Anti-war Walk in Manhattan : End The War in Iraq

Yesterday & on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq, thousands of anti-war protesters flooded the streets of Manhattan. What do they all want? They want an immediate withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Iraq & an end to the funding of the Iraq war.
They were all shouting: "They say attack Iraq! We say fight back. End the War on Iraq."
Those protesters are from all age groups, from all walks of life & from all races ... There were union members, city workers, celebrities, students & everyday citizens like all of us.

American Naval Buildup Warns Iran

With chaos in Iraq and Iran's influence getting stronger in the Arab territories, what is the US going to do?
Blast them, of course! What else?

My sarcastic view to this is not so far from reach. CBS news reported earlier that the United States is planning a major naval build up in and around the Persian Gulf as a warning to Iran. This comes at a time when the Bush administration said that it wants the U.N. Security Council to vote within a few days on a resolution to place sanctions on the Persian country for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.

Iran's Holocaust Seminar

Opening today in the Iranian capital, Tehran, is the first seminar aimed at studying the Holocaust, which was the mass murder of Jews by the Nazis during the second World War. It is believed that some 6 million Jews were killed by Hitler's armies from 1940-1945. However, Iran is holding a seminar about holocaust as 67 researchers from 30 countries will attend, some of them open Holocaust deniers.

Israel & California Sign Bilateral Tourism Promotion Agreement

We want more Israelis to visit California and more Californian's to visit Israel.
This was the whole idea behind the agreement made by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Isaac Herzog who signed the agreement recently.

“I first visited Israel in 1978 in connection with bodybuilding,” said Arnold at the signing ceremony in the Los Angeles Convention Center, “and then I visited Israel again for the opening of Planet Hollywood in Tel Aviv.”

The whole idea of the agreement came from Haim Saban. He's an Egyptian-born and Israeli-raised resident in California and is considered to be amongst the top 5 richest media giants in the world. He's the guy who invented "The Power Rangers."

Bipartisan Iraq Study Group

An unpopular war just got even more unpopular as 10 American troops were killed today in Iraq. The violence spares no nationality, no age or gender and is on a constant rise.
At least 30 Americans have been killed this month alone which has just begun.

Now a panel made up from 5 Republicans and 5 Democrats called the Bipartisan Iraq Study Group said that President Bush's war policies have failed in almost every regard. Thos comments come a day after the newly-appointed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said himself that the US was loosing the war.

Hillary Clinton for President 2008?

Ever imagined a woman president of the US?
Sure we've seen them in some movies but a woman president might actually be a thing of reality.
Hillary Clinton, wife of former president Bill Clinton, is seriously considering running for president in 2008.
The senator has personally asked some of her fellow New York Democrats for their support in the event she goes ahead with such a campaign, a top adviser said Sunday.

Pope's Visit to the Blue Mosque

79-year old Pope Benedict XVI, who had just sent the Muslim world up in rage 2 months ago, stood silent in prayers along side Muslim clerics facing Mecca in one of the world's most important mosques, the Blue Mosque in Turkey, in an attempt to reconcile Christians and Muslims.

Pope Benedict is now the second pope to set foot in a mosque following the footsteps of his predecessor Pope John Paul II. All in all, there have only been 2 Popes to do so in 2000 years.

Pope is Coming to Turkey

Now we all know that when a VIP goes to a foreign country, he makes sure he's well protected. The Pope is going to make visit Turkey, his maiden voyage to a Muslim country. Usually, he's use the “Popemobile” but since the big boys at the Vatican are taking no chances, he's going to travel military style!

He will go in an armour-plated car, with several similar vehicles used as decoys, a spokesman, said.
There are even plans for him to wear a bullet-proof vest!
As for the Turks, they don't want to be embarrassed if anything goes wrong, so they're not taking any chances either. They've planned a huge security operation including rooftop snipers, Special Forces, helicopters and navy speedboats.

Donald Rumsfeld Resigns ... At last!

Donald Rumsfeld, the Defense Secretary of the US, who has been criticized for his miss handling of the Iraq war, resigned yesterday.
It's about time for a change of management at the head of the Pentagon.
The resignation of Rumsfeld marks the end his career as one of most deplored defense secretaries in America’s history, a longstanding champion of the aggressive & horrible foreign policy of Bush.

