Military Deaths in Iraq Exceed 9/11 Toll

When numbers tell it all:

NEW YORK (AP) - Nearly four years after the war in Iraq began, the number of Americans troops killed there now exceeds the grim toll of victims from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The U.S. military death toll in Iraq has reached 2,974, one more than the number of deaths in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, according to an Associated Press count on Tuesday.

The U.S. military announced the deaths of two soldiers in a bomb explosion southwest of Baghdad on Monday. The military was withholding the soldiers' names until relatives could be notified.

The 9/11 death toll includes the 2,749 killed at the World Trade Center, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 passengers aboard United Flight 93. While all were killed within a few hours that morning, the deaths in Iraq have stretched across 45 months - with no end yet in sight.

WHOLE STORY: the Guardian

Iraqi police deaths 'hit 12,000'

What numbers can tell us:

Some 12,000 police officers in Iraq have died in the line of duty since the US-led invasion in 2003, Interior Minister Jawad Bolani said.

The figure is from a total force of about 190,000 officers, he said.

The announcement follows a suicide bomb attack that killed seven policemen and wounded 20 others during a morning parade at a base north of Baghdad.

WHOLE STORY: BBC

Iran acts over Israeli nukes

From Al Jazeera:

Iran has called for the UN Security Council to compel Israel to give up its nuclear weapons.

The request, made on Tuesday in a letter to the Security Council, comes after Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, appeared to admit in a TV interview that Israel had nuclear weapons.

WHOLE STORY

French 'had bin Laden in sights'

It looks like "finding Bin Laden" has never been a priority of the Bush Government.

A new documentary says that French special forces had Osama bin Laden in their sights twice about three years ago but their US superiors never ordered them to fire.

[...]

The documentary, Bin Laden, the failings of a manhunt, was made by journalists Emmanuel Razavi and Eric de Lavarene, who have worked for several French media outlets in Afghanistan.

Razavi said the soldier told them it took roughly two hours for the request to reach the US officers who could authorise it, but the anonymous man is also quoted in the documentary as saying: "There was a hesitation in command."

[...]

France has roughly 200 elite troops operating under US command near the border. Paris announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing them in the new year.

Read the whole story: Aljazeera

Peru FM calls for CSN meeting to boost regional integration

The second summit of the South American Community of Nations (CSN) is expected to boost regional integration and create a better neighborhood, said Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde on Monday.

"The CSN's future will be improved if we give it a practical reason for its existence," said the minister ahead of the summit slated for Friday and Saturday in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

WHOLE STORY: Xinhua

France24

Why I hate TASER guns; UCLA Police use TASER on student.

Have a look at this. UCLA Police tasers a student who is unwilling to "stand up" AFTER he's being tasered.

It's clear that the police is on the wrong track. Although this student was obviously not cooperating, the police could've simply handcuffed him, and have two officers carry him out. Here's how I think the police should handle non-cooperating students.

- talk. Police should be able to reason with a student. Ask what the problem is and try to convince the student it's a lot less hassle (for both parties) to cooperate.
- handcuff him and carry him out.

The police might have talked to the student before, but this video doesn't show this; All we see is yelling officers threatening to TASER the student.

The handcuffing seems not an option to these policemen. What's wrong with the UCLA police?

Tasers are dangerous weapons; "Amnesty International have documented over 150 deaths following the use of tasers."

Personally I believe these weapons should be outlawed; again and again videos like these show up where it is clear the weapon is NOT "used instead of a leathel weapon" (which is often the argument for using TASERS) but out of convenience; the police considers the (threat of the) use of the TASER "easier" than reasoning or simple handcuffing/dragging.

Afer viewing this video we can all remove this UCLA University from our shortlist.

