Uganda - another humanitarian crisis brewing.

Since 1986, the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) of self-styled mystic Joseph Kony, who many consider clinically insane, has carried out merciless attacks across the north of Uganda, ostensibly in an attempt to overthrow the government of President Yoweri Museveni and to have Uganda ruled in accordance with the Biblical Ten Commandments.

For 17 years the Acholi people of northern Uganda have been the victims of a brutal, unrelenting rebel insurgency.According to recent estimates from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), over 800,000 people in the three northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader have now been forced from their homes and are living (and being fed) in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

This represents 70 to 80 percent of the entire Acholi population.

The Ugandan army does not recognize the LRA as a bona fide rebel group, denouncing it simply as a terrorist organization. There is some support for this view; the group has been denoted a terrorist organisation by the US government, and has been included on the US State Department's 'Terrorist Exclusion List' since December 2001.(See footnote re pic)

The UN estimates, some 8,400 children have been registered as abducted by the LRA during raids between June 2002 and June 2003. This represents a sharp increase in the level of abductions, and brings to over 20,000 the total number of registered child abductions since 1990. Fewer than 100 children were reported to be abducted during 2001, a period when hopes were high that the conflict was slowly dying out.

Once captured, abducted children are often forced to take part in horrifying initiation practices, including the torture and murder of others. Many other children are forced to watch helplessly the beatings, killings, abductions, rape and murder of other people, who are sometimes their close relatives. Whilst girls are taken as sex slaves by the LRA leaders.

Apart from the Ugandan army's troubled campaign against Kony, there have been some, so far unsuccessful, attempts to bring a peaceful end to the war. These peace initiatives have included a presidential peace team, which was established by Museveni with a view to starting serious negotiations.

It was therefore interesting to see that on the 18th July 2005 Rochdale Liberal MP Paul Rowen took the opportunity to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs “what assessment he has made of the security situation in northern Uganda.” Ian Pearson was able to tell him that, “ the security situation has deteriorated since the expiry of the cease-fire in February and the onset of the rainy season. The Lord's Resistance Army continue to attack and loot for food and supplies.” Furthermore the Noble Lord Triesman of Tottenham, (David T as was, now adorning benches of the House of Lords and whom many will remember when he was in the Communist Party in the 70’s as a raving Trotskyite) discussed this with President Museveni on 4 July, although he remained silent upon what they discussed and any resulting actions the UK Government might make.


Dorcus Inzikuru won the first world women’s 3,000 metre steeplechase title in Helsinki this week to get Uganda its first gold medal ever in the 22-year history of the World Athletics Championship >>>

It is therefore fascinating to see the interest the Liberal MP has in the Dark Continent …which continues to trouble those intent on providing aid …in the case of Uganda, British Aid accounts for half the Government revenues, yet In April, Britain cancelled £5 million out of £40 million in aid to Uganda, and Norway followed suit 10 later, denying Uganda £2.4 million... after the President made slow progress in moving away from a one-party state….To put it into perspective The buildup of the Ugandan external debt under President Musaveni coincided chronologically with the Rwandan and Congolese civil wars which Musaveni was (at the behest of the US) very active.

With the accession of Musaveni to the presidency in 1986, the Ugandan external debt stood at 1.3 billion dollars. With the gush of fresh money, the external debt spiraled overnight, increasing almost threefold to 3.7 billion by 1997. In fact, Uganda had no outstanding debt to the World Bank at the outset of its "economic recovery program". By 1997, it owed almost 2 billion dollars solely to the World Bank.Those anxious to cancel African nation’s indebtedness may well ask, “ Where had the money gone ?”

Of course multiparty politics, was banned when Musaveni came to power in 1986, and the ruling National Resistance Movement has since been the only recognized political group. Internal and international pressure mainly from US , the EU, and Germany for more democracy, have it appears forced his hand and the president now says he supports a return to multi-party politics and a referendum was held on July 29th resulted in a low turnout of 47% (the opposition called, remarkably for a boycott) but a 92.5% majority to restore multi-party politics. But both internal and international pressure for more democracy seem to have forced his hand and the president now says he supports a return to multi-party politics.

The referendum is only partly about democracy. It’s also aimed at enhancing political power, in allowing Musaveni to stand in forthcoming (?) elections next year.

Diplomatic gossip tells of 1,000 killings per day, many of them by the boy soldiers armed (by whom ?) with AK 47's. It is evident that we have another "humanitarian crisis" beginning to boil in the Heart of the Dark Continent.The British High Comission in Kampala strongly advise against travel to, or transiting by road, the following areas in northern Uganda: Gulu (including Murchison Falls National Park, the northern section of which lies in Gulu district), Kitgum, Pader, Adjumani, Apac and Lira districts. These are all areas where LRA activity has been the highest and most recent.

In July 2005, there was an armed attack on a vehicle in the northern part of the Murchison Falls National Park. Vistors are strongly advised not to visit this park.

For this reason, the region known as West Nile (Nebbi, Arua, Moyo, and Yumbe districts in Uganda's far north west) should only be approached by air. Most visits to West Nile are trouble-free, but you should note that two US missionaries were murdered in Yumbe in March 2004.

PICTURE FOOTNOTE Lokeria Aciro recovers at a hospital in northern Uganda. She had her lips and ears cut off by an 11-year-old soldier of the LRA when she and other women left a refugee camp to gather firewood. The other women were taken by the rebels.Photo Ann Orr for more see Los Angeles TimesAug 9th © 2005

Usbeks clamp down on journalists continues

Breaking News. Igor Rotor expelled read his story about it on Forum 18. Aug 17th 205
Holly Carter of Human Rights Watch reacted today to the detention of Russian journalist Igor Rotar (see pic), the Central Asia correspondent for Forum 18 News Service, at passport control at the Tashkent airport on Thursday (11/12/05) morning. Rotar, a Russian citizen, was being held at the airport and was barred from contact with the outside world. No charges have been filed against him. "We are deeply concerned for Rotar's safety," she said "He should be allowed to contact his organization and a lawyer, and should be released immediately."

The journalist was detained by the Immigration Service and Border Guards when he arrived at Tashkent Airport on a flight from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on 11 August at 10.25am local time. Igor Rotar continues to be held at the airport by the Uzbekistani authorities.

“Igor Rotar’s detention is part of a wave of intimidation and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders by the Uzbekistani authorities that escalated following the events in Andizhan in May this year,”said Amnesty International today.

Rotar, 40, has reported on religious freedom in Central Asia for many years, including for Forum 18, an online newsletter on religious freedom, since 2003.

He is widely considered an expert on Uzbekistan's Christian and Muslim religious communities. As a Russian citizen, Rotar does not require a visa to enter Uzbeksitan. Uzbek authorities, claim Rotar was stopped because " he was not accredited as a journalist". Human Rights Watch say dozens of Uzbek and foreign journalists and local human rights and political activists have been arrested detained, beaten, threatened and harassed. His last article on August 9th for Eurasia Monitor ANDIJAN LEADER THREATENS "CAMPAIGN OF TERROR" AGAINST KARIMOV REGIME detailed how Kabul Parpiyev, a leader of the May uprising in Andijan, Uzbekistan, is threatening to unleash a campaign of terror against the regime of Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Parpiyev is he claimed, was currently in hiding in hiding.


Lutfullo Shamsudinov who was the Andijan representative for the Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan and a witness to the massacre in Andijan, May 13, who co-authored a letter to the Uzbek government with other activists demanding accountability for the killings has fled Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan, fearing persecution. The Kazakh authorities have been asked to hand himover.

Uzbek National Security Services (SNB) searched Shamsudinov’s office and home in May and told relatives that he was under investigation in conjunction with his cooperation with Saidjahon Zainabitdinov, another human rights defender who had been a key source of information about Andijan. Zainabitdinov (see pic) remains in custody in Uzbekistan and there are serious concerns about his well-being.

In December, Zainabitdinov, together with Uzbek law enforcement officials, participated in a study tour to the United States funded by the U.S. embassy in Tashkent. A focus of the trip was cooperation between law enforcement and nongovernmental organizations.

Zainabitdinov went missing on May 21 after a brief trip to Osh, in neighboring Kyrgyzstan. A few days later a relative had received a call from Zainabitdinov telling his family not to worry because he was “still in Osh.” However, the lawyer who visited the family on Monday after this call confirmed that Zainabitdinov had been arrested and was being held in the provincial branch of the Uzbek Ministry of Internal Affairs.

There is no information about him from the US Embassy in Tashkent.

Christopher Walken to stand for President 2008

He's the same age as Mick Jagger, he's half Scottish, half German and he's pissed off, and he's going to stand for President in 2008.

No he isn't, he now says the whole thing was a hoax.

Technorati - sale in prospect ? Real world waking up to Blog world ?

Last week, Technorati, a Web site that indexes blogs, released its semiannual "State of the Blogosphere" report by founder David Sifry. It records astonishing, growth. Nearly 80,000 new blogs are created every day, adding to the 14.2 million in existence , 55 percent of which remain active.

