This video is called UK troops slammed over Iraqi’s death in custody.
Another video from Britain which is no longer on YouTube said about itself:
The Ministry of Defence has agreed to pay almost £3 million to the family of an Iraqi who died while being detained by UK troops and nine other men who were allegedly mistreated by the British Army, their solicitors said today.
The family of Baha Mousa and the other men will share £2.83 million in compensation from the MoD, law firm Leigh Day & Co said. The ministry confirmed that a settlement had been reached, but would not go into any details on the figure.
Mr Mousa, a 26-year-old hotel receptionist, died while he was being detained by soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in Basra in 2003.
Mr Mousa sustained 93 separate injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken nose. During the mediation session General Freddie Viggers also apologised to the families for “the appalling behaviour of British soldiers” which had left the Army “disgusted”, the law firm said in a statement.
2011 Looks Grim for Progress on Women’s Rights in Iraq: here.
Barren Iraqi park attests to U.S. program’s flaws: here.
US/IRAQ: U.S. Companies Join Race on Iraqi Oil Bonanza: here.
A Wall Street Journal editorial on December 31 expressed concern over the prospect that US military forces could leave Iraq this year. The comment was a response to an interview with the newspaper by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in which he stated that the expiry of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) on December 31, 2011 was the unalterable date by which “the last American soldier will leave Iraq”: here.
The carnage inflicted by the US on Falluja in 2004 was one of the worst atrocities in the war on Iraq. Now another report indicates that the legacy of that attack is a dramatic increase in cancers and birth defects, with the finger of blame again pointing at the US Army’s use of depleted uranium and white phosphorous weaponry: here.
Japan’s trade minister has expressed interest in cooperating with Iraq on nuclear energy, the Iraqi interim electricity minister said on Monday after talks in Baghdad. “We discussed this issue with the Japanese minister, and he desires to cooperate with Iraq in this field,” Hussein al-Shahristani said at a joint news conference with Akihiro Ohata, asked if they discussed nuclear energy. Iraq has a severe shortage of electricity. The country saw violent protests last August over power supply cuts, after which the electricity minister resigned. (AFP): here.
And then, special anti-terror police may arrest those refugees as “terrorists”, egged on to do so by the Dutch secret service AIVD. Terrorists? Really? Or is the umpteenth case where there is much media noise about (Muslim) “terrorism” where later it turns out there was much noise but few if any substance? Dutch police have already released eleven of the originally twelve Somali terror suspects.
Somalis who have been suspected of planning a terrorist attack are said to be victims of extortion. They had the choice: pay or be associated with terrorism.
This says Farah Nuur, the brother of one of the Somalis arrested in Rotterdam. The person said to be guilty of this extortion is the Somali journalist Dahir Alasow. This man lives in Breda in and denies in daily de Volkskrant having anything to do with the matter.
CIA
Farah Nuur says Alasow has links to the CIA and works closely with the anti-terror unit in Nairobi. Farah therefore suspects that the denunciations to the AIVD security service came from Kenya. “Dahir Alasow receives money from anti-terrorist organizations in exchange for information. He says he is a journalist, but he denounces just anybody at his site and ultimately he is just in it for the money. “
Imam extorted
The imam of the Dar-al Hijara mosque, Putselaan in Rotterdam, according to Farah has been extorted by Alasow as well. Farah Nuur calls the man “very dangerous” and notorious in Somali circles. The Somali men in Rotterdam say they have proof of extortion and already intended for some time to report Dahir Alasow to the police. That’s what they will do now, besides filing a complaint against the AIVD and claiming damages.
UPDATE 30 December 2010: Dutch police have released the last remaining Somali “terrorist”.
Single tip can now land a person on US terrorism watch list: here.
Somalia: Mogadishu Civilians Call for Ceasefire: here.
A win for wildlife! Defenders’ Lacy Gray recently had the opportunity to participate in the release of endangered black-footed ferrets that had been bred in captivity.
To learn more about what Defenders is doing to help black-footed ferrets, visit here.
September 2011: The black-footed ferret, once thought to be extinct in the wild, was rediscovered in 1981 with a small population of 24 animals in Wyoming – now, 30 years later, the species’ future is brighter than ever: here.
Smithsonian and National Zoo helped to save black-footed ferret: here.
