New Stuff on the Blog

Today's Blog Tips

** The new Share gadget at the very top of the right sidebar lets you share any blog posting here on many networking sites. Let the page load a few seconds, then mouse-over the word 'Share,' and the networking site menu appears. The gadget also lets you email the posting's link, bookmark it, or print it out.

Important: To bring up an _individual blog posting_ here, you hit the posting time at the bottom of the posting you want to share. This lets you use the gadget. If you just want to share the original outside source (if there is one), hit the title of the individual posting.

** With so many postings and links here containing obscure words you may not understand, I suggest you add KallOut, as a Firefox add-on or as a downloadable program. In Firefox (where I use it, I highlight any word on the page, then up pops a very little balloon which when clicked produces a suggested menu of search options for that word. To install the add-on, go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/search?q=kallout or to install the program, go to http://kallout.com/ Very helpful, very fast.

** I expanded significantly the Wikipedia links on a wide variety of global issues. Check out the Global Problems module. More dedicated websites still need to be added there and elsewhere in the right sidebar.

** I am nearing closure on Wikipedia's links on Southeast Asian ethnic groups, Chinese peoples everywhere, and American minorities. I also added many other examples of world ethnic diversity. Look in the Minority Groups module.

Billion-Dollar Mystery in Iraq

posted by Robert Dreyfuss on 08/04/2009

A multi-billion dollar mystery is unfolding in Iraq, and it may reach to the highest levels of the Iraqi government.

It involves what the New York Times calls an "extremist Shiite group" that has now reconciled with Prime Minister Maliki and his regime. The group is responsible for the kidnapping and murder of five British contractors who, according to the Guardian, were installing a sophisticated financial tracking system in Iraq's ministry of finance in 2007.

The story so far:

Today, the Times reports:

"An extremist Shiite group that has boasted of killing five American soldiers and of kidnapping five British contractors has agreed to renounce violence against fellow Iraqis, after meeting with Iraq's prime minister.

"The prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, met with members of the group, Asa'ib al-Haq, or the League of the Righteous, over the weekend, said Ali al-Dabbagh, a spokesman for the prime minister, confirming reports. 'They decided they are no longer using violence, and we welcome them,' he said in a telephone interview.

"Mr. Dabbagh first revealed the negotiations in remarks on Monday to Al Iraqiya, the state television network. 'We have reached an agreement to resolve all problems, especially regarding detainees who do not have Iraqi blood on their hands,' he said. He did not say anything about British victims of the group."

In other words, Maliki met with a bunch of Shiite terrorists, welcomed them with open arms. Why would he do that?

In addition, the Times reports, the terrorists have a "liaison to the government." By coincidence, his name is also Maliki, and he wants to get into the government's favor and take part in the "political process":

"Salam al-Maliki, the insurgent group's liaison to the government, said in a telephone interview that the group had not renounced fighting the Americans. 'Of course we want to get into the political process, because circumstances have improved, and the United States is out right now,' said Mr. Maliki, who is not related to the prime minister. 'We told the government anyone who has Iraqi blood on their hands, you should keep him in jail. We are only fighting the United States.'"

The Guardian, in a related story, suggests that the kidnapping of the five Britons was carried out with government collusion by a team of 80 to 100 men, dressed as Interior Ministry police officials and driving a convoy of 19 white SUVs. Here's the Guardian story:

"An investigation into the kidnapping of five British men in Iraq has uncovered evidence of possible collusion by Iraqi government officials in their abduction, and a possible motive – to keep secret the whereabouts of billions of dollars in embezzled funds.

"A former high-level Iraqi intelligence operative and a current senior government minister, who has been negotiating directly with the hostage takers, have told the Guardian that the kidnapping of IT specialist Peter Moore and his four bodyguards in 2007 was not a simple snatch by a band of militants but a sophisticated operation, almost certainly with inside help. Only Moore is thought still to be alive.

