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Re_Acciona

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:44:19 -0500

Experience Re_ in a way you’ve never seen before. Re_ is an attitude. A call to action to begin the thousand actions we need to do together. And to do it now. http://re.acciona.com

Mauritania’s battle with a new wave of terrorism

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:40:08 -0500

The terrorism that Tunisia experienced in the 1980s erupted in Algeria in the 1990s. The wave of terrorist activity later spread west to Morroco. Then in 2005 Mauritania to the south became engulfed in the political violence sweeping north Africa. On June 4, in a first assualt against the army, some 150 terrorists attacked a military barracks in the Lemgheity region. The outcome was 15 soldiers dead and 15 wounded. Six terrorists were killed. The country was plunged into turmoil. The attack was widely condemned by Mauritania’s political partes, whose members took to the streets to voice their anger. Just two days later, the US administration, which had planned to make Mauritania a barrier against the spread of terrorism, launched operation Flintlock. Its aim was to support Mauritania in the fight against terrorism. France was at first opposed to American intervention in what was traditionally its area of influence. But, according to diplomatic sources, Paris accepted it, not wanting to be in the frontline of an anti-terrorism battle. Then the US withdrew its military cooperation with Mauritania after General Abdel Aziz seized control in a military coup August 2008. Terrorism had not been completely rooted out. The gunmen struck in December 2007 near Ghalaouiya, killing three soldiers and again in February 2008. The Israeli embassy,which had never been targeted since diplomatic relations were established in 1999, was attacked. Three French citizens were injured. General Abdel Aziz ordered the embassy to be closed after Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. More assualts against the army were to follow. Twelve soldiers were killed in an ambush in September. Their bodies were decapitated. Western intelligence services reported Al Qaeda had numerous members embedded in Mauritania. Some characterised this entire region of Africa as the new Afghanistan — a claim strongly denied by Mauritania’s foreign minister. Alnaha Bint Djaddi Oueld Meknes said: “I would stress that there are neither Al Qeada cells nor training camps in Mauritania. Without doubt some have infiltrated from neighbouring countries. But we’re trying to bring an end to this dangerous phenomonen.” We went to the information ministry where we were told the same thing — everything is under control. Information Minister Mohamed Oueld Al-Bukhari said: “We have well-equipped, well-trained military units which go out on patrol to protect border regions and other areas that could be targeted by terrorist groups. In general Mauritania enjoys security and is under control, thank God.” And when asked about the question of military cooperation the minister was not forthcoming on the grounds that such matters are considered state secrets, and a red line that can’t be crossed. France, which is becoming increasingly concerned about issues of illegal immigration and terrorism, sent a senior military officer to explore the possibility of security cooperation between the two countries. Defence chief Jean Louis Georgelin said: “We’ve spoken with the General, primarily about the situation in the region and above all about military cooperation that could bring our two armies closer together. We’re considering training that we could do together.” Does Islam play a big role in this upsurge in terrorism? We visited the main mosque in the centre of the capital. The faithful came and prayed quietly and left. There were no signs of extremism in the sermons. Mauritania has an active Islamic political party. We spoke to its leader. Mohamed Ghoulam Al-Haj Sheikh said: “Those who kill innocent people in Algeria and Mauritania and other countries, they claim to do it in the name of Islam. Muslim scholars have disassociated Islam from these kinds of acts and in no case does Islam condone murder. Islam is far removed from all that, but extremists exist in our country as they do in Western countries. There’ve been killings in the name of religion in Ireland and other Christian communities, but that’s never blamed in Christianity itself and no one points the finger at the Christian faith. It never incited people to murder. But it’s seen differently. Bombs have been set off in the Japanese metro. Why have we not sought to blame religion there?” So what other causes can there be for the bloodshed in Mauritania? We met the leader of the Progressive Party, who rejects the idea that poverty is a major factor. Mohamed Oueld Mouloud said: “We can’t say that poverty is a cause of terrorism because Mauritania has long been a poor country just like many Arab countries. But we have never seen this phenomonen before. Terrorism appeared in Africa in the form of armed mafia-type groups. We also find these groups in Congo or in non-Muslim countries in South America or in Asia. So this phenomonen of resentment is rooted in southern countries. The Muslim world has struggled with problems of humiliation and justice in many Muslim and Arab countries, as is the case in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya. In these countries Muslims feel humiliated and victimised.” The Mauritanian press still has some degree of freedom. It maintains in successive articles and stories that the battle against terrorism is far from being won. The government clearly takes a very different view but many in the country question its approach to tackling the problem. General Abdel Aziz, now an elected president, came to power through military might. That has not prevented others using from force to challenge his authority. Copyright © 2009 euronews tags: Islamists, Mauritania, Terrorism

