Fallujah: The homecoming and the homeless

News: "The assault by 10,000 US troops began on 8 November, just after the US presidential elections: its aim, to clear a city regarded by the Americans as a hotbed of insurgency.
More than 70 marines died, and 1,600 rebels. But no one knows the civilian casualty toll - this in a city which once numbered 300,000. Indeed, there are no estimates of how many people are still there, or how many escaped to neighbouring towns and to Baghdad before the assault got under way.
Ahmed Rawi, a Red Cross spokesman, said yesterday: 'No one knows how many families are inside the city.' The Red Cross team - which entered without escort and left before curfew - met no residents, apart from engineers and technicians. The Red Cross reported that hundreds of dead bodies remain stacked inside a potato chip warehouse on the outskirts. Some of the bodies were too badly decomposed to be identified. Raw sewage runs through the streets.
All this, and there are no humanitarian workers working inside the city. When the first of Fallujah's refugees are allowed to return on Christmas Eve, they will be funnelled through five checkpoints. Each will have their fingerprints taken, along with DNA samples and retina scans. Residents will be issued with badges with their home addresses on them, and it will be an offence not to wear it at all times. No civilian vehicles will be allowed in the city in an effort to thwart suicide bombers. One idea floated by the US is for all males in Fallujah be compelled to join work battalions in which they will be paid to clear rubble and rebuild houses. "

By Patrick Cockburn in Baghdad and Kim Sengupta

Fallujah in Pictures: Iraq Blog Links

Fallujah in Pictures If you take the time to read the following blogs from Iraq, I think you will gain a better perspective on what is happening in there. These Iraqi bloggers aren't liberals or conservatives, at least not in our understanding of those terms. They are just people like you and I, except they are living in the middle of a war and under the occupation of our troops. One thing that seems clear is that they are not "terrorists" or insurgents or "foreign fighters".

This is the website of Faiza, an Iraqi mother of three boys who lives in Baghdad:

http://afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com

These are her son's websites:

Raed

http://raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com/

Khalid:

http://secretsinbaghdad.blogspot.com/

Majhid

http://me-vs-myself.blogspot.com/

This is one by an Iraqi dentist living in Baghdad:

http://healingiraq.blogspot.com/

This is one by a young woman who lives with her parents in Baghdad:

http://riverbendblog.blogspot.com/

and here's a teenage girl living in Mosul:

http://iraqigirl.blogspot.com/

and a man in Basra, in the south of Iraq:

http://ishtartalking.blogspot.com/

A 16 year old (what we would call straight A) student in High School in Mosul:

http://astarfrommosul.blogspot.com/

and Alaa, a father in Baghdad:

http://messopotamian.blogspot.com/

Iraq Dispatches: Fallujah Pictures

Iraq Dispatches: Fallujah PicturesTwo weeks ago someone was allowed into Fallujah by the military to help bury bodies. They were allowed to take photographs of 75 bodies, in order to show pictures to relatives so that they might be identified before they were buried.

These pictures are from a book of photos. They are being circulated publicly around small villages near Fallujah where many refugees are staying.

The man who took them was only allowed to take photos and bury bodies in one small area of Fallujah. He was not allowed to visit anywhere else. Keep in mind there are at least 1,925 other bodies that were not allowed to be seen.

Information with some of the photos is from those identified by family members already.

One of the family members who was looking for dead relatives, shared these photos which were taken from that book.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told of what he saw in his village during the last few weeks.

Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches

Michael Moore Urges Democrats to Embrace Hollywood

Politics News Article | Reuters.com: "BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - 'Fahrenheit 9/11' director Michael Moore on Monday rejected the idea that Hollywood had hurt John Kerry's chances of winning the White House, insisting that he and other entertainers helped spare Democrats an even bigger defeat.
'For the last month, we've had to listen to a lot of conservative pundits talk about how Democrats need to run away from Hollywood,' Moore said. 'It's actually the opposite. Democrats need to embrace Hollywood because this is where they need to come to learn how to tell a story.'
In the final analysis, Moore said, Democratic presidential nominee Kerry was 'not the best candidate.' President Bush 'had a more compelling story to tell and the Democrats didn't, and that has to change.'
Moore, making a string of public appearances in the weeks leading up to the Oscar nominations, for which 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is seen as a potential contender, spoke to reporters before addressing the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on the impact of filmmaking on politics. "

By Steve Gorman
Reuters

CNN.com - Ban extended at flu vaccine plant

CNN.com - Ban extended at flu vaccine plant: "LONDON, England (CNN) -- The UK government has extended by three months a ban on the production of influenza vaccine at Chiron Corp.'s plant in Britain.
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency -- Britain's health care regulator -- said the new ban would begin when the current order expires on January 3, 2005.

