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Zebra 3 Report by Joe Anybody
Saturday, 16 January 2010
2 programs that I have running on my computer
Mood:
caffeinated
Now Playing: Computer Malware and SpyWare Protection Suggestions
Topic: ANYBODY * ANYDAY
Computer Protection
http://tiny.cc/pQ13M [[[ spybot ]]] Spybot - Search & Destroy has been in the antispyware game for a long time offering features we've come to expect in the best apps in the category, but bugs and false positives make it difficult to recommend. The program checks your system against a comprehensive database of adware and other system invaders. It also features several interface improvements, including multiple skins for dressing up its appearance. Scan results now appear arranged by groups in a tree, and a sliding panel lets you instantly view information about a selected item to help you decide whether to kill it or not. The Immunize feature blocks a plethora of uninvited Web-borne flotsam before it reaches your computer. Other useful tools, including Secure Shredder, complement the program's basic functionality for completely destroying files. Hosts File blocks adware servers from your computer, and System Startup lets you review which apps load when you start your computer. Unfortunately, the program has the tendency to lock up at times and even during the install process for this review, we encountered several errors. The ambitious feature list and functionality make Spybot a good choice for those in search of a second antispyware program, and recent updates have made it run faster. It still makes errors in flagging spyware that isn't, and overall there are others in the category that do a better job http://tiny.cc/Psfjf [[[ adAware ]]] We have taken the security product millions of people know and trust one step further to give all users the power to protect themselves. By combining Lavasoft's pioneer anti-spyware technology with advanced Genotype detection, Ad-Aware Free is your proactive malware removal tool, allowing you to combat today's toughest cyber threats. Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware features real-time protection, a rootkit removal system, automatic updates, and much more — to ensure that you have the power to protect yourself online. Shop, bank, and make travel arrangements onlineWe keep you safe from password stealers, keyloggers, spyware, rootkits, trojans, online fraudsters, identity thieves and other potential cyber criminals. Control your privacy. Erase tracks left behind while surfing the Web - on browsers such as Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox - in one easy click. Get Peace of Mind. Know that your personal information is kept safe from dangerous intruders and prying eyes.Just set and forget - we'll keep you safe. For full anti-virus protection and advanced real-time protection, including behavior-based heuristics scanning, and advanced rootkit removal technology,
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 7:03 PM PST
Updated: Saturday, 16 January 2010 7:06 PM PST
Thursday, 14 January 2010
Haiti - Report from Democracy Now
Mood:
don't ask
Now Playing: problems are always in Haiti ....
Topic: FAILURE by the GOVERNMENT
-
The death toll rises as Haiti is crushed by a massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake. Bodies lie in the streets as people continue to cry out from underneath the rubble. Little aid has come in as the situation becomes increasingly desperate. The number of dead is almost certainly in the tens of thousands but could be 100,000 or more. We go to Port-au-Prince to get a report from a young American father who is helping to care for the injured in the hotel where he was staying when the quake struck. [includes rush transcript] -
Much of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince has been leveled by Tuesday’s earthquake, leaving as many as 100,000 people dead and tens of thousands of people homeless. As of Thursday morning, little aid has arrived in Haiti. Planeloads of rescuers and relief supplies are said to be on the way from the US, EU, Canada, Russia and Latin American nations. We go to Port-au-Prince to speak with independent journalist Ansel Herz. [includes rush transcript] -
We discuss the situation in Haiti following Tuesday’s massive earthquake, as well as the history of Haiti, with two guests who have spent a lot of time there: Bill Quigley, the legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Brian Concannon, director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. [includes rush transcript] -
Journalist and author Naomi Klein spoke in New York last night and addressed the crisis in Haiti: “We have to be absolutely clear that this tragedy—which is part natural, part unnatural—must, under no circumstances, be used to, one, further indebt Haiti and, two, to push through unpopular corporatist policies in the interest of our corporations. This is not conspiracy theory. They have done it again and again.” [includes rush transcript] -
We speak with Congress member Maxine Waters (D-CA) about the US and international aid response to Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti. As of Thursday morning, little aid has arrived, and a desperate search for survivors continues. [includes rush transcript]
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:11 PM PST
4 year old kicked out of school for having a pony tail
Mood:
irritated
Now Playing: Stupid school ...kicks out 4 year old boy with long hair
Topic: PROTEST!