Israel's Beit Hanoun Massacre

This morning Israeli tanks fire attacked Palestinians in their homes in the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun. The Irony, is that this attack comes a day after Israeli troops pulled out of the town after a week-long offensive in which dozens died.
As usual, Israel apologized for the massacre that left 19 killed & pools of bloodstained water outside the houses of innocent families ... But what's in an apology!?
They said: "The Israeli military does not intend to harm civilians - that is never our aim. But in the framework of such things, incidents like these happen." Ya .. Ya .. We heard that hundreds of times before!

Al-Jazeera to Launch English Channel Next Week

It's official, the much awaited Al-Jazeera English channel will be launched next week.
The launching of this English channel offers the chance to reach out to a new & huge audience that is used to hearing the name of Al-Jazeera without being able to watch it or understand the language.
The director of Al-Jazeera Network, Wadah Khanfar announced that the new channel will provide the same ground-breaking news & balanced journalism to the English-speaking world.

Bush and Kerry Exchange Insults

We've all seen many movie stars, producers, directors, writers and so on insulting the US President's intelligence but it's never been done by a senator and 2004 presidential nominee.

Massachusetts senator John Kerry told a California audience: "Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Paris Riots Again

Yes, it's happening again.
Last year's riots in Paris were remembered in a flamy anniversary as youths burned hundreds of vehicles across the country.
The violence exposed yet again the sharp division between poor North African immigrants and the rest of the French society. And apparently, not much action has been taken to solve last year's problem.

In the southern port city of Marseille, a bunch of teenagers set a bus on fire seriously wounding a passenger and injuring others. Police said that two other public buses and 277 vehicles around the country were burned overnight.

North Korean Leader: 'I'm sorry'

As the heat is turned way up, North Korean leader Kim Jong II has shown regret about his country’s nuclear test. “If the U.S. makes a concession to some degree, we will also make a concession to some degree, whether it be bilateral talks or six-party talks,” he said.

Kim told a Chinese delegation that “he is sorry about the nuclear test,”
Kim also said that “we have no plans for additional nuclear tests,”

9 US Soldiers Killed

The U.S. military announced the deaths of nine more American troops killed in bombings and combat in Iraq, raising the death toll half way through October to 67.

Eight U.S. soldiers and one Marine were killed by roadside bombs and enemy fire in and around Baghdad on Tuesday, the military reported.

The highest death toll in one month was in November 2004 during the famous battles in Felluja when 137 U.S. troops died.
October's death toll would make this month the deadliest for American forces since then if it continues in this way. At least 2,779 members of the U.S. military have died and estimates say more than 18,000 injured since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

So that's about 3 thousand Americans and 650 thousand Iraqi who lost their lives as President Bush brings his democracy to Iraq. Isn’t this looking more and more like a sick joke?

U.S. killed British TV Reporter

A coroner ruled Friday that U.S. forces unlawfully killed a British television journalist in the opening days of the Iraq war. Terry Lloyd a 50 year-old veteran reporter for the British television network ITN was shot in the back by Iraqi troops who overtook his car, then died after U.S. fire hit a civilian minivan being used as an ambulance and struck him in the head.

"Terry Lloyd died following a gunshot wound to the head. The evidence this bullet was fired by the Americans is overwhelming," the coroner said. " There is no doubt that the minibus presented no threat to the American forces. There is no doubt it was an unlawful act of fire."

11 killed in Raid on New Iraq TV Station

Gunmen stormed into a new Sunni television station in Baghdad and fatally shot 11 people including technicians, two guards and the head of the station's board of directors, police said.

The station moved into the building in July and has not yet gone on the air. The raid on the southeastern Baghdad offices of Iraq's Shaabiya satellite station came at around 7 a.m., police Maj. Mahir Hamad said.

Cuba After Castro

Remember in July when Castro was sick for what was claimed to be abdominal surgery? Well, Cuban officials have maintained that the country's leader will return to his post. "We will again have him leading the revolution," said Foreign Minister Felipe Roque just two days ago.
But U.S. officials tell TIME Magazine that many in the U.S. government are now convinced that Castro, at 80 years old, has terminal cancer and will never return to power.

