Thursday, November 30, 2006

Federal Judge Orders FEMA to Resume Payments to Katrina Victims

FEMA Ordered to Resume Katrina Payments

By MATT APUZZO, AP

WASHINGTON (Nov. 29) - A federal judge ordered the Bush administration Wednesday to immediately resume making housing benefits available to thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina.

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to adequately explain why it ended the 18-month housing assistance program for people who lost their homes in the 2005 storm.

Leon's ruling was issued as a temporary injunction requested by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which filed suit in August saying FEMA had violated the rights of Katrina victims by abruptly stopping housing payments.

The judge ordered the federal agency to explain its reasoning and allow the displaced hurricane victims to appeal its decision. While that process goes forward, the judge said, FEMA must keep making payments and must pay storm victims for two months of housing since the decision to stop the program.

"It is unfortunate, if not incredible, that FEMA and its counsel could not devise a sufficient notice system to spare these beleaguered evacuees the added burden of federal litigation to vindicate their constitutional rights," Leon wrote.

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year, FEMA said it would pay rental assistance to local governments, with the money to be used to pay landlords to cover the costs of housing the thousands of people displaced by the storms.

In February, FEMA switched to a stricter program and told thousands of families they were ineligible for relief or had to reapply for assistance. In some cases, their homes had been found to be usable, the agency said. In others, the houses were not their primary residences.

But the letters FEMA sent to the evacuees were confusing and sometimes contradictory and didn't explain why the benefits were being cut, Leon said.

11/29/06 16:17 EST

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Iraq Genocidal War to Continue Despite Predictions of More Death and Destruction

Iraq conflict ‘set to deteriorate’

By Edward Luce in Washington
Last updated: November 29 2006 20:59

The conflict in Iraq is likely to significantly deteriorate over the next few months regardless of which combination of options the Bush administration chooses to exercise, according to a report released by a leading Washington think tank on Wednesday.

The report – Options for Iraq: The Amost Good, the Bad and the Ugly – dismisses as “dishonest” the Bush administration’s claims to have readied more than 100 Iraqi military units for combat, pointing out that the true number was probably less than a third of the Pentagon’s estimate.

It also takes strong issue with the notion that Washington can simply pressure Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi prime minister, to push harder for conciliation between Iraq’s clashing sectarian groups. It disputes the growing consensus in Washington that the US should pressure the Maliki government to close down the sectarian militias and forge a reconciliation with the Sunni Arab groups by threatening to withdraw US forces.

“It is not meaningful to blame Iraq for the problems that exist – these are mistakes that we made in nation-building,” said Anthony Cordesman, author of the report and one of the most influential analysts of the Iraq conflict, at the Centre for Strategic International Studies.

“When you send a bull into liberate a china shop, to blame the china shop for the broken china seems disingenuous, if not misleading.”

The report says that the only way the US can hope to stabilise Iraq is by coming clean with the American public about the long-term costs, risks and patience that would be entailed in achieving that goal. And it urges the Bush administration to listen both to the Iraqi government and America’s allies in the Middle East and Europe, rather than continue to treat “26 million Iraqis as white rats” in an experiment of transplanting democracy.

But Mr Cordesman was also sceptical about alternative plans in circulation, including options for a time-linked “phased” withdrawal of US troops, another to put up to 30,000 more troops into Iraq into order to re-attempt a stabilisation of Baghdad despite earlier failures, and a more controversial plan to partition Iraq into Kurdish, Sunni and Shiite entities.

He said there were no “silver bullets” to unravel the increasingly dangerous situation in Iraq but the US could at least try to prevent the Iraq war from spiraling into a broader regional conflict.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006


New meeting set for Iraqi PM and Bush

By Sharmila Devi in Amman, Guy Dinmore in Washington and Roula Khalaf in London

Last updated: November 29 2006 23:21

More US and Iraqi troops are to be deployed in Baghdad, US commanders said on Wednesday, in an effort to shore up the weakened Iraqi prime minister as he prepares to meet George W. Bush in Amman on Thursday.

Officials insisted that Nouri al-Maliki – who is weakened by mounting disaffection in Washington while his own government fragments – and the US president would hold long talks on Thursday morning even though a three-way summit with Jordan’s King Abdullah was called off on Wednesday night.

A senior US official denied that Mr Maliki had snubbed the president following the leak to the New York Times of a memo written by Stephen Hadley, national security adviser, who expressed strong doubts about the Iraqi prime minister’s intentions and ability to control sectarian violence.

One of Mr Hadley’s main recommendations in his November 8 memo was that Mr Maliki should shake up his cabinet by appointing technocrats and end his “political strategy” with Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical cleric whose militia are accused of violence against Sunni Arabs.

Mr Maliki left a political storm behind him at home. Shia lawmakers and cabinet ministers led by Mr al-Sadr suspended their participation in government institutions in protest at the summit. The boycott by the five Sadrist ministers and 30 lawmakers may not cause lasting damage but it piles the pressure on Mr Maliki.

Iraqi officials say the prime minister is looking for a faster handover of security to Iraqis and discussion on an agreement to regulate the presence of the 160,000-strong multinational forces.

In Washington, General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said all ideas were under review but meanwhile General George Casey, commander of US forces in Iraq, had decided to send two battalions – about 1,200 troops – to the capital.

Gen Pace expressed his support for sending more Iraqi forces to Baghdad. He said the Iraqi and US political leadership was discussing where they should be drawn from and what “cultural flavour” – Shia or Sunni – the units should have in their deployment.

US officials played down suggestions of US displeasure with Mr Maliki, as the consequences of the leaked memo reverberated around their capitals.

Abdelaziz al-Hakim, one of Mr Maliki’s main Shia rivals and a coalition partner, has been invited by the White House to Washington next week.

Separately, Mr Bush, dining on Wednesday night with King Abdullah, ruled out US engagement with Syria at this moment, a US official said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2006

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

New York Police Shooting Victims' Families Attempt to Cope With Vicious Unprovoked Attack

Updated:2006-11-28 17:05:11

Family Members of NYPD Shooting Victim Cope With Shock, Uncertainty

By the AOL BV News Staff
BV News
Shannon Stapleton, Reuters

A man was reflected on the window of a car which was damaged by a bullet on the day Sean Bell, a bridegroom whom police said was shot and killed on his wedding day outside a New York strip club on Saturday, in New York November 27, 2006. Bell was killed and two other men wounded after police opened fire on them, police said.

Protesters Demand Answers From NYPD; Mayor Discusses Shooting

Joseph Guzman, 31, is a bear of a man with two kids and a close-knit family. He now lies in a hospital bed at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, Queens, his body riddled with at least eleven police bullets after a confrontation with undercover New York City officers last Friday night.

The shooting, outside a Queens strip club, capped a bachelor night party for one of Guzman's friends, Sean Bell, who was killed in a barrage of gunfire and who was to be married just a few hours later to the mother of his two children. A third man -- Trent Bennifield, 23 -- was also shot and is hospitalized in stable condition. The men were not armed and neither of the survivors has been charged with any crimes.

The incident has set off a storm of outrage and anger that has engulfed all of New York City and beyond, raising old questions about police officers, young black man and guns. And the sometimes low threshold across which life is lost when the three come together.

For family members dealing with the tragedy of a dead or critically-wounded relative, and massive media coverage, the events can be both excruciatingly painful and numbing at the same time.

"It's surreal" says Deveter Brown, who is Guzman's 32-year-old cousin. She visited him Monday night in the hospital.

"I'm at a loss for words." She said Guzman was heavily sedated and on oxygen and could not speak. But, she said, he was aware of who was there. "He knew who was coming in and out," she said. "A bullet grazed his face, and he's has what looks like a burn mark on his face." Guzman is listed in critical condition.

"It just doesn't feel real to see my cousin laying up in a hospital bed. I mean, his friend was getting married." She said Bell and Guzman were childhood friends.

Even the hospital visit was anxiety producing, she said. Beyond the worrying about her cousin's prognosis, Brown said that a large police presence makes the hospital on 150th Street in central Queens, feel like an armed camp. "Just getting the visitor badge you feel intimidated."

The police commissioner, Ray Kelley, has acknowledged that the officers made some unusual moves during the shooting. Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown has pledged that a case will be presented to a grand jury, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared the police response "unacceptable" and "inexplicable."

Which only makes it more painful for Brown and her relatives, who say the men involved -- especially her cousin -- were not the trouble-causing type. "Joey is the kind of guy who diffuses situations not starts them," she said, recalling that he was a big wrestling fan when he was younger. "He and his dad were always wrestling, but when it got too rough, he was always the one to say 'Alright. Enough; let's stop.' "

Already, she said, family members are worried about the outcome: "The most disturbing thing about this is that these officers are on paid leave; that this is not the first time that this has happened in New York City; that we might not get justice." she said. "Is there going to be any justice?"

2006-09-11 09:37:59

Arthur Lee, Musician and Composer, Was a Creative Force in the Cultural Music Scene of the 1960s

Arthur Lee Was a Pioneer in the Creative Music Scene of the 1960s

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/11086397/arthur_lee_19452006

A Musical Obituary on the Life of Arthur Lee Porter (May 7, 1945-August 3, 2006)

The mastermind behind pioneering psychedelic-pop outfit Love succumbs to leukemia at age sixty-one

JAMES SULLIVAN
Rolling Stone
http://www.Rollingstone.com

Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix were avowed fans of Love's Arthur Lee, one of the key figures in West Coast psychedelia during the 1960s. The legendarily wayward Lee, who improbably outlasted many of his peers, died August 3, 2006 in Memphis after a prolonged bout with leukemia. He was sixty-one. After his diagnosis became public, several artists -- including former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, Yo La Tengo and Ryan Adams -- took part in a benefit show for Lee at New York's Beacon Theatre on June 23rd.

