Reuters does it again. A classic propaganda Kodak moment courtesy of Reverend Jesse Jackson (and son):

US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson (R) inspects buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs that were damaged by the recent conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah, August 29, 2006. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir.

And to think some say Reuters "stages" their photos.

It turns out that the "Made In USA" sign was put up by the Hezbollah in advance. This has become a popular propaganda tool for them:

Even the red banner has gotten around:

But certainly Jesse Jackson is media savvy enough to notice to have noticed the sign and realize how it and he were being used for the photos.

Jackson was at least complicit, if not eagerly willing to help advance Hezbollah's and Reuters' anti-American propaganda.

And when will the Reverend inspect the damage inflicted by Hezbollah upon Hymietown
Israel?

This is from the rabidly pro Hezbollah site in Iran, Moqavemat.ir:

 

A house and school hit by Hizbollah rockets in the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.

Twelve Thousand Buildings in Israel Hit by Hezbollah

Some 2,000 buildings destroyed during war in north; compensation to cost government tens of thousands of shekels

Some 12,000 buildings, including 4,000 public structures, were damaged by rocket attacks waged by Hizbullah from Lebanon during 35 days of confrontation with the Israel Defense Forces, a report by the Ministry for the Environment showed.

The Ministry for the Environment is drafting plans to get rid of tons of rubble from destroyed buildings, as the Prime Minister`s Office estimates that 2,000 buildings and apartments were destroyed during the war.

Grinding and disposing of the rubble in an environmental friendly manner will cost the government between NIS 80-115 (about USD 18-26) per ton of rubble.

The report estimated that 85 percent of the rubble could be buried underground at the cost of NIS 4.25 million (USD 974,770) and 15 percent could be grinded at the cost of NIS 900,000 (USD 200,000).

The report said 400 bush fires were started by Katuysha rockets during the war, burning up to 12,000 dunams of bush and forestry.

In Kiryat Shmona alone over 7,000 dunams were burnt.

The cost of extinguishing bush fires and preventing from covering larger areas stood at NIS 20 million (USD 4.6 million), the ministry said.

The report warned that 25 buildings made from asbestos were hit in the war, releasing the dangerous substance and creating a great public health hazard.

The buildings are owned by industrial and agricultural firms, it was reported.

In some cases asbestos concentration reached 2,300 fibers per square meter.

Eliminating the danger posed by asbestos to public health requires special removal procedures, the cost of which could reach tens of thousands of shekels.

In addition to damage to life and property, animal rights groups and local authorities say that some 700 dogs were found abandoned during the war.

Of course Hezbollah is crowing over this Israeli report. But isn’t it odd that we only hear about the destruction that Israel has endured from the braggadocio of its enemies?

Our one party media doesn’t seem to think it is newsworthy.

From the DNC's house magazine Newsweek:

The Man Who Said Too Much

A book coauthored by NEWSWEEK's Michael Isikoff details Richard Armitage's central role in the Valerie Plame leak.

By Michael Isikoff

Updated: 11:12 a.m. ET Aug 28, 2006

Sept. 4, 2006 issue – In the early morning of Oct. 1, 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell received an urgent phone call from his No. 2 at the State Department. Richard Armitage was clearly agitated. As recounted in a new book, "Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War," Armitage had been at home reading the newspaper and had come across a column by journalist Robert Novak. Months earlier, Novak had caused a huge stir when he revealed that Valerie Plame, wife of Iraq-war critic Joseph Wilson, was a CIA officer. Ever since, Washington had been trying to find out who leaked the information to Novak. The columnist himself had kept quiet. But now, in a second column, Novak provided a tantalizing clue: his primary source, he wrote, was a "senior administration official" who was "not a partisan gunslinger." Armitage was shaken. After reading the column, he knew immediately who the leaker was. On the phone with Powell that morning, Armitage was "in deep distress," says a source directly familiar with the conversation who asked not to be identified because of legal sensitivities. "I'm sure he's talking about me." …

Armitage acknowledged that he had passed along to Novak information contained in a classified State Department memo: that Wilson's wife worked on weapons-of-mass-destruction issues at the CIA. (The memo made no reference to her undercover status.) Armitage had met with Novak in his State Department office on July 8, 2003—just days before Novak published his first piece identifying Plame. Powell, Armitage and Taft, the only three officials at the State Department who knew the story, never breathed a word of it publicly and Armitage's role remained secret.…

As it turned out, Novak wasn’t the only person Armitage talked to about Plame. Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward has also said he was told of Plame’s identity in June 2003. Woodward did not respond to requests for comment for this article, but, as late as last week, he referred reporters to his comments in November 2005 that he learned of her identity in a "casual and offhand" conversation with an administration official he declined to identify. According to three government officials, a lawyer familiar with the case and an Armitage confidant, all of whom would not be named discussing these details, Armitage told Woodward about Plame three weeks before talking to Novak…

Armitage's central role as the primary source on Plame is detailed for the first time in "Hubris," which recounts the leak case and the inside battles at the CIA and White House in the run-up to the war. The disclosures about Armitage, gleaned from interviews with colleagues, friends and lawyers directly involved in the case, underscore one of the ironies of the Plame investigation: that the initial leak, seized on by administration critics as evidence of how far the White House was willing to go to smear an opponent, came from a man who had no apparent intention of harming anyone…

Richard Armitage

I had been reluctant to post this because it is just a book review that does not present any new substantive evidence.