"Witnesses to the extraordinary operation which led to the abductions have also told us that they have been warned by superiors to keep quiet."

And this crucial piece:

"Moore was employed to install a new computer tracking system which would have followed billions of dollars of oil and foreign aid money through the ministry of finance. The 'Iraq Financial Management Information System' was nearly complete and about to go online at the time of the kidnap.

"The senior intelligence source said: 'Many people don't want a high level of corruption to be revealed. Remember this is the information technology centre [at the ministry of finance], this is the place where all the money to do with Iraq and all Iraq's financial matters are housed.'"

The Times story, which notes that the terrorist group also killed five US soldiers, says that the five British contractors were seized in retaliation for the detention of some of the group's leaders, after the killing of the Americans. But that makes no sense. Why would they organize and carry out a 19-SUV, 80-person raid on the finance ministry just as retaliation? And could this group have done so? As the Guardian points out, only a government agency could have pulled off the attack.

You can watch a 12-minute video on the case at the Guardian site.

Curiously, the Times report adds: "American military officials say the group is supported by Iran."

I tried getting some background on the League of the Righteous, and I found a posting on the Long War Journal about them, including alleged ties to Iran's Qods Force, the arm of the Revolutionary Guards.

There's more background here, too, at the Long War Journal.

Stolen Election in Iran

Source - http://tinyurl.com/mzntd9

“Even within a controlled election, which they tried to stage manage, albeit unsuccessfully, Ayatollah Khamenie had to rig the results.”

By Keyvan Soltany

In one of its first acts after usurping the will of the Iranian people, the government of Mahmud Ahmedinejad has banned a rally by the supporters of Mir Hussain Mousavi, the man from whom they stole it. If there was any doubt about the sham nature of the Iranian elections, this first act by the Islamic Republic should remove it.

Despite the ban, people are pouring on to the streets and are protesting what can best be described as a political highway robbery of epic proportions. Results leaked by the staff at the Ministry of Interior suggest that not only did Mousavi win the first round of the elections, the incumbent Ahmedinejad came in third, behind second=place Karoubi.

The question then remains, why does the Islamic Republic go through this charade every four years?

The fact is the men who control the Islamic Republic state structure desperately need to validate the legitimacy of the regime and the quasi-monarchy system of Velayat e Fagih, the unelected Supreme Leader.

For this to happen, they stage manage the entire exercise so as to trigger a huge participation of people in a controlled election, wherein all the candidates, would urge their supporters to come out and take part in the election. The state then equates this huge participation as an expression of its popularity and legitimacy.

However, the fact is embedded in a hard-core reality that the people of Iran do not enjoy the equality, egalitarian society, human rights that they deserve.

In the last elections, all Ayatollahs with jurisprudence credentials and even lesser ones were given free access to public media to ask people for a "major participation.” This included Ayatollah Montazari, the opposition cleric who has been in and out of house arrest, but usually censored.

While on the one hand the state machinery whipped up a frenzy associated with a pro-wrestling match, on the other hand it was busy ensuring most candidates for the presidency were weeded out from the contest

Out of above 2,000 candidates who aspired to be president, , only four were declared qualified by the "Shoray Negahban" - the so-called Council of Guardians of the Constitution.

The outcasts rejected and barred from running included women, religious minorities, leftist, and some liberal-nationalists. These are the people who have been excluded from every aspect of Iranian life. The Left in Iran and some liberals have boycotted all elections under the Islamic regime as they maintain such an election does not have the necessary pre-conditions of a fair and democratic process.

Among the three candidates permitted to challenge the incumbent Ahmedinejad was Mir Hussain Mousavi , who was Iran's Prime Minister from 1981 to 1988, when he had the tacit support of Ayatollah Khomeini himself. Much has been written about Mousavi, but little about the other contenders.

