Wednesday, 23 March 2011
So much for hearts and minds: Could the murder and mutilation of Afghan villagers by U.S. soldiers undo all the good the West is doing in Libya? Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369034/Libya-war-Murder-Afghan-villagers-US-soldiers-lose-West-hearts-minds-Gaddafi.html#ixzz1HQkKW09O
The timing could not have been worse. Just as the West seeks to persuade a sceptical Arab world that it has the moral authority to intervene in Libya, nauseating images have appeared of American soldiers abusing the bodies of Afghan civilians they have killed in cold blood.
The photographs, leaked to Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine and published on Monday, show U.S. servicemen posing over a bloodied, half-naked body, and holding up the head of the dead man by grabbing his hair and turning his face to the camera as if he were a hunting trophy.
No matter that the U.S. Army has apologised for the ‘repugnant’ pictures. No matter it insists this is an isolated incident and the twisted souvenir snaps are the work of a rogue Army unit, five of whose members have been charged with murder.
Insult: The soldier kneels with his assault rifle as he grabs the dead man's hair and yanks his head up off of the ground
Desecration: Two of the soldiers turn the head of dead farmer Gul Mudin towards the camera as if he were a hunting trophy
These pictures will seem all too nauseatingly familiar to those who remember the torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.
Washington has always protested that the torture at the prison was an isolated incident, an aberration in its otherwise commendable respect for human rights and the fair treatment of those ‘liberated’ from oppressive regimes.
Now, the publication of these photographs shatters that claim.
The irony is that, for the first time in years, the West’s and America’s presence in the Middle East has been positively welcomed — at least by the anti-Gaddafi rebels whom the deadly bombing raids in Libya are designed to help.
Here in New York, Americans were dumbfounded when they heard yesterday that two U.S. fighter crewmen whose F16 crashed over Libya were greeted by local people not with screams of abuse but with hugs and cheers.
The fear now is that these grim Afghan images will spread like wildfire through the Arab world, and will be used as propaganda by those who oppose Western intervention.
Der Spiegel’s pictures could not be more damaging. For the Afghans killed are not Taliban combatants but innocent civilians — and the soldiers are members of a rogue ‘kill team’ from a U.S. infantry brigade who coped with the stress of active service by gunning down Afghans at random.
Pleas: Private Andrew Holmes claims he was ordered to pose for the camera next to the corpse while Corporal Jeremy Morlock has indicated that he will plead guilty at a court martial to three murders
atrol: U.S. Special Forces soldiers with Task Force 31 stop their convoy on the way to conduct joint village searches with the Afghan National Army in southeast Afghanistan last month
Funerals: Afghan men bring in the bodies of civilians killed in an operation by Afghan security forces in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan earlier this month
In the killing of Mr Mudin in January last year, the soldiers set off a hand grenade to make it look like they themselves had been attacked — and then they turned on their victim, first throwing another grenade at him and then shooting him.
One of the accused, 21-year-old Adam Winfield, reportedly told his father via his Facebook page: ‘They made it look like the guy threw a grenade at them and mowed him down.’
In a second incident the following month, investigators say one of the ‘kill team’ created the fake attack by firing a Kalashnikov, a favoured weapon of the Taliban, before switching to his own rifle and shooting 22-year-old Marach Agha.
The last murder occurred in May when another hand grenade attack was staged, this time to cover up the killing of a third Afghan, 45-year-old Mullah Allah Dad, the holy man of a hamlet near Kandahar.
Photos and video footage of their deeds were later passed around electronically like trading cards, say prosecutors. The details of the killings are arguably even more despicable than those at Abu Ghraib, where military police guards abused and tortured Iraqi prisoners.
The highest ranking defendant in the new case, Staff Sgt Calvin Gibbs, allegedly even collected fingers and body parts as trophies, including teeth and leg bones from Afghan corpses.
Prosecutors say he killed animals and dumped their bodies by the human corpses in a gratuitous display of violence. They claim he hoarded illegally-obtained weapons which he dropped near the men he killed to make it appear they were combatants.