But the regulator said the extension was not a result of newly identified safety issues at the company's Liverpool plant.
'It is routine regulatory action to give Chiron more time to carry out the extensive and detailed remedial plan which is now being put in place,' it said in a statement.

The new ban could potentially threaten next year's supply of flu vaccine for the United States.

The original ban pulled off the market 48 million doses of vaccine intended for the United States -- half the country's supply."

The Conyers Hearings on Ohio Vote Fraud

Wednesday December 8, 2004

t r u t h o u t
By William Rivers Pitt
Wednesday 08 December 2004

Michigan Congressman John Conyers, the leading Democrat on the House
Judiciary Committee, conducted a hearing into voting irregularities in Ohio.
The house GOP leadership refused to sanction or recognize the hearing.

The following is from an interview at the Conyers hearing with Cliff Arnebeck,
Chair of Common Cause Ohio and attorney with The Alliance for Democracy.

WP: What did you think of the hearing today?

CA: The best part about it was that it happened. If you look at who was here,
you had leaders from the generally white political reform movement and
leaders from the black civil rights movement. This is a powerful coalition.

Normally, what has happened is the blacks have fought their civil rights
struggle, with their numbers being the predominant part of it.

Whites have been fighting for political reform, and talk about it
as affecting everyone, but don't have the black roots participating.

Reverend Jackson said you look foolish talking about your civil rights
being abused. We are going to be there with you.

Personal account : Fathimath Nisreen, cyber-dissident imprisoned in the Maldives

I was never physically tortured. But the psychological scars from what I underwent in prison are irreversible.

"Fathimath Nisreen was arrested in January 2002 for helping to publish an e-mail newsletter called Sandhaanu that covered human rights violations and corruption in the Maldives. Accused of 'libel' and 'trying to overthrow the government,' she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. This was commuted to five years banishment on Feeail island in 2003. Fathimath was just 22 years old at the time of her trial. A peaceful gathering in protest against the regime began in the capital, Male, on the evening of 12 August 2004, while Fathimath was being allowed to spend several weeks there. Although under house arrest, she was able to participate in the protest. She agreed to talk about the violent crackdown that ensued. "

The Globe and Mail: Killed unarmed Iraqis, ex-marine tells hearing

The Globe and Mail: Killed unarmed Iraqis, ex-marine tells hearing: "A former U.S. marine testified yesterday that the U.S. military 'murdered' civilians in Iraq and that he pumped 500 rounds of bullets into vehicles that failed to stop at military checkpoints.
Jimmy Massey, a former marine staff sergeant, told an immigration and refugee board hearing in Toronto that he and his fellow marines shot and killed more than 30 unarmed men, women and children and even shot a young Iraqi who got out of his car with his arms in the air.
'We killed the man. We fired at a cyclic rate of 500 bullets per vehicle,' testified Mr. Massey, a marine for 12 years who was honourably discharged last year. 'The company gunnery sergeant came running over and began yelling, 'You just shot a guy with his hands up.' '
Mr. Massey testified in the refugee claim of U.S. army deserter Jeremy Hinzman, 26, who sought asylum in Canada after his application to be a conscientious objector was rejected. Mr. Hinzman said he did not want to be deployed to Iraq with his 82nd Airborne Division because he feared he would be forced to commit war crimes and atrocities in a conflict he considered illegal. "

ABC.com - Barbara Walters Presents the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004

ABC.com - ABC Special: "Barbara Walters Presented the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004 Wednesday, December 8

Hosted by Barbara Walters, the special includes daytime dynamo Oprah Winfrey, real estate mogul and reality star Donald Trump, heiress and actress Paris Hilton, pop music superstar Usher, controversial filmmaker Michael Moore and Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, among others."

People's Choice Awards Nominates "Fahrenheit 9/11" as "Favorite Film of the Year"

Welcome to MichaelMoore.com! Dear Friends,

May I take a break from our post-election despair to share with you a little piece of happy/silly/cool news?