News review 2005 part 3 of 6

Sat, 24 Mar 2007 16:12:50 -0400

Including: Mugabe retains power in Zimbabwe; Pope John Paul II dies; Protests against Japanese history textbook; France rejects EU constitution; Khodorkovsky sentenced and more. MUGABE RETAINS POWER IN ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS CONDEMNED AS UNFAIR BY THE WEST Zimbabweans kept President Robert Mugabe in power after March 31 elections gave him an overall majority in the 150-seat parliamentary assembly. Despite turnout of less than 50 percent and accusations that the polls were flawed, Mugabe's Zanu-PF (Zimbabwe African National Unity-Patriotic Front) party took 78 seats, leaving the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai with 41 seats and one independent. 30 other seats are directly appointed by Mugabe. 81-year-old Mugabe has held power for 25 years since independence from Britain and has been isolated and criticised by the international community for misrule and wrecking the economy. POPE JOHN PAUL II DIES, CARDINAL RATZINGER ELECTED SUCCESSOR An estimated 300,000 people crammed into the Vatican city on April 8 to watch one of the most momentous funerals in recent history. Polish Pope John Paul II died on April 2nd after a 26-year papacy, after long bouts of illness and increasing frailty. He was buried a week later in a simple wooden coffin, after a huge outpouring of grief, during which millions files past his body as it lay in state. The conservative German 78-year-old Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI surprisingly quickly on April 19 and faced with the daunting task of leading 1.1 billion Roman Catholics through what some predict will be a difficult papacy. BRITAIN'S PRINCE CHARLES FINALLY MARRIES CAMILLA PARKER BOWLES AFTER 35-YEAR AFFAIR The day after attending the pope's funeral, Britain's heir to the throne, Prince Charles finally married his mistress of 35 years, Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles troubled first marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, was unable to survive his continuing affair with Camilla and they divorced before Diana's death in a Paris car crash. TOGO - VIOLENCE FOLLOWS DISPUTED POLL, KILLING AT LEAST 100 Togo voted for a new president amid opposition allegations of vote rigging and bouts of violence on April 24. Western diplomats said the rioting killed at least 100 people after the disputed presidential poll and thousands fled for neighbouring countries. The UNHCR said 20,000 refugees had left for Ghana and neighbouring Benin. Togo's constitutional court confirmed Gnassingbe as the winner of the poll with 60 percent of the vote, against 38 percent for the opposition candidate Emmanuel Akitani-Bob. PROTESTS ACROSS ASIA AS JAPAN USES CONTROVERSIAL HISTORY TEXTBOOK IN SCHOOLS Japan's use of controversial history textbook which critics said whitewashed the country's brutal colonial and wartime past provoked sometimes violent protests in South Korea and China. The New History Textbook, published in 2001, is used in only 18 of Japan's 11,102 junior high schools. The writers, the Society for History textbook reform have criticised other texts as offering a "masochistic" view of history. But the furore it created sold 600,000 copies to general readers and its approval by the Education Ministry ignited big demonstrations in China and violent protest in Seoul. The textbook reiterates Tokyo's claim to rocky south Korean-held islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Tokto in South Korea, and Japan's biggest teaching union said the text lacked an awareness of the "pain and suffering" caused to Asian people in World War II. Other critics say it does not provide enough detail of the 1937 Nanking massacre when Japanese soldiers killed civilians and does not mention "comfort women", a euphemism for women forced to become sex slave for the Japanese army before and after the war. ECUADOR CIVIL UNREST FORCES PRESIDENT GUITERREZ FROM OFFICE Street protests erupted in Quito after a Supreme Court decision to drop corruption charges against former President Abdala Bucaram, a key political ally of President Lucio Gutierrez. Within a week Gutierrez fled office after congress voted to oust him for "abandoning his post" and the state prosecutor's office ordered his arrest for two deaths during the huge demonstrations and rioting by rival groups. He was flown from the presidential palace by military helicopter and replaced by Vice President Alfredo Palacio. CALLS FOR US TO QUIT IRAQ GROW WITH VIOLENT INSURGENCY Thousands of supporters of rebel shi'ite leader Moqtada al Sadr marched on the second anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein to denounce the U.S. presence in Iraq and demand a speedy trial of their former president. The protesters marched from Sadr city to Firdos Square in central Baghdad where a statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled two years previously by U.S. troops and celebrating Iraqis. Chanting 'No America, No Saddam, yes to Islam', protesters waved flags and displayed puppets of U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and their former president. UNITED KINGDOM - LABOUR WIN HISTORIC THIRD TERM DESPITE OPPOSITION OVER WAR IN IRAQ British Prime Minister survived opposition over the Iraq war to secure a historic third straight victory, but with a slashed majority in parliament. He was third leader of three key global allies in Iraq - the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, to win re-election postwar, but admitted voters had sent a clear signal they wanted to curb his power. UZEBKISTAN PROTESTERS MASSACRE Protests sparked by the trial of 23 Muslim businessmen in the Uzbek town of Andihzan capital turned into a bloody massacre on May 13 as troops moved to suppress what was deemed by President Islam Karimov an uprising fermented by Islamic extremists. Human Rights groups and opposition leaders estimate between 500 and 745 people died as witnesses said security forces using an armoured personnel carrier's machine gun opened fire on a crowd of rebels, protesters and onlookers, among them women and children, outside a school. The official death toll was 187. KHODORKOVSKY SENTENCED Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky was found guilty of six of seven charges of fraud and tax evasion on May 31 and sentenced to nine years in prison, a year short of the maximum demanded by prosecutors. FRANCE AND NETHERLANDS REJECT NEW CONSTITUTION OF EUROPEAN UNION IN REFERENDUM France voted overwhelmingly against the European Union new constitution on May 29 in rejection that could sound the death knell for the proposed charter. The resounding "No" vote sent shock waves through Europe but was seen by some analysts as a punishment for the policies of French president Jacques Chirac's conservatives which have resulted in a fragile economy and high unemployment, which at the time of the poll was at a five-year high of 10.2 percent. The Netherlands emphatically rejected the EU referendum, plunging the bloc deeper into crisis. Official results confirmed 61.5 percent voted 'NO' with a turnout of 63.3 percent. The vote effectively meant the indefinite delay of the treaty designed to make the running of the EU smoother following its enlargement from 15 to 25 states. In September the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the EU will not have a constitution for "at least two or three years", leaving the issue on ice.