Hi Z3 Readers ...let me preface this with ... "if the school is this dumb, I suggest not sending your kid to it in the first place!"
Judy Molland http://www.care2.com/causes/education/blog/four-year-old-suspended-from-school It's never too soon to enforce the school dress code. That seems to be the guiding principle behind the administration at Walter Floyd Elementary School in Mesquite, Texas. Four-year-old Taylor Pugh was suspended from his prekindergarten class on November 24, 2009, because he wears his hair too long (close to shoulder length or in a ponytail), and doesn't want his parents to cut it. When asked why he was no longer in class, Taylor declared, "They kicked me out!" adding quickly, "I miss my friends." Since being removed from the classroom, the youngster has been sent to the library every day to study with a teacher's aide. He's just too much of a distraction to remain in class.
That was the decision of the principal, but on January 10 the school board of the Mesquite Independent School District in the Dallas area supported that decision and voted unanimously to maintain its ban on long hair for boys.
So where do Taylor's parents stand on this? His father, Delton Pugh, told the Associated Press: "I don't think it's right to hold a child down and force him to do something. It's not hurting him of affecting his education." The board proposed a compromise whereby Taylor's parents would not have to cut off his long locks, but could braid them and pin them up. Mom and dad rejected this option.
There are some troubling questions here. Why is a boy with long hair more distracting than a girl with long hair? Is shoulder-length generally considered long? Why isn't the school more focused on teaching than on personal grooming for preK students?
Generally the idea behind dress codes is that students should not wear distracting clothes like shirts that advertize sex or drugs or alcohol, spaghetti straps for girls, or low-slung pants for boys. And of course gang-related colors and clothing. These make total sense, but long hair? How distracting can a boy's ponytail be?
The rules at the Mesquite school district seem to be closely aligned with the zero-tolerance policies, introduced in 1994 with the Gun Free Schools Act, and which were put in place to reduce the level of violence at schools. But when children are booted out of school for bringing tweezers or a Cub Scout's camping tool to class, haven't things gone too far? That's what happened to Zachary Christie in October of last year. Six-year-old Zach was so excited about joining the Cub Scouts and acquiring a camping tool that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon, that he wanted to share it at school. Bad idea! The Christina School District in Newark, DE, decided to suspend the first grader from school for 45 days.
Have school adminstrations got their priorities wrong? Shouldn't they get back to the business of teaching?
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PST
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
US Iraq Casualties Rise to 73,729
Mood:
don't ask
Now Playing: KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL
Topic: WAR
Submitted on Wed, 01-13 2010 Last Week: US Iraq Casualties Rise to 73,729 Compiled by Michael Munk | www.MichaelMunk.com US military occupation forces in Iraq under Commander-in-Chief Obama suffered five combat casualties in the week ending January 12, 2010* as the official total since the 2003 invasion rose to at least 73,729. The total includes 35,098 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and more than 38,631 (as of Jan 5, 2010) dead, injured and sick from "non-hostile" causes requiring medical evacuation. The actual total is over 100,000 because the Pentagon chooses not to count as "Iraq casualties" the more than 30,000 veterans whose injuries - mainly brain trauma from explosions - were diagnosed only after they had left Iraq.** In addition, Iraq Coalition Casualties names eight service members who died of wounds after they left Iraq but are not counted by the Pentagon. US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by occasionally reporting only the total killed (4,377 as of Jan 12, 2010) but rarely mentioning the 31,620 wounded in combat. To further minimize public perception of the cost, they cover for the Pentagon by ignoring the 37,732 (as of Jan 2, 2010)*** military victims of accidents and illness serious enough to require medical air evacuation, although the 4,377 reported deaths include 899 (up two) who died from those same causes, including at least 18 from faulty electrical work by KBR and 197 suicides through Jan. 2, 2010.***
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 6:32 AM PST
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
Im Going to Washington DC
Mood:
happy
Now Playing: protesting the war outside the White House
Topic: PROTEST!
