given Libya’s tribal and fractious nature, whether the majority wanted to be ruled by the Benghazi rebels.

So now Libya is broken. The Security Council voted last week to end its authorization on Monday of the foreign military intervention, although the transitional Libyan government is pleading for NATO to extend its operations through at least the end of the year, to stop the return of Gadhafi loyalists and prevent the country from descending into a spiral of tribal infighting. In Canada, there are already calls for the government to get involved in Libya’s reconstruction. Obviously, this can’t be done from the air and would usually require “boots on the ground” – huge contingents of armed peacekeepers.

The Harper government has already pledged $10-million to help Libya collect and secure the arms that have been wildly dispersed throughout the country after Col. Gadhafi’s military reserves were plundered. Another difficult task will be to disarm the bands of young, undisciplined rebels who learned to play war last spring and now cherish their lethal toys.

Agence France-Presse says tonnes of munitions, including surface-to-air missiles, have been left unguarded in Libya’s devastated towns and in the desert, some of which have already ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda, which has a base in the Sahel region.

The Western “liberators” of Libya have other reasons to worry. In his first major speech as head of the interim government, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who heads the National Transitional Council, declared that any law that doesn’t respect sharia will be deemed illegal, starting with marriage and divorce. His first move will be to strike down the Gadhafi law prohibiting polygamy. In another disturbing decision, the council appointed a former jihadist, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, as military governor of Tripoli.

The Islamization of Libya, a relatively secular country under Col. Gadhafi, should have been expected. It was known that Benghazi, where the rebellion originated, was a bastion of religious fundamentalism, and that there were al-Qaeda sympathizers among the rebels NATO supported with its air strikes.

Canada, along with other countries, was instrumental in handing Libya, its vulnerable population and its vast resources to a group of people who didn’t offer the slightest guarantee that they would turn the country into something vaguely resembling a democracy. In the process, Libyan women are being thrown under the bus. They will lose some of the rights they had under the previous regime. Source

Instead of reporting what was really going most main stream media fostered the Lies about Gaddafi.

What some of us knew all along is now coming out. To late.

Everything Libya has built now lies in Ruins Compliments of the US/NATO and other unmentionables .

So we have one report from Canada and one from the UK.

Small start for mankind.

Supporting Terrorists to to take over a country.

Shame on you.

Leaders who perpetrated this war, should be thrown in prison.

The entire war was based on lies.

This Video is about numerous things. There is information on Libya which is near the end of the video.

CIA WhistleBlower EXPOSES Everything!

Uploaded  on Sep 23, 2011

Former CIA Asset, Susan Lindauer, provides an extraordinary first-hand account from behind the intelligence curtain that shatters the government’s lies about 9/11 and Iraq, and casts a harsh spotlight on the workings of the Patriot Act as the ideal weapon to bludgeon whistle blowers and dissidents. A terrifying true story of “black budget” betrayals and the Patriot Act, with its arsenal of secret evidence, indefinite detention and threats of forcible drugging,

“What happened at Lockerbie trial was that the US paid the witnesses $4 million apiece to testify against the Libyans, and those witnesses have now recanted their testimony,” says  Lindauer. “The Lockerbie trial made it clear that Libya had nothing to do with the case and that came as a great embarrassment to the West. Now Gaddafi has been trying to gain some compensation back – taking some fees from the oil companies. In October Occidental Petroleum and Chevron, two major US companies, pulled out of Libya.”

Video is at the bottom of the page HERE

Now they want Libyans to pay NATO for destroying their country???

The War Criminals want to get paid. How dare they?

Check this link for details.

Libya: New Vice Roy, New Bills, New Fighting

NATO: Indictment for breach of international law in the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The military and political leaders of NATO are hereby accused of the following crimes committed in the Libyan campaign of 2011, in which the systematic breaches of international law are underlined. Go to site below for the rest.

The law case of the century: Indictment against NATO military and political leaders

US Debt

US Spending and Revenues 1902 to 2008 and 2011

Africa

Land Grab in Ugamda leaves 20,000 homeless

The World Bank and IMF in Africa

Recent

Canada: Mohawk Elders looking for mass graves of Children that died in Residential Schools

Deaths in Afghanistan 5.6 million due to war

Violence erupts as general strike shuts down Greece

World Wide Occupy Wall Street Protests

Wall Street Tsunami: OWS grows in force Oct 22 2011

‘OWS ain’t a war zone’ – One marine vs 30 cops in NYC Oct 22 2011

If you don’t understand the Occupy Wall Street Movement check out this Video

Occupy Wall Street Spells It Out

Updated Photos: Occupy Vancouver – global movement

Photos at link below

Thousands participated in the Vancouver leg of the financial protests.

Video on the protest in Vancover

Video Occupy Toronto protesters settle in at St. James Park 

Occupy Montreal

Close to 3000 people have joined up to Occupy Montreal

Occupy Ottawa Confederation Park Ottawa

There are numerous other videos for Occupy Ottawa on youtube

‘Occupy’ protest takes root in downtown Edmonton

There are numerous other videos on Occupy Edmonton on youtube

Occupy Calgary

There are more Occupy Calgary Videos on youtube

Occupy Winnipeg Day 1

More Videos on Occupy Winnipeg on youtube

Occupy Regina

Occupy Quebec City Short video

Rome not so peaceful

Demonstrators march past a burning car in downtown Rome on October 15, 2011. Tens of thousands marched in Rome as part of a global day of protests inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” and “Indignant” movements, with the Italian capital under a security lockdown.
Photograph by: ALBERTO PIZZOLI, AFP/Getty Images

RAW VIDEO – Italy – Riots in Rome – Italian Indignados Protest Turns Violent.

ITALY. Riots in Milan. Students Protest Turns Violent. Assaulted Goldman Sachs Office.

ROME: Protesters torched cars, smashed up banks and set fire to a military building in Rome on Saturday in the worst violence of worldwide demonstrations against corporate greed and government cutbacks.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of the Italian capital for a march that turned violent and equal numbers rallied in Madrid and Lisbon while WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joined angry demonstrators in London.

The protests were inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in the United States and the “Indignants” in Spain, targeting 951 cities in 82 countries across the planet in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

It was the biggest show of power yet by a movement born on May 15 when a rally in Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square sparked a worldwide movement that focused anger over unemployment and opposition to the financial elite.

“I think it is very moving that the movement that was born here has extended throughout the world. It was about time for people to rise up,” said 24-year-old Carmen Martin as she marched towards Puerta del Sol.

In the Portuguese capital, where some 50,000 rallied, 25-year-old Mathieu Rego said: “We are victims of financial speculation and this austerity programme is going to ruin us. We have to change this rotten system.”

The protests received unexpected support from Italian central bank governor Mario Draghi, a former executive at Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs set to take over as president of the European Central Bank.

“Young people are right to be indignant,” Draghi was reported as saying on the sidelines of talks among G20 financial powers in Paris.

“They’re angry against the world of finance. I understand them,” he added, though expressing regrets at reports of violence.

More protests were staged in Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Geneva, Paris, Sarajevo and Zurich. Thousands also rallied across Canada and in New York and Washington, where they protested outside the White House and the US Treasury.

Scuffles broke out in London, where about 800 people rallied in the financial district by St Paul’s Cathedral, raising banners saying: “Strike back!” “No cuts!” and “Goldman Sachs is the work of the devil!”

Five people were arrested, three for assaulting police officers and two for public order offences, Scotland Yard said.

Three lines of police, and one line at the rear on horseback, blocked them from heading to the London Stock Exchange and pushed back against lead marchers, some wearing masks.

“One of the reasons why we support what is happening here in ‘Occupy London’ is because the banking system in London is the recipient of corrupt money,” Assange said from the steps of St Paul’s, flanked by bodyguards.

A protestor holds a placard on the steps of Saint Paul’s cathedral in central London on October 15, 2011.
Photograph by: AFP, Getty

Occupy London clashes: Fighting erupts at UK protest

Occupy IRELAND-Dame Street, Dublin. Day 3 -4-5-AND CONTINUE 15th of October OCCUPY WORLD 2011

Police arrested 24 protesters at a bank as thousands marched in New York, where the Occupy Wall Street movement that sparked the global demos began on September 17 with activists taking up residence in the heart of the Financial District.

In Miami, a city that rarely hosts mass demonstrations, at least 1,000 people marched downtown. The crowd included youth and retirees standing up against corporations, banks and war. No police could be seen as the group approached government buildings.

Over 10,000 Canadians blew bubbles, strummed guitars and chanted anti-corporate slogans at peaceful protests in cities across the country.

“I believe a revolution is happening,” said 30-year-old Annabell Chapa, who brought her one-year-old son Jaydn along in a stroller.

The European Union also became a target for anger as the eurozone debt crisis continues, with some 9,000 protesters marching to the EU’s headquarters in Brussels and rallying outside the ECB’s headquarters in Frankfurt.

In Rome, the march quickly degenerated into running street battles between groups of hooded protesters and riot police who fired tear gas and water jets into the crowd amid a security lockdown in the Italian capital.

“Today is only the beginning. We hope to move forward with a global movement. There are many of us and we want the same things,” said one protester, Andrea Muraro, a 24-year-old engineering student from Padua.

“Only One Solution: Revolution!” read a placard. One group carried a cardboard coffin with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s name on it.

Berlusconi later condemned the “incredible level of violence” at the march.

He said the clashes were “a very worrying signal for civil coexistence.”

Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno said “we’ve seen the worst of Europe today in Rome.”

Seventy people were injured in the clashes and treated by medics, including three in a serious condition, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Backing from Italy’s main trade unions and student movements boosted the numbers at the protest in Rome — in contrast to most of the other rallies.

As the day began, around 500 people gathered in the heart of Hong Kong’s financial district to vent their anger. About 100 demonstrators in Tokyo also voiced fury at the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Another 600 demonstrators in Sydney set up camp outside Australia’s central bank, where the plight of refugees and Aboriginal Australians was added to the financial concerns. Source

Occupy Wall Street Spain

Occupy Tokyo 2011

Violence erupts as general strike shuts down Greece

Wall Street and Greek protests spread to Brussels

Wall Street/Washington Protesters an Inspiration to Behold

Recent

Pentagon Insider Says Green Light On Israel/USA To Strike Iran Within 2 Weeks

Jewish ‘Heroes’ Contest: “self-loving” Jew VS “self-destructive.

UN Member States Must Demand Action Against NATO War Crimes

We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former NYPD detective testifies

The International Hearings into the Events of September 11 2001

September 18, 2011

The hearing was over 4 days, the 8, 9, 10 and 11 of September 2011.

There were 16 Witnesses who were there to give evidence.

There were Four distinguished panelists to hear the evidence at the hearing held in  Toronto, Canada.

The panelists will help in creating the final report that will include their conclusions.

The final report will also consist of all expert witness testimonies presented at the Hearings. The report will be edited by Attorney James Gourley, the Director of the International Center for 9/11 Studies.

When that report is finished and published I will be posting it.

The hearing had a great deal of information. Some of which many may not be aware of.

They talk about the Commission Report. WTC7 was not mention in that report.  How did they manage to neglect an entire building one has to wonder?

They talk about the fireproofing in the Buildings. There were upgrades to the Fireproofing done within 2 years previous to September 11 2001.

There was some construction work done within the building previously to September 11 2001.

They talked about thermite and nano-thermite.

I learned that nano-thermite  or thermite could have been painted or sprayed on. Pretty simple really.

One has to wonder  if it was painted on, would those doing the painting know what it was they were painting with? Would you?

You know innocent people could have been used to do this, without even realizing they were contributing to this horrendous disaster.

Lets face it if you were painting or spraying on fireproofing most employees would never ask if there was thermite or nano-thermite in the stuff you were spraying on, now would you?

I suppose it could have been placed there during those renovations and fireproofing upgrades.

Just guessing of course. This type of thermite or nano-thermite is for Military use only. So if it were used it had to have come from a Military source. Which of course leads to a few questions now doesn’t it?

They talked a great Deal about NIST. The test they did were not physical tests but computer generated tests only. So a computer program did the work for them. Not very scientific in my opinion.

They talked about the Pentagon. Lots of videos, about 85 cameras were on the Pentagon on September 11 2001. Lots to choose from, but very few were made public.  One of the pictures from the one of the cameras had the wrong date on it. The time stamp was September 12th not the 11th. Interesting isn’t it?

They talked about evidence that was removed from ground zero before investigators had time to collect evidence.  That is not new.

They talked about imposter’s posing as Saudi Arabian terrorists.

One had a German passport and apparently they are very hard to get unless of course you are Israei Mossad was my first thought on that.

They have forged or used passports for fake people on many occasions as noted HERE And HERE But hey what do I know?

Many of the so called Saudi Arabian hijackers also turned out to be alive and well.

Below is the links you need to get more information on Witnesses, Panelists and Videos of the Hearings.

The International Hearings into the Events of September 11 2001.

Got to Usstream  it has all the videos of the 4 day event.

The link will take you to the second page in which the first videos are placed. Page 1 is the later videos.

Be sure to take a look and well to watch all the Hearing will take some time, but it is definitely worth taking the time to watch it all..

There are many things a lot of people don’t know about September 11 2001.

Three building came down on  9/11, apparently many people don’t know about it.

Face to Face with Dr. Niels Harrit who was one of the Witnesses at the Toronto Hearings.

Aired at the end of February 2011 This a very informative nterview of how he came to be aware of the events that took place on September 1 2001 and what he decided to do about it.

This interview traces Dr. Harrit’s personal and professional journey into and through the events of 9/11 and beyond.

David Ray Griffin – 911 Commission Report: Ommissions and Distortions – A Witness at the Toronto Hearing

This Video from 5 years ago.

Three Photos from the Steven Jones Paper

Two men install a conventional cutter charge to steel column, preparing for a demolition.

Compare this to the two below and well think about it!

A Photo of the WTC at Ground Zero

A Photo of the WTC at Ground Zero

The Steven Jones Paper Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Completely Collapse?

Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe

Jonathan Cole Videos  A witness during the Toronto Hearing

9/11 Experiments: Eliminate the Impossible

9/11 Experiments: The Great Thermate Debate

North Tower Exploding – David Chandler A witness at the Toronto Hearing

Building What? How SCADs Can Be Hidden in Plain Sight: The 9/11 “Official Story” and the Collapse of WTC Building Seven

Please pass this on. Education is the key to truth.

You probably won’t find anything about this on the American news.

So bloggers will have to pass this information around.

This Story is from 2009

Is Osama bin Laden still alive, Seems the answer is no

Thjis also from 2009 It has information about the The FBI has no evidence to connect him to 9/11.

Has Usama Bin Ladin been dead for seven years – and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror?

About the PENTAGON

There is some incredible information in the 7/7 Historical Analysis. There is a lot of history of inside jobs perpetrated by Governments especially UK and the US.There is a lot of information on how they did things to start wars in other countries. If you don’t know you should.  9/11 and 7/7 is rather typical of what they do.

7/7: An Historical Analysis – Tom Secker on GRTV

 

Recent

Afghan Children Being Sold Into Forced Labor/Slavery

Criminal State – A Closer Look at Israel’s Role in Terrorism/NATO and US supporting the Rebels who are actually terrorist on the US/NATO Terrorist list. I thought the war was against terrorist not to help them. I guess they have been helping the Terrorists all along. Anything to keep the wars going for the profiteers.

Racist murders in Libya at the hands of rebel forces

Israel angers Egyptian Protesters

(Libya 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Here are a few photos.

