Suicide Bomber Hometown, rattled

When a 16-year-old girl married a militant Islamist separatist entangled in a long-running and bloody struggle against Russian government forces, her relatives in this dusty North Caucasus village say they disowned her immediately.
They knew they could face torture from Russian security forces or even death for associating with the militants, and they knew their Dzhanet Abdurakhmanova, still just a schoolgirl, could easily be killed.
But they never expected her to be dispatched to Moscow as a suicide bomber to blow herself up on a subway train.
Abdurakhmanova, whose husband was killed by government forces in December, and another young widow have been accused of carrying out Monday's twin suicide bombings, which killed 40 people and injured 90. They were the first suicide attacks in the capital since 2004.
Both women were from the North Caucasus, a patchwork of predominantly Muslim provinces and home to a fierce Islamic insurgency that has been fueled by frequent killings, kidnappings and torture of residents by government forces.
Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility for the subway attacks, saying they were retaliation for the deaths of four garlic-picking villagers who were slain on Feb. 11.
In Kostek, a poor rural village in the province of Dagestan where Abdurakhmanova grew up, a piercing silence hangs in the air. Men on the main square stare transfixed at newcomers, then turn away whispering. The village feels dangerous even for those who live in the provincial capital, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) away.
Abdurakhmanova's suicide attack has brought unwanted attention.
"We turned our back on her when she married that one about two years ago," said a 20-year-old man, Abdurakhmanova's cousin, who refused to give his name for fear of reprisals.
"We didn't have anything to do with Dzhanet and we never wanted to" after her marriage, he said before disappearing into their grandmother's single-story brick home, one of the nicest in the village.
On Friday, a leading Russian newspaper published a photo of the doe-eyed teenager, partly veiled, in the embrace of a bearded man — both grasping handguns.
The report said Abdurakhmanova met her husband, Umalat Magomedov, in an Internet chat and that he then set up a meeting and drove her away by force when she was still 16.
After her husband's death, Abdurakhmanova may have fallen under the influence of Islamists, who try to persuade widows and other relatives to sacrifice their lives to avenge their slain husbands, sons and brothers.
The daily Moskovsky Komsomolets said a burned shred of a letter in Arabic found on Abdurakhmanova's body promised a "meeting in heaven." It was unclear who wrote the letter.
Her fellow suicide bomber was believed to be 20-year-old Markha Ustarkhanova from Chechnya, the newspaper said.
The militants, who once fought for Chechnya's independence, are now seeking to create an Islamic state across the North Caucasus. In Dagestan, they carry out attacks almost daily.
On Saturday, three militants opened fire on police in a drive-by shooting, killing one and injuring another. Two other suicide bombers struck Wednesday near Dagestan's border with Chechnya, killing 12 people. Another explosion there Thursday killed two suspected militants.
Umarov, the rebel leader, said the Moscow bombings were retribution for the deaths of four villagers, "some of the poorest people" in the impoverished region.
"These people were mercilessly destroyed," he said in a video message posted Wednesday.
The four garlic pickers died along with 18 suspected Islamic militants in a three-day shootout in the mountainous forests that straddle the North Caucasus provinces of Ingushetia and Chechnya.
The Memorial rights group on Saturday said the four villagers were caught in the crossfire and then dragged away and executed while gathering the wild garlic shoots to sell at local markets. Memorial said pictures taken on a mobile phone camera showed one of the victims, Shamil Katayev, lying dead in the snow, a trail of dried blood running from his nose to the back of his head.
"That shooting was just lunacy," said Alexander Cherkasov, a Memorial spokesman. "And that lunacy was used to justify terrorism."
President Dmitry Medvedev urged even harsher measures Friday to crack down on terrorism, including targeting people who even help the militants by feeding them or doing simple chores, such as washing their clothes.
However, Russian police and security forces have long been accused of seizing people suspected of aiding militants. Some people have been tortured and many have disappeared. Rights activists trying to document the abuses also have been killed, kidnapped or threatened.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

