Tuesday, January 17, 2012
** UK medic selected to be Olympic torch bearer
** Former US combat medic turned contractor held in Iraqi jail for 18 days;Iraqis claim paperwork irregularities
UNITED KINGDOM NEWS
** An ambulance responder from Sutton has been selected to carry the Olympic torch prior to the games` opening ceremony July 27. The Sutton Guardian (James Pepper/January 16) said Jim Mundy, 60, will undertake his task July 5 between Norwich and Ipswich. According to the newspaper, Mundy has run some 266 marathons during his lifetime. His Olympic jaunt, however, will last only for half a mile at which point another runner will take up the task. Mundy’s wife Denise nominated him for the honour.
IRAQ NEWS
** Iraq’s government is beginning to reassert its sovereignty, with one of its first actions being to arrest a one time combat medic working as a private security contractor in the country. That is the word from the Associated Press (Mivheal S. Schmidt/Eric Schmitt/January 16) which said recent weeks have seen hundreds of foreign nationals detained. According to the newspaper, airport and checkpoint apprehensions are being done for things such as improper visas, weapons permits, or driver’s licences. Former Green Beret medic Alex Antiohos, 32, who hails from Babylon, New York, and works for Triple Canopy, said his ordeal with Iraqi officials was harrowing. Kept at an army camp, he told reporters he was not beaten, but rather verbally intimidated and fed bug infested food. Antiohos was held for 18 days with several others and then released. New York House Homeland Security Committee Rep. Peter T. King said he was outraged at the treatment of Americans by the Iraqis. Blaming the US Embassy in Baghdad and the US State Department for not properly intervening, he said increasing political tensions between rival factions in the country are also fuelling matters. A State Department spokesman, however, said the the inexperience of Iraqi government bureaucrats was the main reason for the problem. He also said no US citizens are currently being held.
