Sandee on the Sudanese Security Threat

One of the criticisms that’s being thrown about (rather unfairly in my mind, as I hope you’ll see) on the issue of Sudan and their ongoing genocide violence in Darfur is where are the folks who were so dead-set on the war in Iraq and why have they dropped the ball when it comes to Darfur?

It’s a valid enough question, but one of the things that I think is so problematic about how Sudan is being framed to the American public is that it’s being viewed almost entirely through the prism of a humanitarian crisis, a la Rwanda, and not as an issue of US national security.

While the humanitarian situation in Sudan almost certainly warrants international attention and assistance, it would be a mistake not to look at the nature of the threat emanating from Khartoum towards both the US and its allies.

Read the Rest…

Eyes on Korea: Sept. 29/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today’s Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul.

Top Topics

• Couple of good posts discussing U.S. options vis-a-vis N. Korea. Winston Marshall contributed a simply briliant essay looking at U.S. options for resolving the nuclear crisis. Nicholas Eberstadt gives us six possible scenarios for the North Korea issue — definitely worth reading. Meanwhile, Robert J. Einhorn puts forward some very good arguments in favor of engagement with North Korea.

• ROK troops have finally deployed to Irbil, Iraq, where they will be the third largest contingent behind the U.S. and Great Britain. Their commander, Maj. Gen. Hwang Eui-don, discussed the security situation in Irbil with Yonhap News.

On Tap This Month: S. Koreans helping N. Koreans produce nerve gas, S. Korean intellectual criticizes biased and unobjective U.S. understanding of N. Korea, S. Korean spooks for Kerry, N. Korean pressure cookers, the Great S. Korean prostitution crack down, and much, much more!

Read The Rest…/a>

Minister: N. Korea Has Nuclear Deterrent

The AP reports:

North Korea says it has turned the plutonium from 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods into nuclear weapons to serve as a deterrent against increasing U.S. nuclear threats and to prevent a nuclear war in northeast Asia. Warning that the danger of war on the Korean peninsula “is snowballing,” Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon provided details Monday of the nuclear deterrent that he said North Korea has developed for self-defense.

Strong Earthquake Hits California

A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 has struck Central California and it was felt from Santa Ana to Sacramento, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (search).

The earthquake, which struck at 10:15 a.m. PDT, was centered 9 miles south of Parkfield and 17 miles north east of Paso Robles, scene of an earthquake that killed two people in December 2003.

An aftershock of 5.0 magnitude struck four minutes later.

Paso Robles police said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. Thousands of people from throughout the state reported feeling the quake.

Read more…

Simon's E. Asia Briefing & China News: Sept. 28/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on East Asia and China, courtesy of Simon World.

Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature at my blog Simon World, posted on Mondays and Thursdays (the latest edition is here). This is an excerpt of some of the highlights from those round-ups over the past month. You can be notified by email when it is updated: just send me an email at simon-[at]-simonworld-[dot]-mu-[dot]-nu. This briefing has been cross-posted at Simon World.

The round-up has four key areas of focus, with the main area being greater China:

• China, Taiwan & Hong Kong
• Korea & Japan
• South-East Asia
• Miscellany

CNN Producer Abducted in Gaza

A group of armed men abducted a CNN producer in Gaza City on Monday.

The men kidnapped producer Riad Ali after stopping a taxi he was riding in with CNN Correspondent Ben Wedeman and a CNN camerawoman.

A white Peugeot pulled in front of the taxi, blocking its way, Wedeman said.

“A young man got out of the car, pulled a gun out of his trousers, came up and said to me — actually in Arabic — ‘Which one of you is Riad?’”

Ali answered, “I am Riad,” Wedeman said.

The kidnapper ordered Ali to get out of the taxi, Wedeman said. As he did so, several other men, some with AK-47s, exited the Peugeot.

Wedeman said the kidnappers made no attempt to cover their faces.

“They took him out of the car and drove him away,” said Wedeman. No one was injured in the incident.

Ali, who is an Arab, has worked for CNN for about two years. He has worked in Gaza and the West Bank. Wedeman described Ali as someone who is known in Gaza, has worked there “for several years and has good contacts.” Ali had been trying to set up interviews, Wedeman said.

Read more…

Putin Sets Electoral Reform in Motion

President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) put sweeping political reforms in motion Monday, sending to Russia’s parliament a bill on eliminating the popular election of regional governors and district parliament races.

Putin has explained the proposal is a necessary response to the Beslain school hostage seizure and other terror attacks, saying a strong federal government is needed to fend off threats. His opponents describe the reform as a deadly blow to Russia’s fledgling democracy.

The motion would abolish popular elections of regional governors, who instead would be nominated by the president and confirmed by local legislatures — a move critics said would further strengthen an authoritarian streak in the Kremlin’s policy. Also under the bill, all elections to parliament would be by party lists.

Read more….

Hurricane Jeanne Leaves Six Dead, Major Damage

Jeanne, Florida’s fourth hurricane in six weeks, piled on destruction in already ravaged areas Sunday, slicing across the state with howling wind that rocketed debris from earlier storms and torrents of rain that turned streets into rivers.

At least six people died in the storm, which was a cruel rerun for many still trying to recover from earlier hurricanes. Jeanne came ashore in the same area hit three weeks ago by Hurricane Frances and was headed for the Panhandle, where 70,000 homes and businesses remained without power because of Hurricane Ivan 10 days earlier.

The storm peeled the roofs off buildings, toppled light poles, destroyed a deserted community center in Jensen Beach and flooded some bridges from the mainland to the Atlantic coast’s barrier islands. More than 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power.

Jeanne, downgraded to a tropical storm, is making its way up the east coast.

Here’s a region by region breakdown of what Jeanne left behind.

The Hurricane Season That Wouldn't End

When Hurricane Charley hit Florida, we quickly gathered our forces to help send money to the victims of that storm. Little did we know that right behind Charley was a trail of hurricanes; Frances, Ivan and now Jeanne.

Charley hit Aug. 3 as a Category 4 on the Safford-Simpson scale with winds of 145 mph. Frances hit on Labor Day weekend as a Category 2 with winds of 105 mph, and Ivan hit last week as a strong Category 3 with winds of 130 mph.

Charley was more than just a hurricane, it was a media event. And with each subsequent storm after it, the media frenzy has died down just a bit and, with it, the sense of urgency that comes with powerful storms.

We hope that the people in the projected path of Jeanne are not so jaded at this time that they aren’t taking the hurricane seriously. We know that those in the previously affected areas are serious about their preparations, but for those in the areas not yet hit by big storms this season, please take heed: Just because you’re weary of all the hurricane news and forecasts, don’t turn a jaded eye towards those warnings.

And now, the news.

Jeanne is already pounding the Bahamas and turning its eye toward Florida. 800,000 people have been told to evacuate, though up to 3 million are fleeing the areas.. Forecasters say that while Jeanne is currently a category 2, they are not ruling out the possibility of it turning into a category 4 (see hurricane category explanations here).