Though never a great commercial success -- the band made the Top Forty just once, with the tough 1966 single "7 and 7 Is" -- Love was at the very center of the fertile Sunset Strip scene of the mid-Sixties. The group's ambitious third album, 1968's Forever Changes, still a critical favorite, stands among that era's seminal records. Lee was Love's driving force, hiring and firing collaborators at will and pushing them to explore their various musical inclinations. Love's first four albums ranged wildly, from prototypical garage-punk and jazzy experimentation to Spanish guitar, Broadway-style melodicism and deceptively "easy" listening. In later years, as he struggled with mental and physical issues and his own missed opportunities, Lee often complained about getting less than his due. "Without me there'd be no Jimi Hendrix, no Sly Stone," he once said. "I was the first so-called black hippie."

Arthur Lee Porter was born in Memphis on May 7th, 1945. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was a child. By his teen years, he was forming local bands. One of them, Arthur Lee and the LAGs (named in tribute to Booker T and the MGs), recorded an instrumental single for Capitol Records in 1963. The following year, Lee engineered what was perhaps Hendrix's first studio session, hiring the young guitarist to play on "My Diary," a song Lee wrote and produced for R&B singer Rosa Lee Brooks.

Although many of his models were black soul singers -- Sam Cooke, James Brown, Jackie Wilson -- Lee began to head in another direction when he recognized an affinity for Beatlesque pop and the folk-rock of fellow Angelenos the Byrds. Forming a band he named the Grass Roots, he recruited fellow Memphis-born guitarist Johnny Echols, bassist Johnny Fleckenstein and drummer Don Conka and began playing such L.A. fixtures as Brave New World and the Whisky A Go Go. Bryan MacLean, road manager for the Byrds, soon asked to join; he would became the group's second songwriter.

Beaten to the name the Grass Roots by another Los Angeles act that went on to some success, Lee rechristened his band Love. Bobby Beausoleil, a friend and future member of the Manson Family, would claim that the name was drawn from his own nickname, Cupid.

With its fearless innovation and flamboyant stage presence, Love quickly became the toast of the Strip. Their residency at Brave New World attracted a celebrity clientele -- "the Yardbirds, Mick Jagger, Sal Mineo," according to Lee. Morrison would later claim that the Doors' original goal was to be as big as Love. Lee and his band became the first rock group to sign to Jac Holtzman's folkie Elektra label, releasing a self-titled debut in April 1966. The album featured an early take on "Hey Joe," recorded almost simultaneously with the hit version by another L.A. group, the Leaves, and a raw adaptation of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "My Little Red Book." Bacharach was reportedly furious with Love's hard-edged rendition.

The debut reached No. 57 on the charts, selling 150,000 copies. The band, already contending with the hard drug habits that would plague it for years, moved into a communal home in Laurel Canyon, a house once belonging to Bela Lugosi. Bassist Ken Forssi, a former member of the Surfaris, replaced Fleckenstein, who would go on to join the Standells. Drummer Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer replaced Conka, later moving to keyboards with the addition of drummer Michael Stuart.

Love's second album, Da Capo, notable for the success of "7 and 7 Is" and the eighteen-minute jam of "Revelation" (one of the first rock tracks to span an entire album side), came out in early 1967. Neil Young was briefly enlisted to co-produce the next record, 1968's Forever Changes, though that association, like much of the session, was problematic. With the band increasingly unreliable, Elektra brought in several session men, including drummer Hal Blaine. The band took the move as a wake-up call, and the result was a unique creative outburst, marked by complex song structures, archly mannered singing and dark, obtuse lyrical material.

Forever Changes was not a success; the dramatic, flamenco-style single "Alone Again Or" barely cracked the Top 100. Much of the failure was attributed to Lee's refusal to tour. Holtzman, in his Elektra memoir, speculated that the singer wanted to be near his drug connections. (Lee had already declined to perfom at the Monterey Pop Festival.) Shortly after the release, Lee parted with his band mates, beginning a long cycle of rotating band members. Four Sail was Love's last record for Elektra; subsequent releases found Lee flailing to retrieve the sound of his original band. In England, he cut lengthy jams with Hendrix, but the tapes were bogged down in legal disputes. One track from those sessions, "The Everlasting First," eventually appeared on Love's "False Start" album.

Meanwhile, past band mates were struggling. Forssi and Echols were rumored to have fallen into lives of petty crime, holding up a series of coffee shops, for which they were dubbed the "Doughnut Bandits." Maclean suffered a nervous breakdown and became a Christian, occasionally performing with his half-sister, Maria McKee of Lone Justice. He died of a heart attack on Christmas Day 1999.

After dropping out of sight in the 1980s, Lee attempted several comebacks, beginning with the release of "Arthur Lee and Love" on the French New Rose label in 1992. A conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm resulted in a prison sentence; upon his release in 2001, he toured accompanied by the Los Angeles group Baby Lemonade.

Despite Love's enduring status as a cult act with little commercial success, the band cast a long shadow. Syd Barrett called Love a defining inspiration for early Pink Floyd. Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant specifically mentioned Lee at the 1995 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A film company in London is currently finishing work on a documentary entitled Love Story.

And it was Arthur Lee's headling rush into a fantastic variety of music that defined the group. "I'd love to hear Johnny Mathis do 'Foxey Lady,'" he once said, "or Howlin' Wolf do 'Turn! Turn! Turn!'"

Sudan News Update: President Omar al-Bashir Refutes Death Claims in Darfur

Sudan disputes Darfur death figures

Tue, 28 Nov 2006

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir has disputed UN figures of fatalities in four years of bloody fighting in the region of Darfur, saying that "not even 9000" people have been killed.

"The figure of 200 000 dead is false and the number of dead is not even 9000," Beshir said in a video media conference late on Monday.

"All the figures have been falsified and the child mortality rate in Darfur does not exceed that in Khartoum," Beshir also said, accusing western powers of inflating statistics to justify a military intervention.

According to the UN, at least 200 000 people have died from the combined effect of war and famine since the fighting erupted in February 2003. Some sources say the toll is much higher.

A UN report published on Monday painted a bleak picture of the humanitarian situation in Darfur, describing it as the worst in two years.

Washington accuses Beshir's regime of genocide in Darfur and has pushed for UN peacekeepers to be dispatched there.

The Sudanese president has consistently rejected efforts to replace the African Union observers currently deployed in Darfur, accusing the West of seeking to invade his country and plunder its resources.

AFP


News Article by AP posted on November 27, 2006 at 23:33:03: EST (-5 GMT)

Sudan President Wants UN Support In Darfur, Not Intervention

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir addressed journalists from various Western capitals in a three-hour long video conference on Monday, Nov. 27 in Khartoum, Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)--The Sudanese president on Monday repeated his rejection of U.N. troops in Darfur but he also hinted he was trying to find a middle ground with the U.N. on how peacekeepers could support the existing African force currently deployed in the war-torn region.

President Omar al-Bashir's comments came as U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he was expecting a final commitment from Sudan on a deal reached in principle earlier this month for the U.N. to conduct a "hybrid mission" with the African Union force in Darfur.

During a three-hour video conference with journalists in several international capitals, al-Bashir didn't detail Khartoum's exact position on the latest compromise deal, calling it both a "positive step" and accusing U.N. troops as being "colonial."

"The Secretary-General's position is a positive step, but we have reservations on a joint force and on its command structure," al-Bashir told reporters.

But the Sudanese president also repeated his harsh opinion of U.N. peacekeepers, warning that Sudan wouldn't let the U.N. breach its sovereignty.

"U.N. troops are colonial troops...They have never had a positive role in Africa," he said.

The agreement reached by Sudanese delegates with Annan and his AU counterpart earlier this month was aimed at breaking a diplomatic deadlock for an increased international role in solving the Darfur crisis, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have been displaced by three years of fighting between rebels and government forces.

Al-Bashir fiercely opposes an August U.N. Security Council resolution that called for more than 20,000 U.N. peacekeepers to replace the overwhelmed and ill-equipped 7,000-strong AU force in Darfur, whose mandate expires at the end of the year.

Khartoum had first signaled it was satisfied with the agreement but has since backtracked on the nature of the mission, opposing the idea that peacekeepers and the force's command structure could come from outside the AU.

Annan said he was expecting a letter from al-Bashir by Tuesday at the latest so it can be ready for the AU summit taking place Wednesday in Nigeria.

"The (Sudanese) government's response is urgent," Annan told reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Al-Bashir didn't disclose whether he was sending the letter, but said he believed the exact number of troops needed in Darfur should be decided by AU commanders in Darfur. He said the AU general in charge of peacekeeping operations had estimated no more than 9,000 troops were needed.

Annan's compromise deal would provide for 17,000 soldiers and 3,000 police to deploy in Darfur.


News Article by AP posted on November 27, 2006 at 16:50:48: EST (-5 GMT)

Sudanese rebels attack oil field, extending campaign to outside Darfur

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) -- Darfur rebels attacked an oil field in a rare extension of their campaign eastwards toward the Sudanese capital and said Monday the military garrison guarding the field had surrendered.

But the government said its forces repelled the assault and were in full control of the Abu Jabra oil field Monday.

The attack on the field on the edge of South Darfur appeared to be another sign that Darfur's violence was spreading across the region.

"The government garrison guarding the oil field was totally destroyed," the National Redemption Front rebel group said in a statement. "Numerous soldiers, including high-ranking officers and generals, have surrendered," the rebels said, claiming to have shot down an army helicopter and to have captured a "substantial amount" of weapons and military vehicles.

