Author: Oui

1904 World Fair -- Meet me at St. Louis!

UZBEK RIOTS or another "Orange Revolt"? ¶ See Front Page Diary

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SEE FRONT PAGE DIARY BY SUSANHBU

Dozens Killed as Soldiers Fire on Protesters in Uzbekistan
by susanhbu Fri May 13th, 2005

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George’s friendly oil dictator in Uzbekistan, Karimov ran into some protest by his people.   In the eastern city of Andijon, pop. 300,000, angry Islamists took up arms to get their leader out of prison. In the unrest that followed, 9 persons were killed and 34 wounded. The news is very sketchy, but it appears government buildings have been taken over and hostages are held. The news agency reported the president was on his way to the east, to calm down the people.

Is George for a Democracy or will he side with authority and OIL? Other western European nations have followed GWB footsteps into the murky oil spils of Karimov.

  • Official Russian RIA Novosti — Latest NEWS

    More below the fold on background info …
    LATEST NEWS ¶ THIS DIARY HAS BEEN ADDED AS COMMENT TO FRONT PAGE ¶

  • Uzbek News link – fergana.ru
  • Prada.com — Massive Uprising in Uzbekistan

    `HUMAN RIGHTS NIGHTMARE’
    The deal with the United States serves Karimov’s agenda in other ways as well. The former Soviet boss, who rules with an iron fist and has been called a “human rights nightmare” by various international human rights watchdogs, could hardly find a more opportune way to pump up his flagging popularity at home.

    To the approval of his people, Karimov has signaled to Russia — still so influential in its old neighborhood — that Uzbekistan will go its own way and choose its own friends. But he has been dogged by criticism of his record. Human Rights Watch cautioned Washington to step carefully in the Central Asian nation.

    “If the United States is going to ally itself with Uzbekistan, it has to find a way to avoid aligning itself with Uzbekistan’s brutal policies,” said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. “President Bush has said the war on terrorism cannot become a war on Islam,” he said. “The government of Uzbekistan is undeniably at war with forms of Islam it does not control.”


    ENCARTA

  • BBC March 2004 — Uzbek siege man blows himself up
  • ASIA TIMES — Safe h(e)aven for Uzbek strongman’s daughter
  • Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan

               

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    President Karimov has arrived in the troubled city of Andijon, where soldiers have opened fire on the crowds of protesters. The people uprising aim to rid the country of the Karimov dictatorship, in analogy to neighboring Kyrgyzstan in March.

    From reports, there are now 20 Uzbeks who have died and 2000 prisoners escaped as the crowd attacked and forced the release of their Muslim leader.

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    • UN Nominee Bolton ¶ Slammed North Korea On WMD in 2002 ¶ A Foreboding?

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    Just a reminder how worthwhile Bolton was as Undersecretary of State, in regards to solving the North Korean issue on nuclear research and building of nuclear energy plants as was agreed on by Madeleine Allbright.

    Especially the wild accusations, uttered by a bull(y), when the world knew AQ Khan of Pakistan has been dealing in nuclear materials for decades. How serious will Bolton be seen by the international community and the UN, with such a poor track record. The hardliners from NeoConservatism, are being sidelined and parachuted in UN and Worldbody Institutions like Wolfowitz into the World Bank. The Bush regime changes in a manner a poorly managed corporation rids itself of risky and failed managers, by promotion to an outpost, like a Siberian office for PR & customer relations.

    John Bolton, an elephant in a chinaware cabinet. Be careful, jump the fold …

    Bolton Slams North Korea On WMD

    SEOUL, South Korea, August 29, 2002 (AP) — North Korea is the world’s foremost vendor of missile technology and has “one of the most robust offensive bio-weapons programs on earth,” the top US arms negotiator said Friday, echoing President Bush’s warnings about the communist state.

    US Undersecretary of State John Bolton called North Korea “an evil regime that is armed to the teeth, including with weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.”

    “President Bush’s use of the term ‘axis of evil’ to describe Iran, Iraq and North Korea was more than a rhetorical flourish — it was factually correct,” Bolton said in a speech to a group of South Korean government officials and scholars. “There is a hard connection between these regimes — an axis along which flow dangerous weapons and dangerous technology.”

    The chief US arms-control negotiator was in Seoul for a three-day visit that included talks with South Korean officials on the communist North’s arms proliferation. He discussed the same topic with Japanese officials in Tokyo earlier this week. His comments come at a sensitive time, as the two Koreas try to revive stalled reconciliation after months of tension. South Korea wants Washington to open dialogue with Pyongyang about the arms issue.

    Bolton stressed that such overtures will depend on whether the North will stop developing and exporting missile parts and technology to “notable rogue state clients such as Syria, Libya and Iran.” North Korea is “the world’s foremost peddler of ballistic missile-related equipment, components, materials, and technical expertise.”

    [Why no mention of Pakistan? – Ed]  
    Dr. AQ Khan Research Laboratories – KRL website.

    Bolton also warned that a 1994 deal to provide North Korea with two power-generating nuclear reactors will be “in serious doubt” unless North Korea quickly allows UN inspections of its suspected nuclear weapons program.

    [Bold face emphasis is mine – Ed]

    Five years gone, and we have continued the stalemate in diplomacy thereby encouraging North Korea to enrich their nuclear fuel to weapon grade plutonium and build their first nuclear devices. Guess Bush | Cheney see Bolton as a raw bolster that needs to be in a job, where no harm to the US can be done. The Florida bully effect has worn thin, and is John Bolton now perceived as a liability to the State?   Ask Jack Straw.

    Blunt opinion of Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot:
    Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot “does not quite understand” why newborn multilateralist George Bush picked John Bolton as his man at the UN. Minister Bot recently described Bolton as being ‘anti-UN’ and thought his nomination was at least ‘peculiar’ if not worse, reports the Dutch Elsevier Magazine on April 11th.