Some 900,000 new blog postings are created every day - a steady increase marked by extraordinary spikes in new postings after incidents like the London bombing. The blogosphere - that is, the virtual realm of blogdom as a whole - doubles in size every five and a half months.

Names associated with a take over of Technorati ? Murdoch's News Corp, Google, Yahoo (who just bought into Alibaba the Chinese outfit- see previous blog), MSN is ruled out on the chatter as it's NIH.

Keep up with the news by doing a Google Alert on Technorati. For those not familiar click on the logo and see instantly what the Blog world is talking about ..NOW...easy peasy.

A Man of Mystery

The Corriere della Sera of 12th August 2005, reports that Hamdi Aduss Issac ( AKA Osman Hussein) now said to be Ethiopian, was examined in the Rome’s Regina Coeli prison in Rome Judge Domenico Massimo Miceli; it began at 9:30 am and lasted approximately three hours. Three Police officers were also present, torn away reluctablty from their desks at New Scotland Yard.

According to Isaac's stunningly beautiful defence lawyer, Antonietta Sonessa, Isaac admitted his involvement in the 21 July incident but denied that he intended to kill anyone. He also stated several times that he did not want to be extradited to Great Britain.

He admitted there were 5 plotters but one got cold feet (“desistito”). Isaac was co-operative and identified his fellow plotters from photographs, he explained that he was present when the “bombs” were assembled and that they contained small nails.

Should Hamdi be extradited to Great Britain, he faces life in prison. Muktar Said Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohammed, Yassin Hassan Omar and "The Fifth Man", Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, have been formally charged in a terrorist plot targeting London.

You will of course search in vain for this report in the UK press .... odd.

Children discover new way to injure themselves...

The latest household detergent, first launched in the UK, (we spend more per capita than any country for total household cleaning products) is the oddly, but accurately named liquid tablet. IT provides convenience, an easily dispensed constant pre-measured dose and delivers 50ml of a highly alkaline ( ph 9) liquid detergent or gel, wrapped in a polyvinyl cover that dissolves in the washing machine in minutes. Procter & Gamble were first with Arial Liquitabs to challenge rival Unilever’s compressed powder tablets, they have been joined in the market by Persil Liquigel Capsules. Early estimates in the UK reveal that liquid tablets have a 5% share of the total detergents market.

Today a report in The Lancet highlights the problem that the tablets are the right size and consistency for child experimentation to destruction – they also soften when moist . Such squeezing can result in spraying the face and eyes.


In a 6-month period, in one unit six cases of alkali eye injury in children aged between 18 months and 3 years, were recorded. Alkaline agents are toxic to corneal and conjunctival epithelial cells, limbal epithelial stem cells, and conjunctival goblet cells, fortunately all the children affected had their eyes promptly irrigated with water. All patients were admitted to hospital, and the duration of stay ranged from 2 to 5 days. All defects eventually re-epithelialised with apparently normal corneal epithelium.

Although the detergent packaging displays a warning that the contents are irritant, and that the product should be kept out of the reach of children, the risk may not be fully appreciated by users and product re-labelling and child proof packaging us suggested buy the reports authors.

A genuine customer comment..
From the Disney with a British Accent site ..

"Just a warning about liquitabs.
A friend of mine's 5 year old was playing with one about 2 weeks ago and it exploded in her hand. The liquid went all over her face and into her eyes.
When they got to hospital they were told that these liquitabs are so concentrated that it makes them the most corrosive of all washing tablets/tabs and the liquid had actually burnt the little girls corneas and she has had to have specialist treatment.
To be honest I never thought (a) they would explode (aparently the noise was aweful) or (b) they could cause so much damage. So please be careful."

..and for the smartarses out there...do NOT think its funny to put one in the lavatory cistern so that when it is flushed...

President's Peace disturbed by Peace protesters.

Peace in Pink Shoes is a sister site to the Crawford Peace House – you can find out more about Cindy Sheehan and others mothers of the Iraq War dead who are protesting outside the Crawford Ranch of POTUS.

"It's ironic, given the attacks leveled at me recently, how some in the media are so quick to scrutinize -- and distort -- the words and actions of a grieving mother but not the words and actions of the president of the United States..."


Whilst he has been on vacation 43 US troops have been killed in action in Iraq …we don’t have a figure right now on... too fucking many to count. More - Truthout - report from Camp

Gold Star Families for Peace
Military Families Speak Out
Veterans for Peace
CodePink
Vietnam Veterans Against War
Iraq Veterans Against the War
Public Citizen

e - mail crawfordpeacehouse@yahoo.com

Hot Air ALERT..Climate Mongerers at Work

That the earth’s climate changes over time, whether measured in days, years ,decades or in geological time is demonstrable and unarguable.

That atmospheric temperature changes at different levels occurs and has have consequent atmospheric effects effects on air pressure, winds, precipitation, that then affect, snow and ice melt, riverflow, ocean salinity and currents is manifest.

The principle that these atmospheric heating effects are anthropogenic, caused by human activity, rests almost completely on the effect of increasing carbon dioxide concentration caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, coal, oil and gas… with some subsidiary effects from other components such as methane and carbo-fluerons.

Moving on from this belief ,the novel industry of climate mongerers has been developed who spread cries of woe, death and destruction caused by man’s apparent indifference and hubris.

Most of the scientific research is post war and increasingly relies upon highly detailed and sophisticated monitoring and telemetry from space which is fed into huge models which run in appropriately huge computers and claim to simulate the world climate.

The most recent instalment from the Popular Front for Climate Mongerers, AKA The UK Meterological Office.. is published today ,”SURFACE AND UPPER-AIR TEMPERATURE TRENDS: IS THERE REALLY A DISCREPANCY? “

The authors (Santer et. Al) have been studying research that has been undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the large difference between estimates of temperature trends above the Earth's surface from observations and models. In 2001 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC – the Trades Union of climate mongerers), suggested from observations that the Earth's surface had warmed rapidly since 1979, whilst the air in the lower 8 km of the atmosphere above the surface had not. This difference, most evident in tropical zones directly contradicted climate models which simulated larger warming aloft, rather than at the surface.

Research led by the Met Office's Hadley Centre makes the entirely unsurprising conclusion, that; choices made by each research group in constructing climate datasets can have a significant impact. Initially satellite and balloon-based systems used were designed to provide the best possible snapshot of the global weather at any time, rather than to long term monitoring. The new research shows clearly that the choices made in homogenising the data have a particularly strong effect on estimates of climate change – or in simpler terms, if you use different methods…you obtain different results.

These findings appear in Science Express (Science's advanced online publication) this week. Santer et al. compare simulations from 19 (!) of the world's climate models with four different upper-air datasets (two from satellites and two from weather balloons).

Within the tropics, simple theory predicts that any increase in surface temperature should be accompanied by an even larger increase aloft. All the climate models considered in the Santer et al. study behave in this way, whether looking at individual months or from one decade to another. Given the differences between the models, the degree of agreement amongst them they claim is quite remarkable. All observed datasets also exhibit this behaviour on short timescales (months to years). However, on long timescales, only one of the four upper-air datasets gives amplification aloft, with others implying damping of surface temperature changes.

Here is the interesting bit ….There are (the authors claim) two potential explanations for this result;

1. In the 'real world' tropics, different processes control the link between surface and upper-air temperatures on short and long timescales, and models cannot capture such subtle behaviour.

2. Some of the observational records retain large biases which preclude their use for long-term trend analysis in the tropics.

Or in simpler terms,

1. The models don’t work properly …

2. There is a problem with the data …

But the authors hopefully and unexpectedly add..

Alhough recent analyses have not entirely resolved these issues, they have gone a long way to highlighting where further research efforts are required.

The paper will appear in Science Express on 11 August 2005 and is embargoed until this date. Wayne Elliott Senior Press Officer
Met Office FitzRoy Road Exeter Devon EX1 3PB United Kingdom

Russian Roulette in Central Asian republics.

On July 29 the Uzbek Government formally gave the U.S. 180 days to evacuate their Karshi-Khanabad (also written Qarshi-Xonobod) air base on which the the Pentagon has spent huge sums improving and upgrading the base.

In the short term the closure of the Karshi-Khanabad air base, loss of jobs and U.S. money would damage the Uzbek economy. The Pentagon has spent huge sums improving and upgrading the base.

The US has been fairly quiet on the future of the deployed planes, equipment and staff at Dushanbe although Rumsfeld visited both Tajikistan and Kyrgistan to call up support for help for US forces. The USA evidently will maintain its military presence in Central Asia “The Pentagon has not yet finally decided where the air base could be relocated from Uzbekistan, but it plans to maintain its military presence in the region,” an unnamed source told Mosnews.

The US military have started to transfer military equipment from Uzbekistan to the Manas air base near Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, which the US Air Force has used since 2001, he said. “However, this does not mean that the Karshi-Khanabad air base will be relocated exactly in Kyrgyzstan, because other options are also under consideration,”

“The Americans might deploy an air base at the Aini airfield near Dushanbe (Tajikistan), or at the Ganca airfield 300 km west of Baku and near Nasosnaya outside Baku in Azerbaijan,” he said.