A Sudanese military spokesman denied the army had surrendered, saying its troops had "inflicted heavy causalities on the rebels, who withdrew from the area." He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with official policy.

A Sudanese official in the oil industry said Abu Jabra's
capacity had been damaged in the attack, but insisted it would not affect overall production. The state-owned facility pumps up to 10,000 barrels per day -- a relatively small output. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

The rebel raid came amid heightened violence in Darfur, where
pro-government janjaweed militia have been accused by the United Nations of forcing 60,000 people to flee their homes this month. Violence in Darfur over three years has killed 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million.

Observers fear Darfur's violence threatens to destabilize the
entire region. Neighboring Chad accuses Sudan of backing a rebel raid that briefly took a large Chadian town and threatened the capital in recent days.

To the south of Darfur, the Central African Republic also
alleges Sudan is backing a local rebellion. Khartoum denies both charges, but aid workers in the west Darfur town of El Geneina said they had seen Chadian rebel groups operating freely in the area. The aid workers spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Sudanese officials say the country produces about 500,000
barrels per day and that oil revenue should be at least $4 billion this year, more than half of the government's income.

Most of Sudan's oil reserves are in the south of the country,
which is now semi autonomous under a separate peace agreement that southern rebels signed with the government in January 2005.

Detroit Probate Judge May Shutdown the Rosa Parks Institute Over a Dispute Involving Her Estate

Judge may shut Parks' nonprofit

Ruling on institute's record-keeping could freeze its funds, force it to close temporarily.

Ronald J. Hansen / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Rosa Parks' nonprofit organization could have to close at least temporarily if a judge this week completely freezes the funding it expects to draw from a licensing agreement negotiated while her estate remains unsettled.

In a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Wayne County Probate Judge Freddie Burton Jr. will consider extending a restraining order that would block future deals and funds for the Rosa & Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development, in part because of concerns with how the organization and those close to Parks are maintaining records.

During a hearing last week, Edward Hudson, a lawyer for the institute, said the organization's continued operations depend on an April contract with CMG Worldwide, an Indianapolis-based firm that markets dead celebrities.

Without the deal, he said, "We wouldn't be able to fund any current programs."

Burton said he didn't want to shut down the institute, and would consider allowing some funds transferred to keep it open.

The value of the contract wasn't disclosed, but an independent trustee of Parks' estate pointed out the institute's budget jumped from about $100,000 last year to $3 million this year. The institute negotiated the CMG contract even as Parks' nieces and nephews have sued to overturn her will and control her legacy in the future.

Frederick M. Toca, a lawyer for the relatives, complained that the institute kept the deal secret, along with other financial records that were only turned over last week after Burton ordered they be shared.

It is part of an overall campaign of deception, Toca said, involving Elaine Steele, Parks' longtime friend and a key official for the institute.

In sworn testimony, Steele has told lawyers that the disputed 1998 will itself was stolen, though she didn't alert police about it, Toca said.

Also, the Presidential Medal of Freedom Parks received in 1999 from President Clinton was missing earlier this year when a New York auction house was cataloging her estate. The medal turned up only after Burton demanded it, Toca said.

"What can I say when something that valuable goes missing?" Toca said.

Lauren Underwood, Steele's attorney, said the medal wasn't where officials expected to find it, but that it and other items in Parks' estate are not lost. "The institute will be completely transparent in its dealings," she said.

Steele has denied claims that she controlled Parks and maintains that it isn't surprising she left her estate to the institute she founded.

You can reach Ronald J. Hansen at (313) 222-2019 or rhansen@detnews.com.

When I'm 64: Jimi Hendrix Birthday Marked by Estate's Blocking of Music Sale

PANW Editor's Note: Jimi Hendrix would have been 64 years old today. He was born on November 27, 1942 in Seattle, Washington. He died on September 18, 1970 in London, England. Below are updates on some issues involving his legacy and estate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Official Jimi Hendrix Web Site is at the following URL:
http://www.jimihendrix.com/jimihendrix.html

Hendrix Estate Blocks Music Sale

United Press International reports that a strongly disputed $15 million sale of Jimi Hendrix's songs has been temporarily blocked by a New York judge.

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled that the multi-million dollar sale of song rights by former Hendrix manager Michael Jeffrey would remain blocked until details of the controversial sale can be determined, the New York Daily News said.

Jeffrey, who died in a plane crash in 1973, had agreed to sell the rights to an anonymous buyer through Ocean Tomo Auctions last month, and some of Hendrix's relatives fought the sale by claiming the rights were actually theirs.

The dispute was originally determined in 1973 when Jeffrey was given the rights to Hendrix's 33 master recordings contingent on a $50,000 payment to the singer's family.

The Daily News reported that such a payment was never made and to date that required total payment, that could end the ongoing legal battle, amounts to $725,868.


New Jimi Hendrix Fashion Line to Make Debut

The late rock legend Jimi Hendrix is set to lend his name and famous fashion sense to a fashion line which is due to hit the catwalks this autumn.

One of the greatest guitarists in rock and roll often took to the stage in eccentric threads and was a leading figure in the psychedelic era.

The Jimi Hendrix Collection, which is being launched by his sister Janie, will include high-end leather jackets and handbags.

The collaboration between Ms Hendrix, designer Gina Alexander and rock photographer Robert M Knight, premiered at the Project Show in New York last week.

Ms Alexander announced that the line would consist of five jackets and12 designer handbags, which will feature a rare image of the musician.

"With this line, we're giving the Jimi Hendrix name something stylish and couture, and not just another T-shirt," Ms Alexander remarks.

Ms Hendrix, who is president of Experience Hendrix, comments that fans have been asking for this high-end fashion for a while and now there are more women fans.


JIMI HENDRIX Isle of Wight Statue Tribute May Have To Be Removed - Nov. 24, 2006

Clare Wall of Isle of Wight County Press reports:

Planners will soon have to decide whether or not the Jimi Hendrix statue (photo) outside Dimbola Lodge, Freshwater, can stay.

Managers of the attraction have advertised its planning application today (Friday, Nov. 24) to retain the bronze statue, its hardstanding and steps, which were unveiled in June.

In September Dimbola heard from the IW Council that it would have to apply for permission to retain the statue, even though initial assessments by the IW Council indicated it would be allowed to remain.

If councillors vote against retaining the statue, erected as a tribute to Hendrix's performance at the 1970 Afton festival, it will have to be removed.

Read more at http://www.iwcp.co.uk.

Monday, November 27, 2006

DRC Supreme Court Officially Declares President Joseph Kabila Winner of National Elections

Congo Court Rejects Vote Fraud Charges

Congo supreme court upholds Joseph Kabila's victory in landmark presidential elections

KINSHASA, Congo, Nov. 27, 2006
By EDDY ISANGO Associated Press Writer

(AP) The supreme court on Monday upheld President Joseph Kabila's victory in Congo's landmark elections, ruling as unfounded the runner-up's charges of widespread fraud in balloting meant to usher the restive Central African nation toward long-term peace and stability.

Kabila won the landmark Oct. 29 runoff with 58 percent of votes, compared with about 42 percent for former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, according to the tally confirmed by the court. Bemba had challenged the results, saying that the vote was invalidated by systematic cheating.

"The supreme court of justice proclaims Joseph Kabila elected by absolute majority," Chief Judge Benoit Lwamba said, in remarks broadcast on Congolese television. Judge Kalonda Teleoma said Bemba's charges were "without foundation."

The capital appeared calm immediately after the announcement, but the long election process has been marred by sporadic violence.

Fighting broke out between supporters of the two candidates in July after the results of the first round of voting yielded no clear winner. More clashes followed the October runoff election, as Bemba disputed Kabila's apparent victory.

Last week, parts of the supreme court building caught on fire after fights broke out in a crowd of Bemba supporters.

After the announcement police patrolled near-empty avenues in much of the capital, Kinshasa, as residents stayed in their houses. In a few areas people sang in the street in celebration, while some others shouted support for Bemba.

With Monday's decision, Kabila is set to become Congo's first freely elected president since independence from Belgium in 1960. The mineral-rich country has been hobbled by the 32-year dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko and a 1998-2002 war in which neighboring countries pillaged its resources.

Kabila generally has been credited with pushing through the peace plan that ended the war, though his administration has been charged with corruption and his army with serious human rights abuses. Some 17,500 U.N. peacekeepers are overseeing Congo's postwar transition.

Election monitors generally called the results fair, though cheating was recorded throughout the country.

In a reminder of the challenges Kabila faces, U.N. peacekeepers on Monday battled militia fighters loyal to a dissident general as the insurgents tried to advance on the capital of an eastern province.

"They came under fire from assaulting troops in the vicinity of Sake," U.N. spokesman Kemal Saiki said. "Our troops returned fire."

An attack helicopter was called in and the militia forces pulled back from their advance on Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, Saiki said.

Sporadic exchanges of gunfire continued, he said, but the U.N. controlled Sake and the surrounding area.

Fighting first broke out in the area Saturday, when rebel troops loyal to warlord Laurent Nkunda clashed with Congolese army forces. Thousands fled Sake, a town of about 12,000 people 18 miles west of Goma. The town was deserted Monday, Saiki said.

About 3,500 U.N. troops are stationed in the area, trying to maintain calm as Congo tries to make the transition to democracy after a 1998-2002 war and decades of dictatorship.

After the war, Nkunda, a former general, quit Congo's army and launched a rebellion. He said that the transition to democracy was flawed and excluded the minority Tutsi community.

Nkunda controls thousands of fighters and claims the loyalty of the 81st and 83rd army brigades, the rebel soldiers involved in the most recent clashes.

