Trying to get by...

Sunday, October 30, 2005

SOS 'Was Written In Blood'

NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN
SOS 'Was Written In Blood' By ABDULRAHMAN FAKHRI 10/29/05 "Gulf Daily News" --
-- AN SOS written in blood on a prison cell wall spelled out the desperation of Bahraini Guantanamo detainee Juma Al Dossary. It was his last resort after being continuously denied medical treatment as he grew increasingly ill in appalling conditions, he says in his handwritten diary of despair. He claims he has been savagely beaten, tortured, sexually humiliated, fed bug-infested, rotten food and denied medical treatment, in a systematic campaign of abuse meted out for over three years. His weight has dropped 30kg to 55kg and he is so weak he can barely stand, he says in the diary, written in July and just released to his lawyers by US authorities. Mr Al Dossary says he regularly vomits blood, has heart and blood pressure problems, has fainting fits and suffers pains in his head, stomach and left arm - but has been persistently denied proper medical treatment. The abuse has gone on since his arrest on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in December 2001, but took a new form after he complained about the conditions to his lawyer during a visit in March this year. "In March this year I met my lawyer to discuss my case and I told him about all the torture and abuse that I went through here, but I didn't know that they were spying on us," he says in the diary. "After the lawyer had left, a military man came to me and told me to forget about all that had happened to me and not to remember it or mention it again to anyone, otherwise I will not live in peace. "After he left me, I was given spoiled food three times and when I complained I was told that this was what was provided for me. "Since then I have been sick." Mr Al Dossary says he sent his lawyer several letters to tell him about what happened, "but I don't know if he had received any of them". At the end of March, two American interrogators and an agent from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) questioned him. "They were threatening me and yelling at me in the interrogation room, where they also took from me my belongings and letters from my family," he says. The interrogators also allegedly spoke to the camp doctor to stop the special diet prescribed for Mr Al Dossary because of his stomach pain. "They even stopped some of the treatment. It has been sent by lawyers to the now dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, which has been co-ordinating a campaign for the release of six Bahrainis detained at Guantanamo. Extracts detailing the allegations of abuse and Mr Al Dossary's despair were first published in the GDN yesterday. Bug-infested and rotten food became the specials of the day, making his health worse, says the 30-year-old, who has an 11-year-old daughter. He describes how one evening in June this year he was given a plate of dinner, in which he found a dead scorpion. "Since then I find bugs and cockroaches in my food," writes Mr Al Dossary. At the end of June, Mr Al Dossary says he was bitten by a scorpion in his cell. "I asked one of the soldiers to call the clinic, but no-one came until the morning, hours after I was bitten," he says. "I had to squeeze out the poison myself and my leg became swollen and turned red. "When the nurse finally came, I was given a painkiller and a tablet for the itch on my leg. "Now my health condition is worse. I vomit blood. "Once I even vomited blood in a bucket and spilled it outside the cell and in front of a soldier, to explain to him that I was sick. "He said he would talk to the clinic but, as usual, without any results. "When I do complain to the clinic, they give painkillers only called Motrin, which has side effects that cause ulcers and harms the liver, kidney and stomach." Mr Al Dossary says he could hardly stand due to his weakness and dizziness. In one incident, after vomiting blood, he says he used the blood to write on the wall of his cell: "I am sick and I need treatment." Mr Al Dossary said his blood pressure fell to 90/50 and his heart beat rate was also low. Mr Al Dossary tells how his condition worsened after he took part in a hunger strike in June this year, which ended the following month. The prisoners were protesting conditions in the camp and demanding immediate trials or release. Some have since launched a second hunger strike, saying nothing was done. Mr Al Dossary is listed by US authorities as an "enemy combatant". They claim he went to Afghanistan in November 2001 as a member of Al Qaeda and that he was at Tora Bora, where Osama bin Laden was thought to be in hiding. Mr Al Dossary allegedly crossed the border into Pakistan in December 2001 without any documentation and surrendered to Pakistani authorities. Lawyers representing the Bahraini six say their best hope for freedom is if Bahrain reaches a deal with the US, as other countries have done. Bahrain says it is "making progress" in talks aimed at bringing home the detainees. The other five Bahraini detainees are Essa Al Murbati, Salah Abdul Rasool Al Blooshi, Adel Kamel Hajee, Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa and Abdulla Majid Al Naimi. Copyright © 2004, Gulf Daily News

Friday, October 28, 2005

U.N. DOUBLE-STANDARD ON SYRIA, HARIRI & JENIN MASSACRE *PIC*

I can hear the faint sound of war drums once again, which makes this article worth the read. Source: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/forum.cgi?read=80820 U.N. DOUBLE-STANDARD ON SYRIA, HARIRI & JENIN MASSACRE *PIC* Posted By: ChristopherBollyn Date: Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 4:43 a.m. The U.N. investigation of the assassination of Rafik Hariri and the strongly-worded resolutions that seek to punish Syria for its alleged role in his murder reveal the glaring double-standard the Bush administration and the United Nations employ to protect Israel and defend it from criticism or international sanctions. The U.N. report produced by Detlev Mehlis contains a great deal of speculation and allegations from un-named witnesses but provides no solid evidence that Syria had anything to do with the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. The Mehlis report says: "Until the investigation is completed, all new leads and evidence are fully analyzed, and an independent and impartial prosecution mechanism is set up, one cannot know the complete story of what happened, how it happened and who is responsible for the assassination of Rafik Hariri and the murder of 22 other innocent people. Therefore, the presumption of innocence stands." The U.N. report, which only began 4 months after the murder and then took 4 months, concludes with these words: "The Commission is of course of the view that all people, including those charged with serious crimes should be considered innocent until proven guilty following a fair trial." Are the U.S. and the UN willing to consider the Syrian officials innocent until proven guilty in a fair trial? It does not look like the global oligarchs take these words seriously but are rather seeking to use the conjecture and speculation contained in the inconclusive Mehlis report to try to punish Syria and launch a new war of aggression on a small Middle Eastern state. Whose interest is being served by this aggressive diplomacy and sabre rattling? Israel is the only clear beneficiary. The 60-page Mehlis report did not even consider the possibility that the Hariri assassination was a "targeted killing" carried out by a precision-guided missile, which is what the evidence at the crime scene strongly indicates. This is the very method perfected and long-used by Israel to kill its enemies on the West Bank and Gaza Strip, only a few miles to the south of Beirut. The Israelis even killed Sheikh Yassin of Hamas with a precision-guided missile while he was being pushed in his wheel chair in Gaza! Certainly the satellite images and air traffic data from the Beirut area would provide evidence the Mehlis commission should have looked at - but it didn't. It apparently didn't even ask for it. "Although resolution 1595 called on all States to provide the Commission with any relevant information pertaining to the Hariri case, it is to be regretted that no Member State relayed useable information to the Commission," the report said. "Personnel from Military Intelligence (mainly specialists in the field of explosives) visited the crime scene and conducted their part of the examination. They confirmed that the type of explosives used were TNT and the estimated amount to be some 300 kilograms," it said. A Swiss forensic group, however, could not even determine if the Hariri explosion had occurred above or below ground: "After interpretation and analysis of the dispersion of fragments, we can’t give clear evidence whether there was an explosion above or under ground," the Swiss team concluded. "Our analysis and research concerning the shape and form of the crater also gives no clear evidence whether there was an explosion above or under ground." What? A Swiss government team can't even determine how the crater was formed? "On the other hand, the form and shape of the crater gives some information about the possible amount of the charge (above or under ground)," they said. "As mentioned in our report it is expected that an amount of about 1000 kg above ground will create a crater like the one on the scene." This is pure nonsense. Russian data on surface blasts indicate that an explosive charge of at least 5 to 10 tons of TNT would be necessary to create a crater the size of that found in the road where Hariri's convoy was hit - no less than 5 tons of TNT! But there is solid evidence that it was not a car bomb with 5 to 10 tons of TNT that killed Hariri. First, there is the photograph of the crater. It shows that the detonation occurred below the street level and blew the sand and pavement up and out of the crater. The pipe that is seen thrust upwards from the crater suggests that the detonation occurred below the pipe, well beneath the road - not above it. Massive surface explosions tend to indent or depress the surface - not excavate the underlying sand and soil to a depth of 10 feet. Such craters are caused by bombs that do not detonate on impact but have delayed fusing that allows the bomb to penetrate the media for a few milliseconds before detonating. Secondly, there is a vehicle that is clearly seen immediately behind the crater, virtually at its edge. If the blast had been a surface blast of the strength required to excavate the huge crater, it would have blown that car far away from the crater. That car would not be standing there. No way. The fact that the car is still standing at the edge of the crater indicates that the thrust of the explosion was upwards, as I said earlier, not sideways. This car was apparently only hit by a glancing blow from the explosion - not by its full force. And lastly, there is the plume of smoke that rose from the explosion. The color of the plume is first a light sand color, which indicates that the explosion occurred in the sand below the street of the corniche of Beirut. See: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?noframes;read=65370 The Mehlis report does not deal with any of this evidence and fails to even consider that Hariri may have been killed by an air-launched missile, a theory which I have written about since the assassination occured on February 14, 2005. See: http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/archive.cgi?noframes;read=65258 Compare the tough position taken by the Bush administration and the U.N. against Syria with their meek response to Israel's refusal to cooperate with a similar U.N. investigation of the Israeli army massacre in the Jenin refugee camp in occupied Palestine. An untold number of innocent Palestinians were killed and bulldozed in their homes by the Israeli Defense Forces in April 2002. At the end of April 2002, the Israeli government simply refused to cooperate with a UN fact-finding mission charged with visiting the devastated Palestinian refugee camp of Jenin, and warned it would try to block any visit by the team. What did the UN and US do when Ariel Sharon refused to cooperate with the "international community?" Did they call for sanctions, freezing assets, and preventing international flights from Israel? Did they discuss Israel's lack of cooperation in the Security Council? No. The UN team, which had assembled in Geneva, cancelled its scheduled flight departure, and went home. They wrote their report on the massacre of Jenin from the safety of their offices in Switzerland and New York. See: http://www.un.org/peace/jenin/ Photo: Note the upthrust pipe and car standing beside the crater. This evidence strongly suggests that a precision-guided missile hit the Hariri convoy and detonated below the street.