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour villagers inspect one of the houses reportedly hit during a NATO airstrike a day earlier in the town of Majar, near Zlitan, Libya, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. Photo AP

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour an armed guard watches as a local policeman searches through the rubble as government officials, not seen, speak to an entourage of ambassadors from several nations that were brought to a home that was destroyed during a NATO airstrike a day earlier in the town of Majar, near Zlitan, Libya, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. According to the Libyan government, 85 civilians were killed during the airstrikes. Photo AP

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour Hajaib Ajil, 27, lies in a hospital bed at the central hospital inTripoli, Libya, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. Ajil was allegedly injured with severe burns during NATO airstrikes a day earlier in the town of Majar, near Zlitan where the Libyan government claims 85 civilians were killed. Photo AP

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour men carry coffins during the burial of more than two dozen people after an alleged NATO bombing in the town of Majar, near in Zliten, Libya, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. Several homes were hit and reportedly 28 people, some of them women and children, were later buried.Photo AP

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour people people carry coffins during the burial of 28 people after an alleged NATO bombing in the town of Majar, near in Zliten, Libya, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. Several homes were hit and 28 people, some of them women and children, were later buried. Photo AP

In this photo taken on a government-organized tour people chant slogans in front of caskets prior to the burial of 28 people after an alleged NATO bombing in the town of Majar, near in Zliten, Libya, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011. Several homes were hit and 28 people, some of them children and women, were later buried. Photo AP

The dead bodies of 25 men lie in the quay of the harbor in the southern Italian island of Lampedusa August 1, 2011. The Italian coast guard found the bodies of 25 men who were apparently asphyxiated by motor fumes on a small boat crammed with African migrants that arrived on an Italian island from Libya on Monday, officials said. The boat arrived on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa after a three-day voyage carrying 296 people from sub-Saharan Africa, the latest in a wave of arrivals since a western alliance began a military campaign to oust Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Photo Reuters

Photos from another site. They have quite a number of Galleries on their site.

I will be adding more photos as I find them. If anyone has other sites please let me know. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Doctors tend to a wounded rebel fighter in a hospital in the rebel held city of Misrata August 2, 2011. Forces loyal to Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi killed seven rebels and wounded another 65 in a counter-attack in the town of Zlitan Tuesday, hospital sources in Misrata said. Photo Reuters

Plea from Libyan Spokes person to stop the killing, at the site where  85 have been killed in NATO BOMBING

Two videos of men digging through the rubble looking for victims. Not for the faint of heart. NATO’s air-strikes at Majer killed 85 people, including 33 children, 32 women and 20 men

Rense & Susan Lindauer – NATOs Libyan War Crimes

Libya war lies worse than Iraq

This war had been fabricated by the US and their allies.

The people in Libya were treated well in comparison to many other countries around the world.

Free Education

Free Healthcare

The women made great strides in Libya.

Libya is more progressive then many other countries.

They are not perfect but not as horrid as the western media or the US and allies have painted them.

Libya war lies worse than Iraq

The Libya American’s never saw on Television

May Day protests draw millions worldwide

May Day Protests around the World
May 1 2010
Trade union members march in May Day celebrations in downtown Kiev on Saturday. About 4,000 people rallied in Ukraine’s capital. (Sergei Chuzavkov/Associated Press)

Millions of people marched in cities around the world Saturday to mark May Day, or International Workers’ Day, as they rallied for better work conditions, higher wages and laws that are more just.

Demonstrators poured into the streets from Hong Kong to Moscow to Santiago, Chile, waving flags, beating drums and dancing to music.

About 140,000 jubilant workers gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in the first celebrations at the site since dozens of people died there in a May 1 gathering more than three decades ago.

The Istanbul demonstrations marked a special victory for Turkish unions, which had been denied access to Taksim Square since 1977, when 34 people died after a shooting triggered a stampede. The culprits were never found and workers on Saturday demanded an inquiry into the demonstrators’ deaths.

‘I reject the five per cent increase,’ says a La Paz demonstrator’s sign denouncing the size of Bolivia’s proposed minimum-wage increase. (Juan Karita/Associated Press)

Thousands joined peaceful May Day marches in Stockholm, where opposition leader Mona Sahlin blamed the centre-right government for failing to stem rising unemployment and eroding the nation’s cherished welfare system. Sahlin is hoping to become Sweden’s first female prime minister after national elections in September.

In Manila, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced she had ordered the labour secretary to speed up negotiations between unions and employers on a $1.70 increase in the daily minimum wage.

In Toronto, a few thousand demonstrators pressed for reforms to make it easier for refugees to seek haven in Canada and for immigrants to come to the country.

In Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, thousands of workers marched on the presidential palace, shouting: “Workers unite! No more layoffs!” Rally organizer Bayu Ajie said a free-trade agreement with China had cost jobs, decreased wages and encouraged corruption. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to create safer working conditions and improve job prospects if the workers maintained political and economic stability.

Kasparov leads rally

France saw rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the streets of Paris, Marseille, Lille and other cities, but the turnout nevertheless disappointed labour unions that had been hoping for crowds in the millions to provide a show of force against a planned pension overhaul.

A rare opposition march took place in Moscow, where former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, now an opposition politician, led activists calling for the ouster of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whom they accuse of stifling democracy.

In La Paz, the Bolivian capital, marchers carried signs denouncing the government’s proposed five per cent hike in the minimum wage as too paltry.

About 1,000 protesters — among them bus drivers and janitors — took to the streets in Hong Kong to demand that the government enact a minimum wage of the equivalent of $4.35 an hour. Though the Chinese territory has some of the richest residents in the world, its wealth is too unevenly distributed, advocates say.

People participate in a May Day protest in San Salvador, El Salvador. (Edgar Romero/Associated Press)

Most of the annual May Day marches were peaceful, but in Santiago, clashes broke out with police, who launched tear gas and deployed a water cannon against demonstrators.

Athens also witnessed riots, with police using tear gas to disperse demonstrators who threw firebombs and stones in a large rally against austerity measures imposed to secure loans for near-bankrupt Greece.

In Switzerland, Zurich police used water cannons in an attempt to disperse dozens of stone-throwing protesters as unions and politicians protested against “excessive” Swiss banking bonuses.

German police detained 250 neo-Nazis who attempted to attack them in downtown Berlin.

The turnout in Cuba was massive, as expected, and authorities asserted the march by hundreds of thousands of Cubans amounted to approval of the island’s Communist system amid mounting international criticism over human rights. A smiling President Raul Castro watched the rally go past from a high podium.  Source

May Day turns violent in Berlin

May 2 2010

Riot police made targeted arrests during clashes on May Day demonstrations in Berlin.

May Day demonstrations have turned violent after police battle rioters in two German cities, using water cannons to drive back crowds of protestors.

In the capital Berlin, police tried to disperse hundreds of left-wing protesters in the west of the German capital late Saturday, as they set cars on fire and demolished police vehicles.

The eastern side of the city also saw clashes between anti-Nazi demonstrators and right-wingers.

In the port city of Hamburg, some 1,500 leftist radicals held a parade that continued into the early hours of Sunday. Police said the protestors vandalized banks, overturned parked cars and set them on fire.

It has become a ritual for leftists and rightists to engage in violent clashes with police and storm banks and shops on the May Day for more than a decade in Berlin and Hamburg.

Some 7,000 riot police were deployed to keep the two groups apart. Nearly 20 people were injured in those clashes. Police said they have made more than 250 arrests.

Last year’s May Day in Berlin was the most violent in a decade with hundreds of arrests and dozens of police officers injured. More than 400 cars were set ablaze in Berlin and Hamburg.

May Days have traditionally been an opportunity for workers and the left in general, to let off steam.

In many countries, it is synonymous with International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organized by unions and other groups. Source

May Day marked with global protests

Turks mark first May Day in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in 33 years  [AFP]

Tens of thousands of people have marched in cities from Hong Kong to Istanbul to mark International Worker’s Day, demanding more jobs, better work conditions and higher wages.

In Turkey, about 140,000 workers gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in the first celebrations at the site since 34 people died there in a May 1 gathering more than three decades ago.

The demonstration was a special victory for Turkish labour unions, which had been denied access to the site since 1977, after a shooting triggered a stampede.

Aydin Demir, a 44-year-old kiosk owner, said labourers had won a 33-year-long struggle for their right to rally at the square.

“We paid a heavy price to be here today. Thousands of comrades have been arrested, but now we get the result of our struggle,” he said.

‘Rights crushed’

Al Jazeera’s Anita McNaught, reporting from Taksim Square, said that in the past, trade unions who tried to hold rallies there in defiance of the ban met with a heavy police crackdown which left dozens injured and hundreds in detention.

“Then human rights and especially workers rights were crushed for years in Turkey,” McNaught said.

“Over a series of years, particularly the last three, the unions have steadily pushed and pushed to be reallowed access to back to this square.

“They have said there is no good reason not to allow them back and this year, the government agreed.”

More than 22,000 police officers were deployed for the rally and demonstrators went through security checks before entering the square.

Zafer Yoruk, a professor of political science at Izmir University, said the number of workers organised in Turkish unions has fallen dramatically since the 1970s.

“Regarding unionisation and economic rights, I think we’re far behind the 1970s,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The right to strike, for rights, or solidarity strikes, are totally gone.”

Rowdy protesters

Most of the annual May Day marches were peaceful, but in the Chinese territory of Macau police used water cannon and pepper spray against rowdy protesters, injuring at least eight people, including a photographer.

Clashes broke out in a number of countries as workers staged rallies [AFP]

Hundreds of thousands of people joined rallies in Europe, many protesting against government austerity policies in the wake of the global financial crisis.

Athens, the Greek capital, witnessed riots, with police using tear gas to disperse demonstrators who threw firebombs and stones in a large May Day rally against austerity measures needed to secure loans for near-bankrupt Greece.

In Switzerland, Zurich police used water cannon in an attempt to disperse dozens of stone-throwing protesters as unions and politicians protested against “excessive” Swiss banking bonuses.

In Germany, police said 17 officers had been injured when they clashed with 150 demonstrators who threw paving stones and set garbage cans ablaze in the northern port city of Hamburg.

At least nine demonstrators were detained after the confrontations with police on the eve of Saturday’s May Day holiday, the German news agency DDP reported.

Several hundred officers were deployed in the capital, Berlin, ahead of a planned neo-Nazi march and other demonstrations.

‘Workers unite’

The turnout in Cuba was massive, as expected, and authorities claimed the march by hundreds of thousands of Cubans amounted to approval of the island’s communist system amid mounting international criticism over human rights.

In Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, thousands of workers marched on the presidential palace, shouting: “Workers unite! No more layoffs!”

Workers took to the streets to protest labour conditions and demand better pay [Reuters]

Bayu Ajie, a rally organiser, said a free-trade agreement with China had cost jobs, decreased wages and encouraged corruption.

In Russia almost two million people turned out to mark international worker’s day.

Demonstrators carrying red balloons, red Soviet flags and portraits of Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin, called for the Russian government’s resignation over rising prices and unemployment in Moscow.

Thousands of Cambodian workers marked May Day by marching through the capital to demand better work conditions and the establishment of a labour court.

Thousands of workers in the Philippines also took to the streets to reiterate their call to the government to protect jobs and to safeguard the interests of workers.

In the South Korean capital, Seoul, about 20,000 people gathered to demand better working conditions for labourers and farmers.

In Tokyo and Taiwan, thousands marched for better working conditions and permanent jobs.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, several hundred workers protested a proposed four per cent goods and services tax. While, in Hong Kong, about 1,000 protesters, including janitors, construction workers and bus drivers, demanded the government introduce a minimum wage of $4.30.

“A lunch box at a fast-food restaurant costs about $4. It’s an insult if you can’t afford a lunch box after working for an hour,” Leung Yiu-chung, a pro-democracy legislator, said on the sidelines of Saturday’s protests. Source

Workers demand better jobs, pay on May Day

Indonesian workers shout slogans during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Saturday (AP photo by Dita Alangkara)

I

STANBUL (AP) – Tens of thousands of workers marched in cities from Hong Kong to Istanbul Saturday to mark international worker’s day, demanding more jobs, better work conditions and higher wages.

About 140,000 jubilant workers gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square in the first celebrations at the site since dozens of people died there in a May 1 gathering more than three decades ago.

The demonstrations in Istanbul, which sits on both European and Asian continents, marked a special victory for the Turkish unions, which had been denied access to the Taksim Square since 1977, when 34 people died after shooting triggered a stampede. The culprits were never found and workers demanded Saturday an inquiry into the deaths of the demonstrators.

Most of the annual May Day marches were peaceful, but in the Chinese territory of Macau police used water cannons and pepper spray against rowdy protesters who tried to break away from the approved route. Hong Kong radio RTHK reported at least eight people injured, including a photographer.

Athens also witnessed riots, with police using tear gas to disperse demonstrators who threw firebombs and stones in a large May Day rally against austerity measures needed to secure loans for near-bankrupt Greece. In Switzerland, Zurich police used water cannons in an attempt to disperse dozens of stone-throwing protesters as unions and politicians protested against “excessive” Swiss banking bonuses.

German police detained 250 neo-Nazis who attempted to attack them in downtown Berlin, while they braced for further clashes after sundown.

Nadine Pusch, a spokeswoman for Berlin police, said 7,000 officers were scattered throughout the city in an effort to ensure peaceful demonstrations.

Overnight in Hamburg, 17 officers were injured in clashes on the eve of May 1 and at least nine demonstrators were detained, the German news agency ddp reported Saturday.

The turnout in Cuba was massive, as expected, and authorities claimed the march by hundreds of thousands of Cubans amounted to approval of the island’s communist system amid mounting international criticism over human rights.

Thousands joined peaceful May Day marches in Stockholm, where opposition leader Mona Sahlin blamed the centre-right government for failing to stem rising unemployment and eroding the nation’s cherished welfare system. Sahlin is hoping to become Sweden’s first female prime minister after national elections in September.

Several thousand demonstrators in Paris also took to the streets amid concerns about conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plans to overhaul the pension system.

In Manila, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced she had ordered the labour secretary to speed up negotiations between unions and employers on a 75-peso ($1.67) increase in daily minimum wage.

In Indonesia’s capital, thousands of workers marched on the presidential palace, shouting: “Workers unite! No more layoffs!”. Rally organiser Bayu Ajie said a free trade agreement with China had cost jobs, decreased wages and encouraged corruption. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono promised to create safer working conditions and improve job prospects if the workers maintained political and economic stability.

Thousands of Communist demonstrators, carrying red balloons, red Soviet flags and portraits of Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin, called for the Russian government’s resignation over rising prices and unemployment in Moscow. Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov led hundreds of opposition activists in a separate rally. They also called for the ouster of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whom they accuse of stamping out democracy. A few thousands also rallied in Ukraine’s capital.

In Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo and Taiwan, thousands marched for better working conditions and permanent jobs. Jeong Ho-hee, spokesman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Union, vowed to fight against long working hours and high death rate related to industrial accidents.

In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, several hundred workers protested a proposed 4 per cent goods and services tax while about 1,000 protesters, including janitors, construction workers and bus drivers, demanded the government in Hong Kong to introduce a minimum wage of 33 Hong Kong dollars ($4.30).

This freewheeling capitalist Chinese enclave is one of the world’s wealthiest cities, but critics say its wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few.

“A lunch box at a fast-food restaurant costs about HK$30 ($4). It’s an insult if you can’t afford a lunch box after working for an hour,” pro-democracy legislator Leung Yiu-chung said on the sidelines of Saturday’s protests.  Source

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Ukrainian Government in Action: Egg Throwing? Smoke Bombs? Wrestling?

Ukrainian opposition lobs eggs, smoke bombs in Parliament

Controversial deal to extend Russian lease at heart of controversy

April 27, 2010

The speaker in Ukraine’s parliament had to take cover behind an umbrella while opposition politicians pelted him with eggs and lobbed smoke bombs inside the chamber during a debate over the extension of a lease for a Russian naval base on Ukrainian soil. The government in Kiev eventually ratified the 25-year extension in order to secure discounts on supplies of Russian gas. However, as the brawling in the legislative chamber showed, the deal is meeting fierce opposition from pro-Western politicians in Ukraine. The pro-Russian government says the agreement will help Ukraine secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund, but former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said the day would instead “go down as a black page in the history of Ukraine and the Ukrainian parliament.” Source

This is the new way of running Government.  Somehow this is wrong  on every level, but  one has to smile at the oddness of it all.

Seems the opposition got into a bit of a tussle. My  how interesting it all is.  This beats a filibusters  in the US for sure. They were having so much more fun.  Americans could learn from this.

This fellow is Rising to the occasion. Seems the others are not to concerned about him. Boys will be boys.

