'You must leave in 24 hours or your heads will be cut, your houses burnt'The three Azzawi brothers, Hussein, Qadam and Ali, loved their home. Their late father had picked the two-storey villa because it was big enough for his sons to marry and raise children in. He hoped that they would always live there.
That dream ended with a letter, dumped after dark on the Azzawis’ doorstep. The death threat was organised like a business memorandum, with the helpful heading “Subject: displacementâ€.
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Rwanda accuses France of hiding late Habyarimana`s plane black boxThe row between France and Rwanda went a notch higher after Rwandese foreign minister, Charles Murigande, challenged Paris to disclose the whereabouts of the black box of the ill-fated plane that killed President Juvenal Habyarimana.
Rwanda`s President Habyarimana and his Burundi counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira were killed on 6 April 1994 after their plane was shot down, sparking off the infamous Rwanda genocide.
France is currently investigating the cause of the pla... (more)
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It's still about oil in Iraq December 8, 2006 -- WHILE THE Bush administration, the media and nearly all the Democrats still refuse to explain the war in Iraq in terms of oil, the ever-pragmatic members of the Iraq Study Group share no such reticence.
Page 1, Chapter 1 of the Iraq Study Group report lays out Iraq's importance to its region, the U.S. and the world with this reminder: "It has the world's second-largest known oil reserves." The group then proceeds to give very specific and radical recommendation... (more)
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CIA is undermining British war effort, say military chiefs British intelligence officers and military commanders have accused the US of undermining British policies in Iraq and Afghanistan, after the sacking of a key British ally in the Afghan province of Helmand. British sources have blamed pressure from the CIA for President Hamid Karzai's decision to dismiss Mohammed Daud as governor of Helmand, the southern province where Britain deployed some 4,000 troops this year. Governor Daud was appointed in mid-year to replace a man the... (more)
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65 years later, his questions lingerAround this time every year, Joe Fenton’s mind wanders back to the preview he had of the destruction that would be unleashed on Pearl Harbor.
Just 17 years old and six months removed from boot camp, Fenton was an oiler on the USS Boise as it escorted five merchant ships carrying air base construction materials across the Pacific to the Philippines. After midnight on the morning of Nov. 28, 1941, the light cruiser’s loudspeakers blared with orders for crew members to ma... (more)
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Christmas terror attack 'highly likely' An attempted terrorist attack in Britain over the Christmas period is "highly likely", the Home Secretary said today.
John Reid said that around 30 conspiracies were under preparation, and the current threat level was "very high indeed".
He told GMTV Sunday that he did not think it an attack was inevitable, but that "the terrorists only have to get through once, as they did on July 7, for us to see the terrible carnage that it causes".
"Our security ... (more)
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Police to get 'dirty bomb hoods' in terror alertPOLICE forces have been told to buy anti-radiation masks for their 100,000 frontline officers to protect them in the event of a “dirty bomb” terrorist attack.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has told all forces they should look to purchase specially designed chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) hoods as soon as possible.
Senior officers are concerned that, with only 1,000 thought to have been distributed, their ability to de... (more)
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Cow 'emissions' more damaging to planet than CO2 from carsMeet the world's top destroyer of the environment. It is not the car, or the plane,or even George Bush: it is the cow.
A United Nations report has identified the world's rapidly growing herds of cattle as the greatest threat to the climate, forests and wildlife. And they are blamed for a host of other environmental crimes, from acid rain to the introduction of alien species, from producing deserts to creating dead zones in the oceans, from poisoning rivers and drinking water to de... (more)
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Spy widow points finger at RussiaThe widow of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko has said she believes the Russian authorities could have been behind his murder.
Marina Litvinenko, 44, told the Mail on Sunday: "Obviously it was not Putin himself, of course not."
But she said what President Putin "does around him in Russia makes it possible to kill a British person" in Britain.
Two Metropolitan Police officers have tested positive for traces of radioactive substance polonium-210.... (more)
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Kremlin wants to quiz oligarch in exile in London RUSSIAN prosecutors investigating the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, the former spy, want to travel to London to question a billionaire Russian exile and a Chechen associate.
