Your Life Is Worth…
$1,114,000
How Much Is Your Life Worth?
September 30, 2006
What’s Your Ideal Career?
Your Career Type: Realistic
You are practical and mechanical.
Your talents lie in working with tools, mechanical or electrical drawings, machines, or animals.
You would make an excellent:
Carpenter – Diesel Mechanic – Electrician
Farmer – Fire Fighter – Flight Engineer
Forester – Locksmith – Locomotive Engineer
Pilot – Police Officer – Truck Driver
The worst career options for your are social careers, like social worker or teacher.
What’s Your Ideal Career?
How Sarcastic Are You?
You’re Totally Sarcastic
You sarcastic? Never! You’re as sweet as a baby bunny.
Seriously, though, you have a sharp tongue – and you aren’t afraid to use it.
And if people are too wimpy to deal with your attitutde, then too bad. So sad.
How Sarcastic Are You?
September 12, 2006
Check out ur Birth Order!
***You Are Likely A Forth Born***
At your darkest moments, you feel angry.
At work and school, you do best when your analyzing.
When you love someone, you tend to be very giving.
In friendship, you don’t take the initiative in reaching out.
Your ideal jobs are: factory jobs, comedy, and dentistry.
You will leave your mark on the world with your own personal philosophy.
The Birth Order Predictor
http://www.blogthings.com/birthorderpredictorquiz/
August 21, 2006
Israel arrests senior Hamas lawmaker
Israeli troops on Sunday detained a senior Hamas legislator, pushing forward with a crackdown on the Islamic militant group, Palestinian officials and relatives of the man said.
Troops surrounded the home of Mahmoud al-Ramahi, secretary-general of the parliament, in broad daylight and detained him, said his sister, Yaqeen.
Al-Ramahi had evaded arrest since Israel began its crackdown on Hamas following the June 25 abduction of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked militants in the Gaza Strip.
The army had no immediate comment.
Al-Ramahi, a physician by training, is the fourth-ranking member of the parliament, responsible for many administrative and procedural matters. With his arrest, Israel now has almost all of Hamas’ West Bank leadership in custody.
Early Saturday, troops arrested Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer at a home where he had been hiding in Ramallah. He was the most senior Hamas official to be detained yet. Israel is now holding five Cabinet ministers and more than two dozen lawmakers. Four other Cabinet ministers have been released.
Mushir Masri, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza, called the arrest “cheap Israeli extortion that runs against all international laws.” He told The Associated Press that “we hold Israel responsible for all the serious consequences if it insists on kidnapping lawmakers and ministers.”
Despite Israel’s crackdown on Hamas political leaders, and a large offensive in the Gaza Strip, the captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, has still not been released. The militants holding him have demanded a wide-scale release of Palestinian prisoners — a demand Israel has rejected.
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Israel arrests senior Hamas lawmaker
Israeli troops on Sunday detained a senior Hamas legislator, pushing forward with a crackdown on the Islamic militant group, Palestinian officials and relatives of the man said.
Troops surrounded the home of Mahmoud al-Ramahi, secretary-general of the parliament, in broad daylight and detained him, said his sister, Yaqeen.
Al-Ramahi had evaded arrest since Israel began its crackdown on Hamas following the June 25 abduction of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked militants in the Gaza Strip.
The army had no immediate comment.
Al-Ramahi, a physician by training, is the fourth-ranking member of the parliament, responsible for many administrative and procedural matters. With his arrest, Israel now has almost all of Hamas’ West Bank leadership in custody.
Early Saturday, troops arrested Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Shaer at a home where he had been hiding in Ramallah. He was the most senior Hamas official to be detained yet. Israel is now holding five Cabinet ministers and more than two dozen lawmakers. Four other Cabinet ministers have been released.
Mushir Masri, a Hamas lawmaker in Gaza, called the arrest “cheap Israeli extortion that runs against all international laws.” He told The Associated Press that “we hold Israel responsible for all the serious consequences if it insists on kidnapping lawmakers and ministers.”
Despite Israel’s crackdown on Hamas political leaders, and a large offensive in the Gaza Strip, the captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, has still not been released. The militants holding him have demanded a wide-scale release of Palestinian prisoners — a demand Israel has rejected.
Iran tests short-range missile
ran test-fired a surface-to-surface short-range missile, while a military training plane crashed outside the capital Tehran after catching fire, state-run television reported Sunday.
The missile testing came a day after Iran launched a series of large-scale military maneuvers geared at introducing the country’s new defensive doctrine.
“Saegheh, the missile, has a range of between 80 to 250 kilometers,” state-run television said. It said the missile was tested in the Kashan desert, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southeast of the capital of Tehran.