    The Dutch however always believed that in the end Bush would choose, or be forced to choose, multilateral solutions to international problems. Not only has Bolton always been very skeptical towards the UN, he has also been a fierce opponent of the International Criminal Court of which The Netherlands are the proud hosts. Minister Bot must fear that with Bolton at the UN, the ICC might once again come under heavy pressure.

    BTW the above link to CBS website is excellent for IN DEPTH reading on the North Korean issue and history.

    ANY OTHER REACTIONS FROM FOREIGN FOE OR FRIEND?

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    Jack Cook Laid to Rest in Margraten ¶ Bush’s visit to Limburg ¶ UPDATED

    Answer to Sybil in diary – GWB visits Margraten in Limburg, the Netherlands!

    Secret Service wanted to shut down about 50% of the Limburg province.   Was unacceptable, in the end agreed to let GWB stay the night in beautiful small village of Valkenburg, near the Allied cemetery Margraten. I wrote about this in my recent diary: TODAY – Liberation Day – May 5th

    I will provide some more INFO about the cemetery, created just inside the border with Germany near Aachen. During the 1944-45 battles as the Allied forces moved east toward Berlin, the Allied rule is that the soldiers cannot be laid to rest in enemy territory.

           

    More to follow about the American Military Cemetery in Margraten —
    In 1946 there were some 18,970 soldiers laid to rest in Margraten. Each grave has been adopted by a Dutch citizen, for a regular visit and to place flowers. Today there are some 8,300 graves left and the 3rd generation, the grandchildren of the Dutch, take care of the task for regular visits. The stories broadcast today, interviews with the veterans who come to visit their comrades are heartbreaking still!

    One special story was about Pfc. Jack Cook, an orphan 14 years old when he enlisted in 1943, and was shipped to Europe for the Great War. Jack was big for his age, and got his stepmother to promise not to reveal his age to the military. Jack Cook fought in the Ardennes, Belgium during the battle of the Bulge. That was in December 1944 when the Germans made one last attempt to cut through Belgium to reach the port of Antwerp, and deal the Allies a blow.

    In spring 1945, Jack’s stepmother went to the Army to reveal his true age. Immediately, an order was sent to relieve Jack from his battle duties, now across the border in Germany. The order arrived one day too late. In Jack’s last fight, he was the first soldier to approach a German stronghold, when a white flag of surrender was waved. A sniper’s bullet ended his life. Jack Cook has his final restplace in Margraten, a beautiful countryside he helped liberate.


    South-Limburg Gulp Valley

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    I never get emotional about WWII anymore, when a veteran on visit told the story of Jack Cook yesterday on radio, I couldn’t keep it dry, when I jotted down his comment.

    I believe when war effects the lives of millions, each life is precious. This is the story of Jack Cook, who still lives forth 60 years later, in the thoughts and hearts of his battlefield buddies!

    I will also use this diary to keep UPDATES on Bush’s visit to the Netherlands today and any Bush speak on foreign policy before he travels to Russia and Georgia.

    Jack Cook Silver Medal Recipient
    17th Airborne – WWII

    Patton’s Third U.S. Army had finally broken the siege at Bastogne with a marathon thrust from the south. Upon arriving the 513th PIR and the other elements of the 17th Airborne Division were attached to Patton’s Third U.S. Army and ordered to immediately close in at Mourmelon. After taking over the defense of the Meuse River sector from Givet to Verdun on 25 December, the 17th moved to Neufchateau, Belgium, then marched through the snow to Morhet, relieving the 28th Infantry Division on 3 January 1945 and establishing a Division Command Post.

    In the ensuing days, the 513th PIR would gain their baptism of fire that would have tested the mettle of the most experienced airborne units. General Patton had ordered the 17th Airborne to seize the town of Flamierge where the 11th Armour and the 87th Infantry Divisions had encountered brutal resistance from the Germans.

         

    “This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with
    destiny.”
                   ………Franklin Delano Roosevelt – June 27,1936

    XVIII Airborne Corps — 17th Airborne Division

    Stretching along the side of the Court are the two Walls of the Missing on which are recorded the names of 1,722 who gave their lives in the service of their Country but who rest in unknown graves. Beyond the tower containing the chapel is the burial area, divided into 16 plots, where rest 8,301 of our military Dead, their headstones set in long curves. A wide tree-lined mall leads to the flag staff which crowns the crest.

    The light fixture in the chapel, and the altar candelabra and flowerbowl were presented by the Government of the Netherlands and by the local Provincial administration.


    Weeping figure for all left behind
    with olive tree of hope

    State of Emergency as proclaimed by Mayor at Valkenburg a/d Geul

    City Proclamation

    In consideration:

    • that on 7 and 8 May the President of the United States visits South-Limburg;
    • that except the President, he is accompanied on his visit by his wife and the Secretary of State;
    • that the arrival and departure of the President will be Maastricht-Aachen Airport in the city of Beek;
    • […]

    The State of Emergency in pdf file, eight pages long, includes an area map with the security zones and NOGO areas marked. The perimeter is protected by 3 miles of razor-barbed wire.
    Welcome Mr. President!

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    UPDATED –14:00 EST–

    Must Have Been Agony for George Today …

    at Margraten, listening to the speech of Dutch PM Jan Peter Balkenende, his best speech ever IMO, when Balkenende took a quote from FDR in 1941.

    Quote from speech by Jan Peter Balkenende at Margraten

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt said that freedom is incomplete without freedom from want and freedom from fear. He also said, “The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.”

    The truth of what he said in 1941, can still be recognised – must still be recognised – here, at Margraten, on the eighth of May 2005.

    We must not leave anyone behind. We must never take freedom for granted. We must keep working with our partners in the West and East.

    Franklin D. Roosevelt — Four Freedoms Award

    VIDEO link to Dutch News broadcast – forgive the moments when Dutch is spoken.

    The essence of PM speech was a call for all nations to join and unite to ward off adversaries through dialogue in search of permanent peace.

