Scoopster News

WAR ON JIHAD: Iraq criticises UK rescue operation.

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq denounced British forces on Tuesday over a dramatic rescue of two undercover soldiers that could stoke hostility to the army in increasingly volatile southern Iraq. [Editor: Reuter's exaggerates, an Iraqi spokesman deemed it 'unfortunate'.]

British troops used an armoured fighting vehicle on Monday to burst into an Iraqi jail in search of soldiers held by police in Basra. The British commander said he learnt they had been handed to militia and ordered their rescue from a nearby house.

"It is a very unfortunate development that the British forces should try to release their forces the way it happened," Haider al-Ebadi, an adviser to Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, told a news conference in Baghdad.

British forces said the soldiers were in danger.

"From an early stage I had good reason to believe the lives of the two soldiers were at risk," Brigadier John Lorimer, the British commander in Basra, said in a statement.

WAR ON JIHAD: Basra Violence reveals Breakdown of Law.

British Soldier, engulfed in flames, escapes his tank while attacked by an Iraqi mob.

Disturbing footage coming out of Basra in the British-occupied zone of southern Iraq points to a breakdown in the rule of law in that city.

Recently, the relatively quite southern zone has seen an upsurge in violence.  An Al-Qaida group operating in the area has referred to the British soldiers as "crusaders". With an al-Qaida presence and bomb material coming in from neighboring Iran, Iraq is clearly the frontline in the War on Terror (War on Jihad). It is no longer tenable for partisan pundits to claim that Iraq is somehow disconnected from the War on Terror.

Senior British sources have commented in recent weeks that they have not excluded the possibility of a rise in violence in southern Iraq during the campaigning for the constitutional referendum.

They will now be trying to ascertain whether recent attacks are the start of that trouble. They are also concerned that the insurgents may be changing their tactics.

Better explosives and detonators are thought to have been coming over the border from neighboring Iran.They are not just enabling more numerous attacks, but also ensuring greater effectiveness.

British forces have been used to patrolling Basra without helmets, projecting an image of friendliness, believing that will win over the local population. Surely, this 'kindler gentler' waging of war favored by Tony Blair's New Labour government must end given the mob attacks on British patrols.

Earlier, two white Britons wearing Arab clothing shot at an Iraqi Police group in Basra.  It is suspected that the Britons are special forces officers on a covert operation.  London-based Iraq watchers have confirmed that the Iraqi security forces in Basra have been infiltrated by Ba'athist elements, supportive of Sadaam Hussein, and by agents of the Shia Mehdi Army, loyal to Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr.  It is possible that the British operatives may have pinpointed insurgents within the Iraqi police force.

Reports from the ground are conflicting, but the two Britons were arrested and detained by the Iraqi police in Basra.  While the British Ministry of Defence claims that negotiations secured the transfer of the British citizens to UK custody, eyewitness accounts state that several British tanks attacked the Iraqi police station and bulldozed a wall in order to rescue them. 

The viciousness of the Shi'ite mobs rioting upon news of the arrest of the two Britons coupled with the Basra Governor's hostility and lack of cooperation with the British Army points to a complete breakdown in the relationship between the Coalition and the local Iraqi authorities in southern Iraq. This disturbing development shows that the Coalition cannot rely on the Iraqi security forces in the foreseeable future. 

Perhaps the best Exit Strategy is for the United Kingdom and the United States to crush the insurgency and then get out.  It would behoove the supporters of the Coalition operation in Iraq to now drop the "nation-building" rhetoric.

In other developments:

• Iraq's Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, tells the UK's Independent newspaper that large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defence ministry, has led to the theft of more than $1bn;
• The Iraqi government says a nephew of Saddam Hussein, Ayman Sabawi, has been sentenced to life in prison for funding Iraq's insurgency;
• Al-Qaida says it was behind the 7 July bombings in London, in which 52 people were killed.

9/11: LEST WE FORGET: ITV News to honour Rescorla

Many of our readers will know the story of Lt Col Rick Rescorla, the British-American dual citizen who dedicated his life to serving the US.  He is credited with saving nearly 3,000 lives on 9/11 as the Chief of Security for Morgan Stanley at WTC.

We recommend OurWayofLife Blog for a fitting post on Rescorla.