But, really, it's been clear for quite a while that the original leaker was Richard Armitage for all of the reasons that have long been discussed.

Not the least of which being that he fits Novak's description to a tee. He was in touch with Woodward when Woodward said he was told. And the letters of Armitage’s name fit (literally) the space in the redacted documents that mention the leaker.

The appalling thing, as we have long said, is that Fitzgerald knew all along. As of course did Mr. Armitage.

In fact, it's more than appalling, it is criminal. Certainly what they have done (and failed to do) is far more criminal than anything "Scooter" Libby is accused of doing.

They have wasted millions of dollars and large portions of people's lives. And not just Libby's, but Karl Rove’s, Judith Miller's and the hundreds of other participants in the various Grand Juries and "investigations" into what was never a crime.

Worse yet, Fitzgerald and Armitage have helped our enemies at home and abroad by allowing the preposterous "treason" calumny against the Bush administration to go on for so long.

Not to mention that we have had to watch Mr. Plame preen like the brainless cockatoo he is throughout this preposterous non-event.

Fitzgerald and Armitage should both face serious jail time for their disgusting charade.

And my favorite quote:

The disclosures about Armitage, gleaned from interviews with colleagues, friends and lawyers directly involved in the case, underscore one of the ironies of the Plame investigation: that the initial leak, seized on by administration critics as evidence of how far the White House was willing to go to smear an opponent, came from a man who had no apparent intention of harming anyone…

Never mind that it was (Communist) David Corn, one of the authors of this new "book," who started this deathless lie. And that Corn and Michael Isikoff did their level best to keep this lie alive.

Now they both stand to make millions correcting their own criminal libels.

What a world.

From a disappointed BBC:

Supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador push a coffin emblazoned with the word 'Democracy' in Spanish, as they take part in a protest outside Mexico's Federal Electoral Tribunal (TRIFE) building in Mexico City August 28, 2006.

Mexico court rejects fraud claims

Monday, 28 August 2006

The court decided not to order a full recount of votes from the disputed election, as demanded by leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador…

Mr Lopez Obrador has led mass protests demanding a recount of all 41m ballots cast in July's election.

The electoral court must formally declare the winner by 6 September.

Mr Lopez Obrador's campaign had filed complaints at around 50,000 polling stations, but the court ordered a recount at just 11,839 of them – about 9% of the national total.

The seven judges decided there was no massive fraud and Mr Calderon had attracted a majority of votes.

The judges said there were only marginal changes to the original results because of recounts and annulments.

They said that all parties lost a considerable amount of votes in the rechecking of ballots, but that did not affect the overall result.

Correspondents say the verdict means that legally and constitutionally Mr Lopez Obrador's fight to become president has come to an end.

The judges' decision is final and there are no appeals…

What a sad state we’ve come to when Mexico’s court system acts more responsibly than the Supreme Court Of Florida (aka SCOFLAW).

From our good friends at CNSNews:

Socialists Back Out Of Sheehan Protest

By Nathan Burchfiel
August 28, 2006

(CNSNews.com) – The International Socialist Organization has rescinded its sponsorship of Cindy Sheehan's upcoming 17-day anti-war protest in Washington, D.C., according to a spokesman for the event.

As Cybercast News Service previously reported, the ISO had been listed on news releases as a sponsor of "Camp Democracy," a protest and convention scheduled to take place on the National Mall Sept. 5-21.

Since the report was published Monday, the website promoting the event has removed the ISO from its list of sponsors, although the group is still listed in a sample news release that supporters are encouraged to send to local media outlets.

David Swanson, a spokesman for Camp Democracy, told Cybercast News Service that the ISO "requested to be [removed] and asked for their money back."

According to the website, a group sponsorship entails a donation of between $50 and "at least $1,000" with different levels of sponsorship receiving different benefits. Benefits of sponsorship include tables at the camp to promote the organization's ideas and materials and the opportunity to lead a camp event or provide a speaker to address protesters.

Swanson said the ISO gave "a couple of reasons" for withdrawing its sponsorship, adding that the reasons "seemed not to make sense or to be based on facts and may have been based on misunderstanding."