Congo is trying to forge a unified army out of half a dozen former militias, but progress has been slow. Only 14 of a planned 18 brigades have been integrated, and Nkunda's forces have refused to join.

Congo's army reported three dead and about 50 wounded since Saturday, said Jacqueline Chenard, a U.N. spokeswoman in Goma.

Col. Delphin Kahindi, regional commander for Congo's army in Goma, said he counted 10 bodies of rebel fighters. He added that army forces had captured some wounded rebels.

A delegation of government and U.N. officials was headed to Goma to try to broker a cease-fire, Saiki said.

Nkunda has launched attacks over the years on other major eastern towns, including the city of Bukavu, on the shore of Lake Kivu. Rights groups have accused Nkunda's forces of torturing and raping civilians.

The United States recently imposed sanctions on Nkunda, along with six other warlords and businessmen, accusing them of promoting instability. Their assets were frozen, and Americans are barred from doing business with them.

Bebe Moore Campbell, Author and Commentator, Dies at 56 in Los Angeles

Author Bebe Moore Campbell Dies at 56 in Los Angeles

Bebe Moore Campbell Web Site:
http://www.bebemoorecampbell.com/

LOS ANGELES -- Bebe Moore Campbell, who penned several best-sellers including "Brothers and Sisters" and "What You Owe Me" as well as articles for The New York Times and The Washington Post, died Monday. She was 56.

Campbell died at home in Los Angeles from complications due to brain cancer, said publicist Linda Wharton Boyd. She was diagnosed with the disease in February.

"My wife was a phenomenal woman who did it her way," husband Ellis Gordon Jr. said in a statement. "She loved her family and her career as a writer.

Her books, most of which were fiction based on real-life stories, touched on racial and social divides while including the perspective of many ethnic groups.

One of her first novels, "Your Blues Ain't Like Mine," was published in 1992 and spanned a 40-year period dealing with prejudice in the United States. The book earned her an NAACP Image Award for literature.

She followed the book with "Brothers and Sisters," which focused on race relations in the corporate world after the 1992 Los Angeles riot.

Among her other novels were "Singing in the Comeback Choir," "What You Owe Me" and "72 Hour Hold," the latter dealing with a mother coping with her daughter's bipolar disorder.

She also wrote children's books, including "Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry" in 2003, which won the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Outstanding Literature Award. Another children's book, "I'm So Hungry," will be released next year.

Campbell, whose full name was Elizabeth Bebe Moore Campbell Gordon, was born in February 1950 in Philadelphia. She earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1971.

Her Heart-to-Heart
She wrote for various publications, including The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Essence and Ebony.

Moore Campbell is survived by her husband; a son, Ellis Gordon III; a daughter, Maia Campbell; her mother, Doris Moore; and two grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

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

About The Author

Novelist Bebe Moore Campbell is the author of three New York Times bestsellers, Brothers and Sisters, Singing in the Comeback Choir, and What You Owe Me, which was also a LA Times "Best Book of 2001." Her other works include the novel, Your Blues Ain't Like Mine, which was a New York Times notable book of the year and the winner of the NAACP Image Award for Literature, her memoir, Sweet Summer, Growing Up With and Without My Dad, and her first nonfiction book, Successful Women, Angry Men: Backlash in the Two-Career Marriage. Her essays, articles and excerpts appear in many anthologies.

Ms. Campbell's interest in mental health was the catalyst for her first children's book, Sometimes My Mommy Gets Angry, which was published in September 2003. This book won the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Outstanding Literature Award for 2003. The book tells the story of how a little girl copes with being reared by her mentally ill mother. Ms. Campbell is a member of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and a founding member of NAMI-Inglewood.

Ms. Campbell's first play, "Even with the Madness," debuted in New York in June 2003. This work revisited the theme of mental illness and the family.

As a journalist Ms. Campbell has written articles for "The New York Times Magazine," "The Washington Post," "The Los Angeles Times," "Essence," "Ebony," "Black Enterprise," as well as other publications. She is a regular commentator for National Public Radio's "Morning Edition."

Ms. Campbell was born and reared in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and received a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in elementary education from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Ellis Gordon Jr. She has a son and a daughter.

Despite Hundreds of Thousands of Deaths and Admissions of Failure, US Refuses to Withdraw From Iraq and Afghanistan

They lied their way into Iraq--Now they are trying to lie their way out

Bush and Blair will blame anyone but themselves for the consequences of their disastrous war - even its victims

Gary Younge
Monday November 27, 2006
Guardian

'In the endgame," said one of the world's best-ever chess players, José Raúl Capablanca, "don't think in terms of moves but in terms of plans." The situation in Iraq is now unravelling into the bloodiest endgame imaginable. Both popular and official support for the war in those countries that ordered the invasion is already at a low and will only get lower. Whatever mandate the occupiers may have once had from their own electorates - in Britain it was none, in the US it was precarious - has now eroded. They can no longer conduct this war as they have been doing.

Simultaneously, the Iraqis are no longer able to live under occupation as they have been doing. According to a UN report released last week, 3,709 Iraqi civilians died in October - the highest number since the invasion began. And the cycle of religious and ethnic violence has escalated over the past week.

The living flee. Every day up to 2,000 Iraqis go to Syria and another 1,000 to Jordan, according to the UN's high commissioner for refugees. Since the bombing of Samarra's Shia shrine in February more than 1,000 Iraqis a day have been internally displaced, a recent report by the UN-affiliated International Organisation for Migration found last month.

Those in the west who fear that withdrawal will lead to civil war are too late - it is already here. Those who fear that pulling out will make matters worse have to ask themselves: how much worse can it get? Since yesterday American troops have been in Iraq longer than they were in the second world war. When the people you have "liberated" by force are no longer keen on the "freedom" you have in store for them, it is time to go.

Any individual moves announced from now on - summits, reports, benchmarks, speeches - will be ignored unless they help to provide the basis for the plan towards withdrawal. Occupation got us here; it cannot get us out. Neither Tony Blair nor George Bush is in control of events any longer. Both domestically and internationally, events are controlling them. So long as they remain in office they can determine the moves; but they have neither the power nor the credibility to shape what happens next.

So the crucial issue is no longer whether the troops leave in defeat and leave the country in disarray - they will - but the timing of their departure and the political rationale that underpins it.

For those who lied their way into this war are now trying to lie their way out of it. Franco-German diplomatic obstruction, Arab indifference, media bias, UN weakness, Syrian and Iranian meddling, women in niqabs and old men with placards - all have been or surely will be blamed for the coalition's defeat. As one American columnist pointed out last week, we wait for Bush and Blair to conduct an interview with Fox News entitled If We Did It, in which they spell out how they would have bungled this war if, indeed, they had done so.

So, just as Britain allegedly invaded for the good of the Iraqis, the timing of their departure will be conducted with them in mind. The fact that - according to the foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett - it will coincide with Blair leaving office in spring is entirely fortuitous.

More insidious is the manner in which the Democrats, who are about to take over the US Congress, have framed their arguments for withdrawal. Last Saturday the newly elected House majority leader, Steny Hoyer, suggested that the Americans would pull out because the Iraqis were too disorganised and self-obsessed. "In the days ahead, the Iraqis must make the tough decisions and accept responsibility for their future," he said. "And the Iraqis must know: our commitment, while great, is not unending."

It is absurd to suggest that the Iraqis - who have been invaded, whose country is currently occupied, who have had their police and army disbanded and their entire civil service fired - could possibly be in a position to take responsibility for their future and are simply not doing so.

For a start, it implies that the occupation is a potential solution when it is in fact the problem. This seems to be one of the few things on which Sunni and Shia leaders agree. "The roots of our problems lie in the mistakes the Americans committed right from the beginning of their occupation," Sheik Ali Merza, a Shia cleric in Najaf and a leader of the Islamic Dawa party, told the Los Angeles Times last week.

"Since the beginning, the US occupation drove Iraq from bad to worse," said Harith al-Dhari, the nation's most prominent Sunni cleric, after he fled to Egypt this month facing charges of supporting terrorism.

Also, it leaves intact the bogus premise that the invasion was an attempt at liberation that has failed because some squabbling ingrates, incapable of working in their own interests, could not grasp the basic tenets of western democracy. In short, it makes the victims responsible for the crime.

Withdrawal, when it happens, will be welcome. But its nature and the rationale given for it are not simply issues of political point-scoring. They will lay the groundwork for what comes next for two main reasons.

First, because, while withdrawal is a prerequisite for any lasting improvement in Iraq, it will not by itself solve the nation's considerable problems.

Iraq has suffered decades of colonial rule, 30 years of dictatorship and three years of military occupation. Most recently, it has been trashed by a foreign invader. The troops must go. But the west has to leave enough resources behind to pay for what it broke. For that to happen, the anti-war movement in the west must shift the focus of our arguments to the terms of withdrawal while explaining why this invasion failed and our responsibilities to the Iraqi people that arise as a result of that failure.

If we don't, we risk seeing Bono striding across airport tarmac 10 years hence with political leaders who demand good governance and democratic norms in the Gulf, as though Iraq got here by its own reckless psychosis. Eviscerated of history, context and responsibility,
it will stand somewhere between basket case and charity case: like Africa, it will be misunderstood as a sign not of our culpability but of our superiority.

Second, because unless we understand what happened in Iraq we are doomed to continue repeating these mistakes elsewhere. Ten days ago, during a visit to Hanoi, Bush was asked whether Vietnam offered any lessons. He said: "We tend to want there to be instant success in the world, and the task in Iraq is going to take a while ... We'll succeed unless we quit."