ITV, the UK's largest commercial news outlet, is tonight airing a documentary about Rescorla entitled as "The Man Who Predicted 9/11"  on Britain's Channel Four:

The story of Rick Rescorla, the British security chief of Morgan Stanley's offices in the World Trade Centre in New York. After realising a terrorist attack using planes was a possibility, he made sure his co-workers were prepared for the eventuality. His foresight would ultimately save 2,700 lives when his nightmare scenario became a reality on 9/11

The California Legion Post 149 pays tribute online to Rescorla, flying both Old Glory and the Union Jack in his honor, calling him "An American Hero."  Indeed, during the evacuation of WTC, the English-born Rescorla lead his colleagues in singing "God Bless America" (as well as traditional 'Cornish' folk songs from his English county of birth).

Of particular interest is Rescorla's prediction of 9/11 which is the central theme of the ITN documentary.  The film "Voice of the Prophet" by Bob Edwards contains an interview with Rick Rescorla made in his office at the WTC in 1998 in which he discussed the plans he had made for a nightmare scenario in which the Twin Towers would be hit by airplanes.

On this the fourth anniversary of 9/11, we believe it is fitting to honor Rick Rescorla as a symbol of Anglo-American solidarity in the face of the Jihadist War on the West.  Unfortunately, Britain's New Labour government did not initially think that Rescorla was eligible for a British Gallantry medal. They yielded under public pressure.

SCAPEGOAT: Democrats attack, Republicans surrender on Michael Brown.

Despite local press coverage which confirms that FEMA's response  to Katrina was actually quite good considering the combination of incompetent local authorities and black "civil unrest", Michael Brown has been sacrificed by the Bush administration.

This, despite blog reports which claim the Democrat-controlled Senate unanimously confirmed Michael Brown as deputy director of FEMA:

"Amid all the bashing of FEMA director Michael Brown as an incompetent, unqualified, resume-padding political hack, one small factor has been overlooked: His job required Senate confirmation, didn't it? Indeed it did. And not only was Brown confirmed, but he was apparently confirmed by a unanimous voice vote -- when the Senate was controlled by Democrats. An enterprising blogger has found the transcript of Brown's June 19, 2002 confirmation hearing before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, then chaired by Sen. Joseph Lieberman. The whole affair, including tributes from Brown's home-state senators, apparently lasted less then an hour, and ended with Lieberman saying, "Mr. Brown, I thank you very much. I will certainly support your nomination. I will do my best to move it through the committee as soon as possible so we can have you fully and legally at work in your new position."

Finally, with the "evil party's" chief banshees, such as Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi demanding the head of Michael Brown on a silver platter, GovExec.com reported in 2004 that President Bush should thank Michael Brown for his speedy handling of the FEMA response to Hurricane Charley as it may have delivered Florida to the Bush camp in the general election:

Now that President Bush has won Florida in his 2004 re-election bid, he may want to draft a letter of appreciation to Michael Brown, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Seldom has any federal agency had the opportunity to so directly and uniquely alter the course of a presidential election, and seldom has any agency delivered for a president as FEMA did in Florida this fall.

The editorial line of Scoopster News is "Progressive-Conservative" and is not slavishly pro-Bush; we are independent and objective.  However, we regret the Republican adminstration's surrender over Michael Brown.  Something the "stupid party" does not understand is that the Left is motivated by the "optics" of a situation. Perception is reality. Partisan Democrats will view this as an enboldening victory and a concession of culpability by the Bush Whitehouse. 

AP worries about Katrina Illegals.

Illegal Immigrants afraid to get Storm Aid. [Assoc Press via Fox]

NEW ORLEANS  — Some sneak into shelters at night [Editor: Like they snuck into the country?] and then slip out in the morning, praying they won't be noticed. Others avoid government help altogether, preferring to ride out the chaos and destruction alone in a foreign land. [Editor: Perhaps they should go home now?]

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants live in the hardest-hit areas, although nobody knows exactly how many. Jeffrey Passel of the Pew Hispanic Center gave a conservative estimate of 20,000 to 35,000 in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. [Editor: I thought they were 'alone in a foreign land?']

But many, mindful of their long and dangerous voyage to the United States, have ignored [Vincente] Fox's advice, choosing to work with local churches or within tight-knit, Spanish-speaking communities. [Editor: So, they aren't alone?]