Green Card Lottery

Salam,
Green Card Lottery open for registration from Oct,4th - Dec 4th 2005.
Our State Department Web site for the 2007 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2007) is now open. The application submission period for DV-2007 is from 12:00PM EST (GMT -5) on October 5, 2005 to 12:00PM EST (GMT -5) on December 4, 2005. The application form will only be available for submission during this period and this period only. Applications will not be accepted through the U.S. Postal Service.
Application Instructions
Please read the DV-2007 Application Instructions carefully. Applicants may be disqualified for not completing the application form correctly or by submitting more than one application. Use the link below to view the instructions.
Note, as of November 1, 2004, there has been a change in the instructions. Click here to see the change.
Photo Validator
Before beginning the application process, you can verify that your picture complies with all requirements by clicking the link below. Photo Validator
Application Form
The application form is prepared in two parts, one for the primary applicant and one for dependents (if any). Each part must be completed correctly and completely before going to the next part. After all parts are completed, the application will be submitted to the DV-2007 Processing Center for handling. Click the link below to begin the application process.
If you would like to use an SSL-encrypted web connection, you may click the link below to continue. Please be aware that by using SSL encryption, your connection may be noticeably slower.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The BOBs ( Best Of the Blogs)

USER VOTING AND DRAWING Here are the nominees that made it into the BOBs' final round. You have until Nov. 20 to study and vote for the blogs and podcasts you think are best. For your vote to be counted you'll need to vote in at least one Best Journalistic Weblog language and all four international categories. TheBOBs jury will decide which blogs win the Jury Award honors independently of the audience prize. All the Deutsche Welle's 2005 Best of the Blogs winners will be announced on Nov. 21. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE BLOG HERE.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Condi Rice and Syrian Regime Change

NEWS YOU WON'T FIND ON CNN Condi Rice and Syrian Regime Change Could Somebody Recommend a President? By Paul Craig Roberts 10/25/05 "ICH " -- -- Someone should tell Condi Rice that the gig is up. With the Bush administration dissolving in illegalities committed by key officials in their attempts to protect the lies that they used to justify the US invasion of Iraq, the secretary of state is trying to ramp up war against Syria. Grasping a UN report that uses unreliable witnesses to implicate Syria in the assassination of a former Lebanese government official, Condi Rice told the BBC on October 23 that Syria's crime cannot be "left lying on the table. This really has to be dealt with." This is amazing for many reasons. Here is the person in charge of US diplomacy acting as if she is the secretary of war unsheathing military force. Whoever heard of an American diplomat wanting to start a war because a former Middle Eastern government official was assassinated? The UN investigator, Detlev Mehlis, has no more idea who assassinated the former official than the US knows who is responsible for assassinating the many Iraqi officials under its protection. After more than two and one-half years of war in Iraq, the US still doesn't know exactly who the enemy is that it is fighting. Yet Mehlis blames Syria for an assassination on the strength of an informer described by the German news magazine, Der Spiegal, as a convicted felon and swindler. On the basis of the word of a convicted felon and swindler, Condi Rice wants a high level UN Security Council meeting to condemn Syria so the Bush administration can bring about "regime change" in Syria. With the US department of state doing everything it can to demonize and destabilize Syria, Condi Rice's mouthpiece, Adam Ereli, declared that Syria must end attempts to destabilize its neighbors. This is the type of propaganda we were fed about Iraq. Syria is not destabilizing any country. It is all Syria can do to maintain its own stability. The US is the great Middle Eastern destabilizer. Isn't the secretary of state aware that the government of which she is a part is in dire difficulties because it went to war based on highly unreliable "intelligence" supplied by highly unreliable people? Does the secretary of state read the CIA reports? Doesn't she know that the US has created extraordinary instability in Iraq? A country that formerly had no terrorists now serves as a training ground for al Qaeda, according to the CIA. Is this the time to repeat the Iraq blunder in Syria? The American people should be terrified by the warmongering ideologues that President Bush has put in charge of his government. The greatest danger that the US faces are the fools in the Bush administration. Why is Syria being demonized? Syrian troops were part of the US coalition organized by President George Herbert Walker Bush that liberated Kuwait in 1991 from Saddam Hussein. The current head of government in Syria is a mild mannered ophthalmologist who inherited the post five years ago when his older brother was killed in a car crash. Syria has done nothing to the US and poses no threat to the US. The Syrian government is concerned about Syria becoming unhinged by schisms like the Sunni-Shi'ite schism set loose in Iraq by the incompetent Bush administration. Why does Condi Rice think the Bush administration has the right to decide who heads the Syrian government? According to news reports, the Bush administration has asked the Israeli and Italian governments to nominate a replacement for the current president of Syria. A country incapable of choosing a better president than George W. Bush has no business choosing a president for any other country. In place of aggressive interference in the internal affairs of other countries, the US needs to find a competent president for itself. Maybe we should ask the Italians who they would recommend. Paul Craig Roberts has held a number of academic appointments and has contributed to numerous scholarly publications. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. His graduate economics education was at the University of Virginia, the University of California at Berkeley, and Oxford University. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions. He can be reached at: paulcraigroberts@yahoo.com

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Any wordpressers out there?