Jeanne is already responsible for over 600 deaths in Haiti alone. The already devastated area is now encountering problems with gangs looting aid supplies. Troops from Sri Lanka are on their way to Haiti as part of a U.N. mission to restore order. Aid workers are worried about disease, as the sewage system there was torn apart by floods.

As Jeanne makes her way towards the east coast, we’ll keep on eye on the latest forecasts and predictions for you, as well keep you posted on evacuations, closings, cancellations and local news.

You can check out blogger Kathy Kinsley, who has a long list of links to people who are hurricane blogging, for both up to the minute news and localized stories.

Update: Jeanne has been upgraded to a Category 3.

Jeanne picks up speed and heads for Florida

Hurricane Jeanne is picking up speed as it heads toward Florida and the northern Bahamas Friday, maintaining strength as it goes.

The storm’s projected path as of 5 p.m. would bring the hurricane ashore as a Category 2 storm near southern Brevard County before it turns more northward and passes over Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Volusia counties. The storm is expected to pass over Central Florida around 2 p.m. Sunday with winds of 85 mph.

The National Weather service has issued inland hurricane wind watches for Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties through Sunday.

During a news conference in Tallahassee Friday, Gov. Jeb Bush asked residents, especially those along the Atlantic coastline and barrier islands, to begin preparing for the storm.

Bush said he’s worried that many of those who have come away unscathed by the previous hurricanes may not take the watch seriously.

“I know people are frustrated. I know they’re tired of this, trust me their governor is tired too, but we should heed the warnings of the experts as it relates to evacuating. It’s not being done in a flippant fashion if they do occur,” Bush said.

US concerned over reports of possible North Korea missile tests

China View: US concerned over reports of possible DPRK missile tests

NEW YORK (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced on Thursday his concern over reports that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is probably preparing for new missile tests.

Speaking to reporters at the Foreign Press Center in New York, Powell said it "would be very unfortunate if the North Koreans were to do something like this and break out of the moratorium that they have been following for a number of years."

South Korean and Japanese media reported earlier that South Korean, Japanese and US authorities had detected activities relating to missile tests in the DPRK.

... But Powell said any missile test would not change US policy on the DPRK's nuclear issue and the six-party talks aiming to resolve it.The talks involve Japan, China, Russia, South Korea, the DPRK and the United States.

UN General Assembly Debate

The General Debate of the UN General Assembly continues today.

The archived texts and streaming videos of speeches are very interesting. The proceedings are also streamed live.

Of particular interest is the Sudanese Arab representative speaking later today and Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe’s speech yesterday. Also, the Qatari representative had some very interesting things to say about ties economic, social, and political reform with the risk of rolling back economic benefits should social and political reform be rolled back.

Also up to bat are Tony Blair, France, Russia, and a certain country that every speech seems to be mentioning one way or another.

Devastation in Haiti

As you probably have heard by now, Jeanne - just a tropical storm at the time - has devasted Haiti. Over 700 are dead and the area is just reeling from the aftermath of the storm. Floods and water shortages are just part of the problem. The people there run the risk of disease from blood mingling with the flood water and corpses lying out in the open.

Haiti Pundit has a list of humanitarian agencies that are working with the people of Haiti. Help if you can.

Randinho's Latin America Briefing: Sept. 22/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Latin America, courtesy of Randy Paul.

TOP TOPICS

• Haiti in the Hurricane’s aftermath. The Command Post has updates.

• Some personal observations on recent visits to Brazil and the Dominican Republic. I returned this past Saturday from sixteen days in Brazil and can attest to some good and some bad. Among the good I witnessed was a focused effort to improve literacy in Brazil as well as a creative and imaginative effort to reduce the number of smokers. Unemployment is declining bit by bit and the nation’s benchmark bond has just risen to a seven-month high. More inside….

Other Topics Include: A roundup of issues and news about Central America; The final word on the legitimacy of the Chávez referendum?; Haiti could use your help. Here’s how; The latest on the Pinochet hidden assets scandal.

Read the Rest…

Jeanne Leaves 600 Dead in Haiti [Updated]

Rescuers dug through mud and ruined homes for bodies Tuesday, expecting the death toll of more than 600 from Tropical Storm Jeanne to rise even further, with half the crowded northern city of Gonaives still under water from the weekend’s devastating winds and rain.

Gonaives was hardest hit in the latest tragedy to beset Haiti in a year of revolts, military interventions and devastating floods. Bodies, including many children, were stacked at the city’s main morgue, where weeping relatives searched for loved ones.

At least 500 people were killed in the city, according to Toussaint Kongo-Doudou, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti.

Read more…

Update: Read this. Just…devastating.

Keep up to date here (in English and French)

This article is claiming over 1,000 dead.

Libya Tells Iran: Be Like us and Comply with IAEA

REUTERS: Libya Tells Iran: Be Like us and Comply with IAEA

Libya, which last year renounced its nuclear weapons program, Monday urged Iran to follow suit and comply with the demands of the U.N. nuclear watchdog to stop enriching uranium which can be used to make atomic bombs.

“As (IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei) said today, some things have to be fulfilled by Iran,” Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Matouq M. Matouq told reporters after meeting U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) annual general conference.

“The Iranians have to meet these obligations because of the agreement with the IAEA, and we hope that we can have another example (of) Iran of fulfilling the obligations and following the IAEA agreements,” he said.

Matouq also said Tripoli’s December 2003 decision to abandon all weapons of mass destruction could be seen as an example for Iran and all other countries.

“Libya has set an example for everybody,” he said.

(Visions of the old “Be Like Mike” Nike commercials floating through my mind, bombing discos and blowing up airplanes… MAKE THEM STOP!)

President's Party Leads in Kazakh Vote

The AP reports:

Nazarbayev’s Otan party was leading with 42.7 percent of the vote after results from electronic voting were tabulated from 18 percent of all ballots cast. The Asar party, run by Nazarbayev’s daughter, Dariga Nazarbayeva, was next with 19.5 percent.

Nazarbayeva ran as an opposition leader, fueling speculation that her goal was to take steam away from other opposition groups and put herself in position to succeed her father as president.

Prior to the election, the OSCE noted media bias and problems with the composition of local election commissions. Opposition parties are already lodging complaints.

Radical Parties Gain Ground in Germany

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democratic Party lost support in two state elections in the east of the country as voters facing benefit cuts turned to groups with socialist and nationalist agendas.

The Social Democrats took 33 percent of the vote in Brandenburg, down 6.3 percentage points from the last state elections in 1999, according to exit polls conducted by FG Wahlen for ZDF television. In the neighboring state of Saxony the party, known as the SPD in German, won only 10 percent of the vote, down 0.7 percentage points from five years ago.

Two years into Schroeder’s second four-year term, voters in the east are turning away from the SPD and toward more radical parties, deterred by new rules that will cut unemployment pay, raise pressure on the long-term jobless to accept low-paid jobs and curb health-care benefits.

[…]

The Party of Democratic Socialism, the former East German communist party, emerged as the strongest political force in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Berlin and is eastern Germany’s largest by area. The PDS took 27.5 percent of the votes, up 4.2 percent in 1999. In Saxony, the party took 23 percent, a rise of 0.8 points.