The other major candidate was Mehid Karoubi who "narrowly" lost the election in 2005, but claims that he actually won the election, securing more than 50% required to win the election. He claims the 2005 election was rigged in the first round, rendering him as the third candidate, and Ahmedinejad as the 2nd, enabling him to face Rafsanjani in the second round.

However, after the 2005 election Mehid Karoubi started a political party and by 2009 had a strong election manifesto, emphasizing a complete observance of human rights. He defended the equal status to women, and proposed that religious minorities be equal citizens in Iranian society.

Karoubi even went to the extent of demanding the Baha’i minority in Iran be considered "equal citizens and that they should be free from harassment for their religious beliefs.”

Karoubi’s manifesto of equality also encompassed the Dervishes, Sufis, Sunnis, and others who have been targeted by both the judiciary and state sponsored vigilante groups. These commitments, made him the candidate of choice among some groups, including the women’s movement, known as "The One Million Signatures Campaign,” who aspire to quash all the laws and by-laws that deter and hamper the sexual equality in present day Iran. Many artists, known authors, intellectuals- some of them left-leaning- some media and sports personalities joined his campaign.

Karoubi also went to the extent of paying a visit to the household of Mansour Osanlou, the Iranian trade union leader who has been jailed for two years now. He promised not only his release, but even promised to support the workers’ rights. This gesture earned him the support of the imprisoned leader of Vahed Syndicate of Workers, even though the Syndicate itself had decided not to endorse any candidate. Moreover, Karoubi openly wowed to change the articles of constitution and promised to appoint a woman minister in his future cabinet.

Being the underdog in the so-called Reformist camp, when Karoubi started getting such popular endorsements, it compelled Mousavi to also take stands on issues regarding human rights, citizenship rights, and women’s rights. Not wanting to fall behind his reformist competitor, Mousavi included the women’s rights in his agenda and shifted from generalities to specifics.

For the first time in an Iranian election, apart from patriotic zeal and religious passions, candidates aired, detailed manifestos addressing some of the long-standing demands and aspirations of the people. Mousavi also promised to change the constitution. He also has involved his artist, intellectual wife in the campaign, and spoke of women's ability to assume any position of governance.

So far in Iran, the constitution has been interpreted to suggest that only men can reach the highest office. This restriction is based on the phrase “Rajol-e-Siasi,” which in Arabic means “Man of Politics,” thus barring women.

Both Mousavi and Karoubi say this phrase should be read in its Persian context, not Arabic and "Rajol e Siasi" should mean “A Learned Politician” and not its literal Arabic meaning.

Of course, Karoubi and Mouasvi’s interpretation does not come out of thin air. It came after the demands of the street. Karoubi contested the 2005 elections and did not speak of such an understanding, nor I think a language course of the basis Arabic 101 would have taught him in this period. As a theologian, he received all his religious education in Arabic, it is hard to assume that he did not know this implication then.

Interestingly, the ethnic backgrounds of the candidates in Iran, at least partially is representative of the complexity of the mosaic of Iran. Mousavi being an Azeri, Karoubi, hailing from Lorestan, and Rezaei a candidate from Bakhtiaris from Masjed Solaiman, in the oil rich Province of Khuzestan.

Leaving Ahmedinejad hailing from Garmsaar city in the Persian Heartland. These contrasts also made all candidates cater to the specific demands of different nationalities as wished to win their supports.

The fact that, Karoubi and then Mousavi spoke of the equality before law and promised fair treatment to the sub-nationalities, has projected a scope of social demands that is beyond the capacity of each candidate, and the entire regime.

The question to ponder is why the “supreme Leader” opted to support Ahmedinejad and not the other candidates.

A glimpse at the real results leaked out by the employees of the Ministry of Interior that conducted the election, might shed some light:

Eligible voters: 49,322,412

Total votes cast: 42,026,078

-----------------------------------------------------

1. Mir Hussein Mousavi: 19,075,623

2. Mehdi Karoubi: 13,387,104

3. Mahmud Ahmedinejad: 5,998,417

4. Mohsen Rezaei Mir Ghaed: 3,745,218

Imagine Ayatollah Khamenie and his advisors reading these results. The figures show that the second round essentially belongs to one of the reformists and that Ahmedinejad comes in third.