“By expert estimates, the most preferable option for the Pentagon is to deploy an air base in Tajikistan. Flights from the Aini airfield would make it possible for US military planes to fly to any regions in Afghanistan without refueling, which is impossible to do flying, for instance, from the Manas airfield,” .

The USAF is currently using Manas and Karshi-Khanabad air bases in Central Asia for logistics support of its troops in Afghanistan, and is also using Incirlik base in Turkey.

Such plans may however be a trifle premature, Interfax News Agency on 4th August, quoted the head of the Tajik Defense Ministry’s press service, Colonel Zarobiddin Sirodzhoyev who said Tajikistan is not going to host the U.S. planes currently deployed at the Karshi-Khanabad base at the Ainy airport 20 kilometers from Dushanbe.

He explained that landing strip and the general infrastructure of the Ainy airport are currently being renovated, and so take-off and landing are currently impossible, claiming “Only helicopters of the Tajik Defense Ministry are stationed at Ainy.”

On April 5 2005 RIA Novosti reported, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov saying that as a result of a deal with the Tajik Government , Russian subdivisions will be based in Giprozem outside Dushanbe where barracks, a hospital, and a park for military equipment are to be built and that "Two Russian regiments will stay in Kulyaba and in Kurgan-Tube,".

Ivanov also said that aviation equipment would be transported from a civil aerodrome in Dushanbe to the air base in Aini. "A military base is inefficient without the aviation component," he explained.

He added that it took Russian aircraft five minutes to reach Tajikistan from the Russian Kant air base in Kyrgyzstan and twenty minutes to get to Dushanbe. There should be a certain overlap of forces from Aini and Kant, said Ivanov.

"In the next two-three years, this money will have to be spent to provide a normal and modern infrastructure for the base," said Ivanov.

Russian subdivisions will be based in Giprozem outside Dushanbe where barracks, a hospital, and a park for military equipment are to be built. (pic Tu-22)

"Two Russian regiments will stay in Kulyaba and in Kurgan-Tube," said the minister.
Ivanov also said that aviation equipment would be transported from a civil aerodrome in Dushanbe to the air base in Aini. "A military base is inefficient without the aviation component," said the minister.

Shortly after the May 13th Andijan massacre the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional alliance led by China and Russia, called on the U.S. to set a date for withdrawing forces from bases in the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.


Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Mosnews now report that Russian soldiers have been staying in Uzbekistan for more than a month preparing to take charge of the Khanabad airbase after the U.S. troops withdrawal.

Sources in the Russian Defense Ministry have also confirmed the reports. One of them said that after the Shanghai Cooperation Organization demanded U.S. troops withdrawal from the former Soviet republic, China immediately expressed interest in the base. Thus, Russian troops rushed their in order not to lose their chances of taking control of an area that used to belong to the USSR. “Uzbeks did not mind,” he pointed out.

As the editor-in-chief of an Uzbek news agency Fergana Daniil Kislov told the paper, “several hundreds of Russian servicemen — presumably Spetsnaz troops of airborne commandos — remain at a former geological exploration airbase near the military installation, wear civilian clothes and try not to get in touch with local people.”

However, Uzbek diplomats and Russian Defense Ministry officials wouldn’t confirm deny reports, an unnamed military person said in an interview with the daily that Russian troops will oversee the handover of Karshi-Khanabad airbase. Khanabad used to be the second-largest airbase in the Soviet Union, hosting strategic Tu-22MZ planes (pic) and Tu-95 (NATO designation BEAR) turboprop heavy bombers during the invasion of Afghanistan.

In the next few months Uzbekistan will conduct joint exercises with the Russian military in the biggest maneuvers since the collapse of the USSR in 1991.

Something for The President to worry about in Crawford, when his attention is deflected from theose damned mothers bleating about their dead sons at his gates.

Plus ca change

Oded Yinon's "A Strategy for Israel in the Nineteen Eighties" 1982

The following essay represents, in my opinion, the accurate and detailed plan of the present Zionist regime (of Sharon and Eitan) for the Middle East which is based on the division of the whole area into small states…(some key points)

“The idea that all the Arab states should be broken down, by Israel, into small units, occurs again and again in Israeli strategic thinking. For example, Ze'ev Schiff, the military correspondent of Ha'aretz (and probably the most knowledgeable in Israel, on this topic) writes about the "best" that can happen for Israeli interests in Iraq: "The dissolution of Iraq into a Shi'ite state, a Sunni state and the separation of the Kurdish part." (Ha'aretz 6/2/1982)

"Iraq, rich in oil on the one hand and internally torn on the other, is guaranteed as a candidate for Israel's targets. Its dissolution is even more important for us than that of Syria. Iraq is stronger than Syria. In the short run it is Iraqi power which constitutes the greatest threat to Israel. An Iraqi-Iranian war will tear Iraq apart and cause its downfall at home even before it is able to organize a struggle on a wide front against us. Every kind of inter-Arab confrontation will assist us in the short run and will shorten the way to the more important aim of breaking up Iraq into denominations as in Syria and in Lebanon. In Iraq, a division into provinces along ethnic/religious lines as in Syria during Ottoman times is possible. So, three (or more) states will exist around the three major cities: Basra, Baghdad and Mosul, and Shi'ite areas in the south will separate from the Sunni and Kurdish north. It is possible that the present Iranian-Iraqi confrontation will deepen this polarization."

"The entire Arabian peninsula is a natural candidate for dissolution due to internal and external pressures, and the matter is inevitable especially in Saudi Arabia. Regardless of whether its economic might based on oil remains intact or whether it is diminished in the long run, the internal rifts and breakdowns are a clear and natural development in light of the present political structure."(Arnold Hottinger, "The Rich Arab States in Trouble," The New York Review of Books, 5/15/80)

Pic - Serendipity

Popular Kennebunkport Bumper sticker

China Syndrome

5 year old Beijing based search engine Baidu Com Inc (BIDU:NASDAQ) launched their Initial Placing Offer (IPO) on Friday (5/8/05), last year they earned US $1.4 . The initial offering was 4.04 MN shares , priced at $27, they opened at $66 and ended their first day at $122 having traded as high as $151.12 and are said to have been 40 times oversubscribed. In Chinese, Baidu means "a hundred times". Baidu takes its name from a 12th-century Song dynasty poem about searching for a beautiful woman amidst the teeming masses.

Baidu's IPO prospectus states that Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, Credit Suisse First Boston and Piper Jaffray are the company's underwriters.

That means, the company could have raised $488 million, rather than the $108 million they raised. It also puts a valuation on the whole company of US$5 Billion.(ish) With average daily volume of 22.7 million shares there was a lot of flipping – Internet fever is back ? On Tuesday they ended down at US$99 (18%) on a volume of nearly 9 Mn shares….Google own 2.6%.

The company has some interesting non-Chinese Directors...Scott Walchek, who was President, CEO and Co-Founder of C2B Technologies, a revolutionary e-commerce infrastructure company that provided a web-based, private-labeled, comparative shopping engine to top tier Internet portals. C2B was ultimately acquired by Internet infrastructure giant, Inktomi Corporation in August of 1998 for US$88Mn. . Prior to C2B, Scott was a pioneer in interactive media technologies and content. He was part of the founding team at Macromedia, Inc. where he headed up its product marketing, business development, and market development efforts from 1989-1993. SCott left Macromedia to become CEO and President of Sanctuary Woods, Inc. where he successfully built this small, publicly traded company into one of the fasted growing developers and publishers of entertainment and education interactive content over 2.5 years. Prior experience includes technical marketing positions as Director of Product Marketing and Product Line Management at Sun Microsystems and Migent, Inc.

Greg B. Penner, previously a Senior Vice President and CFO of Wal-Mart Japan and a now a general partner of Madrone Capital Partners, an investment firm based in Menlo Park, California is a Director.

Asad Jamal is another and represents, Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet Ventures (DFJ ePlanet), founded by Asad Jamal, in partnership with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which is a premier, global venture capital firm that operates offices in Redwood City, California; Singapore, Bejjing, and Shanghai, China; Hong Kong; London; and Tokyo; and is in the process of opening an office in Mumbai. Previously, Mr. Jamal has worked as a Managing Director for Peregrine Investments, the Hong Kong based Asia-Pacific investment bank, and as Head of Derivatives Trading for the Chase Manhattan Bank in London. Mr. Jamal graduated with a B.Sc. (Honors) in Economics & Finance from the London School of Economics, and is a member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales having qualified with Arthur Andersen Co., London.

In Hong Kong, Chen Pei, president of HC International's (8292: HK) search subsidiary Zhongsou, said the company's main short-term competition is Baidu but Microsoft is Zhongsou's long-term competition. According to Chen, Zhongsou targets the high-end search market and has made a big investment in the development of its search technology due to be re-launched within 2 months.

