Incisive-View

Iraqis protest building of wall around Sunni neighborhood

By Alissa J. Rubin and Jon Elsen Published: April 23, 2007


BAGHDAD: Large crowds demonstrated in the Adhamiya neighborhood in Baghdad on Monday, protesting plans to build a wall around the mostly Sunni neighborhood, a day after Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said he was ordering a halt to construction of that wall.

Maliki made his comments from Egypt, where he was on a state visit. But American officials did not say whether the wall's construction would be halted.

Crowds gathered near the mosque of Abu Hanifa, overlooking the Tigris River, then marched in the streets of the Sunni Arab enclave, bordered by Shiite areas.

Adhamiya often comes under mortar attack and suffers incursions from the surrounding neighborhoods. It has also been a stronghold of militant Sunni Arab groups, and the wall would help the Iraqi security forces to control their movements.

"We denounce the building of the wall, which will increase the sectarian rift," said Um Muhammad, a teacher in Adhamiya. "We demand that occupation forces should remove it, and not to build any similar wall in other areas."

A leaflet distributed at the demonstration said the wall would "turn the city into a big prison." Banners said "No Shiites, No Sunnies, Islamic Unity."
Maliki said Sunday that construction of the wall reminded people of "other walls." His announcement that construction would be halted appeared intended to allay the mounting criticism from both Sunni Arab and Shiite parties about the project.

"I oppose the building of the wall, and its construction will stop," Maliki told reporters during a joint news conference with the secretary general of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. "There are other methods to protect neighborhoods."

America's ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, defended the wall on Monday, saying it made "good security sense" to build barriers where there were clear fault-lines and "avenues of attack" between Sunni and Shiite areas, Reuters reported.

Neither he nor a U.S. military spokesman, Rear Admiral Mark Fox, would say whether construction of the Adhamiya wall would be stopped, according to Reuters. Fox said the erection of barriers around Baghdad's markets and neighborhoods was approved by Iraq's government.

Maliki did not specify in his remarks what other walls he referred to. However, the separation barrier in the West Bank being erected by Israel, which Israel says is for protection but greatly angers Palestinians, is a particularly delicate issue among Arabs.

"This wall makes us feel as if we were in Palestine," Akram al-Ani, of Adhamiya, said at the demonstration on Monday. "And this is the same wall that separates Palestinians from Israelis."
Eman Khudair 48, a widow who lives with her family near the wall, said she feared that government forces controlling access to the neighborhood might collaborate with militias that want to enter. And she feared that the government might close off the area and prevent supplies from entering.

Sameer al-Abeidi, the sheikh of the Abu Hanifa mosque, said he welcomed Maliki's call for putting a halt to construction of the wall. "We shake hands with the government in such stands and hope that the occupation forces would not abort these stands," he said.

On Sunday, the spokesman for the American military in Iraq sought to allay criticism of the project and explain its intent by saying that it was meant to be only a temporary barrier to improve security.

The military does not have a new strategy of building walls or creating "gated communities," the spokesman, Major General William Caldwell IV, said in a written statement. He described it as a tactic being used in only a handful of neighborhoods and not an effort to divide the city, much less the country.

However, American military officials said last week in a statement that the Adhamiya wall was "one of the centerpieces of a new strategy." They also said that the wall was aimed at separating Sunni Arabs in Adhamiya from Shiites to the east.

Source:International Herald Tribune

My view: Walls have caused much misery and hardship for the Palestinians and the US seems to want to inflict even more misery on the long-suffering people of Iraq. Time to wake up and smell the coffee, the myopic Americans just don't get the fact that they have illegally invaded a country and the only thing that will allow this country to get back on its feet is if they leave!! They have set this country back many decades, which as far as Israel is concerned is probably considered a job well done. Olmert's probably telling Bush to hurry up and sign all the oil reserves over to Dick and co and shut up shop and come home and keep pretending they went to Iraq to remove a dictator (who was previously their man, until he stopped doing what he was told!) Oh actually I forgot, the good ole US with all its technology actually invaded Iraq due to the WMDs, that they knew didn't exist. Probably dodgy Israeli intelligence fed to the UK that led to that fatal spin.

M.Hussein
Friday 16th February, 2007
The M.I.A.H Project

With the constant vilification of Muslims by the media and the government, it’s difficult to comprehend how one community can be singled out over and over again, but yet the community as a whole fails to react in large numbers.

The situation is becoming one where, as time progresses, these fears are further heightened, and the attacks and spins become more frequent, consequently leading to a state of hate and suspicion against Muslims.