TV Diner - Destination: Cafe Vanille

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:52:24 -0500

(TV Diner: Platinum Plate Gala) - A taste of France is coming to the 3rd Annual TV Diner Platinum Plate Gala via Cafe Vanille, but not before Billy does a little taste-testing himself! www.cafevanilleboston.com

LE VIOL DE L’EUROPE - complement sur l'Islam - בת יאור

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:40:10 -0500

connaissance indispensable sur l’Islam Par Giselle Littman ou Bat Ye'or La dhimmitude c’est-à-dire la situation des populations non musulmanes soumises à l’Islam. INFOS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMx16duLjSw&feature=related http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat_Ye'or http://www.libertyvox.com/article.php?id=114 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA4sAaZZaao&feature=related

NBC NEWS: 20000 Americans Convert To ISLAM Each Year, 75% Of Them Women.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 06:13:26 -0500

NBC NEWS: 20000 Americans Convert To ISLAM Each Year, 75% Of Them Women. Sources: http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm??g=1151784d-66c1-4310-afc2-06ed464eb2ed&f=00&fg=email The number of Europeans and Americans converting to Islam is growing rapidly check it out !! Islam is Fastest Growing Religion in United States: http://www.defendamerica.mil/articles/a100501b.html Times on line: Thousands of british people convert to islam every year: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1026534.ece Why European women are turning to Islam: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1227/p01s04-woeu.html

