Libyan Islamists must have share in power, warns leader: “Islamists must not be marginalised”

Libyan Islamists must not be marginalised, says Abdel Hakim Belhaj,
leader of the Tripoli Military Council. Photograph: Francois Mori/AP

Libya's Islamist groups "will not allow" secular politicians to exclude or marginalise them in the intensifying battle for power in the post-Gaddafi era, the country's most powerful Islamist leader has said.

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and founder of a jihadi group that was later disbanded, appears to be firing a shot across the bows of liberal, western-backed rivals after negotiations over broadening the rebel administration foundered.

"We must resist attempts by some Libyan politicians to exclude some of the participants in the revolution," Belhaj writes in the Guardian. "Their political myopia renders them unable to see the huge risks of such exclusion, or the serious ... reaction of the parties that are excluded."

More than a month since Tripoli fell to rebel brigades backed by Nato, the National Transitional Council (NTC) has failed to expand to be more representative, generating a sense of division and drift about the future that western diplomats and many Libyans admit is worrying.

It is now clear there will be no deal before the liberation of the whole country is formally declared. That requires the defeat of Gaddafi loyalists in the deposed leader's coastal hometown of Sirte, where heavy fighting continued on Tuesday. In Bani Walid, south of Tripoli, there is a stalemate. "Consultations have led to a decision to postpone the formation of a government until after liberation," NTC member Mustafa el-Huni said in Benghazi. The scale of the political challenge ahead is enormous in a country that has not held an election since 1952 and is just emerging from 41 years of dictatorship.

Belhaj – who was transferred to Libya with the help of the CIA and MI6 to serve seven years in Gaddafi's most infamous prison – was the head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which fought in Afghanistan until abandoning its jihadi ideas and disbanding in 2009. It then became the Libyan Islamic Movement for Change.

He is seen as the leader of the country's Islamist camp, his own and like-minded rebel brigades directly armed and financed by the Gulf state of Qatar, and his military council effectively controlling the capital. The Libyan national army, which includes many former Gaddafi officers, and answers to the NTC, looks like the junior partner.

Belhaj is close to Ali Sallabi, an influential cleric who lived in exile before returning after the start of the revolution in Benghazi. Sallabi angered many Libyans in a recent interview with Qatari-owned al-Jazeera TV in which he directly attacked Mahmoud Jibril, the NTC's prime minister-designate.

Jibril is a technocratic figure who did much to drum up western support for the Libyan rebels but he has emerged as the focus for bitter debates about the future.

Jibril is resented by some for his role in promoting economic development under the aegis of Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi, the former leader's son, who was embraced by the west as a reformer until the uprising.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the NTC head, had already acknowledged that "differences in views" had delayed a deal, which is also complicated by regional rivalries.

Misrata, which suffered badly during the uprising, is insistent that its position be recognised. "We are faced with the Libyan mentality that every tribe, every region, every city has a share in the new government," Jibril said.

One analyst in Tripoli said: "Jibril and others appear to be offering an expanded NTC with some extra ministerial posts, but those outside want something much more fundamental - a fully representative council which would then elect a transitional government."

Nato said on Tuesday that about 200,000 Libyan civilians were still threatened by Gaddafi loyalists, mainly in Sirte and Bani Walid. "Remaining Gaddafi forces refuse to recognise their defeat," said a spokesman. RAF Tornados were said to have been in action on both fronts on Monday, hitting ammunition stores, a psychological warfare centre and a firing position.

Ian Black in Tripoli | guardian.co.uk,

Sirte civilians accuse NATO of genocide: "They have hit all kinds of buildings: schools, hospitals"

CIVILIANS pouring out of the besieged city of Sirte accused NATO of committing genocide yesterday as revolutionary forces reinforced their numbers and prepared for a new attack on Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's home town.

Long lines of civilian vehicles were seen leaving after a night punctuated by NATO air attacks. Forces fighting for the National Transitional Council (NTC) added their own artillery and mortar rounds at regular intervals.

Civilians, many looking scared or sullen, said that conditions inside Sirte were "disastrous". They made claims which, if verified, offer a conundrum for Nato, which operates with a UN mandate on the need to protect civilian life.

"It has been worse than awful," said Riab Safran, 28, as his car was searched by revolutionary fighters. His family had been sleeping on the beach, he said.

"They have hit all kinds of buildings: schools, hospitals," he said, referring to NATO airstrikes.

He said he could not distinguish between NATO and NTC attacks but believed it was a NATO bomb that destroyed part of his home on Saturday. NATO said it hit a number of military targets including a rocket launcher, artillery, and three ammunition stores.

Another resident said: "NATO bombing is killing civilians. Where is the United Nations? Where is the Muslim world to stop this genocide of the people of Sirte?"

The man, who gave his name as Mohammed Ali Alum Sekily, said six members of his family had been killed, but declined to give details. An eight-day-old baby brought out in one car was born on the beach, the family said.

Some of those interviewed by The Times said that Gaddafi loyalists were forcing residents to stay in the city. Others said that residents were frightened of revolutionary fighters who were rumoured to be abducting women from cars trying to leave Sirte.

NTC fighters denied the charges. I saw them offering food and water to those queueing to leave.

Residents said that power and water had run out and petrol was 400 Libyan dinars ($A330) a gallon. The water shortage has produced an epidemic of diseases, according to medical staff at a clinic in the town of Harawa, 35km east of Sirte. However, Gaddafi loyalists appeared to have plentiful stores of pasta, oil, flour and ammunition, residents said. Loyalists used an open radio channel to taunt NTC fighters, insisting that the city would never be taken.

The NTC forces checked the identity papers of those leaving against lists of known Gaddafi security personnel and senior former government figures, and they detained a number of men.

Following their unsuccessful assault on Saturday, one commander said that the NTC leadership thought that the attack was badly co-ordinated.

"We don't want to lose people, we don't want another Saturday, this was a mistake," said Omran Al Awaib from the Tiger Brigade.

The attacking forces lost eight dead and 153 wounded as they tried to move up the main road into the city. But the hard-won gains were abandoned the same evening as NTC troops retreated, leaving a barricade of sand-filled shipping containers. It has now been dismantled by Gaddafi forces.