Salam, I need help! Well, as you all know I got palforce.com and I'm trying to setup worpress on it but I didnt like one single theme, I want to know how can I mix more than one theme together. and I liked the random-image theme but when I tried to insert my own pics it didnt work. So any geeksters out there willing to help out? Thanks Peace

Monday, October 24, 2005

Haircut

Salam, Well I took the kids for a group haircut, I don't remember myself this calm when I was thier age, maybe that's a good sign :-) Peace

Saturday, October 22, 2005

So I got my own domain name

So, I got my own domain ( http://www.palforce.com) But now I dont know what to do next . lol I mean what Blog software should I use and where can I get a better tamplate and how can I tweak my tamplate? so many questions so little answers :-( Peace

Resistance Art

FRONT BACK

We are proud to dedicate the "2006 Colors from Palestine" Art WallCalendar to the memory of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra,(1920 - 1994) the pioneerPalestinian artist, novelist, poet and critic. The calendar includes12 artworks of Palestinian artists from different corners of the world. It also includes important Palestinian and religious dates. The front and back covers of the calendar are attached. You could viewand purchase the calendar and other products on our websitehttp://www.resistanceart.com.To help us in this endevour, forward this email far and wide to giveyour friends the opportunity to enjoy Colors from Palestine. Thecalendar is an excellent idea for a x-mas gift for your loved ones. We offer special rates for bulk orders. Email us for rates.

In solidarity,

Resistance Art

Friday, October 21, 2005

For those who can't stop eating in Ramadan

Here is a little help for those who can't stop eating in Rmadan :-) http://www.yabdoo.com/users/26/gallery/697_p30786.wmv Peace

Thursday, October 20, 2005

More things to do online while you are at work

According to Hitachi, mini-harddrives are the next "bling" Gauss handgun.....holyyyyy crap! Apple II cluster, why?!? Tractor beams are on the way! Cheat-sheet roundup How-to survive a freefall How-to become a lie detector I've been waiting for this sci-fi/anime technology to show up. Mazda is moving to usb keys instead of traditional locks. This is THE scariest thing I've heard about in a while The holy grail of vending machines, behold the Wonder Pizza This has to be some kind of spoof Awesome CSS demos Reverse dictionay, enought said... How-to encrypt hard drives Invader Zim screen captures for every episode How-to win an argument How-to build a generator out of a lawn mower Quake III ported to x-box Random Vin Diesel facts, "Vin Diesel has a go kart which runs off the hopes and dreams of orphans. It's very fast." Mods that allow old game console controllers to work over usb on your PC Nintendo's odd censorship over the years How-to use .htaccess How-to sanitize that nasty sponge next to your kitchen sink See how well your website grows, no seriously like a plant. How I wish the iPod Nano really turned out How-to make KVCDs How-to install OSx86 Must have free OSX apps How-to admin Linux for newbs Air powered car? Free stock photos for your everyday use Cool retro gaming watches L33t speak as a programming language! The greatest gaming easter eggs in history Ever asked yourself, "what in the hell does this song mean?" Find the answer here How-to setup Synergy for sharing a single keyboard and mouse on multiple systems. The war against the robots has begun... How-to decode 2d barcodes Your guide to dead media formats How-to make cat5e cables, for those that don't already know. I so want one of these so it and my future roomba can make little robot babies Serenity viral videos Mine hunting bees? Video: You gotta see this metal in action Video: Morphing wings Video: Lock Bumping Fun with sodium How-to modify your nerf guns Google Talk tweaks 29 healthiest foods on the planet Free software for your Mac How-to detect weak passwords on your network How-to look like a linux guru Best hacker movies International Talk Like a Pirate Day is only 18 days away! How-to bring new life to your laptop Deep ocean fish are wierd! Everything you ever wanted to know about super string theory Windows XP cmd commands MacOS over the years How-to overclock yourself! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Bruce Lee Kung-fu remixer, thanks Dynomite Monkey How-to remove you laptop lcd screen Scientist invent new kind of carbon stronger than diamonds Real-time HTML editor, this is really useful! How-to mod your X-Box in 10 minutes Mutant jellyfish? The list for all your IP blocking needs "I would like a replacement heart shot please" Geek tatoos! Play chess against a computer and watch it think about moves to make How-to stay fit if you're a geek If Vi were made by Microsoft Finally a scientific way to be lazy! w00t! irDA get's a speed boost! Practical force fields?, thanks Catonic Thanks Strages

3 more

More testing :-)