Mark Your Calendars! We Need You- YES YOU!!! Peace Of The Action website is here http://peaceoftheaction.org/ Please visit the site and sign up to
Join us in Washington DC March 2010.
We’ve marched, written, called and faxed but the wars continue....... It is time for new creative strategies and bolder action.
Peace of the Action will bring forward an historic escalation of Peace Activism like we have not seen in the United States in a very long time. We cannot allow business as usual go on in the Capital of the American Empire.
On a daily basis, Peace of the Action will perform courageous deeds of civil resistance until our demands are met. We will show our righteous outrage at U.S. militarism by showing our elected officials that “Peace means Business,” by clogging up government business. We want an end to Empire so we can build a new economy that is not drained by the costs of Empire and war. This Empire does not create jobs abroad while it has the effect of destroying jobs here on the domestic front. This Empire builds the profits of transnational businesses while Americans go further into debt and fights wars for oil and resources. It’s time to stop using militarism as the PRIMARY tool of foreign policy. It’s time to start adhering to the U.S. Constitution and International Law. Our demand is simple:
Troops out of the Middle East, which includes drones, permanent bases, contractors and torture/detention facilities.
We will begin Peace of the Action on March 13th when we gather in Washington, DC to erect Camp OUT NOW on the lawn of the Washington Monument, directly across the street from the White House and our actions will begin on March 22nd. We need individuals who realize that time is running short for us to truly affect change through commitment and dedication to humanity through the end to the U.S. Empire (and its subsidiaries).
Individual commitment will entail at least a once a week civil resistance mission and support to the group at large through contributing to the running and infrastructure of our encampment.
Your commitment can range from the entire action: Until our demands are met, or any other chunk of time that you are available. Click here to join now! If you have questions please write Cindy Sheehan at action@peaceoftheaction.org
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:24 PM PST
Police arresting videographers .... and are usually in the wrong to do so
Mood:
a-ok
Now Playing: cell phone cameras to a secret mic up the sleve - people are filming the police
Topic: CIVIL RIGHTS
Published on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by The Boston Globe Police Fight Cellphone Recordings Simon Glik, a lawyer, was walking down Tremont Street in Boston when he saw three police officers struggling to extract a plastic bag from a teenager's mouth. Thinking their force seemed excessive for a drug arrest, Glik pulled out his cellphone and began recording. Boston Police Fight Cellphone Recordings; Witnesses taking audio of officers arrested, charged with illegal surveillance (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) Within minutes, Glik said, he was in handcuffs. "One of the officers asked me whether my phone had audio recording capabilities,'' Glik, 33, said recently of the incident, which took place in October 2007. Glik acknowledged that it did, and then, he said, "my phone was seized, and I was arrested.'' The charge? Illegal electronic surveillance. Jon Surmacz, 34, experienced a similar situation. Thinking that Boston police officers were unnecessarily rough while breaking up a holiday party in Brighton he was attending in December 2008, he took out his cellphone and began recording. Police confronted Surmacz, a webmaster at Boston University. He was arrested and, like Glik, charged with illegal surveillance. There are no hard statistics for video recording arrests. But the experiences of Surmacz and Glik highlight what civil libertarians call a troubling misuse of the state's wiretapping law to stifle the kind of street-level oversight that cellphone and video technology make possible. "The police apparently do not want witnesses to what they do in public,'' said Sarah Wunsch, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, who helped to get the criminal charges against Surmacz dismissed. Boston police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll rejected the notion that police are abusing the law to block citizen oversight, saying the department trains officers about the wiretap law. "If an individual is inappropriately interfering with an arrest that could cause harm to an officer or another individual, an officer's primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the situation,'' she said. In 1968, Massachusetts became a "two-party'' consent state, one of 12 currently in the country. Two-party consent means that all parties to a conversation must agree to be recorded on a telephone or other audio device; otherwise, the recording of conversation is illegal. The law, intended to protect the privacy rights of individuals, appears to have been triggered by a series of high-profile cases involving private detectives who were recording people without their consent. In arresting people such as Glik and Surmacz, police are saying that they have not consented to being recorded, that their privacy rights have therefore been violated, and that the citizen action was criminal. "The statute has been misconstrued by Boston police,'' said June Jensen, the lawyer who represented Glik and