In other words, the problem with Vietnam was not that the US invaded a sovereign country, bombed it to shreds, committed innumerable atrocities, murdered more than 500,000 Vietnamese - more than half of whom were civilians - and lost about 58,000 American servicemen. The problem with Vietnam was that they lost. And the reason they lost was not because they could neither sustain domestic support nor muster sufficient local support for their invasion, nor that their military was ill equipped for guerrilla warfare. They lost because it takes a while to complete such a tricky job, and the American public got bored.

"You learn more from a game you lose than a game you win," argued the chess great Capablanca. True, but only if you heed the lessons and then act on them.

gary.younge@guardian.co.uk


November 25, 2006

United States has now been in Iraq war longer than it was in Second World War

By TOM RAUM

WASHINGTON (AP) - The war in Iraq has now lasted longer than the U.S. involvement in the war that President George W. Bush's father fought in, the Second World War .

As of Sunday, the conflict in Iraq has raged for three years and just over eight months.

Only the Vietnam War (eight years, five months), the Revolutionary War (six years, nine months), and the Civil War (four years), have engaged America longer.

Fighting in Afghanistan, which may or may not be a full-fledged war depending on who is keeping track, has gone on for five years, one month. It continues as the ousted Taliban resurges and the central government is challenged.

Bush says he still is undecided on whether to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq or add to the 140,000 there now.

He is awaiting the conclusions of several top-to-bottom studies, including a military review by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Expected soon, too, are recommendations from an outside blue-ribbon commission headed by former secretary of state James Baker, a Republican close to the Bush family, and former representative Lee Hamilton, an Indiana Democrat who was one of the leaders of the Sept. 11 commission.

The Iraq war began on March 19, 2003, with the U.S. bombing of Baghdad. On May 1, 2003, Bush famously declared major combat operations over, the pronouncement coming in a speech aboard an aircraft carrier emblazoned with a "Mission Accomplished" banner.

Yet the fighting has dragged on, and most of the 2,800-plus U.S. military deaths have occurred after Bush suggested an end to what he called the Iraq front in the global fight against terrorism.

Politicians in both parties blame the increasingly unpopular war for Republican losses on Capitol Hill in the November elections that handed control of the House and Senate to Democrats.

Twice before in the last half-century have presidents been crippled politically by prolonged and unpopular wars: Harry Truman in Korea and Lyndon Johnson in Vietnam.

Bush last week visited Vietnam for the first time, attending a summit of Asian and Pacific Rim countries. Asked if the Vietnam war held any messages for U.S. policy in Iraq, Bush said it showed that "we'll succeed unless we quit."

John Mueller, an Ohio State University political scientist who wrote the book "War, Presidents and Public Opinion," said Americans soured on Iraq after "doing a rough cost-benefit analysis. They say, 'What's it worth to us and how much is it costing us?"'

By that standard, Americans were willing to abandon the Iraq war long before they turned against the war in Vietnam, Mueller suggested. "So that, for example, when more than 2,000 Americans had died in Iraq, support lowered. It took 20,000 deaths in Vietnam to lower support for that war to the same level," he said.

In the casualty count, the Civil War was the most lethal, with military deaths of the North and South combined totalling at least 620,000. By comparison, the total of American deaths in the Second World War was roughly 406,000; First World War , 116,000; Vietnam, 58,000; and Korea, 37,000.The outgoing Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator John Warner of Virginia, a veteran of the Second World War and a former navy secretary, noted solemnly at a recent hearing of his committee that Sunday would mark the day when the United States was involved longer in the Iraq war than it had been in Second World War.

Yet the October 2002 congressional resolution that authorized the Iraq war "addressed the Iraq of Saddam Hussein, which is now gone, and no more a threat to us," Warner said.

While the United States is helping the Iraq's current government to assume the full reins of sovereignty, "we need to revise (our) strategy to achieve that goal," Warner said.

U.S. involvement in the Iraq war has outlasted that of the Korean War (three years, one month); the War of 1812 (two years, six months); the U.S.-Mexican War (one year, 10 months); First World War (one year, seven months); the Spanish American War (eight months); and the first Persian Gulf War (one and a half months).

Democrats and Republicans are divided about what to do next in Iraq.

Many Democrats and some Republicans have called for a phased withdrawal. Some legislators, including Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), a 2008 presidential hopeful, are urging that more U.S. troops be sent to help stabilize Iraq.

Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who will be the next chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argues for beginning to bring troops home soon. "We should put the responsibility for Iraq's future squarely where it belongs, on the Iraqis," Levin said. "We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves."

Experts of various political stripes have suggested that the options are few.

"No mix of options for U.S. action can provide a convincing plan for 'victory' in Iraq," said Anthony Cordesman, an Iraq analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The initiative has passed into Iraqi hands."

List of major wars with U.S. involvement

Here is a list of the United States' major wars and the length of U.S. participation:

-Vietnam War: eight years, five months (August 1964 to January 1973).

-Revolutionary War: six years, nine months (July 1776 to April 1783).

-Afghanistan: five years, one month (October 2001 to present).

-Civil War: four years (April 1861 to April 1865).

-Second World War : three years, eight months in the Pacific (December 1941 to August 1945).

-Iraq: three years, eight months (March 2003 to present).

-Korean War: three years, one month (June 1950 to July 1953).

-War of 1812: two years, six months (June 1812 to December 1814).

-U.S.-Mexico War: one year, 10 months (April 1846 to February 1848).

-First World War : one year, seven months (April 1917 to November 1918).

-Spanish-American War: eight months (April to December in 1898)

-Persian Gulf War: 1 1/2 months (January to February in 1991).


Nato urged to plan Afghanistan exit strategy as violence soars

By Stephen Castle in Brussels and Kim Sengupta in Kabul
27 November 2006

Nato's fragile unity over Afghanistan has begun to crack ahead of an important summit - with one public call to discuss an exit strategy from the Allied forces' bloody confrontation with the Taliban.

While heads of government are to make a show of unity over Afghanistan at tomorrow's alliance summit in Riga, Belgium's Defence Minister has questioned the future of Nato's most important mission.

And heads of the alliance's 26 nations are unlikely to agree to send reinforcements to Afghanistan - dealing a blow to Tony Blair's hopes that others will take up more of the increasingly heavy burden.

In the bloodiest day of violence to grip the country in many weeks, a series of fierce clashes between Nato forces and Taliban fighters and a suicide bombing left 76 people dead and more than 45 injured yesterday, many of them children.

Though Belgium only makes a small military contribution to the Nato mission, the Minister's comments will alarm senior figures at the alliance's headquarters where there is already concern that France is getting cold feet about its role in Afghanistan. Paris has remained publicly committed to the mission but Nato sources are concerned about the possibility of an eventual French withdrawal. They are pressing for an enhanced UN profile in Afghanistan to reassure the French who are suspicious about an expanded role for Nato because of Washington's hold over the alliance.

André Flahaut, the Belgian Defence Minister, brought anxieties about the Afghan mission into the open when he suggested that, at the Riga summit, "we finally reflect on an exit strategy". Five years after the start of Western involvement in Afghanistan, Mr Flahaut calls into question its prospects of success.

In an interview with Le Vif-L'Express magazine, Mr Flahaut argued: "The situation is deteriorating and, over time, Nato forces risk appearing like an army of occupation." Discussions of an exit strategy are the last thing the Nato top brass wants to hear because it is hoping to use this week to reinforce a message of unity on Afghanistan.

The summit in Riga - the first to be held on ex-Soviet territory - will be attended by, among others, George Bush, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair.

The rising violence in Afghanistan could be seen yesterday, with Nato reporting the loss of one soldier and 57 insurgents killed during four separate attacks in the south. Local people said at least 12 civilians died during an air strike.

Just hours after the fighting in Oruzgan province, a suicide bomber destroyed a restaurant in the Orgun district of Paktika. The blast is believed to have been aimed at an Afghan military commander but among the 25 dead and 20 injured were a number of children.

With 37 countries, including a host of non-Nato nations, contributing to the operation in Afghanistan a total of about 32,000 troops have been assembled .

In Riga, Nato is hoping for progress on one of the main problems facing commanders in the field: restrictions placed by national capitals on the use of their troops.

Nato's fragile unity over Afghanistan has begun to crack ahead of an important summit - with one public call to discuss an exit strategy from the Allied forces' bloody confrontation with the Taliban.

While heads of government are to make a show of unity over Afghanistan at tomorrow's alliance summit in Riga, Belgium's Defence Minister has questioned the future of Nato's most important mission.

And heads of the alliance's 26 nations are unlikely to agree to send reinforcements to Afghanistan - dealing a blow to Tony Blair's hopes that others will take up more of the increasingly heavy burden.

In the bloodiest day of violence to grip the country in many weeks, a series of fierce clashes between Nato forces and Taliban fighters and a suicide bombing left 76 people dead and more than 45 injured yesterday, many of them children.

Though Belgium only makes a small military contribution to the Nato mission, the Minister's comments will alarm senior figures at the alliance's headquarters where there is already concern that France is getting cold feet about its role in Afghanistan. Paris has remained publicly committed to the mission but Nato sources are concerned about the possibility of an eventual French withdrawal. They are pressing for an enhanced UN profile in Afghanistan to reassure the French who are suspicious about an expanded role for Nato because of Washington's hold over the alliance.

André Flahaut, the Belgian Defence Minister, brought anxieties about the Afghan mission into the open when he suggested that, at the Riga summit, "we finally reflect on an exit strategy". Five years after the start of Western involvement in Afghanistan, Mr Flahaut calls into question its prospects of success.

In an interview with Le Vif-L'Express magazine, Mr Flahaut argued: "The situation is deteriorating and, over time, Nato forces risk appearing like an army of occupation."

Discussions of an exit strategy are the last thing the Nato top brass wants to hear because it is hoping to use this week to reinforce a message of unity on Afghanistan.