Swanson declined to elaborate on the ISO's reasons for pulling its sponsorship. A spokesman for the ISO did not respond to requests for comment.

Maybe they didn't want to be too obvious.

Or maybe Mother Sheehan is too lunatic left even for them?

(Thanks to Lucianne for the heads up.)

  Update!

From Salt Lake’s KUTV:

Sick Cindy Sheehan Cancels SLC Protest Speech

Aug 29, 2006 2:17 pm US/Mountain

SALT LAKE CITY Anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan has cancelled her trip to Utah to speak at a rally against President Bush and his war policy.

A spokesman for Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson says Sheehan was scheduled to speak at a demonstration in Salt Lake City tomorrow. However, he says the 49-year-old Sheehan had to cancel her trip because she’s still recovering from a recent hysterectomy and is too ill to travel…

How sad.

I guess Salt Lake City couldn’t pony up the required scratch.

From the Atlanta affiliate WSBTV.com:

Cleland Seeks Treatment For Depression

August 28, 2006

WASHINGTON — As head of the Veteran’s Administration under President Jimmy Carter, Vietnam veteran Max Cleland was involved in setting up VA Vet centers to help soldiers returning from war get counseling and readjust to life back home.

Now Cleland has revealed that he’s suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and getting help from those same counseling programs he helped create.

Cleland, who lost three limbs in the war, said he didn’t get much help for his own psychological wounds when he returned from battle.

The former U.S. Senator from Georgia described his symptoms to Channel 2 Action News reporter Alison Burns.

He said he feels depressed, has developed a sense of hyper-vigilance about his security and has difficulty sleeping.

He believes the Iraq war has, in part, triggered his condition.

"I realize my symptoms are avoidance, not wanting to connect with anything dealing with the [Iraq] war, tremendous sadness over the casualties that are taken, a real identification with that…..I’ve tried to disconnect and disassociate from the media. I don’t watch it as much. I’m not engrossed in it like I was," he said…

Not to denigrate his service or his wounds from the accidentally dropped grenade, but Max Cleland was a desk jockey for a general for most of his time in Vietnam.

Cleland was only at the front for eight days.

From the US Army’s Fort Gordon site:

Sen. Joseph Maxwell Cleland

Sen. Max Cleland, U.S. senator from Georgia, served in the Army from 1965 to 1968 and as a Signal Corps officer from Oct. 18, 1967 to Dec. 23, 1968 in Vietnam, where he was severely wounded in a grenade explosion. Sen. Cleland was an aide to then-BG Tom Rienzi at Fort Monmouth, N.J., when he volunteered for duty with 1st Air Cavalry Division in Vietnam.

First assigned to 1st Cavalry’s Signal battalion, CPT Cleland then volunteered as communications officer for 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry, which had been chosen for Operation Pegasus – the relief of Khe Sanh – in April 1968.

CPT Cleland was on a mountaintop with his Signal team to set up a radio relay when he lost his legs and right arm to a grenade explosion. For Khe Sanh he received the Bronze Star for meritorious service and Silver Star for gallantry in action.

From Khe San Chronology 1962-1972:

Apr 1 [1968] – Operation PEGASUS begins; 2/1 and 2/3 (1st Marines) attack west from Ca Lu along Route 9. Elements of 3d Bde, 1st ACD conduct helo assaults into LZ Mike and Cates. Joint engineer task force begins repair of Route 9 from Ca Lu to Khe Sanh.

Apr 3 – 2d Bde, 1st ACD assaults LZs Tom and Wharton.

Apr 4 – 1/5 CavSqd moves northwest from LZ Wharton and attacks enemy units near old French fort; 1st Battalion, 9th Marines moves southeast from rock quarry and assaults Hill 471.

Apr 5 – 1/9 repulses enemy counterattack on Hill 471 and kills 122 North Vietnamese. 1st Bde, 1st ACD departs Ca Lu and assaults LZ Snapper.

Apr 6 – One company of 3d ARVN Airborne Task Force airlifted to KSCB for the initial link up with defenders. Elements of 2d Bde, 1st ACD relieve 1st Battalion, 9th Marines on Hill 471; 1/9 commences sweep to northwest toward Hill 689.

1st Bde, 1st ACD helilifted north of KSCB. 2/26 and 3/26 push north of combat base; Company G, 2/26 engages enemy force and kills 48 NVA.

Apr 8 – 2/7 CavSqd links up with 26th Marines and conducts official relief of combat base. 1/26 attacks to the west. 3d ARVN Airborne Task Force air assaults into LZ Snake west of Khe Sanh and kills 78 North Vietnamese.

From a post defending Cleland’s war record at Doxagora:

Let’s talk Ann Coulter and heroism

While an aide [to a general] at Forth Monmouth, NJ, Cleland volunteered for a combat tour with the 1st Air Cavalry Division. Once in-theatre, then-Captain Cleland volunteered for a post as communications officer with 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry in April, 1968. This is meaningful because Cleland knowingly volunteered for Operation PEGASUS.