27 Detainee Homicides in US Custody

Thought you would be interested—this is pretty disturbing. I don't know if you saw the Reuters article filed this afternoon documenting the flaws and inadequacies in the US military investigations of 27 suspected and confirmed deaths in US custody overseas. This was based on a report by the lawyers at Human Rights First. The details are staggering – evidence, i.e., a bag of body parts, left on an airport tarmac that exploded from the heat and investigations so vague that the date of death falls within a 5-month span. http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticleSearch.aspx?storyID=250957+19-Oct-2005+RTRS&srch=dunham There are primary source documents that reveal the blatant inadequacy of the government’s response to these deaths in U.S. custody: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/etn/dic/dic_memos.htm. This is of critical relevance given the White House’s and House of Representatives' attempts to kill or water down the McCain Anti-Torture Amendment (in negotiations next week). Please consider letting your readers know of this important and troubling information. Thanks, Amelia Field EndTortureNow.org Human Rights First Media Release www.humanrightsfirst.org Contact: Daedre Levine, (212) 845-5260, levined@humanrightsfirst.org Twenty-Seven Detainee Homicides in U.S. Custody Lax Policies and Inadequate Investigations Create Culture of Impunity, Human Rights First Research Shows NEW YORK, NY – More than 100 detainees have died in U.S. custody since 2002, Human Rights First research in a soon to be released report indicates, including 27 cases the Army has to date identified as suspected or confirmed homicides, and at least seven cases in which detainees were tortured to death. The findings come as chairmen and ranking members of a House/Senate Conference Committee are scheduled to meet next week to determine whether to include in a defense appropriations bill an amendment setting clear rules for U.S. interrogation policy to prohibit abusive treatment (see list of conference committee members at http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/us_law/etn/misc/conf_com.htm.) New analysis by Human Rights First of dozens of deaths in U.S. custody reveals a pattern of grossly inadequate and flawed investigations – compromising the United States’ ability to hold individual wrongdoers accountable. The investigations have been flawed in various ways. (Case examples involving each of these flaws given at the end of this document; references available on request): Criminal investigators have failed to interview key witnesses, collect useable evidence, or maintain evidence that could be used for any subsequent prosecution; Record keeping has been grossly inadequate, further undermining chances for prosecution; Overlapping criminal and administrative investigations instigated by the military have interfered with each other, and compromised chances for accountability; Commanders have repeatedly failed to report deaths of detainees in the custody of their command, reported the deaths only after a period of days and sometimes weeks, launched serious investigations only after a case became publicly known, or actively interfered in efforts to pursue investigations. Of the investigative failures, Brigadier General David R. Irvine, U.S. Army (Ret.) commented: “There is an old Army aphorism: the unit does what the commander checks. If any commander actually cared that Geneva was followed, you can be sure that it would have been followed -- and that goes right up the chain of command.” He continued: “If rigorous adherence to humane treatment had been deemed important, someone wearing stars would have required a thorough, impartial investigation of every death of a detainee.” Deborah Pearlstein, U.S. Law and Security Program Director at Human Rights First, agreed: “These flawed inquiries are part of the larger effects of sending troops into the field with unlawful guidance on interrogations and detention or no guidance at all, and without knowledge of the effects of allowing incidents of wrongdoing to pass with relative impunity. Those engaged on the front lines every day in the fight against terror need and deserve a clearer message from command about what American leadership really means.” On October 5, 2005, the Senate passed by a 90-9 vote an amendment, sponsored by Senator John McCain and other senior Republicans, that would make the Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogations binding policy for all those in military custody. The measure would also reinforce the ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees, which the Administration now asserts does not apply to U.S. intelligence agencies or to U.S. actions abroad. The House version of the massive military spending bill does not contain the McCain provision. House and Senate negotiators meet this week to reconcile differences between the two versions of the bill. Among examples of the investigative failures highlighted above: Criminal investigators failed to interview key witnesses, collect useable evidence, or maintain evidence that could be used for any subsequent prosecution. Abu Malik Kenami (Abdureda Lafta Abdul Kareem), a 43-year-old Iraqi man, died on December 9, 2003, in an American detention facility in Mosul, Iraq. He had been captured four days earlier, and according to the soldiers who interrogated him upon his arrival, he seemed to be in good health and did not suffer from any pre-existing medical conditions. On the night of December 8, soldiers punished Kenami for talking by forcing him to perform “up and downs” – an exercise in which he was required to continually stand then sit, used as a disciplinary tool by U.S. forces in Iraq – several times for periods of up to twenty minutes. Kenami had been subjected repeatedly to “up and downs” during his detention. Soldiers then flexicuffed his hands behind his back, and covered his head with a sandbag – a hood. Kenami was then ordered to lie down between detainees in his overcrowded cell (built for 30 prisoners, at that time it housed 66). When a guard attempted to rouse the prisoners the next morning, Kenami, still bound and hooded, was dead. The Army’s initial criminal investigations into Kenami’s death could not determine the cause of death without an autopsy. It was only months later, after the revelations from Abu Ghraib, that the Army reopened many cases of deaths in custody to review, that it became clear how troubling the original criminal investigation had been. In the Army’s own words from the review, released through FOIA requests, “it was weak in Thoroughness and Timeliness.” In addition to the lack of autopsy, the review determined that important interviews were not conducted of the interrogators, medic, or detainees present at the scene of the death, and that key details were omitted from the report. According to the Army’s review, the original investigation file “[did] not mention the presence, or lack of, signs of a struggle, or of blood or body fluids,” “the crime scene sketch… [did] not document where guard personnel found the deceased,” and “records of medical treatment of the deceased were not collected and reviewed.” Of note, the Army’s original administrative investigation had recommended that an Iraqi physician be brought in to treat the detainees, noting that among other benefits, “it would [also] decrease the perception of our involvement or cover-up in events like these.” The cause of Kenami’s death remains officially undetermined. No punitive or disciplinary action has been taken. Record keeping was grossly inadequate, often making accountability impossible. All that is known about Hadi Abdul Hussain Hasson al-Zubaidy (Hasson) is his name, his identification number and the fact that he died in Iraq, at Camp Bucca, some time between April and September 2003. Army investigators became aware of his death approximately one year after it happened, and only after the Army reviewed its detainee records following the Abu Ghraib scandal. Despite subsequent attempts to determine what happened to Hasson – including when and how he died – investigators were only able to determine that Hasson had been treated on board a U.S. Navy hospital ship. Human Rights First submitted a FOIA request to the Department of Defense for any Naval records relating to Hasson’s treatment – one of the sources investigators do not appear to have tapped; that request remains pending. Investigators have now closed the Hasson case without being able to determine whether his death was due to natural causes or homicide. The investigators’ report notes that inadequate record-keeping made it impossible for them to learn anything more. A U.S. Mortuary Affairs officer told an investigator that “the documentation on deceased Detainees was very limited . . . the majority of the time prior to earlier this year [2004], when the Mortuary received the remains of a deceased Detainee they would only know that the deceased was a detainee, and would not have any other info on the remains, so they would have a list of the remains as unknown John Doe.” Overlapping criminal and administrative investigations instigated by the military interfered with each other, compromising chances for accountability. Obeed Hethere Radad was shot to death on September 11, 2003 in his detention cell in an American forward operating base in Tikrit, Iraq. Radad’s death was not reported for four days. An internal Army review (again, prompted by renewed scrutiny following the revelations of Abu Ghraib) of the resulting criminal and administrative investigations found that the delay prevented the recovery of evidence that would have been needed in any subsequent prosecution: neither the bullet nor the gun was recovered, and no autopsy was conducted. Army Regulations contain scores of pages of detailed procedures on the proper handling and storage of physical evidence. Prior to the conclusion of the criminal investigation, the soldier accused in the shooting of Radad, Specialist Juba Martino-Poole, sought a military discharge in lieu of a court-martial for manslaughter. Without waiting for criminal investigative agents to conclude their investigation and forward their findings, the suspected soldier’s commander approved the request for discharge. A little more than a week later, criminal investigators found probable cause to charge the soldier who shot Radad with murder. Post-Abu Ghraib reviewers were led to decide against reopening the investigation; Martino-Poole had already been discharged. Martino-Poole later accused his commanders of wanting to avoid disclosure of the lax security practices at the base – practices that would likely have come to light in a court-martial proceeding. Commanders repeatedly failed to report deaths of detainees in the custody of their command, reported the deaths only after a period of days and sometimes weeks, launched serious investigations only after a case became publicly known, or actively interfered in efforts to pursue investigations. In one of the more well-known cases, Mohammad Munim al-Izmerly, a 65-year-old chemical scientist, was detained at the Camp Cropper high value detainee facility in April 2003; his family was allowed to visit him once. Within a few weeks of their visit in January 2004, al-Izmerly was dead. U.S. forces retained al-Izmerly’s body for 17 days after his death, and did not inform Army criminal investigators that al-Izmerly had died in U.S. custody until after his body was released. The family only learned of his death after U.S. forces delivered al-Izmerly’s body to an Iraqi hospital, accompanied by a death certificate stating that al-Izmerly had died of a “sudden brainstem compression,” without any explanation of its cause. The family asked the director of Baghdad hospital’s forensic department to autopsy Al-Izmerly’s body; according to press reports, the autopsy found that Izmerly died from a “sudden hit to the back of his head” and that the cause of the death was blunt trauma. The forensic department director told the press that al-Izmerly “died from a massive blow to the head. We don’t disagree with the coalition’s report, but it doesn’t explain how he got his injuries in the first place.” The initial, inconclusive investigation into the case was closed, and only appears to have been reopened after press accounts of al-Izmerly’s death. The Army Criminal Investigation Command listing for al-Izmerly’s death is “undetermined cause,” because the body was released and no U.S. autopsy was performed. The family reportedly filed a wrongful death claim for $10,000, but the Army dismissed it, saying the family had presented no evidence of wrongdoing by U.S. personnel. The re-opened investigation into al-Izmerly’s death remains pending; to date, no charges are reported to have been brought. - 30 - Human Rights First is a leading human rights advocacy organization based in New York City and Washington, DC. Since 1978, we have worked in the U.S. and abroad to create a secure and humane world –advancing justice, human dignity, and respect for the rule of law. All of our activities are supported by private contributions. We accept no government funds. Visit our web site: www.humanrightsfirst.org Human Rights First 333 Seventh Ave., 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001 Tel: (212) 845-5200 Fax: (212) 845-5299 www.humanrightsfirst.org

2 Tips

Salam, Here are the 2 Tips I learned today the hard way. Tip #1 : Never go grocery shopping while you are fasting. Tip #2 : When renting a movie, usually the number of copies of that movie determine how good it is, if there is only one copy and the movie cover looks real good, it ain't good. Now I can go to sleep that I have this off my chest. Peace

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

More Quickes to waste time at work.