Yahoo meanwhile are taking a 35% stake in Chinese business to business website Alibaba and in return gain control of Yahoo China's core businesses. No cash is involved and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma might be appointed Yahoo China president, Softbank, one of Alibaba's investors, is also involved. Yahoo's China businesses currently include the Chinese Internet portal, the search engine Yisou, online auction website 1pai (a joint venture with Sina (Nasdaq: SINA)) and instant messaging service Yahoo Messenger.

Meanwhile in the real world Google has announced that it is endorsing China Enterprise, (中企动力携手Google 助中国企业网罗全球商机) China Source, and Hotsales as three Authorized Resellers in China who will provide sales and support for Google AdWords ads in China.

This re-creates the limited program of re-selling Google has partnered with BellSouth, it looks as if only sizeable agencies and other types of large partners would qualify for reseller status.

This could be a significant development. The 20 years of high tech history shows the importance of a strong and respectful alliance, with resellers around the globe, to provide stability and long life for the likes of Microsoft.

Google has just joined several news engines ,Topix.net, Findory, Yahoo News, RocketNews, and is now officially making Google news results available as RSS or ATOM feeds. Alerts will still be available – better set one up on “China search engines”…er...quickly.

The Lunatics HAVE taken over the Asylum

The Unspeakable in Pursuit By Edward Teague 9/3/05(william bowles.info)
This story originally written and published 5 months ago, illuminates a small corner of how our legislators and our Executive function – apparently, by mistake mis - laying an Act of Parliament. Now that treason rears it’s ugly head .. this comical nonsense takes on a new and deeper significance. This article is better read in toto but the following provides a flavour. It may serve to illustrate that there is much to be learned from a close examination of what exactly happens within the Palace of Westminster.(pic FO Minister Scotsman Robin Cook meets Baroness Scotland who worked closely with him)

The Crime and Disorder Bill 1998 (amongst other things) was an attempt to tidy up the legislation by which the State set about killing people, Lord Williams of Mostyn (31 Mar 1998 Hansard Column 209) moved Amendment No. 11: this, Hansard helpfully notes, relates to Clause 30 [Abolition of death penalty for treason and piracy, etc.]:
“Page 24, line 5, at beginning insert-
(”(A1) In section I of the Treason Act (Ireland) 1537 (practising any harm etc. to, or slandering, the King, Queen or heirs apparent punishable as high treason), for the words “have and suffer such pains of death and” there shall be substituted the words “be liable to imprisonment for life and to such”…
(A3) The following enactments shall cease to have effect, namely—
(a) the Treason Act 1790;
(b) the Treason Act 1795.”).
The repeal of the Treason Act 1817 and Section 2 of the Treason Felony Act 1848 are consequential to the repeal of the Treason Act 1795 in Clause 30… etc
I hope that that brief summary of the researches nobly carried out by the officials will be of assistance. I beg to move.

Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I can only say that this exercise was precisely in order to remove from the statute book Acts with draconian penalties, which were never used. What he said we should be doing, we have done…

My Lord Onslow, … no doubt fortified by a decent lunch, perhaps at Boodle’s, lit upon an apparent inconsistency, we were to substitute death with life imprisonment under the Treason Act (Ireland) 1537 but repeal the Treason Act 1790. It evidently prayed on his mind …..
(see pic)The Earl of Onslow: “My Lords, this is the most glorious piece of information one could possibly come across. It has been worth waiting 30 years in your Lordships’ House to know that slandering the sovereign in Ireland is still a hanging offence. When was anybody last prosecuted under the Treason Act (Ireland) 1537, the Crown of Ireland Act 1542—introduced, incidentally, by King Henry VIII, who probably had about as much control over the House of Commons as does the present First Lord of the Treasury-or the Act of Supremacy (Ireland) 1560? Surely we should not have Acts of Parliament on the statute book which is never used and which contain vast and draconian penalties? It is fun to laugh at them, but it is a serious matter to have Acts on the statute book with this level of punishment which no one in their right mind would dream of using.”

………now fast forward to Monday March 7th 2005 and the Lords have assembled to discuss the controversial Anti Terrorism Bill, but first Lord Tebbit raised a point (Hansard 7 Mar 2005: Column 475), which the delicious Lady Scotland was happy to address
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty’s Government:
“Why they have been unable to inform members of the public who have inquired the reason for the repeal of the Treason Act 1795 during the passage of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.”
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal):
“My Lords, neither the records of the relevant debates in Hansard during the passage of the Crime and Disorder Bill nor Bill papers held in the Home Office explain fully why the 1795 Act was repealed in its entirety. It is, however, evident from the Hansard records that the repeal was considered to be a necessary consequence of the decision to repeal the death penalty for treason.
The substantive offences that were contained in the 1795 Act are covered by other parts of the criminal law including the Treason Act 1351 relating to conspiracy and incitement. “
Lord Tebbit: My Lords, what on earth has been going on in the Home Office? Does the Minister recollect that on 16 November last, she told me in a Written Answer that the 1795 Act was still in force and subsequently had to correct that? Now her officials have written to members of the public saying that they have no idea why the 1795 Act was repealed. It seems that they are incapable of going to the Library, finding the Official Report for 19 March 1998 and reading in it the speeches made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Archer, and Lord Williams of Mostyn, who seemed to have some idea why he was advocating the Act’s repeal.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal entering into the fun of the proceedings, and wearing carefully colour co-ordinated spectacles to match her beautifully tailored suit, looked over her spectacles perched on the end of her exquisite nose and was anxious at elaborate, forced and courteous length to patronise my Lord Tebbit..

“My Lords, of course, I apologise for the fact that the 1795 Act was incorrectly referred to. I remind noble Lords that it is not every day that the 1300 Act, the 1870 Act or those other Acts are looked at. There was a mistake. I humbly ask the House’s pardon for this terrible mistake that was made by me through that dreadful inaccurate Answer.”

Lord Maclennan of Rogart: the comical ex leader of the Liberal party was anxious to point out that 1795 Act was the Terrorism Act (sic) of its day inspired by public hysteria about the threat of the French and introduced by a repressive Conservative administration under William Pitt the Younger.

Lord Mackay of Clashfern:
“My Lords, was the 1351 Act one that applied to the United Kingdom? If not, I wonder why it should be an important part of the law of the United Kingdom today.”
Baroness Scotland of Asthal:
“My Lords, we are grateful that that Act was followed by a number of other Acts that sought to bring it into force. To help your Lordships, there was the Treason Act 1351, the Treason Act 1702, the Treason Act 1842 and the Treason Felony Act 1848, which all amplified our splendid common law offence, so Scotland is safe.”
Lord Stoddart of Swindon:
“My Lords, I suppose that this could not possibly have anything to do with the fact that European Union Commissioners affirm an oath of allegiance to the European Union. If they do so, they swear allegiance to somebody other than Her Majesty the Queen, which I understand would in itself be treasonable.”
Baroness Scotland of Asthal:

“My Lords, I hesitate as always to give any disappointment to the noble Lord, but I have to tell him that the EU constitution is, unfortunately, not a treasonable document…” Ho, Ho, Ho.

So there we have it, in this House of Comedies, the Home Office for several years manages to mislay an Act of Parliament and yet inexplicably maintain on the Statutes, Life Imprisonment for any citizen…”who practising any harm etc. to, or slandering, the King, Queen or heirs apparent punishable as high treason” … as my Lord Onslow said in 1998 … “It is fun to laugh at them, but it is a serious matter to have Acts on the statute book with this level of punishment (Life imprisonment) which no one in their right mind would dream of using.” Ho, Ho, Ho indeed. The lunatics, it appears, have taken over the asylum.

The Lords then went on to listen to My Lord Charlie of Thoroton, the Prime Ministers pal and ex-flatmate explain why the Home Secretary wanted to put under house arrest citizens he suspected, but could not prove, nor publicly offer charges or evidence, of the entirely novel crime of “ terrorist related activity”, a law he wished to remain in perpetuity and would resist any attempt to have a pre-determined date of repeal.

In an interesting article in the New Statesman this week,(9/3/05) representatives of Addleshaw, Goddard, and Evershed’s leading London solicitors, and specialist in planning law, pointed out that should the Home Secretary so decide to domestically imprison a citizen, he would be obliged to; apply for change of use of their property, seek the approval of any other occupiers, deal with any objections neighbours may raise about inconvenience, effect on amenity, property values, regular presence of law enforcement personnel etc. The Home Secretary would also have to be certain that in so restricting the owners or tenants use of the property, they were not in breach of any entitlement in the Property Deeds or Rent Agreement that they may have to “quiet enjoyment “ of the premises.

There is of course the small matter that such an action overturns centuries of liberty and individual freedom, and the fundamental concept of habeas corpus enshrined in the Magna Carta. Handy briefing notes the Home Secretary had prepared earlier, pointed out that Abraham Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, …… he also closed down newspapers, and had people summarily shot and hanged.

One could again be forgiven for thinking that the Lunatics have taken over the Asylum.

The coming attack on Iran explained

"I explained to the Prime Minister that, you know, that the policy of my government is the removal of Saddam, and that all options are on the table."