We in the UK must do everything possible to stop this hysteria reaching epic proportions. Already, with the ban of religious symbols in state schools in France (legislation which infringe on Muslims more than any other religious group) and the niqab ban in Holland; these “anti-Muslim” policies being implemented in the UK are more real now than any other time in recent history. If we are to counter this, we must counter this climate of fear, we must counter what is now the racism which is almost blatantly accepted by society, we must ensure people who make such false claims and accusations are not gone unchallenged and do not continue to preach their messages of hate.

In the past we have had a number of mosques firebombed; Muslims have been attacked for no reason other than that of being a Muslim; Muslim women have had their headscarves ripped off their heads. This ignorance is why the constant violations of civil and human rights by our government where individuals are held over unwarranted periods (sometimes indefinitely) without charge, people are kept under house arrest and tagged without any conclusive evidence of any terrorist links and so fourth, are left unhindered without outcry from the mass British public.

One instance in the past where this hate was spurred and the response resulted to a change is when Robert Kilroy-Silk in an article in the Sunday Express referred to Arabs (and implicitly to Muslims) as ‘suicide bombers’, ‘limb-amputators’, and ‘women repressors’ among many other things. The wide scale reaction from many Muslims around the country through writing to the media and openly showing their disgust at this man sent a clear message, not only to Robert Kilroy-Silk, but The Sunday Times, the BBC (who were employers of Kilroy-Silk at the time), and also to all the other islamaphobes of the country. The same reasons if these racist statements and accusations were targeted towards other minority communities would have not been tolerated, apply to Muslims, and we, and society as a whole need to recognise that.

Opposition must also continue against other islamaphobic hate-preachers such as Melanie Phillips, Nick Cohen, Mark Steyn and Julie Birchill whose constant tirade against the Muslim religion creates further segregation within society. Drivel from individuals such as these, unchallenged; seep in to public opinion creating a greater aura of abhorrence and as a result, any potentially impending niqab ban, hijab ban or any other possible Muslim specific legislation, with public opinion so greatly against our religion, will surely be enforced.

We have already seen quite starkly how the public jumped on the bandwagon of anti-niqab resentment in 2006. All it needs is a public figure to start pointing fingers at Muslims for some spurious reason and the wave of attacks begin.

As well as showing our opposition to hate preachers, we must show our support for the converse - the likes of Madeline Bunting and John Pilger who, at the receiving end of smear campaigns by the Zionist lobbies, choose still to speak out in favour of justice and Muslim causes such as Palestine and Iraq. The attempts by these groups to quieten anyone who opposes the Israeli state must not be taken lightly. Without people speaking against the propaganda and lies, it will surely become a one sided endeavour.

Britain’s foreign policy has major implications in Muslim countries such as Kashmir, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Palestine and Iraq. It is our government who has sent thousands of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan to partake in an illegal war resulting in the deaths of over 600,000 Muslims. It is our government who seems to continually condone the oppression and killing of the Palestinian people in their own land. As citizens of this country, we can utilise the democratic system and show our sheer opposition to such policies; with enough pressure we can make a difference to the lives of our Muslim brothers and sisters which these policies directly affect.

So next time you see lies and baseless accusations being handed by the media, or an alert to act is sent out by the countless Muslim organisations (such as MPACUK), realise how big an outcome being a politically active Muslim can achieve - and achieve it.

Source: The M.I.A.H Project

Published: 14/01/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)

A cry from Guantanamo
By Jumah Al Dossari, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post


I am writing from the darkness of the US detention camp at Guantanamo in the hope that I can make our voices heard by the world. My hand quivers as I hold the pen.

In January 2002, I was picked up in Pakistan, blindfolded, shackled, drugged and loaded onto a plane flown to Cuba. When we got off the plane in Guantanamo, we did not know where we were.

They took us to Camp X-Ray and locked us in cages with two buckets - one empty and one filled with water. We were to urinate in one and wash in the other.

At Guantanamo, soldiers have assaulted me, placed me in solitary confinement, threatened to kill me, threatened to kill my daughter and told me I will stay in Cuba for the rest of my life.

They have deprived me of sleep, forced me to listen to extremely loud music and shined intense lights in my face. They have placed me in cold rooms for hours without food, drink or the ability to go to the bathroom or wash for prayers.

They have wrapped me in the Israeli flag and told me there is a holy war between the Cross and the Star of David on one hand and the Crescent on the other. They have beaten me unconscious.