The smoking section. Working on a large project. Well at least one of them is working.

I am pretty sure they took up wrestling. Well they might be just hugging.

There are 24 “priceless” photos in all. Check HERE for the rest of them.

Somehow the photos are better then the videos. They say so much more for some odd reason.

Video of smoke bomb egg fight in Ukraine parliament

They were even considerate enough to cover much of the furniture in an a attempt to keep it safe. How sweet.

Something a bit more serious.

Nice to see how civilized the Pro Westerners are?

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Blowout: BP’s deadly oil rig disaster

May 3  2010 Updates at bottom.

Next step pollution containment chambers.

Seems the Chemicals didn’t work all that well.

Obama went to check out the damages.

The oil slick on April 30, approximately is 130 miles long and 70 miles wide and growing. Between 200,000 to 210,000 gallons per day are now spilling out of the oil well. BP  admits it cannot handle this disaster and is asking for help as well.

April 29 2010

The oil is leaking about 5,000 barrels a day apparently – five times greater than initial estimates.

Earlier reports said:

Oil continues to spill undersea at an estimated rate of 160, 000 litres a day. (  1,000 barrels or 42,000 gallons of oil a day) The oil rig may have had as much as 700 thousand gallons of diesel on it as well.

By Danny Fortson

April 25 2010

Fireboats rush to contain the flames on the rig

It was a calm, balmy evening in the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the crew of the Deepwater Horizon, a giant drilling rig moored 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, were unwinding after a 12-hour shift in the blazing sun.

It had been a good day. After weeks of drilling, the rig, a technical marvel designed to tap the world’s most remote fields, had struck oil. It was a long way down — some 18,000ft beneath their feet, further than the height of Mont Blanc.

BP, which had hired the rig, was preparing a press release to trumpet its latest success. The news would have gone down well in Washington. Weeks earlier President Barack Obama had opened up to explorers swathes of the Gulf and east coast, much of which had been off limits since the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.

Then at 10pm last Tuesday, Deepwater Horizon’s lights went out. An eerie thud followed. Then another. Jim Ingram, a seasoned offshore worker, was preparing for bed. “On the second [thud],” he said, “we knew something was wrong.”

Moments later a torrent of gas, oil and mud burst through the rig floor, and for reasons nobody yet knows, ignited. In an instant the Deepwater Horizon exploded into a fireball.

There was little time to react. Some of the 126 crew jumped overboard, breaking bones from the 80ft drop into the sea.

Most managed to clamber into covered lifeboats, which were quickly winched down to the water. They gathered up colleagues and sped away from the roiling blaze fed by a fountain of oil and gas.

It was 45 minutes before they were met by a nearby BP supply ship that had been alerted to the distress signal. US Coast Guard helicopters flew the critically injured to hospitals. The rest of the survivors endured a tortuously slow return trip on the supply ship.

They arrived at a hotel outside New Orleans just before 5am to tearful family members. The father of one of the workers said: “Thank God he wasn’t on the rig floor. He would have been burnt alive.”

Eleven people were missing. The coast guard covered 3,400 sq miles in spotter planes, cutters and helicopters before calling off the search on Friday. Rear Admiral Mary Landry said: “The time of reasonable expectation of survivability has passed.” All eleven are presumed dead.

The accident was the deadliest for America’s offshore industry in more than two decades. The question now is who gets the blame.

Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive, has staked his reputation on cleaning up the company’s act. When he took over three years ago, the oil giant’s image was still tainted by the 2005 explosion at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 people and injured many more. The company paid millions in fines and pleaded guilty to criminal charges.

BP had just six men on the Deepwater Horizon. The rest were employees and contractors of Transocean, the firm that owned the rig and was responsible for the drilling. US authorities, Transocean and BP have all launched investigations to work out what went wrong.

The search for answers will be difficult: 36 hours after bursting into flames, the Deepwater Horizon capsized. The only trace it left was a one-mile by five-mile oil slick.

OBAMA enraged environmentalists last month when he repealed a moratorium on oil exploration on America’s east coast. His choice of venue for the announcement, Andrews air force base in Washington DC, in front of an F16 fighter jet modified to fly on biofuel, carried a less-than-subtle message. Finding domestic sources of fossil fuels is not just an economic issue, but a security one.

Five weeks before, Lord Hunt, Britain’s energy minister, delivered a similar message from a manufacturing yard in Fife. He announced the government’s largest-ever licensing of the seabed for oil exploration since the first parcels were offered in 1964, throwing open pristine swathes of coastal waters off Land’s End as well as large chunks of the English Channel that had previously been protected.

Domestic oil sources are dwindling at an alarming rate, pushing governments and the industry to increasingly desperate measures.

Kurt Arnold, a Houston lawyer with a pending case against Transocean, said: “The reality is that as we push and push into deeper exploration, deaths and injuries are more of a problem. You don’t hear about it because it’s offshore.

“They say it’s better than it used to be, but a lot goes unreported because of where it is.”

The Gulf of Mexico accounts for a third of America’s oil production. It attracts highly trained engineers as well as manual labourers, who can make far more than on land.

The work is dangerous. So far this year there have been three fires on rigs in the Gulf. Since 2001, 69 people have died in accidents. (The worst industry disaster remains the Piper Alpha catastrophe off Aberdeen, in 1988, when 167 workers died.) The Deepwater Horizon was designed to avoid such disasters. It was at the technological frontier, a “semi-submersible” rig intended for ultra-deep water, where rigid support structures are impossible.

Instead, it sat on pontoons equipped with thrusters that reacted to the tides to keep it in place. Six months ago it drilled to a record depth of 35,000ft. That well was also drilled for BP, not far from the site of last week’s disaster.

It is still unclear what caused the accident but it appears to have been a blowout — a sudden spike in pressure that sends oil or gas bursting up to the surface. If that happens, the blowout preventor, a guillotine-type valve on the seafloor, triggers automatically to cut the flow. It didn’t. BP sent remote-control submersibles to close it manually but they failed, which is why the rig continued to burn.

“I’m surprised by this,” said Manouchehr Takin of the Centre for Global Energy Studies, the research firm. “The deeper you go, you can find pockets of high pressure and low pressure, which can be a problem because the hydrostatic column must always be balanced. The fail-safes in place are incredibly good. This is just a tragic accident.”

BP’s relationship with Transocean will come under heavy scrutiny. Transocean is the largest offshore drilling contractor in the world with a fleet of 139 rigs.

The boom in offshore drilling, however, has led to intense competition not just for equipment but for the personnel to operate it. The most qualified crews are often shuffled between the most demanding jobs, like such as one the Deepwater Horizon was working on.

Contractually at least, the responsibility for the accident would appear to lie with Transocean. Like an architect, the oil giants design and oversee the job. It is the building firm, Transocean, that is paid to bring it to fruition, and shoulders the blame if anything goes wrong.

Speraking from Houston, Hayward said he was working closely with Transocean. “It is an incredibly good deepwater operator,” he said. “It’s their rig, their people, their systems, their processes.”

BP, as the owner of the oil, is taking the lead on the clean-up. So far this has been minimal. The fear was that oil would continue gushing when the rig sank. (Also, it had 700,000 gallons of diesel on board.) For some reason the flow reduced to a trickle.

BP has yet to determine why. A flotilla of 32 boats armed with skimming equipment and more than 1m feet of boom to contain any oil spillage remains at the ready.

Hayward said: “We want to make damn certain that this never happens again. That’s why I am here.

“We have an armada of ships ready to make sure that what is a tragic accident doesn’t become a major environmental issue.”

LESS than 36 hours passed before BP and Transocean were hit with the first lawsuit. Scott Bickford is representing the wife of Shane Roshto, 21, who had flown out a few days before to begin a three-week shift.

He is one of the 11 missing, now presumed dead.

“Both Transocean and BP are being sued. If there was any negligence, they’ll be liable,” Bickford said. “We wanted to make sure all evidence was preserved. I went down and saw one of the liferafts that was recovered. It was melted.”

This is just the beginning. It will be months before the cause of the disaster is determined and years before the last payouts are made.

For Transocean the stakes could not be higher. BP, too, will remain forever linked to another tragedy. How Hayward manages the crisis and its fallout could well be a defining moment of his reign at BP, much as Texas City was for his predecessor, Lord Browne.

The incident is certain to be exploited by all sides in the debate over where we get our energy and the risks we are willing to take.

“We strongly opposed Obama’s [offshore oil] proposal,” said Nick Berning at Friends of the Earth. “It endangers the marine environment, it’s obviously dangerous for workers and increasing our reliance on oil makes the climate crisis worse.

“His proposal is not a done deal. Legislation needs to be passed. This will influence that debate.”

Defining moment for the clean-up king

WHEN Tony Hayward took the top job at BP three years ago, the oil giant was in turmoil, writes Dominic O’Connell. Lord Browne, the “sun king” chief executive who had built up the group in a series of daring acquisitions, had left under a cloud after a boardroom bust-up.

The company was still suffering the legacy of an explosion and fire at its Texas City refinery that killed 15 workers and injured 170. The disaster had taken place two years earlier, in 2005, but a malaise still hung over BP’s American operations, fueled by the discovery of leaks in Alaskan pipelines and a string of other health and safety allegations.

Hayward, who has a first-class geology degree from Aston University in Birmingham, set out to reshape BP with a minimum of fuss and publicity. He asked Bain & Co, the business consultancy, to investigate the state of the group. The results were surprising. “I was gobsmacked,” he told The Sunday Times in an interview last November.

“They said, ‘You are the most complicated enterprise we have ever come across’. We were a very complex organisation with little clarity or accountability.”

His answer was to start hacking away at the organisation. He gutted middle management, sold assets and centralised operations. Only one in three of the top managers survived the cull. More than 6,500 jobs were eliminated and overheads fell by a third. The company’s results immediately perked up and investors were happy with Hayward’s increases in dividend payments and share buy-back programmes.

While the Gulf of Mexico explosion is not in the same league as the Texas City disaster, it is still worrying for Hayward, who is on the scene this weekend to monitor the clean-up.

President Barack Obama has only recently opened up new areas of America’s waters to exploration and BP, like the other oil giants, is desperate for virgin territories to explore.

If America pulls back, BP will be forced to look even farther afield. Source

Stormy weather delayed weekend efforts to mop up leaking oil from a damaged undersea well after the explosion and sinking of a massive rig off Louisiana’s Gulf Coast that left 11 workers missing and presumed dead. (April 25 2010)

Update April 26 2010

Fire crews attempting to extinguish fire.

Costs mount as BP battles oil disaster

By Rob Davies
April 26 2010

British oil giant BP is facing a multimillion-pound clean-up bill as it battles to contain a reputation-tarnishing oil spill off the coast of the US.

In the first major test for chief executive Tony Hayward, BP has deployed 32 ships and five aircraft to contain oil gushing from an underwater well in the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion on its Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

The explosion on the £388million rig managed by Swiss firm Transocean is thought to have killed 11 workers who have been missing since last Tuesday, while thousands of gallons of oil are being pumped into the sea.

A spokesman for BP said the clean-up operation had cost ‘ millions’ so far, but added: ‘Its money that needs to be spent and we will do what we need to.’

But the firm could be facing a multibillion-pound bill in the future, based on the fallout from the Texas City disaster in 2005, its last major US accident.

In that incident an explosion at BP’s refinery killed 15 workers and injured 180 others, prompting a report in which the firm was blamed for safety failures.

The company has paid out around £1.3billion in compensation and nearly £60million in fines for Texas City, and also reported lost earnings and repair costs of up to £650million relating to the accident. BP is already facing anger for this latest accident from US politicians, who have queued up to demand greater scrutiny of oil companies.

Florida Senator Bill Nelson said: ‘The tragedy off the coast of Louisiana shows we need to be asking a lot more tough questions of big oil.’

And his Louisiana counterpart, Senator Mary Landrieu called for a full investigation into the spill.

In a statement, the company said it ‘continues to forge ahead with a comprehensive oil well intervention and spill response plan’. One of the options being considered is to submerge a giant dome above the area of seabed from which the oil is gushing.

The dome, it is hoped, would catch the oil as it rises, which could then be pumped out.

The spokesman said the idea worked in shallow waters, but had never been tested in deep water.

The slick is around 40 miles off the coast and is not expected to reach land for three days.   Source

Big Oil Fought Off New Safety Rules Before Rig Disaster

Both companies British oil giant BP and Transocean have also aggressively opposed new safety regulations proposed last year by a federal agency that oversees offshore drilling — which were prompted by a study that found many accidents in the industry.

There were 41 deaths and 302 injuries out of 1,443 incidents from 2001 to 2007, according to the study conducted by the Minerals and Management Service of the Interior Department. In addition, the agency issued 150 reports over incidents of non-compliant production and drilling operations and determined there was “no discernible improvement by industry over the past 7 years.” For entire story go HERE

Update April 27 2010

Robot subs attempt to shut off oil leak

A vessel tries to contain oil spilled from a sunken rig in the Gulf of Mexico

Engineers from the British oil giant BP were yesterday racing to avert an environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as crude continued to leak at the site of the submerged oil rig Deepwater Horizon, which exploded and collapsed a week ago.

Up to 42,000 gallons of oil a day is spewing from a crumpled pipeline and uncapped well nearly a mile below the ocean’s surface, about 40 miles off the Louisiana coast.

Efforts to stop it rest in part on robot submersibles but BP officials said the task was “highly complex” and might not succeed. Surface operations by aircraft and ships to break up a thin slick that has grown to about 600 square miles were postponed by bad weather.

It was feared that a change of wind direction might push the oil towards land. “We’re in a very serious situation,” said Rear-Admiral Mary Landry, of the US Coast Guard. “Forty-five to 90 days is the initial estimate … before this well could be secured.” A search for 11 missing workers from the rig was called off on Friday. Source

Related

Oil spill set deadly record for Sea Birds

The Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 killed more sea birds than any oil spill in history, according to a study by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists. For the entire Story go HERE

Legacy of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Excerpts from different articles at the site.

2 studies report long-term effects on Sea Otters.

Many fishermen were also hit by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill

10 years later, front-line spill workers link physical ailments to cleanup work, cancer being one of them.

The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was not the most egregious accident to damage ocean waters, but “only one of many, many changes, the mass majority of which are incremental, invisible, sometimes irreversible … and together quite insidious,” according to Jane Lubchenco, a professor of marine biology at Oregon State University                                                 For all the articles go HERE

Exxon Valdez payments List

List of Oil spills around the world

Another recent disaster in a mine. 25 died.

Deadly Record: Massey’s Mine In Montcoal Has Been Cited For Over 3,000 Violations, Over $2.2 Million In Fines

Safety Violations

Well who is keeping tabs on safety one has to wonder?

If a mine can have 3,000 violations, one has to wonder how many violations there are in the oil industry?

Safety should be paramount in all industries,  but in these two sectors mining an oil there seems to be little done to prevent disasters.  Why?

This is for the safety of the people who work there, those living in the areas, the impact on wildlife, the impact on water supplies and the destruction to the environment as a whole.

Seems none of the above are really taken into consideration.

Over the last week I noticed the price of Gas went down a bit because of the planes being grounded by the Volcanic eruption in Iceland.

Well that gave me a profound thought.

One has to wonder how much the price of Gas would go down if war was eliminated.

How much of the worlds resources are wasted on war?

How much does war, in total dollars and cents, cost the world?

You need the resources to make the weapons, planes, tanks, ships and jeeps etc. You need the fuel to transport and operate, the vehicles  vehicles once they are there.

The total cost from beginning to end must be staggering.

The destruction of lives and the environment are horrendous. In many cases the destruction is permanent.

The cost of Health care due to war is unimaginable.

The total cost of war is beyond your wildest dreams.

If a volcanic eruption can bring down the price of gas over a week, imagine how much the price of gas would fall without war.

War is not a necessity.  It is time we removed all the things that are not necessary that wastes the worlds resources.

If you want to save trillions of dollars a year. Eliminate war.

Spend the money on agriculture in third world countries so they can feed themselves.