Presidential Press conference with Tony Blair CRAWFORD, Texas April 6 2002

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous."
(Short pause)
"And having said that, all options are on the table."
"Even the White House stenographers felt obliged to note the result: '(Laughter)."

The Washington Post's Dan Froomkin on George Bush's Feb. 22 2005 press conference)

If you wish to understand the current declared, public and nonsensical US Mid-East policy and the secret separate US policy dictated by the shadowy neo-cons the following article is essential reading - it is pointless to try to précis it, here is a start ... ;

Petrodollar Warfare: Dollars, Euros and the Upcoming Iranian Oil Bourse
by William R. Clark (Friday August 05 2005)

"Contemporary warfare has traditionally involved underlying conflicts regarding economics and resources. Today these intertwined conflicts also involve international currencies, and thus increased complexity. Current geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran extend beyond the publicly stated concerns regarding Iran's nuclear intentions, and likely include a proposed Iranian "petroeuro" system for oil trade. Similar to the Iraq war, military operations against Iran relate to the macroeconomics of 'petrodollar recycling' and the unpublicized but real challenge to U.S. dollar supremacy from the euro as an alternative oil transaction currency.

It is now obvious the invasion of Iraq had less to do with any threat from Saddam's long-gone WMD program and certainly less to do to do with fighting International terrorism than it has to do with gaining strategic control over Iraq's hydrocarbon reserves and in doing so maintain the U.S. dollar as the monopoly currency for the critical international oil market.(pic Chavez & Saddam Aug 10th 2000 Baghdad)

In essence, Iran is about to commit a far greater "offense" than Saddam Hussein's conversion to the euro for Iraq's oil exports in the fall of 2000. Beginning in March 2006, the Tehran government has plans to begin competing with New York's NYMEX and London's IPE with respect to international oil trades – using a euro-based international oil-trading mechanism.The proposed Iranian oil bourse signifies that without some sort of US intervention, the euro is going to establish a firm foothold in the international oil trade. Given U.S. debt levels and the stated neoconservative project of U.S. global domination, Tehran's objective constitutes an obvious encroachment on dollar supremacy in the crucial international oil market."

It is equally important to read (Note the Dates);

William Clark, "Revisited - The Real Reasons for the Upcoming War with Iraq: A Macroeconomic and Geostrategic Analysis of the Unspoken Truth," January 2003 (updated January 2004)

Here in full is an article that appeared in Counterpunch shortly after , by a non-academic, non-economist who independently came to similar conclusions. Even though copies were sent to all the UK cabinet members – no answer was ever received. Nor, despite considerable effort was it accepted by any Major UK paper, TV , Radio service.

February 26, 2003 An Open Letter to Tony Blair Stand Tall, But Tell the Truth

by EDWARD TEAGUE

Dear Tony,
Stand tall, yield to no-one. Your stand by George is to be admired. You need however, to tell the UK electorate the truth.

1. This war is to protect US interests. The US has a massive Trade Deficit, revealed only on Friday for Y/E 2002 @ $460Bn.

2. That means for the US they have to maintain the flow of dollars in world trade / capital flows etc., (Gordon will provide details)--so far this has been mainly supported by the Japanese buying US Bonds, property etc.,

3.However, the euro since launching has shown a very healthy appreciation against the $ caused by;

4. Build up of national Forex reserves in Euros worldwide--UK, Russia, China(see Prodi's visit Sept 2002 with Chirac), and consequent run down of $ rserves overseas--EU etc.,

5. Increasing world trade denominated in euros--EU has bigger share of World Trade than US--set to rise when EU expands.

6.Iraq denominated oil sales inn euros in April 2000 and UN held reserves. Then euro = 83 cents$ now (today) $1.09 a 20% appreciation.

7.Venezuela holding back oil supplies, arranging barter deals. Euro bond market increasing worldwide--eg. Oil producing Maylaysia raised $500Mn $ bonds for State Oil Co.

8. Resulting not only in $/euro decline but increased oil/energy cost in US (e.g gas at the pump up from $1.20 June 2002 to $1.90 plus today.

9.France wants to sell Air Buses in euros. Maximise returns on costs incurred in euros.

10.By the way, don't forget that George II dismissed Kyoto obligations and Under Secretary Bolton (jewish) signed letter to Khofi Annan withdrawing from World Court proposals. (Also factor on counterfeit $'s from Iran and DPRK). When will the drugs merchants want payment in euros?

Therefore as you have seen the only route is for US (unless they sell dollars to buy euros and prompt further decline in the dollar), to use it's second major tool for dominating world affairs and economy--Military force. Hence need for swift, short, sharp resolution at UN. Those not with us(US) are against us--buy off the Turks with aid, sort out post Saddam trade with French and Russians. (Main recipient of Iraqi oil (currently) is US via Russian Oil traders).

Therefore your bold move to support is to be applauded. As everyone knows, Saddam has no weapons of mass destruction (i.e gas, biological nor the means of deliveryo outside Iraq) including all military forces in NATO and UN also know such weapons have limited lethality or use in the battlefield.

Iraq has not and is unlikely to have nuclear weapons or means of delivery in foreseeable future.

Nobody gives a shit about Iraqi people--expendable as, Ruandans, Matabele that Mugabe slaughtered (with North Korean mercenary help) in 1,000's, everyone stood back whilst millions of people lost lives in Iran/Iraq war.

Therefore your policy is not only wise but the only sensible one available.
Be careful however that, if on the "fog of war" the Israelis decide to resolve the Palestinian problem, a la Sabra and Chattila camps.

As a point of solidarity I will be circulating my letter of support for you.
Regards
Edward Teague

Why did Saddam decide to sell his oil exports in Euros ?

The theory that by getting the UN to agree to Oil for Food (OFF) sales being made in Euros for Iraqi oil and for the proceeds to banked at Paribas in Paris, France, precipitated the reprisal of a full blown invasion, still receives no exposure, analysis or comment in the mainstream of academia, the Press or the world’s Think Tanks.

Nor, does the origin of Saddam’s policy get any traction. Simply, in May 2001 Castro toured Iran (see pic) , Syria and Libya – he is reported as saying (Agence France Press) in Teheran "Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees. The U.S. regime is very weak, and we are witnessing this weakness from close up."

His objectives on the trip are detailed by Jaime Suchlicki, Director, Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, September 2001 Pic Assad & Castro May 15th 2001)

"Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, Castro continues to undermine U.S. policies in the Middle East in several ways:

a)by portraying U.S. actions and diplomacy in the region as those of an aggressor, seeking to impose hegemony by force, particularly in Iraq and the perpetration ofunjustified economic sanctions on Iraq and Iran;

b)by portraying the U.S. as the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of the Israel/Arab conflict;

c) discrediting U.S. policies and seeking support for Cuba at the U.N.

These anti-American views and policies are conveyed as a systematic message through a network of Cuban embassies and agents, as well as at the U.N. and other non-governmental political, religious and cultural organizations.

While not abandoning his close relationships in the Middle East, Castro has recently concentrated his support on several groups: the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), where Castro, and his new ally Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, see significant possibilities for success; ETA, the Basque terrorist/separatist organization from Spain, which has found refuge and support in Cuba, and the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which established its Latin American headquarters in Havana."

In the September 0f 2001 the OPEC heads-of-state summit was held -- the first in 25 years – hosted in Caracas by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Publicly he criticized the world's industrial powers for expecting cheap energy, and complained that Third World debt is more crippling to the world's impoverished than costly fuel.

Privately he encouraged OPEC to make a stand against the US oil hegemony.

Chavez, who had paved the way for the summit during a tour of the Middle East in August, (pic Khatami and Chavez) urged fellow leaders to become advocates for developing nations and to join forces in fighting U.N. sanctions against Iraq.

When the conference was over Iranian President Mohammad Khatami met Cuban leader Fidel Castro during an official visit to the island following the OPEC summit in nearby Venezuela.

In January 2001 Saddam at the time George Dubya was taking control in Washington after being sworn in, Saddam made the first move.

The rest as they say, is history.

Passport Paradox

35 year old Mahieddine Daikh of Algerian origin (?) was arrested at Bangkok's Don Muang airport on 2nd August, in the latest incident of document forging in Thailand, with 452 fake passports from France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium. He said he had been promised £15,000 to take the passports into London. He was routed to fly into Glasgow. Daikh is reported to have told the Bangkok Police that he had lived in London for 7 years and was granted British citizenship two years ago. The passports are said to be worth £2,000 each in the UK market.

According to a senior Thai police official, quoted in the Guradian and Sydney Morning Herald, "We will not prosecute him unless one of the embassies [of the countries whose passports were forged] files a formal complaint. If they do not, we will revoke his visa and return him [to Britain].

A Foreign Office spokeswoman admitted the cool, calm, Mr Daikh would not be arrested on his return to the UK. "He could not be prosecuted in Britain for this offence," she said. When asked if he would therefore be free, she replied: "That's what is likely to happen."

Now the 8th August and no press reports available on the web suggest the Thai authorities have taken any action. ... Watch this space.