                           

    The commemoration at the War Memorial in Margraten has just finished. It was a sober but impressive ceremony with salute firing squad, missing man formation in joint fly-over, taps and a military band playing short march music themes. George and Laura enjoyed themselves, were very informal with extensive handshaking afterwards and meeting the veterans. Queen Beatrix was present to accompany the president, as both expressed their appreciation to the fallen heroes by symbolism of wreath laying at the 30m high memorial.

    The PM and GW both referred to Anne Frank in their speeches. I believe GW mentioned Iraq and terror only ONCE, unbelievable. George must have spent breakfast at the invitation of Beatrix, who is known for her sympathy for pacifism.

    President Bush at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial
    Transcript of speech at Margraten


    Laura visits Margraten


    USMC Rifle Detail

    Limburg Local TV broadcast – Dutch

    • Landing Air Force One at Maastricht-Aachen Airport
    • Anti-Bush Manifests and Protest: Iraq – Kyoto – Freedom

    DUTCH NEWS Broadcast – click on

    See also a fine diary at dKos —
    Thousands turn out for StopBush protest in Amsterdam
    by Daily Joe  Sat May 7th, 2005
    A bit exaggerated, but choose your own camera angle …

    NEWS Items will be added as story develops.

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    Berlusconi Disputes US Report on Agent ¶ Stays Friendly with No Consequences ¶ UPDATED

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    Silvio Berlusconi —

    • the checkpoint wasn’t properly marked
    • responsibility for the US troops can’t be ruled out
    • absence of deliberateness doesn’t indeed rule out blame
    • excessive and irresponsible use of force
    • lack of training and some recommendations.
    ROME (AP) – May 5, 2005 — Premier Silvio Berlusconi spoke before The Chamber of Deputies today, said he disagreed with some of the US military’s conclusions into the March shooting death, of Italian agent Calipari in Baghdad. He also stated those differences won’t affect Italy’s friendship with Washington or its deployment of troops in Iraq.  

    Berlusconi differed with some of the major conclusions by US military investigators into the March 4 shooting death of Nicola Calipari by US soldiers. The premier contended that the checkpoint wasn’t properly marked and that responsibility for the troops can’t be ruled out. “The absence of deliberateness doesn’t indeed rule out blame,” Berlusconi told lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies, three days after Italy issued its own report concluding that inexperience and fatigue played a role in the fatal shooting.

    Follow this story …

    The slaying, as well the American conclusion that the soldiers bore no responsibility for the death of the agent, angered Italians. Calipari had just helped free Italian hostage journalist Sgrena and was considered a hero. Italians largely opposed the war in Iraq, and the US conclusions cranked up pressure on Berlusconi to bring home Italy’s 3,000 troops.

    But Berlusconi confirmed that the troop deployment would continue. “We have no intention of establishing any connection between the assessment of the case in which our official lost his life and the role of our country in Iraq,” the conservative premier said.

    “Our friendship with the United States has overcome more difficult tests than this one,” said Berlusconi, a staunch ally of President Bush.

    UPDATED –13:00 EST–

    Rome’s position on the killing of Nicola Calipari

    “Our position and expectations were formulated on March 8: shed light on the circumstances of the death of Nicola Calipari. Identify those responsible and call for the guilty to be punished,” Berlusconi said at the start of his address to the chamber, in which many seats were empty despite the magnitude of the controversy.

    He reiterated Italy’s view that US soldiers must shoulder some blame, highlighting “irregularities” committed by the US patrol “whose mobile checkpoint was not announced” and “who did not have precise instructions”.

    Berlusconi and US clash on Iraq killing, says troops stay

    USA TODAY – May 5, 2005 – Opposition leader Romano Prodi, expected to run for premier in elections next year, has contended that while there was no direct link between a pullout and the Calipari case, it was time to discuss the end of the mission. Two months ago, Berlusconi said that if security conditions allowed and the other allies agree, some Italian troops might start coming home as early as September. But no timetable for the start of withdrawal has been set.

    After Berlusconi spoke, lawmakers had their say in the chamber. One of them, Piero Fassino, a center-left opposition leader, demanded that the United States apologize.

    Calipari was shot at a checkpoint near the Baghdad airport less than an hour after he secured the release of Sgrena, who had been in the hands of her abductors for a month.

    Rome prosecutors are conducting their own investigation into the case. But a leading Italian military prosecutor, Antonio Intelisano, told The Associated Press that it was unlikely U.S. soldiers would be prosecuted in Italy given legal restrictions and American protection of its troops in the past.

    UPDATED –18:00 EST–

    US soldiers were to blame for the death of an Italian agent in Iraq

    REUTERS — Washington’s refusal to accept the blame has infuriated many Italians and put pressure on Berlusconi to speed up the withdrawal of some 3,000 troops from southern Iraq, which is provisionally slated to start in September.

    But the prime minister repeated today that he would coordinate the eventual pullout. “The withdrawal of our troops certainly won’t be unilateral, but agreed with our allies.”

    The Communist and Green parties demanded in parliament an immediate end to the Iraq mission, while the largest opposition party, the Democrats of the Left (DS), demanded an apology. “We believe that the government of the United States should say sorry,” DS leader Piero Fassino said in a speech.

    ITALIAN INVESTIGATION

    Although the military inquiry is closed, Italian magistrates are pursuing their own investigations and Berlusconi said the government would give its full support to their efforts. “We remain committed to doing everything possible to uncover the truth behind what went on and the eventual responsibility for the tragic death of a heroic servant of the Republic,” he said, flanked by senior cabinet ministers.

    The Italian report accused U.S. troops of failing to set up “the most elementary precautions” to warn drivers in the approach of a checkpoint, calling the planning and execution of the road block “careless to say the least”.

    The US pinned much of the blame on the Italian driver, saying he had been driving too fast, and on a lack of communication from Italy over its secret hostage mission.

    “The discrepancies over the causes and modality of this tragic accident proved to be irreconcilable … and I am certainly not going to be the one to minimise the scale of the disagreement,” Berlusconi said.