“Somalia is making headlines again, but, this time, not for its pirates. According to a new Transparency International report, Somalia ranks number one on the list of most corrupt countries.
Huguette Labelle, chair of the Germany-based anti-corruption group Transparency International, said, “These results signal that significantly greater efforts must go into strengthening governance across the globe. With the livelihoods of so many at stake, governments’ commitments to anti-corruption, transparency, and accountability must speak through their actions.”
Widespread corruption in the country, which is torn by war and chronic hunger–half of the country is dependent on foreign food aid shipments, has kept business investors and resulting economic reform at bay.
Somalia: Parliament Questions PM Over Foreign Companies’ Deals: here.
As for “economic reform”: reform in which direction? If that is an allusion to Thatcherism: it has been tried and has failed from Iceland to Tunisia; from Ireland to Somalia.
Somalia beat out Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Iraq–countries also mired in war or ruled by a military regime–for the top spot. Corruption in Africa costs the continent an estimated $150 billion.”
Somalia: Benadir Administration Threatens Shebelle Radio
29 December 2010
Mogadishu — The administration of Benadir region under Somali transitional federal government on Wednesday threatened Shabelle Media Network, a Mogadishu based radio station, adding that he the administration will face prosecution.
Abi kafi Hilowle Osman, the secretary of Benadir administration under TFG, held a press conference in the Somali capital Mogadishu. And he accused Shabelle that [it] has close links with Al Shabaab movement, which US alleges to be Al Qaeda’s proxy in the horn of Africa nation.
Mr. Osman said they take Shabelle director in to custody if he didn’t proof and bring clear evidence shows if Benadir region officials commit money laundering against Mogadishu international harbor income.
In other words: Mr. Osman and other Somali allies of the United States government and the “free world” say: “Do not dare to expose our corruption, or we will persecute you as a “terrorist” (and a Muslim fundamentalist, an atheist, a communist, etc. etc. … all at the same time).”
This Shabelle item will probably also define them as “terrorist” (and Muslim fundamentalist, atheist, communist, etc. etc. … all at the same time) [sarcasm off]:
Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)
Somalia: Government Displaces Mogadishu People
29 December 2010
Mogadishu — Somali government forces under Benadir region administration on Wednesday started displacing internally displaced people in Mogadishu, reports say.
Early Wednesday morning, a lot of forces under Benadir administration are reported to have ordered IDPs who live in makeshifts near Mogadishu international airport to move from the area.
Sources told Shabelle that African Union force AMISOM had also involved in the action against refugees in Mogadishu.
Most of the people, who dwell in huts made of plastics and old clothes near Mogadishu seaport, have been displaced by Islamists led insurgency and violence in Mogadishu which kicked off in early 2007.
It is not still known the reasons behind these moves against IDPs in Mogadishu.
No statement was immediately available from Somali government and African Union force known as AMISOM.
The government of Saudi Arabia should immediately stop deporting Somalis to war-torn Mogadishu, Human Rights Watch said today: here.
WikiLeaks reveals US twisted Ethiopia’s arm to invade Somalia: here.
At least one Somali soldier and another civilian injured after the transitional federal government forces clashed with Ethiopian military troops in Hiran region of central Somalia, reports said on Thursday. …
Late in 2006, a large number of Ethiopian troops endorsing the former leader of the Somali Transitional Federal Government, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, invaded Somalia and managed to dislodge the Union of Islamic Courts that used to rule much of southern and central Somalia.
During the invasion, more than 20,000 people died and 1.5 million were displaced.
The Ethiopian forces in Gedo region of southern Somalia on Thursday ordered Somali forces and Ahlu Sunna Waljama fighters to put [down] their arms: here.
Somalia’s moderate Ahlu Sunna Waljama’ ASWJ are complaining about Ethiopian military forces in Dolow district in Gedo region in southern Somalia, an official said on Monday: here.
Somalia: 19 Killed in Mogadishu Clashes, Government Forces Mutiny: here.
Somali government forces clashed [with] themselves in the Somali capital Mogadishu leaving at least 3 government forces dead and 7 others wounded, witnesses said on Saturday: here.
Forces loyal to Somali transitional federal government in a checkpoint in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday banned Somali women from wearing niqab: here. So, just as anti-woman as forcing a woman to wear a niqab.
Before humans wiped them out, these fighting birds would clobber each other over territory.