Here's what Wikipedia writes about the incident:

On November 15th, 2006, Mostafa Tabatabainejad, a student of the university, was tased for refusing to leave the Powell Library^[37]. The media^[38] reported that the officers of the University of California Police Department (UCPD) inflicted "multiple taser shots to a 23-year-old student in the Powell Library computer lab". Several students recorded the incident on their phones, which shows Tabatabainejad screaming while being tased multiple times. After being tased, the police asked him to stand up, but Tabatabainejad either could not or would not. The police then continued to tase him several more times. Tabatabainejad claims that he was leaving the library when the police confronted him, and would not let him leave, which is supported by several eye witness accounts. Library policy forbids those who do not possess a valid UCLA ID from entering and using its facilities. Those who are asked to produce an ID must do so or must leave. The police reported that the Mr. Tabatabainejad did not produce a UCLA ID despite repeated requests. In the videos, several bystanders can be heard asking for the police officers' badge numbers as well as condemning what they thought was excessive force. Another police officer can be heard threatening to tase another student, who was protesting the incident, if he did not back away. The video can be seen here. The university is currently investigating the incident.

Iraq war a big mistake, Blair ally says; Guardian Unlimited

Tony Blair has come under fire from one of his closest government allies over the Iraq war and his wider foreign policy, it was reported today.

Margaret Hodge apparently told a branch meeting of the Fabian Society that the war had been the prime minister's "big mistake in foreign affairs".

According to the Islington Tribune newspaper, the trade and industry minister said she had doubted his approach to foreign affairs since 1998. The paper said she was particularly critical of Mr Blair's "moral imperialism" - importing British attitudes and ideas to other countries.

WHOLE STORY

Fossil of the day: Rona Ambrose!

CANADA.COM:

Ambrose earns “fossil of the day” award

NAIROBI, KENYA -- Environmental groups, federal opposition parties, and an official Quebec government delegation have cooked up a rude welcome for Environment Minister Rona Ambrose at the United Nations climate change conference.

Ambrose, who is scheduled to arrive late on Monday night, earned a “fossil of the day” award for comments made last week about Canada’s position on the international Kyoto agreement on climate change.

The awards are handed out on a daily basis by international environmental groups to countries that they believe are heading in the wrong direction.

“Tied for first place, Canada and Australia are both found guilty for making ridiculous claims to the press of their countries and for misleading the public,” Greenpeace Canada spokesperson Steven Guilbeault said on Monday. “Even more humourous is that Rona Ambrose, the Environment Minister was quoted in Canadian press saying that Canada is meeting all of its responsibilities under the Kyoto protocol, except for the bit about emissions targets.”

WHOLE STORY

War on terror is lost ; blog for REAL solutions

I'm not surprised that the MI5 chief comes out with these views. I'm sure this has been common knowledge for many at the top for the last year or so; they were just hoping that things would somehow turn around. Not so.

Many leaders of the Western world have been in denial; the so-called war on terror is a disaster. It's interesting to see that this "denial" has suddenly become so obvious, especially on this continent. The War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan; both wars have become top issues again.

NOW is the time for a complete different approach to the "war on terror". This "war on terror" has become synonymous to a "state of denial"; a denial for real progress. The current world faces real problems, problems that cannot be fixed through "Shake and bake" and "shock and awe".

Keep blogging for REAL solutions; THEY ARE reading our blogs and quickly running out of munition.

MI5 chief says Iraq war is driving British Muslims into terrorism
By Kim Sengupta and Jason Bennetto
Published: 11 November 2006

British Muslims have been driven towards extremism and terrorist acts because of the UK's part in the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the head of MI5.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller's warning of the violent threat from more than 1,600 suspects in 200 groups lasting more than a generation, was backed yesterday by Tony Blair.

Dame Eliza stated, however, that the Government's policy had directly contributed to attacks in this country. She said: "My service needs to understand the motivations behind terrorism to succeed in countering it. The video wills of British suicide bombers make it clear they are motivated by perceived worldwide and long-standing injustices against Muslims; an extreme and minority interpretation of Islam promoted by some preachers and people of influence; and their interpretation as anti-Muslim of UK foreign policy, in particular in Iraq and Afghanistan. Killing oneself and others in response is an attractive option for some citizens of this country and others around the world."

According to senior intelligence sources, the upsurge in terrorist recruitment was caused not by the Afghan war but by the conflict in Iraq. "Iraq was seen as more unjustified, more an example of Western, British and American, perfidy," said one source.