    [Bold face emphasis added – Ed]

    UPDATED –23:00 EST–

    BBC Report

    The 52-page document published by the Italian intelligence services queries the US military’s procedures, but does not find evidence that soldiers deliberately sought to kill Calipari. The Italian report concurs with the US inquiry’s finding about the Italian officer’s warning to his US aide about the rescue operation.

    While agreeing on many other points, the Italian version:

    • emphasises the lack of warning signals – such as signs, bright cones, concertina wire – given to motorists of an impending roadblock
    • says the vehicle speed was half that reported by the Americans, denies there was any acceleration and describes the time between the warning shots and follow-up fire as “excessively short”
    • notes that the immediate removal of the vehicles involved, and the destruction of the US soldiers’ duty logs, made “objective conclusions” impossible
    • reports that an Italian military commander was not allowed to visit the scene in the immediate aftermath while US officials were given access.

    Rome prosecutors are conducting their own investigation into the shooting, involving the analysis of the car in which the Italians were travelling. Criminal charges could stem from their eventual findings.

    ITALIAN GOV. REPORT – May 4, 2005


    In this photo released on Tuesday, March 8
    by the Italian RAI TG1 national television,
    military personnel are seen near a car said
    to be that in which Italian journalist Mrs.
    Giuliana Sgrena was traveling with secret
    service operative Nicola Calipari, during

    her release in Baghdad, Iraq.

    Italian PM accused of editing report on agent’s death

    Il Messaggero quoted Mr Berlusconi as saying, “the report must in no case be the starting point of a diplomatic conflict with the United States”. He “read, reread, corrected and tweaked” the report, before handing it back to military intelligence.

    According to the press, that was why the report was published four hours later than originally announced.

    Italian public opinion has been infuriated by the killing of Mr Calipari, regarded as a national hero who did nothing wrong, as he shepherded journalist Giuliana Sgrena to Baghdad airport after she had been freed from a month in captivity.

    The two Italian representatives on a joint US-Italian inquiry into the shootings refused to sign off on the US account of the incident.

    CROSS-POSTED AT DAILY KOS —
    [Please add a little charme or recommend! Thanks]
    Berlusconi Disputes US Report on Agent ¶ Stays Friendly with No Consequences ¶ UPDATED
    /by Oui Fri May 6th, 2005 at 23:43:25 PST/

    NEWS Items will be added as story develops.

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    City Centre of The Hague ¶ US Embassy Moves!

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    Mayor Wim Deetman expressed great joy that an agreement has been reached between the Foreign Office and the US State Department, to move the US Embassy from its present location at Lange Voorhout near the Dutch Parliament Buildings, Offices of the Dutch Prime Minister Jan Pieter Balkenende and Mauritshuis museum.


    Photo shows from left: Mauritshuis, Tower office
    of PM and to the right the buildings of Parliament

    There’s more …

    The Hague – May 2, 2005 — “We want to return to the citizens of the The Hague, the beautiful Voorhout promenade for Sunday strollers”. A dream come true, De Lange Voorhout is one of Europe’s most beautiful lanes lined with trees and the location of many festivities during the opening of Parliamentary year Prinsjesdag on the third Tuesday of September.

    Dutch Queen Beatrix, her entourage and De Gouden Koets – Golden Coach – is a highlight for visitors and Hagenaars alike.

    In the past years, the US Embassy has taken severe security measures, provided by the Dutch government, that causes great upheaval of traffic, congestion of roads or complete blockage when another alert has been given. On such occasions, armoured vehicles and troops from nearby military camps move in with the support of low-flying helicopters and F-16’s in the sky for additional support.

    In the past, The Hague has experienced an hostage taking at the French Embassy by the Japanese Red Army terrorists, bombing by ETA of the Spanish consulate, occupation of Indonesian and Turkish Embassy buildings and other close-calls and escapes. The security of the Israeli Embassy is always of a concern, as well as other consulates, dependent on the alert of global politics. At the notorious prison of Scheveningen nearby, also a hostage taking had taken place. It’s also the location for imprisonment of convicts and suspects in the UN Yugoslav trials of the Criminal Court of Justice.

    Many neighbors of the US Embassy show no regret and can hardly wait until the year 2010 arrives for the definite date the new embassy will be ready. Lange Voorhout is a favorite location for tourists and locals to spent time during lunch or early evening, for a romantic dinner in one of many restaurants in the area. The renowned theater Koninklijke Schouwburg,   Bureau of Economic Advisors Ape, and owners of nearby reastaurants also expressed their delight. Some have considered moving out of the area, others had no other option and have left already.

    NEW LOCATION a stone’s throw from Oui’s home!

    On a spread of 10 acres of beautifully landscaped, agricultural area and park of Clingendael,   a complete new designed US Embassy will be located on the borderline of the City of The Hague and Wassenaar. These are also historic grounds of the Dutch patriciers in the Golden Age, where the mansions and parks are the only memories left. The citizens of The Hague have a stroll in the surrounding parks, during lunch break from offices nearby or the local residents enjoying a walk in the parks, leaving the hustle and bustle of city life behind.

    Agricultural area in the city? Yes, there is still some farmland, with grazing sheep announcing the dawn of another spring when they give birth to a new generation, the farmer with some dairy cows, poultry for fresh eggs, situated just minutes from city centre. These farm acres are joined by several parks, sport grounds and the broadest part of the dunes, which protect the city of Wassenaar from the tides of the North Sea. Incidentally, most likely also protecting our house.



    Old City of The Hague in Middle Ages

    APPENDIX — More reading on the Netherlands and its capitol The Hague

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    The Bird … an Ivory-billed Woodpecker ¶ with VIDEO link

    “The bird captured on this video can be
    nothing other than an ivory-billed woodpecker.”
    John W. Fitzpatrick
    Cornell Lab of Ornithology

    Ivory-billed Woodpecker
    (Campephilus principalis)

    “Despite numerous unconfirmed sightings and much searching, including an extensive search in the bottomlands of Louisiana in 2002, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker is thought to be extinct. Once inhabiting the bottomland hardwoods and montane pine forests of southeastern US and Cuba, this large black and white woodpecker disappeared as its habitat was increasingly cleared for agriculture and lumber.”
    Audubon Society Watchlist

    Thought to be extinct, the last confirmed sighting was 60 years ago in the Big Woods.