Man generates 40,000 volts of static while walking! German site(translated via babelfish) with a lot of pictures of various UAVs Tiny inty bittorrent client Tiny tiny SQL server Convert urls to BMP files quick and easy Lots of visual hacking tutorials A must have if you have an iPod, the iPod Bartender Measuring areas using Google Maps Light transmitting concrete, seriously wiggy stuff. Light has officially been stopped for over a second Hackers make Lego Digital Designer more efficient, interesting story. World's smallest mobile robot Hands down the best way to instant message online! Real-time map of where spam is coming from Rational Trig...it's new and it's better Interesting article on why Microsoft's Cheif IE developer switched to Firefox, as well as a few critiques of firefox itself. Lots of bluetooth hacking software Scientist find real Jaguar Shark! Steve Zissou already on the way. Large list of the most popular livecd distros Is this the answer to all our fuel needs? Wikipedia + Google Maps = Placeopedia How-to use Google How-to setup an Asterisk answering machine USB memory stick/VOIP phone An odd proposal for having 28 hour days instead of 24 hour days Liquid Sculptures How-to harden Windows XP I gotta get me one of these Oh noes! Spider-goats! Play Gameboy roms on your iPod! How-to make an automated sentry gun If you're afraid of spiders, DO NOT click this link. Water is WIERD May we all be blessed by his noodly appendage....just like the people of this game How-to power a bike using a drill Behold, a bluetooth access point! Legal revenge against snail mail spam Programming language popularity visualized like the stock exchange How-to make ball lightning Sameul Adams is making a 25% beer?!? Play classis arcade games online to your hears content How-to bypass the automated phone systems of most major companies LiveCD router Get your Adult Swim fix online! Everything you ever wanted to know about those little things that float across your field of vision Paper tanks origami! Gorillaz to start holographic tour in 2007 Lemmings done DHTML, thanks Catonic How-to make people look old in Photoshop How-to make people look beautiful in Photoshop Calculate how much your pirated stash is worth, me = $16489.95 rough estimate This man sold his soul to the devil to draw things on sidewalks with chalk How-to throw cards This man sold his soul to the devil in order to stack playing cards Google Blog Search, and yes yours truly is listed. How-to embed a wifi detector in your backpack shoulder straps How-to hack network printers Best cubicle privacy ever! Thanks Catonic Thanks to Strages

