"The statement said that democracy was un-Islamic, polling stations were centres of atheism and that the election would lead to the passing of un-Islamic laws."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4136851.stm

Three militant insurgent groups in Iraq have warned Iraqis not to vote in the 30 January election.
Describing the election as a "dirty farce", a statement posted on a website said anyone who took part in the election would not be safe.

The Iraqi electoral commission has denied reports that 700 election workers in the city of Mosul have resigned after receiving threats.

In Baghdad, the main oil refinery came under rocket or mortar attack.

US and Iraqi officials said the fire that broke out at the Dura refinery had been contained.

In an earlier incident near the northern city of Kirkuk, part of an oil pipeline was blown by a bomb.

Iraqis, particularly in Baghdad, are experiencing some of the worst petrol shortages since the US-led invasion in 2003.

'Election un-Islamic'

The threat to voters appeared on the website of the Ansar al-Sunna group, believed to have been behind an attack on an US base in Mosul that killed 22 people earlier this month.

It was co-signed by the Islamic Army of Iraq and the Army of the Mujahideen.

The statement said that democracy was un-Islamic, polling stations were centres of atheism and that the election would lead to the passing of un-Islamic laws.

"This vote is a mockery by the enemy to grant legitimacy to the new government which serves the crusaders. Participating in these elections would be the biggest gift for America, which is the enemy of Islam and the tyrant of the age," the statement said.

Iraq's main Sunni political grouping, the Iraqi Islamic Party, has already called for a boycott of the elections because it argues that the violence in central and northern Iraq makes a free and fair vote impossible.

Significant participation in the election by Iraq's Sunni minority is widely seen as essential to the credibility of the vote.

Insurgents have intensified their attacks against the security forces of Iraq's interim government as part of their efforts to disrupt the elections to a constitutional assembly.

Iraqi government and American officials say they are determined to go ahead with the election on time despite the violence.

Shia leaders, who represent the majority religious group in the country, have said that voting in the election is a religious duty.

Resignation denials

Iraq's electoral commission denied reports by the al-Jazeera Arabic TV channel that 700 election workers in Mosul have resigned.

"That's not true. We have our staff in Mosul and al-Anbar," Abdul Hussein al-Hindawi, the head of Iraq's Independent Electoral Commission, told the AFP news agency.

The city has been at the centre has become a centre of insurgent activity.

On Thursday, US military officials said that American troops killed about 25 insurgents in clashes in Mosul.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4199363.stm

Militant leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has reportedly declared war on next Sunday's election in Iraq.
An audiotape on an Islamist website purportedly voiced by the Jordanian-born militant calls on Sunni Muslims to fight against the vote

"We have declared a bitter war against the principle of democracy and all those who seek to enact it," the speaker says.

ITYNL!!

form http://www.galwayfirst.ie/donkey/

A man who was found dressed in latex and handcuffs brought a donkey to his room in a Galway city centre hotel, because he was advised to get out and meet people, the local court heard last week.

Thomas Aloysius McCarney with an address in south Galway was charged with cruelty to animals, lewd and obscene behaviour, and with being a danger to himself when he appeared before the court on Friday. He was also charged with damage to a mini-bar in the room, but this charge was later dropped when the defendant said that it was the donkey who caused that damage.

Solicitor for the accused Ms Sharon Fitzhenry said that her client had been through a difficult time lately and that his wife had left him and that his life had become increasingly lonely.

Mr McCarney has been attending counselling at which he was told that he would be advised to get out and meet people and do interesting things. It was this advice that saw him book into the city centre hotel with a donkey, she said. She added that Mr McCarney also suffered from a fixation with the Shrek movies and could constantly be heard at work talking to himself saying things like Isnt that right, Donkey?

Supt John McBrearty told the court that Mr McCarney who had signed in as Mr Shrek had told hotel staff that the donkey was a family pet and that this was believed by the hotel receptionist who the supt said was young and hadnt great English.

Receptionist Irina Legova said that Mr McCarney had told her that the donkey was a breed of super rabbit which he was bringing to a pet fair in the city. The court was told that the donkey went berserk in the middle of the night and ran amok in the hotel corridor, forcing hotel staff to call the gardai.

McCarney was found in the room wearing a latex suit and handcuffs, the key to which the donkey is believed to have swallowed. He was removed to Mill St station after which it is said he was the subject of much mirth among the lads next door in The Galway Arms.

He was fined 2,000 for bringing the donkey to the room under the Unlawful Accommodation of Donkeys Act 1837. Other charges were dropped due to lack of evidence.