succeeded in getting his charges dismissed. The law, she said, does not prohibit public recording of anyone. "You could go to the Boston Common and snap pictures and record if you want; you can do that.'' Ever since the police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1991 was videotaped, and with the advent of media-sharing websites like Facebook and YouTube, the practice of openly recording police activity has become commonplace. But in Massachusetts and other states, the arrests of street videographers, whether they use cellphones or other video technology, offers a dramatic illustration of the collision between new technology and policing practices. "Police are not used to ceding power, and these tools are forcing them to cede power,'' said David Ardia, director of the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society. Ardia said the proliferation of cellphone and other technology has equipped people to record actions in public. "As a society, we should be asking ourselves whether we want to make that into a criminal activity,'' he said. In Pennsylvania, another two-party state, individuals using cellphones to record police activities have also ended up in police custody. But one Pennsylvania jurisdiction has reaffirmed individuals' right to videotape in public. Police in Spring City and East Vincent Township agreed to adopt a written policy confirming the legality of videotaping police while on duty. The policy was hammered out as part of a settlement between authorities and ACLU attorneys representing a Spring City man who had been arrested several times last year for following police and taping them. In Massachusetts, Wunsch said Attorney General Martha Coakley and police chiefs should be informing officers not to abuse the law by charging civilians with illegally recording them in public. The cases are the courts' concern, said Coakley spokesman Harry Pierre. "At this time, this office has not issued any advisory or opinion on this issue.'' Massachusetts has seen several cases in which civilians were charged criminally with violating the state's electronic surveillance law for recording police, including a case that was reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Court. Michael Hyde, a 31-year-old musician, began secretly recording police after he was stopped in Abington in late 1998 and the encounter turned testy. He then used the recording as the basis for a harassment complaint. The police, in turn, charged Hyde with illegal wiretapping. Focusing on the secret nature of the recording, the SJC upheld the conviction in 2001. "Secret tape recording by private individuals has been unequivocally banned, and, unless and until the Legislature changes the statute, what was done here cannot be done lawfully,'' the SJC ruled in a 4-to-2 decision. In a sharply worded dissent, Chief Justice Margaret Marshall criticized the majority view of a law that, in effect, punished citizen watchdogs and allowed police officers to conceal possible misconduct behind a "cloak of privacy.'' "Citizens have a particularly important role to play when the official conduct at issue is that of the police,'' Marshall wrote. "Their role cannot be performed if citizens must fear criminal reprisals when they seek to hold government officials responsible by recording, secretly recording on occasion, an interaction between a citizen and a police officer.'' Since that ruling, the outcome of Massachusetts criminal cases involving the recording of police by citizens has turned mainly on this question of secret vs. public recording. Jeffrey Manzelli, 46, a Cambridge sound engineer, was convicted of illegal wiretapping and disorderly conduct for recording MBTA police at an antiwar rally on Boston Common in 2002. Though he said he had openly recorded the officer, his conviction was upheld in 2007 on the grounds that he had made the recording using a microphone hidden in the sleeve of his jacket. Peter Lowney, 39, a political activist from Newton, was convicted of illegal wiretapping in 2007 after Boston University police accused him of hiding a camera in his coat during a protest on Commonwealth Avenue. Charges of illegal wiretapping against documentary filmmaker and citizen journalist Emily Peyton were not prosecuted, however, because she had openly videotaped police arresting an antiwar protester in December 2007 at a Greenfield grocery store plaza, first from the parking lot and then from her car. Likewise with Simon Glik and Jon Surmacz; their cases were eventually dismissed, a key factor being the open way they had used their cellphones. Surmacz said he never thought that using his cellphone to record police in public might be a crime. "One of the reasons I got my phone out . . . was from going to YouTube where there are dozens of videos of things like this,'' said Surmacz, a webmaster at BU who is also a part-time producer at Boston.com. It took five months for Surmacz, with the ACLU, to get the charges of illegal wiretapping and disorderly conduct dismissed. Surmacz said he would do it again. "Because I didn't do anything wrong,'' he said. "Had I recorded an officer saving someone's life, I almost guarantee you that they wouldn't have come up to me and say, ‘Hey, you just recorded me saving that person's life. You're under arrest.' '' The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University is an investigative reporting collaborative. This story was done under the guidance of BU professors Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff.
