Threat Matrix: January 2008

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[Rushmore Rocks]

I agree.

[Cindy]

Thanks DC and RR for the heads up.

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cables
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cable

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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=internet

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http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=cables+%2B+cut&btnG=Search+News

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=internet+%2B+cables&btnG=Search

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http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/01/internet.outage/index.html

updated 38 minutes ago
“Third undersea Internet cable cut in Mideast”

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A dry humor column regarding this situation:
“
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2008/02/01/third-middle-east-undersea-cable-cut

Third Middle East Undersea Cable Cut”
By Jason Lee Miller - Fri, 02/01/2008 - 5:33pm.

ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Just put that anchor anywhere, pal

It appears another “anchor” has cut a third major undersea Internet cable in the Middle East, this time in the Persian Gulf. Quotes are around the word anchor because that’s the best explanation offered so far.

Sometimes things come in threes, but undersea cables being cut by anchors usually don’t. In this case, the cables – two in the Mediterranean, and one in the Persian Gulf –were cut in separate bodies of water, just days apart, supposedly by two different anchors. Three underwater cables in three days.

Or…an anchor from the same boat and the captain doesn’t know how to read his Internet cable map?

Stranger things have happened. But if there’s a fourth cable cut in the Indian Ocean we’re calling shenanigans. By whom?

Our best guess: terrorist sharks.”

[MamaDearest]

100 Nepalese Workers missing from Alabama plant

"About 100 people who came from Nepal to work at a north Alabama factory seemingly vanished from a pair of apartment buildings, along with a lot of furniture and appliances, and can't be located, officials said Tuesday.

Immigration agents are trying to determine what happened to the Nepalese workers, among hundreds brought to the United States to work at a DVD factory operated by Cinram Inc., said Lauren Bethune, a spokeswoman for the Alabama Department of Homeland Security."

US intelligence officers reportedly find letters from Osama Bin Laden

ccording to information circulating in intelligence circles and being reported by some Arab media sources, U.S. intelligence officials recovered at least five letters bearing the signature and official seal of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

The letters, each handwritten in Arabic, were reportedly found mixed with other documents, including bomb-making instructional materials, during a raid on an Islamic compound located in a remote border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. All of the correspondence was dated last December and each appeared to be addressed to bin Laden followers operating in that area.

One of the letters was reportedly addressed to Mansoor Dadallah, an Islamic terrorist in Helmand, a southern province of Afghanistan. In the letter, Bin Laden reportedly offers condolences to Dadallah for the death of his brother, Mullah Dadallah, a Taliban leader who was killed last year in a US air strike. Following his brother’s death, Mansoor Dadullah appeared on Al-Jazeera television and claimed that he had received a letter from Bin Laden. The letter addressed to Dadullah also urges the Taliban to increase their attacks against NATO troops deployed in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

[Godzilla]

Third Middle East Undersea Cable Cut

Too well timed to be accidental. Could be one of many things, but the worst case is an actual precursor to an attack by Iran. They may think that by overloading internet and electronic systems that way, they could impair Gulf states response to anything they might do. Secondly, the may think it would tax US comms. Worse yet, is that they may be thinking of some way to affect US military comms and are attacking our 'back up' first. Situation definitely needs watching.

[Cindy]

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48842

Coalition Condemns Suicide Attacks; Troops Detain Seven in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2008 – Coalition forces condemned today’s nearly simultaneous suicide attacks in two Baghdad markets that left dozens dead or injured in the Iraqi capital.

“We share the outrage of the Iraqi people, and we condemn the brutal enemy responsible for these attacks,” Multinational Force Iraq officials said in a news release. “This indiscriminate violence, targeting families enjoying themselves on the holy day, again shows the nature of this barbaric enemy.”

Multinational Division Baghdad forces are working closely with authorities to ensure they have sufficient medical supplies and humanitarian assistance for the victims and their families.

“We stand ready to provide additional support and will work closely with Iraqi authorities to find the perpetrators of this attack and help bring them to justice,” military officials said.

In other operations today, coalition forces detained seven suspected terrorists during operations to disrupt al Qaeda networks in Mosul.

During a series of operations in the western part of the city, forces captured three wanted individuals allegedly associated with the former senior leader of the al Qaeda network in the city. The three suspects are reportedly brothers, one of whom allegedly works directly for the former terrorist leader. Also, intelligence reports indicate the brothers have ties to other al Qaeda leadership in the region.

On the other side of the city, coalition forces conducted an operation targeting an alleged judge of an illegal terrorist court system. An individual believed to be the previous terrorist judge involved in the interrogation of al Qaeda kidnapping victims was detained during an operation Jan. 17. Four suspected terrorists were detained during the operation.

“These operations represent further progress in the campaign to disrupt al Qaeda in northern Iraq,” said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman. “As terrorists shift their operations to new locations, Iraqi and coalition forces will follow, aggressively attacking their networks, and capturing or killing their members.”