To curb over population promote birth control. Millions of women around the world do not have access to it. Millions cannot even afford it.

Spend the money on renewable energies.

There are a million ways to spend money on more constructive things as opposed to war.

Save the environment we live in, instead.

Hey everyone is allowed to fantasize right.

But if you had a choice of the environment and war, which would it be?

War is a major polluter.

War is not sustainable on any level.

War “Pollution” Equals Millions of Deaths

Update April 28 2010

U.S. Coast Guard to burn oil leaking from sunken rig

By Kevin McGill

April 28 2010

NEW ORLEANS—Racing against a threat to environmentally sensitive marshlands, authorities planned to begin Wednesday burning some of the thickest oil from a rig explosion off the coast of Louisiana.

A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said the burn was expected to begin in the morning.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Prentice Danner says fire-resistant containment booms will be used to corral some of the thickest oil on the water’s surface, which will then be ignited. It was unclear how large an area would be set on fire or how far from shore the first fire would be set.

The slick is the result of oil leaking from the site of last week’s huge explosion of the rig Deepwater Horizon that left 11 people missing and presumed dead.

Oil continues to spill undersea at an estimated rate of 160, 000 litres a day. ( 1,000 barrels or 42,000 gallons of oil a day)

Robot submarines have been unable to cap the well. Operator BP Plc. says work will begin as early as Thursday to drill a relief well to take pressure off the flow from the blowout site. That could take months.

Winds and currents in the Gulf have helped crews in recent days as they try to contain the leak, but it has moved steadily toward the mouth of the Mississippi River, an area home to hundreds of species of wildlife and near some of the Gulf’s richest oyster grounds.

Meanwhile, the cost of the disaster continues to rise.

The Deepwater Horizon exploded on April 20. The rig was owned by Transocean Ltd. and operated by BP.

Industry officials say replacing the Deepwater Horizon would cost up to $700 million (dollar figures U.S.). BP has said its costs associated with containing the spill are running at $6 million a day. The company said it will spend $100 million to drill the relief well, which it does not expect to be operating for up to three months. The coast guard has not yet reported its expenses.  Source

Imagine the air pollution from this one.

April 28, 2010

Update April 29 2010

Working on off shore rigs is dangerous in the Gulf of Mexico since 2001 there have been 59 fatalities, 1,349 injuries and 852 fires.

But that is only the off shore ones I went looking for all the accidents just to see how many there are around the world.

I didn’t find anything about  world wide statistics yet but I did find some Rather interesting pictures of Accidents

Blowouts and some of the injures oil workers have had ( warning some of them are horrendous). There are many pictures and videos on oil wells. Be sure to check them out. There is a wealth of information at the site,  just check the Site Map to find it all. You could spend the day there and not get through it all. Oilfield Accidents

Thought a few of you might be interested in having a look.

Excellent photos that show Deep water Horizon sinking. Transocean Deepwater Horizon photo slide show…

Click on image to enlarge.

Compliments of Roughneck City

More Photos of the Transocean Deepwater Horizon Fire

Blowouts are explained on the video Lodgepole link below. It took 63 days to finally cap the well. It was above ground not under water. Underwater is much more difficult..I would imagine..If you watch all five Videos on Lodgepole you will see why. It seemed anything that could go wrong did. Go to the Video page for the other 4 videos. Blowout at Lodgepole Part 1

Update April 29 2010

Oil spill in Gulf of Mexico ‘could be worse than Exxon Valdez disaster’

The US Coast Guard and the oil firm were leading the bid to limit the spread of slick, fed by oil leaking from broken well pipes one mile under the sea at an estimated rate of 5,000 barrels a day – five times greater than initial estimates.

With three leaks detected near the sea, the spill could eventually match the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989, when 11 million gallons gushed from a crippled tanker into an Alaskan sound, devastating the local habitat.

For the entire story Go HERE

The oil slick could hit the shoreline , Thursday April 29 2010 from what many reports have said.  Apparently it is about about 12 miles out earlier today.

Two Mysteries Surround Gulf Oil Spill …

April 29 2010

Normally, hydraulic equipment controlled by engineers up on the oil rig can close the BOP. As a backup, most BOPs have automatic shutoff valves known as “Dead Man” switches that cause the BOPs to close automatically if there is loss of communication from the oil rig. As another backup measure, many BOPs have radio-controlled switches to allow crews to close the valve remotely—but the Deepwater Horizon lacked that device. So now, as the oil continues to pour out of the open well nearly 1.5 kilometers below the ocean surface, engineers are desperately trying to close the BOP manually using an arm on a robotic submersible. For the entire story go HERE

Updates for April 30 2010

Oil Spill Hits Gulf Coast Habitats

Pictures: Gulf Oil Spill Hits Land—And Wildlife.

On Thursday night, the oil made its first landfall: Louisiana’s “bird’s foot” delta and barrier marshes. Over the weekend, the oil is expected to reach Mississippi and Alabama and Officials of the joint federal-industry response team said that more than 217,000 feet (66,142 meters) of boom have been deployed to try to protect ecologically sensitive areas, and that loud cannons have been fired in an effort to haze the birds from the water’s edge. For the entire story go HERE

Gulf of Mexico Oil Hits Coast; White House Calls Spill Event of ‘National Significance’

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency  because of the oil slick.

Louisiana shrimpers filed a class-action lawsuit against BP, the owners of the oil rig, and Halliburton, which they say was working to cement the rig’s well and well-cap. The suit claimed that these companies and others were negligent in allowing the explosion that led to the spill, which they claim now threatens their livelihoods. They are asking for damages of at least $5 million. For entire story go HERE

Army of volunteers needed for Gulf oil spill cleanup

Volunteer efforts are underway in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida to contain and clean up the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Deep Water Horizon response team is actively working to contain the spill and has laid down 217,000 feet of barrier. They’re asking coastal residents to report areas where oil can be seen on the shore or to leave contact information if they wish to volunteer by calling 1-866-448-5816. Oiled animals should be reported at 1-866-557-1401, but not captured.

The National Audubon Society is carefully coordinating their response with government officials to ensure that the response goes as smoothly as possible. Prospective volunteers who sign up at AudubonAction.org will be connected with state and federal agencies, Audubon leaders and other volunteer organizations who are in need of assistance.

For the entire story and organizations looking for help and donations go HERE to get phone numbers or web sites.

As the oil begins to wash ashore, reports David Usborne reports from Venice, Louisiana, on a community powerless to save itself.

May 1  2010

Despair and resignation reigned among fishermen and other seafaring residents of the southern Louisiana shoreline yesterday as the vast Gulf of Mexico oil slick began to slide silently into fragile marshlands and ecologically precious inlets fed by a deep-water leak that no one seems able to plug.

“They can’t turn it off, they don’t know how to,” lamented Captain Sean Lanier, who makes his livelihood taking tourists fishing for redfish and speckled trout through the grassy waterways and inlets at the mouth of Mississippi here. “What we need now is a James Bond to go down there and close that thing down.”

More than a week after the sinking of the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon rig, about 40 miles out to sea from here, the leading edge of a slick as large as Jamaica was beginning to lick the reeds and mud flats of the estuary, threatening oyster beds, fisheries and tourism in communities that have barely recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Strong winds and 7ft waves were pushing the slick inshore even faster.

For the entire story go HERE

White House Suspends New Drilling / Oil Spill Hits Gulf Coast Shoreline

Update for May 2 2010

Now they are thinking about using a Chemical to help clean up the mess which may be as bad for the environment as the oil as there is has not been any long term study done however.

Oil-spill disaster: Chemicals used in cleanup add to toxic mix

May 2, 2010

For now, heavy applications of the soaplike liquid may be all that stand between the fast-spreading crude and Florida’s coastline, which could be in jeopardy by midweek, , according to projections by response authorities in Roberts, La.

Environmental advocates and scientists consider dispersant the lesser of two evils when faced with what could turn out to be the nation’s worst drilling-related offshore oil spill. And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency warns that “dispersants used today are less toxic than those used in the past, but long-term, cumulative effects of dispersant use are still unknown.” For entire story go HERE

To bad they didn’t have a few dozen Slick Lickers. Other wise known as Oilevator. And old invention.

They probably don’t even make them any more. But had they had a few of those it would be better then using Chemicals and you still get to save  the oil.  Now one would think this type of invention could have been improved upon considering the drilling at sea, as they do now.  A few of these on  a larger scale would be  very helpful at a time like this. But whatever. Just a thought from a stupid person? LOL Beats Chemicals all to hell of course. And remember, if we run out of oil we can always go back to the old horse and buggy days. Horses were smart enough not to have head on collisions.

Environment: The Slick-Licker

Ferried out to the spill on small landing craft, four lickers extended their long, conveyor belt “tongues” to the oil. A whir of machinery, and the absorbent material on the belt spun into the oil and sopped it up. Heavy rollers at the end of the conveyors then squeezed out the oil into 45-gallon drums. In ten weeks about 200,000 gallons of oil had been lapped up. The licker is doubly effective because its conveyor belt is coated with oil prior to deployment. The result is that the tongue repels surrounding water and gobbles up only oil.

Oilevator is dirt cheap (about $7,500 per machine), and it has worked so well that a government task force has recommended that at least one slick-licker be placed in each Canadian port. For entire story go HERE

Halliburton in spotlight in gulf spill probe

Updates May 3 2010

In this April 26, 20010 photo released by the U.S. Coast Guard, the base of a pollution containment chamber is moved to a construction area at Wild Well Control, Inc. in Port Fourchon, La., April 26, 2010. The chamber will be one of the largest ever built and will be used in an attempt to contain an oil leak related to the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon explosion. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer Third Class Patrick Kelley)

Crews have had little success stemming the flow from the ruptured well on the sea floor off Louisiana or removing oil from the surface by skimming it, burning it or dispersing it with chemicals. For entire story go HERE

The containment chambers will be 40 feet tall, 24 feet wide and 14 feet deep.

We have a second type of containment Dome. Not sure which one will be used.

How to stop the BP oil spill: What else can be tried now? May 3, 2010

Welders at work on the Pollution Control Dome being built in Port Fourchon Monday, as BP rushes to cap the source of the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon platform disaster. BP might be ready to deploy the structure, which would funnel the oil into ships, by this weekend. Newscom For entire story go HERE

Obama toured the Coast.

The bulk of the slick is now nine miles offshore.

Mr Obama flew to New Orleans and drove for two hours to the tip of the Mississippi delta to show his concern for communities at risk of economic extinction from the growing oil slick to the south – and to show Americans that he has learnt from his predecessor’s mistakes. The visit was part of an urgent push by the White House to present its response to Louisiana’s latest disaster as more nimble than that of President Bush after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For entire story go HERE

Iran offers to help contain US oil spill

May 3 2010

The National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has offered to assist the US in efforts to prevent an ecological disaster caused by the spreading oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Following an explosion on a BP-operated oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico last month, at least 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) of crude oil are thought to be spilling into the water every day.

NIDC managing director Heidar Bahmani announced the firm’s readiness to use its decades-long expertise to fight the oil slick, the company’s public relations office told Press TV.

“Our oil industry experts in the field of drilling can contain the rig leakage in the Gulf of Mexico and prevent an ecological disaster in that part of the world,” Bahmani said.

Overlooking the new US drive for slapping more UN sanctions on Iran over its civilian nuclear program, the company said that there is an urgent need for action to protect the nearby coasts from the advancing oil spill.

The governors of Alabama, Louisiana and Florida have reportedly called a state of emergency for fear of the oil slick’s environmental and economic damages.

The disaster has also prompted the White House to ban oil drillings in new areas of the US coast until the British company explains the cause of the explosion that killed 11 employees and resulted in the oil spill.

Source

Maybe the US and BP should consider the help seems they are not doing so well on their own. Maybe Iran has the answers they need. It’s  time to put ego’s aside.

They do after all  help the US in the Health care field.

This is rather interesting It talks about  some of the Chemicals/pollution that  are emitted while drilling for oil among other things…Check table 2 on page 10

I have one question that I haven’t found an answer for yet. Who built the “Blowout Preventor” that failed to work?

BP is hoping to have the oil stopped withing a week. Somehow I have a hard time believing that.

Seems everything that has been tried has not worked.

This is a very nasty oil disaster and there are three leaks at this point in time.

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The 2nd Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in south Iceland

The 2nd Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in south Iceland

Added updates for Sunday April 18 2010 at the bottom. Also there are  useful links for air travelers and train travelers.

Volcano Eruption in Eyjafjallajökull Iceland  April 14 2010:  Photo taken by a man named Ólafur Eggertsson from the farm Þorvaldseyri.

April 14, 2010 — The 2nd Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption in south Iceland for year 2010. It started on 14.04.2010. GPS coordinates of the eruption: 63.629° N, 19.630° W. Video by Icelandic National TV stations RÚV and Stöð 2. Music by Jonn Serrie, The Legacy, Spirit Keepers. Date: 14.04.2010.

March 21, 2010 — Video made by the Icelandic coast guard of the volcano eruption near Eyjafjallajökull glacier, in South Iceland. The eruption started shortly before midnight on Saturday 20th of March 2010.

Ash from Iceland Volcano Will Spread Widely

April 15 2010

According to meteorologist Thorsteinn Jónsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the ash emitted from the volcano in Eyjafjallajökull in south Iceland will continue to drift across Europe and spread to many countries in the next 24 hours.

Scandinavia, the British Isles, the Benelux countries and even Poland will be subject to ash fall in the next 24 hours, Jónsson told ruv.is. He finds it likely that the eruption will continue at the same force and that ash can spread as widely as across the entire northern hemisphere.

In Iceland the Eyjafjallajökull eruption has caused extensive ash fall in the regions east of the glacier today. The situation was worst in the eastern Mýrdalssandur sand plain and in the Medalland and Álftaver districts in Skaftártungur. Ash fall was also reported in Kirkjubaejarklaustur and as far as Höfn.

Tomorrow wind is forecast to blow in from the north and then ash is expected to spread over the districts south of Eyjafjallajökull and to the Westman Islands. Forecasts also assume that ash will continue to drift with upper atmosphere winds in the coming days.

Airports have been closed in Scandinavia and the British Isles today and millions of travelers are stranded.

The British media has stated that never before in peace times has aviation been brought to such a standstill in the UK—after the 2001 terrorist attacks there were still flights to a few destinations while the current ash fall is causing an absolute flying ban.

Ash can prove extremely hazardous to airplane engines. Grains that are carried into the engines can destroy the motors in a matter of minutes. Source

Volcanic ash cloud causing fear among Icelandic farmers

There has not been as much volcanic ash falling in Iceland since the Katla eruption of 1918 and that eruption caused many farmers’ entire stock of animals to die.

April 15 2010

Vilhjalmur Eyjolfsson from the farm Hnausi to the east of Eyjafjallajokull told RUV the ash cloud is darkening the sky and the ash is still falling. He says he has never seen anything like it. If the situation lasts long, he fears there could be trouble with regard to putting his animals out to graze, as they must be protected from eating or drinking volcanic ash at all costs.

Eyjolfsson said his farm experienced ash falls from the Grimsvotn eruption in 1934, but today is much worse. All farm animals in the Medallandi area died when Katla erupted in 1918 and Eyjolfsson says people took many years to get over it.

In other news: work has begun to repair the deliberate damage done to the Route 1 highway yesterday. The digging up of the road appears to have helped the surging flood waters on their way, meaning that bridges have not been damaged. The flood of meltwater caused by the volcano has now subsided significantly. Source

Information on Ash Fall

April 15 2010

There is considerable ash fall resulting from the volcanic eruption under the Eyjafjallajökull glacier. The ash that is falling is composed of both fine and course particles. The wind direction and other meteorological conditions have an impact on where the ash falls to earth.

An examination of the ash particles is in progress but it is known that the ash originated from the volcano and so it can contain the chemical Florine, which is a pollutant and can have harmful short term and long term effects for grazing animals.