Article printed from www.CommonDreams.org
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 10:24 PM PST
Survivalist Podcasts & Links...and General Survival Information
Mood:
lucky
Now Playing: great sourse of information - I recommend the podcasts
Topic: Survivalist
January 1st, 2010 There will be no show today as I will be spending the day reflecting on how much 2009 has changed our lives with my family. There are several exciting announcements I want to share today. - One - I have been answering a lot of emails from new and even long time listeners that tell me that many of the features on the Survival Podcast website may not be as easy to find and use as I think they are. Hence I created a video tour, by Monday it will be featured on the home page of our site for all new listeners, until then you can check it out on YouTube by clicking here.
- Two - As I announced yesterday Western Botanicals one of our really great sponsors is now providing a free preferred membership to all Member’s Support Brigade participants. This membership gets you 25% off EVERYTHING at the Western Botanicals Website. The normal cost of this preferred membership is 50 dollars a year. So this one benefit fully covers the cost of your MSB Membership. Full details are on on the benefits page of the MSB Website.
- Three - Also mentioned on the show yesterday was that I am in communication with Dave Duffy of Backwoods Home Magazine about adding them as a supporter to the MSB. We have a few details to work out on discount codes but it looks like we will be offering a 20% discount on first year subscriptions and 20% on several of their publications including “Growing and Canning Your Own Food“ by Jackie Clay and “The Coming American Dictatorship” by John Silveira. I am a long time reader of Backwoods Home and think they are a great addition to the MSB. Even if you are not a MSB member and don’t get the discount I really recommend reading their web site and picking up a subscription to them. You can do that at the Backwoods Home Website.
- Four - As I have mentioned a few times I am going to be a staff write with Ron Hoods new magazine, Survival.com Magazine. The first edition is due out in February. I really recommend subscribing to it as well. Also remember all MSB Members get 10% off of all DVDs in the Survival.com General Store.
- Five - Sometime in the next week or two Bill Wilson (owner of Midwest Permaculture) will be on TSP as my guest to talk about sustainable agriculture and all permaculture principles. Bill is a pretty amazing guy and I have learned a lot taking his Webinar Course already. I think he will be a great guest so send all your permaculture questions to me as soon as possible and I will include them in the interview. Again Bills website is called Midwest Permaculture and I am really enjoying his “Permaculture Webinar Course“.