Saegheh means lightning in Farsi.
Authorities said the military plane that crashed on Sunday after catching fire was not taking part in the maneuvers. It did not elaborate.
The broadcast said the plane was making an emergency landing on a highway in northeast Tehran but it crashed after a wing of the plane hit a water reservoir and burst into flames.
The television said the only pilot in the plane parachuted safely.
Iran has routinely held war games over the past two decades to improve its combat readiness and to test equipment such as missiles, tanks and armored personnel carriers.
But the new tests, in the wake of the Lebanon-Hezbollah fighting, seemed certain to create new tensions with the West.
State-run television said the missile was built based on domestic know-how, although outside experts say much of the country’s missile technology originated from other countries.
State-run TV showed video of 10 missiles being launched from mobile launching pads.
Iran said its new military exercises launched Saturday are being held in 14 of the country’s 30 provinces and could last as long as five weeks, the government has said.
The Islamic Republic, which views the United States as an arch foe, is concerned about the U.S. military presence in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also has expressed worry about Israeli threats to destroy its nuclear facilities, which the West contends could be used to make a bomb but which Iran insists are for civilian uses only.
Iran is already equipped with the Shahab-3 missile, which means “shooting star” in Farsi; it is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. An upgraded version of the ballistic missile has a range of more than 2,000 kilometers and can reach Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East.
Last year, former Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said Tehran had successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the Shahab-3, a technological breakthrough for the country’s military.
Iran’s military test-fired a series of missiles during large-scale war games in the Persian Gulf in March and April, including a missile it claimed was not detectable by radar that can use multiple warheads to hit several targets simultaneously.
After decades of relying on foreign weapons purchases, Iran’s military has been working to boost its domestic production of armaments.
Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane, the government has said. It announced in early 2005 that it had begun production of torpedoes.
Saddam facing poison gas charges
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will go on trial Monday accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988.
The series of deadly assaults in the Kurdish region included the former regime’s alleged use of poison gas.
The trial comes as sectarian violence plagues the country more than three years after Hussein was toppled, with gunmen targeting Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad on Sunday.
Across the world, the court of public opinion watching the trial will be scrutinizing the much-criticized Iraqi High Tribunal.
Iraq’s Kurds, who are seeking justice for the well-documented attacks, welcome the trial. But one major human rights watchdog group that has helped educate the world about the Anfal campaign worries that the tribunal won’t do its victims justice.
“Anfal” — which means “spoils” in Arabic — is a term from the eighth chapter, or sura, of the Quran, the sacred Muslim book.
It is believed that about 100,000 Kurds were killed and 3,000 villages destroyed in the operation. Those who survived were illegally detained and later executed.
Human Rights Watch — which has tracked, documented and decried the Anfal campaign for years — warns that the Iraqi tribunal is “incapable” of handling the proceeding fairly, judging from its performance during the ongoing Dujail trial.
On the other hand, U.S. officials say the tribunal officials learned a lot from their experiences during the Dujail proceeding and have improved their performance.
The Dujail trial, which began last October, focused on a government crackdown in 1982 against Shiites in Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a failed assassination attempt against Hussein there.
The crackdown resulted in the deaths of 148 Shiite males, the mistreatment of many residents and the destruction of property.
The trial adjourned last month, and resumes in mid-October, when verdicts are expected for Hussein and seven co-defendants, including Hussein’s half-brother Barzan Hassan.
The Dujail proceeding was criticized by many observers for its delays, procedural problems and inadequate security for attorneys. Critics said Hussein and Hassan turned the trial into a circus with frequent interruptions and constant harangues. They were two of eight suspects in the Dujail trial.
The legal machinery for the Anfal case got rolling as the Dujail trial was ending. In April, investigative judge Raed Jouhi announced that investigators had finished gathering witnesses and evidence and were ready to go to trial.
Internal armed conflict
Hussein and six co-defendants — including Ali Hassan al-Majeed, a former Iraqi general known as “Chemical Ali” — are on trial in the Anfal case.
All face charges of war crimes related to an internal armed conflict and crimes against humanity. Hussein and al-Majeed have been charged with genocide.
The other defendants in the Anfal case are Sultan Hashem Ahmed, the military commander of the campaign; Saber Abdel Aziz, the director of military intelligence during the campaign; Hussein Rashid, the deputy of operations for Iraqi forces at the time; Taher Ani, a former governor of Mosul; and Farhan Jubouri, former head of military intelligence in northern Iraq.
When the proceeding kicks off, the lead prosecutor is expected to read the charges against the accused, and the defendants may identify themselves during the proceeding.