Read more…

More on this at Medienkritik, where Ray D. calls it as it is: Neo-Nazi, Communist Extremists Make Big Gains in German State Elections

Iran Rejects U.N. Nuclear Demands

Iran has defiantly rejected calls from the UN nuclear watchdog to suspend all its uranium enrichment activities.

Tehran also vowed to block snap inspections of its nuclear sites if the issue is sent to the Security Council.

“Iran will not accept any obligation regarding the suspension of uranium enrichment,” chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani said.

Enriched uranium can be used to make nuclear weapons, but Iran insists its programme is for peaceful purposes.

“If they want to send Iran to the Security Council, it is not wise, and we will stop implementing the Additional Protocol,” Mr Rohani told a news conference in Tehran after the decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Read more….

Ivan Relief

Before you glance through the listed ways to help, take a look at some of these photos and read the stories.

[click each thumbnail for larger image. All images from AP or Reuters via this Yahoo slide show]

• About 1,700 people hunkered down overnight at the Pensacola Civic Center, which was converted into a Red Cross shelter. But evacuees had to be moved from floor to floor as water seeped through the walls, partially flooding the arena and third floor of the five-story building

• “To put it in perspective, this is major destruction,” Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told reporters Friday morning. “The damage to Interstate 10 is brutal.”
  Insurance experts put Ivan’s damage at anywhere from $3 billion to $10 billion.

• i’m alive, so is my family. unfortunately, the damage was much more than anyone expected. my brother lost everything. the house they were renting was flooded about 4 feet deep - he said his bed was floating through the house.

• The hurricanes have left virtually all of Florida a disaster area, and the recovery from Ivan has been complicated by widespread power outages, washed-out roads and bridges, and ongoing gas shortages. In some areas, emergency workers had to be flown in by helicopters, and authorities said it could take weeks to restore water, power and sewer services in parts of the hard-hit Panhandle.

• Tracie Stitt stood in a pile of cinderblock and tile on Friday that once was once the home she and her husband shared with her in-laws….
  “It’s just so sad. Your life is ruined,” she said.

Relief/Assistance

[Ed note: This is just a list of relief efforts I gathered through various news sites. Command Post does not make any claims as to the authenticity of these efforts. Please research before you give.]

• Red Cross

• If you need help contacting missing loved ones in hard hit areas, you can call the American Red Cross at 1-866-GET INFO. If you would like to find out how you can help the Red Cross with donations you can call 1-800-HELP NOW

* Relief funds for the Ivan victims in the Caribbean Islands.

• Alabama relief fund.

• Florida Hurricane Relief Fund.

* Volunteer Florida (for on site help)

If you have been affected by Hurricane Ivan, you can reach FEMA at:
1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362)

If you have family members in Florida and are trying to contact them, use this number for assistance:
1-800-22-storm (1-800-227-8676)

I have not been able to find much else in the way of relief efforts. If you know of any, please email me: michele@command-post.org.

Ivan - the Aftermath

After leaving 60 dead in the Caribbean, Hurricane Ivan is responsible for at least 40 deaths in the United States. The storm left millions of homes without power and damages that could cost into the billions.

“Houses have imploded, roofs are missing, trees, power lines are down. It didn’t choose any one group or one community, it just took a broad swath through the entire neighbourhood,” said Peter Teahen of the American Red Cross.

The remnants of Ivan still remain, spawning tornadoes and flash flooding along the Appalachian Mountains.

More than a foot of rain fell in Ellamore, West Virginia and two-dozen tornadoes touched down in Virginia and Maryland, according to the National Weather Service, which issued flash- flood alerts from the Appalachian Mountains to New York.

—-

The storm spawned multiple tornadoes last night that spun across northern Virginia and grounded planes at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.

With Ivan and its heavy rain and winds gone, residents of the hardest hit areas are surveying the damage. In Alabama:

A concrete condominium lay crumpled like tissue paper; another leaned precariously toward the water. Long tongues of tile flooring dripped toward the waves from one building, sole remnants of sought-after sea-view rooms that were sheared off by the storm.

In the Florida Panhandle area:

A Herald flyover of the disaster zone from Destin west to Pensacola highlighted the destructive force of Ivan’s 135-mph winds and 16-foot storm surge.

The 40-foot sand dunes that were once the Panhandle’s pride? Gone.

The beach road that once sat in the dunes’ lee? Washed out, buckled and broken in pie-crust crumbs and sections

Relief efforts are underway but, due to Ivan coming on the heels of Frances and Charley, relief is in short supply. I will be making another post very shortly about ways you can help. If you know of any relief efforts, please email michele@command-post.org with the information.

Putin Prepares to Take Action

President Vladimir Putin said Friday the Kremlin was preparing to take preventive action against terrorists, even as a Chechen rebel leader purportedly claimed responsibility for a series of attacks that killed hundreds of people and threatened further violence.

Putin’s comments were the highest-level warning yet that Russia could take some sort of pre-emptive action against terror groups in the wake of this month’s deadly school hostage-taking in Beslan (search). Lower-level officials have threatened anti-terror strikes abroad, and it was not immediately clear whether Putin was referring to actions only at home or outside Russia’s borders.

“Now in Russia, we are seriously preparing to act preventively against terrorists,” Putin said, according to the Interfax news agency. It quoted him as saying that the steps would be “in strict accordance with the law and norms of the constitution, relying on international law.”

Ivan Updates

Eight people have been reported dead as Ivan rips through the Gulf Coast. All of the deaths were due to twisters spawned by the hurricane.

In Alabama:

The storm knocked out power to some 250,000 residences and businesses across Alabama.

Alabama Power reported 197,000 of their customers lost power, most of them — 178,000 — in Mobile, according to spokeswoman Carrie Kurlander.

In Florida:

In Pensacola, Mayor John Fogg said his city was suffering through a dramatic night. One hospital was hit, he said, noting part of the roof of West Florida Hospital had been torn off.

But a hospital official said she didn’t think the facility had been hit by a tornado, but may have sustained damage from very high winds.

Fogg also said, “The civic center has been damaged and that was a place that we were sending people that we thought was a safe place to be. [source: CNN]

This updated report says that 12 people have been killed.

From Kathy Kinsley - who made it through both Charley and Francis - a list of hurricane bloggers [originally posted here, reprinted with permission]

[Ed note: Some of these links are repeats from last night, but most have updated since them - there are some good posts, I recommend you click all the links]

Note: I bumped this one up so it would be easy to find. I wanted to check on everyone throughout the day. WeatherBug was still up and posting a little while ago. The others in the area are silent right now. Ivan made landfall at around 3am Eastern, as a Category III. As of now, (almost 7am) it is still a Category3. Click on the trackback from Behind the Wall of Sleep (below) for the satellite picture of the landfall (impressive!).

Weatherbug has moved to Mobile Alabama to blog Hurricane Ivan.

Eye of the Storm is at FSU in Tallahassee (my alma mater) and agrees with my ‘get out’ advice for those in the path along the coast.