Dame Eliza claimed her service was aware of about 30 plots to " kill people and to damage our economy".

Mr Blair said yesterday: "I have been saying for several years that this terror threat is very real. It has been building up over a long period of time.

"I think [Dame Eliza] is absolutely right that it will last a generation. It's a very long and deep struggle but we have to stand up and be counted for what we believe in and take the fight to those people who want to entice young people into something wicked and violent but utterly futile."

"This is a threat that has grown up over a generation. In the end, the values we have and hold dear in this country are the values that will defeat those values of hatred, division and sectarianism."

A Muslim Labour peer, Baroness Uddin, said she was concerned about Dame Eliza entering the "political arena". She said: "It seems that the Muslim community cannot remain out of the press for long before yet another indictment on the whole community.

"I hope that what she is saying is truly because she needs the assistance of the community in addressing this issue. I am not very happy with the fact someone in her position would up the ante in the terror threat although obviously there is a deep concern.

"Raising this kind of question in the public arena seemed incredibly political.

"I hope that it is not political and I hope that it is not trying to make the assertion that there are cells all over the place, almost giving the impression that ordinary communities are hiding these kinds of cells."

David Davis, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "This is why the Government should be taking practical and effective measures to help us in the fight against terrorism, such as a single, dedicated border police, appointing a single minister to co-ordinate our security efforts, and allowing the use of intercept evidence in terror trials.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "These revelations underline the gravity of the threat we all face. The effect of our foreign and domestic policies ... now requires constant vigilance".

British Muslims have been driven towards extremism and terrorist acts because of the UK's part in the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the head of MI5.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller's warning of the violent threat from more than 1,600 suspects in 200 groups lasting more than a generation, was backed yesterday by Tony Blair.

Dame Eliza stated, however, that the Government's policy had directly contributed to attacks in this country. She said: "My service needs to understand the motivations behind terrorism to succeed in countering it. The video wills of British suicide bombers make it clear they are motivated by perceived worldwide and long-standing injustices against Muslims; an extreme and minority interpretation of Islam promoted by some preachers and people of influence; and their interpretation as anti-Muslim of UK foreign policy, in particular in Iraq and Afghanistan. Killing oneself and others in response is an attractive option for some citizens of this country and others around the world."

Norman Spector calls Belinda Stronach a bitch

Wondering what Victoria based Norman Spector is up to these days?

Norman Spector, a former Canadian ambassador to Israel and chief of staff to ex-prime minister Brian Mulroney, created a stir over the weekend when he said on the radio Belinda Stronach was a "bitch."

"Bitch is a word that I would use to describe someone like Belinda Stronach," said Spector, now a political pundit.

WHOLE STORY

Here's the audio

Israeli President Moshe Katsav refuses to resign

Israeli president refuses to resign.

The Israeli president, facing calls for his resignation pending a possible rape indictment, has refused to step down.

"I am the victim of a despicable libel campaign," Moshe Katsav said in a statement on Sunday, declaring his innocence. "The authorities must not let the media lynch disrupt the investigation of the truth," Katsav said, adding "I intend to fight to the end to prove my innocence”. The Israeli president also said he did not intend to resign and would await "the final decision" of attorney general Menachem Mazuz, who has recommended that Katsav step aside from his duties pending a possible rape indictment.

"The president is hurting, but is not afraid. The president is completely certain of his justice and innocence. All the authorities should wait for the end of the investigation, including the attorney general's final decision," Katsav said.

[...]

Katsav, a bland career politician who rose from obscurity in July 2000 to become Israel's first president from a right-wing party, has repeatedly denied the charges against him and has vowed to clear his name.

Police opened their investigation in July, after Katsav filed a complaint against a former female employee, identified only as A, saying she was trying to blackmail him. The employee in turn accused him of sexual harassment.

As the inquiry unfolded, police investigated complaints from no fewer than 10 women on charges ranging from rape to sexual harassment and abuse of authority.