There was almost no fighting yesterday except for long-range artillery and mortars. NTC forces were finally able to link up with reinforcements pushing towards the city from Benghazi, completing their encirclement of Sirte.

An NTC commander said that a new offensive would begin in the coming days.

THE TIMES

Tom Coghlan

From:The Times

September 27, 2011 1:27PM

"Gaddafi's billions" Where is money of Libyans? | Sarkozy | Obama | Cameron

Central Bank of Libya, the rebels captured the Transitional National Council, announced the sale of 29 tons of gold. The bank undertook these measures to "provide citizens with wages." The new head of the Central Bank Ghassem Azzoz also poined out that the bank's assets were fully preserved during the war, nothing has been stolen! Nothing! And nothing has been removed!

It is striking that as it turned out, "the corrupt tyrant" (as the "revolutionaries" had to admit, and this is worth a lot) was not tempted even by a gram of gold owned by the people. Not a gram!

However, knowing about the Colonel what we, friends of Libya, learned about him over the past six months, there's nothing strange about it. Another thing is surprising. So let's talk about it.

About a week ago, the so-called self-styled "friends of Libya" met in Paris to decide that once the capital of Libya Tripoli had been seized - it is a separate story by whom! - the Libyan people's money can be "unfreeze" and passed to the "democrats." Who are the "democrats" and why for the sake of "democracy" they had to kill thousands of Libyans - is also a separate story!

In brief, in Paris they began to count and...

When calculations were done, it turned out that on the frozen Libyan accounts there were only 15 billion. Out of the 89 or 130 ...

Stop, the West mentioned also 170 billion! And claimed that the "tyrant" ( "what a bastard!" screamed all the politicians and everybody in the West, just to defame the lion of the desert! ) stole the money from the Libyan people!

Western politics and Margelov who joined them started feeling uncomfortable, they had a talk behind closed doors and solemnly announced that they found other ten billion. 25 altogether! Out of 170 billion, frozen in March!

Western politics and Margelov who joined them started feeling uncomfortable, they had a talk behind closed doors and solemnly announced that they found other ten billion. 25 altogether! Out of 170 billion, frozen in March!

Moreover, even this amount was delivered to the "new" authorities of Libya not in the currency (the accounts were in dollars, euro, pounds and, in theory, were supposed to be returned in cash ) but they came in boxes with newly printed Libyan dinars. From London - as much as 40 tons!

Read more: I can not be silent! I can stop to cry! [libyasos]

Provas da acção desestabilizadora anti-democrática, por Justino Justo*

Excelentíssimo Senhor Director do Jornal de Angola,
Aceite os meus mais cordiais cumprimentos e os melhores votos de sucesso para si e para o Jornal que tão bem dirige.

Por vezes, coíbo-me de trazer a público questões que têm ou tiveram a ver com a nossa “longa marcha”, por considerar que mais importante do que a nossa trajectória, é a paz que conquistamos, o momento em que estamos e o futuro que pretendemos para os nossos filhos e netos.
Infelizmente, a minha vontade de falar de coisas boas choca algumas vezes com factos e práticas políticas negativas que, pela sua gravidade, não podem deixar de merecer o meu reparo e até a minha mais veemente repulsa.

Definitivamente, o meu compromisso é com a consolidação da paz e o desenvolvimento do nosso país e tudo quanto faço alicerça-se na vontade de contribuir para impedir que aqueles que se dizem democratas mas que patrocinam a desordem e o desrespeito às pessoas e às instituições do Estado, possam continuar a desfilar a raiva que nutrem pelo facto de não serem poder e de o quererem conquistar a qualquer preço, nem que para isso se tenha de apelar aos amigos externos para que testem aqui o que de mais moderno tenham em meios de destruição de vidas e de infra-estruturas.
Essa falta de ética na política, essa constrangedora falta de senso patriótico e a convicção de que nada de bom têm para nos oferecer, a não ser essa inverosímil falta de sentido de Estado e de desrespeito aos reais sentimentos nutridos pelo nosso povo (porque é visível que não têm nada de bom para nos apresentar, não têm capacidade criativa e muito menos vocação governativa), fazem com que, no estrito respeito pela minha consciência nacionalista e pelo que contribuí para que tivéssemos a Angola que hoje temos, venha, uma vez mais, a terreiro para denunciar o que me foi dado a saber sobre algumas orquestrações que têm vindo a ser maquinadas pelo Bloco Democrático.

Recordem-se que em Julho de 2010 denunciei o que estava inscrito nas Teses que estavam a ser preparadas para o II Congresso da Juventude do meu Partido, a JURA . Passado um ano não retiro absolutamente nada, porquanto está provada a sua veracidade e se dúvidas subsistirem comparem o comportamento e as atitudes de alguns dos dirigentes actuais e o que está escrito naquele texto, cuja cópia entreguei à Direcção desse Jornal.

Não reconheço, em mim, capacidades outras que não a de ser capaz de interpretar o que leio e de fazer algumas deduções lógicas. Adivinhar não é, nem nunca foi, o meu forte. Se fosse, teria redireccionado a minha trajectória política há muito mais tempo.

Mas devo, aqui e agora, relembrar duas passagens daquelas “teses” apenas para avivar a memória dos que pretendem tapar o sol com a peneira e facilitar a percepção do que direi a seguir:

1 – A JURA projecta como oportunidades, a “criação de factos” e/ou “o aproveitamento de situações que ocorram no país”, tais como “eventos políticos, sociais, económicos, culturais, desportivos, académicos, religiosos e naturais” (devem querer referir-se a calamidades de qualquer tipo), para “desgastar por todos os meios a imagem do Presidente da República”, “transferir o foco de contradições UNITA/MPLA para o Povo/MPLA, alimentando e acirrando contradições sociais e económicas entre o MPLA/Governo e o povo”, “mediante a propagação” de “denúncias permanentes” do “carácter fraudulento das eleições de 5 e 6 de Setembro de 2008, o golpe jurídico-constitucional de 21 de Janeiro de 2010” e a “ilegitimidade democrática do Presidente da República”, incitando a população a “perder o medo de manifestar-se”. Lembram-se?!