The de facto government of Honduras

The de facto government of Honduras has said that plans for Manuel Zelaya, the country's deposed president, to leave the Honduran capital for Mexico have been put on hold.
Sources had said on Wednesday that Zelaya, who has sheltered at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa since returning from exile in September, was due to head to Mexico within hours.
But Carlos Lopez, Honduras's foreign minister, told Honduran television that the plan had been "aborted under current circumstances".
Milton Mateo, a spokesman for the Honduran foreign ministry, had earlier said that Mexico had asked for a safe-conduct pass for Zelaya, and that the pass had been signed off.
Security forces alerted
Craig Mauro, an Al Jazeera correspondent who has reported on the politicial events in Honduras, said: "There was a lot of activity around the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa where Zelaya has taken refuge for the last couple of months.
"There were reports that the number of security forces there have been doubled, and that Zelaya would be leaving to take asylum in Mexico," Mauro said from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"Since then there have been conflicting reports. Honduran aviation officials [said] that a plane is on the way from Mexico, and there [were] some reports from Mexico, quoting unnamed sources, that he has been granted asylum.
"Zelaya has just spoken to a Venezuelan television network and he has neither confirmed nor denied that he would be seeking asylum."
The de facto government, which has held power since Zelaya was deposed on June 28, wants Zelaya to take political asylum in another country, which would restrict his political activities.
However, Zelaya seeks a status that would allow him to campaign fully for his return, Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's president, said on Wednesday.
Political crisis
Zelaya has demanded his reinstatement since being ousted, but the country's congress voted against restoring him to power.
Fresh elections that were held last month saw Porfirio Lobo, a National Party politician, win the presidency.

Zelaya was forced into exile after the supreme court, congress and business leaders said he acted against the constitution and tried to illegally extend limits to his term in office. He has repeatedly denied this and pointed out that it would have been impossible to change the constitution before his term in office was complete. Divisions in the Central American nation remain wide even after the election, which Zelaya's supporters boycotted, and nations across the Americas are also at odds over whether to recognise the poll. "The US has said that it recognised the elections but that it was only a step forward, and that it wanted to national reconciliation," Mauro said. "Several countiries have followed the US' lead there, but there is also a bloc, led by Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, that refuses to recognise the elections and which is demanding that Zelaya be restored to the presidency [to serve out the rest of his term], no matter what." Lobo, who was defeated by Zelaya in the 2005 election, has pledged to form a unity government and seek dialogue. He is due to take office on January 27, when Zelaya's term officially ends.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Colangelo: Skip worlds at your own peril

USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo has a message for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the NBA stars leaning toward skipping the 2010 World Championships without an approved alibi: You’ve lost your guarantee for a roster spot at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

“There are no free passes to London,” Colangelo told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night. “There are no special rules for anyone. If someone decides to pass without a legit issue, they do it with an understanding of the risk.”
James publicly insisted Wednesday that “I’m probably not playing,” and his reasoning for sitting out the late-summer training camp and tournament – a busy schedule – doesn’t fall within the excused absences Colangelo has laid out. James hasn’t directly told Colangelo of his plans, but he joins Wade in publicly expressing doubt about playing in the World Championships in Turkey.

