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20050527
These guys aren't soft on drugs...
No one will ever accuse these officials in Bali of being soft on drug crimes. I read the whole article and I have to say that I think if we had procedures like this here drug crime and the violence that comes with it would be a different ball game.
This excerpt is taken from an AP article. All information contained therein are property of the Assoicated Press and Copyright laws apply. For the complete article click on the text.
Indonesian Court Finds Australian Guilty in Drug Case
BY CHRIS BRUMMITT, AP
BALI, Indonesia (May 27) -- An Australian woman was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for smuggling nine pounds of marijuana onto Indonesia's Bali island, prompting her mother to shout "Liar!" at the judge and her nation's prime minister to express sympathy.
Schapelle Corby, 27, wept as the verdict was announced in a case. She could have faced the death penalty, but prosecutors requested a life sentence.
Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, yelled out, "Liar! Liar!" and had to be restrained in the front row of the courtroom gallery. Other relatives shouted, "We are going to get you home! We love you!"
Corby turned to her tearful parents and mouthed, "Just relax. It's OK."
This excerpt is taken from an AP article. All information contained therein are property of the Assoicated Press and Copyright laws apply. For the complete article click on the text.
Indonesian Court Finds Australian Guilty in Drug Case
BY CHRIS BRUMMITT, AP
BALI, Indonesia (May 27) -- An Australian woman was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for smuggling nine pounds of marijuana onto Indonesia's Bali island, prompting her mother to shout "Liar!" at the judge and her nation's prime minister to express sympathy.
Schapelle Corby, 27, wept as the verdict was announced in a case. She could have faced the death penalty, but prosecutors requested a life sentence.
Corby's mother, Rosleigh Rose, yelled out, "Liar! Liar!" and had to be restrained in the front row of the courtroom gallery. Other relatives shouted, "We are going to get you home! We love you!"
Corby turned to her tearful parents and mouthed, "Just relax. It's OK."
20050524
Anonymous Sources = Someone's bullshit political agenda!
Yet again this year the news media, in this case print media, have published an article which has had catastrophic effects before the information in the article was verified. My question is when is enough, enough? And when will the media realize that, saying, "I am sorry", just isn't being responsible.
This article and the information contained herein are the property of the Associated Press. ~Copyright Laws apply~
Newsweek Reporter Says He Dropped the Ball
By DESMOND BUTLER, AP
NEW YORK (May 24) - One of the two Newsweek journalists behind the retracted article alleging that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay said he dropped the ball by not properly corroborating his anonymous source.
Michael Isikoff, addressing the furor in an interview broadcast Monday night on "The Charlie Rose Show," said he regretted the possibility that his article, which has been blamed for violent protests in Muslim countries, may have spurred riots.
"It was terrible what happened," he told Rose. "Even if it was just a little bit that we contributed to the violence that went on over there, that was awful, terrible."
He said that the reporters had provided the article in full to a senior Defense Department official. The official asked for a change of wording on a separate issue, but said nothing about the details concerning the Koran.
He and co-author, John Barry had provided his article for review as a precaution, he said, but had erred by not getting positive corroboration on each point in the article by the Pentagon official.
Isikoff said that he thought the error had harmed the magazine. "I think it has clearly done some temporary damage," he said. "It's thrown us off our game for a little bit," he said. "I think this will end up being a blip."
Newsweek retracted the May 9 report after officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department criticized its publication and its use of an anonymous source.
The article said U.S. investigators had found evidence that U.S. interrogators placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk.
The account has been blamed for protests in Afghanistan, where more than a dozen people died and scores were injured in rioting earlier this month, and demonstrations elsewhere in the Muslim world.
Isikoff told Rose that after the article came out, he heard no reaction from anyone, until someone from Newsweek informed him about the rioting. "Nobody in the United States had said a word about it. Nobody picked up on it, nobody asked any questions about it, nobody followed up on it," he said.
In its edition published Monday, Newsweek outlined new policies for the use of anonymous sources. Isikoff said that changes will include a push to get more material from sources put on the record.
"I got to tell you, as somebody who has reported for a long time on the intelligence and law enforcement field, that's going to be tough," he told Rose. "Some of the best stories that I've gotten, that others have written about this administration, about the previous administration, you have to rely on anonymous sources."