2 – “Mobilização e enquadramento político de membros e dirigentes de partidos políticos, igrejas e outras associações extintas pelo sistema” e a “cooperação com todas as forças, movimentos sociais e políticos ávidos da alternância do poder”. Sobre esta questão reitero que: “Pensar que participei no processo de libertação e na luta pela democracia e ver o Partido – UNITA – continuar a agir como um “gang de malfeitores”, é algo que me constrange sobremaneira”. Enfim… Lembram-se?!

Pois bem, a questão é que, de facto, a UNITA tem vindo a arregimentar para o seu lado os ex-FPD (hoje Bloco Democrático) usando-os como capa e pedra de arremesso, potenciando a sua capacidade inata para a crítica fácil e despudorada e a sua reconhecida capacidade para explorar tudo quanto de menos bom possa acontecer na acção governativa, seja por culpa dos actores políticos que estão no exercício do poder ou por fenómenos imputáveis à natureza. (Seria engraçado ver o Dr. Justino culpar o Executivo pelo facto do satélite ter caído no nosso território. Graças a Deus e para azar daquele político, o engenho caiu em outras paragens. Que alívio para o Executivo).

Mas o Bloco Democrático não foi de modas e, alinhando na estratégia global, inscrita nas teses da UNITA, criou, antecipadamente, um “Gabinete de Crise” chefiado pelo seu Presidente, Justino Pinto de Andrade, coadjuvado por Filomeno Vieira Lopes, cuja missão essencial é: estabelecer contactos com os demais Partidos Políticos da Oposição, entidades internacionais, amnistia internacional, órgãos de apoio aos refugiados, bem como promover a participação de diferentes grupos nas manifestações a realizar.

Qual a intenção? Então … dizem que nada têm a ver com a organização das manifestações e têm necessidade de promover a participação de pessoas? Com que objectivo?

Continuemos. A coordenação do Gabinete será apoiada por diferentes grupos. Desde logo por uma Comissão de Relações Institucionais (RINS), com a mesma chefia e as mesmas tarefas, ou seja, Justino Pinto de Andrade e Filomeno Vieira Lopes.
A Comissão de Comunicação (INFOCOM), integrada por Manuel Victória Pereira, João Amaral, Cláudio Fortuna e Branquima Afonso Kituma, tem a incumbência de: fazer colecta de informação, emitir boletins diários, convocar conferências para propagandear a preparação ou apresentar os
resultados das manifestações (criando factos ou denunciando a acção das forças policiais, culpando o regime por tudo quanto aconteça), produzir relatórios de presumíveis ocorrências, alimentar o facebook e o youtube, criar artigos para divulgação em jornais e criar histórias e factos, sempre que possível, com presos e suas famílias.

Significa isso que eles vão instigar alguns jovens para se rebelarem contra as instituições e depois fazê-los surgir na imprensa como mártires? Será que já perderam a noção do valor da vida dos jovens que eles põem, deliberadamente, em risco? Será que as famílias estão avisadas do “uso” que estão a dar aos seus filhos?

Então qual a diferença entre estes senhores do Bloco Democrático e os Numas, Libertys, Muzembas, Chilingutilas, Chiwales, Samakuvas e outros? Alguns destes ainda sabem o quanto nos custou fazer a guerra e perdê-la. E estes senhores do Bloco Democrático? Sabem mesmo o quanto sofremos para poder estar onde estamos e dar alguma tranquilidade às nossas famílias?

Sabendo do que estão a preparar para os nossos filhos e netos, criaram uma Comissão de Apoio Jurídico (APOJUR), integrada por Luís do Nascimento, Nelson Pestana “Bonavena”, Lisdália Paula e David Mendes (Mãos Livres – antigo dirigente de um Partido Político).

Mandam os nossos jovens para a rua (não vi nenhum deles na manifestação e, muito menos, a promoverem a arruaça que mandaram realizar) e depois, se tiverem problemas com as autoridades, surgem os salvadores da pátria.

Não está na hora da própria Ordem dos Advogados posicionar-se em relação a esses seus integrantes que põem em causa a imagem e credibilidade da classe e vilipendiam os valores humanos e os deveres de profissão? Para que serve a Ordem? Ou será que devemos entender a Ordem dos Advogados apenas como mais um sindicato corporativo cujo fim se delimita na defesa de direitos e interesses dos representados? Não é esse o meu entendimento. Por isso mesmo, reclamo uma maior intervenção da Comissão de Ética daquela Instituição. Estou certo ou errado?

Para concretizar o atrás dito, o Bloco Democrático criou também uma Comissão de Relação com os Familiares daqueles que tiverem problemas com as autoridades. É coordenada por Francisco Guedes, e segundo eles, contactar as famílias ajuda a moralizá-las e contactar os presos permite alimentar a informação pública, dando a imagem de que se tratam apenas de vítimas do regime.

Até quando as nossas famílias se vão deixar manipular por gente que põe, sem qualquer tipo de sentimento que não seja o do simples aproveitamento da sua ingenuidade, a vida dos seus próprios entes em risco? Até quando?

A máscara do Bloco Democrático caiu definitivamente com a criação da Comissão de Mobilização, integrada por João Baruba, Pedro Candungo e Adão Ramos, cuja missão principal é arranjar jovens disponíveis para aderir às arruaças e propor acções a realizar no âmbito da tentativa de descredibilização da figura do Presidente da República e do seu Executivo.

Para dar mais brilho à sua acção desestabilizadora, o Bloco Democrático criou uma Comissão de Apoio às Cadeias (APOCA). Julgo que queriam dizer “aos Presos”, porquanto a sua função principal é encaminhar comida e livros aos detidos e organizar grupos de visita para pressionar os órgãos do Estado, na tentativa de demonstrar a existência de arbitrariedades, desrespeitando, por completo, todos os regulamentos e regras que existam naquelas instituições prisionais.

Ou seja, o próprio Bloco Democrático, sabendo da intenção com que promove as arruaças, criou todo um quadro organizativo para minimizar os efeitos nefastos da sua acção em relação àqueles que usam para os seus fins macabros.

Com que moral estes senhores se arrogam ao direito de surgir como defensores de direitos humanos quando eles usam jovens inocentes e desprovidos de senso político, para seus fins desestabilizadores?