Some context: At 5:30 AM on January 21st, an NVA artillery barrage hammered away at the forward base of Khe Sanh in what would prove to be a grim foreshadowing of the Tet Offensive, nine days away. By February, enemy fire made it impossible to supply Khe Sanh by C-130, and the military was forced to use paradrops and helicopters in concert with sustained attacks against NVA anti-air emplacements. Outside Khe Sanh, 20,000 NVA soldiers prepared for assault, testing Marine lines with hundreds of men at a time.

Operation PEGASUS was an air assault operation designed to break the back of the NVA at Khe Sanh. 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry was one of the first two forces into the area, landing on April 1st at LZ WHARTON, just south of a ruined French fort (used by the NVA as the main stronghold for their attacks on the Marines) and the road leading north to Khe Sanh. 2/12 Cav and 1/5 Cav secured WHARTON, which would serve as the staging area for the assault on the fort.

On April 4, two days before the 2/5 Cav attacked the fort from LZ WHARTON, Cleland won his Silver Star. Cleland was at the battalion command post at WHARTON when NVA forces began a rocket and mortar barrage in an attempt to dislodge the Americans from their position. According to Cleland’s Silver Star Order:

Capt. Cleland, disregarding his own safety, exposed himself to the rocket barrage as he left his covered position to administer first aid to his wounded comrades. He then assisted in moving the injured personnel to covered positions. Continuing to expose himself, Capt. Cleland organized his men into a work party to repair the battalion communications equipment which had been damaged by enemy fire. His gallant action is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Three days later, the Old French Fort fell. On April 8, American forces set up within the defenses of Khe Sanh. 2/7 Cav moved from LZ THOR (east of WHARTON) and cleared a road to Khe Sanh, allowing American forces to link up with the Marines in the base.

Cleland was ordered to set up a radio relay on a nearby mountain. He and his signals team were airlifted to the site. While disembarking from the helicopter, Cleland saw a grenade that he thought had fallen from his webbing. Cleland tells what happened:

On April 8, 1968, I volunteered for one last mission. The helicopter moved in low. The troops jumped out with M16 rifles in hand as we crouched low to the ground to avoid the helicopter blades. Then I saw the grenade. It was where the chopper had lifted off. It must be mine, I thought. Grenades had fallen off my web gear before. Shifting the M16 to my left hand and holding it behind me, I bent down to pick up the grenade.

A blinding explosion threw me backwards.

The grenade turned out to belong to an inexperienced soldier who had incorrectly set the pin for a hair-trigger detonation.

Seven days later, Operation PEGASUS was ended as the NVA was forced out of the area. From the beginning of the siege to the end of PEGASUS, 730 Americans were killed in action, 2,642 were wounded, and 7 were officially classified as missing in action. A few months later, Khe Sanh was officially abandoned.

Although Cleland’s injury occurred in a combat zone, during general combat operations, Cleland was not eligible for a Purple Heart, as his injury did not occur while in direct combat with the enemy. ("Friendly fire" injuries qualify for the Purple Heart only if the fire was directed at an enemy.)

In fact, Cleland’s injuries were sustained when he got out of a helicopter to go for a beer miles, miles from the front.

From the Boston Globe:

Tragedy transformed

By Jill Zuckman, Globe Staff

… Finally, the battle at Khe Sanh was over. Cleland, 25 years old, and two members of his team were now ordered to set up a radio relay station at the division assembly area, 15 miles away. The three gathered antennas, radios, and a generator and made the 15-minute helicopter trip east. After unloading the equipment, Cleland climbed back into the helicopter for the ride back. But at the last minute, he decided to stay and have a beer with some friends. As the helicopter was lifting off, he shouted to the pilot that he was staying behind and jumped several feet to the ground.

Cleland hunched over to avoid the whirring blades and ran. Turning to face the helicopter, he caught sight of a grenade on the ground where the chopper had perched. It must be mine, he thought, moving toward it. He reached for it with his right arm just as it exploded, slamming him back and irreparably altering his plans for a bright, shining future." …

(Note that the Ft. Gordon site also has it wrong. As does Wikipedia, which disingenuously describes the event as occurring during "a routine training exercise.")

This is not to say you can’t be traumatized from a short period of combat, or by being grievously wounded.

But Cleland’s depression isn’t your typical PTSD. And his depression is probably brought on by his physical state and his chronic alcoholism.

And despite Cleland’s claim:

He believes the Iraq war has, in part, triggered his condition.

It’s isn’t Bush’s fault.

More from those seekers of truth at Aljazeera:

In a rare photo featuring sensible clothes.