Beyond Salvage is in the Mobile area, and beginning to sweat.

Paper Frog is evacuating from Pensacola to (???) Mobile. He’s in radio and they need him up there. Hope he stays safe.

Florida Cracker is watching Ivan and was the source of many of these links.

See also my open thread for hurricane info, presently concentrating on evacuation info. and please let me know if you know of other similar information sharing so I can point people to them.

Fresh Bilge. Link is to the hurricanes category. Latest hurricane post is here. (Informational posts, this one isn’t blogging from the area.)
Weatherblog (also informational).
The Irish Trojan’s Blog. More info.

Ivan Strikes Hard

Hurricane Ivan recorded its first U.S. fatalities today - two people in Florida were killed by tornadoes that were the result of the category 4 storm.

As of 9pm EST, Ivan’s winds were recorded at about 105 mph, causing storm surges of 10 to 16 feet.

The power is already out in Mobile, AL.

Brendan Loy is liveblogging the storm, as is Mike Roetto in New Orleans. [link source: Glenn Reynolds]

Stay tuned for updates or hit the above links for live blogging.

Ivan Approaches Shore [Updated]

The “direct hit” onus is off of New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama.

The beach roads in Mobile are already flooding as Ivan makes his precense known at the shore. There is a dusk to dawn curfew in effect for the city.

[Image from Fox News]

As of the latest update, Ivan is packing 135 mph winds and producing waves 12 feet high.

President Bush has assured Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana that they will receive hurricane aid.

The best place to find the most recent happenings is always the blogs. Especially for that personal touch:

• Crazy, too, to pack as though you’re never seeing your house again. “Make sure you take treasured photographs” That would fill my car. I am opting to take negatives. Surely everything will be fine, but our house is old and rickety.

And sometimes, very few words are needed.

Here’s a WeatherBug blogger doing frequent updates from Alabama and here’s the WeatherBug stormchaser’s team blog.

You can listen to live updates at stormalert.net.

[to be updated]

National Weather Service Warning for Louisiana

HURICANE PREPAREDNESS. Now would be a real good time for readers in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle to click on the link if you haven’t done so already. And please let neighbours know about it.

This message is repeated at the bottom of this post.

From the NWS:

WTUS84 KLIX 151208
HLSLIX
LAZ038-040-046>050-056>070-MSZ080>082-151600-

…NEXT UPDATE…
THE NEXT STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED AROUND 1100 AM TODAY.

Good Luck everybody, and best wishes from Canberra, Australia.

HURICANE PREPAREDNESS. Now would be a real good time for readers in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle to click on the link if you haven’t done so already. And please let neighbours know about it.

Chemical Weapons May Have Been Used In Darfur

Netherlands’ Expatica reports that Berlin questions chemical weapons report in Dafur:

German intelligence sources said Wednesday they had no information which could confirm a report claiming Syria had tested chemical weapons in cooperation with the government of Sudan on black Africans in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

Germany’s Die Welt newspaper - citing “Western intelligence reports” - said dozens of people were killed in the tests carried out from last May.

[. . .]

“We find the details very surprising and would have evaluated them differently,” said a German intelligence source speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Asked to comment on the report a spokesman for Syria’s embassy in Berlin said: “We have nothing to say on this - the newspaper can write whatever it wants.” He refused any further comment.

The U.S. embassy in Berlin also declined to comment on the story, saying there would probably be a response in Washington later Wednesday.

From California Yankee.

Tracking Ivan

The NOLA Hurrican center offers up a few local blogs that are covering evcacuations, closings and storm watch updates. Some excerpts:

Computer models from LSU predict flooding in lower St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, Slidell and St. Charles Parish. Emergency planners are keeping an eye on a weak point in the hurricane protection levee at the St. Charles/Jefferson border.

• As Hurricane Ivan charged along its uncertain path toward the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, most people in the New Orleans area weighed whether to take public officials’ strong advice to leave town, or stay put and pray for mercy from the storm.
  But there was also a large third group, mostly concentrated in poorer neighborhoods: those who wanted to go — but couldn’t.
  Ernestine Dees, 30, said she would have been the first one to leave town. “We don’t have any money to leave and no car,” the Central City resident said. “But if I could get out of here, I’d be gone in a heartbeat.”

More Ivan news:

• Hurricane Ivan Threatens NASA Facilities

• The Caymnan Islands Need Help
  
  The updated probablities point toward Alabama or Mississippi with more of a chance of a direct hit than Lousiana.

From CNN:

At 8 a.m. ET, Ivan was centered 180 miles south-southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The Category 4 storm was moving toward the north-northwest near 12 mph with a gradual turn to the north expected on Wednesday. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 105 miles from the center, while tropical storm-force winds stretched 260 miles outward.

Hurricane warnings were posted from Grand Isle, Louisiana, to Apalachicola, Florida, and a hurricane watch extended westward from Grand Isle to Morgan City, Louisiana.

Stay tuned for updates.

New Energy Currents: 2004-09-15

Three years after September 11th, there is more attention given to non-oil energy sources than ever: energy independence is widely recognized as an essential long-term goal in the War on Terror, and concerns about the extent of our contribution to global climate change continue to multiply.

Still, the increased public interest has not made the problems inherent in the massive project of transforming our energy systems any simpler. The goal is agreed upon, but the road is still unclear. Think of this roundup of energy news from the past two weeks as a series of signposts along several paths (including new paths using ‘old’ fossil fuels, which will almost certainly play an important role in the energy mix for decades at least), some of which intersect and run alongside each other, others which head in opposite directions - and some that we will doubtlessly abandon before we reach their end.

• Wind Power
• Solar
• Nuclear
• Natural Gas
• The Grid
• Hydrogen/Fuel Cells
• Geothermal
• Coal+
• Biofuels
• Misc.

Ivan and New Orleans: Recipe for Disaster

New Orleans is preparing for mass evacuations in advance of Ivan.

More than one million people have been asked to evacuate from their homes.

Paul at Wizbang blog writes about the devastation that his city could face it suffers a direct hit from the category 5 storm, which looks likely as of right now:

The scenario goes like this:

The tidal surge will top the levees and the bowl will fill from river to lake. The studies say that if we took a direct hit from a category 4 or 5 storm, a city of one million people could be under as much as 30 feet of water. According to the experts there could be over 50,000 dead. What’s more, since we would have to pump the water out the bowl, they say the city could be underwater for as long as 10 months. You’ll understand if I don’t dig up that link right now.

This feature on the impact of a major hurricane on New Orleans at American RadioWorks is ominous as well:

“A couple of days ago,” explains Maestri, “We actually had an exercise where we brought a fictitious Category Five Hurricane into the metropolitan area.”

When the computer models showed Walter Maestri what would happen after a hurricane hit New Orleans, he wrote big letters on the map: “KYAGB—kiss your ass good bye.” Photo: William Brangham/NOW with Bill Moyers

The map is covered with arrows and swirls in erasable marker. They show how the fictitious hurricane crossed Key West and then smacked into New Orleans.