Peace: A Libyan man holds a protrait of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi and flashes the victory sign as he stand amid the rubble of a navy facility that was hit by a coalition airstrike
Others among the accused have portrayed Gibbs as the team leader in the killings, organising the murders as a sort of morbid entertainment and pressuring his underlings to take part.
One of the soldiers in the published photographs was Andrew Holmes, whose lawyer, Daniel Conway, claims he was ordered to pose for the camera. ‘That doesn’t make him a murderer,’ said Conway.
According to Adam Winfield’s online chats with his father, Sgt Gibbs ‘gives high fives to the guy who kills innocent people and plans more with him’. Gibbs denies the charges against him and insists the Afghans died as the result of legitimate engagements.
The 12 men are also charged with desecrating corpses (one soldier allegedly carried out a frenzied stabbing attack on a dead Taliban), drug abuse and attacking a comrade who gave information against them.
'A dead Taliban was stabbed in a frenzy'
Specialist Winfield’s father Christopher claims his son had urged him to contact the US Army and warn the authorities that the rogue unit planned further murders after the first killing.
Christopher Winfield claimed he tried desperately to pass on his son’s message but Army officials were unresponsive or unhelpful. His claims are supported by phone records that show he left several messages for Army officials and talked to one of them for 12 minutes.
Mr Winfield said the officials told him that unless his son came forward with his claims, the matter would have to wait until the platoon returned from Afghanistan to the U.S.
Indeed, the authorities were spurred into action over the killings only when a comrade reported some of the accused for smoking hashish. Some suggest drugs are taken more seriously than the murder of civilians.
Lawyers for one of the accused, 22-year-old Jeremy Morlock, who is pictured smiling as he kneels over the dead farmer in one of the Der Spiegel photos, said he would plead guilty at a court martial today to three murders in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence. He is so far the only one to have admitted the charges.
Lawyers for Morlock have claimed that while he might be ‘physically responsible’ for his crimes, American politicians bear the moral responsibility for placing him ‘in the wrong war at the wrong time’.
The Army is adamant that justice will be done. ‘The actions depicted in the photos are repugnant to us as human beings and contrary to the standards and values of the U.S. Army, it said in a statement.
Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, has already rung her Afghan counterpart to discuss the situation, and Tom Donilon, the National Security Adviser, has been reassuring other officials in Kabul.
Now, Nato and the U.S. are bracing themselves for the pictures to filter down to ordinary people who — in Afghanistan at least — would not have seen them on Monday as that day was a holiday.
In Pakistan, tensions are already high after protests erupted when a CIA agent, Raymond Davis, shot dead two local men in January. Many Pakistanis questioned his claim the pair had tried to rob him, and are furious he was released after blood money was paid to the families.
The killings in Afghanistan may indeed have been the work of a rogue unit and — unlike Abu Ghraib, where the abusers claimed they were acting under orders — not part of any official strategy.
But this sort of brutality is increasingly seen by the Arab world as the way Western forces behave in their lands.
And as Britain and France join the U.S. war machine in Libya under the eyes of a suspicious world, the last thing that everyone — with the exception of al Qaeda, the Taliban and Colonel Gaddafi — needs is for these pictures to be broadcast around the world.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1369034/Libya-war-Murder-Afghan-villagers-US-soldiers-lose-West-hearts-minds-Gaddafi.html#ixzz1HQnRRyN8
Libya Condemns 'Civilian Deaths' In Strikes
A fourth night of Western air strikes on targets in the Libyan capital killed civilians in a Tripoli suburb, a government spokesman told Sky News.
"Last night, in the early morning attack... south of Tripoli a family house was destroyed, a little girl was killed - it has been running on Libyan TV," said Moussa Ibrahim.
However, the regime has still not shown foreign journalists in Tripoli any evidence of civilian casualties in bombing and missile attacks by British, US and French forces.
On Tuesday, reporters were taken to see a naval base near the capital where they were shown burnt-out missile carriers and two craters.
Mr Ibrahim insisted that the Libyan government was doing all it could to protect civilians, unlike the West.
"No-one else is doing anything to protect civilians. The international community, as you call it, wants to protect civilians (only) in the east," he said.