05/24/05 03:42 EDT
This article and the information contained herein are the property of the Associated Press. ~Copyright Laws apply~
Newsweek Reporter Says He Dropped the Ball
By DESMOND BUTLER, AP
NEW YORK (May 24) - One of the two Newsweek journalists behind the retracted article alleging that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay said he dropped the ball by not properly corroborating his anonymous source.
Michael Isikoff, addressing the furor in an interview broadcast Monday night on "The Charlie Rose Show," said he regretted the possibility that his article, which has been blamed for violent protests in Muslim countries, may have spurred riots.
"It was terrible what happened," he told Rose. "Even if it was just a little bit that we contributed to the violence that went on over there, that was awful, terrible."
He said that the reporters had provided the article in full to a senior Defense Department official. The official asked for a change of wording on a separate issue, but said nothing about the details concerning the Koran.
He and co-author, John Barry had provided his article for review as a precaution, he said, but had erred by not getting positive corroboration on each point in the article by the Pentagon official.
Isikoff said that he thought the error had harmed the magazine. "I think it has clearly done some temporary damage," he said. "It's thrown us off our game for a little bit," he said. "I think this will end up being a blip."
Newsweek retracted the May 9 report after officials at the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department criticized its publication and its use of an anonymous source.
The article said U.S. investigators had found evidence that U.S. interrogators placed copies of Islam's holy book in washrooms and had flushed one down the toilet to get inmates to talk.
The account has been blamed for protests in Afghanistan, where more than a dozen people died and scores were injured in rioting earlier this month, and demonstrations elsewhere in the Muslim world.
Isikoff told Rose that after the article came out, he heard no reaction from anyone, until someone from Newsweek informed him about the rioting. "Nobody in the United States had said a word about it. Nobody picked up on it, nobody asked any questions about it, nobody followed up on it," he said.
In its edition published Monday, Newsweek outlined new policies for the use of anonymous sources. Isikoff said that changes will include a push to get more material from sources put on the record.
"I got to tell you, as somebody who has reported for a long time on the intelligence and law enforcement field, that's going to be tough," he told Rose. "Some of the best stories that I've gotten, that others have written about this administration, about the previous administration, you have to rely on anonymous sources."
05/24/05 03:42 EDT
20050522
A letter from my Friend Ed in Iraq...
My friend Ed wrote this letter to the Socorro, NM local newspaper, The El Defensor Chieftian. He is currently serving in Iraq and this was a letter he wrote on prisoner abuse.
Telling both sides
Editor:
In the past months we have heard about what has been going on with the treatment of prisoners in Iraq and other locations. I do not want anybody to think that I support any human rights abuse, but we also need to know the whole story not just the ones directed at the United States.
Throughout the war in Iraq, the brutality of the battlefield has occasionally spilled into interrogation rooms and prisons. The central figure in the Abu Ghraib prison-abuse scandal Pfc. Lynndie England, pleaded guilty a few days ago to seven counts of mistreating prisoners.
But now with the Iraqis taking a larger role in taking on the insurgency and policing their own streets as the new government begins work, accusations of human rights abuses are shifting away from the Americans and onto Iraqi police officers and soldiers.
The accusations of abuse range from reports of prisoner torture and death of detainees to arbitrary arrest and abuse at the hands of inexperienced and untrained police officers.
I was reading about these two Iraqi Special Forces soldiers, Ali Jabbar and Mohammed Ali, who insist they distribute out justice fairly. They beat only the prisoners they know did something wrong, not the innocents ones.
In March, when a rocket attack on one of their bases missed the target but angered the soldiers, they searched the area and found two suspects.
"You want to know the truth? My arms are still tired from hitting those guys," laughs Mr. Jabbar in an interview along with Mr. Ali in Baghdad.
A report issued in January, Human Rights Watch said that torture and abuse by Iraqi authorities had become "routine and commonplace."
The report detailed methods of interrogation in which prisoners were beaten with cables and pipes, shocked, or suspended from their wrists for prolonged periods of time tactics that are more associated with Suddam Hussein's dictatorship than the democracy that is beginning to take root in that country.
Now, how many times has this been reported in the United States or around the world when these police officers and soldiers are investigated? The report says, "'The police investigated and found that they were terrorists and they were dangerous guys. They attacked police and police stations,' he says."
They also point out that the rampant violence and instability of the country means many Iraqis are willing to tolerate harsh practices of their security forces if it means bringing some order.