When the computer models showed Maestri what would happen next, he wrote big letters on the map, all in capitals.

“KYAGB—kiss your ass good bye,” reads Maestri.

“Because,” says Maestri, “anyone who was here when that storm came across was gone—it was body-bag time. We think 40,000 people could lose their lives in the metropolitan area.”

[ed note: I’m not sure of the date this feature originally aired. They are speaking of a hypothetical hurricane.]

The last time New Orleans was directly hit by a hurricane was in 1965, when Hurricane Betsy left some areas under seven feet of water.

You can check for updates at the NOLA Hurrican center. Check out their breaking news blogs for up to the minute reports.

US & Russia Remove Uzbek Uranium

The United States and Russia secretly removed uranium from Uzbekistan (AP):

Twenty-four pounds of highly enriched uranium, enough for a crude nuclear weapon, was secretly flown to Russia last week from a research lab in Uzbekistan where U.S. officials had long feared terrorists could obtain the material, the U.S. Department of Energy said Monday.

The material from nuclear fuel assemblies, which was kept at a research reactor near Tashkent, has for years been the subject of concern despite security improvements put in place two years ago.

The Energy Department said the uranium, including irradiated reactor fuel, was put in two specialized transport containers and airlifted Sept. 9 under guard to a secured facility in Dmitrovgrad, Russia. The material will be turned into low-enriched uranium that would no longer be suitable for a bomb or other weapon.

AFP reports that this is the most recent joint removal of uranium from former Soviet allies:

The operation marked the fifth shipment of uranium to Russia from its Soviet-era allies and partners.

Over the past year, the United States repatriated a total of 48 kilograms (105 pounds) of highly-enriched uranium to Russia from Romania, Bulgaria and Libya, according to US officials.

Ivan Devastates Cayman Islands

You can read reports and up to the minute updates here.

This missing persons list from Cayman is an indicator of the damage Ivan brought to the islands.

This report from the Times of London states that at least 48 are known dead at the time and:

Navy unable to reach battered Cayman islands
From James Bone in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and David Adams in Miami

THE extent of havoc caused by Hurricane Ivan in the Cayman Islands was becoming clearer yesterday. Large areas of the British dependency were believed to be under water when the hurricane produced a storm surge that breached Grand Cayman, the main island, in three places.
The smaller islands, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, were not as badly hit.

Relief efforts are underway. If you are in the Miami area and can offer help, see Instapundit for details on how you can do that.

More Ivan updates forthcoming, as the hurricane makes its way towards the Gulf Coast.

Meanwhile, Ivan has pounded Cuba and Castro says he will refuse any aid offered by the United States.

Putin Orders Overhaul of Government

NYT (reg. req.)

President Vladimir V. Putin ordered a stunning overhaul of Russia’s political system on Monday in what he called an effort to unite the country against terrorism. If enacted, as expected, the proposals would strengthen his already pervasive control over the legislative branch and regional governments.

Mr. Putin, meeting in special session with cabinet ministers and regional government leaders, outlined what would be the most sweeping political overhaul - and his most striking single step to consolidate power - in Russia in more than a decade. Critics immediately said it would violate the Constitution and stifle what political opposition remains.

More on the overhauls here.

[ed: Welcome back, USSR?]

Ivan Updates

Ivan, as expected, is back up to a Category 5 hurricane and he’s headed for Cuba - maybe.

Residents of the Florida Keys have headed back home, after having been evacuated in anticipation that Ivan would land there. However, the hurricane swerved to the left and it is now expected to miss the Keys completely, but hit the Florida panhandle.

Ivan leaves behind in Jamaica a trail of death, destruction and heartbreaking stories.

The three day Ivan forecast:

[click for bigger]

More watches, warnings and tracking here.

"N Korea says it blew up mountain"

BBC:

Ivan Update: Trouble In Cayman

This from the Tropical Prediction Center’s latest Ivan Advisory:

REPORTS FROM HAM RADIO OPERATORS ON
GRAND CAYMAN INDICATE THAT PEOPLE ARE STANDING ON THE ROOFS OF
HOMES DUE TO SEVERE STORM SURGE FLOODING.

Some resources:

• There’s a local roundup of Cayman weather links here.

• Cayman webcams, none of which are displaying current pictures but some of which still have cached images online, are here and here.

• This Cayman weather site still has some current data, but the windspeed equipment is clearly broken as it read zero. The site shows this history, however, which illustrates the extraordinary drop in barometric pressure and increase in widspeed that can only come with a hurricane making a close pass. (Note that the windspeed graph tops out near 90 mph before going off-line.)

God speed to all in Ivan’s path.

About The Seismographs

I think it’s wise to remove the matter of the Alaska seismographs when considering the NK nuke test story. Yes, Alaska-area seismography stations recorded an event on the same day as the as yet unproven test. If you visit the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program site, however, you can visit their list of worldwide quake activity in the past seven days, which not only indicates event time, but location.

These real-time records place the epicenter of the event recorded in Alaska (indeed, there were actually two events just minutes apart) in the Fox Islands section of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. You can see the data, and a map of the event, here. The site also records no activity in Korea, North or South, over the same stretch of time.

That said, did anyone out there feel the 3.6 this morning near Shelbyville, Indiana?

North Korea "Blast" Updates [Updated]

[Updates to the two posts below]

So, what went on in North Korea? Was it a nuclear test, an industrial accident or something more mundane?

The blast supposedly occurred on Thursday, September 9, a date which marks the anniversary of North Korea.

Sean Hackberth was able to dig up a few seismographs, all of which show something unusual happening on 9/9 at about 9:00am (PST).

While agencies in North Korea are denying that any explosion that occurred was nuclear in origins, there are still no explanations for the unusual activity or the fact that many witnesses reported seeing a “strange” or “mushroom” cloud, which raises many questions, especially when you consider that [t]he explosion appeared to be stronger than an April 22 blast that killed more than 150 people and wounded about 1,300 others in Ryongchon near the western tip of North Korea’s border with China.

While many are claiming there was no nuclear explosion, the New York Times reports it this way:

President Bush and his top advisers have received intelligence reports in recent days describing a confusing series of actions by North Korea that some experts believe could indicate the country is preparing to conduct its first test explosion of a nuclear weapon, according to senior officials with access to the intelligence.

[…]

One official with access to the intelligence called it “a series of indicators of increased activity that we believe would be associated with a test,” saying that the “likelihood” of a North Korean test had risen significantly in just the past four weeks….The activities included the movement of materials around several suspected test sites, including one near a location where intelligence agencies reported last year that conventional explosives were being tested that could compress a plutonium core and set off a nuclear blast. But officials have not seen the classic indicators of preparations at a test site, in

Or have they?

However, here we have someone who doesn’t buy the nuclear test theory, citing seismic data that is contrary to reports. He also mentions that BBC is reporting that it may have just been a forest fire that people were witnessing.

This person compares the data on the seismographs to earthquakes and comes up with nuclear test.

We’ll keep updating on this one until (if) there is some sort of conclusion.

[some links via Allah Pundit]

More here and here.