Volcanic ash can also effect humans. The most common effects are:

Respiratory effects:
Common short-term symptoms include:
Nasal irritation and discharge (runny nose).
Throat irritation and sore throat, sometimes accompanied by dry coughing.
Breathing becomes uncomfortable.
People with pre-existing chest complaints may develop severe bronchitis symptoms which last some days beyond exposure to ash (for example, hacking cough, production of sputum, wheezing, or shortness of breath).
Airway irritation for people with asthma or bronchitis; common complaints of people with asthma include shortness of breath, wheezing and coughing.
Eye irritation is a common health effect as pieces of grit can cause painful scratches in the front of the eye and conjunctivitis. Contact lens wearers need to be especially ware of this problem.

Eye symptoms:
Common short-term symptoms include:
Eyes feeling as though there are foreign particles in them.
Eyes becoming painful, itchy or bloodshot. Sticky discharge or tearing
Corneal abrasions or scratches.
Acute conjunctivitis or inflammation due to the presence of ash, which leads to redness, burning of the eyes, and photosensitivity.

What to do to protect yourself against volcanic ash,
Use a mask when outside, and it is also recommended to wear protective clothing.
If a mask is not available the use a cloth over the mouth and nose to prevent inhalation of larger particles.
Use protective goggles.
Children and adult with respiratory problems should remain indoors.

Source

More photo’s of Volcanic eruption posted on Flickr

Huge ash plume blanketing Europe may last 5 more days

The unprecedented closure of airspace across Britain and large parts of Northern Europe is set to continue into the weekend, after a volcanic eruption in Iceland sent a massive plume of ash into the atmosphere.

The giant plume also shut airspace in Scandinavia, Germany, Belgium, France and Ireland yesterday.

Dutch airspace closed due to volcanic ash from Iceland

Danish airspace shuts down

More Airports could be affected depending on how far the Fall of ash travels.

Norway, Sweden and Finland are also among European countries that have also been hit.

It is amazing how the ash can travel so far in just one day.  It goes with the wind.

As I was looking at this map it occurred to me Radiation from Nuclear Bombs and DU can travel even farther  as it is lighter, but invisible to the eye.

Something to think about.
Update  April 15 2010
(Reuters) – A volcanic eruption in Iceland, which has thrown up a 6-km (3.7 mile) high plume of ash and disrupted air traffic across northern Europe, has grown more intense, an expert said on Thursday.

The eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier continued to spew large amounts of ash and smoke into the air and showed no signs of abating after 40 hours of activity, said Pall Einarsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland.

“The seismographs are showing that since this morning the intensity of the eruption seems to be growing,” he said.

Hot fumes had melted up to a third of the glacial ice covering the crater, causing a nearby river to burst its banks, and frequent explosions on the floor of the crater sounded like bombs going off, he said.

The floods were abating, however, and some of those living in the sparsely populated area near the volcano had returned to their homes.

Another scientist said the eruption was 10 times more powerful than one which occurred last month on the flank of the volcano, though the two were part of the same event.

To the east of the volcano, thousands of hectares of land are covered by a thick layer of ash while a cloud blotted out the sun in some areas along the southern coast of Iceland, local media reported.

The cloud of ash from the eruption has hit air travel all over northern Europe, with flights grounded or diverted due to the risk of engine damage from sucking in particles of ash from the volcanic cloud.

CLOSE WATCH

Scientists picked up the first signs of increased seismic activity at Eyjafjallajokull last summer and had been expecting an eruption at any moment, Einarsson said.

The eruption began in March but subsided earlier this week when a magma conduit became blocked, building up pressure which finally escaped through the volcano’s main crater.

Einarsson, who described the eruption as “reasonably powerful,” said it was the most significant volcanic event in Iceland since a huge eruption in 1996, when an eruption under the Grimsvotn lakes led to widespread flooding.

He said scientists were still concerned the ongoing eruption could trigger Mt Katla, a more powerful volcano nearby covered by a thicker ice sheet, but had not picked up any clear signs of brewing activity.

The volcano under the Ejfjallajokull glacier, Iceland’s fifth largest glacier, has erupted five times since Iceland was settled in the ninth century.

Iceland sits on a volcanic hotspot in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and has relatively frequent eruptions, although most occur in sparsely populated areas and pose little danger to people or property. Before March, the last eruption took place in 2004.

(Reporting by Omar Valdimarsson; writing by Nicholas Vinocur; editing by Robert Woodward) Source

Warning. I was just checking for updates and noticed.

Some News articles are saying that the Falling Ash/particles or whatever you want to call it, will not affect your health. That is not true. It most certainly can harm your health. If the ash is falling stay indoors if possible or wear a mask, especially those with respiratory aliments like Asthma.

Point of interest

If the closures continue for up to three days, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) estimates some 6 million passengers will be affected – probably forfeiting their flights; as an Act of God, the volcano’s impact nullifies insurance claims for canceled flights. Source

My Advice become an Atheist real quick. Don’t let them rip you off. Act of God my foot. That is just a line they use to  rip people off. They can’t prove God did it. Nobody can.

Update Friday April 16 2010

Ryanair halts flights till Monday

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary tonight announced blanket weekend flight cancellations over safety fears for planes flying in northern Europe.

The budget carrier’s chief said all services to and from the UK and Ireland and about a dozen other regions have been grounded until 1pm on Monday.

Mr O’Leary apologised to customers but said he was acting on advice that stable weather was continuing to push potentially dangerous volcanic ash over the region.

Spectacular pictures taken from a helicopter at sunset on April 14, 2010 show how ash from an Icelandic volcano is severely disrupting travel plans for British air passengers. Photo MARCO FULLE / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD

For the Entire Story and more photo’s go HERE

Some 17,000 flights in European airspace are likely to be cancelled Friday due to the dangers posed by a volcanic ash cloud spreading from Iceland, with experts warning that the disruption could continue into the weekend.

Although some Scottish and Scandinavian airports are likely to resume limited flights Friday, a ban on flights still covers most UK airspace and much of Northern Europe.

Eurostar has also confirmed that it has no availability for trains on Friday, April 16.

More information:

Useful  Links Compliments of the UK Independent

Flightstats
Flightstats tracks aviation delays worldwide, showing the current status of individual airports and flights.
http://www.flightstats.com

Updates on British air space
NATS controls all air traffic over the British Isles and the eastern North Atlantic and has provided regular updates on its website.
http://www.nats.co.uk/

Updates on mainland European air space
Eurocontrol is responsible for air traffic across mainland European airspace and has provided regular updates on its website and on Twitter.
http://www.eurocontrol.int
http://twitter.com/eurocontrol

Updates from main airport operators

BAA (responsible for London Heathrow airport) http://www.baa.com/

Aeroports de Paris (responsible for Paris Charles de Gaulle airport) http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr

Frankfurt Airport (Frankfurt/Main airport) http://www.frankfurt-airport.com

Berliner Flughafen (responsible for Berlin’s Tegel airport) http://www.berlin-airport.de

Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport) http://www.schiphol.nl/

Crowd sourced updates

The Twitter “ashtag” is being used by major airlines and airport operators to provide micro blogging updates:

http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23ashtag

Train updates

Eurostar operates trains between the UK and mainland Europe http://www.eurostar.com/

General update on the volcanic eruption

By IceNews

April 16 2010

Passengers flying to or from Iceland are advised to follow updated travel information on http://www.kefairport.is/English/

The volcanic eruption in the glacier Eyjafjallajokull in South Iceland is continuing but Icelandic civil protection authorities have the situation as regards public response fully under control. The affected areas have been evacuated and damage has been limited to roads, bridges and other infrastructure that has been destroyed by flooding. Further damage to agricultural land is evident.

Day to day business in Iceland apart from the directly affected areas in the south has not been affected. The ash hurled into the atmosphere by the eruption has however caused serious disruption of air traffic. Icelandic scientists and public authorities, the Meterological Institution (http://en.vedur.is/) and the Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration (http://www.isavia.is/), remain in close contact with their counterparts in Europe in order to monitor the eruption, the weather conditions and the projected path of the volcanic ash cloud.

Travelling in Iceland – safety first

Foreign visitors in Iceland that have had their flights cancelled are advised to contact their travel agents. Visitors coming to Iceland are encouraged to monitor the news and learn about their rights if the flight is cancelled.

Travelers are also urged to take all necessary general precautions while travelling in Iceland and seek the advise of local authorities.

Air traffic

Ash fall from the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull has affected air traffic in North Europe the last few days and therefore traveling to and from Iceland. People are encouraged to monitor the news and learn about their rights if the flight is canceled.

Source

April 16 2010 Update

All of Europe’s three biggest airports – London Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Frankfurt – were closed by the ash, which is a threat to jet engines and pilot visibility.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control group, said only 11,000 of the daily 28,000 flights in the affected zone would take off Friday. It said at least half of the 600 daily flights between Europe and North America would be cancelled.

About 6,000 flights to and within Europe were canceled Thursday.

Poland, Britain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belgium and the Netherlands shut down all or most of their airspace.

Finland, France, Germany, Russia and Spain experienced major disruption, although Sweden began gradually reopening airspace and Norway temporarily opened up some of its.

“Forecasts suggest that the cloud of volcanic ash is continuing to move east and southeast and that the impact will continue for at least the next 24 hours,” Eurocontrol said in a statement.

Most aviation authorities promised a review on Friday, but the Dutch transport inspectorate set the uncertain tone: no flights “until further notice”.

The cloud now extends from the Atlantic to the Russian capital and from the Arctic Circle to Austria. Thousands of people were stranded in airports around the world as a global flight backlog built up. Source

The prevailing winds, however, allowed Icelandic airports to remain open.

This impressive picture was taken with a special camera on board the Icelandic coastguard’s TF-SIF research plane. The picture shows three craters in the Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The craters are each 200 to 300 metres wide.  IceNews

This is from the Volcano that erupted in March 20 2010. There are three people walking at the bottom of the picture. This give us an idea of just how huge the volcano is.

The eruption on Fimmvörduháls, which has now come to an end. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

Both eruptions are extremely close to each other.

More information at Iceland Review

For more information Volcanic eruption, flooding etc. try this Link it is a google translated version to english.

If that doesn’t work try this  One it is the original and use your own translator. The videos below are under the world “Upptökur” Just in case the translated version  below for the videos  does not wok for you.

Some Videos

The videos below  come up in Windows media player. If you do not have High speed let it run through once, then hit the play again and they usually come up second time around a bit slow but better. If it happens that they don’t come up in English just click on “Horfa” = Watch

Myndir af gjóskufalli Pictures of ash falls

Loftmyndir af gosinu í Eyjafjallajökli Photographs of the eruption in Eyjafjallajökull

Magnús Tumi ræðir eldgosið í Eyjafjallajökli Magnús Tumi question eruption of Eyjafjallajökull

Nýtt myndband af öskufalli New video of ash fall

Nýjar myndir af flóðinu New pictures of the flood

Myndir af eldgosinu og flóðinu Photos of the eruption and flood

Update April 10 2010

Videos: Driving Into the Ash Cloud in South Iceland

Watch these videos shot from a car driving into the volcanic ash cloud in south Iceland from Drangshlíd by Skógafoss waterfall towards Skógar. There were 18 kilometers of absolute darkness but on both sides of the ash cloud the sun was shining brightly.

2 Videos below  Shot by by Páll Stefánsson at 1:30 pm on April 17. Copyright: icelandreview.com

Iceland volcano coming to an end?

From IceNews April 17 2010

A University of Iceland geophysicist says there are now clear signs that the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which began erupting on Wednesday, is slowing down. Attention is now turning to the more violent Katla volcano which many fear will erupt next. However, there are no indications that Katla is reawakening at the moment.

AFP reports Sigrun Hreinsdottir, a geophysicist with the University of Iceland, as saying that the lava flow has slowed and that the whole eruption could now slow dramatically as a result.

Hreinsdottir says it appears the lava is flowing from a lava chamber one kilometre deep. She likens the lava chamber to a bursting balloon, adding that nobody knows how much lava is inside in order to accurately predict when the eruption will stop fully.

The pressurised lava always tries to find the easiest way out, she says. That was at Fimmvorduhals in March and is now at the top of Eyjafjallajokull. The build-up of pressure when this eruption finishes will lead eventually to another volcano erupting. History teaches that Katla may well be next, but whether that will be tomorrow, in one year, or never, is impossible to say today. Katla last erupted in 1918.

Click here to see a series of eruption photos, including night time shots where lightning can clearly be seen in the ash cloud. Source

140 mn cubic metres ash spewed from Iceland volcano
April 19 2010

The Iceland’s volcano has spewed about 140 million cubic metres of ash over the past three days, Icelandic scientists have said.

The Institute of Earth Sciences of the University of Iceland estimated that about 100 million cubic meters of ash rose into the air from Eyjafjallajokull volcano and was blown across northern Europe, cancelling thousands of flights. Source

Many flights are still canceled. Some until Tuesday..

Iceland’s farmers try to save herds from toxic ash

April 18 2010

AP Photo – Wearing a mask and glasses against the smoke, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir from Nupur, Iceland, looks for cattle lost in ash clouds, Saturday, April 17, 2010. The volcano in southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier continued to send ash into the air Sunday.

Berglind Hilmarsdottir, a dairy farmer, teamed up with neighbors Saturday to round up her cattle, some 120 in all, and get them to shelter. In the panic, some of the animals got lost in the fog of ash, and the farmers had to drive around searching for them.

“The risk is of fluoride poisoning if they breathe or eat too much,” Hilmarsdottir said through a white protective mask.

The fluoride in the ash creates acid in the animals’ stomachs, corroding the intestines and causing hemorrhages. It also binds with calcium in the blood stream, and after heavy exposure over a period of days makes bones frail, even causing teeth to crumble.

AP Photo – Farmers team up to rescue cattle from exposure to the toxic volcanic ash at a farm in Nupur, Iceland, as the volcano in southern Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010.

“The best we can do is put them in the barn, block all the windows and bring them clean food and water as long as the earth is contaminated,” said Hilmarsdottir. For entire story go HERE

Airlines challenge restrictions as 6.8 million passengers affected April 19 2010

The enormous shroud of fine mineral dust particles now stretches from the Arctic Circle in the north to the French Mediterranean coast in the south, and from Spain into Russia.

The cloud is now heading toward Greece and into Russia, weather experts said. For entire story go HERE

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Kyrgyzstan: The nepotism that sparked a revolution

Haaretz Threatened for Exposing Israeli Assassination Cover-Up

Kyrgyzstan: The nepotism that sparked a revolution

Sons were catapulted into key positions by Kyrgyz leader forced to flee office

By Shaun Walker

April 10 2010

Residents of Bishkek yesterday flocked to the city’s main square to remember the dozens of people who died in Wednesday’s violence. But grief was tinged with anger at ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who authorised troops to shoot on demonstrating civilians.

Mr Bakiyev fled to the south of the country as his government fell. Many in Bishkek hope that he, and his hated sons, will not return. The ousted president has denounced the revolution, which led to government offices being torched and looted, as a foreign-backed coup and told The Independent after fleeing that he still has the support of the majority of the country.

However, the mood on the streets yesterday suggests that he is out of touch with a people furious at his authoritarianism, corruption and nepotism. More than anything, it was the catapulting of his sons and brothers into senior state positions that angered ordinary Kyrgyz. It is telling that while interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has said Mr Bakiyev will be guaranteed safe passage out of the country if he capitulates, no such offer has been extended to his family members.

The country’s new prosecutor-general yesterday announced that a case was being prepared against Maxim Bakiyev, the president’s son and the most reviled man in the country.

Aged 32, he was, many suspect, being groomed to succeed his father. He headed a specially created agency to manage the hundreds of millions of dollars of Russian loan money, called the Central Agency for the Development of Investment and Innovation.

Critics noted that the Russian abbreviation for the agency sounded remarkably like “Tsar” – which is exactly what many in the country thought Mr Bakiyev behaved like.

“Even in the name of this agency, the ambitions of the Bakiyev sons for power were clear,” said Daniil Kislov, the editor-in-chief of the respected Fergana.ru website.

“They helped their father usurp power, and also seized various different businesses.

“They directly gave orders to put pressure on journalists, politicians, oppositionists and even members of parliament who opposed them. Many of these people had to leave Kyrgyzstan, and some of them were killed.”