So, in closing I guess it is OK for Iraqis to mistreat prisoners and their own people with beatings and pipes.
I just wanted to give you the other side of the untold story so that we can be better informed.
Ed Britt
Socorro
Currently in Iraq
Telling both sides
Editor:
In the past months we have heard about what has been going on with the treatment of prisoners in Iraq and other locations. I do not want anybody to think that I support any human rights abuse, but we also need to know the whole story not just the ones directed at the United States.
Throughout the war in Iraq, the brutality of the battlefield has occasionally spilled into interrogation rooms and prisons. The central figure in the Abu Ghraib prison-abuse scandal Pfc. Lynndie England, pleaded guilty a few days ago to seven counts of mistreating prisoners.
But now with the Iraqis taking a larger role in taking on the insurgency and policing their own streets as the new government begins work, accusations of human rights abuses are shifting away from the Americans and onto Iraqi police officers and soldiers.
The accusations of abuse range from reports of prisoner torture and death of detainees to arbitrary arrest and abuse at the hands of inexperienced and untrained police officers.
I was reading about these two Iraqi Special Forces soldiers, Ali Jabbar and Mohammed Ali, who insist they distribute out justice fairly. They beat only the prisoners they know did something wrong, not the innocents ones.
In March, when a rocket attack on one of their bases missed the target but angered the soldiers, they searched the area and found two suspects.
"You want to know the truth? My arms are still tired from hitting those guys," laughs Mr. Jabbar in an interview along with Mr. Ali in Baghdad.
A report issued in January, Human Rights Watch said that torture and abuse by Iraqi authorities had become "routine and commonplace."
The report detailed methods of interrogation in which prisoners were beaten with cables and pipes, shocked, or suspended from their wrists for prolonged periods of time tactics that are more associated with Suddam Hussein's dictatorship than the democracy that is beginning to take root in that country.
Now, how many times has this been reported in the United States or around the world when these police officers and soldiers are investigated? The report says, "'The police investigated and found that they were terrorists and they were dangerous guys. They attacked police and police stations,' he says."
They also point out that the rampant violence and instability of the country means many Iraqis are willing to tolerate harsh practices of their security forces if it means bringing some order.
So, in closing I guess it is OK for Iraqis to mistreat prisoners and their own people with beatings and pipes.
I just wanted to give you the other side of the untold story so that we can be better informed.
Ed Britt
Socorro
Currently in Iraq
More pictures...
Here are a few more pictures...
Me and my Friend Julieta
Me in the center, Sophia (on my far right), Julieta (on my right), Angela (on my left), Anastsia (on my far left), and Niko just acting silly!
Me close up!
Me and my Friend Julieta
Me in the center, Sophia (on my far right), Julieta (on my right), Angela (on my left), Anastsia (on my far left), and Niko just acting silly!
Me close up!
20050521
Graduation pictures...
Here are some pictures from graduation day:
Getting my Diploma and a blessing from the Archbishop.
Just me!
Hellenic College class of 2005
I will post some more pictures tommorow or the next day once I get them uploaded.
Getting my Diploma and a blessing from the Archbishop.
Just me!
Hellenic College class of 2005
I will post some more pictures tommorow or the next day once I get them uploaded.
20050517
Graduation....
Well, this semester is finally over and that is a really really really good thing! It also means I will be awarded my bachelors and that I have about two years left till I get my MDiv.
I haven't been posting much at all this semester mostly because I have been enormously busy! I will be here working at school over the summer and I will start posting again sooner or later. Graduation is next week and I will probally need a week for 'decompression' after all is said and done!
Congrats to all my friends (here and everywhere) who are graduating this semester!
I haven't been posting much at all this semester mostly because I have been enormously busy! I will be here working at school over the summer and I will start posting again sooner or later. Graduation is next week and I will probally need a week for 'decompression' after all is said and done!
Congrats to all my friends (here and everywhere) who are graduating this semester!
20050502
Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!
Χριστος Ανεστι!
Αλιθος Ανεστι!
Hello all and Greetings in The Risen Lord!
I hope that everyone had a blessed Paschal service and may God keep you in this season of the Resurrection. I will post more soon!
Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
Αλιθος Ανεστι!
Hello all and Greetings in The Risen Lord!
I hope that everyone had a blessed Paschal service and may God keep you in this season of the Resurrection. I will post more soon!
Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!
