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MIDDLE EAST NOTES -

# A special feature of the newly-launched Baghdad Security Plan will be neighborhood liason committees between the security forces and the municipal councils with Ahmad al-Jalabi acting as the head of this operation.

Omar al-Shahir wrote a vivid article for Al-Mada describing life in Baghdad under the Security Plan:

One bizarre phenomenon that al-Shahir noted is of Baghdadis burying their weapons in their backyards, as they wish to keep a piece of weaponry within reach, 'just in case,' which has made Baghdad’s gardens into 'graveyards for arms.'

# Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reports that Moqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shia leader, is said to have been spotted in the southern Iraqi town of Kufa. Hmmm, but was he with Elvis?

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# Three cameras are broadcasting the construction work being done on the ramp leading to the Temple Mount or Noble Santuary in Jerusalem. And, they say, you can watch, too.

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# Bahraini Blogger Mahmood Al Yousif is in serious trouble with the government there for some remark he made which offended a local official.

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