Rumors of deportations are rife, although U.S. officials have suspended for 45 days a requirement that employers check workers' identification. [Vincente] Fox also said the United States has promised not to send people home in the immediate aftermath, although Washington has not confirmed that. [Editor: I think the DHS 45-day official suspension of the Immigration & Nationality Act is confirmation from Washington.]

"There is always fear when you aren't a U.S. citizen," he said. "There is always fear they will get you."

[Editor: Nice propaganda piece, AP.  Love the "they will get you" ending.]

Hate Crimes in the USA: Update

The Vail Daily of Colorado reports: 'Hate Crimes' Rarely Prosecuted.

‘Ethnic intimidation’ is a crime in Colorado, but activists and police say it’s is not widely reported. 

By JK Perry, 1 September 2005

Letecia Harrison, a Hispanic activist, says teenagers fire racial slurs at each other more often than do adults in Eagle County. Hispanics born in the United States can be aggressive toward Mexican immigrants because of social and economic class differences, Harrison said, while whites and Hispanics often ignore one another.

A crime called “ethnic intimidation,” which was passed in 1988 and is dubbed a hate crime by many, was expanded recently by the state legislature to include sexual orientation.

[Editor: I don't see the connection between Letecia Harrison's claim that US-born Hispanics harrass Mexican "immigrants" and the journalist's reference to ethnic intimidation.  If Hispanics are intimidating other Hispanics, how is that a hate crime? ]

The Ethnic Intimidation Act makes it a crime to harass or attack a person based on their race, color, ancestry, religion or sexual orientation. An attack, considered a felony, is punishable by up to three years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Within the past four years, Vail police have filed ethnic intimidation charges just once. In January 2005, a man called the Polish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “polack.” The charge was later dropped because the slur was not considered egregious.

Avon Det. Mike Leake said the charge is not difficult to prove.

“If people are engaged in a harassment case verbally, and they make a statement referring to the person’s ethnic origin, then it’s ethnic intimidation,” Leake said. [Editor: Oh really? Someone should tell that to the NYPD about the Marine Park incident.]

Oftentimes, ethnic intimidation charges are filed to enhance other violations, said Krista Jaramillo, spokeswoman for Avon police. [Editor: Enhance or trump up charges? ] “It works essentially just like the domestic violence … it has to be in conjunction with something else,” Jaramillo said.

An FBI report found 82 hate crimes were committed in Colorado during 2003, although not every law enforcement agency in the county or state reports the statistic to the bureau.

Open Border Lobby: Katrina created Sanctuary for Illegals.

Katrina Sanctuary [ILW.com Editorial]

The DHS announced that it will not bring sanction actions against employers for hiring [Editor: illegal alien] individuals evacuated or displaced as a result of Hurricane Katrina. For the time being, Hurricane Katrina has created a sanctuary for the undocumented. We commend the government for adopting a compassionate approach to this disaster. The anti-immigrationists doubtless would want to use Katrina as an opportunity to deport the undocumented thus doubly victimizing those are already suffering.

DHS Issues I-9 Announcement For Katrina Victims
DHS announced that it will not sanction employers for hiring victims of Hurricane Katrina who, at this time, are unable to provide documentation normally required under Section 274A of the INA. [Editor: Unable to provide proof of legal status in the US. ]

Hate Crimes in the USA.

Left: Superdome Crimes: Still no word in the media about bias crimes ranging from intimidation and sexual harrassment to murder.

CNN & Wash Times : Hate Crimes decrease in 2002

Hooper [Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations] said that even if anti-Islam hate crime has waned, people who appear Arab or Muslim still are confronted more often than in the past with indignities such as lack of service or tougher scrutiny at airports.

"It's more your everyday, run-of-the-mill discrimination that Muslims are feeling," he said.

For a crime to involve hate, authorities must show a bias by the offender against the victim's race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. The hate crime numbers are based on reports to the FBI from more than 12,000 state and local law enforcement agencies.

Among other findings in the report:

--As in the past, racial bias accounted for nearly half of the 2002 incidents, with the vast majority of those -- nearly 2,500 -- involving crimes against blacks. Anti-white bias accounted for 719 hate crimes in 2002.

Editor: Unfortunately, all this proves is that the Justice Department and Police Departments around the US do not usually consider 'non-white'-on-white crime a bias crime. 

• The Justice Department's own stats state that 14% of white murder victims were murdered by a non-white while 6% of black murder victims were murdered by a non-black;
• The FBI and the Justice Department categorise Hispanic-on White crime as 'intra-racial', as they are both white.