Two sources familiar with Wade’s plans say the Miami Heat star has already decided against playing for Team USA this summer. Colangelo has wanted to hold national team players to a revolving three-year commitment on the way to the Olympic Games. How can he still get his biggest stars to Turkey this summer?
Perhaps the shoes will help. Nike has a huge financial stake in USA Basketball, and James and Wade are two of the company’s most important pitchmen. The global stage is important for pushing product, and Colangelo isn’t fearful of exploiting this fact.
“The players are intelligent and they understand that some of this whole thing brands them in the international marketplace,” he said. “And maybe they’ll make some decisions based on the fact that certainly Nike has a big impact on them in terms of what their contract may or may not say about this.”
Free agency starts July 1, and the game’s biggest stars – James, Wade and the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh – will likely have resolution on where they will sign by the middle of the month.
With several other stars also destined for free agency, Colangelo had no expectation they would play and risk injury in the July minicamp in Las Vegas. Colangelo calls himself “flexible,” and says he’ll accept contract status, injury and pressing family matters as reasons for an excused absence.
Nevertheless, he wants all of Team USA to minimally show up for the July minicamp while free agency gets underway, and expects that once deals are signed all the players will attend the August training camp in New York. Team USA has a pool of 27 players to bolster the roster; it would most fear losing Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for the World Championships. Outside of him, the U.S. could be forced to go with Boston’s Kendrick Perkins to play center.
Team USA’s oldest and youngest stars – the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant – are committed to playing this summer. As one source said, “Kobe will probably take inventory on his body at the end of the season,” but he is planning to play. Durant nearly made the 2008 Olympic team as a 19-year-old rookie and promises to be an immense part of Team USA’s future. Durant will be a star among stars the moment he steps on the floor.
“He’s one of the best five, maybe six, players in the NBA already,” Colangelo said. “He’s a pretty good replacement for anyone.”
Durant is young and hungry, and Team USA can use him. The World Championships doesn’t inspire tremendous enthusiasm for the returning players who won a gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Yet Team USA lost to Greece in the World Championships’ medal round in 2006, a deflating defeat that stays with some of that team’s players.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

Question Remains: What Makes Gillibrand Scary?

They appeared on the scene with blustery talk and bravado, dismissing her as weak, spineless and out of touch with New Yorkers. Replace her, they said, with me.

But one after another, each of them — the billionaire, the veteran politicians and the other ideological adversaries who boasted that they could take on Kirsten E. Gillibrand in a Senate race — was scared away, leaving their supporters to wonder: What is so frightening about Ms. Gillibrand?
After all, her poll numbers are unimpressive, and she has never been elected statewide. But the tough challenge that even her advisors expected this year has not materialized.
“I think Gillibrand either has mystical powers or the best luck I have ever seen in politics,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who was initially skeptical of her. “It is amazing.”
Vito J. Lopez, the head of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, who has been open to someone challenging Ms. Gillibrand for the party nomination, sounded vexed after spending many hours meeting with Democrats seeking his endorsement to run against her, only to see them abandon the idea.
“It’s been extremely frustrating,” said Mr. Lopez, who has yet to endorse Ms. Gillibrand. “No one has told me directly why they dropped out.”
Even former Representative Harold E. Ford Jr., who denounced party elders who told him as he mulled a primary fight that it would not be good for Democrats, kept out of the race, basically mouthing the same message.
Ms. Gillibrand has been under siege almost from the moment she was appointed by Gov. David A. Paterson to replace Hillary Rodham Clinton in January 2009. Initially, she faced the possibility of challenges from members of her own party, including the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer; Representative Steve Israel of Long Island; and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of Manhattan. But they all opted out.
“I really did feel like this was the one that got away,” said Joe Trippi, the political consultant who worked for Ms. Maloney. “I felt we could have won that seat.”
Several would-be Republican opponents have also stayed out, including former Gov. George E. Pataki and Mortimer B. Zuckerman, the real estate tycoon and publisher of The Daily News.
At this point, Ms. Gillibrand has only token Republican opposition: Bruce A. Blakeman, who dropped out of the New York mayoral race last year; David Malpass, a former economist at Bear Stearns who worked in the Reagan administration; and Joseph J. DioGuardi, a former member of the House.
What makes all the potential contenders ultimately duck the race is not clear. But this much is obvious: Running for Senate in New York is a big undertaking. It takes doggedness, a thick skin and a lot of money.
It has undoubtedly helped Ms. Gillibrand that her powerful allies, like the state’s senior senator, Charles E. Schumer, and President Obama, have helped ward off potential Democratic challengers.
But a more likely explanation is that Ms. Gillibrand possesses assets most of the aspiring senators lack. She has a legitimate geographic base, having represented an Albany-area Congressional district in a part of the state where her family is prominent. She has a network of donors, especially women, who are not going to abandon her. She has a commitment to working her tail off to keep the seat, a fact that even her political enemies grudgingly acknowledge.
And, perhaps most important, she has $5.1 million in her campaign account.
“She remains vulnerable to a surprising degree at this stage of the game,” said a senior Republican strategist who tried to recruit a top-tier candidate to run against her. “But the vulnerability that Gillibrand has is offset by her dominant cash position. That is what has made Democrats blink and it is what has made Republicans blink.”
An adviser to Ms. Gillibrand echoed that sentiment, saying that while she is politically vulnerable, no one who opposed her would come out of the race unscathed.
“She is weak, but she is no pushover,” said the adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to be seen as publicly acknowledging her problems. “So there’s a lot to lose in running against her. Nobody is willing to take the risk.”
Mr. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, said he was impressed that Ms. Gillibrand was still standing after a long procession of potential challengers had vowed to topple her.
“Who’s the parakeet now?” he said, referring to an insult that Mr. Ford had directed at her.
“It was hers to fumble,” he continued, referring to the Senate seat. “A lot of people thought she would.”