Qadhafi calls for self-reliance

Monday 28 August 2006 2:14 PM GMT

Muammar al-Qadhafi, Libya's leader, has given a series of speeches over recent months that are increasingly supportive of free-market capitalism and critical of traditional Arab social attitudes.

The speeches, made this month and last, have caused growing speculation that al-Qadhafi will use September 1, the anniversary of his coup in 1969, to announce a new direction for the country.

"The new phase which starts today requires that nothing be built by foreigners, and whatever is built in Libya will be by Libyans," al-Qadhafi said in one speech, according to the Libyan news agency.

But he also attacked Libyans – and by implication other Arab governments – for relying almost exclusively on their country's oil wealth, and urged them to invest abroad, innovate and create a more diverse economy.

"We don't produce anything," he said in a separate speech. "We sell only oil and consume everything. The kind of trade in which you produce nothing and import goods in exchange for oil – it's a catastrophe.

"The kind of trade in which you produce nothing and import goods in exchange for oil, it's a catastrophe"

"To explore for oil, to export it and earn money which you use to pay for imports, and to then sell those imports locally: This isn't prosperity. It doesn't lead to the nation's progress."

Closer relations with the West

Since trade embargos imposed against Libya after the Lockerbie airline bombing in 1988 were progressively lifted from 2003, the country has built closer relations with the West.

In recent months Libya has worked closely with the European Union over illegal immigration and with the US by offering close co-operation against Islamic militants.

Since then al-Qadhafi has increasingly held up Western economies and societies as role models that Libya should copy.

Most foreign observers consider Libya to be a military dictatorship

Libya could become an economic power like Japan were it not "socially backward" and reliant on foreign workers to do skilled jobs, he said.

"We take no significant credit for what's been achieved, because foreigners were the ones who did everything from the simplest to the biggest thing. Even to install a loudspeaker here, for instance, we used to bring a Korean or a Chinese to do it," he said.

Al-Qadhafi is renowned for his outspoken style and innovative ideas, but Libyans say it is unusual for such speeches to be made so frequently and to such a wide variety of audiences – from professional groups and state planners to teachers and religious students.

Al-Qadhafi's son steps up

Al-Qadhafi's outspokenness is also being matched by his son, Saif al-Islam, whose public statements had previously focused mainly on social policy and foreign affairs.

But in August Saif al-Islam told youth groups that Libya had no free press and that its political system should be more democratic.

"We say Libya is paradise on earth, it's heaven. What kind of paradise? We have no infrastructure. There are cities with no water," Islam told the meeting.

His father meanwhile has also criticised the country's stagnant and corrupt economic and political environment – both of which are founded on al-Qadhafi's own political 1975 manifesto, The Green Book, which is the basis of Libya's constitution.

"You are being deceived by the salaries, petrol salaries," al-Qadhafi said. "Yesterday I went to Sebha [town]. Oh, the shops, markets, cafes, restaurants and photo shops, it was glamorous!

"All the world's output that you could ever need was in Sebha. But who is buying these goods? … No one but people with salaries coming from the central bank, the treasury, or from petrol."

Looming water shortages

Al-Qadhafi also said that – as in many Arab countries – Libya's fast-expanding population is rapidly using up its water resources.

"The oases deep in the south of the country will soon become a wasteland because the water will dry up and the palm trees will die, whereas the population will grow," al-Qadhafi said. "What will we do by then? Will we cry?"

Despite vast oil wealth, most Libyans remains relatively poor

"Now, we have to plan for this, because we have limited water, including the Great Man-Made River Project, which is expected to run out in several dozen years."

Libya's $25 billion Great Man-Made River Project pipes fresh water from ancient aquifers beneath the Sahara to the Mediterranean coast.

"The Arabian peninsula is living on [desalinating] sea water because there is oil, there is money. But once oil is over there will be no money, no desalination, and people would die."

Islamic leaders are 'medieval'

Al-Qadhafi, leader of one of the Arab world's most secular governments, has also criticised Islamic leaders.

"These days there are a lot of a dubious speeches and propaganda … which some naive people believe in … but we can counter them with the Holy Koran and with science.

"These speeches will soon be prominent in Ramadan … When I switch on the TV and see a bearded man, and naive people calling him to ask for religious advice, I feel pity for him … Now this is like Europe in the Middle Ages, selling indulgences."

The progressive Libyan leader’s team of crack female bodyguards.

Did you ever think that Qadhafi would be the most sane voice coming out of the Middle East?

Note, however, the digs the article gets in about his regime and what a dictator he is. It must be quite shocking to their Arab sensibilities.

Anyway, it's always nice to see another spelling of his name:

Gadafi Gadafy Gaddafi Gadaffi Ghadaffy Gadhafi Ghaddafi Ghaddafy Gheddafi Kadafi Kaddafi Kazzafi Khaddafi Khaddaffy Qadafi Qaddafi Qadhdhafi Qadhdhaafiy Qathafi Q'udafi Qudhafi…

According to the BBC, this now makes at least 22 variations in use.

