posted on December 26, 2005 10:02:52 AM
Gunmen Kill Five Police at Iraq Checkpoint
Updated 11:12 AM ET December 26, 2005
By JASON STRAZIUSO
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Gunmen shot and killed five police officers at a checkpoint north of Baghdad on Monday, and six vehicle bombs exploded in the capital, leaving another five people dead and wounding more than 40.
Preliminary results released Monday from ballots cast in early voting by expatriate Iraqis, soldiers, hospital patients and prisoners showed a coalition of Kurdish parties and the main Shiite religious bloc each taking about a third of the vote in the parliamentary elections.
At least 19 people were killed across Iraq on Monday, a day after bloodshed claimed 18 lives, part of an increase in violence since a relative lull in attacks around the Dec. 15 vote.
A suicide car bomber slammed into a police patrol in the capital, leaving three dead, officials said, and a suicide motorcycle bomber rammed into a Shiite funeral ceremony, killing at least two people and wounding 26, said Maj. Falah Mohamadawi of the Interior Ministry.
Four other car bombs killed at least two people and wounded 15, officials said.
Gunmen killed five officers and wounded four at a police checkpoint 30 miles north of Baghdad, a morgue official in Baqouba said.
Partial results already released from voting in Iraq showed the United Iraqi Alliance, a religious Shiite coalition, with a large lead. Those results have been attacked by Sunni Arab and secular Shiite parties, which charge the election was tainted by fraud and other irregularities.
The Alliance, headed by the cleric Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, denies there was any fraud and is urging Iraqis to accept the results as it tries to form a "national unity" government drawing people from all communities.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a member of the Kurdish minority, sought to calm tensions Sunday, saying all factions will have a role in the new government.
The election complaints demonstrate the difficulty Iraqi parties will face in forming a government after final election results are released in early January.
About 1,500 complaints have been lodged, including at least 35 that the Iraqi election commission said could be serious enough to change results in some areas.
The expatriate results released by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq showed the Kurdistan Coalition List with 36.5 percent of the vote and the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance winning 30 percent. Former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's secular Iraqi National List garnered 11 percent and the main Sunni Arab Iraqi Accordance Front took nearly 5 percent. Smaller parties split the remainder.
The IECI said that a total of 482,450 valid votes were cast in 15 countries and in polling stations set up on Dec. 12 for soldiers, patients and detainees.
It added that 31,000 expatriate votes were being reviewed and said there were reports of fraud at three polling centers in Istanbul, Turkey. It did not say if the ballots in Turkey were among those under review.
There were 15 million eligible voters in Iraq, and 70 percent cast ballots in the Dec. 15 elections. The expatriate and early election votes will be added to a national total and help elect 45 of the parliament's 275 members.
Iraqis do not vote for individual candidates, but instead for lists _ or tickets _ that compete for seats in each of the 18 provinces. This province-by-province voting will determine 230 of the seats. The remaining 45 will be decided nationwide.
In Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad, about 3,000 Shiites demonstrated in favor of the current government headed by outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, an Islamist Shiite loyal to the clergy. Demonstrators chanted: "No for terrorism, yes for Islam."
The Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front, meanwhile, denied reports it has asked the United Iraqi Alliance to give it 10 seats of the religious Shiite coalition's share in parliament.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko paid an unannounced one-day visit to Iraq on Monday amid the pullout of his country's remaining 867 troops, his office said. All are due home by Dec. 30.
posted on December 26, 2005 01:01:53 PM
::Just think of how you will feel laying in that coffin, all dressed up with no where to go.
The smart thing is to believe in everything.::
I hear this arguement alot and I have to wonder, if there is a god, what he really thinks of it. Isn't basically belief by extortion? Kind reminds me of of a dictator. Support me or pay the price. Is that really the way that this almighty entity wishes to be worshipped? From a base of fear? And if you believe only because you are afraid not to, are you really a believer?
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Never ask what sort if computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him? - Tom Clancy
posted on December 26, 2005 03:59:10 PM
::Just think of how you will feel laying in that coffin, all dressed up with no where to go.
The smart thing is to believe in everything.::
I hear this arguement alot and I have to wonder, if there is a god, what he really thinks of it. Isn't basically belief by extortion? Kind reminds me of of a dictator. Support me or pay the price. Is that really the way that this almighty entity wishes to be worshipped? From a base of fear? And if you believe only because you are afraid not to, are you really a believer?
posted on December 26, 2005 04:14:33 PM
Colin - to be perfectly honest - I do not personally have a belief (or perhaps a better term would be "faith" ) in god, however I do not have a definitive opinion on whether or not there is one.
Now that I have answered your question, please answer mine. Please know that it is not meant to be snide or sarcastic. Although I have not personally found comfort in religion I respect that others do and am curious as to different aspects of belief.
If you are up to a couple other questions...
Do you believe that one must accept Christ as ones savior in order to go to heaven or is living a life that is devout to the spirit of god sufficient? i.e. - Do you believe that a Muslim that lives a life free of sin and that gives glory to Allah (God) go to heaven even though their religion acknowledges Jesus as only an intelligent profit rather than the son of god.
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Never ask what sort if computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him? - Tom Clancy
[ edited by fenix03 on Dec 26, 2005 04:15 PM ]
posted on December 26, 2005 06:09:13 PM
Colin I was referring your statement:
""BTW, Ronnie on the other board is gay. I don’t think he’s interested in you. ""
Since Ronnie and I have never discussed anything of a sexual nature, merely replied to each other's post, I have no idea where you got the idea I was interested in a relationship with him.....but I supect, it's like all your other posts...pulled from your asz
posted on December 26, 2005 06:45:19 PM
"Since Ronnie and I have never discussed anything of a sexual nature, merely replied to each other's post, I have no idea where you got the idea I was interested in a relationship with him.....but I supect, it's like all your other posts...pulled from your asz"
You were looking for a friend Crow. That's all I was saying.
If you weren't such an A-H, I'm sure you could find a couple friends right here.
Amen,
Reverend Colin http://www.reverendcolin.com
posted on December 26, 2005 06:50:10 PM
Colin - does your lack of response indicate that you are only looking for others views?
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
Never ask what sort if computer a guy drives. If he's a Mac user, he'll tell you. If he's not, why embarrass him? - Tom Clancy
posted on December 27, 2005 10:39:42 AM
Feel better after your morning stretch, ron
mingotree/crowfarm - posted on December 20, 2005 "Ya but linda, I'M the nasty atheist, scummy LIBERAL and YOU are the enlightened "christian"?? How quickly you lower yourself to my level.
posted on December 27, 2005 04:56:00 PM
“Colin - does your lack of response indicate that you are only looking for others views?”
Fen, You can find that information and much more at my website.
“Then , colin, what did you mean by :
""BTW, Ronnie on the other board is gay. I don’t think he’s interested in you""
What I meant was, You being the sorriest individual on any board, anywhere, ever, were looking for companion ship with the wrong person.