Five native Iraqi judges of Shiite and Kurdish origin will preside over the tribunal, created in 2003 to prosecute members of the former Iraqi regime who are alleged to have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the violation of certain Iraqi laws.
A U.S. official close to the proceeding said the chief judge is Abdullah al-Amri.
He said the trial is expected to be completed in months, by mid-December, with the court preparing to work three to four days a week 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with time off every so often. There will be a one-week break during the week of October 16, when the Dujail verdict is to be announced.
There are 120 to 140 witnesses expected for the prosecution, and the defense must provide its list of witnesses by the end of October, the official said.
On Monday, all defendants will be in the courtroom, the official said, and Hussein will have the same defense team he had in the Dujail trial. Hussein — who received medical care after a hunger strike — is eating and exercising and is thought to be in good health, the U.S. official said.
There will be opening statements from the prosecution and defense and opening pleas from each defendant, and if time permits, there will be testimony, the official said.
‘Justice must be done’
The Kurdish regional government — which represents the people of Duhuk, Sulaimaniya and Irbil provinces in the north — said it “welcomes the trial of Saddam Hussein at the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Justice must be done, and must be seen to be done.”
Estimates of the number of deaths in the Anfal operation range from 50,000 to nearly 200,000, and Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government said that “for decades to come, this horrific period of their history will remain in the collective memory of the people of Kurdistan.”
“These policies and crimes were conceived and conducted by Saddam Hussein and his regime,” the Kurdish government said in a statement on Thursday.
The regional government says it “has sought and will continue to seek justice for the victims through legal, democratic and transparent means” and it “demands that the Iraqi government compensate the victims of the crimes committed by Saddam Hussein’s government, as provided for in the constitution of Iraq.”
Human Rights Watch said the tribunal “must improve its practices if it is to do justice in the upcoming Anfal trial.”
“The Anfal campaign was a genocide carried out against part of the Kurdish population,” Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program, according to a statement quoting him. “Genocide is the most serious crime there is, and it’s essential that the tribunal conducts the Anfal trial fairly.”
But the group believes the tribunal “is presently incapable of fairly and effectively trying a genocide case in accordance with international standards and current international criminal law.”
“Our investigation showed the Iraqi government ordered the extermination of part of its Kurdish population,” said Dicker. “But individual guilt or innocence in the Anfal case can only be determined through a fair trial, where the accused are able to mount an effective defense.”
Kurds “continue to live with the legacy of suffering and bodies continue to be unearthed from mass graves,” the Kurdish Regional Government said.
“The crimes have left behind a generation of women who lost their husbands, and children who lost their fathers, uncles and grandfathers. The Iraqi government’s acts have resulted in illnesses from chemical weapons exposure, unusually high rates of cancer, large numbers of internally displaced persons, and families still fighting to reclaim their homes and lands.”
Report: 71 Taliban killed in clash
Afghan and NATO forces battled Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan’s volatile south with rockets, artillery and airstrikes killing 71 militants Sunday in one of the country’s bloodiest clashes in five years.
Five Afghan troops were also killed in the series of battles, which started late Saturday and spilled into Sunday morning after the Taliban attacked a police convoy in Panjwayi district of southern Kandahar province, said Niaz Mohammad Sarhadi, the district government chief.
Militants ambushed another police patrol in western Afghanistan’s Farah province, sparking a gunbattle that left one officer and two attackers dead, a regional governor said.
Afghanistan’s southern provinces are bearing the brunt of the worst bout of violence since U.S.-led forces toppled the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001. Taliban holdouts and allied extremists have stepped up attacks in a bid to undermine the American-backed government of President Hamid Karzai.
Separately, three U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded during a fight with Taliban militants in Pech district in eastern Kunar province on Saturday, said Col. Tom Collins, the U.S. military spokesman.
Their combat patrol struck a homemade bomb before they engaged “a group of Taliban extremists,” a U.S. military statement said.
Also Saturday, a U.S. soldier was killed and three others wounded in a four-hour clash with more than 100 insurgents in southern Uruzgan province, officials said. One Afghan soldier also died.
In Panjwayi, NATO troops used artillery and aircraft to inflict “heavy casualties against Taliban fighters,” an alliance statement said.
“It was a sizable engagement,” said Toby Jackman, a NATO force spokesman. He called the clash part of an ongoing operation “to extend security” along the 420 kilometer (260 mile) Kabul-Kandahar highway.
The bodies of 71 slain militants were found in three locations, scattered through orchards alongside their weapons, Sarhadi said.
“The police are still searching for more dead bodies of Taliban,” he said.
Four police and one Afghan soldier were also killed in the clashes, officials said. Three police and five soldiers were wounded and three police are missing.