The summit in Riga - the first to be held on ex-Soviet territory - will be attended by, among others, George Bush, Jacques Chirac and Tony Blair.

The rising violence in Afghanistan could be seen yesterday, with Nato reporting the loss of one soldier and 57 insurgents killed during four separate attacks in the south. Local people said at least 12 civilians died during an air strike.

Just hours after the fighting in Oruzgan province, a suicide bomber destroyed a restaurant in the Orgun district of Paktika. The blast is believed to have been aimed at an Afghan military commander but among the 25 dead and 20 injured were a number of children.

With 37 countries, including a host of non-Nato nations, contributing to the operation in Afghanistan a total of about 32,000 troops have been assembled .

In Riga, Nato is hoping for progress on one of the main problems facing commanders in the field: restrictions placed by national capitals on the use of their troops.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Sean Bell, A Groom, is Gunned Down by New York Police Outside Club; 50 Shots Fired Into Vehicle

Groom Fatally Shot by Police Outside Club

Vigil Planned for Man Gunned Down Hours Before He Was to Wed

By ADAM GOLDMAN, AP

NEW YORK (Nov. 26) - Sean Bell and his fiancee had already shared a high school romance, then two children. In the early hours of what was to be their wedding day, their reception hall lay waiting, covered in satin and adorned with balloons.

But the ceremony never arrived Saturday, after police shot 50 rounds at the groom's car as he drove away from his bachelor party, killing the 23-year-old just hours before he was set to walk down the aisle.

The hail of gunfire at a car full of unarmed men drew a furious outcry from family members and community leaders, including the Rev. Al Sharpton. Two passengers, who had been celebrating with the groom at a strip club, were also injured; one was struck by at least 11 bullets.

The officers' shots struck the men's car 21 times after the vehicle rammed into an undercover officer and hit an unmarked NYPD minivan. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Saturday night it was too early to say whether the shooting was justified.

The wild gunfire hit nearby homes and shattered windows at a train station, though no residents were injured.

Police thought one of the men in the car might have had a gun. But investigators found no weapons. It was unclear what prompted police to open fire, Kelly said.

On Sunday morning, a few hours before a planned noon vigil for the victims, Sharpton told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the volume of shots fired alone raised questions about the police's actions.

"How does one justify 50 shots at unarmed men?" Sharpton asked.

Also Sunday, the group 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care said it is issuing a vote of no confidence in Kelly over the shooting. It is also calling for the removal of the chief of the Organized Crime Control Bureau, Anthony Izzo, who it says created the undercover unit involved in the incident.

Additionally, the group wants a re-examination of what it says is a policy that allows officers from the organized crime control unit to consume alcohol on the job. "Who knows whether or not that was a factor in this particular shooting?" said Marq Claxton, a retired police detective and one of the founders of the group.

A police spokeswoman did not immediately offer comment on the group's demands Sunday.

Kelly said the incident stemmed from an undercover operation inside the strip club in the Jamaica section of Queens. Seven officers in plain clothes were investigating the Kalua Cabaret; five of them were involved in the shooting.

According to Kelly, the groom was involved in a verbal dispute outside the club after 4 a.m. One of his friends made a reference to a gun.

An undercover officer walked closely behind Bell and his friends as they headed for their car. As he walked toward the front of the vehicle, they drove forward - striking him and a nearby undercover police vehicle.

The officer who had followed the group on foot was apparently the first to open fire, Kelly said. That officer had served on the force for five years. One 12-year veteran fired his weapon 31 times, emptying two full magazines, Kelly said.

It was the first time any of the officers, who all carried 9 mm handguns, had been involved in a shooting, Kelly said.

At some point, Bell backed his car up onto the sidewalk, hitting a building gate. He then drove forward, striking the police vehicle a second time, Kelly said.

It was unclear whether the shooters had identified themselves as police, Kelly said.

Kelly's account of the events was based on statements made by witnesses and the two officers who did not shoot their weapons. Police could not question the other officers because the district attorney must first complete an investigation, Kelly said.

The groom was driving. Joseph Guzman, 31, was in the front passenger's seat and was shot at least 11 times. Trent Benefield, 23, who was in the back seat, was hit three times. Both men were taken to Mary Immaculate Hospital, where Guzman was listed in critical condition and Benefield was in stable condition.

Kelly said there may have been a fourth person in the car who fled the scene.

Three officers, including the officer hit by the car, were treated and released. Another detective remained hospitalized for hypertension, Kelly said.

Abraham Kamara, 38, who lives a few blocks from where the shooting occurred, said he was getting ready for work at about 4 a.m. when he heard bursts of gunfire.

"First it was like four shots," he said. "And then it was like pop-pop-pop like 12 times."

Kelly said undercover officers were inside the club to document illicit activity. With one more violation the club would be shut down, Kelly said.

He said the establishment, next to an auto-body repair shop on a gritty block across from a Long Island Rail Road station, had a "chronic history of narcotics, prostitution and weapons complaints" and had been closed by authorities for three months last year.

Sharpton said Bell and his fiancee had two children, a 3-year-old and a 5-month-old.

Robert Porter, who identified himself as Bell's first cousin, said he was supposed to be a DJ at the wedding. He said about 250 people were invited to the ceremony and were flying in from all over the country. He said his cousin wasn't the type to confront police and that he was "on the straight-and-narrow."

"I can't really express myself. It's a numb feeling," Porter said. "I still don't want to believe it, a beautiful day like this, and he was going to have a beautiful wedding, he was going to live forever with his wife and children. And this happened."

This isn't the first time the NYPD has come under scrutiny over police-involved shootings.

In 1999, police killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant who was shot 19 times in the Bronx. The four officers in that case were acquitted of criminal charges.

And in 2003, Ousmane Zongo was shot to death during a police raid. The 43-year-old, a native of the western African country of Burkina Faso, repaired art and musical instruments in Manhattan. He was hit four times, twice in the back.

Associated Press Writers Jennifer Peltz, Tom Hays and Cristian Salazar contributed to this report.

11/26/06 11:17 EST

Freedom For Mumia Abu-Jamal: German Book Reveals New Evidence in Death-Row Case

Freiheit für Mumia Abu-Jamal!

German Book Reveals New Evidence in Death-Row Case

by Hans Bennett
http://www.dissidentvoice.org
November 24, 2006

“The history of the criminal case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, which is by now almost 25 years old, has been characterized by bias right from the start: against a black man whom the court denied a jury of his peers, against a member of the economic underclass who did not have a real claim to a qualified defense, and against a radical, whose allegedly dangerous militancy obliged the state to eliminate him from the ranks of society.”

So writes German author Michael Schiffmann in his new book Race Against Death. Mumia Abu-Jamal: a Black Revolutionary in White America (an expansion of Schiffmann's PhD dissertation at the University of Heidelberg), just released in Germany this past month.

In 1982, Abu-Jamal was convicted of killing white Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and sentenced to death in a trial that Amnesty International has declared a "violation of minimum international standards that govern fair trial procedures and the use of the death penalty."

Schiffmann writes that a third person (not Abu-Jamal or his brother Billy Cook) most likely shot and killed police officer Daniel Faulkner on the morning of December 9, 1981. This third person was Kenneth Freeman (Billy Cook's friend and business partner), who -- according to the available evidence -- was a passenger in Cook's car. Freeman likely shot him in response to Faulkner shooting Abu-Jamal in the chest, and was therefore the black male that six eyewitnesses reported to see fleeing the scene moments before other police arrived.

Race Against Death asserts that ballistics almost certainly rule out Abu-Jamal firing the first shot (into Faulkner's back), and that much evidence shows that he also didn't fire the lethal bullet to Faulkner's head. However, in the very unlikely scenario that Abu-Jamal did shoot Faulkner, it would have been a response to being shot himself and would therefore be justified self-defense.

MIT professor Noam Chomsky (a long-time supporter of Abu-Jamal) writes that Schiffmann's "careful and scrupulous inquiry into the events and the available evidence brings to light much that is new or was obscured," and "raises understanding of this painful and critically important case to a new level. Not only his comprehensive research, but also his penetrating evaluation of the background and import, should be the basis for further engagement in the case itself and the intricate array of issues in which it is embedded."

Building upon evidence presented in the other two books written about Abu-Jamal's case (Dan Williams' 2001 Executing Justice and Dave Lindorff's 2003 Killing Time), Schiffmann boldly presents both new evidence and an entirely original analysis of previous ballistics evidence.

A New Witness: Photographer Pedro Polakoff

In May, 2006, Schiffmann discovered two photographs on the Internet that were taken by the only press photographer immediately present at the 1981 crime scene, Pedro Polakoff. The photographer arrived within 12 minutes of hearing about the shooting on the police radio and about ten minutes before the Mobile Crime Unit (responsible for forensics and photographs) arrived. This unit had still not taken any photos when Polakoff left after 30-45 minutes at the scene.

Upon contacting Polakoff, Schiffmann learned that three of his 31 original shots were published in Philly newspapers at the time, and five others were lost. Schiffmann told Z Magazine that he "published five of the 26 remaining photos to show the following three points":

"The cops manipulated evidence and supplied the trial court with stuff that was simply stage-managed. On Polakoff's photos, P.O. Faulkner's police hat at first is clearly on the roof of Billy Cook's VW, and only later on the sidewalk in front of 1234 Locust where it was photographed by the police photographer who arrived 10 minutes after Polakoff!

"In court Police Officer James Forbes claimed that he had 'secured' the weapons of both Faulkner and Mumia without touching them on their metal parts in order to not destroy potential fingerprints. However, in the single photo reprinted in the book you can see that Forbes is touching the weapons on their metal parts, and quite a few of Polakoff's other photos make it clear that Forbes touched and smudged these weapons all over, destroying any potential fingerprint evidence that may have been on them.