UPDATE:

Well, now we’re getting to the bottom of this. It’s all part of the October Surprise!

North Korean Explosion Not Nuclear

CNN reports that the huge explosion that shook North Korea’s northernmost province on Thursday and produced a mushroom cloud was not the result of a nuclear explosion.

From California Yankee.

Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea

AP: Blast, Mushroom Cloud Reported in N. Korea

A large explosion occurred in the northern part of North Korea, sending a huge mushroom cloud into the air on an important anniversary of the communist regime, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

Citing an unidentified source in Beijing, Yonhap said the explosion happened on Thursday in Yanggang province near the border with China. The damage and crater left by the explosion in Kim Hyong Jik county was big enough to be noticed by a satellite, the source said.

“We understand that a mushroom-shaped cloud about 3.5- to 4- kilometer (2.2 miles to 2.5 miles) in diameter was monitored during the explosion,” Yonhap quoted an unidentified diplomatic source in Seoul as saying.

BACKGROUND:
NYT: Atomic Activity in North Korea Raises Concerns

President Bush and his top advisers have received intelligence reports in recent days describing a confusing series of actions by North Korea that some experts believe could indicate the country is preparing to conduct its first test explosion of a nuclear weapon, according to senior officials with access to the intelligence.

While the indications were viewed as serious enough to warrant a warning to the White House, American intelligence agencies appear divided about the significance of the new North Korean actions, much as they were about the evidence concerning Iraq’s alleged weapons stockpiles.

Some analysts in agencies that were the most cautious about the Iraq findings have cautioned that they do not believe the activity detected in North Korea in the past three weeks is necessarily the harbinger of a test. A senior scientist who assesses nuclear intelligence says the new evidence “is not conclusive,” but is potentially worrisome.

Jamaica Spared Direct Hit, But Ivan Gains Strength

Jamaica was spared catastrophic damage, but registered five deaths from the effects of Hurricane Ivan which, at the last minute, veered westward, avoiding a direct hit with the island on Friday night as anticipated.

While Ivan unexpectedly veered westward, he still left a path of destruction in Jamaica:

Hurricane Ivan lashed Jamaica with monstrous waves, driving rain and winds nearing 250 kph early Saturday and killed at least five people as it smashed away homes, ripped up roofs and utility poles but unexpectedly spared the island from a direct hit.
[…]
Dazed residents stood in the rain late Saturday morning and watched 7.5-metre waves crash onto beachfronts where a dozen houses used to stand at Harbour View, just east of Kingston, the capital.

Looters gutted homes there of goods the hurricane did not destroy.

The hurricane is blamed for the death of 50 people so far.

Ivan is on the move and gaining strength. It’s expected to go back to a category 5 some time today.

Residents in hurricane-worn Florida are gearing up again:

Many businesses were shuttered and streets were largely deserted Saturday as residents fled from this normally bustling island resort town amid concern that Hurricane Ivan was heading for Florida.

Monroe County officials ordered an evacuation of the entire 100-mile Florida Keys, the chain of low-lying islands that are vulnerable to storm surges. It was the third evacuation in a month for tourists and first in three years for the chain’s 79,000 residents.

..

But some people stayed behind, determined to ride out the storm or waiting to make up their minds.

Lauren Oed casually painted her toenails on the wooden dock of a marina, undecided about whether to leave or face the hurricane on the sailboat of her friend, Eddie Mathis.

“Being on a boat anywhere for a hurricane isn’t a good thing,” said Mathis, who has lived on the boat for a decade. “But you don’t want to give up everything you’ve got, everything you’ve worked for.”

As opposed to, say, giving up your life.

5 Day Ivan Tracker

Ivan Batters Jamaica

CNN:

Power is shut off on the island of Jamaica as Hurricane Ivan rages above, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kmph).

The main highway leading from Kingston to the eastern part of the island was already under water several hours ago.

Forecasters say there is a high danger of flash flooding and mudslides.

Ahead of the storm, Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson declared a “period of public emergency” in a radio address to the nation.

AP

Waves two-stories high crashed on Jamaica’s eastern shore Friday, flooding homes and washing away roads as Hurricane Ivan’s ferocious winds and pounding rains began to lash the island and threatened a direct hit on its densely populated capital. The death toll elsewhere in the Caribbean rose to 37.

Lots of weather news from Jamaica here, including ways to help the victims of Ivan. Also, news and updates here. You can see a moving image of Ivan here.

Sudan Rejects Genocide Accusations

KHARTOUM, Sept 10 (AFP) — Sudan said Friday it “categorically rejects” US accusations that it carried out genocide in the Darfur, scene of what the United Nations calls the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world today.

“To consider what is happening in Darfur as genocide does not represent the international consensus and sends a negative signal to the other side who are negotiating with the government,” Khartoum’s ambassador to Washington Khedr Haroun was quoted as saying in a letter published by the press here.

He warned that US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s declaration Thursday would only prolong the conflict that has killed tens of thousands, and hamper peace talks under way in Nigeria.

Read more…

Five Governors Get Match-Rigged Letters

At least five Western and Midwestern governors received envelopes in the mail Thursday rigged to ignite when opened. In Montana, the envelope prompted the evacuation of part of the state Capitol.

The envelopes, rigged with matches set to ignite when opened, were sent to the governors of Montana, Idaho, Nebraska, Washington and Utah. There were no reports of injuries.

All the letters appeared to have come from a maximum-security prison in Nevada, where another letter also turned up at the office of the state corrections director.

Read more…

Eyes on Korea: 2004-09-10

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. Today’s Regional Briefing focuses on Korea, courtesy of Robert Koehler in Seoul.

Top Topics

• NKzone features two commentaries on U.S. policy and the North Korean nuclear issue that are certainly worth the read.

• This is why no one can find North Korea’s uranium program — they’re looking in the wrong Korea! Consequences, consequences.

• Reductions in U.S. troop levels in Korea lead, naturally enough, to changes in U.S. operational plans for the Korean Peninsula. Oddly enough, the Chosun Ilbo is surprised by this.

• Do check out U.S. military defector Charles Jenkins’ his interview with FEER now that he has returned from North Korea — it’s amazing.

On Tap This Month: NK’s new missiles; Moonies helping NK?; Chinese maneuvers on NK border, dispute with SK; Pizza for Kim; Insults R Us; More defectors; Engagement vs. human rights; US Troop withdrawal; USFK & Korean soldiers to Iraq; SK not an ally?; Paul Hamm; Western media doesn’t ‘get’ Korea; Korean bloggers.

Read the Rest…

Third Florida Evacuation Ordered

Florida officials on Thursday ordered everyone in the Keys to evacuate, facing predictions that Ivan could reach the Keys as early as Sunday. Much of the rest of the state could begin feeling the effects of the storm by Monday.

The evacuation orders for Keys visitors was the third in less than a month following brushes from Hurricanes Charley and Frances.

Meanwhile, we have heard a rumor that statewide gas rationing will begin at 5pm tonight. THIS IS AN UNCONFIRMED RUMOR.