Com que moral o senhor Justino Pinto de Andrade e os seus seguidores pretendem dar lições de democracia e de respeito pelos nossos concidadãos quando eles próprios, sem um mínimo de sentido humanitário, orientam jovens para destruírem bens públicos e de outros cidadãos que nada têm a ver com a sua raiva desmedida e o seu incontido desejo de um dia integrar o poder, qualquer que seja o preço a pagar? Com que moral?
O quê que diferencia o comportamento do senhor Justino, do Numa ou do Makuta

Nkondo? (que nunca vi nos mais de trinta anos que estou na UNITA, nem sei como surgiu como Deputado e a fazer ameaças que nos fazem lembrar os piores momentos da nossa trajectória. Aliás, espero bem que se continue a pressionar para organizarmos o próximo Congresso e resolvermos, definitivamente, algumas questões. Gente que não nos conhece, não sabe o que fizemos pelo país e suja o nosso passado, deve ser tirado a favor de outros que conhecendo bem o nosso ideário, possam fazer sobreviver o que de bom ainda temos).
Mas, então qual é a diferença? Na minha opinião, nenhuma.

O senhor Justino Pinto de Andrade, pessoa pela qual, mesmo sem conhecer, sempre nutri algum respeito, deixou de ser, pelo menos para mim, o analista político com alguma qualidade, embora nem sempre partilhasse dos seus pontos de vista, pela forma parcial e obstinadamente negativa como conduzia muitos dos seus raciocínios, para passar a ser mais um makutazito, sem qualidade e sem capacidade de se impor pela positiva.

É triste ver como um patriota fervoroso na luta contra o colonialismo, se transformou num politiqueiro medíocre, despojado dos valores mínimos capazes de congregar vontades em torno de um projecto maior, onde o exercício democrático assenta na escolha popular e o poder político se conquista nas urnas. Que triste…

Permitam-me o desabafo: “Senhor Justino Pinto de Andrade, para se ser democrata não basta parecer”. Ajude-se a si próprio. Repense nas prioridades para a melhoria da vida do nosso Povo e logo perceberá que a arruaça, a desordem e a confusão só servirão aqueles que, com isso, podem continuar a encher os bolsos com cifrões do nosso sangue.

Com o reforço da nossa acção política, enquanto oposição, e a nossa união em torno do processo democrático, estaremos a contribuir mais e melhor em prol de Angola e do nosso povo.

Sabemos que não ganharemos as próximas eleições, mas também sabemos que, unidos, podemos reduzir significativamente, o fosso que nos separa daqueles que hoje exercem, por direito, o poder político no nosso País.
Sabemos das diferenças que nos separam, mas temos de ser capazes de perceber que os ventos árabes jamais soprarão em Angola e que, não obstante isso, a viragem é possível.

A democracia é uma dádiva conquistada e é o único rumo capaz de nos permitir contribuir para termos amanhã, a Angola dos nossos sonhos de sempre.
Espero, sinceramente, que o Pedro Seke, a Jeaneth Kalema e o Cláudio Fortuna, não precisem mais de perder tempo com listas de indivíduos presos por desrespeito ao próximo. Que os seus piquetes sejam usados para introduzir na internet informações sobre coisas boas que o Bloco Democrático tenha feito, ou queira fazer, a favor de Angola e do nosso Povo, incluindo sobre manifestações pacíficas para reivindicação de direitos constitucionalmente protegidos.

Fica a minha promessa de voltar, dentro de dias, para trazer outros factos que permitam um melhor conhecimento sobre a insurreição com que se pretende brindar ao nosso Povo.

Continuo a apelar às Instituições do Estado para que levem a sério as denúncias que vou fazendo. Conheço e respeito o serviço de inteligência, mas é bom perceber que a nossa experiência de vida pode constituir-se num filão de segurança e de prosperidade. Os que me conhecem do passado, sabem bem do que falo.

A bem de Angola.

24 de Setembro, 2011

Justino Justo - Militante da UNITA

STOP US WARS AROUND THE WORLD - What can we do?

 

The words that former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara recently used concerning the war that he promoted in Vietnam can be applied to all of our interventionist military adventures: "We were wrong, terribly wrong." McNamara didn't appreciate the advice offered by another Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipient, General David Shoup, and had him removed as Commandant.

General Shoup said: I believe that if we had, and would, keep our dirty, bloody, dollar soaked fingers out of the business of these (third World) nations, so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own. And if unfortunately their revolution must be of the violent type, because the 'haves' refuse to share with the 'have nots' by any peaceful method, at least what they get will be their own, and not American style, which they don't want and, above all, don't want crammed down their throats by Americans."

And more recently Rummy didn't listen to Marine Corps General "They've screwed up" Anthony Zinni who said that invading Iraq was a strategic blunder.

Years ago, General Butler said: "Looking back, Woodrow Wilson was re-elected President in 1916 on a platform he had "kept us out of war." Yet, five months later he asked Congress to declare war on Germany. . . What caused our government to change its mind so suddenly? MONEY."

What can we do to stop the madness? First, fight recruiting and the coming draft. Studies for the Army show parents are the top obstacles to recruiting. "Opposition to . . . military service is increasing significantly among both moms and dads," says a study of 1,200 potential recruits by the firm Millward Brown. Another look at potential recruits, by GfK Custom Research, found that the biggest influences in candidates' decisions to join were mothers, named by 81% of respondents, followed by fathers, at 70%. "Reach the parents with the Army's new message, particularly moms," the study urges. But General Butler had another message.

Smedley Butler said: "The government declares war. To say helplessly: As individuals we have nothing to do with it, we can't prevent it. But WHO ARE WE? Well, WE right now are the mothers and fathers of every able-bodied boy of military age in the United States. "WE" are also you young men of voting age and over, that they'll use for cannon fodder. And "WE" can prevent it. Now--you MOTHERS particularly. The only way you can resist all this war hysteria and beating tomtoms is by hanging on to the love you bear your boys. When you listen to some well-worded, well-delivered war speech, just remember that it's nothing but Sound. It's your boy that matters. And no amount of sound can make up to you for the loss of your boy."

Various anti-recruit, anti-draft and anti-serve organizations are listed at the "links."