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

"PARADISE NOW" Movie

http://wip.warnerbros.com/paradisenow/ "PARADISE NOW" is the story of two young Palestinian men as they embark upon what may be the last 48 hours of their lives. On a typical day in the West Bank city of Nablus, where daily life grinds on amidst crushing poverty and the occasional rocket blast, we meet two childhood best friends, Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who pass time drinking tea, smoking a hookah, and working dead-end menial jobs as auto mechanics. Saïd's day takes a turn for the better when a beautiful young woman named Suha (Lubna Azabal) brings her car in for repairs. From their spirited interaction, it is apparent that there is a budding romance growing between them. Saïd is approached by middle-aged Jamal (Amer Hlehel), a point man for an unnamed Palestinian organization, who informs Saïd that he and Khaled have been chosen to carry out a strike in Tel Aviv. They have been chosen for this mission as a team, because each had expressed a wish that if either is to die a martyr, the other would want to die alongside his best friend. Saïd and Khaled have been preparing for this moment for most of their lives. They spend a last night at home -- although they must keep their impending mission secret even from their families. During the night Saïd sneaks off to see Suha one last time. Suha's moderate views, having been educated in Europe, and Saïd's burgeoning conflicted conscience cause him to stop short of explaining why he has come to say good-bye. The following day, Saïd and Khaled are lead to a hole in the fence that surrounds Nablus, where they are to meet a driver who will take them to Tel Aviv. But here the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated. "PARADISE NOW" follows two Palestinian childhood friends who have been recruited for a strike on Tel Aviv and focuses on their last days together. When they are intercepted at the Israeli border and separated from their handlers, a young woman who discovers their plan causes them to reconsider their actions.
Winner of multiple prizes at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, and invited to the 2005 Telluride Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, the film was written by Hany Abu-Assad ("Ford Transit," "Rana's Wedding") & Bero Beyer and directed by Abu-Assad, and stars Kais Nashef, Ali Suliman, Lubna Azabal. "PARADISE NOW" is a production of Augustus Film with Lama Films, Razor Film, Lumen Films, Arte France Cinema, Hazazah Film and produced with the support of Nederlands Fonds Voor De Film, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Eurimages, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, I2I Preparatory Action of the European Community and World Cinema Fund. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Q&A with director Hany Abu-Assad Where did the idea for the film come from? Every day in the newspapers we hear of these attacks. It is such an extreme act that I began to think, like everyone, how could someone do that - what could drive them to it? I realized that we never hear the whole story. How could they justify this? Not only to their families but also to themselves. However you may feel, there is a reason. How did you research the subject? I studied the interrogation transcripts of suicide bombers who had failed; I read Israeli official reports; I spoke to people who personally knew bombers who died -- the friends and families and mothers. What became clear was that none of the stories were the same. There are also a good number of producing entities involved - could you give a rough chronology of when they came on board? Bero Beyer is the Dutch producer, of course from the beginning. The first co-producer on board was Lama Production's Amir Harel from Tel Aviv who produced "Walk on Water, " "Yossi and Jagger." "Ford Transit" was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2003, and it caught the eye of German producer Roman Paul from the Berlin-based Razor Film. Then the Paris-based Celluloid Dreams and Lumen Films came on board. During the Berlin Film Festival of 2003, we all met: a Palestinian director and a Dutch, two Germans, an Israeli and a French Producer. Exactly two years later, the film played at Berlin (2005). How was your crew assembled? How would you describe the group? The crew consisted of people from Palestine, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium, Israel and UK. We had Palestinian local crew and cast of about 50 people, a German crew of about 14 people, 4 French people, including of course the cameraman Antoine Heberlé, 3 Dutch people, the actress who plays Suha, Lubna Azabal, is a Belgian citizen, a British crewmember, and for the shoot in Tel Aviv, we hired about 10 additional Israeli crewmembers. How did you cast the three leads? In selecting them, how did these actors embody what you were looking for? We had many casting sessions. The first session was more like a job interview with about 200 actors. I tried to figure out their personality and if they had charisma or presence. The actors I found close to the characters, I invited back to work with some scenes. The ones that were able to add an extra layer to the characters, were the actors I chose. To finalize my decision, I had them acting together to see if they fit together on screen. You shot in Nablus, Nazareth and Tel Aviv. How many days in each? We had 3 months of pre-production in Nablus, during which the local cast and crew had to be found and sets and locations had to be found and/or built. Also the main actors were brought in early to work as actual mechanics in Nablus in preparation. We shot in Nablus for 25 days, then had to move. In Nazareth we shot another 15 days - mostly interiors and car scenes, but also The New Headquarter where Khaled is brought with Abu-Karem, and where they are all brought after the cemetery; Said and Suha in the car, talking about his father; the nighttime cemetery shot; Said in the restroom wiping off the sweat from under the belt; Said in the cab talking about water filters; the Othman checkpoint with many extras; and the olive grove. Some sets had to be built to match with the original sets in Nablus, such as the exterior of Said's house (the original was in an actual refugee camp) and the exterior of Khaled's house (where Said comes asking for Khaled). Our production designer Olivier Meidinger did a tremendous job and did it quickly, to build those on the spot. We finished with 2 1/2 days shooting in Tel Aviv. Did you and your crew have a sort of contingency plan in place for safety while shooting? What could you do to put people at ease with the circumstances under which they would be shooting? We didn't have a watertight plan, because such a thing is impossible in Nablus, but we had a security department. They advised us when and where to shoot. We were lucky to have some very good and courageous people working with us, who made sure we knew as much as was possible and could react as best as possible. From the moment it got dicey, all the cast and crew were briefed as much as possible. They all had the feeling they were dealing with a film worth being brave for. It was kind of insane to shoot a film there. Every day we had some sort of trouble. Both the Israelis and Palestinians were used to news crews of a few people. But we didn't have a small crew that could shoot film and run. There were 70 people and 30 vehicles, making it impossible to run and hide. Some Palestinians thought we were making a film against the Palestinians. And some Palestinians supported the film because they thought we were fighting for freedom and democracy. One group though, thought the film was not presenting the suicide bombers in a good light and came to us with guns and asked us to stop. Not one day went by without our having to stop filming. We would stop and wait until the firing stopped and then start again. Describe the difficulties involved in shooting in Nablus. To get into the area you have to get friendly with the Israeli army, to survive inside the area you have to work with the Palestinians. Immediately, it is a difficult task. To many Palestinians, we were instantly suspicious; how did we get in with so many people and so much material? Everybody wanted to read our script and many, not understanding what we were trying to do, drew different conclusions. In Nablus, the Israeli Army invades the city almost everyday to arrest what they call the 'Wanted' Palestinians. At day-break the invasion starts with tanks rolling in, gunshots and rocket attacks and in the evening there is a curfew. We had to report our whereabouts to these armed Palestinian factions behind the backs of the Israeli Army, without the Israeli Army knowing we were in contact with the Palestinians, because getting in and out of Nablus was difficult enough as it was. On top of this, the rivalry between Palestinian factions meant approval from one faction and meant definite disapproval from the other. The rumor that we were doing something that was anti-suicide bombers was spreading fast, and one faction kidnapped our local location manager, Hassan Titi, and demanded that we leave Nablus. That day there was an Israeli missile attack on a nearby car, and gunmen ordered us to leave, which was the last straw for six of our European crew members. They left and I don't blame them. They did the right thing. Life is more important than a film. We were too close to the destruction and the situation was getting worse. Most of the real danger was from the missiles. When we heard shooting, we could go somewhere else, but you don't see missiles coming. That is much more scary. For all these reason we had to stop the shooting and I had a few dilemmas to deal with: How do I get my location manager back, how can I stay friendly with the various Palestinian factions without the Israelis knowing about it and seeing me as one of them, risking a rocket attack? Where do I find six professional crew members on such short notice, whom I have to recruit by telling the reason why the others left? I decided to contact Prime Minister Yasser Arafat, although I'd never met him. I knew for a fact that Arafat had never visited a cinema, however, he did help us obtain the release of our location manager who was returned two hours later. But I was torn with a new dilemma. Should we stay in Nablus or should we go? If we left, we would justify the rumors that we were traitors. That would leave Hassan and the rest of our local crew who we would have to leave behind, as well as the factions that were on our side, in big trouble. If we stayed, we would have to continue working in a war zone and stand up against the rival factions. I decided to stay, it seemed the only option, but it created another dilemma; my producer Bero Beyer, wanted to leave. After a long fight I suggested the following to Bero: I would start a campaign in town to stop the rumors, without upsetting the Army. In the meantime, the local and international journalists were about to turn Hassan's kidnapping into world news. We asked them to hold, because we were afraid of what that might do. The rival faction started a counter campaign. They were handing out pamphlets saying that we were an American/Spanish conspiracy. So we were outlawed. It seemed that with every step in the right direction, we were pushed back two steps. Every plan we made to resume the shoot got torpedoed. After three weeks at a standstill, we resumed working again. I will save you the details of the financial troubles we got ourselves into. Six new crew members were flown in and I continued, paranoid and under great stress, with my original plan: directing a movie, dealing with actors, crew and Mise en Scene. Five days later, a land mine exploded 300 meters away from the set. We were running towards it; three young men died in the area we were shooting the night before, and the lead actress, Lubna Azabal, fainted. Though we wanted to continue filming in Nablus for authenticity and continuity, we felt we had no other choice but to leave. We decided to move the set to my birth city Nazareth and leave Nablus for good. We took these ridiculous risks to make sure the film would be as close to reality as possible and to have an authentic look and feel. I understand why the Palestinian crew might do this, but I have wondered why the foreign crew would risk their lives. It would have been quicker and easier to shoot digitally. Why did you make the film on 35mm? It was a way of creating a distinction from the news footage that is on our television screens every day. While the film looks realistic, naturalistic, it is still a film and tells a story. On the one hand, the film is fiction and at the same time you want to it to ring true. A surprising moment in the film is the shooting of the martyr videos - was there any particular inspiration for the humor and pathos in that scene? The scene catches the heart of the film's idea by simultaneously breaking down the martyrdom-heroism as well as the monster-evil and making it human. And humans are often quite banal, but also funny and emotional. In real life there often is comedy in the most tragic moments. I shot the scene in a real location. This was one of the film's concepts; putting actors in the real surroundings in order to create a moment of truth with the actor. When Ali Suliman stands where real martyrs also stand giving their speech, he was so nervous there was no need to act anymore. I was also nervous, because all around us, real organizers of these kind of attacks were watching. I was very afraid they would get angry about the comedy in the scene. The entire cast and crew were nervous. By the end of Take One, where Ali makes the speech, one of the organizers stopped us. I thought: now it is over. But he just wanted to show Ali how to hold his gun correctly. There was no protest over the humor at all. Later I realized that in reality things like this happen. It wasn't irregular to them. By the way, Ali's gun was theirs. We borrowed it. When Ali held it, knowing that this gun was used daily to aim at the Israeli Army, it had quite an impact on him. When you finished production, how did you feel? After we finished, François Perrault-Alix, the gaffer, said to me: "So much has happened; I don't even know where to start when I get back to France. Usually I'll have a few good stories after a shoot that will last a while in the local pub, but now...the amount of stories I have to tell will last for the next three years, but I don't know where to start." And that's how I feel. I look at my journal and realize there were so many stories happening every day and all worth telling. We were all, given all that had happened, exhausted and euphoric. Are you anticipating that Israeli or Jewish groups might find the film sympathetic to suicide bombers? I understand that it will be upsetting to some that I have given a human face to the suicide bombers; I am also very critical of the suicide bombers, as well. *** The film is simply meant to open a discussion, hopefully, a meaningful discussion, about the real issues at hand. I hope that the film will succeed in stimulating thought. If you see the film, it's fairly obvious that it does not condone the taking of lives. In my experience, with the film since it screened earlier this year in Berlin, much of the talk and protest comes from the idea of the film and not necessarily the film itself. The full weight and complexity of the situation is impossible to show on film. No one side can claim a moral stance because taking any life is not a moral action. The entire situation is outside of what we can call morality. If we didn't believe that we were making something meaningful, that could be part of a larger dialogue, we wouldn't have gambled our lives in Nablus.
* US Release Date: October 28, 2005 (NY, LA) wider November 18
* Read Comments by people who have seen this movie HERE.
* CheckHERE to see if it showing at your city.
Peace

Office Bricolage

Bricolage - (noun) Something made or put together using whatever materials happen to be available. Check it out. Thanks to Strages

COMICS!!!