The move is likely to further strain relations between Russia and Britain, which have been undermined by allegations that the FSB, the former KGB, might be involved in the killing. Russian authorities are also suspected of disrupting the BBC Russian service’s coverage of the murder.
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FSB colonel named in Litvinenko poison plot An imprisoned Russian dissident has given The Sunday Telegraph revealing testimony in which he names a serving state security colonel as a key figure in the poisoning of the former spy Alexander Litvinenko.
Mikhail Trepashkin, a lawyer being held in a penal camp in the Urals, gave his information via an intermediary after the Kremlin refused to let him be questioned by Scotland Yard detectives who have travelled to Moscow. In testimony that he fears could put his own life at risk... (more)
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Police chief's calls 'tapped by own force' The Metropolitan Police unlawfully tapped the phone of one of their own senior officers, it was reported today.
The force listened to calls made by Chief Superintendent Ali Dizaei, legal adviser to the National Black Police Association (NBPA) and one of Britain's most senior ethnic minority police officers.
The interception has been ruled unlawful by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, the BBC reported.
Th... (more)
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Pinochet death 'saddens' ThatcherFormer Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher is "greatly saddened" by the death of Augusto Pinochet, said a spokesman.
Chile's former military leader, who has died aged 91 in hospital, backed the UK during the Falklands conflict.
Baroness Thatcher also pressed for his release after his arrest in London in 1998 over alleged human rights abuses.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett used the death to pay tribute to Chile's "remarkable progress" since General Pi... (more)
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A Young Marine Speaks Out I'm sick and tired of this patriotic, nationalistic and fascist crap. I stood through a memorial service today for a young Marine that was killed in Iraq back in April. During this memorial a number of people spoke about the guy and about his sacrifice for the country. How do you justify 'sacrificing' your life for a war which is not only illegal, but is being prosecuted to the extent where the only thing keeping us there is one man's power, ... (more)
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Adolf Hitler: How Could a Monster Succeed in Blinding a Nation?"What good fortune for those in power that people do not think" - Adolf Hitler, as quoted by Joachim Fest.
Is it still possible in today's Germany to escape the realization that without the mistreatment of children, without a form of child-rearing based on violence to inculcate blind obedience, there would not have been a Hitler and his followers? And thus not millions of murdered victims either? Probably every thinking person in the post-war period has wondered at some time ... (more)
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LAPD officer arrested for holding room assaultA veteran Los Angeles Police Department officer was arrested this morning for assaulting a handcuffed 16-year-old in a police holding room Tuesday.
Chief William J. Bratton said he decided to arrest Sean Joseph Meade, 41, after viewing a videotape from inside the station that captured part of the assault. Bratton said the attack was without any physical provocation.
"The video in essence depicts what the preliminary investigation and I believe to have been an assa... (more)
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Woman Sentenced for Friend's Cell CallA 23-year-old woman ticketed by police after a friend was talking on a cell phone outside her home following a barbecue has landed in jail for violating the city's noise ordinance.
Judge Norene Redmond of 38th District Court last month sentenced Carmen Granata to 30 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to the violation. A petition signed by neighbors complained that the home was the site of frequent parties.
Granata was ticketed after her friend was talking on her ... (more)
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Deputy 'Elf' Helps Nab Speeders In Orange CountyORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Santa may reward the nice, but, Thursday, one of his elves was punishing the naughty. The elf happened to be an Orange County sheriff's deputy and he gave a little extra sting to some speeding tickets.
Richard Lockman stands 5-foot-6. He's dressed in green and red. He's wearing tights. And he even has pointy shoes. But he's no ordinary elf.
"I'm Santa's helper today, helping to save lives so we can help these people enjoy their Christmas, so t... (more)
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4 -year-old Accused of Improperly Touching TeacherBELLMEAD- A four-year-old hugged his teachers aide and was put into in-school suspension, according to the father. But La Vega school administrators have a different story.
Damarcus Blackwell's four-year-old son was lining-up to get on the bus after school last month, when he was accused of rubbing his face in the chest of a female employee.