It's important to end the current involvement, and even more important to prevent future ones. The war racket has been able to flourish and expand, for the benefit of corporations and not for the people, because our governmental leaders and representatives are not sufficiently constrained by the Constitution in its present form.

Smedley Butler said: "If we really want to make it impossible to have our young men sent abroad to fight the wars of others, then let us by all means insist upon adding the Peace Amendment to the Constitution of the United States."

The ongoing war in Iraq is a poster child for war is a racket for all of the reasons previously covered. Let's make sure that we end it and don't go there again. Our principal overseas bases in Germany and Korea are anachronisms which should have been shuttered long ago. Germany's standard of living is higher than ours and South Korea doesn't need us to defend their Hyundai and Kia auto export plants. And we need to recall the secret, provocative military units now operating under Presidential order in various countries around the world.

We must change our national military policy from one which makes us the last imperial empire in the world to one which restores us to the family of nations who enjoy peace and prosperity. We'd be in accordance with the US National Defense Strategy, which states: "The United States and its allies and partners have a strong interest in protecting the sovereignty of nation states. In the secure international order that we seek, states must be able to effectively govern themselves and order their affairs as their citizens see fit. Nevertheless, they must exercise their sovereignty responsibly, in conformity with the customary principles of international law, as well as with any additional obligations that they have freely accepted. It is unacceptable for regimes to use the principle of sovereignty as a shield behind which they claim to be free to engage in activities that pose enormous threats to their citizens, neighbors, or the rest of the international community."

The US Constitution has no provision for foreign military adventures. It provides only "for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions."

We'd also be in accordance with the United Nations Charter, which disallows aggression.

Chapter I, Article 2 of the United Nations Charter: All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

We need to put the priority back on the people rather than on war-racket profits. It would make us more secure by strengthening our domestic base, heartening our people and making us less disliked abroad.

Smedley Butler said: "The United States is in no danger whatever of military invasion. Even the Navy and War Departments, which are always preparing for war, and the State Department, which is always talking about peace but thinking about war, agree on that. By reason of our geographical position, it is all but impossible for any foreign power to muster, transport and land sufficient troops on our shores for a successful invasion."

We can do it and we will!

Source

TAKE PART IN THE E- MAIL CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE U.S./NATO WAR IN LIBYA !

Promoted by Rete No War and U.S. Citizens for Peace & Justice – Rome

Take just a few easy steps to send e-mails to non-belligerent members on the UN Security Council, calling on them to take a stand against the military intervention and to support and promote a negotiated resolution/peace.

Blackberry Tips and Tricks – All about Blackberry’s life

The following tips and tricks have been compiled over the years (since I started using a model 950 in 1999) from many sources on the Internet, RIM tech support, user manuals, and from simply playing around with Blackberry handhelds. Some of these may or may not apply to your handheld. Just how useful you find them may depend on things like: the model of handheld you own, which carrier you use, the software version installed, how your handheld is configured, any IT policies in place, and of course your own personal preferences and needs. Although many of the following tips and tricks will still apply, owners of Blackberry handhelds that feature SureType keyboards (i.e. 7100 and 8100 series) should look for additional ‘tips and tricks’ that are specific to their handheld.
Terminology
On this site and other websites, you may see the words (with or without a space or hyphenation) 'thumbwheel', 'scrollwheel', 'trackwheel', or 'wheelbutton' used interchangeably. RIM has often called this special button (that can be clicked and rolled much like a wheel mouse) a "thumb-operated trackwheel" in their documentation.
You may see the words 'ribbon' and 'home screen' used interchangeably.
The Blackberry handheld is often simply referred to as the ‘handheld’. BB and HH are common abbreviation also.
ALT key – Has half moon on top of it (or is orange on older models). Left side of keyboard below the ‘A’ key.
CAP key – Bottom right key (AKA SHIFT key) next to the space key.
SYM key – Can be used to enter less-often used characters in email messages, browser URLs, etc.
In General
1) Hold the ALT key while you roll the trackwheel to scroll horizontally in any field where you can enter or view text.
2) Hold the ALT key while you roll the trackwheel to scroll through a field to view options. Pressing the space key may let you cycle through the options as well.
3) Hold the CAP key while you roll the trackwheel to select multiple items in a list.
4) Type the first letter of an item in an options list or menu to jump directly to that item.
5) Type the first letters of a name or the initials separated by a space to find a contact in the Address Book screen.
6) Press the 'C' key to compose a new message from the home screen or within Messages or Save Messages [Note: This option disappeared in newer firmware but can be added back via a third party app]. If 'Enable Quick Entry' is set to 'NO' (Calendar/Options), then the 'C' key can be used to create a new appointment/meeting request while in the Calendar. See the calendar section below.
7) Rearrange the ribbon: In the Home screen (ribbon), hold the ALT key and click the trackwheel to bring up a menu. You can then select Move Icon, Hide Icon, or Show All. If you hide an icon, to show it again click Show all and it will appear with an X over it, bring up the menu on it and uncheck hide icon.
8) The Blackberry display can be backlit to allow reading messages in low light conditions. To get the light to come on, hit the backlight button usually in the lower right of the keyboard. Newer models also have a backlit keyboard as well so you can see the keys as you type if needed. The light goes out automatically after a few seconds of inactivity. The latest models with current handheld software allow you to change the timeout value (up to 2 minutes) and the level of brightness (2 step).

Note for C++ Model users: To get the display backlit, you need to press the ALT (orange) key quickly three times.