Source: Strages

When Rita meets Bush

Check it out Source: Strages

Bored

Quickies #87 Everything you ever wanted to know about the "@" symbol. Encyclopedia-o-Mythbusters-episodes How-to make your own Wolverine claws How-to setup a Linux terminal server in 45 minutes 100 most often misspelled words Wacky Japanese vending machines More strange vending machines Live Lobster vending machine! Behold! The french frie vending machine Best bus stop advertising ever! PHP security guide New airless spare tire Interactive overview of a Japanese archology design How-to create a bootable Windows 2000/XP/2003 cd in Nero 6 How-to send text messages via e-mail to most major cell providers Everything you ever wanted to know about TCP/IP Ever wanted to know what the largest living organisms on earth are/were? Find out here. Now this is some kick ass geek art Must have apps for Mac OSX Apparently a cure for cancer was found back in the 50s Great tool for changing text into an image to hide information from packet sniffers. USB tv tuner that fits in your pocket! Whoever said phone phreaking was dead.... How Bill Gates first heard about Linux Win32 GNU utilities Student arrested for threatening school with zombie invasion?!? Viral batteries just around the corner How-to modify Google's Secure VPN client to connect to other networks Cheat-sheet: Firefox shortcuts How-to use your existing house phone lines for VOIP How cephalopod "beaks" work without a skeletal structure How-to make your windows directory smaller How-to modify a CVS disposable digital video cam to do night vision Google's Recruiting Video Ever seen the movie Final Cut? Here's a lo-tech version of that technology Find out what area a zipcode covers using Google Maps! How-to build a telephone recording circuit from an old modem How-to tie a necktie How-to overclock your Mac Mini Pirate treasure found! Live giant squid photographed! How-to get out of quicksand Every Mad magazine cover Sweet sweet cube of gaming goodness! How-to spoof GPS Find your next lan party via Google Maps The injet printer for graffiti artists Now this is an original way to wear glasses Giant-list-o-wardriving-tools AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sledge hammer operated keyboard with video! Code from the hit series Lost has been decoded! Ithica has been found! Best laptop wallpaper ever PDF: How-to make an origami Yoda How-to get your money's worth out of Best Buy Animated desktops MIT's $100 laptop concept Default passwords for just about anything Albert Einstein quotes Unix historical timeline, very cool Plant based plastic Giant list of made up words from The Simpsons I have got to get me one of these Sparknotes: C++ ReactOS is starting to look rather nice Gallery of old computers How-to write Firefox extensions 10 foods you should NEVER eat! How trackbacks work Ahahaha Geek Your Mom jokes Scientist slow down laser, write data to it, then send it on it's way. Optical routing can't be far off! How-to decode US driver's license numbers Surface is just a show right.... Why does HDTV rock? Because you can do stuff like this How-to setup keyless entry to your home using your cellphone How-to overclock an Linksys NSLU2 How-to find the closest ebay seller using Google Maps Source: Strages

Snoop, Xzibit and Dr. Dre all praise the Palestinian-American freak of beats

The Mad Science of Fredwreck
Snoop, Xzibit and Dr. Dre all praise the Palestinian-American freak of beats
Thirty-two-year-old Farid Nassar was born and raised in Flint, Michigan (the region with the largest Arab community in the U.S.), to Palestinian parents who came to the U.S. after the Six Day War of 1967. The Nassar family moved to San Jose, California, when Fred was 11, after his father, who worked for General Motors, hurt his back. Fredwreck has helped Snoop learn about the Palestinian cause. Says Fredwreck, “He calls me on tour: ‘Hey, cuz, what does this mean when muthafuckers going up to the Temple Mount, what is that shit all about, cuz, why they be tripping?’ or he’ll be like, ‘Why they building a wall around y’alls people’s shit. That’s fucked up, cuz.’ ” When Snoop asked about suicide bombers, Fredwreck explained, “They don’t got weapons; if someone pushes you back to the wall, all you got to fight with is yourself. If muthafuckers came to Long Beach and took Long Beach, and kicked your mama from her house and said you can’t leave your house at 5, because there is a checkpoint, and when you go from Long Beach to Compton to visit your auntie, you gotta go through 25 checkpoints, you gonna get turned away, get your ass beat, or get shot and killed because you were considered a terrorist, you be fighting back too, dog.”
You can read about his interview HERE.
OR
Check out his site HERE.

LEAVE FREDWRECK FEEDBACK AT: fredwreckLA@gmail.com Thanks to Tata Botata for the hookup. Peace

__________________________________________________________________

I sent him this email:

One question, did you check out the Palestinaian rappers movement inside Palestine?Here's a list of some of their songs. Right click and select Save as to download. By the way (DAM stands for Da Arab Mc's not Blood as I initially thought) 1- Slingshot A Hip Hop Documentary (Trailer) ( Windows Media Quicktime)2- MBS + DAM – Boomerang3- DAM - Meen Erhabe? (Who's the terrorist)4- DAM - ANA EW INTI5- DAM - BORN HERE (ARABIC VERSION)6- DAM – BORN HERE VIDEO (A MUST SEE)7 - IRON SHEIK -OLIVE TREES8 - IRON SHEIK - THE TALE OF THREE MUHAMMEDS (A MUST) For More Visit: Iron Sheik, DAM, Slingshot Salam for now,

Free Palestine,

Khaledhttp://palforce.blogspot.com

________________________________

Here is his reply:

Fredwreck to me

More options 5:35 am (1½ hours ago) Right on thanks alot for takin the time to leave feedback.. yea iveheard of all of them, ive actually sent them some beats on mp3 peace

Monday, October 17, 2005

شرطي يمني يوقف صالح لمخالفته أنظمة المرور

Source: elaph.com شرطي يمني يوقف صالح لمخالفته أنظمة المرور GMT 13:15:00 2005 الأحد 16 أكتوبر . أماني الصوفي -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- أماني الصوفي من صنعاء : طلب الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح من وزارة الداخلية إحضار احد الجنود الذي ذكره بالاسم ومقر عمله في إحدى التقاطعات العامة بصنعاء وقام بتكريمه في مكتبه الخاص لأنه استوقفه أمس في إحدى الإشارات المرورية حينما كان الرئيس صالح يقل سيارته الخاصة ومعه رئيس مجلس الشورى دون الموكب الرئاسي المعروف ولان سيارة صالح لا تحمل أرقاماً معدنية فقد تقدم إليه الشرطي وطلب منه أن يتبعه إلى إدارة المرور دون أن يعرف انه الرئيس صالح لأنه كان ملثماً كعادته في جولاته التفقدية التي يقوم بها في صنعاء. وبعد أن احتد النقاش بين الشرطي وصاحب السيارة المخالفة للقواعد المرورية والذي كان متلثماً كعادته عندما يتجول منفرداً لاحترازات أمنية تفاجأ أن الشخص الذي يتحدث معه هو الرئيس علي عبد الله صالح وليس شخصاً آخر كما كان يعتقد ، فتلعثم الجندي وشعر بنوع من الاضطراب والارتباك لحظتها وهو أمام رئيس الجمهورية ، لكن الرئيس شجعه وحثه على مواصلة أداء واجبه ، مشيداً به وبيقظته في أداء الواجب وحثه على المزيد من اليقظة في أداء مهامه لخدمة الأمن والنظام والقانون وليكون قدوة لزملائه في أداء الواجب.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Testting buttons