North Korea Conducts Nuke Test

George Bush, the guy who has all the nukes and bombs in the world, has sharply criticized North Korea for conducting a nuclear test today saying it was a threat to international peace.
"The transfer of nuclear weapons to states or non-state entities would be considered a grave threat to the United States," Bush said. "And we would hold North Korea fully accountable to the consequences of such action."
Pretty noble of him isn’t it?

Iraq's Worst Week!

More blasts rocked Baghdad, more people dead in Iraq's worst week for bombings since the US invasion!!!

And as American casualties continued to mount, four more soldiers were killed on Wednesday in southwest Baghdad when their unit was attacked by gunfire and mortars.

Since Monday, 14 American soldiers have been killed, mostly in Baghdad, in a spike in casualties that brought the number killed since March 2003 to 2,729, according to an AFP count based on Pentagon figures.
Please note, that’s ‘Pentagon figures’! The actual number may never be known!

Two Marines Plead Not Guilty in Hamdania Killing

Two Marines charged in the alleged murder of an Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania pleaded ‘not guilty’ in a base courtroom today….why am I not surprised?
Along with their squad mates, they’re charged with murder, kidnapping, conspiracy and related offenses in the April 26 death of 52-year-old Hashim Ibrahim Awad.
So if they’re not guilty, I guess Awad just tided himself up and took their M16 rifle and shot himself to make it look like a murder!!

Chavez Calls Bush “the devil”

In a speech addressed to the United Nations, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called President George Bush “the devil” saying that Bush acts like he owns the world.
Way to go Chavez!
Finally somebody said it load and clear!
"Yesterday, the devil came here," Chavez said, referring to Bush's address in front of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday. "Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today, this table that I am now standing in front of."
Ahmedinejad also made a speech at the UN General Assembly the previous day. He also mentioned how the US was creating tensions around the Iranian Nuclear Program but didn’t get personal. Chavez took it one step further.

Is the Pope Trying to Piss off Muslims Intentionally?

Being a media specialist, I understood the Western media’s mistake in publishing the disgusting cartoons about Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) in Denmark some time ago. I also understood why Westerners refused to apologize for their democratic system of freedom of speech, not that I agree with it. But why does someone like Pope Benedict go off and do something like he did in Germany, I really don’t understand.
He made a speech at the University of Bonn where he once lectured and quoted from a book speaking of a conversation between 14th century Byzantine Christian Emperor Manuel Paleologos II and a Persian scholar on the truths of Christianity and Islam.

"The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the pope said. "He said, I quote, “Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”

Danish Cartoons

Danish cartoons might cost the Danish government over 800 million Euro!
Angry protesters around the world are targeting embassies of the countries who published the cartoons like the Danish and the Norwegian embassies.
People around the world have become divided because of these cartoons.

In a strongly worded statement, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that, despite respect for the freedom of expression, the publication of cartoons that incite religious or ethnic hatreds is unacceptable.

Car Bomb Explosion in Fallujah

A massive car bomb exploded Monday on the outskirts of Fallujah, killing seven U.S. marines and wounding several others in the deadliest attack on Americans since May.

The attack, 15 kilometres north of Fallujah - a stronghold for Sunni insurgents - destroyed two Humvees, witnesses said. U.S. officials said medical teams in helicopters swept into the dusty, barren site to ferry away the injured, and troops sealed off the surrounding area...

Saddam on Trial

Who would have guessed it?
Saddam Hussein on trial!
The man that ruled Iraq since 1979 with an iron fist is facing an Iraqi court for the crimes he committed during his bloody years of rule.

Chained and unshaved, the mighty dictator was brought into the hearing facing a young judge...

Paul Marshal Johnson

Paul Marshal Johnson was beheaded by al Qaeda members who took him hostage in Saudi Arabia. An Islamist Web site showed three pictures of what appeared to be Johnson's severed head...

Nicholas Berg Execution

Nicholas Berg, 26, from West Chester, Pennsylvania murderd in Iraq in a very horrible way ... !
We don't usually write about such subjects on WALEG.com but the execution and the video clip of Nickolas decapitation was barbaric & horrible...