Three Irish republicans Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley found guilty of supporting terrorism in Colombia have returned to the Irish Republic, it is presumed in press reports, with false documentation.When arrested at El Dorado airport, Bogota, in August 2001 as they prepared to board a flight out of the country, they were found to be using forged documents. Niall Connolly He was traveling on a false passport in the name of David Bracken, James Monaghan who used a passport with the alias Edward J Campbell and Martin (Mortar) McCauley 38, who used the alias John Joseph Kelly.

Because two of the three were traveling on falsified British passports the first information about the arrests was received by the British embassy in Bogota when a weekend duty officer received a call from Colombian authorities.


London bombing suspect Hussain Osman, 27, currently detained in Rome, is thought to have travelled there from Britain using a fake Italian passport.

In 1999, two al-Qaeda members used fake Belgian passports to enter Pakistan before travelling into Afghanistan, where they assassinated Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the US-backed Northern Alliance

The Evening Standard Thursday 14th April 2005 detailed the false documentation of the people arrested in the "Ricin factory case" - "The eight with fake IDs who found a home in Britain" Alistar Foster Evening Standard, page 5

* Mustapha Taleb, 35, Algerian - "false French passport"

* Mouloud Sihali, 29, Algerian - "admitted having a false French ID and using a fake Italian ID card." "Bought a fake UK passport for £280"

* David Aissa Khalif, 33 Algerian - "fake passport (unspecified) and Italian driving licence". "Admitted possessing six French and Belgian passport"

* Sidali Feddag, 20, Algerian - "entered the country aged 17 on his father's passport in 2000"

* Kamel Mezoug, 34, Algerian - "granted asylum in 2001 and issued with a UK passport in his own name" - Admitted to "using two false identities after he was granted asylum"

* Samir Ali, 31, Algerian - "Owned three fake passports - Spanish, Italian and French"

* Mouloud Bouhrama, 33, Algerian - "Now facing trial for possessing a false passport" (type not specified). "Had at least six false identies" (presumably none of them British ones).

* Khalid Alwerfeli, 31, Libyan - "facing trial for possessing a false passport" (presumably not a UK one) "Entered the UK using a forged ID card" "Had two aliases" (not illegal if they are not used to defraud or mislead)

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS ) with the UK Immigration Service (UKIS), UK Passport Service (UKPS) and the Crown prosecution Service (CPS) targeting set up Operation Maxim to combat organised immigration crime in London in response to the tragic of 58 Chinese migrants in a container lorry at Dover in June 2000.

Maxim officers carried out nearly a hundred operations in 2004. They made over 150 arrests, and seized over £200,000. In addition, £2.7 million has been restrained under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA). A further £5.4 million in assets has been identified and over £12,000 has been forfeited.

The majority of cases dealt with by Maxim involve identity document fraud of some description.

In 2004 the following seizures were made of documents that were either forged or obtained by obtained by fraud;
· 394 Passports
· 156 UK National Insurance Cards
· 46 UK Driving Licenses
· 19 Other UK based ID documents
· 8200 Non UK ID documents
· 30 Immigration stamps
also seized were:-
· 6 Laminators
· 38 Computers

Therefore even if a perfect United Kindom ID Card or Biometric Passport systems magically eliminated all false UK Passports and identity documents, the vast majority of false or fake ID used by foreign illegal immigrants would still be "Non UK" i.e. it would make virtually no difference at all.

21/7 Bombers details ? Who the hell are they ?

The Bank Of England have released details on their website of the known banking details of the 21/7 bombers, their addresses, NI numbers and other details. Curiously the Press have not published any of this information which is odd because one would imagine that residents near or adjacent to these addresses may have useful information for the Police - assuming they want it.

1. MOHAMMED, Ramzi
   DOB: 18/08/1981
   National Identification no: National Insurance no PX 05 09 48 A (UK)
   Address:
   (1) 173-175 Cromwell Road, London, United Kingdom, SW5 0SE
   (2) 192 Finborough Road, London, United Kingdom, SW10 9BA
   (3) 4 Chalfont Road, Hayes, Middlesex, United Kingdom
   (4) 8 Kent House, Old Kent Road, London, United Kingdom, SE1
   (5) Flat 14, K Block Peabody Estate, Delgarno Road, London, United Kingdom, W10 6AD
   (6) Flat 4, Delgarno Gardens, London, United Kingdom, W10 5JE
   Other Information: 173-175 Cromwell Road, London, SW5 0SE is a hostel
2. OMAR, Yassin
   DOB: 01/01/1981
   a.k.a:
   (1) HASSAN, Yassin, Omar
   (2) HASSAN, Yessan
   (3) OMAR, Yasim
   (4) OMAR, Yasin
   (5) OMAR, Yassin, Hassan
   National Identification no: National Insurance no JW 83 68 83 D [UK]
   Address: 58 Curtis House, Ladderswood Way, London, United Kingdom, N11 1SD
3. OSMAN, Hussein
   DOB: 23/07/1978
   a.k.a:
   (1) ADDUS, Hamdi, Issac
   (2) ADUS, Hamdi, Issac
   (3) OSMAN, Hussain
   (4) OSMAN, Hussein, Ahmed
   (5) OSMAN, Hussen, Ahmed
   Nationality: (1) Eritrean (2) Somalian
   National Identification no: National Insurance no PW 83 41 02 C [UK]
   Address:
   (1) 21 Scotia Road, London, United Kingdom, SW2 2UF
   (2) 31 Helix Road, London, United Kingdom, SW2 2JR
   (3) 40 Blair House, Stockwell Gardens Estate, London, United Kingdom, SW9 9AB
   (4) Flat 2, 154 Mitcham Lane, London, United Kingdom, SW16 6NS
4. SAID, Muktar, Mohammed
   DOB: (1) 24/01/1978. (2) 24/01/1976
   a.k.a:
   (1) IBRAHIM, Muktar, Said
   (2) IBRAHIM, White, Muktar, Said
   (3) SAID, Mukhtar
   (4) SAID, Mukhtar, Ibrahim
   (5) SAYID, Muktar
   (6) SAYID, Muktar, Mohammed
   National Identification no: National Insurance no
   (1) PX 28 71 49 B [UK]
   (2) PX 03 67 12 A [UK]
   Address:
   (1) 16 Nevill Road, London, United Kingdom, N16 8SR
   (2) 32b Farleigh Road, Stoke Newington, London, United Kingdom, N16 7GH
   Other Information: Resident at 16 Nevill Road, London, N16 8SR between July 2001 and January 2002

The above names are in addition to those listed in previous Bank Notices containing directions under Article 4 of the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2001 (S.I. 2001/3365) and under Article 8 of the Al-Qa'ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/111, as amended).

Previous Notices and news releases related to Terrorism, Al-Qa'ida and the Taliban and a consolidated list of individuals and entities subject to these and other UK financial sanctions regimes are available from the Financial Sanctions pages of the Bank of England's website.

Scotsman who embarassed Tony Blair dies on a country walk.

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, who quit government over the Iraq war, died on Saturday after collapsing on a Scottish mountainside. He was 59.

It will be interesting to find out whether he slit his wrists or has 7 bullets in his head.

Picture shows Cook with his glamourous young wife Gaynor and Stephen Perry - Who ?

Stephen Perry - MD, SLP Investments property management company, London Export Ltd. providing finance and advice to companies trading with China gave more than £5,000 to the Labour Party in 1997. SLP Investments gave more than £5,000 in both 1998 and 2000, and £25,000 on 14 May 1999.

Also Chairman of Millenium Tableware, Vice President of the China-British Business Council and Chairman of the 48 Group Club.

This shy retiring businessman is a member of the Labour Finance and Industry Group (LFIG), a pro-business New Labour think-tank. He is Chair of the LFIG's China Study Group, (The central recommendation is that a high-level task force be established, charged with the preparations of a comprehensive and strategic plan to cover the totality of our China business effort....) famously recommending that Stephen Byers should set up a DTI taskforce to develop business with China.

The LFIG organised the conference which formed the basis of the Labour Party's PFI policy before the 1997 election and were instrumental in the establishment of the Government post of Minister for Small Business.

London Export Corporation first did business in China in 1952. Stephen opened their New York offices soon after Nixon’s first trip to China, they now have offices in Hong Kong and Beijing. The 48 Group Club, which was formed following their famous Icebreaker mission to China in 1953. Stephen’s father was a moving force which led to 48 British companies becoming known as the 48 Group. They and their Chinese counterparts became known as the Icebreakers.

See Select Committee on Foreign Affairs report June 2000 for more info..

US Department of Justice publish Al Quaeda manual

Yesterday I highlighted how the FBI helps folks make bombs from regular retail store purchases, now the US DOJ has translated and published the AlQuaeda Manual found in Manchester ( some naughty bits deleted).

You can also read on the Home Page of the DOJ the speech by the Attorney General Alberto "Torture" Gonzales on a trip to meet new US Citizens on Ellis Island this week. To quote him ...

"Later this week (6/8), we will mark the 40 th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act – signed by President Johnson. It has been called one of the most successful pieces of civil rights legislation ever enacted.