They remember the uneasy eight years as Supreme Leader he had to endure during the presidency of Khatami. Dealing with students’ uprising and blossoming of a free media, making it hard to gag the press.

Therefore, Ayatollah Khamenie decided to nip the possibility of encounters with these movements in the bud by imposing Ahmedinejad as the winner.

Even within a controlled election, which they tried to stage manage, albeit unsuccessfully, Ayatollah Khamenie had to rig the election results.

Now, the people who have voted, feel cheated, specially the youth and women. They are disenchanted. They thought, their votes would be counted. They thought this time there was a time for change.

Perhaps they did not realize that changing one or a few articles of the constitution would not suffice. Maybe there was a need to overhaul this draconian law in its entirety.

They did not foresee the fact a fundamental change was needed in Iran is essential. A fundamental change is often called a Revolution. Revolutions are unfortunately bloody and trigger huge upheavals in nature.

They are bloody, not due to the nature of the demands, or just because bloodletting is on the agenda of the revolutionaries. It is because those in power and their cliques do not give up the power so easily.

His supporters may not wish to question his credentials, but even during Mousavi’s tenure as a Prime Minister, more than 70,000 political prisoners were executed. Some were minors and most summarily executed. Some of the dead were not even identified, let alone receiving a fair trial. Some were arrested in the aftermath of a political rally or were found with a book of Che Guevara in his/her possession.

The same can be said about bloodstained credentials of other ‘reformist’ candidates. The fact is that the changes in the attitude of candidates is imposed by the constituents movements who joined them in their quest for change.

However, we see a generation, quite modern that wants to share the world as it sees it, but is denied its fruits. This generation is determined that it can achieve what is denied to him and what she think it is hers to keep. The next few days could be decisive, and time will tell whether the subjective factors of change evolve to eradicate its illusions and embark on a path for real change or not.

Electrical Storms Are Evil

Apologies for no new blog postings over past 4-5 days. Severe electrical storm fried a lot of cable modems in this area, and Comcast didn't have the manpower (and maybe not the pecuniary will) to get its techs out expeditiously to mere residences with replacement gear.

Appreciated the unexpected heavy traffic on the blog during the enforced lull as duly recorded by the invisible StatCounter app. All comments on postings submitted have been moderated and approved. Replies to emails will take a little longer. Regular posting should resume about mid-day, Tuesday, June 16.

Catchup? Surely you jest. It just doesn't happen. Keeping up is the best I can manage.

How to Spy on the US Government

Blogs from the U.S. Government

Find active blogs from U.S. federal agencies.