From those defenders of the faith at Aljazeera:

Women face curbs in Makka mosque

Monday 28 August 2006, 15:23 Makka Time, 12:23 GMT

Religious leaders in Saudi Arabia want to impose restrictions on women praying in the Grand Mosque in Makka, one of the few places where male and female worshippers intermingle.

But women activists in the kingdom, the birthplace of the religion and where a strict interpretation of Islam is imposed, say the idea is discriminatory and have vowed to oppose it.

At present, women can pray in the immediate vicinity of the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure inside the mosque, revered for being the home of prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).

Pilgrims walk around this seven times during the haj pilgrimage according to rites established in Arabia before the birth of Jesus that continued after Islam and are still observed today.

Plans by the all-male committee overseeing the holy sites would place women in a distant section of the mosque while men would still be able to pray in the key space.

Not final

Osama al-Bar, head of the Institute for Haj Research, said: "The area is very small and so crowded. So we decided to get women out of the sahn [Kaaba area] to a better place where they can see the Kaaba and have more space.

"Some women thought it wasn't good, but from our point of view it will be better for them … We can sit with them and explain to them what the decision is."

The decision is not final, he said, and could be reversed.

Pushing and shoving is common in the tight space around the Kaaba where thousands of pilgrims crowd mainly during haj.

Worshippers can walk round the Kaaba at any other time as well.

The plans are likely to provoke a furore among Muslim women in countries whose traditions are less strict.

Muslims say it is a basic right to be able to pray as close as possible to the Kaaba.

It is towards the Kaaba that Muslims around the world turn when praying.

'Discrimination'

Suhaila Hammad, a Saudi woman member of a body of world Muslim scholars, said: "Both men and women have the right to pray in the House of God. Men have no right to take it away.

"Both men and women have the right to pray in the 'House of God'. Men have no right to take it away"

"Men and women mix when they circumambulate the Kaaba, so do they want to make us do that somewhere else too?

"This is discrimination against women."

The Grand Mosque is one of the few places where men and women pray together, although technically there are separate spaces for each gender throughout the vast complex.

Religious police charged with imposing order ensure that women do not pray outside the prescribed areas.

Hatoun al-Fassi, a historian, said the move to restrict women's prayer in the mosque would be a first in Islamic history.

"Perhaps they want women to disappear from any public prayer area and when it comes to the holy mosques that's their ultimate aim," she said.

She said that the religious authorities have already restricted women's access at Prophet Muhammad's burial place in Madina.

Heck, even the Nazis thought a woman’s realm should consist of Kinder, Küche, Kirche.

Kirche of course being church.

From the DNC's Aljazeera:

Nasrallah says he did not want war

Sunday 27 August 2006, 21:10 Makka Time, 18:10 GMT

The leader of Hezbollah has said that he would not have ordered the capture of two Israeli soldiers had he known that it would trigger such a war.

Hezbollah fighters killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two more in a cross-border raid on July 12, provoking a fierce Israeli response resulting in 34 days of fierce fighting in Lebanon.

"We did not think, even one per cent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 … that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with Lebanon's New TV station.

Prisoner swap

Nasrallah also said "contacts" for negotiations on a prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah had already begun.

"The Israelis have acknowledged that this [issue] is headed for negotiations and a [prisoners] exchange," he said. "Contacts recently began for negotiations."

He said that that Italy and the United Nations had expressed interest in helping to mediate.

He did not specify in which capacity Italy had expressed interest – on its own or as a mediator for Israel.

Nasrallah said Nabih Berri, the Lebanese parliament speaker, was in charge of the negotiations.

UN deployment

The Hezbollah leader also said that UN troops preparing to deploy in southern Lebanon would not encounter any problems as long as their mission did not involve disarming his fighters.

"We have no problem with Unifil [UN Interim Force in Lebanon] as long as its mission is not aimed at disarming Hezbollah," Nasrallah said in the interview.

His comments came on the eve of a visit to Beirut by Kofi Annan, who was to discuss with Lebanese leaders the deployment of around 15,000 UN troops in southern Lebanon and related security matters.

Nasrallah said he would welcome a meeting with the UN secretary-general and that contacts had been made towards that end, but he said that nothing had been finalised for security reasons.

You'd think this might indicate that Nasrallah has learned an important lesson. But of course he hasn't. And probably never will.

Though, if Israel does end up swapping prisoners for prisoners, you have to wonder if they have learned anything either.

The inside dope from Aljazeera:

Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) talks to Fox correspondent Steve Centanni (C) and New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig (R) after their release in Gaza August 27, 2006.