Tue Dec 28, 2010 07:01 PM ET
THE GIST
* A flightless Jamaican ibis bird evolved wings that functioned like a club or flail.
* The birds swung their club-like “weapons” during fights over territory, researchers suggest.
* Humans probably caused the the bird, Xenicibis xympithecus, to go extinct around 10,000 years ago.
Some dinosaurs had club-like tails that they smacked into foes, and now researchers have discovered that the wings of an extinct Jamaican bird evolved into similar structures that the bird would use to clobber rivals during fights.
The bird, Xenicibis xympithecus, is the first known animal that had limbs modified to serve as a club/flail, according to the authors of the study. The paper is published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Before the flightless bird went extinct around 10,000 years ago, it must have engaged in some fierce fighting at its island nation home. Unearthed fossilized remains retain signs of traumatic injuries sustained from delivering or receiving blows.
“I would guess that they would try to grab each other using the beak and then just proceed to pound each other using the wings,” lead author Nicholas Longrich told Discovery News.
Longrich, a post doctoral associate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale University, and colleague Storrs Olson made the determination after analyzing the remains of the bird, which was a relatively large long-billed, long-legged wading ibis. They immediately noticed the bird’s “bizarre” wings.
“The arm is long and spindly, and the hand bones are enlarged, curved and expanded so that the hand looks like a banana,” Longrich said, adding that both females and males had these unusually modified wings.
He and Olson believe the wings functioned like handled clubs and flails, with the arms being the “handles” of the weapons, increasing the angular velocity of the weighted “club” at the end. The bird could then swing its wings, delivering sharp blows whenever the enlarged hand bones struck an opponent.
Since ibises are monogamous and there probably weren’t a lot of animal predators going after the bird, the researchers suspect most fights had to do with staking out home turf.
“There were a lot of birds fighting over the same territories,” Longrich explained. “The best fighters — the ones with the best weapons — were able to secure a good territory and reproduce.”
A number of birds use their wings as weapons. The scientists note that some birds, including screamers, certain jacanas, the spur-winged goose, the torrent duck and nine species of lapwing, employ sharp spurs. Other birds, such as steamer ducks, sheathbills, stone curlews and swans, bear a bony knob on their wings. Two jacanas, Actophilornis and Irediparra, even have triangular blades on their wings.
But no bird — and no other vertebrate living or extinct — possessed limbs modified to serve as a jointed club or flail that could be swung, according to the scientists.
The unique method of defense was likely no match for humans, however, since the extinction of Xenicibis likely happened after people colonized Jamaica.
“Humans wiped out flightless birds like the dodo and the moa wherever they went, so my guess is that Xenicibis shared their fate,” Longrich said.
Richard Prum, chair of Yale’s Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, told Discovery News that Longrich and Olson make “a good argument for a novel combat function for the flightless forelimbs of this weaponized ibis. Clearly there is much more to learn about avian diversity.”
Helen James, curator of birds at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, believes “the authors are correct that the wing had evolved to serve as a specialized weapon.”
“I can just imagine the rapid-fire blows that these ibises could deliver with their flail-like wings,” she added.
What colors were the first birds? Our avian friends appeared about 150 million years ago, and some prehistoric bird fossils have been found with their feathers nearly intact. But the colors faded away long ago, leaving paleontologists in the dark about the original hues. Now a research team employing state-of-the-art chemical imaging has found traces of the plumes’ ancient pigments. The new techniques might eventually tell scientists not only what colors prehistoric birds sported but also why they evolved highly pigmented plumage in the first place: here.
The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has been implicated in war crimes involving torture and the illicit trade in human organs, including those removed from Serb civilians taken captive and killed during and after NATO’s 1999 war against Yugoslavia.
The current prime minister of Kosovo and former KLA commander, Hashim Thaci, is identified as the leading figure within a criminal network involved in drug trafficking as well as the trade in human organs. Thaci and other commanders within the “Drenica group” faction of the KLA exercised command control over detention facilities based in neighbouring Albania and determined the fate of those held captive.
A two-year inquiry conducted by the Council of Europe (CoE), the results of which were published earlier this month by the CoE rapporteur Dick Marty, provides details showing that the human organ trade has continued to the present day, with the KLA running Kosovo as a criminal fiefdom.