WHOLE STORY

Canada's Embarrassing Foreign Minister; by John Chuckman

I just found this article by John Chuckman:

A Man of Poor Character and Thin Talents

John Chuckman

Were a senior member of any national government to insult a woman in public, there would be reason for concern. An apology might put the act down in the public's mind to poor judgment in the fierce heat of partisan debate. Were the senior member then to refuse admitting what he had done, despite many witnesses, surely a question of character is raised.

[....]

We already knew there were serious flaws in MacKay's character. There was his unapologetic, hasty breaking of a written agreement made at the former Conservative Party leadership convention. He simply brushed it off with saying politics was a blood sport, a rather odd choice of words coming from the representative of a party trying to promote itself as doing business in a new and ethical way.

Following Stronach's crossing the floor to the Liberals, MacKay busied himself doing simpering interviews about being abandoned both as deputy party leader and as lover. In fact, without MacKay's bizarre little press blitz, most Canadians would never have known about his affair with Stronach.

Read the whole story: CANADA'S EMBARRASSING FOREIGN MINISTER

Blogging Tories completely ignore a lying MacKay

One of my favourite places to hangout? It's the Blogging Tories Website! Whenever there's an issue of significance, our lying and not apologizing Foreign Affairs Minister MacKay sure is, then the Blogging Tories are the place to visit to get a good perspective.

You would think.

Well, look for yourself, it aint happenin' there.

It's sad to see that not a single blogging tory has the ability to understand the magnitude of the lying (this country can not have a lying Foreign Minister); and not one tory is addressing and discussing the possible outcome of MacKay's lying seriously with their peers.

What a narrow minded bunch of ignorant people!

You start wondering why they blog in the first place.

Israel admits using chemical weapons in conflict with Lebanon

Israel finally admits that it has used chemical weapons in the conflict with Lebanon:

Israel has admitted for the first time to using white phosphorus shells against military targets in southern Lebanon, an Israeli newspaper has reported.

Israel's Haaretz daily newspaper quoted Yakov Edery, the minister for government-paramilitary relations, as saying that the Israeli army used phosphorus shells 'in attacks against military targets in open ground'.

WHOLE STORY

Ambrose selling fantasy-land as a red herring

According to Ambrose:

"Industry has to be compliant by 2010 and if you think that happens the night before, it doesn't. They have to start making decisions today as to how they are going to make changes in their business."

But don't take "today" too litteraly; there are no agreed upon targets yet, and there's enough reason to believe these targets will be far less rosy (as far as the environment is concerned) than Ambrose makes them appear.

Now get this from the National Post:

"Aldyen Donnelly, a Vancouver-based consultant who does precisely this sort of analysis for large industrial emitters, says the Conservative plan on greenhouse gases is much tougher than most people in industry had anticipated. "Industry should be shaking in their boots," she said. "This is about shutting plants down."

Regardless of the absence of a hard cap to reduce emissions absolutely until 2020, industry now knows it has to reduce its emissions by half by 2050."

So I started thinking about myself. I'm self-employed, so how can I cut my own emissions by 50% in 2050, just to be "good" in the eyes of Conservative Canada?

Hmmm, 2050, I'm 34 now.....
2050-2006=44

Ok, so I've got 44 years to deal with this. Now let's see; in 2050 I will be.... 34+44=78 years; I'm really "shaking in my boots". I better make some plans, fast! I'm sure the "old white guys telling us what to do" (in this case the boards of Big Business) are peeing their pants right now since most of them will not make 2050....

We need change now, and change that's achievable. It's a wonderfull idea to work towards a clean environment for when I'm 78, but most of us know that there's little chance this will happen, at least not with Conservatives at the helm; it's a red herring, selling fantasy land instead of dealing the issue head on. Even Aldyen Donnelly, "a self-confessed Liberal" agrees:

"A 50% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050 is really, really, really hard to achieve."

Footnote:
Too bad the National Post keeps interviewing the wrong people (liberal or not). You would almost think there's something wrong with this paper.

U.S. uses attack dogs on their own people

Planning a trip to the U.S.? Here are some places you probably want to skip.

In the prisons of Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, South Dakota and Utah attack dogs are used against prisoners; when a prisoner will not voluntarily leave his cell when ordered to do so, officers may bring a trained attack dog to the cell front to terrify the prisoner into compliance.