Fox News journalists freed

Sunday 27 August 2006, 15:08 Makka Time, 12:08 GMT

Two Fox News journalists kidnapped in Gaza have been freed, the television network says.

Steve Centanni, a 60-year-old American, and New Zealand-born cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, were seized on August 14 by a previously unknown group called the Holy Jihad Brigades.

After what was one of the longest detentions for foreign captives in Gaza, television images showed the two men being taken into a hotel by Palestinian security officials on Sunday.

The Holy Jihad Brigades claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the kidnapping and had told the United States to free Muslim prisoners to prevent the captives from facing unspecified consequences.

The United States had rejected the demand and the deadline expired on Saturday.

Khaled Abu Hilal, the Palestinian interior ministry spokesman, said the government had received assurances that the hostages would be freed.

Just before their release, a second video of the pair was issued.

Religious conversion

Both journalists appeared to be in good health in the new video.

The two men were shown separately, sitting cross-legged, reading statements announcing that they had converted to Islam.

Centanni said: "I changed my name to Khaled. I have embraced Islam and say the word Allah."Centanni said: "I changed my name to Khaled. I have embraced Islam and say the word Allah."

Wiig called on leaders of the West to stop "hiding behind the ‘I don’t negotiate with terrorists’ myth".

A separate statement from the captors said: "They chose Islam and that is a gift that God gives those whom he chooses."

Centanni later told CNN by telephone from Gaza City that they felt that they had to convert to Islam.

"I have the highest respect for Islam, but it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns and we didn’t know what the hell was going on," he said.

Political lobby

Ismail Haniya, the Palestinian prime minister, said the kidnappers had nothing to do with al-Qaeda nor any known Palestinian groups.

Videos of the captives released by the kidnappers had borne all the hallmarks of hostage tapes shot by fighters in Iraq.

"These are young men who carried out the action out of private beliefs," Haniya told reporters.

No arrests have been made.

The Hamas-led government had called for the men to be freed while several prominent resistance groups in Gaza denied involvement and also said the men should be freed.

Sheesh.

It’s not a religion. It’s a cult. Of and by and for thugs.

10th century thugs.

From the remnants of Saddam’s Baathists at Uruknet:

What Types of Gruesome Weapons Did Israel Use in Lebanon?

Nada Sayad, Global Research

August 23, 2006

Some doubts have been expressed regarding the use by Israel of Internationally Forbidden Weapons in its war on Lebanon.

The South Medical Complex in Saida is investigating this matter. It is examining 24 samples from corps that were hit in the area of South Lebanon in a trial to discover the nature of the substances that lead to death.

In a phone call done by "Assafir", the Lebanese local newspaper, Dr. Omar Morabi, the president of the Association of the Lebanese Belgian Friendship in Brussels, said that an mission of the World Health Organization (WHO) would be travelling to to Lebanon with a view taking samples from dead bodies in South Lebanon.

The Association after receiving a report and pictures from Dr. Bachir Cham, the president of the Said Medical Complex, took action and attempted to arrange for a meeting with UN secretary Kofi Anan The Associaiton submitted to Mr. Anan a report together with the pictures.

Dr. Morebi and his colleagues have held a press conference in the European Union head quarter in Brussels and delivered to the international press a full report with attached pictures, in an attempt to activate the file pertaining to the use of poisonous substances. Dr. Azmi Imad, the head of the department of Environmental Health at the American University in Beirut explained that usually the gases that are used in weapons has a similar effect as that of pesticides. But Dr. Imad could not affirm based on the pictures of the victims of the Israeli massacres in the South whether Israel is using chemical or biological (bacterial or viral) weapons in its war on Lebanon.

Those substances are classified per their effects: causes "bubbles" (elevation of the skin that get detached and get filled of the fluid or bulla) on the skin, paralyzes nerves, causes internal hemorrhages, suffocates and prevent breathing and causes deterioration of the skin, lungs and intestines, and others that cause several illnesses. Comparing those substances to pesticides comes from the similarities of their effects: they paralyze the nerves, block the ability to breathe and may cause internal hemorrhages and bubbles on the skin.

In view of this situation, Dr. Imad instructed that the rescuers of the emergency team should clean the skin from the bubbles, which should be cleaned in normal circumstances with solutions like chlorine or water, but in emergency situations it is possible to remove those bubbles (that are usually like oily spots) with a wooden stick or a similar tool. This cleaning process is essential for the safety of the rescuers and the medical team. This cleaning process is essential to protect the rescuers from being exposed. .

Imad explains that each substance has its own characteristics and symptoms: loosing the ability to breathe resulting in a blue face and lips, high body temperature and muscle cramps, in addition to signs that would only appear after three or four hours. Imad also adds that each substance has its proper cure and he leaves it to the specialists who would provide hospitals and rescuers with information.

