Fair Proxy Web

Contractor: Losing immunity would hurt Iraq mission

(CNN) — An American contractor said Thursday that the U.S. mission in Iraq will be undermined if the Iraqi government succeeds in revoking blanket legal immunity for American security contractors.

Carter Andress reacted to a Wednesday government report that said the removal of legal immunity for American private security contractors could set off an exodus from war-ravaged Iraq and impose significant limitations on American reconstruction efforts.

The scenario is outlined in the quarterly report issued to Congress by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.

Andress, whose firm builds bases for the Iraqi army and police and supplies those places with water, food, fuel and maintenance services, said that about 40 percent of his staff is involved in security.

We would undermine the U.S. mission here because they are so reliant on contractors, said Andress, co-founder of the American-Iraqi Solutions Group. For better or for worse, that’s reality.

Even though 90 percent of his employees are Iraqis, he fears that new laws could force him to shut down.

But the exodus comment in the report also prompted skepticism from a scholar who studies the subject. Peter Singer, a Brookings Institution scholar who is an authority on private security firms, said, I don’t think we should worry about a market collapse, so to speak. There’s simply too much money to be made.

The Iraqi government has criticized the blanket immunity because of the actions of security contractors, such as the September shootings in Baghdad of Iraqi citizens that involved Blackwater contractors. Seventeen people died in that incident.

From a relief and reconstruction perspective, one of the most critical issues under discussion is contractor immunity, the inspector general’s report says.

found here.

Saturn moon has liquid on surface, NASA says

PASADENA, California (AP) — At least one of many large, lake-like features on Saturn’s moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, making it the only body in the solar system besides Earth known to have liquid on its surface, NASA said Wednesday.

Scientists positively identified the presence of ethane, according to a statement from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, which manages the international Cassini spacecraft mission exploring Saturn, its rings and moons.

Liquid ethane is a component of crude oil.

Cassini has made more than 40 close flybys of Titan, a giant planet-sized satellite of the ringed world.

Scientists had theorized that Titan might have oceans of methane, ethane and other hydrocarbons, but Cassini found hundreds of dark, lake-like features instead, and it wasn’t known at first whether they were liquid or dark, solid material, JPL’s statement said. iReport.com: Share your images of Saturn

This is the first observation that really pins down that Titan has a surface lake filled with liquid, Bob Brown, team leader of Cassini’s visual and mapping instrument, said in the statement.

found here.

Library

Follow a Book, Check Aeronautical Charts in Google Earth Plugin

Shawn mullins

A couple of new applications of the new Google Earth API plugin have caught my attention. The Google Earth plugin lets you run a special version of Google Earth in a browser, but works on Windows only at the moment and is supported on Internet Explorer and Mozilla/Firefox browsers (see more details about it). Mac and Linux version will hopefully be released soon.

Here are the two new Earth plugin applications I found interesting:

Related posts: Screech, Vj, Holiday deals, Gay pride paris, Survivor 17

Tours of duty in Iraq shortened

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush on Thursday said combat tours in Iraq are being reduced from 15 months to 12 months beginning Friday.

This relieves the burden on our forces, and it will make life easier for our wonderful military families, Bush said during brief remarks at the White House.

Bush said there’s a degree of durability to the gains made in reducing violence in Iraq. He credited last year’s increase in U.S. troop strength and the rising competency of Iraqi security forces.

The president praised Iraqi forces for purging Shiite extremists from Basra, Amarra and Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood. Watch how Bush assesses situation in Iraq

As a result of these successes, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker was able to walk through Sadr City last week, he said.

That’s something that would not have been possible just a few months ago, Bush said.

He also noted political progress in Iraq, as the parliament has advanced legislation and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki recently completed a diplomatic trip to Europe.

U.S. troop reductions this year could continue if security holds, Bush said.

We now have brought home all five of the combat brigades and the three Marine units that were sent to Iraq as part of the surge. The last of these surge brigades return home this month, Bush said.

He said later in the year, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will provide recommendations on future troop levels, including further reductions in our combat forces as conditions permit.

Still, we remain a nation at war, Bush said. Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, but the terrorists remain dangerous and they are determined to strike our country and our allies again.

found here.

Vj

PlaceHolder for vjcentral.com
VJCentral is currently down sorry please come back later. Vist VJForums.com in the meantime. Back soon. …

Troll movie

Create Digital Music ” VJ
Related: film, inspiration, music, music-videos, retro, synesthesia, videos, VJ & more … Global VJ Nation: Next Live Performers Meeting will be in Mexico …

HP Executive Team Bios: Vyomesh (VJ) Joshi
Vyomesh (VJ) Joshi is executive vice president of HP’s Imaging and Printing Group, which encompasses inkjet, LaserJet and commercial printing, printing supplies, …