Winks Blog

Sunday, October 31, 2010

A new day and Happy Halloween

Wishing everyone a terrific day and happy Halloween!

Friday, October 15, 2010

You tube

I cannot sign into my youtube account. Anyone else with this problem? I am totally frustrated.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

A new day

Just curious, when will a new day come? A new day when every man just empties the chambers of his every gun and says: "I'm done"? I'm afraid, at least in this lifetime I will not see a single day of world peace. Do you think it would be possible if even for only 120 seconds during the day, that the entire world can hault killing and the hurting of others (I'm including physically and verbally). 120 seconds of meditation perhaps - anything that will make people just stop? Wouldn't it be amazing? How to start a world-wide movement, across all boundaries and cultures and barriers?

Thursday, February 11, 2010

I'm tired.

Hey Folks,
True confession here. I am finished. No more reports of Iraqi killings. I will not report on Afghanistan. I have decided that I need to transition and move my energy towards something else. My heart will always be with those Iraqi's who's lives have been everything from destroyed to displaced, to irrevocably changed because of Mr. Bush's push of the green button. If I could apologize for my country, I would. Alas, I cannot apologize for everyone here, because, believe it or not, there are people here who still think that Bush did the right thing. Rather, I can only apologize for what Mr. Bush did. I am sorry. I am SO very sorry. If there was anything I could have done to stop this I would have. No apology will ever be great enough to bring back the dead, wounded, displaced or injured. I will continue to pray for the healing of all those so negatively impacted by the impotency of this man, we used to call our president. I have some hope for the direction that our current President has. At least he is making plans to get troops out of Iraq (Albeit leaving some American presence behind). His target and our hard earned American resources (Even while we are in the depth of huge unemployment and recession) is going to Afghanistan, and to removing of Mr. Bin Ladin. Mr. Obama and the US Military can look high and low, shoot a million missles, and in the end, should the US destroy their target... I should ask you: What will really change? How will we have been improved?

So friends, this is how I must leave this chapter. I want to feel hope, I want to feel peace, but in truth, I cannot. I can only pray for healing, healing for us all. Healing in particular for the Iraqis.

I am going to give some thought to my next blog and continue with that soon.

In the meantime, I wish you everything good.
Have a good day,
wink

Saturday, December 05, 2009

"Change we can believe in"?

Hey Folks, well... Mr. Obama has authorized the infusion of 30,000 people.. oops.. I mean troops, into Afghanistan (which we have been occupying for nearly 8 years). I have to admit, I do not understand why he's doing this, nor do, I believe most Americans. I think the idea is to help Afghan government not let the Taliban take over the country. If Taliban takes over Afghanistan, they will allow Al Queda (Those responsible for 9/11). Mr. Obama says this is not an open ended occupation and in 2012 US people I mean troops, will leave. I am not holding my breath, and for real, who knows how effective this will be. All I know is that this blog will hence, cover the brutal murders that occur within "Afpak" Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the bloodshed that continues in Iraq.

So henceforth, I'm going to re-tool here and share with the world, the stories of bloodshed that stain the computer screens of this country.

Best wishes for an excellent day to all.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

10-25-09 Bomb Kills 136+ Injurs 500+

Good afternoon.
Violence continues.
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two powerful suicide car bombs blew up outside the Justice Ministry and city government offices in downtown Baghdad Sunday, killing at least 136 people in the deadliest attack in more than two years. Iraqi leaders said the attacks aimed to disrupt political progress in the months leading up to January's crucial elections.

While violence has dropped dramatically in the country since the height of the sectarian tensions, the latest bombings underscored the precarious nature of the security gains and the insurgency's abilities to still pull off devastating attacks in the center of what is supposed to be one of Baghdad's most secure areas.

The street where the blasts occurred had just been reopened to vehicle traffic six months ago. Shortly after, blast walls were repositioned to allow traffic closer to the government buildings. Such changes were touted by Iraq's prime minister as a sign that safety was returning to the city.