Lebanon Shells Al-Qaida Militants

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:10:09 -0500

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - May 21, 2007 Lebanese troops pounded a Palestinian refugee camp with artillery and tank fire for a second day Monday, raising huge columns of smoke as they battled a militant group suspected of ties to al-Qaida in the worst violence since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. Nearly 50 combatants were killed in the first day of fighting Sunday, but it was not known how many civilians have been killed inside the Nahr el-Bared camp on the outskirts of the northern port city of Tripoli, the site of the heaviest battles. Palestinian officials in the camp reported at least nine civilians were killed Monday, along with 40 wounded. The figures could not be confirmed because emergency workers or security officials have not been able to get in. The State Department defended the Lebanese army, saying it was working in a "legitimate manner" against "provocations by violent extremists" operating in the camp. Black smoke engulfed the skies over the camp as fires raged and heavy gunfire and explosions rang out. The fierce fighting resumed after a brief truce that allowed the evacuation of 18 wounded civilians, according to Saleh Badran, an official with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Lebanon was already in the midst of its worst political crisis between the Western-backed government and Hezbollah-led opposition since the end of the civil war. The battle was an unprecedented showdown between the Lebanese army and militant groups that have arisen in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, which are home to tens of thousands of people living amid poverty and crime and which Lebanese troops are not allowed to enter. The troops were fighting a group called Fatah Islam, whose leader has said he is inspired by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and was training militants for attacks in other countries. Lebanese officials have also accused Syria of using Fatah Islam to stir up trouble in Lebanon, a charge Damascus has denied. Lebanese officials said one of the men killed Sunday was a suspect in a failed German train bombing - another indication the camp had become a refuge for Fatah Islam militants planning attacks outside of Lebanon. In the past, others affiliated with the group in the camp have said they were aiming to send trained fighters into Iraq and the group's leader has been linked to al-Qaida in Iraq. Hundreds of Lebanese troops, backed by tanks and armored carriers, surrounded the refugee camp Monday. M-48 battle tanks unleashed their cannon fire on the camp, home to 30,000 Palestinian refugees. The militants fired mortars toward the troops at daybreak. An army officer at the front line said troops directed concentrated fire at buildings known to house militants. He said troops also had orders to strike hard at any target that returned fire. "Everything we know that they were present in has been targeted," he told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. A spokesman for Fatah Islam, Abu Salim, warned that if the army bombardment did not stop, the militants would step up attacks by rockets and artillery "and would take the battle outside Tripoli." He did not elaborate. "It is a life-or-death battle. Their aim is to wipe out Fatah Islam. We will respond and we know how to respond," he told the AP. Earlier in the day, another refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, was tense after Lebanese troops surrounded it and armed militants went on alert. At least 27 soldiers and 20 militants were killed Sunday, Lebanese security officials said. But they did not know how many civilians had been killed in the camp because it is off-limits to their authority. Lebanon says it has no authority to enter the camps under understandings with the Palestinians that give the PLO the authority in the camps. But Lebanon also is believed to be leery of entering for fear that any such actions would cause widespread unrest, be very costly and could spark pan-Arab sympathy for the Palestinian refugees that would trigger a backlash against the country. The clashes were triggered Sunday when police raided suspected Fatah Islam hideouts in several buildings in Tripoli, searching for men wanted in a recent bank robbery. A gunbattle