The CoE oversees the European Court on Human Rights.
The Medicus clinic in the Kosovan capital, Pristina, is the subject of criminal proceedings over the trade in human organs. It has been closed down by EULEX (the European Union rule of law mission), which took over aspects of law enforcement from UNMIK (the United Nations Mission in Kosovo) in 2008. A number of individuals, including doctors and a former health ministry official, have been charged with being part of an international criminal network. Health law in Kosovo forbids organ transplantation, but the health secretary granted the centre a licence.
The KLA brought people into Kosovo for the purpose of removing and selling their organs, European Union prosecutor Jonathan Ratel said in the indictment. Some victims came from countries such as Moldova, Turkey and Russia. They were promised up to US$20,000 (€14,500), but the organ recipients were required to pay between US$110,000 and US$137,000 (€80,000 to €100,000).
In his report, Marty did not pull his punches with regard to the wealth of information long in the possession of Western intelligence services regarding Thaci’s criminal activities. He cited records from five countries—Germany, Britain, Italy, Greece and the United States—showing that they all knew of the KLA’s activities and helped conceal them.
Point 70 of the report states: “Thaci and these other ‘Drenica Group’ members are consistently named as ‘key players’ in the intelligence reports on Kosovo’s mafia-like structures of organised crime. I have examined these diverse, voluminous reports with consternation and a sense of moral outrage.”
Other sources cited in the report include witness testimony from former KLA soldiers and auxiliaries involved in transporting detainees as well as from some of those held captive.
The CoE inquiry was undertaken to follow up allegations of the KLA’s involvement in human organ trafficking that were first made public in early 2008. These were contained in the memoirs, entitled The Hunt, of Carla Del Ponte, the outgoing chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). She chose to make these revelations only after she was replaced as chief prosecutor and Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence was endorsed by the US and other European powers.
Del Ponte’s claims centred on a suspected detention facility in Rripe, near Burrel in central Albania. Referred to as the “Yellow House,” it was identified as a location where Serb civilians abducted from Kosovo were taken and killed and their organs removed for sale abroad.
One of the most damning aspects of Marty’s report is its revelation that the ICTY and UNMIK, which conducted an initial investigation of the “Yellow House” in 2004 and found bloodstains in the main room, later destroyed the physical samples retrieved from the site. The report states, “We must permit ourselves to express astonishment that such a step was taken.”
Large numbers of people listed as missing during and directly after the 1999 Kosovo conflict are still unaccounted for. There remain 1,869 missing persons, according to the International Red Cross. Two thirds of these are Kosovan Albanians. Of this total, 470 disappeared after NATO troops entered the province on June 12, 1999. Of these, 95 are Kosovan Albanians and 375 are non-Albanian, mainly Serbs.
At this time, the KLA, backed by NATO, was able to exercise control over a large amount of territory. The proportion of those who went missing after NATO entered Kosovo may, in fact, be even higher. The law on compensation for “martyrs” excludes those who died after the June 12, 1999, cut-off point.
A major reason for the lack of progress in tracing missing persons has been obstruction by the authorities in Kosovo and Albania. While Serbia has been obliged to cooperate with the ICTY in exhuming suspected sites of mass graves, the same pressure has not been exerted on the governments in Tirana and Pristina.
As an act of revenge for the Marty report, Thaci has announced that he will publish a list of all Kosovo Albanians who helped Dick Marty with his investigation, exposing those witnesses to assasination: here.
Eight people perished in an abandoned warehouse in the US city of New Orleans Tuesday morning after lighting a fire to keep warm in freezing temperatures: here. See also here.
A major blizzard struck the northeastern US over the weekend, cutting power to tens of thousands and stranding holiday travelers: here.
A traveler describes his experience riding on an Amtrak passenger train during the recent East Coast blizzard in the US: here.
Basic New York City services came to a near halt on Monday and Tuesday after a severe blizzard blanketed the East Coast on Sunday night and Monday morning: here.
There was growing anger against Northern Ireland Water as up to 40,000 homes and businesses were still without water supplies today after a thaw in icy conditions caused pipes to burst: here. And here.
Northern Ireland Water said today that tens of thousands of people who are still without water could have to wait until the new year before they are reconnected: here.
Underfunding and cuts lie behind Northern Ireland’s water disaster: here. And here.