• AIDS.gov Blog – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides this blog as a part of the AIDS.gov website to provide information on the uses of new media for the HIV/AIDS community.
• America's Marines Blog – Keep up with America's Marines through stories from the latest events. Discover the connection between Marines, Americans, and the Marine Corps by reading the blog entries from each event.
• Arctic Chronicles – This journal will document my journey to one of the most unexplored areas in the world, the Arctic, as I accompany scientists on an expedition to map the seafloor. This will be a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Canada.
• ASY Live Blog – The "ASY Live Blog," an extension of the Department of Defense America Supports You program, highlights the support supplied by citizens and corporations nationwide to our men and women in uniform and communicates that support to our troops.
• Big Read Blog – National Endowment for the Arts literature director David Kipen blogs regularly about his experiences promoting the 2007 Big Read initiative.
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Injury Center Director's View – The Director of the CDC Injury Center, Ileana Arias, blogs to foster public discussion about injury and violence prevention.
• Coast Guard Commandant – Admiral Thad Allen uses this web journal to communicate thoughts, ideas, issues and events in near real-time.
• Congressional Budget Office Director's Blog – Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), blogs as an additional way to communicate with Congress and the public. Learn about the type of work done by the CBO including how they do it and what types of analysts they have. This blog does not accept comments.
• Corps e-spondence – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Chief of Engineers and Commanding General Lieutenant General Robert L. Van Antwerp blogs about all things relevant to the Corps, including their many missions in service to the Nation, leadership, selfless service and people.
• Dipnote – This blog offers the public an alternative source to mainstream media for U.S. foreign policy information and the opportunity to discuss important foreign policy issues with senior State Department officials.
• Energy Savers – The Energy Savers Blog provides a place for consumers to learn about and discuss energy efficiency and renewable technologies at home, on the road, and in the workplace.
• Evolution of Security – Five employees of the Transportation Security Administration blog to facilitate an ongoing dialogue on innovations in security, technology and the checkpoint screening process.
• Eye Level – This Smithsonian American Art Museum blog covers American art and the ways it reflects American history and culture.
• Fast Lane – This blog from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) provides a forum for discussing the nation's transportation system and making announcements about future projects. Contributors will include Secretary LaHood, other senior officials from DOT, and guest bloggers.
• Food and Drug Administration Transparency Blog – The FDA opens the discussion on how to make activities and decision making about enforcement, product approvals and recalls more available to the public
• Future Digital System – U.S. Government Printing Office blog about the Future Digital System program that will be a world-class information life-cycle management system
• GLOBE Program – Dr. Peggy LeMone, chief scientist of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), shares her comments and thoughts on science topics through this blog.
• Gov Gab – Gov Gab's seven bloggers share practical, useful tips and information from the federal government, to help you make life a little simpler. Sample posts cover saving gas, smart shopping, weeding out poison ivy, checking your credit report, and helping your pre-teen build self-esteem. Read along each weekday and comment and share your own experiences.
• Grants.gov – Updates for the grant community.
• Greenversations – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) blog is authored by EPA employees who share their unique perspective on environmentalism and personal experiences in protecting and improving our nation's water, land, and air.
• Health Marketing Musings – A blog about research, science, and practice in health marketing and communication, social marketing, information technology, public health partnerships, and more with Jay Bernhardt, Director of CDC's National Center for Health Marketing.
• Health Protection Perspectives – Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of CDC?s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention blogs about CDC?s efforts to reduce health disparities, increase program collaboration and service integration, and improve global health.
• Homeland Security Leadership Journal – This blog provides a forum to talk about DHS's work to protect the American people, build an effective emergency preparedness and response capability, enforce immigration laws, and promote economic prosperity.
• InfoFarm – The National Agricultural Library blogs about what they do and your world of agriculture, food, nutrition, animal care, and the environment.
• Library of Congress Blog – Highlights news and collections for the Library of Congress. Written by the Library's Director of Communications.
• Middle Class Task Force – Vice President Biden and members of the task force will work with a wide array of federal agencies that have responsibility for key issues facing the middle class.
• Military Health System Blog – Department of Defense leadership discusses the future of the U.S. Military Health System.
• Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO's Blog – Through this blog, Ambassador John J. Danilovich, the MCC CEO, directlycommunicates with the public to offer his first-hand perspective of MCC programs and the results that assistance to partner countries is producing on the ground for the benefit of the world's poor.
• Minority Biz Blog – Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) serves minority entrepreneurs who are pursuing growth in size, scale and capacity.
• Mount Rainier National Park Volunteers Blog – Get the latest news about the volunteer program at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
• NASA Ames Research Center – Chief Information Officer Chris Kemp discusses information, policy, web development and more.
• NASA Goddard CIO Blog – NASA Goddard CIO, Linda Y. Cureton, blogs about technology, leadership, and being a Chief Information Officer.
• National African HIV AIDS Initiative (NAHI) Blog – Margaret Korto, a member of the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health Resource Center's HIV Capacity Building Team, hosts this blog as a way for communities in Seattle, New York, Massachusetts, Atlanta and Washington, DC to communicate and gather ideas about upcoming health summits.
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Science Blog – This blog helps NIOSH to fulfill it's mission of translating scientific research into practice. It also provides a forum for NIOSH partners and the public to present ideas to NIOSH scientists and each other while engaging in scientific discussion.
• National Parks – The National Park Foundation enriches the connection Americans have with our National Parks.
• Navy Department Chief Information Officer Blog – Robert Carey, CIO for the Department of the Navy, blogs about matters related to information management and information technology and how they impact the Navy Department.
• Obama Today – Follow President Obama's initiatives and policy directions. We'll look at presidential orders, policies on the economy, alternative energy and foreign affairs, and his use of new media.
• OMB Blog – Office of Management and Budget Director, Peter R. Orszag, discusses the agency's work.
• Peace Corps Volunteer Journals – Blogs about experiences of Peace Corps volunteers from around the globe.
• Public Health Matters – Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan, the Director of CDC?s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, blogs about critical issues in infectious disease.
• Pushing Back – Office of National Drug Control Policy blog to educate Americans about illegal drugs and the latest international, federal, state, and local efforts to reduce drug use
• Returning Service Members – VA (Veterans Affairs) blog for Returning Service Members from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• Science and Technology Policy Blog – Learn about, and have real input into the science and technology policy making process
• Science Planet – The latest findings in the scientific literature and the policy decisions that influence how science is practiced. No jargon, just discovery.
• Smithsonian Institution – Bloggers offer insights and information about Smithsonian Institution exhibitions, events, collections, research projects, and more.
• Take Pride in America: The Blog – Take Pride in America, a national partnership program aimed at increasing volunteer service on America's public lands, hosts this blog to empower volunteers from every corner of America to maintain and enhance our natural, cultural, and historical sites.
• U.S. Air Force Live – The official blog of the United States Air Force.
• Walter Reed Health Care System Commander's Blog – Colonel Norvell V. Coots, Commander of the Walter Reed Health Care System, blogs as an added communication tool for staff, patients and their families, and for anyone else who is interested in the Walter Reed military medical institution.
• White House Blog – The White House blog is a place for the President and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.
• White House Open Government Blog – Open and effective government can only be achieved with everyone's active engagement. Lend your insights, experience, and expertise to improve your government and strengthen democracy. Join the brainstorming that has already begun!