A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, claimed insurgents killed “scores” of police and damaged 10 of their vehicles before a NATO airstrike left just 12 militants dead and eight wounded.
Ahmadi often contacts journalists to claim attacks for the Taliban, but his exact ties to the militia’s leadership are unclear.
In the western Farah province, attackers ambushed a highway police patrol, killing one officer before two attackers were shot dead, said Ghulam Dastagir Azad, the governor of neighboring Nimroz province.
The ambush in Bakwa district of the western Farah province also resulted in six officers and three attackers being wounded, he said.
Azad referred to the attackers as “enemies” — a term usually used by Afghan officials to refer to the Taliban — but was unable to provide their motive.
Farah has been relatively untouched by the spiraling violence in bordering southern provinces like Helmand and Nimroz.
But officials have said intense U.S. and NATO-led military operations in the south during recent months have pushed some militants further north into areas like Farah, where they have also started launching low-scale ambushes and bombings.
20 pilgrims killed, hundreds wounded in Baghdad
Gunmen opened fire on crowds of Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 20 and wounding more than 300 others, according to police and health ministry officials.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims crowded the streets of the Iraqi capital, heading to the shrine of an eighth century imam, Musa al-Kadhim, to commemorate his death.
Gunmen on the streets and snipers from the rooftops opened fire on the crowds in six Baghdad neighborhoods, police said.
Aware that this weekend’s pilgrimage would be an opportunity for sectarian attacks, Iraqi authorities instituted a vehicle and cycle ban from late Friday to early Monday to try to prevent car bombings and drive-by shootings in a city where Sunni-Shiite sectarian strife has killed thousands.
Iraqi security forces also established more checkpoints and patrols all over Baghdad and especially on the roads and streets that lead to the neighborhood of the shrine.
Last year, nearly 1,000 pilgrims were killed during the commemoration when rumors of suicide bombers triggered a mass stampede on a Tigris River bridge.
Members of the Mehdi Army — who back anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — established temporary checkpoints to search pilgrims one by one to stop bombs or suicide attackers from killing Shiite pilgrims.
An Iraqi government statement said it is forbidden to carry weapons, cell phones and any type of bags into the shrine, and army officials were searching people in the streets.
Al-Kadhim — one of the 12 historic Shiite imams beloved by the faithful — is buried at the Kadhimiya mosque, the largest Shiite mosque in the capital.
The pilgrims waved black flags standing for sadness and green flags standing for the 12 imams.
In two other attacks in Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on Iraqi police patrols, wounding two officers in one incident and four in the other, a Baghdad emergency police official said.
Meanwhile, in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba, two brothers were killed in a a drive-by shooting Sunday morning, according to an official with the Diyala Joint Coordination Center.
In a separate attack, another pair of brothers — both members of the police — were killed in a shooting, and their father was wounded, as they walked down the street in southern Baquba, the official said.
Iraq tribunal under scrutiny
Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will go on trial Monday accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in the so-called Anfal campaign of 1988.
The deadly assaults in the Kurdish region included the former regime’s alleged use of poison gas.
It is believed that about 100,000 Kurds were killed and 3,000 villages destroyed in the operation. Those who survived were illegally detained and later executed.
Iraq’s Kurds, who are seeking justice for the well-documented attacks, welcome the trial. But one major human rights watchdog group that has helped educate the world about the Anfal campaign worries that the tribunal won’t do its victims justice.
Human Rights Watch — which has tracked, documented and decried the Anfal campaign for years — says the Iraqi tribunal is “incapable” of handling the proceeding fairly, judging from its performance during the ongoing Dujail trial.
On the other hand, U.S. officials say the tribunal officials learned a lot from their experiences during the Dujail proceeding and have improved their performance.
The Dujail trial, which began last October, focused on a government crackdown in 1982 against Shiites in Dujail, north of Baghdad, after a failed assassination attempt against Hussein there.
The crackdown resulted in the deaths of 148 Shiite males, the mistreatment of many residents and the destruction of property.
That trial adjourned last month, and resumes in mid-October, when verdicts are expected for Hussein and seven co-defendants, including Hussein’s half-brother Barzan Hassan.
The Dujail proceeding was criticized by many observers for its delays, procedural problems and inadequate security for attorneys. Critics said Hussein and Hassan turned the trial into a circus with frequent interruptions and constant harangues.
The legal machinery for the Anfal case got rolling as the Dujail trial was ending.
Hussein and six co-defendants, including Ali Hassan al-Majeed, a former Iraqi general known as “Chemical Ali,” are on trial in the Anfal case. “Anfal” means “spoils” in Arabic.
All face charges of war crimes related to an internal armed conflict and crimes against humanity. Hussein and al-Majeed have been charged with genocide.