- Six - As I have said a few times I am working hard on a new eBook called, “Mastering the 22 Rifle“. This book should be finished before the end of January. It is a treasure trove of rifle craft wisdom and will teach you everything I know about shooting the 22 effectively as a hunting and survival tool. You can’t actually order the book yet, what you can do is click on the order button and get on a list to receive a large discount for registering in advance. This eBook is a major project, there are going to be over 100 full color photographs in it. Learn more at MasterRifleman.com
As you can see we are only 1 day into 2010 and TSP is already expanding, growing and looking for better ways to serve our entire community. The next year will be exciting, I hope it brings you and your family greater joy, freedom, independence and opportunity then you have ever experienced before. I think in the next few years our nation and our world is going to be seriously tested, out community will do well though. Remember we do not prepare due to fear, we prepare so that we may destroy and abolish fear from our lives. May your new year be blessed and keep on living that better life if times get tough or even if they don’t.
December 28th, 2009 Episode-345- An Interview with Christopher Nyerges Join me today as I interview Christopher Nyerges from the editorial staff of Wilderness Way Magazine. Christopher is also the author of quite a few books and a wealth of knowledge on gardening, permaculture, botany, alternative energy, wilderness survival skills and more. Note of Correction - In today’s show I mention a 5000 year old food forest, that was an error it was a 2000 year old forest. I apologize for the misstatement and a link to the Youtube video is in today’s show notes. Join me today as we discuss… - Christopher’s new book, The Self Sufficient Home
- How to be cost effective with solar, wind and other energy projects
- Why being part of the effort is key to success with alternative energy projects
- The parallels between surviving urban/suburban disasters and wilderness survival
- The importance of caring for others in a survival situation
- Why political awareness is important for modern survivalism
- The three illusions of money
- Why Christopher choose the format for his new book of showing multiple families and communities with real world projects
- The importance of growing your own food
- Methods of harvesting water and why it is key to your success
- Why “resource shortage” is more important that political concepts like global warming
Resources for today’s show… Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 4:01 PM PST
Updated: Tuesday, 12 January 2010 4:25 PM PST
CIVIL DAY OF ACTION
Mood:
loud
Now Playing: meet in Washington DC March 2010
Topic: WAR
It is time for new creative strategies and bolder action.Peace of the Action will bring forward an historic escalation of Peace Activism like we have not seen in the United States in a very long time. We cannot allow business as usual go on in the Capital of the American Empire.On a daily basis, Peace of the Action will perform courageous deeds of civil resistance until our demands are met.We will show our righteous outrage at U.S. militarism by showing our elected officials that “Peace means Business,” by clogging up government business. We want an end to Empire so we can build a new economy that is not drained by the costs of Empire and war. This Empire does not create jobs abroad while it has the effect of destroying jobs here on the domestic front. This Empire builds the profits of transnational businesses while Americans go further into debt and fights wars for oil and resources. It’s time to stop using militarism as the PRIMARY tool of foreign policy. It’s time to start adhering to the U.S. Constitution and International Law. Our demand is simple:
Troops out of the Middle East, which includes drones, permanent bases, contractors and torture/detention facilities.
We will begin Peace of the Action on March 13th when we gather in Washington, DC to erect Camp OUT NOW on the lawn of the Washington Monument, directly across the street from the White House and our actions will begin on March 22nd. We need individuals who realize that time is running short for us to truly affect change through commitment and dedication to humanity through the end to the U.S. Empire (and its subsidiaries). Individual commitment will entail at least a once a week civil resistance mission and support to the group at large through contributing to the running and infrastructure of our encampment.Your commitment can range from the entire action: Until our demands are met, or any other chunk of time that you are available.
Click here to join now! If you have questions please write Cindy Sheehan at action@peaceoftheaction.org http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=597032057#v=feed
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PST
Updated: Tuesday, 12 January 2010 4:24 PM PST
Saturday, 2 January 2010
17 Iraqies killed by Blackwater and court case goes no where
Mood:
don't ask
Now Playing: No Justice: Blackwater court case goes no where due to US Judge
Topic: WAR
Paul Richmond "...In his 90-page ruling, Judge Ricardo Urbina made no comment on the legality or otherwise of the shooting. He dismissed the case on the grounds that the five had had their constitutional rights violated by the way confession statements they had made had been used by the prosecution.The statements were made when the men ...were under threat of losing their jobs if they did not cooperate with investigators. The US government had promised that their statements would not be used against them in a criminal case...."