"The perpetrators of these treacherous and despicable acts are no longer hiding their objective but to the contrary, they publicly declare that they are targeting the state ... and aiming at blocking the political process, halting it and destroying what we have achieved in the last six years," President Jalal Talabani said.

President Barack Obama condemned the "outrageous attacks," saying they "reveal the hateful and destructive agenda of those who would deny the Iraqi people the future that they deserve."

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the "savage" suicide bombings attacks will not succeed in undermining Iraq's progress toward stability, self-reliance and justice based on the rule of law.

There have been no claims of responsibility so far, but massive car bombs have been the hallmark of the Sunni insurgents seeking to overthrow the country's Shiite-dominated government.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki blamed al-Qaida and members of deposed regime of Saddam Hussein for the blasts aiming to "block the political process and the elections."

"The cowardly terrorist acts will not break the will of the Iraqi people to continue the political process," al-Maliki said in a statement.

Black smoke billowed from the frantic scene, as emergency service vehicles sped to the area to treat the nearly 600 wounded. Even civilian cars were being commandeered to transport the wounded to hospitals.

"The walls collapsed and we had to run out," said Yasmeen Afdhal, 24, an employee of the Baghdad provincial administration, which was targeted by one of the car bombs. "There are many wounded, and I saw them being taken away. They were pulling victims out of the rubble, and rushing them to ambulances."

At least 25 staff members of the Baghdad Provincial Council, which runs the city, were killed in the bombing, said council member Mohammed al-Rubaiey. Three American contractors were among the wounded.

The provincial council is the city government, which oversees a broad range of city services including distribution of food ration cards, a holdover from Saddam-era sanctions against Iraq. The council also administers garbage collection, electricity and the distribution of fuel for generators and is responsible for the maintenance of the cities schools. It is composed of 57 directly elected representatives.

The blasts are a blow to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has staked his reputation and re-election hopes on returning security to the country.

The attacks came as Iraq was preparing for elections scheduled for January. Officials have warned that violence by insurgents intent destabilizing the country could rise.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged "all Iraqis to unite in the face of these deplorable acts and to work with heightened urgency to protect Iraq's political progress."

The area where the blasts occurred is just a few hundred yards from the Green Zone that houses the U.S. Embassy as well as the prime minister's offices.

The attacks occurred just hours before Iraq's top leadership was scheduled to meet with heads of political parties on Sunday and reach a compromise on the disputed election law ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote in January.

The explosive-laden vehicles were sitting in parking garages next to the two government building, police said.

"They are targeting the government and the political process in the country," Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Mousawi, spokesman for the city's operations command center, told The Associated Press.

The initial investigation suggests that the attackers "might have crossed some checkpoints and then detonated the bombs," al-Mussawi said.

A pickup truck that exploded near the Justice Ministry was carrying 1,000 kilograms (2,204 pounds) of explosives, the initial investigation found. The second pickup truck that went off near the Provincial Council, was carrying 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) of explosives.

The explosives, attached to the vehicles and hidden bellow the seats, were the only load the suicide trucks were carrying, al-Mussawi said.

The coordinated bombings were the deadliest since a series of massive truck bombs in northern Iraq killed nearly 500 villagers from the minority Yazidi sect in August 2007. In Baghdad itself, however, it is the worst attack since a series of suicide bombings against Shiite neighborhoods in April 2007 killed 183 people.

Al-Maliki toured the blast sites later in the day.

Sunday's explosions also injured nearly 600 people who were taken to six area hospitals. Medical officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, gave the death toll.

Video images captured on a cell phone showed the second blast going off in a massive ball of flames, followed by a burst of machine gun fire.

"This is a political struggle, the price of which we are paying," said provincial council member al-Rubaiey. "Every politician is responsible and even the government is responsible, as well as security leaders."

Three American security contractors, working for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad were injured in the blasts, but no American embassy personnel were killed, said Philip Frayne, an embassy spokesman. Frayne could not immediately provide details about who the contractors were escorting to the site, which company they worked for or, or the nature of their injuries.