9) Turning the radio off and back on when coverage is spotty and you've lost signal seems to help on some handhelds.
10) Set Owner info and password protect your blackberry: Go to the Options menu, then to the Owner item, and enter your name, and additional information (such as an alternate phone number for you). Under Options menu, Security item, make sure you have ‘Password’ set to ‘Enabled’ and an adequate ‘Security Timeout’ value specified. [Note: these settings may be changed/enforced via an IT policy]When the security timeout kicks in (or you manually lock your device), the owner info you specified will be displayed on the handheld screen. If someone finds your lost handheld, this can give them enough information (and possibly an incentive if you include the word ‘REWARD’) to return the device to you.
11) If you have password protected your Blackberry (you should!) in the previous tip: [Note: these settings may be changed/enforced via an IT policy] After five incorrect attempts at typing in your password, the password starts echoing (figuring you really need all the help you can get). After ten attempts, it performs a lobotomy on itself and almost all data is cleared. The Memo database, however, may be retained and visible. Note for older C++ Model users: This will wipe data AND applications requiring a complete reload!  Siemens SK6R users: Your handheld will need to be sent in for service!
12) To support more than one signature: Wipe out your auto-signature in the Redirector of the Desktop Manager software, or on the Blackberry itself if using handheld software v4.0+ (Messages/Options/Email Settings/Use Auto Signature), and just use 'AutoText' to configure alternate signatures.  See the next tip on using AutoText.
13) Use AutoText to help you compose messages with fewer key strokes:  From the home screen, go to Options, then AutoText. A lot of AutoText entries have already been created for you. You can modify or delete existing entries, and even add your own. Entire boiler-plate responses can be entered here! Custom signatures, favorite quote/taglines, etc. can be stored, and then recalled in a message just by typing a few characters (that you specify) and pressing the space key. If you every want to use those exact characters in a message (i.e. not have the text you type replaced with an AutoText entry), you can simply hold down the CAP key as you press the space key. If you forget to do this (or maybe you just didn’t know there was an AutoText entry defined with those characters), you can hit backspace and this will ‘undo’ the AutoText expansion/replacement. Some of the stock AutoText entries rely on special macros (which you can also use in your own entries). Some of these macros are not available on all handhelds.  See the ‘Composing a Message’ tips on down in the list for examples of stock AutoText entries that use these special macros.
14) On blackberry models that include a phone, you can turn off the display of phone call logs in the Message list area. In the Home screen (ribbon), using the trackwheel and click the phone, click the trackwheel again and select options, Then Call Logging. Note that even with Call Logging turned off, you can still use the ALT-p and ALT-v shortcuts mentioned below to see the phone log and voicemail messages when needed.
15) ALT-CAP-Backspace will reboot your Blackberry handheld.
Messages
While in the Messages list there are many shortcuts and often over-looked features that can aid you in reading, composing, and cleaning up your email (some of these work in tasks, memos, and appointments also).
Searching/Filtering/Marking:
ALT-i: show only incoming mail
ALT-o: show only outgoing mail (messages you have sent - i.e. checkmark icon)
ALT-p: show phone log messages (on handhelds that are also a phone)
ALT-s: show SMS messages (on handhelds that support SMS)
ALT-v: show Voicemail messages (on handhelds that are also a phone)
ALT-d: (iDEN only) show a direct connect log in the message list
ALT-m: show MMS messages (on handhelds that support MMS)

Note: The ALT shortcuts above are just saved searches. Some of them may not be applicable to your device. You can create your own, or edit existing ones. Please see the Saved Searchestip below.