Last December, Gennady Pavlyuk, a prominent Kyrgyz journalist who had often criticised the authorities, died after falling from an upper-storey apartment window on a trip to neighbouring Kazakhstan. Earlier last year, Medet Sardykulov, a former head of Mr Bakiyev’s administration, who had gone into opposition, was found dead in his car on the outskirts of Bishkek.

One of Mr Bakiyev’s key platforms when he came to power in the so-called Tulip Revolution in 2005 was that he would end the nepotism with which the ousted Askar Akayev had ruled. But politics came full circle, and in recent months his opponents have accused his regime of being even more corrupt and authoritarian. In addition to Maxim, Mr Bakiyev’s other son, Marat, and three of his brothers all held senior positions in the government.

After the uprising, Mr Bakiyev defended his family and insisted that he had put them in senior positions because of their experience.

“Maxim has an excellent knowledge of business, finance, and foreign languages, and was highly qualified to do the job he was doing,” he told The Independent. “Many of my relatives have had positions in the government for years, even before I came to power. They are highly qualified people.”

This is unlikely to placate his opponents. Prosecutors say they have testimony showing that it was he who ordered troops to fire on the protesters. Whether they will have the chance to prove this in court is unclear. Maxim Bakiyev is said to have departed for the United States shortly after the demonstrations started.

There were rumours spreading yesterday that in the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad, Mr Bakiyev was readying supporters to stir further violence. Ms Otunbayeva insisted that the country would not spiral into civil war. “We have enough resources and capabilities and all the people’s support that we need,” she said.  Source

The Death toll apparently has reached 79. Approximately 1,400 have been injured.

April 09, 2010 — Kyrgyzstan is holding a day of national mourning for the victims of bloody protests which ousted the government.

The first funerals are being held for those who died in the unrest which forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital.

Mr Bakiyev has refused to resign but has offered to talk to the opposition, which has set up an interim government.

But interim leader Roza Otunbayeva has said she has no plans to negotiate with Mr Bakiyev and demanded he stand down.

Both the US and Russia have key military bases in Kyrgyzstan, and are watching the situation there closely.

The US says it has now resumed normal operations at its Manas base after military flights were suspended on Wednesday.

The deputy head of the interim government, Almazbek Atambayev, has gone to Moscow “for talks on economic aid”, the government said in a statement.

‘Never forgive’

Thousands of mourners gathered in the main square of the capital, Bishkek, on Friday to remember those killed in Wednesday’s violence

Kyrgyz pray as they gather to mourn revolt victims on central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kyrgyz people mourn revolt victims on central square in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, April 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Sergey Grits)

Related

Kyrgyzstan: Thousands of protesters furious over corruption 40 deaths over 400 injured/Updated April 9 2010

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Vietnam War Veteran on Hunger Strike in Protest of Afghanistan War

Vietnam War Veteran on Hunger Strike in Protest of Afghanistan War

November 20 2009

He’s starving himself for peace. A Vietnam veteran is fasting in Washington trying to bring about an end to the Afghan war which he sees as putting unbearable pressures on American soldiers.

Thomas Mahany hasn’t eaten in 7 days.

Stand by Thomas Mahany say “No to War”!

“Playing For Change: Peace Through Music”, comes the first of many “songs around the world” being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe.

So if your in the area go out and Stand by Thomas Mahany say “No to War”! Bring your friends, Bring your neighbors, Bring everyone you can and Say No to War? Bring a Whole Lotta Love. Bring the Whole Country!

Write the papers write the TV media, it’s time for the US to say no more war.

Get Out Of My Country

This is a must listen –  Interview With Malalai Joya

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Photo’s

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

What Afghans have to look forward to, the same weapons were used there as in Iraq.

Doctors report “unprecedented” rise in deformities, cancers in Iraq

‘Hush’ over Afghan mission must end

Afghanistan: Troops Guarding the Poppy Fields

Has Usama Bin Ladin been dead for seven years – and are the U.S. and Britain covering it up to continue war on terror?

Is Osama bin Laden still alive, Seems the answer is no

Why: War in Iraq and Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s hidden toll: Injured Troops

More than half of British public against UK mission in Afghanistan

Mining is one of Afghanistan’s few economic bright spots. Significant deposits of copper, iron, gold, oil and gas, and coal — as well as precious gems such as emeralds and rubies — are largely untapped.

The US is whining it is not getting mining contracts. They are screaming corruption. Source

Personally the US  should clean up the corruption in their own back yards before  accusing others.  The US is a leader of taking bribes especially at election time. Their politicians are bought and sold by big oi, gas, phama and the Israeli lobby groups.  They should take a look in the mirror before accusing others.

Why would the Afghans want to award them contracts considering, they destroyed their country, murdered their citizens,  left a deadly trail of radioactive poison etc etc.

Seems to me the US has corruption mastered.

The US should, Get out of Afghanistan.

Those who sent them there under false pretenses, should be tried for War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity.

Doctors report “unprecedented” rise in deformities, cancers in Iraq

Doctors report “unprecedented” rise in deformities, cancers in Iraq
By Larry Johnson

November 16 2009

As we in the news media like to say, violence has “abated” in Iraq.  For example, on Monday it was reported that 16 people – including a member of the country’s main Sunni political party and several of his relatives – were killed by gunmen. And a parked car bomb exploded in a market in Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding seven others.

It’s sad to say that the death of 21 people is not too bad, but this is a country that, since the U.S. invasion, often saw a daily civilian death toll topping 100.

But there is another, more insidious violence that is on the rise and will likely continue to rise for generations to come.

The Guardian.co.uk (has and excellent Video) reports that doctors in Fallujah are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.

The report said, “Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems – are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.”

Actually, this rise in birth defects has been reported on – by, at least a handful of journalists – for years. Iraqi researchers and doctors – for years – have documented the rise of birth defects and cancer primarily in southern Iraq where most of the fighting took place in the first Gulf War. With the second war in Iraq, it seems obvious that the problem is spreading. Depleted uranium has been singled out as the most likely cause.

Depleted uranium, which is used for armor-piercing shells of various sizes, is a highly dense metal that is the byproduct of the process during which fissionable uranium used to manufacture nuclear bombs and reactor fuel is separated from natural uranium. DU remains radioactive for about 4.5 billion years. Many governments have outlawed the use of DU as weapons. The United States has not.

In 2002 and 2003, I researched the effects of depleted uranium in Iraq for stories in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper.

In the 2002 story:

“Although the Pentagon has sent mixed signals about the effects of depleted uranium, Iraqi doctors believe that it is responsible for a significant increase in cancer and birth defects in the region. Many researchers outside Iraq, and several U.S. veterans organizations, agree; they also suspect depleted uranium of playing a role in Gulf War Syndrome, the still-unexplained malady that has plagued hundreds of thousands of Gulf War veterans…”

At the Saddam Teaching Hospital in Basra, Dr. Jawad Al-Ali, a British-trained oncologist, showed me photo albums he kept of dead and deformed infants that he believed were linked to DU. There were photos of infants born without brains, with their internal organs outside their bodies, without sexual organs, without spines, and the list of deformities went on and on.

In the 2003 story:

“Doctors in Iraq say the number of cancers and birth defects may be devastating.

“‘This is the right time for active support to help prevent the catastrophic effects of the bombing,’ said Dr. Alim Yacoub, dean of the Al Mustansiriya Medical School in Baghdad.

‘“If there isn’t a centralized health plan soon, the consequences could be devastating,’ said Yacoub, the foremost Iraqi authority on the effects of DU. Yacoub has tracked the rise of cancer in Iraq for years, and places the blame squarely on DU.”

An Iraqi scientist, Souad N. Al-Azzawi documented the entire history of DU in Iraq and its devastating effects on the people there, in a presentation to the Kuala Lumpur International Conference to Criminalise War in October. Al-Azzawi, who was forced into exile from Iraq, has devoted many years to her work, at considerable personal risk.

So, the problem isn’t that the rise in cancer and birth defects in Iraq is “unprecedented” or “unexplainable.”  The problem is the United States government, and other governments, won’t do anything about it.

Source

They need help the hospitals nor the Doctors can handle all the patients.

The Americans caused the problems and yet will not help them. The children are in desperate need of much more medical help.

Deformed Babies in Fallujah: Iraq Letter to the United Nations

by Dr. Nawal Majeed Al-Sammarai et al

November 15 2009

Young women in Fallujah in Iraq are terrified of having children because of the increasing number of babies born grotesquely deformed, with no heads, two heads, a single eye in their foreheads, scaly bodies or missing limbs.

Fatima Ahmed was born in Fallujah with deformities that include two heads

In addition, young children in Fallujah are now experiencing hideous cancers and leukaemias. These deformities are now well documented, for example in television documentaries on SKY UK on September 1 2009, and on SKY UK June 2008. Our direct contact with doctors in Fallujah report that:In September 2009, Fallujah General Hospital had 170 new born babies, 24% of whom were dead within the first seven days, a staggering 75% of the dead babies were classified as deformed.This can be compared with data from the month of August in 2002 where there were 530 new born babies of whom six were dead within the first seven days and only one birth defect was reported.H.E. Dr. Ali Abdussalam Treki
President of the Sixty-fourth Session of the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations
New York, NY 10017October 12th 2009Your Excellency,RE DEFORMED BABIES IN FALLUJAH Doctors in Fallujah have specifically pointed out that not only are they witnessing unprecedented numbers of birth defects but premature births have also considerably increased after 2003. But what is more alarming is that doctors in Fallujah have said, “a significant number of babies that do survive begin to develop severe disabilities at a later stage”.  As one of a number of doctors, scientists and those with deep concern for Iraq, Dr Chris Burns-Cox, a British hospital physician, wrote a letter to the Rt. Hon. Clare Short, M.P. asking about this situation. She wrote a letter to the Rt. Hon.Douglas Alexander, M.P. the Secretary of State of the Department for International Development (a post she had held before she resigned on a matter of principle in May 2003 ) asking for clarification of the position of deformed children in Fallujah.She received a reply dated 3rd September 2009 (two days after the Sky TV broadcast of 1st September 2009 ) from a junior minister, deputy to The Secretary of State, Mr. Gareth Thomas MP, Duty Minister, Department for International Development. In his reply he denies that there are more than two or three deformed babies in Fallujah in a year and asserts that there is, therefore, no problem. This is at wild variance with reports coming out of Fallujah. One grave digger of a single cemetery is burying four to five babies a day, most of which he says are deformed.Clare Short passed us a copy of this letter. It bears a remarkable similarity to three other written answers we have received over a four year period, in regard to child health and the use of depleted uranium. All these letters are based on lies and an aim to confuse the recipients. In her autobiography “Honorable Deception?” Clare Short says “The first instinct of Number 10 (Downing Street) is to lie.”We regard the mendacity of Mr. Thomas’s letter, and of the other letters we have received, as extremely serious. These letters do not deal with minor matters of corruption, or taxes, but do deal with the use of armed forces and deadly weapons.

The use of certain weapons has tremendous repercussions. Iraq will become a country, if it has not already done so, where it is advisable not to have children. Other countries will watch what has happened in Iraq, and imitate the Coalition Allies’ total disregard of the United Nations Charter, The Geneva, and Hague Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Some countries, such as Afghanistan, will also come to experience the very long term damage to the environment, measured in billions of years, and the devastating effect of depleted uranium and white phosphorous munitions.

If, as we say in our letter to the Duty Minister of the Department for International Development, the UK Government clearly does not know the effects of the weapons it uses, nor, as a matter of policy, does “it do body counts”, how can the UK Government judge whether it is conducting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan according to International Law, especially in terms of “proportionality” and long term damage to the natural environment? How can the UK know about the illegality of the weapons systems it sells on the international market, such as the “Storm Shadow” missile, if the very Department of the Government that is supposed to assess the deaths and medical needs of children and adults in Iraq is not telling the truth.

We request from the United Nations General Assembly the following:

1. To acknowledge that there is a serious problem regarding the unprecedented number of birth defects and cancer cases in Iraq specifically in Fallujah, Basra, Baghdad and Al – Najaf.

2. To set up an independent committee to conduct a full investigation into the problem of the increased number of birth defects and cancers in Iraq.

3. To implement the cleaning up of toxic materials used by the occupying forces including Depleted Uranium, and White Phosphorus.

4. To prevent children and adults entering contaminated areas to minimize exposure to these hazards.

5. To investigate whether war crimes, or crimes against humanity, have been committed, and thereby uphold the United Nations Charter, The Geneva and Hague Conventions, and The Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court.

Please find enclosed a copy of our letter to Mr Gareth Thomas, dated 12th October 2009, and his letter to The Rt Hon Clare Short, M.P. dated 3rd September 2009, and enclosures relating to this matter.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Nawal Majeed Al-Sammarai ( Iraq Minister of Women’s Affairs 2006 -2009)

Dr. David Halpin FRCS (Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon)

Malak Hamdan M. Eng in Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering.

Dr Chris Burns-Cox MD FRCP

Dr. Haithem Alshaibani (Environmental Sciences)

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown (Author and Journalist)
Nicholas Wood MA, RIBA, FRGS

Enclosures to follow by surface mail:

1:  Copy of Sky Television Documentary 1 September 2009 “The Deformed Babies of Fallujah”:

2:  Copy of Sky Television Documentary June 2008 “The Deformed Babies of Fallujah”.

3:  Frieder Wagners’s film “Deadly Desert Dust” 2006.

4:  Report by doctors in Fallujah 4 March 2008 ” Prohibited Weapons Crisis”

5:  Film the “Dying children of Iraq”,compiled by Nicholas Wood.

6:  US Army briefing on the use of White Phosphorous in Fallujah on “Shake and Bake Missions”

7:  Report “Who Can Forgive the Crime of using Depleted Uranium Against Iraq and Humanity” by Dr Haithem Alshaibani, September 2009 .

8:  Written Answer by Mr Hilary Benn, Secretary of State, Department for International Development to Parliamentary Question. 10 March 2005.

9:  Letter by Mr Hilary Benn, Secretary of State, Department for International Development to The Independent, 20 January 2007, in reply to the 98 Doctors’ letter to the Prime Minister.

10:  Letter by Rt.Hon. Des Browne, M.P. UK Former Minister of Defence to Rt. Hon. Tony Benn, November 2008

11:  Black Country Coroner’s District ( Sandwell, Dudley.and Walsall: ) Coroner’s Report into death of Stuart Raymond Dyson. 18 September 2009.

12:  Calculations of expected child abnormalities in a city the size of Cardiff or Fallujah using UK statistics , David Halpin FRCS

Letter from Mr Gareth Thomas M.P. Duty Minister, Department for International Development, 3 September 2009 to Rt. Hon. Clare Short M.P.

Source

Sept 1, 2009

By Lisa Holland

Sadness Of Fallujah’s Sick Children

A doctor in Iraq has told Sky News that more and more children are being born with deformities in Fallujah, a city heavily bombed by the US in 2004. Lisa Holland’s report contains pictures of children with severe medical conditions and deformities. Video Here

This is beyond sad. These poor children and parents should never have had to go through this.

The under taker at a Fallujah cemetery  says he buries 4 or 5 newborns every day and most are deformed.

This is compliments of the US invasion.

This is a crime against Humanity and a War Crime to say the very lest.

Words cannot describe, the despair these parents must feel.

This of course happens everywhere the US goes, this is the trail of horror they leave behind. This is caused by the Weapons they used and they sell these weapons to other countries as well.

The soldiers who have been there, can also have children with these types of deformities.

This Video Released in 2007

An award winning documentary film produced for German television by Freider Wagner and Valentin Thurn. The film exposes the use and impact of radioactive weapons during the current war against Iraq. The story is told by citizens of many nations. It opens with comments by two British veterans, Kenny Duncan and Jenny Moore, describing their exposure to radioactive, so-called depleted uranium (DU), weapons and the congenital abnormalities of their children. Dr. Siegwart-Horst Gunther, a former colleague of Albert Schweitzer, and Tedd Weyman of the Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) traveled to Iraq, from Germany and Canada respectively, to assess uranium contamination in Iraq

The Hidden Massacre of Fallujah

This is the terrible testimony given by Jeff Englehart, veteran of the war in Iraq. “I have seen women and children burnt bodies – the former U.S. soldier added – phosphorus explodes and it creates a cloud. Whoever is within 150 mt is dead.” Some witnesses have seen a rainfall of burning substances of different colors that were burning people when hit and even those who were not hit had problems breathing”, told us Mohamad Tareq al-Deraji, director of the center for human rights studies in Fallujah.