"We stopped all military operations, we called for observers to come and see on the ground and check that we are not killing anyone - we have never killed anyone."
The comments, however, came as reports continued to emerge of heavy fighting in Misratah, about 130 miles east of Tripoli.
Dozens of people have been killed in heavy shelling in recent days as tanks and snipers were deployed in the city, witnesses said.
Mr Ibrahim said that rather than protecting civilians as set out in the UN mandate authorising the military action in Libya, Western governments were actually providing "air cover" for the rebels.
"Remember the rebels never announced a ceasefire, they refused to announce a ceasefire and now they are advancing out of Benghazi and marching for Ajdabiyah - 200km of advancements."
Since the air strikes began, rebel fighters have been able to leave their stronghold at Benghazi for Ajdabiyah, which they had to abandon during an earlier advance by Gaddafi's forces.
On Wednesday, pro-Gaddafi troops attacked a few hundred rebels gathered on the city's outskirts. The rebels fired back with Katyusha rockets but have found themselves outgunned.
Mr Ibrahim asked: "Why is no one talking about these rebels? They are armed militias and we accuse them of killing civilians."
Radiation Makes Tokyo Water Unsafe For Kids
Radiation above the levels deemed safe for young children has been detected in Tokyo's tap water.
Officials in the quake-hit Japanese capital said tests had shown 210 becquerels per litre of iodine-131.
The recommended limit for infants is 100 becquerels per litre.
"Under government guidelines, water containing a radioactive substance of more than 100 becquerels per kilogramme should not be used for milk for babies," a government spokesman said.
"It is really scary. It is like a vicious negative spiral from the nuclear disaster," said Etsuko Nomura, who lives in the city with her two young children.
"We have contaminated milk and vegetables, and now tap water in Tokyo, and I'm wondering what's next."
Workers at the country's leaking nuclear complex are hoping to bring an end to the plant's crisis after hooking up power lines to all six of its reactor units.
They will now try to restart the overheated Fukushima site's crucial cooling system, which was knocked out by a tsunami that devastated the country's northeast coast.
The earthquake and tsunami, Japan's worst crisis since the Second World War, swept away entire coastal communities.
More than 9,400 bodies have been counted and more than 14,700 people are listed as missing.
Officials say radiation is still leaking from the nuclear plant, which lies just 155 miles (250km) from Tokyo and its 30 million inhabitants.
Some food imports from quake and tsunami-hit Japan have now been banned in the US due to fears of radiation and nuclear contamination.
American authorities have placed an import alert on all milk products, fresh vegetables and fruits from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma regions.
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said: "What is most important is making sure that we help Japan deal with the after-effects of whatever occurred inside the reactors and that we also make sure the Japanese people have all the food that they need during this transition period."
She said the ruling was "as much focused on determining what is or isn't safe for the Japanese people, not just what is safe for export."
The crisis also continues to batter Japan's once-robust economy, with three of the of the country's biggest brands -Toyota, Honda and Sony - badly hit.
Each has been forced to delay a return to normal production due to shortages of parts and raw materials because of earthquake damage to factories in affected areas.
Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said: "We must overcome this crisis that we have never experienced in the past, and it's time to make a nationwide effort."
Friday, 11 March 2011
March 19, 2011: SuperMoon or SuperDoom?
March 19 seems like just another day waiting to pass. If that's what you're still thinking, think again! If speculations and claims of astrologer, Richard Nolle is anything to go by, then, March 19th would be anything, but 'just another day'.
The moon, on this day, is believed to come closer to earth, more than it has in 18 years. Its closeness to earth may cause disasters. Now, our lessons in Geography have taught us that moon's elliptical journey around earth lead to the cyclical tides in the ocean. With the moon on that day coming as close as 356,577 kilometers to earth; more thanjust 'cyclical tides' can be expected. Earthquakes, storms, intense tidalactivity are some of the probable disasters that the impending 'SuperMoon' or lunar perigee may trigger.