"The Justice Department remains deeply committed to investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of racial violence and holding them accountable for their actions," said Assistant Attorney General R. Alexander Acosta, who heads the department's Civil Rights Division in Washington.

Oh really?

The 30 March 2005 incident in Brooklyn, New York in which a mob of 20-30 black teens allegedly attacked four white females, shouting “black power,” “white crackers,” and “Martin Luther King.” 

According to witnesses and parents of the victims, four young girls from St. Edmund’s had the day off from school due to Easter recess. They were playing basketball during dismissal from nearby Marine Park Junior High School, when several black Marine Park students demanded to use the court.

After adults intervened and asked them to wait their turn, the teens left - but returned in a pack of up to 30, both boys and girls, and stormed into the park.

Witnesses say the attackers were all black and called their victims “white crackers” during the bloody melee, which raged for almost 20 minutes.

“When I pulled my car up to the park, I witnessed a pandemonium I’ve never seen in my life,” said Debbie, a mother of one victim who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

Her daughter ran to the car, screaming, “They’re going to kill us,” Debbie recalled. My daughter was so scared and kids were running around like crazy.

Pursued by dozens of teens, some of the girls were “literally running into traffic to save their lives,” she said.

One girl made it as far as a nearby house, but was dragged by her hair back into the playground by a “wolf pack of children,” Debbie said.

The St. Edmund girls were bleeding and beaten to the point where they had cuts, scrapes, footprints and dirt all over them - and the attackers surrounded her car and started pounding on the windows as Debbie tried to herd the terrified children into her vehicle.

Two girls were hospitalized - one with a broken nose and one with a head injury, according to Edith, the mother of another girl.

“This is not being looked at as a bias crime." said NYPD Deputy Inspector Kevin McGinn.

[Editor: Do you still believe the FBI hate crime stats? ]

NYT Reports: Magic Marker Strategy

What New Orleans needed most was coldly effective local leaders, not a president in Washington who could feel their pain. BY JOHN TIERNEY.

Mr. Judkins is one of the officials in charge of evacuating the Hampton Roads region around Newport News, Va. These coastal communities, unlike New Orleans, are not below sea level, but they're much better prepared for a hurricane. Officials have plans to run school buses and borrow other buses to evacuate those without cars, and they keep registries of the people who need special help.

Instead of relying on a "Good Samaritan" policy - the fantasy in New Orleans that everyone would take care of the neighbors - the Virginia rescue workers go door to door. If people resist the plea to leave, Mr. Judkins told The Daily Press in Newport News, rescue workers give them Magic Markers and ask them to write their Social Security numbers on their body parts so they can be identified.

"It's cold, but it's effective," Mr. Judkins explained.

KATRINA: Blame Game, Part III

February 17, 1995:

Clinton administration officials argue that the flood-control efforts are local projects, not national, and should be paid for by local taxes.

Nationwide, the administration proposes cutting 98 new projects in 35 states and Puerto Rico, for an estimated savings of $29 million in 1996.

June 23, 1995

The Clinton administration is holding back a Corps of Engineers report recommending that the $120 million project proceed. Unless that report is forwarded to the Office of Management and Budget, Congress cannot authorize money for the project, U.S. Rep. William Jefferson's office said Thursday.

June 19, 1996

But even so, when the Clinton administration began to curtail spending on flood control and other projects a year ago, the corps stopped spending on Section 205 projects even after deciding to do a $70,000 preliminary Jean Lafitte study, Spohrer said.

July 22, 1999

Most of the projects received significant increases over what the Clinton administration had proposed. The exception: general flood control projects for southeast Louisiana, which remained at the $47 million suggested by Clinton. Local officials had hoped for double that amount.

February 8, 2000

For the metropolitan New Orleans area, Clinton's budget was seen as a mixed bag by local lawmakers and government officials. For instance, while Clinton called for $1.5 billion to be spent at Avondale Industries to continue building LPD-17 landing craft, his budget calls for significantly less than what Congress appropriated last year for Lake Pontchartrain and vicinity hurricane protection and for West Bank flood control projects.

September 29, 2000

President Clinton is promising to veto the annual appropriation for the Energy Department and Army Corps of Engineers, not because it is $890 million larger than he proposed, but because it does not include a plan to alter the levels of the Missouri River to protect endangered fish and birds.