"The second-most important prosecution witness, cab driver Robert Chobert, simply was not parked in the spot, allegedly right behind Officer Faulkner's police squad car, where he claimed to have been and from where he claimed to have observed Mumia fire the shot that killed the officer."

Polakoff's observations don't stop there. Schiffmann writes in Race: "According to Polakoff, at that time all the officers present expressed the firm conviction that Abu-Jamal had been the passenger in Billy Cook's VW and had fired and killed Faulkner by a single shot fired from the passenger seat of the car."

"Polakoff further reports that this opinion on the part of the police about what had happened was apparently based on the testimony of three witnesses who were still present at the crime scene, namely, by the parking lot attendant in charge of the parking lot on the Northern side of Locust Street, by a drug addicted woman apparently acquainted with the parking lot attendant, and another woman. As Polakoff later heard from colleagues in the media, the parking lot attendant had disappeared the day after, while the drug-addicted witness died a couple of days later from an overdose. Whatever it was that these witnesses saw or did not see, we will probably never know -- the interesting fact in any case is that neither of them ever appeared in any report presented by the police or the prosecution."

Polakoff told Schiffmann that he was simply ignored when he repeatedly contacted the DA's office to give them his account -- and his photos -- of the crime scene.

Schiffmann has informed Mumia's lawyers about Polakoff's evidence -- who are looking into it further.

No Bullet Traces in Sidewalk

The prosecution claims that Mumia stood over and shot at Faulkner three to four times (with only one shot hitting him) while Faulkner was lying on his back. Schiffmann asserts that if this was true, there would have had to have been two to three large divots in the pavement (next to Faulkner's body) resulting from the bullets' impact. Since photos and police reports do not reveal any damage or bullet fragments in that location, Schiffmann concludes that the prosecution scenario must be false.

While this "missing divots" observation was publicly revealed in 2001 by Mumia's former lawyers, Schiffmann is literally the first writer to investigate this further.

To support the assertion Schiffmann interviewed a German ballistics expert and was told that "such divots couldn't possibly have been overlooked." He concludes: "They were simply not there."

Furthermore, photographer Pedro Polakoff "emphatically denied that there could be any such divots beneath the blood or anywhere else in the area of the sidewalk to be seen on his photos."

After asserting the fraudulence of the prosecution's scenario, Schiffmann goes further and declares that the three prosecution witnesses supporting this scenario must have been lying. Even ignoring previous evidence that witnesses Robert Chobert and Cynthia White falsely testified, "the absence of any bullet traces or bullets in the sidewalk in front of 1234 Locust is irrefutable physical evidence that these two, plus witness Michael Scanlan did not tell the truth at Mumia's trial. By that simple observation a central part of the prosecution's theory is simply blown out of the water -- and new evidence is on the table thereby for the coaching, coercion and manipulation of witnesses."

Bullet and Fragments at Crime Scene

Schiffmann's entirely original ballistics analysis is the most explosive section of Race Against Death. Researched for more than three years, this chapter analyzes both the unexplained bullet and fragments found in the doorway of 1234 Locust Street and the copper bullet jacket found on the sidewalk (all a full car-length from Officer Faulkner's body).

Most likely the bullet shot into Faulkner's Back (traveling at an upward angle and exiting slightly beneath his throat) came from the sidewalk behind Faulkner as he was facing northwest towards Mumia and towards the parking lot situated at the northeastern corner of the intersection 13th and Locust where Mumia came from. The most logical way for Mumia to approach the scene was diagonally from Northwest to Southeast -- but the only bullet fragment found in or around 1234 Locust that could have had anything to do with the shot in Faulkner's back traveled from Northeast to Southwest, at a sharp angle from where Mumia was approaching the scene! Schiffmann shows that even if Mumia had approached the scene in an indirect and awkward way by almost circumventing it first, the bullet fragment in question cannot have come from a shot fired by him at that time.

There was no evidence of any bullet further east down Locust -- where it would have been had Mumia shot Faulkner from his more logical approach to the scene from a northwestern direction.

Schiffmann writes in Race that "this evidence shows that the first shot that hit Faulkner did not come from the direction from which Abu-Jamal approached the scene, could therefore not have been fired by Abu-Jamal, and was thus necessarily fired by some third person, a possibility that the prosecution has always adamantly denied."

Schiffmann told me: "The first key point is that Mumia is no murderer. If he shot at all, he shot to defend his own life, after he intervened at the scene in the first place to protect his brother who had already been beaten bloody."

"Second, it is very unlikely that Mumia even took his gun out of its holster during that fateful night. What if the destruction of fingerprint evidence on Mumia's gun (shown in Polakoff's photos) was not just negligent, but deliberate? It would mean that the police themselves were the ones who drew Mumia's weapon (which had been empty apart from five spent cartridges to begin with) out of his shoulder holster."

The Third Person: Ken Freeman?

Schiffmann cites six witnesses (including several that were intimidated by police) that saw someone run away before police arrived, and then argues that this third person was most likely Billy Cook's business partner and friend, Kenneth Freeman.

In the 1995 PCRA hearings, it was revealed that Faulkner had a license application in his front pocket (concealed from the defense for 13 years) for one Arnold Howard -- who testified that he had loaned his temporary (non-photo) license to Kenneth Freeman.

Schiffmann explained to me that "Billy Cook's attorney Daniel Alva told Dave Lindorff (in his book Killing Time) that Cook had told him within days after the shooting that Freeman had been with him that night. There wasn't the slightest reason for Alva do have done so if it was not indeed true. Lying to journalists doesn't belong to the duties of a defense attorney, and the assumption that a well-respected member of the Philadelphia legal community such as Alva would do so for no apparent reason makes little sense to me."

Returning to his ballistics analysis, Schiffmann argues: "A person coming out of the passenger seat of Billy Cook's VW would have been ideally placed to fire the shot that hit Faulkner in the back and exited through the region below his throat. Faulkner had on a clip-on police tie that was apparently hit right at that clip (since there was blood and lead on it). The tie was found nowhere near 1234 Locust where it should have been found had Mumia fired that shot in Faulkner's back. Instead, it was on the Northern side of Locust shortly before the intersection 13th and Locust. And this, in turn, means that the shooter must have been on the sidewalk in front of 1234 Locust -- not in the street coming from the parking lot, as Mumia was."

Further supporting Schiffmann's argument are the mysterious circumstance of Freeman's death. On May 13, 1985 (the same day police firebombed the MOVE organization's headquarters), Freeman was found dead in a parking lot. Likely murdered by police that day, he was found naked, handcuffed and had a drug needle in his arm. Given the impossibility of injecting himself with the needle while handcuffed, the official explanation for the 31-year-old's death (heart attack) seems incredible.

"If Freeman was indeed killed by cops, the killing probably was part of a general vendetta of the Philadelphia cops against their 'enemies' and the cops killed him because they knew or suspected he had something to do with the killing of Faulkner," said Schiffmann.

The Arnold Beverly Confession

After years of careful analysis, Schiffmann concludes that the scenario presented by career criminal Arnold Beverly in his 2001 affidavit (stating that he killed Faulkner and that Mumia was not involved) is "too contradictory to be tenable." However, Schiffmann is highly critical of the courts' flippant rejection of the Beverly affidavit. Considering the seriousness of a death-row homicide case, he argues that they should have at least determined its credibility in a public court hearing

The controversial Beverly scenario is no longer an issue in the courts, but Schiffmann argues that this may not be the worst thing. "The Beverly affidavit has often been a distraction from what should be the really central issues: frame-up, unfair trial, legal innocence, actual innocence. No Arnold Beverly is needed to show that Mumia should be a free man and shouldn't have spent even one day in jail."

Freiheit für Mumia Abu-Jamal!

Noam Chomsky argues that "Mumia's case is symbolic of something much broader . . . The US prison system is simply class and race war . . . Mumia and other prisoners are the kind of people that get assassinated by what's called 'social cleansing' in US client states like Colombia."

Schiffmann also feels that Mumia's case is part of a much larger picture and devotes most of his book to providing a proper historical context. "Determined not to write the typical boring academic tract," Schiffmann told me: "My book's not just about Mumia. His case is important because of the larger legal, political, and social issues that his case exposes. I investigate the US's constitutional tradition, the history of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, the horrendous history of city development in the US tragically exemplified in Philadelphia, Mumia's extraordinary yet typical history of a Black youth alienated by the false promises the US 'offered' for him as a young man of the wrong color, and finally the development of the US into a virtual police state for many segments of the population."

Schiffmann emphasizes the extreme importance of Mumia's current battle in the courtroom, but feels that solid legal strategy will only go so far in gaining a new trial. The key will be to exert maximum political pressure from the grassroots in Philadelphia and around the world. A "broad, multi-faceted and democratic mass-movement," emphasizing that "Mumia is all of us," must be used to ensure real justice.

Schiffmann urges those in the US to attend (or support locally) the massive Philadelphia demonstration being organized to support Abu-Jamal on December 9 -- the 25th anniversary of Abu-Jamal's arrest. "We have kept Mumia alive. Against the odds, we have won the first stage of an uphill battle. Now we must go on all the way -- and that is to free Mumia Abu-Jamal!"

* This review is based on both an exclusive reading of the (unpublished) English language version of Race Against Death and the author's recent full-length interview with Schiffmann about his book and the German movement supporting Mumia Abu-Jamal.

Michael Schiffmann's book Race Against Death: Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Black Revolutionary in White America has just been released in Germany. Schiffmann is still looking for a US publisher. He can be contacted via email: mikschiff@t-online.de. His website is: http://www.againstthecrimeofsilence.de .