What Kind of Blog Is This?

It's a blog on contemporary affairs to make you think a bit. Hopefully, the countries and cultural areas covered will be of mutual interest. If not, thanks for visiting. Maybe we'll meet elsewhere.

I'll post some of my own viewpoints but nothing definitive. You will have to work a little to get better answers about sometimes complex and controversial issues. That's partly why a significant amount of possible interaction with me is built into the blog (screened comments on postings, my Gmail address (john.a.macdougall@gmail.com), my Facebook pages (you have to join or login if you're not already a member), with Google Talk (john.a.macdougall) and Skype (johnamacdougall) also possible but held in reserve because these tools can get too complex for many persons and disruptive to, ah, among others, me -- sorry about that. For related reasons, no land line or mobile calls. Many thanks.

Thrashing out issues is also why there are some old and new media search tools in the sidebar. Without ignoring print, the great variety of net resources is vastly underused.

That's also why there is, at the bottom of this main page, an always changing, breaking newsfeed, solely on the blog's topics, reflecting my main concerns. Clicking on any of those headlines will take you to the full story behind them. Thanks to Google for this gadget!

If you prefer to read in some other language than English, try using one or more of the translation aides on the net like Google Translate, Yahoo! Babel Fish, or the awesome FoxLingo add-on to the Firefox browser. Links to other translators are also neatly presented on the FoxLingo homepage.

Welcome to my world, all you good people. Together, let's make things happen. Yes, we can!

And how could I say hello without sending you a song, nay, a veritable concert by one of my younger friends. :-)