More pictures of Babies Born in Iraq with Deformities

This is the result of weapons used by the US

What the US didn’t want anyone to know.

Whether it be Napalm,  White Phosphorous or another new Weapon of Mass Destruction the end result it horrifying.

These are the Victims of the US.

This is beyond cruel.

This is beyond a war crime

This is the US inhumanity

Who has and used Weapons of Mass Destruction? Not Iraqis.

How can anyone do this?

This is the true face of war.

Those responsible for this must be held responsible.

Americans must know what their Government did.

Imagine how you would react to this type of horror

How can anyone in the World think this is OK?

How many must die before we Say NO TO WAR?

Is it any wonder they hate Americans?

We also have Children Like this little girl and there are many more like

Mouna.

Mouna’s Story : An Iraqi Girl Struggles to Walk Again

The five-part series  chronicles the story of Mouna, a young girl who suffered severe injuries in Iraq, she learned how  to walk again, on artificial limbs with the help of MSF/Doctors Without Boarders, surgeons and physiotherapists in Amman, Jordan.

It was a very long, painful road for a little girl to travel.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Related Articles

Pipelines in the Middle East Afghanistan included/ Maps as well

Why: War in Iraq and Afghanistan

There’s a ticking time bomb in Serbia, where doctors have reported a sharp increase in cancer deaths among locals and claim this could be linked to NATO’s use of depleted uranium shells during the 1999 bombings. NATO bombings: Aftermath takes toll on Serbia, now left with DU Poisoning

Just recently in China which isn’t so far off a baby with two heads was found abandoned. When it comes to war pollution the wind blows and it goes.

War “Pollution” Equals Millions of Deaths

More Videos on Depleted Uranium

France: Riot police storm The Jungle Refugee Camp at Calais,

September 22, 2009

These are refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan who traveled to Calais, hoping they could make it to Britain.

278 people have  been detained by the French police, 132  are children.

This is the day they destroy the  Calais refugee camp known as the Jungle.   French riot police were apparently armed with flamethrowers, stun guns and tear gas.

At 7.40 am, dozens of vans accompanied by bulldozers began circling the camp.

Aproximatly 500 officers were at the site.

Camp refugees, many of whom were children, were dragged away by police officers and put into waiting buses. Others were escorted out.

Hundreds of police clear Calais migrant camp

By Katie Hodge
Hundreds of officers surrounded the camp at first light, rounding up dozens of people who had been living in the tent city on the edge of the Channel port.There were minor scuffles as the camp dwellers, some in tears, were led away.

Dozens of protesters had also gathered at the site ahead of the operation and began chanting slogans at the police.

Around 150 migrants were at the camp, standing quietly behind banners which declared: “We need shelter and protection, we want peace.”

But aid workers said the news that the French government was to close the camp, confirmed last night, prompted many more to flee.

As the police moved in, the activists began shouting: “No borders. No nation. No deportation.”

About a dozen migrants who were refusing to move were dragged and carried out of the camp by police.

Some migrants were still eating their breakfast in tents when police descended on the site.

The camp had been home to hundreds of mainly Afghan asylum seekers, some of them just children.

Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he was “delighted” about its closure.

Britain has ruled out taking them in, and Mr Johnson said genuine refugees should apply for asylum in the country where they entered the EU.

Speaking after talks in Brussels with his French counterpart Eric Besson yesterday, Mr Johnson said reports that Britain could be “forced” to take the immigrants were “wrong”.

EU justice commissioner Jacques Barrot had reportedly demanded a change in European law to allow a “significant number” to be fast-tracked into Britain.

But Mr Johnson said: “The UK has a robust system for dealing with both asylum seekers and immigration and provides protection to those who are genuinely in need.

“Reports that the UK will be forced to take illegal immigrants from the ‘jungle’ are wrong.

“Both countries are committed to helping individuals who are genuine refugees, who should apply for protection in the first safe country that they reach.

“We expect those who are not in need of protection to return home.”

However, Keith Best, chief executive of the Immigration Advisory Service charity, warned that shutting the camp would simply shift the problem to another part of Calais.

He said: “I remember seven years ago when (former) home secretary David Blunkett and the then French minister of the interior Nicolas Sarkozy congratulated themselves on the closure of the Red Cross centre at Sangatte, but the hundreds of asylum seekers merely moved to the dockside of Calais.

“The liquidation of the jungle will have the same transitory effect.”

“What is needed is a commitment by the French authorities at all levels to admit asylum seekers to their procedures promptly.

“At present it is very difficult to claim asylum in France as those to whom I spoke admitted.

“The French are not playing their part in allowing people to claim asylum in Calais, despite their obligation under the Refugee Convention.”

Moments before the police launched today’s operation, about 100 people were huddled around a fire in an attempt to ward off the cold as the Muslim call to prayer rang out.

Fifteen-year-old Sail Pardes, from eastern Afghanistan, has been at the camp for six months and is hoping to make his way to England.

He said: “The most important thing is to get to England. I want to go to school and become a better person.”

Sylvie Copyans, of aid group Salam, said some of the immigrants have been in the camp for up to eight months.

She said: “It’s exactly like when they closed Sangatte. It’s now exactly the same. They are saying no immigrants in Calais, they can’t stay here. But if they are made to leave they will just go to another squat. It’s more and more difficult every day.”

She added: “They are young, they have a lot of hopes and wishes. They are brave and courageous. They often have no family, that is difficult for them.”

Some camp dwellers were dragged away by police officers and put into waiting buses. Others were escorted out.

Protesters, some in tears, shouted slogans at the police, including: “Shame on France.”

According to aid agencies, the immigrants were being taken in buses to police stations to be processed.

From there they will be sent back to the countries where they entered European Union.

It was thought that many will end up in Greece, one of the main points of entry for the immigrants.

But aid agencies have predicted that many will end up back on the streets.

The French authorities said there were 500-600 officers involved in today’s operation.

They detained 278 people, of whom 132 declared themselves children, according to the Prefect of Pas-de-Calais Pierre de Bousquet.

The adults were being taken to various police stations and the children to “special centres”, he said.

Four police divisions had been drafted in to help, including the national anti-riot force the CRS.

French immigration minister Eric Besson was expected to speak to journalists in Calais later today.

Source

As I was wandering around I noticed how many didn’t want these people in their country. Not naming names or anything. When ‘I first noticed the story, I went all over.

These people have come from war torn countries. There are a few million displaced civilians because of the Iraq war and Afghanistan..

With every war there are always refugees. Now what is also interesting many of these same folks, who were complaining about the refugees were supportive of  the wars.

Now however because there is a refugee problem, they don’t want to help them.

Well if you don’t want refugees don’t start wars.

Many of the children may be orphans.  They can’t send children back to Afghanistan  at this point in time.  Many people thought they should be just shipped back.

There really may not be much for them to go back to and if their parents have been killed there is even less reason for them to go back.

We are not helping them. We are doing more harm then good.

Then there is the DU and the radiation from the Bunker Busters.

Well more will get cancer and die.

It will also affect the soldiers who are in those areas.

I think it is time to face those facts.

In Afghanistan  53 %  are living in poverty and rising each year.

Unemployment has risen to 40% way up from 2000 when it was only 8%.

They have about 8,000 dead and over 59,000 who were injured.

They also have a heroin problem again. The Taliban as awful as they may be, had destroyed all the poppy fields.

Now Iran and Iraq have a heroin problem. Under Saddam heroin was never a problem in Iraq.

The heroin is now being shipped out to North America and European countries.  So now they have a heroin problem too.

Now folks are complaining about the refugees.

Well what did they expect?

Every war creates millions of refugees.

Remembering all the other wars around the world that is a fact of life.

My heart goes out to them.They have suffered so much tragedy and loss.

This the areal View of the Camp. Not a very special place, but to the refugees it was home and it was safe.  Safer then the war zones they came from.

What will happen to them now is unknown. They didn’t start the wars they are the victims of it.

Now they have been arrested by the very people who they thought might help them.

Seems no matter where they go they are not welcome.

Nato however had no problem invading their countries.

Nato had no problem destroying their homes and their lives.

They had no problem polluting their homeland with DU and Radiation from Bunker Busters.

No problem bombing their homes.

No problem killing their friends and realtives.

No problem at all.

They ran away from their home land, because they couldn’t take the wars anymore. They want and need to feel safe. Well I guess they will be safe in prison.

No body wants them. How shameful this is.

Especially for the children.

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Victims’ families tell their stories following Nato airstrike in Afghanistan

(Afghanistan 9) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Hungarian ISAF medics treat a wounded Afghan policeman at the Hungarian military base in Pul-e-Khumri, Baghlan province of Afghanistan, Saturday, July 11, 2009. Afghan police clashed with pro-Taliban fighters in the near by Baghlan Jalid Friday night. (AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky)

A U.S. soldier stands guard as a snuffer dog checks following a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009.  A suicide car bomb attack on a heavily guarded road between the German Embassy and a U.S. military base. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

An injured U.S. soldier is helped getting out following a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009. A suicide car bomb attack Saturday on a heavily guarded road between the German Embassy and a U.S. military base. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

A U.S. soldier stands guard following a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009.  A suicide car bomb attack on a heavily guarded road between the German Embassy and a U.S. military base . (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

Victims of a blast at the German embassy are driven to a hospital in the back of a truck in Kabul January 17, 2009. A suicide car bomb exploded outside the embassy and a U.S. base in the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing three civilians, witnesses said. REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

A wounded U.S. soldier is carried following a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009.  A suicide car bomb attack on a heavily guarded road between the German Embassy and a U.S. military base set the embassy on fire Saturday, killing an Afghan child and wounding 21 people, including five U.S. troops. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)

People carry a wounded U.S. soldier after a blast outside the German embassy in Kabul January 17, 2009. A suicide car bomb exploded outside the embassy and a U.S. base in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday, killing three civilians, witnesses said.    REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

An Afghan officer walks towards a damaged U.S. Humvee armored vehicle after a car bomb suicide attack in Basoud district of Ningarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. The blast left no causalities, said Afghan police officials. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 8) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

In this handout image released by U.S. army, Infantry Soldiers from 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team carry a wounded Stryker Soldier on a litter to be medically evacuated (MEDEVAC) after rolling over an anti-tank mine in Zabul  Province, Afghanistan, Friday, Aug 21, 2009. The MEDEVAC support team based near the same province is from Company C “DUSTOFF”, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. The team was able to respond to the evacuation of the Soldier within 15 minutes of the incident. The Soldier suffered minor injuries to his back.(AP Photo/US Army)

Canadian soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) stand outside the provincial council office following suicide attacks in Kandahar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 1, 2009. Three Taliban suicide bombers disguised in army uniforms stormed a government office in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday after a fourth detonated a car bomb, officials said. At least 17 people, including the four assailants, died. (AP Photo)

British Soldiers grieving their fallen comrade

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 9) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN -February 01:  Afghan and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) troops examine the scene after a suicide car bomber hit a convoy of foreign troops on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, wounding two Afghan civilians and a French soldier, according to Afghan officials, February 1, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Independent Election Commission has postponed the country’s presidential election until August 20th, from late April, for security reasons.  (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

The wrapped body parts of a lawmaker Dad Mohammad Khan and others who were with him are seen in a blanket on the back of a police vehicle following a roadside bomb in Helmand province south of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, March 19, 2009. The lawmaker who was a vocal Taliban critic in Afghanistan’s insurgency-plagued south was killed Thursday by a roadside bomb, family and officials said. (AP Photo)

Canadian soldiers of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) inspect the wreckage of a vehicle used in a suicide car bomb attack targeting a Canadian military convoy in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, 12 March 2008. A suicide attacker detonated his explosives-filled vehicle targeted at a Canadian military convoy killing an Afghan civilian and wounding four others, including a Canadian soldier, officials said. Around 2, 500 Canadian forces are stationed in the southern province of Kandahar, a strong-hold for Taliban militants, whose government was toppled in late 2001.  EPA/HUMAYOUN SHIAB

U.S. soldiers inspect near the wrecker of a car used by a suicide bomber in Chaparhar district of eastern Nangarhar province east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, March 21, 2009. A suicide bomber in a car blew himself up at a police checkpoint in Chaparhar district of eastern Nangarhar province where officers were searching cars, killing six people, including five civilians and one policeman, said police spokesman Gafor Khan. The blast also wounded four civilians and a policeman, he said. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Rows of destroyed Humvees and military trucks are seen at the Portward Logistic Terminal in Peshawar, Pakistan, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008. Militants blasted their way into two transport terminals in Pakistan on Sunday and torched more than 160 vehicles destined for U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan, in the biggest assault yet on a vital military supply line. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 9) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

NATO aircraft opened fire on hijacked fuel trucks in Kunduz, Afghanistan before dawn on Friday September 4 2009, killing as many as 90 people in an incident that could trigger a backlash against Western troops. NATO initially said it believed the casualties were all Taliban fighters, but later acknowledged that large numbers of civilians were being treated in hospitals in the area.

90 victims died and numerous ones were injured.

Below are just a few of the injured.

Injured people by a NATO airstrike are brought to a hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. (AP Photo)

September 7 2009 Child being treated in hospital.

A wounded man is transported in a taxi to a hospital after an airstrike killed scores of people in Kunduz September 4, 2009. REUTERS/Wahdat

A Doctor treats an injured full of burns, of NATO air strike, at a hospital, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009.  (AP Photo)

Afghan hospital workers carry an injured Afghan villager in hospital after Friday’s NATO air strike  in northern Kunduz September 4, 2009.    REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Rahmatullah, 19, a victim of Friday’ NATO air strike, tries to sit up on his bed in a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

An Afghan doctor in a regional hospital treats a villager injured in Friday’s NATO air strike in northern Kunduz September 4, 2009. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

An Afghan villager injured lies in hospital after Friday’s NATO air strike on a Taliban target in northern Kunduz September 4, 2009.

Afghan police inspect the site of an airstrike in Kunduz September 4, 2009. NATO aircraft opened fire on hijacked fuel trucks in Afghanistan before dawn on Friday. REUTERS/Wahdat

Afghani policemen look at one of two burnt fuel tankers, near Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009.

Local Afghani people burry their villagers killed in a NATO air strike, in a mass grave  near Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009.

Afghans bury some of the victims of an airstrike in a mass grave near Kunduz September 4, 2009.setting off a huge fireball Friday that killed up to 90 people on Friday in northern Afghanistan when NATO aircraft struck hijacked fuel tankers as villagers came to collect fuel, Afghan officials said. REUTERS/Stringer
Local Afghani people bury their villagers killed in a NATO air strike, in a mass grave  near Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. (AP Photo)

Local Afghani people burry their villagers killed in a NATO airstrike, in a mass grave  near Kunduz, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. (AP Photo)

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

An Afghan child, who was  wounded by coalition airstrikes in the Zerko area of Shindand district stands with his father at a hospital in the city of Herat province southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 17, 2008.  (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)

Two American soldiers are escorted a detainee in fob Robinson who is going to be flown back to Kandahar base in a Chinook for further questioning.

Private Dan Burris of the 82nd Airborne’s 1/508 Parachute Infantry Regiment, Alpha Company, Third Platoon kicks in a door after staging a nighttime air assault into Sangin, Helmand province, the largest air assault in Afghanistan since the beginning of the war, on Thursday, April 5, 2007.