Gov. Bush denied the rumor earlier:

“No, we’re not capable of determining supply-and-demand needs for every locality,” Bush said, responding to a question about whether a gas ration plan is being considered. Instead, Bush said state officials have successfully encouraged gasoline wholesalers to ensure gasoline supplies near evacuation routes. “But that’s not really rationing,” he said.

Stay tuned…

Update: Gas rationing rumor was wild speculation based on Sunday’s executive order giving the DEP control over the gas supply. That and the frayed nerves of Florida residents…

U.S.: Islamist carnage in Sudan is 'genocide'

WorldNetDaily: U.S.: Islamist carnage in Sudan is 'genocide'

The United States is calling the rape, pillaging and slaughter of blacks in western Sudan by the Islamist Khartoum regime and its Arab militia allies genocide.

"We concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed [tribal militia] bear responsibility and genocide may still be occurring," said Secretary of State Colin Powell in testimony this morning to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Aljazeera: Sudan rejects Darfur 'genocide' label

Sudan has rejected a declaration by the US that the alleged atrocities in the country's troubled Darfur region was genocide.

"This is just another sort of pressure brought against the government of Sudan by the United States and Western governments, the kind of general political pressure that shows the US is not a friend of Sudan," said Ahmad Hassan al-Zubair, Sudan's finance minister.

"We will prove that it is true that the conflict in Sudan is an internal tribal problem and it will be for the national government to solve this problem," he said on leaving an African Union summit in Burkina Faso on Thursday.

Chechen Terrorists Put Price On Putin

In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to offer a US$ 10 million reward for the heads of Shamil Basayev and Aslan Maskhadov, the terrorists have responded by offering a US$ 20 million reward for whomever aids in the arrest of ‘war criminal’ Vladimir Putin, reports Dutch press agency ANP, who like many other major media in Europe insists on calling them ‘rebels’ (thanks to W):

Chechen rebels put price on head Putin

Thusrsday 9 September 2004

Moscow (ANP) — Chechen insurgents Thursday offered a reward for the capture of Russian president Putin. The reward comes a day after Moscow put a price on the heads of resistance leaders Aslan Maskhadov and Shamil Basayev.

“We offer a reward of US$ 20 million (almost 16,9 million Euros) to countries, organizations or individuals who will assist the Chechen Republic actively in the arrest of war criminal Vladimir Vladimirovic Putin”, stated one of the insurgents’ websites. The Anti-Terror Center of the Chechen Republic, part of Maskadov’s unrecognized government, signed the message.

Just last Wednesday Moscow offered a reward of US$10 million for information which leads to the arrest of Checen rebel leaders Maskhadov and Basayev. A close associate of Mashkadov called the price on the head of his boss a “sick attempt to imitate the US and the West”.

Note that the original report (left in the translation) does not use scare quotes around “government” when mentioning the terrorist group’s institutions.

first published at Southern Watch

Ivan Reaches Category 5 [UPDATED]

Command Post contributor Brendan Loy is covering Ivan on his weblog. He reports:

Extremely dangerous Ivan strengthens into a Category 5 hurricane over the south-central Caribbean Sea…
Recent reports from an Air Force Reserve hurricane hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are now near 160 mph…255 km/hr…with higher gusts. This makes Ivan a rare Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale. Some fluctuations in strength are likely.

Check Brendan’s blog for links and updates. We’ll also keep you posted here.

Ivan has already killed twenty people and caused extensive damage in Grenada.

The hurrican seems to be following the trail of Frances and is headed toward storm-weary Florida:

[click for larger image]

From the National Weather Service:

A hurricane warning remains in effect for Aruba…Bonaire…and Curacao. A hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning remain in effect for the Guajira peninsula of Colombia…for the entire northern coast of Venezuela…and for the entire southwest peninsula of Haiti from the border of the Dominican republic westward…including port au prince. A hurricane watch remains in effect for Jamaica and the cayman islands. A hurricane warning will likely be required for Jamaica later this morning.

Track Ivan here.

Update: It’s being reported that Ivan has destroyed 97% of the homes in Grenada. 97%.

Iran recruits 'human shield' for nuclear reactor

JERUSALEM POST: Iran recruits ‘human shield’ for nuclear reactor

Iran is seeking volunteers to act as a massive human shield around Iran’s nuclear reactor in case of a military attack against the facility.

About two weeks ago Iran announced its plans build more nuclear power plants with Russian help the in southern port city of Bushehr, ignoring US and Israeli concerns that by-products from the plants could be used to manufacture atomic bombs. The US and Israel strongly suspect Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran has consistently denied the charges.

The Committee for the Commemoration of Martyrs of the Global Islamic Campaign is organizing the human shield campaign to protect Bushehr reactor, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Wednesday.

According to a spokesman for the group, 25,000 people have already signed up to participate in the shield campaign, Army Radio reported.

Observe IAEA rules: Iranian official

Tehran Times: IAEA rules, NPT, additional protocol only nuclear criteria: official

TEHRAN (MNA) -- An Iranian official said on Tuesday that the only mechanism for allaying the international community’s concerns about a country’s nuclear program is the observation of legal and technical regulations determined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and no one has the right to give guarantees or written agreements to Europe and the agency outside this mechanism.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Mehr News Agency that the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the additional protocol to the NPT, and the current safeguards agreement are the only criteria for confirming the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program and there has been no breach of these regulations or treaties.

He said that it is a grave mistake to call the report Mohamed ElBaradei recently delivered to the IAEA Board of Governors “positive”, adding that ElBaradei’s report emphasizes negative points and downplays the positive points.

AfricaPundit's Regional Briefing: Sept 7/04

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Africa, courtesy of AfricaPundit.

TOP TOPICS

• The remedy for all that ails Africa? Abiola notes Thabo Mbeki’s plan to tax South Africa into prosperity.

• It’s been about a year since Charles Taylor was forced from power in Liberia. Here’s an update on the continuing disarmament process.

Other Topics Today Include: Nigerian news; Robert Mugabe: Both “great” and a “tyrant”; Equatorial Guinea coup revelations; Central Africa; Sudan; Plague of locusts.

Read the Rest…

Iran preparing for second test of Shahab-3

JERUSALEM POST: Iran preparing for second test of Shahab-3

Iran is ready to repeat a test of a new version of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile, a weapon Iran maintains it produced in response to Israeli efforts to improve its own missile power and test-fired successfully last month.

Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani said his employees were ready to test the missile “in the presence of observers,” the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. He did not elaborate.

In August, the Defense Ministry announced the new version of the Shahab-3 _ which already was capable of reaching Israel and U.S. forces in the Middle East _ had been successfully test-fired.

Israeli reports have said the new version of the missile has a longer range than Shahab-3, but Defence Ministry officials have refused to give details about the range.

The Shahab-3, successfully tested before that in 2002 ahead of equipping the elite Revolutionary Guards with it in July 2003, is the Persian state’s longest-range ballistic missile, with a range of 1,296 kilometers (about 810 miles).

Shamkhani on Tuesday was confident the second test also would be successful, IRNA reported. The minister, however, said the tests were no act of muscle-flexing.