    The Search for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
    Timeline of the Ivory-Bill Search

    VIDEO link to follow  » »

    The Ivory Bill Woodpecker is considered by many to be America’s rarest birds as some believe it still lives a reclusive life in southern Swamps of Louisiana.

    The last confirmed sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States was more than 60 years ago. Since the search began in March of 2004 there have been more than a dozen sightings of the ivory-bill by experts in the Big Woods of Arkansas’ Mississippi Delta.  

    Feb. 11, 2004  While kayaking through the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge, Gene Sparling of Hot Springs, Arkansas, observes an ivory-billed woodpecker. Soon thereafter, Sparling places a trip report in an online newsletter for the Arkansas Canoe Club and later sends a report to Mary Scott, who owns the rights for birdingamerica.com, which includes a Web page on the ivory-billed woodpecker.

    Feb. 27, 2004  On the second day of their outing, as Sparling paddles ahead, a large black-and-white bird flies in front of Gallagher and Harrison, in what they both describe as a “close-up, unmistakable sighting” of an ivory-billed woodpecker. The two watch the bird move from tree to tree before it flies out of sight. This sighting was the first time since 1944 that two experienced observers had together positively identified an ivory-billed woodpecker in the United States.


        Heritage Audubon Society

    SEE THE VIDEO — Jump to the most recent events in the search for the ivory-billed woodpecker!

    Audubon Harmony
    ENVOYER À UN AMI! / TELL A FRIEND!

    Long Feared Extinct,
    a Magnificent Bird Still Lives

    The search and the evidence

    “Since the first sighting,
    this has consumed us.
    We have dedicated our
    time and our dreams to
    protecting and conserving
    this area. These woods are
    my church… There is no
    bird like this in the world.”
    John W. Fitzpatrick
    Cornell Lab of Ornithology


    Photo David Allen – 1935.

    Long believed to be extinct, a magnificent bird–the Ivory-billed Woodpecker–has been rediscovered in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas. More than 60 years after the last confirmed sighting of the species in the United States, a research team announced that at least one male ivory-bill still survives in vast areas of bottomland swamp forest.

    Published in the journal Science on its Science Express Web site (April 28, 2005), the findings include multiple sightings of the elusive woodpecker and frame-by-frame analyses of brief video footage. The evidence was gathered during an intensive year-long search in the Cache River and White River national wildlife refuges involving more than 50 experts and field biologists.

    VIDEO Releases and Photo Gallery – Ivory-billed Woodpecker
    Cornell Lab of Ornithology – Quicktime required to view.


    The Big Woods Conservation Partnership is led by The Nature Conservancy and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and includes the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama, Arkansas State University, Louisiana State University, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Birdman Productions, LLC, Civic Enterprises, LLC, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  

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    UPDATE

    Although I checked using Search Tool at dKos for “woodpecker”, there are earlier diaries posted – great to check these as well!

    I enjoyed doing the search for web pages on this bird, as well as other flora and fauna! The additional INFO and links provided by this diary and in the comments, of their own merit, are worthwhile to read and enjoy!

    [Thanks to comment by R Lucian]

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    Achmad Chalabi is Back! ¶ Acting Oil Minister ¶ NEWS ZARQAWI UPDATED!

    .
    QUOTE FROM MCNAMARA IN 1968: “WE ARE WINNING THE WAR”.

    Iraq’s parliament OKs a partial Cabinet

    By Qassim Abdul-Zahara

    BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) April 28, 2005 – The interim National Assembly approved a partial Cabinet, breaking months of deadlock and political wrangling. But disputes remained over key ministry positions and two deputy prime-minister slots.

    The legislators approved a list of 27 ministers and five acting ministers, ushering in Iraq’s first elected government since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The Cabinet was approved by 180 lawmakers, out of the 185 present, in the 275-member parliament as Speaker Hajim al-Hassani announced to applause.

    Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari submitted a Cabinet that includes members of Iraq’s main Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions. But Al-Jaafari himself, a Shiite, will be acting defense minister, a position that was supposed to go to a Sunni Arab, and disputes remained over two deputy prime minister slots and the defense, oil, electricity, industry and human rights ministries.


    AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed
    Iraqi PM-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari
    at a news briefing in Baghdad.

    Jump the fold …

    Ahmad Chalabi,   a former Pentagon favorite from al-Jaafari’s Shiite-dominated alliance, will be one of four deputy prime ministers and acting oil minister. Kurdish official and former Vice President Rowsch Nouri Shaways will be another deputy and acting electricity minister.

    Al-Jaafari has struggled to reconcile the competing demands of Iraq’s myriad factions since Jan. 30 elections. Shiite leaders rejected his initial choices for a Sunni deputy prime minister and defense minister because of suspicions they had ties to Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party, which brutally repressed Iraqi’s majority Shiites and Kurds.

    Al-Jaafari also faced infighting within his United Iraqi Alliance, the largest bloc in parliament, over the oil and electricity portfolios. Lawmakers earlier said the Cabinet would include 17 Shiite Arab ministers, eight Kurds, six Sunnis and a Christian. Among them are six women, responsible for seven portfolios, according to Thursday’s announcement.

    President Jalal Talabani and his two vice presidents signed off on the list before Thursday’s historic vote. A handover between outgoing Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and al-Jaafari will take place within days, the incoming premier told reporters Wednesday.

    “The Iraqis will find that this government has religious, ethnic, political and geographic variety, in addition to the participation of women,” he said from the steps of his office. “Now that the process has started, we will spare no effort to bring back a smile to children’s faces.”

    From the New Yorker – June 7, 2004
    THE MANIPULATOR
    by Jane Mayer

    Ahmad Chalabi pushed a tainted case for war. Can he survive the occupation?

