'survival sex' is a good name for it indeed

and who is directly responsible? we are. and i think we should all be hanging our heads in shame. we could have and should have stopped king george long ago. we didn't and our children's children will STILL be paying the price

FEATURE-Iraqi refugees turn to sex trade in Syria
Source: Reuters
By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent
DAMASCUS, Dec 31 (Reuters) - A score of young Iraqi women in tight, shimmering gowns shuffle across the nightclub dance floor under the hungry eyes of Gulf Arabs at nearby tables.
The band blasts out Iraqi songs into the early hours as the watching youths join the dancing or summon girls to sit with them -- there is little pretence about what gets transacted at this neon-lit nightspot half an hour's drive north of Damascus.
The dancers, some in their early teens, do not want to talk, but one said she had no other way to support her family. "My father was killed in Baghdad and our money is finished," muttered the dark-haired girl in a black and silver dress.
The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR calls it "survival sex", a desperate way to cope for Iraqi refugees whose savings have run out since they escaped the violence at home............

of course the white house isn't going to apologize

first off, kings DON'T apologize. second off, they (everyone in the king's court and white house) CAN DO NO WRONG. don't be idiots. so they tortured an innocent man. SO WHAT!
the constitution? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING CONSTITUTION! geneva convention? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING GENEVA CONVENTION! morals? WE DON'T NEED NO F**KING MORALS!

souls? WE DON'T NEED NOR WANT NO F**KING SOULS!!!

U.S. lawmakers apologize to Canadian torture victim
By Andy Sullivan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers on Thursday offered apologies to a Canadian citizen who was deported by U.S. counterterrorism officials to Syria, where he says he was imprisoned and tortured.
Lawmakers from both parties also called on the Bush administration to apologize to Maher Arar, a Syrian-born software engineer still barred from entering the United States even though the Canadian government has cleared him of any links to terrorist groups.
"Our country made a mistake and has been unwilling to own up to it," California Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said. "It reflects an arrogance I don't like to see in our government."
An administration official said she was not aware of any plans for the White House to issue an apology to Arar.
Arar described his ordeal to the House of Representatives Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees via video link..........

of course THIS makes more sense than iran and syria

of course our buds the saudis (well just a tiny fraction, NOT all) WERE responsible for 9/11.

of course instead of going after the REALLY guilty parties, WE INVADED AN INNOCENT (saddam was NOT innocent but he had NOTHING to do with 9/11) country and wreaked havoc. the havoc will continue for YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS to come

we don't give a shite though, do we? king george and his court continue to point their collective finger at iran.

iran is an ugly place. no doubt about it. their president is insane. no doubt about that either. there ARE doubts about their capabilities and courses of action though.

Saudis' role in Iraq insurgency outlined
Sunni extremists from Saudi Arabia make up half the foreign fighters in Iraq, many suicide bombers, a U.S. official says

By Ned Parker, Times Staff Writer

BAGHDAD — Although Bush administration officials have frequently lashed out at Syria and Iran, accusing it of helping insurgents and militias here, the largest number of foreign fighters and suicide bombers in Iraq come from a third neighbor, Saudi Arabia, according to a senior U.S. military officer and Iraqi lawmakers.About 45% of all foreign militants targeting U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians and security forces are from Saudi Arabia; 15% are from Syria and Lebanon; and 10% are from North Africa, according to official U.S. military figures made available to The Times by the senior officer. Nearly half of the 135 foreigners in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq are Saudis, he said.Fighters from Saudi Arabia are thought to have carried out more suicide bombings than those of any other nationality, said the senior U.S. officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the subject's sensitivity. It is apparently the first time a U.S. official has given such a breakdown on the role played by Saudi nationals in Iraq's Sunni Arab insurgency.He said 50% of all Saudi fighters in Iraq come here as suicide bombers. In the last six months, such bombings have killed or injured 4,000 Iraqis...........

a sad tale

a german national born in syria was denied admission to the united states. for what reason? no one knows. i really literally mean that. i believe NO ONE knows.

he wasn't just attempting to visit for the first time. he was trying to visit his daughter in california who had recently passed the bar. oh and did i mention, he and his wife (AN AMERICAN BORN AMERICAN CITIZEN) have lived in massachusetts every summer for over 30 years. an oh did i mention, according to this article they've paid MORE than $250,000 in TAXES. oh did i mention, their massachusetts neighbors appear to like them a great deal. oh did i mention, ice took away his HEART MEDS for 36 HOURS because the label was in german (or so they say)???????????

what have we become?