What I write here is not what my imagination fancies or my insanity dictates. These are verifiable facts witnessed by other detainees, representatives of the Red Cross, interrogators and translators.

During the first few years at Guantanamo, I was interrogated many times. My interrogators told me that they wanted me to admit that I am from Al Qaida and that I was involved in the terrorist attacks on the United States.

I told them that I have no connection to what they described. I am not a member of Al Qaida. I did not encourage anyone to go fight for Al Qaida.

Al Qaida and Osama Bin Laden have done nothing but kill and denigrate a religion. I never fought, and I never carried a weapon. I like the US and I am not an enemy. I have lived in the US, and I wanted to become a citizen.



No conclusion

I know that the soldiers who did bad things to me represent themselves, not the US. And I have to say that not all American soldiers stationed in Cuba tortured us or mistreated us.

There were soldiers who treated us very humanely. Some even cried when they witnessed our dire conditions. Once, in Camp Delta, a soldier apologised to me and offered me hot chocolate and cookies.

When I thanked him, he said, "I do not need you to thank me". I include this because I do not want readers to think that I fault all Americans.

But, why, after five years, is there no conclusion to the situation at Guantanamo? For how long will fathers, mothers, wives, siblings and children cry for their imprisoned loved ones?

For how long will my daughter have to ask about my return? The answers can only be found with the fair-minded people of America.

I would rather die than stay here forever, and I have tried to commit suicide many times. The purpose of Guantanamo is to destroy people, and I have been destroyed. I am hopeless because our voices are not heard from the depths of the detention centre.

If I die, please remember that there was a human being named Jumah at Guantanamo whose beliefs, dignity and humanity were abused.

Please remember that there are hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo suffering the same misfortune. They have not been charged with any crimes. They have not been accused of taking any action against the US.

Show the world the letters I gave you. Let the world read them. Let the world know the agony of the detainees in Cuba.

Jumah Al Dossari is a 33-year-old citizen of Bahrain. This article was excerpted from letters he wrote to his attorneys. Its contents have been deemed unclassified by the Department of Defence.

Check this video out:

Another great and pressing article from MPACUK:

Yet Another Database to Monitor You!
Tuesday, 09 January 2007

Union JackMany of you by now may be aware of government plans to store our medical records in to a national database, dubbed NHS SPINE, this is to comprise of the records of 50 million patients in the UK. These plans are currently being sold to us as a means for the NHS to provide a better service to its patients. As a computer scientist, I do not doubt the advantages of having all this information stored in this form – it is true that databases offer us almost limitless flexibility and efficiency over recording information in a paper format; the most obvious of benefits being that the data can be accessible from anywhere: an emergency visit to the hospital, or registering to a new GP – your data would be available to the medical staff instantly allowing them to provide the most appropriate form of treatment.

That said; the government is prepared to wholly abuse the medical information stored in these databases. In an era where we are to see compulsory ID cards to be introduced, a time where our movements by tube and car are logged, where our activities on the internet are subject to scrutiny, this database seems to be one of the long line of computer systems the government is utilising in order to take away our privacy.

Already there have been indications that information stored on these databases will be accessible to the government, police, security services and potentially other third parties (employers, insurance firms etc) without our knowledge or consent.

As a result, many Civil liberty organisations and critics are calling this "data rape" and are urging Britons to boycott it. Details of mental illnesses, pregnancy, HIV status or drug-taking may also be included, and there are no laws to prevent DNA profiles being added. Plans are also in place to use clever data mining techniques with these records to try and predict things such as which children are likely to commit crimes etc. One worry is that patients will be unwilling to confide in their doctors, and doctors may well be unwilling to record information given in confidence. The outcome of a recent poll by the Guardian newspaper found that four out of five doctors thought the confidentiality of their patients' records would be at risks - if the doctors are worried about this, we certainly should be!

The system is being introduced through an underhand "implied consent" model (used more and more by centralised bureaucracies), rather than the explicit, informed, individual consent which the principles of data protection require, something the British Medical Association has already expressed reservations about.

There has also been a lot of concern aired regarding the security of this information - people's medical secrets will be vulnerable to computer hackers and security breaches. Ministers are promising state-of-the-art technology to prevent unauthorised access, but anyone who has any knowledge of encryption and security technology is fully aware that no method of security is totally failsafe (if the U.S defence and NASA systems get hacked into, what hope is there for the NHS database?) .

What can be done?