ALT-u: Press this key combination to toggle a single message as Read or Unread. Note that there is currently no way to filter the message list to show only unread messages. You can press the ‘u’ key to jump to the next unread message (see Navigating below).
h: toggle Hide Filed Messages setting on/off
i: file currently highlighted message(s)
s: go to the Search screen
v: show Saved Messages
Navigating:
Escape: close message listing and return to home screen (ribbon)
Backspace\DEL:  Delete the currently selected message(s)
Spacebar: page down
CAP + Spacebar: page up
t: go to top of the message listing
b: go to bottom of the message listing
c: Compose a new message
u: go to the next unread message
e: go to the next delivery error message
n: jump to next day of messages
p: jump to previous day of messages
r: reply to the currently selected message
l: reply-all to the currently selected message
f: forward the currently selected message
j: go to the previous message in the thread (of the currently selected message)
k: go to the next message in the thread (of the currently selected message)
Saved Searches:
Many people love to use the search hotkeys listed above (i.e. ALT-i), but few realize that these are just saved searches. These existing saved searches can be edited, and new one can be created, by following these steps:
1) If not already in Messages, click Messages from the home screen.
2) Click the trackwheel and then select 'Search' from the menu.
3) If you are creating a new saved search from scratch, skip this step and move on to step #4. To edit an existing search, click the trackwheel and select 'Recall' from the menu. Select the saved search in the list, click the trackwheel and select 'Edit Search' from the list (note that here is where you can delete a saved search also). 
4) Fill in, or change all the desired search critera.
5) Click the trackwheel and select 'Save' from the menu. This is the final step if you are editing an existing saved search.
6) If you are creating a new search, you will need to give your search a title and optional specify a shortcut key. Once you have done this, click the trackwheel and again select 'Save' from the menu.
To get you started, I'll describe one of my first custom searches: I compose lots of messages every day on my Blackberry handheld. Often I have to stop short of sending a message, so I save it as a draft message that I can go back and finish later. Unfortunately many new messages may come in before I get a chance to go back and finish those draft messages. To make sure no draft message gets forgotten, I created a custom saved search to find them. To duplicate this, follow the steps listed above for creating a new saved search. At step #4, scroll down to the 'Show' field. Press the space key to cycle through the available values. Stop when you see 'Draft Only'.  This will be the only thing we change now (you can go back and refine it later if you like). Now continue on to step #5 to save the search. In step #6 I gave this saved search a title of Draft Messages and assigned the 'd' shortcut key to it  (so it can be invoked via ALT-d). This shortcut key assignment works fine for me as I use a VZW 8703e, but if you use a Blackberry handheld that supports direct connect calls (i.e. Nextel) , you will need to pick another letter. Once you click Save for the final time in step #6, the saved search will be executed. If at any time you want to interrupt this seach (or any search), press the escape key.
Specifying where messages are deleted:
With email reconciliation enabled, many people prefer to be prompted as to whether deleted messages are removed on the handheld only, or from both the handheld and their mailbox. To configure the handheld to prompt you as to which action to take when you delete a message:
1) If not already in Messages, click Messages from the home screen.
2) Click the trackwheel and then select 'Options' from the menu.
3) ** Scroll down and click on 'Email Reconciliation' with the trackwheel. [Note: You many need to skip this step if your Blackberry has older firmware]
4) Make sure ‘Wireless Reconcile’ is set to ‘On’.
5) Change the option ‘Delete On’ to be ‘Prompt’.
Deleting multiple messages at once:
1) Hold down the CAP key and use the trackwheel to scroll up or down to select messages. Click the trackwheel and select 'Delete Messages'.
2) Highlight a date (i.e. Tue, July 20, 2004) in the message list; hit the trackwheel and select 'delete prior'. All messages prior to that date will be deleted. Important Note: If you have your Blackberry configured to automatically delete messages from your mailbox on the server when you delete them from the Blackberry, using this trick will NOT cause the messages to be removed from your mailbox on the server. So this is a good way to clean out the messages on your blackberry without worrying about having them deleted on the mail server.
Combine these with a searching/filtering tip to make it even more useful. Example:  To delete the last 5 outgoing messages (sent messages with a checkmark), press 'ALT' then the letter 'o' (for outgoing) this will show all of your sent messages. Then per the above tip, use the CAP key to select the last five messages. Click the trackwheel and select 'Delete Messages'.
While in a Message
Navigating:
Enter or spacebar: scroll down a page/screen at a time
ALT-enter or CAP + Spacebar: scroll back a page/screen at a time
b: scroll to end of page
t: scroll to top of page
u: jump to closest unread message
n: jump to next message
p: jump to previous message
Escape: close message and return to message listing
Backspace\DEL: Delete the currently opened mesage
r: reply to this message
l: reply-all to this message
f: forward this message
s: search for a word in the message
i: file current message
q: toggle between friendly name and SMTP address for a selected address in the header (like 'Show Address' and 'Show Name')
Selecting Text (OS v2.1+)
There are a few ways to select text:
1) Press the CAP key and then scroll the trackwheel to select. If you release the CAP key and scroll the trackwheel you will select entire lines. Press the CAP key again at any time to start selecting by character again.
2) Hold down ALT key + CLICK the trackwheel (click it don't hold it down), release the trackwheel and then use it to scroll whole lines. You can press and hold the ALT key at anytime to start selecting by character again.
3) Click the trackwheel and pick 'SELECT' from the menu. Scroll the trackwheel to select entire line. Click scroll wheel again and select copy.
Cut/Copy: After selecting text, click the trackwheel and select 'Cut Selection' or 'Copy Selection'
Paste: Click the trackwheel, and then select 'Paste Selection'.
NUM/CAP Lock
Turn on NUM lock:  Press CAP + ALT
Turn off NUM lock: Press ALT or CAP
Turn on CAP lock:  Press ALT + CAP
Turn off CAP lock: Press CAP
Composing a Message
1) Press and hold a letter to capitalize it (with Key Rate enabled).
2) Press the SPACE key twice to insert a period and capitalize the next letter.
3) Press the SPACE key to insert the '@' and '.' characters in an Email field. The first time the space key is pressed while in an email field, an '@' character will be inserted, any subsequent uses of the space key will insert a period. Thus if the email address is: "first.last@domain.com" you will need to type the first period. To prevent this character substitution, hold down the CAP key as you press the space key, or press the backspace key after the fact to undo (this behavior is identical to that of using AutoText).
4) Press and hold a letter key and roll the trackwheel to scroll through international/accent characters, equation symbols and other marks.
5) You can insert certain information about your blackberry into email messages. For instance, typing "mynumber" (without the quotes) and pressing space will insert your Blackberry's phone number (If your blackberry is also a phone). Likewise typing "myPIN" (without the quotes) and pressing space will insert your Blackberry's PIN. For iDEN phones (Nextel/Telus), you can type "mydcid" (without the quotes) and press space to insert your DIRECT CONNECT number. These are simply AutoText entries that use macros. You can edit these or roll your own using the same macros. Example: I create Autotext entries for 'mycell' and 'myphone' to be the same as 'mynumber'.   
Calendar 
(with "Enable Quick Entry" set to 'No')
n: Go to the next day, week or months (depending on view)
p: Go to the previous day, week or month (depending on view)
t:  Go to "Today" in the Calendar screen.
g: Go to a specific date in the Calendar screen.
a: Switch to Agenda view.
d: Switch to Day view.
w: Switch to Week view.
Meeting Requests
This tip is more a reminder for how to create Meeting Requests for conference calls in Outlook so that when recipients open the Meeting Request on their Blackberry, they can make the call (complete with conference/pass code) without manually dialing any numbers. In the location field use an x or ext between the number and the pass code.  Tag the # key on the end if needed.
18665555555x12345#
   or
18665555555ext12345#
You can pad it out with spaces as much as you like and it still works:
+1 (866) 555-5555 x12345#
+1 (866) 555-5555    x    12345#
+1 (866) 555-5555 ext12345#
+1 (866) 555-5555    ext    12345#
Now when a phone number in one of the above formats is clicked on the Blackberry, the number will be dialed and a popup will be presented to send the pass code.
Battery
The largest draw on a battery is the transmitter.  A few things that drain the battery:
1) Frequent phone use.
2) Being in fringe or no coverage areas will eat up your battery as it attempts to transmit. If you're in an area that is out of range, turn your handheld's radio off manually or use Options / Auto On Off to conserve battery life.
3)  Third party applications that must communicate frequently to maintain state (like some IM clients).
Heavy use of the backlight will also drain your battery.

Note: Extended/high capacity batteries can be purchased for some of the blackberry handhelds.