David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More

27 Arrests At High-Rise Where Child Was Gang Raped

Police raided a New Jersey public housing complex Thursday where officials say a 7-year-old girl was gang raped, and arrested 27 people on outstanding warrants.

Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer said the pre-dawn sweep of Rowan Towers was planned before the girl's attack. He said police hope the arrests will lead to tips that help them find those who assaulted the girl, otherwise the arrests were unrelated to the case.

"This is only the beginning," Palmer said. "We're not going to rest until that area is cleaned up so that decent people can live without the threat of fear and violence."

Police said the young victim's 15-year-old stepsister sold the girl to have sex with as many as seven men and boys at a party in a vacant apartment.

According to police, the teen told her sister to "let the boys do what they want."

While the mayor says the arrests are unrelated, police hope they lead to tips that help them find the suspects.

The stepsister is charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. No other arrests directly related to the case have been made.

The encounters allegedly happened inside the Rowan Towers Apartments Sunday afternoon. The teen was said to have willingly engaged in sex with multiple men for cash herself.

"I think everyone, not just in Trenton, in New Jersey but across this nation and the world is shocked, outraged and horrified by the barbaric act of monster pervert rapists and what happened to an innocent angel," Mayor Doug Palmer said.

"They said they would kill her if she screamed. It's crazy," one resident said.

"We do believe that the 7-year-old was held against her will by the individuals, and that's when sexual assault took place," Trenton Police Department Capt. Joe Juniak said.

Police said they have DNA evidence, some surveillance video and leads but need to zero in on exactly who was in the apartment. They said they anticipate making multiple arrests of both juvenile and adult males.

Many of those arrested Thursday were women, who told The Associated Press the warrants were for minor infractions. Police did not immediately return calls for further details.

Residents said the assault was clearly at the forefront of police officers' agenda during the raid at the apartment building, a high-rise complex so dangerous that police are hired as security guards at night.

Tair Rivers, 27, said officers yelled, "What happened to the little girl?" as they arrested her and other women. Rivers was arrested for outstanding parking tickets, she said.

Rivers lives in 13-H, an apartment right across from 13-C where the party occurred. She said she was not home over the weekend but would not hesitate to tell police if she knew something.

"We all got kids," Rivers said. "If we knew something, we would tell."

Police believe as many as a dozen people were at the party and say everyone in the apartment when the rape occurred could be legally culpable. There were security cameras at the complex and police said they were reviewing all available building surveillance videos.

David Mikael Taclino
Inyu Web Development and Design
Creative Writer

Read More