However, like it happens with every speculated claim, this one hasn't proved to be an exception either. Astronomers, scientists, scholars in this subject have all smirked at Nolle's claim. Apparently, Nolle’s claimholds no water. SuperMoons are as common as eclipses, they argued.
We'd all like to believe that the SuperMoon just makes for a surreal experience, a rare spectacle. But, it remains to be seen if it's indeed Supermoon or SuperDoom!
Thursday, 10 March 2011
Osama bin Laden, A.K.A. CIA Asset "Tim Osman
| Tim Osman (Ossman) has recently become better known as Osama Bin Ladin. "Tim Osman" was the name assigned to him by the CIA for his tour of the U.S. and U.S. military bases, in search of political support and armaments. [...] There is some evidence that Tim Osman ... visited the White House. There is certainty that Tim Osman toured some U.S. military bases, even receiving special demonstrations of the latest equipment. Why hasn't this been reported in the major media? [Full article] |  |
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
Scientists Hail Universal Flu Vaccine Test
Scientists have for the first time tested in humans a vaccine likely to be effective against all strains of flu.
They believe the universal vaccine could make pandemics - and deaths - a thing of the past.
Current vaccines target part of the virus that mutates constantly, forcing scientists to modify the jab each winter.
The new vaccine targets proteins inside the virus that remain the same whatever the strain.
Dr Sarah Gilbert, of Oxford University's Jenner Institute, said the vaccine would remain effective for up to 10 years.
She told Sky News: "Current vaccines target proteins outside the virus, parts of the virus that keep changing from year to year that mean we have to develop a new vaccine every year.
"But this new vaccine works on parts of the virus that don't change every year and so we hope to have one vaccine that works against all different strains of flu in the future."
She added: "It wouldn't wipe out flu from the world in the way we've been able to wipe out smallpox because flu exists in wild bird populations, and from time to time it moves across into the human population.
"We will always have to be on our guard against flu, but it could mean that we don't see people becoming severely ill and dying from flu because infection in people and widespread pandemics could become a thing of the past."
The Oxford scientists studied 22 volunteers who were deliberately infected with flu.
Those given the vaccine in advance were less likely to develop symptoms.
A universal vaccine could be given at anytime of year. No longer would there be an autumn rush in doctors' surgeries - and no longer would there be a risk of it running out, as it did this year.
Dr Mark Fielder, a medical microbiologist at Kingston University working on infection control, said the findings were exciting.
He told Sky News: "The work we do here is focused around controlling and containing disease and the potential of this is fantastic because it means we can take a strong stance in helping halt disease from spreading around the world."
The scientists now hope to test the vaccine in a bigger trial to confirm that it is effective.
Scientists Hail Universal Flu Vaccine Test
Scientists have for the first time tested in humans a vaccine likely to be effective against all strains of flu.
They believe the universal vaccine could make pandemics - and deaths - a thing of the past.
Current vaccines target part of the virus that mutates constantly, forcing scientists to modify the jab each winter.
The new vaccine targets proteins inside the virus that remain the same whatever the strain.
Dr Sarah Gilbert, of Oxford University's Jenner Institute, said the vaccine would remain effective for up to 10 years.
Preventing The Spread Of Flu
She told Sky News: "Current vaccines target proteins outside the virus, parts of the virus that keep changing from year to year that mean we have to develop a new vaccine every year.
"But this new vaccine works on parts of the virus that don't change every year and so we hope to have one vaccine that works against all different strains of flu in the future."
She added: "It wouldn't wipe out flu from the world in the way we've been able to wipe out smallpox because flu exists in wild bird populations, and from time to time it moves across into the human population.
"We will always have to be on our guard against flu, but it could mean that we don't see people becoming severely ill and dying from flu because infection in people and widespread pandemics could become a thing of the past."
The Oxford scientists studied 22 volunteers who were deliberately infected with flu.
Those given the vaccine in advance were less likely to develop symptoms.
A universal vaccine could be given at anytime of year. No longer would there be an autumn rush in doctors' surgeries - and no longer would there be a risk of it running out, as it did this year.
Dr Mark Fielder, a medical microbiologist at Kingston University working on infection control, said the findings were exciting.