Iraq threatens action afterBlackwater case collapsesOfficials and relatives of 17 Iraqis killed in Baghdad react with fury to US judge's decision to dismiss all charges http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/01/iraq-us-blackwater-case-trial - Martin Chulov, Ed Pilkington in New York and Enas Ibrahim in Baghdad
- guardian.co.uk, Friday 1 January 2010 22.14 GMT
- Article history
A car torched in protest at the site where 17 Iraqis were killed by a Blackwater security escort in Baghdad in 2007. Photograph: Ali Yussef/AFP/Getty Images Iraqi officials and relatives of 17 Iraqis who were killed in a crowded Baghdad square in September 2007 in an allegedly unprovoked shooting spree by Blackwater private security guards reacted with fury today to the decision by a US federal judge to dismiss all charges against five of the guards. A spokesman for the Iraqi government said the collapse of the case in the US courts would lead to an intensified criminal prosecution of Blackwater through the Iraqi legal system. Ali al-Dabbagh said the criminal suit was already well advanced against the firm, which would not be allowed to restart its private military work in the country. "The government will monitor proceedings against Blackwater in Iraqi courts to prosecute the company and will preserve the rights of Iraqi citizens, of the victims and their families affected by this crime," he said. Abdul Wahab Abdul Kader, 35, who was shot in the arm, said he was bitterly disappointed. ""I call for the government to stop all foreign security companies working in Iraq. Their work here has been full of dangers for us and has caused real peril." Haitham Ahmed, whose wife and son were killed, said the dismissal of the case cast doubt on the integrity of the US justice system. He told Associated Press: "The whole thing has been a farce. The rights of our victims and the rights of the innocent people should not be wasted." The shooting, on 16 September 2007, caused outrage around the world and strained relations between the US and Iraq. A series of congressional hearings was held, and militant groups leapt on the bloodshed as evidence of US brutality. Blackwater was expelled from most of its key contracts in Iraq and forced into a major damage-limitation exercise that included rebranding itself Xe Ltd. The incident began when a heavily armed Blackwater convoy moved into a busy square in Baghdad, after breaking an order to stay in the US-controlled green zone of the city, prosecutors allege. The five were accused of opening fire with automatic weapons and grenade launchers on unarmed civilians, killing children, women and men attempting to flee in their cars. One victim was alleged to have been shot in the chest while standing with his hands in the air. Defence lawyers said they had been responding to an earlier car bombing and were attacked by Iraqis they believed to be enemy insurgents. In his 90-page ruling, Judge Ricardo Urbina made no comment on the legality or otherwise of the shooting. He dismissed the case on the grounds that the five had had their constitutional rights violated by the way confession statements they had made had been used by the prosecution. The statements were made when the men were under threat of losing their jobs if they did not cooperate with investigators. The US government had promised that their statements would not be used against them in a criminal case. Urbina said that despite this immunity deal, the statements had been used, thus tainting the investigation. He said the government's case had been "contradictory, unbelievable and lacking in credibility". If convicted, the five guards, all of whom were former US military personnel, would have faced a 30-year sentence. "It feels like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders," said Steven McCool, a lawyer for one of the five, Donald Ball. "Here's a guy that's a decorated war hero who we maintain should never have been charged in the first place." The legal fate of a sixth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, is now unclear. He pleaded guilty to killing one Iraqi and wounding another, and gave evidence against his five former Blackwater colleagues. Xe said that the dismissal of the case meant "we can move forward and continue to assist the US in its mission to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan find a peaceful, democratic future". However, relatives have lodged civil charges against the five in the Virginian courts. Tareq Harb, an Iraqi lawyer, said of the US federal court: "They did not call local witnesses, or victims, or officials who responded to the scene. The guards were protected under Bremer's law [US administrator in Iraq before 2004]. There was no due process, or natural justice."
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 1:45 PM PST
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