For the older C++ models that use AA batteries: Generally speaking (you can get higher rated ones) rechargeable batteries only last about half as long as standard alkaline battery. Energizer e2 Photo Lithium batteries tend to last the longest. However, they are more expensive and when they finally start to go, have another on hand because they drain quickly at that point.
Geek Tips (All models)
1) Rather than looking at the bars, you can change the display of the 'signal strength' to read in real numbers. While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL. The bars should change to read numbers. For the 'signal strength', if you are in the 100 area (that means -100 dBm), you will be transmitting at maximum power, and since coverage is hit and miss at this weak a signal, you may end up transmitting many times before the packets make it through. This might help explain any poorer than normal battery life. I consider anything at -90 to -50 excellent. To get the bars back: While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL again.
2) Hold down the ALT key -AND- the CAP key at the same time, then press the letter 'h'. This brings up the "Help Me!" screen that lists version, app version, pin, imei, uptime, signal strength, battery level, file free, and file total.
3) Hold down the ALT while you type LGLG. This brings up the event log where you can clear events (frees some memory), view them or copy the contents to mail to someone. You can also change the level of logging here.
Old Geek Tips (older C++ models only)
1) ON any C++ model (i.e. 85x and 95x models), hold down the ALT (Orange) key and type "DBON" to display battery and signal strength as numbers. ALT+DBOFF returns to bars. Note: Although this trick does not work on the new Java-based models, both values are displayed in Options, Status on those models.
2) Hold down the orange ALT (orange) key -AND- the CAP key at the same time, then the letter 'b'. This will show you the 'Device Status' screen with extended battery info and other stuff. This tip should work from any screen.
3) Hold down the ALT (orange) key -AND- the CAP key at the same time, then the letter 'r'. This will show you the 'Radio Status' screen. Clicking on some of the info opens up news windows. Pressing the letter 'p' while on the 'Radio Status' screen sends a packet to the network which will send your Blackberry an acknowledgement in return. This is useful if you are in a weak signal area and want to stop your Blackberry from searching for other sites. You can do this and your Blackberry might stay there long enough to let you send that message that you might normally be in a too weak of an area to send. Also, pressing the letter "b" on this screen will get you the same 'Device Status' screen as tip #2 above. This tip should also work from any screen.
4) On a Blackberry that uses the Mobitex network (950 and 957 models) you may be able to switch towers. Go into the Radio Info screen as explained in tip #3. Type in REJ (which stands for Reject current tower). You won't see anything typed in, and sometimes this requires more than one try.
Carrier Tips/Codes
Verizon:
Call ##000000 - CDMA Service Program Edit Screen
Call *228 (option 2) - Update PRL OTA (Preferred Roaming List  - Over The Air).  The way to go.
Call *22899 - Activate phone and update PRL OTA. No additional prompts. VZW customer support use to recommend this, but now it seems to not be a good option for phones.
The Preferred Roaming List (PRL) is a list that a CDMA device (your Blackberry handheld in this case) uses when it attempts to locate and connect to cellular systems/towers. Your handheld can find and use a system not listed in the PRL, but it will try to use what is in the PRL first. Other connection issues aside, this can be a problem with data devices as when roaming you want to use a carrier that your provider has a data roaming (not just voice) agreement with [Note: similar issues exist with GSM/GPRS carriers and their roaming partners]. Because of issues like this it is often recommended that Verizon Wireless customers (and customers of other CDMA carriers) perform a PRL OTA update every couple of months; as the PRL is updated periodically to reflect new or updated information for other carriers which your provider has roaming agreements with, additional carrier frequencies being used in an area, and new cell towers (and new transmittion sites on exiting towers) added within your carriers own network.
Nextel:
After entering the 'Help Me!' screen (See Geek Tips). You can enter trace mode by typing: ZAML
Mailbox Clean Up
[Note: This section was written specifically for Blackberry handheld owners that use Outlook to access an Exchange server and have a BES account - others may still find some of the info useful]
If your mailbox has size limits (Email quotas), you may be prohibited from sending (and in some organizations even receiving) any new email until you reduce the amount of email already present in your mailbox. Not being able to send an important email because your mailbox is full can be frustrating to say the least. Cleaning up your mailbox is generally much easier on a PC (where you may have better searching, sorting and archival tools), but you can do a lot of it from the Blackberry.
Delete message that are no longer needed. These messages must not only be deleted on your handheld, but from your mailbox as well. To make sure you are deleting the messages on your mailbox, please review the ‘Specifying where messages are deleted’ aforementioned tip.  After deleting the messages, you can click the trackwheel and chose ‘Reconcile Now’ to speed up the process if needed, but please use this option sparingly as frequent use can degrade server performance. After deleting the messages, you may still need to remove them from your Deleted Items folder.
To Purge/Empty Deleted Items:
1) Go into Messages from the home screen.
2) Click the trackwheel and then select 'Options' from the menu.
3) ** Scroll down and click on 'Email Reconciliation' with the trackwheel. [Note: You many need to skip this step if your Blackberry has older firmware]
4) Click the trackwheel again, and select 'Purge Deleted Items' from menu.
Give this process a little time before trying to send another message. Remember that any item in your mailbox goes against your limit. If you still find that you are over your limit, you might have other items such as Tasks, Calendar, Contacts, etc. that you can delete.
Notes On Wireless Reconciliation
If messages deleted on the desktop are not deleted on the handheld, it can often be caused by one of following (assuming wireless email reconciliation is enabled on the BES and handheld):
1) The messages have been moved to a PST or manually "hard deleted" in Outlook. A "hard delete" is done by holding down the shift key as you delete a message. Messages deleted in this manner bypass the "Deleted Items" folder. Messages must go to the "Deleted Items" folder AND stay there long enough for reconciliation to occur. Which brings up #2...
2) Messages must stay in the "Deleted Items" folder long enough for wireless email reconciliation to occur. This can take some time. Outlook 2003+ in cached mode will add an additional slight delay to this as well. Wireless email reconciliation will not occur if messages are deleted and then the "Deleted Items" folder is immediately emptied (either by manually doing so or if "Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting" is checked in Outlook/Tools/Options/Other and the customer exits Outlook right after deleting messages).
BES batch processing delays that may affect how quickly reconciliation is performed: The wireless email reconciliation feature implemented between a handheld and a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES), processes requests in batches. As messages are handled (read, deleted, moved, etc.), these modifications are queued up and sent to the BES for batch processing. Batching delays the wireless synchronization of folders and message status while the information is being queued and the batches are being created. The batching process is designed to regulate the amount of wireless traffic the BES has to process so that it does not become inundated with requests that the worker threads need to process. Heavy wireless traffic from wireless email reconciliation, as well as other wireless features, can cause the performance of the BES to degrade and may result in noticeable delays in reconciliation.
You can find more general usage tips in the User's Guide.
Gerald W. Gaston
Footnotes:
** Older versions of the handheld software may not have the sub-menu option mentioned (i.e. 'Email Reconciliation'). Simply skip over this step if possible or consult the documentation for your handheld.

Copyright © 2004-2007 Gerald's Tools