In 1965, President Johnson said that,“the vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice.”

Johnson, who had won on a landslide 61% against Republican Goldwater, famously remarked that by signing the Act he was giving away the South.

Ethics ? Isn't that what Doctors have ?

“The involvement of doctors in direct or indirect abuse of prisoners is not just a stain on medical ethics. By abandoning our principles, we add fuel to the fires of distrust and despair, and increase the risk to us all, as the recent outrages in London demonstrate.” Michael Wilks The Lancet 2005; 366:429-431 6th August 2005-08-03

This article quoted above covers the role of doctors in torture and the abuse of prisoners' human rights which has been known about and documented for many years. “ It is therefore disturbing that the cultural and social factors that have seduced individual health professionals and their institutions into participating in abuse have persisted, and have therefore remained unchallenged” , says the author.

He argues that Governments and representative medical bodies have been “ adjusting and blurring their ethical guidance, tilting themselves towards endorsement of gross ethical malpractice”.

Problems were highlighted in 2004 with allegation of sordid mistreatment of prisoners by military staff ( and further horrifying details are still being censored) at Abu Ghraib, and in the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.

The role of doctors was reported in the press (Slevin P,Stephens J. Detainees' medical files shared. Washington Post June 20 2004 / Lewis N. Interrogators cite doctors' aid at Guantanamo. New York Times June 24 2004) and was further reported in the New England Journal of Medecine Lifton R. Doctors and torture. N Engl J Med 2004; 351: 415-416. /. Bloche M, Marks J. When doctors go to war. N Engl J ed 2005; 352: 3-6. ) Steven Miles researched the prison’s medical treatment, he found that medical records and death certificates were falsified, clinicians had given interrogators their subjects’ medical histories, medical assistance was denied, and medical professionals had consistently failed to report injuries and deaths caused by torture. In some instances, health workers directly aided torture. Miles related one incident in which a doctor called to suture a beaten prisoner gave the suture materials to the man’s attacker, a guard, and allowed him to treat the wound unsupervised.

These reports, confirmed by a US Gubment report And were confirmed and also by a leaked report from the International Committee of the Red Cross, proved medical staff were negligent in failing to report evidence of torture, failing intervene to stop it being repeated, and made available to interrogators information from confidential medical files, thereby allowing interrogators to exploit weaknesses. There is speculation, but no evidence, that death certificates of those who died under torture have been falsified. The former doctor to the President’s father recently and publicly reflected the medical profesions repugnanace to these events (Lee BJ. The stain of torture. Washington Post July 1 2005).

History shows that professional silence will ensure the persistence of such practices. If effective steps are to be made to stop this corruption of ethics, we must accept this corruption is a disease, with a documented aetiology, and has so far defied treatment.

Citing the Nazi practices raises hackles and the hair on your neck, but the involvement of German doctors in the 1930s and 1940s remains an indelible stain on medical ethics; massive and active “euthanasia” and experiments involving Jews, gypsies, and the mentally ill were undertaken without apparent question, concern or guilt.

Lifton in writing “The Nazi doctors: the psychology of medical killing” Papermac 1986 explained how this happened.

1. Uncritical acceptance of a state ideology that created scapegoats for the ills of society.
2. “Doubling” - an ability to exist in two separate but functional halves.
3. Fear or reprisals
4. Poor understanding of basic medical ethical principles.
Examples can be cited subsequently in South Africa, Chile, Turkey, and the former USSR where the negligence became embedded and accepted.

The author argues the same factors are at work in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, and no doubt elsewhere in the worldwide secret maze of US prisons and their surrogate jailers and torturers.

In February, 2002, George W Bush, infamously said that Al Qaeda terrorists were no longer covered by the Geneva Convention. In August, a legal memo from the US Justice Department for Alberto Gonzalez, then Counsel to the President, now Attorney General, attempted to redefine torture, stating that “for an act to constitute torture … it must inflict pain that is difficult to endure”. The memo continued: “Physical pain amounting to torture must be equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death.”

US medical bodies publicly remained silent whatever reservations may have been felt or made in private. This failure to oppose and criticise, put prisoners, already incarcerated without trial or access to legal representation, at the mercy of unprincipled doctors.

This inertia is bad enough, but more worrying trends are evident — Gubments and professional bodies rewriting existing ethical guidance in the service of abuse. US Secretary of Defense for Health, William Winkenwerder, accepts that some medical personnel working at Guantanamo are not providing direct care for patients, but are using their skills “to assist the interrogators”, in the role of “behavioural scientists”. These personnel are not answerable to the Department of Defense, but to military intelligence, and work within Behavioural Science Consultation Teams, commonly known as “Biscuits”.

Silence was not total , at Harvard Medical School Ethical Division on March 1st 2005 Leonard Rubenstein, (Executive director of Physicians for Human Rights) Steven Miles, and Robert Jay Lifton discussed how these professionals made the choices they did, and how to help future medical personnel choose differently.

They asked the audience to envision the nurse and her colleagues, medical professionals who falsified medical records, tampered with corpses, and collaborated with violent and humiliating interrogations. “Imagine what it’s like to be a medical professional at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo Bay.”

Medical workers were caught between their duties to their patients and their duties to the military.Steven Miles of the University of Minnesots gathered evidence from U.S. congressional hearings, sworn statements of prisoners and soldiers, medical journal accounts and news reports to build a picture of physician complicity, and in isolated cases active participation by medical personnel in abuse at the Baghdad prison, as well as in Afghanistan and at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba.

In one example, cited in a sworn statement from an Abu Ghraib prisoner, another prisoner collapsed and was apparently unconscious after a beating. Medical staff revived the prisoner and left, allowing the abuse to continue, Miles reported.(Also covered in Aug 2004 Lancet Report)

“The doctors at Abu Ghraib were part of a military structure that orchestrated torture until it became normal,” said Lifton, HMS lecturer in psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital and distinguished professor emeritus of psychiatry and psychology at the City University of New York.

Lifton pointed to the unique respect accorded to medical professionals, and said that their presence can “medicalize a criminal event.” Rubenstein agreed, saying that “health personnel should never be instruments by which the state commits human rights violations.”

The Pentagon has subtly changed the wording says Wilkes of a 1982 UN resolution so that Bush's memorandum has placed these suspects outside a protective legal framework, and the Pentagon's guidance allows professional expertise to be used in interrogation techniques.

US medical professional medical bodies have tended to blur ethical boundaries the American Psychiatric Association's Statement on Psychiatric Practices at Guantanamo Bay is weak. The American Psychological Association's “Presidential Task Force Report ”,rehearses conventional ethical principles about care of individual patients, then loops the loop on sanctioning input from psychologists and advice on techniques to be used in interrogation. In effect, it becomes acceptable for a health professional to dispense with any ethical responsibilities if “their training and expertise is used outside a strictly therapeutic context “. Grossly unethical maybe but this professional body has no problems.

What can be done? Wilkes wants an end to the assault, led by the USA and UK Governments on international bodies, such as the United Nations.

The forthcoming World Medical Association meeting in October should put the subject on the agenda. Second, the lack of ethical knowledge identified by Lifton in pre-war Germany should be rapidly corrected by a renewed effort to map out the ethical boundaries appropriate for doctors acting in areas of dual responsibility,at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

He doesn’t say it, but a bit of personal responsibility and moral concern by the doctors involved would be a good starting point.


Robert Jay Lifton (left) and Leonard Rubenstein discuss ways to avoid dual loyalty conflicts in military prisons. (Photo by Liza Green, HMS Media Services)

Terror - It's a 12 step program

Our Dear Leader summoned the Press for their Monthly insight into his mind – evidently as he made clear , from the off, the pesky judges, courts and established law are making life difficult for him …

“Such action in the past has been controversial. Each tightening of the law has met fierce opposition. Regularly we have had defeat in Parliament or the courts. The Anti-Terrorism legislation, passed in 2002 after September 11th was declared partially invalid. The successor legislation hotly contested.”

The twelve stages of excluding and ridding our great and glorious realm, this sceptred isle from these septic clerics with their vile ideology and their followers he listed….

Deportation
New grounds for deportation and exclusion are to be introduced after one months consultation. The new grounds will include “ (a) fostering hatred,(b) advocating violence to further a person's beliefs, (c) justifying or validating such violence.

Should legal obstacles arise, we will legislate further, including, if necessary amending the Human Rights Act, in respect of the interpretation of the ECHR. (Which is of course under the current Convention is impossible and would require the support of the 46 members of the Convention on Human Rights)

One other point on deportations. Once the new grounds take effect, there will be a list drawn up of specific extremist websites, bookshops, centres, networks and particular organisations of concern. Active engagement with any of these will be a trigger for the Home Secretary to consider the deportation of any foreign national.

Justifying terrorism
New anti-terrorism legislation in the Autumn including an offence of condoning or glorifying terrorism will be introduced this will be applied to justifying or glorifying terrorism anywhere not just the UK. The sort of remarks made in recent days should be covered by such laws… the remarks referred to are not identified. (re Nelson Mandela, Bobby Sands , Gerry Adams ? ... George Galloway ?)