Visit gone awry: Detention roils a US-German family

On a trip to visit his daughter in California, Majed Shehadeh, the husband of a US citizen, was detained, strip-searched, denied his prescription medication, and held in a crowded cell.
By Christa Case Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorand Mariah Blake Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Newburyport, Mass.; and Alzenau, Germany - Ever since Jimmy Carter was president, summer has meant one thing for Majed Shehadeh and his wife, Joanne Mulligan: time to pack. From their modest house in Bavaria, they migrate annually to their summer home in Massachusetts, where Ms. Mulligan was born and raised, with the accent to prove it.
But after making regular trips for decades, Mr. Shehadeh's last visit went deeply awry, indefinitely suspending his plans for returning.
A Syrian-born German citizen, he was detained when he flew into Las Vegas in December to celebrate his daughter's passing of the California bar exam. He was then strip-searched, denied his prescription medication, and kept in a crowded jail cell with no mattresses and a single toilet out in the open. Three days later, he was sent back to Germany.
"Since that ordeal, I'm afraid to go [to the US], and my husband can't go at all. For us, it's a catastrophe," says Mulligan.
Five years after 9/11, intensified security measures resulted in more than 500 people per day being denied entry to the US in 2006. For those traveling by air, that often means spending at least one night in detention.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has numerous mechanisms to ensure that travelers' civil rights are upheld during such detentions.........

..........That night, Shehadeh was taken to the North Las Vegas Detention Center, where he says he was stripped of his belongings, including $1,000 in cash, and his heart medication, which he wouldn't receive for another 36 hours.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokeswoman Lori Haley says the medication was withheld until a doctor could evaluate Shehadeh because the label was in German. "For his own safety, we had to make sure what he was ingesting was the right medication," she explains. .......

so tell me

why is it NOT ok for nancy pelosi (whom i am NOT a big fan of by the way, she's a pussy. she backs down far too easily. she's NOT strong enough. get the king OUT OUT OUT nancy) to talk to syria BUT it's ok for connddoolleezzaa to do so on behalf of the king? methinks thou doth protest too much connddyy and ggeeoorrggiiee

talk is GOOD. it's always a first step.

Rice asks Syria to close its border with Iraq

By Warren P. Strobel and Miret el-Naggar
McClatchy Newspapers
SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice broke more than two years' worth of diplomatic ice with Syria on Thursday, holding talks here with a top Syrian official in what amounts to a major diplomatic course change by the Bush administration.
Rice said afterward that the meeting, held on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq, focused on U.S. demands that Syria close its border with Iraq to stem a flow of foreign fighters and arms that's helping fuel Iraq's sectarian violence.
Even on those limited terms, the half-hour meeting between Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem marked a major shift for the Bush administration, which has repeatedly disparaged the need for such talks and criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for visiting Damascus last month.
Engagement with Syria and Iran was one of the major recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which urged President Bush to take a region-wide diplomatic approach by working to stabilize Iraq and secure Arab-Israeli peace. Bush and Rice appear to be accepting some of those recommendations. .........