"Fahrenheit 9/11" has been nominated by the People's Choice Awards as the American public's "Favorite Film of the Year." The five nominees were chosen from a poll of thousands of Americans in mid-to-late November. The other nominees for best film are "Spiderman 2," "The Incredibles," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (with Jim Carrey), and "Shrek 2." It is the first time ever a documentary has been nominated for best film by the People's Choice Awards.

The People's Choice Awards are considered, among all the awards shows, to be the one which most accurately reflects the "mainstream" public opinion in the United States.

OK, now, here's the best part: YOU get to vote! Online. Now. Just go to http://www.pcavote.com/voting/film/f01.shtml, click on the little circle next to "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the "Favorite Movie" category and press the "vote" button. Voting is going on now and continues only through this coming Monday, December 13, at 3:00pm ET, so send an e-mail to your friends and let them know they can vote, too. Winners will accept their awards live on CBS on January 9.

Fallujah in Pictures

Fallujah in Pictures: "As the site has grown, we have received notice that we must address the copyright issue in order to stay live. As of now, the pictures are down.

We are working out arrangements with various news organizations to keep the site up. They have all been receptive and reasonable.

Please support this site by making a donation.

Most pictures will be back up in the next 12-24 hours, and the rest shortly after that.

But we need your help.

Hopefully, this is a positive step towards building something that can really last."

Recent press clippings:


"Judging by the reaction of several soldiers and military experts, a
comparison of the two presentations shows, among other things, how the
mightof the U.S. military can be matched by a single blogger working part
time."' "As far as the blog site, this is information operations at its
finest,"said one Marine officer who has served in Iraq. "IO is about influence,
and this piece tries to influence people by depicting the human cost of
war."

- Tom Ricks, The Washington Post

"While both the mainstream media and the Bush administration do their
best to present Americans with an air-brushed picture of war, a site called
"Fallujah in Pictures" reminds us of the high price of an occupation
gone wrong."
- Alternet

The war in Iraq, and the devastation in Fallujah, has inexplicably
disappeared from the front pages of many newspapers, so this might be
the right time to point anyone still interested to a Web site called
"Fallujah in Pictures."
- Greg Mitchell, Editor and Publisher

"My hat is off to you. Keep up the great work!"
- Dahr Jamail

"But with the digital era's unblinking eye and ever-growing bandwidth,
even the furtive Bush White House can't keep all the bad stuff locked away.
(Abu Ghraib, of course, being one prime example.) One blogger (whose
identity is not readily apparent on the site) has collected some recent images at
Fallujah In Pictures, most of which come from Reuters, AP, AFP and
Al Jazeera. For those seeking more documentary evidence of what's
happened there -- and not for the faint of heart."

- Salon.com

Dick is a Killer!

Listen to Dick Is A Killer and let me know what you think...

01.
Imagine
03:48
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download
02.
Dick Is A Killer
03:48
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03.
Who's the Nigga?
03:48
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04.
KGBtv
04:59
stream hi
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05.
Sunday Bloody Sunday
03:09
stream hi
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06.
Boys and Girls
04:38
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07.
I'm John Kerry
04:44
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A Documentary from a US Iraqi

"Nice Bombs"


click for clips:
high res .mov file
low res .mov file

Boston.com / News / World / Returning Fallujans will face clampdown

Boston.com / News / World / Returning Fallujans will face clampdown: "FALLUJAH, Iraq -- The US military is drawing up plans to keep insurgents from regaining control of this battle-scarred city, but returning residents may find that the measures make Fallujah look more like a police state than the democracy they have been promised.

Under the plans, troops would funnel Fallujans to so-called citizen processing centers on the outskirts of the city to compile a database of their identities through DNA testing and retina scans. Residents would receive badges displaying their home addresses that they must wear at all times. Buses would ferry them into the city, where cars, the deadliest tool of suicide bombers, would be banned.

Marine commanders working in unheated, war-damaged downtown buildings are hammering out the details of their paradoxical task: Bring back the 300,000 residents in time for January elections without letting in insurgents, even though many Fallujans were among the fighters who ruled the city until the US assault drove them out in November, and many others cooperated with fighters out of conviction or fear.

One idea that has stirred debate among Marine officers would require all men to work, for pay, in military-style battalions. Depending on their skills, they would be assigned jobs in construction, waterworks, or rubble-clearing platoons."

By Anne Barnard
Globe Staff

The Bush Raps (Re)Mix Contest Song Archive

Free Mp3s created with The George W Bush Public Domain Audio Archive(...and by maniacs who recorded their own samples...)