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)

[Cindy]

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019781.php
(CNN)

February 1, 2008
“Iraqi security: Female suicide bombers were mentally disabled; bombs detonated remotely”

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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/019780.php
(AP)

February 1, 2008
“Two female jihad-martyrdom bombers kill at least 64 in Baghdad”

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Previously...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1704211/posts?page=30#30

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http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=IA41908
MEMRI.org - Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 419: “WOMEN’S FORUMS ON ISLAMIST WEBSITES - TOOLS FOR PREPARING WOMEN TO CARRY OUT JIHAD AND SUICIDE OPERATIONS” by D. Hazan
(February 1, 2008)

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http://www.memri.org/jihad.html

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http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=countries&Area=saudiarabia&ID=SP183108

MEMRI.org - Special Dispatch Series - No. 1831: “SAUDI COLUMNIST ON PREOCCUPATION WITH DEATH IN SAUDI GIRLS’ SCHOOLS”
(January 31, 2008)

[Cindy]

“Situation definitely needs watching.”

Yep, yep, yep.

[MamaDearest]

STC restores internet connectivity of clients

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced yesterday that it was successful in providing Internet connectivity to clients with 20 percent extra bandwidths than it had before Wednesday's disruption caused by a communication cable cut.

In an official statement, STC confirmed that the cut off of FLAG and SEA-ME-WE 4 cables had reduced Internet connectivity in the Kingdom by 50percent on the first day of disruption.

"The company with the support of international operators was able to restore Internet connectivity to its clients and it worked round the clock to operate a number of routes with different bandwidths ... as the bandwidths now available for use are 20 percent more than available before the disruption,"

[Cindy]

Sounds like good news Mama Dearest.
Thanks for the update.

[Rushmore Rocks]

It certainly feels like sumpin’s comin’ down. I’ll be gone for a couple of weeks. Please ping me to anything of import. I’ll have the laptop with me and will check in between the Margaritas and the Pina Colladas.

Bueno noches, mi amigos.

[MamaDearest]

You're welcome Cindy, but the questions remain, who cut them and what was the intent?

Airine Safety - a Whistleblower's Tale

After mechanics at Northwest Airlines went out on strike on Aug. 20, 2005, Federal Aviation Administration safety inspector Mark Lund began to see troubling signs. One replacement mechanic didn't know how to test an engine. Another couldn't close a cabin door. Many did not seem properly trained. In Lund's view, their inexperience resulted in dangerous mistakes. One DC-10, for example, had a broken lavatory duct that allowed human waste to spill onto vital navigation equipment. The leak developed during a flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis. Northwest (NWA) planned to let the plane continue on to Honolulu with the perilous and putrid problem unfixed—until one of Lund's fellow safety inspectors in Minneapolis intervened.

Just two days after the strike began, Lund fired off a "safety recommendation for accident prevention" letter to his supervisors and to FAA headquarters in Washington. It was the loudest alarm he had the authority to ring. Claiming that "a situation exists that jeopardizes life," Lund proposed cutting back on Northwest's flight schedule until mechanics and inspectors could do their job "without error." But instead of taking harsh action against the airline, the agency punished him. On Aug. 29, Lund's supervisors confiscated the badge that gave him access to Northwest's facilities and gave him a desk job. That happened to be the same day the airline sent a letter to the FAA complaining about Lund's allegedly disruptive and unprofessional conduct. The FAA says it treated Lund fairly.

[MamaDearest]

Si Compadre!

[Rushmore Rocks]

Okay. You’re trying to make me nervous about flying in the morning. I’m already a white-knuckle flyer.....you are not helping. LOL!

[MamaDearest]

I’ll have the laptop with me

I just asked for one of those new ultra slim model laptops and Mr. Mamadearest frowned....not a good sign.

Radioactive cargo on train to Iran investigated

Authorities in the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan are investigating why a train traveling from Kyrgyzstan to Iran was carrying radioactive cargo.

The amount of radioactive material was not enough to make a weapon.

But the Kyrgyz government says it still doesn't know how or when the material was placed on board the train.

Specialists pinpointed one car, which was emitting radiation at levels 1,000 times higher than normal.

Emergency workers say the source lay in a pile of dirt and garbage beneath 50 tons of scrap metal.

[MamaDearest]

Not as long as you aren't taking the train from Kyrgyzstan.

You'll be drinking those frosty margaritas in nice warm weather and NOTHING should be more important than spending precious quality time with Mr. RR!

[Domestic Church]

“U.S. intelligence officials recovered at least five letters bearing the signature and official seal of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden...

...All of the correspondence was dated last December”

Pinging the Tora Bora crowd! Sounds like some justification for crossing a Paki border.

[Domestic Church]

It might have been the scrap metal itself that was emitting the rads.

[WestCoastGal]

Vaya con cuidado or something like that. Be careful. We had another laser in pilots eyes incident here in Texas again on approach to the airport.

[WestCoastGal]

Aren’t those fabulous looking, I want one too. :D

[WestCoastGal]

I thought the same thing when I read that.

Somethings up there.