“Americans occupied our country and started corruption in here and ruined whatever was left by Saddam, therefore after 7 years and based on the security agreement (between Iraq and the U.S.), all the U.S. forces should leave Iraq at the end of 2011. The extended mission of the infidel occupiers in Iraq even for one single day after the mentioned date (as cited in the security agreement) is haram (religiously forbidden).”-Senior Iraqi Shiite Grand Ayatollah Kazzem al-Hosseini al-Haeri
Ever since officials from the Obama administration made statements about staying in Iraq passed the 2011 withdrawal date, the Iraqis have been really upset. Not only protests, but attacking U.S. bases.
According to some reports a U.S. base was attacked on April 23. Three rockets hit the Echo Army base near the city of Diwaniyah, in southern Iraq. This makes the fourth time the base has been attacked in the past few weeks. On April 22, two U.S. soldiers were killed, patrolling in southern Iraq. No details were given by U.S. officials. So far for April nine U.S. personnel have been killed.
“We were told to evacuate, but we can’t. Are the moving companies just going to abandon us without offering help?”-Evacuee
People living in mandatory evac zones, in Fukushima Prefecture, have until the end of May to get out. But they are on their own when it comes to actually moving. Even moving companies are refusing their business.
Moving companies claim safety for their employees: “We don’t let our workers go in the zone where evacuations are planned, or anywhere within 30 kilometers of the plant, because of safety considerations. However, if the prefecture and local authorities combine to make a request, we’ll look at what can be done.”-Nippon Express Company
So far 6,000 people have asked for the services of moving companies. This is another example of how unprepared Japan is. How can you order a mandatory evacuation, without providing any way for the people to move? Typical of governments worldwide!
The situation around the Fukushima Daiichi nuke plant is not getting better. Radiation contamination is spreading, and increasing.
Officials say the radiation levels at the damaged nuclear plant continue to increase, making it more difficult for workers struggling to get the facility under control. Tokyo Electric Power Company says radiation levels at the nuclear reactor buildings are still to high for humans to approach.
Radiation levels are increasing outside the now mandatory evacuation zones. The Fukushima state government has issued a warning to people outside the evacuation zones, saying they should limit their time outdoors. School playgrounds and public parks are being monitored for contamination. Already five public parks, outside the evac zones, are showing contamination at, or above, the safe limits set by the prefectural government. Officials are telling residents, and visitors, to limit their time at those parks to no more than one hour per day.
The increasing radiation levels being reported by local governments contradicts the Japanese Prime Minister’s office, which said the risk of radiation leaks is receding.
Russian media reporting that a NATO helicopter was shot down in Kapisa Province, Afghanistan.
Zabiullah Mojahid, a Taliban representative, confirms that the helicopter was shot down with a guided missile. Mojahid claims he does not know how they got the missile.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the spent fuel pool, located above reactor 4, is too weak to take any more water. Also, it is cause for concern with any more aftershocks. There are more than 1,000 fuel rods in the pool.
They will now try to reinforce the floor of the pool, by adding additional support pillars.
The United States, the Europeans, even the United Nations, ignored the African Union when they expressed concerns about military action being taken against one of their own; Libya. Now, the U.S. wants the AU’s help.
“In addition, we seek the African Union’s assistance in arriving at a political solution in Libya.”-Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State
So now the Obama administration wants a political solution to Libya? Why didn’t they do that to begin with! Is this just part of the U.S. plan to move on to attacking Syria?
“This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now.”-President Barack Obama, referring to Syria, April 22, 2011
Compare that to what Obama said to Libya before attacking them.
“The suffering and bloodshed is outrageous and it is unacceptable. So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.”-President Barack Obama, referring to Libya, February 23, 2011
Basically Obama’s statement to Syria is just a condensed version of what he said to Libya.
The United Nations is already calling for investigations of protesters being killed in Syria. France is expressing concern, and remember, they were the ones that did all the dirty work to get the United Nations to approve war with Libya. President Obama is also accusing Iran of taking part in the violence in Syria.
“The proposal shows that the United States is willing to pay any price in order to establish a permanent military base in Afghanistan, even… recognition of the Taliban.”-Ghulam Jilani Zwak, director of Afghanistan’s Strategic Research Center
Political analyst Ghulam Jilani Zwak, is making some serious claims against the Obama administration. Basically he says the United States will recognize the Taliban as a legitimate politically party, and, give southern Afghanistan to the control of the Taliban, in exchange for a large permanent U.S. military base. It’s part of the Control through Chaos strategy: “Through the establishment of a permanent military base, the U.S. is trying to achieve two major goals: one is to concentrate its troops at one single base to reduce the tremendous cost of military intervention, and the second is to alter the nature of the intervention by starting a civil war, which would involve all Afghan ethnic groups.”-Zwak
He also says Iran is correct when it claims the U.S. has invaded Afghanistan, and Iraq, for the purpose of invading Iran: “After establishing the permanent military base in Afghanistan, the U.S. will widen the current crisis to other countries of the region, and the crisis will be managed through this military base.”-Zwak
More than a year ago a lower court dismissed manslaughter charges against the guards of Blackwater Worldwide, now known as Xe Services. Iraqis claimed Blackwater employees randomly shot Iraqi civilians. The U.S. Army called it a “criminal event”.
Now an appeals court judge says the lower court judge was F*ed up, when he dismissed the charges. Judge Ricardo Urbina “…made a number of systemic errors based on an erroneous legal analysis.”-Appellate judges Douglas Ginsburg, Merrick Garland and Stephen Williams
Urbina dismissed the charges on the grounds the U.S. Justice Department mishandled the evidence, and, ironically, he felt the accused had their consitutional rights violated. I say ironically, because no “enemy combatant” is afforded any constitutional rights under this bogus War on Terror!
The appeals court also ordered Urbina to disclose if any evidence was tampered with.
The Blackwater (Xe Services) guards were originally charged with 17 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of violating U.S. arms export regulations. NY Times video