Rachel Corrie

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1587540,00.html Guardian October 8, 2005 Rachel was bulldozed to death, but her words are a spur to action It is disturbing to see our daughter played on stage, but it drives home the impact she has had since her killing in Gaza By Cindy and Craig Corrie Saturday When our daughter Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli bulldozer in the Gaza strip on March 16 2003, an immediate impulse was to get her words out to the world. She had been working in Rafah with a nonviolent resistance organisation, the International Solidarity Movement, trying to stop the demolition of Palestinian homes and wells. Her emails home had had a powerful impact on our family, making us think about the situation in the Middle East in ways we had never done before. Without a direct connection to Israel and Palestine, we had not understood the devastating nature of the Palestinians' situation. Coming from the US, our allegiance and empathy had always been with the people of Israel. After Rachel died we realised that her words were having a similar effect on others whose lives were being changed, as ours have been - not just by Rachel's death, but by the window her writing provided on the Palestinian experience and by her call to action. Earlier this year, when a play created entirely from Rachel's emails and journals first opened in London, we saw in a very immediate way the impact that Rachel's words can have on others. Theatre can reach people in a different and deeper place than reading a news article or listening to a speech: there is an emotional aspect that for some people can be more long-lasting and motivating. Theatre humanises; all art humanises. It takes us away from the merely logical and rational. In the Israel- Palestine conflict there is often a very logical calculus of death and war - and you must step out of the constructs of that logic in order to construct a logic for peace. The play, My Name Is Rachel Corrie, is not just about how Rachel died, even if that is why she is known and remembered. It also illuminates her humanity, tracing her evolution from typical teenage self-exploration through to her search for a political voice. The play includes some of her writing that might be considered uncomplimentary to us, and even to her. Far better that, though, than being a symbol of one dimension. It is disconcerting, but also comforting, to watch an actor who looks much like Rachel - Megan Dodds - play our daughter on stage. In the opening scene, when Rachel awakens in her messy bedroom, the resemblance is almost too much. But Megan lives Rachel's words in ways that are sometimes familiar but also sometimes surprising, so that we learn from her what Rachel may have been thinking. At several points in the play, Megan enacts receiving emails from us - real emails that we actually sent to Rachel. We had never before imagined our daughter's reactions to receiving our messages until we saw them on stage. Rachel was a real human being. Sometimes, when people idealise her, we feel vulnerable for her. Knowing the complete human being, would they feel the same? Through My Name is Rachel Corrie, people can know a more complete Rachel. Clearly, our daughter has become a positive symbol for people. Her story and her words seem to motivate others to do something, not just sit and talk about the world's situation in their living rooms and feel unhappy. The weekend after Rachel was killed, we discussed with old friends what we should do. We needed to find a response. In some ways we may have been more fortunate than other parents who have lost children, for the response in our situation was apparent. With her efforts to educate and to build permanent connections with Palestinians in Rafah, Rachel provided us with a path. In an email from Rachel to her friend Todd, she tells him 10 times over that he must come to Gaza. "Come here!", she repeats over and over. That is what Rachel would have wanted us to do, too: to try to carry on what she started. We recently spent time in the US with members of the family who were behind the wall of the home Rachel stood to protect. For a month we ate, played and travelled with 15-month-old Sama. What future does she have, living in what now amounts to a mass prison in Gaza? The recent disengagement may provide some relief for Gazans at the most obvious level. But it is hard not to contrast the media coverage afforded to the Israeli settlers' leaving, with that given to the many Palestinian families who have lost their homes to demolition in Gaza. What has been happening in the West Bank under cover of the disengagement - the building of the wall and the expansion of settlements - is also very worrying. And when the Israeli prime minister's close aide Dov Weisglass said that the real intent of the Gaza disengagement was to place the peace process in formaldehyde, we have to take him at his word. We must keep insisting on a peace process and work towards a viable Palestinian state that will benefit Palestinians, Israelis and the rest of the world. Meanwhile, we are still asking our government for a US- led investigation into Rachel's killing. The US state department is on record saying that the report of the Israeli military police does not reflect an investigation that was "thorough, credible and transparent", despite that being promised to President Bush by Ariel Sharon. In March we initiated a lawsuit against the Israel Defence Force and the government of Israel, to seek justice for Rachel and also information. We still would like to know what happened on March 16 2003, and why the international eyewitness reports differ so radically from the statements of the soldiers involved. Unfortunately, the Israeli parliament, counter to international law, has passed retroactive legislation making it impossible for most Palestinians and others to file suit against the IDF for injury that occurred in the occupied territories after September 2000. In the US we have taken legal action against Caterpillar Inc, which manufactured the D-9R bulldozer which killed Rachel. Under existing US law, corporations can be, and are being, held responsible when they knowingly continue to provide goods and services that are used in a pattern of human-rights violations. The month before she was killed, Rachel wrote the following in an email to us: "I look forward to seeing more and more people willing to resist the direction the world is moving in, a direction where our personal experiences are irrelevant, that we are defective, that our communities are not important, that we are powerless, that our future is determined, and that the highest level of humanity is expressed through what we choose to buy at the mall." Action has already flowed from her words. . My Name Is Rachel Corrie is at the Royal Court Theatre in London from October 11 to 29. Box office 020 7565 5000 rachelsmessage@the-corries.com Guardian Unlimited (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2005

Check out ROJO!!

Take the Rojo tours! Rojo means "RSS with mojo" and in this spirit our company is dedicated to providing the best RSS feed reader around so that busy people can manage and read content as efficiently as possible. This is what we are dedicated to providing. This is what we are passionate about. To experience Rojo for yourself, visit www.rojo.com and create your account (It's FREE!). Rojo is entirely web-based, you won't need to download any software. If you want to find out more, please take one or BOTH of our tours: 1- Introductory Tour if you are new to RSS and feed reading. 2- Advanced Tour if you know about feeds and RSS but want to find out more about what makes Rojo different. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at feedback@rojo.com. Rojo: Feed it. Find it. Tag it. Share it.

Friday, October 14, 2005

"Kahuna" the new Hotmail Beta

Salam, There is a new Hotmail Beta service brewing, for those who wanna give Microsoft another chance CLICK HERE. You can also read about it HERE. Peace

Police Scanner and Police Codes

Salam, Ever wondered what does a police scanner really sound like in real life? here is a link for a live police scanners in most American States. Live Police Scanner . Also to help you out code those police codes here is a list of them below. Peace Police Radio Codes Code Meaning : 10-0 Caution 10-50 Traffic accident 10-1 Signal Weak 10-51 Request tow truck 10-2 Signal Good 10-52 Request ambulance 10-3 Stop transmitting 10-53 Roadway blocked 10-4 Message received 10-54 Livestock on roadway 10-5 Relay 10-55 Intoxicated driver 10-6 Busy 10-56 Intoxicated pedestrian 10-7 Out of service 10-57 Hit-and-run accident 10-8 In service 10-58 Direct traffic 10-9 Repeat 10-59 Escort 10-10 Fight in progress 10-60 Squad in vicinity 10-11 Animal problem 10-61 Personnel in vicinity 10-12 Stand by 10-62 Reply to message 10-13 Report conditions 10-63 Prepare to copy 10-14 Prowler report 10-64 Local message 10-15 Civil disturbance 10-65 Network message 10-16 Domestic problem 10-66 Cancel message 10-17 Meet complainant 10-67 Clear for network message 10-18 Urgent 10-68 Dispatch information 10-19 Go to station 10-69 Message received 10-20 Location 10-70 Fire alarm 10-21 Phone ___ 10-71 Advise of nature of fire 10-22 Disregard 10-72 Report progress of fire 10-23 Arrived at scene 10-73 Smoke report 10-24 Assignment complete 10-74 Negative 10-25 Report to ___ 10-75 In contact with ___ 10-26 Detaining suspect 10-76 En route to ___ 10-27 Driver's license information 10-77 E.T.A. 10-28 Vehicle registration information 10-78 Request assistance 10-29 Check for wants/warrants 10-79 Notify coroner 10-30 Unauthorized use of radio 10-80 Pursuit in progress 10-31 Crime in progress 10-81 Breathalyzer report 10-32 Person with gun 10-82 Reserve lodgings 10-33 Emergency, stand by 10-83 School crossing detail 10-34 Riot 10-84 E.T.A. 10-35 Major crime alert 10-85 Arrival delayed 10-36 Correct time 10-86 Operator on duty 10-37 Investigate suspicious vehicle 10-87 Pick up 10-38 Stop suspicious vehicle 10-88 Advise of telephone number 10-39 Use lights and siren 10-89 Bomb threat 10-40 Respond quickly 10-90 Bank alarm 10-41 Beginning shift 10-91 Pick up subject 10-42 Ending shift 10-92 Illegally parked vehicle 10-43 Information 10-93 Blockage 10-44 Permission to leave 10-94 Drag racing 10-45 Dead animal 10-95 Subject in custody 10-46 Assist motorist 10-96 Detain subject 10-47 Emergency road repair 10-97 Test signal 10-48 Traffic control 10-98 Escaped prisoner 10-49 Traffic signal out 10-99 Wanted or stolen