“Being powerful does not necessarily mean warmongering,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying.

Mofaz: Israel still committed to 'removing' Arafat

HAARETZ: Mofaz: Israel still committed to ‘removing’ Arafat

Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Monday that the government remains committed to “removing” Yasser Arafat from the Palestinian territories, although there are no current plans to do so.

“The state of Israel will find the way and the right time to bring about the removal of Yasser Arafat from the region,” Mofaz said while answering listeners’ questions on Army Radio.

Mofaz noted the Israeli security Cabinet’s decision last year to “remove” Arafat following a series of Palestinian suicide bombings. “I think it is still relevant,” Mofaz said.

At the time, officials hinted that the order could refer to expelling, killing or isolating the Palestinian leader.

Asked why Israel has delayed implementing the decision against Arafat, Mofaz implied this was to avoid aggravating tensions that could disrupt a plan to evacuate Israeli settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip next year.

“What guides us now … is firstly to carry out the disengagement plan,” Mofaz said.

How To Help Hurricane Frances Victims

You can help the victims of Hurricane Frances by making a financial donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need.

Hurricane Frances relief will strain Red Cross resources:

“Before Hurricane Charley, the Red Cross had less than $850,000 in the Disaster Relief Fund,” said Joe Becker, Vice President of Response for the American Red Cross. “We estimated that Charley would cost the Red Cross $50 million and we are now responding to a disaster that will cost much more. To allow us to assist the disaster victims, we need the public to give a monetary contribution.”

You can make a secure online contribution by visiting the Red Cross Online Donation Page.

You can also donate by phone:

1-800-HELP-NOW
(1-800-435-7669)
English speaking

1-800-257-7575
Spanish Speaking

1-800-220-4095
For TDD Operator

The Salvation Army will also help.
Donations to help in disaster relief can be made to any local Salvation Army or on line here or by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY.

From California Yankee.

Two Million Without Power in Florida/Frances Updates

Frances has made landfall in Florida:

The National Hurricane Center said the eye of the hurricane officially made landfall near Sewall’s Point, just east of Stuart — about 40 miles north of West Palm Beach — at about 1 a.m.

Transformers popped along streets, sending sparks into darkened skies, as families huddled in shelters, bathrooms and hotel lobbies. The wind-whipped coastal waters resembled a churning hot tub.

In Melbourne, 65 miles north of Stuart, the wind and rain looked like a giant fire hose going off at full blast.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, and no one in my family has,” said Darlene Munson, who was riding out the storm with family members at her Melbourne restaurant

While Frances isn’t the powerhouse they thought she would be, she is still packing a wallop. Winds have been marked at 85 mph, with sustained gusts as high as 104 mph. Coming so soon after the devastation of Charley, Frances could spell major disaster from some Florida areas, even though she’s been downgraded to a tropical storm.

[click for larger image/AP]

FOX:

The eye of the storm blew ashore at Sewall’s Point (search), just east of Stuart, around 1 a.m. Frances was expected to remain over the state for most of the day, dumping 8 to 12 inches of rain, with up to 20 inches in some areas. Frances was so big that virtually the entire state feared damage from wind and heavy rain — about 230 miles of coastline — from the Deerfield Beach area northward to Flagler Beach — remained under a hurricane warning as dawn approached Sunday.

Here’s the five day forecast for Frances. Experts say she make pick up strength again by Monday evening.

And here comes Ivan, right behind.

Here’s a group blog of Florida metro area bloggers who are writing live updates about Frances.

Frances makes landfall

After pounding the coast for hours (and hours and hours), Hurricane Frances has finally made landfall.

Hurricane Frances has just made landfall in Martin County.

Dennis Decker of the National Weather Service said the western edge of the eyewall came ashore near Stuart just before 10 p.m. Saturday.

Frances has knocked out electricity for about 2 million people and is forcing residents to wait as it creeps along.

All of Florida to be affected by Frances

Hurricane Frances is both weakening and slowing down. With its current trajectory expected to take it through the state (entering somewhere between Melbourne and West Palm Beach and exiting north of Tampa), the Texas-sized storm will impact the majority of Florida residents this weekend. That means 24-48 hours of high wind and lots of rain—up to 20 inches in some locations.

An estimated 14.6 million Florida residents — 86 percent of the state’s population — are within the projected path of Frances. About 10 million live in the 21 counties along or close to the Atlantic coast, including millions in the state’s 840,000 mobile homes.

Governor Bush has asked his brother, the President, to declare the state a disaster area for the second time in three weeks.

Millions Flee Florida as Frances Approaches

racing for a monstrous storm, residents and tourists clogged shelters or made last-minute preparations Friday as Hurricane Frances (search) churned toward the Atlantic coast, where the state’s second pummeling in three weeks could begin as soon as Saturday.

About 2.5 million residents were ordered to evacuate — the largest in state history.

The slow-moving storm’s core was now expected to hit Florida Saturday afternoon or evening, instead of early Saturday as had been earlier predicted.

The storm has already hit the Bahamas:

Frances lashed the southeastern Bahamas with 140 mph winds on Thursday and was expected to slam into the capital, Nassau, on Friday.

Read more…

Maps of the three-day and five-day forecast of Frances. That is one HUGE storm.

UN resolution calls for Syrian withdrawal

AL JAZEERA: UN resolution calls for Syrian withdrawal

By a vote of 9-0, with six abstentions, the UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling on Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and warning against external interference in its presidential elections.

Late on Thursday evening, the US and France toned down a draft UN resolution demanding Syria withdraw its forces from Lebanon.

UN sources said amendments were made to the draft late on Thursday evening in the hopes of securing the nine out of 15 votes necessary for passing the resolution.

Under pressure from other Security Council members, the US and France agreed not to mention Syria by name, although it is the only country with foreign forces in Lebanon.

(Remember that the next time that Al-Jazeera says that Sheeba Farms is “Occupied Lebanese Territory” during an interview with Hezbollah Crazy Of The Week.)

Florida, Georgia declare state of emergency

With Hurricane Frances bearing down on the Bahamas, Georgia and Florida have declared a state of emergency, ordering the evacuation of coastal residents by tomorrow afternoon. There are some computer models that show the storm skirting the coast around Cape Canaveral and sliding up toward Jacksonville, Savannah and South Carolina, but the main track lies right through Orlando again.

The Florida evacuation orders apply to 500,000 or more people living in coastal areas on Florida’s east coast. Authorities want them out of their homes by the middle of Thursday afternoon.

I’m getting too old for this…

Backlash in Nepal

And as usual, none but the innocent suffer. From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :

A mob in Nepal has set fire to a mosque in a violent protest against the abduction and killing of 12 Nepalese workers by insurgents in Iraq.

Nepal’s government has clamped a curfew on Kathmandu after the mosque and an Arab airlines office were attacked.
[…]
A police official said the curfew meant no movements would be allowed within the city of 1.5 million people.

Gunmen Seize Russia Schools (UPDATED 6)

[Note: I’ve moved this post to GWOT. ~ Alan.]