I dropped by the hospital in Marjayoun this week to find a young girl lying in a hospital bed, swathed in bandages, her beauty scarred for ever by some familiar wounds; the telltale dark-red holes in her skin made by cluster bombs, the weapon we used in Iraq to such lethal effect and which the Israelis are now using to punish the civilians of southern Lebanon. And, of course, it occurred to me at once that if George Bush and Condoleezza Rice and our own sad and diminished Prime Minister had demanded a ceasefire when the Lebanese first pleaded for it, this young woman would not have to spend the rest of her life pitted with these vile scars.And having seen the cadavers of so many more men and women, I have to say - from my eyrie only three miles from the Israeli border - that the compliant, gutless, shameful refusal of Bush, Rice and Lord Blair of Kut al-Amara to bring this bloodbath to an end sentenced many hundreds of innocent Lebanese to death. ... http://informationclearinghouse.info censor News |
Editor - 21:28:00 07-29-06 |
Chavez invites Iranian investment |
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged Iran to increase investment in his country's oil and gas assets. Visiting Tehran as part of a foreign tour, Mr Chavez also pledged Venezuela would "stand by Iran at any time and under any condition". Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described Mr Chavez as a "brother and trench mate". Venezuela and Iran are close allies, both members of the Opec oil-producing cartel and fierce critics of the US. Iran faces growing pressure from the US over its nuclear programme and its support of the Hezbollah militia, currently battling Israeli forces in Lebanon. Mr Chavez has been accused by the US of trying to destabilise South America, after he signed a deal to purchase arms from Russia earlier on his foreign tour. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5226290.stm
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Editor - 21:15:00 07-29-06 |
4 dead, 4 injured in skydiver plane crash Small craft goes down in eastern Missouri after possibly clipping phone lines |
A small plane carrying skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday, killing four people on board and injuring four others, authorities and witnesses said.Early reports indicated the plane may have struck a telephone pole before hitting a tree, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said. It crashed about 10 feet from a house.He said the extent of the injuries sustained by the survivors was unclear. No one on the ground was injured. “People on the ground said they saw something happen to the engine, and the plane sort of entered into a nosedive,” Toelke said.The victims had not been identified, but some were believed to have been from the St. Louis area.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14096891/
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Editor - 21:10:00 07-29-06 |
Wildfire destroys homes in Nebraska Other blazes char forests, threaten homes in Pacific Northwest |
At least three homes were destroyed and at least three others were damaged by one of the six wildfires burning in the Nebraska Panhandle.About 700 firefighters were battling the fires, which have scorched more than 62½ square miles and continued to be fueled by triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and 20-mph winds.“As difficult as this situation is, it could be a lot worse,” Gov. Dave Heineman said in a teleconference Saturday. Heineman visited the city of Chadron the day after 1,200 people evacuated their homes and firefighters successfully defended the Chadron State College campus. A subdivision on the south side of Chadron was briefly evacuated again Saturday.... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14097661/
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Editor - 21:08:00 07-29-06 |
Israelis withdraw from Hizbollah border stronghold |
Israeli forces pulled out of the Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil yesterday on the 18th day of the Middle East crisis.Israeli troops had raided the Hizbollah stronghold, 2.5 miles from the Israel-Lebanon border, earlier in the week as part of a major offensive but were taken by surprise by the strength of resistance from militia. Israeli Military Northern Command chief Udi Adam said the army would continue to operate in southern Lebanon, saying: 'We will continue to fight in the area of Bint Jbeil. We hold commanding positions in the areas.'Adam told reporters that troops killed 70 to 80 Hizbollah guerrillas in the territory over the past few days. The army had suffered its biggest losses in fighting with Hizbollah in Bint Jbeil and nearby areas.Israeli sergeant Yoad Mor, who was wounded in the clashes in southern Lebanon, said troops found a large cache of weapons and munitions, and that heavy clashes made it difficult to evacuate him to Israel.... http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1833616,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 21:06:00 07-29-06 |
Future of Aryan Brotherhood debated Experts say prison gang likely to survive despite leaders’ convictions |
Federal prosecutors toiled for years to build a case strong enough to cut off the head of a notorious white-supremacist prison gang and end its 40-year reign over the federal and state prison systems. On Friday, the government saw the fruits of its labor: a sweeping verdict that convicted four top Aryan Brotherhood leaders of murder, conspiracy and racketeering and made two of the defendants eligible for the death penalty. Yet, as prosecutors celebrated, legal analysts and prison gang experts questioned whether the government’s near-complete victory will translate into the eventual demise of the brotherhood and a reduction in prison violence. “It was very successful and I think that they will use the racketeering charge again,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor who has tried prison murder cases. “But the truth is, this (gang) is like a hydra — you cut off a limb and it’s going to grow back,” ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14080722/
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Editor - 21:03:00 07-29-06 |
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