Rice Meets With Syrian Counterpart
No U.S.-Iran Session At Conference on Iraq


By Karen DeYoung Washington Post Staff Writer

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 3 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met here Thursday with her Syrian counterpart in the first high-level talks between the two governments in more than two years. Rice characterized the 30-minute session, held on the sidelines of a two-day international conference on Iraq at this Egyptian Red Sea resort, as "businesslike" and "very constructive."
Senior Bush administration officials said that she would not hold a widely anticipated meeting with Iran's foreign minister, but that the United States plans to hold direct talks with Tehran in the near future................

we invaded their country

for NO legal, legitimate or MORAL reason. we destroyed families, land, businesses. we are ABANDONING those that have helped our military members (i was dumbfounded when i watched 60 minutes this weekend and saw how we were not taking care of those assisting our miltary as translators. the iraqis that have helped us are as good as dead and begging us to help them. take them to america. we of course are spitting in their faces.). HOW DARE WE


Left Behind

Scott Pelley On The Plight Of Iraqis Who Helped The U.S.

(CBS) When U.S. troops invaded Iraq, they had a major handicap – they didn’t speak the language. There would have been no progress, and likely more American dead, had it not been for Iraqi citizens who volunteered to serve our armed forces as translators. Many thousands of Iraqis believed in the cause. They signed on as drivers, construction workers and office workers. But now they and their families are being hunted down by insurgents bent on killing them for collaborating. No wonder many are fleeing Iraq, desperate for asylum. But as they appeal to the U.S., many feel they’re being left behind. .......

A humanitarian crisis of historic proportions


Nearly 2 million Iraqis have fled to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey—another 1.8 million have been displaced within their country's borders.

The humanitarian crisis that didn’t evolve as expected at the start of the Iraq war is now in full swing, says the International Rescue Committee, after surveying needs in Syria and Jordan, where desperate Iraqis have taken refuge from the chaos at home. How the IRC is Helping > ...........

Iraqi Refugees Overwhelm Syria
Migrants Who Fled Violence Put Stress on Housing Market, Schools

By Scott Wilson Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, February 3, 2005; Page A18
ALEPPO, Syria -- Sabbah Zaker had a small, sturdy construction company in the Iraqi city of Mosul, and although he did not agree with the U.S. invasion, he accepted a $10,000 contract last summer to renovate schools and health clinics across his ethnically mixed home town. A few months later, his name began appearing on the walls of his neighborhood as a warning from insurgents not to cooperate with the Americans. .............
.......We cannot continue like this," said Abdelhamid Ouali, the representative for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria. "The situation is terrible, and we are obliged to do something."
Hoping to help the fleeing Iraqis without encouraging their flight, the U.N. agency arranged "temporary protection status" that prevented the Iraqis from being deported but did not trigger the financial aid and relocation assistance that goes to official refugees. Almost two years ago, the agency set up large tent cities and health clinics for thousands of people. The facilities were mothballed when the mass exodus did not immediately materialize. .......

human rights watch iraqis

Violence, Poverty Underscore Story of Iraqi Refugees in Jordan


by Jon Elmer
For those who have fled the chaos of home to settle indefinitely in Amman, making do and maintaining hope of someday returning to a peaceful Iraq are elusive ways of life.
Amman; July 22, 2005 – Hisham Jamil is unequivocal when asked why he and his wife have chosen a life of unemployment in a foreign country over the life they built together in Baghdad.
"You know why we left," he said as he walked hand-in-hand with his wife, Hamsa, down a busy street here in Jordan's capital. "The whole world knows why we left. We can't live in Baghdad anymore; it is as simple as that. Life is impossible."...........

Video: Special report on Iraq's growing refugee crisis

David Edwards

In a Channel 4 News special, Jonathan Miller reports on the millions of Iraqi refugees fleeing their homeland in the wake of an ongoing war.
"They've escaped from hell in Iraq, but now they're stuck here in limbo," reports Miller on the roughly one million Iraqi refugees who have fled to Syria. "Many are destitute, most are illegal. They can't get health care, there's no schooling, and no jobs. And there's always that looming threat of summary deportation."
In Jordan, as in Syria, Iraqis who flee the war are not officially recognized as political refugees, but instead are considered temporary visitors, thus denying them any permanent residence or work permits. Jordan has currently stopped accepting refugees...........