No Asylum for Terrorists
Anyone who has participated in terrorism or has anything to do with it anywhere will automatically be refused asylum. (Does this include the people who hi-jacked an Afghan airliner and demanded to be taken to Stanstead who settled here subsequently ?)

Stripping citizenship
Extend the current powers to strip citizenship from those individuals with British or dual nationality who act contrary to the interests of this country. We will now consult on extending, simplifying and making such measures more effective for naturalised citizens.

Time limit on Extradition procedures
Rashid Ramda wanted by the French for the Paris metro bombing ten years ago is still here. This is unacceptable (although quite legal under current laws) Consultation will start (who with ?) on setting a maximum time limit for all future extradition cases involving terrorism.

Extending detention without charge to meet the requests of the Police.
Examining the possibility of a pre-trial process (?) and also examine whether the necessary procedure can be brought about to give us a way of meeting the police and security service request that detention pre-charge of terrorist suspects be significantly extended.

More special judges to be appointed
Lord Chancellor will increase the number of special judges hearing terrorist cases to expand court capacity.

Proscribing Hizb-ut-Tahrir & Al Mujahiroun

We will proscribe Hizb-ut-Tahrir and the successor organisation of Al Mujahiroun. We will also examine the grounds of proscription to widen them and put proposals forward in the new legislation.

Swearing allegiance
British citizenship procedures as well as attendance at a citizenship ceremony, will involve swearing allegiance to the country and have a rudimentary grasp of the English language (say, at least to the level of George W Bush). Hazel Blears in consultation with the "Muslim community", to establish a Commission to advise on how, consistent with people's complete freedom to worship in the way they want, and to follow their own religion and culture, there is better integration of those parts of the community presently “ inadequately integrated”.

Closing mosques
Consultation to take place on a new power to order closure of a place of worship used as a centre for fomenting extremism and will consult with Muslim leaders in respect of those clerics who are not British citizens, to draw up a list of those not suitable to preach, who will be excluded from Britain.(Woe betide those Muslims who want "gay marriages", female Bishops and want to argue against Abortion ... or Alcohol ?)

Border Security Measures
Introduce the proposed measures on the security of our borders, with a series of countries (countries not detailed) specifically designated for biometric visas over the next year. The Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office are compiling an “international” database of people whose activities or views pose a threat to Britain's security. Anyone on the database will be excluded from entry with any appeal only taking place outside the country.

As the Dear Leader stated, on more than one occasion …” Let no-one be in any doubt. The rules of the game are changing.”

...all we need now is for Leni Reifenstahl to do the video.

Flour Power

According to his stunningly attractive lawyer Antonietta Sonnessa, Hamdi Issac, AKA Osman Hussein ( Somali / Eritrean / Sudanese with UK Somali / Eritrean / Sudanese passport) has said the bag he carried onto a London subway was full of flour fixed to a detonator.

"What he said is that is that there were harmless materials, that is, flour. And then there was (the detonator) to make it explode -- but only to create a bang. That's what my client said," Sonnessa told Reuters on Wednesday.

So we have 7/7 bombs of RDX, AMTP, HDMT, time / not timed, detonated by mobile, self detonated - a sort of Pick'n'Mix bomb kit ...now we have flour bombs. "Would that be Organic, wholemeal, plain or self - raising sir ?".....

You couldn't fucking make it up.

NYPD gives details of July 7 bombs

CNN report that the NYPD claim investigators in London believe the bombers used a peroxide-based explosive called HMDT, or hexamethylene triperoxide, which can be made with such common items as hydrogen peroxide, which is used to bleach hair; citric acid, a food preservative; and heating tablets used by the military for cooking.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said the NYPD had clearance from British authorities to present the information during the briefing. Plod AKA Andy trotter Cheif Constable of British Transport Police was upset and said not information should have been released.... sub judice blah blah.

Of course, chats away the man from New Yorks Finest, the sinister details can be found how to make this deadly, and highly volatile explosive on the web.... quite easily e.g

.......included two five-ounce cans labeled citric acid, five tubes labelled hexamine, an empty one-pint bottle labeled Welloxide® liquid stabilizer developer, and a small vial containing a portion of the liquid originally in the Welloxide® bottle. Welloxide® is a hair coloring developer that contains hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to oxidize hair in the coloring process. The extremely unstable explosive material, hexamethylenetriperoxidediamine (HMTD), can be produced by combining 45 g of 30% hydrogen peroxide, 14 g of hexamine, and 21 g of powdered citric acid (Urbanski 1985)…….. all the required components to prepare HMTD were present, it was necessary to verify the contents of the containers as labelled. This article specifically concerns the analysis of the Welloxide® liquid developer to determine if there was sufficient H2O2 to produce HMTD. Analysis schemes to identify HMTD explosive have been reported (Reutter et al.1983; Zitrin et al. 1983),etc., for 5 pages

REFERENCES
Urbanski, T. Chemistry and Technology of Explosives, Volume 3. Pergamon Press, New York, 1985.

Zitrin, S., Kraus, S., and Glattstein, B. Identification of two rare explosives. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Forensic Aspects of Explosives Analysis. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1983, pp.137–141.

Reutter, D. J., Bender, E. C., and Rudolph, T. L. Analysis of an unusual explosive: Methods used and conclusions drawn from two cases. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on the Forensic Aspects of Explosives Analysis. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1983, pp. 149–158.

Now where would you find those detailed instructions , references and details to how the Police and Forensic scientists actually test making the explosive, test for materals used, Raman analysis of suspicious chemicals etc .... Well Try the FBI .... Testing of a Suspect Explosive Component: Hydrogen Peroxide in Hair Coloring Developer Edward G. Bartick Research Chemist Rena A. Merrill Chemist Forensic Science Research Unit Federal Bureau of Investigation Quantico, Virginia.

...Note to myself...must ask Hazel Blears, when she is next in Oldham if that constitutes "Indirect assistant for Terrorist Acts."

Dubya's thoughts still evolving

Dubya is having a well earned rest at his ranch in Crawford – clearing more bush no doubt – AP tells us he took time off to shoot the breeze with some not very inquisitive journo’s from the local Bush Boosting frat house - San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Austin American-Statesman.

Asked about “intelligent design”, his first response was that it was something to do with making cup holders in the ’06 GM SUV’s so they took a whole 32 oz. Cola cup, but finally grasped it was to do with teaching evolution in public schools.. “I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,” Bush (educated at BOTH Yale and Harvard) said. “You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is ...er...yes.”

Christian conservatives — a substantial part of Bush’s voting base — have been pushing for the teaching in public schools of “intelligent design” – a wing-nut philosophy that believes life on earth is too complex to have developed through evolution, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in creation – and no doubt in creating a totally bogus paleontological record around the world.

Bush also refused to discuss the Plame leak but supported Texas Turd Blossom Rove, “Karl’s got my complete confidence. He’s a valuable member of my team,”

He claimed that Roe v Wade didn’t crop up in talks he had with his Supreme Court nominee John Roberts - “I just made sure he was full square behind that Spic, Alberto at the Attorney General’s office on Torture and that was fine.”

Muslim dies...Mossad to blame ?

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia lends its full support to the efforts exerted to put an end to the Arab/Israeli conflict and to realize a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian question that would establish justice and restore the legitimate rights and lay down a permanent basis for peace, security and stability."

Oficial Mourning Site for King Fahd

Cheese eating surrender monkeys aid USAF in Afghanistan

In Hidden hands at work in Andijan revolt ? Sunday July 31st, we passed on diplomatic gossip that ....

“As well as US air Force personnel and planes, 200 French Air Force personnel and 2 transport aircraft are also based at Dushanbe airport in support of International Security Assistance Force operations in Afghanistan.”

Now Reuters report “"Six Mirage fighters have been deployed in (the Tajik capital) Dushanbe,"

Major Frederic Lemoine, deputy French military attache to Central Asian neighbour Kyrgyzstan, told reporters at U.S.-led air base Ganci near the capital Bishkek “that Six Mirage fighters have been deployed in Dushanbe,"

Two large-body Boeing C-135 FR refuelling planes (“ravitaillement en vol “ in service since 1980 – see pic ) left their base at Istres and landed at Ganci and Lemoine explained that .."These refuelling jets are due to support the Mirage fighters in Tajikistan."

It was pointed out that the French operations were in line with a U.N. Security Council decision to improve security during the Afghan election. The Mirage jets are planned to fly on their first combat missions this Saturday. Probably these are The E.R.S 01/091 " Gascogne " (reconnaissance strategique) which use the Mirage IVP to carry out collection of the information of general interest necessary to the prevention and the management of crises.

For 3 weeks in November 2004 returning from Incirlik in Turkey 3 Mirage F1CR precision strike aircraft (see pic)and a Boeing C135 FR stopped at Dushanbe.

Last October’ s Presidential elections in Afghanistan passed off largely without incident, the rising “insurgent violence” and the protection of thousands of parliamentary candidates is seen as posing a tougher security challenge.