erupted at one of the buildings between the group's fighters, and troops were called in to help the police. Militants then burst out of the nearby refugee camp, seizing Lebanese army positions, capturing two armored vehicles and ambushing troops. Lebanese troops later laid siege to the camp, where Fatah Islam militants were believed to be hiding. Fatah Islam is led by a Palestinian named Shaker al-Absi, who is wanted in three countries. He told The New York Times in March that he was trying to spread al-Qaida's ideology and was training fighters inside the camp for attacks on other countries. He would not specify which countries but expressed anger toward the United States. And he was sentenced to death earlier in absentia along with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq killed last summer by U.S. forces in Iraq, for the 2002 assassination of an American diplomat in Jordan. In a news conference in March, al-Absi denied he was sending fighters to Iraq. "Fighting in our homeland (Palestine) is more important," he said then. "We have no connection with any regime or organization on this earth. Our connection is with 'There is no God but God' (the slogan of Islam). We have come to raise it over the skies of Jerusalem." Al-Absi had been in custody in Syria until last fall but was released and set up his group in the camp, where he apparently found recruits, Lebanese officials said. Lebanon's national police commander, Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, said Damascus was using Fatah Islam as a covert way to wreak havoc in the country. He denied Fatah Islam's al-Qaida links, saying it was a Syrian-bred group. "Perhaps there are some deluded people among them but they are not al-Qaida. This is imitation al-Qaida, a 'Made in Syria' one," he told the AP. Lebanese security officials said Fatah Islam has up to 100 members who come from Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as local sympathizers who belong to the conservative Salafi branch of Islam. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. TV station reported the dead militants included men from Bangladesh, Yemen and other Arab countries. Some wore explosive belts, security officials said. Officials identified the suspect in the failed German train bombing as Saddam El-Hajdib, the fourth-highest ranking official in the Fatah Islam group, an official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. El-Hajdib had been on trial in absentia in Lebanon in the failed German plot. It was unclear whether Lebanese authorities had known the whereabouts of El-Hajdib or al-Absi before the gunbattle first broke Sunday out in Tripoli. The State Department gave its support to the Lebanese army's battle with Fatah Islam. "This is a group that has been involved in violence to achieve whatever their stated objective may be," spokesman Sean McCormack said. McCormack declined to discuss whether the group may be tied to al-Qaida or other groups outside Lebanon. Asked about a possible Syrian link, McCormack said, "At this point I wouldn't draw that connection." In Monday's fighting, a driver for the AP, working with journalists at the scene, was injured when he was hit in the thigh by a bullet or shrapnel. He was being treated at a hospital and was expected to recover. Ahmed Methqal, a Muslim cleric in the camp, told Al-Jazeera that five civilians had been killed. "You can say there is a massacre going on in the camp of children and women who have nothing to do with Fatah Islam," he said. "They are targeting buildings, with people in them." Lebanon has struggled to defeat armed groups that control pockets of the country - especially inside the 12 Palestinian refugee camps housing 350,000 people. Some camps have become havens for Islamic militants accused of carrying out attacks in the country and of sending recruits to fight U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. Palestinian officials from the moderate Fatah faction in the West Bank sought to distance themselves from Fatah Islam and urged Palestinian refugees in the camp to isolate the militant group.

Bin Laden Threatens Americans in Tape

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:31:24 -0400

Osama bin Laden threatened Americans in a new audio tape Wednesday, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law there. Watch the report from Fox 5’s Dick Brennan (video left).