Imad affirms that collecting evidence is crucial; it is essential to retrieve samples of the residues not only as biopsy from corpses but also from the scene where the bodies are found to discover the substance used whether chemical or biological. And here he explains that the area affected will remain polluted for at least eight hours. While he points at the fact of the necessity of using gloves and masks if there is any doubts of the existence of the poisoning substances that could spread in the air between 200 and 250 meters away from the exact explosion point.

Have Electro-Magnetic Weapons been used in Lebanon?

There is lack of resources to undertake the underlying examinaiton and tests as to the nature of weapons being used by Israel in Lebanon. In the absence of firm evidence, some worthwhile avenues of investigation have been suggested .

Last May "Ray News 24"- an Italian TV Channel- broadcast a report by journalists in Iraq concerning the use of a new type of experimental weapon. The latter his consists of rays of short electro-magnetic waves similar to the waves produced by the microwave devices used domestically.

This type of ray is aimed at the human target. When the person is hit, the nerve ends under his skin are affected leading to paralyzis of the nervous system. Moreover, the micor-wave raise the body temperature through heating the water in the cells. Used on live peopel, it’s exactly the same process as the the home used microwaves!

The report (that is now being investigated by the Strategic Research Institute in California), a private independent research center, explains that these types of weapons causes the disassembling of the target body parts and the appearance of what looks like burns in different parts of their bodies, while doctors could not find any solid parts of bombs.

Bret Wagner, the head of the Research Insitutute has called this weapon the Death Ray. Wagner also points in a published article that: "this weapon works in the speed of light and is able to hit targets from very long distance and expose lives to the microwaves that leads to its explosion.." This would explain the great damage that doctors have witnessed in examining the corpses.

Yet the TV report on Iraq talks about shrinkage of the body mass of the corpse resulting from the use of this weapon. Wagner also attributes the melted and distorted feature of the cars and buses that were present on the battle scene to the exposure of the electromagnetic rays.

Some reports point to the fact that a similar type of weapon was developed by the Soviet Union. It consisted in a targeted ray of power used in the Soviet-Afghan war (1980-1989) It had the capacity of penetratating underground into shelters and caves, where it would reach its hidden targets. The report also explains that when the human target is hit, it results in immediate death through the deterioration of the nervous system and killing of the living cells in the body including bacteria. This would explain mhy the bodies remained well preserved for a period between 30 to 45 days.

Wagner adds in his report that Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld has comfirmed that the US has developed this type of weapon, while stating to the press that it is still in the initial stages of development. He does not deny however the possibility that may have been tested experimentally by the Military, without prior approval. Wagner is now trying to convince the US Congress to prohibit the use of this type of weapon. He also recommends that this weapon should be internationally prohibited because it causes severe pain before death, the criteria adopted by the International Treaties on the Prohibition of Chemical and Poisoned Gas Weapons.

Would that be what Israel is using against us?

What Type of Weapons Israel Uses Against Us In The Assault On Lebanon?

How is Israel killing the Lebanese?

A question that the doctors in the South are trying to find an answer for, since they are receiving the dead bodies of the victims especially those hit by the airplanes on the streets.

Torn ends, dreadful smell, burn signs without being burned… a quick death caused by a sudden shut down of the nervous system accompanied by the coagulation of the blood which prevents hemorrhage. Some observers have suggested that Israel may be using some sort of toxic gas or chemical ammunition in the bombs aimed at civilians. .

The "South Medical Complex" has taken the initiative to send biopsies from the victim corpses of the Rmeileh massacre to be examined in order to reveal the truth.

Awaiting the results "Assafir news paper is in direct communication with doctors and hospitals in the various regions of Lebanon to collect testemonies about the cases they are examining. Some doctors who have examined the corpses killed by air strikes have already noted their astonishment, but could not identify the nature of the cases received either because of the siege, the lack of Laboratory materials or because these are cases never recorded before. While some doctors find it improbable that Israel has used chemical or phosphoric weapons in the war on Lebanon, Lebanese Army sources have mentioned "bombs" with special fillings, some of which are internationally forbidden.

While Dr. Hassan Wazni the manager of the Nabatieh public hospital, has spoken of the possibility that so-called "Emptying Bombs" have been used. These bombs empty the air from body, causing the person to stop breathing and therefore leading to heart immediate failure.

In the mean time, we would need to pursue the inquiry regarding the possible use of "electro-magnetic" weapons by the United States in Iraq.

The site then produces a myriad of gruesome burned bodies as evidence of the pervasive use of this new and powerful weapon.

At the risk of sounding insensitive to those killed, I believe the "death ray" in question is called "fire."

(The typos are original to the article. Perhaps they were overly excited at their findings.)

  Update!

It turns out that the German television (ARD) program " Report " has already shot holes in most of these claims: