Gridlock News

The new Somali government will have 5 recently convicted rapists stoned to death as punishment for a rape that occurred 6 days ago, on June 22. The men pleaded guilty to the crime and were identified by the victims. The move is being viewed as a signal to the west that the new government will follow a hard lined Islamists dogma reminiscent of that promoted by the Taliban in Afghanistan. In addition, Sheikh Hassan Daihir Aweys, a former colonel and a person identified by the UN as an Al-Qaeda associate despite his denials, was named to a top post in the new Somali government. The US government is taking a wait-and-see approach with recent developments in Somalia. The overthrow of US backed warlords caught the world somewhat by surprise. The new government has indicated that they will not be aggressive towards the US if the US does not show aggression towards their government. The US has indicated that they will not currently establish official contact with the new government. Taipei Times - archives

The press as instigated by the NY Times has reported on a story about the US governments program to track Terrorist Finance Programs. Tony Snow confirmed the existence of the program following reports in the New York Times. "I am particularly proud of our Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, which, based on intelligence leads, carefully targets financial transactions of suspected foreign terrorists," said Snow. The program is receiving critical attention in light of the recent disclosures of programs that included tracking phone records of millions of Americans, the listening in on phone conversations of Americans and foreign person calling into Americans, and the monitoring of email and web surfing habits of Americans. The Treasury Department has long maintained reporting requirements including SARS reports of transactions over $5,000.00 in value and other requirements for transactions under that limit. This report focuses on Swift international transactions and transfers, which cover the majority of global financial communications and transfers. FT.com / World / US & Canada - US Treasury tracked financial data after 9/11:

The rhetoric over North Korea continues to escalate a significant pace. Only Two days ago, there was talk of shooting down the Tae Po Dong test missile in the air, followed by a US test of defensive missiles. Now a former Clinton Administration Defense Secretary William Perry states that the Bush Administration should follow through with its Foreign Policy of Pre-Emption established in the attack on Iraq in 2003. The basis for this call of an attack on a foreign country stems from the belief that the US has already established this doctrine and to waffle on the strategy now would only spur on North Korea, to build more missiles, perform more tests, sell missiles abroad and generally become more agressive. U.S. Urged To Destroy N. Korea Missile, Ex-Defense Secretary: Bush Should Attack If Launch Preparations Continue - CBS News: " (CBS/AP) Former Clinton administration Defense Secretary William Perry says the U.S. should attack and destroy North Korea's new long-range missile if Pyongyang continues launch preparations. A top U.S. official spurned the call for military action. In an op-ed piece published Thursday in the Washington Post, Perry said the Bush administration should strike and destroy the missile before it can be launched. Perry noted the Bush administration's doctrine of pre-emption, which it used as the basis for sending U.S. troops into Iraq in 2003. 'Therefore, if North Korea persists in its launch preparations, the United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong missile before it can be launched,' Perry said in the piece, co-written with Ashton B. Carter, Perry's assistant at the Pentagon. "

US defence officials in Washington reportedly stated on Tuesday that the US may attempt to intercept a North Korean fired Test Missile if the North Koreans fire the missile over the Pacific Ocean. The Tae Po Dong missile's reportedly have a range that could allow the missile's to reach Alaska and possibly the coast of California. Thomas Scheiffer, who called on Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks, indicated that the United States has the capability to respond to a North Korean missile test, a capability that the US did not have in 1998 during the last test launch. The US has been working on missile defence technologies since the Regan era when the Star Wars program was launched as a nuclear deterrent against the former Soviet Union. Many of the tests for the Star Wars program were lated shown to include false or misleading reports partially intended to portray to the world a capability the US did not really have. In recent years the program has made more progress, but publicized tests have failed to intercept missiles. If North Korea were to fire a test missile and the United States successfully intercepted it the fall out could be wide spread. Not only would the US show its ability to thwart North Korea's test, but it would be showing the world a working defence system. North Korea could see the interception of one of their missile's as an imposition of US authority into their perceived sovereignity, or more simply put they could view this as an act of reciprocal aggression back at the United States. The United States, Japan and South Korea already see the potential test fire as an act of aggression by the North Koreans. 'We want direct talks with US'- The Times of India

from Saddam's lawyer pays price for principles: "BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's lawyer Khamis al-Obaidi, whose body was found dumped on a Baghdad street, believed the rule of law would triumph in Iraq and had vowed never to give in to fear. Obaidi was kidnapped from his home, killed and dumped on a traffic circle on Wednesday in the same area where the body of another slain Saddam lawyer was found." Obaidi was the third defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein to be murdered in Iraq. Unlike other participants in the trial, Obaidi refused to hide in the Green Zone and often went about Baghdad shopping alone and with his family. His body showed markings said to be consistent with torture.

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: NSA's wiretapping program goes before federal judge today: By Henry Weinstein Los Angeles Times "The National Security Agency's controversial surveillance program faces its first major court test today before a federal judge in Detroit. In January, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and several individuals, who said they feared the government was spying on them, filed a 60-page lawsuit seeking to have the warrantless-wiretapping program declared unconstitutional. President Bush authorized the program after the Sept. 11 attacks. It permits the agency to listen in on phone calls and obtain e-mails if one party is outside the U.S. without seeking the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. The secretive court was created in the 1970s to approve warrants in some intelligence and terrorism-related investigations. The suit in Detroit, like a similar suit filed in New York by the Center for Constitutional Rights, asserts that the NSA's eavesdropping program has violated free-speech and privacy rights and had a chilling effect on telephone and e-mail conversations with individuals who may be targets of the surveillance. . . More "

Gay-marriage amendment fails in Senate��Reuters.com The Senate voted today against amending the US Constitution. To kick off an Amendment, the Senate would have had to generate 60 or more votes, before the vote went to the house and then to the 50 states for ratification. The proposed Bush Gay Marriage Ban Amendment was never considered to have the potential of passing. Many have questioned the prioritization of the Bush Administration and the Congress in taking up the vote in lieu of dealing with matters of War in Iraq and Afghanistan, an overheating economy threatened by high Oil Prices and inflation, Terrorism resurging in Canada and the UK, Islamists seizing control of Mogadishu, Oil Rig hostages, Border issues, and Natural disaster preparedness. For an editorial review of the issue see the following articles at Gridlock On Rye Is Lou Dobbs Reading My Blog? Senator Saxby Chambliss' Response to my Letter Bush Rallies Support For Democrats in 2006

When you serve in the military or work as a contractor with the military, you have to show some initiative if you want to survive. Sometimes in the world where life and death is not always so close at hand its very important to visualize just how close it can get and then how to bust through the GRIDLOCK. Here are some pictures posted up to Flickr by a soldier serving in Iraq. Some of these pictures have been described as being like something out of Mad Max, the reality is that when your life is on the line, you get creative quick if you want to survive. . Maybe these last two would go against the conventional wisdom. .