The prinicipal of La Vega Primary School sent a letter to the Blackwells that said the pre-kindergartener demonstrated "ina... (more)
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Last Act Of Congress Preserves Internment Camps One of the last acts of Congress was to send President Bush a bill that establishes a $38 million program of National Park Service grants to preserve Japanese POW internment camps in Hawaii, California, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Idaho. Is this really in the name of historical interest or does it dovetail with programs on the books to intern hundreds of thousands of dissidents in a time of crisis?
The Honolulu Advertiser reports,<... (more)
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Connect your brain to the internet?Today, the Center for American Progress hosted a panel titled "Mind Wars: Brain Research and National Defense." CAP Senior Fellow Jonathan Moreno, Ph.D. gave a run down on his book and fellow panelist Jennifer Bard, a law professor at Texas Tech University, gave a legal analysis of advances in neuroscience research as applied to real life situations.
The most ... (more)
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UK plans 'real-time' no-fly lists plus fingerprint ID for air travel As has been illustrated all too frequently in the past, they don't tell immigration ministers anything - and, if what he had to say this week at the official unveiling of Heathrow's biometric trial is anything to go by, current incumbent Liam Byrne is no exception. Quoted here in the Telegraph, Byrne observes that he does not see the Heathrow system as being a "stand-alone scheme", and that the Government wanted to see it used as part of efforts to control immigration a... (more)
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American Travelers to Get Secret 'Risk Assessment' ScoresWashington, D.C. - An invasive and unprecedented data-mining system is set to be deployed on U.S. travelers Monday, despite substantial questions about Americans' privacy. In comments sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked the agency to delay the program's rollout until it makes more details available to the public and addresses critical privacy and due process concerns.
The Automated Targeting System (ATS) will crea... (more)
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US outlines privacy safeguards - and reveals plans to mine personal data The US Government signalled some willingness this week to address concerns over citizens' privacy, but also launched a scheme which will analyse secret airline passenger risk profiles and keep them for 40 years. The US Government released guidelines which it says will protect the privacy of US citizens in an era of increasing data collection and information sharing by and between Government bodies.
Congress had previously mandated greater information sharin... (more)
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Senate approves Burr's bioterrorism bill After almost two years of negotiations, the Senate passed a bill last night sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., that would create a new federal agency to combat bioterrorism.
The bill to establish the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has been a priority of Burr's since his first day in the Senate. After the vote last night, Burr said he was "excited" that the bill had finally passed.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a... (more)
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German Minister Seeks Jail Time For FPS Players GamePolitics has the somewhat unbelievable news that German Minister of the Interior Gunther Beckstein is seeking jail time for violent game developers, publishers, and players. MSNBC has further coverage of the issue, which has pro gamers in Germany quite worried. From the article: "The draft law, a reaction to a school s ... (more)
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Iraq’s Death Squads: An Instrument Of The Occupation On November 14, 2006 militias and death squads dressed as police commandos kidnapped up to 150 staff and visitors in broad daylight raid – one of daily raids throughout Iraq – on the Higher Education Ministry annexe in central Baghdad. Although some hostages have been released, the fate of others is unknown. It is alleged that large number of the hostages have been tortured and others were murdered. The totality of the raids, kidnapping, torture, ongoing civilian massacres and mur... (more)
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Airport Hustlers In its tireless efforts to molest passengers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is photographing them at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. Naked.
The TSA is about the baddest, bawdiest bureaucracy ever to curse a country, but geez, even they must have needed help on this one. I figure they went to Larry Flynt at Hustler Magazine for advice. Only a pornographer of his unsavory talents could hav... (more)
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Hey, we got beat fair and squareThe hearings for Robert Gates were about as weird as it gets.
Gates wasn’t asked one tough question the whole time. It was all a meaningless formality. Besides, Gates had all the qualifications the Senate was looking for. In other words, he wasn’t Rumsfeld and that’s all that mattered.
For Gates, it was more like Coronation Day than a serious inquiry into past indiscretions. Did anyone care about his involvement in Iran-Contra and his propensity to... (more)
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