    Militants kill Iraqi lawmaker in her home

    BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – An Iraqi legislator was shot and killed by militants who stormed into her house, Iraqi police Capt. Ali al-Obeidi said.

    Lamia Abed Khadouri al-Sagri, a member of the National Assembly and of outgoing premier Ayad Allawi’s Iraqi List party, was killed in her house in the Hay Aour neighborhood in eastern Baghdad.

    Insurgents have targeted senior lawmakers and Iraqi politicians in a bid to further destabilize reconstruction efforts in the country.

    Today’s Latest News from Baghdad

    Bush says US making ‘really good progress’ in Iraq.

    WASHINGTON (AFP) – President George W. Bush said that US-led forces were making “really good progress” in Iraq but acknowledged they were still facing a stubborn insurgency run by “hard-nosed killers.”


    Press conference in the East Room. “Millions of American families and small businesses are hurting because of higher gasoline prices.”

    In a prime-time news conference, Bush also said Iraqi security forces were performing “much better” but again refused to speculate on a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops.

    Early Friday at least 18 people were killed and more than 64 wounded in a string of at least seven car bomb attacks targeting security forces in and around Baghdad, an interior ministry official said.

    Thirteen people died and 50 were wounded in four apparently coordinated car bomb attacks in two districts of the capital at about 08:00 am (0400 GMT), the official told AFP.

    BREAKING: Zarqawi threathens US

    US forces came ‘close’ to Zarqawi capture: General Myers

    WASHINGTON (AFP) – April 26, 2005 — US forces recently came close to capturing Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said. “We were close,” General Richard Myers told a Defense Department press conference without confirming other details of media reports which said Zarqawi narrowly escaped a US operation but that American forces found his laptop computer and seized some of his money.

    #

    Purported Zarqawi Tape Vows More Iraq Attacks – Web

    DUBAI (Reuters) – A purported audio tape from Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq, has called for more suicide attacks on U.S. forces and vowed not to let President Bush enjoy “peace of mind”. The holy war, or jihad, was still being waged vigorously two years after the U.S. invasion.

    It was not possible to verify the authenticity of the tape, which was posted on a Web site used by Islamist militants.

    “O martyrs’ brigades, set out with God’s blessing. And do not leave a single convoy on course or a checkpoint for them to stand at. And turn their nights into day,” he said.

    NEWS – Bombings, attacks kill 50 across Iraq

    NEWS – Iraq Daily

    NEWS – United Kurdish Voice

    #

    History of Egyptian Torture

    CIA and BushCo have goal of chaos so their political agenda can be achieved. Iraq has always been a distraction from war on terror to conquer the oil fields and furnish contracts to Halliburton, KBR and Bechtel. They had planned flowers instead of insurgents and did not heed warnings from critical minds.

    Some nice reading when you google Bechtel +CIA +McCone

    Torture creates terrorists and adversaries

    Habib was arrested in Pakistan on Oct. 5, 2001, detained briefly in Afghanistan, transferred to Egypt where he was tortured, sent back to Afghanistan, then sent to Guantanamo Bay prison in May 2002.

    Proof torture creates the terrorist:
    Egyptian AYMAN al-ZAWAHRI
    biography & family history
    People: 01-11-01 AYMAN al-ZAWAHRI

    Al-Zarqawi was tortured in Jordanian cel and turns to fundamentalism.
    BBC NEWS: VIDEO AND AUDIO
    Gavin Hewitt profiles militant
    Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi


    Ayman al-Zawahri and Osama Bin Laden (AP photo)

    APPENDIX –

    BBC News – IRAQ in Depth

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    Afghan Stone Age ¶ German troops stoned in Badakhshan province

    .
    NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN

    Afghan.com – Stone Age: German troops stoned in Badakhshan province

    The incident occurred in Badakhshan province when German soldiers of NATO-led International Security Assistance Force [ISAF] photographed local women without asking for permission.


    © Steve McCurry

    “To protest unauthorized snap shots, a group of angry women and children who were returning from a wedding party hurled stones at the convoy of German soldiers in Faramughal village of Argo district last week, injuring two troopers,” Daily Cheragh reported.

    In the remote and poor province of Afghanistan, photographing women are forbidden under tradition.

    Similar incidents had been reported in the insurgency-plaguing south and southeast provinces where the US-dominated coalition forces have been conducting anti-Taliban and al-Qaeda operations over the past three years.

    Abdul Majid, governor of Badakhshan in talks with a 20-member delegation of the village assured such incident will not be repeated in the future.

    The Independent Kabul Daily Cheragh

    A fortnight later — an Afghan woman was stoned to death in Badakhshan.

    MARLA RUZICKA IN AFGHANISTAN

    Radio Liberty – Marla Ruzicka in Afghanistan

    RFE/RL correspondent Charles Recknagel met Ruzicka when she arrived in Kabul in 2001. Recknagel says that for anyone meeting Ruzicka for the first time, her optimism and youthful idealism belied what would later prove to be a pragmatic ability to mobilize large amounts of U.S. government assistance.

    “In conflicts, ordinary citizens see and fear occupying armies. Sometimes their homes and lives are destroyed by fighting. Marla tried to help those civilians. In doing that, she showed the gentle side of her country. She was an American civilian who cared enough about other ordinary people to come thousands of miles to help them, and who successfully lobbied the U.S. Congress for money to directly help them too.”

    Recent diary Marla Ruzicka.  

    FBI PROTECTS OSAMA BIN LADEN’S “RIGHT TO PRIVACY” IN DOCUMENT RELEASE

    FBI protects Osama Bin Laden’s “Right to Privacy” in FOIA document release

    Judicial Watch has obtained documents through the Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] in which the FBI has invoked privacy right protections on behalf of al Qaeda terror leader Osama bin Laden.  In a September 24, 2003 declassified Secret FBI report obtained by Judicial Watch, the FBI invoked Exemption 6 under FOIA law on behalf of bin Laden, which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

    Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton: “It is dumbfounding that the United States government has placed a higher priority on the supposed privacy rights of Osama bin Laden than the public’s right to know what happened in the days following the September 11 terrorist attacks.  It is difficult for me to imagine a greater insult to the American people, especially those whose loved ones were murdered by bin Laden on that day.”  