Before this data is transferred across to the live system, individuals can opt out of it by writing a letter to their GP (http://www.nhsconfidentiality.org/optoutletter ) but once this information is uploaded, it will be very difficult to reverse the process - matter of fact; the only way to have it taken off is if you can show "substantial mental distress"… and that is surely going to be a difficult task.

US Church offers abuse settlement.

A Roman Catholic diocese in the US state of Washington has agreed to pay at least $48m (£24.7m) as compensation to people abused by priests.

A judge said the plan, designed to lift the Spokane diocese out of bankruptcy, includes non-economic provisions to give victims some "closure".

The Spokane diocese serves some 90,000 Catholics in Washington state.

It is the latest in a series of multi-million dollar settlements offered by US churches in abuse claims.

Federal Bankruptcy Judge Gregg W Zive told the Associated Press news agency the settlement also includes a mechanism for paying off future claims.

He said money for the settlement would come from insurance companies, the sale of church property, contributions from Catholic groups and from the diocese's parishes.

Victims and another bankruptcy judge must approve the move before it comes into effect.

In December last year, the largest Roman Catholic diocese in the US agreed to pay $60m (£30m) to settle dozens of lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.

The settlement by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles related to 45 cases among more than 500 that are pending.

It was one of the largest settlements since the Roman Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal erupted in the US in 2002.
In February 2004, a report commissioned by the Church said more than 4,000 Roman Catholic priests in the US had faced sexual abuse allegations in the last 50 years.

How many more deaths of innocent children do we need before we realise that there should be some regulation on dog ownership? These animals are dangerous and must not be let out freely in to society!

Girl killed by pit bull terrier

A five-year-old girl has been killed and her grandmother seriously injured by a pit bull terrier at their family home on Merseyside.

Ellie Lawrenson was found bleeding to death in the living room of the house in St Helens shortly before 0430 GMT.

Her grandmother, Jackie Simpson, 46, who is recovering in hospital, managed to lock the dog outside.

The owner, believed to be Ellie's uncle, had been warned in June about the dog's behaviour.

The pit bull terrier was destroyed by police immediately after the attack at the property in Knowles House Avenue, Eccleston.

Ms Simpson, who shared the home with Ellie's aunt and uncle, was bitten on her arms and legs.

Serious injuries

Her injuries are described as "serious but not life threatening". Police said she may have to undergo surgery at Whiston Hospital where she is being treated.

Superintendent Jon Ward, operational manager for the St Helens region, said: "This is such a tragic incident.

"We attended the scene, by which stage the dog had been shut away down the side entrance of the house.

"When officers arrived it became apparent from a very early stage that the girl had tragically died as a result of the attack.

"The ambulance service did what it could for her but unfortunately she died at the scene."

Police dog handlers who arrived minutes later, decided the dog, called Reuben, had to be shot as soon as possible.

Mr Ward added: "They made a decision as to whether it was safe to control the dog and seize and safely remove it.

"The assessment was that that couldn't be done safely so the dog was humanely destroyed at the scene around 5.40am this morning."

Detectives understand Ellie's parents were not in the house at the time of the attack.

Police believe Ellie's parents went out to celebrate New Year's Eve, leaving Ellie with her grandmother, and when they returned Ellie asked to stay there.

They are then thought to have left the property at about 0340 GMT, shortly before the attack.

Tragic incident'

According to police, Ellie's uncle was not at home when the attack happened.

However, Mr Ward said Ellie regularly stayed at her grandmother's house so police believe she knew the dog well.

A large part of Knowles House Avenue was cordoned off with police tape on Monday afternoon as forensic officers continued to examine the end-of-terrace house where Ellie was mauled.

A white and yellow forensic tent was attached to the front door of the property which is believed to be owned by Ellie's great-grandmother.

A police spokeswoman said Ellie's body was removed from the house at about1400 GMT.

She confirmed that several members of Ellie's family had arrived at the property in the morning wanting to see her body.

"They were obviously distressed and distraught at not being able to see Ellie, but we couldn't let them in while the body was still in situ and while forensic science officers were still at the scene.

"There was some shouting, there are a lot of high emotions flying around," she said.

Dorothy Watkinson who lives near the family home told BBC News that Ellie was used to dealing with the dog.

"I've seen her at the gateway with it, stroking it. It never turned on her like that."

Supt Ward said: "This is such a tragic incident. When a child loses her life in such circumstances, it has an effect on the whole community."

He added that the safety of the public and police officers was paramount and in such circumstances "we were left with no other option but to have the animal destroyed quickly and humanely."

He added said police would be looking into whether any offence had been committed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/merseyside/6222319.stm