Afghan demonstrators gather at a demonstration as black smoke billows from burning tires in the background, following a U.S. operation on their village in Qarabagh district of Ghazni, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Feb. 2, 2009.  (AP Photo/Rahmatullah Naikzad)

Afghan men surround a child who was  wounded by air strikes as he lays in a hospital after he was transported from Helmand to Kandahar province for treatment on Saturday, July 28, 2007.   (AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Afghan boy in Aasad Abad

Tala 9, an Afghan girl who was wounded in coalition air strike on Monday night in Bala Baluk district of Farah province recovers in a hospital in Herat, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 9, 2009. A joint U.S.-Afghan investigation has found that civilians were killed during a battle in southern Afghanistan, but officials have not been able to determine how many.(AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)

Haji Barkat Ullah speaks with her daughter Frishta, 7, who was wounded in coalition air strike on Monday night in Bala Baluk district of Farah province recovers in a hospital in Herat, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 9, 2009. A joint U.S.-Afghan investigation has found that civilians were killed during a battle in southern Afghanistan, but officials have not been able to determine how many. (AP Photo/Fraidoon Pooyaa)

Afghan paramedics treat a wounded Afghan boy in a hospital after he was wounded in a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Saturday, April 18, 2009.  A roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle in Kandahar city killed a woman and wounded five other people including three civilians, said Abdullah Khan, the provincial deputy police chief.(AP Photo/Allauddin Khan)

A villager looks at an infant boy who died after a military raid in a village in Gurbuz district of Khost province April 9, 2009. U.S. and Afghan forces killed four militants, including two women, and detained three others on Wednesday near Khost city, some 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Kabul, U.S. forces said in a statement. But local residents disputed the military’s account, saying five civilians, a female teacher, her son, brother in-law and two more non-combatants were killed in the raid. Another woman was wounded, they said. REUTERS/Kamal Sadat

The body of an infant boy who died after a military raid is seen in a village in Gurbuz district of Khost province April 9, 2009. U.S. and Afghan forces killed four militants, including two women, and detained three others on Wednesday near Khost city, some 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Kabul, U.S. forces said in a statement. But local residents disputed the military’s account, saying five civilians, a female teacher, her son, brother in-law and two more non-combatants were killed in the raid. Another woman was wounded, they said. REUTERS/Kamal Sadat

A wounded Afghan boy, seen, in an ambulance, in Asadabad the provincial capital of Kunar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, April 13, 2009. A NATO operation killed six civilians Monday, including a woman and a young girl, in a mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan, villagers and officials said. But the military alliance said its force killed four to eight militants.(AP Photo)

If it wasn’t bad enough there is a war they also had two earthquaks as well.

Afghan villagers pray opposite the bodies of victims of an earthquake, during a funeral in Sherzad district, Nangarhar province, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, April 17, 2009. Two earthquakes shook eastern Afghanistan early Friday, collapsing mud-brick homes on top of villagers while they slept and killing at least 21 people. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

The  bags that are put on prisoners is cruel and inhibits breathing.

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 1) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Afghanistan has suffered many casualties.

Many children have been killed and many injured.  Their injuries are extreme.

These are the pictures you will never see in our mainstream media.

This is the true face of war in Afghanistan.

Armed Forces, Police

(Afghanistan 8 ) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 7) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 6) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Civilians

(Afghanistan 5) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 4) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 3) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

(Afghanistan 2) A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Afghanistan’s hidden toll: Injured Troops

‘Hush’ over Afghan mission must end

US-NATO Using Military Might To Control World Energy Resources

Indexed List of all Stories in Archives

Gaza (6) A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

January 14 2009

Official: over 1,010 Palestinians were killed and over 4,600 others wounded since Israel launched on Gaza.
Official: Among the dead Palestinians, 225 are children and 69 are women.

Hamas announced it has accepted an Egyptian-brokered initiative to reach a ceasefire with Israel.

Bunker Buster

Gaza: the endless cycle of trauma

Who Will Save Israel From Itself

Even those Israel killed cannot rest in peace. Palestinians gather next to a crater caused by an Israeli bombing of the Sheik Radwan cemetery in Gaza City, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009. An Israeli warplane bombed a crammed cemetery in Gaza City on Wednesday, sending body parts flying onto neighboring houses and knocking a large hole into the graveyard. Photo: AP / Ashraf Amra

Extreme Injuries are common.  Very traumatic, permanent disfigurement, is something many will live with for the rest of their lives. Photo : AFP

Overcrowded rooms at hospitals throughout Gaza tell the stories of this war’s civilians casualties.  Photo: AFP

For more than two weeks, the war has caused scenes of death and destruction in Gaza, while international outcry concerning the conflict has been impotent Photo: AFP

Smoke rises during Israel’s offensive in the northern Gaza Strip January 14, 2009. I certainly wouldn’t want to have to breath the air. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Some Palestinians still hold keys to their homes in villages that are now part of Israel, which they were forced to leave during the Nakba that marked the formation of Israel.  Photo: GETTY

Palestinians carry the body of Ahmed Kelah during his funeral in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2009 Photo: Ismail Zaydah /Reuters

A Palestinian boy, who was wounded during Israel’s offensive, cries at Kamal Odwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2009. Photo: Reuters

Palestinians mourn in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, after their relative was killed during Israel’s offensive January 14, 2009. International efforts to stop the Gaza war intensified. Photo: REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah

Palestinians search for their belongings in the rubble of a destroyed building following the Israeli military operations in Gaza City on Jan. 14, 2009. Now homeless. Photo: Xinhua/Wissam Nassar

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed building following the Israeli military operations in Gaza City on Jan. 14, 2009. Photo: Xinhua/Wissam Nassar

Palestinians inspect the rubble of a destroyed building following the Israeli military operations in Gaza City on Jan. 14, 2009. Photo: Xinhua/Wissam Nassar

Palestinians take their belongings out of the rubble of a destroyed building following the Israeli military operations in Gaza City on Jan. 14, 2009. Photo: Xinhua/Wissam Nassar

Palestinians carry the body of Basem Abed al Nabe, 11, during a funeral at the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Jan. 14, 2009. Three members from Abed al Nabe family, Qasem, 6, and Basem, 11, and Saddam, 17, were killed during an Israeli missile strike outside their house in Jabaliya. Photo: Xinhua/Wissam Nassar

Gaza (5): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (4): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (3): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (2): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (1): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Israel Broke the Ceasefire November 4 2008

79 % of the time: Israel caused conflicts not Hamas

Israel has bombed everything from UN schools, places of worship, homes, hospitals, medical clinics, police stations, and now a Cemetery. They certainly leave no stone unturned. The killing of innocent victims is no accident nor was killing the UN driver. The pollution from this war will kill for years to come. It’s all in the Archives.

Indexed List of all Stories in Archives

Gaza (4): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

January9 2009:   Since Israel launched “Operation Cast Lead”, 781 people have been killed and nearly 3,100 others have been wounded, Palestinian emergency services said.

The destruction Continues.

January 9 : A cluster bomb disperses hundreds of bomblets in the northern Gaza Strip Photo: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

January 9 : Palestinians pray next to the bodies of the Salha family, who were killed in an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City Photo: Ali Ali/EPA

January 7 : Mourners pray over the victims killed on Tuesday in an Israeli attack on a UN-run school building in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Photo: Abid Katib/Getty Images

A relative of the 10 members of the Deeb family weeps at their funeral in Jabaliya refugee camp. The victims died in an Israeli strike on a a UN-run school Photo: Mohammed Saber/EPA

January 8 : Palestinians gather around the ruins of the Al-Noor mosque after an Israeli airstrike in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood of Gaza City Photo: Hatem Moussa/AP

January 7 : Palestinian children are seen at the United Nations school where their families took shelter following Israeli strikes, in the refugee camp of Jabaliya Photo: Mohammed Saber/EPA

January 1: Wounded Palestinian children are carried to a hospital after an Israeli air strike on the home of senior Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan in Gaza Photo: Ismail Zaydah /Reuters

January 1: A Palestinian woman with two wounded members of her family in hospital following an Israeli missile strike in Beit Hanoun.  Photo: Ashraf Amra/AP

January 1 : A wounded Palestinian child screams as she arrives to the al-Shifa hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City Photo: Fadi Adwan /Getty Images

December 31 : Hosam Hamdan in in Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital intensive care unit after he was wounded and his two sisters killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip. At least 25% of Palestinians killed during Israel’s massive offensive in the Gaza Strip have been civilians, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Photo: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

December 29: Palestinian children walk past a destroyed mosque and houses after they were hit by an Israeli missile strike that killed Jawaher Baalusha, 4, and her four sisters in the northern Gaza Strip

Photograph: Abid Katib/Getty Images

December 29 : A Palestinian boy watches the funeral of three children in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian medics said five young sisters, died in an Israeli air strike in Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza and three other young children were killed when a bomb struck a house Photo: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

A wounded Palestinian is carried into Shifa hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza January 8, 2009. Photo: Reuters

Gaza January 8, 2009. Photo: Reuters

An Egyptian looks at rising clouds of smoke during Israeli strikes at the Gaza strip, in the Egyptian border city of Rafah January 8, 2009. Palestinians faced even grimmer conditions in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a U.N. aid agency halted work, saying its staff were at risk from Israeli forces fighting Hamas militants, after two drivers were killed. Photo: Reuters

Destroyed homes after an Israeli air strike on Rafah, in southern Gaza Photo: Getty

Israeli troops continue bombardment in Gaza city on Jan.8,2009. Photo: Xinhua

Dense smoke rises from Gaza city after Israeli bombardment on Jan.8, 2009. Photo: Xinhua

Palestinians gather at the site of a destroyed mosque following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Jan. 8, 2009.  Photo: Xinhua

The Red Cross says Israel has failed to meet its humanitarian law obligations Photo: Reuters

Jan 9: About 770 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza  Photo: AFP

Hospitals in Gaza have been overwhelmed trying to treat about 3,000 people wounded in the Israeli operation. Doctors say they are running short of essential supplies and people are dying as a result. Photo: Getty

Children stand near the remains of an Israeli missile that landed in a building in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Photo: AP / Eyad Baba)

Fire and smoke is seen from Israeli military operations in Gaza City, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Photo: AP / Abdel Kareem Hana

An artillery shell explodes over the Palestinian refugee camp of Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip “Looks like White Phosphorous”. Photo: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images

Palestinians pray near the bodies of some of the 43 Palestinians who were killed the previous day. More than 600 Palestinians are now believed to have been killed since the offensive began Photo: Mohammed Saber/EPA

A Star of David, the Jewish symbol, is drawn on a drying pool of blood near the damaged UN school. The UN have denied Israeli allegations that Palestinian militants were firing rockets from the school. Photo: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

January 7 2009: More than 40 Palestinians, many of them them women and children, were killed by an Israeli mortar shell at a United Nations school in Gaza on Tuesday, intensifying the international pressure for a ceasefire agreement Photo: Ismail Zaydah/Reuters

White Phosphorus dropped in Gaza

The pale blue 155mm rounds are clearly marked with the designation M825A1, an American-made white phosphorus munition Photo: Times on line

Better know as a Bunker Buster. An explosion is seen as missiles fired from an Israeli aircraft fly towards a target in the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border,  Jan. 1, 2009.   Photo: AP/Gil Nechushtan

A Palestinian man reacts as he carries a girl who according to Palestinian medical sources was killed in an Israeli strike, into Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Monday, Jan. 5, 2009. Israeli forces pounded Gaza Strip houses and mosques  on Monday from the air, land and sea, killing at least seven children as they pressed a bruising offensive against Palestinian militants. Photo: AP/Khalil Hamra

Child in the rubble of destroyed building Gaza City January 6 2009 Photo: Fady Adwan

A Palestinian girl cries during the funeral of her brother who was killed after an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip January 4, 2009. Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants battled on Gaza City’s outskirts on Sunday after Israeli troops and tanks invaded the coastal enclave in the worst fighting in the conflict in decades. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah (GAZA)

A Palestinian girl cries during the funeral of a relative that was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009. Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, cutting the coastal territory into two and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.”photo by Fady Adwan/propaimages”

A Palestinian girl cries during the funeral of a relative that was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2009. Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, cutting the coastal territory into two and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.”photo by Fady Adwan/propaimages”

A Charity has used the little girl above for advertising. I just did up a new post on this you may be interested in reading. 

US/Israeli Charity uses little Palestinian Childs photo to raise money for Israels Hungry

Gaza (6) A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (5): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (3): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (2): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (1): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Israel killing their own by Using Deadly Weapons of Mass Destuction again Gaza

Links to other Gaza stories in the January Index

January 2009 Index

Gaza (3): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

A wounded Palestinian is carried into a hospital in Gaza. Photo: Reuters

A Palestinian carries a wounded girl  to Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Photo: AP

Palestinians carry a wounded boy to Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Photo: AP

A Palestinian child wounded in the Israeli strikes on Gaza. Photo: AP

Woman outside of Shifa Hospital Photo: AP

Palestinian man transferred to Egypt Photo: Reuters

Smoke Billows from Gaza Strip Photo: AFP

Palestinian Man – Shifa Hospital Photo: AP

Billowing Smoke  from outskirts of Gaza City Photo: AP

Medics Carry Man in to Shifa Hospital Gaza Photo : AP

Air Strike Gaza City Photo: AFP

Destroyed Print Shop Gaza  Photo: AP

Explosion Gaza Photo: Reuters

A child carried into hospital Gaza City Photo: AFP

Destroyed Building in Gaza Photo: AP

The Bodies of 13 Family members Photo: AFP

Children Wounded – Photo: Watan News Agency

A wounded Palestinian boy is carried by his father at a hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli air strike

A missile fired by Israeli warplanes explodes in the northern Gaza Strip Saturday. Photo: Tsafrir Abayov / AP

Medics wheel an Israeli man wounded by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip Saturday to a hospital.

The presidential building in Gaza City was destroyed by an Israeli air strike Saturday.

A wounded boy is carried into the Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Saturday. Photo: Abid Katib / Getty Images

An injured Palestinian is helped from the rubble following an Israeli missile strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday. Photo: Hatem Omar / AP)

Gaza (6) A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (5): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (4): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (2): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Gaza (1): A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Israel killing their own by Using Deadly Weapons of Mass Destuction again Gaza

Links to other Gaza stories in the January Index

January 2009 Index

Motorcycle thieves stalk victims online, warn police

By Steve Farrell
12 December 2008

Motorcycle thieves are using social networking websites and classified ad sites to find their next victims, police have warned.

They say riders too often give away enough clues to lead thieves to their bikes, and have issued tips to avoid the trap.

Crime prevention officer Colin Brough said riders selling bikes online sometimes include their home address with directions. He said some ads even include photos giving away where bikes are kept and how they are secured, so thieves know what tools to bring.

Brough said: ‘‘We have clear indications that motorbike thieves are looking at classified ad sites to target bikes to steal. Unfortunately, some people put too much information on their posting, including photos of the bike that also show the shed or garage door behind and whether there is much in the way of security.

‘‘Some of the postings quite literally put out the welcome mat by including a mapping system that provides directions virtually straight to the door of the seller.

‘‘The thieves can then look up the exact location of the bike and we believe they are turning up, with tools if necessary, to break in to the garage or shed and steal the bike.’’

Riders who use social networking sites are also at risk if the post too may details, according to the police warning.

Brough, of Tayside Police, said: “‘Many bikers have blogs on these sites that include a lot of information about them, often with photographs showing them on their motorcycles. A lot of these photos give strong clues as to the location of where these bikes are being stored and where they can potentially be stolen from.

‘‘I must stress that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the sites themselves, or with anyone using them – all include good information on how to keep safe when using them. But it is the amount of personal information that individuals are giving out that can be used by thieves and which is giving us real cause for concern.’’

The force said in a statement: ‘Tayside Police recommends that people look again at their postings and take all possible steps to ensure that there is nothing there to alert the eagle-eyed thief to the location of their vehicles.

‘Those who are selling a motorbike via a classified ads site are advised not to give out a home phone number, or use a mapping system showing the way to their door.
‘At the same time check out the tips that such websites give out themselves in respect of safety, security and any scams.’

Brough added: “We are targeting those responsible in an effort to bring them to justice but we need assistance from motorcycle owners. By reducing the amount of information that they make widely and readily available, they can reduce the chances of being a victim of crime.’’

Source