The Bots created a database of 15,000 keyword searchable audio samples of the voice of George W Bush, which we used to create the parody song Fuzzy Math. We've been encouraging people to download the free samples and create their own parody mixes using the President's voice. Now, on this page, you can link to artists all over the world who have made their own parody songs using the voice of George W Bush. Scroll down this page and you'll see links to 50 different mixes!

Free Music and Tools for Media Activists!!!You can download these songs for free. We suggest making an audio cd from your favorites. Play it for your friends or try some new forms of political action. Imagine the boomboxes of Circuit City and Best Buy pounding out the real voice of Dubya, rapping and mocking himself.

Coolness on a Half Shell

060) William Botin, BushKerry
059) Frenz,The Mistake
004) DrMad's Trio, COMMONSENSE

Ohio Election Fraud (Formerly "Fairness")

Ohio Election Fraud (Formerly "Fairness"): "12/04/04 Great rally today at the State Capitol. At the peak of the rally there were 1100 people here on a sunny, but cold windswept day standing, chanting and clapping for the democracy that the founders started in this country. We were compared to the patriots that dumped tea into the Boston Harbor. The lawyers for Cobb/Badnarik and various other lawsuits gave a hopeful report that our effort is on the side of law and orderand we will prevail. But for the recount, Ken Blackwell is the key to a fair election. I spoke about how the pressure must be put on him over the next week. When I asked the crowd, �do you want to picket Blackwell�s office next week they roared, Yes!!!!�

At the evening event, Rep Sheila Lee Jackson (D-TX) flew in from Wash. D.C. and told us that what happened in Ohio and around the country was voter suppression, intimidation and premeditated fraud that is illegal under the US constitution 14th amendment's equal protection clause. She said that the House Judiciary committee will hold a hearing on Wed Dec. 8 in D.C. asking Ken Blackwell to explain the irregularities of the election.

Harvey Wasserman, (truth@freepress.org) one of the people filing FOI requests, rec'd their first reply. Selby County sent back an answer to supplying their tabulation records by saying they threw them away in an effort 'to reduce paperwork and confusion.' At that the crowd roared �Revote, Revote, Revote!!!� After hearing this and other numerous examples of fraud in other counties (Warren County had a lockdown to count the votes) I now believe that the only way to have a fair election in Ohio is to have a revote. In Ukraine, the Supreme Court ruled that there must be a revote since after hearing all the evidence, they could not determine a winner. We have the same situatio"

20 Amazing Facts About Voting in the USA

Untitled: "

1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diebold

2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0916-04.htm
3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/private_company.html

4. The chairman and CEO of Diebold is a major Bush campaign organizer and donor who wrote in 2003 that he was 'committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year.'

http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=1647886
5. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel used to be chairman of ES&S. He became Senator based on votes counted by ES&S machines.

6. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, long-connected with the Bush family, was recently caught lying about his ownership of ES&S by the Senate Ethics Committee.
http://www.hillnews.com/news/012903/hagel.aspx
http://www.onlisareinsradar.com/archives/000896.php
7. Senator Chuck Hagel was on a short list"

14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: Woman Arrested for Selling Flu Shots in MN

14 WFIE, The Tri-State's News Leader: Woman Arrested for Selling Flu Shots in MN: "A woman in Minnesota, dressed in scrubs and a lab coat, has been arrested for illegally selling flu shots.

Michelle Lynn Torgerson was arrested Friday on suspicion of theft and drug possession.

The woman claims she was just trying to raise money for her daughter's school fund-raiser and that the shots were real."

toledoblade.com: Elections chief resigns, 4 staff are suspended

toledoblade.com: "An extensive housecleaning in the Lucas County elections office was announced yesterday with Elections Director Paula Hicks-Hudson resigning and four other officials suspended pending investigation into problems with the official count of the Nov. 2 election.
The county, which certified its vote Wednesday, will have to amend its official certification with the state, in part because of an apparent failure of employees to properly do their jobs, board Chairman Bernadette Noe said.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said yesterday that Mr. Blackwell 'continues to have grave concerns' about the performance of the county elections office, and said he will soon intercede to make changes.
'We are reviewing the election administration practices of the board, and continue to have concerns with the board staff and board members,' spokesman Carlo LoParo said.
Ms. Hicks-Hudson, who presided over almost-constant turmoil since joining the staff in May, 2002, said she plans to leave by the end of the year."