Hans Bennett is a Philadelphia-based photo-journalist who has been documenting the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal and all political prisoners for over five years. For more information, please visit his new website: http://www.insubordination.blogspot.com

DRC Supreme Court to Announce Ruling on Election Challenge by Former Rebel Leader

Sunday November 26, 7:30 AM

DRC court to announce ruling on Bemba challenge Monday

DR Congo's Supreme Court will announce its ruling in failed presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba's challenge to the election results Monday, presiding judge Kalonda Kele said.

The court has been examining Bemba's legal challenge to the presidential elections since November 20 after the independent election commission declared the incumbent president the winner with 58.05 percent of votes in the second round.

Bemba's communications director, Moise Musangana, alleged last week that ballot boxes had been stuffed, turnout figures inflated in President Joseph Kabila strongholds and the overall results falsified.

Musangana also said Kabila's campaign had been given preferential treatment during the run-up to the vote and observers had been turned away from polling stations on the day.

State Prosecutor Joseph Mushagalusha had asked the court to reject Bemba's claims as unfounded and to confirm the election commission's provisional results.

Judge Kele said the court ruling would be announced Monday at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT).

Lawyers for Bemba walked out of the Supreme Court earlier Saturday.

Bemba's legal team lodged an objection to the Supreme Court, saying there was a "doubt of its impartiality and integrity."

After a short recess, the court overruled the objection and Bemba's lawyers walked out, furious. "It is not up to the judges to overrule an objection made against themselves," the lead lawyer Jean-Marie Tshibangu told AFP.

"This is a legal con, it's a farce," another of the vice president's lawyers said. The team went back to court after consultation with their client, Tshibangu said.

From Tuesday to Thursday, the court sessions had been in recess after Bemba supporters looted and torched the court rooms. The sessions resumed under high security on Friday in the foreign ministry.

State Prosecutor Mushagalusha accused the protesting lawyers of having "no goal except slowing down the proceedings."

The election results will be officially announced next week.

Meanwhile in the restive eastern province of Nord-Kivu, three soldiers with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) were killed Saturday in a rebel attack with heavy weapons at Sake, military sources said.

The attack was the first wide-ranging offensive launched in months by loyalists of Laurent Nkunda, a dissident Congolese general of the Tutsi tribe. Three soldiers of FARDC's 11th Brigade were killed and 19 people were injured, including three civilians, in the fighting, said staff at a hospital in Goma, the main town in Nord-Kivu.

The victims, who mainly suffered from bullet and mortar shell wounds, were transported to Goma by the UN mission in DRC (MONUC).

Several of the 11th Brigade's positions were temporarily taken on Saturday at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) with attacks using machine gun fire, rockets and mortars, DRC military and UN sources confirmed.

The most intense fighting was over by late morning, Major Ajay Dalal, MONUC spokesperson in Nord-Kivu, told AFP.

"There were still some shots, but calm was mostly restored," he said. "All of the 11th Brigades's positions are under control," he said, adding that the assailants had "started to pull out again" towards the northwest.

Nkunda, who is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity while his men briefly controlled the eastern city of Bukavu in 2004, is holed up in the mountains northwest of Sake with a force of about 2,000 men, according to Congolese military sources.

Nkunda said in late September that he would not disrupt the DRC elections but warned that he would oppose "with force" any deployment of new brigades in the territory under his control and would defend his Congolese Tutsi "brothers" if they were
"threatened."

More than 2,000 FARDC soldiers have been engaged in combat and MONUC sent 1,000 soldiers on Saturday morning to secure the Sake and Goma areas, the UN said.

The United Nations said on Saturday that between 15,000-20,000 people had been displaced by the fighting.

"According to the army, Sake and the surrounding area are empty," Andrew Zadel from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nord-Kivu told AFP.

In the capital Kinshasa tension remained between rival factions who have resorted to post-election violence that has killed 30.

For the third consecutive day, a small group of Bemba's 1,000-strong military protection force left Kinshasa for Maluku, 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the east.

On Wednesday, the interior minister, General Denis Kalume, asked Bemba to "neutralise" the elements he described as
"uncontrollable" within his protection force who have been implicated in some of the violence since polling started in August.

On Saturday, 32 of Bemba's soldiers left the capital, a Congolese officer told AFP, bringing the total redeployed to Maluku to 85 since Thursday.

Despite concerns over tension between the Kabila and Bemba supporters, the situation in the capital remained peaceful on Saturday.


Sunday November 26, 6:02 AM

DRC supreme court disrupted, clashes in east

Lawyers for the Democratic Republic of Congo's failed presidential candidate, Jean-Pierre Bemba, walked out of the Supreme Court, hours before judges were due to rule on his challenge to the election results.

Bemba's legal team lodged an objection to the Supreme Court, saying there was a "doubt of its impartiality and integrity."

After a short recess, the court overruled the objection and Bemba's lawyers walked out, furious. "It is not up to the judges to overrule an objection made against themselves," the lead lawyer Jean-Marie Tshibangu told AFP.

"This is a legal con, it's a farce," another of the vice-president's lawyers said. The team went back to court after consultation with their client, Tshibangu said.

The Supreme Court has been examining Bemba's legal challenge to the presidential elections since Monday. The independent election commission (CEI) declared the incumbent president the winner with 58.05 percent of votes in the second round.

From Tuesday to Thursday, the sessions were in recess after Bemba supporters looted and torched the court rooms. The sessions resumed under high security on Friday in the foreign ministry.

State Prosecutor Joseph Mushagalusha accused the protesting lawyers of having "no goal except slowing down the proceedings."

As the country waited for Saturday's verdict on Bemba's challenge, followed by the official declaration of results next week, the strain showed in Kinshasa and the east of the republic.

Three soldiers with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) were killed Saturday in a rebel attack with heavy weapons at Sake in the restive eastern province of Nord-Kivu, military sources said.

The attack was the first wide-ranging offensive launched in months by loyalists of Laurent Nkunda, a dissident Congolese general of the Tutsi tribe. Three soldiers of FARDC's 11th Brigade were killed and 19 people were injured, including three civilians, in the fighting, said staff at a hospital in Goma, the main town in Nord-Kivu.

The victims, mainly suffered from bullet and mortar shell wounds, were transported to Goma by the UN mission in DRC (MONUC).

Several of the 11th Brigade's positions were temporarily taken on Saturday at around 4:00 am (0200 GMT) with attacks using machine gun fire, rockets and mortars, DRC military and UN sources confirmed.

The most intense fighting was over by late morning, Major Ajay Dalal, MONUC spokesperson in Nord-Kivu, told AFP.

"There were still some shots, but calm was mostly restored," he said. "All of the 11th Brigades's positions are under control," he said, adding that the assailants had "started to pull out again" towards the northwest.

Nkunda, who is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity while his men briefly controlled the eastern city of Bukavu in 2004, is holed up in the mountains northwest of Sake with a force of about 2,000 men, according to Congolese military sources.

Nkunda said in late September that he would not disrupt the DRC elections but warned that he would oppose "with force" any deployment of new brigades in the territory under his control and would defend his Congolese Tutsi "brothers" if they were
"threatened."

More than 2,000 FARDC soldiers have been engaged in combat and MONUC sent 1,000 soldiers on Saturday morning to secure the Sake and Goma areas, the UN said.

The United Nations said on Saturday that between 15,000-20,000 people have been displaced by the fighting.

"According to the army, Sake and the surrounding area are empty," Andrew Zadel from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Nord-Kivu told AFP.

In the capital Kinshasa tension remained between rival factions who have resorted to post-election violence that has killed 30.

For the third consecutive day, a small group of Bemba's 1,000-strong military protection force left Kinshasa for Maluku, 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the east.

On Wednesday, the interior minister, General Denis Kalume, asked Bemba to "neutralise" the elements he described as "uncontrollable" within his protection force who have been implicated in some of the violence since polling started in August.

On Saturday, 32 of Bemba's soldiers left the capital, a Congolese officer told AFP, bringing the total redeployed to Maluku to 85 since Thursday.

Despite concerns over tension between the Kabila and Bemba supporters, the situation in the capital remained peaceful on Saturday.


Saturday November 25, 6:39 PM

Two soldiers killed in rebel attacks in eastern DRC

At least two soldiers with the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed in a rebel attack in the restive eastern province of Nord-Kivu, military sources said.

"We have two dead... There are some wounded, I don't know how many," a Congolese army officer told AFP by phone from Sake, where he said the fighting was continuing.

He said the attackers were loyalists of Laurent Nkunda, a dissident Congolese general of the Tutsi tribe.

A military spokesman for the UN mission, MONUC, in nearby Goma, the region's main city, said attack helicopters were sent to help the Congolese forces.

"We are working to contain this situation in the Sake area, " said Major Ajay Dalal. "Patrols and vehicles took position around Goma to secure the place."

Nkunda, who is wanted for alleged crimes against humanity while his men briefly controlled the eastern city of Bukavu in 2004, is holed up in the mountains northwest of Sake with a force of about 2,000 men, according to Congolese military sources.

Nkunda said in late September that he would not disrupt the DRC elections but warned that he would oppose "with force" any deployment of new brigades in the territory under his control and would defend his Congolese Tutsi "brothers" if they were "threatened".

The battle in Sake marks the most intense fighting in eastern DRC in a month and comes amid tensions in the capital Kinshasa which has been the scene of post-election violence between rival factions.

The country is waiting for the Supreme Court's decision after Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba contested the results of the October 29 run-off presidential vote, which gave the victory to his opponent, incumbent President Joseph Kabila.