He told Sky News: "The work we do here is focused around controlling and containing disease and the potential of this is fantastic because it means we can take a strong stance in helping halt disease from spreading around the world."
The scientists now hope to test the vaccine in a bigger trial to confirm that it is effective.
This Is From SkyNews.com
Gaddafi's Son: 'We're Still In Control'
Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif has told Sky News his father is still in control of Libya and has hit out at remarks made by David Cameron claiming he just "wants to be a hero".
Colonel Gaddafi's most high-profile son referred to the Prime Minster's response to the Libyan crisis as "a joke" and said "we are not listening to him".
Saif Gaddafi also refused to accept the Libyan government has lost control of the east of the country.
He called the rebels occupying the city of Zawiyah "terrorists" and reiterated his stance that he would live and die in Libya.
Sky political correspondent Sophy Ridge
Warning countries who could be considering military action, Mr Gaddafi said the use of force against Libya was "not acceptable" but claimed: "We are not afraid."
He said the regime's priority was to restore peace and security in Libya.
The British-educated son is the most visible of Col Gaddafi's children and has been acting as a spokesman for the regime.
He also took the opportunity to hit back at comments by US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice, who claimed his father was "delusional" and "unfit to lead".
Claiming Ms Rice was "unfit to comment on Libya" he said it was "not her business to talk about Libya" as she is not Libyan.
David Cameron's spokesman has said the Gaddafis are "losing all credibility and authority" speaking on the Libyan crisis.
Foreign Secretary William Hague told Sky News he had spoken to Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa to stress the need for an immediate end to the violence.
Libya Crisis: Latest Pics 
People flee as fighting continues and Colonel Gaddafi clings on.
But he said the Libyan government's line is still that the situation is different to what we have seen and that they have not been killing citizens.
Saif Gaddafi's comments come as a spokesman for Libya's Ministry of Information accused the British PM of leading a campaign for regime change in Libya and neighbouring countries.
Khaled al Koabi claimed to have information that Britain is "planning to carry on some activities that can create an environment of instability in some Arab countries, for the sake of changing regimes".
He also called on British MPs to oppose what he called the Government's "dangerous behaviour".
Mr Koabi said: "From here I call upon the British society and the British House of Commons to take steps and move against the British Prime Minister, so that Britain will not find herself in a similar situation as in 2003 in Iraq."
The accusation follows Mr Cameron's statement to the House of Commons in which he said he has not ruled out military action in Libya.
The Pentagon has said it is moving naval and air forces into positions near Libya in case military intervention is required.
Defence Secretary Robert Gates said they are sending 400 marines and two naval ships to the Mediterranean to help with emergency evacuations and humanitarian relief.
But he said there are no grounds for the use of force in the UN Security Council resolution.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the administration was looking at a full range of options but had not yet made any decisions.
Britain Cuts Foreign Aid To 16 Nations
4:24pm UK, Tuesday March 01, 2011
Big changes to Britain's foreign aid programme have been announced by the Government - with funds being cut to 16 countries.
Under the plans, nations including Angola, Kosovo, Vietnam and Cambodia will no longer receive aid from Britain.
Russia and China will also be stripped of millions of pounds a year, as the coalition focuses more overseas aid on volatile states like Afghanistan and Somalia.
But the Government has been criticised for merely freezing funding for India - a country with its own space programme - at £280m for four years.
Changes to the foreign aid programme follows a nine-month review by International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell.
Despite widespread spending cuts, which have been felt by virtually all departments, Mr Mitchell has been allocated a rise in the aid budget - from £7bn to £11bn by 2015.
The review has resulted in a focussing of the new funds to fewer countries.
Shadow international development secretary Harriet Harman told Sky News Labour did not oppose the aid changes.
She said: "I think that it's right that they're pressing on with the commitment we had to international aid and in particular, to increase the share of our national income that goes into aid.
"For all that, we have difficulties here and there's inequality here... I think that if we can - and we can - make a difference by giving a small percentage of our income to save people from starving, to save children from dying of preventable diseases, then it's right that we should do that.
"Broadly speaking, we back what the Government is doing."
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