    #

    Kabul rejects UN aid conditions

    Feb. 02, 2005 — Afghanistan has rejected proposals by a senior UN drug official that aid given to the war-ravaged country should be linked to the results it showed in fighting opium production.


    War-scarred Afghanistan is the
    world's largest producer of opium

    The newly-created Afghan counter-narcotics ministry in Kabul said on Wednesday it had objected to a recent statement from the world body that created conditions for investment.  The ministry statement attributed the UN suggestion to Antonio Maria Costa and ended “Afghanistan will not accept aid conditionality”.

    Costa, a senior official from the UN Organisation for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said last week that international aid to Afghanistan should be made conditional on the country showing real results and progress in the fight against opium production.

    RECENT DIARY —
    Something Stinks About the Arrest of Noorzai
    by BooMan  Mon Apr 25th, 2005      

    DUTCH SPECIAL FORCES IN WAR ON TERROR

    Dutch special forces in Afghanistan  —  War on Terror

    AMSTERDAM April 18, 2005 — The Netherlands is deploying 165 soldiers to the operation Enduring Freedom, which the US launched after the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001, alongside US forces tracking terrorist operatives.

    Defence Minister Henk Kamp was scheduled to attend the ceremony at the departure from Eindhoven’s airbase and give a short speech to the troops.

    The Dutch commando unit will supply the largest number of troops, supplemented by special forces from the marine corps. The unit will be supported by 85 soldiers with the Chinook transport helicopter detachment.


    Dutch F-16 at Baghram  

    AFGHAN DEMONSTRATIONS TEST WARLORDS-TURNED-ADMINISTRATORS

    Demonstrations rocked two of Afghanistan’s five largest cities on March 7th — Kandahar in the south and Mazar-e Sharif in the north. According to a statement by the Afghan Interior Ministry on, Kandahar residents took to the streets in protest over “security issues and child kidnapping.” The demonstrations, in which people chanted slogans against the United States and in support of the ousted Taliban regime, must have had a deja vu effect in Kabul’s circles of power. After all, it was popular disgust with insecurity in Kandahar that propelled the Taliban onto the political scene in 1994.

           
            EUROCORPS

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    Budding Democracy in Muslim Middle-East ¶ Bush’s Model States

    Afghanistan
    and Saudi Arabia TODAY!

    Muslim adulterer stoned to death
    Reuters – April 24, 2005

    Faizabad, Afghanistan — An Afghan woman has been stoned to death for adultery, police said today, the first such incident in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s ouster from power.

    Amina, a 29 year-old married woman, was publicly stoned to death on the basis of a district court’s decision on Thursday in Argo district to the west of Faizabad, the provincial capital of Badakhshan, they said. “She has been stoned to death,” provincial police chief, General Shah Jahan Noori, adding a team has been sent to the area to investigate the incident further.

    Adultery is forbidden in the Muslim country and under Islamic sharia law the penalty can range from flogging to stoning to death.

    ~

    Astonishment below the fold …

    Several women and men were given such punishments in Badakhshan, a remote north-eastern province, during the government of the Mujahideen (holy warriors) in the 1990s. The practice became common during the rule of hardline Taliban who controlled most of Afghanistan till late 2001 when they were ousted from power by US-led forces.

    A witness, Mujibur Rahman, told Reuters that Amina was dragged out of her parent’s house by local officials and her husband who stoned her to death while the man was flogged, whipped 100 times and then freed.

    Amina’s stoning was the first one in Afghanistan since President Hamid Karzai was installed to power after the US-led forces overthrew the Taliban’s government, Noori said.

    Afghanistan – Woman stoned to death

    Faizabad TV: Symbol of Resistance – Oct. 20, 2000

    Saudi Arabia: men of religion expects Islamists to win the elections

    Arabic News Riyadh – April 23, 2005 — It seemed on Friday that Islamist candidates for the municipal elections in Saudi Arabia, who are supported by the men of religion, are inclined to achieve a great victory in Jeddah, the same as in most of the cities in the two first phases in this election process.

    Official results for the last phase are expected to appear today in the western and southern governorates. However, partial results after selection of many ballot boxes in Jeddah indicate that candidates of “the golden list” are the winners.

    One of the likely winners stressed “the nomination of the Sheikhs for the Islamists lists came as a result of the active campaign” basically launched by the 7 Islamists candidates in contrary to their liberal opponents.

    Businessman and journalist Najm Eddine Zafer, the candidate for one of the seven seats in Jeddah said “the golden list is inclined to achieve a great victory”. The likely winners launched the elections separately in each of the seven circles in the city, and got as a group that support of the influential men of religion. Zafer said “the businessmen and intellectuals were negative while the Islamists were organized,” noting that the Islamists had won also in Riyadh and in al-Dammam, one of the major cities in the eastern region in the first phases.

    Saudi men vote in landmark poll
    Gulf Daily News JEDDAH: Saudi men went to the polls yesterday in the final round of landmark municipal elections, with some pressing for wider public freedoms and others zealously defending the kingdom’s Islamic identity.

    Four die as Saudi forces and militants clash in Mecca

    Reuters – Saudi Muslim Scholars Stamp Their Mark on Elections

    Islamists Dominate Saudi Arabia Elections

    Iraq Today – After US Invasion

    • Four Baptists killed near Mosul
    • Christian churches bombed
    • Liquor shops and movie theaters fire-bombed
    • Muslim fundamentalist and submission of women

    … to be added.

    DIARY Cross-posted at dKos

    Iraq Today – After US Invasion

    Four baptists killed near Mosul
    Mosul – March 28, 2004 — The four missionaries killed in Iraq were described by the Southern Baptist International Mission Board as American humanitarian-aid workers. They were attacked while driving near the city of Mosul. A fifth worker survived the attack and is listed on the mission board’s Web site as in stable condition in Germany.