We've probably all seen these aggressive, unmuzzled dogs on TV; attack dogs were also used in Abu Graib, to terrify and even attack prisoners. But U.S. prisons use these dogs on their own people too. Nice thought.

Human Rights Watch
Democracy Now!

Stephen Harper's comments are anti-Canadian

Harper tells us that "most of the contenders for the [Liberal] party's top job were "anti-Israeli."

Bob Rae had the correct response:

"I think to suggest that there is a pro-Israel party in Canada and there's an anti-Israel party in Canada is something of which he should be thoroughly ashamed."

So why label a party anti-anything? It's a simple act of mud-slinging. Yes, sometimes the Liberal Party agrees with Israel and sometimes they don't. But is Stephen Harper suggesting the Liberals have "prejudice" against Israel or discriminate against "the Jews" in general?

Stephen Harper's comments, although given as a serious response to Michael Ignatieff 's "war crimes" comments, cannot be taken seriously. And that's unfortunate. We need a prime minister we can trust, worthy of the country's "top job"; the latest comments by Stephen Harper's are anti-Canadian.

Latest Lancet Study: Iraq death toll over 650,000

Front Page News that doesn't make the top 5 in the so-called "mainstream" media of North America, including CNN, Fox News, CBC News, CTV, Globe and Mail, and the Toronto Star.

IMPORTANT:

BAGHDAD, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- More than 650,000 Iraqis have died as a consequence of hostilities in Iraq as of July 2006, according to a new study by a respected British medical journal.

The Lancet estimates that 654,965 excess Iraqi deaths have occurred since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country. Of this total, just over 600,000 were due to violence, the most common cause being gunfire.

The death toll amounts to 2.5 percent of the population in study areas surveyed, according the journal. Between May and July 2006 some 50 clusters were randomly selected from 16 Iraqi Governorates, with each cluster consisting of 40 households where information was gathered.

The proportion of Iraqi deaths attributable to coalition forces has diminished but actual numbers of persons killed have increased every year, according to the study. Gunfire remains the most common cause of death though a surge in car bombings has been documented.

Iraqi Body Count, the best known tracker of Iraq casualties, estimates that up to Sept. 26, 2006, between 43,491 and 48,283 Iraqis have been killed since the invasion. Figures from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior were 75 percent higher from the same period, while an Iraqi non-governmental organization, Iraqiyun, places the number at about 128,000.

Violent death totals have typically relied on hospital data from the Ministry of Health, mortuary tallies and media reports.

The Lancet says it relied on household interviews to gather more in-depth feedback, taking into account indirect causes, such as displacement and deteriorating health services. Period mortality rates were then calculated by regression models."

Ignatieff needs a strong program

I'm no fan of Ignatieff. I've tried to read his book "the lesser evil" this fall and, to be honest, I was not able to finish it; I can't think of another non-fiction book I've read the last couple of years that is so full of fallacies, regardless of how and why they are presented (this could be a much more interesting debate, but I've got other things to do too :))

I'm not surprised that Ignatieff is in trouble. In his book he tries to find the fine line between good and evil. And that's where his problem is; it doesn't exist. You either (1) try to do good, (2) you try to hide that your evil, or (3) you're an ever balancing politician.

Most politicians are a mix of these three. But Ignatieff is predominantly in the last category, where his "nuanced and intelligent balancing" is supposed to represent the "good". And without upholding clear principles this is a tough starting point, proven by his latest troubles.

But Ignatieff does have a heart:

"I demonstrated a lack of compassion, it was a mistake. And when you make a mistake like that, you have to admit it. And I admit it, because I was a human rights professor, and I'm a professor of the laws of war, and what happened at Qana was a war crime. I should have said that, it's clear," Ignatieff said.

But a heart is not enough. The guy needs a strong program, not questionable cheerleaders who couldn't acknowledge war crimes unless they were a victim themselves.

Stephen Harper, Jack Layton? Like them or hate them, but we do know what they stand for. Ignatieff? Anyone?