The explosions were just a few hundred yards from Iraq's Foreign Ministry which is still rebuilding after massive bombings there in August. The bombings were a devastating blow for a country that has seen a dramatic drop in violence since the height of the sectarian fighting in 2006 and 2007.

__

Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this story.

Have a nice day.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Murder Continues As US Withdraws

Good morning,

BAGHDAD (AP) — A truck bomb exploded across the street from Iraq's Foreign Ministry near the Green Zone Wednesday, knocking out concrete slabs and windows and leaving a mass of charred cars outside as a wave of explosions around Baghdad killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 400.

A suicide truck bomber also targeted the Finance Ministry minutes earlier in the deadliest apparently coordinated attack in Iraq so far this year — a major challenge to Iraqi control of Baghdad. A steady escalation of attacks following the June 30 withdrawal of U.S. troops from urban areas has heightened fears that government troops are not ready to provide security.

Iraqi officials blamed al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents, echoing U.S. military warnings that the militant group is trying to provoke new bloodshed to undermine public trust in the Shiite-led Iraqi government.

"The terrorists are trying to rekindle the cycle of violence of previous years by creating an atmosphere of tension among the Iraqi people," Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said in a statement. "Our security forces must be more alert and firm. Also, the political groups must unite."

Sunni and Shiite extremists remain active in Iraq, and the U.S. military has detected some political violence ahead of next year's national elections. But truck bombs and suicide attacks bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq.

The attacks dealt a new blow to Iraqi government efforts to restore a sense of normalcy in the capital as the overall level of violence remains low compared with recent years. Iraqi security forces have promised to remove concrete blast walls from the main roads in Baghdad by mid-September with the aim of improving appearance and easing traffic congestion.

"The security forces have failed to protect the government buildings despite tight security measures and advanced equipment and this reflects huge shortcomings," said Saeed Jabar, a 35-year-old government employee. "It is a message to Iraqi officials that they should stop their exaggerations about the stability of this country."

The most devastating strike blackened the facade of the Foreign Ministry, killing at least 59 people and wounding 250, according to police and hospital officials. Rescue workers dug through rubble and debris near the ministry, which is adjacent to the Green Zone, the most heavily protected part of the capital.

The explosives-laden truck was parked in a largely unguarded parking lot across the street, but the force of the blast tore through the 10-story building, which itself is surrounded by a concrete blast wall, as well as nearby apartment blocs.

Dozens of cars were charred and plumes of smoke rose into the sky.

That attack occurred just minutes after a suicide truck bomber took aim at the Finance Ministry in northern Baghdad, detonating his explosives near a joint Iraqi police and army patrol outside and causing part of a nearby overpass to collapse.

Hospital officials said at least 28 people were killed and 117 wounded in that blast.

Mortars also slammed into the Green Zone, Iraqi officials said, with one landing near the U.N. compound, briefly delaying a press conference being held to discuss humanitarian issues on the sixth anniversary of the Aug. 19, 2003, bombing at the world body's headquarters that killed 22 people, including top U.N. envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello.

The U.S. military, which turned over responsibility for securing the Green Zone to the Iraqis on Jan. 1 as part of a new security pact, said it could not confirm any mortar attacks.

Another blast in the commercial area of western Baghdad's Baiyaa district killed two people and wounded 16, while a bombing in the commercial district of Bab al-Muadham killed six people and wounded 24, authorities said.

An Interior Ministry official, speaking separately, put the total death toll at 88. Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings in Iraq. The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Gen. Ray Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Monday that he wanted to deploy U.S. soldiers alongside Iraqi and Kurdish troops in northern Iraq where some of the worst attacks in recent weeks have been carried out.

U.S. troops withdrew from Iraq's cities on June 30 under a security pact that outlines the American withdrawal by the end of 2011. President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. combat troops out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010, leaving a contingency of up to 50,000 U.S. troops in training and advising roles.

Just a thought:
Undoubtly, as the withdrawl continues, mens murderous ways will continue until such time as there is a power shift, where the agendas of the minority, once again rule the majority. The question is, has the type of US "democracy" instilled, gained enough roots to survive, much less thrive? I seriously doubt it.

Have a nice day.