    Organization officials said the missionaries’ primary job was to develop a water-purification project and that they would discuss issues of faith with Iraqis only when asked.

    The organization’s work in Iraq centers on financial support for local missions through the “All Our Children” program, a partnership of American charities. Mr. Frerichs acknowledged that some American missionaries go to Iraq, but said they stay behind the scenes to help community leaders who are less likely to be targeted in attacks.

    Christian churches bombed
    Baghdad – Aug. 1, 2004 — In a wave of coordinated attacks aimed at Iraq’s Christian minority, a series of bombs exploded Sunday outside five churches thronged with worshipers here and in the northern city of Mosul, killing 11 people and injuring dozens more.

    It was the first time in this nation’s 15-month insurgency that Iraqi Christians were targeted, further fraying the country’s delicate religious fabric and raising fears of increased sectarian conflict.

    Attackers timed some of the blasts for maximum effect, during evening services that attracted hundreds of faithful. Bloodied and dazed, churchgoers spilled onto streets littered with shards of stained glass and splinters of wood as smoke billowed above them.

    RN — Iraq’s new parliament: ceremony, but no government

    Christian persecution and Iraq killings

    Marla Ruzicka Dies in Her Line of Duty
    by Gregg Chadwick

    “I was really changed by my experiences in Afghanistan. It is a luxury for people to say war is bad when they are in San Francisco. You need to make friends with people in the U.S. government in order to get a change in policy. You can’t say something is bad unless you come in with ways to fix it.”
    -Marla Ruzicka

    Memorial services at St. Mary’s in Lakeport and Washington DC


    In an e-mail message to a friend, Marla Ruzicka
    described the girl sitting on her lap in a Baghdad photo:
    "This is Harah, she was 3 mts old when her mom threw
    her out of the window of the car and all her family members
    died when a US rocket hit the car - now she is big and healthy
    -we help her- thought you would like to see the photos."

    #

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité

    IDEALS — Rachel Corrie in London Play

    .

    New London Play Fetes U.S. Activist Killed in Gaza

    LONDON (Reuters) April 21, 2005 – A new play tracing the journey of Rachel Corrie from comfortable American home to death in a Gaza refugee camp paints the young peace activist as neither a traitor nor a saint.

    The 23-year-old campaigner was killed in 2003 trying to stop an Israeli army bulldozer from demolishing a Palestinian home in the Rafah camp in the Gaza strip. A personal testimony, the show makes no pretense of impartiality.

    Corrie’s death made her a hero of the four-year-old Palestinian uprising, while critics attacked her as naive, an idiot and a traitor.

           
            Rachel Corrie

    […]
    The show at London’s Royal Court theater runs to the end of this month.

    Political theater in London is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, partly fueled by public opposition to the Iraq war. Plays like last year’s “Guantanamo,” about prisoners at the U.S. naval base, have enjoyed big success.

    Jump the fold …

    “I’ve got a fire in my belly,” Corrie pronounces near the start of the show …
    That fire kept Corrie scribbling plans, dreams and opinions constantly in her diary and obsessively making lists. One reads: “Five people to hang out with in eternity: Rainer Maria Rilke, Jesus, ee cummings, Gertrude Stein, Zelda Fitzgerald.”

    Her philosophical musings on death, faithless boyfriends and improving the world become urgent, intense dispatches to friends and family after she arrives in the Middle East in January 2003.

    Corrie’s parents, in London to see Rickman’s show, described it as an authentic portrait of their daughter. “It helps to explain what took her to Rafah, it very powerfully explains what she found there,” Corrie’s mother Cindy told Reuters.

    Many beautiful diaries have been published at dKos – worthwhile to reread about a young woman who stood up for her ideals and paid such a cruel price in doing so, in circumstances she not fully understood.

    But who ever claimed Jeanne d’Arc wasn’t naive? There are so many persons with ideals that are “bulldozerd” in daily life by markt conformity and calls for proposition being “contrary” to interest -read profits- of our corporation.

    Reading some of the many personal life stories published in recent diaries here at BT, a great diversity in background, education, life’s experience, family unity, religion, ambition and life’s expectancy became clear. I wonder what is the common factor that binds this community – my answer is IDEALS.

    I would appreciate your own views on ideals in near future, worthwhile to be active in pursuit. They do not necessarily have to be politically based, but I expect to see a lot in common for the BooMan Tribune contributors.

    Thank you.

    PS All Good News stories are welcome.

    APPENDIX – REFERENCES  

    In Memory of Rachel Corrie

    Evergreen State College – Rachel Corrie

    Olympia, Washington Links

    2 years ago our “American Sgrena” was killed… And the US did nothing
    by lawnorder  Wed Mar 16th, 2005      

    Law Suits Filed Two Years After Rachel Corrie’s Killing

    Two years after the killing of American peace activist Rachel Corrie in Jenin [I believe it was Rafah, Gaza near Egyptian border – Ed] two law suits have been filed against Israel and Caterpillar, the company that manufactured specially designed bulldozers so Israel Defence could effectively bulldoze the homes of suspected terrorists and their extended families. See…
    Palestine: ISM Update Remembering Rachel Corrie  

    EARLIER REPORTS:
    Scoop Report: A Memorial to Rachel Corrie

    ISM Statement On The Killing Of Rachel Corrie And Its Aftermath  

    Earlier dKos diary:
    NATIONAL DISGRACE: Family of Rachel Corrie Forced to Plead With Ariel Sharon
    by krag  Wed Jan 12th, 2005  

    The family of American peace activist Rachel Corrie has had a letter hand-delivered to Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon by Rep. Adam Smith.  The letter asks for an independent investigation into her death. Corrie was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer, while attempting to halt the demolition of the house of a Palestinian doctor in March of 2003, just as the Iraq war was launched.  Seven eyewitnesses have signed sworn affidavits insisting Corrie was murdered.

    Sometimes mentioning Rachel Corrie can get you in deep trouble at dKos —
    Rachel Corrie and dKos temperament  

    Oui – Liberté – Egalité – Fraternité